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[DEC. 28, 2001]   High school boys and girls holiday tournament results

Boys

State Farm Holiday Classic

At Shirk Center

Olympia                    10 30 47     62
Kewanee                  15 23 28     45

Dillenburg 2-0-4; Elliott 6-1-13; Olson 6-0-14; Wise 4-1-9; Schultz 2-1-5; Sherman 1-1-4; Kieser 2-2-6; Kendrick 1-0-2; Cheek 1-0-3; Hayes 1-0-2

Totals 26-6-62

Three-point field goals: Olympia (4) -- Olson 2, Sherman.

Mount Pulaski                           9 19 31     52
Quincy Notre Dame                19 37 52     67

N. Tierney 1-2-4; Anderson 5-0-13; Blaum 4-1-9; Coers 4-0-8; Clements 4-4-12; Schilling 1-0-2; Deibert 1-0-2; Waymire 1-0-2

Totals 21-7-52

At Bloomington

Peoria Notre Dame                  22 24 31     41
Lincoln                                     16 29 43     60

Farmer 6-1-17; Komnick 1-1-4; Schonauer 3-0-7; Schrader 3-2-9; Welch 1-0-2; Young 7-5-19; Gallagher 1-0-2

Totals 22-9-60

Three-point field goals: Lincoln (7) -- Farmer 4, Komnick, Schonauer, Schrader.

Macomb-Western Tournament

At Macomb

Hamilton                      18 28 35     60
Illini Central                  21 31 44     73

Miller 5-1-11; Tra. Scott 0-2-2; Williams 6-3-15; Grimsley 5-9-20; Clark 5-2-12; Gisler 4-1-13

Totals 25-18-73

Three-point field goals: Illini Central (5) -- Giesler 4, Grimsley.

[to top of second column in this article]

Clinton Tournament

At Clinton

Hartsburg-Emden                  14 36 46     72
Peru St. Bede                        18 29 36     61

Ke. Leesman 7-3-17; Anderson 4-4-13; Gleason 4-3-14; Ko. Leesman 4-0-8; Jones 2-0-4; Wrage 3-1-7; Fletcher 2-1-5; Sherwood 0-4-4

Totals 26-17-72

Three-point field goals: Hartsburg-Emden (4) -- Gleason 3, Anderson.

Girls

State Farm Holiday Classic

At Normal

Camp Point                  7 19 26     33
Olympia                     12 27 37     50

Wilcox 2-0-5; Floyd 8-5-22; Prager 4-0-8; Short 2-0-4; Brand 0-1-1; Canopy 2-0-4; Goebel 2-0-4; Litwiller 1-0-2

Totals 21-6-50

Three-point field goals: Olympia (2) -- Wilcox, Floyd.

South Fulton Holiday Tournament

At Astoria

Illini Central                  10 23 32     49
Peoria Heights              10 20 26     39

Montgomery 4-2-10; Damm 7-5-21; Oney 1-1-4; Bitner 5-0-10; Hankins 0-1-1; Klassen 1-0-3

Totals 18-9-49

Three-point field goals: Illini Central (4) -- Damm 2, Oney, Klassen.

Lady Tiger Holiday Classic

At Pickerington, Ohio 

Lincoln                           7 18 21     32
Pickerington                 18 30 44     67

Dawson 0-1-1; Hoffert 1-0-2; Robbins 1-2-5; Washam 1-0-2; Freesmeir 1-0-2; Ingram 1-2-4; Froschauer 1-0-3; Schonauer 1-0-3; Carey 1-2-5; Whalen 0-3-3; Verderber 1-0-2

Totals 9-10-32

Three-point field goals: Lincoln (4) -- Robbins, Froschauer, Schonauer, Carey.

