Mac On Sports

         The Big Ten initially set its suspension of all organized team activities for its member schools of April 6.      But this afternoon (Friday, March 27), the conference extended that suspension to May 4 with the chance to re-evaluate its decision at that time. The moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting also continues.…

           Hope really does spring eternal.      This afternoon (Wednesday), Illinois High School Association Executive Director Craig Anderson released this statement to the media on where the association stands regarding spring sports and whether or not there will be a season for the various sports.      “As the IHSA staff and board continue to monitor…

         Much to the chagrin and great disappointment to all the seniors who play and compete, spring sports are in jeopardy for Illinois High School Association member schools. Gov. Pritzker’s statement last Friday afternoon about staying indoors and limiting outside activities to the necessities of life, like groceries, doctor’s appointments, picking up prescription drugs…

         Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse in the sports world, it did, with last Friday’s announcement that the Master’s golf tournament was being moved. Augusta National postponed the Masters, another massive hit to the spring sports calendar from the COVID-19 that already is responsible for the loss of March Madness…

         A former Eisenhower basketball player, Tim Allen, was living a dream.      And then coronavirus struck, turning his dream into a nightmare for him and his Sacred Heart-Griffin Cyclones..      Allen is in his second season as Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin’s boys basketball head coach, who was all-set to be courtside in Peoria’s Carver Arena coaching…

  For the second time, Goreville has beaten Central A&M in the SIU Carbondale supersectional. Goreville defeated the Raiders 71-64 tonight (Tuesday). In 2018 Goreville ousted Central A&M when these seniors were sophomores. Rob Smith’s team finishes the year 30-4. I will have more on the Raiders year and the seniors careers in a future…

       For the week that ended Sunday, Feb. 23, Indiana’s State’s Christian Williams, the former Decatur St. Teresa standout and Iowa transfer, paced the Sycamores by averaging 15.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as ISU took down league-leading UNI and won on the road against Evansville. Williams hit 9-of-14 shots for the week (64.3…

    By J. Thomas McNamara      Giving back to those who supported you now and others before you.      That’s the message MacArthur’s boys basketball head coach Ron Ingram and the Generals team sent last Tuesday at Leon McLain’s funeral at Brintlinger and Earl Funeral Home.      With permission of Principal Cordell Ingram, Athletic Director Jason Crutcher,…

      By J. Thomas McNamara      It’s not often that an athlete from a Decatur and Macon County high school gets to represent his country in World Cup competition, but that’s what 17-year-old Parker Hopkins is doing this week in New Zealand. Hopkins is a member of the USA 18-under Men’s National Softball team…

         Decatur and Macon County has a rich history of success in boys basketball state tournaments as evidenced by Maroa-Forsyth’s state Class 2A championship in 2007 followed two years later by Meridian’s state Class 1A title in March 2009. That’s just the frosting as the cake itself includes St. Teresa’s Class 2A runnerup in…