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A 12 - PAGE 20 - PLAINDEALKR-HERALD, WEDNESDAY. APRIL 17. l!W5 m - W "•-y.&:.... >r . i;, ." r»-*r iT r ' ̂ a X iJwy »aSM iSP Plaindealer-Herald pholo by Chrl» Juzwik McHenry's Frank Blinko can't believe the um- mates didn't have too much to wony about, as pire's call Friday in the Warriors' game strong pitching and hitting led McHenry to an against Johnsburg. But Blinko and his team- easy 8-2 win over the Skyhawks. t Chris Juzwik fe. Ask no more: The answers are here Answering questions which many others cannot is the job given to our most knowledgable gossip, Gabby. Today Gabby answers questions from various and sundry celebrities, who, like all of us, seek answers to those ever-pressing inquiries. Dear Gabby: Is John McEnroe romantically involved with someone? If so, who? How did they meet? I'm very curious. T.O Hollywood. Dear T.O.: John is currently being linked with a lineswoman he met at a recent tournament in Chicago. Apparently, she made a a good call, and John fell instantly for her. The world's number one player now claims their love knows no bounds. The lineswoman says she's just trying to keep him in line. Dear Gabby: Who's the greatest slugger in baseball today? R.J., Anaheim, Calif. Dear R.J.: The greatest slugger is not Jim Rice, or Dale Murphy , or even one Reginald Jackson. No, the greatest slugger is Cincinnati pitcher Mario Soto, whose bouts are already legendary, though he vows, "I have not yet begun to fight can slug it out with the best of them. He Dear Gabby: Is Howard Cosell the first sports broadcaster to be the featured performer, ie., star, on such a widely-viewed show as 'Saturday Night Live,' which he hosted last weekend? What other broadcaster, if any, has been the star of such a national program? D.D., Chicago. Dear D.D.: WGN officials seriously considered changing the name of "Chicago Cubs Baseball0 to "The Harry Caray Drink, Talk and Laugh Alot Show," but Hariy had trouble pronouncing the whole thing backwards, so the idea was scrapped. Cubs' baseball with Harry is the closest thing to Cosell's ac­ complishment, however. Dear Gabby: I enjoyed watching the final two rounds of the Masters on television this past weekend. I was wondering, is there a name for the small body of water that Curtis Strange hit his golf ball Into, eventually causing him to falter and lose the tournament? I felt so sorry for Cartis. A.P., Augusta, Ga. Dear A.P.: Yes, most all of us felt sorry for the unlucky Mr. Strange. To answer your question, Strange's ball went into a sully named 'Hit Creek,' which was namedby an Indian boy. As legend has it, the boy was sent out to bring home dinner for (lis family, preferably some padl, a meaty varmint exclusive to the south. When the boy returned sans the main course, his parents sent him away with no meal. The distr?'"^V, young Incuan lad went down to a creek for a swim. He became lost, and was caught up in the current, finally winding up in the arms of a trapper. When asked why he was where he was, the Indian boy, in broken English, replied: "Up Hit Creek, No Padl." Although McHenry hurlers K'- Bats silent, McHenry clumped by Woodstock WOODSTOCK - McHenry Softball coach Pat Wirtz saw his team's offensive power stymied Monday afterno6n, as the Warriors fell to Fox Valley Conference foe Woodstock, 10-2. Woodstock hurler Lisa Palmquist handcuffed the Warriors on nine hits, while walking only two. "We just weren't hitting like we should have been," said McHenry coach Pat Wirtz. The Warriors started in fine shape in the first inning, when Monique Betancourt tripled, and scored on Cindy Kinsala's single, but it was the first and last time McHenry would lead. FVC Softball Woodstock got two bunt singles, followed by RBI singles from Mary Jo Firnbach and Palmquist, to take a 2-1 lead after one. A three-run double by Lori Drabek was the key blow in Woodstock's four-run fourth inning, as the Streaks cruised to an easy win over the Warriors, whose record fell to 2-3 on the year. McHenry scored its second run in the seventh, when Lee Lindquist singled, went to third on a double by Melissa Greve, and scored on Betancourt's base Rebounding from a lackluster performance against Fox Vallev Conference foe Cary-Grove last