Steve Taylor, a talented 6-7 sophomore, has left Simeon for Mount Carmel. Taylor is a major prospect in football and basketball.

"He has a family member on the coaching staff and his family decided they wanted to make a move," Simeon basketball coach Robert Smith said. "I have no problem with it. If the kid is happy so am I. I wished him and his family well before he left. Steve competed in both football and basketball and was expected to be rated among the top wide receivers in football in the state as well as among the top basketball prospects."

Parade Magazine's All-America football team is out and there are three local players on it.

Proviso West's Kyle Prater is of six receivers on the 58-member team, Maine South's Matt Perez is one of nine running backs honored and Fremd's Christian Lombard is one of 18 linemen cited.

It looks like no other team will have to endure the frustration North Lawndale's boys basketball squad dealt with in last season's state semifinals.

The Phoenix was assessed a technical foul before its Class 3A matchup with Champaign Centennial for having stripes on its uniforms that violated IHSA rules. Centennial hit one of two free throws and that point wound up being the difference in the Chargers' 66-65 win.

On Thursday, the IHSA announced that it was allowing schools to request waivers for illegal uniforms now and for every season until they would normally replace the non-complying gear.

"We have no intention of requiring schools to expend additional dollars now, or in the future, to replace illegal uniforms," IHSA executive director Marty Hickman said in a release posted on the organization's Web site. "We fully realize there are many more pressing financial needs in our schools than basketball uniforms."

There is a catch: Schools which have illegal uniforms - but don't request a waiver - still will be penalized with a technical before the start of games.

Hickman said the IHSA is hoping to solve the problem by submitting a proposal to the National Federation of State High School Associations that would give schools more leeway with the design of their uniforms.

"(W)e feel that the NFHS uniform rules for basketball may be a bit too restrictive and cumbersome," Hickman said. "We hope our proposal will be well received and help streamline those rules."

-- Mike Clark

Mark McDonagh's monster receiving season for Riverside-Brookfield continues to bring him honors.

MaxPreps.com named the senior, who had a national-record 165 catches in 10 games, to its Medium Schools All-American second team. He's the only Illinois player on the first or second team for schools with enrollments of 1,000 to 2,000.

-- Mike Clark

King offensive tackle Greg McKee, a 6-7, 295-pounder, has committed to UConn, according to UConnReport.com.

The web site reported that McKee also had scholarship offers from Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.

-- Mike Clark

MaxPreps.com has released its All-American football team and there's one local first-teamer: USC-bound wide receiver Kyle Prater of Proviso West.

Two more area players made the second team offense: Fremd lineman Christian Lombard (Notre Dame) and Maine South's all-everything Matt Perez (Indiana), who was picked as a running back.

-- Mike Clark

Saturday, Dec. 26
(In bracket order)

Game 2: Hales vs. Rich Central, 10:30 a.m.
Game 6: Bolingbrook vs. Marian, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: Thornton vs. Rich East, 4 p.m.
Game 1: Seton vs. Tinley Park, 9 a.m.
Game 8: Crete-Monee vs. Shepard, 8:30 p.m.
Game 7: Leo vs. Bloom Township, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Rich South vs. Fenger, 1:30 p.m.
Game 3: Richards vs. Lincoln Park, 12 p.m

Check out this video. Her name is Amber McLin, she's an eighth grader at St. Thomas on the west side and she could be the state's next superstar girls basketball player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaYn9EX4XpE

Hillcrest coach Don Houston announced the schedule for his annual shootout today.

December 19
Session one
Tinley Park vs. Thornwood, 9 am
Rich Central vs. Lincoln-Way East, 10:30 am
Bloomington vs. Maine South, noon
Bloom vs. Leo, 1:30 pm

Session two
Crete-Monee vs. Orr, 4 pm
H-F vs. Thornton, 5:30 pm
Hillcrest vs. Curie, 7 pm

We've got a bit of shocker in Midnight Madness news. According to Mac Irvin Fire coach Mike Irvin, Mike Shaw, Wayne Blackshear, Phil Jackson and Jabari Parker are all in attendance at the Blue Demons' festivities.

According to Illinois Warriors club coach Larry Butler, Neuqua Valley senior Dwayne Evans made an oral commitment to St. Louis on Wednesday.

Evans chose St. Louis over Illinois State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Western Michigan, Drake, Kent State, Toledo.

Fenwick G/F Tricia Liston, who helped lead the Friars to a state title in 2007 and is the highest-rated senior Illinois girls basketball player in the state, gave a verbal commitment to Duke Friday. Liston chose the Blue Devils over DePaul and Wisconsin,