Two weeks after visiting the New York Stock Exchange with the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team and ringing The Closing Bell, Bobby Douglas was playing a game of “Beat the Streets” back in the Midwest. “Listen to the instruction,” he implored youngsters during a warm-up session to launch a two-day wrestling clinic Friday at Shepard High School in Palos Heights. Douglas is a 70-year-old two-time former Olympian (1964, 1968), World silver and bronze wrestling medalist and a two-time former Olympic wrestling coach (1992, 2004). He still is fit as a fiddle. And he is preparing himself these days to …

Many boys are introduced to baseball via a game of catch with dad in the yard. Few are so skilled at a young age to bypass T-ball and take their first swings in a competitive atmosphere off a pitching machine. And fewer still grow to 6-4 and throw a 90-mph fastball. Meet Brett Lilek. He is the leader of the Marian Catholic baseball team that will take on East Suburban Catholic Conference rival Nazareth Academy at noon Friday in the Class 3A semifinals at Silver Cross Field in Joliet. He is the exception to almost every rule. “God gives certain things to certain people,” Marian Catholic coach …

Marian Catholic junior right fielder Rebecca Stanton jumped a little higher than normal when she rounded first base and saw her three-run homer clear the center field fence. “I think I was just excited because it gave us more of a lead and our team was so excited about it,” Stanton said after her sixth inning blast powered the Spartans to an 8-3 victory over Oak Forest on Friday afternoon in Oak Forest. “And I knew we would play better with a bigger lead.” Stanton has been giving Marian Catholic leads all season long with her long-ball hitting. She connected on an 0-1 pitch from Oak Forest’s …

Running up the score is a dirty subject no one in sports wants to talk much about, particularly not when it involves high school sports and accusations of poor sportsmanship on the part of coaches and/or players. The subject reared its ugly head on Patch message boards following Lincoln-Way East’s 45-9 girls basketball victory over district rival Lincoln-Way Central on Tuesday. “Shame on you,” is how one commenter chose to berate East’s coach. I say cheap shot. I’m sure there are occasions when coaches and/or players attempt to run up the score on opponents. It’s human nature to hold a grudge…

From now on, I will be prepared when somebody stops me and asks, “Why would anyone in his right mind play small college football?” My answer: St. Xavier University. The Cougars capped a stirring run to the NAIA national championship with a 24-20 victory over Carroll (Mont.) on Saturday at Barron Stadium in Rome, Ga. The game was a classic—just like St. Xavier’s season—featuring enough back-and-forth drama and late-game heroics to fill a scrapbook with memories that will last a lifetime. And that’s what small-college football is all about—making memories with friends and classmates, sharing in…

In the hours—then minutes—before kickoff, St. Xavier football coach Mike Feminis will not waiver his tried and true routine, at least not much. Feminis will call on his captains to speak in a team meeting at the hotel before St. Xavier takes the field to face Carroll (Mont.) in Saturday’s NAIA national championship football game (3:30 CST, CBS Sports Network). Then, ‘Fem’ will open the floor for other players and his assistants to say a few words. Finally, he will finish up with his own thoughts, those thoughts ranging from paying attention to assignment detail and execution of the Cougars’ …

In the sports world, there is a tendency for all of us to get caught up in hero worship. The big names and big stars are people all of us follow, if only to satisfy our celebrity curiosity craving. What does Bulls guard Derrick Rose think about getting back to work now that the NBA labor dispute has been settled? How much money did he lose during the strike? Who does a better touchdown dance? Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers? Or the two hopelessly out-of-touch folks in the television insurance company ad? You know the ones: they mimic Rodgers’ championship belt routine by working their hands…

Brace yourself college football fans for the Game of the Century, Part II. No, I’m not talking about a potential rematch of Alabama vs. LSU for the Division I national championship, though the SEC rivals remain in line for the game’s next great apocalyptic adventure. Rather, I’m referring to a semifinal matchup of St. Xavier vs. Marian as the cataclysmic battle of small-school college football powerhouses. The two will be meeting for the second time this season, a trip to the nationally televised NAIA championship game Dec. 17 in Rome, Ga., resting in the balance. Kickoff is at noon (CST) …

An old friend of mine, Edgy Tim O’Halloran, noted recently in his column for the Chicago Tribune how impossible it is to select a high school football Player of the Year and a Coach of the Year. To be sure, this is a task that falls under the category of inexact science. Do you side with the best player? Or the best player on the most successful team? And do you automatically pick the winningest coach? Or do you like the coach who turned a sleeping giant into a winner? Tough questions. No right or wrong answers, either. After boiling my list of candidates down to five, I picked Lincoln-Way …