Tuesday Tidbits for August 24, 2010
Women’s Soccer wins opener
Senior Danielle Kot scored off a corner kick in the seventh minute, and freshman Vanessa DiBernardo added a second goal in the 12th minute as the Fighting Illini defeated Loyola 2-0 last week. Kot earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for her performance.
The Illini will host Wright State tonight at 7 p.m., and Ball State will come to town on Sunday for a 1 p.m. kick-off. WDWS (1400 AM) will broadcast both matches on tape delay. Tonight’s match will be at 9 p.m., and Sunday’s match will start at 3:30 p.m.
DeForest, Langley at U.S. Amateur
Illinois seniors Scott Langley and Chris DeForest are in University Place, Washington this week for the 110th U.S. Amateur Golf Championship. The tournament will be held at the 7,742-yard par 71 Chambers Bay course, and the 7,420-yard Home Course. The tournament features two qualifying rounds, and then the field of 312 will be cut to 64 for Match Play.
Langley received an exemption as the reigning NCAA Champion, and has experience in this event. He placed seventh in stroke play and advanced to the round of 32 last year. DeForest qualified after shooting a one-under par 141 at Whippoorwill Country Club in Armonk, New York.
Illini invited to prestigous event
Illinois is one of 16 schools that will participate in the 2011 Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship on March 20-22 in Ball Ground, Georgia. The tournament, featuring 11 NCAA Tournament qualifers, will be held at the Hawks Ridge Golf Club with Georgia Tech serving as host.
Stuff the Huff announced
The women’s volleyball squad will host the annual “Stuff the Huff” event for their season-opening match against BYU this Friday night at 7 p.m. Basketball coach Bruce Weber will host a free BBQ for the first 1,000 students at 5:30 p.m.
The match is part of the State Farm Illini Classic, which also includes South Carolina and Middle Tennessee State. Illinois will face South Carolina at 10 a.m. and Middle Tennessee State at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Monday Mourning for August 9, 2010
If you heading north on Route 45 from Urbana to Rantoul, you can’t miss it. As you enter Rantoul, a quick glance to your right, and you will see the orange and blue striped tents, the orange helmets, the occasional red jersey mixed in with the white jerseys.
It’s Camp Rantoul time!
The Illini held a few practices at Memorial Stadium at the end of last week. The focus was the younger guys, getting them up to speed and slowly building to this week. The first practice in Rantoul will be today at 3:30 p.m. Everyone will still be without pads, but that will change tomorrow. If you are heading to the practice fields (all practices are open to the public), here are a few things to watch:
1. Nathan Scheelhaase. The true freshman was named starting quarterback after the spring practice period, and he certainly earned it. But there are still questions, mainly who will be his backup? Chandler Whitmer seems to have the edge over Miles Osei, but is Eddie McGee in the mix? This question could be answered early, as the backups will do a lot of work in onder to protect Scheelhaase.
1a. If Eddie McGee will not be the backup, how much time will he get at wide receiver? If there’s no room for him at receiver, I’ve always thought that McGee is a prime candidate for the defensive backfield. He’s quick and athletic enough to play a safety or nickelback position, and if anyone would be able to read an enemy quarterback, who better than a former quarterback?
2. Martez Wilson will make his return after not being cleared for full practice in the spring. Wilson was stabbed twice during an altercation at the Fubar Lounge this past December; an incident which Coach Zook said that he was “doing the right thing”. He is the anchor to the linebacker core, and the Illini need him to be fully recovered for a successful season.
3. It’s a crowded backfield for the Illini. Jason Ford and Centennial product Mikel LeShoure are the leading candidates for carries, and Troy Pollard finally seems to be healthy. Justin Green is recovering from a broken ankle suffered in the spring, and redshirt freshman Bud Golden was impressive during the spring. St. Joseph-Ogden product Zach Becker began as a walk-on, but now has earned a scholarship and starting spot at fullback.
4. The coaching staff has been revamped; some would say upgraded. All eyes will be on Paul Petrino’s first year as Offensive Coordinator, but remember the old cliche: “Defense Wins Championships”. Keep tabs on Vic Koenning’s first year as Defensive Coordinator, as well. Let’s see which unit can improve the most over last year. It’s not a very high standard to pass.
5. Speaking of coaches, Ron Zook has to be considered on the “hot seat” this year. To be fair, Athletic Director Ron Guenther would never speak these words. But Zook is in his sixth year, with a record of 21-39. Nine of those wins came in the Rose Bowl season of 2007, the only bowl of his tenure. It’s not tough to realize that there needs to be significant improvement, if not a bowl bid, to keep Ron Zook in charge for next season.
Points, Stricker run out of steam
D.A. Points and Steve Stricker made strong challenges this weekend, but both fell short on Sunday. Points shot a 68 on Friday and a 66 on Saturday to pull himself into contention at the Turning Stone Championship, but a 70 on Sunday meant a tie for 22nd place. He jumped four spots in the FedEx Cup standings. He is a lock to be at the first event, and will likely qualify for the second event. The top 70 make the third event at Cog Hill in Lemont, so he’s on the bubble for that event, as well. Illini coach Mike Small missed the cut.
