High school sports, if we can keep our COVID-19 infections to a minimum, is set to return to competition. The abbreviated schedules will begin just as soon as the required practice time has been completed. The end date for basketball will be March 13 with no postseason games. The first high school football games will begin no sooner than March 19 with April 24 the end date. Other sports will hold games with Spring end date June 19. The participants must want enough to play that they will abide by safety rules so COVID-19 does not interrupt and shut down competition. The mentality is that a half-loaf is better than no competition. Understanding is important.
• Savoring Chicago Bears Super Bowls: Bears 46, New England 10, in the 1985 season; Indianapolis 29, Bears, 17 in the 2006 season.
• Candace Parker, from Naperville Central High School, who will be 35 years old in April, understands the high school process. She was a starter on her high school basketball team as a freshman and a true premier player.
It was obvious her freshman season she was destine for big things. She was a premier player at the University of Tennessee and was a key player on two NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) National championship teams. The Los Angeles Sparks made her the No. 1 draft choice in 2008. Her first season she won both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards. She was the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) MVP in 2013. She played 13 seasons for the Sparks.
Her contract with the Sparks ended at the conclusion of last season. She was a free agent and chose to return to her original home base. She will begin in the Autumn with the Chicago Sky when the WNBA will begin its season. In addition to playing in the WNBA she has been an in-studio commentator for Turner Sports for men’s college basketball and NBA games.
She will be on the team with Joliet’s Allie Quigley, formerly a DePaul University starter, and point-guard Courtney Vandersloot, who led the WNBA the last three seasons in assists.