Watch the first episode of Sun-Times Game Week

As student-athletes throughout the area head back to school for the first day of high school football practice, we are kicking off a new high school sports focused livestream show Monday called “Sun-Times Game Week.”

Hosts Annie Costabile, Beth Long and Michael O’Brien were live at Raby on the West Side.

The Raiders’ first week of practice is unique. Raby coach D’Angelo Dereef keeps the team “locked in” at the school all week. It’s a major bonding exercise. The Raiders advanced to the Class 5A state semifinals last season and hopes are high for the team this year.

The Sun-Times preseason Super 25 football rankings will be a hot topic of discussion. Long will reveal the No. 25 through No. 11 team on the broadcast.

“These next few weeks as we build towards kickoff are some of my favorite of the year,” Long said. “No matter the amount of research, time and thought you put into the Super 25 the best part is being completely surprised by teams over the next few weeks as the season gets underway. There are some game-changers this year, and I can’t wait to see them take the field.”

Sun-Times Game Week will be available on the Sun-Times High School Sports Facebook page.

The first episode will also include a preview of the 2018 season, a look back at 2017 and the hosts will also answer audience questions. You can submit questions on our Facebook page comments section or tweet questions to O’Brien, Long and Costabile using the hashtag #suntimesgameweek.

“The new show will be a great opportunity for us to interact with the community,” O’Brien said. “It’s always good to debate and discuss the rankings and now Beth has a forum to do that a little bit more.

“Throughout the season it will also serve as a great primer for the week ahead and a review of the past week in high school sports.”

After the debut show today, “Sun-Times Game Week” will return on Aug. 20 and continue on every Monday throughout football and basketball season.

“We’re bringing something really unique this season with coverage that includes everything from excellent game stories to detailed video features and more,” Costabile said. “When it comes to high school football you don’t want to just read about the action, you want to see it too. Our team will give that to the audience.”