-Northern Illinois freshman guard Mike DiNunno was named the Mid-American Conference West Division's co-player of the week. The 5-foot-11-inch Chicago native shared the honor with Ball State's Anthony Newell.

-Kane County Cougars single-game and group tickets are now on sale for the 2009 season. Tickets can be ordered online at www.kccougars.com, by phone at (630) 232-8811 or in-person at the team's box office during normal business hours. The organization is also running a toy drive in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corps. Gifts can be dropped off no later than Dec. 12 at the team's Elfstrom Stadium main office in Geneva.

Chicago Fire forward Brian McBride will join Easter Seals at the Sears Tower on Monday, Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. for the annual Christmas tree lighting and toy drive. The collection will benefit children served by the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Baseball Camp is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 30 at the Max McCook Athletic & Exposition Center. It is open to players ages 7-14. Irish assistant coach Scott Lawler, a Naperville Central graduate, will run the camp. For more information, click here or call 847-281-9790.

The IHSA expanded the state tournament to four classes last season. That addition received mixed reviews. The NCAA has moved the 3-point line from 19 feet, 9 inches to 20 feet, 9 inches, but the IHSA hasn't followed that precedent. The only significant rule change this season involves the free-throw lane. To minimize rough play, the bottom block will be unoccupied and players will move up one space. This is a small detail you may not even notice - until it swings an important game late in the fourth quarter.

"It kind of gives the advantage back to the defensive team," said first-year Benet coach Gene Heidkamp. "If you watch any level - if you watch college games, if you watch high school games - you'll see missed free throw block-outs at crunch time when teams are trying to foul or if there's (a) big possession. Somebody misses a free throw and they come up with an offensive rebound. (Those) are absolute backbreakers."

Benet is seeking a lower level boys volleyball coach for the spring 2009 season. Interested candidates should contact athletic director Gary Goforth at 630-719-2825.

Neuqua Valley forward Derek Raridon, a 6-foot-5-inch senior, has committed to play for his father Todd next season at North Central College. Raridon averaged 12 points and five rebounds last season for a Neuqua team that won its first sectional title in school history.

The Cardinals (1-1) finished 10-15 last season. A preseason poll of the league's head coaches picked them to finish sixth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in 2008-09.

When Trevor Stellman hit Cordario Collier for a 17-yard pass in the second quarter, it meant Thomas More College had successfully converted on third down for the fourth time in its first seven attempts.

The Saints were trailing, but only by three points. And they appeared ready to put up a good fight against North Central College, the nation's second-ranked team, in an NCAA D-III first-round playoff game Saturday at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

But Stellman was intercepted on the next play by Derek Sulo and the Cardinals never looked back in their 44-23 win.

"We finally did get (their momentum) stopped eventually, but not before they got like four or five straight third down (conversions)," said NCC linebacker Matt Wenger, who made 12 tackles and had an interception. "It's really frustrating when you have a team third-and-10 and you give up 11 yards and you're still on the field. But we got it figured out."

Wisconsin-Milwaukee forward Ryan Haggerty is expected to redshirt his freshman season. The 6-foot-8-inch Benet graduate - who appeared on the recruiting radar late in his career - mentioned that as a possibility when he committed to the Panthers last winter.

Kevin O'Connor, the school's sports information director, indicated that a more formal announcement should be coming soon. The Panthers (3-1) take on Marquette on Saturday at the Bradley Center. The Horizon League's preseason poll picked them to finish sixth in conference.

"Ryan is a very versatile player who can play both inside and out. He is a good shooter, is skilled with the ball and really played well during the past year. He has shown a willingness to work on improving his game and his development really indicates his best basketball is ahead of him," Panthers coach Rob Jeter said on the team's Web site. "He is also an excellent student and comes from a disciplined, well-regarded high school program - both athletically and academically. We are thrilled to have him."

When North Central College faces Thomas More College on Saturday afternoon, the teams may see some of themselves in each other.

Both teams point to strong running offenses and strong running defenses. Whichever team does both of those things better will likely come out the victors in their NCAA Division III first-round playoff game at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

"Good football teams are able to run the football, and good teams are able to stop the run," Saints coach Jim Hilvert said. "Especially when it comes to the games in November and December, you've got to do both."

It's hard enough trying to tell Morgan Williams apart from her twin sister, Brittany. The daughters of Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams also add to the confusion by wearing jersey numbers ending in 3.

Morgan, who wears No. 23, and Brittany, No. 33, made their debut for the Wildcats in Tuesday's 68-42 over host Naperville North. The sisters transfered from Plainfield South for their senior years after the family moved to Naperville.

"I'm having fun -- I've played for him my whole life," Brittany said. "It's my senior year, so I'm just enjoying it."

Morgan finished with a game-high 15 points, including three 3-pointers, while Brittany added eight points and connected on two 3s.

According to athletic director Marty Bee, the following Naperville Central student-athletes are expected to sign letters of intent Wednesday morning:

Drew Crawford (men's basketball): Northwestern University
Meghan Brey (women's volleyball): Oakland University
Mary Carroll (women's volleyball): Lewis University
Jill Fields (women's volleyball): South Dakota State University
Kelley Hendrick (women's basketball): University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Erin Lamb (women's swimming): University of Illinois
Emily McGee (women's volleyball): University of North Carolina
Chelsea Thurlby (women's volleyball): DePaul University

Notre Dame senior Brittany Bock, a 2005 Neuqua Valley graduate, was excited Monday night after learning the Fighting Irish earned a No. 1 seed for the upcoming NCAA women's soccer tournament, which begins Friday.

Bock also reported she was ready to rejoin the Irish on the field after she sat out the Big East championship game Sunday afternoon. Notre Dame beat Connecticut 1-0 in overtime with Bock and leading scorer Kerri Hanks on the sidelines. Fellow Neuqua graduate Michele Weissenhofer earned the assist on the winning goal.

"It was precautionary," Bock said of sitting out, though she did not disclose the exact injury. "With the NCAAs starting we didn't want to push anything. I should be fine. Obviously we wanted to win the Big East, but it wasn't like the NCAAs where if you don't win, you're done.”

A foot injury continues to keep Neuqua Valley senior Alexa Gaul from her goalie position with the U.S. U-17 Women's National Team at the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand.

But the U.S. soccer team is winning without her, thanks to South Elgin's Taylor Vancil, who has started in place of Gaul. The U.S. defeated Korea Republic 4-2 in the quarterfinals over the weekend.

Next up for the U.S. is Germany in the semifinals early Thursday morning. Game time is midnight here, but 7 p.m. in New Zealand. You can follow the team's progress here.

The baseball season calendar, which can be found here in a five-season block, is again under review. The IHSA has received 14 by-law amendment proposals, one of which would essentially move back the first day teams can play games by two weeks.

According to the IHSA's Web site, the final vote on the proposals by member schools will take place between Nov. 25-Dec. 24.

For the 2009 season, games can be scheduled for March 16 while the season is expected to end on June 13. Last season, within this column, we made our feelings known about overreacting to Chicago weather patterns in the age of global warming.

We will of course explore this issue further in the print edition - particularly how the amendments would impact the summer state tournament. But in the meantime we want to know your thoughts. What do you make of these proposed changes? When should the baseball season start and end?