I was off Thursday & there wasn't anything worth talking about on Wednesday. Deal with it.

But what we're all dealing with here in Chicago is the passing of two Bulls legends in Norm Van Lier and Johnny "Red" Kerr.

Normally sports talk radio sucks when athletes die (or retire; see Favre, Brett) but in this case, I feel the Chicago radio scene really knocked it out of the park in the coverage of this unfortunate news.

First, on Stormin' Norman.

This man got me through the 98/99 to 03/04 Bulls years by putting his foot in the @$% of every Bulls coach and terrible player during that stretch following the dynasty. They were nearly unwatchable, but Storm was must-listen to radio in the pre and post-game analysis. He was our voice. My voice.
I didn't get to know Van Lier the player - I knew him only as the guy on the TV or radio, but his love for the team, and the game of basketball, was greatly appreciated. I'll miss him.

As for Big -
if the Storm was coming before and after the games, Red helped me through it. To me, he was the voice of the Bulls. No, he wasn't the play-by-play man, but he's the one who brought the team into my home, and he was the one who would imagine narrating our backyard pickup games.
He's been missed since taking his leave from the sidelines, and he'll be missed now forever.

Hinckley-Big Rock is making its first ever trip to the IHSA final four in girls basketball this weekend, and athletic director Bill Sambrookes hopes that their run inspires the area youth to pick up the game at the lower levels.

The Royals' roster consists of just two seniors, five juniors, two sophomores and two freshman.

"I think with anything, a team that accomplishes this level, it can only help inspire the younger kids," Sambrookes said. "If that inspires them to grow and be part of the program as they get older, it's just going to make the program stronger and stronger. Strong teams get stronger when they have successes. You look at the strong teams year in and year out, it's not just because they've got good kids one year. It's a feeder-type thing."

"Maybe it'll have that affect on the younger kids. We didn't have a lot of kids out this year at the freshman level. I don't know how much involvement there is in junior high but I have a feeling that there aren't that many eighth graders, but there are still a lot of younger kids in these stands that are watching these girls."

Well, H-BR did it.

No word on whether or not they met up in the parking lot of the school before the year started, slapping hands and simply saying "state", but even if they didn't, they made it to state by defeating Dakota 53-44 tonight in the Elgin Community College Super-Sectional.

The Indians gave the Royals a surprisingly good test - I figured HBR was going to have about as much trouble as Eddy Curry cage-fighting a cheese kurd, but Dakota gave them all they could handle. These last two playoff games have given the Royals a real test for what the Final Four are going to be like on Friday at Illinois State.

and - continue reading for the best quasi-sports related Oscar moment of 2009....

I don't think this qualifies me as an NFL draft geek, but I did spend more than an hour this morning watching NFL Network coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Why? Wanted to see my guy, Aurora's Larry English of Northern Illinois, of course. And, Alex Magee of Purdue (and Oswego).

For what it's worth, I saw Magee, a defensive tackle/defensive end who is 6-foot-3, 298 pounds, run a 5.05-second 40-yard dash and saw that he did 30 reps (of 225 pounds) in the bench press drill.

English, according to the analysts, is one of the "conversion guys" who played as a down, rush defensive end in college who is being considered as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 pro alignment. They compared the guys in this group to former Michigan and current Pittsburgh Steeler standout Lamar Woodley, who always had a hand on the ground at DE in college but has made the conversion to OLB.

The main difference? The rush lineman is always going forward. The linebacker, of course, can rush the quarterback but often is dropping back and/or turning to cover tight ends/receivers/backs in pass coverage.

What else I learned? To make that conversion, Larry is gonna have to have good hips. Wonder if he can dance?

Oh yeah, English is listed at 6-foot-2 and 274 pounds. That means he has put on 19 pounds and lost an inch since preseason camp last fall at NIU, when he was listed at 6-3, 255 in the media guide for his senior year. And that, of course, means someone on staff at Northern has failed to master ruler reading 101.

Did see English run a 4.77-second 40 and do 24 reps in the bench press.

