With the arrival of Sports Illustrated in my mailbox Wednesday, I now have the baseball preview editions of the three major magazines I subscribe to in my hands.

I personally am not going to make any predictions because one thing I've learned through the years is that predictions are always wrong. The more I watch and study baseball, the more I realize that I don't really know much about it. If anyone ever tells you they know the game and know what is going to happen, rest assured that person is full of crap.

Nevertheless, I do find it interesting to read other people's predictions. One thing all three magazines agree on is that Philadelphia, led by newly-acquired ace Roy Halladay (pictured), looks like the class of the National League. All three magazines also agree that Minnesota will win the AL Central, and that St. Louis will win the NL Central. Everything else varies.

To prevent you from having to go out and buy these magazines, here is the rundown for each publication:

Sports Illustrated

SI has the New York Yankees, Minnesota and Los Angeles Angels winning the AL divisions. Tampa Bay is picked to win the wild card. Philadelphia, St. Louis and Colorado are the NL picks, with Atlanta as the wild card.

Yankees over Twins, Rays over Angels, Phillies over Cardinals and Rockies over Braves the division series.

Rays over Yankees in the ALCS. Phillies over Rockies in the NLCS. Phillies over the Rays in a reprise of the 2008 World Series.

For the record, SI picks the White Sox third in the AL Central with a record of 79-83. The Cubs are picked to go 81-81 and place second in the NL Central.

The Sporting News

Division winners in the AL are New York, Minnesota and Los Angeles. Boston as the wild card. NL division winners are Philadelphia, St. Louis and Colorado. Have some Blue Kool-Aid, my friend! They've got that very special Cubbie team as the NL wild card!

Yankees over Twins, Red Sox over Angels, Phillies over Cubs and Cardinals over Rockies in the division series.

Yankees over Red Sox in the ALCS. Phillies over Cards in the NLCS. Living dangerously, they forecast a repeat of last year's World Series result with the Yankees beating the Phillies.

Obviously, they've got the Cubs second in the NL Central. The White Sox are picked second in the AL Central. No win totals are listed.

ESPN The Magazine

In their relentless quest to be "cool," ESPN The Magazine simulated the 2010 season 100 times and then reported its results. It's kinda dumb, but at least they didn't totally saturate the preview with gay porn. Usually, ESPN The Magazine is full of shirtless men. Pictures of shirtless dudes make me vomit, but I digress. Here are their results:

Red Sox, Twins and Mariners win the AL divisions. Yankees are the wild card. Phillies, Cardinals and Dodgers in the NL, with the Braves as the wild card.

Red Sox over Twins, Yankees over Mariners, Phillies over Cardinals and Dodgers over Braves in the division series.

Red Sox over Yankees in the ALCS, Phillies over Dodgers in the NLCS. (Gee, we've seen those movies before.)

Imagine this: ESPN has the Red Sox winning the World Series, beating the Phillies. What a bunch of homers.

On average, the White Sox won 76 games in the 100 simulations of the season. The Cubs won 83.

So, there are the crib notes on all the preview magazines I have. You'll have to excuse me now, as I've got plenty of reading to do.

Last year, I bought tickets to four Blackhawk playoff games. I attended three of those games and sold the fourth to a friend. It was great. This year, I will be buying tickets to ZERO Blackhawk playoff games, and that has nothing to do with the team's recent on-ice slump.

You see, the Blackhawks are not having any presale for those of us who are partial season-ticket holders this year. I was able to get pretty decent seats for last year's playoffs because the team made tickets available to us, their most loyal customers, before putting them on sale to the general public. That's the right way to do it.

No such luck this time around. Playoff tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. tomorrow. So, if I want tickets, I have to log on to Ticketmaster and fight with the ticket brokers, the bandwagon fans --  the Cellphone Chads and the Tubetop Trixies -- along with all the other true Blackhawk fans who have partial season tickets and have been left out to dry this year. No, thanks. I think I'll pass.

This is all very disappointing. Worst of all, I've yet to hear any explanation from my Blackhawks ticket representative. The Blackhawks communication on this matter has been absolute zero. At the very least, I feel I deserve to get an e-mail explaining why there is no presale this year. That hasn't happened. Instead, I had to call them. Naturally, my ticket rep is out of the office until tomorrow. Great.

Even though I'm pleased with the Blackhawks on-ice product, this makes me reluctant to renew my ticket plan for next year. If I'm going to be treated like just another bum on the street come playoff time, why should I make an investment in the Blackhawks organization by purchasing a ticket plan?

That's a question I intend to ask my ticket rep, if he bothers to call me back.

There's a thread going on right now at White Sox Interactive discussing the best baseball video games of all-time. To me, there is no discussion. Clearly, it is Baseball Stars, which was the first game I ever bought when I got the old-school Nintendo back in the day.

Can you tell I'm getting old?

Whoever this person is playing as the American Dreams in the video is clearly not very good at the game. Without a doubt, I would have beaten the Lovely Ladies by the 10-run rule by the end of the second inning. Book it.

First off, I want to say that it is ridiculous to compare college teams to major league sports teams. But it is kind of amusing that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski (aka Leader K) took a swipe at that Cubbie team when members of the media asked about whether his Blue Devils can live up to the standards of previous Duke teams.

"For a while when I dated my wife, I had trouble living up to the expectations of her former boyfriend," quoth Leader K. "Just judge people for who they are right now. We're not the Yankees, we're not, thank goodness, the Cubs. It's different. It's college, just give them an opportunity."

Thank goodness, we are not the Cubs.

I think I'm going to start using that one more frequently whenever something bad happens.

