CHICAGO — At about the same age most kids pick up a baseball bat, they begin dreaming of playing for their favorite big league ball club.
Wednesday night, NIU players came close to living that dream when they played Notre Dame at U.S. Cellular Field - home of the Chicago White Sox.

STANFORD, Calif. — This weekend, the country will learn who is the best men’s gymnastics team in the nation. The No. 1 Stanford men say the title is theirs for the taking.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Apparently, what goes on between the uprights matters the most in determining a school’s athletic success. It’s a shame, really. If everyone were to pay just a little more attention to the less popular sports, they’d find quite a few winners at Miami.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — "I can’t believe you just walked in here," the doctor told him. "You should be paralyzed or dead."

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven’t heard the name Kevin Rhoderick before, you will soon hear it ad nauseam.

AUSTIN, Texas — “See ball, hit ball.” It’s a cliche for the simplest approach to hitting a baseball. Easy as it sounds, everyone will tell you it’s really not that simple. Everyone except Brandon Belt, wacky batting stance and all.