As you all know, I love to mock "football" coaches and commentators for their excessive use of the word "football" in every single sentence they ever utter.

Apparently, so does Sports Illustrated's Phil Taylor. I was reading his column this week where he conjured up a "fantasy calendar" for the current NFL lockout.

Go to the second page and read what Taylor wrote under the Sept. 8 entry:

"ESPN tries to get some use out of the 597 former players and coaches on its payroll as NFL analysts by airing its usual pregame and postgame shows, even though there are no games. Each week Mike Ditka tells America that the Steelers "are a good football team with a fine football coach and they know how to play their best football when the time comes to win football games." Ron Jaworski breaks down the way Tom Brady takes a five-step drop and gets the ball out on time. Matt Millen, Cris Carter and Herm Edwards inform everyone that the team committing the fewest turnovers is likely to win. The ratings are identical to those of 2010."

Awesome. That's an accurate synopsis for every NFL pregame show I've ever watched. NFL pregame shows are a complete waste of time and deserve to be ridiculed at every single opportunity. I get sick of former jocks using the word "football" and indicating obvious things about upcoming games.

Bravo, Phil Taylor. Good column.

Our fantasy baseball draft was held this past Sunday afternoon. After finishing in fourth place and a half a point out of the money last season, I'm looking to regain my rightful position among the top three in our league. Here is my Opening Day roster for 2011:

C -- Victor Martinez, Detroit
1B -- Adam Dunn, White Sox
2B -- Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati
SS -- Hanley Ramirez, Florida
3B -- Ryan Zimmerman, Washington
OF -- Colby Rasmus, St. Louis
OF -- Curtis Granderson, N.Y. Yankees
OF -- Adam Jones, Baltimore
OF -- Carlos Lee, Houston
OF -- Bobby Abreu, L.A. Angels
OF -- Garrett Jones, Pittsburgh

SP -- Matt Cain, San Francisco
SP -- Brett Anderson, Oakland
SP -- Phil Hughes, N.Y. Yankees
SP -- Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco
SP -- Brendan Morrow, Toronto
SP -- Brian Matusz, Baltimore
RP -- Joakim Soria, Kansas City
RP -- Andrew Bailey, Oakland
RP -- Fernando Rodney, L.A. Angels
RP -- David Aardsma, Seattle

I tried a little bit different strategy this time. I drafted my entire infield with my first five picks. In previous years, I drafted a stud outfielder or a stud pitcher in the early rounds. Then, I'd end up with Jose Lopez or some crappy player like that as my everyday second baseman and it would cost me all season. This year, I decided I would have a quality guy at every position on the infield, then try to mix and match my outfielders. After all, there are more good outfielders out there than there are good second basemen or good third basemen.

Much to my surprise, Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez (pictured) fell to me at the fifth overall pick. Most projections I saw had him going first or second in fantasy drafts. I had intended to take second baseman Robinson Cano of the Yankees with my fifth pick, but the chance to draft Ramirez at that spot was too good to pass up.

I grabbed my third baseman, Zimmerman, in the second round. I selected Martinez in the third round. I filled second base in the fourth round by taking Phillips. Finally, I grabbed Dunn in the fifth round.

We'll see if this new strategy works this year. My pitching staff isn't nearly as strong this season. Last year, I had Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson and Justin Verlander on my team. Alas, my offense stunk and all that good pitching didn't get me anywhere but fourth place.

I'm hoping to be a little bit more balanced this year. I don't have an ace starter. I don't have an All-Star outfielder. But I think I have a better team.

Am I crazy for saying I wouldn't mind if the Blackhawks match up with the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the NHL playoffs this year?

Seriously, I wouldn't mind. I know Blackhawk fans have a phobia about Detroit, but I see no reason to fear the Red Wings this year. The Hawks are now 3-1 against Detroit this season following Monday night's 3-2 overtime victory in Motown.

Marian Hossa's power play strike at 51 seconds of overtime secured the win and capped a night of fast and furious hockey that saw the two highly-skilled teams combine for 76 shots on goal.

I think the Hawks are better when the game is more free-flowing, and that's what you get when you face Detroit. There's plenty of open ice and there's more offense. I'd much prefer to play that type of game than get matched up with a slower, defensive-minded team like Nashville or Anaheim, or even Phoenix.

Of course, the first priority for the Hawks is to get in the playoffs. A win in Detroit certainly helps. The Hawks have 90 points and currently sit seventh in the Western Conference. Although, I expect Anaheim to beat Colorado later tonight and leapfrog the Hawks again.

There are seven games left to play, and I think the magic number in the Western Conference is going to be 98 points. That means the Hawks need four more wins in their last seven. Another tough test awaits Tuesday night, as the Hawks head to Boston to face the Bruins, who have 94 points and sit third in the East.

It's possible the Hawks finish with the sixth or seventh seed and play Detroit, which is going to finish either second or third. If that's the case, I say bring it on.

Bulls homecourt winning streak ends

Rough night for the Bulls tonight. They fell behind 50-27 and could never fully recover, losing 97-85 to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The loss ends the Bulls' 14-game homecourt winning streak. But there is good news: Boston also lost tonight. Indiana beat the Celtics 107-100, allowing the Bulls to maintain their two-game lead in the Eastern Conference with nine games to play.

The Bulls are now 53-20 on the season, with Boston and Miami both sitting at 51-22. I think a 7-2 finish would be good enough for the Bulls to secure a No. 1 seed. Among the remaining nine games, only three (4/7 vs. Boston, 4/10 at Orlando and 4/12 at New York) are against likely playoff teams. I think 7-2 is doable.

The Beacon-News published its All-Area girls basketball teams in the Sunday edition.

