Y’all Must Be Trippin’: Illini Head to South Padre Island
ALL WORK AND NO PLAY
Tuesday morning’s workout was the last full practice before the lads fly off to sunny South Padre Island. There, they will work like dogs (dogs that work, not lapdogs). When they’re not learning to shift around Kent State’s shifting 1–3–1 zone, when not trying to figure out how to shut down Al Fisher, they’ll be hitting the books. Chester Frazier, for example, has a big Psychology test next week.
It’s the second leg of the South Padre Invitational. Bruce Weber said Tuesday that he prefers these kinds of tournaments — the ones that start at home, where there’s revenue to be made. The TAMU-CC and Jackson State game were already part of the SPI, you see. (Shhh, that’s on the downlow.)
If they beat Kent State, the Illini will have to play Tulsa or Texas A&M. If they lose to Kent State, they’ll have to play either Tulsa or Texas A&M. So obviously, they’re looking to beat Kent State. That’s not going to be easy. Since the Neil Young song, Kent has evolved. They hired an old girlfriend of mine (not the bad one) and developed quite a basketball tradition. Last year, the Golden Flashes won 28 games. So watch out.
Speaking of watch, if you happen to have DirecTV, channel 617 is your destination. Otherwise, you might try the Esquire. If it’s a blow-out, maybe Rich will give you a game of chess.
—
The mood is certainly livelier ‘round the ole Ubben lately. Illini PR guy Derrick Burson waxed enthusiastic about spreading the good news in Texas — in the form of Illini Media Guides. He asked trainer/dad/all-things-Illini Rod Cardinal how many guides he’d be allowed on the plane. Cardinal pointed out that Jerrance Howard would be flying separately, due to a recruiting trip. They figured they’d have an extra 240 lbs. to work with. No one can resist a jab at Snacks’ potbelly.
Frankly, the word about the lively team has already leaked, Media Guide or no Media Guide. Illinois received two points in this week’s AP poll. Maybe that’s bad. Praise creates expectations. People will be watching now. If they lose one or both of this weekend’s games, they will fall further back in the opinion of the cognoscenti than they would have been given a 2–2 start.
FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL
Game #5: Illinois (4–0) vs. Kent State (3–0)
South Padre Island Invitational
Nov. 28, 2008 // 5 p.m. CT // Fox College Sports Atlantic
South Padre Island, Texas // SPI Convention Center (2,000)
On the Air
Television
FCS Atlantic: Kevin Eschenfelder, play-by-play; Reid Gettys, expert analyst.
Radio
Illini Sports Network — 44 stations: Brian Barnhart, play-by-play; Jerry
Hester, expert analyst; Loren Tate pre-game/halftime/post-game interviews.
MYLES BRAND RULES
Indiana was forgiven all its faults, patted on the back for being so charming and invited to dinner by the NCAA Tuesday afternoon. “Kelvin Sampson?” the Infractions Committee pondered aloud. “What previous malfeasance?”
Former Indiana/Current NCAA President Myles Brand commented, “C’mon, it was just a few phone calls. What’s the big deal?”
Brand then announced an investigation into the University of Illinois’s complicity in Jack Abramoff’s Indian Gaming Scandal. Brand further announced an indictment of the Indian Head Nickel, and a catalog of charges against the Chippewa and Seminole Nations, for abetting college sports teams. When informed of a massive play-for-pay ring at the University of Memphis, Brand promised immediate investigation of the University of Tennessee at Martin, which is also in western Tennessee, has a basketball program and is close to Memphis both geographically and alphabetically (they begin with the letter M).
5 comments
still digging the perspective; be careful about trying to hard… ;) you a bourbon snob?
erp: “too hard…“
ChiefIllini2
That’s “Martin, Tennessee” in the NCAA rolodex. I do think that one win and continued improvement is all that is required. All three of those other teams are rated above the Illini in (admittedly) early power rankings. Good column, Rob!
castaa.myopenid.com
Keep it up Rob. lol
Mike
Illini Win! Tis and Davis (no surprise)got it done. Looking forward to more posts from Rob.
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*Shrugs*
Sometime between now and their first game in this year’s NIT, the Illini need to practice taking a shot before the game clock expires.
Can we please refrain from ever EVER comparing running a marathon to childbirth? Especially when the comparison is made by someone without a vagina? Kthx.
I think we are in. But being blown out again by OSU might give the selection comittee doubts. I dunno anymore.
Mark: You raise some interesting points. I’m impressed by anyone who runs a marathon, no matter their finishing time. It’s the commitment people show to accomplishing a goal they set for themselves that impresses me most. A sign I saw at the Illinois Marathon last year along…
April 9th can’t come fast enough!
Pheidippides wasn’t planning on running a marathon; that’s why he died. If he had known ahead of time that he’d be running 26 miles and followed a good training program for a year, stretched properly before the event, had bands and cheering people along the race route,…
Keep us posted on the latter!
The marathon is certainly a tough distance, but I imagine that it compares to childbirth. In any event, having completed the former, I will agree that it is an excruciating tastk. Should the opportunity arise, I will let you know how the latter compares.
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Dan Schreiber’s chocolate is simply the best I’ve ever had. It’s a whole different ball-game; closer to very high-end wine than anything out of Hershey PA.
That settles it… Im going.
That’s well known that cash can make people free. But how to act when someone doesn’t have cash? The one way is to receive the personal loans or secured loan.
Vosges is pretty decent chocolate, but you should definitely try the locally-produced chocolate from Dan Schreiber, available (regularly?) at Amara, Caffe Paradiso, and Common Ground. I believe it is or will be at other places soon.
I read Kucinich flipped today. He must have read this and been convinced.
Bread Company can do some fantastic vegan dinner dishes! Several of their pastas are vegan or could be made vegan and their pizzas can be ordered (and taste great) without the cheese. I also recommend their roasted potatoes and their roasted garlic head appetizer.
General Admission? Are we supposed to camp out the night before the game to get decent seats?
I wonder with Griffey if he’s not in game shape enough to play a significant number of minutes. If you look at his minutes played this year, he’s never played a starters minutes.
I really appreciated Ms. Lennhoff’s candid answers to the questions. I learned a lot about health care reform from this experience. Thanks CCHCC!
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Hah! Good one, Joel. But my question was a serious one. I only buy eggs from a couple of local organic farmers, so I never thought about antibiotic-free eggs. I’m assuming that Anna meant the hen was not fed antibiotics, but am not wholly sure. I’m…
That sounds like a setup to a joke at a CSA’s annual banquet. Q: “How can you tell an antibiotic-free egg?“ A: “It just can’t seem to get rid of that cough.“ /shows self out
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Great article. I’ve always found that by making it in the blender, I can be my typical impatient self and pour tons of oil in at once. It’s very forgiving that way, though not fool proof.
I will be at Danu this evening. And seeing as tomorrow - St. Pat’s - is my birthday, I will be celebrating with tons of green and fun!
Big Blue will actually be on 6-9, despite what is posted elsewhere. Then, hightail it over to Bentley’s!
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I wonder with Griffey if he’s not in game shape enough to play a significant number of minutes. If you look at his minutes played this year, he’s never played a starters minutes.