ON THE SCHEDULE TODAY AT FCHS:
Mules Basketball vs. Mt. Vernon, IN at the Carmi-White County Invitational Tournament 7pm
Mules Competition Cheerleading at Carterville Cheer Invitational (This has been moved from tomorrow due to the approaching winter storm. The competition will start at 6:00pm, with the FCHS Cheerleaders scheduled to perform at approximately 7:30pm).
OTHER AREA SPORTS FOR TODAY:
CARMI-WHITE COUNTY INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT:
Fairfield vs. Mt. Vernon, IN
Carmi-White County vs. Harrisburg
MIDLAND TRAIL CONFERENCE BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT:
CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP:
Wayne City vs. Red Hill
3RD PLACE GAME:
Webber vs. Patoka-Odin
BENTON INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS:
Flora vs. Benton
Hamilton County vs. Carterville
JR HIGH GIRLS BASKETBALL:
SIJHSAA JR HIGH GIRLS CLASS M STATE TOURNAMENT:
Wayne City vs. Nashville
Smithton vs. Maryville Christian
Goreville vs. Okawville
All Saints Academy vs. Anna
JR HIGH BOYS BASKETBALL:
CISNE MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS 7TH GRADE TOURNAMENT:
Due to the incoming winter storm, all games scheduled for Saturday have been moved to tonight. An updated bracket is shown below.
Opening Round Games:
New Hope vs. Clay City
NCOE vs. Allendale-St. Mary’s
Wayne City vs. Jasper
Cisne vs. Fairfield
AREA SPORTS RESULTS FROM THURSDAY:
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL:
WEST FRANKFORT MID-WINTER CLASSIC:
On Thursday night, the Fairfield Lady Mules Basketball team faced off with the Sesser-Valier Lady Red Devils for the Championship Game of the West Frankfort Mid-Winter Classic. In a game that was plagued by turnovers for both teams, the Lady Mules fell to the Lady Red Devils 43-33. Fairfield was led in scoring by Bentli Belva with 12 points. Fairfield’s Riley Jolly and Mabrey Foster were named to the All-Tournament team.
Herrin 35, West Frankfort 29
ELDORADO LADY EAGLE CLASSIC:
3RD PLACE GAME: Harrisburg 60, Carmi-White Co 35
CHAMPIONSHIP: Edwards County 57, Hamilton County 43
OTHER AREA HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL SCORES:
Johnston City 45, Wayne City-Cisne 38
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL:
MIDLAND TRAIL CONFERENCE BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT:
Woodlawn 72, Webber 53
Red Hill 73, Cisne 48
JR HIGH BOYS BASKETBALL:
Mt. Carmel 48, Fairfield 24 (Fairfield 8th Grade Night)
JV: Mt. Carmel 39, Fairfield 19
Jasper 84, New Hope 22 (Jasper 8th Grade Night)
JV: New Hope 47, Jasper 38
Cisne 35, Albion 28
JV: Albion 36, Cisne 33
***NATIONAL SPORTS***
THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NBA
——-
Chicago Bulls 120, Minnesota Timberwolves 115
The Chicago Bulls went on a late run during a 120-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. The Bulls trailed by six with just over four minutes left in regulation before going on a 16-5 run to end the game. Coby White poured in 22 points in the victory, while Josh Giddey finished with 21. The Bulls are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference at 22-and-22. They host the Celtics tomorrow night.
Charlotte Hornets 124, Orlando Magic 97
Philadelphia 76ers 128, Houston Rockets 122 (F/OT)
Denver Nuggets 107, Washington Wizards 97
Dallas Mavericks 123, Golden State Warriors 115
San Antonio Spurs 126, Utah Jazz 109
LA Clippers 112, Los Angeles Lakers 104
Portland Trail Blazers 127, Miami Heat 110
NHL
——-
Chicago Blackhawks 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3 (F/SO)
The Blackhawks beat the Hurricanes 4-3 in a shootout. Ilya Mikheyev, Nick Lardis and Connor Murphy found the back of the net in regulation for Chicago. Spencer Knight saved 28 of the 31 shots he faced. The Blackhawks have won back-to-back games to improve to 21-22-and-7 this season. They host Tampa Bay tonight.
Boston Bruins 4, Vegas Golden Knights 3
Buffalo Sabres 4, Montreal Canadiens 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 1, Dallas Stars 0
Nashville Predators 5, Ottawa Senators 3
Florida Panthers 2, Winnipeg Jets 1 (F/SO)
Pittsburgh Penguins 6, Edmonton Oilers 2
Minnesota Wild 4, Detroit Red Wings 3 (F/OT)
The St. Louis Blues aim to avoid a third loss in a row when they visit the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center tonight. The Blues are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on the road on Tuesday night. St. Louis is in last place in the Central Division with 46 points. Tonight’s game starts at 7:00PM.
Men’s College Basketball (Top-25 Coaches’ Poll)
——-
No Games Scheduled
PGA
——-
The American Express (at La Quinta, CA)
T1. Min Woo Lee (-10)
T1. Pierceson Coody (-10)
***Top Sports Headlines***
>>Illini Visit Purdue
(West Lafayette, IN) — The number-11 Illinois Fighting Illini go for their ninth win in a row when they visit number-four Purdue at Mackey Arena tomorrow. The Illini are coming off an 89-70 win over the Maryland Terrapins at home on Wednesday. Illinois is 7-and-1 in Big Ten play and 16-and-3 overall. Tomorrow’s game tips off at 2:00pm and can be heard on WFIW-AM 1390 and FM 103.3 on the Illini Sports Radio Network with the pregame show getting underway at 1pm.
