Big Ten Baseball Tournament Game 1: Illinois 12, Iowa 3

So sorry for your first-round tournament loss, UFI! Tanner Roark (8-2) went the distance for the Illini and took it to the Freakin' Hawkeyes for the second time this season. Now it's on to the Winner's Bracket up in Ann Arbor, Michigan!!! Appropriately, UFI heads to the Loser's Bracket...

Big Ten Baseball Tournament Game 1: Illinois 12, Iowa 3

2007 Big Ten Baseball Tournament

NCAA Men's Tennis National Championship: #1 Georgia 4, #10 Illinois 0

There's no shame in losing to this extremely talented Georgia men's tennis team. What an outstanding season for Coach Brad Dancer and the Fighting Illini!!!

No. 10 Illini Fall in National Title Match To Unbeaten No. 1 Georgia
Rowe and Spicijaric Earn NCAA All-Tournament Team Honors

The No. 10 Illinois men's tennis team ended its amazing run in the 2007 NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 loss to top-ranked, unbeaten Georgia, Tuesday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. The Illini (23-9) defeated No. 7 Mississippi, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Baylor before falling to the tournament-hosting Bulldogs (32-0). Illinois' Ryan Rowe and Marc Spicijaric earned NCAA All-Tournament honors for their performances in the championships.

The Bulldogs got on the board early with the doubles point, winning at No. 2 and 3. Georgia had relinquished the point only once this season. With only three singles matches needed to win the title, the team got to work winning 4-of-6 first sets. The Illini fell at No. 5, 1 and 4 to give Georgia its fifth overall NCAA team title.

The Illini nation was in full force today as around 100 Orange and Blue fans warmed the seats of the Henry Field Tennis Court stands to cheer on the Illini.

From the first serve, it was evident that the Illini came to play as they forced an hour-long doubles session.

NCAA Men's Tennis National Championship: #1 Georgia 4, #10 Illinois 0

NCAA Men's Tennis National Semifinal: #10 Illinois 4, #3 Baylor 3

Rowe Clinches Illini Berth into NCAA Finals; Illinois Dismisses Baylor, 4-3:
Illini Will Face the Winner of Georgia and Virginia in the Finals

Junior Ryan Rowe's three-set victory at No. 2 singles propels Illinois into finals on Tuesday.

Illinois upsets its third top-10 opponent in as many matches to reach the finals of the NCAA Team Championships on Tuesday, May 22, at 3 p.m. (EST).

NCAA Men's Tennis National Semifinal: #10 Illinois 4, #3 Baylor

2007 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament Results:

• #10 Illinois 4, #54 Western Michigan 0
  
• #10 Illinois 4, #21 Michigan 2
  
• #10 Illinois 4, #7 Ole Miss 3
  
• #10 Illinois 4, #2 Ohio State 2
  
• #10 Illinois 4, #3 Baylor

Illinois 8, Michigan State 7

Davis, Toohey Lift Illini Into Tourney with 8-7 Comeback Win:
Davis Homers Twice, Toohey Tosses 4 1/3 Shutout Innings; Illini Face Iowa Wednesday

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Junior catcher Lars Davis and senior pitcher Jake Toohey stole the show on Sunday, Davis going yard twice and Toohey throwing 4 1/3 incredible innings of relief to lift Illinois into the Big Ten Tournament with an 8-7 victory over Michigan State in the final game of the regular season after falling behind 7-0 in the fifth inning. The win gives the Illini the No. 5 seed, meaning they will face No. 4 Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday at 11:05 a.m. (CT) in Ann Arbor, Mich. It also marks Illinois' second 30-win season in the last three.

"You fall behind one, two, three runs, but when it's seven runs, you just never know," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "But we found a way to keep pecking away and pecking away. The difference between today and yesterday was our guys continued to take good swings and didn't worry about the long ball. Then we got some guys on and got some pressure on them, they elevated some pitches and we got some big hits."

Illinois 8, Michigan State 7

Illinois 6, Michigan State 5

Relentless Illini Come From Behind to Down Spartans, 6-5:
Roark, Toohey Tie Records; Rohde Drives in 4

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Sophomore Tanner Roark tied the Illinois record for wins in a Big Ten season by collecting his sixth victory and senior closer Jake Toohey tied the school mark for saves in a conference season by slamming the door for the seventh time in the Illini's 6-5 comeback win over Michigan State in front of 812 fans at Illinois Field. First baseman Mike Rohde launched a three-run homer in the third inning and finished with four RBI, and centerfielder Kyle Hudson was the lone Illini with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI.

"I've been extremely impressed with our guys," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "They went out today and just approached the game like it's another game. They went out and took care of business. We're extremely composed right now and I'm very pleased with where we are."

