Technical problems in New Zealand prevented Neuqua Valley senior Alexa Gaul from transmitting her first blog entry for The Heat Index. But that's the least of the concerns for Gaul, the goalie for the U-17 U.S. women's national team competing in the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

She has yet to return to the court following ACL surgery, but already Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton is garnering accolades.

Wisdom-Hylton, a Neuqua Valley graduate, found out this morning she was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team. The fifth-year senior sat out all last season after being named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year as a junior in 2006-07.

She was in town Sunday for a Big Ten Media Day event at the Marriott O'Hare. It was a business trip, though. She didn't have time to visit any friends or family. Wisdom-Hylton and teammae FahKara Malone flew up from Purdue in the morning on a charter flight with coach Sharon Versyp and Sara White, Purdue women's basketball sports information director. The group was back on the plane headed home to West Lafayette, Ind., in the early afternoon.

Along with three other female U.S. Olympic stars, Candace Parker will be saluted today at The Breeders' Cup in California.

Misty May-Treanor, a two-time gold medalist in volleyball, and two members of the silver medal-winning softball team, Jennie Finch and Crystal Bustos, will accompany the gold-medal winning Parker (who currently doubles as the WNBA Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player).

But that's not the real story, just the hook. I mean, it did happen, but Candace Parker's shoe hitting a fan in the head while an adoring crowd fumbled the catch isn't the point.

Read the full story about a young girl's desire to receive a pair of Parker's shoes for her 14th birthday.

We're a little slow on the draw here, but ESPN RISE released its national girls soccer player rankings last week. Included on the list are two area seniors: Alexa Gaul of Neuqua Valley and Bri Rodriguez of Waubonsie Valley.

Gaul, a goalkeeper recently named to the U.S. U-17 national team for the upcoming U-17 World Cup, ranks No. 14. That makes Gaul, a Texas recruit, the highest ranked goalie in the nation.

Rodriguez, a two-time Sun Player of the Year and three-time coaches All-State selection, ranks 28th.

A picture says 1,000 words, but we'll add a caption to this photo anyway:

U.S. Olympic team members La Shawn Merritt (gold medalist in the 400 meters and 1,600 relay team) and Sanya Richards (gold medalist in the 1,600 relay) pose with Chicago Marathon volunteers Janelle and Christopher Finch of Naperville at the marathon Oct. 12. Christopher is a student at Crone Middle School, his sister attends Patterson Elementary School.

More than 35,000 runners participated in the 26.2-mile race through the Windy City.

...much is expected."

Candace Parker has uttered that motto for quite some time, and now you can too. Only you won't have to if you buy the T-shirt, because it will do all the speaking for you.

Again:

"To whom much is given, much is expected."

There's no doubt that a lot of expectations have been placed on Parker's sturdy shoulders, but with the help of her family and close friends (and her own intellect), Parker has found ways to put things in perspective.

Because of her tremendous talent on the hardwood, Parker has received a lot in life. But along the way, she's never forgotten what's expected of her as a person.

The two-time NCAA Tournament champion, U.S. Olympic gold medalist and WNBA Most Valuable Player/Rookie of the Year is one of the good ones.

Having said that, not everybody can get away with wearing orange. You'll just have to memorize the mantra instead of wearing it.

Waubonsie Valley senior Bri Rodriguez continues to recover from an ACL tear in her left knee. It's still not known if she'll be ready to play when the girls soccer season begins this spring, but the two-time Sun Player of the Year is on her way back.

She sent an e-mail to the Sun earlier today with an update (with only minor grammatical editing on my part):

It's unlikely Neuqua's boys basketball team will be changing its nickname, but looking at the Wildcats' 2008-09 schedule they might consider a new moniker.

The Wildcats have only six home games scheduled this season, five of which involve Upstate Eight Conference foes. So that leaves one nonconference home date for Todd Sutton's crew.

Neuqua Valley senior Alexa Gaul was named to the U.S. roster today for the Under-17 women's World Cup, which begins Oct. 28 in New Zealand.

Gaul, a goalie who has opted to play with Eclipse Select during her high school years, is one of three Illinois players on the squad. Joining her are fellow goalie Taylor Vancil from South Elgin and defender Rachel Quon from Lake Forest.

Despite a couple of nicks in their records, Naperville Central and Neuqua Valley still loom large in the ESPN RISE national soccer rankings this week.

Central (12-2-1) is up four spots to No. 35, and Neuqua (12-3-1) is 47th after falling out of the poll. Central and Neuqua play each other at noon on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

The answer's not clear yet, is it?

Sure, by Monday, both the Cubs and the Sox may be out of the playoffs. October may have come and gone without a single postseason victory between either North or South Side ballclub. It's unacceptable.

But then again, football rules in this town. If the Bears pull another 2007 - in other words, they don't make a postseason appearance like their baseball counterparts - then perhaps all is most lost in that regard.

When the Los Angeles Sparks lost Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals a week ago today, Candace Parker missed a chance to accomplish basketball's Triple Crown.

The feat goes to the person who wins an NCAA Championship, U.S. Gold medal and WNBA Championship in successive seasons. Nobody has ever done it; Parker managed two of the three requirements.

So how does this compare to Major League Baseball's Triple Crown, attained by a hitter who at season's end leads the league in batting average, home runs and RBIs?

Given the infrequency of the Olympics, I contend that basketball's TC is much more difficult to manage than baseball's. What do you think?