The portrait, titled “The Prodigy,” was auctioned Thursday, May 3, at the Lexington Foundation’s Derby Gala and Wine Auction to benefit cancer victims in Kentucky. The painting measures 31 inches by 34 inches, and the framing and matting were generously donated by South Hill Gallery. (Image courtesy of www.stonestreetfarms.com)

By Susan Johnson
Copy Editor

We’re in that in-between time, building up hopes (or anxieties) between the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. Whether or not you followed the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, here’s something to consider. These Triple Crown races (or any other races) make up a small portion of a race horse’s life. What happens before that prime testing season, and what happens once it’s over?

Riding on hope — Rachel’s new foal

Thoroughbred horses are born every year, but one particular arrival was anticipated with more than ordinary interest. Following the retirement of 2009 Preakness winner and Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, it was arranged to breed her with the 2007 Preakness champion and two-time Horse of the Year, Curlin. Rachel’s new foal, a colt, was born Jan. 22, 2012, and became an instant celebrity along with his famous mom. Stonestreet Stables, near Lexington, Ky., where the horses are staying, has been taking full advantage of the publicity.

They established a contest, open to virtually anyone anywhere, to suggest a name for the foal, and were literally overwhelmed by the response. A total of 6,521 name suggestions — some historically based, some denoting royalty, offering tribute to the owner, Jess Jackson (now deceased), some whimsical or funny — were received. The submissions came in from all over the U.S. (including several from Alaska), Denmark, England, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Costa Rica and Venezuela. Jackson, who campaigned both Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, died of cancer April 21, 2011. His widow, Barbara Banke, now operates Stonestreet and co-owns Rachel Alexandra in partnership with Harold McCormick. The stables is expected to choose a winner by the end of summer.

As a special tribute, artist D. Lee, a horsewoman and artist who lost her husband to cancer, was commissioned to paint a special portrait of the foal. Lee spent some time with Rachel and her baby on the farm, and Lee’s skill in capturing the foal’s unique personality is evident in her work. His eye, reminiscent of Rachel’s, perfectly reflects his heritage. He is a beautiful bay colt with a blazing white star on his forehead and immediately captivates anyone who sees him. Rachel is said to be a devoted mother who took to the foal immediately.

The portrait, titled “The Prodigy,” was auctioned Thursday, May 3, at the Lexington Foundation’s Derby Gala and Wine Auction to benefit cancer victims in Kentucky. The painting measures 31 inches by 34 inches, and the framing and matting were generously donated by South Hill Gallery.

Now, let’s look at the other end of the spectrum — what happens when a horse reaches the end of its career — and this applies not just to thoroughbreds, but other horses as well. We thank PETA for granting permission to reprint the following article from their 2011 Annual.

Racehorse saved from slaughter

PETA’s undercover investigator was documenting conditions at a crowded, terrifying livestock auction in the Midwest, where thousands of thoroughbreds discarded by the racing industry end up, when she met a timid, frightened mare. The horse was painfully thin and covered with wounds from being bitten and kicked by other horses who had lashed out in fear in the chaos of the auction. She was jammed into a holding pen so crowded that she could barely move. She had no way of knowing that she faced a horrifying journey and a bloody death at a slaughterhouse.

Her lip tattoo identified her as a racehorse who had started out with great promise, the relative of champions, but she had never won a race. Her name was Coming Home, the granddaughter of Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled and cousin of Eight Belles (who shattered both front ankles in the 2008 Derby). Coming Home was cast off by the racing industry at just 6 years old, and like 10,000 other thoroughbreds every year, she was sold to a “kill buyer” who planned to send her to a slaughterhouse in Canada or Mexico.

That’s when PETA’s investigator stepped in. A deal was struck with the kill buyer, and instead of ending up on a meat hook, Coming Home headed for rest, rehabilitation, and retirement on a PETA founding member’s beautiful mountain ranch.

The horse-racing industry breeds more than 30,000 new foals every year, and owners pay millions of dollars for the chance to acquire a winner — but turn their backs when horses don’t make the grade, as most do not. PETA is demanding that the people who bring these horses into the world also provide a decent retirement for them.

We have met with and asked the Jockey Club — which registers all thoroughbred racehorses — to require owners and breeders to pay a fee for each foal, stallion and broodmare registration and set the money aside in a retirement fund. In a letter to the Jockey Club on PETA’s behalf, Secretariat star James Cromwell wrote, “These magnificent animals should not end up on a meat hook after a terrifying journey to a terrifying death.”

Thanks to the support of generous PETA members who make investigations like this one possible and to everyone who helped along the way with care and transport, Coming Home has finally come home for good. She is now safe, her bony frame is filling out, and she is gaining back her muscle tone, as she walks and runs with other horses, with her head once again held high.

From the May 23-29, 2012, issue

Donald Driver is the all-time leading wide receiver in Green Bay Packers history. He has experienced the highs of Super Bowl glory and the lows of growing up homeless and living in a U-Haul truck during his youth. Now, he’s involved in a competition that bears no resemblance to anything else he’s ever done in his past.

Driver and his dance partner, Peta Murgatroyd, are among the three finalist couples competing for the coveted mirror ball trophy on the hugely popular ABC television series Dancing with the Stars (DWTS). They are matched up against William Levy and his partner Cheryl Burke and Katherine Jenkins and her partner Mark Ballas.

One of those three couples was crowned champion last night (Tuesday, May 22). Those results were unknown at the time I was writing this column. Regardless of whether Driver walks away with the trophy, he’s still a champion in my book.

As all of my friends, and many of you who regularly read my columns know, I’m not a Packers fan by any stretch of the imagination. I do not like anything about that team. Having made that crystal clear, and even though he plays for them, I’m not afraid to say Driver has earned my respect.

The guy seems to be the quintessential family man. He and his wife, Betina, have three children — Cristian, Christina and Charity. They have repeatedly been the focus of the DWTS cameras glowing with pride and support for their dad while he is on the dance floor.

He and his wife created the Donald Driver Foundation in 2001 with a focus on homelessness, education and health and wellness initiatives. He has donated thousands of hours of his time for hundreds of community appearances.

His children and his commitment to education drove him to write three children’s books revolving around the lovable character “Quickie.” The books’ illustrations and stories are based on Donald’s family. He read his latest book, Quickie Goes to the Big Game, at the Library of Congress at an event that featured First Lady Michelle Obama.

He’s not only a gifted athlete, a loving husband and father, he can also definitely dance. I don’t know whether he’ll end up walking away with the mirror ball trophy or not. It really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. What does matter is that he’s represented not only his team, but more importantly his self and his entire family very well in the eyes of this viewer.

I’ll never be a Green Bay Packers fan, but thanks to Driver’s story and his performance on the show this season, I am a Donald Driver fan!

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the May 23-29, 2012, issue

The Rockford Sports Coalition, in partnership with Rockford Public School District 205 and Rockford College, will have three showings of the Oscar Award-winning documentary Undefeated this week to raise funds for Rockford athletics.

The film, which won this year’s award for Best Documentary, was produced by Rockford native and Rockford Boylan Catholic High School graduate Dan Lindsay. It is a story about an inner-city school in Memphis, Tenn., that went from a losing program to a winning one behind a group of athletes led by their volunteer coach.

The movie will be shown at Rockford College’s Maddox Theatre, with showings at 7 p.m., May 23, as well as two showings May 24 at 3 and 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the theater or at the School District administration building.

In addition to the film, a 30-45 minute question-and-answer session will be held with Lindsay following the film, as well as a silent auction provided by GQ Sports and refreshments provided by the college.

“It’s going to be a real nice event with a nice partnership between Rockford Public Schools, Rockford College and the Rockford Sports Coalition,” Rockford Public School Athletic Director Mat Parker said.

In addition to raising funds to help athletics in Rockford at all levels, the film gives a positive message about the difference sports can make in the lives of high school students.

“Put preconceived notions aside,” coach and star of the documentary Bill Courtney said of the film’s message, “Remember, these are boys that are searching for what it means to become a young man. Their personal, internal definition of what that is and how they are going to walk that walk depends largely on the adults that surround them.”

From the May 23-29, 2012, issue

I know I’m not the first to ever write a column about the price of concessions at a professional sporting event. It’s probably been done thousands of times in newspapers and magazines of every size and circulation. I realize it’s not a unique topic relevant only to this area. It’s something that fans are forced to endure in every arena, stadium and ballpark in the country.

I want to add my 2 cents worth; actually, it’s more like $40-$50 worth. I recently had the good fortune of attending a major league game at Wrigley Field. That good fortune was quickly reduced to pennies, thanks to a few eats and drinks.

Let’s start with the price of hot dogs. A ballpark dog is now $5. I’m not exactly sure, but I think you can buy a whole package of wieners, a package of buns and a bottle of mustard for about that same amount. The more exotic bratwurst was $5.50. I went with a brat, my daughter opted for the more traditional hot dog. Then, we had to have something to wash them down with.

That brings me to the liquid refreshments. We had two diet soft drinks. They were $5 each. That’s $30 a six pack for those 20-ounce bottles. It’s a good thing I was with my daughter. Had I been with one of my buddies, we probably would have chosen an adult beverage over the soft drinks. A 16-ounce aluminum can of your favorite barley pop was $7.50. That’s the equivalent of $60 a gallon; makes unleaded regular look extremely inexpensive at $3.749 a gallon.

A medium-sized bag of peanuts was $4. I originally thought this was the bargain of the day. There were enough peanuts in the bag for both my daughter and me to share. They were fresh, crunchy and salty.

Here’s the part I didn’t calculate into the $4 price tag on that bag of salted, in-the-shell treats: it’s impossible to eat that many peanuts without your tongue swelling to double its original size because of the sodium intake. To survive the remaining six innings, we had to have two more soft drinks. That meant my $4 bargain quickly turned into $14.

What’s a trip to the game on a sunny 85-degree day without a frosty malt to make the seventh-inning stretch complete? That little cup of chocolaty imitation dairy dessert product and the accompanying wooden spoon was another $4. I’ll never again complain about the price of Ben & Jerry’s or Haagen Dazs, at least those products are real dairy desserts. I can’t imagine what they would cost if they were sold at sporting events and came with a wooden spoon.

Don’t even get me started on the $35 hats!

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the May 23-29, 2012, issue

ROCKTON, Ill. — DuWayne Patriq Jones of Stephen Mack Middle School in Rockton, Ill., had a great weekend at the Illinois Elementary School Association (IES) state finals.

Jones placed first in the 400-meter dash for the IESA seventh-grade boys’ division with at time of 53.51. He made it to the semi-finals in the 100-meter dash, and placed 12th overall, just missing the finals with a time of 12.58. He was also the anchor leg in the boys’ 4-by-400-meter relay that placed third overall in state with a time of 4:03.

Overall, the Stephen Mack Middle School team did well and is bringing home seven medals and one state championship title.

From the May 23-29, 2012, issue

The Rockford Jefferson J-Hawks became the second Rockford public school to name a former Illinois High School Association state champion to run its football program.

The J-Hawks named former Stillman Valley standout and Rockford College assistant football coach Patrick Babcock to be the head coach of their football program.

“We’re extremely excited to have coach Babcock come to Jefferson,” Jefferson Principal Don Rundall said. “The experience he brings, the knowledge that he brings and the state championships that he has behind him are a great addition to our program.”

Babcock was a key player for the 1999 Stillman Valley Cardinals team that won a state championship. He also was a part of the last Big Ten championship for the University of Illinois.

Since that time, he coached at Macalester College before moving to Rockford College to coach in 2007.

The J-Hawks have been a program on the upswing in recent years, going 3-6 and 4-5 the last two season. Babcock said the key as he steps into the program is to continue to build on the foundation that has been laid.

“It’s a matter of continuing to build on that relationship with hard-nosed football,” he said. “Continue to be in the weight room and continue to take the program in the same direction it was going.”

He also said it will take time to establish his program. But with the full support of the school, he said the program should continue to improve.

“There is potential for growing pains and learning pains as we get in there,” Babcock said. “But, hopefully, you don’t take a big step back.”

From the May 23-29, 2012, issue

LOVES PARK, Ill. — Rockford native and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen will be on hand Sunday, May 27, as the RiverHawks take on the Lake Erie Crushers at 3:05 p.m. at RiverHawks Stadium.

The RiverHawks have partnered with the Burpee Museum of Natural History to bring the rocker out to the game and help to raise money for the museum.

“This is a great partnership for us and our fans,” said RiverHawks General Manager Brad Sholes. “To be able to partner up and bring in a big name like Rick Nielsen and help to raise money for a community asset like Burpee Museum at the same time is right in line with our goal to be a larger part of the community in the stateline area.”

Alan Brown, executive director of the Burpee Museum, said, “We are very excited to partner with the RiverHawks’ organization to launch the first step in bringing the Rick Nielsen and his Guitar Exhibit to Rockford.”

Nielsen will be throwing out the game’s ceremonial first pitch and will be signing multiple custom jerseys that will be auctioned off to lucky fans. Proceeds from the jersey auction will go to Burpee Museum, along with a portion of the proceeds from the night’s ticket sales.

Tickets to the game are $10 and $7.

April 23, 2012, Rick Nielsen and the board of the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford unveiled plans for Rick’s Picks, a state-of-the-art exhibit that tells the story of Rick’s passions for guitars, music, and rock and roll. Visitors will experience a treasure trove of Rick’s amazing guitars, collectible personal items, stage clothing and Cheap Trick memorabilia, all enhanced by multimedia storytelling support. The exhibit is set to open Aug. 11.

The RiverHawks are members of the Frontier League, an independent professional baseball league that will play its 20th season in 2012. The RiverHawks open their 11th season May 18 at River City. The home opener is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., May 25, against Lake Erie. Advertising and season-ticket information is available by calling (815) 885-2255. Fans can also visit www.rockfordriverhawks.com.

From the May 16-22, 2012, issue

I know we just wrapped up Mother’s Day, and for most people it’s a tad bit early to start thinking about what to get dad for Father’s Day. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t mind planning ahead, I’ve found the perfect gift for dear ol’ dad. If he’s a baseball fan, he’s going to love this; if he’s a Cubs fan, he’s really, really going to love this.

Rockford’s own Canterbury Books and Tours is taking a bus trip into historic Wrigley Field Saturday, June 23. When the tour arrives at the corner of Clark and Addison, there won’t be any Cubs game to watch. But don’t worry, dad’s not going to be disappointed.

Instead, participants will get the rare opportunity to get a glimpse of Wrigley Field that is usually reserved for the players and other VIPs. They’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the dugout, clubhouse, dressing room, skybox and press box. The highlight of the tour will be the opportunity to walk out onto the field and stand in the spots where Cubs legends Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ron Santo once stood.

The cost of the trip is $85 per person and includes round-trip transportation, the Wrigley Field tour and lunch at Harry Caray’s Tavern.