And, I heard NFL Network's draft guru Mike Mayock gush: "I pulled out the tape and saw him dominate against Minnesota. He's a great edge rusher."

And cutting in in the background (it was either Charles Davis or host Rich Eisen) said, "Check the Tennessee tape, too."

So, do I have a better handle on where our local guys will go in the draft?

Not a clue, but I am beginning to learn the language.

Kudos of the day to a couple of the good guys from the area coaching ranks:

Greg Burks and Bill Sambrookes, head coaches of the girls and boys basketball teams, respectively, at Hinckley-Big Rock, went back-to-back Thursday and Friday when their teams won titles.

Burks' girls squeaked past arch-rival Newark Thursday to claim the Serena Class 1A Sectional title. Sambrookes' boys edged Indian Creek 68-61 on Friday to claim the Little Ten Conference's regular-season title.

This was Burks' first season at the helm after several years of assisting legendary Larry Peppers, who started the program but was unceremoniously bounced last spring after 30-plus years. It wouldn't have been easy under any circumstances, but was made even tougher by the way Burks' good friend was let go.

Sambrookes and Co. get to try it again next week on their home court when they host a 1A Regional that will feature five Little Ten teams in the eight-team field.

And Burks' girls have one more hurdle to clear in Dakota. A win at the Elgin Community College Supersectional on Monday sends them to state. Greg, you and your girls certainly look the part.

According to SI.com, Aurora's own Larry English is the 4th best LB in the entire 2009 NFL Draft class.

That's right - 4th.

That's ahead of James Laurinaitis & Marcus Freeman of Ohio State and Clay Matthews of USC.

Good for Larry. Dude worked hard his final year at Marmion to get himself to NIU, and then busted his butt to make a name for himself on some mediocre (at best) Huskies teams. He played hurt, and always was a great face for the program. The Huskies should be proud...so should Aurora.

What is interesting is that he'll be the first Aurora-born player to be drafted since 1993.
Now, I know Aurora isn't exactly a hotbed of prep football - but 16 years? Really?
C'mon.
Granted, I've only been here for two football seasons, but it seemed like every year I worked in Naperville there were 1-2 guys getting drafted (or at least free agent looks).

And it's not like A-Town is exactly churning out top-tier hoops talent either. It seems like a city this big should accidentally fall into some pro's here or there...but that's not the case...

Don't know him well, but I've been impressed with DeKalb's young boys basketball coach Dave Rohlman in our brief encounters as I've covered Western Sun Conference boys basketball the past couple years. That's why the story about him having senior point guard Darius McNeal intentionally miss a pair of free throws in a recent game in Milwaukee didn't surprise me. The extenuating circumstances made it the right, and classy, thing to do.

It's nice to see a good story get some national attention.

It must run in the family. A couple decades ago (now that's scary) I covered the Barbs for the DeKalb Daily Chronicle when they were coached by Dave's uncle, Art Rohlman, who will retire this year as athletic director at Elgin High School.

Art was a class act, too, although a bit more exciteable on the bench. I'd bet he had more technical fouls credited to him in his coaching career than his nephew ever will.

are you nervous?

The Vikings - the undefeated top seed in the Addison Trail Sectional - faces No. 9 Proviso West Friday night in the West Chicago Regional final....

not only have the Vikings failed to win a regional crown the last two years, but if you look around the rest of the Sectional, almost all of the top seeds have taken a dive.

Only No. 3 Lake Park has done the job, but only after beating No. 11 Glenbard East, who just happened to upset No. 6 Glenbard West to get to a regional final.

Out at the York Regional, No. 18 York beat No. 2 Hoffman Estates and they square up with No. 7 Bartlett Friday night.

Out in Elk Grove Village No. 12 Elk Grove V. upset No. 5 Wheaton North and then No. 4 Fremd to get to the Sectional.

So far, it seems like the odds are either A) not in favor of Geneva as the underdogs have been pulling big upsets or B) are in favor for the Vikings to make it to state because all the "good" teams in the sectional have bowed out already...

we'll see

are you nervous?

