No, it's not Albert Pujols. It's not Prince Fielder.

It's David DeJesus, a 31-year-old veteran outfielder who has spent most of his career with the Kansas City Royals. The lifetime .284 hitter signed a two-year deal with the Cubs on Wednesday.

DeJesus was with the Oakland A's last year, where he suffered through a career-worst season. His batting average dipped to .240, with only 10 home runs and 46 RBIs in 131 games. His best season was 2008, when he batted .307 with 12 homers and 73 RBIs for Kansas City.

Expect to see DeJesus patrolling right field at Wrigley next summer. I don't see DeJesus as being any more than a slight upgrade over the Cubs' previous right fielder, Kosuke Fukudome, who was dealt to Cleveland midseason last year.

That said, at least DeJesus is reasonably priced. He's slated to make $4.25 million in both 2012 and '13. The Cubs will have a $6.5 million option for 2014, with a $1.5 million buyout. The team's total financial commitment is $10 million for the life of the deal, which is less than Fukudome was making in one season.

DeJesus could be a bargain if he returns to the form he showed three or four years ago.

A 34-51 overall record in seven years as head coach. An 18-38 mark in Big Ten games. A six-game losing streak that squandered a 6-0 start, culminating in a disgraceful 27-7 loss to a pathetic Minnesota team.

Yeah, these are the reasons Ron Zook was relieved of his duties as Illinois football coach over the weekend.

Did we mention that recruiting is going terrible and actual attendance for the last home game against Wisconsin was well below the announced figure of 45,519? Those are also clear indicators that a change was necessary.

Without a doubt, Zook's firing was an obvious decision for new Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas. I don't know a single person who disagrees with this move, and believe me, I know a lot of people who graduated from Illinois.

Since we all agree that Zook had to move on, let's tackle a harder question. How much winning will men's basketball coach Bruce Weber have to do this season to retain his position?

Weber is a much more polarizing figure for Illinois fans than Zook ever was. If you take a whirl around the various Illini fan sites on the Internet, you'll find posters segregated into two distinct camps: "the Weber haters" and "the Weber apologists." There is no middle ground. It's like the White Sox-Cubs debates. You can't cheer for both. You have to choose a side, under penalty of death (or banishment).

Given the inherent nastiness in the debate over Weber's job status, it's only natural that both sides listened very carefully when Thomas explained his decision to remove Zook. Did Thomas drop any hints with regard to Weber and the future of the basketball program at Illinois?

We ponder....

"I assessed the entire program and felt that it was time for a change in leadership," Thomas said of Zook. "It is imperative that our program shows some consistency and competes for championships, and I think a change in coaches can help us get there sooner.

"I wasn't here seven years ago when Ron Zook took over as coach, but it's clear the program is in better shape than what he inherited. I believe we need new leadership to take the program to the level to compete for championships on a consistent basis. This is an extremely competitive conference, and we are determined to go head-to-head with the very best."

Then there was this...

"You look at the total body of work, not just since my arrival," Thomas said. "The reset button doesn't get pushed. It's going back before my time.

"You look at a lot of things, primarily the competitive pieces. Winning at a high level, winning Big Ten championships and being a national player."

And also...

"Success in football translates to a certain buzz in the community, and that translates to more people coming to Memorial Stadium and more money for the program," Thomas said.

The comments are interesting because Thomas stated his evaluation of Zook was not limited to just this season. We have to assume his evaluation of Weber will also not be limited to this year -- in which the Illini are off to a 6-0 start against a soft early schedule.

Make no mistake, Weber's seat is hot. But it's not scorching like Zook's was. Weber does have a few things working in his favor. Most importantly, his overall body of work is better than Zook's.

This is Weber's ninth season at Illinois and he has won two Big Ten titles (2004, 2005) and finished second on two other occasions (2006, 2009). Weber has finished in the upper half of the Big Ten in seven of his eight years, with the disastrous 2008 season being the only exception. Zook, in contrast, never won a Big Ten championship and finished in the top half of the Big Ten only twice (2007, 2010) in his seven years.

However, Weber's teams have not been in the conference title conversation four of the last five years, and it's been awhile since he's won. But he has won before. The question is whether Thomas thinks he can win again. It's a great question, and the results this season may tell the tale.

