They brought out the Thunder Stix last week for homecoming at Huskie Stadium and coach Jerry Kill is a big fan. Earlier in the week he remembered how tough it made it on his SIU team when it played in DeKalb in 2004.

"(Today's 3 p.m.) game (vs. Bowling Green) is very, very important for the Huskies," said Kill. "We need to keep that enthusiasm going. The noise really bothered Toledo and led to some (illegal procedure) penalties. Home field is great.

"It's been loud. It's been exciting. It's been great to see.

"We've got to bring 'em out again. I'll buy the Thunder stix."

Welcome all to the regular season finale of the Beacon News' Game of the Week between the undefeated Geneva VIkings (8-0, 6-0) and the Batavia Bulldogs (6-2, 5-1). Click below to interact LIVE with Jim Owczarski throughout the contest!

Earlier this year Bowling Green signed no recruits from the Land of Lincoln, but there are six players from Illinois on the roster and five of them play key roles for coach Gregg Brandon's Falcons.

Junior wide receiver Freddie Barnes (Homewood-Flossmoor) starts at the X receiver and is second on the team with 27 receptions for 218 yards.

Senior Nick Iovinelli (Lisle High School/Harper College) is the team's punter and averages 41.1 yards-per-kick. Ten of his 34 kicks have been downed inside the opponent's 20-yard-line.

Sophomore Tyler Donahue (Naperville Central) is a 6-6, 281-pound right tackle who backs up starter Jeff Fink. Donahue has seen action in every game.

Sophomore Neal Dahlman (Providence New Lenox) is the team's long snapper on special teams.

Sophomore Nick Torresso (Schaumburg) is a defensive lineman who is not listed on the two-deep this week but he's played in every game and started last week against Miami.

Sophomore tight end Nick Rieke (Crystal Lake South) has seen action in just one game this season.

EDITOR'S NOTE: NIU has won three straight Mid-American Conference games to get back in the West Division race after opening league play with a loss at Western Michigan. The Huskies host MAC East foe Bowling Green at 3 p.m. tomorrow in a crossover game that counts in the league standings for both teams.

"I think we've put ourselves in pretty good position (with wins the last two weeks over Miami and Toledo), but at the same time, I feel like we aren't playing our best football yet. It's important now that we're not getting content. We need to be coming out and striving for perfection. Everyone needs to be really concentrating on coming out and playing to their capabilities each week.

"Things like sacks or individual stats are not something I'm gonna get stressed out over. I know what I'm capable of and sacks are one of those things where a lot has to happen right for you to get a sack. Playing hard with explosiveness and getting my moves down are things I'm focusing on."

Next up for Northern Illinois is Bowling Green (Saturday, 3 p.m.).

BG coach Gregg Brandon's background is on offense and he's well aware of Northern defensive end standout Larry English.

"I think we have to know where he is, where he lines up and then we have to be creative in ways to control him and block him," said Brandon. "In every game they've played, he's been disruptive to the offense. We've got to minimize those.

"But he's not the only guy. They've got a number of guys that are quick and active and that's why they're soo good on defense."

Brandon was the former assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for Urban Meyer the two years the current Florida coach was in Bowling Green. But Brandon doesn't have an offensive coordinator himself. He does have a running game coordinator (Matt Campbell) and passing game coordinator (Troy Rothebuhler), but the play-calling, no doubt, falls on the head coach's shoulders.

what do you think about this -

What about Trader Kenny making a small splash in free agency this offseason that could create a tidal wave in the Central Division in either 2009 or 2010 in the form of Mark Mulder and Mark Prior?

I know I know, but hear me out. Would Mulder, a Southsider, take a 1 or 2 year deal for $1-2 million - maybe a few more with certain performance bonuses - to come home?
Would Prior entertain the idea of coming back to Chicago in a similar scenario?

Here's what i'm thinking - you bring in two guys for that small amount of money (it's been done in the past) It's low risk, high reward for both parties. The Sox maybe lose a couple million if they remain hurt, but imagine(!) - a healthy Mulder and/or Prior for a stretch run in '09 or perhaps all of 2010 for just a few million dollars?

like i said - low risk, high reward. you sign 'em up with no intention of them playing (at least) the first half of '09...and build your rotation accordingly (which means finding a legit No. 4 starter). You'll get Jose Contreras back to bolster the 'pen/back end of the rotation late next year anyway..with two potential top-of-the-rotation guys just waiting to get healthy...

