|
At 1 p.m. on Dec. 30, SOAR Green from
Bloomington-Normal will tip off against the Decatur Kings. That game
will be followed at 3 p.m. with the Jacksonville Wolverines facing
Futures Unlimited All-Stars from Pontiac. Both games will be played
on the practice floor at the Shirk Center in Bloomington.
The non-winners of the first two games
featuring Special Olympics athletes will face off later that
evening. The teams will begin play on the main floor at the Shirk
Center during halftime of the Holiday Classic boys Class A
championship game (which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.). After the
first quarter, they will move to the Shirk Center practice floor to
complete their game.
The winners of the first two games meet
during halftime of the girls Class AA championship game (which tips
off at 7:30 p.m.).
"The Bloomington-Normal area and all of
central Illinois have supported our holiday tournament for more than
20 years," said Dan Highland, president of the organizing group for
the classic. "We felt this was a great way to give something back to
the community and showcase these outstanding Special Olympics
athletes. For many of these athletes, playing on a college floor in
front of thousands of people is a dream come true."
[to top of second column in this article] |
"The teams are excited about being a
part of the 2002 State Farm Holiday Classic," said Ron Knisley,
director of sports and competition for Special Olympics Illinois.
"They cannot wait to play in front of the large crowd. This
opportunity will allow the athletes to showcase their abilities and
not their disabilities. The spectators at the Shirk Center will see
exciting and outstanding basketball."
The 2002 State Farm Holiday Classic
will be Dec. 26-28 and Dec. 30 at Illinois Wesleyan University's
Shirk Center, Illinois State University's Horton Fieldhouse,
Bloomington High School and Normal West High School.
Tickets are available on game day at
the various venues. For more information or to see a schedule of the
2002 State Farm Holiday Classic, visit the official tournament
website:
www.theclassic.org.
Special Olympics Illinois is a
not-for-profit organization offering year-round training and
competition in 19 sports for nearly 20,000 athletes ages 8 years and
older who have mental retardation or closely related developmental
disabilities. Special Olympics programs enhance physical fitness,
motor skills, self-confidence, social skills and encourage family
support.
If you are
interested in learning more about Special Olympics, volunteering or
providing financial support to help make Special Olympics programs
possible, contact your local Special Olympics agency, call Special
Olympics Illinois at (800) TEAM-ISO or visit
www.ilso.org
[News release] |
|
Brian Cook continued his domination of
non-conference foes by hitting for a double-double Saturday in
Illinois' 70-54 win over Temple. All Cook did was to lead all
scorers with 25 points. He also led all rebounders with 11 and may
have led all vendors in popcorn sales for all we know!
The greatest thing about his most
recent performances is the leadership he has brought this team. I've
read that he isn't a vocal leader and therefore is not doing his job
in that capacity. Give me a guy who can score and rebound any day --
that's plenty of leadership for any ship that I'm on!
Now it's time for some of his teammates
to step up and share some of the load. It will be interesting to see
how many people dive off the Cook wagon when he has a bad game or
two. And it will be interesting to see who steps up for Illinois and
rescues us on the days Cook can't.
Maybe it will be Dee Brown. Awakened
from his first-half slumber, he shook some of the Owls out of their
trees for 15 second-half points, and he was the only other Illini in
double figures.
Illinois only shot a season-low 43
percent. You will read in other outlets how Temple's tough zone
confused the Illini. However, IF you've ever been to the United
Center, YOU know that it is a difficult place to shoot! IF you don't
believe me, ask Michael… and I don't mean Abbott! MJ remarked many
times how he missed the friendly rims and bounces of the old Chicago
Stadium and was not all that enthralled with the background, rims or
any of the UC's nuances for that matter.
On the other hand, we have warned
several times right here that we're not sure that this Illini team
is shooting the rock as well as past teams have shown. But there's
plenty of potential and plenty of time for this Illinois bomb squad
to heat up; and we're hoping that they do it at just the right time.
The Illini did hold Temple to 29
percent shooting with some pretty good "D," but refer to the above
for another factor in their demise! Illinois did convert on an
amazing 19-of-21 free throws. Thanks to the entire team for reading
about the need to improve in that category right here in the LDN!
The Orange and Blue also out-rebounded Temple 38-37.
All it does is get tougher from here on
out, as Illinois' next two opponents are Missouri and Memphis. Don't
be fooled by MSU's big loss at Columbia… They'll be much tougher in
the Pyramid! And Mizzou is so due Saturday… I'd love to see us shut
them down again!
Railers
survive!
And I mean that in EVERY sense of the
word. Coach Neil Alexander and his staff have lulled me into a false
sense of security. I may be as bad as some of his players in this
respect. I know that we'll find a way to win. But you sure had to
search long and hard for it Saturday night versus a vastly improved
Kankakee ball club.
