Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars will miss three big guns during World Cup qualifying
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Having world-class players on your team is a blessing. But during times like these, it can also be a curse. World-class players help NWSL teams win games. They also miss chunks of time during the season because of their commitments to playing in international competitions. For much of July, the…
Stagg grad Laila Barakat leaves her mark on program
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Laila Barakat entered her freshman year of high school basketball with a plan. She left as one of the most accomplished and successful players in Stagg girls basketball history. “Coming in my freshman year, I knew what goals I wanted to achieve,” said Barakat, who was a four-year varsity player for…
Area Sports Roundup: Lightning strikes at Shepard
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer There was a lot of rain and a little bit of thunder at the Illinois Lightning Track and Field Club’s open track meet, which was held at Shepard on June 25. The meet was open to everyone, from children as young as 4 (one 3-year-old also participated) to adults. More…
World Wiffle Ball Championship returning to south suburbs
The 43rd World Wiffle Ball Championship is returning to Memorial Park in south suburban Midlothian on July 16-17. “We’re excited to gear up for this year’s Championship at Memorial Park in Midlothian. We can’t wait to see old and new Wifflers alike this summer come together to beat some plastic,” said Mike Baniak, Commissioner of…
Pro Soccer Report: Kowalksi, Pugh score for Red Stars in draw at KC
Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Chicago Red Stars suffered a big blow on defense when defender Kayla Sharples was ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Sharples’ replacement in the starting lineup on June 18 was Amanda Kowalski. The Arlington Heights native decided to add some offense to her game,…
Area Sports Roundup: Troy Grevengoed leaving Richards to coach volleyball at Chicago Christian
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer As the girls volleyball coach at Richards, Troy Grevengoed coached against Chicago Christian when two of his daughters played there. He has also watched his daughters from the stands as a fan. Now, he enters a third phase. Grevengoed is the new girls volleyball coach at the Palos Heights private…
Club America, Pumas match at SeatGeek officially sold out
PRIMETIME Sports announced Friday that the Pretemporada MX 2022 Clásico match between Club América and Pumas to be played on Sunday, June 19, at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview is officially sold out and Saturday’s Clásico Tapatío match is working towards a sellout. The two-day event hosts Liga MX’s two biggest derbies at SeatGeek Stadium. The…
Baseball Class 4A State Finals: Brother Rice takes third with romp over McHenry
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Some view state third-place games as a waste of time. It’s usually the game nobody wants to be involved in after having their dreams of winning a state championship crushed by a loss in the semifinals. But the third-place game in the IIHSA Class 4A baseball state tournament produced a…
Area Sports Roundup: Notre Dame’s Dylan Jacobs wins national championship in 10,000 meters
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Add a national championship to Dylan Jacobs’ already impressive list of accomplishments in 2022. The Orland Park resident and Sandburg graduate broke a four-minute mile on Jan. 22 and set an American college indoor record in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 13:14.04 seconds on Feb. 12. On June…
Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars blank Orland to finish brutal stretch unscathed
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The Chicago Red Stars finished the busiest stretch of their season unbeaten. The five-games-in-16-days logjam ended with a 1-0 victory over Orlando on June 11 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Mallory Pugh drilled her fifth goal of the season in the 10th minute for the Stars (4-1-3), who entered this…
Softball 4A State Championship: Marist falls short in bid for repeat
By Randy Whalen Correspondent If someone would have told Emily Bojan that she would come up in the bottom of the seventh with an opportunity to tie or win the state championship game in her final high school at-bat, she’d love to be in that situation every time. But unfortunately, the Marist senior catcher hit…
Young Roadrunners win first baseball title to cap a huge sports season at Naz
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Nazareth’s athletic class of 2024 could go down as the best in school history. The Roadrunners’ girls volleyball team finished first in the state in the fall. Two sophomores were among the eight players who were on the court during the Class 3A state championship game. The girls basketball team…