Kat Yelle of Geneva (pictured above) is our player of the year. The senior point guard is headed to Ohio University next season. During her high school career, the Vikings went 109-17 and won three sectional titles. Included was a fourth-place finish in the Class 4A state tournament in 2009.

You can see all of our all-area picks by clicking here.

Once Illinois is knocked out of the NCAA tournament, I traditionally start cheering for the other Big Ten schools to carry the flag for the conference. This year, top-ranked Ohio State has a legitimate chance to win the national championship. If the Buckeyes can pull it off, they would be the Big Ten's first title winner since Michigan State won it all in 2000.

But it ain't gonna be easy. Take out your NCAA bracket and look at the eight teams remaining on the left-hand side. Then, take a look at the eight teams remaining on the right-hand side. Notice a difference? You should. The left side of the bracket is filled with big names and traditional powerhouses. Most of the upsets occurred on the right side of the bracket. Nearly all the underdog teams reside in the Southwest or Southeast Regionals. The East and West Regionals are loaded with the usual suspects.

Here are the teams left on the left side of the bracket: Ohio State, Kentucky, North Carolina, Marquette, Duke, Arizona, Connecticut and San Diego State. One of those eight will play for the national championship on April 4.

Here are the teams left on the right side of the bracket: Kansas, Richmond, VCU, Florida State, Butler, Wisconsin, Florida and BYU. One of those eight will also play for the national championship on April 4.

That first list is a little more impressive than the second list, isn't it? The consensus picks to make the national title game are Ohio State and Kansas. There is no such thing as an easy road, but it's entirely possible that Kansas can reach the final by beating Richmond, VCU and an overseeded Florida team. By way of comparison, Ohio State could conceivably have to face Kentucky, North Carolina and Duke to reach the title game. Wow.

Come to think of it, if Ohio State wants to win the national championship, it might very well have to win four straight games against Kentucky, Carolina, Duke and Kansas. Those are only the four winningest programs in the history of college basketball. Talk about a tough draw.

The gauntlet starts Friday night when Ohio State plays Kentucky. Good luck, Buckeyes. You pull this off and you'll have earned it.

The Bulls had a really sick performance in their 114-81 win over the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday night. We had the game on here in the office and every time I looked at the TV it seemed like the Chicago lead had increased by five or six more points. It was as lopsided as you'll ever seen an NBA game get.

At one stage of the third quarter, the Bulls enjoyed a 47-point advantage. And, remember, this was the second game of a back-to-back for Chicago. The Bulls were on the road, playing against a playoff-bound team. Yet they humiliated Atlanta on national television. The first half, in particular, was astounding. Here are some of the facts from this game:

1. From the 1:42 mark of the first quarter until the 3:47 mark of the second quarter, the Bulls scored on 16 straight possessions.

2. Coupled with Monday's 132-92 blowout of the Sacramento Kings, the Bulls set a franchise record for largest combined margin of victory (73 points) in back-to-back games.

3. This was the first time the Bulls won back-to-back games by 25 points or more since the fifth of the six championship seasons (1997).

4. Bulls point guard Derrick Rose (pictured) hit a career-high six 3-pointers and totaled 30 points and 10 assists in just 29 minutes played.

5. The Bulls posted a season-best 72 points in the first half, including a season-high 41 points during the second quarter. The Bulls led 72-43 at halftime.

6. The Bulls connected on 17 of 21 shots during that second quarter, for an astounding 81 percent. If only they could shoot that way all the time...

With the win, the Bulls improve to 51-19 and own a half-game lead over the Boston Celtics for the top record in the Eastern Conference. Boston (50-19) is hosting Memphis Wednesday night. There are 12 games remaining in the regular season, and the Bulls have a legit shot to hit the 60-win plateau. Who could have predicted that at the start of the year?

It would really benefit the Bulls to earn that top seed. If they can, chances are Boston and Miami would slug it out in second round, while the Bulls would face an easier opponent like Orlando or this same Atlanta team they pounded Tuesday night. If the Bulls end up with the No. 2 seed, they'd likely have to beat BOTH Miami and Boston in order to get to the NBA finals. That would be a tough chore indeed.

We'll see if they can find a way to stay ahead of the Celtics. The two teams have one more head-to-head meeting this season, and that will be April 7 at the United Center. That could be a huge game in the grand scheme of things.

UPDATE: Boston loses 90-87 to Memphis Wednesday night. The Bulls now own a one-game lead in the Eastern Conference race.

I never knew Jimmy Collins was keeping the all the transcripts related to the Deon Thomas affair in a burn-proof vault.

Click on the link above for an interesting Deadspin article on the whole Bruce Pearl-Jimmy Collins-Deon Thomas saga. Great read with a lot of info.

Love this quote from Collins:

"It's a con man's game, and he's running it," Collins said of Pearl. "And he's never going to con me, because I know what he's about. I know what the guy's about. Anytime you use God, you bring God into what you've done? You're conning. How are you going to buy that?"

BOOM!

I think Collins is a lot more gracious that most people would be. This blog is unapologetic in its criticism of Pearl, who willfully set out to harm the University of Illinois in the late 1980s. We'll never forgive him for it, and we'll rejoice in his every sorrow. End of story.

We would be remiss if we didn't welcome Jannero Pargo and John Lucas III back to the Bulls. The two players were signed to the roster Sunday. Pargo is on his third stint with the Bulls. Lucas was waived by the team Jan. 4 and is now making his triumphant return.

Cue the music....

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl has been fired for lying to the NCAA.

I hope Jimmy Collins is enjoying every moment of this day.

Where has this been all year?

A day that started with Illinois fans grumbling about a possible suspension handed down to freshman Jereme Richmond ended with the Illini's first NCAA tournament victory in five years.