And if there are two parts of the Sox organization that I trust more than the others - it's Herm Schneider and the medical staff and Don Cooper.

I say Kenny should at least put the offers out there, and see if they bite.

and just let this man do what he can do. Please?

I try not to think about the Bulls anymore. They sucked all the life out of me in the years after the final championship - and it took a long time for me to finally buy back in. I was all in heading into last season and woop! Suck again!

I had written them off (again) until they drafted Rose. I worry about his knees, but he's such a special player and unlike anyone the team has had in the back court since that 1998 team. Just watch him - you'll see it. And then you'll really realize that the rest of the team is crap.

Well, we knew Larry Hughes was crap, but really? These guys can't screen the right way and roll off to the right spot? These guys can't position themselves around the lane in the right area to catch a dish off a drive? Really?

The only good thing about the NBA is that one player can make a team, so hopefully Vinny will just let the kid run the show and be the show - and maybe, just maybe, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng might figure it out....maybe.

A story out of Charlotte says that the incredible M-Jeff is not really doing much in running the Charlotte Bobcats, that the roster is filled with bad players, that coach Larry Brown is griping already and owner Bob Johnson would love to sell this disaster.

There is little argument that MJ was one of the greatest humans to ever put on a pair of sneakers and put a round ball through a round rim.

Very rarely however, does that translate into success in the front office. Many great players suck at it. Isiah Thomas. Elgin Baylor. Larry Bird has watched the Pacers fall apart. Really, the only guy I can think of that pulled it off was Jerry West, but even he fell on his face once he didn't have a guy name Shquille O'Neal on his roster.

Look - MJ was always more interested in gambling, cars, golf, women, motorcyles, his clothing line....and he should be. That's what you do when you're MJ.

After the debacle in Washington, I figured if MJ wanted to get back in a front office, it would be as a figure head (a la Magic Johnson) and not really be involved with personnel. He's proven he doesn't have a knack for it, and it's sad to see him really destroy two franchises now.

Hey Meathead Bears fans!

Samurai Mike is now calling the shots in San Francisco...

I'm sure we'll hear about how the Bears should've hired The Samurai to coordinate the defense, but just wait until the week the 49ers shut somebody out and The Beloved give up another 41..... woo boy....

aaaaapppp, Da Bears shoulda hired Singletary to run the dee-fense. aaaahhh, teams were afraid of Singletary - they just looked in his eyes and were intimidated. And bring Mongo back to coach the defensive line, aaaaahhhh

I think I missed Friday's Daily Dose, but this one is so good I can't pass it up.

This thing says that Da Coach might have altered history had he decided to run against Obama for a seat in the Illinois senate.

"There's no way to know whether Ditka would have won but, remember, Obama was still a virtual unknown in Illinois in June of '04. Had Ditka run and won, Obama most-assuredly wouldn't be running for president today."

OOHhhhh, Coooach could've decided our future!!!!

of all people, how could you forget?

In the 7th inning of tonight's Rays-Red Sox game and the Rays went up 7-0, good ol' Chip started talking about the Rays playing the Phillies in the World Series.

Oh Chip.
Did you really forget? You should know better.

This week we face Toledo. I guess you could call it a rivalry game, although it's not exactly the same as the rivalry we had in high school at Marmion when we played Aurora Central.

Since I've been here, Toledo has always been one of those games people circled on the schedule, moreso because of the implications it had in the conference race than because of the rivalry. That just made it a big game.

It's one of those things, Toledo was always a good team. The past few years, anyway, they've had a program that's been pretty good and they're usually a contender for the MAC title so that's more the reason.

I found out they beat Michigan last week when they announced their score at our game. I'm happy for them. That's good for our conference anytime a MAC team can beat a team from a BCS league.

