Notes from far and wide:
•North Central College continues its dominance in football, however, last week even great teams cannot win them all. In the Division III college football championship game, Wartburg College in Decorah, Iowa won its first Division III college football championship with a 38-37 championship game victory over North Central College of Naperville. North Central captured the Division III national championships in 2019 and 2022. The Cardinals won the first 14 games this season in defense of the 2022 championship. The North Central bid to repeat as champion, as it turned out, came down to one play. North Central trailed 38-31 when it scored a touchdown in the final minute of the game in Salem, Va. Friday, Dec. 15. The Cardinals went for a two-point conversion to win the game in regulation. A run play to the right did not fool Wartburg, whose defenders tackled the North Central ballcarrier to end the scoring. North Central ended the season in disappointments with a 14-1 record. Second pace in the Nation will begin to look a great deal better in the coming months, and, of course, in the coming years.
•College sports continues to grow in interest and we are in basketball season which is a quick thought for March Madness in April for college basketball. By quick count we receive 20 college basketball games on television each Saturday afternoon.
•High school basketball flourishes in holiday basketball tournament time. See page 19 for tournament coverage from the four counties west of Chicago, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will. Holiday tournament time allows high school teams to take trips to many parts of Illinois, even out of state, and for many teams participation in the same tournament on a continuing season. Stat tournaments include DeKalb, East Aurora, Pontiac, Plano, and now Jacobs, Hinsdale Central an the 32-team Jack Tosh tournament at York High School in Elmhurst. Somehow it is difficult to imagine that there are an a few states which do not have high school holiday basketball tournaments.
•College football bowl game, and there are many, begin to pick up momentum in importance that will include standard excellent bowls in Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Peach, then the national championship game Monday, Jan 8. See our coverage on page 9.
•Sports becomes a year-round proposition. Shortly after the first of the year, the baseball organizations stir on Spring training and preparation for the new baseball season. The professional baseball teams have the pleasure and advantage of grooming in the South with warm weather and sunshine. Ordinarily the shock to the system is the start of the season at the beginning of April when the temperatures hover just above freezing. That’ only a few weeks of harsh duty until Spring weather connects with participants. What appears harsh are the college and high school organizations which must deal with frigid weather, rain, even snow, from the beginning. Just when good weather arrives, the Spring sports seasons come to a conclusion. Will the teams play more than half the scheduled games? The Major League Baseball (MLB) teams will play 162 games for a full season and with the extended six months, domed stadiums, and extra advantages, are in stark contrast to the college and high school seasons which start out in jeopardy of not playing a full season at the start. It continues through the planned season. Minor league baseball teams have some of the advantages of the MLB teams, although their seasons versus the weather are a bit in risk. Every level of play deals with the reality of the situation, which is a reflection of life. Ultimately, make the best of it.