Richmond never got off the bench, but Illinois rolled to a 73-62 victory over UNLV Friday night. The final score was much closer than the game. The Illini dominated the first half, taking a 46-24 lead into the locker room. With four minutes to play, Illinois still led by 22 points at 71-49.

UNLV closed with a 13-2 run against Illini reserves to make the score look a little bit better in the paper, but this was a butt-kicking from the opening tip. I'm stunned. It's been a trying season for Illinois -- the Richmond saga just the latest in a long series of missteps. I thought the Illini seniors were ready to pack up and call it a career.

I was wrong.

Demetri McCamey played like a guy who wants to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft. He had 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting and doled out seven assists. His six turnovers were a few too many, but at least McCamey was back in attack mode this whole game. The tentative player we saw about a month ago is gone. Thank goodness for that.

Senior forward Mike Davis played his best game of the season. Given the stage, it might have been the best game of his Illini career. He had 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 39 minutes. He barely left the court the whole night. Davis said earlier in the week he wanted to win this game badly. His effort backed up his words.

Another positive development for Illinois: D.J. Richardson hit all four of his field goal attempts and finished with 10 points. This was the first time Richardson has scored in double figures since a 13-point effort on Feb. 13 against Purdue. Over his previous seven games, he had scored only 17 points total and been held off the scoresheet twice. He's better than that. The Illini need to hope seeing the ball go through the hoop four times tonight cured his crisis of confidence.

Next up for the Illini: a Sunday date with the No. 2 team in the country -- Kansas. The top-seeded Jayhawks dispatched Boston University with little difficulty earlier Friday, 72-53.

The meatheads will see this matchup as a referendum on Bruce Weber's coaching. Here's my memo to those folks: 1) Illinois still isn't firing Bruce Weber and 2) Bill Self left on his own accord. He isn't coming back. Move on.

Illinois has nothing to lose Sunday. As an Illini fan, I'm relieved the five-year wait for a tournament victory is over. I'm also pleasantly surprised.

I'm not expecting anything on Sunday. Kansas is a better team than Illinois. A win in this next game would be gravy.

This is a phraseology I just don't get. Coaches and commentators often make reference to "scoring the basketball." What the hell is that all about?

I saw another usage of this silly phrase in a story just this afternoon. Waubonsee Community College bowed out of the NJCAA Division II National Tournament Thursday with an 85-61 loss to Lakeland College.

The tournament was played down in Danville, and our thanks go out to Danville Commercial News sports editor Chad Dare and his staff for their help covering this event all week.

In Chad's story today, he had a quote from Lakeland coach Terry Bowe that read like this:

"Our guys also did a good job of being ready to score the basketball, as well,'' he said. "When those two guys (Powell and Sullivan) are shooting the ball well and our post guys have it going, our opponents have to pick their poison.''

Why not just say, "Our guys did a good job of being ready to score"? It means the same thing, and it doesn't sound awkward or stupid. You can't blame the reporter. He has to quote exactly what the coach said. If that's what he said, then that is what you write. But why do coaches and others talk like this?

It is true that people use "the basketball" to score. But what the hell else would they be scoring? A gym shoe? Just drives me nuts.

I have to believe most of the interest in the NCAA tournament around these parts involves gambling. There certainly isn't much to root for, with only ninth-seeded Illinois in the field from the Land of Lincoln. Are you excited about the Illini? Me neither.

But since we've got nothing better to do on this sleepy Wednesday night. Let's take a look at the Illini's matchup with eighth-seeded UNLV. Tip time is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. Friday night in Tulsa, Okla. Here are the key players for both teams:

UNLV (24-8)
F -- Chace Stanback, 6-8 jr., 13.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg
F -- Quintrell Thomas, 6-8 soph., 6.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg
G -- Tre'Von Willis, 6-4 sr., 13.5 ppg, 3.6 apg
G -- Anthony Marshall, 6-3 soph., 9.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg
G -- Oscar Bellfield, 6-2 jr., 11.1 ppg, 3.8 apg
Bench -- Derrick Jasper, 6-6 sr., 5.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Bench -- Justin Hawkins, 6-3 soph., 5.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg

Illinois (19-13)
F -- Mike Davis, 6-9 sr., 12.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg
F - Bill Cole, 6-9 sr., 5.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg
C -- Mike Tisdale, 7-1 sr., 10.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg
G -- D.J. Richardson, 6-3 soph., 8.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg
G -- Demetri McCamey, 6-3 sr., 14.8 ppg, 6.0 apg
Bench -- Brandon Paul, 6-4 soph., 9.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Bench -- Jereme Richmond, 6-7 fr., 7.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg

The first thing we can notice about this matchup is that Illinois has a clear size advantage. Actually, the Illini are the tallest team in Division I this year, so that's pretty commonplace. Illinois goes 7-1, 6-9, 6-9 across the frontcourt, while UNLV has no key players taller than 6-8. The Rebels also play three guards most of the time.

While the Illini should be able to use their height to advantage, UNLV figures to be quicker. The Rebels are the sort of team that likes to attack with the dribble. They have shot 175 more free throws than Illinois has this season, so that tells you they aren't afraid to take the ball to the hole. UNLV only shoots 33 percent from 3-point range. That means they have to get inside somehow. Expect them to try to do that off the bounce. Containing the dribble is the biggest key to victory for the Illini in this game.

In addition, expect UNLV to fastbreak at every opportunity. Transition defense will be another huge point of emphasis for the Illini. Offensively, Illinois must limit turnovers and force the Rebels to score against a set defense.

Matchup-wise, Stanback could be a tough cover for the Illini. He's 6-8, and he's one of the few Rebels who can shoot from outside (38 percent on 3s). Illinois' Cole is the logical choice to draw that defensive assignment. Look for Richardson to guard UNLV's leading scorer, the 6-4 shooting guard Willis (pictured above).

