All sports fans have a singular, glorious moment that will forever stand out above all of their other sports memories. A memory that will bring you to tears just thinking about it.

Except for Chicago Cubs fans — their tears flow for a different reason.

But since I myself am not a Cubs fan (though I don’t dislike them), I do in fact have a singular special sports memory.

Right now the 2011 Cricket World Cup is being played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. My greatest memory comes from the 1999 Cricket World Cup, which was played in England.

I was living in England at the time, country number four for me (after Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong). I was 11 years old and a hardcore fan of the Australian national cricket team.

Australia was doing well in the tournament and made it to the semifinals, where the team was matched up against South Africa. The winner would be headed to the final against Pakistan.

In this sense, my sporting memory resembles the 1980 “miracle” semifinal win of the US hockey team over Russia at the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid.

Australia’s “miracle” took place in the semifinals, and the final itself was pretty much an afterthought.

There are three main versions of cricket: test cricket (in which matches are five days long), one-day cricket (self-explanatory) and 20-20 cricket (which is a shortened version of one-day cricket).

The matches at the Cricket World Cup are one-day cricket matches. The basic format is that one team bats first and puts up a score, and then the other teams bats and tries to beat that score. Each team bats until either they have batted for 50 overs (an over is a set of six “bowls,” the cricket version of “pitches”) or until the team has lost all 10 of its “outs.”

In the 1999 Cricket World Cup semifinal between Australia and South Africa, Australia batted first and put up a score of 213 — a very makeable target for South Africa.

The Aussies did a good job of keeping the South African batsmen in check early on, but ran into trouble later when South Africa’s star batsman came to the crease — Lance Klusener.

Klusener had pretty much been a one-man wrecking machine in the earlier rounds of the tournament. He didn’t lose any of his touch in the semifinals.

His team was running out of overs to reach Australia’s score, but Klusener managed 31 runs off of 16 bowls to tie the score with three bowls remaining in the match, but only one out remaining.

Score one run in the final three bowls, and South Africa would be in the final. Score no runs or lose their final out, and Australia would win the tiebreaker and be going to the final instead.

By this point, I was up on my feet bawling my eyes out in front of the TV, convinced that there was no way Klusener and Alan Donald (two batsmen are in the game at any one time) would fail. Convinced that Australia’s World Cup had come to an end.

To score a run in cricket, the ball needs to be hit into the field (which is oval in shape) and the two batsmen need to switch ends of the strip (which is in the middle of the field, with a wicket at each end) and successfully make it to the other wicket without being run out.

Klusener was on-strike (the one receiving the bowl). He hit the first of the final three bowls down the middle of the ground, and ran headlong for the other end.

In cricket, you don’t need to run every time you hit the ball.

Donald thought that Klusener’s hit wasn’t good enough to score the final run, so he chose not to run and wait to score on one of the final two bowls.

The miscommunication between the two batsmen spelled doom for South Africa.

Australia fielded the ball, threw it to the wicket Donald should have been running towards, getting him out.

The final score —213-213.

Australia was headed to the World Cup final.

My tears turned into pure joy, as I jumped up and down as high as I could, running like a madman around the living room. The Aussie cricketers burst into celebration all over the field, as Klusener and Donald were left standing in shock, realizing that they had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Australia held Pakistan to 132 runs in the final, utterly demolishing them by catching the total in only 20.1 overs, as one-sided a World Cup final as there has ever been.

I apologize if anyone has had a hard time following my cricket descriptions above. Here is a link to a video of the glorious moment:

Still brings tears to my eyes.

MINNEAPOLIS — Going to the state tournament is obviously a very exciting experience for any high school athlete.

This feeling of excitement is also felt by the athletes’ parents, family, friends, classmates… the list goes on and on.

However, something that can be easy to overlook is that it’s also a totally awesome feeling for us reporters too.

On March 16, the Jackson County Central girls’ basketball team got a chance to play a state tournament game in the 20,500 capacity Target Center in Minneapolis.

It was my first ever state tournament assignment.

It must have been an amazing feeling to be out playing on that court.

I got a bit giddy just standing on the sidelines.

Don’t get me wrong — I don’t mind at all travelling and covering games at high school gymnasiums around the area.

However, covering a game at a huge venue like the Target Center feels more like a vacation than a work assignment.

First of all, I got to use press credentials to get into the arena. That’s right — I’m kind of a big deal like that.

I’m sure I looked kind of dorky with my bright orange press pass dangling from my wrist as I sheepishly walked past security guards to enter the press area, but magically I was allowed to go right on by.