Unlike in football, recruiting has been going very well for basketball. Weber has hauled in three straight top-15 classes, and he already has two top-100 commitments for 2013. The current Illinois roster is the deepest and most talented squad Weber has ever recruited. But it's a young roster -- six freshmen and only one senior. Typically, inexperienced teams don't win a lot in the Big Ten, but it's fair to say Weber is going to have to make this squad grow up quickly this year. Sooner or later, the good recruiting has to show up on the floor. The guess here is Mike Thomas expects those results to come sooner rather than later.

Here's Weber's biggest problem going forward: Attendance at Assembly Hall sucks. Above, we noted that Thomas wants "a buzz" around his football program. Well, you can bet your ass he wants a buzz surrounding men's basketball, too. There is none, and to me, that's the biggest black mark against Weber. Illinois is a basketball school first and foremost, but few are excited about this season's prospects despite the noticeable uptick in talent.

Illinois ran a "Cyber Monday" promotion where it was selling $5 tickets to the Dec. 11 game against Coppin State. There was also a "Black Friday" promotion, inviting fans to buy a package of tickets to three non-conference games for only $15.

Great for fans, bad for business. Big-time programs don't have to practically give away tickets like that. I've heard ticket sales for the annual game at the United Center -- Dec. 17 against UNLV this year -- are languishing also.

There are fewer tickets available for Big Ten games, but no sellouts yet. Fan interest is down, apathy is up.

Illinois has several big games coming up in December -- Tuesday at Maryland, Saturday against Gonzaga, the aforementioned UNLV game, the annual Braggin' Rights Game against Missouri on Dec. 22.

This is Weber's opportunity to generate some buzz. He's gotta win at least three of these games to energize the fans again. If Illinois doesn't play well enough to get some butts in seats for January and February, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see a change at the top in basketball also.

In case you were too busy eating turkey Thursday to read the print edition of The Beacon-News, we announced our 2011 All-Area football team.

Our congratulations go out to our Player of the Year, Aurora Christian quarterback Anthony Maddie.

Click here to see our all-area offense. Click here to see our all-area defense.

There are about 45 miles between Champaign and Bloomington. It takes maybe an hour's drive on Interstate 74 to travel from the University of Illinois to Illinois State University.

But the basketball teams from those two respective schools will be playing a game in Cancun, Mexico Wednesday night.

The Illini beat Richmond 70-61 behind 22 points from Meyers Leonard Tuesday night, while Illinois State topped Rutgers 76-70 in the semifinals of the Cancun Challenge. That sets up a championship match in tropical paradise.

We'll see if the Illini have learned any lessons from the past as they prepare to take the court Wednesday night. Illinois suffered one of the most embarrassing losses in school history last year, a 57-54 humiliation to UIC at the United Center. In 2009, the Illini tumbled from the rankings after losing a neutral-court game against Bradley.

You see, these in-state mid-majors are extremely dangerous opponents for the Illini. For Illinois State, Wednesday night's game is the Final Four, the Super Bowl and Game 7 of the World Series all combined into one. If the Redbirds beat Illinois, it will literally be the highlight of their whole season. ISU will come out fired up to play, without a doubt. This represents a rare opportunity to play the big kid on the block.

If the Illini beat Illinois State, meh, who cares? Let's get ready for Big Ten season.

It's that difference in attitude that leads to upsets in these sorts of games. Illinois didn't match Bradley's intensity or preparation level two years ago. It lost. Illinois didn't match UIC's intensity or preparation level last year. It lost. Can the Illini match ISU's intensity in Cancun on Wednesday night?

It's always funny when people curse on live TV. Kirk Herbstreit's reaction is priceless....

The Bears earned their fifth consecutive victory Sunday, defeating the San Diego Chargers 31-20 at Soldier Field.

However, the win came at a heavy price as quarterback Jay Cutler broke his right thumb and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

Reports indicate Cutler suffered the injury when he was blocked by San Diego linebacker Donald Butler during an interception return by the Chargers' Antoine Cason.

Cutler finished the game, during which he completed 18 of 31 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns.

Apparently, Cutler will not be placed on injured reserve, leaving open the possibility he could return in time for the playoffs. Of course, the postseason seems less likely now that backup Caleb Hanie will have to take over the team indefinitely.