The Vikings - the undefeated top seed in the Addison Trail Sectional - faces No. 9 Proviso West Friday night in the West Chicago Regional final....

not only have the Vikings failed to win a regional crown the last two years, but if you look around the rest of the Sectional, almost all of the top seeds have taken a dive.

Only No. 3 Lake Park has done the job, but only after beating No. 11 Glenbard East, who just happened to upset No. 6 Glenbard West to get to a regional final.

Out at the York Regional, No. 18 York beat No. 2 Hoffman Estates and they square up with No. 7 Bartlett Friday night.

Out in Elk Grove Village No. 12 Elk Grove V. upset No. 5 Wheaton North and then No. 4 Fremd to get to the Sectional.

So far, it seems like the odds are either A) not in favor of Geneva as the underdogs have been pulling big upsets or B) are in favor for the Vikings to make it to state because all the "good" teams in the sectional have bowed out already...

we'll see

Aurora native Jay Miller has been selected as the head coach of the USA Softball women's National Team.

Miller, 52, is in his seventh season as Mississippi State University women's softball coach. Now in his 27th season as a collegiate head coach, Miller has a 932-581 record.

He will serve during the next four years as USA Softball tries to get the sport back on the Summer Olympic Program. Softball won't be an Olympic sport in the 2012 event but could be reinstated in a vote this October, making it part of the 2016 Olympics.

Miller will coach the team this summer in the Canada Cup, the World Cup in Oklahoma City, the Japan cup and Pan Am qualifier in Mexico.

He was on the coaching staff that selected the American team that won the gold medal in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. In 2007 he led the USA Junior National Team to the gold medal at the Junior World Championships in the Netherlands.

those wild and crazy guys!

Indian Creek and Hinckley Big Rock made news, kind of, on Tuesday when it was reported that the Kirkland Hiawatha boys hoops season was canceled following their game against HBR.

Why? Because after Kirkland's game against Indian Creek, it was discovered that someone urinated all over the Indian Creek locker room...

"They said there was too much urine to be one person," said Hiawatha basketball team parent Janet Webster., whose son is a senior on the varsity team. "They apparently, in the investigation, decided there was more than one person. I don't know how you can determine what it was after it had dried."

You stay classy San Diego!

Then, out in Elmhurst, it's been reported that 43 members of various winter and spring sports team at York High all got ripped on New Years Eve. Well, the athletic department found out about it, leading to mass suspensions.

"All of the winter-sports athletes involved in the incident were first-time offenders and have served out their suspensions," athletic director Rob Wagner said. "The rest will come in the spring."

Good Times! Literally!

Northern Illinois University defensive end Larry English has signed with Atlanta-based Todd France as his agent.

English and his family interviewed a number of prospective agents before reaching agreement with France, who has the player settled into an apartment in the Atlanta area while he trains for the upcoming NFL combine with Chuck Smith, a former all-pro defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons.

"It was definitely a hard decision," said English. "Basically, you put your trust in people you don't know and you have to build a comfort level in a short amount of time."

France got his start with the CSM Agency, learning the business from veteran agent Lonnie Cooper, but left in 2003 and took the agency's football division with him, including Takeo Spikes and Priest Holmes. Last summer, Brian Westbrook of the Eagles fired his agent and hired France, who is not know for controversial signings or having players hold out.

He didn't have his first first-round draft choice until 2005, when he had three in Auburn running back Ronnie Brown (No. 2, Dolphins), Auburn cornerback Carlos Rogers (9, Washington) and Georgia safety Thomas Davis (14, Carolina).

For more on France, go to:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft05/news/story?id=2047354

I'm sure El Tigre loved to hear that the United Arab Emirates have refused to allow a Jewish tennis player a visa to play in the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Why does this matter to Tiger?

Because many hundreds of millions of dollars have ended up in Tiger's pockets from the UAE - both in appearance fees and as the home for his first golf course design.