[DEC. 28, 2001]   

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[DEC. 27, 2001] High school boys and girls holiday tournament results

Boys

State Farm Holiday Classic

At IWU (Shirk Center)

Lincoln                            19 38 53     70
Buffalo Grove                    9 18 31     46

Farmer 3-0-8; Schonauer 6-0-17; Schrader 8-2-21; Welch 1-0-2; Young 4-1-9; Gallagher 2-2-7; Heidbreder 1-2-4; Carnahan 1-0-2

Totals 26-7-70

Three-point field goals: Lincoln (11) -- Schonauer 5, Schrader 3, Farmer 2, Gallagher 1; Buffalo Grove (none).

At Bloomington

Olympia                           11 26 41     50
Mount Pulaski                  20 31 43     67

Olympia -- Dillenburg 8-1-23; Sheman 2-3-6; Kieser 3-0-6; Olson 1-0-2; Thornton 3-0-7; Schultz 1-2-4; Slager 1-0-2

Totals 19-5-50

Mount Pulaski -- Coers 2-8-12; N. Tierney 1-1-3; Blaum 5-2-12; Anderson 9-1-25; Schilling 1-0-2; B. Erlenbush 1-0-3; Clements 3-2-8; J. Tierney 0-2-2

Totals 22-16-67

Three-point field goals: Olympia (7) -- Dillenburg 6, Thornton. Mount Pulaski (7) -- Anderson 6, B. Erlenbush

Macomb-Western Tournament

At Macomb

Illini Central                  19 32 50     67
Knoxville                      11 18 24     31

Miller 4-0-8; Grimsley 7-0-17; Clark 6-2-14; Giesler 1-1-3; Tra. Scott 2-1-6; Williams 3-1-7; Cremeens 1-0-3; Heronymus 1-1-3; Swaar 0-1-1; Dodson 1-1-3; Sickmeyer 1-0-2

Totals 27-8-67

Three-point field goals: Illini Central (5) -- Grimsley 3, Tra. Scott, Cremeens.

[to top of second column in this article]

Girls

State Farm Holiday Classic

At Normal

Alleman                  9 19 27     38
Olympia                  8 20 25     33

Floyd 4-0-8; Prager 2-0-5; Gaither 6-0-14; Goebel 2-0-4; Litwiller 1-0-2

Totals 15-0-33

Three-point field goals: Olympia (3) -- Gaither 2, Prager.

South Fulton Holiday Tournament

At Astoria

Illini Central                  11 26 35     57
LaHarpe                      17 25 38     60

Montgomery 4-5-14; Damm 7-2-23; Oney 2-4-9; Bitner 3-0-6; Klarren 2-0-5

Totals 18-11-57

Three-point field goals: Illini Central (10) -- Damm 7, Montgomery, Oney, Klarren.

[DEC. 27, 2001]  The Christmas holiday is finished, New Year’s Day is just around the corner, and all is well in Illini Land! The football team is ranked #7 in the country, just completed a 10 win regular season for the first time in eighteen years, won an outright conference title, and is getting ready to play in one of the top four bowl games on New Year’s Day. The men’s basketball team is also starting to show signs of progress in their quest to repeat as Big Ten conference champions. The hoopsters are also ranked #7 in the country, have already claimed 10 wins in 12 games, and just beat their border war rival Missouri in one of the great rivalry games in all of college basketball. LDN wanted to catch you up on what was happening in both camps as 2002 approaches:

Illinois football:

• The team arrived in New Orleans for Sugar Bowl preparation on Christmas Eve night. The Illini practiced early Christmas morning and celebrated the holiday together.

• Illinois has a chance to win eleven games in a season for the first time ever!

• Illinois appears to be healthy, as both RB Antonio Harris and LB Jerry Shumacher are healthy again and planning on starting in the Sugar Bowl.

• Illinois is receiving commitments from some very good high school seniors, including New Jersey RB Ibrahim Halsey (one of the top five RB’s in the nation) and LB Brandon Archer of St. Paul, MN.

• Illinois’ opponent, LSU, will be playing on January 1 just 40 miles from their campus in Shreveport and should have quite a home crowd advantage.

