Lockport's Barney one happy birthday girl
Lockport senior forward Meghan Barney got a nice present on her 18th birthday. A victory over Lemont. Barney scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds and senior guard Amber Surdokaite added a team-high 16 points as Lockport held on for a 50-46 win over Lemont.

Providence, JCA face perils of semifinals
If you want pressure, there is nothing quite like a semifinal setting. The conference championship games in the NFL, the conference finals in the NBA and NHL, the league championship series in baseball, those are the arenas where pressure is at a peak.

Hanley's all-around play lifts Plainfield C.
Points, rebounds, steals. You name it, Brigid Hanley had it on her stat line. Hanley scored 28 points in Plainfield Central's 46-38 victory over Freeport on Thursday night in play at the Romeoville Thanksgiving Tournament.

Area schedule
A roundup of upcoming sports events and local results.

Foltynewicz blossoms into a Texas rose
Minooka is rich in tradition when it comes to high school baseball pitchers. The Indians have produced the likes of Colin Walker, Gary Perinar and Tony Bucciferro. Add Mike Foltynewicz to that list.

Lockport's Pope eyes prize(s)
Lockport High School senior Courtney Pope owns the third-place seed time in both the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyles as the Girls State Swimming and Diving Meet gets under way today at New Trier High School in Winnetka.

JT tips off with Blue-Black-Gold Night
The Joliet Township High School boys basketball team's Blue-Black-Gold Night and first Academy Cup is scheduled today at the Joliet West main gym.

deBuhr, Lewis put up road block
No. 2 seeded Lewis never trailed in its 25-20, 25-17, 25-21 sweep of No. 7 Ferris State in the NCAA Midwest Regional Thursday on the campus of the University of Indianapolis.

Area qualifiers
Following are qualifying swimmers from area schools.

Five-goal second period fuels Hawks' rout of Flames
The Blackhawks got their six-game road trip off to a rousing start Thursday night, crushing the Calgary Flames 7-1 in a game that was all but decided after the second period.

Silent Bears ready to put up
It's time to put up, so the Bears are going to shut up when it comes to the NBC pregame show Sunday night. That's the message coach Lovie Smith delivered.

3 strikes and you're out: Time to get it right at ND
Neil Hayes: Let's not overcomplicate a process that already should have begun at Notre Dame. If Jack Swarbrick decides Brian Kelly is his top candidate, he should make the Cincinnati coach an offer. Notre Dame's athletic director should give him an exclusive, 48-hour negotiating window after which any potential deal will be withdrawn.

JCA plays powerball
Dan Sharp is no dummy. In various short-yardage situations, the Joliet Catholic Academy head football coach/offensive coordinator borrows inside linebackers Zach Dolph and Jake Stockman for his power package.The Hilltoppers call it their "Jumbo" set.

Can't help thinking what might have been
On this semifinal week in the state high school football playoffs, the positive thought is our area has a good chance to boast two winners, two teams advancing to next weekend's state championships in Champaign.

Doyle will continue to wear 'M' on cap
Minooka senior Lyndsay Doyle has built a softball resume that speaks for itself. She was voted the best offensive player in each of her first two seasons playing on the varsity for the Indians as well as being named to the Southwest Prairie all-conference team both years. Despite these accomplishments, this is just the beginning.

Stankus lifts Plainfield S. in OT
In Game 1, Paige Stankus gained a new appreciation as to why members of the Plainfield South High School girls basketball team are required to regularly practice shooting free throws.

Area schedule
A roundup of upcoming sports events.

SUN-TIMES EXCLUSIVE Bears put NBC on mute

In a sign of how difficult things have become in the Bears' world, the beleaguered team stunned a network giant Wednesday by rejecting NBC's request for prime-time access to coach Lovie Smith, quarterback Jay Cutler and general manager Jerry Angelo.

Passive Rose has to get aggressive
Point guard Derrick Rose is so disgusted with his play, he could pull his hair out. Check that. He apparently will take the opposite approach. ''I probably won't get a haircut,'' he said Wednesday after practice at USC's Galen Center.

And away they go: Trip presents stiff test

The big contract extensions apparently coming soon to Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith could be a distraction to the Blackhawks as they begin a six-game trip tonight against the Calgary Flames. None of the players want that.

Homecoming for Wisconsin QB

Prophetically -- as seam-gazing seers from Amos Alonzo Stagg to Kirk Herbstreit have understood the game's mystic -- the parents met at a sign-up desk for a touch-football league.

Daley reappoints nephew to sports agency

Mayor Daley on Wednesday re-appointed his nephew and former campaign finance chief to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority mapping plans for a retail development near U.S. Cellular Field.

JCA Class 5A semifinal preview
Joliet Catholic (10-2) faces Peoria Richwoods (11-1) in the Class 5A semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday in Peoria.

Providence Class 6A semi preview
Providence (11-1) takes on Danville (12-0) at Danville in the Class 6A semifinals at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Celtics to crown
Patience is supposed to be a virtue. For Providence Catholic senior Steve Arthurs, the current king of the offense, patience as the Celtics' tight end has been as much of a necessity as blocking for his buddy Tim Hanrahan.

Positive signs rule for JCA, Providence
T he Joliet Catholic Academy football team in on a roll on both sides of the ball. The way Providence Catholic played in the second half of last week's 44-14 victory over Crete-Monee, the Celtics look as good as anyone, regardless of class.

JCA celebrates with a Fabulous Four
They are moving on to play Division I volleyball, anxious to see what the rest of their young lives will bring. But they will forever cherish their high school years, as will their coach, Christine Scheibe, and anyone associated with the Joliet Catholic Academy volleyball program.

Local digest
A roundup of local results.

JT raises curtain with a road 'W'
The thing that helped the Joliet Township High School girls basketball team get over the hump in its season opener was called balance. JT (1-0) had two girls score in double figures in a 47-39 victory over East Aurora on Tuesday night.

Bradley's 36 points spark JJC
Life without Brandon Redmond figures to be a challenge for the Joliet Junior College men's basketball team. But, so far, so good. JJC put three players in double figures in a 94-78 victory over Oakton on Tuesday night.

Hey, Bears, running is passé
Mike Mulligan: Leave the power running game on the bus and hand the ball to Jay Cutler. That's the best solution for the Bears with seven games left in a fast-fading season. Wide-open passing games are flourishing around the league, and the Bears need to get on board. Their insistence on fitting Cutler into an offensive philosophy, instead of just letting him take over, is preventing them from joining the fun. Doubt it?

Illini's Paul keeps up good work
It might be true, as coach Bruce Weber says, that Illinois' starting five isn't set. But the way things are going, his two precocious freshmen, Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson, are looking rock-solid.

Only one direction for Weis: 'Full speed ahead'
By the time Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis held his weekly news conference Tuesday, he had lost neither his job, nor his sense of humor. Weis was asked if he believed a decision had been made by the ND powers that be about his future.

SPORTS WIRE: Kansas City's Greinke captures AL Cy Young

Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke was named the American League Cy Young Award winner on Tuesday.

Steelers fan: Bears fan poisoned me

A Pittsburgh man said he's gone blind and lost some of his memory since he accepted a drink from a Chicago Bears fan in a Michigan Avenue bar following the team's victory over the Steelers.

Why no miniature golf on Golf Channel?

These are 23 (more) facts, tried and true, about the widening world of sports TV:

Scroggins to set Champs target

Mike Scroggins played ''follow the leader'' when he succeeded Norm Duke as U.S. Open champion in April.

A JCA volleyball bash
When Alyssa Warren first attended her parents' volleyball games back in the early and mid-'90s at the Morris Area Leisure Services, she knew nothing about what she was watching. Nor did she care. As long as she had her bottle, she was fine.

Baird not trimmed by adversity
On those frequent occasions when Alton Baird pauses for a moment of introspection, he thinks back to the football game that helped shaped his life. He was a senior at Lincoln-Way High School in the fall of 1981.

Spring in the air as 3 JT standouts sign
Spring was in the air Monday afternoon in the Joliet West High School cafeteria. The celebratory cupcakes -- in the form baseballs and softballs -- were a dead giveaway.

Lockport's Pope gives Illinois a prayer
When Courtney Pope swam on the Lockport varsity team as a freshman, she was one of two state qualifiers for the Porters. Three years later, Pope not only qualified for state again, she helped lead six other Lockport qualifiers for this weekend's state meet at New Trier.

JCA girls open with victory
Behind the 1-2 punch of Alyssa Fehrenbacher and Kate Ponce, the Joliet Catholic Academy girls basketball team got off to a rousing start Monday night.

Harris: Bears have no room for error
So it has come to this: We're in mid-November, and the Bears are talking about running the table. Sitting at 4-5 after losing four of their last five games, the Bears probably would have a good shot at the postseason if they went 6-1 down the stretch. But the odds of that happening in a season that seems to be spinning out of control are not good.

A lot not right with writers' vote
Years from now, no one will care that Gordon Beckham was fifth in the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year voting. He deserved to be runner-up, though in the scheme of things, you can ask teammate Alexei Ramirez how much that honor is treasured two years into your big-league career.

Frosh stars Paul, Richardson take charge
Illinois will only be playing its second game when it takes on Northern Illinois tonight. But a pattern already is emerging with Bruce Weber's best recruiting class: When it comes to taking charge, you can't tell the freshmen from the juniors without a scorecard.

How ya like Wie now?
Michelle Wie's critics said she didn't know how to win. They said she might never win. They said she didn't deserve the acclaim, fame or endorsements. What are they going to say now?

Road trip challenge to Hawks

About all the Blackhawks did Monday was send Bryan Bickell back to Rockford again and savor their seven-game winning streak at the United Center. After a day off the ice, they return to practice today at Johnny's Ice House.

SPORTS WIRE: Warriors deal Jackson to Bobcats

The Golden State Warriors found a home for disgruntled swingman Stephen Jackson on Monday, trading him to the Charlotte Bobcats in a four-player deal. The Bobcats sent shooting guard Raja Bell and forward Vladimir Radmanovic to the Warriors for Jackson and guard Acie Law.

Hawks' comeback win makes it 7 straight at home
The Blackhawks have had some big wins in the first six weeks, but the 4-3 overtime victory Sunday over the San Jose Sharks was a real eye-opener. The Hawks overcame a two-goal deficit against the best team in the Western Conference in the last game of a four-game homestand.

Pope reigns for Lockport
Lockport High School senior freestyler Courtney Pope was in a pool of her own Saturday in the Lockport Sectional girls swimming and diving meet. Pope not only won four events, she established pool records of 23.83 seconds in the 50 free, 1:52.38 in the 200 free, 51.90 in the 100 free, 5:02.41 in the 500 free in leading the Porters to second place.

TCU same as teams ahead of them -- undefeated
FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU has easily proven itself as the best in the Mountain West with lopsided victories over the league's other Top 25 teams -- at BYU and now Utah, last year's BCS buster.

