Mr. and Ms. Reader, may I be excused? My brain is full.

There’s a bunch of random thoughts floating around in there this week, so let’s get to it:

• Most of Warren County’s athletic facilities, amazingly, appear to have made it through last weekend’s tornadoes with only minor damage. Some trees were down at Bazinsky Field, and a couple of storage sheds were knocked on their sides at the Betty Hearn Softball Complex, but it doesn’t look like anything a work day can’t clean up.

• Speaking of the Betty Hearn Complex, it’d be nice if the city could find a solution to the outfield sinkholes before they swallow us all. There’s one in right field of the smallest field that’s deep enough to fish in.

• Power is back on around the city, but lighting concerns at Warren Central’s baseball field will lead to some playoff matinees. The Vikings and Tupelo will play at 2, 2 and 2 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Monday in their first-round Class 6A playoff series. Game 1 and, if necessary, Game 3, will be at Warren Central.

The day games are partially the result of the holiday weekend, and partially out of caution. A faulty wire knocked out a bank of lights in left field during Warren Central’s last home game against Clinton and possibly cost it the Region 4-6A championship. Playing during the day is an insurance policy to make sure it doesn’t cost them the season.

• Seguing into the playoffs, it’s about that time of year in every sport now. Baseball and softball playoffs begin this weekend — Warren Central and Vicksburg are the only teams we have left in both — while tennis, golf, and track and field are all in the beginning stages of their multi-round systems.

There’s a good chance we’ll have at least a few state champions in the individual sports. Hopefully a couple of the teams can snag one as well. St. Al’s track and tennis teams look to have the most favorable paths to a trophy.

• In almost every movie dealing with aliens, they’re portrayed as vastly technologically and culturally superior to us Earthlings. Where are the aliens that are the interstellar equivalent of Florida Man?

• Between the return of “Game of Thrones” and next week’s release of “Avengers: Endgame,” April certainly feels like Nerd Appreciation Month. I was born about 30 years too late to be one of the cool kids.

•

Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com