Sandburg thumps Bolingbrook, earns right to play for conference crown
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor Sandburg running back Luke Basiorka’s teammates believe he is the best running back in Illinois. The sophomore breakout star endearingly referred to as “Bazooka” by his Eagles brethren isn’t ready to declare himself such just yet, but he is working hard to be in that conversation. In a Week 7…
Football Wrap | Evergreen Park tops Eisenhower, likely earns playoff spot
By Mike Walsh Correspondent In his first year as the head coach at Evergreen Park, Jim Ramazinski has had plenty of items to address on his to-do list. One of them, however, was not finding a bell-cow running back. Senior Antonio Clay-Jones is a three-year starter who is both talented and reliable. One week after…
IHSA Golf State Finals | Mt. Carmel takes 3rd in Class 2A; Nazareth girls take 7th in 1A
By Tim Cronin Correspondent The IHSA state golf championships were not kind to most area boys players, but the Mount Carmel boys team finished third in Class 2A. The 2A tournament was held Oct. 6-7 at Weibring Golf Club in Normal. Mount Carmel seniors Ryan Walsh and Michael O’Keefe tied for ninth place in the…
Richards blasts Argo for fifth straight win
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Argo head coach Phil Rossberg knew his team’s Week 7 matchup against Richards wasn’t going to be easy. The Bulldogs came into the game winners of four straight, with a solid defense that has been improving each week. Rossberg found out first-hand how well Richards has been playing defensively as the…
Pro Soccer Report | Red Stars out of playoff picture
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer It took 21 games, but the Chicago Red Stars are finally out of the postseason picture. For the first time since 2014, the Red Stars failed to make it to the NWSL playoffs. They dropped into last place in the 12-team league after a 6-3 road loss to Kansas City…
Step by step, Basketball Museum of Illinois taking shape in Bedford Park
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The Basketball Museum of Illinois is coming to the area. But it’s going to be a long process before it’s complete. The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association found a home for its museum at the Wintrust Sports Complex in Bedford Park, but the museum’s main section will be in a building…
Area Sports Roundup | Saint Xavier alum Lovitsch named women’s hoops interim coach
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer In August, a relatively short time before the start of the college basketball season, Saint Xavier lost the services of women’s basketball coach Travis Brewster, who left to coach at Division II Chadron State College in Nebraska. Leading the Cougars this season will be one of their former players. Sidney…
Pro Soccer Report | Red Stars not done yet after win over Louisville
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer On the same night the Chicago Cubs were eliminated from MLB playoff contention, the Chicago Red Stars were staying alive in the race for the final NWSL postseason berth. The Stars entered action last weekend in 12th and last place, but with three games remaining still had a chance to…
Area Sports Roundup | Evergreen Park athlete seeking 1M pop tabs; Mights Macs win ASICS tourney
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Before he starts collecting points and rebounds, Evergreen Park senior hoops player Ulises Cardenas is collecting pop tabs. Cardenas is on a mission to collect 1 million tabs to help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House in Oak Lawn and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana.…
Mr. 800 | Saint Xavier women’s volleyball coach Bob Heersema attains milestone win
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer A few trips around the baseball field in 1988 produced one of the greatest legacies in NAIA women’s volleyball history. Then-Saint Xavier Athletic Director John Morrey tried to coax women’s assistant volleyball coach Bob Heersema to lead the program. Heersema was reluctant. He wasn’t sure he was ready to be…
Football | Big 2nd half leads Eisenhower past Argo
By Mike Walsh Correspondent One Argo player wore purple spikes. Another had a purple sleeve on his right arm. All the players wore tape of that color on their wrists. The Argonauts donned purple for their South Suburban Red matchup with Eisenhower on Sept. 29 to honor the life of Phillip Rossburg Sr., who died…
Football Wrap | Richards rolling through SSC Red; Sandburg tops H-F in OT
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Richards coach Tony Sheehan knew he had to be patient as his Bulldogs experienced a tough start to the season, dropping their first two games by a combined score of 76-14. With a team largely composed of players getting their first taste of varsity football, Sheehan knew better time were ahead.…