If this sounds better than the customary tie or power tool, you can get more information directly from Canterbury Books and Tours at (815) 398-1454 or by e-mailing them at canterburytours@comcast.net.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the May 16-22, 2012, issue

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column outlining my goal of walking a total distance of 250 miles prior to Halloween. The reason I chose the 250-mile number was roughly based on an average of a mile per day between the start date and the end of October.

I knew full well I wouldn’t be disciplined enough to get out and walk every single day, but I also knew that once I got started, I would go farther than a mile each time I did make it out to walk. Based on that logic, I thought it was an attainable goal.

In that original column, I also stated I would periodically provide updates with how things were progressing. After receiving a few inquires as to how things were going, here is my first report.

I should begin by acknowledging the several supportive e-mails I received immediately after that column first appeared and the subsequent ones inquiring about my progress. In the beginning, it was good to get that boost of encouragement. It was precisely what I needed to get started. Those of you who’ve sent me subsequent e-mails inquiring about my progress have helped me stay motivated.

As soon as it was warm enough to get outside, I started walking around my neighborhood. Those first few walks in the early part of March were brisk, so I didn’t go as far as I thought I would each time. I walked a total of eight times in March and logged 12 miles.

The highlight of getting started was having my 11-year-old daughter, Meredith, join me on several of those outings. She and I had some great talks and laughs as we got in our exercise. I also found out she had never walked the bike path along the Rock River. Now, I’m proud to say, she knows exactly where the 1-mile and the mile-and-a-half markers are located along the route.

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I only walked five times in the entire month of April. That only added up to a total of 9 miles. I’m blaming my lack of productivity on two things.

The biggest obstacle was a nagging backache that seemed to bother me for a couple of weeks. Then, when I did finally feel like I could walk without being hunched over, the weather wasn’t conducive to being outside for any prolonged period of time.

The good news is so far this month, I’ve already equaled the number of times I’ve been out walking compared with last month (five) and I’ve logged 17.5 miles as of 6 p.m., Sunday, May 13. That brings my total to 38.5 miles since I went public with my goal. I hope to get in another 4-6 miles by the time this column appears in print.

I’d like to once again thank the many people who’ve offered their support and encouragement, and to those of you who smile, wave or even say “Hi” or “Good morning” as we pass each other coming or going. I hope you’ll continue to do so. It provides that little extra that makes me want to go back each time! See you out walking.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the May 16-22, 2012, issue

LOVES PARK, Ill. — Mrs. Illinois Lisa Sonnenberg will help mark the start of a new season for the Rockford RiverHawks by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch May 25 at RiverHawks Stadium.

Mrs. Illinois is familiar with the pregame ritual as she threw the first pitch at Wrigley Field before the Cubs vs. Cardinals game April 23. She has also appeared at many other sporting events in the state, including Bulls and Blackhawks games.

Following the start of the game, Mrs. Illinois will be available to take pictures and sign autographs for fans.

An active fitness buff, Mrs. Illinois recently competed in the OCB Midwest States Fitness/Figure Competition in November and took first place in her division.

As someone who has battled postpartum depression, Mrs. Illinois continues to make appearances and discuss her platform of depression awareness and mental health, hoping to be a voice for other women suffering through it.

The RiverHawks are members of the Frontier League, an independent professional baseball league that will play its 20th season in 2012. The RiverHawks open their 11th season May 18 at River City. The home opener is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., May 25, against Lake Erie. Advertising and season-ticket information is available by calling (815) 885-2255. Fans can also visit www.rockfordriverhawks.com.

From the May 16-22, 2012, issue

Danica Patrick

By Doug Halberstadt
Sports Columnist

They have history. For many years, they have competed against one another in the Indy Racing League (IRL). Their paths crossed again last weekend in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega. Former Roscoe resident Danica Patrick and Sam Hornish Jr. took their aggressions out on one another on the track.

Hornish lost control of his car and slid up the race track, forcing Patrick into the wall during the closing laps of the race. After the checkered flag went to the race winner, Joey Logano, the excitement continued.

Patrick, who finished the race in the 13th position, took it into her own hands to seek revenge against Hornish. She sought him out and purposely rammed him from behind and knocked him into the wall.

Hornish was taken by surprise. “I don’t know what she had in her head, but she decided to right-rear us, wreck the car after the race was over,” Hornish said.

Patrick didn’t elaborate about hitting Hornish, but after the race, she talked about the incident that was the catalyst for the retaliation.

“I don’t know what happened,” Patrick said. “Sam came up to me after the race and apologized, so I’m not sure what was wrong with his car, but he came across the track at the front of the start/finish line.”

As of press time, NASCAR has not issued any disciplinary actions against either of the drivers. It looks like they are content with having this rivalry play out on the track.

The next time the two will have an opportunity to resolve their issues is this Saturday night, May 12, in the Bojangles Southern 500 in Darlington, S.C. I have a feeling this story will not only be continued, it may reveal whether Patrick has what it takes to make it as one of the stars of NASCAR.

From the May 9-15, 2012, issue

What a difference a few days have made in the world of the Chicago Bulls. A week ago in this column, I wrote how I thought the Bulls might be able to prove some of their fans and, more importantly, many of the national “expert analysts” wrong. They were writing the Bulls off as a result of the loss of Derrick Rose, last year’s NBA MVP. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the opening round of the playoffs.

I took exception to their pessimism. I went so far as to suggest they might end up eating their words. Little did I know that less than a week later, Chicago would also lose another one of their key players. Their starting center, Joakim Noah, rolled his ankle on a drive to the basket in game three of the series against the Philadelphia 76ers. Suddenly, those experts were starting to look a whole lot more credible.

No one can predict or prevent these types of freakish mishaps in professional sports. Without Rose, I thought the Bulls might still be a viable team and hold their own during the playoffs. That was before Noah was forced to the bench. I didn’t know the team was going to be further handicapped by another season-ending injury. Now, I’m the one who is eating my words.

The Bulls are now without Rose and Noah, that’s 40 percent of their starting offense. Regardless of how much the Bulls try to rally and pull together, I’m not sure any team can operate with any amount of effectiveness at only 60 percent. After winning the first game in the best-of-seven series, Chicago has dropped three straight and is now facing elimination. (Game five of the series was played Tuesday, May 8, with results unavailable at press time.)

I don’t see how the Bulls can overcome the devastation they’ve sustained. It pains me to say this, but the team is flat lining. Despite the efforts of the remaining healthy team members, I’m not sure any amount of resuscitation can bring this team back to life.

This time, the expert analysts got it correct. Not because they are so smart, because a torn ACL and a severely sprained ankle are insurmountable injuries in a grueling playoff series, especially when they happen to the league’s MVP and your starting center. It’s hoped they’ll get completely healthy during the offseason and the Bulls will be up and running at 100 percent when the 2012-13 season gets under way. Borrowing a phrase usually reserved for another Chicago team, “Wait until next year!”

From the May 9-15, 2012, issue

Soccer teams have to play 11 players at a time. From there, you rotate players in and try to keep people fresh.

Rockford Lutheran girls’ soccer coach Scott Lofgren only has 16 players at his disposal, but he knows when he calls on them, he can count on every single one of them.

“It’s really nice the way the girls work together to make sure everybody is contributing to the success,” he said.

Those types of contributions are a big part of why the Crusaders have wrapped up their eighth straight Big Northern West Conference title as they head into IHSA Class 1A regional play this week, which is taking place at Rockford’s Christian Life.

The streak is something Lofgren said the girls hold dear to them. He said they do not look at it as eight separate titles, but just one long defense of the first.

“It’s a continuation of the first one,” Lofgren said. “It’s something the girls started a long time ago and that they try hard to continue. You don’t want to be the class to let that go.”

That kind of success puts a big target on your back. Lofgren said each team comes out trying to give you their best shot.

Winning is something that is brought to the girls as soon as they enter the program. Four-year players like Becca Sparkman and Kayla Hicks only know winning, and a third-year player like Krista Carlson will help continue that next season.

Another third-year player knows all about winning as well. Bailey Peck has been to the state tournament in golf three straight years, and is also a part of the highly successful girls’ basketball team at Lutheran.

Peck injured her knee last season. Coming into her junior year, she was an unknown, but her coaches and teammates say she is better than ever. And Lofgren said that all her experience in the other sports only helps when they are on the field.

“Bailey has been able to take pressure and minimize it for everybody,” he said. “When she gets on the field, she gets out there and calms everybody down.”

With the conference title in tow for another year, that ramps up the pressure for the tournament. The team has the goal of making it to the state finals in Naperville, but to do so means they must be on top of their game every time out.

“We know the competition is going to be looking for us, and we have to take it one game at a time,” Lofgren said. “We have to keep putting goals in the back of the net. We can’t afford any scoring droughts.”

In other high school news:

Rockford Christian volleyball standout Peyton Munch has signed with Millikin University, where she will continue her volleyball career.

Munch was an all-confernce performer for Rockford Christian and was an integral part of their first regional championship two years ago when they upset Winnebago. She will take six years of experience to Millikin, including international experience from when she represented the United States in Amsterdam when she was 14.

From the May 9-15, 2012, issue

The Rockford Park District Summer 2012 Golf Tournaments Guide is available free of charge at Park District Customer Service locations, golf courses, facilities and online at www.rockfordparkdistrict.org/golf (click on Tournaments).

The 16-page guide contains information about events for golfers of all ages.

Youth events include the Rockford Area Youth Tournament Series, Drive Pitch Putt, Boys’ Classic, Girls’ Classic and Youth Mixed Doubles Classic.

Adult events include the Mixed Doubles Classic and the Aldeen Cup, as well as the Women’s, Men’s and Senior classic tournaments.

Online registration is available at www.rockfordparkdistrict.org (click Register Now) for most tournaments; registration forms are also included in the guide. Registrations are also accepted by mail, fax (with credit card payment) and at both Park District Customer Service locations — downtown Rockford and at Carlson Ice Arena, Riverside and Perryville, in Loves Park.

For more information, including information about accessibility, programs and support for golfers with disabilities, call (815) 987-8800.

From the May 9-15, 2012, issue

Rockford Park District invites youth and adult golfers for free clinics Sunday, June 3.

In addition to instruction, practice time on the driving range and putting green will also be included.

Among the teaching staff at the clinic, special guest instructor Michael Hebron, PGA Master Professional and author from Smithtown, N.Y., is scheduled to appear.

The “Clubs for Kids” youth clinic for ages 8-15 will be at Ingersoll Golf Course and Learning Links, 9-11 a.m.; the adult clinic for ages 16 and older will be at Aldeen Golf Club Practice Centre, 1-3 p.m.

To allow for adequate staffing, pre-registration is required by May 27 either online at www.rockfordparkdistrict.org (click Register Now), by fax, mail or in person at Park District Customer Service locations (downtown Rockford or at Carlson Ice Arena, Riverside and Perryville, Loves Park).

The clinics are open to residents of Winnebago and Boone counties only, and there is a maximum limit of 60 participants per clinic.

Registration forms are also available at Park District courses or by calling (815) 987-8800. For information about support to participants with disabilities, call (815) 987-8800.

From the May 9-15, 2012, issue

The Rockford Park District invites men and women age 50 and older to play co-rec softball this season.

Games in this drop-in program series will be played every Tuesday through Oct. 30, 9:30-11:30 a.m., at Dahlquist Park, 29th Street and Oak Grove Avenue, Rockford.

Players should bring their own glove and bat. Age is as of Dec. 31, 2012.

Spectators are welcome, and should bring their own lawn chairs or blankets. No pre-registration is needed for this free program — just come out to have fun!

This is one of many free programs offered by the Rockford Park District. For more information, call (815) 987-1603.

From the May 9-15, 2012, issue

Rockford Park District invites current and future tennis enthusiasts for free outdoor tennis fun at the Tennis Summer Kick-Off at Guilford Tennis Center, 5702 Spring Creek Road, Rockford, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, June 2.

Activities will include free skill level evaluations for lesson placement, free introductory lessons for all ages at the event, and a free tennis racquet (while supplies last) to youth ages 15 and younger present at the event who sign up for a summer tennis program.

Registrations for Park District tennis programs and tournaments will be taken on site; registration is also available online at www.rockfordparkdistrict.org (click Register Now), by fax (with credit card), by mail and at Park District Customer Service locations — downtown at 401 S. Main St., Rockford, and Carlson Ice Arena, Riverside and Perryville, Loves Park.

For more about the event or Park District tennis programs, call (815) 962-7469, (815) 987-8800, or visit www.rockfordparkdistrict.org/tennis. For about accessibility, disability support, and adapted tennis lessons, call (815) 987-8800.

From the May 9-15, 2012, issue

BELVIDERE, Ill. — More than 150 four-legged friends from around the nation will be visiting Meyer’s in Belvidere for a Dock Diving Competition sponsored by the Chicagoland Dockdogs. The weekend-long competition is May 18-20.

Meyer’s Tails Up Farm, at 5390 Irene Road, equipped with a heated outdoor pool May through October, is home to a top-notch canine aquatics program. Kent and Gwen Meyer are thrilled to be hosting this year’s Summer Splash 2012 event.

“We are so excited to bring this to our area. It’s a great event; we hope to have a lot of local dogs participating,” said Meyer. In addition to the event putting Meyer’s on the map, local hotels and restaurants expect to see a boost from the weekend-long competition that will bring in many visitors to the Rockford area.

The Dockdog Competition will consist of three contests: Outdoor Big Air, Extreme Vertical and Speed Retrieve. There’s no age limit for handlers, and any breed from the smallest Chihuahua to the largest Great Dane is welcome at a DockDogs event. Food booths along with other vendors will be on hand. Tours of Meyer’s will also be available. There is no cost to watch the event.

The sport of DockDogs was started in 2000 with a competition called Big Air. It is the fastest-growing dog sport in the U.S. DockDogs is a fun, performance sport for dogs. Events are held regionally, nationally and internationally.

For more about on competition time, go to www.meyerspetcare.com or call (815) 623-9999.

From the May 9-15, 2012, issue

Derek Dimke

By Doug Halberstadt
Sports Columnist

Rockford resident Derek Dimke is headed for the National Football League. The 2008 Rockford Boylan Catholic High School alum and soon-to-be 2012 graduate with a degree in finance from the University of Illinois has accepted a free-agent offer from the Detroit Lions. Dimke is finishing up his final week of classes in Champaign, Ill., prior to final exams.

Instead of cramming for those finals this weekend, he’ll be in the Motor City trying to further impress the coaching staff with his strong leg and kicking accuracy at the Lions’ mini camp. After the mini camp, he’ll return to the U of I to close out his senior year.

