Results from local events scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31:

Last night, Hampshire completed its season sweep over BNC East rival Burlington Central 45-32. Watch the highlights here.

Here is a look at the Burlington Central-Hampshire rivalry since 2001.

Last weekend it was the "Night of Legends" at St. Charles North. This weekend it's the Lifetime Achievement ceremony at St. Charles East.

The Saints will introduce the school's four 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients in a ceremony prior to Saturday's non-conference game against neighboring Geneva.

This year's honorees are...
Matt Bartlett, Class of 1988, 1987 state wrestling champion
Tim Carlson, Class of 1992, 1991 individual state golf champion
Casey Dodson, Class of 1996, All-Upstate Eight and IBCA All-Star boys basketball
Billy Ryan, Class of 1970, All-Upstate Eight basketball and football

There will be a reception for the honorees at 4 p.m. at St. Charles East's Little Theatre. That will be followed by a dinner and award presentation at 4:20 p.m.. The Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled to begin around 5:45 p.m. in the main gym at the conclusion of the boys sophomore game.

As for Saturday's varsity game, the Saints will be trying to beat the Vikings for the third straight year.

Results from local events scheduled for Friday, Jan. 30:

Here is a look at the boys basketball prospectus for the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4.
09_BBPAGE_3A.pdf
09_BBPAGE_3B.pdf

Results from local events scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 29:

Results from area events scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 28:

Results from events scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 27:

St. Charles North knocked off rival St. Charles East for third time in four meetings Saturday with a 53-42 victory at North.

It was a festive night as the two teams honored longtime St. Charles High coach Ron Johnson and two of his assistants, Jim Parker and Chuck Rachow. In a show of unity, the Saints and North Stars wore the same warm-up uniforms with the names of the three coaches inscribed on the back. The coaching staff for both schools also wore matching pullovers with the initials of the three coaches on the sleeve.

Here's a look at the all-times boys basketball series between crosstown rivals St. Charles East and St. Charles North.

Results from area events scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 24:

Someone asked me why I never write about the Bulls. This should sum it up:

Last night, East Aurora took sole possession of first in the Upstate Eight with a 75-63 win over South Elgin. Watch the highlights here.

Area events scheduled for Friday, Jan. 23:

Here's a look at the boys basketball prospectus for the week of Jan. 22-29
09_BBPAGE_2[1].pdf

Area events scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 22:

A press release recently came across my desk announcing that the St. Charles North and St. Charles East boys basketball teams will honor three longtime basketball coaches at their Jan. 24 game at St. Charles North.

Area events for Wednesday, Jan. 21:

Results from area events scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 21:

Area events scheduled for Monday, Jan. 19.

Last night, the Whip-Purs ended the Rockets' 18-game home win streak with a 58-42 BNC East victory. Watch the highlights here.

Get your DVR (or VCR for all you 20th century folks) ready! Grab your vegemite! Tennis' Grand Slam season kicks off on Monday with the Australian Open.

Area events scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 17

SCENE: WHITE SOX HEADQUARTERS AT U.S. CELLULAR FIELD

Ozzie Guillen: Well, Kenny, you @#*$(*^ $(@_$, that was a *#$&%^ good run to the $&#^@^$^ postseason. But I $*#&@^# tell you, man, our $&#^ pitching for next year doesn't scare the $&#^@%$ $#&@ out of Tinkerbell. You $^#%@$& got to get me some $&#^@^! pitching. I'm not $&#^@%# starting any Jeff #*$*$&#^@ Marquez in my #*# @&#$ rotation! Those $&#^@%% Twins will $&#^@%@# kick our $&#^@%$ $&#^%@!.

Kenny Williams: Don't worry, Ozzie. I'm on it.

Here is a look at the boys basketball prospectus for the week of Jan. 15-21.
09_BBPAGE_1[1].pdf

Events from around the area for Saturday, January 10, 2009:

Events from around the area for Friday, January 9, 2009:

The next Jacobs Holiday Tournament is almost a year away, but it already looks like the host Golden Eagles will have a hard time extending their streak of three straight tourney championships.

Last night, St. Charles North came away with an Upstate Eight Conference road win, as it knocked off Elgin 55-44. Watch the highlights here.

Here is a look at the all-time boys basketball series between Elgin and St. Charles North.

Events from around the area for Thursday, January 8, 2009:

Events from around the area for January 7, 2009:

A look at events from around the area from January 6, 2009:

To look back at scores from around the area during the month of January, click on the date.

At the halfway point, St. Charles North (9-4) remains at the top of The Courier News area girls basketball rankings after a respectable 2-2 showing at the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic. St. Charles East (9-4) moves into the Top 5, bumping out South Elgin, after beating the Storm 58-40 in head-to-head play on Saturday.

Inside: View the entire Top 5 with team comments ...

Yea, the Colts couldn't get it done against the Chargers, even if it was on the road. But why should an 8-8 team like San Diego get to host a playoff game?

I don't care if the Chargers are division winners. That's just lame.

And hey, the Falcons were upset by the Cardinals. Some guys were talking around the office about the Bears' gut-wrenching loss to Atlanta earlier this year (one of the games they blew at the end). I told them to look at it this way: The Falcons saved the Bears from the embarrassment of losing to the Cards themselves.

At least these Saturday games were pretty competitive. That made them more worthwhile than just about the entire college bowl season.

Happy New Year to all our Courier Sports and All-Around E-Town blog readers. We had quite a year in 2008 on the local sports scene with a number of area teams enjoying great success. I'd expect nothing less in 2009.

Changes both big and small are in store for both the newspaper and the blog in 2009, but it should be exciting as we strive to meet the challenge of providing the best local sports coverage possible. As with so many things, trying to meet that goal is a constant work in progress and will always keep us on our toes.

But enough about the future. Here's a look at some of my favorite stories from 2008...