Of the eight losses UNLV has, seven of them have come to tournament teams. The Rebels lost three times to 32-2 San Diego State. They also lost twice in conference play to BYU. Other losses came against Louisville and UC-Santa Barbara. Their only loss to a non-tournament team came against Colorado State. UNLV's two most impressive wins are a homecourt victory over Wisconsin and a neutral court win over Kansas State.

Illinois clearly played a tougher schedule than UNLV coming out of the Big Ten. However, the Rebels play a different style than anything the Illini see in conference play. In the Big Ten, it's usually a slowdown, possession-style game. Expect this contest to be a little more free-flowing, which might actually work to Illinois' advantage. The Illini, while tall, are not the most physical team in the world and they often struggle when a game degenerates into a slugfest. I don't expect that to happen here.

The biggest question for Illinois is whether it can finish games. Eight of the Illini's 13 losses have come by six points or less. This team has been in position to win on a regular basis, but they lack the leadership and toughness to making winning plays at key times. For that reason, I'm selecting UNLV to win this game. Illinois has yet to prove it can win a close game when the pressure is on. From my perspective, it's folly to think anything is going to change once you reach the 33rd game of the season.

Prediction: UNLV 69, Illinois 67

The clock struck midnight on Aurora Central's surprising postseason run Tuesday night. The Chargers lost 72-55 to Rock Island at the Class 3A DeKalb Super-Sectional.

With that, the high school basketball season ends for Beacon-News area coverage teams.

Aurora Central should feel no shame in losing to a team like the Rocks. Hey, sometimes the opponent is just better. ACC coach Nate Drye, a long-time proponent of the 2-3 matchup zone, tried something different with a diamond-and-one defense on Rock Island star Chasson Randle. It worked somewhat. Randle scored 35 points in a Feb. 12 game against the Chargers. This time, the Stanford-bound Randle only scored 20.

Alas, Rock Island's other players stepped up and filled the gaps. Romal Davis had 18 points. Denzel McCauley had 13 points. The Rocks' bench outscored the ACC bench 33-15. That shows right there that Rock Island (28-3) had too many weapons. There were too many obstacles for Aurora Central to overcome in this game.

But you can't fault the effort. If the seeds are to be believed, Aurora Central wasn't supposed to win a single game in the postseason. It won four and it came within a game of making it down to Peoria for the state semifinals. Not too shabby for a team that finishes the campaign with a 17-14 record.

"I'm proud of our guys, we did what we wanted to do and gave ourselves a chance to win," Drye told our reporter, Mike Knapp. "Nothing comes easy against (Rock Island), they are just really freaking good."

That about sums it up, doesn't it? Sometimes, you just gotta credit your opponent and move on.

The NCAA will deny it until the day an elephant flies past my office window. They don't set the tournament brackets to create certain media storylines -- or so they claim.

But after looking over the Southwest Region in this year's NCAA tournament bracket, I can't buy that anymore. If Illini coach Bruce Weber wants to reach the Sweet Sixteen this season, he's going to have to defeat his two immediate predecessors at Illinois in the first two rounds of the tournament.

Ninth-seeded Illinois (19-13) will play eighth-seeded UNLV (24-8) in first-round action Friday night. UNLV is coached by Lon Kruger (pictured), who was the head coach at Illinois from 1996-2000. If the Illini are fortunate enough to advance (don't bank on it), they would likely play top-seeded Kansas (32-2) in the second round. The Jayhawks, of course, are coached by Bill Self.

Self was the Illinois coach from 2000-2003. To this day, he's probably Public Enemy No. 2 in Champaign, right behind Weber, who most people want fired nowadays.

I can see it being a coincidence if either Kruger or Self happened to appear in the same part of the bracket as the Illini. But both Kruger AND Self? I smell a conspiracy. This is just a little too fishy for me, especially knowing that Illinois is a little overseeded at No. 9. In this field, I thought the Illini profiled more like a 10 or 11 seed. I believe the committee moved them up on the S curve just to create these intriguing coaching matchups.

Not that I mind. Illinois has had a rough year and should feel fortunate to be in the field. This scenario is actually a great opportunity for Weber and the program. Think about it: What have the two main storylines been during this season of Illini hoops?

1) Can Weber get off the hot seat before his growing legion of distractors tar and feather him on the Quad and toss him on Green Street to be run over by a MTD bus?
2) Can the maddeningly inconsistent Illini senior class forge any sort of positive legacy at all?

There are three 1,000-point scorers among the four senior Illini, but they have ZERO NCAA tournament victories to show for it. Right now, their legacy is one of underachievement. No doubt, many, many fans have hurled their remote controls across the room watching this talented collection of individuals repeatedly fail to mesh as a team.

But as seniors Demetri McCamey and Mike Davis have both pointed out, there is still time to change history as long as this team is still playing games. If these guys beat UNLV in the first round, then upset the hated Self in the second round, they will have successfully made a lasting mark in Illinois basketball history. In the process, they would also pull Weber's ass out of the fire. Now that would be a lasting legacy.

Is that scenario likely? Hell no. I'm selecting UNLV in the first round. However, the opportunity is there. This is the last kick at the can for these seniors. Let's see if they can do anything with it.

The argument against tournament expansion

This was just a terrible year for the NCAA tournament to expand to 68 teams. There aren't 64 tournament-worthy teams this season, let alone 68.

Get out your bracket and take a look at the teams that are seeded in the middle of the pack, say between 8 and 12. Notice how many 12-, 13- and 14-loss teams are in the field this year. There were FIVE teams (Marquette, Penn State, Michigan State, Tennessee, USC) that earned at-large selections despite having 14 losses.

In most years, these teams would profile as NIT teams. Not this season. Someone has to take up the 68 spots in the field, and mediocrity is being rewarded in every single one of these brackets.

