|
I also tend to like
Thanksgiving as well or better than any other holiday. I love being
able to see and spend time with family and friends. I love watching
football and basketball games. And I love to eat. Not many days or
weekends can rival this November day and days. This particular
Thanksgiving would've marked my dad's 71st birthday had he lived
long enough to enjoy it. Get out your fork and let's dive in…
The Lincoln Railers are out of
the gate and going 3-2. With as much competition as was involved in
this season's tourney, this is no small feat. In fact, if you'd have
told the coaching staff that they'd go 3-2, they'd have mailed that
in.
According to sources at the
scene, Lincoln whopped Rantoul and then took a decisive game from
Danville that had some onlookers feeling like that game could set
the tone for the Railers having a successful season. We hope to
catch up with coach Alexander and get the staff's thoughts, but not
a bad start for a new group trying to feel its way along.
The Illinois Fighting Illini
took an early season road trip that includes stops in Philadelphia
and in North Carolina. The Illini took care of the front end with a
more-than-impressive 75-60 thrashing of the Owls from Temple.
Illinois (3-0) was on them early and often, going up by 18- and
20-point margins and leading 27-7 after nailing eight of their first
dozen shots from the field. It never got much better for Temple
(0-2) the rest of the night, and if the Illini play like that on
Tuesday they will sweep this two-gamer.
However, revenge is a dish that
can be served in cruel doses, and I don't have a very good feeling
about that Tuesday nighter. In the first game, Roger Powell was
trying to emerge as the designated Brian Cook replacement by once
again rolling the double-double, finishing with 19 points and 10
rebounds. Deron Williams had 18 and Dee Brown added 16 as they both
fired in four 3s each! Illinois showed that patented, unselfish
Weber style by going for 22 assists and picking the vaunted Owl zone
apart! After Tuesday night's affair we'll have a good look-see at
how good these Illini can become!
[to top of second column in this
article]
 |
Other Big Ten scores: Iowa
70-69 over Louisville, while IU barely got by Xavier in OT. Purdue
had the real shocker of the holiday as they smoked Duke in the Great
Alaska Shootout!
Illinois State missed a good
opportunity to steal one on the road as they lost a heartbreaking
84-89 game at Utah State. ISU (1-2) led by one at half but just let
the lead slip too far out of hand in the second half. Utah State
(3-0) hammered the 'Birds at Redbird Arena last year to open the
season.
ISU also lost a tough one at
Northern Illinois a few days earlier, 66-55. However, Lincoln's
Gregg Alexander did nail six of 11 3-pointers on his way to being
the game's leading scorer with 20 points. Perhaps, the Redbirds
should have looked for him more in the game versus the Aggies.
Updates: Lincoln College lost
at Southeastern 61-69. Lincoln Christian College won a thrilling
game 84-83 over Robert Morris. With the victory LCC lifted their
record to 5-2 going into next weekend's NCCAA Midwest Regional
Tip-off tournament. Also, the LCC Angels had a nice victory over St.
Louis Pharmacy 84-75.
The Chicago Bears beat one of
professional sports' most embarrassing franchises, the Arizona
Cardinals, 28-3. The St. Louis Rams blasted the Vikings 48-17, and
the Indy Colts fell to the NE Patriots 34-38. My Bay area teams have
totally disappeared, as both the Raiders and the 49ers were
pummeled.
This week on "FANdamonium" Greg
and I may need three hours to discuss everything that's happening in
sports. We'll see you at 6 tonight.
Have
a GREAT week, everybody, as you try to work off some of that turkey!
[Jeff Mayfield]
|