Following is a look at Dimke’s awards and honors:

• Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by coaches and media in 2011

• Second Team All-Big Ten by coaches in 2010

• Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by media in 2010

• Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, Sept. 26, 2011

• Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, Oct. 11, 2010

• Lou Groza Award Preseason Watch List, 2011

• Lou Groza Award Semifinalist, 2010

• Led Big Ten and sixth in the nation in field goals made, 2010

• Finished career as most accurate kicker in school history

Following are details regarding Dimke’s career at the U of I:

2011 — Senior: Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media … Finished career as Illinois’ all-time leader in field goal accuracy, hitting 39 of 46 field goals (.848), and PAT accuracy, hitting all 89 of his extra-point attempts, the most in school history without a miss … Led the team with 64 points in 2011 and finished career sixth an all-time U of I scoring list with 206 points … Shared the team’s Outstanding Special Teams Award with Jay Prosch … Scored 8 points, making two of three field goals and two of two PATs in Illinois’ win over UCLA in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl … Had 5 points on a 42-yard field goal and two of two PATs against Wisconsin … Made his only FG attempt and was three of three on PATs against Northwestern … Had 11 points on three of three field goals and two of two PATs against Western Michigan to earn Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors … Made his only field goal attempt and had one tackle against Arizona State … Converted all eight of his PAT attempts against South Dakota State, a career-high and equaling the second-most in U of I history … Had 9 points on a perfect two of two field goals and three of three PATs against Arkansas State … Handled kickoff duties all season, booting 16 touchbacks on 57 kicks … Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

Career highs

FG Made: Four at Penn State, Oct. 9, 2010

FG Attempts: Four, twice (last at Michigan, Nov. 6, 2010)

PAT Made: Eight vs. South Dakota State, Sept. 10, 2011

PAT Attempts: Eight vs. South Dakota State, Sept. 10, 2011

Points: 15, twice (last at Michigan, Nov. 6, 2010)

Long Field Goal: 52 vs. Missouri, Sept. 4, 2010

Kickoffs: Nine, four times (last vs. South Dakota State, Sept. 10, 2011)

Yards: 568 vs. South Dakota State, Sept. 10, 2011

Average: 70.0 vs. Northern Illinois, Sept. 18, 2010

Touchbacks: Six vs. Northern Illinois, Sept. 18, 2010

Tackles: 1, 11 times (last vs. Indiana, Oct. 8, 2011)

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the May 2-8, 2012, issue

Gloom and doom is all I’ve heard since Derrick Rose left the game with a torn ACL in his left knee during the final minute-and-a-half of the Chicago Bulls’ 103-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers last Saturday afternoon, April 28. Bulls fans and some “experts” from throughout the country have now written them off for the rest of the season.

Following is a sampling of some of the comments I’ve read on various basketball sites on the Internet: “I’ve just witnessed the worst nightmare for a Chicago fan,” “we’re toast” and the most pessimistic comment I read was, “without D Rose the Bulls are one and done.”

Several NBA television analysts have also jumped on the “let’s crucify Chicago” bandwagon. They have pretty much declared the Bulls’ playoff hopes dead. Magic Johnson said “the Bulls cannot win the East and they won’t win an NBA championship without Rose in the lineup.”

Far be it from me to contradict the professional experts who get paid handsomely to express their opinions, but I’m not entirely convinced the Bulls are one step away from being fitted with toe tags.

The Bulls earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference by virtue of having the best regular-season record (50-16) in the conference.

Rose missed 27 of those regular-season games with a variety of nagging injuries. The Bulls went 18-9 while he donned a suit and tie sitting on the bench. Chicago relied on their smothering defense and the great effort delivered by their bench to offset the absence of the league’s reigning MVP. John Lucas III seemed to be rejuvenated by the extended playing time he picked up while Rose was healing.

Now, the Bulls will have to rely heavily on that defense and one of the best starting lineups in the NBA with Joakim Noah, C.J. Watson, Richard Hamilton, Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer. They all have playoff experience and won’t fold when things get tough.

When Watson has been called upon to start, he has proven he is no slouch when filling in for Rose. He’s averaged nearly 11 points and 4.6 assists per game in 25 starts. His style of play also complements Boozer on the pick-and-roll and keeps him focused on the offensive end of the floor. I also like the way Kyle Korver comes off the bench and adds instant offense and excitement to the game.

If Lucas, Korver and Watson can continue their level of production and force the opposition to play five on five, the Bulls are legitimate contenders for another championship, even without Rose on the court.

For those reasons and the fact that they might actually relish the thought of being considered the underdog instead of the favorite, I’m writing this column in support of their chance at a championship. Granted, it will be tougher without Rose than it would be with him healthy and 100 percent, but I definitely don’t see this team rolling over and playing dead.

Perhaps I’m all wet, but the last time I checked, basketball is still a team sport. The Bulls are still a good team, even without Rose. I’m not ready to write the obituary to their season just yet. Let’s let them play these games out and see where the chips fall. I have a feeling there may be some experts backtracking on some of the things they’ve said. I love it when that happens.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the May 2-8, 2012, issue

Wednesday, April 25, I conducted a season-ending interview with the Vice President of Communications and “Voice of the IceHogs” Mike Peck. During our 45-minute session, we discussed everything from our surprises of the year to the brawl in Milwaukee.

Todd Reicher (TR): Before the start of the season, we sat down and talked about the upcoming season and what kind of things we could expect. I recall one of the first things we talked about was some of the young new talent coming in, and I asked who you thought the fans would connect with immediately. A few names were rattled off, and the names Rob Flick and Andrew Shaw were brought up because of their gritty, edgy play. I recall you saying that it would be a good year for those guys if they each potted 10 goals.

Mike Peck: Yeah (laughs), I remember. I don’t think either of us expected to see what took place with Shaw, but the injuries to the Blackhawks and the IceHogs moved him up from a third-, fourth-line player up to the second line. Shawsy took full advantage of the opportunity that was given to him, and he ran with it.

TR: That kind of brings me to my first question. Who were some of your bigger surprises of the year?

MP: I would say Ben Youds stood out as having a great year. At first, he had a hard time cracking the lineup, but with (Dylan) Olsen getting called up and Cons (Brian Connelly) getting traded, it opened up a spot for him in the lineup. He really showed quick progression in his play, and you’ll notice towards the end of the season he was playing a lot more minutes.

TR: That was going to be one of my pleasant surprises as well. Just like you mentioned, he really stepped up when the void was left by Olsen and Cons.

MP: Yeah, totally. Although being a rookie he did start getting tired towards the end of the year, and you could start to see it in his play, but that comes with the territory of dealing with the transition from juniors to the pro game.

TR: I noticed that. In one of the last games of the season, I think it was either the Milwaukee game or the last game against Charlotte, I think I counted four or five defensive zone and neutral zone turnovers, so that would explain why he seemed off his game.

MP: That’s the one thing the younger guys have to deal with when they make the switch from the juniors to the pros, is they play quite a few more games here and it takes time to adjust.

TR: I could imagine. So, another surprise, and I think this is a no-brainer, was Carter Hutton.

MP: You know, Hutts was on the radar from the get-go and the team was very high on him during training camp, but there wasn’t a place for him. Alec Richards already had a contract, and (Alexander) Salak was fighting with Ray Emery for the backup position in Chicago, so one of the guys was going to have to go down (to the ECHL), and it was Hutton. He’s another one of those guys that benefited from the injuries to the team.

TR: I was a little surprised when Salak returned to the lineup that Richards was sent down as opposed to Hutts, but I think his play was starting to carry the team right around that time.

MP: Absolutely. And Richards wasn’t getting as much playing time with Hutts playing well. So, sending him down gave him the opportunity, and he played very well in Toldeo.

TR: Speaking of injuries, there were a few injuries that took place over the season that kind of changed the course of the season. One of the biggest injuries was to Kyle Beach. How do you feel the team responded to Beach going out of the lineup?

MP: The injury to Beach gave a lot of guys the chance to step up, and quite a few guys did. Shaw, as I mentioned earlier, certainly benefited from the injury to Beach, and also with the injury to (Daniel) Carcillo up with the Blackhawks.

TR: Let’s go back to some other guys during the year. Last year, Jeremy Morin missed quite a bit of time with a concussion and got pretty much a full season under his belt this year. One thing I noticed is that Morin changed to more of a physical game and wasn’t afraid to mix it up. I’m looking at the stats for the season, and next to Ryan Stanton, he had the second-most penalty minutes on the team (besides Brandon Bollig, who ended the season with Chicago).

MP: Morin is one of those guys that you wouldn’t think would have that type of edge to his game. There are some guys out there like Beach that once you talk to him for five minutes, you know what kind of a player he is, but Morin is different. Off the ice, he’s kind of quiet, but when he’s on the ice, he likes to be a motormouth and get under the opponent’s skin.

TR: Speaking of Bollig, was it a shock to you that he got called up?

MP: Bollig really settled into his role here in Rockford, and again, the injuries allowed him to move up. The situation of him getting called up wasn’t a surprise, but his play up in Chicago was. Not to say that he doesn’t have the talent and skill set that others do, because he obviously does, but he played very well.

TR: Another name is Rostislav Olesz. Here’s a guy that’s making a good amount of money and gets sent down to the minors. It seemed that he came here with an open mind and really wanted to play.

MP: Yeah, he did, and he played very well in his first few games here right after being sent down.

TR: Didn’t he have something like 4 points in his first two games, which were against Charlotte?

MP: Yeah, he did.

TR: How did he fit in with the locker room?

MP: I think he was a good fit, and the people looked up to him, and it showed on the ice.

TR: I noticed he was scratched in the lineup towards the end of the season, if I remember. I assume it was an injury that kept him out towards the end?

MP: He was injured in the Milwaukee game that had the big brawl. He was injured before the brawl, so it didn’t happen during the brawl, but he had a knee-to-knee hit, which sidelined him.

TR: How about Brandon Pirri?

MP: He was pretty consistent this season, but tailed off a bit towards the end, as he was banged up a bit as well.

TR: I think we can both agree that Peter LeBlanc played a big role this season.

MP: He’s another guy that benefited from the trades and injuries this year. He really stepped up.

TR: Who was someone else who caught your eye?

MP: Brandon Svendsen was a pleasant surprise. He was a gap-filler, and by that I mean he took the role from the players who were traded or injured. He was with us in training camp this season, but there wasn’t a place for him. But then, with the injuries and call-ups, he was one of the first guys they brought up.

TR: Every season, the IceHogs look to bring in a few veteran players to be both leaders in the locker room and on ice, and Brian Fahey was one of the guys brought in for that role. How do you think he helped younger players and the team?

MP: He’s an easy guy to respect, and the players noticed that. When he started the season with us, I wasn’t “wowed,” but I wasn’t disappointed with him — he was just there. But as the season went on, he really started to impress and he came up huge.

TR: Let’s move on to coaching and Ted Dent in his first year as head coach.

MP: When a coach comes into their first year, they never know what to expect. It’s not like you come in at 7:00, write up some drills and practice, then leave at 4:00. There are many other responsibilities, and I think he handled it very well.

TR: I think one of the things that stood out was when he made the change in his defensive scheme at the end of December, and that obviously turned around the season.

MP: Going to that 1-3-1 neutral zone set was definitely big, and it was a good decision to make. If you look at the first part of the season, Rockford was towards the top in goals scored, but they were dead last in goals against. Now, some of that is defense, some of that is goaltending, but the decision to change the defensive scheme was a big step, and obviously it worked out well.

TR: It looks like the players adapted to the change as well.

MP: Yeah, I think they recognized the situation they were in, and they were all for the change and they adapted well.

TR: So, what are some disappointments in your eyes for the season?

MP: Well, not making the playoffs for one. With many guys returning from the previous season, I think the hopes and expectations were high, but it just didn’t happen.

TR: Yeah, I think this year was the lowest player turnover rate they had since entering the AHL, and I think most people were hoping for a better season.

MP: I think the special teams was inconsistent as well, and part of that is because of the loss of some key guys. (Brandon) Segal was traded, Brett McLean went overseas, and you lose Connelly, who was pretty much your power-play captain, so that certainly hurt.

TR: I’m jumping around again, but another thing that surprised me this year was the play against the Milwaukee Admirals. We’ve always had tough games against Milwaukee, and, of course, the games were tough this year, but we usually finish our yearly record with them around the .500 mark, but this year we won 10 of the 12 games against them. What would you think contributed to those wins?

MP: Well, it was the 1-3-1 defense that really frustrated them. Some teams can handle it, and some teams just have a hard time dealing with it. I mean, look at what happened with Lake Erie. It wasn’t effective against them, and they just skated around it. But for some reason, it really frustrated Milwaukee and they didn’t have an answer for it.

TR: So, I guess that brings us to the offseason. As I mentioned before, typically the ’Hogs will bring up some veteran players for leadership, so who would you see the team bringing in next year?

MP: Well, there really aren’t too many spots open on the roster. You look, and we have quite a few players under contract for next season, so it is going to be tight. Couple that with some of the juniors coming up to the pros, so maybe a Terry Broadhurst or Mark McNeill is on the team next year, but I would say probably one defenseman, someone to take the lead on the special teams, and then maybe one or two forwards. Again, not a lot of people.

TR: So, what about you personally … what are your plans for the offseason?

MP: Well, going to take a deep breath now that everything is over. I’ll do some housecleaning here, go on the IceHogs’ website and post some blogs, and then I’ll do some pieces on projections and the NHL draft.

TR: Thanks for your time, Mike, now enjoy your offseason!

MP: Always a pleasure, thanks!

Looking forward:

This concludes my coverage for the 2011-2012 season for the Rockford IceHogs. Keep your eyes open here for any stories related to trades, acquisitions or news. You can also check www.IceHogs.com for updates, and read Mike Peck’s blog under the News section of the IceHogs’ website.

From the May 2-8, 2012, issue

It’s one of the oldest and most spectacular sporting events in America. One of the things that makes it unique is it only lasts about 2 minutes. As a matter of fact, it’s billed as “The Greatest 2 Minutes in Sports.” I’m talking about the Kentucky Derby. This year will mark the 138th “Run for the Roses.”

It all takes place at Churchill Downs this Saturday, May 5. More than 80,000 fans and partiers will pack the infield at the track. Thousands more will be in the stands, and millions will be watching on television around the world.

Of the 21 horses listed in the pre-race lineup, Union Rags and Gemologist appear to be the early favorites. Union Rags is trained by Michael Matz. He also trained Barbaro, the winner of the 2006 Kentucky Derby. Jockey Julien Leparoux will be attempting to get Union Rags into the winner’s circle. He is a five-time Breeder’s Cup winner.

Gemologist is trained by Todd Pletcher. He won the 2010 Kentucky Derby with Super Saver and led all trainers in money won in 2011. Javier Castellano will pilot Gemologist. The Venezuelan will be looking for the biggest win of his career since riding Bernardini in the 2006 Preakness.