The arena wasn’t even close to being filled to capacity, but viewing the court from the sidelines rather than from the nosebleeds (which is where I sat for the other three Target Center events I’ve been to — a Kevin Garnett-era Timberwolves game, a metal concert and an Obama campaign appearance) was definitely an improvement.

No matter whether a reporter is technically supposed to remain impartial or not, we definitely want to see the teams that we’re covering win.

Sometimes, dare I say it, we can walk a dangerous tightrope between being an “impartial observer” and a “fan.”

When I saw the Huskies play in the Section 3AA final in Marshall on March 11, I desperately wanted them to win.

It was my fourth time watching the Huskies during the season — you can pretty much say I was put on the Huskies beat.

It was a great feeling to see them pull it off.

Although the Huskie players knew they were going to state as soon as the game ended, I didn’t know immediately whether or not I’d be able to join them.

Two days before the game, I got the nod — a feeling I’m sure that is much like a minor league baseball player getting told that they are heading up to the big leagues.

The day before the game, I came in to work and found an anonymous delivery on my desk. It was a Jackson County Central t-shirt.

So much for trying to remain impartial — when I went up to the Target Center, I wore the t-shirt and took in the game as a full-fledged Huskie fan (thank you whoever sent me the t-shirt — I still don’t know who you are).

I tried to maintain any potential shred of impartiality by wearing the t-shirt a bit discretely under a zip-up fleece pullover, but I left the logo clear in sight.

During the Huskies’ furious second-half comeback, I got perhaps a bit too vocal and gave maybe a few too many fist pumps — but hey, I already said that it felt like I was in vacation-mode.

Unfortunately, I realized later, I spent maybe a bit too much time cheering and not enough time with my face behind my camera lens.

It was a deflating feeling when the final buzzer sounded and the Huskies were down by only a single point, but there is no doubt that it was one heck of a basketball game.

I wish that the JCC seniors could have ended their careers by cutting down a net at the Target Center, but the Huskies were truly honorable in the gracious way that they accepted defeat. Even the greatest of warriors have to be humbled at some point.

My personal experience didn’t end so well when I got asked to vacate the building as I sat courtside typing my story, but I made sure to take the time to walk all the way across the court as I left, regarding the completely empty arena as I went.

Not the most glorious of exits, but we journalists are meant to exist in the shadows and work behind the scenes, doing our duty in near anonymity.

After all, it’s no coincidence that Superman chose journalism as his day job.

You never know — by night,  I myself could very well be… the guy with the fire ring from Captain Planet (there aren’t too many red-headed superheroes to choose from…).

The Southwest Conference is good.

People have known that all season.

But as the postseason has progressed, that fact has been proven over and over again.

Case in point, the top two teams on the girls’ side will be playing in this week’s state tournament.

Jackson County Central, which won the conference with an 11-1 record, advanced through the Section 3AA bracket and into Wednesday’s state tournament.

The Huskies, who are 26-2 overall, will play Minnehaha Academy — the defending state champion — at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Target Center in Minneapolis.

Both of JCC’s two losses were to state tournament teams. One was to Estherville Lincoln Central (Iowa), who finished second in the state in Class 2A.

The other was to conference rival Marshall. The Tigers, who are also heading to state — in Class AAA — were second in the SWC with a 10-2 conference mark.

MHS is facing Benilde-St. Margaret’s at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Williams Arena.

The Red Knights are the defending state champions in Class AAA and enter with a 24-5 record.

While there are two teams representing the SWC on the girls’ side, the boys’ will match that number.

In Section 2AAA, the Worthington Trojans will play the Marshall Tigers at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Mankato.

“The Southwest Conference is as tough as any conference in the state,” WHS head boys’ coach Ron Vorwald said. “Both AA and AAA are pretty similar. The Southwest Conference has as much parity as any conference in the state. There are a lot of good teams.”

In Section 3AA, SWC foes Redwood Valley and Windom will battle for a spot in state at 8 p.m. Thursday at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall — giving the conference four teams in section finals.

“We were actually talking about that (Saturday) night on the way home,” RV head coach Markus Okeson said. “It gives you an idea of how strong the Southwest Conference really is. These top four teams are, I believe, teams that can compete in a lot of conferences across the state. It just goes to show you what a tough conference and a tough schedule will get you in the postseason.”

Marshall won the conference with an 11-1 record, while the Trojans were second at 9-3.

Two of Worthington’s losses came at the hands of the Tigers, with the other one was a loss at Redwood Valley.

Windom was third in the conference with an 8-4 record, but had key wins over Marshall and Redwood Valley (twice).

The Cardinals, meanwhile, tied with JCC for fourth in the conference with a 6-6 record.

However, they enter Thursday’s game with a 20-7 overall record.

