The Heat Index

Jason Ivanitz's observations from this weekend's events:

No. 1: Basketball is more than a game to some

Apparently I picked a bad seat for the Bolingbrook-Vincent (Milwaukee,
Wis.) girls basketball game. From practically the opening tip-off, shouts, complaints and even harassing remarks were made from the Vincent parents who were primarily situated behind the scorer's table in their team's 49-48 loss on Sunday. On three separate occasions, I was stepped on or over during the game by an out of control parent yelling at the referees. Everything boiled over with less than a minute to go where words were exchanged between coaches and people started moving to the floor. I was physically pushed aside by a screaming parent during the event as I was trying to listen to what was being said.

No. 2: Joliet Township needs a new mascot

The name Steelmen (or Steelwomen) is unique and fits in with the history of the city. The mascot however could use some work. Joliet's "Steelman" looks like the Michelin Man, only gray and more of a walking block than a puffy one. When a parent a toddler approached the mascot, the little girl cried in horror and wanted to be taken away. If your mascot is making little kids cry, it is probably time to go back to the drawing board.

Brittany Bock's out of a job, for now anyway.

Earlier today, Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) announced the folding of the Los Angeles Sol. A new ownership group never materialized, and 19 players will need to find new homes.

Instead of throwing them into the unemployment line, WPS will host a dispersal draft on Thursday. The Chicago Red Stars have the No. 4 overall pick and could be interested in someone like Bock, a Neuqua Valley High School graduate who plied her trade in college at Notre Dame.

If Bock goes to Chicago, it would be the latest in a string of Illinois natives to come home and play for their local team.

In addition to signing Julianne Sitch (Oswego High School/DePaul) during the offseason, the Red Stars drafted Michele Weissenhofer (Neuqua/Notre Dame) and Jackie Santacaterina (Geneva/Illinois) earlier this month.

The Neuqua Valley boys basketball team won its second straight Martin Luther King Classic on Monday night.

The Wildcats won all four of their games, including a 63-52 final against host Rockton-Hononegah. Earlier in the day, they defeated Zion-Benton 88-75, this after sweeping Saturday's slate: 81-48 over Sterling and 74-44 over Normal Community.

Neuqua has participated in the Classic since 2005-06, compiling a 17-3 record.

Eddie Burns, For Sun-Times Media

Elite players in the 1990 and 1992 age groups will compete in the 2009 US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP) Girls Winter Interregional on Dec. 27-30 at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland, Miss.

Waubonsie Valley's Vanessa DiBernardo of America's Soccer Club will play for 1992's Region II team along with Neuqua Valley's Megan Oyster of Windy City Pride. Emily Oliver of Flossmoor and Katie Nasenbenny of La Grange also represent Windy City Pride -- and along with FC United's Amber Fry of Northfield -- they represent the five players from Illinois on the four-region roster.

Kelsey Mulcahy, a Neuqua Valley graduate and freshman defender for the University of Missouri, will play for the 1990's Region II squad. She will be joined by two other Illinois representatives -- the Eclipse's Nicole Lipp of Lake Forest and KUFC's Lizzy Niles of Elgin.

They will train and compete in front of national and leading collegiate coaches to maximize their exposure. US Youth Soccer is divided into four regions: Region I (East), Region II (Midwest), Region III (South) and Region IV (West) to assist in national competitions.

US Youth Soccer ODP is known as the premier identification and development program for the nation's youth seeking the opportunity to compete at the national, professional and collegiate levels of play.

Designed to identify and develop a pool of players from which U.S. national teams may be selected, US Youth Soccer ODP is the original ODP program. And it's the only elite player development program that can claim members of Major League Soccer and the former Women's United Soccer Association, as well as a majority of current and past national and youth team members, as alumni.

--Brad Engel

Naperville Central's winners of Red/White Awards from this fall are:

-Mitch Gilbert (cross country)
-Nick Linne (football)
-Alex Muller (golf)
-Chris Bedell (soccer)
-Rachel Irion (cross country)
-Alyssa Staib (golf)
-Rachel Weeks (swimming and diving)
-Michelle Fern (tennis)
-Courtney Abrahamovich and Julia Pratapas (volleyball)

After dropping eight 3-pointers and 35 points on North Carolina A&T over the weekend, Northwestern freshman Drew Crawford (Naperville Central) was recognized as the Big Ten player of the week on Monday.

This is a nice, round number in the television industry: NCTV17's "Naperville Sports Weekly" will broadcast its 100th episode on Dec. 13.

The show runs regularly on Sundays at 6:30 p.m. and can be watched on Channel 17 in Naperville or online at the station's Web site. The program -- a mixture of prep highlights, interviews and commentary -- began airing in the fall of 2007.

In returning home, Candace Parker, the WNBA star out of Naperville Central, will host a basketball clinic on Dec. 13 at the Bulls/Sox Academy in Lisle. It is open to girls ages 8-18. For more information, click here or call 630-324-8238.

Stanford's Chris Derrick and Washington's Kendra Schaaf were named the Pac-10 Cross Country Athletes of the Year on Wednesday, the latest in a string of honors for the sophomore out of Neuqua Valley.

Derrick won an individual conference title after posting a championships meet record time of 22:35. That helped Stanford capture its 10th Pac-10 title in 14 years.

Another first-place performance from Derrick helped the Cardinal earn top-team honors at the NCAA West Regional. And a third-place finish at the NCAA championships made Derrick an all-American.

The Bulls/Sox Academy will open a new baseball and softball facility in Glen Ellyn, the organization announced Wednesday. It is scheduled to open by early January in the Ackerman Sports and Fitness Center at 800 St. Charles Road.

According to the news release, this marks the fifth training facility operated under the authority of the White Sox. More than 50,000 players have received instruction through its programs.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Nov. 23
Orange Pool at Oswego
Geneva vs. West Chicago, 5:30 p.m.
Waubonsie Valley vs. Oswego, 7 p.m.
Blue Pool at Naperville North
DeKalb vs. Oswego East, 5:30 p.m.
Marmion vs. Naperville North, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 24
Orange Pool at Oswego
Geneva vs. Waubonsie Valley, 5:30 p.m.
West Chicago vs. Oswego, 7 p.m.
Blue Pool at Naperville North
Marmion vs. Oswego East, 5:30 p.m.
DeKalb vs. Naperville North, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 25 at Oswego
West Chicago vs. Waubonsie Valley, 12 p.m.
Geneva vs. Oswego, 1:30 p.m.
Marmion vs. DeKalb, 3 p.m.
Oswego East vs. Naperville North, 4:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 27 at Oswego
No. 4 Orange vs. No. 4 Blue, 12 p.m.
No. 3 Orange vs. No. 3 Blue, 1:30 p.m.
No. 2 Orange vs. No. 2 Blue, 3 p.m.
No. 1 Orange vs. No. 1 Blue, 5 p.m.