Wie gets first LPGA victory
GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Michelle Wie won the first LPGA event of her career on Sunday, fulfilling the promise of a decade with a 3-under par 69 to win the Lorena Ochoa Invitational by two strokes over Paula Creamer.

Big play Pitt gets past Irish
PITTSBURGH -- In need of a big win, Charlie Weis and Notre Dame couldn't turn around a troublesome trend. Pitt keeps winning and winning like it hasn't done in 27 years, and now the Panthers are one more victory away from a really big bowl.

Johnson closes in on history
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Jimmie Johnson rebounded from a rare bad race with a dominating victory at Phoenix International Raceway that pushed him to the edge of a NASCAR record fourth straight title.

Seabrook lifts Hawks
CHICAGO -- Brent Seabrook scored 41 seconds into overtime, lifting the Blackhawks to a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night, Chicago's seventh consecutive home victory.

Lewis tops Drury to win Super Region
Springfield, Mo. -- Lewis men's soccer coach Evan Fiffles knew it would take a perfect game for his Flyers to beat top-seeded Drury for the NCAA Division II Super Region 4 title.

Packers cool off Cowboys
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Charles Woodson helped Green Bay's defense finally play up to its potential against a big-time opponent, forcing two fumbles and picking off a pass by Tony Romo on the goal line in a 17-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Bengals finish sweep of Steelers
PITTSBURGH -- Finally after 40 years of being pushed around and dominated by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cincinnati Bengals refused to be bullied any more.

Lewis opens season in high style
ROMEOVILLE -- Whenever a coach has a young basketball team, they have to display a certain amount of patience for how things develop.

lewis streak ends at 27
ROMEOVILLE -- Lewis University's women's volleyball team figured to have its hands full in Sunday's Great Lakes Valley Conference championship match if it played well.

JCA girls volleyball wins second state title
The Joliet Catholic Academy girls volleyball team won the Class 3A state title for the second year in a row after beating Breese Mater Dei 25-20, 25-23 Saturday at Redbird Arena in Normal. The win gave JCA a season record of 41-1.

Second half a Providence gem
A week ago in the Class 6A high school football playoffs, Crete-Monee trailed Normal Community 10-7 at halftime. But the Warriors came out like gangbusters in the second half and stormed to a 35-10 victory. Providence Catholic coach Mark Coglianese recalled that for his Celtics at halftime of Saturday's quarterfinal matchup.

Lemont bid for 3rd semifinal slips away
Things started off great for Lemont High School's football team in Saturday's Class 6A quarterfinals in Danville, but the hosts rallied to an 18-14 victory.

Big plays doom Wilmington's wild comeback
Wilmington fell behind by two touchdowns early but battled back to tie the game. Still, it wasn't enough as Illini West prevailed 43-41 Saturday afternoon in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.

Natural grass on way out with USF loss
Not the way University of St. Francis was planning to close the books on the natural-grass surface at Memorial Stadium.

USF drops a pair
Missouri Valley College held off a late St. Francis charge and handed the Saints their fifth straight loss 69-65 on the final day of the Pepsi Challenge hosted by St. Ambrose.

Defense does dirty work for JCA
Mike Madrigal and Zach Dolph walked off the Memorial Stadium field for the last time Friday in their Joliet Catholic Academy football jerseys satisfied with a job well done after they and their defensive teammates shut down Washington 47-7 to advance to the Class 5A semifinals next week.

Lyles & the Diaper Dandies a JCA hit
The roster lists Jordan Lyles at 5-8, 170 pounds. OK, that probably is about right. But that hardly translates into what you imagine as your ideal fullback. Then again, in Joliet Catholic Academy's double-wing offense, it works.

Lewis gains GLVC final; USF goes down fighting
The No. 11 Lewis women's volleyball topped Rockhurst 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 28-26, 25-19) in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament on Saturday night at Neil Carey Arena.

Family feel provides impetus as JCA
In high school sports, like in real life, sometimes things work out just right. Not always. Sometimes. And one of those sometimes came on match point in Joliet Catholic Academy's heart-stopping 25-20, 25-23 victory over Breese Mater Dei in the 3A state volleyball championship match Saturday night at Redbird Arena.

Lovie needs to lose patience with offense

Bears coach Lovie Smith learned a lot from his mentor, Tony Dungy, but he has been remarkably more patient than Dungy with his offense.

On balance, a good win for Bulls
The Bulls have had better defensive efforts, and this might have been their sloppiest game of the season (season-high-tying 21 turnovers). But, for a change, they made a few shots -- enough at least to overcome another slow start and pull away (sort of) for a 94-88 victory Saturday night over the Philadelphia 76ers at the United Center.

Hammers hosting block party
The Joliet JackHammers have decided they are not done having fun yet for the season.

Just 1 more pitt fall for Irish
As much as Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis wanted to make this game about his team, the 27-22 loss to No. 8 Pittsburgh will serve as more evidence for those who want Weis' tenure as Irish coach to end.

Grabavoy PKs Fire out of playoffs
A Chicago-area kid broke the hearts of his hometown club Saturday night, then celebrated not far from where he first made his mark as a high school star. Lincoln-Way Central alum Ned Grabavoy converted the seventh shot of a lengthy penalty shootout that decided the Eastern Conference final at Toyota Park, pushing Real Salt Lake past the Fire and into next Sunday's MLS Cup in Seattle.

Penalty-killers doing the job Allowing fewer power plays key to Blackhawks ranking No. 1 in NHL

Forgive Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville for being a bit superstitious considering his team has killed 17 consecutive power plays and hasn't surrendered a power-play goal in six games.

DESTINATION: NOT DETROIT

CHAMPAIGN -- Few would argue that Northwestern might have been the happiest 7-4 team in the Football Bowl Subdivision on Saturday. But please don't use the words ''lucky,'' ''charmed'' or ''soft schedule.''

Illinois' dreams dry up; Zook left looking all wet

CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois' too-little, too-late attempt to salvage an oil spill of a season is officially over. Not that it ever was based in reality.

SPORTS WIRE: Tiger up Down Under, wins Aussie Masters

Tiger Woods won the Australian Masters for his seventh victory of the year, closing with a 4-under-par 68 for a victory that record crowds came to see at Kingston Heath in Melbourne.

JCA picks its pleasure
The Joliet Catholic Academy defense intercepted three first-half passes, senior linebacker Jake Stockman picked a prominent pocket in the second half and the Hilltoppers breezed past previously unbeaten Washington 47-7 in a Class 5A football quarterfinal Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

JCA volleyball closing in on state title
Full story: Joliet Catholic Academy reached the title match of the state volleyball tournament for the second straight year and third time since 2003 on Friday night with a 25-20, 25-17 win over Crystal Lake Central.

Randich, Wyman do their thing in middle
Ron Kremer: To say that Claire Randich and Lainey Wyman rose up to meet the challenge in Joliet Catholic Academy's 3A state semifinal volleyball victory over Crystal Lake Central on Friday night would fall short of the mark -- on several levels.

Kafka leads Wildcats over Illinois 21-16
Mike Kafka threw for 305 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score and Sherrick McManis made a last-minute interception to preserve Northwestern's 21-16 win Saturday over Illinois.

Blackhawks take advantage of home ice while they can
Home-ice advantage won't belong to the Blackhawks much longer, but they're certainly enjoying it for the time being. The Toronto Maple Leafs became the Hawks' sixth straight victim at the United Center on Friday night, falling 3-2 before 21,036 -- the largest crowd of the season.

Irish have plenty to fix, starting with red-zone woes
Notre Dame's trip to No. 8 Pittsburgh lost significant luster when the Irish dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 after being upset by Navy at home last Saturday. Still, ABC will beam this prime-time game to most of the nation.

Bears can't figure out what's going wrong
The Bears talked a lot about finding out what kind of team they are in November, when the NFL season takes a turn toward the serious, and what they've discovered is pretty grisly.

Illini's Brandon Paul breaks record with 22 points
CHAMPAIGN -- The first shots were fired in the battle for Illinois' fifth starting job Friday night. And Brandon Paul virtually made them all. Draining the first four shots of his college career -- three three-pointers and a transition basket -- the 6-4 freshman from Warren sparked the No. 23 Illini to an early lead and an easy 96-69 victory over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in their season opener.

Local briefs: JJC hoops splits in desert
The Joliet Junior College men's basketball team opened its bid in the Matador Desert Classic, hosted by Arizona Western College, with a thrilling 73-71 victory over Arizona Western on Thursday.

Murphy, Hickey bid to keep JCA legacy
Jenn Murphy has been presented with an opportunity to twice trump her older sister. Annemarie Hickey wants to celebrate Joliet Catholic Academy’s second straight 3A volleyball state championship with her little sister.

Bears' season sets in West
Lovie Smith's team has played a brand of undisciplined and sloppy football that has been the undoing of a campaign that began with such great expectations.

Reasons behind our success
Years ago, I recall asking legendary local coach Gordie Gillespie about what makes the Joliet area athlete special. We were talking football at the time, but what Gordie had to say applied to all sports across the board.

JCA heads downstate
When the Joliet Catholic Academy girls run out of the tunnel and onto the floor, they'll be dressed in fitted black, long-sleeve warmup jerseys emblazoned with an X-ed out Ghostbusters logo.

For 'Brook, it's four on the floor
Four Bolingbrook High School girls signed national letters of intent to play basketball in college during a Veteran's Day ceremony on Wednesday.

Local digest
A roundup of local youth sports results.

Washington at JCA
#2 Washington (11-0) at #6 JCA (9-2) Class: 5A Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium Up next: JCA would travel to Sacred Heart-Griffin or to Peoria Richwoods.

More capsules on weekend games
A roundup of this weekend's high school football games.

Wannstedt knows what Weis is going through
Dave Wannstedt was brought home with open arms as Pittsburgh's coach in 2004. But some of those same arms were ready to yank the welcome mat out from under him three years later.

Kane, Byfuglien going for some rings tonight
Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien insist that the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at the United Center is just another regular-season game. For them, though, it might be a bit more than that.

Bulls veterans Salmons, Hinrich struggling

Through eight games, the Bulls are a respectable 4-4. That's not great, not bad and about where they were expected to be considering the issues they had heading into the regular season.

Close call
True to form, Ball State kept it close. Northern Illinois, veering from its recent winning script, still managed to hold on Thursday for a 26-20 Mid-American Conference victory. It keeps the Huskies (7-3, 5-1) one game behind West Division leader Central Michigan.

SPORTS WIRE: Scott fired, GM to coach Hornets

The New Orleans Hornets fired Byron Scott only nine games into the season Thursday and replaced him with general manager Jeff Bower, hoping the man who put the current roster together can get more out of it.

Regret turns into heart-felt relief
About 20 months ago, I wrote here expressing great regret that, despite severe heart troubles, I couldn't be placed on the national heart transplant list. Other health problems -- prostate cancer and a brain tumor -- had disqualified me. But now -- thousands of pills and months of tests, treatment and interviews by dozens of doctors at three hospitals later -- my prayers and those of the many who have been praying for me finally have been answered.

