Smile Politely. Speak Directly. A Champaign-Urbana Culture Blog

Who can stand to watch SportsCenter these days? The sporting news is chock full of athletes in distress, a bunch of liars, cheaters and thieves who give in to their countless vices. Then again, that could also occasionally describe me, and probably you. Yet we don’t like to admit as much, because pointing fingers at others is more fun.

For fans, managing the itchy trigger finger is hard work when week after week the media provides fresh bait. Gee, I wonder if Barry Bonds is grateful that Roger Clemens has shifted the steroids spotlight off him? The negative press is so relentless that yesterday’s news seems to have happened years ago. When was the last time you thought about Michael Vick? Or Floyd Landis, or Marion Jones, or Pacman Jones, or Tim Donaghy? You have Kelvin Sampson, Bill Belichick, Reggie Bush, Florida State University and the U.S. Congress to thank for that. Soon enough, someone or something will excuse those entries from our mind, as the media continues to tantalize sports fans with one scandal after another. In some instances, however, it’s worth holding on to the past, if only to obtain some closure.

Let’s not beat around the bush here. The Big Ten is a wholly different conference this week than it was last week. Kelvin Sampson has been given a $750,000 buyout to walk away from Indiana University with no strings attached. As Illinois fans, there is a feeling here that is purely visceral, given the state of the ’07-’08 campaign. I’d like to hear you sound off about it here.

Please.

Discuss.

This week’s predictions after the jump.

Spring Training is here. I know I mentioned last time that it seems a good five degrees warmer when the boys of Summer don their Spring uniforms, but its hard to feel that warmth with all this snow in Illinois.

But I digress...

The Cubbies have one field position up for grabs. I can’t remember the last time they had their starting 8 this set in stone and I actually liked it. Oh, they’ve had all eight positions set in the past, but they usually included names like Brant Brown, Manny Trillo, Jason Dubois and other forgettable MLB castoffs. This year, I look at the eight and I’m mostly pleased. Lets go around the horn to get this season started quick-like.

In case you missed the Big Ben news yesterday, the Chicago Bulls pulled off a three-way deadline deal with the Cleveland Cavs and the Seattle Sonics. The trade was a bit of a yawner in the sense that it has long been supposed that the Bulls would deal forward Ben Wallace, and that’s precisely what they did in dumping the final two years and change of Wallace’s massive contract on Cleveland. Considering that Wallace has been a shell of his former self this season (not to mention an occasional grump), the move makes sense for Chicago, which needs to get a good read on the futures of frontcourt young’uns Tyrus Thomas, Aaron Gray and Joakim Noah.

I assume that the Sampson household is similar to yours and similar to mine. And while it might be a tad larger than ours, I am betting that it functions in the same ways for the most part. A television to zone out to, a dining room table with a centerpiece, a kitchen with utensils and a telephone (cell phones to be exact) to call friends up and greet them warmly.

I am wondering whether the sound of the dull vibrating buzz against the solid granite counter top sounds a bit different to Sampson these days? I am curious as to whether or not the sight of his cell phone makes him a tad squeamish, the way a recovering alcoholic gets chills when he sees a friend nursing a whiskey or the way an addicted gambler sweats a bit every time he sees an ad for a budget vacation to Vegas.

Consider yourself a collegiate sports fan who is tired of slogging your way through the winter doldrums caused by Illini men’s basketball? Well, here’s a pick-me-up worth your time: Beginning Friday, Feb. 15, the University of Illinois is hosting the Central States Collegiate Hockey League playoffs. The tournament features the undefeated Illini men’s team (29–0, 18–0 in league play) and several other powerhouses, if not household names, in Lindenwood University (had to look it up), Eastern and Western Michigan universities, and Kent State University.

The Fighting Illini, a Division I club hockey team that’s ranked No. 1 nationally in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, became the first CSCHL team in nearly two decades to finish league play undefeated. As CSCHL regular season champs, the Illini already have an automatic bid in the ACHA national tourney held in early March, although their seeding is still to be determined.

In a fair and just world, Illinois would have walked away from last week’s slugfest against Indiana with a W — and with a lot of respect to go along with it considering their less than successful season. Instead, they are among the biggest disappointments in college basketball, dropping ten of their last twelve games, and fast becoming the laughing stock of the league, keeping company with the likes of Northwestern and Penn State.

Welcome to February. The home stretch. The final frontier. It’s the last chance for some teams to put together a winner — and for others, it’s a chance to start anew and make something of a slow start. Teams come together and teams fall apart. ESPN.com reporting becomes far more frequent. Joe Lunardi updates Bracketology twice weekly and Rivals Week nationwide foreshadows the types of contests yet to come in the conference tournament and, for some, in the Big Dance. It’s the month where everything gets real. Nothing left to do except win your way into the post-season.

Unfortunately for the Big Ten, most teams don't really even have that option.

Alas, Thursday’s snowstorm kept me from attending the University of Illinois women’s basketball game against Ohio State. And that’s a shame because the Illini beat No. 17 Ohio State, 68–64, behind sophomore forward Jenna Smith’s 20 points and 10 rebounds. It would have been a nice change of pace to watch an Illini basketball team actually win a game against a worthy foe. I’ll catch up with the ladies for a column in the near future.

It just so happens that I’ve almost completed the first season of Lost, the popular ABC drama. (Yes, I’m that far behind the rest of you. Sorry, I was busy with The Wire and Six Feet Under and Mad Men and, of course, The Sopranos.) So the theme for this week is not losing, per say, but those who are lost. The Chicago Bulls and the Illinois men’s basketball team provided the inspiration for this thematic selection with a pair of pitiful performances on Wednesday night.