This is what happens when you become a global icon. People have hammered Michael Jordan and LeBron James about NIKE sweatshops and now people will look for Tiger to comment on UAE's stance on this.

Part of Tiger's mass appeal is the fact that he is of mixed ethnicity - so many can relate to him. He's the one who's first NIKE commercial said he wouldn't be allowed in certain clubs because he wasn't white. So now this will land at his feet as soon as they step foot on his first PGA event of 2009.

Here's hoping he doesn't clam up.

It didn't pay to be late, or early for that matter.

"The gym is at capacity. Fans will be admitted as room becomes available."

That's the sign that greeted fans arriving up to 90 minutes before the tip-off of Friday's varsity game when Aurora Central played at Marmion Academy. The gym was packed before the sophomore game, an eventual 40-point Cadet blowout, had reached halftime.

Fans were being allowed in only as another departed, which wasn't happening often. Some, spent more than an hour standing in the bone-chilling cold waiting to get in and I'm not sure they all made it in.

That won't likely be the case when the teams have their only scheduled regular season meeting next season under the new Suburban Christian Conference schedule. It, too, is slated to be played at Marmion, but we've learned it's very likely the game will be played at a different venue.

They haven't dotted all the I's and crossed all the T's yet, but ACC at Marmion Academy will very likely be part of the tripleheader for the 13th Annual High School Hoops Showdown at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Plenty of good seats will be available, guaranteed.

The event, which has included Batavia twice in the past three years and West Aurora once, is one of two events staged each year by The Integrity Group founded by R.M. Rylko and broadcaster David Kaplan. They also stage the two-game City-Suburban Showdown each year at Northwestern.

Organizers will be hoping an ACC-Marmion Academy rivalry matchup will be a good draw. This year's lineup included a rivalry matchup between Barrington and Hoffman Estates Conant that didn't draw as well as expected.

And we understand that if organizers have their way, the tripleheader will have another draw that is likely to lure Fox Valley area hoops fans. Tentative plans call for the event's lineup to be filled out by a Neuqua Valley-West Aurora contest and another involving Chicago St. Patrick-Jacobs.

The date? January 23rd, which won't conflict with tournaments and shootouts scheduled over the weekend that includes Martin Luther King Day.

We'll keep you posted when final details become available.

The IHSA Class 4A boys hoops pairings just came out.
Sure enough, there are some interesting pairings in the Oswego East Sectional.

and, surprisingly, the Daily Dose wasn't too far off in its predictions...
First, Neuqua Valley has been sent to Batavia as the top seed. Bolingbrook is the top draw in the Glenbard West Regional (2-for-2)

East Aurora Regional:
Predicted
18-Marmion vs. 21-Wheaton North
Winner vs. 4-East Aurora
7. West Aurora vs. 12. Waubonsie Valley

Actual
13-Oswego East vs. 20-West Chicago
Winner vs. 4-East Aurora
21-Wheaton North vs. 12-Waubonsie Valley
Winner vs. 5-Plainfield North

Judgment: Well, getting 3 of the teams right is a good start - Two of these regionals were going to have two play-in games...so it's nearly impossible to predict which one would get those games. East Aurora pounded Oswego East earlier this season, but if they continue to play shorthanded the Wolves could be an issue. And Plainfield North is a very good team with excellent height and strong guard play. EA and Plain. North make this the toughest regional to come out of.

Naperville Central Regional:
Predicted
16-Naperville North vs. 17-Benet Academy
Winner plays 2-Naperville Central
10-Wheaton Warrenville South vs. 13-Oswego East
Winner plays 5-Painfield North

Actual
14-Willowbrook vs. 18-Marmion Academy
Winner vs. 2-Naperville Central
7-West Aurora vs. 10-Wheaton Warrenville South

Judgment: Well, I got 2 right here. What is Willowbrook doing in this regional, especially with better options available in Batavia and Lombard. That's a head-scratcher. I'm sure the DVC coaches love the fact they get to see each other again. Central is clearly the most talented team, but to play West again in a regional final I'm sure is not what the Redhawks were hoping for.