I’ve never professed to know a ton about horse racing, but I do like watching it. I’ve also never been afraid to wager a couple of bucks on one of the horses I like either because of the way they look or perhaps their name strikes a chord with something in my mind. I’m guessing that if most casual fans of horse racing admitted it, this is the way 95 percent of the bets are placed.

This year, I’m thinking I’ll place bets on Hansen and El Padrino. I like Hansen purely based on appearance. This horse is a sleek, almost silver-colored, muscular 2-year-old colt. He looks fast!

My other bet will be on El Padrino. That translates from Spanish to English to mean “the best man.” This horse is getting my attention for no other reason than I just like the name.

For a total investment of $4, I will sit on the edge of my recliner and yell at my television for 2 minutes. That’s pretty cheap entertainment, and I might even win a few bucks. That’s why I like watching the Derby and haven’t missed one for as far back as I can remember.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the May 2-8, 2012, issue

The good news for baseball coaches this season is that unseasonably warm weather has allowed teams to play more than normal. That is a good thing, because there is a new brand of baseball that teams are getting used to.

The IHSA has put forth a number of new rules in all sports this year, trying to promote safety. Baseball is one of those that has been most affected.

New rules in the IHSA have moved to take some of the pop out of the aluminum bats that are used. The bats that are used now must perform like wooden bats that are used at the professional level.

In the past, aluminum bats would make the baseball fly far, and more dangerously fast. In making the field a safer place, the bats have certainly changed the way high schools are used to playing.

“A lot of the coaches right now are trying to figure out the new bats and how they are going to handle situations with those,” Machesney Park Harlem coach Doug Livingston said. “They’ve really cut down on the runs, and there is a lot more small ball during the games now. So, we’ve had to concentrate a lot more on that.”

The lessened pop in the bat has made scores drop and has made pitching more important than ever. A lot of swings that would have been home runs in the past have now become a fly ball out.

“Some hits, they get hit kind of hard and they hang up there a little bit, and the scores have been down a bit,” Livingston said. “The quality of defense has been a lot better this year. But the hitting is behind a lot because of these new bats they are using. And that is what they want; they want to prevent injuries.”

But, it’s not just the offense and pitching that have seen a major shift. It changes a lot of in-game strategy.

Guilford coach Ziggy Vanderwall said defensive positioning is completely different.

“The boys are used to playing deeper with the faster bats, and that ball doesn’t come quite as hard,” he said.

He also said that past scouting reports can be misleading as well. Because the ball doesn’t come as fast or go as far, you can’t always line up outfielders where you normally would.

“We haven’t noticed it in our hitting, but we’ve noticed it in our fielding,” Vanderwall said. “We’re playing too deep, and the ball doesn’t come off the bat quite as fast, and we’re struggling with ground balls right now.”

The new bats have certainly provided a new level of safety for players on the field. And it has also led to a new level of competitiveness, as strong teams fundamentally are more likely to overcome a lack of power in the lineup.

“With the bats, they’re going to bring a lot of the teams from the middle of the pack and give them an opportunity,” Livingston said.

From the May 2-8, 2012, issue

Byron Dragway kicks off its season Sunday, May 6, with its ninth annual Spring Nationals, featuring a high-powered Nostalgia Nitro Funny Cars showdown.

Track record holder Anthony Bronge heads the current seven Funny Car field. He shattered Byron Dragway’s record in 2010 in the Punisher, a 1969 Camaro, which covered the quarter-mile in an amazing 5.92 seconds at 239.74 mph. He’ll be matched up with Troy Martin in the Chi-Town Hustler.

Other Funny Cars slated to compete are the Flashback Firebird, driven by Mark White; Sin City Corvette, Randy Baker; Down Under Thunder Camaro, Barry Young; Bear Town Shaker Mustang, Brian Stewart; and Man O War Mustang, Paul Romines, a former NHRA touring pro.

“This is the largest Funny Car race gathering at Byron since the 1970s,” said B.J. Vangsness, track owner.

The day’s action also will include the Chicago Wise Guys, which are six-second Pro Mods; Midwest Top Sportsmen, six- and seven-second Door Slammers; Victory Nostalgia Super Stockers; Midwest Super Stock Door Slammers; and the Short Track Bracket Nationals, which will feature local racers.

The drivers will test and qualify Saturday, May 5. Admission is $10 Saturday. Sunday’s adult pit passes are $25, and children ages 6-12 are $5. No admission for children younger than 6.

Gates open at 9 a.m. Sunday with qualifying and eliminations starting at 1 p.m. For more information, check byrondragway.com or call (815) 234-8405.

From the May 2-8, 2012, issue

The 2011-2012 season was a transitional and maturing season compared to the previous season. This year, Rockford had the lowest player turnover from any season, which led to hopes of continuing growth from returning players.

Coming into their second year on the team were Alec Richards, Brandon Pirri, Kyle Beach, Peter LeBlanc, Jeremy Morin, Ryan Stanton and Brian Connelly, to name a few, as well as newcomers Andrew Shaw and Jimmy Hayes.

As the team typically does, veterans Brett McLean, Brandon Segal and Brian Fahey were brought in to add a veteran presence and depth to a young IceHogs squad.

Rockford took their first big hit of the season only nine games into the campaign, losing Beach to a shoulder injury Oct. 29 against the Rivermen in Peoria.

In an April 4 interview conducted by Chicago Blackhawks reporter Brad Boron, Beach stated: “When it first happened, all I did was go to rehab for about two hours a day, then go home and sit on my couch. For a month before and after surgery, I couldn’t do any working out. They wouldn’t even let me ride the bike or walk on the treadmill.”

For the IceHogs, losing Beach for almost five months certainly put a damper on their hopes for a strong season, but for Beach, it was a time to give back to the community.

Mike Peck, vice president of communications for the IceHogs, mentioned to Beach that a house team for the Rockford Park District’s Junior IceHogs team needed a coach. Beach stepped in to assist one of the player’s parents in coaching duties, and helped steer the team to a successful 10-1-1 record.

Beach returned to the IceHogs’ lineup Friday, March 23, and tallied one assist on Rockford’s first goal of the game.

Ben Smith, who was poised to start the season with the Blackhawks, suffered a concussion in a preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings, and was assigned to Rockford. Smith would be transferred up and down from the Blackhawks to the IceHogs multiple times throughout the season, until March 8 when Smith had season-ending surgery to replace a labral tear on his right hip and a hernia. Despite only playing in 38 games for Rockford this season, Smitty finished the campaign with 15 goals and 16 assists.

Friday, Nov. 18, Rockford got a boost in the offensive department in the form of Chicago Blackhawks winger Rostislav Olesz. With their stacked offensive lineup in Chicago, Olesz didn’t quite fit into the mold, and his high-priced contract made him a candidate for a transfer to Rockford. Olesz made an immediate impact with the team tallying one goal, one assist and a shootout goal in his first game with Rockford.

Dec. 2 marked the end of another familiar face in Rockford. Forward Rob Klinkhammer, who was starting his fourth year with the IceHogs, was traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in the 2013 NHL draft. Klinkhammer ranks third all-time in games played for Rockford. In those games, Klinkhammer tallied 44 goals and 65 assists.

On the same day, IceHogs goaltender Alexander Salak was helped off the ice during a game at home against the Lake Erie Monsters. After a pileup at the Rockford net, Salak remained on the ice for a few minutes until Rockford trainers assisted him to the dressing room.

However, the injury to Salak led to one of the biggest, if not the biggest, success story of the year. Carter Hutton was brought up from the Toledo Walleye as a backup for Alec Richards. After a few weeks of up-and-down play from both goaltenders, Hutton wound up taking the starting job from Richards and almost single-handedly carried the IceHogs to a postseason berth. In his 43 games played this season, Hutton finished with a 22-13-4-3 record with a 2.35 goals against average and 0.917 save percentage, and two shutouts, as well as being named the AHL’s Player of the Week on two separate occasions, a first for any Rockford IceHogs player. In addition, Hutton was named Rockford’s MVP for the 2011-2012 season.

To make room for Salak’s return to the lineup, Richards was sent down to Toledo Feb. 5.

Friday, Jan. 27, the second game of a double-header in Charlotte, N.C., Connelly was a healthy scratch. When a player is a healthy scratch for a game, it usually means one of two things: the player is sitting in favor of another player, or that player is going to be traded. In Connelly’s case, it was the latter of the two, as Connelly was shipped to Abbotsford (Calgary’s AHL affiliate) in exchange for NHL’er Brendan Morrison.

The vet of the two players, Morrison was added to give the Blackhawks depth at the center position. In parts of four seasons with the IceHogs, Connelly holds the record for points and assists by an IceHogs defenseman with 105 assists, 126 points.

Along the way, Rockford would lose two of their veteran players in Brandon Segal and Brett McLean. Segal was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning (and assigned to their AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals) in exchange for Matt Fornataro. McLean was shipped overseas to HC Lugano of the NLA league in Switzerland, joining former IceHogs and Chicago Blackhawks skater Jordan Hendry.

Throughout the year, the Blackhawks would call up (and send down) Shaw, Smith, Hayes, Pirri, Hutton and surprisingly Brandon Bollig. Many Blackhawks fans assumed Shaw would replace the injured Daniel Carcillo on the ’Hawks’ roster, but Shaw’s play earned him a slot in the top six for a few games, and Bollig was brought in for his gritty play. Bollig, Shaw and Hayes remained with the ’Hawks into the playoffs, where Bollig netted his first NHL goal.

What hurt Rockford, for the second season in a row, was a poor showing in the first two quarters of the season. Rockford’s first-half record was 14-20-1-3, putting them toward the bottom of the AHL. On the flipside, the second half of the season showed Rockford holding a 22-11-1-4 record, among the top of the league in the second half.

The big difference-maker was actually two things: the play of the aforementioned Hutton in goal, and Head Coach Ted Dent changing his defensive scheme.

Dent rearranged his forwards to have one forward stay in a defensive position through center ice to prevent odd-man rushes and opportunities from the opposition. The players adapted to the change, and the results showed on the ice and on the scoreboard. Rockford wasn’t scoring as much, but neither were their opponents.

Prior to the start of their last home game, Rockford announced their team awards. As previously mentioned, Hutton was named the team MVP. Pirri would win the award for leading scorer, amassing 23 goals and 32 assists for 55 points.

Stanton picked up the Top Defenseman award and finished his second season with 3 goals, 13 assists for 16 points and 128 penalty minutes.

The Rookie of the Year award went to Joe Lavin, who helped steady Rockford’s blueline, especially during the transition when Connelly was traded. Throughout the latter half of the season, Lavin was among two other rookies, two second-year players and one veteran player steadying Rockford’s defensive corps.

Peter LeBlanc, who doubled his goal total from last year, his rookie year, received the Unsung Hero Award. LeBlanc finished with 24 goals and 20 assists for 44 points, which topped his rookie totals of 12G-18A for 30 points. LeBlanc also received a one-year contract from the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2012-2013 season April 13.

Rookie Philippe Paradis was named the Heavy Hitter for the season, taking over for Shaw. Although Paradis sat for portions of the middle of the season, he showed why he needed to be in the lineup with his hard-hitting, agitating style in the end of the season.

Although Smith was sidelined for a portion of the season, it didn’t stop him from winning the Man of the Year Award. Smith’s commitments, as well as leadership to the Rockford community, made him the perfect candidate for the award.

Looking forward:

Next week, I’ll have an interview with Mike Peck, vice president of communications and voice of the IceHogs. We’ll discuss the high and low points of this past season, some of our highlights, potential roster changes for 2012-2013 and more.

From the April 25-May 1, 2012, issue

Joni Carlson

Staff Report

Rockford Lutheran High School girls’ basketball head coach Joni Carlson has been awarded the IBCA District Girls’ Class 1A/2A High School Co-Coach of the Year in District 10 for her accomplishments this past year.

Carlson was also selected as Co-Coach of the Year in 2010-11 and 2007-08.

Carlson led the Lady Crusader girls’ basketball program in the second year of undefeated conference play and completed her fourth-consecutive Big Northern Conference Championship with a 12-0 record.

This was the Crusaders girls’ fifth regional championship in the past six years. In 2011, Carlson was also recognized by WTVO as Class 1A/2A Coach-of-the-Year for her team’s accomplishments.

Tom Guse Co-Coach of the Year

Tom Guse has been awarded the “IBCA District Boys’ Class 1A/2A High School Co-Coach of the Year” in District 10 for his accomplishments this past year.

Guse completed his second year as head coach of the Crusaders with a third-place finish at the IHSA State Basketball Tournament in Peoria, Ill., and season record of 30-4.

From the April 25-May 1, 2012, issue

I was invited to attend a fund-raising event for a boys’ baseball team this past weekend. The team is called Full Throttle, and they are a mixture of young boys ages 9 and 10.

The event was held at Hartman’s Dairy Queen on Perryville Road, directly south of the CherryVale Mall, last Saturday (April 21) afternoon and early evening. The store agreed to donate a portion of their sales to help the team. I also noticed several customers leaving tips for the boys and putting money into their donation jar.

The boys and their manager were all neatly dressed in their bright orange uniform shirts, hats and matching white pants. The hats and shirts were emblazoned on the front with the Full Throttle logo. Their last names and numbers were proudly displayed on the backs of the shirts. They looked sharp.

A number of the boys were assigned to hold the front doors open and welcome the customers upon arrival. They were very friendly and polite. I saw a couple of boys carrying trays of food and drinks out to the awaiting customers at their tables. I did not see one french fry or a single drop of pop spilled.

Other team members were charged with cleaning off the tables and throwing away any trash that may have been left. As soon as someone got up to leave, those guys were right there with the spray bottle and towel making sure it was clean and ready for the next customer. There was also a crew of two manning a broom and dust pan making sure the floors were kept perfectly debris-free.

After watching the operation for about 30 minutes, I must say I was thoroughly impressed with how smoothly things were operating. Everyone on the team seemed to be “pitching in” and doing his part to help. They even rotated duties among themselves so no one was stuck doing the same job the entire time.

I must say I have no idea how successful this type of fund-raising event is in comparison to the old-fashioned candy bar sales or car washes I remember doing when I was in little league. But one thing I do know, it looked way more fun.

Kudos to Dan Hartman and his entire crew at Dairy Queen and to the Full Throttle baseball team. I hope you raised a lot of money and have a great season. One thing is certain, you knocked it out of the park last Saturday!

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the April 25-May 1, 2012, issue

As I’m writing this column, the Chicago Blackhawks are probably comfortably seated on their chartered jet high above the earth en route back to the Windy City. After they touch down, they will go straight to work preparing for game No. 6 in their Western Conference Quarterfinals matchup against the Phoenix Coyotes at the United Center Monday, April 23.

By the time anyone reads this column, the outcome of that game will have been determined. That sets up two distinctly different scenarios.