Saying thanks to 'Coach'
Honoring a coaching legend is not always easy. But the Troy School District found a fitting way to honor recently-retired Noel Blasing, a longtime teacher and coach. The Troy School District named the basketball court in the Troy Middle School gymnasium Noel Blasing Court.

A Celtics 'D' full
On fourth down in the first quarter last Friday night, Providence Catholic junior Zac Plantz zipped through the gap and stopped Oswego power back John Hugunin for a 1-yard gain, forcing the Panthers to turn the football over on downs. Of course, Zac credited his brother Tyler, a senior inside linebacker, and junior inside linebacker Ray Ames for paving the way.

JCA heads downstate as the Ghostbusters
When the Joliet Catholic Academy girls run out of the tunnel and onto the floor, they’ll be dressed in fitted black, long-sleeve warmup jerseys emblazoned with an X-ed out Ghostbusters logo.

Our Final 4 all know value of defense
Defense is the name of the game. Always has been. The adage is especially true in this day and age, when most high school football teams are capable of hurting you both in the running game and with their sophisticated passing games.

Right in the middle of it all
They stand like towers in the middle of the court, one on each side of a net that divides Joliet Catholic Academy's volleyball skyline in half. At practice, Claire Randich, a 6-foot senior, looks her friend and foe Lainey Wyman, a 6-2 junior, right in the eye. And, then, she launches her attack.

Plainfield C.'s Ross to WIU
Meghan Ross, an outside hitter and defensive specialist for the Plainfield Central, signed a national letter of intent Wednesday to continue her career with coach Kym McKay and Western Illinois University as a libero.

Lewis swimmers ride on Coates' tails
Lewis junior Kevin Coates has been named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Male Swimmer of the Week for his performance against Illinois Institute of Technology on Saturday.

Stakes climb for Smith
Lovie Smith likes to say November goes a long way toward defining a football season, and fewer regular-season games in his tenure have more significance than tonight's meeting with the 49ers at Candlestick Park. The Bears have had bigger games in November under Smith.

Bulls' end game is plain offensive
This time, there was no need for a video review at the end of the game to determine a winner. In fact, the Bulls probably would prefer if the final six minutes of the 99-89 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night at the Air Canada Centre were never viewed again.

Extra time, as usual

Long, nail-biting games have become commonplace when the Blackhawks face the Colorado Avalanche, and Wednesday's meeting at the United Center was typical of that.

Illini like Richardson's intensity

It's risky to put too much on the shoulders of a freshman. But D.J. Richardson, Illinois' 6-3 guard from Peoria Central by way of a Nevada prep school, keeps tempting us to do that.

All in the family at JCA
He was promoted to the Joliet Catholic varsity as a sophomore in only his second year of playing organized football, a potential wingback, wide receiver and tight end listed at a man-child 6 feet 2, 185 pounds. His brother Mike, a 6-8, 290-pound gentle giant, played tight end for three straight Hilltopper state champions from 1999-2001 before becoming a tackle for the University of Michigan. His brother Andrew was an ace defensive tackle for the 2003 state champs.

Where there is a Will, there is a way
Tough times keep trying to get the best of Will Walker. Only days after the start of basketball practice last month, the DePaul senior guard took an elbow to the nose. Surgery to repair the break and a protective mask quickly had him back on the court. Then came a four-day bout with the flu.

Quest for 500 goes on
University of St. Francis could not shake itself out of its recent offensive doldrums and ran into a buzzsaw Tuesday night as host East-West handed the Saints their third straight loss with a 86-65 verdict at the Fosco Community Center.

JJC wins; Lewis upsets UIC
When Brian Bradley gets on a roll, look out. Bradley, the former Lockport High School standout, rained down six three-pointers and scored 34 points in Joliet Junior College's 91-84 victory over Daley College on Tuesday night. The victory kept the Wolves (3-0) undefeated heading into their West Coast road trip.

We have our dream for semifinal round
In life, things do not always work out the way we want. And yet, there is nothing wrong with positive dreaming. How about the following scenario for the state high school football playoffs? In Class 6A, Providence Catholic beats Crete-Monee on Saturday afternoon to advance to the semifinals.

Katie's court now in session for JCA
No student ever wants to be called to the teacher's office. When it happened to Joliet Catholic Academy senior Katie Schoenstedt, a bit of panic rushed into the back of her mind. "At first, I was surprised," she said. "I thought I was in trouble. I was like, 'Uh, oh, why are they calling me in to talk to me?' "

Dye has been cast
Jermaine Dye isn't ruling anything out. After all, at 35 years old and with 14 major-league seasons under his belt, the free-agent outfielder has seen crazier things happen. ''First of all, I could come back to the Sox,'' Dye said in a phone interview Tuesday.

'We can destroy their guys up front'—49ers' Davis
So much for the fear factor with the Bears' defense. Not only have members of the unit had their helmets handed to them two of the last three weeks, but now an offensive star for a team coming off four straight losses is talking smack.

If the truth hurts, Irish prefer silence
Neil Hayes: Evidently, being honest and forthright while answering questions is not something Notre Dame captains should do. If they puppet whatever coach Charlie Weis says, even if it's less than the full truth, they are leaders.

Bulls go from ecstasy to agony
For a moment Tuesday night, the United Center erupted in euphoria as it appeared the Bulls extended their comeback and winning streaks with a miracle finish on a Brad Miller prayer at the buzzer.

Bolland shelved by back surgery shelves Bolland

The Blackhawks lost Marian Hossa and Adam Burish to surgery before their first regular-season game. Now they've got their first surgery patient of the regular season.

SPORTS WIRE: Wade's 41 help Heat soar to 6-1

Dwyane Wade scored 41 points and the Miami Heat remained in first place in the Southeast Division by holding off the Washington Wizards 90-76 on Tuesday night.

Area teams must prize the ball
When Joliet Catholic Academy made the long trip to Cahokia last Saturday for its second-round game in the Class 5A state football playoffs, Hilltopper fans had reason for concern.

Troy pays tribute to a coaching legend
Honoring a coaching legend is not always easy. But Troy School District found a fitting way to honor recently retired coach Noel Blasing. The Troy School District named the basketball court in the Troy Middle School gymnasium Noel Blasing Court.

In the know: 5A-8A rankings
The gridiron rankings for Classes 5A-8A in high school football.

Fort Hood: A renewed call to support Bowlers to Veterans Link
No matter where our men and women have defended us, they need our help, and our bowlers have always stood up to the challenge.

Lewis qualifies for NCAA tournament
For the third straight year, Lewis soccer coach Evan Fiffles and his team will have a chance to compete for the NCAA Division II National Title.

Games at a glance
Here are the times for the quarterfinal games.

Area keglers support Bowlers to Veterans Link
Here are the results.

Contrite Harris vows to atone for ejection
Tommie Harris nearly got it right with a perfunctory apology Monday, the day after he was kicked out of a game for punching Cardinals lineman Deuce Lutui four plays into a blowout loss.

Hoops preview: Can Big Ten make Final Four?
The Big Ten is up, or so we think, with two Final Four contenders among six ranked teams. The Final Four is just down the road, in Indianapolis. But it will be a long and winding road. Because in a sport where one or two players who step up and make things happen can make such a huge difference, you never know where the road will lead.

A triumphant return
Apparently all it took to get the Blackhawks' power play working was the return of Jonathan Toews. The team captain returned from a six-game layoff to recover from a concussion and was on the ice for two third-period goals with the man advantage. Toews scored the second of the two, and they led to a solid 4-1 victory Monday over the Los Angeles Kings at the United Center.

Del Negro praises Luol Deng's three 'D'
Small forward might be the most challenging defensive position in the NBA. Night in and night out, you face a talented, versatile player capable of putting up big numbers.

Figgins out of Sox' range

Shortly after saying he's in the hunt for ''that ideal leadoff guy,'' general manager Ken Williams shot down speculation that speedy free agent Chone Figgins is on the White Sox' radar.

SPORTS WIRE: Iverson reportedly mulling retirement

Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said he's not sure what guard Allen Iverson's future plans are, but he hopes Iverson returns to the team soon.

JT, JPD team up for basketball league
Joliet Township High School boys basketball coach Luke Yaklich has been interested in providing kids an opportunity to learn basketball in a fun atmosphere. "In the past we did not have the right scenario facility-wise," he said. But now, his dream is about to be realized.

Don't overlook Wilmington's defense
There's no doubt that Wilmington's offense looked impressive Saturday night in a 57-26 thumping of St. Joe-Ogden in the second round of the 3A playoffs. Averaging more than 10 yards a carry is certainly impressive. So is a quarterback that goes 5-for-5 for 111 yards.

Kurt Busch wins; Johnson crashes
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jimmie Johnson's drive to history took a hard hit against a wall and Kyle Busch ran out of gas trying to complete an unprecedented NASCAR trifecta.

USF's Smith, McElyea qualify
LOCKPORT - Freshman Sean Smith and junior Michael McElyea placed second and eighth to qualify for the NAIA Championships and lead the University of St. Francis men's team to a second-place finish among 10 teams in the CCAC Cross County Championships at Dellwood Park.

Bucs top Pack for first win
TAMPA, Fla. -- Wearing one of those ghastly creamsicle jerseys that are an ugly reminder of Tampa Bay's past, rookie Josh Freeman gave the Buccaneers plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the future.

Hard work gives Noah a real shot
Of everything Joakim Noah did on the court Saturday night in the best performance of his career, one move excited everyone connected with the Bulls, from the players to the coaches to the front office personnel.

JCA topples Oak Forest
Lainey Wyman is a back-her-up-against-a-wall kind of volleyball player. The minute the stakes are raised, she raises the level of her game. Wyman, a 6-foot-2 junior middle hitter, was all over the floor in Joliet Catholic Academy's 25-17, 25-9 victory over Oak Forest on Saturday afternoon during the 3A Oswego Supersectional.

Wilmington overpowers St. Joe-Ogden
The sign on the press box at Wilmington High School'sfootball field reads, "Beware of what comes out of the woods." St. Joe-Ogden can attest to that after Wilmington laid a 57-26 whipping on the Spartans on Saturday night that, believe it or not, was worse than the score indicates.

Bolingbrook shocked by Downers South
In the final eight minutes of the game, Downers Grove South scored twice to rally past host Bolingbrook 22-19 in Saturday night's Class 8A second-round playoff game.

Fickle bounce leads to Minooka's end
In what many figured would be a David vs. Goliath matchup, the Minooka Indians put in their best effort to continue their Cinderella run against state powerhouse East St. Louis.

Lemont overcomes the ultimate Brown out
The Lemont Indians, despite losing standout tailback Danny Hayes to a shoulder injury and chasing Morgan Park's DaRon Brown all over the field, scored early and often in posting a 49-26 victory in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

Fake field goal lifts ball-hogging JCA
Joliet Catholic Academy's field goal unit, featuring holder Jonathan Jaworski, caught Cahokia by surprise for the game's first touchdown in the first quarter Saturday, and before it was over, the Hilltoppers took 35-12 Class 5A victory.