>>Cubs Sign OF McCormick
(Chicago, IL) — The Chicago Cubs are bringing in another former Astros outfielder. The team signed Chas McCormick to a minor league deal yesterday. The contract includes an invitation to Spring Training next month. McCormick hit .210 with one home run and five RBI’s in 64 games last season.
>>Patriots-Broncos, Rams-Seahawks Kick Off Championship Sunday
(Undated) — Championship Sunday is almost here. Two spots in Super Bowl 60 are on the line when Drake Maye and the Patriots battle backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham’s Broncos in the AFC Championship game from Denver. Bo Nix suffered a season-ending injury for the top-seeded Orange Crush on the second-to-last play of an overtime win against the Bills in the Divisional Round. New England forced four first-half picks from Texans’ gunslinger CJ Stroud to advance. On the NFC side, Matthew Stafford and the Rams square off against Sam Darnold’s Seahawks from Seattle. Los Angeles escaped Chicago with a win against the Bears in OT after punishing a Caleb Williams interception with a game-winning field goal. The top-ranked Hawks blew out the 49ers to earn their first postseason victory since 2019.
>>Baltimore Ravens Hiring Jesse Minter As New Head Coach
(Baltimore, MD) — The Baltimore Ravens have hired Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to be their next head coach. The team announced the move on Thursday, making Minter the franchise’s fourth head coach since 1996. Minter previously spent four seasons under former head coach John Harbaugh, who was fired following the 2025 season. He later became the defensive coordinator at Michigan, helping lead the Wolverines to a College Football Playoff national championship in 2023.
>>FBI Launches Probe Into Death Of Jim Irsay
(Undated) — The FBI is investigating the death of former Colts owner Jim Irsay. The Colts acknowledged the existence of the investigation on Thursday, but have not been contacted by officials and no subpoenas have been issued. Irsay died in May from what was described as cardiac arrest. The FBI is seeking records and information about Irsay’s death, substance use, and his relationship with Dr. Harry Haroutunian, who reportedly prescribed him pain pills and ketamine.
>>Giants QB Dart Excited To Have Harbaugh
(East Rutherford, NJ) — Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart approves of the team’s new head coach. Dart said during a recent interview with ESPN that when John Harbaugh’s name came up in discussions with the team, it was one that he was excited about and wanted to have. The rookie signal caller mentioned that players can’t wait to play for Harbaugh, who was fired earlier this month after 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.
>>Report: Cowboys Hire Christian Parker As DC
(Frisco, TX) — The Cowboys have found their next defensive coordinator. ESPN is reporting that Dallas has agreed to a deal to make Christian Parker the team’s new defensive playcaller. The 34-year-old has spent the past two seasons as the passing game coordinator and secondary coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. He has worked under Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio since 2021 when they were both with the Denver Broncos. This marks the first time since Monte Kiffin in 2013 that the Cowboys will not have a former NFL head coach as their defensive coordinator.
>>Nats Trade P Gore To Rangers
(Undated) — An impact arm is on the move for the second straight day, as the Nationals traded All-Star southpaw MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers in exchange for five prospects. Gore went 5-and-15 with a 4.17 ERA for Washington last season. Infielder Gavin Fien headlines the package heading to the nation’s capital, as he was the 12th overall pick in the 2025 draft. He is joined by pitcher Alejandro Rosario, first baseman Abimelec Ortiz, shortstop Devin Fitz-Gerald and outfielder Yeremy Cabrera.
>>Kansas Coach Bill Self Plans To Return Against Kansas State
(Lawrence, KS) — The Kansas Jayhawks will have their head coach back on the sidelines this weekend. Kansas coach Bill Self intends to coach the team on Saturday night when they take on rival Kansas State. The 63-year-old said that he is feeling better after a brief trip to the hospital earlier this week due to an abnormal chest pain. Self has had a history of heart ailments, including one three years ago that prevented him from coaching the team in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments. Assistant coach Jacque Vaughn filled in for him in the team’s win over Colorado on Tuesday.
>>The American Express Round One Recap
(La Quinta, CA) — Two players are sitting atop the leaderboard after the opening round of the American Express at La Quinta Country Club. Min Woo Lee and Pierceson Coody each shot a 10 under 62 to begin the tournament. Nine players including Scottie Scheffler, Jason Day and Patrick Cantlay are tied for third. Defending champion Sepp Straka is tied for 131st after finishing even. Rico Hoey and Ryo Hisatsune will be among the first group of players teeing off round two.
>>Australian Open Day Five Recap
(Melbourne) — The Australian Open is in full swing heading into the weekend. Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz and 11th-seeded Daniil Medvedev were both victorious in their third round matches and will be moving on. In second round competition, second-seeded Jannik Sinner, ninth-seeded American Taylor Fritz and 12th-seeded Casper Ruud each advanced to the third round with dominant victories. Other Americans Tommy Paul and Learner Tien also claimed victories in Round Three. In women’s action, third-seeded American took down fellow American Hailey Baptiste to advance. Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina and 16th-seeded Naomi Osaka each claimed wins on Thursday.