If there ever was such a thing as a football offseason, it is melting away quickly. Downers Grove South's Chandler Whitmer, who has verbally committed to Illinois, was in California this week for the Elite 11 quarterback camp. ESPN.com has a nice Whitmer feature off the event.
Illinois: July 2009 Archives
As we reported again here, Naperville Central might be stuck with only one home game this season as it awaits the renovation of Memorial Stadium. These things eventually happen. The Bears played their 2002 home schedule in Champaign. And whoever buys the Cubs might need to find an alternate site at some point if the new ownership group decides to fix up Wrigley Field.
Central coach Mike Stine doesn't think it will be an issue. Of course, he's supposed to say that, but he's been pretty consistent. Whenever the topics of potential seeding or home playoff games come up in conversation, Stine always says it doesn't really matter. The primary benefit is having the team together from the final bell to opening kickoff.
"Home-field (advantage) in high school sports is a little bit overrated - maybe in all sports," Stine said. "It doesn't really bother me at all playing on the road. (Sometimes) it's actually better. You have the kids' attention from the time school gets out. They don't have time to go home. (Maybe) they're focused a little longer.
"We're not dreading that at all."
What do you think? Is home-field advantage overrated? Will this create problems for Central? In the meantime, look for more football coverage in the print editions later in the week.
In what's shaping up as a banner year for Chicago-area quarterbacks, Lake Forest's Tommy Rees has verbally committed to Notre Dame. Tuesday's announcement means that Rees will join Downers Grove South's Chandler Whitmer (Illinois) and Wheaton North's Taylor Graham (Ohio State) as BCS-caliber quarterbacks. Rees' father Bill is a former UCLA assistant and front-office staffer for several NFL organizations.