I'm not envious of them. They're just fortunate to do it. Do I wish we could have (beaten a BCS team)? Sure, but I'm not envious. It's just the way college football is today. I don't care who you are, you can always lose, anybody can be upset.

They run the spread offense and do a lot of different things and if you don't read your keys and have everybody take care of their responsibility, you have have a tough time. They haven't given up many sacks because their quarterback gets rid of the ball pretty quick. They use short passes like a run and keep you guessing. They'll run passes that look like runs and vice versa. As a defense, we're gonna have to be really disciplined."

Until today, everything Rocky Wirtz had done in running the Blackhawks since taking over for his late father Bill, was upbeat and positive.

Initial reaction to the firing of coach Denny Savard just four games into the season?

It's time to grow some Rocky. Your old man may have run the franchise into the ground with some of his antiquated decisions, but one thing is certain, he had a pair. Not sure about you.

It's pretty obvious "management" wasn't happy with Savy long before this. If you wanted to make the move, fine, but it should have been done before training camp. The way you handled it today? Gutless.

As we speculated in a column several weeks ago, Northern Illinois and Wisconsin have agreed to play a future game at Soldier Field. But it won't be until 2011.
After Northern played at Wisconsin last year, the Badgers were scheduled to play in DeKalb in 2009. I think everyone figured that would never happen, given the success of Northern's 2007 opener against Iowa at sold-out Soldier Field.
By playing to a full or near full house in Chicago, Northern can pay a Big Ten team a hefty guarantee and still make good money for its own athletic department.
Playing a Big Ten team in DeKalb, given the payout guarantee that would be necessary, probably makes it a losing proposition overall (financially) even if Huskie Stadium is filled.
In the new arrangement, the Northern also agreed to open the 2009 season at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. The Badgers don't come to Chicago until Sept. 17, 2011.
Initial reaction?
A good financial move but one that does next year's team no favors having to go on the road for another opener.
Here's hoping new athletic director Jeff Compher does a better job with the rest of the schedule and doesn't come up with one that sucks like this year's schedule. You'll recall the Huskies played only one home game out of their first five, covering the first six weeks of the season.
They handled it well and did well to come out of it 2-3 with all three losses by four points or less. Problem is, it still cost the team in terms of fan interest and ambivalence is something a mid-major program can ill afford.

he's available according to the Padres and published reports.

now, what makes this interesting is that right now, he's saying he won't approve a trade to the American League. My first thought is this: weak sauce.

Why?

This guy has so little faith in his stuff that he doesn't think it can translate to the big boy league?

I still think Trader Kenny should make an offer to Kevin Towers and then he and The Chairman should fly out to San Diego and convince Peavy to come to the Southside.

Cubs fans can hope though - the Cubbies were one of the teams Peavy's agent mentioned as one he would accept a trade to. While I think Cubs fans are irrational in their dream of seeing Derrek Lee traded, I'd offer D-Lee for a true ace.

and

Northern Illinois will go back to square one for Saturday's 3 p.m. homecoming date with Toledo and start redshirt freshman Chandler Harnish at quarterback.

Harnish, who won the starting job in preseason and started the first two games for the 3-3 Huskies, missed three games with a foot sprain but returned last week in the second quarter when DeMarcus Grady went down with an ankle injury.

""DeMarcus is still limping around," coach Jerry Kill said at his weekly press conference. "Chandler will start at quarterback."

Senior Dan Nicholson, who started three games but suffered a left shoulder injury at Tennessee in the fifth game, is expected to return to practice this week.

"Nicholson can practice, he just can't take a hit right now," said Kill.

Fourth-string quarterback, junior Ryan Morris, also took a few snaps at Tennessee.

"Our timing, offensively, because of our situation at quarterback, is not where it needs to be," said Kill. "But if you had told me at the end of six weeks we'd be where we are at now, I'd have told you I'm shocked. I think we've come a long way.

"For six games I think they've given us everything they can give us. The question now is, can we sustain it?"

should have been this: Kansas City Royals raise ticket prices

but then I saw this: Baker to manage son's youth team

That's right - Johnny B. Baker is going to be chewing toothpicks for Darren's team in a tournament in the Bay Area.

