Geneva, Aurora Christian winners no matter the score
When football glory is there waiting to be grabbed and savored, it is hard to settle for second place. But Aurora Christian and Geneva have nothing to be ashamed of, having provided so much excitement all season and plenty of electricity during their championship tilts last weekend in Champaign.
Plus, let's also count this blessing: The weather was great for driving down to the University of Illinois campus and gas cost $1.59 down there. It seems the last time I paid that price for gas, I was driving on a learner's permit.
So what if Geneva played a team from East St. Louis that looked dangerous enough to take on some college teams? Geneva led at halftime, so Viking fans can say that for 13½ games, their team was the best in the state in Class 7A.
In the end, it was tremendous fun and a great experience for Aurora Christian and Geneva to play on the carpet at Memorial Stadium on Thanksgiving weekend.
It's good to know that virtually all of our local teams have programs that are solid enough to make deep runs in future state playoffs.
Lots of miles: Geneva Alderman Sam Hill put on plenty of miles even before he hopped on a fan bus Saturday morning to make the 134-mile trip to Champaign to see the Geneva Vikings play in the state championship.
Hill competed in the 60-and-older division of the Schaumburg Park District Triathlon - and, like his favorite football team, settled for second place.
"I lost to a 60-year-old kid," said Hill, who just turned 73. "I will have to take a run at beating him next year."
Hill swam 6½ 25-yard laps in 10 minutes, rode a stationary bike for seven miles in 15 minutes and then finished with a 1.15-mile walk in 15 minutes on a treadmill.
"I've done better than that," Hill said. "But I think I was getting kind of pooped."
Time in the air: The many hockey fans in this area have renewed interest, now that the Chicago Blackhawks are playing well again.
They'll find this note interesting, thought it might cause jet lag when reading about a player on the Hawks' Rockford Icehogs minor-league team.
In working his way through the hockey ranks to get called up by the Icehogs, Mike Radja of Yorkville logged 11,092 miles over a two-week period by visiting eight different cities in seven different states.
Playing for the Fresno Falcons at the time of his call-up to the Icehogs, Radja was on the road in California, then Alaska, Arizona, and Boise, Idaho. After the call-up, he went to Peoria, Ill., and then on a road trip to Virginia.
Now that's racking up frequent flier miles.
More TV exposure: The staff of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" fell in love with Geneva's Christmas Walk last year, so which TV talk show host is going to stop by this weekend?
Should we shake things up and invite Jerry Springer this year?
No matter who comes or goes, Geneva's Christmas Walk remains a favorite for holiday revelers throughout the area.