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Pat Disabato biography

coachs corner

Pat Disabato, a lifelong resident of the (Blue) Island, has been a sports writer for more than 20 years, beginning his career in 1990 with …

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Disabato: Funkhouser, Lietz represent area’s elite

When it comes to power pitching at the high school level, Oak Forest’s Kyle Funkhouser and Homewood-Flossmoor’s Dan Lietz represent the area’s elite. They are one-two in the area in strikeouts, Lietz with 85, Funkhouser 84, and in ERA, Lietz’s 0.63 to Funkhouser’s 0.64. And …

Disabato: Five gems among a field of many diamonds

A baseball fan recently commended me on Eisenhower’s baseball field. “What a nice facility, Pat,” the gentleman said. I’m not the principal or the athletic director of the Blue Island school in my spare time. I’m just an alum who fondly reflects on his high …

Disabato: Catholic League Blue race will go down to the wire

Who will end up on top of one of high school baseball’s best conferences at the end of the week is anyone’s guess. But know this about the remaining three-game stretch in the Catholic League Blue season: It’s going to be as exciting as a …

Disabato: BBCOR bats affect game for the better

The change was supposed to be extreme, one that would alter teams’ strategies and produce lower-scoring games. Instead of allowing the No. 3 hitter to swing away in hopes of jacking a three-run homer, coaches would be required to have their best hitter bunt runners …

Disabato: Koziol’s return to Brother Rice goes according to plan

Ironic, isn’t it? On a day when a steady rain forced the cancellation of nearly every high school baseball game in the area, the one field that withstood Mother Nature’s wrath was Brother Rice’s. Yes, the same Rice field Ed Koziol referred to as “by …

Disabato: Battle of Burbank long overdue

For years — 50 to be exact — one of the most natural football rivalries in the Southland — Reavis vs. St. Laurence — never was allowed to develop at the varsity level — that despite the two campuses being located less than a mile …

Disabato: McCarthy the right man to lead Brother Rice revival

When I say it was supposed to be a fairly mediocre season for Brother Rice baseball, I’m probably being a little too kind. The Crusaders are on their third coach in three years and their top two pitchers transferred to other schools over the summer. …

Disabato: Zunica believes in second chances

I don’t know many coaches who would absorb a verbal assault from one of their players during a game and allow that player to remain on the team. It takes a big person, with an even bigger heart, to forgive a teenager from showing the …

Disabato: Sandburg’s Reks a pure hitter

Zach Reks always has been a good hitter. Watching the Sandburg senior in the batter’s box, digging in before unfurling that sweet left-handed swing and one thing comes to mind: He’s a natural. However, it’s a swing, while always sweet, that benefited from a short …

Disabato: Stagg remembers the life of Cheryl Kaim

It didn’t matter whether her daughters won or lost their soccer matches, or how well each performed. Brittany, Julie and Allison Kaim always knew how their mother would greet them afterward. “Mom always gave us a kiss,” Brittany said. “She was our biggest cheerleader.” Cheryl …

Disabato: Nye leaves Brother Rice for York

Steve Nye desired a change of scenery and new set of challenges in his professional life. And with two teenage children preparing for college and his own retirement in the not-so-distant future, Nye, 48, also yearned for a bump in salary and more lucrative retirement …

Disabato: Benefits of this hockey team extend beyond the ice

Kevin Malzone can’t help but get emotional when he talks about the life-altering change his son, Dominick, has experienced since playing sled hockey with the Hornets organization. “It’s given him self-esteem,” Malzone said. “He can’t wait to go to practice. It’s given him confidence, which …

Disabato: A life lost too soon

It was appropriate that Tommy Schuman earned a victory on Thursday. For by all accounts, Tommy Schuman was a winner in the game of life. A life that tragically would come to a much-too-brief conclusion for the 18-year-old senior at Lincoln-Way Central High School less …

Disabato: Sal Rende, a Blue Island legend

Sal Rende and I sat one morning in DeMar’s Restaurant, a favorite gathering spot for Blue Island residents, reliving the old days and catching up. Rende is 57, some 12 years older than yours truly. It’s the first time I’ve ever met Rende. When I …

Disabato: High school hockey offers unequaled state finals experience

First class. That’s the only way to describe Friday’s Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois state finals at the United Center. I will throw a bone to North Side-happy AHAI in this regard: It’s smart enough to have latched on to the coattails of the Blackhawks, …

Disabato: St. Rita continues its puck mastery

It’s been quite a five-year run for St. Rita hockey. Unprecedented, in fact, in these parts. Five straight Kennedy Cups and five consecutive Final Four appearances in the state playoffs, including a championship in 2010. Yes, New Trier remains the king of the hockey jungle …

Disabato: Hillcrest finish a tribute to Royall

PEORIA — This wasn’t the way Hillcrest anticipated the final chapter of its marvelous season playing out. The Hawks desire was to end their season with a victory in Peoria, amid the pressure and hoopla of the Class 3A state championship game. It wasn’t just …

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