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."
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....
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...
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...
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."
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.
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."
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!
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
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....
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.
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.
"Well, that drove him crazy. He came over to a class just to do those things to do it until he broke the record so he could be rated as the number one athlete again. I think that says it all.
"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."
Rick Armstrong The dean of the Beacon News sports staff, Armstrong covers the boys basketball and Northern Illinois University beats along with general sports coverage.
Jim Owczarski A graduate of North Central College, Owczarski covers the high school football beat in the fall and the local golf beat year around. He also serves as the Beacon News’ main sports features/enterprise writer. He has won several national writing awards and has a weekly column that runs on Sundays.
Mike Knapp A sports writer at the Beacon News for over eight years, Knapp is the Kane County Cougars beat writer.
Search
About this Archive
This page is a archive of entries in the The Daily Dose category from February 2009.
First, on Stormin' Norman.
- 
Rick Armstrong 
Jim Owczarski 
Mike Knapp 