Let's face it. Tournament expansion is about one thing and that's money. To be honest, I'm fine with that. People make decisions that are all about money all the time. That's the way the world works. The thing is, the NCAA will claim that tournament expansion is about getting more worthy teams in the field.

I'm calling shenanigans on that one. No matter how many teams you put in the field, the first couple teams out are always going to scream about the injustice of it all. You've got Colorado and Virginia Tech outraged about being snubbed this year. Next year, it will be somebody else. Expand the field to 96 and team No. 97 will be furious about being left out. That's just how it is. Allowing more teams into the tournament in an effort to please everyone is just a waste of time. No matter the system, somebody will always be upset.

I don't see any reason to water down the NCAA tournament any further -- other than money. So, if they do expand the field any further, I wish they would just tell it like it is and admit it's about money. I can live with that. Don't lie to me and tell me it's about giving more "worthy" teams an opportunity. That's nonsense. At this point, I'd probably be more inclined to expand the NIT than the NCAA tournament.

Here is one of the headlines I wrote for Friday's edition of The Beacon-News: "Norsemen look like team to beat."

That statement might have made the coaches at Newark a little fretful, but there is no doubt it was accurate. Indeed, the Norsemen pounded every Class 1A team they faced all year long, culminating in an extremely easy 57-35 victory over Winchester in Saturday's state title game.

Newark finishes the campaign with a 33-1 record. Its only loss came to Rockford Christian, which placed third in the Class 2A tournament. Nobody in 1A ever had a chance against the Norsemen this postseason. They won their seven playoff games by an average margin of 24.5 points.

They beat Somonauk 86-42. They beat Hinckley-Big Rock 61-34. The beat Dwight 63-42. They beat Chicago Hope 65-40. They beat Forreston 60-47. They beat Deer Creek-Mackinaw 52-32 in Friday's semifinal. That's domination. Winchester had no chance in hell Saturday.

Newark has a Division I talent in 6-foot-3 senior Kyle Anderson. He'll attend the University of Delaware next year. The kid is the leading scorer in school history, and he averaged 19.9 points per game as a senior. But what really impressed me this weekend was Anderson's defense at the top of Newark's trapping 3-2 zone. He collected a state-record nine steals in Saturday's championship game. His size and quickness completely disrupted Winchester's offense.

Anderson got plenty of help, too, from guys like John Avery and Brett Anderson. Those two kids play the wings in that zone defense, and their length gives opponents fits. Winchester shot just 33 percent from the floor and committed 16 turnovers in the state title game.

Avery is a nice offensive player as well. He collected 17 points on Saturday, and he has a good shooting touch for a 6-foot-6 kid. Really, any of Newark's five starters are capable of burning teams. The other two kids I haven't mentioned yet, Jeremy Anderson and Cameron Berg, are good enough offensive threats that people have to pay attention to them.

It's rare that you see a Class 1A team that can score from all five spots on the floor. Combine that depth and balance with a stingy 3-2 zone defense, and you've got a recipe for a state championship. Newark made it look easy. That's the best Class 1A team in Illinois by a wide, wide margin.

It's March 10 and we still have three Beacon-News coverage area teams alive in the high school basketball playoffs. That's pretty good, and we've got three big matchups coming up on Friday.

The game with the most interest, of course, has to be East Aurora's (24-5) showdown with Glenbard East (25-3) for the sectional title. The biggest key for the Tomcats? I'd say it's avoiding a mental letdown. Benet was the No. 1 team in the state, and it was huge for East to beat the Redwings Tuesday night.

But Tomcats coach Wendell Jeffries warns that Glenbard East is just as good as Benet. While that might be debatable, there's no doubt the Rams pose a difficult challenge with two future Division I players on their roster -- forward Johnny Hill (Illinois State) and point guard Zach Miller (NIU). We'll see if East can duplicate its focused, determined performance from Tuesday night.

Aurora Central (16-13) is playing in a sectional final for the first time in 20 years. The Chargers will take on Rockford East (19-11) up at Woodstock North Friday. The biggest key for ACC? Hit the boards hard. The E-Rabs outrebounded Crystal Lake Central 51-38 and got 84 shots at the rim during their sectional semifinal win Tuesday night.

Rockford East is an athletic team and it will look to pick ACC up fullcourt. Handling that pressure will be key, but the most important thing for the Chargers is to keep the E-Rabs off the glass.

Finally, tiny Newark (31-1) has a shot a winning its first Class 1A state championship this weekend. Friday's semifinal game against Deer Creek-Mackinaw (25-3) begins at 2 p.m. If the Norsemen are successful, they'll play for the title at 2 p.m. Saturday against either Winchester or Woodlawn.

Good luck to our three remaining area teams this weekend.

As a reminder, there is no Saturday Beacon-News any longer. But assistant sports editor Kim Williams will be working Friday night to get the game stories up on our Web site. Be sure to log on late Friday evening or Saturday morning for full coverage of all the area's action.

We all remember Ricardo Patton's signature quote from his first media day as head coach of the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team. It caused uproarious laughter in our newsroom and throughout the college basketball community:

"Anything less than a national championship will always be short of our goal," quoth the great Patton in 2007. "Why shouldn't our kids want to win a national championship?"

Bold talk from a man who was coming off a 20-loss season the previous year as the head coach at the University of Colorado. Bold talk from a man who has a grand total of one NCAA tournament victory in his not-so-illustrious career.

Not surprisingly, Patton fell just a little bit shy of his "goal." NIU announced Wednesday that Patton will not return to the bench next season. If you're an NIU fan or alum, feel free to dance in the streets.

The Huskies just finished a miserable 9-21 campaign, capped by an embarrassing 74-54 loss to Bowling Green in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament.

