Senior Mackenzie Powers believes that in addition to talent and hard work, attitude is a big reason why Rosary has made it a habit of winning the IHSA girls state swimming championship. The Beads took their fourth straight title Saturday, easily outdistancing the competition with 177 points to 129 for second-place host New Trier. Fenwick won third place.

In a Hoop Happenings tournament semifinal win over Elmwood Park, Batavia senior Sara Fruendt was off her game, hobbled from a quadricep injury. It was Batavia's fullcourt press that was the difference in the win.
Here's a scary thought for rival Upstate Eight Conference basketball coaches: He's back and he's better. Much better. Beacon-News Player of the Year Ryan Boatright returns for his junior year at point guard for East Aurora after averaging 17.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists for last year's 20-8 team.
Brittany Collier poured in 22 points and teammate Samiya Wright added 15 as the Panthers won at the Geneva Thanksgiving Tournament.
Jay Cutler seems to have found a way to keep his bad games from following one another, and while he has struggled in prime time, none of his stinkers have come at Soldier Field. Basketball is a game of runs and momentum swings, but the Bulls and Denver Nuggets took it to ridiculous extremes Saturday night in the Pepsi Center. After controlling much of the first half and leading by 14 points, the Bulls fell apart in the fourth quarter in suffering a 112-93 loss. That first matchup between Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet -- the Blackhawks' well-paid goaltending tandem of last season -- still hasn't materialized. Only Huet played Saturday as the Hawks took a 5-2 win over Khabibulin's Edmonton Oilers in the second game of their six-game road trip. The Hawks are 2-0 on their journey, which resumes tonight at Vancouver.

CHAMPAIGN -- Now the season officially has started at Illinois: Bruce Weber brought out his first message hook for enigmatic playmaker Demetri McCamey in No. 23 Illinois' 94-48 rout of Presbyterian on Saturday.

ATHENS, Ohio -- It looked like all Northern Illinois' potent offense needed was one final at-bat to pull off a come-from-behind victory in a wild-and-wooly affair with Ohio on Saturday. But the Huskies failed twice in the final five minutes to seal their fate in a 38-31 loss in a Mid-American Conference crossover.

Arms locked with his players, emotions anything but in check, Charlie Weis walked onto the field at Notre Dame Stadium for what certainly will be the last time as Irish coach. ''Just us being behind coach Weis 110 percent,'' quarterback and captain Jimmy Clausen said of the idea he and other team leaders devised.

Barring a total collapse today, Jimmie Johnson will become the first NASCAR driver to win four consecutive championships. Johnson will take a 108-point lead over Mark Martin into the NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale -- the Ford 400 (2:15 p.m., Ch. 7, 99.5-FM) -- at Homestead-Miami Speedway.