"Well, it could be worse. I could be the Cubs. Thank goodness, I am not the Cubs."

Given that Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi had shutouts in two of his last three games, I was a little disappointed that coach Joel Quenneville decided to start Cristobal Huet in net Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The playoff race is on. Why not ride the hot hand?

I was especially disappointed after Huet got shelled in a horrific 8-3 loss to the 14th-place Blue Jackets. Huet gave up a softie just 32 seconds into the game to noted sniper Mike Commodore (it was Commodore's first goal of the season), and the rout was on.

Huet saw 27 shots. He stopped only 20. Niemi made a brief relief appearance late in the second period -- presumably to give Huet a chance to change his undies -- and gave up one goal on five shots.

For the game, the Hawks outshot the Blue Jackets 41-32, yet they lost by five goals. If that doesn't scream, "BAD GOALTENDING," I don't know what does.

Can we end this whole "debate" about who should be the Blackhawks No. 1 goaltender now? I'm done with Frenchy-Poo. The "audition" is over. Niemi is my guy, and I'm willing to sink or swim with him.

I hope Quenneville sees it the same way now. Thing is, coaches generally don't like rookies. I'm sure Quenneville is reluctant to name Niemi the playoff starter for just that reason. That's why he is giving Huet chance after chance after chance. He would much prefer to see the veteran step up.

However, it just isn't happening. At some point, you have to play the best guy -- even if that guy is a rookie with no playoff experience.

Sorry, Joel, but it's time to stick a fork in Huet. He's done. He's holding the team back, and he can't be trusted to play in meaningful games any longer. A goaltender with no confidence, who gives goals up in bunches, is completely useless.

I always hate when my chair collapses.

Don't worry, Cubs fans, Derrek Lee was not seriously injured. I imagine the chair got the worst of it.

The Illinois basketball team will turn in its uniforms Wednesday after a 77-71 loss to Dayton in the NIT quarterfinals.

As we've stated previously, the Illini are a limited team offensively. Their weaknesses came to the forefront again in this game. Miserable shooting was the primary reason for a 38-25 halftime deficit Illinois could not overcome: 10-for-33 on field goals in the first half.

For the game, the Illini made only 29 of 77 shots (38 percent), including 6 of 26 on 3s (23 percent), not to mention an embarrassing 7 of 14 from the line. Not gonna cut it.

However, I think the NIT was a good experience for the Illini overall. The fans who wanted the team to decline the bid are fools. A team made up almost exclusively of underclassmen got to play three more games together in one-and-done situations and got however many more practices in. There's no way that's anything but a positive.

I'm really not broken up over Illinois losing in the NIT because, after all, it is the Not Important Tournament. Even if the Illini had won this thing, I wouldn't be going out to buy a T-Shirt. We do aspire to bigger things around here. Basically, this was an extended practice for what Illinois fans hope will be better things next year.

As we move into the offseason, the biggest question is, will point guard Demetri McCamey go pro? The guess here is not. Illinois coach Bruce Weber said Wednesday that McCamey will likely return for his senior season.

"Right now I would say yes, but you just never know," Weber said Wednesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I've sat down and talked with Demetri, I've talked with his mother, I've talked with as many NBA people that I know from the Bulls to the Hawks to the Magic, just different people. Agents, just to get a feel for where he sits.

"I think right now the feeling is it would probably be in his best interest to come back. If he can make the strides he's made (next season) it would make him one of the better players in the country."

I've looked around at some of the mock drafts, and I don't see McCamey even listed as a second-rounder on most of them. It's really hard to believe this kid is going pro this year. He's one of the best passers in the country, no question, but his defense is suspect. His shooting is hot and cold. He can win a game for you, but he can also lose one almost single-handedly. McCamey certainly needs more consistency if he's gonna be a decent pro.

Fortunately, it sounds like the kid has his head on straight. He's saying the right things.

"Some people are trying to say that I'll leave and try to go overseas just to get away from coach Weber,'' McCamey told the Peoria Journal Star. "Year after year, I've developed and become a better player, not just with the stats but with maturity and a team leader.

"I would rather stay in college than go overseas or try to make it as a second-rounder. I would rather keep another year of eligibility and try to win a national championship.''

That would be the smart move, Demetri. Stay in Champaign. Stay with your coach, who has a proven track record of developing guards. Get Illinois back to the NCAA tournament where it belongs. No more of this NIT nonsense.

There are no do-or-die hockey games in March, but the Blackhawks' 2-0 victory over Phoenix Tuesday at the United Center was as big as they come in the regular season.

The win pushes the Hawks out in front in the tight three-team race for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Hawks and Coyotes entered the night tied for first with 97 points, with San Jose sitting one point back at 96.

The Sharks snapped a six-game losing streak Tuesday with a 4-1 win over Minnesota. That vaults San Jose back into the second spot with 98 points, one point behind the Hawks, who have 99. Phoenix stays at 97 points and drops to fourth. The Vancouver Canucks, who have 92 points, occupy the third spot because they lead the Northwest Division. Confused yet? If so, here's a link to the NHL standings.

The Hawks have a game in hand on San Jose and two games in hand on Phoenix. That means they control their own destiny for the No. 1 seed.

More importantly, they finally showed they could protect a lead. After blowing a pair of two-goal leads and settling for one point in a 5-4 shootout loss Saturday in Phoenix, the Hawks got the job done Tuesday by killing off three Coyotes power plays in the third period.

Antti Niemi made 28 saves for his sixth shutout of the season, and Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa provided goals in the second period to make the difference. Defenseman Brent Seabrook returned to the lineup after missing two games with a concussion. He was a +1 in 22:41 of ice time.

