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[JAN. 3, 2002]   

Cookson Hills Classic

At Kansas, Okla.

Lincoln Christian                      54 35—89
Nebraska Christian                  31 28—59

Clark 3-4-11; Raymer 1-0-3; Johnson 3-0-6; Below 10-2-22; Brodfuehrer 2-0-4; Turney 4-2-12; Grooms 8-0-16; Searby 4-1-11; Lirot 2-0-4

Totals 37-9-89

Three-point field goals: Lincoln Christian (6) – Turney 2, Searby 2, Clark, Raymer.

Redbirds fall short to Creighton

[JAN. 3, 2002]   After battling a hot-shooting Creighton team for 28 minutes, Illinois State went cold and fell victim to a couple of late spurts and Kyle Korver’s 24 points, as the Jays won for just the second time in 18 tries in Normal, 76-62.

Korver led the Jays, 7-4 overall, 2-0 in the Missouri Valley, by hitting his first seven field goals, three from 3-point range, and a pair of free throws. He finished 8-of-9 overall and had support from Terrell Taylor’s 15 points and 14 by Brody Daren, who made 6-of-7 field goals. Joe Dabbert had 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds as Creighton shot 63 percent from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, to overcome 20 turnovers.

The Redbirds, 4-8, 0-1 in the Valley, had four players in double figures, led by Baboucarr Bojang with 13. Shedrick Ford had 12, Shawn Jeppson 11 and Gregg Alexander of Lincoln had 10. The lead changed 14 times, and the game was tied nine times through the first 28 minutes. ISU shot 41 percent — just 9-of-25 in the second half and just one field goal in 11 tries during the final 12 minutes of the game. The Redbirds led 48-44 at that point, but Creighton out-pointed ISU 32-14 the rest of the way for its first road win of the season.

Redbird coach Tom Richardson thought his team let things get away in the second half.

"We were up 48-44 and had the crowd into it, and then we hit a drought, couldn’t stop them. Confidence goes quickly and that was the story," said Richardson. "We had opportunities to control the game, but every time we had a chance to take control, either we didn’t do something or they did something. I don’t think they wore us down. We just couldn’t sustain consistent play and lost confidence."

[to top of second column in this article]

Ford agreed.

"We just didn’t execute and play to our potential," said Ford. "As a senior, I take responsibility for that."

Jeppson converted back-to-back Redbird steals into a jump shot and a 3-pointer to erase a 15-10 Jays lead in the first half. Another CU turnover — the Jays had 12 at halftime — led to a Ford short jumper to put ISU ahead 17-15. The game stayed tight until Dirk Williams drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put ISU up 31-30 with 49 seconds left, but Joe Dabbert’s tip-in 15 seconds later put the Jays up 32-31 at intermission.

Creighton led by as many as three early in the second half and led 42-40 with 15:20 left, when Williams hit a short jumper and a free throw to put ISU ahead. Randy Rice added a layup after forcing a CU turnover and, after Mike Grimes scored for the Jays, Jeppson’s long 3-pointer gave ISU its biggest lead at 48-44. Korver, who had arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks ago, answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to put Creighton back in front 50-48.

ISU reclaimed the lead 52-50 on a 3-point play by Shedrick Ford with 12:28 left. Creighton scored 10 unanswered points and shut the Redbirds out for 5:20 before a Jeppson free throw broke the drought at 7:08 left. The Redbirds went without a field goal until Alexander hit a 3-pointer with 4:02 left to cut Creighton’s lead to 68-58.

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

By Jeff Mayfield

[JAN. 3, 2002]   Happy New Year, everybody! I hate to admit it, but I did not help to bring in the new year. I was actually back in my room on New Year’s Eve by 9:30. The reason? I knew that it would be a long drive back to Illinois, win or lose.

