Horoscopes
Her playing career was over. Then a coach saw the Argo graduate playing at an open gym. Now, she’s starring for Governors State.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (02/09/21). Follow your own star this year. Apply self-discipline to grow personal passion projects for wonderful results. Land a dreamy, profitable assignment. Support your team through winter challenges, before a summer romance, fun and passion phase. Domestic renovations next winter prepare for the dazzling holiday season.
To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) — Today is an 8 — Teamwork can deliver a lucrative prize. Adapt to changes as they come. Take advantage of skillful friends and allies. Share resources, inspiration and motivation.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — Today is an 8 — Notice how far you’ve come professionally. Take stock of wins, draws and losses. Recognize and celebrate where you’ve been, before launching the next phase.
GEMINI (May 21June 20) — Today is an 8 — Investigate and explore your subject. Revelations and plot twists open new avenues. Adapt and adjust. Don’t react without thinking. Consider consequences. Learn and discover.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Today is a 9 — Changes necessitate budget revisions. Sign documents, agreements and contracts. Lucrative fruit is ready for picking. Reduce risk. Prioritize practicalities. Collaborate for common gain.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 9 — Collaborate and coordinate efforts. You and your partner are intuitively on the same page. Make a romantic connection. Share a delightful dance together.
VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) — Today is a 7 — Dig into a big job. Fortune favors dedicated efforts. Slow for sharp corners. Avoid risky business. Protect health and safety. Play by the rules.
(Sept. 23Oct. 22) — Today is an 8 — Relax and enjoy the situation. Have fun and play around. Savor excellent company or solitude with your favorite diversions. Indulge your passion, creativity and love.
LIBRA
(Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 7 — Collaborate with domestic improvements. Realize a creative vision. It’s amazing the difference a coat of paint makes. Sort and clean. Plant seeds and water them.
SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS
(Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is an 8 — You’re especially creative. Practice artistry and craft. Self-discipline is useful. Avoid distraction and maintain focus for satisfying results. Write and publish. Film your scene.
(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 9 — Pour on the steam and rake in the bucks. Lucrative potential gets realized through dedicated action. Meet deadlines and keep bargains. Buy and sell.
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 9 — Use your confidence and power for good. Adapt to shifting personal circumstances. Determination and perseverance support you to win a satisfying prize. Prepare to launch.
PISCES (Feb. 19March 20) — Today is a 7 — Contemplate your next move. Settle into a private spot to plan and prepare. Reduce risks through backstage strategizing and coordination. Rest and recharge.
After playing two seasons in three years at Moraine Valley, with a torn ACL causing her to sit out a season between her freshman and sophomore years, Sharnita Breeze thought she was done with competitive basketball.
That feeling was only enhanced when Breeze, an Argo graduate, went two years without playing on a team. She had hoped to finish her bachelor’s degree at Northern Illinois.
Still, Breeze continued to play basketball — and a chance encounter altered her plans.
“I was just playing at an open gym and there was a coach whose daughter was at the open gym,” Breeze said. “He was like, ‘You’ve still got it.’ He told me to check out coach (Tonishea) Mack at Governors State. He said he was going to tell her about me.
“She wanted me. So, I came here.” Despite the long layoff, Breeze enrolled at Governors State and led the Jaguars last season in scoring, averaging 16.6 points.
Now a senior forward, Breeze is averaging 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists for Governors State (5-8).
“It’s a testament to her growth and her life,” Mack said. “When she took those two years off, she didn’t play college ball, but she was still in the gym.
“That’s how I knew she was still an option. Another coach called and told me about Breeze. She wasn’t ready to give up basketball, but she had priorities she had to take care of.”
Breeze had to weigh those factors when deciding if she wanted to return to college basketball.
“I was working and making money,” she said. “It’s really tough to adjust to being a student and playing basketball and having time to work or make money.
“But I was like, ‘I can get school paid.’ That was a great opportunity, and I was excited to play basketball again.”
The transition back to competition proved to be … well, a breeze. Once, she got her body ready, at least.
“It was an adjustment to get back into shape after two years,” Breeze said. “The coaching staff and my teammates helped me get in shape, and they had confidence in me and helped me get back into it.”