Ten games left in the regular season. It's going to be a tight race, but the Hawks are right where they want to be at the moment.

Not that we really need any more proof that spring training stats are meaningless, but Monday's White Sox game is a perfect case in point.

I was watching ESPN last night when I noticed on the bottom crawl that Kansas City beat the Sox 9-5. The graphic indicated that Sox starter Jake Peavy had given up seven runs on 10 hits over three innings pitched. My reaction was, "What the hell happened to Peavy?"

Late in the evening, I logged on my computer and found the answer. Because he was pitching against a divisional foe that he'll see many times during the season, Peavy didn't want to show too much of his repetoire. As a matter of fact, 71 of the 74 pitches he threw were fastballs.

Peavy was just trying to get his work in, not concerned in the least with his pitching line. Let's face it -- when professional hitters are 100 percent certain a fastball is coming, they're probably going to hit it hard. That was the case for Kansas City yesterday. The Royals knew what was coming. They took advantage.

You see this sort of thing pretty often during spring training. Sometimes a guy will be working on a particular pitch, or he'll just be trying to throw to a certain location. Heck, I saw John Danks throw four straight changeups to Alfonso Soriano the other day. That would never happen in the regular season. In spring training, Danks is trying to find the release point on his changeup, results be damned.

Situations like these are why we see elevated batting averages and high ERAs during March. Pitchers are throwing more fastballs, or experimenting with different pitches. That's especially true for guys who have already locked down a roster spot, like Peavy. Those circumstances create a favorable environment for hitters.

For these reasons, Sox fans should not be worried that Peavy got hit around yesterday. Likewise, Sox fans should not get too excited about Andruw Jones' .341 spring batting average, or Mark Kotsay's .433 clip.

Spring training has always been and always will be an environment that favors hitters.

Former White Sox first-round bust Brian Anderson had quite a day for himself Friday. He hit for the cycle in the first four innings of Kansas City's 24-9 victory over Arizona in spring training action.

Anderson hit a two-run triple in the first, a double in the second, a two-run single in the third, a two-run homer in the fourth and another double in the fifth.

The Greatest American Hero finished the day 5-for-5 with seven RBIs.

(Disclaimer: Wilson Betemit also homered for the Royals today, so I doubt the Arizona pitching was all that good.)

Most reasonable Sox fans know that Anderson hits about .600 in Cactus League action every year, only to revert to his usual .220 form in the regular season. It's a classic case of fool's gold. Nevertheless, the hearts of Anderson's true believers must be soaring today. That merits the playing of our BA theme song:

For the second straight game, the Blackhawks lost a key member of their defense to a dirty hit by the opposition. Anaheim's James Wisniewski hit Brent Seabrook high in Wednesday night's 4-2 Ducks victory.

The referee could have called any number of things here. Wisniewski came in with his elbows and stick high. He had basically a running start and left his feet to make sure he hit Seabrook in the head. Elbowing, high sticking, charging, it could be any of the three. Heck, Seabrook didn't have the puck at the time of the hit, so it could have been interference as well.

The ref only gave Wisniewski two minutes for charging. I definitely think it should have been a five-minute major and a game misconduct. This was an intent-to-injure situation, in my opinion. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville agrees.

"There are certain hits in the game that are tolerable if you've got the puck," Quenneville said. "But if you hit a guy without the puck, you could kill a guy. It's the most dangerous hit in the history of the game. He tried to hurt him. If that's not intent, that's as bad a hit as you can ever have in the game."

We'll see what the NHL thinks. A hearing to review the hit took place this morning. Wisniewski deserves a longer suspension than the two games Alex Ovechkin got for his hit on Brian Campbell the other day.

No report on Seabrook just yet. He was out cold on his skates and did not return to the game. I imagine he has a concussion. If so, that's his second one of the year.

The Hawks are going to have to start doing more to protect themselves and each other from these types of hits. You can't just sit there and act like everything is OK when your best players are being injured left and right.

UPDATE: Wisniewski has been suspended for eight games. I applaud the NHL for its quick and decisive ruling in this matter.

I have a confession to make. Unlike every other American in the world, I'm not entering any office pools this year. I'm not spending a single dime on the NCAA tournament. I've never been more indifferent. Illinois didn't play well enough to make the field of 65 this year. I don't have a horse in the race. Frankly, I just don't give a damn who wins.

Oh, I will be filling out a bracket, but only for the purposes of entering a pool that I participate in annually with my college friends. No money is at stake in that pool. Thus, I made my picks quickly and casually and without much analysis.

I've got Kansas, Pittsburgh, Duke and West Virginia in my Final Four. Kansas and Duke for the title, with Kansas and Chicago native Sherron Collins (pictured) winning.

From what I've seen, Kansas is the best team, although they have the toughest bracket. Ohio State, Georgetown, Maryland, Michigan State, Tennessee -- lots of teams there that could potentially knock off the Jayhawks. But I'm going to pick the team that I think is the best to win the national title.

Duke has the easiest regional (surprise, surprise), and I expect them to cruise to the Final Four. I threw Pitt in there just to pick one sleeper team. I think the top seed in that regional, Syracuse, is the No. 1 seed most vulnerable to upset. I picked West Virginia to make the Final Four, just because I hate John Calipari and don't want to see Kentucky win.

Anybody who reads this blog should not take my advice. After all, I filled out my bracket in less than 10 minutes. Usually, I spend a lot more time breaking down the matchups and studying the numerous upset possibilities that the tournament provides. But this year, I'm just kind of 'meh' about the whole thing.

Illinois basketball will be back next year, and I imagine my passion for the NCAA tournament will be as well.

