Several Carl Sandburg College men and women’s basketball players have announced where they will finish up their college basketball careers recently. Cody Baer was the third leading scorer, at 10.7 points per game, and leading shot-blocker for the Charger’s mens (23-10) basketball team. The 6-10 Dunlap-native will taking his talents to Division 2 Minnesota State. He also led his team in field goal percentage at nearly 60% in his only season wearing a Sandburg uniform. On the girl’s side, the leading scorer and rebounder for the (13-16) Lady Chargers, Kennedy Jackson, announced on her Twitter feed that she’s headed to Eureka College. The 5-10 Jackson from Limestone was named the Arrowhead Conference’s MVP after averaging 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest this past season after starting all 29 games. Also committing to a 4-year school recently was Hailey Lovetinsky (love-TIN-skee). She will take the floor this coming winter for Kansas Wesleyan. Lovetinsky is originally from the state of Kansas, playing her high school ball at Spring Hill. She average 10.8 points for the Lady Chargers this past season, good enough for 2nd on the team. The sharp-shooter also nailed just under 34% of her 3-point shots, as well.
Speaking of Carl Sandburg College athletics, United High School senior Courtney Hinton recently signed her letter of intent to continue her volleyball career for the Chargers. Hinton finished second on the Red Storm in blocks during her senior season. United was (31-6) overall this past fall. The Sandburg volleyball is coming off a (33-12) season in which they ended their year one match from qualifying for the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.
The New York Jets have signed veteran running back Frank Gore to a one-year contract. Now in the twilight of his career, Gore is one of the most durable and consistently productive running backs in NFL history, playing 15 seasons with four difference franchises, most recently the Buffalo Bills. Gore, who will turn 37 later this month, is a five-time Pro Bowl selection. He passed Barry Sanders on the league’s career rushing list last year and enters his 16th NFL season with 15,347 rushing yards, trailing only Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith. He’s currently 1,379 behind Payton.
Family, friends and colleagues are mourning the passing of legendary Chicago high school basketball coach Landon “Sonny” Cox. The former Chicago King coach died yesterday at the age of 81. Cox won state championships in 1986, 1990 and 1993, while winning 503 games in 20 years. A number of star athletes played for him, including Marcus Liberty, Efrem Winters, Jamie Brandon, Rashard Griffith, Imari Sawyer and Leon Smith.
