By Woodrow Carroll After suffering a tough 74-71 road defeat to the Monmouth Hawks last Saturday, the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team held a 5-4 won-loss non-conference record. With the Mid-American Conference (MAC) schedule set to start early in January 2024, the Huskies men would like to get their
By Woodrow Carroll The auguries may be there for the Northern Illinois University (NIU) football program. Positive omens, for sure, with the bowl season at hand. When it was announced the Northern Illinois bowl destination and opponent Sunday, Dec. 3, it had to have brought up fond memories. The NIU
By Woodrow Carroll By the time all the Division I college football games had run their course Saturday, Nov. 25, 79 teams with six or more victories had punched their bowl game tickets. A total of 82 teams are needed to fill the 41 FBS (football bowl subdivision) bowl games
By Woodrow Carroll Interest in the Ohio State University-at-University of Michigan football game at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 25 takes precedence among the majority of those following Big Ten Conference, and we need to keep in mind that most of the Conference teams have targets of their own. In most
By Woodrow Carroll Thanks to Illinois’ 27-26 Big Ten Conference road football victory over Minnesota Saturday, Nov. 4, all three of the State’s FBS teams, Illinois, Northern Illinois, and Northwestern, have 4-5 record entering into their final three games of the regular season. Given that it usually takes six overall
By Woodrow Carroll It was only a few short weeks back that everyone was feeling sorry for the Northwestern University football program. Events surrounding former head coach Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats’ lack of success on the playing field painted a less than pretty picture. Well, things can change in
By Woodrow Carroll There are memorable victories and there are memorable defeats. For the University of Illinois football program the 25-21 loss Saturday, Oct. 21 to Wisconsin was definitely in the latter category. Leading 21-7 entering the fourth quarter, the Illini were outscored 18-0 the final 15 minutes in an
By Woodrow Carroll At one point last season, the University of Illinois football program was clearly on the upswing. After beating host Nebraska, 26-9, in late October last year, the Fighting Illini were 7-1 and ranked No. 16 in a national poll. Then things started to go sour. After that
By Woodrow Carroll Two badly-wounded college football teams will face each other Friday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in Champaign when Nebraska and Illinois do battle. The two Big Ten West Division clubs seek to recover from disastrous showings Saturday, Sept. 30. Nebraska was host to Michigan and lost, 45-7.
By Woodrow Carroll The last time the University of Illinois football team faced Penn State prior to the Saturday, Sept. 16 meeting in Champaign, the two schools engaged in a memorable nine-overtime game ultimately won by the Fighting Illini, 20-18, in 2021. The game last weekend had absolutely none of
By Woodrow Carroll After opening the season with a 27-24 overtime victory over host Boston College, the Northern Illinois University Huskies played host to Southern Illinois Saturday, Sept. 9 with a 2-0 start to the season in mind. After beating a Power Five team such as Boston College, the Huskies
By Woodrow Carroll The Big 10 Conference prepares for its final season as it is presently constituted, comprised of 14 member schools, soon to be 18 in number with UCLA, Southern California, Oregon, and Washington set join in 2024. We must focus on the present. The University of Illinois football
By Woodrow Carroll The Big 10 Conference is preparing for its final season as it is presently constituted. The Big 10 is comprised of 14 member schools and soon will be 18 in number with the addition of UCLA, Southern California, Oregon, and Washington, set to join in 2024. We
By Woodrow Carroll Northern Illinois University football head coach Thomas Hammock will begin his fifth season guiding the team’s fortunes, September 2, when the Huskies open on the road at Boston College. In his first four years coaching at his alma mater, Hammock has seen both the good and bad.
By Woodrow Carroll A Manager of the Year candidate in the American League would have to strong consideration go to the Texas Rangers’ Bruce Bochy. Entering Monday’s game at home against the L. A. Angels, the Rangers were 70-48 and locked in a heated battle with the defending World Series
By Woodrow Carroll We all like stories with a twist. Former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, Milt Gaston, gives us just that. A native of New Jersey, Gaston played in the big leagues for 11 seasons, 1924-1934. Gaston broke in as a pitcher with the New York Yankees in 1924.
By Woodrow Carroll Last season, the Chicago White Sox ended up exactly .500 with a final record of 81-81. Tony LaRussa managed the White Sox for most of 2022 and Miguel Cairo called the shots the final month. Cleveland won the American League Central Division championship. At the conclusion, Cleveland
By Woodrow Carroll I must confess I was fortunate to have a father who was sports-minded. All the major sports were just fine with him for sure, however, similar to most who grew up between the two World Wars, Major League Baseball (MLB) had a hold on him. For my
By Woodrow Carroll Major League Baseball (MLB) has expanded a great many ways down through the years. Once there were 16 teams strictly in the eastern part of the United States with nary a franchise farther west than St. Louis. That was long ago! Today, we all are familiar with
By Woodrow Carroll The Sunday, July 9 Major League Baseball (MLB) inter-league game between host Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, was vital with the all-star game on the horizon. The White Sox were 38-53 and the Cardinals 37-52, each 15 games under .500. The game, which featured Eloy