The Illini are now alone in fifth place, as Ohio State fell to Penn State, 3-2 in 10 innings. After Michigan defeated Iowa, 4-3 in 11 innings, Illinois is now just one game behind the Hawkeyes for fourth. The Illini need to win just one of the final three games against MSU to ensure a spot in the Big Ten Tournament.

Illinois 6, Michigan State 5

The new hoop is up!!!

Here it is - our new 72" Spalding basketball goal!!! Just installed this morning!!! Many thanks to A.J. and Brian for all their help putting it up!!!

Spalding Maximum Performance Series Arena View 72" Backboard System

How does Blago recover from this?

:-)

The newspapers (including the Wall Street Journal) are all over Gov. Rod Blagojevich for the spectacular failure of his gross receipts tax...

How does Blago recover from this?

Utah Jazz 115, Golden State Warriors 101

Utah leads this series, 3-1...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Utah Jazz sure knew how to close a great show.

When the Golden State Warriors wanted to run their pell-mell offense Sunday night, the Jazz patiently slowed the tempo. When Baron Davis attempted his usual magic tricks, Utah pulled back the curtain with dogged defense.

And when a tight game came down to the final minutes, Derek Fisher upstaged the Warriors with a shooting show of his own that put the businesslike Jazz on the edge of an unlikely stage: the Western Conference finals.

Carlos Boozer had 34 points and 12 rebounds and the Jazz handed the eighth-seeded Warriors their first home loss of the postseason, 115-101 on Sunday to put Utah up 3-1 in their second-round playoff series.

Utah Jazz 115, Golden State Warriors 101

Illini Break Out Brooms with 7-2 Win Over Indiana

The Illini are now tied for fifth place in the Big Ten with Ohio State...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Brian Long had a career day, tossing five shutout innings of near-perfect relief to lift Illinois to a sweep of Indiana with a 7-2 win. It is the Illini's first Big Ten series sweep of the season and first since the Orange and Blue took all four from Northwestern May 6-8, 2005. Illinois is now tied for fifth place in the Big Ten standings with Ohio State, 1.5 games ahead of Michigan State for the final Big Ten Tournament berth. The Spartans visit Champaign next weekend.

"As you look at what other teams did this weekend, our games were must-win," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said, "and our guys went out and got the job done. They had great composure all weekend and came to win every day."

Illini Break Out Brooms with 7-2 Win Over Indiana

Illinois Wins Big Ten Outdoor Championship!

University Park, Pa. - The Illinois women's track & field team captured the 2007 Big Ten Outdoor Championship on Sunday afternoon, racking up an amazing 106 points during today's third and final day of competition to finish the meet with a total score of 129. Illinois and Michigan were co-champions, marking the first time in Big Ten history that there has been a tie for the women's outdoor title.

"I am so proud of our team and the way they competed across the board today," an elated head coach Gary Winckler said following the meet. "We asked an awful lot from them, there were some tough doubles and a few competed in as many as three or four - or in the case of Yvonne (Mensah), five - events during the day with not a lot of recovery time in between. We started scoring in bunches and making our move up the standings and our athletes felt that momentum and thrived on it. I'm especially happy for our seniors. They are an exceptional group that has done an outstanding job leading our team by example, and it's fitting that they go out on top in their final Big Ten meet."

This marks Illinois' 11th conference championship under Winckler, and the program's sixth outdoor title. It is also its second title in the last three years, as the Illini also won the Big Ten outdoor meet in 2005.

"It's an amazing feeling being Big Ten champions," senior Yvonne Mensah said. "We knew coming in it was going to be tough, a lot of people thought we'd be in the top three if we did well. But about halfway through today, we realized we were making a big move and that the title was in reach. Then we got excited and started talking and encouraging each other and I think that got us even more motivated."

Illinois Wins Big Ten Outdoor Championship!

Georgia on Their Mind; Illini down Michigan, 4-2, to Advance into Round of 16

URBANA, Ill. ­- The No. 10 Illinois men's tennis team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the eighth time in the last nine years as it dismissed No. 21 Michigan in the Illinois Regional final today at the Atkins Tennis Center, 4-2. The Illini, who had faced the Wolverines twice already in 2007 prior to today, used their past experiences to repeat their performance from the Big Ten Tournament where they also handed UM a 4-1 setback , that time coming in the semifinals.

If the occasion was not rich enough in excitement for the Illini already, head coach Brad Dancer celebrated his 100th career victory, his 44th here at Illinois.

Georgia on Their Mind; Illini down Michigan, 4-2, to Advance into Round of 16

House overwhelmingly rejects business tax proposal

Here's the latest from the Chicago spin doctor...

SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois House overwhelmingly rejected the idea of a massive new business tax proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, although the governor tried to portray Thursday's vote as a positive.

Not a single lawmaker voted for the $7.6 billion tax, while 107 voted against it.