Oswego's postseason run didn't end well, but the Panthers can take heart that they lost to a pretty good team Tuesday at the Class 3A DeKalb Super-Sectional.

Peoria Richwoods (29-2), ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by the Associated Press for most of the season, defeated Oswego 61-44. The Panthers (24-7) finish a nice two-year run that saw them finish second in the state last season and reach the Elite Eight this year.

Richwoods' defense was the difference tonight, as it limited Oswego to 11-for-50 shooting. You don't have to be a math wizard to know that pencils out to an ugly 22 percent.

"They definitely bring it defensively and they took us out of our comfort zone," Oswego coach Kevin Schnable told my colleague Rick Armstrong after the game.

The Panthers have had bad shooting nights before, but they've survived that in the past by getting second-chance points with their strong, experienced frontcourt of Andrew Ziemnik, Collin Seibert and Joe Kwiatkowski. Oswego normally enjoys a one-sided advantage on the glass.

Not tonight. The Panthers won the rebounding battle by a slim margin, 33-32. Staying even on the boards was a big key for Richwoods.

"Rebounding was our point of emphasis," Richwoods coach Mike Ellis said. "That was a big factor in the game. (Oswego) can turn a game around with a lot of putbacks."

With the Oswego loss, high school basketball season is now over in The Beacon-News coverage area. Look for our all-area teams to come out soon.

Washington Capitals prima donna Alex Ovechkin says he's "disappointed" the NHL suspended him two games for a hit that left Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell with a fractured clavicle and a fractured rib.

Well, guess what? I'm disappointed, too. I'm disappointed that one of the Hawks' top four defensemen is going to be out 7-8 weeks because of the reckless check from behind that Ovechkin delivered during Sunday's 4-3 overtime win for Washington.

But we all have to deal with a little disappointment in life. Cry me a river, Alex. Most people in the NHL don't like you anyway. You'll be back on the ice next week. Campbell will be fortunate if he plays again this season.

Moving on from that, do the Blackhawks have enough to get by without Campbell? My answer is, "Yes." The Hawks cannot afford any more injuries on the blue line as a result of this, but as long as everyone else stays healthy, they are still a legit Cup contender.

On most NHL teams, Campbell would be a No. 1 or No. 2 defenseman. Here in Chicago, he's a No. 4. The Hawks still have their top pairing intact with Norris Trophy candidate Duncan Keith and his defense partner, Brent Seabrook, logging almost half the minutes.

They still have defensive specialist Niklas Hjalmarsson to anchor the second defense pairing. This is where the midseason acquistion of Kim Johnsson should come in handy. Johnsson is a veteran who has played matchup minutes in the past. He and Hjalmarsson should be fine logging anywhere from 18-20 minutes per night.

The Hawks have recalled former Anaheim Ducks All-Star Nick Boynton from Rockford. Between Boynton, Jordan Hendry and Brent Sopel, the Hawks should be able to cobble together a decent No. 3 defense pairing.

Right now, Johnsson is out with the infamous upper-body injury. However he's not expected to miss too much time. The Hawks have a surplus of quality forwards. If need be, they can shift winger Dustin Byfuglien back to the blue line. Byfuglien was drafted as a defenseman and went through drills on defense during Tuesday's practice.

It's really unfortunate that Campbell is out. The Hawks aren't as good a team without him. But as angry as I am at Ovechkin for delivering a cheap and reckless hit, there's no use crying too much about it. The Hawks have to move on and they will. They have some options as far as plugging this hole.

We'll leave the rest of the crying to Ovechkin and his coach, Bruce Boudreau, who seem to believe they've been somehow wronged. Here's to hoping the Hawks see Washington again in the Stanley Cup Finals. Then maybe the Hawks can give the Capitals a bigger reason to whine.

Our congratulations go out to the Oswego Panthers, 57-51 winners over DeKalb Friday night.

Oswego is the only 3A/4A school in our coverage area to win a sectional championship this year. The Panthers finished second in the state last season and are looking to equal or better that finish here in 2010.

Next game, the Class 3A DeKalb Super-Sectional against Peoria Richwoods. Tip time is 7:30 on Tuesday night. Coincidentally, Tuesday night is the next time I'll be working. I'll be taking a 3-day break between now and then.

I'll post again sometime Tuesday.

It wasn't always pretty -- especially the last five minutes -- but Illinois got the win it desperately needed Friday in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

Junior center Mike Tisdale (pictured) hit 8 of 10 shots from the floor and finished with a game-high 21 points as the Illini hung on to beat No. 13 Wisconsin 58-54 in Indianapolis. Illinois had a 46-30 lead with 6:50 to go. That 16-point advantage got chopped down to two with less than a minute to play, but the Illini (19-13) prevailed.

What does this mean for Illinois' tournament hopes? This guess here is the Illini are in. But I wouldn't stake my life on it. The selection committee could say, "These idiots lost to Bradley," and throw Illinois out. But with the weak bubble this year, I think the Illini have enough quality wins to make the field of 65.

I was telling one of my friends this morning that Illinois might have been better off not playing the game. The way other bubble teams were choking under the pressure, the Illini's resume was looking better and better by not even taking the floor.

As we mentioned on this blog earlier this week, ESPN's Joe Lunardi had Illinois as the last team in on Monday. By last night, the Illini were the second-to-last team in. By halftime of today's game, they were the third-to-last team in. Other bubble teams have been falling on their own swords left and right. Now, Illinois collects a wire-to-wire win over a top 15 team. That's probably enough.