Batavia Regional:
Predicted
22-Lake Park vs. 20-West Chicago
winner plays 1-Neuqua Valley
14-Willowbrook vs. 9-Batavia
Winner plays 8-Geneva

Actual
16-Naperville North vs. 17-Benet Academy
Winner vs. 1-Neuqua Valley
8-Geneva vs. 9-Batavia

Judgment: Got another 3 teams right here, and I think I would've been right on with this had Willowbrook gone where it made more sense. I initially had Batavia-Geneva in the first round. I can't imagine Neuqua is happy with this. They either get Batavia on its home court or a very tough Geneva team that is close enough to Batavia that it'll be like a home game for them too.

Glenbard West Regional:
Predicted:
15-Glenbard West vs 19-Glenbard North
Winner plays 3-Bolingbrook
11-Bartlett vs. 6-Glenbard East

Actual
15-Glenbard West vs. 19-Glenbard North
Winner vs. 3-Bolingbrook
11-Bartlett vs. 22-Lake Park
Winner vs. 6-Glenbard East

Judgment: Again, two of these regionals were going to have two play in games, so I was pretty close on this oone with 4 teams. Glenbard East is OK, but the Raiders should walk through this Regional in the easiest bracket in the sectional.

Read on for my sectional predictions

so, the IHSA seeded Class 3A and 4A in boys hoops, and of course the Oswego East Sectional in 4A was not broken down into its regional assignments, leaving us the fun chance to do it for them!

Disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about, but it's fun anyway!

and I have a feeling many a coach will be a little irritated when its all said and done, either by getting an overly stacked regional, or having to travel further from home than they would like or deserve.
The regional hosts in this sectional are:
East Aurora
Glenbard West
Batavia
Naperville Central

The top 4 seeds in the sectional are:

1. Neuqua Valley
2. Naperville Central
3. Bolingbrook
4. East Aurora

So, that means Central and East will be the top seeds in their respective regionals. But where to put No. 1 Neuqua? The Wildcats are about 19 miles from Glenbard West and 21 miles from Batavia. Not much difference there.
No. 3 Bolingbrook is 32 miles from Batavia but just 13 miles from Glenbard West. So that means, to me, Neuqua is headed to Batavia

Read on for how I think it might break down later in the day:

That I didn't get flooded with calls or emails from people in or around East and West Aurora after my column today.

I thought for sure the thought that East and West should look to leave the UEC and DVC (respectively) would foster some conversation and and thought.

I mean, these varsity programs are struggling to compete. Yes, there are teams and individuals that stand out and put together great runs, but for the most part these two athletic programs have experienced very little success in really, the last three decades.

As I said in my column - this isn't a pro-football argument. If West and East could leave their current conferences and hook up with smaller schools like Yorkville and Kaneland, it would do them a lot of good.
True, their enrollments scream "big conference" but their participation screams "3A!"

I especially thought I'd hear from boys basketball fans, asking why their programs should be "punished" by being pulled from those conferences. First of all - this is high school and not the Big East (hello DePaul!) One sport doesn't matter when almost every other boys and girls varsity team, as well as those program's JV, sophomore and freshman teams are getting drilled night after night.

(and with hoops, coaches can schedule more grueling holiday tournaments and non-conference foes to even it out.)

Is there really that much nonchalance regarding West and East sports? Perhaps fans are just used to the losing? Maybe you think a conference change wouldn't be good?
I dunno.

I won't go so far as to say the administration's at both schools should call me up and say "You're right - we're bailing" but I think it would be in their best interests to at least sniff around while other schools open the door.

It's time to take pride out of the equation and take a hard look at the reality of many of these sports. Participation is down because kids don't want to be associated with losing. Simple as that. I guarantee you if East and West football started winning 3-4 games, maybe being competitive in the rest, you'll see a new generation of kids come in wanting to play football. Or bowling. Or tennis. Or boys golf. Or pick a sport.

