By Mike Walsh Correspondent The 2023-2024 college hockey season has been memorable thus far for Evergreen Park resident Abbey Murphy. Murphy, a Mother McAuley graduate who is a junior at Minnesota, was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Forward of the Month for November and December. In November, Murphy tallied six goals and three assists…
Read MoreBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent The original March Madness got underway last week across Illinois, and several area teams were crowned regional champions. Teams still alive in Class 4A are Marist and Curie, and in Class 3A are Brother Rice, De La Salle, Evergreen Park and Mount Carmel. CLASS 4A Marist (29-4) cruised to a…
Read MoreBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent It appears that Chicago’s Big Ten team will be Bridgeview’s Big Ten team for at least one day. Maybe more. Northwestern has released its 2024 football schedule, but where the Wildcats will play their seven home games is unknown. Their home stadium, Ryan Field in Evanston, is undergoing a major facelift…
Read MoreBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The St. Laurence girls basketball team’s historic season came to a close with a 42-29 loss to Hinsdale South at the Class 3A St. Ignatius Sectional on Feb. 22, but the Vikings hit some milestone’s in former Marist and Saint Xavier star Claire Austin’s first year as coach. The Vikings: •…
Read MoreBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Two Mount Carmel wrestlers won Class 4A state championships, and both had to beat opponents from Marist to do it. Junior Seth Mendoza won his third straight state championship at 126 pounds, beating Marist’s Michael Esteban 13-5 in the title match on Feb. 17 at the State Farm Center in Champaign.…
Read MoreBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Stagg came into this season looking for their first winning campaign since 2016. The Chargers did better than that. In addition to being assured of finishing over .500 for the first time under coach Marty Strus, Stagg won the first conference championship in program history. The Chargers (19-11, 5-3 SouthWest Suburban…
Read MoreBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Shepard girls basketball program has been around for close to a half century. The team has had a handful of 20-win seasons and four regional championships. But until this season, the Astros had never won a conference title. A wild celebration took place in the Shepard gym after the Astros…
Read MoreBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Curie powered through Whitney Young, Simeon and Kenwood to earn the Chicago Public League championship. The Condors defeated the Broncos, 65-59, in the city title game played Feb. 10 at Credit Union 1 Arena on the University of Illinois-Chicago campus. The win secured Curie’s third city title, with the other coming…
Read MoreBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent For years, Marist’s competitive cheerleading team was knocking on the door of a state championship. On Feb. 3, the RedHawks were like cops on television busting down the door. Marist won the IHSA state championship in the large-team division at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington with a score of 96.32, ahead…
Read MoreBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A life lesson can be learned anywhere and at any time. “Sometimes it is hard and it does not work out, but you have to keep fighting and he did,” Marist coach Brian Hynes said after the RedHawks defeated Benet on Feb. 2. The “he” Hynes was referring to was Marist…
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Softball | Jocelyn Hovanec scores two runs, Ks 12 in Chicago Christian win
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Chicago Christian is working to find its footing in the inaugural season of the Chicagoland Christian Conference. The Knights entered this week 6-8 overall and 4-6 in the CCC, putting them in fifth place with just two conference games to play among their final seven regular-season contests. The Knights have had…
Boys Volleyball | Chicago Christian finishes April strong, takes second at Ridgewood Invitational
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A busy and largely successful final seven days of April saw Chicago Christian briefly climb back to the .500 mark after a tough first month of the season. The Knights (11-12, 4-4 Chicagoland Christian Conference) have won seven of their past 10 matches, all of which were played over a seven-day…
Sophia Smith’s brace sinks Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Home has not been that sweet lately for the Chicago Red Stars. The team lost its second straight game at SeatGeek Stadium with a 2-0 setback to Portland in front of an announced crowd of 4,443 on April 27. Portland star Sophia Smith scored in the 10th and 26th minutes, then…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
By Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook…
Brother Rice names Al Perez next soccer coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A few new coaches are dotting the area high school athletic scene. One of the more notable hires was Brother Rice bringing Al Perez aboard as the soccer coach. Perez led Chicago Public League power Washington to a Class 2A state championship in 2013, a fourth-place finish in 2015 and a…
Pickleball courts coming to Palos Park
By Jeff Vorva There will finally be outdoor pickleball in Palos Park. In a process that went longer than anticipated, the Palos Park Village Council was able give the green light to get a pickleball project started on the Village Green. The council voted April 8 to award the contract to U.S. Tennis Court Construction…
Dread over car drifters on streets
. Reckless drivers take over SW Side intersections . By Tim Hadac At the April meeting of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, a police officer admitted that the drag racing/drifting phenomenon seen and heard in the Midway area in recent years “probably will increase, but we hope not.” The admission was triggered by a brief…
CTA launches ‘chat’ feature on website
. From staff reports Artificial Intelligence has made another step forward at the Chicago Transit Authority. CTA officials recently launched the “Chat with CTA” chatbot, a new virtual automated service featured on transitchicago.com. The communication tool allows riders to report issues, provide feedback and receive answers in real-time. Additionally, it provides the CTA with customer feedback where…
New effort to aid kids with disabilities
. From staff reports A new grant program aimed at providing financial assistance to families of children with disabilities was launched recently by Mayor Brandon Johnson, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Ada S. McKinley Community Services. Children with disabilities is a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic, officials said.…
Dart warns of Sheriff’s Office imposters
. From staff reports Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart recently alerted the public of an uptick in telephone and email phishing scams in which scammers identify themselves as a Sheriff’s Office employee in an attempt to defraud victims. Scammers are using the actual names and respective titles of Sheriff’s Office employees to appear legitimate.…
Boys Volleyball | Chicago Christian finishes April strong, takes second at Ridgewood Invitational
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A busy and largely successful final seven days of April saw Chicago Christian briefly climb back to the .500 mark after a tough first month of the season. The Knights (11-12, 4-4 Chicagoland Christian Conference) have won seven of their past 10 matches, all of which were played over a seven-day…
Sophia Smith’s brace sinks Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Home has not been that sweet lately for the Chicago Red Stars. The team lost its second straight game at SeatGeek Stadium with a 2-0 setback to Portland in front of an announced crowd of 4,443 on April 27. Portland star Sophia Smith scored in the 10th and 26th minutes, then…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
By Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook…
Brother Rice names Al Perez next soccer coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A few new coaches are dotting the area high school athletic scene. One of the more notable hires was Brother Rice bringing Al Perez aboard as the soccer coach. Perez led Chicago Public League power Washington to a Class 2A state championship in 2013, a fourth-place finish in 2015 and a…