Illinois: A Basketball Wasteland

Since I took the day off yesterday to recover from my weekend, I didn't get to say anything about the Illini's run in the Big Ten tournament, or anything else about the NCAA tournament. Of course, since this blog is focused on Chicago sports, I guess I don't really have a reason to anyway.

After all, not a single team from the state of Illinois made the field of 65.

No Illinois.

No Southern Illinois.

No Illinois State.

No Bradley.

Nobody.

It's just the latest blow in what's been a horrible year to be a sports fan in the city of Chicago and Illinois in general. The Bulls wouldn't even have made it.

Luckily for me, I still have Notre Dame to fall back on, but I'd be lying if I said I was a huge Irish basketball supporter. Though, to be honest, thanks to the Big Ten Network and Comcast, I was actually able to see more Notre Dame games this season than Illini games, which is probably a good thing when you consider how bad Illinois was this year.

Speaking of the Illini, while their run to the championship game of the Big Ten was a nice way to end the season, I never let the thought that they might actually win the thing enter my head. I am a lot more encouraged about next season because of it though.

As for my other thoughts on this year's tournament....

• Indiana's #8 Seed - I've heard a lot of complaints from Indiana fans over the team's #8 seed, but people need to shut up. The Hoosiers don't deserve much more than what they've gotten. Just look at the way they finished their season. First they lost their coach, and then they finished up their schedule with a blowout loss to Michigan State, a loss against Penn State, and an early exit from the Big Ten tournament at the hands of Minnesota. Combine that with the fact that the Big Ten just sucks this year, and Indiana should just shut up and be happy with where they are.
• Notre Dame - While I'll be rooting for Notre Dame in the tournament, I'll only get to do so for one weekend. Even if they win their first round game against George Mason and beat Washington State in the 2nd round, that will only get them a date with the Tar Heels in the Sweet 16.
• Butler's #7 Seed - If you need further proof that the tournament committee just hates mid-major schools, look no further than Butler. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 29-3 record, are ranked #11 in the AP poll and #10 in the coaches poll, yet they get a #7 seed? I'm no genius, but the math just doesn't work out there.
  
• The Big Ten's Only Hope - The Big Ten only got four teams into the tournament, and by my estimation, they'll be lucky to get even one team into the Sweet 16. The best bet to do it is Wisconsin, but a likely date with USC in the second round won't be an easy test for the Badgers.
• Best 1st Round Matchup - This one's pretty easy, it's USC/Kansas State in the Midwest region. Two fabulous freshman in O.J. Mayo and possible player of the year Michael Beasley facing off should make for a very exciting game to watch. One that I see the Trojans winning.
• My Final Four - As a rule, I never have more than two #1 seeds in my Final Four, but this year I can't see any other scenario. I see no Cinderella's or major upsets, and my Final Four consists of: North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, and Texas. The final game will be North Carolina and UCLA.

Oh, and of course, we're still taking entries in the Foul Balls March Madness Pool.

Kelvin Sampson Is Still Kelvin Sampson

While most of the sports world is focused on Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee right now, there's another scandal that broke late on Tuesday that I've turned all my attention to. I wrote about it at FanHouse last night, but I'm enjoying the story so much that I want to write about it again here.

Sure, the Illini are having their worst basketball season that I can remember in a long time, but with every dark cloud comes a silver lining, and I've seen the lining.

Public enemy #1 in Champaign, the man who stole Eric Gordon, is in a whole heap a trouble.

Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson and his staff violated telephone recruiting restrictions imposed because of his previous violations at Oklahoma, then lied about it to the school and NCAA investigators, the NCAA said Wednesday.

The NCAA has listed five major violations against Sampson, saying he gave "false or misleading information" to investigators. The university released the NCAA's report on Wednesday morning.

Major violations of NCAA rules can carry punishments including postseason ineligibility. Indiana already had self-reported violations under Sampson in October, but the new discovery could put the Hoosiers' season, and Sampson's career, under a cloud of uncertainty.

Awesome.

I heard he also had Brian McNamee inject him with HGH.

As for what Sampson and his assistant coach Jeff Meyer are in trouble for, here's a quick list of allegations included in the NCAA's letter to Indiana.

-That Sampson, assistant coach Jeff Meyer and former assistant Rob Senderoff failed to comply with sanctions imposed on Sampson for impermissible recruiting calls he made while he was the head coach at Oklahoma. Sampson was under such sanctions when he was hired to coach the Hoosiers in May 2006.