Softball: Marist returns to state to defend 2021 title
By Randy Whalen Correspondent The night before their biggest game of the season, Marist’s players absorbed some superpowers. From their bats. “We slept with our bats [the night before],” said junior left fielder Isabel Cunnea. “It was uncomfortable but it got us ready.” The RedHawks scored all their runs via the longball — five home…
Baseball: Nazareth tops St. Ignatius, punches ticket to state
By Steve Millar Correspondent Some observers may had thought Nazareth was a year or two away from being a state tournament-caliber team. After all, the Roadrunners started four sophomores and a freshman with a trip to state on the line June 6. Sophomore outfielder/pitcher Nick Drtina, though, knew all along what his team was capable…
Postseason Softball: St. Ignatius one-ups St. Laurence in supersectional heartbreaker
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer It took a near perfect game — and a close play at the plate — to eliminate St. Laurence from its historic season. St. Laurence pitcher Sarah Klonowski and St. Ignatius hurler Ellie Giles were throwing zeroes through five innings in the Class 3A Rosemont Supersectional at the Parkway Bank…
Postseason Roundup: Lincoln-Way East tops Marist in battle of volleyball powers
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer For the first time since 2014, no area boys volleyball advanced to the Elite Eight. In the past seven postseasons, either Marist, Sandburg, Brother Rice or St. Rita made it to the quarterfinals. This year, Marist was the last team standing, but dropped a wild 23-25, 25-22, 25-21 decision to…
Pro Soccer Report: Pugh continues hot run, helps Red Stars top OL Reign
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Despite missing the first two games of the season, Chicago Red Stars standout Mallory Pugh entered this week’s action in a three-way tie for second in goals scored in the NWSL. Pugh scored her fourth goal of the season to help the Red Stars (3-1-2) beat OL Reign, 1-0, in…
Baseball: Nazareth conquers Vikings for sectional crown
By Steve Millar Correspondent With many players back from a team that finished third in the state in Class 3A last season, senior outfielder Angelo Luna knew the Vikings were ready to win many games this year. The recipe for success, according to Luna, was simple. “We just practice a lot, trust in that and…
Baseball: Marist rolls to regional title, will face St. Laurence in sectional semifinals
By Steve Millar Correspondent Marist’s players are not happy with how the regular season went, but the playoffs present an opportunity for a fresh start and a chance to make it a special year. “We know we’re good enough to make a run,” junior shortstop/pitcher Cal Sefcik said. “We definitely had our ups and downs…
‘The right gig’: Marist alum Renee Chimino to succeed Mary Pat Connolly
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Renee Chimino was like many people who thought Mary Pat Connolly was going to coach at Marist forever. But Connolly recently announced her retirement, and Chimino was hired to take her place last week. Chimino is a Marist graduate who played on Connolly’s best squad, the 2007-08 team that finished…
Postseason Roundup: Chicago Christian’s Jelderks is state high jump champ; Sandburg 3200 relay takes title
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer It was as easy as 1-2-3. Actually, it was more like it was easy as 1A-2A-3A. Two area individuals and a relay team emerged from the IHSA state boys track meet over the weekend as champions — one in each classification. Luke Jelderks of Chicago Christian won the Class 1A…
Pro Soccer Report: Pugh scores again in Red Stars draw; Fire II offense gets hot
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Chicago Red Stars coach Chris Petrucelli doesn’t mince words when it comes to describing star player Mallory Pugh. “Quite frankly, I think she’s the best player in the league,” the first-year coach said. “There’s nobody I would rather have, honestly. I’m lucky I get a chance to work with her…
Boys Volleyball Sectionals: Marist tops Br. Rice, will face LW East in sectional finals
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Michael Bos had just put down what was probably the biggest block of his high school career. It sent Brother Rice team into a frenzied celebration. The Crusaders hadn’t won the match, but they had moved to a third set against the top-ranked team in the state. Rice eventually fell short,…
Girls Soccer: De La Salle tops Bremen for program’s first regional title
By Steve Millar Correspondent De La Salle coach Carlos Nunez has seen his teams come up a bit short in the postseason repeatedly over the years. The Meteors had never won a regional championship in girls soccer. Until this year, that is. “I’ve been in every single one that we’ve lost in,” Nunez said. “We’ve…