But before the vote, Blagojevich made a surprise request of lawmakers: Vote no.

He said House members should reject the resolution as a signal that they think it's too soon to take a firm position on the tax.

Lawmakers of both parties scoffed at his request, calling it an attempt to put a positive spin on what would otherwise have been a clear-cut defeat for his plan.

...

House overwhelmingly rejects business tax proposal

Utah Jazz 127, Golden State Warriors 117 (OT)

2-0, Utah... On to Oakland for Game 3...

SALT LAKE CITY -- All Derek Fisher needed to do to inspire his teammates was make it to the game.

He did so much more, capping a dramatic night by scoring all five of his points in overtime in Utah's 127-117 victory over Golden State on Wednesday night -- a game Fisher nearly missed while returning from New York, where his baby daughter underwent cancer surgery.

"I don't know how I got through this tonight. I really don't," said Fisher, who hit his only shot, a 3-pointer.

Utah Jazz 127, Golden State Warriors 117 (OT)

Utah Jazz 116, Golden State Warriors 112

1-0, Utah...

SALT LAKE CITY -- It was only appropriate that the Utah Jazz won on a rebound.

Carlos Boozer turned his 20th rebound into the tiebreaking basket with 17 seconds left, and Utah beat the Golden State Warriors 116-112 on Monday night in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals.

...

Boozer had 17 points to go with his 20 rebounds, Deron Williams finished with 31 points and eight assists and Andrei Kirilenko blocked seven shots for the Jazz, who will host Game 2 on Wednesday night.

The Jazz were playing just two nights after beating Houston in Game 7 of the first round and had enough stamina to outlast the Warriors.

"We just played hard," Williams said. "We didn't play our best game by any means."

Utah Jazz 116, Golden State Warriors 112

Report: ComEd Link To Senate President's Stepson - Emil Jones' Stepson Reportedly Has Contract With ComEd Parent Company

(AP) CHICAGO The company owned by Senate President Emil Jones' stepson was doing contract work for ComEd's corporate parent at the time Jones blocked a rate freeze for the utility, according to a published report.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported in its Thursday editions that Exelon hired Synch-Solutions -- the firm owned by Jones' stepson John Sterling -- in 2004 to provide "software integration services."

But the utility would not tell the newspaper how much it paid Sterling's management consulting and technology services company or whether it thought the relationship was a conflict of interest for Jones.

Synch-Solutions and Exelon did not immediately return calls for comment from The Associated Press early Thursday morning.

Cindy Davidsmeyer, a spokeswoman for Jones, said the senator didn't know about his stepson's deal with Exelon.

...

Yeah, right! Emil Jones didn't know about his stepson's contract with Exelon. And I've got some valuable swampland in Florida that I'd like to sell you.

Multiple links on this story:

• CBS2Chicago.com: Report: ComEd Link To Senate President's Stepson
  Emil Jones' Stepson Reportedly Has Contract With ComEd Parent Company


• ABC7Chicago.com: Report: Jones' stepson has company contract with Exelon


• SunTimes.com: Joneses plugged in to power: SPRINGFIELD | Stepson does business with firm that gets lots of help from senator


• Daily Herald: Jones sits in the eye of a brewing political storm

IlliniPundit.com: Emil Jones' Leadership and Mike Frerichs

State Senate President Emil Jones had a busy day on Friday...

Emil Jones' Leadership and Mike Frerichs

Champaign County YMCA Youth Flag Football: Packers 12, Patriots 12

He did it!

Michael caught a pass from quarterback and coach Andy Ingram and ran almost the entire length of the field for a touchdown - the first touchdown of the new flag football season - and the undermanned Packers tied the Patriots 12-12 in YMCA Youth Flag Football this morning at Centennial High School in Champaign.

Just four players showed up for the Packers so this was a game of four-on-four throughout. But the Packers fought hard the whole way, taking the lead first on Michael's catch and long run. The Patriots then tied the game at 6-6 on their own breakaway run before the half. The Pack then reclaimed the lead as Jeffery bulled his way into the endzone on a 10-yard run. And just before the game ended, the Patriots came up with another long breakout touchdown run to tie the game at 12.

In my opinion, Michael was the player of the game for the Pack - he often looked like the best player on the field. He picked up right where he left off with his tenacity on defense: He's not afraid to go to the ball and make plays.

And so the Packers advance with a 0-0-1 record and they will play against the Bears next Saturday, April 28, at Centennial High School.

GO PACKERS!!!

Illinois 6, Iowa 2

Nice to go on the road to Freakin' Iowa City and get a strong pitching performance from Tanner Roark (4-1) and an easy 6-2 Illini win from UFI. Roark scattered 7 hits, struck out 6, and allowed just one earned run in seven innings of work.