It was the latest in a long line of embarrassments for Patton, who went 35-83 over his four years in DeKalb. NIU was a lackluster 19-44 in conference play during that span. Forget the national championship. The Huskies were not even competitive in their own mid-major conference.

Patton presided over four consecutive 20-loss seasons during his tenure at NIU -- 6-22, 10-20, 10-20 and now 9-21. Brilliant.

Dating back to former coach Rob Judson's 7-23 season in 2006-07, Northern Illinois has now suffered through five straight 20-loss seasons. Prior to Patton's arrival, the Huskies had never had two 20-loss seasons in a row, let alone five.

That shouldn't happen at NIU, with so many good players in the Chicago area available. Hell, I thought Patton should have been recruiting some kids right here in the Fox Valley. Aurora Central grad Anthony Kelley is at UIC. Kaneland grad Dave Dudzinski is at Holy Cross. Oswego East grad Jay Harris plays for Valpo. Newark High School senior Kyle Anderson, the leading scorer in Newark history, is headed to the University of Delaware.

There are plenty of mid-major-type players from around here that would have looked good in Huskie Red and Black. Did Patton recruit any of them? Nope.

You're fired, Ricardo. And you won't be missed.

The final score was available on our Web site mere minutes after the game went final.

Alas, some people don't know that. So, they call The Beacon-News sports desk. This exchange took place on numerous occasions Tuesday night:

(Ring, ring, ring goes the phone.)
JB answers: Sports
Caller: Do you have a final on the East Aurora-Benet game?
JB: Yeah, East Aurora won 60-52.
Caller: WOW! OH MY GOD THAT'S AWESOME OH WOW!!!!!

My left ear is very sore tonight because I've had all these excited old Tomcats screaming at me after I give them the score.

Seriously, as a West Sider, I'm happy for East High. This is a senior-laden team and it's their last shot at a winner for awhile.

And this is a huge win over previously undefeated Benet. The Redwings were 29-0, ranked No. 1 in the state and ranked in some national high school polls (for what little those are worth). This is a Benet team that beat Simeon. It couldn't beat East Aurora, thanks to 29 points from Ryan Boatright and yeoman defensive work from kids like John Williams, Tom Okapal and Domonique Johnson.

Next up for East, the sectional final on Friday night against the winner of Wednesday's game between Downers Grove South and Glenbard East. Once again, the Tomcats will be the lower-seeded team, but they've got the homecourt advantage working for them. No doubt the hometown Aurora fans helped East High Tuesday night. We'll see if the Tomcats can bring a sectional championship to A-Town about 72 hours from now.

Meanwhile, Aurora Christian's surprising run came to an end Tuesday against powerful Hales Franciscan. The Eagles were denied a trip to Peoria, losing 67-35 at the Class 2A Joliet Central Super-Sectional. AC finishes up 15-17 and it can be proud of the way it ended the season. Just got beat by a superior team tonight.

Aurora Central will begin sectional play Wednesday night at Woodstock North against Marian Central. The Chargers prevailed, 75-66, in a previous meeting between the two schools.

Our congratulations go out to coach Rick Tollefson and the Newark boys basketball team. The Norsemen finally cleared the super-sectional hurdle Tuesday night with a 60-47 win over Forreston. Newark had lost in the supers in each of the last two years. Next up, a state semifinal game Friday at 2 p.m. against Deer Creek Mackinaw at Carver Arena in Peoria.

The Blackhawks appear to have broken out of their season-long malaise. Their 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night was their eighth consecutive win, a streak that has seen them vault from 11th place all the way up to fourth in the tightly-packed Western Conference.

Team captain Jonathan Toews is getting the majority of the credit for the resurgence and justifiably so. He's the best player in the NHL. Period. He proved it by being a dominant two-way force in the 2010 Olympics. He proved it by winning the Conn Smythe Trophy last spring. He's proving it over again right now with 15 points over his last 10 games.

Toews has been bringing his best effort to the rink every night all year. But up until the last eight games, it hasn't been getting the Hawks anywhere. The real difference lately has been the play of veteran winger Marian Hossa, who has woken up over the last two weeks.

Hossa has six goals and five assists for 11 total points in his last seven games. He's a plus-seven during that stretch. For most of this season, Hossa has been a combination of injured and bad, and it has killed the Hawks. Without Hossa leading the second line, the Hawks are basically a one-trick pony. The Toews line is great, but it can't do it all. You need that secondary scoring to be successful as a team.

Lately, Hossa has been providing the secondary scoring and we've seen a lengthy winning streak from the Hawks as a result.

For the year, Hossa has 43 points (18 g, 25 a) in 49 games. Those are respectable numbers, but he has compiled them in streaky fashion. He came out on fire this year, got hurt and went into a long slumber and now has put the pieces back together again. Here's a look at Hossa's season:

Oct. 7- Oct. 18 -- 7 games, 7 goals, 4 assists, 11 points, +5
Oct. 20 - Feb. 20 -- 35 games, 5 goals, 16 assists, 21 points, +2, 17 games missed due to injury
Feb. 21 - present -- 7 games, 6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points, +7

All those injuries and ineffective games Hossa had in the middle of the season really put the Hawks in a hole. They need him to be their second-best player behind Toews. It hasn't been that way for most of the year. It is that way right now. That needs to continue if the Hawks hope to make the playoffs AND be successful in the postseason.

East Aurora will play Neuqua Valley Friday night for the championship of the Class 4A Bolingbrook Regional. The Tomcats have already beaten the Wildcats twice this season. East is the better team and I expect it to beat Neuqua again -- but what if the Tomcats don't?