Thursday, McHenry's baseball Warriors rolled to three wins over the weekend, including an 8-2 decision over crosstown rival Johnsburg Friday afternoon. McHenry capped the big weekend by sweeping Grant in a non-conference doubleheader Saturday, 9-8 and 12-7. The 4-2 Warriors were slated to play at Woodstock Tuesday, with the Blue Streaks traveling to McHenry for a Thursday affair. Johnsburg, 0-4, 0-2 in the Northwest Suburban, played at Wauconda Tuesday, before Baseball hosting Round Lake Wednesday. "It was nice to get the wins," said MCHS coach Brian Wilson. "We got our best pitching performance - and hitting performance - of the year against Johnsburg." Indeed. Starting pitcher Pat Dunne, in his first outing of the year, fanned eight, before giving way to Jeff Schuster, who recorded the same number of whiffs. The Skyhawks' old nemesis struck for the fourth straight game. Of Johnsburc's 21 outs, 16 came via the strikeout route, while two others were thrown out on the basepaths. Only three balls were hit for outs by JHS. The Skyhawks picked up single runs in the first and third off Dunne, on RBI hits by Bill Comstock and Rick Easterling. Easterling had three of John- sburg's five hits in the game. "We've struck out too many times," said Sky hawk loach Jim Meyers. "I hate to keep harping on it, but we're striking out two out of every three outs we make. It's not very good." To combat the problem, Meyers held batting practice in the early Saturday morning hours. It wasn't that Johnsburg didn't get enough cuts against Dunne and Schuster, it was just that the Skyhawks weren't making any c0nt&6t. "I was real impressed with Dunne," said Meyers. "He ,8-2 hit, her third of the game. the _ pitch* Carlson walked five and allowed Chris Carlson was the starting and losing pitcher for McHenry. Plaindealer-Herald photo by Chris Juzwik Tom Budreck lashes a hit to right field Friday for the McHenry Warriors. Budreck had a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate in the win over Johnsburg. The senior also chipped in two RBI. Tom Budreck, getting the starting nod in centerfield for the first time, responded with a 4-for-4 performance, including two RBI. Tony Sorling, Mark Jinga, Merrick Sterner and Dunne each knocked in a run for McHenry. The Warriors racked up 14 hits in the contest, which Wilson called "our best offensive output thus far." The McHenry coach said the addition of Dunne and Budreck to the lineup was a key factor in-the Warriors' im­ provement at the plate. The two combined to go 6-for-7 for the day. McHenry 12-9, Grant 7-8 throws hard, but his location was good, too. Right around the knees. He lost control a couple times, but for the most part he threw well. I'll take him. Schuster was quick, too." "I was real happy with our pitching Friday," Wilson said. "It was much better compared to earlier in the week. It was the first time on the mound for Pat. He was a little wild, but he was throwing hard." Meyers said but for a few bad breaks, his team might have made the game a closer issue. "Stefka did a respectable job, Meyers said of his senior right-hander. "We still haven't got an outstanding pitching performance. But when you strike out the number of times we have, it better be real good." McHenry scored two runs in the first off Johnsburg starter Dan Stefka, and the Warriors added two more in the top of the third to take a 4-1 lead. JHS' lone tally in the bottom of the frame made it 4-2, but a single run in the fifth, and three more in the seventh, gave McHenry the win going away. The Warriors continued their hot offensive output Saturday at McCracken Field, but the mound corps faltered somewhat, as the hosts grabbed a double win over Grant. In the opener, McHenry took a 4-0 lead in the first, but watched as the Bulldogs rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning. The locals responded with a four spot _ BASEBALL--Page 18 Jacobs Slimko calls It quits JUZWIK--Page 18 12 hits in six innings of work. Three of the Blue Streaks who walked eventually scored. "We just popped up too much," wirtz said. "Five walks isn't that bad." McHenry was scheduled to host Cary Tuesday. Woodstock will play at West Campus Wednesday in a 4 p.m. start McHENRY 15, ZION 12 Friday, the Warriors trekked to