Football | JCA rallies past Marist
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Losers of three consecutive games and needing a victory over Joliet Catholic to keep its IHSA playoff hopes alive, Marist was ready for the Hilltoppers. But JCA withstood a fast start by the RedHawks and scored late in the fourth quarter to rally for a 21-20 win on Sept. 29 in…
Football Wrap | Brother Rice rolls St. Viator in home opener
By Mike Walsh Correspondent From Maine South and Loyola in the northern suburbs to St. Ignatius just west of Chicago’s Loop to Marist five or so minutes south on Pulaski Road, Brother Rice has spent a lot of travel time in 2023. After opening the season with four consecutive road games due to scheduling and…
Sandburg can’t overcome flags, turnovers in loss to Lincoln-Way Central
By Tim Cronin Correspondent NEW LENOX – For all the good Sandburg accomplished on offense in its Week 5 matchup at Lincoln-Way Central; for all the decent work on defense: There were a handful of plays that blew up in the faces of the Eagles like poorly made firecrackers. They did damage. Those plays, from…
Richards blanks Evergreen Park
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Richards began the season with two bad losses, but after five weeks find themselves with a winning record and atop the South Suburban Red. The Bulldogs have been improving and played their best game of the season in a 41-0 romp over SSC Red rival Evergreen Park on Sept. 22. Since…
Pro Soccer Report | Red Stars seeking max points in quest for playoffs
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer With three games to go and in last place, the Chicago Red Stars are in a position to be spoilers. But in this unpredictable NWSL season in which teams are bunched up in the standings, the Red Stars are in a position where they can play more than merely that…
Cross Country | Stagg’s Barham having an adventure in September
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Stagg senior runner Luke Barham has experienced a unique September. Barham finished third in the Richard Dust meet at North Creek Meadow in Chicago Heights on Sept. 2 with a time of 15:52.81. A week later, he placed 26th place but set a personal-best time of 15:19.30 in the Class…
Area Sports Roundup | Hoops powers invited to December showcases
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The invitations are in. As basketball coaches and athletic directors put the finishing touches on the 2023-24 schedules, some of the teams in the Southwest Regional Publishing coverage area have picked up invitations to a pair of prestigious hoops tournaments in December. The Chicago Elite Classic takes place Dec. 1-2…
Indiana Wesleyan scrapes by Saint Xavier after missed 2-pt conversion
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Life is about choices. Sometimes, the result is to our benefit; sometimes it is not. In Saint Xavier’s loss to visiting Indiana Wesleyan on Sept. 16 at George R. Deaton Field in Mount Greenwood, head coach Mike Feminis was presented with an important decision to make with his team down a…
High School Football Wrap: Week 4 | St. Laurence has Ball in win over Providence
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Providence has won 10 state championships and finished runner-up four times, including last season in Class 4A. So how did St. Laurence’s student body celebrate the Vikings’ second-ever victory over the Celtics, 31-24, last Friday night in Burbank? With an old-fashioned field-storming. St. Laurence senior Aaron Ball scored the go-ahead touchdown…
Chicago Bears honor Stagg’s Nero, Gilmore
By Mike Walsh Correspondent The Chicago Bears named Stagg head football coach Colt Nero and Chargers senior Lebarion Gilmore as the Chicago Bears Coach of the Week and the Chicago Bears High School All-Star for Week 3 of the 2023 season. The honors came after Stagg defeated visiting Belleville West 24-0 in a nonconference matchup…
Richards downs Oak Lawn in crosstown clash
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Merriam Webster defines a rivalry as “one of two or more striving to reach or obtain something that only one can possess.” In sports, that makes both sides of any competition rivals, but the term is often reserved for a special matchup, of sorts. One of those is Oak Lawn and…
Pro Soccer Report | New owners watch Red Stars tie in front of record-setting crowd
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Chicago Red Stars put on quite a show for their new bosses. It was fun. It was exciting. It had a big crowd and it felt like a big-time atmosphere. But in the grand scheme of trying to make it to the NWSL playoffs, it didn’t mean much. The…
Area Sports Roundup | Trinity soccer champs to be inducted into HOF
