illinois Page 11 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The Dork RPI
So here's something we wish we would have had before we filled out our bracket: A complete dissertation of The Nerd Factor, a definitive way to predict college basketball games by alloting for a particular team's "nerd atmosphere" and how it relates to on-court success. Factors include:...
NCAA Pants Party: West Virginia Vs. Southern Illinois
West Virginia Mountaineers (20-10) vs. Southern Illinois Salukis (22-10). When: Friday, 2:45 p.m. Where: Auburn Hills, Mich....
NCAA Pants Party: Illinois Vs. Air Force
Illinois Fighting Illini (25-6) vs. Air Force Falcons (24-6). When: Thursday, 7:25 p.m. Where: San Diego...
Illinois Fighting Illini
1. Bruce Weber Does Not Do Gay Photography. If you re ever bored, we encourage you to Google "Bruce Weber," the name of the Illini's beloved (and duck-voiced) head coach. You won't be directed to his page on FightingIllini.com; instead, BruceWeber.com is the official Web site of an entirely differen...
Southern Illinois Salukis
1. In Case You Haven't Heard, A Saluki Is A Breed Of Dog. Despite the fact that Southern Illinois is appearing in their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament (having reached the Sweet 16 in 2002) and that they are one of the top mid-major programs in the country, CBS will undoubtedly feel the need to re...
We've Got Spirit, Yes We Doooooooooo ...
College cheerleading, an object of ridicule since it was discovered that our President did it, has new respect in our eyes. Southern Illinois basketball cheerleader Kristi Yamaoka, who fell 15 feet off of the top of a human pyramid onto her head on Sunday, suffered a chipped neck vertebra and a co...
College Basketball Games Worthy Of Just One Network
Observe as I attempt to do this without using the b-word that rhymes with "stubble."...
The Long Road Of Sean Payton
If you missed it, the New Orleans Saints hired Cowboys assistant head coach Sean Payton to be its new head coach. We feel somewhat uniquely qualified to discuss this hire, because, by pure happenstance, we've been following Payton's football career since we were about 10 years old....
Illinois Joins The Ranks Of The Defeated
That nasty Iowa defense spent the day sweating Dee Brown into a 2-of-14 performance from field, holding him to just six points and polishing off a 63-48 Iowa victory....
New Vikings Coach Sporting Rare Mustache/Baldness Combo
Today, the Minnesota Vikings will announce that Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress will be their new coach, or, if you can't resist making the same joke everybody else is making this morning, captain of their ship. Childress has been with the Eagles for seven years, and, having seen Requi...
Jamar Smith Fever, People: Catch It
Our father knows us very well, so when we went home for the holidays, he bought us the best gift we can remember receiving: A Illini jersey T-shirt of Jamar Smith. Who's Jamar Smith, you ask? Oh, you'll know very soon. He's the Illini's freshman shooting guard whose 3-point touch is like a tip-in....
They Must Draw 6,000 Fans, Or God Will Call Them Home
So we were watching the Illini's 89-64 victory over Southeast Missouri State last night — we have the ESPN Full Court package; you honestly do not want to know how much money we give that network — and when it was over, we flipped around the other games. It was a bad Full Court night; nothing but ...
End Of Days For Quin Snyder
Well, OK, we're back in brittle, frighteningly cold South Central Illinois right now — where, unlike, New York, we at least didn't have to walk to work — and we watched that Illini destruction of Missouri last night. It was so brutal that we took less joy in the victory than sympathy for Missouri,...
Back Home For Braggin' Rights
Every family has its tradition over the holidays, and this is ours: We go back to our hometown of Mattoon, Illinois to watch the annual Busch Braggin' Rights college basketball game between our beloved Illini and the Missouri Tigers. It might seem silly to those weaned on the opposite coasts, but ...
Bruce Weber's Lawn Exploits
Well, we won our bet and we have made our post. It occurs to us that if Illinois can win over Xavier on Saturday, the Illini will likely be in the top 10, and we are less than convinced they belong in the top 10. But that's all technical talk; you can get that from Andy Katz, along with a consider...
The Rematch That Isn't, Not Really
The college basketball season really gets going tonight, as our beloved Big Ten takes its ritualistic beating in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, one of the few things ESPN does every year that makes us smile. And the centerpiece game is, of course, the "rematch" of last year's national championship gam...
I - L - L !!!!!!!
We know some of those early-season tournaments have been going on all week, but as far as we're concerned, the college basketball season actually starts tonight: Our beloved, "Paint The Hall Orange" Illinois Fighting Illini tip off against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits — because nothing says...
Oskee-Wow-Wow
We are honored — since we've mentioned it only sparingly, though expect that to change as college hoops gets going — that so many of you have noted that we are proud graduates of the University of Illinois and have asked our opinion of the NCAA ruling that the Chief Illiniwek nickname and "symbol"...
Recruiting Wars Are Always Ugly
We'll confess, the whole notion of recruiting in college athletics leaves us queasy, and we're even more weirded out by fans who are unnaturally obsessed with it. There are countless "recruiting expert" sites that, when you really break it down, essentially make a living by looking at 16-year-old ...
Blogdome: Hello, Toronto!
• Toronto: The place where NBA careers go to die. [True Hoop] • When Juan Gonzalez is your main defender, you have problems. [The Sports Frog] • Quien es mas macho? Bruce Weber, or Bill Self? [Illini Wonk] • The key moment in yesterday's Cards-Padres game involved Mark Loretta, Chris Carpenter and a...