Mendota rains on Morris' day
Mendota intercepted four passes and recovered a fumble as the Trojans defeated the Redskins 35-0 in a Class 4A second-round playoff game on Saturday.

Coal City has no answer for R-Burton
A week after derailing Peotone 40-7 in the opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs, Richmond-Burton completed their swath through the Interstate Eight Large, thumping Coal City 44-6 Saturday.

Redemption = Providence
Bill Scheibe: Mere minutes into the fourth quarter of Friday night's Class 6A second-round playoff football game against host Oswego, Providence tailback Tim Hanrahan sat in silence on the bench, not thinking about an uncharacteristic fumble.

Lockport boys 12th, girls 17th
The Joliet area's heaviest representation in the state high school cross country meets at Detweiller Park was in the Class 3A races, and area boys and girls made good showings in both.

Hoffman hitting lifts USF
Second-seeded University of St. Francis swept third-seeded Illinois Tech Saturday afternoon to capture first place with a 3-0 record in its pool in the opening round of the CCAC Volleyball Championship Tournament.

USF can't buy basket in second half of setback
University of St. Francis got outscored by a combined 35 points in the second halves of its two games at the Davenport Panther Invitational this weekend, with Saturday's 67-53 loss to Kuyper College dropping the Saints to 1-2 in the new season.

USF feels sting of deja vu
University of St. Francis has experienced that mood swing far too often during the 2009 season and had its balloon popped yet again on Saturday when the Saints failed to convert on a point-after touchdown (PAT) to force overtime for the second time in just over a month.

Local briefs: Happy day for Hague
Lewis University junior Kathryn Hague kept her cross country season alive as she qualified for the NCAA Women's Championships with a seventh-place finish of 22:29 at the 6K NCAA Midwest Regional on Saturday.

Brunt work: O-line blamed
The Bears' offensive line has been under siege of late, but it's only one part of a unit that has been dysfunctional as a whole. The offense is running the ball like it did last season -- not well enough -- and quarterback Jay Cutler has been smacked around some behind a line that has gone from using three new starters this season to two after the Josh Beekman switcheroo last week.

Defense-led Wildcats hand Hawkeyes first loss
Corn-shucking cynics have insisted all season that the passwords at Kinnick Stadium have been ''lucky'' and ''charmed.'' But no one knew those words would pass from No. 8 Iowa to Northwestern in the blink of a Hawkeye on Saturday.

Bulls don rally caps again
They're not the Cardiac Kids just yet, but the Bulls are making a habit of comeback victories at home. Four days after overcoming an 18-point deficit in the second half en route to defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, the Bulls erased a nine-point deficit and survived some shaky free-throw shooting down the stretch to earn a 93-90 victory Saturday against the Charlotte Bobcats at the United Center.

Bowman, Hawks should be united in seeking center

Stan Bowman will attend his first NHL general managers meeting this week in Toronto as the Blackhawks' GM. The groundwork for trades often is created at the meeting, but after the Hawks went 8-4-1 in October, it didn't seem Bowman would be very interested in tweaking his roster.

Golden against Gophers

MINNEAPOLIS -- As defensive end Clay Nurse rumbled off the field, he shouted it out loud. Almost snarled it.

More Navy blues

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame's Fiesta Bowl bid and Jimmy Clausen's Heisman Trophy hopes were sunk with a 23-21 loss Saturday to Navy.

FIRE 2, REVOLUTION 0: Conference final next thanks to Blanco goal

Cuauhtemoc Blanco's days with the Fire aren't done yet. He has at least one more game.

NFL back to L.A.? No, thank you

So I just got back to Los Angeles, which is where I live -- well, you don't really ''live'' in L.A. so much as you float through a surreal strip-mall-and-freeway-exit life -- and there is talk, once again, of the NFL coming back to town within a year or two or 200.

Bears are who they are—a mediocre team
Two-and-a-half seasons removed from their Super Bowl appearance, the Bears are who they never imagined they would be—just another mediocre football team.

Providence has close call against Oswego
In Friday night's Class 6A second-round playoff game against Oswego, Providence had to get it done in overtime. And sure enough, they had enough in the tank to remain alive.

Five turnovers spell end for LW East
Five turnovers spelled disaster for Lincoln-Way East in a 17-16 loss to O'Fallon in the second round of the 7A playoffs on Friday night. The victory moves O'Fallon (8-3) on to face East St. Louis or Minooka in next weekend's quarterfinals. Lincoln-Way East (9-2) is eliminated from the second round for the second straight season.

JCA victory ranks as one for the ages
Ron Kremer: Few high school sporting events ever rise to the level of the volleyball matchup between No. 1-ranked Joliet Catholic Academy and No. 2-rated Wheaton St. Francis.

Blackhawks come up short in a Colorado shootout
DENVER -- The Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche appear destined to play long games. They went nine rounds into a shootout in the Hawks' first game at the United Center this season before the Hawks pulled out a victory, and Friday the shootout went eight tension-packed rounds. The Avalanche took this one 4-3, with Chris Stewart making the decisive conversion before Dustin Byfuglien shot wide on his attempt to send the shootout to a ninth round.

Perfect situation for Wildcats
Sometimes in Iowa, merely believing is enough. A part-time play-by-play man for a Davenport radio station went on to Des Moines, and later Ronald Reagan became the 40th president of the United States.

Williams' Sox remake begins with Teahen
Chris Getz and Josh Fields are Royals, Mark Teahen is the White Sox starting third baseman, Jermaine Dye is all but gone, talks with free agent-to-be Scott Podsednik have disintegrated, and Gordon Beckham is the new starting second baseman.

Local briefs: USF women top Lambuth
University of St. Francis roared back from a seven-point halftime deficit and upset NAIA Division I ninth-ranked Lambuth, 65-61, on the first day of the Union Bulldog Classic Friday afternoon.

Hunting heads toward 'bad old days'
Outdoors: Long before Carly Simon sang about "these are the good old days," America's outdoorsmen used the phrase to describe those wonderful, muted memories of days in the field long, long ago.

USF's Sullivan has to wait for No. 500
Four St. Francis players scored in double figures but a second-half scoring barrage by Grace Bible College (Mich.) was too much as the Eagles overcame a 5-point halftime deficit and defeated the Saints 80-66 in the first round of the Davenport University Men's Basketball Panther Invitational on Friday night.

JCA tops St. Francis
Joliet Catholic Academy coach Christine Scheibe didn't have to say much to her team as it faced elimination at match point of the second game of Thursday's Class 3A St. Francis Sectional final with the host Spartans.

Providence atop list of area title hopefuls
Dick Goss: The Joliet area has nine teams remaining in the state high school football playoff hunt, with second-round games on tap this weekend. And so far, we still have the potential to send a team to the championship game in any of the six classes from 3A through 8A.

JCA's Wyman, Warren step to the fore
Ron Kremer: With the season on the line, Joliet Catholic Academy volleyball coach Christine Scheibe had the presence to look at senior leader Annemarie Hickey for some guidance.

Football playoff capsule: JCA at Cahokia
#6 JCA (8-2) at #3 Cahokia (9-1) Class: 5A Kickoff: 2 p.m. Saturday Up next: JCA would host Washington or Sterling.

Football playoff capsule: Downers South at Bolingbrook
#7 Downers Grove South (8-2) at #2 Bolingbrook (9-1) Class: 8A Kickoff: 6 p.m. Saturday Up next: Bolingbrook would travel to Glenbard North or to Sandburg.

Football playoff capsule: Providence at Oswego
#2 Providence (9-1) at #10 Oswego (8-2) Class: 6A Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday Up next: Providence would host Crete-Monee or Normal Community.

Playoff football capsule: Minooka at East St. Louis
#3 Minooka (8-2) at #2 East St. Louis (8-2) Class: 7A. Kickoff: 3 p.m. Saturday Up next: Minooka would travel to Lincoln-Way East or host O'Fallon.

Football capsules: Best of the rest, Rd. 2
A look at the other teams playing this weekend.

Riddle me this: Who is Cutler?
Rick Telander: Who is Jay Cutler? Do you know? Do you have any real sense of the most-spotlighted athlete in our city at this time? I don't. And if you're honest, I think you'll admit you don't, either.

With Teahen aboard, will Beckham move to 2nd?

The trade that dragged on yesterday, finally got done today. The White Sox acquired Mark Teahen and cash from the Royals in exhange for Chris Getz and Josh Fields.

Hawks flunk history
Even in these difficult economic times, attendance hasn't been much of a problem for the NHL as a whole. But it has been an issue for the Blackhawks' first two November opponents.

'D' Bulls top LeBron
Would you believe the Bulls won for a second straight game because of their -- ahem -- defense? Believe it.

SPORTS WIRE: Harden, Pods among free agents

Cubs right-hander Rich Harden and outfielder Reed Johnson, along with White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik and backup catcher Ramon Castro,were among 79 major-league baseball players who filed for free agency Thursday, the first possible day.

Lemont places
We live in a world enamored by numbers, whether the topic is the stock market's rise or fall, how many touchdowns or interceptions the Bears' Jay Cutler has thrown or how many years since the Cubs last won the World Series.

Joliet 3, St. Louis 1 -- let's build on that
Lincoln-Way East upheld the honor of the Joliet area last week when the Griffins opened the Class 7A state high school football playoffs with a 35-7 win over Belleville West. Joliet Catholic Academy did the same with a 48-7 thumping of Troy Triad in 5A, and Minooka joined in with a 44-25 win over 7A foe Edwardsville.

Area runners focus on Detweiller Park
A state championship may or may not be looming, but several area girls and boys cross country teams will be looking to shine on the big stage Saturday when the state cross country meets are run at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

Area schedule
A roundup of upcoming events and local results.

Olivet sweeps USF volleyball in first-place battle
Olivet Nazarene swept three straight games from University of St. Francis and captured the CCAC regular-season championship over the second-place Saints on Tuesday night. The Tigers won by scores of 25-12, 25-22 and 25-19.

Colts lose Hagler for the season
The unbeaten Colts have lost starting linebacker Tyjuan Hagler for the rest of the season with a ruptured biceps.

USF's Sullivan wins No. 499
Sophomore forward Greg Leavell and junior center Bruce Watson -- who both transferred to University of St. Francis this year from Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Mich. -- lit up the scoreboard for 24 and 21 points, respectively, to lead the Saints to a 94-84 win over Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) in USF's season opener Wednesday night at the Rec Center.

This Hammers' trade is special
Brandon McArthur has been acquired by the Joliet JackHammers for the playing rights of Michael Moore. But it hardly ranks as your average trade.

Boys and girls cross country qualifiers
A roundup of the boys and girls qualifiers in cross country.

Turner sticks to the plan; won't scale back offense

With some distance from the victory Sunday over the Cleveland Browns, offensive coordinator Ron Turner finally was able to specify his frustration.