The Bears sit at 7-3 in the competitive NFC North and would qualify for the playoffs as a wild card if the season ended today.

One bit of comfort for Bears' fans: Only two of Chicago's six remaining games are against winning teams. The Bears travel to Oakland (6-4) next week and play at Green Bay (10-0) on Christmas Day. Perhaps their strong defense and special teams will be enough to beat weaker foes like Kansas City (4-5), Denver (5-5), Seattle (4-6) and Minnesota (2-8).

Taking a look around the NFC, there are eight teams in contention for the six playoff spots. The Packers, San Francisco (9-1), New Orleans (7-3) and the New York Giants (6-3) are leading their respective divisions. Then, you've got Detroit and the Bears both at 7-3 and leading the wild-card race.

Dallas and Atlanta, both 6-4, are the two teams that could realistically catch the Bears and knock them out of the postseason. Fortunately, Chicago beat Atlanta head-to-head and holds the tiebreaker. The Bears do not play the Cowboys. If you look at the records against NFC foes, the Bears are 6-3 while Dallas is 5-2. It's a neck-and-neck race for the tiebreaker there.

The Bears might get in at 10-6 if they win three of their remaining six. Might. A 4-2 finish and an 11-5 record would make things much more comfortable. The question is whether Hanie, who has never started an NFL game, can guide the Bears to four wins over the final six weeks.

Why do people talk like this? So ridiculous....

Taking a little vacation here for the next week. I'm not going anywhere, other than maybe my couch. Hey, I'm too broke to do anything else.

I'll be returning to work Saturday, Nov. 19. Blogging will resume then.

After 46 years at the helm, Penn State coach Joe Paterno is out. The winningest coach in college football history was fired Wednesday amid anger over how Paterno and the school handled sexual abuse accusations against former Penn State defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky.

I applaud the move. It's the first smart thing Penn State has done all week. The 23-page indictment against Sandusky is one of the most chilling things I've ever read in my life. Don't read it unless you've got a strong stomach.

For those who are a bit squeamish or simply don't have time to read the document, this timeline from The Sporting News is a good synopsis. And it's this timeline I'd like to address in tonight's entry.

As you'll note, allegations of improper conduct were first levied against Sandusky in 1998. He was still the Penn State defensive coordinator at that time, and an investigation yielded no charges.

Curiously, Sandusky "retired" the very next year at age 55. Doesn't that strike you as a little odd? It does me, especially since Sandusky was regarded as the heir apparent to Paterno, who was already in his 70s and thought to be considering retirement himself at that point.

In 1999, Paterno informed Sandusky that he would not be the next head coach at Penn State, so Sandusky walked away. Why did this happen? Keep in mind that for all his perversions, Sandusky was a successful football coach -- the architect of a defense that helped Paterno win national championships in 1982 and 1986.

Sandusky was in the prime of his career when he stepped down. What motivation would he have had to leave? Did Paterno force him out, and if so why? Is it possible Paterno told Sandusky to take a hike in 1999 because he knew what this sicko was up to? And, if so, why didn't he call authorities?

How could Paterno *not* have known what was going on? The timing of this "retirement" is just a little too convenient for me, one year after authorities starting investigating Sandusky. There was certainly no football-related reason for him to quit or be fired.

And this was all well before the 2002 incident where then-graduate assistant and now assistant coach Mike McQueary witnessed Sandusky sodomizing a boy in the shower at the football building.

I want to know what Paterno knew and when he knew it. Why do I get the feeling he knew this crap was going on back in 1999 when Sandusky all of a sudden retired?

Paterno doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt from any of us now. If there's one thing we learned about him and other Penn State officials from their failure to report the 2002 incident to authorities, it's that they'd rather protect the program than do what's right.

This is the worst scandal in the history of college sports, bar none, and it's destined to get worse before it's all over.

Can you imagine the uproar if the NFL lockout would have dragged on from summer into fall and caused the cancellation of regular season games? People might have rioted in the streets if they couldn't watch football on Sunday afternoons.

The NBA, on the other hand, is not missed in most corners of America. The lockout has been on for 130 days now, but a new scientific poll says only 8 percent of white people miss NBA games. Eighty-three percent of whites say they don't care about the loss of games, while 9 percent had no opinion one way or the other.