• Illinois has announced plans for a football version of the Busch Braggin’ Rights game to be held in St. Louis the next two seasons. The Illini will line up against Missouri at the TWA dome, home of the St. Louis Rams, on Saturday, Aug. 31.

• Illinois last played the Tigers during the 1994 season, defeating them in Champaign with the score 42-0.

[to top of second column in this article]

Illinois men's basketball:

• Illinois plays Loyola of Chicago Saturday at 7 p.m. in Champaign. The game can be seen on WCIA-TV, channel 3.

• Illinois will open conference play on Wednesday night Jan. 2 at the Assembly Hall against Minnesota. The game will also be seen on channel 3, WCIA.

• Illinois has a very favorable start to the Big Ten season. After the Minnesota game, Illinois plays two straight road games against Wisconsin and then Purdue, two teams who are really struggling early this year. Illinois then plays three straight home games against Michigan (the worst team in the conference this season), Iowa and then Wisconsin.

• The Iowa game will be played on Tuesday night Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN.

• Illinois will only play Iowa, Penn State, Northwestern and Ohio State one time this conference season. The Illini will play the Hawks and the Nittany Lions in Champaign and the Wildcats and Buckeyes on the road.

• Illinois forward Lucas Johnson appears on target for a Feb. 1 return from his torn ACL injury.

Look for more Illini news and notes in the days ahead.  And look for live reports from New Orleans as Illinois prepares for the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1!

[Greg Taylor]

[DEC. 26, 2001]   

Andrew Mitchell scored 12 of his game-high 17 points in the second half as Kent State defeated Illinois State 61-48 at Redbird Arena. Shawn Jeppson led the ‘Birds in scoring with 12 points.

The Redbirds, 4-7, managed only 18 points in the first half, the total tied the record for least points in a half for Illinois State at Redbird Arena. The other 18-point half performance occurred on January 23, 1993 against Bradley, when Illinois State was outscored 24-18 in the first frame. The ‘Birds were unable to generate any points in the final 6:38 of the first half.

[to top of second column in this article]

Kent State, 5-4, had two other players find double figures with Trevor Huffman scoring 13 and Demetric Shaw chipping in 10. The Golden Flashes were led on the boards by Antonio Gates with 11.

Baboucarr Bojang was the only other Redbird to reach double figures with 11 points. Andy Strandmark had another great performance off the bench for Illinois State leading the team in rebounding with seven.

The Redbirds host Creighton to open their conference schedule on January 2, 2002.

[Todd Kober, ISU director of media relations]

[DEC. 26, 2001]  For the second time in three days, Stacey White got a key rebound and made two free throws to give Illinois State a three-point lead and ice a victory, this time a 53-50 win over Western Illinois on Saturday at Redbird Arena.

Western Illinois 6-4, was led by Becky Tyo with 20 points and Tugba Palazoglu added 15, but she missed a jumper to take the lead with four seconds left under heavy pressure from Steph Reichle, and White got the rebound, got fouled and made the last two free throws with 0.00.9. Taren O'Brien led the Redbirds with 18 points. White added 12.

The win was just what the doctor ordered for the Redbirds, according to coach Jenny Yopp, right down to the final seconds.

"That's two games in a row where we have improved our defensive effort," said Yopp. "Steph played smart defense and got a hard contest [on Palazoglu's shot], then we got a great box out and Stacey White secured the rebound."

"My teammates all blocked out and I knew all I had to do was secure the rebound and I would get fouled," said White, whose similar play netted two free throws with 18 seconds left against NIU, giving ISU a three-point lead before Reichle blocked a last-ditch three-pointer

for the win on Thursday.

ISU has bounced back with two wins in a row after an 0-7 start, and O'Brien believes her team hung in there.

"We were never down on ourselves, even when we were 0-7," said O'Brien. "Now, we've got some momentum going into the conference. We're confident.'

