is in town this weekend at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. It runs until 7 pm today, then 9-6 on Saturday and 9-5 on Sunday.
John Daly will make two appearances at the show on Saturday, which should be fun for all in attendance.
I'm literally sick and very tired of this cold and snow and I'm ready to play golf - while I can't make it to the show this weekend, I highly recommend it for all you other frustrated golfers.
I know there are people out there that have feelings on this subject, and what better way to do it than here, at the Daily Dose via The Sports Beacon...
Let me know what you thought of my column, of the other columns or news accounts you read or heard or saw...I'm interested in how you feel about sport, and it's place in times like this.
It's not often that columnists get to add to their print product, but fortunately for me The Sports Beacon allows me to do just that.
I did go into last night's contest between NIU and Western Michigan with an open mind. I was willing to be awed by 9,000 strong at the Convocation Center. But after spending four hours around the campus prior to the game, I got a real sense that that wasn't going to happen.
So what do I do? ...
Read on for more, and the entire poem by Robert Frost...
I went out to Northern Illinois University tonight for the first sporting event since the Cole Hall shootings on Feb. 14. I wasn't sure how I'd be affected by it, considering I've never, ever been around anything quite like that.
I was struck by the vibe there in a very positive way. Many people, students and staff, were wearing some kind of a black and red ribbon. 8x10 printouts and signs were everywhere, reminding everyone to move "forward, together, forward."
It was definitely something to be a part of, if only for a few hours...
It's snowing right now. Again. We're supposed to get 10 inches tonight. View image">Again.
I miss Arizona.
Since '02 I've gone out there four times - and it gets better and better. There's baseball, golf, and no wind, snow and roads where people drive on, rather than do this
because of all the hot/cold fluctuations. For the record, that is Illinois. I swear. I would never do anything for purely dramatic effect.... Ever.
On today's column about D.J. Smith (potentially) being the first African-American quarterback to ever start at West Aurora...it's a pretty unbelievable thing - even moreso considering it happened in 2006. And since last year's starting QB - and the projected started in 2008 - John Nunnally, is also of African-American descent, some Aurora old-timers have even called it "old news"...
I have a question - why are the most important IHSA state events so far down south? I know, I know, the charm of "going to state" is getting on the bus, staying in a hotel, etc etc.
Who knows, maybe the IHSA has tried to bring football and basketball up north and they can't find the right fit, but wouldn't it be sweet to see state football at Soldier Field (which may happen once they wise up and put FieldTurf in there), or even Northwestern.
I'd love to see hoops at the United Center...I've even heard good things about the new Sears complex out in Hoffman Estates...
Here are the top 3 dumbest sporting "events" going on this weekend...
1. The NFL Combine - very few things in sports are dumber than this. Need proof? My beloved Iggles picked Mike Mamula in the first round of the '95 draft because he tested well at this thing. That's right - Mike Mamula.
2. WGC-Accenture Match Play - look, I love golf. It's my sport of choice now. But the way the PGA Tour and the Golf Channel pimp this thing is just too much. No one cares about golf brackets....no one.
3. NASCAR's Auto Club 500 - The rest of the season is pointless isn't it? Don't they bill the Daytona 500 as the sport's Super Bowl? So what do I care anything else the gearheads do the rest of the year...
You remember those annoying emails you'd get from friends trying to get you to sign up for some "6 degrees of separation" emails where you put your name on it and you supposedly can find out that you somehow have a connection to Mark Paul Gosselaar and Bill Paxton...
Well, here's my version....when it comes to sports.
I am a huge fan of the View image">Wu-Tang Clan - my favorite from the group is the GZA - The Genius created a classic solo joint called Liquid Swords - RZA produced much of the album - they both appear with Bill Murray in a fantastic sketch comedy - Bill Murray is a diehard Cubs fan - I have covered the Cubs.
As a reward - here is Bill Murray, RZA and GZA in Coffee and Cigarettes: Delirium (GZA also mentions the Indy 500 as well, so that's an added bonus!)