Black people care more, but not in great numbers. In the same survey, 26 percent of African-Americans indicated they miss NBA games, while 57 percent say they do not care.

All told, 76 percent of the American public doesn't miss the NBA. Twelve percent miss the games, while another 12 percent pleaded indifference.

These are not good figures for pro basketball. If the entire season is lost, the league risks a slip toward irrelevance. One thing is for certain -- fans do not give a damn whether the players earn 51 or 52 percent of the league's basketball-related income. These are tough economic times, and the average joe has little patience for millionaires fighting it out with billionaires over what is perceived as mere pennies.

I always get a kick out of the posturing that takes place during these sports labor disputes. Both sides seem to be desperately trying to "win" the public relations battle.

Here's my message to folks on both sides of the bargaining table: We. Don't. Care. We don't want to listen to any more press conferences. No more angry scowls. No more ultimatums. No more accusations. No more finger-pointing. We don't care who is right and who is wrong. Shut the hell up, lock yourselves in a room and don't come back out until you have a deal in place. Period.

All the Tomcats in town should check out Jim Owczarski's piece on the East Aurora football program, which will appear in the Tuesday edition of The Beacon-News.

Coach Bill Bryant resigned last week, so we figured now was as good a time as any to take a look at the various problems that plague East Aurora football.

Bryant went 3-51 during his six-year tenure, and this 2011 season was surely a difficult one for the Tomcat coaches, players and fans. It's one thing to lose. It's another thing to step on the field knowing you have no chance to be competitive.

East Aurora scored only four touchdowns all season and was outscored 470-25 on its way to its sixth 0-9 campaign since 2001. The closest Tomcats game this year was a 42-6 loss to Yorkville in Week 2.

Bryant drew praise from East Aurora athletic director Cam Leadbetter, who described the coach as "a good guy, a good family man and he came to work every day and he did a pretty good job with the kids. He was always there. It wasn't for a lack of effort by any means."

No argument here. I've always said there really is no way we can effectively judge Bryant's game day coaching ability. He led an overmatched group of kids out on to the field every Friday night for the past six seasons. They tried their hardest, I'm sure, but they had a snowball's chance in hell in many of these games.

The reasons East Aurora has been losing go far beyond any one coach or any of the individual players -- past or present. There are certain long-term issues that need to be addressed, and we felt it was appropriate for our newspaper to point out those things.

I think Jim did a fine job with the article, and we hope it generates some discussion in the community as Leadbetter and other administrators at East High embark on trying to find the right coach to move the Tomcat program forward in the future.

Our congratulations go out to the four Beacon-News area football teams that qualified for the state quarterfinals in their respective classes: Aurora Christian, Kaneland, Batavia and Sandwich.

The most wild finish of the weekend definitely came in the Kaneland game. After giving up an early touchdown, the Knights rattled off 31 straight points to take a 31-7 lead over St. Francis.

Game over? Not quite.

The Spartans came roaring back with 21 straight points of their own to cut the deficit to three at 31-28. St. Francis completed a 40-yard Hail Mary on the last play of regulation that appeared to be a game-winner. However, receiver Jeff Rutkowski was called for illegal touching after intentionally running out of bounds and being the first to touch the ball.

That led to one untimed down being played. Rutkowski once again made a catch, but he was hauled down six yards short of the end zone and Kaneland escaped with the win.

Aurora Christian moved on in 3A with a 34-21 win over Oregon. Quarterback Anthony Maddie tore it up, completing 19 of 22 passes for 377 yards and three scores. Maddie also ran for two touchdowns in perhaps the finest performance of his high school career.

The win came at a price, though, as linebacker Mitch Holtz tore up his knee early in the first quarter. That's a huge loss for the Aurora Christian defense. Offensive lineman R.J. Morris is already out with a knee problem, so the injury bug is starting to bite for the Eagles. We'll see if they have the depth to overcome the issues they face.

To me, Sandwich had a tough matchup in the first round of the 4A playoffs when the Indians survived a 24-23 slugfest with Harvard. In the second round on Saturday, they made easy work of Chicago Harper, 28-6. Let's be honest: Public League teams simply aren't very good at football.

