Boys Hoops Wrap | Marist, Oak Lawn have unbeaten weeks; Curie’s win streak snapped by Lindblom
Games played between Jan. 22-27 By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent After a week off, Marist got back on track with a week of wins. The RedHawks (19-4, 7-2 East Suburban Catholic) opened the week with a 70-54 conference win at St. Viator. Darshan Thomas led the charge with 23 points. Thomas continued his strong play with…
College Notebook | Niagara guard Henderson looks like lock for MAAC freshman of year
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Ahmad Henderson’s collegiate basketball career has gotten off to a promising start. The Niagara freshman guard was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s Rookie of the Week for the period ending Jan. 24. Henderson, a Brother Rice graduate, paced the Purple Eagles to a 2-1 record that week as he averaged…
Red Stars’s schedule and roster set for 2024
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The schedule is set. The roster is set. The Red Stars are ready to roll. Once they get the preseason stuff out of the way, the Red Stars will open the NWSL slate at 6:30 p.m. March 16 with a road game against the expansion Utah Royals. Their home opener at…
Area Sports Roundup | Longtime hoops coach Bruce Scaduto stepping down
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Bruce Scaduto kept the family name going for a few more decades, but he is hanging it up after this season. Scaduto, the Evergreen Park boys basketball coach from 1997 through 2011 and the Mustangs girls coach since 2011, has announced he will retire after this season. “I feel that it’s…
Postseason Roundup | Six area teams heading to state cheerleading finals
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Marist competitive cheerleading team has an impressive resume. The RedHawks have in their history brought home six IHSA large-school trophies. They took second place in 2013, 2018, 2019 and 2022, and earned third-place trophies in 2012 and 2020. They are still searching for that elusive state championship, and will get…
Boys Hoops Wrap | Curie stays hot with four wins in four days
*For the period of Jan. 15-21 2024 By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Curie played games on four straight days last week, ending the stretch with an 86-60 victory over Joliet West for their 17th consecutive win In the Jan. 21 matchup played at the Ronald Chops Billinger Memorial Shootout at Whitney Young, five players scoring in…
Area Sports Roundup | Chicago Christian hires new football coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Chicago Christian has a new football coach, and he comes from one of the best high school football programs in Illinois. CJ Cesario has been tabbed to head up the Knights program, replacing Dan Chiarito. In 2023, Cesario coached the sophomore team at Mount Carmel. The Caravan won back-to-back Class 7A…
NWSL champions Groom, Kuikka sign with Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Red Stars continued to fill out their roster on both offense and defense last week, this time adding veteran talent with championship pedigrees. A latest additions in a busy offseason were free-agent signings Shea Groom and Natalia Kuikka. Groom, a midfielder, was inked to two-year deal. She is coming…
Postseason Roundup | Nazareth dance team wins first sectional title
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Will the streak continue? With a new team sharing the glory? Nazareth’s athletics programs have collectively won one IHSA state championships in each of the last five high school sports seasons, going back to spring 2022. The LaGrange Park private school’s baseball, football, girls volleyball and girls basketball teams each has…
Brother Rice tops Marist for first Pulaski Post
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Classes and athletics competitions across Illinois were called off due to bone-chilling temperatures early this week. That did not stop two of the area’s hottest teams from duking it out in the Battle of Pulaski. Brother Rice senior forward Zavier Fitch scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Brother…
Swanson signs record deal to remain with Red Stars
From Staff Reports Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson has re-signed with the franchise in what is reportedly the richest deal in NWSL history. Swanson, who was a free agent for the first time in her career this offseason, agreed to stay in Chicago on a deal worth a reported $2 million, including a fifth-year…
Boys Hoops Wrap | Oak Lawn beats Richards in crosstown tilt; Br. Rice, Mt. Carmel and Curie keep winning
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Oak Lawn junior guard Dante Montgomery scored a game-high 19 points and the Spartans defeated Richards, 49-43, in what will be the only regular-season matchup this season between the crosstown rivals. The South Suburban Red teams battled for most of the game, but Oak Lawn (11-5, 4-0) walked away with their…
Evergreen Park tops Bremen in game called after fight between players
