By Woodrow Carroll Last weekend was not a good one for Illinois and Northwestern football. Both teams suffered conference losses on the road. Illinois was a 42-25 loser at Washington, while Northwestern was edged 28-21 at Nebraska. Defeats that left each team with 5-3 overall records. In the case of
By Woodrow Carroll While few are predicting a major breakthrough for the Northwestern football program, one has to admit that the Wildcats have performed better than expected by most to this point. With a 19-0 road victory at Purdue last Saturday, Northwestern upped its season record to 5-2. Five victories
By Woodrow Carroll With a 43-27 victory at Purdue Saturday, Oct. 4, the University of Illinois football team upped its record to 5-1. In fact, if you go back to the finish of last season, the Fighting Illini have emerged victorious in nine of their last 10 outings. Of course
By Woodrow Carroll Thanks to a quirk in the scheduling, Illinois, Northwestern, and Northern Illinois all found themselves at home last Saturday facing opponents from California. And, as it turned out, there were good games in store at each venue. And, except for the Huskies of Northern Illinois, the home
By Woodrow Carroll With Northern Illinois University ticketed to join the Mountain West Conference next season, the Huskies will kick off its final run as a member of the MAC (Mid-American Conference) Saturday, Aug. 30 at 2:30 p.m. when they play host to Holy Cross. The Holy Cross Crusaders call
By Woodrow Carroll With the collegiate football season rapidly approaching, each program is gearing up to get off on the right foot. And, nowhere is this more important than in the ranks of the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools where so much is at stake in terms of ranking, reputation
By Woodrow Carroll When once a collegiate conference with more than a dozen member schools was considered unusually large, we now see a good many conferences adding to their membership with each passing season. Or, so it seems. The heavy hitters in college football, and we are talking about the
By Woodrow Carroll With a 1-0 road victory over the Los Angeles Angels Saturday, the Chicago White Sox upped their season record to 42-69. Ordinarily, such a won-lost record would elicit little praise. Or, interest! However, given what the White Sox experienced last season, we might want to take a
By Woodrow Carroll For former Major League Baseball manager Charlie Dressen, his finest hour may have also been his worst moment when looking back. A native of Decatur, Ill., Dressen was born in 1894. (And, be careful when bringing up Dressen’s birth year. Like so many pro athletes, Dressen apparently
By Woodrow Carroll For the Northern Illinois University football program, the 2025 Season will get underway Saturday, Aug. 30 at 2:30 p.m., when the NIU Huskies play host to Holy Cross. With Northern Illinois ticketed to join the Mountain West Conference (football only) next season, one has to wonder what
By Woodrow Carroll Would you believe that the two major college football programs with the longest active winning streaks as we head into the 2025 Season are Ohio University and Marshall University. And, when we say major college, we are talking about FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams. The Georgia’s, Alabama’s,
By Woodrow Carroll When the University of Illinois opens its 2025 Football Season, playing host to Western Illinois August 29, there are many who feel the Fighting Illini could set a school record for most wins in a season. For good reason! Last season, Illinois finished with a final record
By Woodrow Carroll With the college football season rapidly headed in our direction, we might try to get a grip on what is in store for the Northern Illinois football program in 2025. The coming season will see the Huskies in their final go around in the Mid-American Conference, before
By Woodrow Carroll Although his career may still have a number of years to run, and at this time he is 36, Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale has hit a bump in the road just when 2025 started to look very promising after a slow start. June 18, Sale pitched
By Woodrow Carroll The term off season is a misnomer. At least when it comes to professional sports and major college athletic programs. Long ago, it became obvious that to stay on top and maintain that competitive edge, it was going to be a 12 months of the year effort
By Woodrow Carroll Last season college football expanded its major college (Football Bowl Subdivision) playoff system to take in 12 teams. By all odds, the expanded format worked out well, although there were a few teams left out who felt slighted when the 12 teams were announced. The Ohio State
By Woodrow Carroll Former NBA All-Star, Dick Barnett, passed away in late April. A solid player who forged a 14-year career in the NBA, Barnett touched shoulders, at least marginally, to some degree, with a long list of notable sports figures along the way. Born and raised in Gary, Ind.,
By Woodrow Carroll All one has to do is look at the standings of the Major League Baseball teams to quickly realize that, while a number of good teams may be having a good year, the really bad franchises are on their way to a record-setting bad year. Heading into
By Woodrow Carroll Would you believe it? The MLB’s worst teams, the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies, were winners last Sunday. Playing at home, the White Sox defeated the Miami Marlins last Sunday to improve their record 12-29. Better yet, the White Sox, who finished last season with the
By Woodrow Carroll When the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros, four straight games in the 2005 World Series, it ended 88 years of no championship frustration for the White Sox franchise. The 1917 championship featured the White Sox against the New York Giants, which the Pale Hose won,