Illinois State 2-7, allowed WIU to hit 11 of its first 18 field goals, but allowed just 5 of 29 after that. The Redbird defense was stifling right to the end.

"We lost our composure and lost our poise," said WIU coach Leslie Crane. "You have to be able to shoot the ball and we had too many people taking forced shots. We've been shooting 45 or 46 percent from the field because we wouldn't take our time."

[to top of second column in this article]

Palazoglu scored five points during an 11-0 WIU run which put Western ahead 15-4 with 12:43 left in the first half.

The Westerwinds had a 28-23 lead thanks to Palzoglu's 12 points. She made her first five shots including a pair of three-pointers. WIU made 11 of its first 18 field goals in the half and ISU was 7-24 for the first 20 minutes. But the ‘Birds forced 12 Westerwind turnovers and made 9 of 13 free throws to stay within five.

In the second half, WIU led by as many as six before O'Brien three-pointer and a Chris Kutchinski jumper cut the lead to 35-34. Tyo muscled in an answer with 12:20 left to put the 'Winds ahead 37-34.

With 11:21 left, Katie Donovan picked up an offensive rebound and was fouled on the put-back by Somer Easterwood, who also earned a technical foul. White made the two technicals and Donovan's second foul shot put the 'Birds ahead 38-37.

The teams were tied 44-44 from 8:21 to 5:14 left when White beat the shot clock with an off-balance one-hander from 15 feet. O'Brien added a pair of free throws with 4:36 left to give ISU its biggest lead at 4:36. Tyo cut that lead in half with a 15-footer at 4:10 left.

Reichle made a free throw with 3:14 left to put ISU up 49-46. Tyo's ninth and 10th free throws without a miss brought WIU within 49-48 with 1:34 left. O'Brien hit two for ISU with 1:21 left.

Jessica Cook made two free throws with 28.9 seconds left to trim the lead to 51-50. ISU was attempting to run out the clock when Erica Zielinski forced a held ball with 9.2 seconds left, and it was WIU's ball. Palazoglu missed a 12-footer under pressure and White got the rebound and was fouled with 0.9 seconds left and made the deciding free throws.

[Nate Bargar, ISU]

[DEC. 24, 2001]  Some games are just another game on the schedule. Other games are hyped up so much that it seems like every game is a big game. However, if you don’t think the annual Braggin’ Rights contest is a battle of significant proportions, then you’ve never been to one before!

I’ve been going to them since the inaugural game, when my buddies and I would cruise the old arena parking lot. We would hope that some rich alum would take pity on us and give us a deal we couldn’t refuse. Those early days are rooted firmly in my memory, and these most recent ones won’t take much of a backseat.

You could feel the electricity in the air as we passed the Gateway to the West entering the city early Saturday evening. It was a struggle even to park. I’m told that the reason there were so many people there was because of all the good shopping opportunities. Is that still going on? Sorry, I put my game face on back in Lincoln!

I felt good about this one from the get-go. I don’t know why. I told my friends to just shoot me the next time I feel this good going into any Illini contest. I mean, I know so many people that pull for the Cubs, Illinois, da Bears, the Bulls and for chicken little. I admit that for the last two years it has really gotten to me. I’ve been waiting for the sky to fall. But the battle on the Mississippi was different. While everyone and his uncle, aunt and dog have been diving off of the Illini bandwagon in recent weeks, I still feel good about being the designated driver!

While I never believed the hype surrounding this year’s quintet (and I’ve stated so several times right here), I knew we would get better. I even began to see it on opening night versus Gonzaga. While we won’t be as talented as we were last year, we’re getting better every day and with every game. The good news is that we can play a lot better than we’ve shown so far.

I also reflected on my days as a coach. It reminded me of a player that we recruited from Louisville, Kentucky by the name of Alery Johnson. Alery used to laugh at me when I got all worked up in practice. I would have the game plan out and would want flawless execution. He would laugh and say, “Don’t worry coach, it’s all under control.” Word! And when the spotlight was on, Al would deliver, usually in these big contests more than any other. I learned from him how much pride that players can have and that there is something down deep inside that can be mustered, at least sometimes. 

