By Bobby Narang Northern Illinois University head football coach, Thomas Hammock, kicked off Spring practice by discussing the upcoming season. The former Northern Illinois star running back enters a pivotal year in his head coaching tenure after the Huskies lost all six of their games last season in the condensed
By Bobby Narang Benet Academy High School boys basketball head coach Gene Heidkamp made sure to take his time walking off the court Friday. The Redwings were one of the small group of boys and girls basketball teams to finish the truncated 2021 season March 12. The official end of
By Bobby Narang The Rashon Burno era officially tipped off Monday afternoon. The former DePaul University guard was named the new Northern Illinois University (NIU) men’s basketball head coach Saturday afternoon. Burno, who coached three years at Marmion Academy in Aurora, 2007-2010, was officially introduced Monday during a press conference.
By Bobby Narang In a year full of surprises, Waubonsie Valley High School boys basketball head coach, Jason Mead, delivered his own surprise. Monday, Feb. 22, in the middle of a shortened six-week season, Mead announced his resignation as head coach of the varsity program effective at the end of
By Bobby Narang With basketball in full force throughout the state, the biggest underlying issue for high schools team is making sure the season runs its course. Several teams in the state have experienced “shutdowns” because of cases of COVID-19. Many regions experienced upticks following Super Bowl Sunday parties, which
By Bobby Narang Basketball is back. After a long absence because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that stretched into early February, high school basketball was back in full force in Illinois last week. Although some teams had trouble scheduling games at the last minute, several teams played multiple games in a
By Bobby Narang The green light was given for the start of the high school basketball season last week. In a shocking turn of events, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) announced that boys and girls basketball could start immediately with practices and run until March 13 for games with
By Bobby Narang Nearly a month after Christmas, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) delivered a very belated, but pleasing gift to high school athletes. Just when the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly was set to end some sports, in particular football and boys and girls basketball, the IHSA reversed course and
By Bobby Narang While sports rages on in neighboring states, the high school athletes Illinois continue to remain in limbo. At least, after several months of back-and-forth discussions and delays, there was a small dose of positive news in the middle of this month. Since November 17, 2020 high school
By Bobby Narang Almost like a soccer game without a winner, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) had its long-awaited meeting with the representatives of governor JB Pritkzer and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) January 6. But there was no winner in the most recent battle to restart
By Bobby Narang Basketball runs in the Cohn family. So does the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament. Let former York High School star point guard, David Cohn, explain the long-running Tournament’s worth to his family. “My uncle is a huge high school sports fan,” Cohn said. “He went to York games
By Bobby Narang York High School first-year boys basketball head coach, Mike Dunn, will have to wait a bit longer for his first coaching experience at his new school. The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has yet to name a start date for the basketball season, despite surrounding states already
By Bobby Narang The more things change, the more they stay the same. That old saying certainly held true, at least in regards to the Illinois High School Association Board meeting Monday. The IHSA did not add much clarity to an already muddled and reduced high school sports scene. The
By Bobby Narang The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors held a virtual meeting December 2 to discuss numerous topics, most notably the timeline of Winter sports. IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said that when a timeline is set for the lifting of the restrictions, then the IHSA
By Bobby Narang The Northern Illinois University football team is right on track. Unfortunately, for Huskie Nation, the final destination for the historic 2020 season is the basement of the Mid-American Conference West Division. The Huskies, in the second year under the direction of former star Northern Illinois running Thomas
By Bobby Narang The on-and-off nature of high school sports took another turn last week. The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met November 19 to provide an update on Winter sports. In the last few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused havoc around the globe and, more
By Bobby Narang York High School first-year boys head basketball coach Mike Dunn might have to wait a bit longer for his debut season at his new school. The former Yorkville High School coach has a long family history that dates back 100 years with York High School. But the
By Bobby Narang The future looks bright for the St. Charles North High School girls swimming team. But the present shines as well. The North Stars concluded their season in style, by scoring 228 points to win the St. Charles North Sectional championship Saturday afternoon. St. Charles East managed to
By Bobby Narang In a normal year, the majority of the State would be preparing for an exciting blend of State competitions and playoff football. Not this season. Normal is not Fall State series following the Illinois High School Association’s (IHSA) decision not to take any risks due to the
By Bobby Narang For most of last week, Nicolas Dovalovsky thought he might miss one of the biggest cross country runs of the season. The Neuqua Valley High School senior struggled with his sleep due to chest pains, putting in doubt his ability to compete at a high level for