If you've been watching the "Bubble watch" on the ESPN crawl the last couple days, you may have noted that most of these bubble teams are 1-4 or 1-5 or 2-6 against the RPI top 50. Well, Illinois has FIVE WINS against the RPI top 50. What other bubble team can say that? That's the number Illinois fans can pin their hopes on.

Further, the Illini have a chance to add a sixth top 50 win to their resume in tomorrow's Big Ten semifinal against No. 5 Ohio State. A victory Saturday makes Illinois an absolute lock. A loss, well, that would make you sweat a little bit. But in my estimation, it's looking pretty favorable after Friday's win. We'll know for sure Sunday.

Some other Big Ten tournament notes: Illinois is now 12-1 in quarterfinal games in the 13-year history of the tournament. 2006 was the only year the Illini did not play in the tourney semifinals. In addition, Illinois is now 23-10 all-time in Big Ten tourney play. That is tops among conference schools.

Here's a phrase that never would have been uttered two years ago: The Bulls really suck without Joakim Noah.

Yes, it's true. The Bulls center last played on Feb. 26 in a 115-111 homecourt victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Not concidentally, that's also the last time the Bulls won a game.

Noah has missed the last six games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, and those six games have been a total train wreck for the Bulls. The latest catastrophe occurred Thursday night, a 111-82 demolition at the hands of the Orlando Magic.

In addition to Noah's absence, forward Luol Deng missed Thursday's outing with right calf and left knee problems. To add insult to injury, star guard Derrick Rose left the game late in the first quarter after spraining his wrist. He did not return and the rout was on.

However, the Bulls have been struggling lately even when both Rose and Deng have been on the floor. The team is lost without Noah, who has blossomed into a double-double machine this year. He averages 10.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. In addition to those numbers, the Bulls miss Noah's activity and energy. They can't control the paint without him.

Let's look at the last six games. The Bulls have given up a whopping 686 points, an average of 114.3 per game. Opponents have shot 52 percent from the floor during that time. The Bulls have been outrebounded 266-209 over the same span.

Can't guard. Can't rebound. Can't win.

With Thursday's loss, the Bulls slip 1.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They trail Toronto, Charlotte and Miami by that margin.

At one point tonight, I looked up at the TV and the game was in the second quarter. The Bulls five on the floor were Jannero Pargo, Acie Law, Flip Murray, Hakim Warrick and Brad Miller. Good luck making the playoffs with that group.

I think the Bulls are screwed if they don't get Noah back soon. Two years ago, that dude looked like a bust. Now, he's an essential piece of the puzzle, and that's shown up here during this current six-game losing streak.

Ryan Boatright has had one helluva year for East Aurora, but he'd probably like to forget about Wednesday night. The Tomcats star made only 5 of 22 shots from the field in a 72-60 sectional semifinal loss to Benet Academy.

For most kids around the area, 18 points is a pretty good performance. But after the 45 points Boatright hung on Neuqua Valley Friday night, tonight's total would have to be described as "an off night" for the junior point guard.

"Unfortunately for us, Ryan was cold the whole game and you're pretty damn good if you're cold the whole game and you score 18 points -- he willed 18 points," East coach Wendell Jeffries told my colleague, Jim Owczarski. "He was out of sync from the word go and he missed shots he never misses. He was just out of sync tonight. He willed 18 points. It's going to be tough to beat a good team like this with your All-American not on his game."

Thus, the Tomcats conclude their season with a 19-11 record.

We have one team still playing in our coverage area -- the Oswego Panthers. Oswego will play DeKalb for the championship of the Class 3A Hampshire Sectional Friday night. The Barbs defeated Freeport 60-46 Wednesday night.

Current Robinson High School center and future Illini Meyers Leonard jumped over a kid and threw down a monster dunk during a Class 2A super-sectional game Wednesday. Robinson is headed to the state finals for the first time in school history after an 81-60 win over Decatur St. Teresa.

Here's the video of Leonard "posterizing" St. Teresa's Matt Moran:

Leonard finished the game with 21 points and eight rebounds. As for Moran, he gets his 15 minutes of fame now.

"First of all, this guy's already talking trash," Leonard said. "So I was like, 'If he was going to try to take a charge, I'm going right over him,' and I did."

Since Leonard is a downstate player, he's pretty much the only Illinois recruit I haven't had a chance to see play. Now that Robinson is in the state finals, they'll be on TV this weekend. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch a few minutes. I've read a lot of good things about Leonard. Looking forward to seeing him play.

After Tuesday night's results, there are only two area high school basketball teams still competing in the state tournament.

Oswego East gave top-seeded Glenbard East a tussle. The teams were tied 32-32 at halftime, but the Rams opened the third quarter with an 11-2 run and pulled away for a 70-62 victory.

Newark also went down tonight. Just a terrible, terrible start for the Norsemen, who found themselves trailing Lanark Eastland 35-20 at the half. The final, 70-57. Disappointing end for Newark, which lost in the super-sectional last year as well.

Tonight's lone survivor? Oswego. The Panthers just beat the living snot out of Woodstock Marian, 66-46. The game wasn't as close as the final score indicated. Oswego was up 46-24 at half and led by as many as 28 in the third quarter. The Panthers might have a shot to get back downstate after finishing second in Class 3A a year ago.

Still one more sectional semifinal to be played, and that comes Wednesday night as East Aurora takes on Benet Academy over at Neuqua Valley High School. Tip time is 7:30. We'll have updates at beaconnewsonline.com/sports. You can also listen to the game on WSPY, 107.1-FM.

Did the balance of power in the AL Central tip Tuesday with the announcement that Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan is out with a torn ligament in his pitching elbow?