The cool thing about New Year’s Day is that we had nowhere to go and no place to be for most of the day. We did have to take the SS Minnow out of the dry dock (check that — it rained all day and was brutally cold) and make a run to the airport. There we picked up Taylorville residents John and Craig Coady and longtime Lincoln resident Lynn Laughlin. The first order of business was to give those boys some New Orleans flavor since this was their maiden voyage to the Big Easy. Of course, it was off to the Café Du Monde for some coffee au lait and some tasty beignets.

Then they dropped us off at the dome so we could begin preparations four hours before kickoff to bring you, the knowledgeable LDN readers, as much color as we can possibly deliver. The hosts have been quite hospitable and it has been a pretty good experience thus far. Our Orange and Blue fans have been everywhere and as classy as they always are.

As far as the game preparations go, it all started somewhat innocently. Both teams came in and immediately went to their locker rooms. LSU did it by walking right across the field. When the special teams and the different units came out of the tunnel one by one, one side of the stands would be booing, the other side cheering wildly. Taking a page out of my preacher’s counting ability, I would guesstimate that Illinois brought about 20,000 fans and that LSU scooped up the other 50,000-plus that were available. Early on, our fans were trying to do everything that they could think of to help negate LSU’s home field advantage.

After four sluggish possessions, two by each team, Illinois began to lose the field position game. Two poor punts allowed the LSU Tigers to take over possession of the ball at Illinois’ 44-yard line. Six plays later Davis barreled into the end zone, and LSU was on the board 7-0 at the 7:22 mark of the first period. After another anemic Illini possession, the good guys were forced to punt out of their own end zone. Fitts hit a beauty beyond the 50, but Illinois was hit with a 15-yard personal foul penalty that once again had the Tigers knockin’ at our door. And score they did on yet another run by Davis. This time it was a 25-yard scamper on first down around an exposed left end. Terrel Washington did block the extra point, which was his fourth blocked kick of the year. That made it LSU 13 and Illinois 0.

[Photos by Tom Seggelke.]

After still another pathetic possession by the Illini, LSU got the ball back after being penalized on its punt return. But it didn’t matter. After a long pass completion, Davis exploded for his third TD run of the game, this time from yards out, and the rout was on — 20-0 with a little more than 10 minutes still to play in the first half.

Then Illinois fumbled the football on their next possession… Can you believe that? LSU ran it back to the Illinois 5-yard line. From there the Tigers threw a third-down TD pass to All-World receiver Josh Reed, and the train wreck was getting worse at 27-0! What was worse than the score was the way that Illinois looked so flat. They not only looked like they didn’t bring their A game, they looked like they were asleep — a step slow on almost every play.

But then Illinois made a couple of plays. First Rocky Harvey pulled in a long pass from Kurt Kittner. Then Walter Young hauled in another at the LSU 2-yard line. Kittner then hit Brian Hodges, and the Illini were finally on the board, 27-7.

But LSU came right back and marched right down the field and shoved it right down Illinois’ throat. The Tigers scored when Rohan Davey hit Robert Royal on a 7-yard TD pass to make 34-7 at the half. Illinois had absolutely NO way to come back from such a devastating hole! Never in your wildest expectations could you have imagined a more disastrous half.

But in the Louisiana Superdome there is nowhere to go to hide. We were getting exposed to a national TV audience, which if they were smart had already turned to another exciting episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond."

[to top of second column in this article]

But the second half did have to be played. Sometimes you wonder if the boxing rule should be employed in some football and basketball games. You know — when you’re completely out of it, just throw in the towel. Because it’s just too painful to watch! Or maybe you could have the chess concession rule. When you’re tired of playing, I think you can just retire or concede the match. That sounds much more humanitarian than watching this SEC team beat the thunder out of us.

After a nothing possession we punted back to LSU. Amazingly they went three and out and punted it right back. This time we meant business. After a 61-yard strike from Kittner to Young, Kittner went back to the air and hooked up with Brandon Lloyd for a 17-yard TD to cut the deficit to 34-14 — not nearly enough!

