By Jim Coffman

People have been complaining about sports sections not covering women’s sports for a long time. Some of those complaints have merit, some don’t.
But this morning was ridiculous.
You wouldn’t know it from either the Sun-Times website (which I was actually able to scroll through relatively smoothly – have they actually, finally managed to achieve basic operational competence with that thing? It’s a technological miracle!), or its printed sports section this morning, but there was a team from Chicago that had a thrilling weekend at its top tier NCAA basketball tournament.

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Posted on March 21, 2016

By Roger Wallenstein

Being a single dad 35 years ago living on a school teacher’s salary, my second job was hawking concessions at Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field in the summer and at Soldier Field and the old Stadium in the winter.
In those days Chicago’s soccer team, the Sting of Karl-Heinz Granitza, played indoors at the Stadium where I was climbing the aisles one frigid January afternoon selling my load of popcorn. Sales were slow, and my two young boys were back at my apartment on the North Side with a sitter to whom I was paying more than the commission I was making. So early in the second half I decided to check out at the concession’s cashier window.
Turned out that this might not have been the wisest choice since the union steward – we vendors were SEIU members – spied me as I headed for the exit.

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Posted on March 21, 2016

By Triton Athletics

DANVILLE, Ill. – What the Triton College men’s basketball team accomplished this season may be tough to duplicate. For the past three months the Trojans played with the pressure of being the No. 1 ranked National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II team in the country, answering every challenge presented to them.
Triton won an astounding 30 games in a row entering Saturday’s NJCAA Division II national championship game against Kirkwood Community College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). But the hopes of a storybook ending and the team’s first ever national title were dashed by the Eagles as the Trojans’ historic season ended with an 83-76 loss.

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Posted on March 20, 2016

DANVILLE, Ill. – For the first time in school history, the Triton College men’s basketball team will compete in the national championship game. The Trojans held off South Suburban College 82-77 Friday night in an epic National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II semifinal that featured the top two teams in the nation.
Triton, ranked No. 1 overall, has now won 30 consecutive games, improving to 34-2 overall. The Trojans will meet Kirkwood Community College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) for the NJCAA Division II crown tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Danville. The Eagles (30-4) are ranked sixth in the nation. Kirkwood rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to stun Essex County (NJ) 77-66 in the other semifinal contest.

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Posted on March 19, 2016

Plenty of children in the White Sox locker room, it turns out. And they all have lockers. Plus: We Will Miss Martellus Bennett; The Bulls Are Just Boring Now; The Blackhawks (Temporarily) Stink; March Madness Moolah – Who Gets It; Triton Advance To Final Four; and The Everton Minute: Next Six Matches Crucial!

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Posted on March 18, 2016

By Triton Athletics

DANVILLE, Ill. – The phrase “offense wins games, defense wins championships” is often said in sports, especially in basketball. The Triton College men’s basketball team showed why during their National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II quarterfinal win over Parkland College (Champaign, Ill.) Thursday night.
The Trojans played half-court, man-to-man defense at a championship level, holding the Cobras to 18-of-54 shooting (33 percent) from the field and never trailed in their 66-48 victory at Danville Area Community College, earning a trip to the Final Four.

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Posted on March 18, 2016

By Roger Wallenstein

The conversation this week may have gone this way.
“Rick, I really need to talk to you,” began the beleaguered Adam LaRoche. “These back spasms have been killing me, and I’ve had a lot of time in the past ten days to do some thinking. Rick, I think I’m going to call it quits.”
“Oh my god, Adam, this is a shocker,” gasped Sox GM Hahn. “What’s going on?”

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Posted on March 17, 2016

By Triton Athletics

DANVILLE, Ill. – There has been a target on the backs of the Triton College men’s basketball team since becoming the top ranked National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II team in mid-January. The Trojans have taken the best shot from all of their opponents and Tuesday night’s NJCAA National Basketball Tournament opening round game vs. MCC-Penn Valley (Kansas City, Mo.) was no different.
A strong second half propelled Triton to a 79-70 win over the Scouts at Danville Area Community College (DACC) in Danville, Ill.
With the win, Triton (32-2) increased their school record win-streak to 28 straight games. The Trojans will next play Parkland College from Champaign, Ill., in the quarterfinal round Thursday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the DACC. Triton defeated Parkland 71-66 when the two teams met in River Grove back in December.

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Posted on March 17, 2016

RPs are everyone’s least favorite position to draft, and as with most years this position once again looks like a bit of a crapshoot. Also, one very big name has fallen off the top of the heap due to suspension. Choose your strategy: Either go with the names you know and take them early, or wait until late and gamble on unproven arms that nevertheless will see many save chances with good squads.

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Posted on March 16, 2016

By John Affleck/The Conversation

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament starts Tuesday. From then until the final on April 4, CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting will bring you every game, focusing on the buzzer beaters, the Cinderella stories, the athletes overcoming the odds.
It’ll all end, as it always does, with confetti guns and net-cutting, and a video montage of highlights played over “One Shining Moment.”
What you won’t see much about is who benefits financially by participating in a tournament that generates hundreds of millions of dollars for the NCAA. Yes, the players earn scholarships, as will athletes in nonrevenue sports, whose schooling is also funded through tournament profits.
But one thing that gets very little attention is the fact that the men who put the basketball players through drills every day stand to go home with substantial bonuses on top of their already handsome salaries.

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Posted on March 15, 2016