Here is what I sincerely hope happens. The Blackhawks are in a must-win situation to keep their Stanley Cup playoff hopes alive. A Hawks win in game six on Monday night would tie the series at three games apiece and force a seventh — and deciding — game back in Phoenix tonight (Wednesday, April 25).

Chicago would be in their third-straight must-win game tonight. I’m hoping they can pull it out and move on to the next round. That’s the scenario I’m hoping for.

If the Coyotes win in game six or seven, it would be the first time Phoenix has won a playoff series since moving from Winnipeg to Phoenix. That would eliminate Chicago, and the Hawks would be forced to watch the remainder of the Stanley Cup playoffs comfortably seated in their living rooms. That’s the scenario I won’t expound upon any further.

Albeit nerve-wracking, this series has been incredibly fun to watch. All of the first five games have been intensely played nail-biters, each requiring an extra period to determine the winner. That ties an NHL record set back in 1951 when the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens matched up in the Stanley Cup finals.

The Coyotes took their home-opener 3-2. Chicago evened the series at one game apiece with a 4-3 win in game No. 2 in Phoenix. The next two games were played at the United Center in Chicago, and the Coyotes came away with wins in both of those games by identical 3-2 scores.

Game five had both teams traveling back to the desert. Chicago was down 3-1 and found themselves in a do-or-die situation. After falling down 1-0 and facing elimination, Hawks defenseman Nick Leddy tied the game with his slap-shot goal midway through the third period. In overtime, team captain Jonathon Toews won a faceoff, ran down the puck and beat Phoenix goalie Mike Smith with the game-winner that sailed just under the crossbar and into the back of the net 2:44 into the extra period.

It’s no secret the Blackhawks have their backs against the boards in this series. It will be tough winning three straight against Phoenix, two of which will be in their home arena. Regardless of the outcome of this series, these two teams have provided their fans with some extremely exciting hockey.

If the Hawks can somehow pull off the minor miracle and win at home in game six and then make it past the Coyotes on the road tonight, I hope my heart has the strength to hold up throughout another series. I know it has the desire.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the April 25-May 1, 2012, issue

Children, youth and adults can learn and enjoy the lifetime leisure sport of golf through a variety of Rockford Park District lesson and skill enhancement programs. Instruction throughout the season is offered for ages 5-7 through adult.

Rockford Park District hosts and participates in a variety of tournaments for players of all ages. Youth camps and clinics (including girls’ LPGA and boys’ PGA golf academies), adult skill-specific clinics, lessons designed for seniors, lefties, ladies and teachers and friends are also offered; private lessons can also be arranged.

Registration for golf programs is under way; online registration is available for most programs at www.rockfordparkdistrict.org (click Register Now), by fax with credit card, mail or at Park District Customer Service locations (downtown Rockford or at Carlson Ice Arena, Riverside and Perryville, Loves Park).

Registration, program descriptions, schedules and fees are available on the website at Park District Customer Service and facilities, or by calling (815) 987-8800, where information about disability support and adapted golf programs is also available.

From the April 25-May 1, 2012, issue

Matt Hughes

By Doug Halberstadt
Sports Columnist

Nine-time UFC champion Matt Hughes will be hanging out in the Rockford area this Saturday (April 21). The UFC legend nicknamed “Country Boy” will be the featured guest at the customer appreciation event hosted by the sports nutrition store Max Muscle, 6738 Broadcast Pkwy., Loves Park.

Hughes will be at the store from noon until 4 p.m. He will be posing for pictures and signing autographs for fans inside a fighting cage. Professional model and author Hilda Castillo will join Hughes for the celebration.

Max Muscle’s customer appreciation event will also include professional body paint artist Johni Kucera. Her skills will be displayed on Max Muscle-sponsored athletes Brandon Truckenmiller and Jerry Foss. Truckenmiller and Foss are local amateur bodybuilders pursuing their pro-card (professional status).

Customers can also take advantage of big sales on all products, services and apparel. Multiple product vendors will be on site offering samples and giveaways. Saturday store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Following their afternoon at Max Muscle, Hughes and Castillo will make their way over to the Grand Ballroom at Cliffbreakers Resort for the special 10th anniversary of Rumble on the River. Clay Goodman and Todd Green have invited Hughes to help them celebrate their 10th year of promoting mixed martial arts events.

Many of the area’s top local fighters have entered the ring in the “Rumble” events. Will Brooks, Kenny Booker, Damian Norris, Tom Butler, Josh Labree, Kent Rexford, Vince Ramos and Andrew Navickis are just a few of the names that have fought on previous cards.

Saturday night’s card features Matt “The Reaper” Mahurin taking on Nick Lasher. For more about the Rumble on the River or to purchase advance tickets, contact Cliffbreakers at (815) 282-3033.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the April 18-24, 2012, issue

Rockford IceHogs forward Peter LeBlanc scored his team-leading 24th goal of the season Saturday, April 14, against the Charlotte Checkers. Friday, April 13, LeBlanc was rewarded for his outstanding play this season as the Chicago Blackhawks signed him to a one-year contract for the 2012-2013 season. (Photo by Todd Reicher)

By Todd Reicher
Sports Columnist

With Rockford out of the playoff picture, the IceHogs still had an opportunity to play spoiler for two of their opponents: the Milwaukee Admirals and the Charlotte Checkers.

Rockford faced off against the Admirals Friday, April 13, for the first time since their bench-clearing brawl back on Sunday, April 1, a game Rockford won in a shootout 2-1.

Both Rob Flick and Michael Latta, who were suspended for three games for their roles in the fracas, returned to the ice for the first time since the brawl. Most people assumed tempers would carry over from the previous game, but these two culprits played integral parts in Friday’s game. And it wasn’t just the fight between the two, it was also the goals that Flick and Latta contributed.

Although Rockford controlled the pace for most of the first two periods, Milwaukee was the only team to put points on the board. Latta scored on a redirected shot with 1:56 remaining in the second period to put the Ads up 1-0 after two periods.

Flick matched Latta’s goal with a marker of his own at 4:30 of the third period to knot the score at 1-1. The goal was the third shot in a series started by a Brandon Pirri breakaway. As Pirri raced into the zone alone, Ads netminder Jeremy Smith fought off the shot and blocked it to the right side of the net. Phillip Danault raced in quickly and put a shot on net as Smith was sprawling in the crease after stopping the Pirri shot. Smith somehow fought off Danault’s effort, but the puck came out to Flick on the left side of the net. With Smith still down and out, Flick lifted the puck up and into the back of the net.

Shortly after Flick’s goal, he and Latta squared off at center ice with both players getting in their licks before being sent off to ovations from the fans.

After 65 minutes of hockey, the teams would go into extra hockey for the third-straight game in the form of a shootout.

Milwaukee’s Kyle Wilson scored in the first round against Alexander Salak to put Milwaukee up 1-0 after the first round. Pirri was Rockford’s second shooter, but failed to beat Smith. Latta couldn’t get one past Salak in the second round, as Salak fought off the next three Admirals shooters.

Matt Fornataro scored in the fourth round and Peter LeBlanc in the fifth as Rockford took yet another shootout victory from Milwaukee for their 10th win of the season against their division rivals. Rockford’s only losses to the Admirals came Dec. 11 in a 5-4 shootout loss and a 7-3 defeat Dec. 26.

The Charlotte Checkers returned to the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford Saturday, April 14, after beating Rockford there earlier in the week 3-0.

Kent Simpson would get his first professional start in goal for the IceHogs, and Justin Peters would try to hold Rockford scoreless again. The 20-year-old Simpson was signed to a PTO (professional try-out) contract March 31. The 2010 second-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks recently finished his fourth full season with the Everett Silvertips of the WHL and ended the 2011-12 season with a 3.33 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 60 games played.

Peters’ shutout streak would end quickly as Peter LeBlanc scored 6:26 into the contest to put Rockford ahead. A Brandon Svendsen shot on net yielded a rebound that LeBlanc flipped into the net for his team-leading 24th goal of the season, eclipsing Pirri who was tied with LeBlanc at 23.

Charlotte’s Nicolas Blanchard scored on a quick wrap-around goal at 12:54 of the first to even things up at 1-1.

A late Checkers penalty carried over into the second period for Rockford, and Jeremy Morin capitalized on the power play with his 18th marker of the season at 1:01 of the second.

Charlotte’s top five-ranked power play responded at 8:41 as Zach Boychuk tied the game once again with a power-play goal. The redirected shot was Boychuk’s 21st goal of the season.

The Checkers took their first lead of the game with slightly more than 7 minutes remaining in the game. Evgenii Dadonov blasted a shot from the left faceoff circle to put Charlotte up 3-2.

Shy of 4 minutes remaining in regulation, Justin Krueger was sent off for a delay of game penalty, giving Rockford an opportunity for a late comeback. With 2:30 left in the game, and Rockford still on the power play, Simpson was sent to the bench for the extra attacker and a six-on-four advantage.

Charlotte fought off the extra skater, but Simpson remained on the bench for Rockford. With under a minute remaining, Flick took a shot at net that Peters blocked off. The rebound came out to Svendsen, who put the puck past Peters with 43 seconds left in regulation.

For the 19th time this season and the second night in a row, Rockford was headed to extra hockey. Another scoreless overtime session sent the game to a shootout.

Both netminders stopped their first-round shooters, but failed to stop their second-round opponents. After being tied 1-1 after two shootout rounds, Charlotte would score on their next two rounds while holding Rockford scoreless to win the shootout 3-1, taking the extra point in a 4-3 victory.

Key for the week:

Fighting despite out of the playoffs — Even though Rockford was out of the playoffs for the second straight season, the team played to the end, almost spoiling playoff chances for both Milwaukee and Charlotte.

Looking forward:

With Rockford out of the playoffs, that will end coverage of the game recaps for the season. In the coming weeks, I will have a full season recap and thoughts about next season.

From the April 18-24, 2012, issue

Rockford Boylan Catholic and Rockton Hononegah are considered the top two teams in baseball in the NIC-10 conference this year.

Machesney Park Harlem knocked off one during their undefeated start to the conference season. They now have the other in their sights as they try to make an early statement in the conference race.

The Huskies banged out 12 hits, including three from Parker Anderson, as the Huskies overcame their first conference battle with one of the favorites, defeating the Hononegah Indians 9-3.

More importantly, the Huskies got a great pitching performance from Drake Robinson, who struck out seven Indians batters in the game.

“Defense and pitching have to be strong for anybody this year because runs are harder to come by than usual,” Harlem coach Doug Livingston said.

Earlier in the week, Livingston said the matchup with Hononegah would give a good indication of where his team stood early in the season. He said the Indians didn’t play their best game, but he was impressed with his team’s poise.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now,” he said. “But it’s about where I thought we would be at this point. There’s still improvements to do.”

The win leaves Harlem tied with Boylan for the lead in the NIC-10. The two teams will face off Friday, April 20, at Harlem, with the first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.

The Titans got off to a slow start this season in the non-conference schedule, dropping eight games early. The conference favorites were looking like anything but a contending team.

But Boylan has righted themselves in the conference season thus far, getting their offense rolling while putting up 25 runs against Freeport, and following that off by holding off stiff challenges from Belvidere North and Guilford.

“The kids have no problem getting up for those games,” Livingston said about taking on the Titans. “A lot of people don’t realize, the day after we beat Hononegah, Jefferson had us no-hit for six innings and a couple of bloop hits late, and we came up with a win. Anyone can beat you in baseball on any given day.”

From the April 18-24, 2012, issue

Last night (Tuesday, April 17) was the final night to another bowling season. After 33 consecutive Tuesdays, we are finally finished. Each year, the season comes to a close with mixed emotions. Most of us would readily admit that we are glad to be done. The majority of the guys feel the season lasts about three weeks longer than it should. Especially this year.

The mild winter, combined with the unseasonably warm temperatures that our area experienced in March, caused most everyone at the lanes to switch their focus from bowling to golf, softball or some other outdoor activity earlier than we usually do. Thoughts of pars, birdies, ballparks and motorcycling easily took the place of strikes and spares. It wasn’t difficult to see why when the temperatures outdoors were reaching into the 70-plus-degree range while we were busy putting on our bowling shoes.

Recent apathy aside, I’d say I still had a relatively decent season. Even though I didn’t reach my goal of ending the year with a 200 average, I was still satisfied with my 194. That is down five pins from the 199 average I finished with last year. I can explain the decrease — I attribute it directly to a pretty severe foot and ankle injury.

Instead of taking the three or four weeks off to allow my foot and ankle to properly heal, I decided to bowl through the pain. It was evident by my scores during those weeks that my average was going to suffer. Even though I knew my average was going to go down, I preferred the option of bowling with the pain and discomfort rather than sitting it out. Even though I wasn’t hitting the big scores, I still got to hang out with my teammates and the other guys at the lanes. That allowed me to participate in the laughs and camaraderie. Isn’t that really what recreational league bowling is truly about? I think I made the right decision.

There’s always next season to get that 200 average.

From the April 18-24, 2012, issue

The Ninth Annual Rockford Football Training Camp is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, May 19, at Rockford’s Auburn High School Stadium, 5110 Auburn St., Rockford.

The stadium will open at 8:15 a.m. Guest speakers/instructors scheduled to appear at the camp are Bears players D.J. Moore, Nick Roach and Major Wright.

At the one-day camp, boys and girls ages 5-18 will learn foundational football skills and techniques from coaching staff led by NFL Youth Football staff and area high school coaches, meet the pros and participate in NFL Combine drills.

Fees for the May 19 camp are $50 per participant ($55 non-resident) if registered by April 19, and $60 ($65 non-resident) if registering April 20 and after; the fee includes a T-shirt, an energy snack, drink and autographs of Chicago Bears players who will be the guest instructors.

Meet-and-greet tickets are also available for fans and non-participants ages 3 and older for $50 per person if purchased by April 19, and $60 if purchased April 20 and after.

Meet-and-greet tickets include access to a special area for autographs and to meet the visiting Bears players from 10 to 11 a.m. Chicago Bears guests are subject to change.

Online registration for the camp and the meet-and-greet event is available at www.rockfordparkdistrict.org (click “Register Now”); registration by mail, fax (with credit card), and at Park District Customer Service locations.

For more information, call (815) 987-8800, (815) 962-7469 or e-mail nflflag@rockfordparkdistrict.org. Information about support for camp participants with disabilities is also available at (815) 987-8800.

From the April 11-17, 2012, issue

The final round of this year’s Masters Tournament once again lived up to all of the pre-promotion and hype that it receives annually. There were two holes in one and a historic double eagle. As exciting as they were, they took a back seat to the real drama: the sudden-death playoff between Gary “Bubba” Watson Jr. and Louis Oosthuizen.

The playoff finish was nothing short of spectacular, if you’re a golf fan, and even pretty darn exciting for those non-golf fans who just happened to be sitting in the same room where a television was tuned to the tournament.