The Illini improve to 7-4 in the Big Ten - currently sitting in third place in the conference - and 17-14 overall. The Illini have won 6 of their last 7 games overall.

Steve Turnbull (2-2) takes the loss for Freakin' Iowa, which falls to 4-8 in the Big Ten, 15-15 overall.

The Illini and UFI will face off again tomorrow in a double-header in Freakin' Iowa City with the first game scheduled for 2:00 PM.

Illinois 6, Iowa 2

Champaign County YMCA Youth Basketball: Celtics 18, Suns 14

The Celtics saved their best for last.

Trailing 12-8 at the start of the fourth quarter after going scoreless in the third quarter, the Celtics used a huge 10-2 run to overcome a tough Suns team, 18-14, in YMCA Kindergarten Basketball this morning in Champaign. Before the guys took the floor for the final time this spring, Coach Dan told the team: "This is it, guys! This is the last quarter of our season, and we need you to step up and play your best out there so we can finish strong. Have fun and let's go to work." And that's exactly what happened.

Combining a stifling defense with some opportunistic sharp-shooting, the Celtics made their finest push of the season just when they needed it most. Jack had an unbelievable quarter, hitting two LONG three-pointers from somewhere out near Mahomet, Joe added a couple easy hoops off the glass, and Tobin played perhaps his best game of the season, grabbing more than his share of rebounds for the boys in green. Michael's and Nathan's aggressive defense on the wings created some nice opportunities for the Celtics as well.

Give credit to Thomas too: Thomas kept the Celtics in the game in the first three quarters today, hitting a couple nice jumpers and rebounding like a guy who is paid to rebound basketballs.

The Suns were the aggressors early. They often knifed through a porous Celtics defense for easy hoops or easy rebounds and second-chance baskets. And one Suns player in particular - I'm not sure what his name is - was shooting lights-out, ONE-HANDED from behind the three-point line: I think he came away with at least 6 points on three really tough shots. In the first three quarters, this game was paced by the Suns, with their deliberate approach and aggressive defense.

But good teams find ways to win games, and the Celtics proved today - and all season - that they had what it takes to be successful. Unofficially, the good guys finished the season 7-0. What a great accomplishment for these kids!!!

After the final whistle, the referee assembled both teams - in two lines, facing all the parents in the crowd - at half court for the trophy presentations. He called out the name of each participant and handed each kid a nice commemorative trophy. I loved every moment of this!

Ending an undefeated season like this one is certainly a bittersweet moment for this first-time assistant coach. I absolutely had a blast with these nine tremendous kids, Coach Dan and Coach Mike, and all the parents. We all have a lot to be proud of, and it is my hope that we can get everyone back together again next fall for another success-filled season on the courts at the Champaign County YMCA.

GO CELTICS!!!

Champaign County YMCA Youth Basketball: Celtics 26, Lakers 18

The Celtics won another tough contest against another tough opponent this morning, taking a huge 26-18 victory from the Lakers in Champaign County YMCA Kindergarten Hoops.

After Coach Dan and George left the game following the second quarter, Coach Mike and I handled the coaching duties for the remainder of the game. I told the kids after the game: "This was our best game of the season! The competition was the toughest we've seen so far. But you guys all played hard, you had a lot of fun and we did some great things out there. Everyone contributed to make this our best game yet!"

Joe, who returned to the lineup after missing two straight games, led the Celtics with 10 points (unofficially). Joe's offense started with stifling defense: He picked off several passes and was able to capitalize on Laker miscues with a few fast-break baskets.

But Joe had a lot of help from the other Celtics: Jack, Thomas, Michael, Nathan, Tobin, George, Luke and Sam all played solid defense and boxed-out and rebounded extremely well, often giving the Lakers just one shot per possession. My opinion is that the Celtics won this game on the boards, dominating the Lakers only because they seemed to want it more than the Lakers did. The Lakers are a really good team, but the Celtics proved superior on this day and improved to 6-0 in the league.

Michael continued his solid play as he had one basket from just left of the paint (off a rebound) to go along with four rebounds, two steals, and two assists.

Jack had four baskets for eight points and a bunch of rebounds. Thomas had a basket for two points and several boards. And George contributed four points and a couple rebounds. Luke, Nathan and Tobin didn't score today, but they all gathered some nice rebounds and played solid defense for the Celtics.

Kudos to the Lakers' Tanner, who, arguably, is the finest player in the Kindergarten YMCA League. Tanner is probably the one youngster in this league who can put an entire team on his back and carry it to victory: Tanner has the ability to take a game over when he wants to do so. Michael and Joe both share good friendships with Tanner, and Michael hates to play against his best friends.

Next up for the Celtics: the final game of the season against the Suns on Saturday, April 7 at 9 AM at the Champaign County YMCA.

GO CELTICS!!!