No word yet if Dusty will let little Brad Smith throw 137 pitches or look the other way when 10-year-old Lewis Bobblehead shows up sporting a hat three times the size of what he wore last year and a mustache.

Also, unconfirmed reports say Corey Patterson will be in centerfield.

I think we all saw this coming, didn't we?

Two University of Toledo football players who were arrested early Sunday morning outside a bar are going to play Saturday at Northern Illinois.

Imagine that.

Toledo wide receiver and team co-captain Nick Moore had reason to celebrate after catching 20 passes for 162 yards in the Rockets big 13-10 upset at Michigan. So did defensive end Albertson Alexandre, who had five tackles, including one for a 2-yard loss.

And, apparently, celebrate they did.

They were arrested outside of Ryno's Bar & Grill in Toledo after Moore apparently was involved in a fistfight in the establishment's parking light. He was charged with disorderly conduct intoxication, a minor misdemeanor, the Toledo Blade reported.

Alexandre was charged with obstructing official business, a second degree misdemeanor, the report said.

This afternoon, the paper reported on its website that neither player will start but both will play on Saturday.

Said Toledo coach Tom Amstutz: "As head coach, it is my judgment that Nick and Albertson violated team rules, and as a result will face team penalities. Both players will be held out of the starting lineup this Saturday against Northern Illinois. In addition, they both will face internal team discipline."

In other words, there's likely a lot of post-practice running in their immediate futures.

As you've come to know, I love what sports has to offer....off the field that is. Athletes are just interesting people....and it seems like only they do stuff like this....

and naturally, headline writers around the world love it as well....

China's Wang to get help after karaoke club fight
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's national table tennis team will give Olympic medalist Wang Hao counseling after he reportedly got into a fight with a security guard for trying to stop him from urinating outside a karaoke club.

The best part of it? The "Do you know who I am?" moment....

"I am the famous Wang Hao! I am the world champion! Does it matter if I beat you?" shouted the 24-year-old

"Would you like fries with that?"

When you see Kyle Orton staring at the Bears' sideline, intently listening to the mini-walkie-talkie in his helmet, don't you wish you could be on the other end just once? You know, like when the team is facing fourth-and-a-half yard at Atlanta's goal line like it did on Sunday?

Don't you think you would have had the sense to say, "Uh, breaker, breaker, good buddy. Uh, Kyle, since you're 6-4 and 216 pounds, why don't you just sneak it in that half yard instead of wasting time to fake and hand off and allow the Falcon defenders to push the line of scrimmage back a yard?"

I do.

One of the two up backs in front of tailback Matt Forte on that fourth down play was tight end Greg Olson. You know, Greg Olson, the tight end who is more wide receiver than blocker. Too bad Orton wasn't handing off to Olson, becasue he went right through a hole between the center and guard on that play and planted himself face first just over the goal line.

Unfortunately, he didn't find anyone to block, which I think was supposed to be his job on that play. He didn't hit anybody. It appeared to me he just filled the hole that Forte could have used.

And let's not get started on squib kicks.

EDITOR'S NOTE: After recording 2.5 sacks and forcing a fumble on one of them that led to a Northern Illinois field goal in a 13-9 loss at Tennessee, defensive end Larry English earned Mid-American Conference West Defensive Player of the Week honors.

"People do come up to me and say things like 'You improved your draft stock' today. But in all honesty, and I know it may sound cliché, I'm just concentrating on what we've got going on here. It's really one of those things fro me that I'm finding joy in the journey.

"I'm happy with the season right now and the way things are going and the opportunities that we have. I'm excited about what we can do here. That's really what I want to finish out doing. I'm focused on here. I don't think playing for the future is a good mindset to have."

Hey all - Welcome back to the Beacon News' Game of the Week, featuring Batavia (4-2, 3-1) vs. Sycamore (3-3, 1-3).
Beacon football writer Jim Owczarski is on site, and will be blogging LIVE - interact with Jim throughout the contest here.

it happens!

but, never fear - here are some great sports headlines (yes, they're real!)