[to top of second column in this article]

So, going into this game, I just had that feeling that we would call on that intestinal fortitude for this game. Maybe I was just hoping that our own Brian Cook would step up with teammate Frank Williams and send those Whinnie the Pooh tiggers back to Columbia. I wanted us to come out and play smash-mouth, not trash-mouth basketball. And that’s exactly what we did. Missouri was content to go with fool’s gold, while Illinois steadily left the Tigers in their wake. 

I don’t think it was as close as the score indicated, although there were some strange things that happened that seemed to keep Mizzou close. Not the least of which was when some drunken fan tackled the Chief during his halftime tribal dance. But I’m not going to go there…at least not today. It’s Christmastime for crying out loud! Let’s be festive. I was planted smack dab in the middle of the Illini pep band, the Illinets and the cheerleaders. It was a Final Four environment. Maybe it will make our Illini hungry for more of the same kind of experiences. I’m just saying let’s be happy. We won the Braggin’ Rights again! Is there a better way to go into the big time holidays, than to capture a big time win in a big time atmosphere? We don’t think so!!!  CONGRATULATIONS, Illini…we salute you!  How ‘bout another Big Ten Championship to go along with all this other big time stuff?

Merry Christmas everybody from everyone here at the LDN sports desk!

[Jeff Mayfield]

Area game results

[DEC. 22, 2001]   

Boys

At Mount Pulaski

Mount Pulaski                 10  32  46    59
Meridian                     16  30  48    66

Wilson 0-2-2; Tierney 3-1-7; Schilling 4-0-9; Olson 5-2-14; Blaum 1-0-2; Anderson 9-0-23; Diebert 1-0-2.

Totals 23-5-59

At Decatur

Hartsburg-Emden        14  25  40    57
Decatur St. Teresa       17  41  57   73

Ke. Leesman 6-1-13; Fletcher 1-0-2; Wrage 3-0-6; Anderson 2-0-4; Gleason 3-0-9; Ko. Leesman 4-0-8; Jones 3-0-6; Olson 1-5-7; Hoerbert 1-0-2.

Totals 24-6-57

[DEC. 22, 2001]   Normal, Ill. -- On the heels of a 55-52 win over Northern Illinois, Illinois State hopes to continue its women's basketball success with a victory over Western Illinois. The 2:05 p.m. start at Redbird Arena will challenge the Redbirds---WIU has won three in a row in impressive fashion.

The Westerwinds have out-scored their last three opponents by an average of 36 points per game. WIU is 6-4, with two of those losses at the hands of Missouri Valley Conference members Bradley (79-77 in the season opener) and Creighton (70-60, the loss before the current win streak began).

Becky Tyo's 13.4 points per game leads a balanced attack which features four players averaging in double figures scoring. Tiffany Cornelius averages nearly eight rebounds per game. The win streak includes a 73-54 win over Youngstown State, an 83-25 win over Monmouth (Ill.) and a 75-45 win at Butler. The Westerwind defense has limited opponents to just 33 percent field goal shooting and has forced 76 turnovers in the three games.

All of that has Redbird coach Jenny Yopp concerned.

"Western plays a tough, hard-nosed, physical style of basketball with strong depth and scoring balance," said Yopp. "All five positions on the court are scoring threats. But Tyo and Cornelius are the 'X' factors; we have to contain them on the boards."

A year ago, the Westerwinds beat the Redbirds for only the second time in 40 games in the series, 74-64 at Western Hall.

[to top of second column in this article]

WIU's only loss in 17 games in Normal came Jan. 31, 1979, a 73-71 Westerwind victory at Horton Field House. ISU has beaten the Westerwinds 12 times in a row at home since then.

But that history won't matter on Saturday.