Why do I say that? Because Illinois is now within three TDs, and we can’t stop a youth league team from scoring tonight! LSU marched right down the field and Reed caught another pass, this time for 32 yards. That made it 41-14, and it was just getting uglier by the minute.

This is exactly why I wanted to go to some bowl game in the sun. That way if the game turned sour like this one did early, I could be on the beach at halftime. Not only is that not possible here, as they’re having a winter storm warning outside, we still have to drive home.

The Big Ten basketball season starts tomorrow night as the Illini host the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Boy, am I thankful for basketball right about now! Maybe a sweet basketball run by Cook and the boys will remove this sour Sugar Bowl debacle from our mouths.

Oh yah, the game. Illinois did march down and score on another Kittner-to-Lloyd 10-yard connection to make it 41-21, but I don’t think a single Tiger fan was worried one single bit. And that’s how the third quarter ended.

Now we have to take this abuse for only 15 more minutes. I may never go to an important game in any sport ever again. It’s too depressing!

Although Illinois tried to show some heart as Walter Young made a great 17-yard touchdown grab that cut LSU’s lead to 13 points, it’s still a long way away from the miracle on Canal Street.

It all came down to a third-down play from the LSU 38-yard line. Davey hit Reed with a 41-yard pass that gave the Tigers a huge first down and ensured their victory. From there Davis took it the house on a 4-yard power run, and you could hear the bus starting to warm up down below. That TD made the count 47-28, and the only thing left in doubt was, would that be the final score?

At this point, I don’t care! I hate football — bring on basketball!

We did use an inconsequential gadget play, although it was an exciting one. Lloyd took off on a reverse and was looking for Kittner. Instead he fired a 40-yard touchdown to Illinois’ player of the game, Walter Young, and after a missed two-point try that made the final score 47-34.

There is really nothing else to say about this game. We had a great year and now it is over. Maybe a strong basketball campaign will soothe some of the final sting! (Ed. note: The Illini did win their home opener last night over Minnesota, but after being gone the last couple of days, I thought it best to stay home with the family last night.)

As far as the trip home, it was long and almost uneventful. We did hit a couple of slick spots on the road and a couple of slippery bridges, mostly in Mississippi of all places, but the Bacon-Laughlin driving team performed well enough to get us home unscathed. In fact I got home in plenty of time to let my family take me out for an early-bird birthday dinner. I have to admit it — that was the best thing I did all week!

Thanks for the memories, Illini, and again, Happy New Year to all you loyal LDN readers!

[Jeff Mayfield]

[Click here to see additional pictures from the Sugar Bowl.]

[Click here for Jeff's pre-game articles.]

Illinois State vs. Creighton
men's basketball pre-game notes

[JAN. 2, 2002]   

Notes from Creighton: 

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

[Click here to download Adobe Acrobat reader]

Notes from Illinois State:

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

Illinois State vs. Northern Iowa
women's basketball pre-game notes

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

[Click here to download Adobe Acrobat reader]

Illini vs. Minnesota men's basketball pre-game notes

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

[Click here to download Adobe Acrobat reader]

[DEC. 31, 2001]   High school boys and girls holiday tournament results:

Boys

Clinton Holiday Tournament

At Clinton

(Seventh-place game)

Hartsburg-Emden             7 20 37    56
Arcola                            15 23 46    65

Westen 0-1-1; Ko. Leesman 0-3-3; Ke. Leesman 1-3-5; Fletcher 3-0-8; Anderson 4-4-12; Gleason 6-1-15; Jones 2-0-4; Wrage 3-4-10

Totals 19-16-58

Three-point field goals: Hartsburg-Emden (4) – Fletcher 2, Gleason 2.