Steve Stricker quietly shot a 67 yesterday to climp into a tie for ninth at the Bridgestone Invitational. He is still third in the FedEx Cup, and will likely make his way to all four events, including the Tour Championship in Atlanta. He is also closing in on a trip to Wales for this year’s Ryder Cup.
On the PGA’s official website, pgatour.com, Stricker is featured on the front page for this weekend’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisc. The article discusses how the PGA Championship is home to many players’ first major win. Paul Azinger, John Daly, Rich Beem, Shaun Micheel, David Toms, Mark Brooks, Y.E. Yang…and that’s just the list since 1991. Stricker almost won the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee, finishing second to Vijay Singh.
Stricker will tee off at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday (Hole 1) and 8 a.m. (Hole 10) on Friday. He is paired with Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott. Points will begin at 12:55 p.m. on Thursday (Hole 10) and 7:40 a.m. (Hole 1) on Friday, playing with Boo Weekley and Seung Yul Noh from South Korea. Small will be just two groups behind Points both days (1:15 p.m. and 8 a.m.) with Tom Lehman and Shaun Micheel.
Are you excited yet?
The Illini football team opens training camp next Thursday at Memorial Stadium, a few days ahead of Camp Rantoul starting on Monday, August 9.
As the preseason approaches, and Illini Chat becomes more and more active for the upcoming season, I want to introduce you to the weekly schedule that you will find here on this site. Every day, starting this coming Monday, there will be a daily feature. These features will normally be all-Illini, all the time, but there is some wiggle room where I can (and will) throw in some thoughts about other stories within the sports world.
Monday’s feature will be entitled Monday Mourning. This will be a feature that will celebrate all that occured over the past weekend, both good and bad.
Tuesday’s feature will be entitled Tuesday Tidbits. This will feature smaller items that do not need much analysis or hype. This will likely be a little barren until we get deep into training camp and begin the season. But I will do my best to keep you excited.
Wednesday’s feature will be entitled Wednesday Whining. As you might expect from the title, this will be where I spend the feature “whining” about whatever I want. It really won’t be very much “whining”, but it will be much more opinionated than many other posts you will see on this site. The goal is to generate some good, healthy debate on current issues. I will also be willing to post reader’s “whines” or rants (see below).
Thursday’s feature will be entitled Thursday Thoughts. This feature will be similiar to Tuesday’s, but with more looking ahead than looking back. Tuesday will be more about reporting items that occured in the past, while Thursday will be more about previewing what’s ahead. It will lead nicely into Friday’s feature.
Friday’s feature will be entitled Friday Forecast. This will be used as a day to look ahead to the upcoming weekend, and include any predictions for the weekend’s events. This could also extend to the local high school football scene. It might also include a list of some of the best (and worst) of the non-Illini television games to pay attention to (or ignore).
A quick note about Wednesday Whining: I am more than willing to post reader whines and rants. If I am going to post your rant, then please, above all, let’s do this in a respectful manner. No subject will be off-limits, so long as it’s sports-related. But respectful ranting at all times. The best rants will be clear, concise, and with correct grammar and spelling. I won’t edit spelling and grammar, so the more professional your rant looks, the better it will be received.
A quick note about Friday Forecast: Any predictions will not be limited to myself. They will be open to anyone who wishes to e-mail me their thoughts. In theory, I would love to have predictions on not just Illini games, but other Big Ten games, as well. The best e-mails will have a clear prediction, and reasons explaining why you think it will occur.
You can e-mail the Wednesday rants and Friday predictions to illinichat@gmail.com, or post them to the Illini Chat Facebook page.
Wait a second. You haven’t joined the Illini Chat Facebook page? You should rectify that mistake as soon as possible! You can also follow Illini Chat on Twitter. You never know when your tweet will be included in a future feature…
A new season approaches….
….and with a new season brings new hope. Hope that the Illinois football team can work its way back into a season-ending bowl game. Hope that the Illini basketball team can return to the NCAA Tournament.
One of these two is more likely than the other. I’ll leave it to you to decide.
My name is Charlie Fillenwarth, and I’ve lived in this area my entire life. I’ve followed Illinois sports for as long as I can remember. I will be your guide through this year’s journey, and I’m honored to be here with you. Camp Rantoul begins next month, and I will be there to bring you all the news and action. I have many exciting features ready to go this season, so I hope you enjoy what I have to offer Illini Chat.
I encourage you to contact me with any questions, comments, complaints, compliments, or if you just want to chat about Illinois sports. You can reach me at illinichat@gmail.com. You can also join the Illini Chat Facebook Group, and follow us on Twitter.
Again, I’m honored to be here with you, and let’s hope for a great year! Go Illini!
A Look Back to the Final Four
It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since the Illini’s Final Four run.
This year’s 14-loss team doesn’t belong on the same page as the 2004-2005 team, but as Illinois crept closer to the NIT Final Four, I couldn’t help but think back to better times.
The games were somewhat similar, the only difference, Illinois couldn’t put together a magical comeback.
Check out the video to actually watch a good team play…
Illinois beats Arizona