"Western has a lot of momentum and confidence coming in here," said Yopp. "We got a big win for our program (Thursday), and its tough with a young team preparing with just one day between games, but we will have to be prepared for an all-out performance. We're certainly excited about beating Northern Illinois, but we will have to focus quickly on Western Illinois."

Lone senior Kristi Larson's 16 points led the 'Birds against NIU. The 6-foot-4 senior, who has battled injuries most of her career, has impressed Yopp with her intelligence and experience on the court.

"The big thing with Kristi has been her execution," said Yopp. "She is so smart and understands the game so much better than she ever has. Her experience benefits our team."

WIU is the Redbirds' last non-conference game of the season. League play for Illinois State begins Dec. 29 at Indiana State.

[Thomas A. Lamonica, ISU]

Pre-game notes: ISU vs. Kent State

[DEC. 22, 2001]   

[Click here to view background information (in Adobe Acrobat)]

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Pre-game notes: Illinois vs. Missouri

[DEC. 22, 2001]   

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Carroll Catholic vs. Springfield St. Agnes

[DEC. 21, 2001]   At Carroll Catholic

Seventh grade

Carroll Catholic               44
Springfield St. Agnes       46

Justin Ritchhart, 8 reb, 7 steals, 16 pts; Josh Baker, 11 pts; Zac O'Donoghue, 6 pts; Pat Washam, 8 reb.

Eighth grade

Carroll Catholic               47
Springfield St. Agnes       37

Derrick Schonauer, 6 reb, 18 pts; Matt Schick, 11 pts; Joff Oller, 9 reb, 4 steals, 4 blocks, 10 pts.

[DEC. 21, 2001]   NORMAL — Kristi Larson scored 16 points and Katie Donovan had 11 points and 12 rebounds — her third double-double of the season — as the Illinois State women’s basketball team fought off Northern Illinois 55-52 Thursday night at Redbird Arena. It was the home team’s first victory of the season.

Larson led the Redbirds (1-7) by shooting 6-of-14 on the night while Steph Reichle of Lincoln and Taren O’Brien had nine apiece. Jennifer Youngblood led the Huskies (5-4) with 19 points, followed by Kim Boeding and Stephanie Smith with eight each.

But the game came down to Stacey White’s rebound of a missed ISU free throw with 18 seconds left. She captured the miss by Larson, got fouled and made both free throws.

"I had been watching the block-out by Jessica Shattuck and noticed she just went to the rim. I just tried to hold her off there and hope it came off the rim," said Stacey White. "I had to secure the ball. I wanted them to foul me because I had confidence in my free throws."

Early NIU sharpshooting put the Huskies ahead 25-19 on Stephanie Smith’s 3-pointer, giving NIU 11 of its first 16 field goals. But the Redbird defense slammed the door at that point, holding NIU to just 1-of-14 the rest of the half and pressuring the Huskies into seven turnovers in the last eight minutes.

Larson scored 13 first-half points and O’Brien had six assists with no turnovers as ISU led 34-27 at intermission, their first halftime lead of the season. Katie Donovan and Steph Reichle had seven first-half points apiece.

"We forced some turnovers and fast-break points in the first half, and we kept running plays for Kristi," said Donovan.

"We worked hard in this mini-preseason," said Larson, whose team was playing its first game in two weeks. "We stayed patient and ran our offense and looked at all of our options. I’m confident because we have plenty of options."

[to top of second column in this article]

O’Brien’s 3-pointer to open the second half and Donovan’s bank shot pushed the Redbird lead to 39-27 two minutes into the second half. The Redbirds maintained at least a nine-point lead until Jennifer Youngblood’s rebound basket sliced the lead to 48-41 with

9:37 left, part of a 13-3 NIU run that cut the ISU lead to 51-49 on Kristan Knake’s 3-point play with 4:31 left.