After an 0-8 start, the Jaguars have won five straight, including two of the biggest wins in program history.
On Feb. 1, Governors State beat Olivet Nazarene for the first time in program history with an 82-81 win. Breeze contributed 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Jaguars followed that up Wednesday with a 51-49 upset of No. 13 St. Francis on the road. Governors State lost 70-49 to the Saints in the first meeting of the season.
Breeze scored 14 points against St. Francis, not all in the second half, as she stepped up big down the stretch.
“Getting those wins, especially with them both being close games, is huge for us,” Breeze said. “We started 0-8, but now we’re showing up believing we can win these games.”
Mack said Breeze’s leadership helped the Jaguars turn things around.
“She’s one of the kids I depend on, on the court and off it,” Mack said. “She’s a true leader. She’s always led by example, but she was really quiet last year. She wouldn’t say a word.
“Now, she is being a vocal leader. That’s her growing as a woman, and that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Breeze is certainly glad she returned to the court.
“I thought basketball was over for me,” she said. “I said, ‘I’m done.’ But hey, look at me now.”
for the
The questions about Venus Williams’ future have been accumulating for a while now, some subtle, some less so.
About whether she’ll be back at a particular event. About whether she’ll stick around for the following season.
About her passion for tennis. About her motivation at age 40. About other players who recently retired or were about to retire.
The bottom line, essentially, was this: As Williams accrued more and more early exits at Grand Slam tournaments — and, well, other tournaments, too — how much longer would she keep playing professional tennis? But there is another bottom line and it is this: It’s really up to just one person to decide why and how long Williams will keep going.
Williams, of course.
And after going 0-3 at the sport’s major championships in 2020, and 1-8 overall during the pandemic-shortened season, Williams began the 2021 Grand Slam season with the best sort of answer to all of those questions. She won.
Starting her 21st Australian Open and professional-era record 88th appearance at all Slams, Williams beat Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 6-2 on Monday. That set up a secondround meeting Wednesday with Sara Errani, a 33-year-old from Italy who was a French Open runner-up and U.S. Open semifinalist in 2012 and is now ranked 134th.
“I’m trying to get better every day. I think that, no matter what happens to you in life, you always hold your head up high. You give a hundred, million percent,” Williams said after compiling 10 break points and facing merely one against Flipkens. “That’s what I do every single day. That’s something that I can be proud of.”
Williams went out on court with wide strips of beige athletic tape on her left knee, protection that looked something like an asterisk.
Asked about it by a TV reporter afterward, Williams deflected the query with a joke about “decoration” and a smile. She looked just fine in the match, those long strides carrying her along the baseline, just as they have against so many opponents over so many years.
“I feel like whenever I see her, it’s really amazing just to watch, like, how much she loves tennis. I see her smiling so much nowadays, so it’s really nice to see. She just has this aura of loving the sport and this infectious energy,” three-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka said. “I hope that I can learn a lot from her.”
Truth be told, anyone could. About perspective. About perseverance. About grace.
Williams is someone who owns seven Grand Slam titles in singles — five at Wimbledon, two at the U.S. Open — and another 14 in doubles with her sister Serena.
She’s someone who reached nine other major singles finals that she lost (seven of those against Serena, part of the most remarkable sibling rivalry in sports history).
Someone who has won four Olympic gold medals.
Someone who has been ranked No. 1 (and currently is No. 81).
And so on and so forth.
Plus, someone who years ago needed to learn to live with an energy-sapping auto-immune disease.
“She’s such an inspiration, because she never gets frustrated about her situation, health-wise. She’s always looking on the bright side,” Serena said after her own lopsided first-round win at Melbourne Park on Monday.
“Then she works so hard. Yeah, she’s been great. We were hitting partners for the first two weeks, 2 weeks, since we were here in Australia. It was so good to train with her. It was so good every day,” Serena added. “It’s also very inspiring because she still pushes me on a level that no one’s able to push me, so it was incredibly helpful.”
When the older Williams met with the media, the second question she received was about whether her age is “front of mind” for her while competing these days.
Williams volleyed right back, creating this exchange:
“Would it be front of mind for you, if you were playing a professional tennis match?” “Not necessarily.”
“There you go.”
Another well-played Williams. riposte from