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He sat at his desk, just hours before a pivotal Kennedy Cup semifinal game in February against Providence, trying to devise a plan that would move St. Rita closer to capturing its fifth straight Cup. Then it hit him, like an unsuspecting hip check into the boards. “I was just sitting there thinking that there were 100 other things I would rather … ]]> Wed, 12 Sep 2012 21:20:50 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/15113240-406/disabato-ferguson-transformed-st.-rita-hockey-into-a-state-power http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/15113240-406/disabato-ferguson-transformed-st.-rita-hockey-into-a-state-power
There was a time, I’d say the mid-1990s, when travel baseball pretty much exclusively was for players with advanced skills. The studs, if you will. The vast majority of players were relegated to their in-house community team. Then, around the turn of the century, travel ball exploded. Not in a good way, mind you, but in an “if my son can’t make … ]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:03:18 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/13999602-406/one-road-better-left-untraveled.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/13999602-406/one-road-better-left-untraveled.html
If there was any doubt over who the SouthtownStar’s 2013 preseason No. 1 baseball team was going to be, it vanished with Monday’s news that one of the area’s most productive two-way players has transferred. Kevin Smith, one of the top players in the Class of 2013, enrolled Monday at Lincoln-Way North — just five days after playing shortstop for St. Laurence … ]]> Mon, 04 Jun 2012 18:37:23 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/12979504-393/baseball-kevin-smith-leaves-st-laurence-for-lincoln-way-north.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/12979504-393/baseball-kevin-smith-leaves-st-laurence-for-lincoln-way-north.html
If St. Laurence was going to meet preseason expectations and make a storied run to the Class 4A state finals in Joliet, its vaunted pitching staff would have to carry it there. That was no secret. There was no way St. Laurence could rely on its offense, which proved too inconsistent during a 30-7-1 season, to carry the Vikings to the promised … ]]> Wed, 30 May 2012 22:58:01 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/12880339-401/st.-laurences-strength-turns-into-its-weakness http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/12880339-401/st.-laurences-strength-turns-into-its-weakness
Didn’t the high school baseball season just begin? Wasn’t it a just the other day the SouthtownStar bestowed its preseason No. 1 honor on St. Laurence? No other season travels at warp speed like prep baseball. The postseason has started, and unlike recent years, there really isn’t a prohibitive local favorite in Class 3A and 4A to advance to lovely Silver Cross … ]]> Wed, 23 May 2012 21:26:01 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/12734396-406/disabato-swami-makes-his-playoff-baseball-picks.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/12734396-406/disabato-swami-makes-his-playoff-baseball-picks.html
Didn’t the high school baseball season just begin? Wasn’t it a just the other day the SouthtownStar bestowed its preseason No. 1 honor on St. Laurence? No other season travels at warp speed like prep baseball. The postseason has started, and unlike recent years, there really isn’t a prohibitive local favorite in Class 3A and 4A to advance to lovely Silver Cross … ]]> Wed, 23 May 2012 21:26:01 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/12734396-406/disabato-swami-makes-his-playoff-baseball-picks.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/12734396-406/disabato-swami-makes-his-playoff-baseball-picks.html
Who will end up on top of one of high school baseball’s best conferences at the end of the week is anyone’s guess. But know this about the remaining three-game stretch in the Catholic League Blue season: It’s going to be as exciting as a suicide-squeeze bunt and as fun as watching Tony Campana motor from first to third base. “It’s going … ]]> Mon, 07 May 2012 23:48:31 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/12385447-406/baseball-catholic-league-blue-race-will-go-down-to-the-wire.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/12385447-406/baseball-catholic-league-blue-race-will-go-down-to-the-wire.html
Steve Nye desired a change of scenery and new set of challenges in his professional life. And with two teenage children preparing for college and his own retirement in the not-so-distant future, Nye, 48, also yearned for a bump in salary and more lucrative retirement package, something Brother Rice couldn’t provide but a public school could. That’s why Nye applied for vacant … ]]> Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:38:01 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11807111-401/disabato-nye-leaves-rice-for-york.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11807111-401/disabato-nye-leaves-rice-for-york.html