Reichle answered with a 12-foot jumper to put the ’Birds back up by four. Youngblood cut that to 53-51 with a jumper with 1:51 left. Monique Davis chopped the lead to 53-52 with a free throw with 1:51 left before NIU had three chances to take the lead, but the visitors couldn’t convert against the Redbird defense.

Larson went to the free-throw line with 0:20.9 left and missed, but White got the rebound and was fouled two seconds later. White made the pair to put ISU ahead 55-52, which secured the win.

"This was a sweet victory because of way we were tested in the end and kept our composure," Illinois State head coach Jenny Yopp said. "This team just keeps improving and handling the pressure well. Northern Illinois put us in a sticky situation, and I think this team proved that its focus was on winning the game.

"We kept it together, and I can’t attribute that to one player," Yopp continued. "So many of these girls have matured, and White showed that with her huge rebound and free throws that saved the game. These girls found a way to get it done, and I couldn’t be more proud of this team right now."

The Redbirds play Western Illinois at 2 p.m. Saturday in Redbird Arena.

[Erica Fricke, ISU assistant director
of media relations for athletics]

[DEC. 21, 2001]   NORMAL — The Illinois State Athletic Department has released the hours of operation for the Redbird Arena ticket office during the holiday season.

The office will be closed on Dec. 24 and 25, as well as on Dec. 31 and Jan 1. Otherwise the ticket office will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for Dec. 26-28 and on game days.

On Dec. 26-28, the office will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. On dates when the men’s or women’s basketball teams have home games, the office will open at 8 a.m. and remain open until the completion of the game.

For further information please contact the Redbird Arena ticket office at (309) 438-8000.

[Todd Kober, ISU director of media relations]

Game reports online from Redbirds and Fighting Illini

From ISU

• Illlinois' Second-Half Spark Proves Too Much for Redbirds

• Illini Down Illinois St., 87-73

By Jeff Mayfield

[DEC. 20, 2001]   

This week’s athlete of the week was a difficult choice.

I could have gone with Nathan Neal. In Zion Lutheran School’s thrilling 46-41 victory over Springfield-Our Savior’s Lutheran School (seventh- and eighth-grade boys basketball), Neal poured in a career-high 15 points that included three 3-pointers from way downtown — bang!

But then some of the stats people out at Lutheran informed me that Kraig Sullivan threw in 16 points! So, I considered making them my "co-athletes of the week"!

But then, some other fan pointed to the line that Chas Johnson turned in. He added five points, nine rebounds, two assists, five steals and two blocked shots — a fairly nice evening for any junior high player. So, then I contemplated making the three amigos my "tri-athletes of the week."

Payne pointed out to me that he really enjoyed the fifth- and sixth-grade players and game as well, and he suggested, as only a baby could, that the nod should go to Peter Ayars. By then, I was completely rattled because I don’t know if I’ve ever even heard about that many players sharing an award of this magnitude. But Payne hit me with his bottle and said why not? Why not the whole team, Dada?

So, this week’s athlete(s) of the week (maybe we should consider adding a team of the week) is the entire group of players from Zion Lutheran School along with coaches Daron Whittaker, Brad Neal and Steve Schumacher.

Your sportsmanship was even better than your games, and your games were excellent. Keep up the good work, fellas, and keep shining your light!

Winter baseball?

Local fans are buzzing about the recent signings and deals that both the Cubs and Cards have made in the past few days. Here’s the rub on some of the number crunching:

The Cubs signed Moises Alou. Alou will, incredibly, be joining his sixth team. Last year, in a Houston Astros uniform, he batted .331 with 27 home runs, 108 RBIs, and he struck out 57 times. He is a career .306 hitter with 202 HRs and 834 RBIs. And despite what Texas fan Bobby Straface says about him, his .991 fielding percentage shows that he’s a pretty decent defensive player as well.

[to top of second column in this article]

The Cardinals have added closer Jason Isringhausen. Jason went 4-3 last year for the Oakland A’s. He had a 2.65 ERA and delivered 34 saves in 43 chances. Amazingly, he did not hit a batter all season. He owns a lifetime 28-29 record with a 4.13 ERA and 76 saves.

