February 2008 Archives

"With this group, every time I give them a goal or something, it doesn't seem to motivate them. Now I've stayed away from putting expectations on them."

--Illinois coach Bruce Weber

I was reading through the preview story for Saturday's Illinois-Iowa game and I noticed that Iowa is last in the Big Ten in scoring. Ya mean somebody is actually worse than Illinois?

Obviously, it's way too early to draw any conclusions about the White Sox this spring training, but it was nice to see both Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez get off to a good start Thursday.

Blackhawks fans woke up Tuesday with visions of a former Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP dancing in their heads. By the end of the day, they found themselves settling for........the immortal Andrew Ladd! Ta da!

For several consecutive years, the White Sox have lost and lost big during March. Does a poor won-loss record during spring training carry over into the regular season?

Let's examine Lovie Smith's comment on Saturday's signing of quarterback Rex Grossman to a one-year contract, shall we?

The Kelvin Sampson saga at Indiana becomes more and more amusing. Apparently, it now qualifies as "science fiction." Just ask an unnamed IU official:

The Bears finally cut the chord with overpaid diva/wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad. It was a wise decision, and it wasn't the only good move GM Jerry Angelo made Monday.

I'll admit it: I didn't think the short-handed West Aurora Blackhawks would be able to hang with Wheaton North on Saturday night. I was wrong.

For most of the past week, the controversy surrounding Roger Clemens has
dominated sports headlines.

You're down 13 points with 12 seconds to go. Stop fouling! A miracle isn't going to happen! Why prolong the agony?

Indiana fans have been gloating all season with T-Shirts that read "Got Gordon? We do!" Based on an NCAA report released Wednesday, it looks like it won't be long before they've "Got sanctions" as well.

And what have they done with the Illini?

You knew it was coming. Radio reports indicated Tuesday the Blackhawks will play the Detroit Red Wings in an outdoor game at Soldier Field sometime within the next two years.

A columnist at a rival newspaper suggested Monday that Illinois would be "silly" not to consider the possibility of replacing Bruce Weber with the suddenly unemployed Bob Knight.

Well, call me silly.

It's the easiest shot in basketball right? It's 15 feet away, straight on,
unguarded. Should be a piece of cake, even if you're fat and unathletic like
me.

This year, it seems like the quality of televised college basketball on Saturday afternoon is way, way down.

Finally, all those missed Illinois free throws paid off for me.

As I write this, we are about 45 minutes away from tipoff in the Illinois-Indiana grudge match.

Like him or not, Hawk Harrelson has signed a three-year extension to remain the White Sox play-by-play man through 2011.

Time to turn down the volume on your television. Dick Vitale returns to the airwaves tonight.

The most absurd part of the Super Bowl broadcast: Watching a bunch of crazed morons storm the field at halftime for the chance to be close to 90-year-old Tom Petty.

How nice would it be to paid big money to say silly stuff like Joe Buck and Troy Aikman do?

The moment I heard the news Friday that Memphis big man Pau Gasol had been
traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, I knew what was coming next.