As long as this doesn’t turn out to be a Truman-Dewey scenario, I want to be the first Northern Star diehard to congratulate Bill Clinton on finally ending Mr. Bush’s reign.

Now that all the bickering of who should lead our country is over, maybe we can turn our attention to some of the finer things in life—namely, sports.

While the “Big Three” grabbed and tugged at the headlines the last few weeks, there was a very important decision lost in the White House shuffle.

Last Friday, the Chicago public high school principals voted unanimously to continue winter sports and extracurricular activities. Consequently, the Bulls and Hawks won’t be the only teams warming up the “Windy City” during frigid January and February.

But the approval by the principals to accept the $1 million-plus raised by the Students First/Marcus Palmer Foundation goes far beyond keeping fans and the media happy, now that King, Simeon and Westinghouse will be taking to the hardwood and vying for a March berth in Champaign.

Another big story in the last couple weeks, which ties in with the principals’ vote, concerns the crackdown of gangs. Although it may take the miracle of all miracles to completely stop street violence, at least the Chicago schools have the common sense to continue the after-school programs in order to get the precious children away from the atrocities of society.

Thanks to Students First/Marcus Palmer—with assistance from Michael Jordan, the Chicago Sun-Times, WLUP-AM/FM and WSCR-AM, Nike and Foot Locker—Chicago’s youth will be given the chance to excel at what they do best. Whether it be basketball, debate, wrestling or even the student newspaper, the kids will have their opportunity to shine again.

So, you see, everything is not all bad today in America. We’ll have a fresh face come January in Washington, and we have people who care about the greatest miracle of life—the youth of America.