Watson and Oosthuizen were paired up together going into the fourth, and final, round of regulation play. They spent Easter afternoon watching one another execute fabulous shot after fabulous shot. Oosthuizen got it started by making a double-eagle 2 on the par-5 second hole. It was only the fourth double eagle in Masters Tournament history.

After 72 holes of regulation play, Watson and Oosthuizen were tied at 10-under-par. The duo would head to a sudden-death playoff. They headed back to hole No. 18 to try to determine who would walk away wearing this year’s green jacket. After textbook drives, precisely accurate second shots to the green, and routine 2-putts, both players walked away with pars.

Hole No. 10 was where they would tee off next. This time, things were different. Instead of straight-down-the-middle tee shots, both players launched their drives right off the fairway. Watson’s appeared to be much worse than Oosthuizen’s. He was deep in the woods, and had to play his next shot from a bed of pine needles. His next shot was nothing short of miraculous. He blasted out of the woods with a 155-yard hook shot that landed within 10 feet of the flagstick.

Oosthuizen hit his second shot from off the fairway just short of the green. He chipped on to the back edge and two-putted for a bogey.

Watson was now only 10 feet away from his first-ever major championship, and he had two shots to make history. His first putt edged the cup and rolled past by about 6 inches. After carefully lining up the give-me putt, he sank it for a par and the coveted green jacket.

The left-handed Watson has become a fan favorite for several reasons. He claims he has never taken a golf lesson. His “grip it and rip it” style of play has made him one of the longest drivers on tour. His driver has a neon pink shaft. He and his wife, Angie Watson, adopted a 1-month-old baby boy (Caleb) back on March 26.

From all outward appearances, (including his white shirt trimmed in pink and his all-white pants that he chose to wear for the final round of the Masters) and his humble, unassuming demeanor, Watson seems to be a genuinely good guy.

He now has a unique item of clothing that will forever serve as a memory of his victory at the 74th Masters, the green jacket. A very nice memento that possibly one day he’ll be able to pass along to Caleb.

From the April 11-17, 2012, issue

Local Rusty Wallace fans, this is going to be the summer you have been waiting for. The extremely popular retired NASCAR champion will be in our area not once, but twice over the next few months.

Recently, it was announced that Wallace would compete in the June 12 Swiss Colony Howie Lettow Memorial 150 presented by RaceTeamGear.com at The Milwaukee Mile. The race honors the late Lettow, a former standout American Speed Association crew chief who mentored many young drivers. The event will benefit the MACC Fund, dedicated to childhood cancer and blood disorder research.

When Wallace climbs into his No. 66 super late model at Milwaukee, it will be only the third time he has raced competitively since he retired from NASCAR’s premier series in 2005. The car he will be driving was last used by his youngest son, Steve Wallace, earlier this year. Steve will join his dad on the track in Milwaukee. He’ll be driving a sister car to his father’s.

The elder Wallace, the 1989 NASCAR and 1983 ASA Champion, is no stranger when it comes to racing at the Milwaukee Mile. Wallace’s five victories at Milwaukee in USAC and ASA competition mark one of the most successful stock car careers in the history of “The Mile.”

“I’m really excited about racing at Milwaukee again; I have a lot of great memories of that place from over the years,” Wallace said. “While I’m looking forward to having a lot of fun, believe me, we’re going there to try and win the race, too. There are a lot of great race fans in the Midwest, and hopefully the ASA Midwest Tour will put on a great show for them, all the while benefiting a good cause.”

NASCAR regulars David Ragan, David Stremme and Tony Raines are also scheduled to compete in the event with others to be named in the near future.

In addition to all of the action on the track, fans can get up close and personal with the drivers at a pre-race VIP event, including a question-and-answer session and a private dinner with the drivers. Only 500 tickets for the VIP event will be sold.

Fans can purchase tickets for the Howie Lettow Memorial 150 and the pre-race VIP event by visiting http://www.asarace.com.

If Milwaukee is still a little too far for you to travel, Wallace will be right here in our own back yard Sunday, Aug. 26. He’ll be on the grounds of the Midway Village Museum at 6799 Guilford Road in Rockford.

Wallace will be the featured guest at the museum that day to help honor the Rockford Speedway. In addition to Wallace, there will be a car show, car club information, music, beer garden, 50/50 raffle and food. Jody Deery, president and owner of the Rockford Speedway, will be the honorary chairman. Tickets for Wallace’s appearance at Midway Village Museum go on sale Tuesday, July 2.

For further details, go to www.midwayvillage.com.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the April 11-17, 2012, issue

Last season, the Machesney Park Harlem Huskies baseball team was overlooked. Replacing a lot of their talent, most people saw them as a middle-of-the-pack team in the NIC-10 race.

The young Huskies surprised a lot of people on their way to a second-place finish in the conference. With 11 seniors on the team this season, nine of whom played last year, it would seem to make Harlem an easy favorite for the conference this year.

Rockford Boylan Catholic and Rockton Hononegah again are looked at as the favorites for the conference once again. But Harlem coach Doug Livingston thinks his veteran team is in a pretty good spot right now.

“Everyone is talking about Boylan and Hononegah, as usual, but we think we can go compete with those guys on any given day,” Livingston said. “(Our players) know the system pretty well. A couple of them have been with us since their sophomore year, so that’s helped out quite a bit.”

One of the biggest reasons for their confidence is a productive summer that saw Harlem make a trip down state in summer league play. Unlike the four-class system in the spring, summer ball is played as one class, and after a 19-1 season, the Huskies took fifth down state.

“That was a great experience for us to go down there and play that competition,” Livingston said. “I think that has been a big confidence booster for our kids this year.”

While the other favorites have struggled out of the gate, Harlem has got off to a strong start behind senior leaders like Parker Anderson, Derrick Mason, Drake Robison and Dylan Elmer.

Anderson, who took all-state honors during the summer, is a three-year varsity player. Robison and Elmer give the Huskies a dangerous top of the rotation pitching while Mason hits third, plays first base and has pitched well as well.

“It starts with pitching,” Livingston said. “We’ve got a lot of kids that have been with us for a while, and with a senior group, we’re hoping experience will prevail over the younger Hononegah kids and Boylan.

“Boylan has a couple of pitchers that seem to beat us every year, but we have more depth in our staff, as much as any team in the conference,” he said.

Not only are the Titans and Indians of concern, but the conference as a whole seems to be improved. Belvidere North is coming off a 20-win season, and Rockford Guilford is a perennial contender.

Offense is down across the board around the state, and pitching is at a premium. And Livingston says with that being his team’s strength, he hopes the Huskies can get off to a hot start with conference play starting this week.

“There could be three or four teams that can beat any of the favorites at any time,” he said. “We’ll get a good test (April 11) because we are home against Hononegah. So, we’ll find out right away.”

From the April 11-17, 2012, issue

Since the turn of the calendar to 2012, next to the Toronto Marlies, the Rockford IceHogs have been the hottest team in the Western Conference. Unfortunately for Rockford, they were one of the worst teams in the first half of the season. If Rockford hadn’t been so bad in the first half, they wouldn’t be fighting for a playoff spot, they would already have a spot secured.

The ’Hogs had a key two-game series in Lake Erie against the Monsters this past weekend, a series in which Rockford needed to win at least one of the two games to stay in playoff contention. Before the weekend, Lake Erie was only a few points ahead of Rockford, meaning if Rockford was able to sweep the weekend, they would be ahead of Lake Erie in the standings, with a game in hand.

Friday’s game April 6 was a back-and-forth game through two periods with both goalies keeping their respective teams in the game. Carter Hutton stopped all 24 shots he faced in the first two periods, and Cedrick Desjardins fended off 26 Rockford shots.

Early in the final period, Ryan Stoa finally put one past Hutton to give Lake Erie the lead. The goal was scored right after the Monsters fought off a penalty and Stoa was fresh out of the box. The goaltender Desjardins shot a quick pass out that found Stoa on the move, and he beat Hutton.

Rockford’s captain, Brian Fahey, has been playing steady all season but has recently been finding the scoresheet as well. Fahey tallied his sixth goal of the season just shy of the 6-minute mark to tie the score up 1-1. Joe Lavin and Jeremy Morin were given assists on the goal.

However, the Monsters would tally another goal at the midway point of the period to take the lead for good. Rookie forward Brad Malone tallied his 10th marker of the season, putting the Monsters up 2-1.

No late heroics would save Rockford this week, and the Monsters took game one of the weekend series.

The following night, Rockford started the scoring jumping out to a 3-0 lead into the second period.

Morin started Rockford’s scoring, tallying his 17th goal of the season on Rockford’s second power-play opportunity of the night. The goal was set up by Brandon Pirri and Philip Danault, who notched the first professional point of his young career.

The IceHogs struck again at 11:07 of the second with a goal by defenseman Ryan Stanton. Pirri would get the secondary assist for his second point of the night, and Brandon Svendsen had the primary assist.

Peter LeBlanc tied Pirri with his team-leading 23rd goal of the season just a minute after the Stanton goal to put Rockford up 3-0. Veteran Wade Brookbank had the primary assist, and rookie Connor Goggin was the secondary assist.

Lake Erie’s special teams unit came up big, scoring a power-play goal with 2:03 left in the second period to cut into Rockford’s lead.

Going into the third period, the Monsters would get a whole lot more out of their special teams unit, who carried the Monsters to a come-from-behind victory.

With Lake Erie’s Malone in the box for a high-sticking minor, Rockford looked to strike a second power-play goal of the night. However, Justin Mercier received a pass from Barry Goes and scored a shorthanded goal, putting Lake Erie only one goal down.

Chicago Blackhawks first-round draft pick Mark McNeill would put Rockford in a hole close to the midpoint of the frame when he was tagged for a 5-minute major penalty for boarding. The penalty was the catalyst to other penalties for both teams, including a roughing penalty for Kyle Beach, a matching roughing penalty for former IceHogs skater Pete MacArthur, and a slashing penalty for Stoa. However, the damage had been done, and the 5-minute major penalty meant Lake Erie could score as many times as they could in 5 minutes and still have a five-on-four advantage.

The Monsters used the 5 minutes wisely, and Malone would notch his second goal in two games on that power play to score Lake Erie’s third unanswered goal, tying the game at 3-3.

Lake Erie would claim their first lead of the game, which they would not relinquish, when Dean Strong scored with 7 seconds left on the extended power play.

Rockford would never recover, and wound up dropping their second straight game, 4-3. The loss gave the ’Hogs an 0-4 record against the Monsters this season.

One thing to note was that Rockford was without the services of Rostislav Olesz, who remained out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury, which he suffered a week ago during a game against the Milwaukee Admirals.

Although Rockford has not been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the team is 6 points out of a playoff spot with three games (6 possible points) remaining. Rockford would need the Milwaukee Admirals, Houston Aeros, Peoria Rivermen, Lake Erie, San Antonio and Rochester to lose their remaining games, and Rockford would have to win out to have a chance at making the playoffs.

Keys for the week:

1. Not keeping a lead — When leading after two periods this season, Rockford was a stout 23-3-0-2, but special teams let them down in a big game, giving the team only their fourth regulation loss when leading after 40 minutes.

2. Falling back in the standings — Two wins last weekend would have been a huge push in the standings to put the ’Hogs in series playoff contention. A single win would still have given Rockford a fighting chance, but losing both games in regulation has pretty much sunk the ship for the ’Hogs’ season.

Looking forward:

Rockford’s final week of the regular season has three games, all at home, against familiar Midwest Division opponents. Tuesday, April 10, Rockford takes on the Charlotte Checkers (results not available at press time). Friday, April 13, the Milwaukee Admirals skate in for what could be a heated game since it is the first time these teams have met since their bench-clearing brawl two weeks prior. The IceHogs close out their season with the Checkers returning Saturday, April 14. All games start at 7:05 p.m.

From the April 11-17, 2012, issue

Tomorrow (Thursday, April 5), and for the next four days, all eyes of the golf world will be focused on Augusta, Ga. After three days of practice rounds, the world’s best golfers will begin play in the first round of the 78th Annual Masters Tournament. In many people’s opinions — and mine — this is golf’s premier event.

Most of the recent chatter surrounding this year’s tournament is centered on the recent resurgence of Tiger Woods. Two weeks ago, he won his first tour event in nearly three years when he bested the field by five strokes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Many people who follow golf believe he now has the momentum needed to capture his fifth green jacket. His last one is from 2005.

Woods will have to out-drive and out-putt a bevy of challengers. Last year’s winner, Charl Schwarzel, is just one of the players who will be trying to keep Woods from walking away with the tournament. Schwarzel is currently ranked seventh in the current world golf rankings, one spot below Woods.

Luke Donald is currently the No. 1-rated player in the world and will be shooting for his first green jacket. At last year’s Masters, he finished in a three-way tie with Woods and Geoff Ogilvy for fourth place.

Phil Mickelson is another perennial Masters favorite. Despite his current ranking of 15th, he is still a golfer to watch when he comes to Augusta. His last green jacket is only two years old. He won in 2010, and he has another one hanging in his closet from 2006.

One of my other favorites in this year’s tournament is Steve Stricker. He’s also in pursuit of his first Masters title. Stricker is from Edgerton, Wis., and is currently ranked fifth in the world. He has spent 140 weeks in the top-10 of the rankings since 2007, but has never been fitted for the green jacket.

He is considered one of the best players without a major championship. He started out 2012 with a win at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, Hawaii. It was the 12th PGA title of his career. His highest finish at Augusta was tied for sixth in 2009. Could this be his year?

Rory McIlroy is another name that gets tossed around when it comes to prospective winners of this year’s tournament. He is the reigning U.S. Open champion and is currently ranked second in the world, fewer than 28 total points behind Donald. He may actually be the favorite heading into the tournament.

The 22-year-old McIlroy will try to erase the memory from last year’s Masters. He entered the final round with a four-stroke lead. It was his tournament to win or lose. He imploded with a final round of 80, and finished tied for 15th.

He’s looking for much different results this year. “I wasn’t necessarily under the radar last year, but you know, I’ll be going in there with a lot more attention, a lot of scrutiny because of what happened last year,” McIlroy said at Doral, the last tournament in which he played. “The spotlight will be on me, and it’s something that I’ll just have to deal with. … But I’ll try to take the same approach and approach it like I did last year — at least for three days, anyway.”

So, whether you’re pulling for any of the previous mentioned golfers or someone totally different, it’s always an exciting tournament to watch. My prediction is Woods will rise to the occasion and win his fifth green jacket.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the April 4-10, 2012, issue

Rockford IceHogs winger Rostislav Olesz (85) keeps the puck away from San Antonio Rampage Defenseman Colby Robak (25) during a game Saturday, March 31. Olesz was hot for Rockford, tallying four goals and one assist in three games, helping Rockford finish 2-0-0-1. (Photo by Todd Reicher)

By Todd Reicher
Sports Columnist

The Rockford IceHogs are still in the heat of the Calder Cup playoff race, and their six-game point streak is keeping them in close proximity of a playoff spot.

