• Christmas came early for 17-year-old Luke Hebel of Manteno. It’s only fair: The problems of old age arrived prematurely too. Luke enjoyed a speedy $1,000 shopping spree Monday morning at the Best Buy store in Bradley.

• Columnist Jeff Bonty calls for added emphasis on the true meaning of Christmas.

• With her team quite literally running out of fouls to give, Rachel Mack decided she’d had enough. The Gardner-South Wilmington High School senior scored nine of her game-high 22 points in the span of three minutes in the third quarter to give her foul-prone team an insurmountable lead in a season-opening 64-36 win over host Manteno on Monday night.