The Indians will face a much more difficult task next week in their quarterfinal matchup with Stillman Valley. A win there and Sandwich will duplicate its success of last season, when it advanced to the Class 4A semifinals.

Also moving on was Batavia, which trailed 17-10 after three quarters before taking over down the stretch in a 31-17 win over Lake Forest in the 6A tournament. The Bulldogs are advancing because of their terrific run defense. They held the Scouts to minus-8 yards rushing. That will work, considering that 60 percent of the Lake Forest offense coming into Saturday's game came from running back Owen Williams.

On this day, Williams gained only two yards on 14 carries. Excellent defense.

Also on Saturday, Mooseheart and Oswego suffered lopsided losses.

I can't say Mooseheart's 34-0 loss to St. Bede was surprising. I picked the visiting Bruins in Friday's paper. I like what the Red Ramblers did this season, but it's just hard for a Class 1A school to keep going after it loses its best player. Star running back Oumaru Abdulahi was out with a shoulder injury and, well, Mooseheart didn't score.

As for Oswego, man, that eight-game winning streak came to a grinding halt. The Panthers have to be disappointed after not playing their best ball in a 41-0 loss to East St. Louis. The Flyers are a quality club, no question, but Oswego turned it over on its first four possessions. You're not going to beat anybody that way.

Keep it tuned to beaconnewsonline.com/sports all week as we look ahead to the quarterfinal round with features and previews.

I have a confession to make: I haven't watched a single high school football game yet this year.

It's the life of an editor. When everybody else is out covering games on Friday nights, I sit in this office, edit stories, write headlines, collect scores, post stories to beaconnewsonline.com/sports and generally serve as the point man for our operation.

I don't get to see how teams look in-person, so I probably shouldn't be *that* good at prognosticating games. Nevertheless, I sign my name to my predictions in print and on the web every week, along with my colleagues -- Jim Owczarski and Rick Armstrong.

Jim and Rick *do* cover games. Since they see teams, you would think they would totally kick my ass with these picks.

Alas, that's not the case. I've been unbelievably lucky this year. My pick 'em record is 118-24. That's a winning percentage of .831. Jim and Rick both sit at 110-32 (.775).

I've got an eight-game lead, and we only have six teams left in the playoffs. Time's running out, boys!

The Cubs have fired manager Mike Quade. Funny thing is, that's probably the least interesting piece of news the North Siders have made over the last couple days.

Just about everyone in Chicago has long assumed Quade would be gone as soon as a new general manager was hired. Well, just as we expected, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer dismissed the bumbling Quade before the ink was even dry on their own contracts. No surprise whatsoever.

What was a surprise was Epstein calling Cubs icon Ryne Sandberg to tell him he is not a candidate for the managerial position. I think quite a few people assumed Sandberg would be the guy, since Epstein considered hiring Sandberg to manage Boston's Triple-A team last year.

Nay.

"The managerial search process begins immediately,'' Epstein said in a press release. "We are looking for someone with whom and around whom we can build a foundation for sustained success. The next manager must have leadership and communication skills; he must place an emphasis on preparation and accountability; he must establish high standards and a winning culture; he must have integrity and an open mind; and he must have managerial or coaching experience at the major league level.''

That last clause counts Ryno out, and Sandberg himself confirmed he will not be the next manager of the Cubs. In fact, he intends to interview for the managerial position with the arch-rival and world champion St. Louis Cardinals. Wouldn't it be interesting seeing Sandberg managing against the Cubs in a St. Louis uniform?

There were a couple of other interesting statements that came out of Cubbieland the last couple days. There's been plenty of speculation -- especially from meatheads -- that the Cubs will attempt to sign one of the two slugging free-agent first baseman on the market: Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder.

As usual, I strongly disagree with the David Kaplan segment of the Cubbie fan base. They don't need a slugging first baseman. They need some starting pitching -- and fast. I don't care how much hitting you have. You aren't going to win a thing with a starting rotation of Matt Garza, an overpaid, declining Ryan Dempster, ?, ? and ?.

Apparently, Hoyer agrees:

''I think it's fair to say we have to spend time rebuilding the pitching staff,'' the GM said Tuesday. ''I look at what happened last year from the outside, losing two starting pitchers (Andrew Cashner, Randy Wells) the first week of the season -- it's very difficult for any team to survive that. But certainly the Cubs didn't have the depth to do that. . . . Even though we have confidence in a lot of the starters that are here, we have to have more.''