As of Monday, April 2, the ’Hogs were only 2 points out of the eighth, and final, playoff spot. In fact, the Western Conference is so tight, the ’Hogs are only 4 points out of fourth place in the conference standings, and 6 points behind the Midwest Division-leading Chicago Wolves.

Rockford’s first game of the week took place Friday, March 30, against the Peoria Rivermen. In their 12th, and final, meeting of the regular season, it was Rockford coming from behind and winning in a shootout, 4-3.

Rostislav Olesz tallied his first goal of the game 9:10 into the first period with Connor Goggin grabbing his first professional point with the secondary assist. Peter LeBlanc also grabbed a point with the primary assist. LeBlanc won a board battle for the puck and flipped it toward the front of the Peoria net. Olesz was stationed out front and took a swing at the puck in midair and batted it past Jake Allen for the 1-0 lead.

Peoria’s Jonathan Cheechoo evened the score at 4:35 of the second frame while on the power play.

The score remained tied until Olesz notched his second goal of the game on a pass from Jeremy Morin. The power-play goal came at 1:56 of the third period, with Morin and Ben Youds factoring in on the goal.

The Rivermen tied the game at the 6:07 mark of the third period with Cade Fairchild grabbing his seventh goal of the season off a blast from the far point.

Cheechoo gave Peoria the lead just past the halfway point of the final period by flipping the puck past Carter Hutton.

It looked like the Rivermen were going to steal a win away from Rockford until a late Peoria penalty gave Rockford a window. With 1:03 left in the game, Brennan Evans was flagged for hooking, allowing Rockford a six-on-four advantage for the rest of the game.

Hutton was sent to the bench and Rockford put high pressure on Allen as Rockford looked to tally the equalizing goal. With 20 seconds remaining, the ’Hogs had one last rush at the net. LeBlanc fired a shot at net, which was fended off, but right to team captain Brian Fahey. With 4.1 seconds left on the clock, Fahey corralled the rebound and sent it behind Allen for the tying goal, sending the game to overtime.

With only one shot on goal by the Rivermen, and no winner in overtime, the teams would head to the shootout. After Peoria took an early 2-0 lead after two rounds of the shootout, Hutton would stop the next three shooters, and Rockford’s Brandon Pirri, Morin and Matt Fornataro would all score on their attempts, giving Rockford a thrilling 3-2 advantage in the shootout, and 4-3 win.

The following night, the San Antonio Rampage would head in to the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, and once again, a shootout would decide the fate of the game. This time, it was San Antonio taking the second point home in the seventh round of the shootout, beating the IceHogs 4-3.

Olesz once again got the scoring started while Rockford was on their second power play of the game. Olesz took the same position in front of the net, and LeBlanc fed a perfect pass to the tape of Olesz, who buried his 16th of the season.

Former Rockford skater Bracken Kearns evened the game up on a power-play marker at 7:11 of the second period.

Exactly 30 seconds later, the Rampage would take the lead on a goal by Michal Repik, putting the Rampage up 2-1.

But Pirri would even the game up later in the period on a shot from the right side of the slot for his 23rd of the season. Fornataro took the puck straight up the middle and left the puck for Pirri, who quickly fired a shot past Jacob Markstrom.

Continuing his hot streak, Olesz put Rockford ahead 3-2 with a redirected shot from a Ryan Stanton blast.

Rockford held the lead until 12:18 of the final period when Jon Matsumoto tallied his 21st of the season to tie the game. Matsumoto, a mid-season trade acquisition from the Charlotte Checkers, grabbed the puck at the end of a transition in the Rockford zone. Stanton lay down on the ice to block a passing attempt, but Matsumoto showed patience and waited for Stanton to slide by, and wristed a high shot off the crossbar behind Hutton.

For the third straight game, Rockford would head to overtime. The ’Hogs managed four overtime shots to San Antonio’s one, but neither team managed a goal, and once again we had a shootout.

Former IceHogs skater Mark Cullen slipped his shot past Hutton for the 1-0 lead after the first round. Rookie Terry Broadhurst scored in the fourth round for Rockford to tie the shootout at 1-1. It wasn’t until the seventh round when James Wright scored for San Antonio to end the game, giving the Rampage the coveted second point, and a 4-3 win.

The following night, Rockford would head to Milwaukee for their third game in three days.

Kyle Beach tallied first at the 6:04 mark of the first period to give Rockford the lead. Both goalies played solid throughout the first 30 minutes of hockey, with Hutton stopping all 13 shots and Jeremy Smith stopping 18 of 19.

Then, it happened. It hadn’t happened since the Rockford IceHogs’ first season in 1999. Back then, the newly-formed Rockford IceHogs were in the now-defunct United Hockey League (UHL). A bench-clearing brawl took place at the midpoint of the second period.

Toward the tail end of a TV timeout, IceHogs forward Rob Flick was circling the ice in the Milwaukee zone by Allen. A few words between the two players were exchanged, and the two began fighting. Seconds after the fracas began, both the Milwaukee and Rockford benches cleared with all players scrapping in the Milwaukee zone. IceHogs announcer Mike Peck described it perfectly when he said the ice looked like “a hockey equipment yard sale” as the equipment trainer came “out on the ice with a laundry cart to grab all of the equipment.”

In the end, the officials sent all players and coaches to their dressing rooms for a brief intermission. After a 10-minute break, both teams headed back to the ice to resume the second period. A total of 137 penalty minutes were dished out, and four players on both teams, including both starting goalies and head coaches, were ejected from the game.

Once things settled down, it was Mark Van Guilder getting the equalizing goal, beating Alexander Salak at 2:42 of the final period.

However, neither team was able to score again in regulation as we headed to overtime. After a scoreless 5 minutes of overtime, Rockford would skate into a shootout for the fourth-straight game.

Broadhurst and Pirri, Rockford’s first two shooters, scored for Rockford, and Salak stopped the first two Milwaukee shooters, Van Guilder and Chris Mueller. Jonathon Blum tallied in the third round to bring Milwaukee closer, but Salak stopped the two remaining Admirals’ shooters to give Rockford a 2-1 advantage in the shootout, and a 2-1 victory. The win gave Rockford their eighth-straight victory against the Ads. In those eight games, Rockford has outscored Milwaukee 18-10 and held Milwaukee to one goal in six of those games.

However, Rockford’s hottest skater of the week, Olesz, came off the ice in the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return to the game. His status for the upcoming week is uncertain.

Keys for the week:

1. Getting on the board first — It’s always harder playing from behind, and Rockford managed to score first in each of their three games this week. Olesz scored the first goal twice this weekend, and finished with four goals and one assist in three games.

2. Three-point games — A win is a win, and 2 points is big for Rockford at this point in the season. However, with Rockford going to overtime in four straight games, it gave their opponent at least 1 point in those games, which prevented Rockford from either creating more distance or crawling closer in the point standings.

Looking forward:

Rockford has a huge double-header on the road against the Lake Erie Monsters this weekend. The Monsters, who are only 2 points ahead of Rockford in the conference standings, are also fighting for a spot in the playoffs. Both teams square off Friday and Saturday, April 6-7, with game time at 6:30 p.m.

From the April 4-10, 2012, issue

The recent strike from the teachers of Rockford Public School District 205 had absolutely nothing to do with athletics. But it had the potential for the biggest impact on most students.

Spring sports were getting into full swing, and after a highly successful fall and winter for area athletes, you did not want to see that momentum stifled.

Sports in the spring also sees some of the highest participation rates with more sports taking place like track, baseball and softball that involve a lot of athletes, giving a lot of kids the ability to end their high school careers on a high, and maybe even provide a last chance to get some kind of college scholarship.

With unseasonably warm weather, it seemed like it would be a best-case scenario for all athletes. The short strike just ensured it was like a normal Illinois fall.

“We usually schedule a few extra games because we lose three or four to the weather,” Rockford Jefferson Athletic Director and current NIC-10 President Todd Zimmerman said.

The quick resolution also helped the schools and the conference avoid a doomsday scenario when it comes to scheduling.

Only one conference match-up in all sports was missed, and a few weekend games and tournaments were all that were ultimately affected.

As all of the athletic directors talked in the conference, they had all agreed to make rescheduling conference games the top goal, even if that meant canceling non-conference games.

Zimmerman said most of his time during the strike was spent on the phone, talking to athletic directors at other schools and letting them know if teams would be showing up or not.

“We started with the canceling,” Zimmerman said. “Just had to track everybody down and let them know we weren’t coming. We all agreed that if it went on for a little bit, the conference games would be the top priority.”

The good news is everything was settled quickly, however, and all sports are back to action as normal. After a year spent thus far with state championships and impressive record performances, athletic directors, coaches and athletes all had the same reaction when the agreement was reached Saturday, March 31.

“It’s a big relief,” Zimmerman said.

From the April 4-10, 2012, issue

It’s Sunday (April 1), and I just finished going through my e-mail and Facebook messages from the weekend. I found one of particular interest. I’ve been invited to attend a public showing of WrestleMania XXVIII at a local establishment. This is no April Fools’ Day joke.

Starting at 5:30 p.m., they are showing live coverage of at least nine scheduled matches emanating live from Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. The tagline for this event is “Once in a Lifetime.” I guess that means I better go.

Honesty compels me to tell you that long ago, I was a huge professional wrestling fan. This predates the WWE and WWF and the sideshow circus that the sport is today. When I first started watching the “sport,” it was called the American Wrestling Association and was broadcast locally every Sunday morning at 11 a.m. on WREX-TV. The show originated out of the Minneapolis-St.Paul area. As I grew older, I became less and less of a fan of what the sport had evolved into.

Back in my youth, the ring was set up in the middle of a television studio, and there were only about three or four rows of folding chairs on a couple of sides of the ring for the audience. It didn’t resemble anything that is shown on television nowadays. There were no fireworks, huge digital flat-screen monitors or any of those types of extras. It was much, much simpler — just the ring, a bell and some fans.

The intensity of the matches might be the only thing that remains the same. The rivalry between the good guys and the “heels” hasn’t changed that much. The fans from both yesterday and today somehow have managed to maintain the one constant theme of this unique sports entertainment product. The eternal conflict of good vs. evil is the dominant thread that is intrinsically woven throughout this fabric that has blended athleticism and showmanship.

It doesn’t really matter who the players are. The story has stayed the same and stood up to the test of time. Years ago, it was Ray “The Crippler” Stevens in a grudge match against “The Crusher”. Tonight, it’s “The Rock” vs. John Cena followed by “The Undertaker” taking on Triple H in a “Hell in a Cell” match.

The names have all changed, the audiences have upgraded from sitting ringside in folding chairs to sky-boxes in huge arenas, the television production level has sky rocketed, the salaries and ticket prices have undoubtedly outpaced inflation, and people still love to cheer for the good guys and boo the bad ones.

I’m going to go to tonight’s show. I just hope it is as much fun as those Sunday mornings were years and years ago.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the April 4-10, 2012, issue

Staff Report

Adult golfers ages 18 and older who want to improve their game are invited to sign up for Rockford Park District golf specialty clinics scheduled in April, May and June.

The 90-minute individual sessions meet Friday evenings or Saturday mornings from April 13 through June 23 at Aldeen Practice Centre, and cover various aspects of the game.

Attend all, some or one — each clinic will focus on a specific type of shot or skill: Putt/Chip, Pitch/Sand, Pitch/Bunker, Irons, Woods, Trouble Shots and Full Swing.

Fees are $20 per clinic ($23 non-resident). Register at least one week prior to each clinic, either online at www.rockfordparkdistrict.org (click Register Now) or by mail, fax (with credit card), or at either Park District Customer Service location (downtown Rockford or Carlson Ice Arena, Loves Park). Registration will close as capacities are reached.

A schedule of all clinics and topics, as well as a registration form, are included in the Spring/Summer 2012 Program Guide available on the Park District website, at Park District offices and facilities, or by calling Customer Service at (815) 987-8800.

For information about support or adapted golf programs for golfers with disabilities or special needs, call (815) 987-8800.

From the April 4-10, 2012, issue

LOVES PARK, Ill. — The Rockford RiverHawks invite stateline families to attend one or both of their Faith Nights scheduled for this summer.

A Rockford-area businessman and devout Christian again bought out the park to sponsor Faith Night Wednesday, May 30, and Monday, June 18. Both games are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. starts at RiverHawks Stadium.

A church group can select one or both nights for individual or group tickets. It is the sponsor’s goal to allow all Christian people to enjoy a night at the ballpark.

Families and groups are asked to register for one or both games in advance to ensure they receive tickets. It is important that people reconize the generosity of this individual with the understanding that he wants everyone to have a great night at Riverhawks Stadium with their families and friends. This is the fourth straight year Faith Night has a sponsor.

“To be honest, I did not believe he would sponsor the night again this year. The man wrote the check to cover the tickets, and Faith Night lives again,” RiverHawks Director of Operations Chris Daleo said. “I hope that everyone can take part in this event and have fun at the ballpark, but tickets are going fast, and everyone has to hurry to reserve their seats.”

The RiverHawks are members of the Frontier League, the premier independent professional baseball league that will play its 20th season in 2012. Advertising and season ticket information is available by calling (815) 885-2255. Fans can also visit www.rockfordriverhawks.com.

From the April 4-10, 2012, issue

Chicago Blackhawks first-round draft pick (18th overall) Mark McNeill joined the IceHogs this weekend. In 211 games played over three seasons for the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL, McNeill has totalled 72 goals and 104 assists for 176 points. (Photo by Todd Reicher)

By Todd Reicher
Sports Columnist

The Rockford IceHogs have kept their playoff hopes alive by winning three games in three days, including a double-header against the Houston Aeros.

After Rockford fell to Houston 4-3 Friday, March 16, in Houston, the ’Hogs looked to get some revenge on their own ice one week later, this past Friday, March 23.

The game would mark the debut of the Chicago Blackhawks’ first-round draft pick (18th overall) in this year’s draft, Mark McNeill. Although McNeill didn’t make the scoring sheet, his skating ability and on-ice awareness showed why he was chosen early in the draft.

Defenseman Brian Fahey beat former IceHogs goaltender Joe Fallon with 30 seconds left in the first period to put the first point on the board. The goal came only 4 seconds into Rockford’s second power play of the evening.

Kyle Beach, who returned to the ice after sitting out 57 games because of an injury, instigated a roughing penalty on Houston’s Kris Foucault, who was racing down a puck to try to beat an icing call. Beach made it to the puck first, and Foucault made contact with Beach around the time of the icing call.