A title for Joe G.
Chris De Luca: Sure, the New York Yankees' 27th World Series championship will go down as one more trip down memory lane for Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. It means a long-awaited ring for baseball's all-time highest- paid player, Alex Rodriguez.

Clausen toughs it out after toe injury setback
Quarterback Jimmy Clausen suffered a bit of a setback with the turf toe he has played through the last five games. He aggravated his injured right foot in the third quarter of the victory over Washington State.

Healthy start, happy Deng
John Jackson: After fighting for an offensive rebound, scoring inside and drawing a foul against a bigger player in the fourth quarter of the Bulls' dramatic comeback victory Tuesday night, Luol Deng took a couple of steps and let out a scream that would have registered high marks on the noise meters shown on the United Center scoreboard.

SPORTS WIRE: Dodgers pitcher accidentally shot

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Vicente Padilla is recovering from a bullet wound in his leg after a target shooting instructor accidentally shot him.

Air Jordan shoe flap costs UCF Adidas deal

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A fight over the shoes Michael Jordan's son will wear at Central Florida has cost the school any future sponsorship with Adidas.

Analyst Ozzie: 100 days to spring training

NEW YORK -- With his gig as a World Series analyst for Fox coming to a close, Ozzie Guillen suddenly found himself Wednesday thinking about his real job as White Sox manager.

Lilly optimistic after surgery on shoulder

The Cubs' effort to rebound from a disappointing 2009 season already took its first hit this week when their best pitcher from last season underwent arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder.

Corey Krakowski shines at Indians' deep safety
Bill Scheibe: He trained during the offseason, a cold and bitter winter followed by a warm and soothing summer, to be Minooka's quarterback. Mitch Brozovich, the junior achiever and heir apparent, was supposed to be shelved by labrum shoulder surgery. That didn't happen, so deep safety Corey Krakowski went back to being the quarterback of the defense.

Nine lives for our area entering Round 2
Dick Goss: As I reviewed the matchups in the nine second-round playoff football games involving area high schools, a thought occurred. Honestly, virtually every game can go either way.

Blocked: Huskies fall short of finals
Benet, the top-seed in the Lockport Sectional was stretched by Downers Grove North in Tuesday's sectional semifinals, but the Redwings survived to play another day.

Hickey helps JCA set up battle
Annemarie Hickeya 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter, racked up seven of her match-high 13 kills in the first game of Joliet Catholic Academy's 25-15, 25-16 victory over Rosary in a semifinal match in the Class 3A Wheaton St. Francis Sectional on Tuesday night at St. Francis' Spyglass Athletic Center.

Dwight spikes way to sectional final
Kolby Hoffman had 12 kills and Chaney Tambling 9 as Dwight advanced in the Class 1A Woodland Sectional volleyball tournament Tuesday night with a 25-22, 25-15 semifinal victory over Colfax Ridgeview.

Peoria ND ends super Lemont run
If you continue along the state series trail in a given sport, one thing is certain. Sooner or later, you will face the best. That was the fate that befell the Lemont High School soccer team Tuesday afternoon as the Indians were matched against defending state champion Peoria Notre Dame in the Class 2A Notre Dame Supersectional.

Local digest
A roundup of local sports events.

Lemont falls under St. Francis' spell
Behind 14 kills and four aces from senior outside hitter Kelsey Robinson, Wheaton St. Francis ended Lemont's season with a 25-16, 25-14 victory in the semifinals of the St. Francis Class 3A sectional Tuesday night.

State government again committed to outdoors
It wasn't long ago that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources was among the most respected in the nation.

Will the real 'D' stand up?
Mike Mulligan: The progress of the Bears' defense has been treacherously betrayed by the man running it. The supposed improvement in the NFL rankings this year -- they jumped from 16th to 11th after beating woeful Cleveland on Sunday -- is nothing but a mirage. Sure, you take progress where you find it, even in a hollow run up the table to the defense's highest ranking since the Super Bowl year.

Bulls gut out a win

It was a strange day all around for the Bulls, from the sudden flu that benched Tyrus Thomas to their stunningly bad start in the game with the Milwaukee Bucks to the remarkable finish that staved off an embarrassing loss.

Clausen's choice clouds ND future
Neil Hayes: The decision that will most impact the future of Notre Dame football will not be made by President John I. Jenkins, athletics director Jack Swarbrick, coach Charlie Weis or the small group of influential alumni who have served as behind-the-scenes power brokers in the not-so-distant past.

It's Pedro's party; we're all invited
Chris De Luca: There was no World Series game Tuesday, just a workout before the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees resume play with Game 6 tonight. But that didn't mean there was no entertainment. All you need is a microphone, Yankee Stadium as the backdrop and Pedro Martinez live and on stage.

Illini have hope for Hawthorne

Where does Terry Hawthorne's touchdown-saving tackle rank?

Illini's Hawthorne eager to play both ways

Ron Zook has had the same thought you've had: With all the speed true freshman Terry Hawthorne has, why not get him the ball on offense?

SPORTS WIRE: 3 softball players found dead

Three missing North Dakota college softball players were found dead Tuesday in a Jeep pulled from a pond, and police said they believed the women were in the vehicle when they made two desperate calls to friends for help.

Surf & turf: USF'S Goolsby rides wave
When one of John Goolsby's last college football wishes recently was granted, the only thing missing was the genie in the bottle. Goolsby, the former Morris High School standout, threw a single-game school-record tying four touchdown passes in the University of St. Francis' 62-20 victory over Olivet Nazarene on Oct. 24.

JCA looks to avoid speed bump at Cahokia
Speed on speed. That is what is brewing for Saturday's Class 5A football second-round playoff matchup between Joliet Catholic Academy and Cahokia, one of nine weekend games involving area teams.

In the know: 5A-8A rankings
A roundup of rankings in high school football.

Homer runs toward state success
Success breeds success. One can see it all over the sports arena. There is Florida football, Duke basketball and many local high school teams in this immediate area that year-in and year-out experience success, especially in football.

Briefs: Malak sisters have MGM Grand time
Two Lemont sisters, 14-year-old Lanaea Malak and her 10-year-old sister Breanna, recently placed in the Toyota Arenacross Nation Championships at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Area schedule
A roundup of upcoming events and local results.

By the Numbers: John Goolsby
A look at John Goolsby's stats.

Second-round game times
Following are the second-round game times.

Bears dread the red zone
When Bob Babich was the Bears' defensive coordinator, it was always difficult to figure out where he started and Lovie Smith ended. The two were in lockstep. The perception is that since Smith replaced Babich as the play-caller, Ron Turner's role as co-head coach/offense has been reinforced.

Back off the Cliff
Chris De Luca: Even the Serbian cab driver who swears he has been following baseball for only one week had an opinion on Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel's World Series rotation.

Rusty Rose trying to get groove back
Bulls point guard Derrick Rose wants his groove back, and fast. Rose was the last player to leave the floor after practice Monday at the Berto Center in Deerfield.

Hawks optimistic Toews' injury still day-to-day
The Blackhawks always have maintained that Jonathan Toews is ''day-to-day'' with concussion-like symptoms, but he still hasn't returned to the ice.

SPORTS WIRE: Harangody tops preseason list

Notre Dame senior forward Luke Harangody should get used to being on top of lists.

Lemont claims superlight, varsity titles
It was a good day for the home team Sunday in the River Valley Conference Youth Football League Super Bowls. The Lemont Hornets won two of the four games, taking the superlight championship 18-12 over the Joliet Raiders and the varsity title 12-6 over Frankfort Blue.

Fire gives Revs a head start

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - On an afternoon filled with chances, the Fire let the biggest one slip through its grasp.

Cutler takes hits - on field and verbally; Payton honored

Bears coach Lovie Smith likes to talk about how losses don't leave a good taste in his mouth, but Sunday's 30-6 win over the Cleveland Browns probably didn't taste too good to Jay Cutler, who was swallowing blood after a blow to the chin from the helmet of Cleveland linebacker Kamerion Wimbley in the second quarter.

Eager-ly awaited news: 'Close to 100 percent'
Concussion is a word rarely uttered in the hockey world, but Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville used it without reservation in describing the problems that kept Ben Eager on the sideline the last four weeks.

More like a Brownout
There will come a point in this season when offensive coordinator Ron Turner no longer will be able to preach patience and say the offense needs to execute better.

McMurray snaps 86-race winless skid
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- NASCAR demanded drivers be on their best behavior at Talladega Superspeedway, where a ban on bump-drafting sanitized what's usually one of the most spectacular races of the season.

Just like old times: Favre wins at Lambeau
Brett Favre still knows how to win big games at Lambeau Field, even if this one came for the enemy and to a chorus of boos. For the second time in less than a month, Brett Favre sliced up his former team and stuck it to the franchise that cast him aside as the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 38-26 at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Ferguson, defense pack punch for JCA
JCA held Troy Triad to negative yardage until a fourth-quarter drive and junior wingback Josh Ferguson danced and juked his way to four long touchdown runs as the Hilltoppers opened the Class 5A playoffs Saturday afternoon with a 48-7 thumping of Triad at Memorial Stadium.

Return to glory for Lockport XC teams
A year ago both the Lockport boys and girls cross country teams missed going to state. This year, the Porters are back. Lockport advanced both its boys and girls teams to state, each with fourth place finishes, in the Lockport Class 3A sectional Saturday at Dellwood Park.

Morris leaves Chicago with another win
For the second straight year, Morris visited Chicago's Hanson Stadium in the first round of the playoffs. And, for the second straight year, the Redskins left Hanson Stadium with a win, this time 19-6 over Chicago Raby in the first round of the 4A playoffs.

Nothing scary for Coal City in win
The seventh-seeded Coal City Coalers jumped out to a 20-0 lead and coasted from there on their way to a 30-7 victory over visiting Dunlap in a first-round, IHSA Class 4A state playoff game Saturday night.

Great ride ends for Plainfield North football
The Plainfield North Tigers drew powerful Chicago St. Rita in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs and were sent home to pack their gear after a 40-14 loss to the Mustangs on Saturday night.

Lemont's Driscoll has his act down Pat
Ron Kremer: Yeah, yeah. Pat Driscoll knows the drill. The third-year defensive line starter on Lemont's football team knows the first man to the opposing ballcarrier is supposed to wrap him up. The second is then free to go for the strip.

Reed-Custer does Wilmington a favor
Dick Goss: The regular season is one thing. Once you enter the high school football playoffs, everything begins anew. That's the way Wilmington High School viewed its situation Friday night, when neighboring rival Reed-Custer came calling for a Class 3A opening-round battle.

Defense crucial in Wilmington win over R-C
Bill Scheibe: Isolated on an island at cornerback, and staring straight into the facemask of 6-foot-2, 215-pound fullback Jim Benson being split wide, Wilmington senior Justin Gruca transformed into Just(in) Time Gruca.

