ChimpersCage

When the corn isn't growing in Illinois there is always basketball.  At the holiday break near the end of the year, there is always a holiday tournament somewhere in the state... in fact quite a few of them.  Many have existed for years.  Some have just a few schools.  Some are the granddaddy of them all.  The State Farm Holiday Classic is one if not the granddaddy.  The Classic (as it is known by it's shorter name to many) has been around long before State Farm was it's title sponsor.  It has grown over time but has hosted 64 teams for a good long time.  It is Co-ed wit 32 girls teams and 32 boys teams.  Most teams come from Illinois, but the past has seen other parts of the United State represented as well. The Classic just concluded.  There will be coverage by Alan Look Photography - Bloomington - Normal's Best Look in Sports Action Photography in the Normalite Newspapers and in the February issue of Best Look Magazine.  Until ...

Best Look Magazine, Volume 4 Issue 4, November 2015 By Alan Look in Best Look Magazine 32 pages, published 11/10/2015 Best Look Magazine, Volume 4 Issue 4, November 2015 The 2015 November Issue of Best Look Magazine has arrived. The front cover features a High Dynamic Range image of the Normal Theater in Normal taken during the Sugar Creek Arts Festival in July.  The rear cover is a shot of the memorial at Illinois State University that remembers the 7- Aaron Leech, Torrey Ward, Scott Bittner, Jason Jones, Andrew Butler, Terry Stralow and Thomas Hileman who lost their lives in a plane crash on their way home from the NCAA basketball tournament in April.  Other features in this issue - a wrap up of the Normal CornBelters winning season, McLean County Antique Automobile Associations annual car show, Sugar Creek Arts Festival, a preview of the S...

Alan Look Photography, the Best Look in Sports Action Photography in Bloomington - Normal covered several games at the 2014 State Farm Holiday Classic .  Images are available in the form of prints and electronic files to family and fans.   Alan Look Photography is also offering 15% off any $20 or greater order until the end of  January 2015 on the images.  Use coupon code 15off when you check out! Click for images. Teams playing games he covered were: Girls - University High Pioneers, Morton Potters, Bloomington Raiders, Peoria Notre Dame Irish, Champaign Centennial Chargers, Richwoods Knights, North Chicago Warhawks Boys - Normal Community Ironmen, Rock Island Rocks, Plainfield South Cougars, Edwardsville Tigers, University High Pioneers The first two Soar sessions at the Championship Halftime were also captured.

Wow, the holiday tournaments are here and as I write - almost over! There are several good tournaments in central Illinois. Pontiac, Pekin, Monticello and the State Farm Holiday Classic in Bloomington Normal to name a few. I've never covered any of them except the Classic, so let me talk about it. The Classic is billed as the largest holiday basketball tournament in the country and the best basketball this side of March. It schedules 4 days of games for 32 boys and 32 girls team divided into 2 divisions. The divisions are split 1a/2a and 3a/4a along the lines the Illinois State High School Association draws for those schools. The Classic also follows the rules of basketball as stipulated by the IHSA. More on that later. Last night, I did indeed seem some of the best basketball this side of March. The Richwoods ladies were playing the Normal West ladies. What a game. they went toe to toe, shot for shot in a see-sawing battle for the first 32 minutes. A 3 point buzzer shot...