Beach shoved Foucault, showing his displeasure with the hit, and Foucault took the bait and started to wrestle with Beach, resulting in a roughing minor. To rub some salt in the wound, Beach was awarded the primary assist on the ensuing goal.

All was quiet until late in the third period when Rostislav Olesz tallied his 13th goal of the season. Ryan Stanton put the puck in deep in the offensive zone, which was picked up by Chris DiDomenico, who was against the boards behind the net on the near side. DiDomenico fed a pretty pass to the center of the ice to Olesz, who was streaking in from the blue line and flipped a shot top shelf for the 2-0 lead.

Rockford’s lead would hold up until 1:57 remaining in the final frame, when Chad Rau ended Carter Hutton’s bid for a shutout. The IceHogs were playing a defensive period, and Houston, who put out 12 shots in the first two periods, scored on one of their 16 third-period shots to close the gap to a goal.

The ’Hogs fought off a few more shots in the last 1:57 of the final period, and escaped a late Houston charge to win 2-1.

Saturday, March 24, the same two teams met for the final time this season, and Rockford took 2 more points from Houston with a 4-1 win. It would also mark the debut of another Blackhawks draft pick, Terry Boardhurst.

The Aeros got on the board first, courtesy of ex-IceHogs forward Jeff Taffe. On their second rush of their first power play, Taffe skated right up the middle of the offensive zone and wristed a quick shot past Hutton, giving Houston the lead 2:35 into the game.

Neither team would score again until late in the second period. The ’Hogs were fighting for puck possession in the defensive zone, and a clearing attempt hit the far-side linesman, and Jeremy Morin tracked down the loose puck and started a transition with Brandon Pirri. As Pirri skated into the offensive zone, he tried to release a shot on net, but was fought off the puck by a Houston defenseman and lost the handle on the puck. Morin, who continued to follow the play, was a few steps behind Pirri, picked up the puck, and rifled it to the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1 with 33 seconds remaining in the period.

Rockford’s checking line of Rob Flick, Philippe Paradis and Brandon Svendsen took control of the game in the third period, scoring three unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes of hockey.

The go-ahead goal at 6:01 of the final frame was started by an aggressive forecheck from Svendsen. Houston had won a defensive zone face-off, sending the puck behind their net. Flick followed behind the net and put a check on the Houston defenseman to draw the puck loose. The Aeros took the puck on their far boards, but Svendsen created a turnover and fed the puck to Flick, who was just coming around from the back of the net. Flick moved from left to right and slipped a backhand shot past Scott Greenham for the goal.

Less than a minute later, Flick would engage in fisticuffs with Houston’s Drew Bagnall behind the Houston net. A melee ensued with a few other players, including Paradis, and four players total would head to the penalty box.

Shortly after Flick was released from the box, he would complete the Gordie Howe hat trick, assisting on a goal from Paradis. Svendsen poked the puck out to center ice as Flick tracked it down and carried it deep into the Aeros’ zone. Paradis followed behind in the center of the ice, and Flick made a quick stop, turned around just in time to see Paradis in the middle of the offensive zone, and Flick fed the puck over to Paradis, who made good on the tape-to-tape pass, putting Rockford up 3-1 with 7:30 left to play.

Paradis would notch his second goal of the game, an empty-net goal, with 2:27 left in the game, for his first multi-goal game, icing the win for Rockford 4-1, completing a weekend sweep of the Aeros.

Sunday, March 25, Rockford would play their third game in as many days against the division rival Milwaukee Admirals at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Rockford, and Hutton, have Milwaukee’s number so far this year, with both Hutton and Rockford going 8-1-0-0 this season. After Sunday’s game, that record would be increased to 9-1-0-0 as Rockford took home a 3-2 shootout win against the Admirals, their second shootout win in Milwaukee this season.

Wade Brookbank, who missed Saturday’s game to welcome his newborn son to the world, scored his first goal of the season — and his first goal in more than a year — 8:04 into the first period. Flick and Paradis assisted on the goal, continuing their hot play from the previous night’s game.

Ryan Thang tied the game up with under a minute left to play in the first period.

The second period started with Beach tallying his fourth goal of the season — and his first since returning to the lineup the previous night — with Broadhurst earning his first professional point with the secondary assist on the go-ahead goal.

With time winding down in the final frame, Milwaukee pulled goaltender Atte Engren in favor of the extra attacker. The sixth skater made the difference, and Brodie Dupont netted his fourth marker of the season with 32 seconds left in regulation to knot the game at 2-2.

A cautious overtime period showed only one shot on net, and after 5 minutes of tied hockey, the shootout would decide who would take home the second point. Paradis and Olesz would score for Rockford, and Hutton allowed one goal from Kyle Wilson, as Rockford won in the shootout 2-1, giving Rockford the extra point, and their third win in three games.

Keys for the week:

1. Lower lines scoring points — You tend to expect your top two lines to do your scoring for you, and when your lower lines score, it takes some pressure off your scoring lines. Rockford’s line of Flick, Paradis and Svendsen (as well as Brookbank on Sunday) did exactly that, and played a big role in Rockford’s Saturday and Sunday victories.

2. Big-name players returning to the lineup — Pirri and Beach both made their return to the lineup this week after missing some time (over half the season, in Beach’s case), and both contributed on the scoreboard this weekend. Also, what isn’t seen is the boost it gives the rest of the team on and off the ice in confidence.

Looking forward:

With only eight games remaining in the regular season for Rockford, the ’Hogs will be fighting for a spot in the playoffs, as all remaining games are played against divisional opponents who are ahead of Rockford in the standings. Rockford will play their last set of three games in three days this week with games Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 30-April 1. Friday’s game is the last game of the season against the Peoria Rivermen, a 7:05 p.m. game at the BMO Harris Bank Center, and Saturday’s game at home has the San Antonio Rampage coming to town. The ’Hogs will then head back up to Milwaukee for the final time this season and take on the Admirals for a 3 p.m. game Sunday, April 1.

From the March 28-April 3, 2012, issue

Rockford Auburn’s Fred Van Vleet averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists at the IHSA Class 4A State Finals.

This is after averaging 21 points and nearly 8 assists all season, and after becoming the all-time leading scorer in Rockford Public School history as a point guard, and after leading a group of Rockford players on a barnstorming tour around the country this summer, beating the top talent all over.

He scored more points than anyone down state this year, and averaged closer to 25 points per game during the playoffs while leading his undersized team to a surprise appearance down state.

At least, it was a surprise to everyone but those in town, who expected not only the trip, but also a championship. Despite all of that, however, Rockford natives received a surprise of their own.

When the 2012 Illinois Mr. Basketball was announced last week, Van Vleet’s name was nowhere to be found. Balloting allows votes for three players, and while only one is the winner, they do announce the top three finishers.

And in those three, there was no room for the best performer at the state tournament.

The winner was no surprise, Chicago Simeon’s Jabari Parker, generally regarded as the top prospect in the country and a likely future NBA lottery pick.

Second place was Proviso East’s Keith Carter, whose team did beat Van Vleet’s team twice, though you could argue Van Vleet outplayed his counterpart.

Third was North Chicago’s Aaron Simpson, a good point guard who did lead his team to the state finals. His numbers are similar to Van Vleet’s, but his team was also smashed twice by a Gurnee Warren team that Van Vleet dropped 27 on in a win.

What is even more shocking is the lack of votes for Van Vleet. While ballots are not released, it appears as though the senior heading to Wichita State had little to no support outside of the immediate area.

It is hard to say why that is. He had exposure this summer with his AAU team playing on ESPN networks several times.

And while Auburn, and all Rockford schools, have limited, if any, budget to promote themselves, they did broadcast some games online this year. That means voters could have found footage to watch if they had questions.

And most voters were down state to watch his performance.

The meaning of all this is that, again, the Chicago area has found a way to minimize the efforts of someone out of their reach. It is not only a Rockford-area problem, but with our athletic programs rising, it is a problem here.

The lack of recognition hurts this area. It certainly hurts a hard-working kid who earned the recognition and still didn’t receive it. But it will only drive Van Vleet to continue proving people wrong while at Wichita State.

Where it really hurts is some of the other kids in the area and their futures. What about some of the good players who have college potential but may have to compete at lower levels because colleges never hear of these players?

There will be other good players to come around, but Van Vleet is likely a once-in-a-decade-type player. But what about the next really good player who just may be worthy of that recognition as well? If things don’t change, that player will likely be left in the dark as well.

The answers are unknown about how to fix this problem. Chicago is such a large area and has what appears to be an infinite number of media outlets to help hype their kids.

But it is hoped, with a run of state titles this year and more young talent on the rise, people outside of Rockford will be left with no choice but to recognize the young athletes in this area.

From the March 28-April 3, 2012, issue

It’s been almost two-and-a-half years — 923 days, to be exact — since Tiger Woods last won a PGA Tour event. That streak came to a screeching halt last Sunday (March 25) when Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Fla. It was a record-setting seventh time he’s won that tournament.

It was only two weeks ago that Woods was taken off Doral in the middle of the final round with tightness in his left Achilles tendon, the same injury that caused him to miss three months last year, including two majors. That injury raised several questions about when he would be able to play again.

It turned out to be just a mild strain, and Sunday was the eighth-straight day Woods played golf — starting with a practice round a week ago at Augusta. Now, the only question is, will he be able to rule the sport of golf like he once did?

We might get an answer to that question sooner than later. Woods is scheduled to compete at Augusta when the Masters Tournament gets under way April 5. He will be looking to end a four-year drought at the Masters. He will also be going for his 15th major title. That would put him just three short of his goal of surpassing the all-time record set by Jack Nicklaus.

He entered the fourth round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in a familiar position: leading. This was the 38th time in 40 attempts he’s won a tournament when he’s held the lead going into the final round. “He was a man on a mission today,” caddie Joe LaCava said. “He was pretty jacked up. He was out there to prove himself.”

“I am excited, no doubt,” Woods said following Sunday’s win. “I’m looking forward to the momentum I’ve built here.” It was the first time Woods had all four rounds under par since the 2010 Masters. “It does feel good. It feels really good,” Woods said before signing his card. “It’s been a lot of hard work.”

His closing-round 2-under par-70 gave him a five-shot win over runner-up Graeme McDowell.

With Woods’ recent resurgence, it should make this year’s Masters Tournament all the more exciting. Hurry up, April 5!

From the March 28-April 3, 2012, issue

Including tomorrow (Thursday, March 29) night’s home game against their long-time rival the St. Louis Blues, the Chicago Blackhawks only have five regular-season games left before the NHL playoffs begin. This Saturday night, March 31, they close out the month of March when they travel to Nashville, Tenn., to take on the Predators.

Two of their final three games of the regular season are against the Minnesota Wild. They face them at home Sunday night, April 1, and then again Thursday night, April 5, in Minnesota. The Blackhawks will close out the 2011-12 regular season against the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night, April 7.

At press time, Chicago was in sixth place in the Western Conference with 92 points, 2 behind fifth-place Nashville. Detroit is in fourth place with 95 points. St. Louis leads the conference with 101 points.

Stanley Cup playoff tickets are on sale. Fans can get single-game tickets for the first two rounds of the playoffs, available for purchase exclusively at ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.

Each customer will be limited to four total tickets. Refunds for any unplayed playoff games will be available at the point of purchase. In that event, the credit card used to purchase tickets by fans using the Internet or phone will be automatically credited, less any applicable processing fee.

Tickets for the round one games range in price from $44 each for standing room only all the way up to $485 for 100-level platinum. Round two tickets also start at $44 to stand and watch and go up to $510 to sit next to the glass.

Each round is a best-of-seven series with a maximum of four home games per round. United Center home games in each round are designated as Games A-D. The first home game of Round 1 is designated as Game A of the Conference Quarterfinals.

For the first three rounds, the higher-seeded team has home-ice advantage (regardless of point record). In the Stanley Cup Finals, home-ice advantage goes to the team with the better regular-season record. The team with home-ice advantage hosts games 1, 2, 5 and 7 of the series, while the opponent hosts games 3, 4 and 6 of the series (games 5-7 are played “if necessary”).

The Blackhawks last won the Stanley Cup in 2010.

From the March 28-April 3, 2012, issue

The Rockford Chariots wheelchair basketball team. (Photo provided)

Staff Report

DEKALB, Ill. — The Rockford Chariots will square off against the Chicago Hornets in a wheelchair basketball game scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 5, at the Northern Illinois University (NIU) Recreation Center.

Admission and parking are free. The event marks the second consecutive year a wheelchair hoops game has been sponsored by NIU’s Presidential Commission on Persons with Disabilities and two units of NIU’s Division of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management: the Center for Access-Ability Resources and Housing & Dining.

“The event is open to the community, it’s free of charge, it’s entertaining, and it provides an opportunity to recognize and conquer some of the attitudinal barriers that persist about people with disabilities,” said Michael Kavulic, member of the Presidential Commission on Persons with Disabilities and lead organizer for the event.

Both the Rockford Chariots and Chicago Hornets are affiliated with the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (http://www.nwba.org/), which is composed of more than 200 basketball teams in 22 conferences and seven divisions. It was founded in 1948, and today consists of men’s, women’s, intercollegiate and youth teams throughout the United States and Canada.

“Last year’s game was fantastic, and so it just makes sense to bring the event back to NIU,” said Greg Long, chairman of the Presidential Commission on Persons with Disabilities.

“The game provides a great opportunity to see these individuals as athletes,” he added. “The competition should be fierce. People who have disabilities are no different than anyone else. Their disabilities are just attributes, they don’t define the person.”

The event will also feature prizes, contests, live entertainment, a raffle drawing and a sing and sign performance of the national anthem.

For more information, contact Kavulic at (815) 753-7407 or e-mail mkavulic@niu.edu.

From the March 28-April 3, 2012, issue

LOVES PARK, Ill. — Volcano Falls Adventure Park has joined with the Rock Valley College (RVC) baseball team to host a youth baseball clinic Saturday, March 31.

The cost for the clinic is $40, which includes hitting and fielding instruction by the RVC baseball team, two attraction tickets, 20 batting cage tokens, two slices of pizza and a small soda for each participant. Two sessions will be from 10 a.m. to noon and from noon to 2 p.m. A rain date is planned for Saturday, April 21.

To register, call (815) 282-2100 or e-mail volcano.falls@yahoo.com. A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the RVC baseball program.

Volcano Falls, 7602 Rock Valley Pkwy., is open for the early spring on Fridays from 3 to 8 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 8 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 8 p.m., weather permitting. Hours will later be expanded to seven days a week..

Volcano Falls features two miniature golf courses, two go-kart tracks, batting cages, soccer cages, an indoor laser tag course and an arcade. Visit Volcano Falls on the web at volcanofalls.com or on Facebook. Call (815) 282-2100 to book groups or birthday parties.

From the March 28-April 3, 2012, issue