The Super Bowl game this year in the desert of Arizona was Super! Nearly an overtime ending, Kansas City defeated slight favorite of the odds-makers, Philadelphia, 38-35. It has been 37 years, more than one-third of a century (ouch, written that way) since the Chicago Bears captured the 1986 Super Bowl in a victory against New England, 46-10. That was the first New England Super Bowl and now the team is 6-5 in the Big Game. The Bears are 1-1.
• The sports attention in the professional ranks turns to Major League Baseball which starts Spring training this week. Other big games will be with us in various sites over the coming weeks and months.
• An outstanding big game Super Bowl Sunday was Northwestern University’s victory over Purdue, 64-58, in men’s basketball.
• First, high school basketball offers tournament play with other Winter sports. Girls basketball started regional tournaments this week. Boys regional tournament will begin Saturday, Feb. 18, and will end one week sooner, March 11, than State tournaments did a few years ago.
• Girls regional tournament games are building in importance and in tension on course for the March 4 State championship games.
The first-step girls regional tournament championship games will be played Thursday and Friday this week. Both boys and girls tournaments serve excitement and quality play. Teams have improved in the weeks and months since their mid-November starts. The players offer excellence, and good competition for the most part in four classes, 1A through 4A. The biggest schools are in Class 4A.
Some of the girls which have started early victories in 4A regional games: Geneva defeated Bartlett, 62-25, following Bartlett’s 51-37 victory against Hoffman Estates; Geneva has enjoyed more than a few years of great success; Plainfield South defeated Oswego, 59-51; Joliet West 48, Joliet Central, 28; Dundee-Crown defeated McHenry, 41-35; South Elgin advanced against Streamwood, 62-32, between U-46 District schools. Lincoln-Way West defeated Romeoville, 64-54.
In Class 3A Montini defeated Fenton, 75-39. In Class 2A Rosary of Aurora defeated Somonauk Coop, 53-40, then Rosary fell to Marian Central, Woodstock, 47-42; Joliet Catholic, 53, Westmont, 28; Aurora Central continued its prowess, 54-38, against Johnsburg with the victor’s Riley Cwinski scoring 22 points. Newark, 64. Peru St. Bede, 55 in 1A; Westminster Christian 63, Elgin Academy, 19; Hinckley-Big Rock, 60 Westminster, 17; Harvest Christian, 42, Yorkville Christian 41.