 1. The Lincoln Railers finally showed Taylorville the door.
Congratulations to coach Jared Shaner and the 2-2 Railers on their
first-ever victory over their conference rivals from Taylorville.
The Railers won 33-26 and are now seriously thinking playoffs for
the first time since I was in high school. Here's hoping the Railers
continue their strong play in the weeks ahead during winnable games
against Southeast, Lanphier and Jacksonville. Go, Railers!2.
Is Illinois as good as it looked against the Orange of Syracuse?
The answer is probably not -- but boy, was it fun to watch Illinois
be on the winning side of a blowout. Coach Ron Zook looks to be
getting his team to play better and consistent football for long
periods, and several of his prized freshmen look ready to explode at
any time. Illinois now faces a winnable game at Indiana (Illinois is
a 2 1/2-point favorite) and the Illini look ready to take the next
step.
3. Juice Williams answered his critics with his best game at
Illinois. I'll be the first to admit I was wondering if Juice
could get it done week in and week out for the Illini. I was
wondering aloud if Eddie McGee should begin to share the QB position
with Williams. But on Saturday against Syracuse, Juice looked like
the star Ron Zook envisioned when he handed him the reins of the
offense. Juice ran with purpose, made some nice throws to his tight
ends and even threw one mean block to free Regis Benn on a reverse.
It will be interesting to see if Juice can keep it going as the
conference games begin this week at Indiana.
4. Rex Grossman did little to convince Bear fans he is the
man. I want to see the Rex Grossman of the first half of last
year -- the Grossman who went to Lambeau and outplayed Brett Favre,
the Grossman who sliced and diced the Seattle and Buffalo defenses,
the Grossman who helped the Bears start the year 7-0. Sunday against
an average Kansas City team, Rex really played average at best and
made two crucial turnovers late in the game with Bears only up by 10
points. Grossman will be in the national spotlight this Sunday
against the Dallas Cowboys.
5. The Cubs moved closer to October baseball. The Cubs
went 6-2 this past week against the Astros and Cardinals (seven of
those games on the road) and started to play better baseball. With
12 games to go, the Cubs control their own destiny and look ready to
make a run to playoff baseball for the first time since 2003. Dare I
remind us that 2003 was the year of the Bartman? If the Cubs can't
seal the deal against the Reds, Pirates and Marlins, they don't
deserve to make the postseason.
6. The Cardinals moved closer to October fishing and golf.
If you are a Cardinal fan, please don't trash your team as a result
of their recent 1-10 skid. The fact that the Birds were even in
position to play meaningful games the last month should make you
smile. St. Louis was dead and buried in late July, but LaRussa and
crew refused to quit and give up. But, postseason baseball will not
be played in St. Louis this year. By losing four of five this week
to their rivals from Chicago, the Cardinals officially ended their
late-season push.
[to top of second column] |
7. Notre Dame is 0-3 and life is not pleasant in South Bend.
Notre Dame has been blown out by Georgia Tech, Penn State and
Michigan -- and Saturday's 38-0 drubbing in Ann Arbor could have
been worse if Lloyd Carr wanted to really push the accelerator. To
make matters worse, prized QB Demetrius Jones from Chicago quit the
team Friday and began classes at Northern Illinois this week. Jones
picked ND over Illinois at the 11th hour, and this can't be good
news for the Irish as they try to re-establish recruiting dominance
in the Windy City.
8. Jim Thome hit home run No. 500 in walk-off fashion. To
say the 2007 season has been a disaster for the White Sox might be
the understatement of the week. The Sox, who won the World Series
just two years ago, currently have the worst record in baseball. So,
it was awesome to see Thome reach this milestone Sunday -- in
walk-off, game-winning fashion in front of the home fans at the
Cell. It was heartwarming to see his father shed tears of joy --
don't forget Thome is from nearby East Peoria, played high school
baseball against Lincoln High and is one of the real good guys in
the game.
9. Devin Hester is incredible! The second-year "Windy City
Flyer" who set marks for return touchdowns as a rookie was at it
again on Sunday. Hester returned a punt for six points and also
returned a kickoff, only to have it called back by an unnecessary
block in the back. My only question is this: Why do teams continue
to kick to him? He is one of a kind and I'm glad he plays for the
Bears.
10. Can you find integrity in professional sports in 2007?
It seems like every week the words "cheater" and "sports" are
connected once again. From the HGH and steroid scandals in baseball
and football, to the gambling allegations about an NBA referee,
professional sports seem to be under attack. Then, last week, we
find out the New England Patriots, supposedly an organization that
does things "the right way," have been illegally taping opposing
coaches' signals -- for quite some time. I miss the days of guys
like Mike Ditka, Michael Jordan and Ryne Sandberg
-- guys who did it the right way and won anyway. Hopefully guys like
Rick Ankiel, Rodney Harrison and Bill Belichick are taking notice.
Have a great week and we'll see what next week brings in the
world of sports!
[Greg
Taylor]
 |