Sampson and Senderoff are alleged to have jointly participated in telephone calls at a time when Sampson was prohibited from being present or taking part when staff members made recruiting calls. Senderoff and Meyer are alleged to have made about 100 calls that exceeded the sanction limits.

Senderoff resigned his position Oct. 30.

-That Senderoff and Meyer placed "at least 25 telephone calls" to nine potential recruits that exceeded NCAA limits even if no sanctions had been in place.

-That Sampson "acted contrary to the NCAA principles of ethical conduct when he knowingly violated recruiting restrictions imposed by the NCAA Committee on Infractions."

-That Sampson and Meyer engaged in an impermissible recruiting contact during a two-day sports camp held at Assembly Hall last June 30 and July 1, and that Meyer provided the potential recruit with an impermissible benefit -- at least one T-shirt and drawstring backpack.

Admittedly, I don't know all that much about recruiting and the rules that govern it, all I know is which players are being brought in. I also know that you can't buy the recruit a car, or buy his momma a house, or get his daddy a tractor (Thank you, Blue Chips).

What I do know about recruiting violations is that they're awesome when they're committed by a coach and a school you hate, and they get busted for it.

Now the school has 90 days to respond to the violations before the NCAA decides to bring down it's iron fist. (No doubt that fist is full of cash. Cash and justice.) So it's unlikely that the Hoosiers (who are currently 20-3) will be punished this season.

There's still a chance the school may ban itself from postseason play this year in hopes that the NCAA will be more lenient in their decision, but I'm not sure how "major" these violations are, so I don't know if Indiana would go that far.

All I know is that odds are the school is going to lose some scholarships, and may face postseason bans in the next few years.

And I can't wipe this smile off of my face.

Foul Balls

Mark Buehrle's Truck Is Quite Large - Rich over at Home Run Derby sent this to me yesterday, but it was too late for me to include it in my post, and I didn't want to just link to it in High Five so I saved it for today.

It seems that Mark has himself a new truck.

This titan is ten feet tall and weighs more than six tons. You need something akin to a commercial drivers license to thunder this monster on a road.

The Southpaw added four-wheel drive and some hydraulics that lower the bed to the ground. He didn’t say how much it exactly cost him, only divulging that it was in the six-

When he first saw it, he was stunned by it too …

“Oh shit, that thing’s a lot bigger than I expected.”

Of course, as a self respecting Simpsons fan, you all know what this post calls for.

Blackhawks To Play Outdoors - As I was getting ready to leave for work yesterday, I heard something on the radio that excited me greatly. I was listening to ESPN 1000's Mac, Jurko, and Harry when one of the hosts, Harry Teinowitz, dropped a bombshell.

According to what Harry was being told, it seems that within the next year or two the Blackhawks may be playing an outdoor game against the Detroit Red Wings at Soldier Field.

Now this morning, the Sun-Times was reporting the same thing.

A Chicago Park District panel recommends that a new contract to manage Soldier Field go to SMG, which made a pitch of hosting an outdoor Blackhawks hockey game at the lakefront stadium....

"I don't want to get into where we're at in negotiations in terms of time frame, but there will be a game at Soldier Field. It's just a matter of when,'' said SMG senior vice president Michael Evans.

But Blackhawks president John McDonough said discussions about Soldier Field have "been informal on a what-if basis,'' adding, "I have friends at all of the venues: Wrigley, U.S. Cellular. I think they'd all like to take a run at it."

The final decision on whether to stage an outdoor game in Chicago is up to the NHL, said McDonough. Earlier this year, some 71,000 hockey fans watched the Buffalo Sabres play in an outdoor football stadium in Buffalo.

Let me just say that this needs to happen. When the Buffalo Sabres played the Pittsburgh Penguins outdoors at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the snow, it was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. I would love to go to Soldier Field, or wherever, to watch the Blackhawks and the Red Wings play an outdoor game.

Other Sports Scandals That Require Immediate Congressional Intervention

Some naysayers out there have their man panties in a twist about Congress spending its time on steroids and Spygate. These nabobs of negativism would have Congress focus on matters like pharmaceutical company price gouging, repeated White House lies about the Iraq war, the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, a looming recession...

What. Ever.

Me, I’m in favor of Congress devoting all its time and attention to sports issues. Cuz what’s more important, unregulated energy trading markets that allowed Exxon to register a record-breaking $41 billion profit last year or Patriots home movies of Bob Sutton sneaking the Ninja Star to Omare Lowe?

Exactly.

