Matt Schuckman
QUINCY — The hardware Kelsey Bockenfeld has collected in the past five weeks has made her trifecta of titles complete. State champion. National champion. World champion. That’s quite a resume. The Quincy native won an American Motocross Association ATV national championship during her days racing quads, but has since found a passion and a drive…
Read Full Article Intimidating. It seems funny to say it, but that is the most apt description for how I viewed Don Crim the first time I walked into the Quincy Herald-Whig newsroom nearly 33 years ago. The sports editor’s desk, complete with stain rings from his coffee cup and an overflowing ashtray of cigarette butts, served as…
Read Full Article Blessed and spoiled. There is no more apropos description for the fall of 1982. By then, my passion for baseball and complete love for the game was complete. I was blessed to watch my favorite team and my favorite player fight their way to the National League pennant, and I was spoiled to listen to…
Read Full Article The Rock Island Alleman athletic department may finally have hit rock bottom, and it’s time for the Western Big 6 Conference to address it. Last week, the Pioneers informed the remainder of the WB6 they would not be fielding a girls softball team this spring. Dwindling numbers saw less than nine players attend the first…
Read Full Article LIBERTY, Ill. — When the two-lane state highway without a shoulder snakes past the farms and fields and reaches the eastern border of Liberty, a sign looms large on the right side of the road. “Give me Liberty” it reads, and it lists the population of this Adams County village as 600. There may be…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Steve Hawkins isn’t shy about his appreciation for quality cuisine. He is loyal to the restaurants he finds reliable and appetizing. So it came as no surprise Wednesday morning, hours before he was to be introduced as the new Quincy University men’s basketball coach, Hawkins ate breakfast at the Coach House, a longstanding…
Read Full Article CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Part of the wisdom Liberty boys basketball coach Greg Altmix has tried to impart on his players from his more than two decades on the bench is to enjoy the journey, not just the end result. So sitting in the lobby of the team hotel Thursday afternoon, while taking time to catch…
Read Full Article NORMAL, Ill. — Restless nights tend to accompany the calendar flip, when January rolls into February and high school basketball coaches worry about how to prepare for and sustain postseason success. When the nights grow shorter and sleep is a struggle in the middle of October rather than the middle of the season, something other…
Read Full Article NORMAL, Ill. — Friday morning, the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball players filed into St. Augustine Catholic Church, the quaint centerpiece of a devout congregation in their coach’s hometown of Ashland. Their mission was two-fold. Say a solemn goodbye to Mary Sue Orne, the mother of Raiders coach Eric Orne who passed away in the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The jersey slipped on perfectly. It was trim and tight where it needed to be so Mike Staff had the sleek look of a basketball player, but it was loose enough for him to be able to twist, turn and attack without feeling constricted. He only wished he could do those things, but…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Thirty-one minutes is all it took. The news of Ryan Hellenthal’s dismissal as the Quincy University men’s basketball coach broke at 10 a.m. Friday, and 31 minutes after that news hit social media, the first mention of a possible successor was posted. A plethora of posts followed. Fans in this basketball savvy community…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The clamor began as soon as Wil Wells stood up and made his way to the scorer’s table to check in to Tuesday night’s game against Rock Island Alleman. He knew it wouldn’t stop until he scored. “It’s a little bit of pressure, I have to admit,” Wells said. A senior forward on…
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