That's just stupid. Like Halle Berry marrying David Justice stupid.
Ridiculous. Holmes is the 53rd ranked player in the world. You don't just do that.
Sure, people will say "well, that just proves he's the best player in the world." No, his 13 majors in 10 years proves that.
This is like Superman coming out of the View image">Fortress of Solitude and saying, "Screw saving the world, I'm going to beat the crap out of men with these souped up tire irons."
This coming NBA Finals is the 10th anniversary of the last Bulls title...
Ten years? Already? Wow.
How bad has the last decade sucked? As the Bulls are about to embark on the second half, they have won 277 games in the last 10 years. Yup. You read that right. That's compared to the 642 victories the previous ten years.
It's interesting that the biggest stories in the Beacon News coverage area right now are Newark and Rosary girls teams and the Somonauk boys basketball teams. I'll be honest - I never heard of Newark or Somonauk until I started working here last summer, and I thought all Rosary had was volleyball and swimming.
I may disagree with the IHSA's belief that "everybody gets a trophy" - but I do like the fact that these small schools get a little more time to shine than usual.
After all, there are about 35 to 40 cities in this state I've still never heard of.
By pure accident, I happened to catch the "opening ceremonies" of the Daytona 500.
Wow did it suck.
Chubby Checker? Brooks and Dunn? That other bad 70's band I can't think of right now? Even having the View image">Siberian Prince Michael McDonald and his flowing white mane on hand didn't do anybody any good.
Although...and this is for all you children of the 90's out there...McDonald did give us the song that gave Warren G the sample for - that's right - turn the bass up and Mount Up!
I know you were waiting for this all day - so here it is, right before Cinderella went back to being somebody nobody wanted. Ever.
It's sad that East and West both have had two important starting players face disciplinary actions this week. But, I have to applaud the administration at West for sticking to their athletic code, and East coach Wendell Jeffries for sticking to his personal one.
While we get wrapped up in the games people play, at this level they're still kids. And kids still make mistakes. And, certain mistakes carry punishments. In the current athletic climate, with overzealous parents, misguided authority figures and over-involved fan bases, too often the punishments are bypassed for the sake of the "team's success" and what fans or alumni want.
Good for these two programs for helping these kids (hopefully) learn some lessons.
Tiger Woods in a major....
"The Shot" - still...
The fire and the passion...View image
The 12th son of the Lama... It will bring me total consciousness one day... Not having to wait 100 years for a World Series...View image
Standing on the first tee with the first tee time with an empty golf course in front of me... Pitchers and catchers reporting...
Feel free to add the things you love too!
Nope - to the Iroquis West Regional, which is where the Newark boys basketball team is headed for their playoff contests next week. Don't know where that is? Chances are, neither do the Norseman.
They're going to go 85.72 miles and I hour and 44 minutes - one way, mind you - in a bus. And if it snows? Geez - they're going to have severe cases of the Jimmy Legs halfway to a truck stop in Gilman.
If they win on Tuesday, they would have to play on Wednesday. If they win Wednesday, they'd have to play on Friday. So if all goes well, they get to do that three times in a week.
You get to go through Dwight though, which is nice.
From the moment I saw video of Brittney Griner, which admittedly was a few hours ago, I sat at my desk saying "wait for it...wait for it..." and here it is.
What was I waiting for? That's right, stupid people.
They're always there, always around, but something about young, athletic prowess makes them come out in droves. This applies to all those signing day stories about Terrelle Pryor and his supposed impact on next year's college football Top 25, fan boy drooling over outfield prospects in Class A rookie ball and most especially, the hype heaped on young hoops players.
They say you can always count on death and taxes. In sports, you can set your watch by the stupid people.
My favorite show of all time, Seinfeld, always seemed to work in the odd Chicago sports reference - which I love. Perhaps the most well known is in The Limo episode when George and Jerry pretend to be O'Brien and Murphy and think they are headed to see Michael Jordan and the Bulls play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. ...