Possibly, but it doesn't sound like Nathan has been counted out for the 2010 season just yet. The Twins are planning to shut Nathan down for two weeks to let swelling and soreness subside. Then, they'll put him back on the mound and see if he can pitch. If he can't, then season-ending surgery will be necessary.

Nathan has been the best closer in the majors over the last six years, collecting a league-best 246 saves over that span. I first had suspicions that something was up with Nathan in this game against the White Sox last Sept. 2.

In that outing, Nathan gave up four runs, including back-to-back homers by Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko. He did not have his usual pinpoint command of the fastball, nor did he have his quick-breaking slider. I'm not sure Nathan had given up four runs against the Sox in the five previous seasons combined.

"Besides that (one game), I don't remember if we even scared the guy. He's so good against us,'' White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I'd rather face anybody out there, no matter what kind of pitcher they are, than face Nathan.''

I didn't think Nathan had good stuff in the playoffs last year either, when he gave up a game-tying home run to Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning of ALDS Game 2 at Yankee Stadium. After the season, Nathan had surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow. My reaction to that was, "Aha! That's why he wasn't pitching well late in the season."

But now, a more serious injury exists. If Nathan can't go, the Twins will likely turn to one of two former Sox farmhands, Jon Rauch (26 career saves) or Matt Guerrier (4 career saves).

"That's going to be a huge drop for them,'' White Sox infielder Omar Vizquel said. "It's not going to be easy to replace a guy like him. He pretty much guarantees a save every time.''

Other Sox veterans are more wary. They've seen the Twins plug holes like this one too many times.

"The Twins seem more than any team when people go down, whether it's players or pitchers, to have other guys step right in," Konerko said. "It seems they never rest a beat. So they will probably do the same thing with that: It will be some player that no one is even thinking about right now that will probably be lights out for them.''

Maybe so, but it's hard to imagine the Twins finding a better closer than Joe Nathan. If that guy is out for the year, both the Sox and the Detroit Tigers will have increased odds of qualifying for the 2010 postseason.

Warning for lip-readers: Illinois coach Bruce Weber uses colorful language in this video to describe McCamey's performance and attitude with the game on the line.

I'd like to interrupt the pity party going on over at insideillini.com and at illiniboard.com to make this public service annoucement: The damn basketball season isn't over yet. You may want it to be over, but it isn't.

The loser segment of the Illinois fan base is already debating whether the Illini should accept an NIT bid if the team fails to qualify for the NCAA tournament. First of all, that is a moronic discussion. If it comes down to that, of course you accept an NIT bid. You have a team full of underclassmen -- no seniors contributing anything of significance. With the whole team coming back next year, you want these guys to play as many games together as humanly possible.

Secondly, Illinois can still make the NCAA tournament. That's right I said it: Illinois can still make the NCAA tournament. Even after Sunday's homecourt loss to Wisconsin, ESPN's bracketology still has Illinois in as the last team in the NCAA field.

Nothing has really changed since last week. Illinois needs two more victories to be assured of an NCAA tournament bid. If it gets one more win, it's likely in, but on the bubble. If the Illini lose to Wisconsin again in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, they're out.

There's still hope and it's not time to give up, unless you're a sobbing, self-loathing idiot. There are plenty of those around here.

What does Illinois need to do to beat Wisconsin? How about making some shots?

In the last four games, three of which were losses, the Illini have failed to score more than 60 points. Even in victory at Michigan on Feb. 23, Illinois made just 37.3 percent of its shots. In a homecourt loss to Minnesota on Feb. 27, the Illini went 7 of 31 (22 percent) from the field in the first half. They scored just 14 points in that half and went on to shoot just 31 percent overall for the game.

It didn't get any better on March 2 at Ohio State -- 10 for 31 in the pivotal second half, just 38 percent for the game. That brings us to Sunday, when Illinois made only five field goals the entire second half in the Wisconsin loss. The Illini shot just under 36 percent from the field in this game.

I did a little math on these last four games, and I found that Illinois is 82 for 222 from the floor during this skid. That pencils out to a shooting percentage of .369. That's not going to get it done.

Friday's game against Wisconsin needs to be treated like a Game 7. Without a win, Illinois is going to the NIT. That fate can be avoided by executing the most fundamental part of basketball -- putting the ball in the hole.

If I'm Bruce Weber, my message to the Illinois players is simple: Don't be afraid to step up and score.

My message to the fans is also simple: Illinois isn't firing any coaches this year. Get over it. Man up and cheer for your team. There will be plenty of time to moan about opportunities lost if the Illini lose Friday afternoon.

Fortunately, A-Town did not get shut out this year. I was worried. I didn't think any of the Aurora schools would make it to sectionals. Well, East Aurora did it, pulling off a 76-68 (in OT) upset of Neuqua Valley in the Class 4A Plainfield East Regional championship Friday night.

Earlier this evening, I was talking with my colleague Jim Owczarski, and we agreed that East star Ryan Boatright would probably need to score 40-50 points for the Tomcats to have a chance. Consider it done. Boatright scores 45, including 21 in the fourth quarter, and East High advances.

Aurora schools are now 3-0 against Naperville schools this postseason. That's more like it.

Next up for the Tomcats, a sectional semifinal game against Benet Academy. That game will be Wednesday at 7:30 over at Neuqua Valley.

My West Aurora Blackhawks *almost* pulled one off, too. Oswego East wins 66-62 in overtime behind 39 points from Jay Harris. West coach Gordie Kerkman tried the old triangle-and-two defense tonight, and it damn near worked. The Blackhawks had a seven-point lead in the second half. Just couldn't close against the more talented Wolves.

