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My son and I got up early to get our
chores done and were just about ready to meet up with the LDN sports
crew when our house decided to take a part in the hit movie "Money
Pit." That’s right, when I drained the tub from my son’s bath, it
decided, instead of going down the drain, to go through the floor
above the dining room ceiling and then through that floor down into
the basement. My son looked at me as if to say, "It’s sure a good
thing Mom is at a retreat out at camp, isn’t it, Dada!" Needless to
say, thanks to Vernon Heidbreder, Payne and I had to spend only part
of the day cleaning up the mess; however, it was enough to miss an
exciting Illini victory!
Game
balls
• This week’s first game
ball goes to my wife, Melinda. She has put up with this reporter for
19 years, and if you count the courting, that’s 22 years. She
deserves a trophy, a medal and anything good that can come her way.
If I’ve ever accomplished anything, it is only because of her. She
is a great wife and an outstanding mother! Thank you, honey, you are
the best, and Happy Anniversary!
• Vern Heidbreder for
keeping our house from floating away in the bath water!
• LCHS football team,
especially the defense! What a great effort by this football team!
My son and I listened to the game, and Bobby Verderber and Ken
Sweitzer echoed what we were thinking: What a great job by our kids!
Especially when you consider how many injuries this team has
suffered and how shaky their confidence must be. I’d STILL like to
see one or two more wins out of this team.
• Dustin Ward and Greg
Lewis, who paired on a 7-yard TD pass to beat those pesky Purdue
Boilmakers 38-31 in OT Saturday.
Other game balls to…
• Freshman Travis Williams
for returning the opening kickoff for a TD.
• Antoineo Harris for
racking up 195 yards and two TDs.
• Brandon Lloyd for his 10
receptions, 161 yards and two TDs.
• ISU’s Quincy Washington,
who had his fourth 100-yard rushing game — but it wasn’t enough, as
the Redbirds lost a nail-biter 22-17 over at Western Illinois. ISU
fell to 3-3 and 1-1, while WIU ups their mark to 5-1 and 2-1.
Updates
I got to peak in on the Illini
hoopsters the other day, and let me just say that I am impressed
with what I saw. I am by no means an expert on college basketball,
but I like how hard these kids work and I love the chemistry —
something YOU have NOT read in this column the last few years. While
it will take them awhile to learn to play together, by the end of
the year I think this team will REALLY progress. No matter what
happens they will be a lot of fun to watch.
When I was writing this report the St.
Louis Cardinals were STILL staring at a 2-1 deficit. I had been
waiting for the Cards’ house to collapse all season… I just hoped it
wouldn’t happen now… BUT however it ends, I will ALWAYS be proud of
this team and what they accomplished!
The LCC and LCHS volleyball teams hit
some nasty spots in the road but hope to get right back on track
this week.
[to top of second column in this
article] |
 "FANdamonium"
…was wild last week LIVE from
Champaign. The studio audience started off with about three people
but ended up with about 33. We hope to do another one over there
next time with LIVE TV!!!
Stay tuned this week on the LDN webcast,
the CITV Channel 5 and FIX 96.3 radio simulcast, as we host some or
all of the following: LCHS golfers, soccer players and swimmers… not
to mention Greg Taylor sporting his cheesehead gear (I don’t know IF
I can stomach that or not), and finally some victory talk on the
Illini report — should be wild. We also hope to give away some
pizzas and other stuff. So we hope you will be our guests from 6 to
7 p.m. EVERY Monday night!
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Sports news bulletin
(Monday afternoon update)
The LDN has just learned that Ron
Rector, former celebrity sports anchor on WAND, will be appearing
LIVE on "Fandamonium" tonight at 6.
"Fandamonium" is the new sports talk
show triple-cast via the LDN website, Channel 5 CITV and FIX-FM 96.3
radio. Rector will join host Jeff Mayfield and his sidekick, Greg
Taylor, for sports bantering from all angles!
The LDN also learned Monday
afternoon that the Carroll Catholic Junior High baseball team
will be featured on tonight’s show as well! Spread the
word! |
Random
thoughts
Miami came back to nip Florida State by
one point. BUT, why didn’t FSU go for two when they scored their
last TD? If you’re up by 13, there has to be plenty of time for the
other team to kick TWO field goals and score a TD. Even IF you don’t
convert, what’s the difference of being down by one or two points IF
your opponents score two TDs like Miami did? I also did not think
much of FSU’s clock management in the final couple of minutes. Can
you imagine how far away Big Ten football is from teams like FSU and
Miami? You could measure the distance in light years!
Does basketball EVER get here fast
enough?
How ’bout those Anaheim Angels? As I
write this they are celebrating their first-ever trip to the World
Series! They have been so exciting down the stretch and have a scary
lineup for either the Giants or the Cards to have to face!
NHL hockey is under way, and neither
the Blues nor the Blackhawks seemed to get off to a very good start.
Have a GREAT
week, everyone. Hope to see you soon!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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