By Woodrow Carroll The city of Joliet has a long history of minor league baseball. True, the Major League Baseball product in Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox probably is foremost in the minds of most Will County residents. Still, pro teams at different levels have made their marks in
By Woodrow Carroll Last season for the Chicago White Sox, was a less than a positively memorable campaign. No, the White Sox were not expected to make a strong run for the World Series championship in 2023, but, a winning team was certainly not out of the question. Instead, the
By Woodrow Carroll It is enjoyable to take a look at the best regular-season records in Major League Baseball, then check to see how well the teams did in the postseason. Memorable as these regular-season campaigns may have been, ultimate success is in championships aka a World Series trophies. Both
By Woodrow Carroll After suffering a four-game sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins on the road in the early part of last week, the Chicago White Sox’s record fell to 3-22. There were comparisons with other Major League Baseball teams that opened their seasons with poor records. In
By Woodrow Carroll After managing the San Francisco Giants to the World Championship in 2010, 2012, and 2014, many observers were quick to point that Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy was the only manager with three or more World Series conquests to his credit not in baseball’s Hall of Fame. Of
By Woodrow Carroll The Chicago White Sox schedule looked pretty good prior to the start of this season. At least on paper! Three home games with the Detroit Tigers to start the campaign presented the White Sox with the opportunity of a good, if not overpowering, start. Of course that
By Woodrow Carroll When the Texas Rangers won the World Series championship last season, the number of Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises without a World Series championship was reduced to five among the 30 MLB teams, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, and Tampa Bay Rays. Keep
By Woodrow Carroll Each of the four teams, Connecticut, Alabama, North Carolina State, and Purdue, that made it to the semifinals of the 2024 NCAA men’s basketball tournament semifinals Saturday, April 6, presents a different picture of previous success. The championship game will be Monday, April 8 at 8 p.m.
By Woodrow Carroll In spite of a 72-68 victory over the visiting Buffalo Bulls Friday, March 8m the Northern Illinois men’s basketball team had what started out as a very promising season come to an inglorious finish. The Huskies opened the 2023-2024 campaign with victories in five of their first
By Woodrow Carroll With the men’s NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) basketball tournament lurking, it is always fun to look back at some of the memorable tournament moments. With a 75-year history and the first men’s winner determined in 1939, for the men’s tournament, there are many moments to hash
By Woodrow Carroll For both the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) men’s basketball tournament and the National Basketball Association (NBA), the 1956-1957 season was memorable. The final runs for both organizations produced classic games. The NCAA men’s championship game has produced more than its share of classics. Given that the
By Woodrow Carroll Those who follow the college basketball scene will be quick to say that there are no undefeated Division-I men’s programs remaining.. In fact, there are no teams with only a single defeat as we go to the latter quarter of college basketball’s regular season. Going undefeated in
By Woodrow Carroll With the college basketball season heading into the stretch, we might enjoy looking into some of the past NCAA men’s finals and the story that went with them. The first men’s final was held in 1939 with Oregon the victor. Each and every final since has produced
By Woodrow Carroll Coming off a 76-66 victory over Eastern Michigan Saturday, Feb. 3, a victory that ended the Northern Illinois eight-game losing streak in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play, the Huskies’ men’s basketball team finds itself in a position to not only improve its record this week, but, to give
By Woodrow Carroll With each passing season, those who follow college basketball are wont to point out that the last undefeated (National Collegiate Athletic Association) NCAA men’s basketball champion was the 1975-1976 Indiana University Hoosiers. Just how far in the past are we now? With the death of the late
By Woodrow Carroll When the San Francisco 49ers play host to the Detroit Lions at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28 for the right to go to Super Bowl LVIII, it brought up some historical facts. Or better, memories. Believe it or not, the last time the Lions claimed the NFL
By Woodrow Carroll The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball program, a once promising season is suddenly spinning out of control. Keep in mind that six games into the 2023-2024 campaign, the Huskies were 5-1 and the promise of good things to come, in the form of a strong run in
By Woodrow Carroll Positive news includes the University of Michigan football team and the Chicago Bears football. •Has anyone taken notice of the Bears lately? The National Football League (NFL) team came into the 2023 season with a 10-game losing streak going back to last season. The franchise tacked on
By Woodrow Carroll At the conclusion of the Saturday, Dec. 23 Camellia Bowl game, you might have heard Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” emanating from the Northern Illinois University (NIU) side. Well, probably not, however, that memorable number would have fit right in given the location. The NIU Huskies defeated
By Woodrow Carroll Major college men’s basketball, Division I, has more than 350 programs. When you think about it, there are almost three times as many Division I basketball operations as there are CBS (College Bowl Subdivision) football programs. There were 133 CBS football teams this season. All the Div.