"A renewed Gus Frerotte is poised to save the Vikings." huh? What?

but the following video goes to show you just how ridiculous football fans are... Yes, you are about to take a wonderful ride on the "Gus Bus"

"NFL fines 3 Dolphins for celebrating" - never mind that these guys won ONE game last year! Who can blame them!?

"Don't Stop Believing" - Sorry, ESPN doesn't even get a link to this. It's a story on NASCAR. That doesn't fly here....

"Raccoon chase ends with Summitt having surgery" - what else can I add to that?

and finally....
"WWE suspends 10 for 'wellness policy' violations" - nooooooooo!!!!!1

how I feel about this piece from ESPN ...

it's supposed to give you a glimpse at how life is different for John Lynch after being told he sucked at football at age 37....and I think this paragraph does give you an insight into how drastically his life changed the moment he was cut from the Patriots this past preseason..

"So, like it or not, Lynch suddenly has a whole new life. The other day, he got a $743 Qwest cell phone bill. "I haven't had to pay for cell phones since ... they were invented!" Qwest also mentioned that he wouldn't be getting his yearly fat endorsement fee either. The new cars he got free every 3,000 miles are down the road too. The weekly free $2,500 suit deal he got from Saks for his TV show? No show, no suit."

On one hand, there's no way you feel bad about it. But on the other, it offes a little insight as to why some of these guys have such a hard time hanging it up. Sometimes, I bet, it has nothing to do with physical pain, their actual checks, or "tarnishing a legacy". I'd imagine it's the little things like this - you know, reality - that make it sting...

when a participant actually says he was paid to not fight the way, you know, MMA fighters are supposed to....

Now the guy is backtracking (don't ask me what his name is) and saying his original comments were "misconstrued" but whatever...this "sport" is a joke and it was only a matter of time before this type of stuff started coming out....

and when they start legit PED testing, call me....

especially Red Sawx fans...

but tonight was great....

we all know they have the goofy accents but when Anaheim's Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez came into the game, 40,000+ all started chating "K-Rod" at him....

only it was "K-Rawd, K-Rawd, K-Rawd"

It was freakin' hysterical.

Hey all - Welcome back to the Beacon News' Game of the Week, featuring Oswego (4-1, 3-0) at Plainfield South (4-1, 2-1).
Beacon football writer Jim Owczarski is on site, and will be blogging LIVE - interact with Jim throughout the contest here.

Sometimes, you all are the best at this ....
Check out Freebird Jim's comment following last night's loss....an absolutely great piece.

For some reason, as I read his post - and remembered back some hours ago to all the faces in Wrigley Field - I couldn't help but think of this.....

good question.

it was posed by a female Cubs fan just moments ago on TBS as the station panned Wrigley Field for the famous "reaction shots" as the Dodgers are pounding the beloved.

and part of me kind of felt bad for them.

then they showed the guy with the Watermelon on his head.

for doing the obvious

Henry, he of the 9 kids by 9 mom's, didn't wait long to start moving weight. He could've resumed playing at some point, if he got off the weed...

but he joins this inglorious list of NFLers who couldn't help but get their hands dirty:
Nate Newton
Jamal Lewis
Matt Lehr and an unnamed member of the Atlanta Falcons
Troy Hambrick
Leonardo Carson

...

"We head into the fifth week of the season and play at Tennessee after winning two in a row. The past two weeks our preparation has been more sound and it's allowed us to come out on Saturday more relaxed. We have been able to play looser and with more confidence as we've gotten used to the new system and coaches.

"Playing at Neyland Stadium, which holds more than 100,000 people, will be quite a difference from last week at Eastern Michigan. It was Eastern's homecoming and the crowd was reported at 17,000-something but I doubt there were that many people there.

"We have an opportunity this week and we're not letting outside factors control the outcome. It was a challenge last week to go in there and be ready, be up for the game in a stadium where there are (virtually) no fans. We brought our own energy. That won't be the case this week but we still have to be ready. The nice thing is, once you get on the field, it's still 11-on-11.

"I'd say the toughest venue I've played on while I've been here would be a tossup between Wisconsin and Ohio State, but I know Tennessee is going to be a tough environment. At the same time, I'm looking forward to it. This is a mature team. I don't think the fans are going to weigh too much on the outcome of the game."