In fact, I think Congress should be delving more deeply into the serious national issues that trouble every true American (and by true American, I mean sports fan), to wit:

Giselle Bunchen. Bitch promised to run through the streets of New City naked if her boy toy lost the Big Game. Now she’s reneging? If there’s anything that pisses off elected officials, it’s people who make promises they don’t keep. This calls for an investigation! Does Giselle have a current visa? Does this “Victoria" have some other secrets? I say, haul her in before the Committee on Homeland Security, put her under oath, and demand some answers. And make her wear the Santa suit.


Hot Russian female tennis players. What's the story here? I mean, how did it happen that suddenly every comely "-ic" and "-ova" are top contenders on the tennis circuit? This is a troubling turn of events, as it severely reduces the pool of Russian brides available for American men, not to mention affecting the quality of strippers at Scores. But there is a deeper, darker secret lurking here and Maria Sharapova holds the key. Maria is from Chernobyl. You know, "worst nuclear power plant accident in history" Chernobyl? Maria calls herself a survivor of the deadly event. Here's the problem with that: Chernobyl occurred on April 26, 1986, a year before she was born. Extensive research (I've watched X-Men, X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand) leads me to an inescapable conclusion: Maria is a mutant. This means she and her other ex-Iron Curtain mutant cronies have a totally unfair advantage over our American women tennis players who - as Lindsay Davenport (left) so tragically demonstrates - use nothing to enhance their play, much less appearance. I'm not sure which Senate committee handles superhuman beings, but thinking it's probably Foreign Relations, so I call on you, Senator Biden, to subpoena Sharapova's shapely mutant ass. And make her wear Giselle's Santa suit.

IndyCar Crisis. Seriously, how many more crashes have to occur before Congress wakes up and takes the necessary action to stop these unsafe drivers? I don't know about you, but I blame Danica Patrick. (Did you see the Detroit Grand Prix? Buddy Rice running out of gas.... yeah, sure.) Senator Innoye, Chairman of the Transportation Committee, you know what to do. Make her wear the Santa suit and her helmet.

SwamiGate. C'mon, Chris Berman must be breaking some FCC law, right? For God's sake, you guys on the Select Committee on Intelligence can dig up actionable dirt on him if you just make a little effort. A syringe, a crushed Miller Lite can, a leather stain...anything. And please, please, please, make him wear that Santa suit.

Foul Balls

Urlacher Has Neck Surgery - Well, it appears Brian Urlacher had a good reason for his less-than-stellar season.

Urlacher recently had neck surgery to correct a problem detected during a routine postseason physical, sources confirmed Thursday night.

Surgeons performed a procedure on Urlacher's lower neck region to address something believed to be affecting the cervical curve of the spine, according to a person familiar with the surgery. Urlacher was said to be experiencing soreness before the surgery

While no one is going on the record, sources at Halas Hall claim the surgery wasn't serious - comparing it to "typical postseason medical maintenance." According to them, Urlacher will be back before training camp opens.

Speaking from personal experience, I can state unequivocably that there is no such thing as "routine" neck surgery. Not to mention the guy's thirty - which makes him "sixty" in football years. Sorry, but this can't be good news for the Bears.

Regardless, here's wishing Urlacher a speedy - and full - recovery.

U-G-L-I-N-I - I didn't get a chance to see last night's game against Indiana but from all accounts, it was not Chester Frazier or the Illini fans' finest hour.

As the Hoosiers stretched before the game, [Illinois] students chanted, "Traitor! Traitor" and then "Liar! Liar!"

Moments later, the Hoosiers headed back to the locker room to a chorus of boos.The "Liar" chant commenced again just before the game, along with an obscene one from students in the Assembly Hall's upper reaches.

When Chester Frazier met Gordon at midcourt to shake hands during introductions, he delivered a hard chest-bump that knocked Gordon back a step and seemed to stun him.

It was such a brutal hit, the TV analysts suggested Frazier receive a technical.

According to Jay Marriotti, the Frazier push and the crowd's threatening behavior made Gordon's father, there for the game, "grateful he'd hired a security guard for his son."

A security guard for a kid playing a college basketball game? All because he changed his mind about going to Illinois? Maybe I'm just getting soft in my old age but since when did American sports fans go Euro?

Foul Balls College Football Preview - Indiana Hoosiers

With the college football season just round the corner, Foul Balls has decided it's about time we busted out our college football previews. Each weekday we will break down a team from the Big Ten Conference and tell you all the important things you need to know about them. After we're done covering the Big Ten, we'll move on to Notre Dame and other Chicago area schools. We'll be going from worst to first, and today it's the Indiana Hoosiers' turn.

