The freshman basketball team I played on won a game. As in one.
We won another one as sophomores, or maybe that was JV the following year. It was a long time ago and the memory is fading. I haven’t dreamt about it in at least a few months.
All the losing was difficult, especially the crap we had to endure from the wrestlers who embraced their sport only after they realized they couldn’t hoop a lick.
At least we didn’t have to see all those losses in something called a newspaper — which was quite popular in our culture at the time — and there was no social media to draw attention to our failings.
This is why I’m more than a little conflicted in drawing attention to the football game between Joliet Central and Plainfield Central at 1 p.m. Saturday in Joliet.
Plainfield Central has lost its past 32 games since clinching a playoff berth with a victory in Week 7 of the 2012 season.
Joliet Central has lost 71 straight since early in the 2008 season, including an 0-57 mark since Joliets West and Central split again in 2010.
The upshot is the feeling that will permeate in one of their locker rooms late Saturday afternoon. We celebrated like we won the NBA title, minus the champagne and shirts-off parade.
Plainfield Central-Joliet Central is symbolic of Week 4 throughout the area. A week after three clashes of Top 10 teams, there isn’t a single game between ranked teams.
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This wouldn’t be a Sometimes Weekly Picks Blog without the picks, though, and there won’t be one forthcoming on the game featured above. I just hope it doesn’t somehow end in a tie.
No. 8 Palatine (3-0) at New Trier (2-1): How about the MSL West dominating the CSL South in the first of two weeks of crossovers between leagues that are similar in makeup, school size and demographics? They’re close enough geographically too. The North Suburban whatever-you-call-it-now Conference shares those similarities as well. Why don’t the three leagues just merge for football and take care of their scheduling issues once and for all? Why don’t we see more such superconferences in the Chicago area as complaints about scheduling reach a fever pitch? I’ve asked this very question to many coaches and administrators in recent years, and I haven’t received a good answer yet. The rigid folks resisting change will probably scream the loudest when the IHSA has to invariably step in and blow up the conference structure altogether. Driving a few extra miles to a game a few times a year will seem like a pretty good alternative then. Palatine 34, New Trier 24.
No. 5 Lincoln-Way East (2-1) at Bolingbrook (2-1): Talent-wise, this is probably the best game on the board. I’m not going to break it down, because I’ve worked myself into a lather and I’m not done. The 13-team, one-division Southwest Suburban has sort of become a ridiculous conference. You have three elite programs in these two and No. 3 Homewood-Flossmoor, you have some big schools that field competitive teams and you have some who simply can’t compete. I’m told the latter group has looked around but has nowhere to go, but I still can’t see how this conference remains intact. How about a merger with the Southwest Prairie? Why not get the DuPage Valley involved? The Upstate Eight seems stable now, but invite them too. The bigger the conference, the more opportunity to get schools of similar size, demographics and ability on the field with one another. The power programs could stop looking to Indiana and Michigan and Ohio and Wisconsin to fill out their schedules. The lesser programs wouldn’t have to play nearly as many games that are over before they start. Why doesn’t this happen again? L-W East 28, Bolingbrook 14.
No. 19 Marist (2-1) vs. Marian Central (2-1): So here’s my favorite example of pigheadedness, the East Suburban Catholic Conference. Not the whole league, mind you. The coaches of these two teams, Marist’s Pat Dunne and Marian’s Mike Maloney, are really bright guys and very good football coaches. Some of the old guard in this league … you get the point. Before the Catholic League expanded to four divisions, forcing smaller schools into crossover games against the big bad Catholic Blue, I’ve been told that the CCL would have been open to merging with the ESCC. I’ve also been told by multiple excellent sources that some bad blood over old grudges prevented that from happening. Enrollment among ESCC schools varies from 1,039 to 2,689, and while most of the teams are competitive, not all nine can keep up. I just don’t see the downside to merging and getting those who can’t match up in divisions with similar programs. From a private school perspective, there is a bigger fish to fry — the public schools that may try to force the IHSA to hold separate public and private playoffs. If the enemy of your enemy is your friend, it’s time to let go of old grudges and band together. Marist 31, Marian Central 14.