I love Waubonsie Valley boys hoops coach Steve Weemer.
He's a very good coach and a great guy...and even better for us media types, a great quote.
I believe this is Coach's second "Fire and Passion" rant of the year. Perhaps the kids need a little...passion to go with that fire? hmm? hmm?

"The games that we've won the last couple weeks, we've had that edge and that fire and that intensity and right now we don't have it. A coach can only do so much. You know the old saying goes: 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.' Well, I'm trying to lead them to water and they're not drinking. So until those guys understand what they got to do, it's gonna be a disappointing end. Now let's hope that doesn't happen."

for today at least...

Check out Jason's Take for the latest on West Aurora alumnus Shaun Pruitt, as well as a recent prediction on how well the White Sox will fare in '09....

Aurora Christian gets another shot at Plano, this time on a neutral court.

The two will meet Wednesday, Feb. 25th at 8 p.m. at the Genoa-Kingston Class 2A Regional. The game will be preceded by the No. 1 seeded Cogs facing off against the winner of that Monday's St. Edward (4)-Amboy (5) matchup.

The Reapers are seeded 2 and the Eagles 3. They met Jan. 10th at Plano with the Reapers coming away with a 65-56 victory.

1A H-BR Regional: That same Wednesday (2/25) should be a big night in Hinckley, too, with two semifinals that should involve several Little Ten teams. No. 1 Newark could be meeting No. 4 H-BR at 6 p.m. followed by No. 2 Somonauk vs. 3 Westminster Christian. That's assuming, of course, the seeds hold true on Monday and Tuesday. Certainly not a given with that league.

How prophetic: In mid-December, Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke called it, when he was quoted with this assessment of the Western Sun Conference race: "Geneva is at the top, Batavia will be there, I think DeKalb is going to be there down the stretch. There's a logjam up there and there's going to be some big battles on Friday nights and Tuesday nights."

Entering the final two weeks of the regular season, it's a very tight race. Hardtke's Raiders lead the way with two losses, but DeKalb, Batavia and Geneva are nipping at their heels, all with three.

And this Friday? Batavia plays at Geneva while DeKalb hosts Glenbard South.

the hot news in Chicago is the possible trade between the Bulls and the Phoenix Suns for the petulant Amar'e Stoudemire. Dude's got a severe chip on his shoulder, to Shaq being in town to the fact that "the media" has spelled his name wrong ever since he got into the Association (which is whose fault? According to the ever reliable and always truthful Wikipedia, it has been the Suns providing false information)...

What is known is that Stoudemire is a stud in the post. He's 6-10 and averages over 20 points and 8 rebounds per game.
What also is known is that he won't be 27 until the start of next season, so he is just now entering his prime.
What is also known is that everyone on the Bulls not named Derrick Rose sucks. Hard.

Which leads to two questions:
1. Why, why why in the world would Kerr send Stoudemire here?
2. Why why why in the world has Paxon just not offered up the entire team plus Pete Myers in exchange for this guy to get it done? If I'm Pax, if this is truly a legit possibility, I even offer up a digitally remastered video of Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals where its Kerr hitting the game winning shot against the Suns.

Pax has been gun shy in his 5+ years at the helm of the Bulls, and has watched numerous opportunities to make his team better...he just has to take this one. Has to.

No Kobe.
No KG.
No Pau Gasol.
No Jermaine O'Neal.
And throw in a missed opportunity to draft Brandon Roy, too.

Pax did a good job the last few years building a team of complimentary players. The problem was, he treated them like burgeoning stars - and then he paid the price when Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng wanted the paper and playing time to go with it.

Now he has a star in Derrick Rose. Get Stoudemire. That gives you 2 stars. That's the proven formula for success - all he has to do is look at the three title teams he played on! Then Pax can go about doing what he does best in the draft and free agency - find good complimentary players!

Good morning, and thanks for visiting.

Three weeks ago, The Beacon News reported on the IHSA decision to include a prayer ban in its terms and conditions for hosting an IHSA state series event (i.e. regional, sectional, state contests).