2006 Record - 5-7, 3-5 6th Big Ten

2007 Projection - 6-6

Most Important Player - James Hardy is going to be a huge key for the Hoosiers if they plan on ending their bowl drought. Hardy just about has all you can ask for at the receiver position. He's fast, has good hands, and he's huge. Seriously, the kid is 6'7 and 220 pounds. Hardy's performance on the field will be a big help to quarterback Kellen Lewis and his gamebreaking ability could help the Hoosiers pull of a couple of upsets this season.

Players to watch for on offense - Kellen Lewis (pictured) is the Hoosiers' quarterback and at 6'1 and only 177 pounds, he's drawn a lot of comparisons to former Indiana QB Antwaan Randle El. The one key difference? Lewis is the better passer. The Hoosiers also have Marcus Thigpen, who is tiny, but it doesn't matter how big you are if nobody can catch you. Thigpen has very good speed and he's shifty enough to make tacklers miss and explode for long runs. Aside from the giant Hardy, the Hoosiers also have quality receivers in James Bailey, Andrew Means, and Blake Powers, recently converted from quarterback, at tight end. The offensive line is a concern, though the late Terry Hoeppner did bring in Rodger Saffold at tackle and Pete Saxon at guard last season, and both appear to be very stong. Other than those two, the Hoosier line is a bit iffy.

Players to watch for on defense - The Hoosiers rely on the two-deep defense that can be called either the Tampa-2 or just Cover-2. They're young but their athleticism is improving. Up front Greg Brown will be able to plug gaps at tackle and anchor the line, but their isn't a real strong pass rush threat. Something that could put a lot of pressure on a the secondary. At corner the Hoosiers feature Tracy Porter and Leslie Majors, who together are one of the better corner tandems in the Big Ten. Safey is a bit weak. Nick Polk has moved from receiver to free safety so there will probably be an adjustment period for him. Austin Thomas is the strong safety, and he's a bit of a liability in pass coverage. Linebacker is this team's strength. Geno Johnson and Adam McClurg are both solid, and sophomore Will Patterson could be something special to watch.

Impact Freshmen - If Ben Wyss struggles at the center position, the Hoosiers won't be afraid to turn to Alex Perry. If Perry steps in and can help the offensive line get stronger, it will make a world of difference for the Indiana offense.

Possible Upset - 11/17 vs. Purdue. The Hoosiers last game of the season will be at home against their in-state rival Purdue. It may come down to a win in this game sending Indiana to a bowl game.

Coaching - With the unfortunate passing of Terry Hoeppner due to a brain tumor, former offensive coordinator Bill Lynch takes over as head coach of the Hoosiers. It won't be an easy task for Lynch to keep this team together in the aftermath, but he's always been like an assistant head coach at Indiana anyway. I think Lynch will be able to keep the program heading in the direction that Hoeppner had started.

Bowl Expectations - The words "bowl expectations" and "Indiana football" don't often go together in the same sentence. In fact, at 13 years and counting, the Hoosiers currently own the longest bowl drought in the conference. This year, though, things may be looking up. Indiana is lucky enough to skip both Michigan and Ohio State on the schedule this season, and that never hurts. The X-factor will be how this team responds to the loss of their former coach Terry Hoeppner. There's no way to know how they'll deal with his death. They could use it as motivation and rally around it or they could collapse on themselves. The only thing I do know is that there is actually hope in Bloomington with the football program, and it's all thanks to Terry Hoeppner.

Previous Previews

• Illinois Fighting Illini
• Michigan State Spartans
• Northwestern Wildcats
  

Basketball Diaries, NCAA Edition - United, We Stand

Illinois 58, Indiana 54

Could the sixth man be an arena? You can't blame someone for wondering, as Illinois slogged past Indiana in overtime and extended its winning streak at the United Center to 18 straight games, 31-6 all-time. It certainly wasn't the artful play early on. Both teams combined for 20 turnovers and shot less than 36 percent. But Warren Carter stepped up with great defense and 17 points - Shaun Pruitt added 16 and grabbed 12 rebounds - to knock back the Hoosiers and set up a Saturday slugfest with #2 Wisconsinin in the Big Ten semifinals. More important, the win primes them for a higher seed in the NCAA bracket selection this Sunday. Coach Bruce Weber: "We talked about if we got to Saturday we'd feel pretty comfortable about the NCAA bid, but you never know. If we can find a way to beat Wisconsin and get to Sunday, then you know you're guaranteed of something." C'mon, United Center!

