UPDATE: Sandburg's Chris Pajak is Patch MVP

Sandburg wrestling standout Chris Pajak outpolled seven others in voting for Southland Patch MVP, Feb. 18-24. He is now eligible for Patch Athlete of the Month honors.

Your Patch is a place to celebrate local high school athletes. Show your support for these prep sports MVPs—each of whom is Athlete of the Week in his or her local Patch—by cheering them on in the comments thread, sharing your own photos with the Patch community and voting in the poll. Do you think we're missing someone? Tell us in the comments and share his or her photo to the gallery above. (It's easy. Just click the Upload Photos and Videos link — learn more here.) Read more about this week's MVPs in the photo gallery, and show your support for them by: There is one more way for you to become a more interactive fan: Sign up to become a Patch sports blogger. (Learn more about blogging on Patch here).

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Live Basketball: Marist vs. Bishop McNamara

Watch the Marist Redhawks live on Patch tonight at 7 p.m.

Marist (12-7) takes on Bishop McNamara (11-6) starting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 29.  You can watch all the action live right here on Patch. If you miss the game, come back to watch the full replay at anytime.  Watch More Live Basketball:

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Marist and Sandburg Claim Spots in Patch Basketball Power Rankings

Top-ranked Bloom faces No. 4 Sandburg in a battle for the Class 4A Joliet Central Regional championship tonight. Andrew, Marist and Homewood-Flossmoor also will be playing for regional titles.

1. Bloom (24-3): Donald Moore battled back after being called for a technical foul and led the Blazing Trojans to a 41-37 victory over upstart Thornton Fractional North. Moore made 11-of-13 free throws and scored a game-high 15 points. Bloom faces Sandburg in the Class 4A Joliet Central Regional championship game at 7:30 tonight. 2. Andrew (24-2): The Adekoya brothers helped the T-Bolts set up a bit of March Madness. Jubril Adekoya scored 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in a 54-37 victory over Lincoln-Way Central. Jawad Adekoya added 12 points and six rebounds. Andrew faces Marian Catholic at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Thunderdome. 3. Marist (24-5): L.J. McIntosh was the McHero in the Battle on Pulaski. McIntosh erupted for 30 points …

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Bloom Stands at No. 1 as Defense Never Rests

Blazing Trojans maintain their grip on the Patch Power Rankings top spot, but H-F, Marist and Brother Rice are also riding high with recent victories.

1. Bloom Township (6-0): The Blazing Trojans put their defensive prowess on full display in Tuesday’s 49-38 win at Thornwood. Henry Hicks, a 6-foot-2 junior, is among Bloom’s defensive standouts, and he’s not too shabby on the offensive end, either. Point guard Donald Moore is a driving force. 2. Homewood-Flossmoor (5-1): The Vikings have bounced back after losing to Bloom on Thanksgiving weekend, earning victories over Joliet West and Morgan Park and Rich Central. 3. Marist (4-0): The RedHawks have two of the top underclassmen in the area in Lexus Williams and Nic Weishar. Williams scored 26 points and Weishar netted 23 in the RedHawks’ 74-71 victory over St. Rita on Tuesday night. 4. Andrew (4-0): The Thunderbolts end a week-long layoff …

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Boys Basketball: Loeding Leads Oak Forest Past Shepard

Tim Loeding pours in 27 points as the host Bengals pull away from the Astros.

Stagg Summer Basketball Shootout is a Consistent Winner

Yes, it's June. Yes, the Chargers are hosting the state's largest boys basketball summer shootout. No, nobody is keeling over from the heat and humidity in the gym.

When you think about basketball in the summer, you think about driveway hoops or playground ball. Perhaps the NBA finals. But, usually, you don't think about high school basketball. But, for the 16th straight year, Stagg High School is the site of a 32-team summer boys basketball shootout. The idea is to give the boys and the teams a jumpstart on the competition as they begin preparations for the 2011-2012 season. It is a little known fact, but according to Stagg basketball coach John Daniels, the Stagg Shootout is the largest in Illinois. And it's also the coolest, literally, with 32 teams participating in air-contiditioned gyms. "It's a great fundraiser for the school and for the basketball program," Daniels said. "This way, the kids don…

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Weekly Sportscast: McLegends Basketball, Baseball and Softball Unbeatens, L-Way North Signings & More

An all-star team of high school boys showed up their professional counterparts in the annual McDonald's McLegends basketball game.

Thornton's Jeremy Parker scored a team-high 21 points and Homewood-Flossmoor's Julian Lewis chipped in 17 as the high school boys downed their professional counterparts 123-122 in overtime at the annual McDonald's McLegends game. The Legends team featured household NFL names like Antwaan Randle El and Rodney Harrison testing their skills in a game of basketball. For more on the story, click here. Brandon Magallones fired a two-hitter and struck out 12 in Providence's 9-1 baseball victory over Marian Catholic. For more on the story, click here. Providence remains unbeaten and rates No. 1 in our Patch Baseball Power Rankings. To view the rankings, click here. Stagg is 15-0 and rates No. 1 in our Patch Softball Power Rankings. To view the …

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PatchCast: A Daily Video Report

Daily PatchCast: Ice Lawsuit, Facebook Fake and Baby Surprise

A daily video recap of the Southland's top stories

Tinley Ice and Teehan Family Named in Anti-Trust Suit Oh, Baby! Local Woman Didn't Know She Was Pregnant Village Administrators: Facebook Page 'Not Authorized' Boys Basketball: Homewood-Flossmoor Falls Short against Crete-Monee

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Hoops: These Boys are Flying High

Sports Editor Ron Kremer ranks the region's top boys basketball teams from 1-5, plus the five knocking on the door.

1. Homewood-Flossmoor (22-5): Tim Williams, a 6-7 junior forward, looks more and more like his old self every time out. He returned from an ankle injury recently to give the Vikings a bigger presence in the lane. When opponents collapse on him, H-F has more room to operate on the perimeter. The Vikings hit 9-of-16 three-pointers through the first three quarters in a 66-34 victory over Marian Catholic. Next: Tonight vs. Plainfield Central in Class 4A Plainfield Central Regional title game. 2. Bloom (16-10): The Blazing Trojans’ season has played out like a roller-coaster ride. One day, they’re up. The next day, they’re down. Junior guard Donald Moore led the latest uptick. He scored 12 points, had three assists and three steals in a 41-34 …

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Analysis: Marist's Streaky Shooting Looms Large in Season-Ending Loss

Apart from a run late in the first quarter and midway through the second, the Redhawks struggled with erratic shooting in their regional semifinal defeat.

Marist’s success during the season had been contingent on consistent shooting, defensive pressure and scoring points off turnovers.  The Redhawks put all three of those concepts to good use in Wednesday night’s Hinsdale South Regional semifinal game, after falling behind 18-3 early in the first quarter to the host Hornets. The Redhawks went on a 9-2 run in the final two minutes to cut the lead to 20-12 and a 12-2 run to start the second quarter before Hornets coach Vince Doran called a timeout.  Redhawks guard Lexus Williams led the charge during Marist’s 21-point stretch, scoring seven of the team’s points. On defense, Williams and guards L.J. McIntosh and Paul Simmons forced seven first-half steals against the Hornets guards by playing …

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