A loss would mark the end of Ryan Boatright's brilliant career at East High. Believe me, Boatright knows this -- every senior plays with urgency at this time of year. And even if Boatright meets his goal of leading East to the state tournament in Peoria, he'll be turning in his Tomcat uniform for the final time in about three weeks.

So, as Boatright's career winds down, we ponder. How will he do next year at the University of Connecticut? How does his game translate to the Big East? Will he be a rotation player as a college freshman? Could he start as a freshman? Does he have pro potential? These are questions that come up when you're watching a high school player who is averaging an astounding 31.2 points per game.

For my money, Boatright is neck-and-neck with Thomas Wyatt (East Aurora Class of 1990) for the unofficial title of best Tomcat hoop star I've seen in my lifetime. Wyatt was a hustler and a battler --  a top-notch defender and rebounder, as well as an elite scorer. Boatright is a more dynamic and explosive player, the kind of kid who brings people out of their seats when he has the ball in his hand.

The problem Wyatt had when he moved on to college was he was only 6-foot-6, a classic tweener who was more comfortable around the basket than on the perimeter. Wyatt went to the University of Utah, didn't connect well with then-coach Rick Majerus, transferred to some JuCo, then pretty much disappeared. I hear Wyatt is an assistant coach at Peoria Central these days. One can't help but wonder what would have happened had Wyatt been about three, maybe four inches taller.

When I look at Boatright, I find myself thinking the same thing ... "Man, if this kid were only three or four inches taller..." He has most everything you want in a point guard, except for size. I'm of the opinion that Boatright needs to improve his perimeter shot, but to his credit, he has improved that area of his game during his time at East High. But over the long haul, the biggest obstacle he'll have to overcome is the fact that he stands just 5-foot-10. Basketball is, after all, a big man's game.

We had a water-cooler discussion about Boatright and his future prospects in the newsroom the other day. OK, we don't have a water cooler, so we were just sitting at our desks talking about it. But I digress.

In the interest of full disclosure, sportswriters by nature are cynics. I've been in this business for 13 years and I've seen a lot of high school players come and go. I don't think the general public realizes how damn hard it is to be a successful player in major college sports. It's even harder still to one day make it to one of the professional leagues. An awful lot has to go right. I've seen a lot of good players who were awesome in high school not make it, for whatever reason.

Since we're talking basketball here, let's use the NBA as an example. There are 30 teams in the league and two rounds in the draft. That means only 60 guys get drafted every year, and only 30 get guaranteed contracts as first-round picks. The competition is fierce. There's only one way to break into the NBA (or any other pro league for that matter) -- you have to take another man's job. And those men really, really like those jobs.

So, when people ask me whether Ryan Boatright might one day play in the NBA, I say this: The list of guards under 6-foot to be drafted by NBA teams is a short one. The list of guards under 6-foot to succeed in the NBA is even shorter.

My colleague Jim Owczarski compiled this list of guards 6-feet-and-under who have been drafted by NBA teams over the last decade:

2010: Nobody

2009: No. 6 Jonny Flynn, 6-0 - Minnesota - starter, career averages 11.2 ppg, 4.1 assists
No. 18 - Ty Lawson, 6-0 - Minnesota - in Denver, career 9.3 ppg, 3.5 assists
No. 55 - Patrick Mills, 6-0 - Portland - career 5.1 ppg, 1.7 assists

2008: No. 9 - DJ Augustin, 5-11 - Charlotte - career 10.4 ppg, 3.8 asts - 14.3 ppg, 6.1 assists this yr.
No. 42 - Sean Singletary, 6-0 - Sacramento - out of the league, played 37 games in 08-09

2007: No. 26 - Aaron Brooks, 6-0 - Houston ­- in Phoenix,, career 12.7 ppg, 3.6 assists, career high 19.6 ppg in 09-10 w/ Houston
No. 52 - Taurean Green, 6-0 - Portland - out of league, played 17 games in 07-08

2006: No. 24 - Kyle Lowry, 6-0 - Memphis - now in Houston, career 13.2 ppg, 6.1 assists
No. 46 - Dee Brown, 6-0 - Utah - out of league, played 68 games from 06-07 to 08-09
No. 60 - Will Blalock, 6-0 - Detroit - out of the league, played 14 games in 06-07

2005: No. 21 - Nate Robinson, 5-9 - Phoenix - in Ok. City, career 11.3 ppg, 2.6 assists

2004: No. 13 - Sebastian Telfair, 6-0 - Portland - In Minnesota, career 7.4 ppg, 5.9 assists
No. 20 - Jameer Nelson, 6-0 - Denver - In Orlando, career 12.4 ppg, 4.8 assists
No. 24 - Lionel Chalmers, 6-0 - L.A. Clippers - out of the league, played 36 games in 04-05

2003: No. 8 - T.J. Ford, 6-0 - Milwaukee - In Indy, career 11.5 ppg, 5.9 assists

2002: No. 28 - Dan Dickau, 6-0 - Sacramento ­- out of league, played 300 games for 6 teams career 5.8 ppg, 2.5 assists. Averaged 12.5 ppg in 04-05 for Dallas and New Orleans
No. 30 - Steve Logan, 6-0 - Golden State - out of league, never played

2001: No. 24 - Raul Lopez, 6-0 - Utah - out of league, played 113 games from 03-04 to 04-05

2000: No. 20 - Craig "Speedy" Claxton, 5-11 - Philadelphia - out of league, 7 yr career average 9.33 ppg, 4.3 assists
No. 34 - Khalid El-Amin, 5-10 - Chicago - out of league, played 50 games in 00-01
No. 58 - Scoonie Penn, 5-10 - Atlanta ­- never played

So, over 10 years, only 21 guys 6-foot-and-under have been drafted by NBA teams. Only four were chosen as lottery picks. Roughly half of the 21 have had decent careers in the league. None are perennial All-Stars. Of this group, Jameer Nelson is probably the best player.