Oklahoma State 57, Texas A&M 56

Maybe it was an upset to everyone else but not to forward Mario Boggan who, for the fourth time this season, put the Cowboys ahead in the final minute, this time a game-winning lay-up with 11.5 seconds left. "Coach told us, 'Make a play at the end.' That's what it's about right here -- a big-time game," said the ever-humble Boggan. "I feel I'm a big-time player, so I should go out there and make a play. Coach drew it up and I just finished." It didn't hurt that A&M's Josh Carter, 3 for 5 on 3-pointers that night, missed two in those final seconds. "That might have been the miracle right there because he was hitting that shot all night," Boggan said.

Georgetown 84, Notre Dame 82

Patrick Ewing, Jr.? John Thompson III? All it lacked was big hair and Axl Rose, Jr singing the national anthem to complete the 80s deja vu. Led by Jeff Green with 30 points, 12 rebounds and the winning basket with 13 seconds left, the ninth-ranked Hoyas pulled a squeaker out over their Jesuit brethren and advanced to the Big East final for the first since 1996. "The performance Jeff Green put on today was special, and just our team in general hanging in there," coach Thompson said. "At the end of the day, great players make great plays and Jeff did that." DaJuan Summers added 18 and Ewing tied his career high of 15 to help the Hoyas grab their 14th win in 15 games. I could throw more numbers out here but let's just be honest: God likes the Hoyas better.

Illini Could Use A Win Today

Depending on who you ask, the Illini are either already in the tournament or need a win tonight against Indiana to get in.

If you're asking me, I say they're in, but I'd really like to see them beat the Hoosiers tonight to cement it. Oh, and cuz I hate the Hoosiers. I mean really hate the Hoosiers. Like if their plane crashed and all the players died, publicly I'd be all, "What a tragedy!" but privately I'd be like, "I wish Eric Gordon was on that plane...."

So, I have issues, but I'm "trying" to "work" through them.

The Illini struggled at times yesterday against Penn State, falling behind 13-2 to start the game. They were able to get their act together and built up a 16-point lead late in the game before the Nittany Lions started raining three pointers to close the gap.

Thanks to Chester Frazier's hot hand- seriously, where the hell did that come from? Thought I was watching Dee Brown- and Shaun Pruitt down low, the Illini were able to hold on.

Today's game shouldn't be as easy though, as the Hoosiers have a lot more talented team than Penn State.

I don't know about you, but this weekend starts one of the most exciting times of year for me, so if the posts here today are a bit distracted and spaced out, now you know why. I've got work to do here, work at the Fanhouse, and the Big Ten tournament on the television (Ohio State leads 24-22 at the moment). Don't worry, I also have a 12-pack of MGD to lead me through all of it.

Indiana Stops the Badgers, and Kevin Durant is Awesome

You know, Big Ten basketball is a lot more fun when the Illini aren't mediocre, but it's still my duty to chronicle what goes on.

Wisconsin is the best team in the Big Ten this season, but their 17-game win streak came to an end last night in Bloomington when the resurgent Indiana Hoosiers beat them 71-66.

A.J. Ratliff scored 18 of his 20 points for Indiana in the second half, including a couple of key three-pointers to get Indiana a ten point lead with ten minutes left. Alando Tucker (23 points) did everything he could for the Badgers, and Kammron Taylor tied the game at 59-59 with a couple of threes, but Ratliff took over again down the stretch.

Ratliff scored six of the Badgers next eight points, and gave Indiana a 70-66 lead with a minute left.

This win is a big one for a Hoosier program that hasn't really lived up to its own expectations the last few seasons. It's Kelvin Sampson's first season, and a week after Indiana got back into the top 25, this win over the #2 team in the country could be that cornerstone victory for the program.

God knows, the fans enjoyed it.

Bobby Knight would not approve.

Elsewhere in the world of college basketball, there is Kevin Durant. All the talk coming into this college season seemed to center on Greg Oden. Oden was hyped as the best freshman to enter college basketball in a long time, and although Oden has been a very good player for the Buckeyes, he might not even be the best freshman in the country.

Or the #1 pick in the NBA draft next season.

No, that might go to the Longhorns Kevin Durant. I haven't gotten much of a chance to see the freshman play, but everytime I see a Longhorns box score, there's only one name that pops out.

In last night's Longhorn victory over Bobby Knight and Texas Tech in Lubbock, Durant scored 37 points and had 23 rebounds.

37 points.

23 rebounds.

Damn.

Durant outscored Texas Tech 24-22 in the second half, and has earned Bob Knight's respect.

"He's really good. The guy is 6-9, he is mobile, he's quick, he's fast. I mean what more does he have to do. There's no secret thing that he drinks before the game."

Knight went on to say he would love to "choke coach that kid." Durant is averaging 25 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.