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Gary Goforth.jpg

Reporter Jim Owczarski talked to Benet Academy athletic director Gary Goforth, who retired as head football coach after the 2009 season. Goforth coached new Chicago Bears quarterback Dan LeFevour during his time at Benet.

Upon being drafted by the Bears in the sixth round Saturday, LeFevour joins Steve Baumgartner (Benet class of 1969) as the second Redwing with a chance to play in the NFL. The program's football history dates back to 1949 as St. Procopius (the school became Benet Academy in 1967) and it is believed that heading into this draft Baumgartner is the school's only alumnus to play in the NFL.

Baumgartner was drafted out of Purdue 51st overall by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 1973 draft. He would eventually be traded to the Houston Oilers midway through the 1977 season. He retired after the 1979 season at the age of 28. Baumgartner started 27 of his 95 career games.

He was drafted ahead of such notables as Hall of Famer Dan Fouts, 1977 Super Bowl MVP & Defense Player of the Year Harvey Martin and former Chicago Bears head coach Dick Jauron.

LeFevour would be the first Benet player who played under Gary Goforth to be drafted into the NFL.

Q: Are you surprised he'll be drafted into the NFL?
A: The college success made it a little less surprising, what he was able to do in his four years of actual playing time. You look at physical attributes in terms of size and weight, good speed for a quarterback. You never know about arm strength, you never know about how they understand the game. You know, (Dan) Marino - I look back at all the guys who were fifth-round draft choices and Dan Marino was one of them. You never know where people are going to go and what people look for and sometimes it's better to be drafted in the later rounds because the pressure is not on to succeed immediately. The only difference is you've got the huge contract in the first couple rounds. But you've still got to earn it; you've still got to play when you get there. I knew he could be good at the college level. How good? You never know.

Benet alumni Dan LeFevour made an appearance on ESPN's Sports Nation morning show and presented a compelling case for "LeFevour Fever" over "Bieber Fever."

Jim Owczarski, Sun-Times Media

While the trade of Donovan McNabb is not surprising - the Eagles have been shopping the veteran QB for a long, long time now - SI's Peter King says the Iggles could now be in the market for the former Benet signal caller.

From King's Monday Morning Quarterback:

• Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy ... and maybe Dan LeFevour and John Skelton. I said a couple of weeks ago that the Eagles had sent offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and quarterback coach James Urban to Fordham to scout mid-round prospect Skelton at his Pro Day. I have heard the Eagles will now focus on Tebow and are likely to join the parade of teams working him out and spending time with him. With seven picks in the first four rounds, Philadelphia has the ammo to go get the developmental quarterback Reid always likes to have on his roster. So don't think they won't be in play for one of these players. Read more.

- Jim Owczarski, Sun-Times Media

Now that Benet Academy alumnus Dan LeFevour's pro day is in the books, the former Central Michigan University QB is now beginning to line up private workouts with NFL teams in advance of late April's draft.

We all know by now that LeFevour had dinner with Kansas City Chiefs OC Charlie Weis prior to his pro day, and this blog says he had a private workout scheduled with the Carolina Panthers.

But now it seems like a couple of teams in the AFC North are interested - the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Oakland could also be a landing spot, according to ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr.

- Jim Owczarski, Sun-Times Media

Dan LeFevour Combine Watson.jpg
Benet Academy and Central Michigan University alumnus Dan LeFevour held his pro day in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., on Wednesday and came away feeling pretty good about his effort in front of nearly two dozen NFL scouts - including Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.

The three-time Super Bowl champion OC also had dinner with LeFevour the night before.

Some observers at the pro day said LeFevour still needs room for improvement in his transition from a shotgun-only QB to one that comes out from under center, as well as on his deep throws.

In this blog, LeFevour expressed hope that he would be picked in the first two rounds, but said he just wants an opportunity to play in the NFL - even if it means being picked late.

The Naperville Sun had a photographer out there to get pictures for an upcoming draft weekend feature on the Benet grad, and this was Craig Watson's observation about Weis.

Wow what a cool assignment. It was pretty funny, the old Notre Dame and current coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Charlie Weis told me to stop taking pictures of him. He's not the most pleasant person I've ever met.

Brittany Bock.jpgBrittany 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.

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

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.

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.

North HOF

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Naperville North recently announced its 2010 Hall of Fame class. Dave Bucher, Jim Konrad, Chad Ganden, Mike Kuefler, Scott Kavanagh and Jackie Diekamper will be honored in February. For quick biographies of the inductees, click here.

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Sun staff writers take the temperature of sports in Naperville, Chicago and beyond.