Sports
Neumann-Goretti’s hoops dynasty continues
South Philly’s Saints defeat Montour in AAA state championship By John KnebelsSports Columnist The next time SS. John Neumann and Maria Goretti High School won’t be favored to win the boys Catholic League basketball championship might not be for quite a while. Considering their annual competition, that’s quite a compliment. But what else could one […]
Villa Maria wins state swimming title
By John KnebelsSports Columnist It’s well known that swimming is a year-round sport. So it shouldn’t be surprising that, while spring sports have been practicing (and in a few cases, already competing) for about a month already, there are many swimmers who have remained focused on adding yet another trinket to their burgeoning trophy case. […]
Sacred Heart’s Hannah Rush scores 1,000
By John KnebelsSports Columnist Given her preference, Hannah Rush would rather pass the ball than shoot it. So after the senior from the Country Day School of the Sacred Heart on March 12 became the second player in the history of the school to amass 1,000 career points, it probably caught many people by surprise. […]
La Salle stuns Malvern in OT, wins Flyers Cup
By John KnebelsSports Columnist There was no better way to win, so it stands to reason that there was no worse way to lose. Years from now, the enormous disparity of positive-versus-negative recall will probably still remain the way La Salle and Malvern Prep’s ice hockey teams felt after the Flyers’ Cup concluded March 7 […]
PIAA basketball: Nine from Archdiocese get through first round
John KnebelsSports Columnist When local basketball teams play schools with names you never heard of and travel to places miles away from their comfort zone, it can only mean one thing. The PIAAs have arrived. Like the NCAA’s March Madness, the PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) schedules both boys and girls from classifications ranging from […]
St. Bernadette, St. Andrew tops in CYO play
John KnebelsSports Columnist Upon first inspection, some might have thought they had mistakenly entered a Bon Jovi concert. The music was loud, the people were yelling. Many of the ones seated had to stand because those who had nowhere to sit were straining to find a good place to see the floor. But alas, it […]
CYO coach retires after 40 faithful years
John KnebelsSports Columnist In Frank Capra’s holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life,” heroic character George Bailey is given a remarkable gift – the chance to see what the world would have been like had he never been born. Like actor Jimmy Stewart’s famous alter ego, if Tom Flaherty had never been born, innumerable people would […]
Neumann-Goretti making history
3rd straight undefeated seasonJohn KnebelsSports Columnist SS. Neumann-Goretti’s basketball team has come and been replaced by … nobody. And since all but one of their standout players are underclassmen, one gets the distinct feeling that the Saints won’t be replaced by anyone else anytime soon. Despite clanking free throw after free throw to keep its […]
Wood girls grab league crown
John KnebelsSports Columnist Relief was a major part of it. So was pride. But according to the players and coaches that celebrated Archbishop Wood’s Catholic League basketball championship victory over Archbishop Carroll Monday night at the Palestra, the overriding feeling that accompanied the school’s first league title since 1982 was joy. Pure, unbridled joy. “It […]
St. Hubert wins first indoor title
By John KnebelsSports Columnist He just keeps getting better. Already an athlete with an impressive resume in both football and track, Cardinal O’Hara senior Tyler Gallen entered the Catholic League indoor track championship on Feb. 6 at Widener University with nothing to prove. But when you are an established athlete, motivation comes from within. “Anything […]