“If you would have told me we would have had 20 wins and playing in the section final, I would have said, ‘Wow,’” Okeson said. “We have some new kids coming in and we play a few sophomores. It’s kind of crazy.”

Combined, the teams are 34-14 in the conference and have an impressive 64-10 non-conference record.

JCC finished tied for fourth in the conference with a 6-6 mark. But the Huskies were 12-3 in non-conference games, proving how tough SWC teams truly are.

“The Southwest Conference is pretty well represented this year,” Vorwald said. “It’s a pretty tough conference.”

While each of the four remaining boys’ teams have more than 20 wins, each squad is looking for one more.

“We have some work to do,” Vorwald said. “When it comes to tourney time, anything can happen. I know we’ll be ready. Our guys will be ready.”

In both games, there has been a clean sweep by one of the teams.

Windom defeated Redwood Valley twice, while Marshall has gotten the better of Worthington in both meetings.

“I don’t think we played very well against Marshall the last time we played them up there,” Vorwald said. “I just watched that tape (Sunday) afternoon and we did a lot careless things. We can play much harder than we did. I know Thursday night, we’ll be a different basketball team than we were the last time we played Marshall.”

WORTHINGTON — Last weekend the state wrestling championships wrapped up in St. Paul.

I have to be honest — I know pretty much nothing about high school wrestling.

I have never seen any high school wrestling, and have only a very vague understanding of the rules and how a winner is decided.

Unsurprisingly, it has been my editor, Aaron Hagen, who has single-handedly covered the entire wrestling season for the Daily Globe this season.

However, I’m not completely unfamiliar with the sport of wrestling itself — just the Greco-Roman variety.

During my four years in Japan I become a fan of a different kind of wrestling.

Despite the massive popularity of baseball in Japan and the increasing popularity of soccer since the 2002 World Cup, Sumo wrestling is the traditional top-dog of Japanese sports.

There are six “basho,” or tournaments, per calendar year, with each basho lasting for 15 days.

Each tournament has different tiers of competition, but the main level of competition — the makuuchi division — airs on NHK (Japan’s main national TV station) from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on every day of competition.

On days when I didn’t have an after-school sports practice, I would go home and decompress by watching the Sumo.

At first, I had very little idea what was going on — as I’m sure will be the case when I finally make it to my first high-school meet around here.

However, I gradually caught on, and my family and I all turned into big-time Sumo fans (it was a lot easier than following the Yokohama Baystars, our home-town, perennially last-place baseball team).

The rules are surprisingly simple.

The dohyo (ring) is on a raised, clay surface in the middle of the indoor arena, with a Shinto-style roof suspending over it in mid-air. The dohyo is circular in shape and is marked out by bales of rice.

The two rikishi (wrestlers) start the match on different sides of the dohyo and go through their long, drawn-out pre-match routine of glaring at each other and purifying the ring with handfuls of salt (this lasts as long as four minutes). Some wrestlers are very famous for what they do during this time.

Then when both rikishi are finally ready to go, they both put their fists to the ground and engage.

The object is to either get your opponent to step out of the dohyo (which often happens quite dramatically, with rikishi being thrown into the crowd) or to get your opponent to touch the ground with any other body part besides the soles of their feet. This could be their hands, knees, head… whatever touches the ground first (the top-knot that each rikishi is required to have is actually designed to cushion their heads from a hard blow to the ground).

The rikishi all have the same goal in life — to become a yokozuna, the top-rank a wrestler can achieve. There are only one or two yokozuna at a time, and qualifying for the rank can often take an entire career.

Most of the time I was in Japan there was only one yokozuna — Asashoryu. He was one of the first of a wave of Mongolian wrestlers to break into the top Sumo ranks (Asashoryu is now retired, but the current top yokozuna, Hakuho, is also Mongolian).

My family would often just watch the Sumo on TV, but when the tournaments were held at the Ryogokukokugikan in Tokyo, we sometimes would take the train ride over to watch it in person.

My sister wasn’t the biggest fan in the family, but she grew enamored with a rikishi named Kotoushu, a Bulgarian wrestler and the most successful of a wave of European rikishi that have recently broken into the top ranks. Kotoushu currently holds the rank of ozeki — one step below yokozuna.

Since my family moved to the US I’ve fallen a little out of the loop with the current developments in Sumo — there is currently a match-fixing scandal playing out that is shaking the whole sport (it is affecting the Japanese sports media as much as the threat of an NFL lockout is taking hold of the US sports media), but I still remain a fan — I have a statuette of Asashoryu on my bookshelf back home, and my new Subaru is named Asashoryu in his honor.

If you’re ever in Tokyo, be sure to head to the Ryogokukokugikan to check it out!