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Almost a perfect weekend

Illini back on track

By Jeff Mayfield

[OCT. 16, 2000]  The stands were packed, the weather cooperated and the Illini got back on track with a 31-0 whitewashing of the Iowa Hawkeyes. It was almost a perfect weekend…we were one Cardinal victory away from a perfect weekend! I hate to say the overused word that this was a must win for the Illini, but this was a must win for the Illini. Though they appeared to have a slow, sluggish start, they got things rolling by taking a 21-0 halftime lead to the locker room…

 

 Led by a stingy defense and the solid performance of the offense, the Illini got back in line for a bowl bid with a semi-convincing 31-0 blanking of the Iowa Hawks. The Illini were led by junior quarterback Kurt Kittner, who finished the day 17-of-25 for 248 yards passing and three touchdowns. Kittner was given ample protection all afternoon in a good showing by his offensive line. The line opened some nice holes and allowed the running backs to average nearly four yards per carry. Rocky Harvey had a couple of electrifying runs and ended up with 104 yards on just 14 carries. But the day’s offensive star probably would have to go to sophomore wide-out Aaron Moorehead. Moorehead caught four passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Christian Morton announced his presence with a nifty 23-yard punt return. Fred Wakefield had some impressive sacks to lead a resurgent defense that will need to keep their opponents in check as the Illini continue to go bowl hunting.

Next up for Illinois is a road tilt at Penn State on Saturday.

[Jeff Mayfield]

All photos by Tom Seggelke


[Tom and Jeff go to great lengths to give LDN readers on-the-spot coverage!]


[Aaron Moorehead gathers in a spectacular 61-yard scoring strike from QB #15 Kurt Kittner]


[Antoineo Harris is denied access to the south end zone.]


[A happy and relieved Coach Turner at his post-game conference.]


[The Illini hoopsters take a bow.]


Illini hoopsters unleashed

By Jeff Mayfield

[OCT. 16, 2000]  Another reason that it was such a great weekend is that the greatest show on earth was reopened after the football game on Saturday. Under the big top at Assembly Hall, both the Illini women’s and Illini men’s basketball teams were introduced to the public for the first time this year. Once again, Lincoln’s own Brian Cook received a raucous ovation from the crowd as he came out of the tunnel to begin his sophomore season. As usual, the LDN was there to take it all in for your reading pleasure…

 

Brian Cook and his Illini brethren looked a little tired and a little sluggish as new coach Bill Self ran the Illini through their paces in the first scrimmage of the year. We spoke with Brian after the game, and he said many of the players were both sore and tired. They had been through an exhausting three-hour workout earlier in the day. Brian was hobbled by a slightly twisted ankle but said that he will be fine. Despite all that, he was listed unofficially going 2-for-3 from the field and 1-for-2 at the line for five points. I think people are starting to realize that the more he gets the ball, the more good things that will happen. Brian sends his regards to the fans back home and hopes that his former Railer teammates have a great season.

I also spoke to Rob Judson, Illini assistant coach, before the game. Rob feels very good about this Illini team. He felt that the team has a good work ethic, and they seem to be coming together nicely.

At the post-game conference, new head coach Bill Self cautioned the media not to worry too much about the team’s early sloppy play. He said that he told them to go out and have some fun today. He added that they don’t even know what he wants yet, so it was hard for him to evaluate their play. We think that he is sly like a fox and that this Illini team is going to be an exciting one to watch.

A brutal schedule will challenge Self and his young cagers. The Illini open the season three weeks from tonight with a contest against Athletes in Action. For single game or season tickets call (217) 333-5000.

[Jeff Mayfield]

All photos by Tom Seggelke


[Illini assistant coach Rob Judson discusses the upcoming season with LDN sports editor Jeff Mayfield]


[New Illini head coach Bill Self contemplates the new season at hand.]


[Brian Cook and company. In front is Nick Smith and in between is Cook's roommate, Jerrance Howard.]


[Cook prepares to embark on his sophomore season.]


Part 2

Area NFL teams showing their muscle

By Jeff Mayfield

[OCT. 13, 2000]  At least that’s what the fans of the St. Louis Rams and Indianapolis Colts are saying. Both teams are off to a good start. In fact, the Rams are one of only two undefeated teams in the entire National Football League. The other of course, is the Minnesota Vikings. The Chicago Bears on the other hand are not flexing their muscles. But, do they have the personnel that those other teams have? This week the LDN offers up a progress report and prognosticates on what the future may hold.

And what can you say about the World Champion St. Louis Rams? I’m still not even used to saying it. Many commentators and media types have said that the Rams were nothing but a fluke last year. I don’t see how they come up with this stuff. The Rams took on all comers and dusted them all off. That’s what champions do. So, fluke or no fluke, they could only play the teams that advanced, and they beat them all! End of story!

 

And they may just do it again this year. Talk about offenses? They are currently on pace to set the all-time NFL record for most points in a season. Incidentally, if you took their totals from their last 16 games (which would normally make up one full regular season), they have already set that record. They’re currently on an amazing streak in that they have scored over 30 points in every game they have played this year!