Nine lives for Joliet Catholic volleyball
With senior middle hitter Claire Randich carrying the load, the Joliet Catholic Academy volleyball team's tradition of winning regional titles continued Saturday afternoon.

Volleyball roundup: Dwight dominates in 1A final
Home sweet home. The concept worked wonders for the Dwight volleyball team Saturday in a Class 1A regional championship match the Trojans hosted.

XC roundup: Minooka sends boys, girls to state
One day. Two races. Two teams to the state meet for Minooka. The boys finished third at the 3A Normal West Sectional at Maxwell Park on Saturday, while the girls team finished fifth.

Bears look lackluster in 30-6 win over Browns
Don’t mistake a 30-6 victory over the down-and-out Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Soldier Field for progress because, if anything, it was a step backward offensively a week after the Bears were beaten into humiliation in Cincinnati.

Lemont turns it on, tops Bremen in PKs
In the championship game of the Class 2A Lemont Sectional -- which was moved away from the Indians' off-campus soccer facility to Lincoln-Way West -- Lemont prevailed in penalty kicks over Bremen 1-0.

Celtics ousted in 2nd overtime
Edwardsville's Cameron Lauchner launched a perfect free kick from about 30 yards out on the right side and Nick Marshall leaped into the air and converted a header from in front of the left post to give the Tigers a 2-1 victory over Providence Catholic in double overtime.

Huskies zip past Akron in second half
The Northern Illinois football team ran 20 more plays, held the ball for 14 more minutes and had two runners top 100 yards rushing in Saturday's 27-10 win over Akron in gusting, swirling winds at Huskie Stadium. Somehow, though, NIU entered the fourth quarter trailing the Zips 10-6.

Defense powers JJC past DuPage
Joliet Junior College football coach Jeremy Richardson "guaranteed" a victory Saturday against College of DuPage in the first round of the Region IV playoffs.

L-Way North swimmers win SWSC
Lincoln-Way North won the title at the Southwest Suburban Red girls swimming and diving championships Saturday.

Bears give Vasher a try in game vs. Browns
One of the problems the Bears have had on defense the past few seasons is that they haven't gotten production from some of the players they have paid. Not commensurate to the checks that were written by the club, anyway.

Hawthorne's chase and tackle gives boost to Illini
Who knew? Looking for a spark, Ron Zook has been juggling quarterbacks and cornerbacks, offensive linemen and kickers, safeties and tailbacks. Who knew that one tackle by one true freshman who went to his first training camp a wide receiver and came out as a cornerback would do the trick?

Goalie mask turns 50
Fifty years ago today, hockey changed forever. On Nov. 1, 1959, Jacques Plante became the first NHL goalie to wear a facemask, beginning the end of an era in which goalies -- including Blackhawks legend Glenn Hall -- did things that are incomprehensible today.

Game film vs. Celts gets thumbs down

BOSTON -- Instead of traveling to Miami immediately after the game Friday night -- as they often do -- the Bulls' itinerary called for them to stay over and practice before departing for Florida.

SPORTS WIRE: West returns, Cavs tip Bobcats:

Delonte West scored 13 points in his delayed season debut, Mo Williams added 24 and LeBron James 14 as the host Cleveland Cavaliers, back at full strength, rolled to a 90-79 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday.

>Don't waste Sundays on NFL

Every Sunday, I sit in a bar, look up at multiple TV screens and wonder, ''What am I doing with myself?''

Minooka answers the call
With state powerhouse East St. Louis High School looming as the potential challenge in the second round, the Minooka Indians (8-2) took care of their own business with a 44-25 win over Edwardsville on Friday night in the opening round of the 7A playoffs.

Linne lifts Central past Lockport in playoffs
Naperville Central senior quarterback Nick Linne threw four touchdown passes — three to senior tight end Cam Brate — as the Redhawks scored 14 unanswered points in the second half to pull away from Lockport, 28-16, Friday night in a Class 8A first-round playoff game.

'Brook survives first-round scare
On a night when the wind was a big factor, and field position was high on the priority list, the Bolingbrook High School coaching staff took a half-time gamble that paid off as the Raiders defeated Lyons Township 17-10 in the opening round of the 8A playoffs.

Time for Lemont's other stars to shine
Cody Kamberos ran for 101 yards on 5 carries and scored a touchdown in Lemont's 37-0 victory over Lincoln-Way North in the opening round of the 6A playoffs on Friday night. Lee Taylor caught 5 passes for 56 yards, including a 14-yard TD grab.

Wilmington meets Reed-Custer challenge
The high school football playoffs are an entirely different animal. Oh, yes, favored Wilmington (10-0) did what was expected Friday night, eliminating Interstate Eight Conference and neighborhood rival Reed-Custer 33-7 in a Class 3A opener, setting up next week's home game against St. Joseph-Ogden.

Ricketts outline game plan for owning Cubs

Thomas Ricketts spent $845 million for, among other assets, a baseball team that in a good year will record a profit of around $30 million.

Providence rolls over Harlan in opener

NEW LENOX -- After battling and clawing its way to an 8-1 regular season finish and a Chicago Catholic League Blue Division championship, the Providence Catholic Celtics found that they had to get into the state playoffs before they could get a breather.

Van Gennep, Starke spark East blowout
Behind a balanced offensive attack, the Lincoln-Way East football team rolled to an easy 35-7 win over Belleville West in the opening round of the Class 7A playoffs Friday night.

Peotone rocked by Richmond-Burton
It's hard to find much good to say after your football team loses 40-7, but Peotone coach Kevin Greene was able to Friday night after his Blue Devils fell to Richmond-Burton by that score in the first round of the 4A playoffs.

Local briefs: USF women snap skid
Freshman outside hitter Jazzmyne Robbins authored 12 kills to lead University of St. Francis to a three-game sweep of CCAC rival Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) on Thursday night at the Recreation Center.

'We'll win World Series'
Three years ago this month, in a prelude to a sale as it turned out, John McDonough took over as Cubs president and declared, ''It's time to win a World Series.'' Since then, time, a half-billion dollars in payroll commitments and McDonough have passed through an organization still waiting on a World Series with the urgency of a five-beer buildup at the back of the line for a Wrigley Field trough. Next!

From rousing to routed
It would have been unrealistic to expect Friday night's matchup between the Bulls and Boston Celtics to duplicate the excitement of last season's epic first-round playoff series. But no one -- especially the Bulls coming off a rousing win the previous night -- expected an epic blowout instead.

Bowl fates on line for Wildcats, Lions
Legends will haunt and hover about both sidelines at Ryan Field today. For Penn State, it will be Joe Paterno -- hallowed, iconic, long ago canonized by the most ardent spirits of Happy Valley -- in search of a sustained surge into November and a few breaks to get his No. 12 Nittany Lions on the marquee of a BCS game.

Sharp's dagger gets it done

The Blackhawks washed away the bad taste of a shutout loss at Nashville in a hurry. They concluded the first month of the season with a rousing 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in one of those rare matchups of NHL Original Six franchises Friday night at the United Center.

A-Rod whiff total mounts; no boos yet

PHILADELPHIA -- After breaking out of his postseason slump by driving in 12 runs during the first two rounds of the playoffs, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been silent in the first two games of the World Series, going 0-for-8 with six strikeouts.

Lincoln-Way C. comes up on short end

NEW LENOX -- The 266-mile trip to O'Fallon from New Lenox probably seemed a lot shorter to the visiting Panthers than did the short walk to the locker room for the Lincoln-Way Central Knights.

Plainfield North pulls switch on Lockport
A change will do you good. That certainly could be the theme song for the Plainfield North girls volleyball team. The Tigers have made some changes that have worked out for the better and those continued in a 25-19, 25-21 victory over Lockport Thursday night in the semifinals of the Class 4A Oswego East Regional.

Primed for the playoffs
The nine Friday night high school football playoff games involving area schools are likely to be played in rain and wind. Let's take a look at a sampling of our playoff quarterbacks who caught my eye during the season, beginning in Class 8A.

Let the mud fly -- sectional time arrives
Area runners are hoping for a break in the weather for Saturday's high school sectional cross country meets. Or maybe not.

JCA, Lemont off to flying starts in 3A
The Joliet Catholic Academy girls volleyball opened defense of its 3A state title with a 25-7, 25-7 victory over Morris in the regional semifinal play on Thursday night at Morris.

Minooka hops to victory thanks to Hopper
Strong net play by outside hitter Dariyan Hopper and middle hitter Caleigh Hill led Minooka to a 25-18, 25-13 victory over Bradley-Bourbonnais in the opening round of the 4A Minooka Regional on Thursday.

Lewis lands two on GLVC squad
The GLVC announced on Thursday that Lewis University's Nestor Hernandez and Zac Bond have been named to the All-GLVC Men's Soccer First Team, as voted on by the conference coaches.

Area schedule
A roundup of upcoming events and local results.

Reed-Custer at Wilmington
#7 Reed-Custer (6-3) at #2 Wilmington (9-0) Class: 3A Kickoff: 7 p.m.

Lincoln-Way North at Lemont
#13 Lincoln-Way North (6-3) at #4 Lemont (8-1) Class: 6A Kickoff: 7 p.m.

Troy Triad at JCA
#11 Troy Triad (7-2) at #6 JCA (7-2) Class: 5A Kickoff: 3 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium

Plainfield North at St. Rita
#5 Plainfield North (7-2) at #4 St. Rita (7-2) Class: 7A Kickoff: 6 p.m. Saturday

Capsules of other games
Capsules of the area's other games this weekend.

Girls sectional qualifiers
Here are the girls sectional qualifiers.

Boys sectional qualifiers
Here are the boys sectional qualifiers.

Meyers is main middle man for Plainfield North
Please forgive, if you can, Plainfield North middle linebacker Matt Meyers for the first two letters of his last name. It is one of those few times he ever will be associated with, or even mention, the objective pronoun of "me."

Morris sitting pretty for foray into 4A
Morris finishes 5-4 to qualify for the state high school football playoffs, gets in as the largest Class 4A school rather than landing in 5A, and then the Redskins draw Chicago Raby for an opening-round opponent at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hanson Stadium.

DeFilippis: Right place, right time
Kevin DeFilippis picked a great time to score his first two goals of the season. DeFilippis scored twice as Providence Catholic edged out Normal Community 2-1 in a double-overtime thriller in the 3A Edwardsville Sectional on Wednesday at Illinois State University's Adelaide Street Field.

2010: Hammers play 50 at home
The Joliet JackHammers have announced their 2010 regular-season schedule, which includes 50 home games. The Hammers will begin play Friday, May 21, in Fargo, N.D., against the defending Northern League champion Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.

Pashos injury stings 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers took a big blow to their already struggling offensive line Tuesday, losing right tackle Tony Pashos for the season with a broken left shoulder blade. Pashos is a former Lockport High School all-stater.

Huston solves problem
Christine Scheibe is returning home with a team intent on once again bringing it all home. Her Joliet Catholic Academy volleyball team boasts a 34-1 record and is ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 9 in the nation heading into postseason play.