The last part of that statement is politically correct BS. They don't have confidence in the starters that are there, and nor should they. That's why they need to address it. And it sounds like they will. You can get two decent starting pitchers for the same price as Prince Fielder, and that's the way the Cubs should go.

Another interesting thing I heard from Epstein yesterday ... Aramis Ramirez will not be the Cubs third baseman in 2012.

"We certainly wish him well in the future," Epstein said of Ramirez. "I wouldn't rule anything out but I would say that given his position as the top free-agent third baseman it's certainly a likelihood that another team will make him a contract that appeals to him and we will be looking for different solutions. But to sit here at the onset of free agency and rule anything completely in or completely out I don't think is productive. I think reading the tea leaves it seems likely that he will be moving on and we will be looking for a new solution at third."

I don't need to read any tea leaves at all. I just need to read that quote. Ramirez is gone, and that's a good thing for the Cubs. As we've noted before, that guy is Mr. August. He puts up numbers every year, well after the Cubs have fallen out of the race. When the chips are on the line, he's nowhere to be found.

Epstein and Hoyer seem to be going against the grain a little bit and I commend them for it. It would be easy to hire Sandberg, sign Pujols or Fielder and retain Ramirez. All those moves would be popular with fans.

The Cubs have a long history of doing things that are popular with fans. What has it gotten them but a 103-year championship drought? The Cubs need to steer clear of the quick fix and build something more long-lasting. So far, Epstein and Hoyer are saying all the right stuff. We'll see what they do in the coming months.

We haven't had a chance to talk too much hockey yet here this season, but for those who have not noticed, the Blackhawks are off to a fine 7-2-2 start.

Sixteen points in 11 games is nothing to sneeze at, especially when you consider the Hawks' power play has been dreadful in the early going. Chicago is just 4-for-45 with the man advantage -- that's an 8.9 percent clip that ranks second worst in the NHL.

The Blackhawks have scored three short-handed goals this season, only one fewer than they've scored with the power play. I guess that tells us the penalty kill (91.7 percent, third in the NHL) has been as good as the power play has been bad.

But here's the real key to the Blackhawks' early-season success -- they've been kicking some ass in the third period.

It's a refreshing change from last season, when the Hawks gave up 89 third-period goals in 82 games. That figure was fourth worst in the NHL. The Hawks were outscored 89-74 in third periods last season.

So far this year, the Hawks have outscored the opposition 15-6 in the final 20 minutes. No team in the league has given up fewer goals in the third period than the Hawks.

Dominance late in games has allowed the Hawks to pick up several points over the last two weeks. Just check the log of some of their recent games:

Oct. 18 at Phoenix: The Hawks led 3-2 after two periods before scoring two goals late to put away a 5-2 victory.

Oct. 20 at Colorado: The Hawks netted two third-period goals to break a 1-1 tie and prevail 3-1.

Oct. 22 vs. Colorado: The Hawks rallied from a 3-2 deficit to take a short-lived 4-3 lead. They ended up losing 5-4 in a shootout, but salvaged a point with a strong third period.

Oct. 25 vs. Anaheim: The Hawks trailed 2-1 after two periods. They scored to force overtime and won 3-2 in a shootout.

Oct. 29 vs. Columbus: The game was tied 2-2 after two periods. The Hawks exploded in the third to win 5-2.

Oct. 31 vs. Nashville: The Hawks rallied from a 3-2 deficit to take a 4-3 lead. They couldn't hold it, but they ended up winning 5-4 in overtime.

Three times in 10 days the Hawks came from behind to get at least one point after trailing after 40 minutes. On two of those three occasions, they won the game.

In two other instances, they won games that were tied after two periods.

This is what happens when you can roll four lines and not miss a beat. The Blackhawks' third line of Dave Bolland, Michael Frolik and Bryan Bickell has combined for 10 goals through the first 11 games. When you've got a third line that dents the net on an almost nightly basis, you've got excellent roster depth.

The Hawks appear to be wearing teams down, and they are at their sharpest late in games. If they ever get that power play going, this could be a extraordinary season on Madison Street.