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The first team in Trinity Christian College history to win a national championship will be honored in October. The Trinity Christian College Athletics Department announced the 2005 women’s soccer team as the newest member to its Athletics Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place on Oct. 21 as…
Niego Real Estate salutes America again
. Popular flag program underway . By Tim Hadac Clearing and Garfield Ridge residents who want to decorate their blocks in red, white and blue this Independence Day are encouraged to contact Niego Real Estate and reserve a supply of U.S. flags at no charge. The popular program to promote patriotism and community pride is…
Lyons Mental Health Commission pulls LeaderShop funding
Executive director accused of harassment From staff reports The local nonprofit service community was jolted when nearly $300,000 in mental health funds was withdrawn by a Lyons Township agency from the Western Springs LeaderShop, a social service agency that has provided youth programs for nearly 40 years. The Lyons Township Mental Health Commission is one…
Palos Heights tax preparer convicted of Covid-relief fraud
From staff reports A Palos Heights tax preparer who operates a business in Bridgeview has been convicted on federal charges for fraudulently assisting customers in obtaining loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago on June 10 convicted Hadi Isbaih, 42, on all four counts…
Renovations begin on Shepard High School theater
By Kelly White Shepard High School, which prides itself in the fine arts, will soon have a beautifully reconstructed theater right on its Palos Heights campus. The Community High School District 218 Board of Education recently unanimously approved funding for the renovation of the Fine Arts Center at the high school at 13049 S. Ridgeland…
Young Spiderman fan wishes students a great summer
By Nuha Abdessalam Spiderman-kid bids farewell and wishes a beautiful summer break to students of Glen Oak Elementary in Hickory Hills. Since the summer of 2023, when he discovered the movie “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse,” a story about multiple Spidermen from different dimensions, 6-year-old Ribhi Gaber has been more than just a fan of Spiderman.…
Worth finalizes rules for open burning in village
By Joe Boyle After several discussions over the past month, the Village of Worth has new guidelines for open burning by businesses and in residential areas. Mayor Mary Werner mentioned during the Worth Village Board meeting Tuesday night that a discrepancy in an ordinance regarding open burning had a 10 p.m. deadline. However, Werner said…
Orland Township event focuses on mental health
By Kelly White Orland Township is taking the time to focus on mental health. Residents were invited out to join Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady for an event called, Minds Matter 2024, on May 16 at Orland Township, located at 14807 S. Ravinia Avenue in Orland Park. “This was an excellent opportunity to connect with…
Bridgeview shooting not related to Summer Smash
By Bob Bong Bridgeview Police Chief Ricardo Mancha on Monday wanted to emphasize that a shooting in the village Saturday night had nothing to do with the Summer Smash music festival that took place over the weekend at SeatGeek Stadium. “It was an isolated incident,” he said. “Completely unrelated to the Summer Smash festival.” Mancha…
Summer jobs available for youths through Lyons Township
By Steve Metsch The summer jobs program offered each year by the Township of Lyons is up and running. The program for high school and college students “is designed to give young individuals an opportunity for summer employment,” Trustee Donna McDonald said at the township board’s June 11 meeting. The jobs program started on May…
Proud mayor grandpa hands out candy bars at meeting
By Steve Metsch It’s a tradition for new fathers to hand out cigars after the birth of a child. The cigar’s wrappers are blue for a boy and pink for a girl. If they’re non-smokers, new dads have been known to hand out bubblegum shaped like cigars. Sometimes, proud grandfathers get into the act. Especially…
Pair busted for Summit phone store robberies
By Bob Bong Two Chicago men have been charged with robbing two phone stores in Summit earlier this year. Jacari Franklin and Austin White are charged with robbing the T-Mobile store at 5640 S. Harlem Ave. on March 28 and the AT&T store at Archer and Harlem avenues on April 18, police said. Police said…
Car enthusiasts crowd annual Father’s Day show in Lyons.
By Steve Metsch Held under sunny and warm skies Sunday, the annual Father’s Day Car Show in Lyons was deemed a smashing success by participants and visitors. Not only were car lovers able to admire the four-wheeled beauties, some owners spent quality time with Dad or a spouse. Don Raschka, 80, of Central Stickney, was…