The dismantling of SportsChannel Chicago by its new corporateowner, Fox Sports Net, sent shock waves of concern all the way to theIllinois High School Assocation's headquarters in Bloomington.
Will locally produced programming, specifically the live Fridayand Saturday telecasts of the state football and basketballchampionships, be pre-empted and rescheduled as late-night tapedreplays in favor of more national professional and college eventsprescribed by network honchos in Los Angeles?
Not to worry, says Rex Lardner, SportsChannel's vice presidentof programming."The Fox situation won't preclude our existing contract with theIHSA," Lardner said. "The live football and basketball coverage onSaturday will go ahead as scheduled. There will be nopre-emptions."Lardner said he will know more about Fox's intentions when thestation becomes Fox Sports Chicago on or around Oct. 1. Fox alreadyhas added a Thursday night baseball game of the week to localprogramming, and it is anticipated that time will be cleared forcollege football and basketball in the fall and winter."It remains to be seen what we can do and can't do based onexisting contracts," Lardner said. "It is too early to tell what Foxis going to do. But it shouldn't affect anything we do with highschools."According to the IHSA contract, SportsChannel or Fox has agreedto produce the state football and basketball tournaments for the nextthree years. The IHSA expects live coverage."We have no reason to believe they won't deliver on what weagreed to," IHSA executive director Dave Fry said. "They know theywere buying into the package as an obligation. We will certainlyfind out what is going on, what effect the new management will haveon our tournament programs."RANGE RECRUITING: Before the July evaluation period, Galesburgbasketball star Joey Range was leaning toward attending a collegeclose to home - Illinois, Bradley, Illinois State or Iowa.His reasoning was sound. He is one of nine children and healready has a child of his own. Family is important to him.But since July, when the 6-6 senior emerged as one of the top 15prospects in the nation (No. 13 according to scout Bob Gibbons ofLenoir, N.C.), his horizons and opportunities have widened.Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio State and Indiana have offeredscholarships. Minnesota is interested, too. Others are trying toget in the door."A lot more doors have opened," Galesburg coach Mike Millersaid. "It still will come down to whom he feels comfortable with.Joey is a kid who realizes that basketball will work out for him, nomatter where he goes. He wants to find people who care about himmore as a person than a basketball player."NETTLES UPDATE: Young's Marcus Nettles, one of the leadingbaseball prospects in the Chicago area, completed a successful summerof competition in the recent Area Code Games in San Diego. He went3-for-10 in a field that included most of the top junior players inthe nation.Nettles, who also attracted the attention of major-league scoutsin the Team One competition in June in Sarasota, Fla., said he stillis leaning to enrolling in college after graduation. His listincludes Miami (Fla.), Texas, Stanford, Northwestern, Cincinnati,Purdue, Tulane, Illinois-Chicago, Notre Dame, California, SouthFlorida and North Carolina.Last spring, the 5-11, 178-pound center fielder batted .596 andstole 45 bases in 45 attempts. He had 54 hits in a 17-9 season."Scouts say my speed (3.6 seconds to first base) could take me along way," Nettles said.QUOTE: Riverside-Brookfield coach Otto Zeman on running backEric Bava, a 5-10, 180-pounder who rushed for 1,600 yards last seasonwhile leading the 10-2 Bulldogs to the Class 4A quarterfinals:"College coaches are concerned about his size. But he is agreat special-teams player - wide receiver, defensive back, punt andkickoff returner. He changes directions so naturally, soinstinctively. Last year, he returned three kickoffs for touchdowns.He is a threat every time the ball is in the air."LEMMING LETTER: Chicago-based scout Tom Lemming's Prep FootballReport, which includes three magazines, three newsletters and a200-page preview of the top 1,000 prospects in the nation, is beingmailed.To subscribe, write to Lemming at Box 59113, Schaumburg, IL60159. For the latest in recruiting information, call Lemming at(900) 860-9888.SUMMER SIZZLERS: Gordon Tech's basketball team recentlycompleted a successful summer in which the Rams won the 10-team Benetshootout and the 12-team Reebok/Gordon Tech summer league andfinished third in the Illinois team camp. Hodges Smith, a 6-footjunior guard, was named playoff MVP and defensive player of the weekin the NBA division of the Five-Star camp in Pittsburgh. And 6-2sophomore guard Jitim Young was named MVP of the developmental leagueat the Five-Star camp.CORRECTION: Twin basketball players Lavon and Tyrone Drakes havedecided to remain at Hales Franciscan rather than transfer.
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