Volleyball pairings
Here are high school volleyball pairings.

Ruedi's all-around play sparks Lewis
Junior Rachel Ruedi recorded her first career triple-double in No. 12 Lewis' 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 13-25, 18-16 victory at UW-Parkside.

Area schedule
A roundup of upcoming events and local results.

Positive vibes flowing through Big Ten hoops country
Tom Crean was so excited for this season to start that his wife had to remind him to put on a show for the fans at Hoosier Hysteria, not run conditioning drills. And that's the coach of the last-place team. It was that kind of a year in the Big Ten in 2008-09.

5 keys to Bulls' success
Usually there's somewhat of a consensus among the newspapers, magazines and Web sites that produce NBA previews. The projected conference standings are remarkably similar, and a team's ranking generally doesn't vary more than two or three spots. That's not the case with the Bulls. Depending on the preview, they're ranked anywhere from fourth to 10th in the Eastern Conference.

Lovie on guard over lineup

With the Bears facing the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, coach Lovie Smith paid tribute to Browns coach Eric Mangini with a vow of silence about a rumored change at left guard.

Rise of Phoenix
After winning state titles as the defensive coordinator at both Providence Catholic and Lockport, George Czart became Lincoln-Way North's first head coach for the 2008 season, then compiled his depth chart. In consultation with the Lincoln-Way East coaching staff, Czart started a star search. He called the concept "crushing," but Czart identified the program's No. 1 athlete and made him the Phoenix quarterback.

Bahena gives LWC boot
Lincoln-Way Central coach Dan Radz could only shake his head after watching his team fall 4-0 to Eisenhower in Tuesday night's Class 3A Homewood-Flossmoor Sectional semifinal, but it wasn't because the Knights had lost.

South may rise again -- but not this year
The state high school football playoffs lump schools of similar enrollment into each of the eight classes. The idea is that everyone begins the playoffs on somewhat of an equal playing field.

Lemont pours on the offense in rout of JCA
Scoring goals in the rain. That certainly was what the Lemont soccer team was doing Tuesday night. Senior forward Dillon Perez scored a pair of goals as the Indians scored early and often and went on to a 7-0 victory over Joliet Catholic Academy in the Class 2A Lemont Sectional semifinals.

USF playoff bid falls short
University of St. Francis' bid for the eighth and final spot in the CCAC women's soccer post-season championship tournament fell just short and the Saints' season came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Cardinal Stritch Tuesday afternoon at the Galowich YMCA field.

Area schedule
A roundup of upcoming games and local results.

Tait Erikson file
Quarterback Tait Erikson helps lead Lincoln-Way North's 'amazing' ride from worst to first -- times two

First-round game times
Here is a rundown of the first-round game times.

Four ways to fix the season: Salvage job starts here, now
Mike Mulligan: The Bears are finished in everyone's mind but their own. A dreadful defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals is sure to awaken self-doubt and invite a collapse of confidence, but the perfect elixir comes in the form of the Cleveland Browns, who turn up Sunday at Soldier Field.

World Series champion is ...
This is the blueprint the White Sox hoped -- and needed -- to follow: Win a World Series one year to end a frustrating dry spell, then return to the same stage the next October. It's easier said than done, but here are the Philadelphia Phillies facing the last team to pull off the feat, the New York Yankees.

Alamodome away from home for ND
Notre Dame will try to make the Alamodome feel like home Saturday, when the Irish ''host'' Washington State (1-6) in San Antonio: The band will make the trip. Mike Collins, who is the public-address announcer at Notre Dame Stadium, will work the game.

Agassi admits using crystal meth in 1997

NEW YORK -- Andre Agassi's upcoming autobiography contains an admission that he used crystal meth in 1997, the year he dropped to No. 141 in the rankings.

Bringing the Negro Leagues to life
Dave Hoekstra: Baseball historians often read between the lines to grasp the essence of the Negro Leagues. They were formed out of necessity in 1920 in Chicago when black players were excluded from the Major Leagues because of racial discrimination. After Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1947, the leagues continued until 1955.

Keeping it all in the Celtics family
The line stops here? Nope. After senior defensive back/wide receiver Cody Cleveland plays in his final football game for Providence Catholic High School, the family name will remain a part of Celtic lore for the foreseeable future.

Long trips aside, area optimism abounds
As I composed the accompanying chart that details the starting times for this weekend's opening-round games involving area schools in the state high school football playoffs, I could not help but think about what may be in store for next week.

Stenberg stands out
Former Lockport High School standout Mark Stenberg returned home from a recent trip south of the border with another achievement to mark on his burgeoning wrestling resume.

In the know: 1A-8A rankings
These are The Herald-News' rankings of 1A through 8A football teams:

Lewis-ND game on TV
Lewis University athletic director Dan Schumacher announced that Sunday's men's basketball exhibition game between the Flyers and Division I Notre Dame will be aired live on Lakeshore Public Television.

USF's Goolsby named Player of the Week
University of St. Francis senior quarterback John Goolsby has been named the Mid-States Football Association/Midwest League Offensive Player of the Week after firing a USF school record-tying four touchdown passes in the Saints' 62-20 victory over rival Olivet Nazarene Saturday night.

Cheesecake vs. cheesesteak in Series
The notion that you can't have too much of a good thing is about to get a major test.

First-round game times
Here are the first-round game times in Class 3A through 8A:

Talking about practice
Tommie Harris was right. It wasn't his chronic left knee woes that prevented him from playing in the 45-10 massacre Sunday at Cincinnati. Instead, it was a more restrictive authority, coach Lovie Smith, who ruled he would sit out practice last week and the game.

Huet getting on a roll
It's much too early to tell if the Blackhawks made the right decision last summer in signing Marian Hossa to a long-term contract and allowing Martin Havlat to move on to the Minnesota Wild.

Captain Kirk again
Although the roster has undergone many changes, the one constant in the Bulls' locker room the last few years is Kirk Hinrich being named a team captain after the annual players' vote.

Notebook: Illinois, NU, ND, nation
Mikel Leshoure will be the first option at running back when Illinois returns home against Michigan on Saturday (2:30 p.m., Ch. 7), coach Ron Zook said.

Cubs look safe at home

Don't start pricing timeshares in Southwest Florida for Cubs spring training trips yet.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL | EAGLES 27, REDSKINS 17: Play-calling shuffle doesn't help Redskins

LANDOVER, Md. -- Sherm Lewis might want to go back to bingo. Better yet, he might want to apply for a job as the Philadelphia Eagles' play-caller. It's a much easier job with someone such as DeSean Jackson on your side.

SPORTS WIRE: Barkley wants to become GM, but on his terms

Charles Barkley thinks he can do better than some of the general managers he criticizes on TV.

Seed not important as Homer wins state
They were not even the No. 1 seed in the regional tournament. But taking that slight, the Homer Junior High School baseball team parlayed winning the regional, then the sectional, into a trip to the Illinois Elementary School Association Elite Eight.

Ibarra's goal powers Lewis
No. 21 Lewis and Rockhurst played to a scoreless tie for 80 minutes Sunday. However a late goal by Jose Ibarra of Romeoville gave the Flyers the only score they needed as the Flyers topped the Hawks 1-0.

LaRussa closer to decision on future
ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa took a flight from his West Coast home to St. Louis on Sunday for further talks about his future. There was a report, too, Mark McGwire might join him as a coach.

Hamlin charges for late win
MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Denny Hamlin didn't need to do anything funny to exact his revenge from Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville Speedway. He just drove right by him.

Bears humiliated by Benson, Bengals
Cedric Benson said last week that ''my dreams are coming true'' with the Cincinnati Bengals, but he didn't mention anything about nightmares beginning for the Bears.

Deng ready for next step
The primary goal for Luol Deng in the preseason was proving he was healthy after missing essentially six months with a stress fracture of the lower right leg. Mission accomplished on that front. The 6-9 forward played in all eight preseason games and participated in every practice, including the two-a-day sessions the first week of training camp.

Fabulous 15 in state football playoffs
Fifteen indeed was the magic number. That's how many Joliet area high school football teams have been invited to the postseason playoff extravaganza.

Man-child Indians cash in win over P'field C.
Bill Scheibe: In a cramped storage shed underneath the Plainfield Central visitors' bleachers, offensive coordinator Frank Yudzentis stepped into the middle of the team's postgame circle and captured Minooka's moment perfectly Friday.

JCA corners market for title
Senior Mitch Cunnea scored off a corner in the first half and JCA made it stand up for a 1-0 win over Illiana Christian as the Hilltoppers captured the title of its own Class 2A regional Saturday afternoon.

Oh, brother! LWC shuts down LWE
Freshman goalkeeper Mike Dybala came up with some huge saves and his older brother, senior striker Chris Dybala, scored the first goal as Lincoln-Way Central toppled Lincoln-Way East 2-0 in the Class 3A regional final Saturday afternoon at Lincoln-Way North.

Physical play back in vogue at Minooka
Dick Goss: Minooka High School last participated in the state football playoffs in 2003. That Minooka team, coached by current Plainfield South coach Mike Briscoe, was tough. Those Indians went toe to toe with the big boys, never backing down. The trademark is back.

Ivlow puts stamp on Bolingbrook team
Ron Kremer: After watching Bolingbrook beat Lincoln-Way Central to capture a share of its third straight conference football championship, I was struck by one of those lightning-bolt type thoughts that every now and again jolts my mind and renews my sense of purpose.

L-Way West ends season with win
The Lincoln-Way West football team ended the season the same way it began Saturday -- with a win.

Lockport girls, boys take regional title
For your Saturday morning entertainment, how about a nice traipse through the mud? The runners at the Class 3A Bolingbrook High School boys and girls regional cross country meets at DuPage River Park enjoyed the experience, especially those who advanced to next week's sectional at Dellwood Park.

Lincoln-Way East, Minooka pack in wins
At this time last year, Minooka's Joe McAsey was on the football field for the sophomore team. The last time the Lincoln-Way East girls took the starting line at Channahon Community Park, Nicole Nepote was on the frosh-soph team. On Saturday, each was a key ingredient in their teams' recipe for success at the Class 3A Minooka Regional as each rolled to second-place finishes.

JJC drops tight one to College of DuPage
Round 1 went to College of DuPage, but Joliet Junior College won't have to wait long for redemption.

Goolsby, USF light up the scoreboard
On a night when senior quarterback John Goolsby tied a single-game passing record and the University of St. Francis football team matched a 17-year-old scoring record, there was another record coach Mike Uremovich was proud to see his academic All-America lineman set.

Playoff capsule: No. 1 L-Way East
For those who have not been paying attention, Lincoln-Way East is in 7A this season, not 8A. And as much as we hear about the strength of 7A, the fact remains, nobody in 7A wants to see Lincoln-Way East coming.

Playoff capsule: No. 2 Bolingbrook
Bolingbrook is the No. 2 seed in the upper bracket of 8A, and rightfully so.

