Let's see. Basha has been alive and kicking for almost a decade and yet for the first time will play neighboring sister schools Chandler High and Hamilton High in football in the regular season.

Mountain View and Red Mountain will rediscover the Battle of Brown Road this season after a two-year hiatus. These are Mesa schools that are just five miles apart and share the same east-west thoroughfare. Mountain View also gets to see Mesa High and Westwood.

No doubt schedules have caused an uproar in some parts this year with the computer model taking over, but starting or continuing rivalries that should be no-brainers is a good by-product.

Basha will become the first Chandler school to play all three of its sister schools (Perry as well) as part of its 10-game regular-season schedule. It will square off for the first time ever against Chandler having met Hamilton by the luck of the playoff draw in postseason a couple of times.

Thankfully, Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe did not abandon the Ahwatukee Bowl the last couple of years when Desert Vista found itself in the super (Fiesta) region with Hamilton, Brophy, Red Mountain, Mesa and Chandler. The Thunder and Pride continue to face each other this year.

So welcome the return of familar rivalries. Welcome the beginning of some. Welcome the continuation of others that generate good, friendly, banter between the participants. It's good competition. And best of all, kids love to know they have bragging rights when they've beaten their rival on the field of play rather than in the court of public opinion.