Sunday Comics

Sunday Comic: Blackhawks a Cure for Cold Weather Blues

Hockey is red hot in these parts, thanks to the Hawks' historic start to the NHL season.

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Batavia Artificial Turf and Field Improvements Might Cost $13 Million

A Batavia committee proposes a $13 million plan that could give District 101 an artificial turf field and keep practices on the campus, area media report.

Batavia School District 101 might have to spend as much as $13 million to build an artificial turf field and keep sports and extracurricular practices on the school campus, the Daily Herald reports. The district had talked about taking land from Mooseheart and using elementary schools for practice fields, but Batavia Buildings and Grounds Director Pat Browne told the Batavia School Board at last week's meeting that a committee of school officials, parents and boosters would prefer to keep practice on campus. The plan calls for eliminating the arboretum on the southwest corner of the school campus, the Daily Herald said. A Chicago Tribune article said no funding has been secured for the project, although the committee did present an …

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Kane County Cougars, Caterers Sued by Students Injured in August Storm

Remember the Aug. 4 storm that caused so much damage, including students at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark? Now three people are suing the Kane County Cougars and a catering company for injuries, the Daily Herald reports.

The Kane County Cougars and a catering business are being sued for injuries incurred by two St. Charles East students and a Northern Illinois University grad at a volunteer event last August at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark, the Daily Herald reports. On Aug. 4, a Patch reader initially said a tent went down at the ballpark campus, injuring two people. The storm knocked down trees and power lines. The Kane County Chronicle later that day reported that Mary Gaffney, then a Northern Illinois University student, was one of two people injured. Gaffney's father, Kevin, told the paper at the time that she suffered a fractured skull after a pole or 2-by-4 knocked her unconscious. Weather spotters reported wind gusts of up to 60 mph that Saturday, …

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What Was Your Favorite Super Bowl Commercial?

Check out some of the Super Bowl XLVII commercials below and then let us know your favorite.

One of the most anticipated aspects of the Super Bowl each year is the commercials. 2013 is no different, with popular brand names like Doritos, Taco Bell, Volkswagon and many more pulling out all the creative stops to make their ads pop. Advertisers paid an average of $3.8 million for each 30 seconds of air time, according to USA Today. You can watch some of the most popular commercials above. Which was your favorite? Tell us in the comments below.

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Night of Hoops 2013 to Honor Longtime Coach Jim Roberts & Family

Coach Roberts makes a return to the court tonight with his wife Sylvia for a special ceremony. Here are the details.

This evening's Night of Hoops event at Batavia High School will honor its founder, a longtime Batavia coach and his family. Before the 7:30 p.m. Batavia game today, Feb. 2, there will be a special ceremony honoring retired Batavia basketball coach Jim Roberts and his wife Sylvia. During the ceremony the Batavia High School Basketball Program and Administration will rename the event “The Jim and Sylvia Roberts Night of Hoops.” “They will be there,” Current Bulldogs coach Jim Nazos told CN100 Correspondent Paul Johnson. “I’ve always viewed it as a first-class event, even more when I saw it on the inside. (Nazos coached a team in the event last year, losing by just four points to Benet.) Everything is done first class and it’s because Coach (…

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Batavia Night of Hoops 2013 This Saturday

Here's the full lineup of games and other details for the Jim and Sylvia Roberts Night of Hoops. Go Bulldogs!

Batavia, Geneva NIU Players Were At Orange Bowl

The roster includes Winkel, Santacaterina and more. These and other athletes from Chicago suburbs and Patch towns are on some of the best teams in college football this season.

The BCS bowl season has begun, but two area schools had to wait until the new year to play in some of the most prestigious bowl games—and their rosters feature lots of area talent from Chicago suburbs and Patch towns.  Notre Dame, the No. 1 team in the country, plays Alabama in the BCS National Championship game Jan. 7. And No. 15 Northern Illinois, a surprise BCS team, was at the Orange Bowl to play No. 12 Florida State on New Year's Day. A number of athletes from Patch towns are on the rosters of these teams, as well as others who played in bowl games over the past few weeks. Many are underclassmen probably yet to see game action, but their names are among some of the most powerful rosters in college football. If we've missed out on any …

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A Gay Athlete’s Journey: The Difficult, Dual Life of Geneva's Todd Searcy

Part 1: Geneva Hall of Fame and Fighting Illini football player Todd Searcy led a life of success and secrecy.

Former Geneva High School star football player and 2010 GHS Sports Hall of Fame honoree Todd Searcy realized that he was gay more than three decades ago. In 1982, Searcy led one of coach Jerry Auchstetter’s best football teams in tackle points and sacks, as Geneva went undefeated in its regular season and won its first two playoff games by scores of 49-0 and 42-0 before falling in overtime in the semifinal game to the eventual state champion. Thirty years ago, Searcy was named the first-ever Little Seven Conference Most Valuable Player. Searcy, then a high-school junior and honors student, knew he had athletic prowess. But he also knew he was not attracted to girls in the same way his friends were. That didn’t mean he lacked typical …

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Mooseheart: Sudanese Students Are 'Going to Live The American Dream'

Monday was an emotional day for the school, the Sudan-born students and their supporters as the IHSA declared the students eligible for athletics. School officials said their education was never in jeopardy.

While the overwhelming sentiment among some, regarding four South Sudanese students at Mooseheart and their ruling of ineligibility by the Illinois High School Association was “let them play” — to the young men themselves, there was another issue more central: “Can we stay?” And to that, Mooseheart Executive Director Scott Hart had a simple and emphatic response; the same response he would have given any of the other 210 boys and girls currently on-campus: Yes. Hart reiterated that statement late Monday evening when discussing the early-evening decision by the IHSA Board of Directors to reverse the ineligibility decree from IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman — and to allow Mangisto Deng, Wal Khat, Akim Nyang and Makur Puou to be …

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