Zion-Benton, and held off the hosts 15-12 to wind up the 'pre­ season.' McHenry got a strong pitching performance from Carlson, who came on in relief of Rachel Prushinski in the first and picked up the win. Prushinski struggled in^the opening stanza, allowing five walks, while another Zee-Bee reached on an error. Carlson allowed a two-run single before stopping the Z-B surge, but still the hosts led 9-0 after 6ne. The Warriors struck back auickly, however, tallying 10 mes in the top of the second, in a less-than-thrilling offensive SOFTBALL--Page 18 By Joe Kusek PUlnduter H«rald N«wa Svnrlc* ALGONQUIN - He thought about it. He talked with fellow coaches and acquaintances who had done the same thing. And then he thought about it some more. But he knew the decision. It was time. After 21 years of coaching boys' high school basket­ ball- the last nine at Jacobs- Ken Slimko resigned from the coaching ranks. The Golden Eagles' head coach- who guided them to three conference titles, and two regional crowns- turned in his resignation last Thursday to Jacobs prin­ cipal Bruce Morrow. "I couldn't get fired up anymore," explained the 42- year old Slimko on Monday. "It got to the point where I couldn't get everything where I wanted it to be. Things like getting ready for next year, preparing for the summer camps, talking to the players about next year." _ "I figured if you can't give 100 percent to something, it's time to get out. I didn't feel I had it in me." Slimko said he started thinking about his decision toward the end of the season which saw (he • Golden Eagles go 12-5 overall and finish fourth in the Fox Valley Conference race with a 5-7 record. Jacobs closed out the season with a loss to Barrington in the cham­ pionship game of the Jacobs Regional. "I went down to the state tournament," he said, "and I figured 1 would sit back, relax and maybe get it back. But When I got back, I still felt worn out, I didn't feel any different." "This is nobody else's decision but my own. This is something that didn't come out of the clear blue sky." "My wife (Chris) still doesn't believe it. believe it when I'm net out there on Nov. 1." Slimko began his coaching career at Pecatonica, 111., where he was 60-38 as a varsity coach. From there he moved on to Rockford Plaindealer-Herald News Service photo After 21 years of high school basketball, the last nine at Jacobs, Ken Slimko has decided to resign from the coaching ranks. The 42-year-old Slimko coached the Eagles to the Fox Valley Con­ ference co-championship in 1982-83. Boylan, where he spent another four years, three as an assistant to the legen­ dary Dolph Stanley. After four valuable years under Stanley, Slimko became the head coach at then Crown High School, where the Vikings were 17- 54 in the rugged North Suburban Conference. In his nine years at Jacobs, he compiled a won- loss record of 130-102, with his best year in 1983 when the Golden Eagles went 23-3 behind the playing of all- stater Tom Schafer. "When you get someone the caliber of Ken Slimko, you never want to lose him,"' said Jacobs athletic director Tom Miller. "We talked at length, I wanted to make ure it wasn't a spur-of-the- moment thing, but you could tell he had thought it through. You have to respect his decision, but you still hate to see him go. ' Also not coming back to coach Jacobs basketball was Slimko's assistant. Stan Block, who made his decision e«u:lier in the year. But Slimko emphasized Block's decision did not influence his. "It didn't have any bearing," said Slimko, also fighting off rumors he quit because son Mark was graduating. "We knew Stan was going to get out earlier in the year, we were making plans according to that. "And it had nothing to do with Mark. As I told some others, I coached for 17 years without him in the program, so it definitely wasn't that While Slimko is quitting the coaching ranks for now, he didn't entirely close the door. "You don't just walk away from something after 21 years and say it's final," he said. "Maybe after one year, I'll want to come back somewhere in a program. "But it was time for somebody else, someone to bring in new ideas. I've had some real good moments and some baa ones along the way, but that s 'o be ex- pectea in coaching S I H i t ) f i J I H I