Peter Kelly

UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma recently sparked an interesting debate when he suggested that rims be lowered by seven inches in women’s basketball. Auriemma has both critics and supporters on this issue. DePaul head coach Doug Bruno said that not only is he in favor of this idea, he tried to pitch it to Auriemma years ago. “When I was suggesting it, he would argue with me ‘nah, nah, nah.’ I never realized that my discussions with him were actually swaying him,” said Bruno.

Without live sports during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Last Dance was a lifeline for spectators across the globe. While millions were gearing up for the final two episodes of the 10-part docuseries about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty of the 90’s, ESPN Senior Manager of Social Media Amanda Anderson was hard at work behind the scenes. Like the majority of viewers, Anderson can only dream of reaching the athletic pinnacle that Jordan and the Bulls did. But that hasn’t stopped her from finding her own piece of sports glory. Her championship moments take place on marathon race day.

John Jaeger never considered himself a runner. But in 2009, in his late 30’s, a friend convinced John to run a mile with him. He didn’t know it then, but John was taking the first steps on what has become a journey of thousands of miles.

Many athletes have a mindset that playing through injuries makes you tougher. Brett Favre, for example, was placed on a pedestal for his record of consecutive games started in a sport known for gruesome injuries. But concussions are a different story. Even Favre sat out the last game of his battle-tested career with a concussion. He is one of the countless athletes whose career and life have been altered by brain trauma.

On a night that capped off an historic stretch of sub-zero temperatures, a proud tradition burned bright at Mercy Home. Now one of the most anticipated evenings of the year for our kids, we kicked off the 28th season of Hoops to Homework with a festive NBA-style draft.

In the spring of 2018 I created content for the St. Patrick Shamrocks varsity baseball team throughout their season as part of a class project.

Last year’s Shamrock freshmen baseball team set the school record for conference winning percentage. This year, with 10 sophomores on the varsity team, they are growing through tougher competition.

It’s 4:30 a.m. on Father’s Day, and Will Smith is already dressed in his green and white Mercy Home Heroes singlet. In the pitch dark, he prepares to hit the road before the relentless Arizona sun awakens. He isn’t just heading out for a quick jog – he’s going 26.2 miles – the last leg of a four-day running binge. It’s his own version of the Disney Dopey Challenge, and he’s dedicated it to raising money for the kids at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls.

Wild. The seventh inning of Wednesday’s decisive game five between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers was the definition of wild. It was the perfect storm of pressure, energy, controversy, tragedy and heroism—all amounting to a moment in baseball history that will never be forgotten.

The journey toward 26.2 miles isn’t easy. It requires dedication, persistence and perseverance. Each Mercy Home Hero has their own reason for taking it on. For Emily Vaupel, it isn’t just her passion for running – it’s the mission of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls – a mission she understands quite well.

It was a hot day at the ballpark on August 2 when BUILD celebrated its 40th edition of the Peace League Softball All-Star Game. The tradition lived on at Little Cubs Field in Humboldt Park this year and served as the culmination of BUILD’s summer long softball league, known as the Donna Dudley Peace Project. The Peace Project provides an opportunity for at-risk youth to use sports as a way to socialize, avoid negative influences and build self-esteem throughout the summer.

This was it. This was exactly it. The feeling of sick to your stomach, is this really happening again, and why us had showed its ugly face once more. A picture-perfect first half set hopes sky high at U.S Bank Stadium. Just don’t make big mistakes in the second half, and this should be ours. Then, the pressure crept in. There was no way this game would ever be won without any pressure; situations that would necessitate big throws and big stops. And when the pressure came, things began to unravel, as they unfortunately seem to do time and again.

The Timberwolves all-time starting five might not beat the all-time Lakers or the all-time Bulls, and Shaq and Scottie probably would waste little breath if Kevin Garnett threw in any jabs on Twitter. In fact, the all-time Wolves probably wouldn’t win against very many, if any all-time teams. But for the sake of argument, who might comprise this team? If there was a Wolves reunion game at Target Center, who would be selected to start? Measuring players not by what they did in their time in Minnesota, but overall body of work, heres how it would go.