Remember that he was converted into a closer after what was feared as a career-ending surgery. His comeback has been a pretty neat story.

Another exciting thing about him is that he is a .200 hitter, which is not bad for a pitcher and means that manager Tony LaRussa will not always have to use the double-switch when he goes to the bullpen! Hopefully, this will allow the Cardinals to stop going with the closer-by-committee plan and use other pitchers in middle relief and setup roles that are better suited for them.

St. Louis also got what their fans hope is the coup of all signings, the addition of first baseman Tino Martinez. Tino has been a part of all those Yankee world championships. Hopefully he’s hungry for some rings on his other hand. Tino continued his production by hitting .280 this past season. He belted 34 HRs and had 113 RBIs with 89 runs scored.

I scouted him personally with local scout Lynn Laughlin and former LCC great Curt Swan. They thought we should add him sooner than the Redbirds did!

Tino is a lifetime .274 hitter with 263 HRs and 1,002 RBIs. He is also a stellar defensive player who has won several awards and been on numerous All-Star teams. In fact, last season, with over 1,000 chances, he made only five errors, for a .996 fielding percentage. That was the fewest errors he had made since he became a starter, going back to his days with the Seattle Mariners.

The best thing about Tino is his clubhouse manner. He is a crafty, wily veteran who will really be a good influence on the younger players. He just may be the missing piece that could launch St. Louis to another championship!

[Jeff Mayfield]

Tuesday morning morsels

By Jeff Mayfield

[DEC. 18, 2001]   Tonight’s game between Illinois and Illinois State pits two former Railers going toe to toe, Brian Cook versus Gregg Alexander. While I’m not saying that this is the first time it has ever happened, if some of you loyal readers know of other past matchups, please e-mail them to us at ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com. It may provide some fodder for a great feature or at least provide us with some great memories.

Game time is 7 p.m., and it marks the first time in 19 years that these teams have played each other. We believe that ISU will have to shoot a high percentage and limit their turnovers to offset the Illini’s strength and height advantage in this contest. We’re hoping for an exciting contest, and the word on the street is that a few hundred Lincolnites have tickets for this battle. We’re torn on this one... so we just say good luck to everybody!

Want on the Bears bandwagon yet? They have been simply amazing. And how they could even think of letting a 10-3 coach go is beyond me. Back in my day if you won games, you could coach indefinitely. Nowadays, it’s a week-to-week proposition! Home-field advantage, in my mind, will be the determining factor as to how far Chicago goes in the playoffs! And speaking of the NFL... in this very column last week, we suggested that the Lions would break through soon. How about Sunday?

We also suggested that this past weekend the Railers would learn a lot about themselves... and they did. They learned what intensity, hard work and teamwork can do for you when you start putting things together. They smoked Springfield, as SHS was content to chuck up shots from all over the place. Kankakee displayed great quickness, but Lincoln probably played their best game of the season against them. LCHS patiently worked the ball, feeding Erik Young in the post and getting balanced scoring from the rest of the troops in both contests.

[to top of second column in this article]

Lanphier and Southeast still loom as the teams to beat in the CS8, but don’t be surprised if the Railers pull off some upsets along the way.

In the upcoming holiday tourney it looks like Lincoln got a pretty tough draw, at least by looking at the state’s power rankings. If the Railers can get through the first two rounds that could set up a rematch with a very good Thornwood team. Obviously, they are without Eddy Curry, who is now in the pros. If you recall, Lincoln had some chances to upend them last year. We have a funny feeling that the Railers are really going to fare well in this year’s tournament...

Other than that, it’s pretty quiet in the sports world today. I do want to wish my favorite ballplayer, Payne Montgomery, congratulations on his first birthday. In my mind, YOU’ll always be a CHAMP, big guy!

[Jeff Mayfield]

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