Girls

State Farm Holiday Classic

(Consolation championship)

Blue Ridge                  8 18 33     36
Olympia                      9 20 30     42

Floyd 4-5-14; Prager 1-0-2; Short 2-0-4; Brand 1-0-2; Gaither 4-3-12; Goebel 3-2-8

Totals 15-10-42

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

[to top of second column in this article]

Lady Tiger Holiday Classic

At Pickerington, Ohio 

Nitro, W. Va.                 13 26 39     56
Lincoln                           15 29 44     62

Dawson 6-5-17; Verderber 2-1-5; Robbins 1-3-6; Ingram 7-0-18; Froschauer 1-1-3; Carey 4-0-8; Whalen 1-0-3; Bunch 1-0-2

Totals 23-10-62

Three-point field goals: Lincoln (4) -- Lincoln (6) – Ingram 4, Robbins, Whalen.

Okaw Valley Holiday Tournament

At Bethany 

Edwards County                 7 14 28     42
Mount Pulaski                   11 27 37     57

Moske 2-2-6; Howe 3-1-7; Faith 4-4-13; Jason 2-2-6; Rucks 0-5-5; Sanders 7-6-20

Totals 18-20-57

Three-point field goals: Mount Pulaski (1) – Faith.

[DEC. 29, 2001]   High school boys and girls holiday tournament results

Boys

State Farm Holiday Classic

At Bloomington

Lincoln                         6 14 21     27
Thornwood                10 28 39     49

Mount Pulaski                  17 37 50     66
Sherrard                           15 24 40     60

Argenta-Oreana                  4 20 43     59
Olympia                            10 17 21     38

Macomb-Western Tournament

At Macomb

Illini Central                  8 22 34     55
Macomb                    15 31 46     60

Illini Central                  16 30 36     50
Farmington                   13 25 33     53

[to top of second column in this article]

Clinton Tournament

At Clinton

Roanoke                  13 24 39     64
Hartsburg                   6 24 41     62

Girls

State Farm Holiday Classic

At Normal (U High Gym)

CPCI                        2  7 14     32
Olympia                  16 28 38     42

Lady Tiger Holiday Classic

At Pickerington, Ohio

Wheeler, Ga.                  15 35 45     59
Lincoln                           10 18 31     41

Okaw Valley Tournament

At Okaw Valley

Arthur                              9 15 24     41
Mount Pulaski                  9 20 22     26

[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]   

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

[Click here to download Adobe Acrobat reader]

Reflections on the 2001
Illinois football season

By Greg Taylor

[JAN. 3, 2002]   The Sugar Bowl experience was great! Everything went perfect, except for the first half of the game. But the bottom line is this: If I would have stated in August that Illinois would go 10-2 and play in a BCS bowl, most of you would have thought I was crazy. And while I am crazy, I have really enjoyed the ride (thanks, Coady, your van is great) the Illini have taken us on this year. Listed below are several reflections on the state of Illinois football:

1.  Illinois wins their first outright conference title in 18 years.

2.  Illinois ties school record for wins in a season with 10.

3.  Quarterback Kurt Kittner breaks single-season record for touchdown passes with 27, including four in the Sugar Bowl.

4.  Kittner sets the career mark for touchdown passes at Illinois as well.

5.  Coach Ron Turner beat four conference foes for the first time (Minnesota, Purdue, Wisconsin and Penn State.)

6.  Illinois became the highest-scoring team in school history, breaking the record set by the 1999 team.

7.  Illinois had two home sellouts in a season for the first time in several years.

8.  Brandon Lloyd and Walter Young became the wide receiving duo in Illini history and both return for the 2002 season.

9.  Illinois loses just four starters on offense (QB-Kittner; TE-Hodges; C-Butkus; G-Kulaga)

10.  The Illini lose just four starters on defense for next season (DE-Washington; DT-Moore; S-B. Jackson; S-Abdullah).

[to top of second column in this article]

Five questions to be answered for 2002

1.  Who will be Illinois’ next quarterback? If it is Dustin Ward, I’m worried! I vote for the best juco available (Drew Brees-type player).

