Monday, May 20, 2013
Shorewood resident and Minooka Fire Protection District firefighter Jimmy 'The Freak' Fritz is teaching children how to lead a healthy lifestyle and chasing his dream of making it big in MMA fighting.
He is called Jimmy “The Freak” Fritz. He walks into burning buildings and pulls out victims of smoke inhalation. He works as a firefighter and a paramedic with the Minooka Fire Protection District. He teaches young children the art of self-defense and holds a two-stripe purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is six months into his pro career fighting in the MMA ranks. His trainers know him as “The Freak” for another reason. “When he first came in, he was very awkward,” said James Hill, co-owner of SUDA International Center, the Joliet-gym where Fritz trains six days a week. “He had started lifting weights. So, he was very strong. “But he was very stiff when he moved. He just looked like ‘The Freak.’ These names just have to come to us. …
41.53385
-88.197815
Charter Fitness
857 Center Ct, Shorewood, IL
/articles/local-firefighter-s-story-it-s-anything-but-a-freak-show
1561802
/locations/9401165
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Who doesn't want to own a piece of Joliet memorabilia that has ties to the greatest Chicago Bears team of all time?
Is it politically incorrect to say that we barely recognize Joliet native Tom Thayer from this football card showing him as he looked when he played for the University of Notre Dame? Not that Tom's not a good-looking guy sans hair -- in fact, he probably looks better (check out the two photos and decide for yourself) -- we're just sayin'... Well, that's neither here nor there. The point of this post is the young Thayer's card is being sold on eBay and can be yours if you're willing to pony up $6.90, plus $2.25 for shipping. Tom's claim to fame, aside from his Joliet roots and Joliet Catholic Academy football days, was being part of the 1985 Super Bowl-winning Chicago Bears. He now does team play-by-play analysis on WBBM-AM (780). His …
Sunday, April 28, 2013
The star linebacker, who went on to play for Boston College, signed his NFL deal as a free agent Saturday night.
Nick Clancy, a Joliet Catholic Academy football star who went on to play for Boston College, was signed Saturday to play for the Atlanta Falcons. Clancy was one of several free agents to sign with NFL teams Saturday night, according to an ESPN report. "So psyched to join the Atlanta Falcons!" Clancy, 23, Tweeted after signing the deal. According to NFL.com, the 6-foot-3, 232-pound linebacker was red-shirted one year by Boston and a reserve during another before getting more playing time. "His role increased as a junior, averaging more than 30 plays a game as a key back-up outside linebacker (19 tackles, 1.5 for loss, 16-yard fumble recovery for a TD against UMass) before missing the final three games of the year due to a knee injury," NFL.…
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The baseball team is asking fans to submit name ideas for their newest addition. The winner will receive four game tickets and a chance to throw out the first pitch.
This pooch has everything -- looks, charm, jowls. Everything, that is, but a name. That's where the Joliet Slammers hope fans will step up to the plate. The latest addition to the Joliet minor league baseball team, who will tag along with team mascot Spikes, is -- what else? -- a hound dog puppy. An homage, no doubt, to Elvis Presley's song You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog and the fact that the King starred in the movie Jailhouse Rock. So, presumably, he needs a name that conjures up prison guards, striped inmate uniforms and life behind bars. Submit your name suggestions online at jolietslammers.com/namethedog by 5 p.m. May 3. The person who provides the winning entry will receive four tickets to the Slammers Bark in the Park game on May…
41.52506
-88.076669
Joliet Slammers Professional Baseball
1 Mayor Art Schultz Dr, Joliet, IL
/articles/slammers-new-hound-dog-needs-a-name-joliet-minor-league-baseball-team-contest-winner-free-tickets-first-pitch-mascot-spikes
2122982
/locations/9309143
Monday, April 15, 2013
Watch: In chilly, rainy conditions Heritage Bluffs golf pro Brian Smith demonstrates how to play the 430-yard, par-4 seventh hole at Heritage Bluffs in Channahon, Patch's Hole of the Month for April 2013.
At Heritage Bluffs Public Golf Club, the question of what is the signature hole comes with as many as 18 different answers. "Every hole is the signature hole," said golf pro Brian Smith. Smith was named pro at the Channahon Park District course last June after Mark Fehrenbacher retired. The two worked together during the infant days of the Dick Nugent-designed layout, which will be celebrating its 20-year anniversary on Aug. 4. Smith then took a post at Coyote Run in Flossmoor. He spent eight years commuting from his home in Shorewood to the south suburbs before landing back at Heritage. "Over the years, it's flucuated," Smith said of what is considered Heritage's top hole. "When I was here back in the '90s and the early 2000's as an …
Friday, April 12, 2013
On Saturday—during the first Test & Tune event of the season—drivers of all experience levels are invited to motor down the quarter-mile dragstrip at Route 66 Raceway.
Hear the thunder? How about feeling the thunder? On Saturday, at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, you can see how fast your own car motors down the quarter-mile dragstrip as part of the Test & Tune event that kicks off Route 66 Raceway's 15th-anniversary season. The Test & Tune event is for racers of all experience levels—whether your'e a first-timer driving in your family vehicle or a seasoned-veteran getting your dragster dialed-in for serious competition, according to a raceway news release. The schedule is as follows for Saturday, April 13: Gate admission fee is $15 per person. Cost to take your car down the track is $25. You need to purchase a Participant Run Card (good for the day). Kids under 12 are admitted free. For more information, …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Take a look at images from U.S. Cellular Field as the Chicago White Sox kicked off the 2013 season, and see if you recognize a neighbor or two.
The smell of brats cooking on grills made its way through parking lot C off Shields Avenue. By 11 a.m. the beer was flowing. It was opening day on the southside. Chicago White Sox baseball is deep in traditions for southside families. With a growing number of baby bears in the south suburbs, it wasn't hard to find Sox fans from the North side. "I've been a lifelong Sox fan," says Dan Kochevar from Glen Ellyn. Brothers Tim and Dan Bergin from Chicago Heights hold a lifelong love for the Chicago White Sox. "We have been coming to the park since 1967," said Tim Bergin. "Of course it was Old Comiskey across the street. We have had some great memories. Remembering the 2005 season when the team beat Boston in the division." Dan Bergin …
Sunday, March 31, 2013
What is it that has the president so pessimistic as spring unfolds? Oh ... that.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
A current gay NFL player could come out in a few months and continue to play in the league, according to an online columnist. His biggest concern? Harm from homophobic fans. How would you react if he played for your favorite team?
In the same week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage case, a CBS Sports online columnist says a current gay NFL player could come out publicly within the next few months. This player would become the first athlete in one of America's major team sports to be openly gay and continue to play. READ: Check Out the Full CBSSports.com Column for More Details But the obstacle keeping this unidentified player from revealing his sexual orientation isn't the fear of how teammates or even opposing players will react, writes CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman, citing former and current NFL players as sources for this information. It's a worry of what fans might do, Freeman reports…
Sunday, March 24, 2013
The star linebacker claims he got a raw deal as his career in Chicago ends.
Connie Barillas
11:21 am on Monday, May 20, 2013
Teach your kids what your heart tells you is right. Those of us involved in MMA do the same. You are not at all out-of-date; you just view the world differently. We are both right -- from our own perspectives. It's OK to be different. If Freak saw your children in danger of ANY kind, he would protect him with his life. He would protect you with his life. That's who he is. That's why we esteem him… more ›