Cat-And-Rose Games

I got a rose from an audience member after the show today.

Cupcake is impressed.

Oh wait. Cuppie's just hungry.

2-Year Anniversary Of Pope Francis

By Kaye Foley

March 19 marked the second anniversary of the inauguration of Pope Francis. In his first two years as pontiff, Pope Francis, the 266th leader of the Catholic Church, has stayed true to his Jesuit roots and brought a fresh sense of humility and empathy to the church.

As spiritual leader of an estimated 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide, Pope Francis has urged people to look after the poor and the marginalized. Right from the start, he wished for a “poor church for the poor.”

The former Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires practices what he preaches. He lives simply. He refuses to ride in the bulletproof limo as popes have in the past, he eats in the cafeteria with Vatican workers and he lives in a modest apartment in the Vatican guesthouse instead of the papal palace.

He has challenged the status quo of the church by speaking openly about taboo topics and providing a more progressive perspective. Although no specific doctrine has changed, people feel he brings a more inclusive attitude to the church. The pope has instructed church leaders to be less obsessed with divisive social issues such as abortion, birth control and gay marriage. And Pope Francis made waves when he was asked about homosexuality and responded, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?”

Within the church, Pope Francis has made sweeping changes to the often-criticized Vatican finances and administration. He has appointed financial oversight bodies and is pushing for more transparency.

He has also created a sex abuse commission to prevent child sexual abuse by clerics. Pope Francis wrote to bishops and leaders within the church, “Families need to know that the church is making every effort to protect their children … since there is absolutely no place in ministry for those who abuse minors.” 

While he has 90 percent approval ratings among American Catholics and is well liked outside of the religion, there are some critics who believe he is diluting the Catholic identityand confusing the understanding of the Church’s doctrine and morals. But supporters counter that Pope Francis is opening up the church to conversations on subjects that it has long avoided.

Many have found inspiration in Pope Francis’ honest and humble approach. But Pope Francis may not be pope for long. In a recent interview with Televisa, he said, “I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief, four or five years; I do not know, even two or three.”

Where's Robin When You Need Him?

Thanks Dave Montague for the find...

More Video Of Ironmen Semifinal Win

Video Of NCHS Semifinal Game Winner

So happy for Tyler Vance and how far he's come to get to be a part of this moment!

http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/story/d/story/peacock-normal-community-tip-geneva-for-title-bert/40276/VGz2A-eUB0aBKGcVtwzH2w

Daily Herald Reviews Ironmen Semifinal Win

PEORIA -- For a team that has beaten opponents on the backboard all year, Friday's Class 4A boys basketball state semifinal at Carver Arena couldn't have ended in more heartbreaking or ironic fashion for Geneva.

Alex Peacock's putback of Tyler Vance's missed layup with 2.8 seconds left gave Normal Community a 38-36 victory over a Vikings team that has matched a school record for wins in large part by dominating teams on the glass.

 

Geneva had a last chance. Daniel Santacaterina inbounded to Pace Temple at halfcourt who called timeout with 1.1 seconds remaining.

Santacaterina tried to find Nate Navigato, but with the Ironmen hounding the Geneva star he passed to Temple, whose off-balance 3 fading away from the baseline came up short.

"They closed down all our options," Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. "Pace gave as best of effort as he could with the time he had left to get a shot up."

Navigato tied the game at 36 with a 10-foot runner at :10.5. The Ironmen inbounded to Vance, who drove the length of the court but missed.

Peacock, whose final basket accounted for his only points of the second half after scoring 14 in the first, was there for the offensive rebound.

"Tough way to lose a game," said Ralston, who wondered aloud about his defense on the last possession. "I'm going to second guess myself from now until eternity. We probably should have gone back to the triangle-and-two. That's where I'm going to second guess myself. It was a great play for them. I'm going to kick myself for not doing something that had been working for most of the game."

After coming from behind to win their last four postseason games, Geneva (30-4) saw the tables turn. Leading 32-29 and three minutes away from earning a spot in the state championship game, the Vikings turned the ball over 4 times in those final three minutes and then didn't get the crucial stop that would have forced a second straight overtime game.

"It's hard to look back and say I could have done this or I could have done that," Temple said. "Really you have to give credit to their defense. They did a great job shutting down most of our looks."

Normal (33-1) will play Stevenson (29-3) for the state title at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.