The story led to several opinions for and against the IHSA's decision. Today, we ran a follow-up on the story with updated information and different perspectives.

We'd like to you to continue the conversation by commenting on this blog post, or by e-mailing us at beaconsports@scn1.com

Thanks for participating!

"No comment," Mike Gaspari said with a grin as I approached him and Glenbard South Athletic Director John Treiber Friday night during their teams' sophomore boys basketball game.
Gaspari, Batavia's AD, was trying to watch his son Noel play but knew what I wanted.
Published reports this week indicated all is not rosy under the Western Sun (Conference) skies.
Several schools, notably Yorkville, Rochelle and Kaneland, have growing concerns about the growing enrollment difference between bigger schools like Geneva and Batavia (both nearing 2,000 students) and the smaller schools in the three-year-old league which are in the 1,000-student range.
The crux of the matter is that with the troubled economy, projected development in some of the Western Sun communities isn't coming as fast as expected when the league formed. And the league's athletic directors had held their monthly meeting Friday morning.
The result?
Those athletic directors are going to continue to meet regularly and keep discussing the situation.
"I don't think they've given (the new league) enough time," said Gaspari, noting that he is happy with the conference as it is. Treiber echoed those comments.
It's possible the league could expand from its eight members and go with a two-division format in a sport like football, but that might be easier said than done. Unless it went to a 16-team league, there would still be the issue of cross-over games and how to handle them.
Bottom line?
Stay tuned.

Jumped the Shark.

I was tired of this guy 8 years ago, and I'm even more tired of him now, going back and forth and whining and moaning about whether he wants to retire or not or come back or not or be convinced to come back or not .... but this is way too ridiculous. Ya, the dude had a great season. The Cardinals weren't expected to be there. But you know what, I think his three receivers had a lot to do with that. Put Kurt Warner in a Bears uniform and we go back to bad New York Giants Warner.

Look, I know Brett Favre did this song and dance for the longest time, and it kinda worked the first couple times in terms of getting out of training camp. But at least Favre was I don't know, well....Farve was a royal jackalope too during the whole thing.

People hate Warner already, and this is not going ot endear him to anyone, anywhere, ever. Either go away, or sign a contract. No one cares.

I know I've won gobs of gold medals and I'm an international superstar and one of the greatest athletes to ever walk the face of the planet and I have lots and lots of money and I learned Chinese really fast thanks to Rosetta Stone and I'm a hero to Americans young and old, but, you see, there was this party....

late addition - talk about toothless penalties. It's like USA Swimming was like "oh crap, we gotta do something about this dope, but what? lame....

Well, it's over. While many more area football players will go on to play college ball at various levels, the pomp and circumstance that is "signing" day has come and gone.

But, we know you haven't had quite enough just yet.

So here is the final word on several area recruits:

Oswego o-lineman Jordan Jeffries - in a show of how tight the college football coaching fraternity is, Jeffries ended up at Marshall because Arizona o-line coach Bill Bedenbaugh spent a year on the Central Michigan staff with Marshall o-line coach Mike Cummings way back in the day.
Bedenbaugh didn't have any room to sign Jeffries himself because the Wildcats needed help right away on the o-line.
Bill Bedenbaugh on why the JUCO route for O-line
"Basically, with our tackles right now, we needed an immediate help," Bedenbaugh told the Naperville Sun's Pat Mooney. "We had a kid, Eben Britton, who declared early for the NFL draft, so that brought a need for junior college kids. We didn't have as many tackles (on) campus, so we had to go out and get immediate help."

In a statement on the Marshall website, Thundering head coach Mark Snyder said "On the offensive side of the ball, we addressed our needs along the line by signing four quality young men up front."

Waubonsie Valley QB Tyler Castro inked with Drake U., a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly D1-AA) program....
He told Mooney on Wednesday night that Drake's personal interest in him was the key factor in going there and not Eastern Illinois.
"They really showed the most interest in me. All the advice I had, from all the people helping me, (was): 'Go where you're wanted.' That was pretty obvious that they wanted me more than Eastern did."