Oswego East is in the opposite half of the bracket from East Aurora at the Neuqua Valley Sectional. The Wolves play Tuesday night against top-seeded Glenbard East.

In other action Friday, Oswego beat Aurora Central 59-46. DeKalb beat Kaneland 50-47, and Newark beat Dwight 60-51.

The sports department TV is tuned to Comcast SportsNet here in the newsroom tonight. "Chicago Tribune Live" was on earlier, and as that idiot David Kaplan and the other usual suspects were discussing the Bears' free-agent signings of (pictured from left) running back Chester Taylor, defensive end Julius Peppers and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna, the headline across the bottom of the screen read, "Bears to join NFL elite." The subhead said, "Free agent signings to solidify team."

What????!!!!!! That's a little presumptuous, don't ya think? This team was 7-9 last year, and it's going to take more than just these three signings to get me believing again.

The Bears offensive line was bad last year. It is still bad. The Bears secondary was bad last year. It is still bad. The Bears definitely need help at safety. The team is still coached by Lovie Smith. It's widely known that I've never been a big supporter of Lovie and his staff.

There are still plenty of holes that need to be filled. And there is still plenty of offseason remaining to address those needs. However, I'm not going to sit here and say the Bears just joined the NFL elite. The calendar says March. Training camp is still a long way off. Once the season begins, there will be much for the Bears to prove.

That said, I think the Bears did get better today. They needed a dynamic pass rusher. They got one in Peppers. You can't be taken seriously as a defense when Alex Brown is your best rush man. Now, Peppers takes that role. He's got 81 sacks in his eight-year NFL career. He's a guy that opposing offenses have to account for.

The Bears needed another running back to help Matt Forte out. Taylor fits the bill. He was solid working in tandem with Minnesota's Adrian Peterson last year. If the Bears get an offensive line to block for Forte and Taylor (a big if), that will be a nice backfield combination.

Manumaleuna is a good blocking tight end, another veteran, another useful piece. In addition, Manumaleuna is a nightmare for sports copy editors like myself.

These are three good moves, but they hardly "solidify" the team. There is still much to be done between now and September if the Bears actually are going to join the "NFL elite."

You never know when a great game is going to happen with all the great players this state produces. Here's the ending of the best high school game of last season. That's current Illinois freshman guard Brandon Paul at the foul line, making a clutch free throw with 4.7 seconds left to put Gurnee Warren up 69-68 on Waukegan in a sectional championship game.

Then, future Illini Jereme Richmond kinda stole BP's thunder...

A couple days ago, I lamented the possibility that no Aurora high school basketball team would make it out of a regional for the second straight year. Well, hope is still alive for three Aurora teams, although each will be an underdog Friday night. We'll see if East Aurora, West Aurora or Aurora Central Catholic can rise to the challenge and pull off a surprise championship.

Here's a rundown of local games that will be played in a gymnasium near you Friday night. All games tip at 7:30 p.m.

Class 4A Plainfield East Regional:
East Aurora vs. Neuqua Valley

God bless those Tomcats, they knocked off a Naperville school Wednesday night. Ryan Boatright (pictured) scored 40 points and East High hit 14 3-pointers to take care of Naperville Central 83-72 in the regional semifinal.

Next, the Tomcats draw the best team out of Naperville this year, Neuqua Valley. The Wildcats won the Upstate Eight Conference and are the No. 2 seed in the sectional complex. In a Feb. 12 meeting between the two teams, Neuqua pounded East on the glass and in the paint to come away with a 74-62 win. There's no way the Tomcats can match up inside, so Boatright and his backcourt buddy Snoop Viser need to dial up a few more 3-pointers for East to prevail Friday.

Class 4A Waubonsie Valley Regional: West Aurora vs. Oswego East

The Blackhawks also helped maintain my civic pride by knocking off favored Naperville North 46-40 on Tuesday night. Legendary coach Gordie Kerkman (696 career wins and counting) went to the old Four Corners, slowing the pace and frustrating the Huskies. West High has struggled all year with ballhandling, and I didn't think the Blackhawks were capable of taking good enough care of the ball to execute a delay game. But it worked against Naperville North.

Will it work against Oswego East? Well, the Wolves are a different animal. They forced 26 turnovers in their 63-53 win over Batavia Wednesday, and they have an athletic and dynamic backcourt in Division I-bound sharpshooter Jay Harris and underrated point guard Wesley Brooks. The Blackhawks must limit turnovers to spring an upset.

Class 3A Aurora Central Catholic Regional: Aurora Central vs. Oswego

The Chargers are at home, but the Panthers are gonna be tough to beat. After finishing second in the state last year, Oswego looks poised for another deep run. I don't think ACC has anybody who can match up with Oswego's post man, Andrew Ziemnik. The Panthers have a young backcourt in freshman point Miles Simelton and sophomore Ryan West, but those kids have been coming through all year. Joey Guth is the leading scorer for ACC, but point guard Steve Hollon is the key to that team. Chargers coach Nate Drye called Hollon "the best player on the floor" in Wednesday's 64-49 win over Marmion. Hollon will need another great game Friday night.

Class 3A Kaneland Regional: Kaneland vs. DeKalb

This is a battle between two future mid-major big men in DeKalb's 6-10 Jordan Threloff and Kaneland's 6-9 Dave Dudzinksi. Threloff is headed to Illinois State. Dudzinski will attend Holy Cross. The two teams met twice in Western Sun Conference play this year, with the Barbs winning both. Will the third time be the charm for the Knights? Well, at least they've got homecourt advantage working for them.