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent On the eve of the area’s first winter storm of 2024 rolling in and eventually bringing with it sub-zero temperatures, Evergreen Park was heating up their gym with one of their most sizzling performances of the season. Unfortunately, things got a little too heated. With Evergreen Park dominating Bremen in a…
Area Sports Roundup | Marist tabs Mike Fitzgerald to lead football program
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent There is a change at the top. Mike Fitzgerald, who over the past six seasons helped build York into a Class 8A power, has been named Marist’s new football coach. Fitzgerald replaces Ron Dawczak, who resigned. Marist announced the hire on Jan. 8. Fitzgerald is a former RedHawks assistant. He led…
Red Stars get NWSL Defender of Year finalist Staab for draft pick
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Red Stars may not have a general manager, but whomever is pulling the strings and making the big decisions had a few busy days last week. After adding Masaki Hemmi to the mix as an assistant coach, the Stars wheeled and dealed and set up a revolving door during…
Girls Hoops Wrap | Mother McAuley’s Morgan Feil hits milestone; Macs assistant honored by Maroons
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Mother McAuley’s Morgan Feil hit the 1,000-point milestone on Jan. 11 against DePaul Prep. Three days later, one of her coaches was honored for passing that mark last season. For Feil, hitting that milestone was a big deal, but she added to that big night by getting the game-winning basket in…
Boys Hoops Wrap | Mount Carmel makes statement with beating of Benet
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent In. a highly anticipated matchup, Mount Carmel used a second-half surge to top Benet, 50-36, at the 5th annual Steve Pappas Shootout hosted by DePaul Prep. The Caravan (17-2, 2-0 Chicago Catholic Blue) held a three-point lead at halftime, but outscored the Redwings 29-18 over the final two quarters. Benet’s 36…
Boys Basketball | Marist routs Carmel and St. Rita
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent After closing out 2023 with a loss and runner-up finish at the 80th Annual Centralia Holiday Tournament, Marist got back to its winning ways with routs of Carmel and St. Rita. The RedHawks topped the East Suburban Catholic rival Corsairs, 73-42, on Jan. 5 and best the Mustangs of the Chicago…
Area College Report | SXU, Trinity men’s volleyball getting ready to roll
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent While basketball has dominated the area college scene this winter, men’s volleyball is just around the corner. Practice is in full swing and matches start later this month. Saint Xavier wants to keep its best stretch of winning in program history going. Excluding the shortened 2020 pandemic season, the Cougars have…
Girls Hoops Wrap | Young and older have fun in Oak Lawn
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent It was a little of the old and new mixing together at Oak Lawn. The current Spartans beat Crete-Monee, 54-42, in a nonconference game on Jan. 7. In the crowd were players from the 2013-14 Oak Lawn squad that finished 28-2. After the game, alumni players engaged in a game of…
Area Sports Report | Kendall Coyne Schofield part of history as PWHL game sets attendance record
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Add a new chapter to the Kendall Coyne Schofield story. The Palos Heights native and Sandburg graduate, who has won gold and silver Olympic medals in women’s hockey, helped launch the new Professional Women’s Hockey League and is a team captain for the Minnesota franchise. Minnesota and the league’s five other…
Area Sports Roundup | Messi and Miami to visit Fire in August
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Let the guessing games begin. The Chicago Fire released its MLS schedule for 2024, and there is a chance the team will have to move some of its games from Soldier Field to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. The Fire called SeatGeek its home stadium from 2006 to 2019. From August through…
Girls Hoops Wrap | Stagg stuns Bloom to take Hillcrest Holiday Classic
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Stagg’s girls basketball team heads into the 2024 portion of the season with a good-but-not-great 10-7 record. But the way the Chargers closed out the 2023 portion of the campaign was spectacular. The Chargers won the 16-team Hillcrest Holiday Classic, held Dec. 27-29 in Country Club Hills. They earned a 45-44…
College Sports Reports | Hoops programs seek net gains in 2024
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A good chunk of the college basketball season has been completed. What have we learned about the men and women’s programs at Saint Xavier University, Trinity Christian College, Moraine Valley Community College and Morton College? Plenty. But there is more to be learned in the next few months. A look at…