And finally, Tim Riley made it official with Northwestern. The all-everything RB/LB/DB at Oswego will play linebacker for the Wildcats and coach Pat Fitzgerald
"Tim attended our football camp and was outstanding," Fitzgerald said. "He really wowed us with his performance. Tim's a very athletic young man who we project to be an outside linebacker. He reminds us alot of Tim McGarigle, who was a great football player for us here. Tim, of course, went on to play in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams."

Hello everyone and welcome to The Beacon News' LIVE blog! Football writer Jim Owczarski will be on board live throughout the day to talk about who signs today, and who doesn't.

and his commitment to Wheaton College...

We all know by now how quickly the recruitment of Roberts happened for the Thunder (one of the better Division III programs in the country) but until now we didn't get into the football reasons why its a good fit for (arguably) the best prep quarterback Illinois has ever produced.

Wheaton didn't recruit Roberts initiallly because it felt it had no shot at him, but once they opened up communication on Jan. 20 things heated up quickly.
They took a look at his highlight DVD and saw some things they like quickly:
1. How developed he was as a quarterback - he could take snaps under center and in the shotgun, could bootleg, could play action, and could make the necessary throws.
2. His leadership - they figured a 4-year varsity starter knew how to lead a football team, even if he came in and played as a sophomore.
3. The intangibles - They also loved his decision making both in the pocket, and when things broke down and improvisation was needed.

For what it's worth, I haven't seen Jordan smile as much when talking about playing college football as I've seen him do in the last couple days when talking about Wheaton. The kid seems genuinely happy to be going there, and that could be a key component to how successful he can be there.

As for Jordan, there were elements about the Thunder that made that program a good fit for him, football wise.
1. They run nearly the same type of offense as ACS. If the Thunder were to run 70 plays in a game, about 30 would be pass attempts.
JR: "They run a pro style offense and shotgun and under center sometimes. It's going to be great. There will be different terminology and what not, but it'll be good."

2. It's a tradition filled program with good players in a solid environment coming off a NCAA Division III semi-final appearance.
JR: "All the guys there are believers. Just like we have here at AC - there's a bond and an accountability with each other and you take that off the field so when you take that on the field it becomes even stronger. Those guys are going to be with every single step of the way and those are the guys you want to go to war with."

3. Wheaton's starting QB is coming back for his senior year, but as a sophomore Roberts can compete with only three other players for a starting job. Even though in four years of high school he never had to compete for playing time, his former head coach Don Beebe said that won't be a problem for Roberts:
DB: "I'll give you a story about Jordan I've only seen in a handful of athletes, a very small percentage of athletes. We have a "my speed" program at House of Speed, meaning it rates you as an athlete - your overall ability in six areas - and Jordan was rated as the No. 1 athlete. He's been doing this stuff for six, seven years now so he's pretty good at doing some of these drills. Well he was passed by because we have 15 franchises and some kid passed him up.

"He's not afraid of competition. He thrives in it. He wants it. It's only going to make him better."

Interesting note that couldn't make it in the game story from Saturday....

Aurora Cent. Catholic was just putting it on Marian Central Saturday night, leading by as much as 29 in the third quarter. But ACC has its starters in deep into the 4th, including star Anthony Kelley who is just dominating. They're throwing lobs to him, seemingly trying to get him to 30 points..

Kelley is still playing with just over 3 minutes left in the game when they try another alley-oop to him.

That's when Marian Central Coach Curtis Pride (no, not that Curtis Pride) yells loud enough for me and John Lemon to hear from the press table, which is near the ACC bench:

"He's going to get hurt. (pause)

I'm getting close to losing it. (pause)

You better take him out."

Kelley then converts on a layup for his 31 points with 223 left and then exits the game a short time later.

This was Pride's response to the question if he was irritated at ACC for leaving Kelley in:

"He's just competing, man. You just like to come in and compete and I'm a competitor and you just have to make sure to try protect your kids and you just go back to being your natural self. It's no big deal to me."

What do you think about the situation?