2.  Will Ron Turner say no to Stanford and the pros? If not, who is our coach? Turner says he will stay, but Palo Alto is just miles from where he grew up, and while Champaign-Urbana is nice, it does not compare to the Bay area.

3.  Will Illinois be able to parlay the success of 2001 into repeated success next season? Illinois will play 12 games next year, including home games with both Michigan and Ohio State.

4.  Will Illinois be able to take the next step on the defensive side of the ball? Great improvement this season, but, as seen in the Sugar Bowl, Illinois needs equal improvement for next year.

5.  Who will replace Steve Fitts? The four-year punter also handled kickoffs and was a great weapon when pinning foes inside the 20.

No. 1 key for 2002 is this: Lock up Ron Turner in Champaign and throw away the key! He is the most valuable coach in the Big Ten for the 2001 season and should have been national coach of the year. Illinois went from 0-11 to 10-2 in just five seasons! I really think Turner will look long and hard at the Stanford job, as well as possible pro openings. Most observers believe his brother Norv will be the next head coach of San Diego, and openings are likely in San Francisco and Oakland in the next year or two.

And finally, Illinois football 2002 starts in just 240 days, when Illinois will absolutely spank Missouri in the football border war at the TWA dome. Get ready — I'd love to see the game tomorrow!

[Click here to see additional pictures from the Sugar Bowl.]

[Greg Taylor]

Bayou adventure continues...

Part 2

By Jeff Mayfield

[DEC. 31, 2001]   NEW ORLEANS — Well, we made it. And it was every bit the adventure that I told you it would be.

I want to paraphrase a quote by current San Diego Chargers’ coach Mike Riley, who is rumored to be fired any day now. He said, "I’m here, ’til I’m not." So, the LDN sports staff is here in the Cresent City ’til we’re not!

It all started in good ol’ Logan County. We left beautiful downtown Lincoln just a bit after noon. We crusied through Elvis’ hometown between 6:30 and 7. We rocked the SS Minnow (the Coady van) most of the way down here, mostly because we were loving the Chicago Bears’ thrilling 24-0 shutout over the Detroit Lions. We also enjoyed some stimulating conversation over many topics.

Eventually, we stopped in Jackson, Miss., for dinner at the Outback. They took very good care of us there, and that fueled us up enough to make it all the way to New Orleans.

They say it is a 14- to 15-hour drive with traffic and stops. We had basically no traffic, one fuel stop and one dinner stop. We rolled into the Big Easy at about 12:30 a.m.

The city didn’t disappoint, as it truly is the city that never sleeps. It looked almost like midday downtown.

We cruised past the Superdome and buzzed right past our exit in our excitement. We exited and finally found Canal Street. Then we turned down the street that our hotel was alleged to be on. We didn’t see it there. We drove around the block and found it the next time through.

[to top of second column in this article]

It is a 100-year-old hotel that has been restored. It is known at this time of the year for its beautiful Christmas decorations. The brochure was actually right. The Christmas stuff was gorgeous… but, I don’t care! We’re here for one reason and one reason only — an Illini Sugar Bowl win — and we won’t rest until we get one!

We’re getting ready to attack the streets and find out what’s going on in the city. We’re also to go and check out the media accommodations sometime this afternoon. We hope to get some interviews and investigate what the legion of Illini fans already here have learned so far during their stays.

Stay tuned and we’ll try to bring you the insights that you’ve come to depend on. Currently the Illini are a 3-point underdog for this game.

Don’t think we’re in paradise here — it’s just as cold here as it is there… and the food is much more expensive!

[Jeff Mayfield]

[Click here for Jeff’s report on the Sugar Bowl game.]

The Sugar Bowl adventure begins

By Jeff Mayfield

[DEC. 31, 2001]   As the Decatur Herald-Review sports editor so eloquently said last week, "Everyone thinks that sportswriters get a free ride. We don’t."