These are the odds a kid like Boatright faces as far as one day making it to the NBA. The good news is all of the 21 players on this list had good-to-outstanding college careers. A lot of players Boatright's size have success at the major college level. That's really what you have to hope for if you're a Ryan Boatright fan -- that he has a terrific college career and is able to earn a degree from the University of Connecticut.

If basketball as a career works out for him one day, that would be super. But no one should ever expect that to happen. If Boatright one day graduates from college, I would consider his basketball career a tremendous success -- whether he ever signs a pro contract or not.

We've been so busy with high school hoops around here lately that I haven't had a chance to offer a lucid, rational blog about the state of Fighting Illini basketball.

Fortunately, my former college classmate Dave Wischnowsky said a lot of things that needed to be said in this article here.

I think Wisch did a nice job of taking emotion out of the situation. He takes a realistic look at what has happened, how Illinois got to this point and where the program needs to go from here. Indeed, a lot has gone wrong and the hole is quite deep.

I personally don't want to see Illinois fire Bruce Weber. I think he is a good man who does a lot of things right. I also still believe in his coaching ability. The problem is the team he recruited simply isn't good enough, and college basketball is a results-driven business where coaches are paid a king's ransom. You can run a clean program and graduate your players, but that isn't going to be enough. You have to win, too.

Weber isn't going to be fired this year -- nor should he be, in my opinion. But I don't think this season is going to end well. Even if the Illini sneak into the NCAA tournament, they don't have the chops to win any more than one game. In fact, they would be extremely fortunate to win one. Even that wouldn't be enough to cool Weber's seat in the eyes of most people.

That makes next year extremely critical for this coaching staff. In fact, it could be a make-or-break season. Unfortunately, I'd be surprised if Illinois rebounds that quickly. Senior point guard Demetri McCamey has been criticized a lot during his career -- often justifiably for his indifferent play -- but there is no obvious replacement in the pipeline. Keep in mind that for all his faults, this is a kid with over 1,600 points and over 700 assists in his Illini career. That production will be missed.

Is freshman Meyers Leonard going to be ready to replace senior center Mike Tisdale next season? Hell, I don't know. I hope so, but I wouldn't trust anybody who claims to have a definitive answer to that question.

As Wisch points out, there are no juniors on the roster this year due to assorted recruiting woes. That means no seniors next year. Some would say the Illini aren't getting enough leadership from their seniors this season. Well, next year they definitely won't be getting any senior leadership. That's the one thing we can guarantee at this point.

So, if the above weaknesses all get exposed and haunt the Illini next season, can Weber survive another mediocre campaign in 2011-12? That's a great question.

Now that this staff has pieced together three outstanding recruiting classes in a row, the Illini should be loaded for a run in 2012-13. Will Weber still be here then? The doomsday clock is ticking louder and louder on Weber and his program with each loss. I don't know if this coach will get another two years to finish digging out of this hole -- even though that may realistically be what he needs.

Or should I say they ranked it the ninth-worst basketball state?

I went down to Champaign-Urbana over the weekend to watch the Illinois-Iowa basketball game. Well, actually, I went down there to hang out with friends because the Illini aren't really worth anyone's time or money these days. It's like cheering for the damn Cubs.

Illinois (18-12, 8-9) did beat the lowly Hawkeyes Saturday, 81-68, but it was back to business as usual Tuesday night with a 75-67 loss to No. 6 Purdue. The Illini could have played that game 100 times and lost it all 100 times. Neither of the previous two Illinois games are worth much analysis. Regardless, I was too busy filling out my time card tonight to watch much of this Purdue loss.

But while I was downstate, I did pick up a complimentary copy of the Champaign News-Gazette at the hotel Sunday morning, and the Gazette's Bob Asmussen had a real interesting cover story. He researched the 345 Division I men's basketball programs in order to rank which states are producing the best basketball this season.

I looked around online, and unfortunately, it looks like the bottom 20 are the only ones available on the Web. Too bad I can't link to the full list.

I'm not going to list his entire ranking, but here are his top 10. Comments in parentheses are mine:
1. Indiana (Purdue and Notre Dame are ranked in the top 10 nationally.)
2. Kansas (Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State could all make the tournament.)
3. Ohio (I'd rank Ohio ahead of Kansas, with Ohio State, Xavier, Cleveland State and either Miami or Kent State likely to make the tournament.)
4. Pennsylvania (Pitt, Villanova and Temple are all solid.)
5. Kentucky (Will probably produce three tournament teams - Kentucky, Louisville and either Morehead State or Murray State out of the OVC.)
6. Tennessee (I'm not impressed with Vandy or Tennessee, but Asmussen points out that Belmont, ETSU and Lipscomb dominate the Atlantic Sun.)
7. Wisconsin (Wisconsin is Wisconsin and Marquette is making a late-season push.)
8. Missouri (Missouri and Missouri State are likely tourney teams.)
9. North Carolina (There are 18 D-I schools in the state. Duke and UNC are good. After that, there's a lot of bad hoops being played in Carolina.)
10. West Virginia (Both the state school and Marshall are having nice years.)

41. Illinois
Hey, there's 13 schools in this state and not a single one of them is a lock to make the NCAA tournament. Asmussen notes that NIU, EIU, WIU, Chicago State and SIU-Edwardsville are some of the worst teams in the entire country. We've lamented the terrible college basketball in this state previously on this blog. This poor ranking is much deserved.

But hey, it could be worse. We could be Louisiana, the No. 50 state on the list. Asmussen has McNeese State listed as the best team in that state. Louisiana is also home to Centenary, which started the season 0-28 -- and got its first victory of the season last Thursday against Western Illinois.

Thud.