Class 1A Somonauk Sectional: Newark vs. Dwight

If you feel like driving out to Cornpone, there's a sectional game going on in Somonauk. Newark faces a tall task -- literally. Dwight has two kids 6-7 or taller and three others 6-2 or taller. That's unusual for a Class 1A school. We'll see if the Norsemen have enough quickness to overcome their disadvantage in height.

I was spoiled watching the Olympic hockey tournament. The team I was rooting for actually had an elite goaltender. Ryan Miller turned in a MVP-worthy performance in helping Team USA to a silver medal.

Now that the NHL season has resumed, it's back to reality and back to Cristobal Huet (pictured). Despite rumors that the Blackhawks would make a deal for a new goaltender before Wednesday's 2 p.m. trading deadline, the team chose to stand pat.

Count me among the disappointed.

When you look at the forwards and the defensemen on the Blackhawks roster, this team is ready to win the Stanley Cup. But it's damn hard to win championships with mediocre or less-than-mediocre goaltending.

Anything is possible, but it seems real unlikely to me that Cristobal Huet will be raising the Stanley Cup in June. After all, Huet ranks 32nd in the league in save percentage, the statistic I consider to be most valuable in evaluating goaltenders. 32nd in the league! Remember, there are only 30 teams and only 60 goaltenders can be active on NHL rosters at any one time.

You may notice that Florida's Tomas Vokoun, the goaltender the Hawks were reportedly trying to get, ranks first on that list. He's even ahead of Miller. Amazingly, some people don't think Vokoun would be an upgrade over Huet. Nonsense.

You also may notice that Blackhawks backup Antti Niemi ranks 22nd on that list. I actually like Niemi a lot. I think he might be a long-term answer for the Hawks in net. But he's a rookie, and with the team built to win now, the Hawks need a short-term answer. Could Niemi be that guy? Maybe, but it's a roll of the dice at best.

I assume Blackhawks management will say all the right things about how they believe in Huet. Don't buy it. If the Hawks believe in Huet so much, how come Niemi has started the last five games? Do you know any other No. 1 goaltenders around the league who have sat out for five consecutive games for any reason other than injury? If so, I'd like to hear about it. Hawks coach Joel Quenneville obviously does not believe in Huet. Why should the fans?

People talk about how the Hawks had a two-goaltender system last year with Huet and Nikolai Khabibulin, but by this time last season, we knew Khabibulin was the guy. And the Hawks won two playoffs series with him in net.

This year, the calendar has turned to March and we're still arguing about who the Hawks should have in net. The team itself can't seem to make up its mind. That's not a good sign. Say your prayers and hope one of these two guys, Huet or Niemi, catches lightning in a bottle and gets hot for the postseason.

Earlier this season, Chris Richard appeared in five games for the Bulls. Then, he got cut. Now, he's back. Old fart Lindsey Hunter was waived Tuesday to make room for Richard on the roster.

Who cares, you ask? Well, nobody. But this is a good opportunity to sing a song we haven't sung in awhile.

Welcome back, Chris Richard!

Admittedly, I haven't had a chance to get out and watch as much local high school basketball as I would like this season. Due to the ridiculous staff shortages here in the sports department at Sun-Times Media West, I've been stuck in this hole basically every Friday and Saturday night all winter. Thus, I haven't been able to see teams in person like I have in the past.

However, I was off last evening and I made it out to Waubonsie Valley High School to watch the Class 4A regional opener between my alma mater, West Aurora, and the host Warriors.

What I saw last night confirmed what I've figured to be true all season long -- boys high school basketball in the city of Aurora is down, down, down for the second straight year. West High beat Waubonsie Valley 50-38, but neither school is fielding a team that is as strong as the teams that have been fielded in years past.

I thought West played OK last night. Senior Tyrone Carey (pictured) actually had an impressive outing. He knocked down some perimeter shots and also had some good takes to the basket. He finished with a game-high 17 points.

Nevertheless, I can see why West is only 12-15 this season. They are limited offensively, both in terms of ballhandlers and shooters. The Blackhawks will be underdogs in tonight's regional semifinal against Naperville North.

Naperville schools favored to do better in the basketball postseason than Aurora schools? Seriously? As an Auroran, that wounds my pride a little bit.

As for Waubonsie Valley, man, where to start? That was the worst performance I've seen from a Warriors team in many years. They were outscored 20-8 in the second quarter to fall behind 30-18 at half. After West scored the first six points of the third quarter, Waubonsie coach Steve Weemer had seen enough. He pulled his starters off the court, played his bench guys and saw the deficit swell to 43-23 late in the third quarter.

Three of the guys Weemer pulled off the court never got back on the floor. Time after time in that second half, I saw Weemer walk down to the end of his bench and summon little-used reserves, while those starters sat and watched.

That's quite a powerful statement from a coach. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it before. Weemer essentially sent the message that he'd rather lose a regional game with reserves playing hard than allow his starters who weren't playing well to get back on the court. Very interesting, and it's no wonder Waubonsie finished up 9-18 this year based on what I saw last night.

Last year, no team from an Aurora high school won a regional. This year, Waubonsie, Aurora Christian and IMSA are already gone. Frankly, I don't see a regional title in the offing this week for West Aurora, East Aurora, Aurora Central Catholic or Marmion Academy either. It's looking like A-Town will get shut out again this year.

Prove me wrong, guys. I'd like to see some team from Aurora step up and win. These last couple years have been bleak for a city with a proud tradition of high school basketball.

UPDATE: West Aurora upsets Naperville North 46-40 Tuesday night. My civic pride feels a little better now. Can the Blackhawks (13-15) be a surprise regional champ? They'll play either Oswego East or Batavia on Friday night.