Now maybe he and some of our central Illinois favorite writers do have their expenses covered at least. We here at the LDN are on our own. And that’s not such a bad thing. In fact, from an editorializing point of view, that could be liberating at times.

At any rate, for us to make the trip south requires us to pay our own way. And you should have seen all the price gougers out there. Never being all that ingenious or resourceful, a trip like this could be difficult for most people to imagine. Your LDN sports staff, however, is not comprised of most people. It’s a group of dedicated sports writing warriors, who will go to virtually any lengths to provide you loyal readers with every inside scoop that we can uncover.

So, by the time you got back from church yesterday (don’t panic — we went to early service), four of our seven passengers had loaded up the SS Minnow (John Coady’s van) and were readying to make the 12-plus hour voyage to Bayou country. Led by LDN photographer Tom Seggelke, Illini beat writer Greg Taylor (who is also now one of the new voices of Lincoln Railer basketball — congrats, Greg!), Wappella minister Ed Bacon and yours truly, the minnow would definitely be tested on this expedition. The before-mentioned John and his son Craig along with long-time Illini fan Lynn Laughlin were set to join us in the swamp on New Year’s Day.

Some of the gang thinks Illinois will win, while some are not so sure. I think we can win; we certainly have enough firepower, and we have yet to put it all together in one contest. Wouldn’t it be great if we did it on Tuesday night? This writer thinks so.

By the time you read this we will have traveled down beautiful Interstate 55 past St. Louis and Memphis and right on down to the Big Easy.

[to top of second column in this article]

We could have participated in activities as early as Wednesday, but most in our party had responsibilities back here. One guy had to preach, another officiated a wedding, one guy spoke at a Christmas Eve service, a couple had late Christmas celebrations, one guy had to work all week and wants everyone to know it… I don’t know what the other six guys did. HA! Just a little staff humor for your reading enjoyment!

Illinois coach Ron Turner hopefully has his Illini more prepared for this game than we were to take this trip! He gave the boys a couple of days off after they took a cruise on some airboats through the swamp.

I don’t think that’s one of the things you’ll see us writing about. I mean, what if one of those boats hits a stump and knocks you into the drink? Isn’t that how the song Amos Moses was written in the early ’70s? Come on, you ’70s people… Help us out with this one?

Anyway, if all goes well, we’ll be on the scene for you in Louisiana. We’ll be your eyes and ears and hopefully your voice, since this is now shaping up to be a huge road game, thanks to the ticket mess that has been created! I don’t know when and where you’ll hear from us next, but we’ll try to give you some stuff that no other area media outlet can deliver, just like we always do. More than that, we hope our presence helps produce a win, although we can’t guarantee that, of course.

But no matter what happens, this will no doubt be an adventure of a lifetime. Why do I say that? Have you ever been to New Orleans? It’s a trip in itself!

[Jeff Mayfield]

[Click here for "Bayou adventure continues..."]

Announcements

[DEC. 29, 2001]  The Quincy United Soccer Club will be hosting a girls indoor soccer tournament on Jan. 19 and 20.  On Feb. 2 and 3 they will host a boys tournament.

Games will be played 6 vs. 6 (including keeper) on the field. Games will run 44 minutes long. Participants in the tournaments will play a total of four games, with two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday. Two fields are designated for use during the tournament.

Age brackets run from U-10, U-11, U-12, U-13, U-14, U-15 up to high school and college.

There will be no parking or admission fee to the tournament.

A full concession stand will be provided.

Deadline for entry is Jan. 8. The cost for entry is $150.

Hotel cost at Holiday Inn and Hampton will run $55 to $60. Hotels are located across the street from the facility.

For more information on the tournament contact Matt Longo at soccer@rnet.com or Terry Bower at trbower@dstream.net. Inquiries may also be made by telephone: Matt Longo  (217) 224-8253, Terry Bower at (217) 224-8405.

[LDN]

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