But my personal favorite was just so absurd - it's The Heart Attack episode from Season 2, when Jerry finds out that George did not have a heart attack.
One of the items Jerry wants from George when he dies is his Blackhawks jacket...what?! How random is that? Do you have any favorite inane Chicago sports references in movies, TV or music?
When it comes to high school sports nicknames, doesn't it seem like there are about a hundred different "Wildcats", "Warriors", "Eagles", "Panthers", or other versions of big cats, big dogs or birds of prey.
It seems that way because there are thousands, and it's kind of annoying. I mean, expansion teams in professional sports leagues spend thousands of dollars to find out exactly the right nickname for that particular market. I think high schools should pay a kid like $1 an hour to go through the IHSA school directory to find out what names not to pick.
Anyway, the point in picking an animal is to, I guess, create a sense of pride, perhaps intimidation, some toughness...well, if a school really wants to get gangsta - they gotta go with these: East Aurora Baby Hippos ... or West Aurora Platypuses ... or Geneva Dingos ... or Oswego Chimps ... or Somonauk Swans. I'm telling you - you can sell all kinds of View image">stupid window decals and t-shirts while really instilling fear....because I tell ya - I came face-to-beak with a swan once and that was a helluva lot more scary than any Wildcat or Panther I ever saw in a zoo...
99.99% of the time, recruiting rankings are much ado about nothing - no matter the school. People are going nuts over Nick Saban and Alabama's crop...but what we should be interested in here in The Beacon News coverage area is whether Marmion kicker Alex Picini will try and walk on with the Crimson Tide.
I know Alex can kick at the next level - and I'm not talking about DII or DIII - he's got a DI leg. His high school coach Dan Thorpe calls him a sleeper. I couldn't agree more. Thing is, kickers don't get the same type of media love as position players - and even coaches will wait until the spring and summer to even offer them scholarships - but watch out for him.
I know he could play at Dayton, or even NIU for that matter. But he's familiar with the territory down there (he kicked his junior year in the state) and to me, I'd love nothing more than to see break some SEC hearts in two or three years.
The White Sox announced a major contract extension today: that's right, Hawk Harrelson is back baby. Well, OK, he never left...but still...
Was it just me, or when he kept calling Steve Stone the "Stone Pony" last year - were you thinking of Davante Stone from back in the day on WGCI? That drove me crazy...
I heard Hawk tell a local radio station that Ken Williams and Ozzie Guillen have rekindled his passion for the game and for the White Sox...
Funny - I thought Aaron Rowand provided enough fire and passion to sustain Southsiders until the Apocalypse.
Good morning!
It's time to have some fun here at The Sports Beacon ... yeah, yeah, we just started but it's never too early right? This category will be dedicated to digging up the little nuggets of info from the local sports scene, as well as on the big boys in Chicago.
It'll be filled with the things you didn't know about, the things you wish you knew about and the things you didn't care to know about - but trust me, it'll always be worth it.
Let's kick this off with a question: Can Lil' Wayne save John Paxson?
(Oh, you know you want to read more...)
Rick Armstrong The dean of the Beacon News sports staff, Armstrong covers the boys basketball and Northern Illinois University beats along with general sports coverage.
Jim Owczarski A graduate of North Central College, Owczarski covers the high school football beat in the fall and the local golf beat year around. He also serves as the Beacon News’ main sports features/enterprise writer. He has won several national writing awards and has a weekly column that runs on Sundays.
Mike Knapp A sports writer at the Beacon News for over eight years, Knapp is the Kane County Cougars beat writer.
Todd M. Adams Adams is Beacon News sports editor. He attended Southern Illinois University and has over 10 years of newspaper experience.
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About this Archive
This page is a archive of entries in the The Daily Dose category from February 2008.
Rick Armstrong 
Jim Owczarski 
Mike Knapp 
Todd M. Adams 