Pro soccer report: Pugh tallies twice return in Red Stars’ win over Orlando
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Mallory Pugh gave a sample of what could be a big 2022 season when she scored four goals in the exhibition Challenge Cup series. But the Red Stars scoring threat missed the first two games of the NWSL season with an injury, and the team split decisions against Louisville and…
Patriot’s Day Parade is here
Garfield Ridge is expected to be awash in red, white and blue on Thursday, June 30, as the Garfield Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Patriot’s Day Parade is scheduled to step off at 7 p.m. from Archer and Central, heading west and ending at Kennedy High School. All Clearing and Garfield Ridge residents are welcome…
Days off are days off, Tabares says
Cops cheer call for City Hall to stop ‘abusing’ police By Tim Hadac Until the Lightfoot Administration comes up with a plan to stop canceling regular days off of police officers, 23rd Ward Ald, Silvana Tabares is asking that city government withhold permits of all public parades and festivals that rely on the protection of…
Pianos in the parks
As part of the annual Make Music Chicago celebration, pianos have been placed in six public parks across the city, including McKinley Park, 2210 W. Pershing. Now through July 31, Chicagoans are invited to play songs on the instruments, which are typically available during fieldhouse hours. This year, the International Music Foundation will include a…
Rush cheers ‘desperately needed’ gun law
From staff reports Provisions based on gun-safety legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-1st) has passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The legislation has also passed the Senate. Rush’s Gun Trafficking Prohibition Act (H.R. 30) prohibits the trafficking and straw purchasing of guns and bars the…
Chuy hails ‘consumer protection’ legislation
From staff reports Legislation designed to prevent large technology companies, retail firms and payday lenders from owning an industrial loan company (ILC) charter and operating a bank without any of the oversight, safeguards and limitations that apply to such institutions, has passed the House Financial Services Committee, said U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th), a…
Newman notes fed funds coming
From staff reports As part of this year’s community project funding from the House Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Rep. Marie Newman (D-3rd) said she has secured more than $15.9 million in federal funding to invest in community and health services and strengthen transportation networks across the Southwest Side and suburbs. Most of the community project funding requests…
Boy Scout earns his Eagle wings
Boy Scout Michael Kozel (center) of Troop 1441, sponsored by the St. Mary Star of the Sea Holy Name Society, recently passed his Eagle rank Board of Review process—in which adults in authority checked his required number of merit badges, service hours to his position in the troop and his Eagle Scout service project. Kozel’s…
Mayoral race comes to Archer
Neighbors cheer as Lopez slams Lightfoot on crime By Tim Hadac Southwest Side civic and business leaders last Saturday got an early glimpse of the 2023 mayoral race, as 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez made a campaign stop on Archer Avenue. Lopez was the guest of honor at a “meet and greet” held at the…
Two incumbents square off in new 6th District
Newman, Casten battle for Dem nod By Steve Metsch It doesn’t happen often, but voters in the new 6th Congressional District have an unusual choice in the June 28 Democratic primary. Because of redistricting, two sitting members of Congress–Marie Newman and Sean Casten– are going toe-to-toe for the nomination in the June 28 primary. The…
Fundraiser is Sunday for Pathlights
Tinley Park nonprofit One Less to Help One More is hosting a special community fundraiser for Pathlights in honor of June’s World Elder Abuse Awareness Month from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, June 26, at Oberweis at 7202 W. 159th Street in Orland Park. For shoppers, 20% of your purchases will be donated…
Mail truck loses load on Harlem Avenue
By Bob Bong A U.S. Postal Service truck leaving a local post office spilled its load at Harlem Avenue and 103rd Street Tuesday morning. Palos Hills Police Deputy Chief Tony Carroccio said the truck was driving with its rear door open at 3 a.m. when it dropped packages all over Harlem Avenue near 103rd Street.…
Worth considering limits on tobacco stores
By Joe Boyle The Worth Village Board is considering establishing an ordinance that would put limits on where tobacco stores can operate in the village. Worth is not a home rule municipality and therefore cannot vote to put a limit on the amount of tobacco stores in the village. Greg Jones, the village attorney, is…
