So here I am deep in the thicket of a sportophile's wet dream. Once baseball & football come to an end, I may have to check myself into some sort of rehab as I suspect I will suffer from some strange form of athletic withdrawal. Here's the skinny.
Football, a.k.a. NFL & NCAA, are well underway. The 1st season of the Ron Zook era in Illinois has been a disappointment thus far. Granted the Big 10 is one of the top Division I conferences in NCAA football, and players need time to adjust to a new coach & football program. However, their overall performance on the field was a disappointment after a 2-0 start and a well played game against #15 Cal - at the time. Illinois football will close out the season with two home games featuring Penn State & Wisconsin, and the final game at Northwestern. They will play OSU & Purdue on the road prior to the game @ Northwestern. There have certainly been some great games in college football throughout the 2005 season. Last weekend featured #1 USC vs. the Fighting Irish, who have had a stellar season. Joe Paterno is also having a great season at Penn State. They were able to upset OSU but took a heartbreaking loss to Michigan last weekend. As for Illinois, well....there's always next year.This NFL season I opted to hop aboard the fantasy bandwagon. I probably haven't enjoyed an NFL season as much as I have this season due to the interaction via fantasy teams. Surprisingly enough, my teams aren't doing that bad. It's a learn on the go experience but certainly an enjoyable one. All I can say is that if you were one of the fortunate ones to draft LT.... you f*cking suck! Only kidding. Go Falcons!
Is that Illinois basketball I smell? It's about that time. The annual Paint the Hall Orange Men & Women's B-Ball season kick-off scrimmage was held last Saturday night at the Assembly Hall in beautiful Champaign, Illinois. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet some of the players including Dee Brown, James Augustine AND Coach Bruce Weber prior to kickoff at the MSU/Illinois football game. I was dumbfounded for the rest of the day, my friends. At any rate, expect positive results from this group of exceptional athletes. After last year's phenomenal season, these boys know how high the bar has been set. They have alot of talent on the floor and on the backburner for seasons to come. The men's season kicks off the 1st week of November so stay tuned!
That's right, folks! Hockey is back. Despite the bullsh!t & salary politics, it's good to have hockey back. Unfortunately, the Blues are off to a ragged start, but it's a long season with plenty of time for improvement & trades. There are also some rule enhancements. At last, the two-line pass is back. Goalies are a bit more restricted when handling the puck in their own zone, and the actual dimensions of their equipment have also been altered making pads & gloves slightly smaller. The league decided to tighten up on obstruction in effort to produce more offensive hockey vs. your standard grinding it out for the puck. This has generated an early spike in obstruction penalties but may balance out as players get adjusted to new standards & league expectations. Who knows which teams will excel as the season goes on?
Last, but not least. Did anyone happen to catch Game 5 of the NCLS last night? If you didn't, you missed a remarkable comeback by the Cardinals in the 9th inning. It looked rather dismal after Berkman's three-run homer in the 7th putting the Astros ahead 4-2.Two outs in the 9th with runners on 1st & 3rd. Up comes Phat Albert, & POW! Cards hold off the Astros 5-4. Cardinals bring it back home to face Houston & avoid elimination in Game 6 tomorrow night at 7:30pm CST. The good news is that the last two games of this series will be played at home. The Cardinals must win both to advance. The winner of the NCLS will go on to face the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. Get crazy...go nuts.