"You got to see what a 1955 basketball game looked like tonight," Normal coach Dave Witzig said. "Bodies flying. We knew coming in Geneva is very competitive and what stood out is how physical they are. There wasn't too many places to go on the offensive end. 

We're very fortunate to go to Saturday night. It wasn't pretty but we're really excited about playing the late game on Saturday night."

Geneva trailed 19-18 after a back-and-forth first half. The Vikings started strong with a trademark 50-second opening possession that ended with Loudon Vollbrecht scoring inside.

Vollbrecht scored again with his left hand to make it 6-2, but the Ironmen tallied the final 12 points of the opening quarter to lead 14-6.

The Vikings tightened their defense in the second quarter, forcing turnovers on three straight possessions. Navigato scored 4 points and Vollbrecht drained a 15-footer to pull Geneva within 14-12.

Peacock scored 5 in a row for the Ironmen before picking up his second foul on a charge with 3:13 left in the half. He had 14 of Nomal's 19 points at that point, then didn't score again until the game-winner.

Temple's 2 free throws with .3 seconds left followed a short Mike Landi jumper to leave Geneva within 1 point at the half.

The Vikings continued to struggle offensively in the third quarter, scoring on just 3 of 12 possessions. Geneva tied the game briefly at 23 on a Daniel Santacaterina steal and pass ahead to Navigato for a dunk.

Normal scored the final 5 points of the quarter to lead 28-23 going to the fourth. The Vikings gradually chipped away. Navigato hit a baseline fadeaway, Temple scored on a backdoor cut on Santacaterina's assist, and Navigato's layup after a blocked shot by Landi tied the game at 29.

Navigato then swished a 3 for a 32-29 lead with 3:51 remaining, sending the Geneva faithful into a frenzy. Unfortunately the string of turnovers followed as the Vikings weren't able to hold the lead.

Navigato lead Geneva with 19 points but no other Viking had more than 6.

"They did a great job jamming Nate," Ralston said. "Nate scored despite that. He elevated his game."

After shooting over 50 percent all season, the Vikings made just 13 of 36 from the field and 1 of their 9 3-point attempts.

"I don't think it's because our kids came in and took poor shots," Ralston said. "It's a credit to the kind of pressure they put on the ball. They made everything for us difficult. I give them their due credit.

"At the end of the day it was a tie game with 10 seconds to go. We held a pretty good basketball team to 38 points. I'm pretty proud of that."

​

Geneva will play Bolingbrook (24-7) in the third-place game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. A victory would break Geneva's 1963 team's school record of 30 wins.

"We have to refocus," Vollbrecht said. "Our season is not over yet. We have one more game to play and we want to go out with a win."

Peoria Journal Star Reviews Ironmen Semifinal Win

PEORIA — For 15 minutes and 57 seconds of the second half, Geneva made Normal Community’s Alex Peacock a non-factor.

But then Peacock came soaring from the weak side for a put-back basket to give the Ironmen a 38-36 lead, and ultimately the win, in a Class 4A state semifinal on Saturday night at Carver Arena.

“We ran the play to have (Tyler Vance) come off the screen, but he refused it,” Peacock said of Vance’s decision to drive baseline and attempt a shot of his own. “Luckily, he put it high off the backboard.”

Normal’s defense, stingy all game, forced Pace Temple to get a bad look on Geneva’s final shot.

Normal Community can win the school’s first boys basketball championship when it plays Lincolnshire Stevenson in the 4A title game at 8 p.m. Saturday night.

“We’d like to say that everyone got to see what a 1955 basketball game looked like, 38-36 with bodies flying,” Normal Community coach Dave Witzig said. “(Geneva) had a great game plan so we’re fortunate to go to Saturday night. It wasn’t pretty but we’re excited to be playing the late game.”

The Ironmen had 12 seconds to work with after Nate Navigato’s running floater in the lane tied the game for Geneva.

“I would have welcomed overtime and felt pretty confident about our position,” Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. “They made a heck of a play.”

After pushing the ball up the floor, Normal Community took a timeout to set up a play.

Vance received the ball in the corner, but instead of coming back up off a screen, the senior drove the left baseline.

“I saw that the lane was wide open so I put my head down (and drove). I knew if I missed the shot one of my guys would be crashing,” Vance said. “The whole lane was open, so I attacked.”