I've heard of slow starts, but this
game may have even taken the cake for the slowest start ever. There
were possibly six turnovers on the first seven possessions. We put
the "UG" in "ugly!" But somehow Lincoln was only down by a bucket at
halftime, thanks to an acrobatical half-court 3 drained by Chris
Bunch! That momentum buster may have been enough to turn the tide,
as we don't think the Railers trailed the rest of the night.
But they did hang on for their lives.
Kankakee kept chipping away, and LCHS kept missing their free throws
and took a few ill-advised shots until it was a one-point game. Cory
Farmer then hit a big front end of a one-and-one, and his miss
bounced around until time ran out as Lincoln found that way to a
two-point win, 66-64.
But this is a mark of a special team --
they get outplayed by a team with tremendous athleticism and still
find ways to beat you. IF that's not GREAT coaching, then I don't
know what is!
The Railers also drubbed Taylorville
this weekend, 71-23.
Mount
Pulaski chops down another giant
The Hilltoppers keep knocking down
giant after giant. After dethroning last year's Class A state
champion Pleasant Plains squad, they next tackled No. 15-ranked
Riverton. And even though they had a guy go off for 34 points, it
wasn't enough. Mount Pulaski ran its record to 7-2 with a 70-59
upset. Next up is a home battle with Clinton tomorrow (Tuesday)
night.
[to top of second column in this
article] |
 Lady Lynx
rolling too
The Lincoln College Lady Lynx are
rolling right along. Two more victories this weekend put them at a
sparkling 11-3 including a nice 75-50 romp over Meramec.
Angels
not as fortunate
The LCC Angels hit another snag in the
road, losing to Grinnell 73-49. Former Lady Railer Brittany Robbins
continues to lead the way for Lincoln.
Lynx,
Preachers going through a tough stretch
LC lost a 72-69 squeaker to Rend Lake,
and LCC took two losses this weekend at the Taylor University
tourney, losing to the hosts 73-52 and to Tri-State University
103-77. But tough competition for both teams now will make them more
battle-ready when conference and postseason play gets here.
We commend all of our area coaches for
playing such tough schedules!
ISU loses despite Alexander's 18
ISU lost at Western
Kentucky 63-43 yesterday. Lincoln's Gregg Alexander led all scorers
with 18 points. (Click
here for game report.)
Lady
Railers lose a heartbreaker
Lincoln's Lady Railers were hoping to
get another win under their belts. But they were denied on Saturday
afternoon as Quincy won a hard-fought 54-49 overtime contest in
Lincoln.
Bears win
again
Just when you leave them for dead, the
Chicago Bears step up and rise from the dead. The last few weeks all
anyone would talk about was how improved the Jets were with Chad
Pennington at the helm. But after the Bears won 20-13 Sunday in
Champaign, we're not hearing as much talk. Check the incomparable
Greg Taylor's story on the
game!
Sam
White's making some noise
How 'bout the game Sam White of LCHS
recently rolled? The senior Railer put up a 286 to go along with
another 600-plus series. Sam would like to possibly continue his
bowling career at Western Illinois University.
White, who is a student manager for the
Railer basketball team, took his accomplishment in stride. He told
the LDN that he fully expects to improve and that a perfect 300 game
looms on the horizon.
He is a recent addition to the list of
some great student managers, including Adam Butts, Stacy Willis,
Jamie Graack, Ryan Gleason and Colby Elkins.
Not to mention Brian Boyer, a longtime
member of the managing crew who always did a good job for the team
-- when he wasn't pickin' on coach Aeilts! And what can you say
about Jake Sheley? Other than the fact that he has been terribly
misguided into supporting that crazy Duke program (do you know how
many national titles Self could have won with that kind of talent?),
he's been a pretty good manager through the years. He's now taken
his managerial act to Illinois Wesleyan, where he's parlayed it into
a FREE trip to Hawaii -- definitely a guy following in Greg Taylor's
footsteps!
IF YOU were ever a Railer manager for
ANY sport and have a story YOU can tell, please
contact us here at
the LDN. We try to never leave any stone unturned here and
appreciate ANYone and EVERYone who has ANYthing to do with our young
people! You managers, stat and scoreboard/book people make ALL the
games more enjoyable for all of us. THANKS from the LDN for all you
do. We do take notice!
"FANdamonium"
…has been fun the last two weeks as you
amaze us with your answers to the trivia questions! We've got lots
to talk about: the Illini, the Railers, the Bears, just to name a
few. So, hit the LIVE LDN link
or tune your radio to FIX 96.3 FM or your TV to Channel 5 and join
Greg and me tonight at 6!
And "Happy
Birthday" to the best little local sport I know, who just turned 2
on Sunday. He called me his buddy this week, and therefore he's my
player of the week!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
|