Playoff capsule: No. 2 Wilmington
Wilmington is a No. 2 seed in an eight-team quadrant of 3A.

Playoff capsule: No. 2 Providence
Providence Catholic, the No. 2 seed in the 16-team upper bracket, perhaps is as much of a favorite to win a state title as anyone in our area.

Playoff capsule: No. 3 Minooka
Our area apparently has joined the Southwestern Conference, and that includes top-ranked East St. Louis, which Minooka could face in Round 2.

Playoff capsule: No. 4 L-Way Central
Whew! Lincoln-Way Central got the No. 4 seed in an eight-team quadrant of the upper bracket, and as such, the Knights are the only 6-3 team in 7A to secure a home game.

Playoff capsule: No. 4 Lemont
Lemont is the two-time defending runnerup in 6A and this time is locked into what appears to be a quality 16-team upper bracket. The

Playoff capsule: No. 5 Plainfield North
Plainfield North has been hit with a difficult assignment for its first playoff game ever.

Playoff capsule: No. 6 JCA
Welcome, Hilltoppers, to the deep South. JCA, the No. 6 seed in the 16-team upper bracket, not only opens against No. 11 Troy Triad, champion of the Mississippi Valley Conference, but guess what looms in Round 2?

Playoff capsule: No. 7 Coal City
Coal City, the No. 7 seed in the 16-team lower bracket, stumbled around a bit in mid-season but seems to have righted the ship.

Playoff capsule: No. 7 Reed-Custer
The playoff gods apparently have something against Reed-Custer in 2009.

Playoff capsule: No. 12 Lockport
Lockport gets the 12 seed in the 16-team upper bracket, while Naperville Central is the 5.

Playoff capsule: No. 13 L-Way North
Lincoln-Way North, the 13th seed in the 16-team upper bracket, is getting better and better.

Playoff capsule: No. 13 Morris
Morris is much, much more of a threat in 4A than the 5-4 record indicates.

Playoff capsule: No. 15 Peotone
You enter the playoffs as a conference champion, as Peotone does, and there are no favors given.

Playoffs: By the Numbers
Postseason history for Joliet-area schools:

Volleyball roundup: Lockport takes Lyons Quad
The Lockport volleyball team picked the right time to get hot.

Area briefs: L-Way West girls reach sectionals
The Lincoln-Way West girls cross country team had a successful showing in its first varsity regional Saturday, taking second place in the Class 2A Sandwich Regional and advancing to next week's East Peoria Sectional.

Tillman on covering Chad and being a dad
Shadowing Chad Ochocinco, Charles Tillman’s expected assignment today, won’t be an easy task, but the Bears cornerback can put it in perspective.

NU's record comeback defeats Indiana

In the end, the game marked the biggest comeback in the history of Northwestern football.

Shout-out for shutout

Center Jonathan Toews and defenseman Brent Seabrook played in all 82 regular-season games last season and were big reasons the Hawks amassed 104 points and advanced to the Western Conference finals.

Minooka beats P'field C. in mud bowl
You line up two high school football teams together that have been improving all season. You have plenty riding on the outcome for both sides. What do you get? Friday night's thriller at Plainfield Central, where Minooka clinched the Southwest Prairie Conference championship with a thrilling 21-13 victory.

'Brook's Martin makes L-Way C. feel sick
Jamel Martin wasn't feeling very good, but the senior tailback put aside his illness and helped Bolingbrook gain a share of the Southwest Suburban Blue football crown. He rushed for 172 yards on 23 carries and scored 4 touchdowns in a 26-13 victory over Lincoln-Way Central on Friday night at Lashmet Field.

JCA routs ND for share of ESCC
Joliet Catholic Academy claimed a share of the East Suburban Catholic Conference title Friday night by routing Niles Notre Dame 55-14 at Memorial Stadium.

Providence pulls off late win over Mt. Carmel
Junior quarterback Joey Houlihan engineered a Catholic League Blue championship drive that pulled Providence Catholic from near certain defeat to an electrifying 17-14 win over Mt. Carmel.

Oswego stops Romeoville ride
After averaging over 33 points per game and scoring at least 20 points in every outing, Romeoville's football team was shut down on Friday night.

PFN runs past district rival PFE
The Plainfield North High School football team completed its regular season with an impressive 43-0 Southwest Prairie Conference win over neighborhood District 202 rival Plainfield East Friday night.

Adams shines for PFS in win over Oswego E.
It's becoming all too familiar for the Plainfield South football team. For the second straight year, the Cougars finished 5-4 and will likely miss the playoffs after a 40-15 win over Oswego East.

7th win slips through Lockport's fingers
Lockport was stunned by a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns as Sandburg rallied for a 14-10 win in an old-fashioned Southwest Suburban Blue battle Friday night.

Phoenix's rise from 0-9 ashes complete
Lincoln-Way North dumped Andrew 10-0 in a do-or-die SWSC Red showdown Friday night.

L-Way East wraps up title share
Lincoln-Way East (8-1, 6-1) played near flawless football in the opening half, rolled to a 28-0 lead at the break and then claimed a share of the Southwest Suburban Blue title with a 35-14 win.

Maldonado on mark as Morris makes it in
For the second straight season, the Morris Redskins found themselves in a do-or-die situation entering Week 9 of the high school football season. And for the second straight season, the Redskins got the job done.

JT rallies late, but comes up short
Joliet Township put up a vailant comeback effort in the second half, but it fell just short in a 30-16 loss to Homewood-Flossmoor.

Football roundup: Lemont cruises to conference title
With 8:55 left in the first half -- just over 15 minutes into the game -- Lemont led Bremen 41-0. They cruised from there, winning the South Suburban Blue game 41-6 to clinch at least a tie for the conference title.

Providence gets its payback
Providence Catholic High School's boys soccer team got the rematch it wanted with Joliet Township, and the Celtics didn't waste it.

Trouper retires as Strike 'N' Spare chief
There has been a "changing of the guard" at Strike 'N Spare II in Lockport.

Illinois one of the top states in nation for whitetail deer
Local bowhunters are proving that the Prairie State is still one of the nation's premier whitetail destinations.

Local briefs: Altansarnia, Foster advance
Plainfield Central High School sophomore Ali Foster and Plainfield North sophomore Jackie Altansarnia both advanced to the third round of the weather-abbreviated Girls State Tennis Tournament before being eliminated Friday.

Point is, tall guys take over for Bulls
To save time in his pregame remarks Friday night, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro simply listed the point guards playing -- Lindsey Hunter -- instead of the usual practice of naming the injured players sitting out.

ND needs to stop losing streak to BC
Notre Dame is at the halfway point of its season and, given its 4-2 record, likely will have to go 6-0 from here on out to even be considered for a BCS bowl invitation.

Center of ascension
The Blackhawks acquired Andrew Ebbett at just the right time. He'd be an able fill-in for Jonathan Toews if the team captain can't play tonight against the Nashville Predators at the United Center.

'Healthy' Tommie Harris out for Bengals game
Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said Thursday morning on WSCR-AM (670) that defensive tackle Tommie Harris ''is healthy.'' A statement on Harris' health hasn't been that inaccurate since coach Lovie Smith announced at the start of training camp that Harris was ''100 percent healthy.''

Newman takes the pole at Martinsville
Twice in the first five races of NASCAR's season-ending, 10-race Chase for the championship, Juan Pablo Montoya's frustration because of something that happened on the track has been aimed at Mark Martin, a fellow contender for the title.

One for the JCA book of memories
Whenever a group of seniors play together on their home court for the final time, it's always special. Especially when you're the top-rated team in the state. Such was the case for Joliet Catholic Academy Thursday night. The defending Class 3A state champion Angels celebrated senior night by doing what they have done so often this season, winning a match in two games, with a 25-12, 25-16 victory over Providence.

Playoff questions about to be answered
The long-awaited Week 9 has arrived. As much fun as it is to speculate on which area high school football teams will qualify for the playoffs, and which will be in which class, this is the weekend when we will know for sure.

No. 14 Saint Leo chops USF down to size
SAINT LEO, Fla. -- NCAA Division II No. 14 Saint Leo University handed University of St. Francis its third straight loss on the Saints' fall break Florida trip with a three-game sweep on Thursday night.

Joliet absorbs draft-day losses
JOLIET -- The Northern League expansion draft was held Thursday and two JackHammers have found a new home in Lake County with the Fielders.

Altansarnia wins a pair on Day 1

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- When Jackie Altansarnia and Ali Foster step onto the tennis court, you can expect some fireworks.

Lemont wraps up title; JT defeats 'Brook
LEMONT -- Check and double-check.

Don't panic about Bears' running game
Mike Mulligan: With the Bears playing the Cincinnati Bengals and Cedric Benson on Sunday, it's a perfect time for one of those ''Where Are They Now?'' features about former Bears running backs. Benson has resuscitated his career and ranks third in the NFL in rushing this season. Matt Forte ... whatever happened to that guy?

Rose may take court against Wizards

After being listed as day-to-day for nearly three weeks with a lingering injury to his right ankle, Bulls point guard Derrick Rose finally returned to the practice court Thursday.

Reeling continues after tough hit on Toews
Vicious, but clean. That's the universal assessment of the hit that Vancouver Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell delivered on Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews late in the game Wednesday at the United Center.

P'field C. linebacker has been defensive ‘Superman’
Bill Scheibe: Superman's cape has been the subject of several genres, including a Jim Croce song. Like it or not, Plainfield Central middle linebacker Ryan Carr inherited that type of handle after playing 10 varsity games last year.

Lincoln-Way Central outlasts Marist
C.J. Zuraitis took one for the team. He was chasing down a 50/50 ball with 4:57 left in the fourth overtime of Lincoln-Way Central's 2-1 victory over Marist in a 3A regional semifinal on Wednesday night. He collided with Marist keeper Michael Duddleston inside the goalie box.

P'field N. sophomores can play some tennis
Dick Goss: Plainfield North High School sophomore Jackie Altansarnai against Plainfield Central sophomore Ali Foster. All you need to see are a couple of volleys to understand you are watching something special.

Local briefs: JJC picks up postseason victory
The Joliet Junior College men's soccer team opened postseason play with a 4-1 win over Kankakee Community College on Wednesday.

Cedric Benson claims Bears tried to blackball him
Cedric Benson is a different player on the field for the Cincinnati Bengals than he ever was for the Bears. Off the field, the mercurial fourth pick from the 2005 draft remains the same person. Benson speaks what's on his mind, says what he believes to be the truth and doesn't care who is listening or what they think of his opinion.

Cubs land a heavy hitter in Jaramillo

No hitting coach ever has been credited with leading a team to the World Series. And not even Rudy Jaramillo's best groups of hitters have taken him there.

Vancouver rallies to beat Hawks 3-2
Remember that epic battle between the Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks in Game 6 of their playoff series last May? Well, Wednesday's first meeting since then wasn't anything like the postseason game.