First class. That’s the only way to describe Friday’s Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois state finals at the United Center. I will throw a bone to North Side-happy AHAI in this regard: It’s smart enough to have latched on to the coattails of the Blackhawks, whose partnership has made hockey the best state finals experience of any sport (my apologies to the … ]]> Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:34:32 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11548766-406/disabato-high-school-hockey-offers-unequaled-state-finals-experience.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11548766-406/disabato-high-school-hockey-offers-unequaled-state-finals-experience.html
First class. That’s the only way to describe Friday’s Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois state finals at the United Center. I will throw a bone to North Side-happy AHAI in this regard: It’s smart enough to have latched on to the coattails of the Blackhawks, whose partnership has made hockey the best state finals experience of any sport (my apologies to the … ]]> Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:34:32 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11548766-406/disabato-high-school-hockey-offers-unequaled-state-finals-experience.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11548766-406/disabato-high-school-hockey-offers-unequaled-state-finals-experience.html
PEORIA, Ill. — This wasn’t the way Hillcrest anticipated the final chapter of its marvelous season playing out. The Hawks desire was to end their season with a victory in Peoria, amid the pressure and hoopla of the Class 3A state championship game. It wasn’t just about adding a second state championship to the trophy case. It meant more — much more … ]]> Sat, 17 Mar 2012 19:58:51 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11369154-390/hillcrest-finish-a-tribute-to-royall.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11369154-390/hillcrest-finish-a-tribute-to-royall.html
PEORIA, Ill. — If Bloom had any chance Friday at pulling off one of the biggest upsets in state basketball history, it truly had to believe in its heart of hearts it was capable of slaying the Goliath known as Simeon. Saying it is one thing. Believing it is quite another. Simeon had defeated 17 of 32 opponents by 20 points or … ]]> Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:01:16 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11369340-393/bloom-puts-a-real-scare-into-simeon.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11369340-393/bloom-puts-a-real-scare-into-simeon.html
Back in December, when I was standing in the hospitality room at the McDipper, I overheard a referee offer this description of Bloom: “They play defense like they have seven players on the court.” It’s a perfect description, like a dart firmly secured in the bull’s eye. There is no debating the key to the Blazing Trojans’ success. Defense, defense, defense. That’s … ]]> Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:19:04 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11303900-406/bloom-plays-defense-like-no-other.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11303900-406/bloom-plays-defense-like-no-other.html
Mike Zunica generally is a glass-is-half-full sort of guy. And why wouldn’t he be? He’s built St. Rita’s baseball program into a perennial powerhouse during his 15-year career and, as the school’s athletic director, presides over an increasingly successful sports program. You name it — football, basketball, hockey, baseball — and St. Rita ranks among the area’s elite. The baseball team, under … ]]> Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:20:38 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11136002-406/de-la-riva-injury-has-zunica-hot-under-the-collar.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11136002-406/de-la-riva-injury-has-zunica-hot-under-the-collar.html
Man, did the March Madness party get a lot smaller in a matter of eight days. What began as a soiree featuring 40 local teams has dissolved into an intimate nine-team sectional celebration. Make no mistake, regional competition left us breathless on many occasions. In the end, though, the top three seeds in the Class 4A Lockport Sectional — Bloom, Andrew and … ]]> Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:53:25 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11087434-406/sectionals-loaded-with-plot-lines.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/11087434-406/sectionals-loaded-with-plot-lines.html
There are a few players on area high school basketball teams who are irreplaceable. By that I mean if their services no longer were available, their team’s success would immeasurably suffer. Three names instantly come to mind: Tony Hicks, of St. Rita, Jubril Adekoya, of Andrew, and Juozas Balciunas, of Lemont. I’m pretty confident that St. Rita, with a talented but inexperienced … ]]> Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:32:38 CST http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/10971837-406/local-international-it-may-be-tough-call-for-lemonts-balciunas.html http://highschoolsports.suntimes.com/disabato/10971837-406/local-international-it-may-be-tough-call-for-lemonts-balciunas.html