Quarterback Kurt Warner, who may even be a better person than he is a player, is looking better in season number two than he did in his MVP season from a year ago! And their receiving corps is downright scary! When you can sit in the pocket and throw passes to the likes of Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt and Az Hakim, you can almost just set the controls to automatic pilot! And then when you tack on the amazing versatility of running back and receiver extraordinaire Marshall Faulk and stick him into your arsenal, you’re ready to go to battle.

 

I haven’t even mentioned their dominating offensive line. With giants like Orlando Pace creating holes and running lanes that you could drive a semi through, I’m not too surprised at how successful they have been.

 

 

[to top of second column in this section]

They even appear to be having a good time doing it. These guys actually look like they like each other. Is that supposed to be happening on a professional sports team? I admit, I may be a little confused by it all. The next thing you know, someone’s going to tell me that these guys are a throwback to some of my favorite teams from the ’60s, and this team actually doesn’t just play for the money. That could never happen again, could it?

If the Rams have a concern, it would be on the defensive side of the ball. For two years they simply have outscored their opponents. That theory almost did not work in the Super Bowl against the Tennessee Titans, but almost only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and drive-in movies. (Did I just date myself with that comment? Does anyone else miss drive-ins as much as I do?)

The reason I think they should bolster up their defense is that you never know when some team will devise a blitz package that can actually get to Warner. If the defense can keep the Rams in the game when that situation occurs, they may just have a dynasty on their hands. That might be a big "if."

In the meantime, St. Louis seems to be happy just playing pinball and racking up points against their opponents.

So, that wraps up the LDN’s early report on our local or regional NFL teams. Hopefully, there’s still time for your favorite team to make a run for the playoffs. Let the LDN know who your favorite team is, and we’ll see by the response how much more info to get for you. No matter what, this season is shaping up to be one of the best in recent years. Let us know if you have any extra tickets to any upcoming games, and we’ll try to make ourselves available.

[Jeff Mayfield]


Part 1

Area NFL teams showing their muscle

By Jeff Mayfield

[OCT. 12, 2000]  At least that’s what the fans of the St. Louis Rams and Indianapolis Colts are saying. Both teams are off to a good start. In fact, the Rams are one of only two undefeated teams in the entire National Football League. The other of course, is the Minnesota Vikings. The Chicago Bears on the other hand are not flexing their muscles. But, do they have the personnel that those other teams have? This week the LDN offers up a progress report and prognosticates on what the future may hold.

The best thing I can probably say about the NFL can be summed up in one word: parity! Fans all over the league are operating under the fallacy that their area team actually has a chance to make it to the Super Bowl. I would bet the hot tub that the

San Diego Chargers will not make it to this year’s Super Bowl. Unfortunately for all of our local Bears fans, I don’t think Chicago is going to make it either. They started off with a good showing against the Vikings in the Twinkie dome. They really deserved a better fate. They even looked a little better when they beat the Packers. However, their poor performance displayed against the New Orleans Saints removes any hope that they’re climbing to some acceptable level of consistency and respectability. They just don’t seem to have enough skill at the skill positions. Their inability to run the football consistently has put too much pressure on quarterback Cade McNown. Also, the defense will need to step up big on a regular basis for this team to improve.

The Indianapolis Colts on the other hand, are entertaining Super Bowl dreams of their own after making it to the AFC championship game last year. Things may be not be going according to plan with their recent losses to New England and a tough home setback to Oakland. However, at times their offense looks as good as anybody’s. When Peyton Manning is in rhythm, he is as good as anyone in the NFL.

 

 

[to top of second column in this section]

Edgerrin James doesn’t seem like he is the dominant running back that he was last year. If the Colts are to go deep in the playoffs, James will have to punish people from week to week. I noticed how important he is to the overall offensive scheme when I recently attended their game with the Minnesota Vikings. When he was clicking, the Colts looked pretty hard to stop. That may say more about the Vikes' defense than it says about the offensive prowess of Indianapolis.

Speaking of the Vikings, their offense is really impressive. I know that they’re not one of the local teams that loyal Lincoln Daily News readers follow, but I’m on a roll here! Have you ever seen a quarterback the size of Dante Culpepper? He is 6 feet 5 inches and weighs over 260 pounds. How would you like to try to bring this guy down in the open field? Everyone dissed on the Vikings for letting all of their good quarterbacks go to keep Culpepper. It appears that Coach Dennis Green knew a lot more about it all than the armchair quarterback nation!

Back to the Colts… Several things impress me about them. One is the emergence of Peyton Manning at the quarterback position at such a young age. He is simply brilliant back there and has deserved a better fate in the few games that they have lost the last two seasons. The consistency of their kicking game also is one of their strong suits, especially Mike Vanderjack. He has shown a consistency that takes a lot of pressure off of both the offense and the defense. In fact, the game I saw versus the Vikes, he calmly hit the game winner as time expired. I think he has been one of the unsung heroes of the Colts rise over the last two years. Their defense will tell the story as to how far they will go this season.

(To be continued)

[Jeff Mayfield]

[click here for Part 2]


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