Mac On Sports

    Contact days will be restricted to six hours per student-athlete per sport each week, and can include practices, drills, and intra-squad scrimmages allowable under IDPH guidance.  Competition against any other high school, conducted in-state or out-of-state, is prohibited. “The Board felt that it was important for the physical and mental health of our student-athletes…

      The phone rang, Dave Kreps was on the other end, calling to advise that long-time Illinois assistant coach and UIC head coach, Jimmy Collins, passed away early today (Sunday morning, Dec. 13).     The Krepses and Collins were close as Dave served as one of Henson’s graduate assistants when Collins and Dick Nagy…

Ends Five-year Run with Lovie Smith as Fighting Illini Leader Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced today that Lovie Smith has been relieved of his duties as head football coach after five seasons at the helm of the Fighting Illini. Smith will not coach the Illini during its final game of the season.     …

      Aric Lee is about to embark on a new career that will challenge him like athletics does for the athletes he reports on each fall on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons during the playoffs and Tuesday and Friday nights during the winter prep basketball seasons.     Lee is leaving Neuhoff media later this month…

       The (Illinois High School Association) Board has no expectation to begin any winter sports seasons until 2021, but will remain agile in their preparation and willingness to adapt should a window present itself sooner.     That was the last sentence in the IHSA release this afternoon (Wednesday, Dec. 2nd), of Executive Director’s Craig…

      Once again, Fred Bouchard is coaching in a Missouri high school football state championship game.     And the last time he was on the sidelines coaching in a “Show-Me” state title game, he was on the losing one as his present school, MICDS, beat his former school, Harrisonville.     Now, Bouchard is coaching…

       Stephen Decatur Runnin’ Reds basketball legend, Jim Hallihan, passed away early Friday morning (Nov. 20) from bone cancer.     Halliahn gave so much of himself to make our prep athletes lives better, first in Iowa, where he lived, and then to Decatur.  Last October he hosted the “Character Counts” program in teammate TJ Jackson’s…

      Fred Bouchard knows coaching.     Once a coach, always a coach.     When Bouchard resigned his District 61 administrative position to return to coaching, he said his love of coaching was why.     Now we know he not loves coaching football, but does it successfully as well which this writer never doubted.    …

To maintain compliance with the most recent mitigations issued by Gov.Pritzker that take effect Friday, Nov. 20, the IHSA Board issued guidance to pause all IHSA winter sports and activities by that date. “All IHSA sports and activities will cease by Friday for what we hope is a short-term pause,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig…

         Mark Feb. 1st your calendar as the date prep sports, including boys and girls basketball, will begin.      I write that because sources are telling the Chicago Sun-Times that the Chicago Public Schools plan to reopen elementary schools for in-classroom education that date. If that’s the case the junior high and high schools will…