Boys Hoops Wrap | Mt. Carmel wins Pekin Holiday Tourney; Brother Rice’s 15-game win streak ends at Hinsdale
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Mount Carmel extended its win streak to five games after defeating Normal West, East St. Louis and Lake Park at the Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament. The Caravan’s 60-41 win over Lake Park earned them their third straight Pekin title. In the title game, Angelo Ciaravino finished with nine points, eight rebounds,…
‘Brazen and cowardly’: Police, community outraged by officer’s slaying
. By Tim Hadac Police and others across the Southwest Side reacted with outrage this week over the slaying of a Chicago Police officer in the early morning hours on Sunday. Officer Luis M. Huesca was shot to death on the street in the 3100 block of West 56th Street at 2:53 a.m. April 21.…
Pols want 63rd St. armory for new police HQ
. Porfirio, Guerrero-Cuellar push plan in Springfield . By Tim Hadac Any plans the Chicago Department of Aviation may have had for the vacant Army National Guard Midway Armory, 5400 W. 63rd St., may be grounded, at least for now. Several elected officials are eyeing the parcel as the headquarters of a new police district,…
Her back against the wall, Stacy needs help
. By Tim Hadac Editor Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound (708)-496-0265 . Clearing and Garfield Ridge have earned a reputation as a place where people look out for each other—and that sometimes means caring for each other in times of need. Today, I want to talk about one such person, who sure could use a boost…
It’s (pizza) party time at OLS
. Third graders at Our Lady of the Snows School break into cheers as they learn they’ve won a pizza party for selling more raffle booklets than any other class. The recent Grand Raffle fundraiser brought in about $6,000. Parents looking for a grade school for their sons and daughters for 2024-25 are welcome to…
Dart wants free mental health care for first responders
. From staff reports The Illinois Senate has passed legislation proposed by Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart that eliminates out-of-pocket expenses for first responders seeking mental health treatment. “We ask first responders to be constantly exposed to traumatic and dangerous situations to protect us,” Dart said. “This legislation is a solid step toward helping…
Volunteers give Palos Heights a spring cleaning
By Kelly White Palos Heights works hard to keep its city beautiful. Gathering residents together for a day of cleaning and fun was the Palos Heights Green Team with a Clean Up Day on April 13. “This event invited everyone in our community to do their part in combating pollution by having a fun morning…
Hunt man who tried to rob Chase Bank
. FBI looking for tips from public . From staff reports FBI officials are appealing to the public for help in finding a man who attempted to rob a Southwest Side bank branch. The bandit tried to rob the Chase Bank branch at 5687 S. Archer (just west of Laramie) at about 11 a.m. Wednesday,…
Casten lauds Biden for ‘clean energy’ move
. From staff reports A move designed to spur the responsible development of clean energy on America’s public lands was recently lauded by U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-6th). The congressman, co-chairman of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Clean Energy Deployment Task Force, joined by co-chairman Mike Levin (D-Calif.), released a statement in…
E-Notary makes things easier, Giannoulias says
. From staff reports Illinois residents will no longer have to notarize documents in person under a new Electronic-Notary system administered by Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ office. Electronic Notarization, or “E-Notary,” will radically change the way people and use notary services, Giannoulias predicted. Without leaving the home or office, an individual or business can…
Oak Lawn honor Fire and Public Safety Contest winners
By Joe Boyle The Oak Lawn Chamber of Commerce presented awards to the winners of the 2023 Fire and Public Safety Coloring Book Contest at the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting on April 9. Fire Bureau Chief David Wheeler and Police Chief Daniel Vittoro were on hand to present the plaques, along with Oak Lawn Mayor…
Rashid scolds TV news orgs on climate change
. From staff reports State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (D-21st) recently scolded major news organizations for what he called a lack of attention to climate change. “Last year was marked by alarming climate extremes, from record-breaking heat waves to devastating floods, droughts and wildfires,” Rashid wrote earlier this month in a letter to his political supporters.…
Comings & Goings: Ross to replace Walt’s at Tinley Park Plaza
By Bob Bong When Walt’s Foods closed its Tinley Park location almost three years ago, it left a giant hole in the Tinley Park Plaza near 159th Street and Harlem Avenue. That hole will soon be filled with a new 22,000-square-foot Ross Dress for Less store and a 9,800-square-foot Five Below store. A construction fence…