ChimpersCage

Well, the High School Girls Regionals are here. Play this year is at Lexington. I guess it is already down to the semi and final rounds. Last night, Ridgeview swatted the Heyworth Hornets. The Mustangs are so well organized and execute so well. THey are a pleasure to watch. 20100210 Heyworth v Ridgeview - Images by Alan Look

Ah, one of my favorite weeks of the year started Saturday January 16th. No, not because of the weather, because the McLean County Tournament has started! Yes, the weather always seems to throw it's rimshot too. I've seen everything from blizzard like conditions to sunshine to torrential rains on Championship day, but the fans and teams always show up. This year the competition should be pretty good, although some of the team rankings are pretty different from past years. ElPaso-Gridley boys are seeded in the top 5, a different look than some of the past years where they struggled past the 1st round. Ridgeview played two games on the 16th and was eliminated from the rest of the competition. That's a big change. The Mustangs seemed to be just a half a click off with just about every play attempt. I did see a couple of sequences that went well for them, but for some reason they just aren't quite there. Heyworth looks to be back in it, but on the boys side, it appea...

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...

Knocking off the Chippewas of Central Michigan moved the Redbird basketball team to 7 - 0 for the non-conference season. Still to come are Niagra, Ohio, Utah and Grambling before the race for March starts at home against the Shockers of Wichita State the last week of December. I haven't been able to make every game, but so far I would say the Chippewas have been the best challenge the 'birds have seen this season. It also got a bit physical with several players going over shoulders, hitting the floor hard and being rammed into the goal standards. Newbies have certainly been a plus this year. The 'birds have a much deeper bench than I've seen in several seasons. The 6th man on the court - the crowd - also seem ready and able this season. I didn't get the attendance and it isn't listed on the stats, but I believe the number was pretty good considering a non-conference competition. 20091205 Central Michigan v Illinois State - Images by Alan Look The Lady Redb...

I started a rant on Facebook yesterday about the Bears. In the rant, I suggested it was time to Cut Cutler and Free Forte. I'll stand by that as in my view, both are disappointments. I'd like to expand a bit too and play armchair GM for a bit... Really, doesn't everyone enjoy playing GM? Lovie - you need to give back the defensive calling to the defensive coordinator. Your not doing such a good job. I know that your past lends that you are great at it. I have no doubt that your are/could be, but it appears that your mind has too many other things to do to handle that duty as well. Delegate! Now on to the real question - how do we get the Bears to win a game (Lions games exempt - heck maybe we should includ the Lions. I'm not sure the Bears could beat them right now)without the help of Brian Urlacher. Let's think outside the box - please try to follow along, this line of thinking is going to confuse a lot of people. Who knows the offense better than anyone? Y...

Well, for me anyway - Saturday was the 1st game. Yes, I know they played one already at Redbird. I was unable to attend. Seems like a lot of ticket holders didn't show up for the game against North Florida either. You missed out. I know, it's not conference season yet, but watching this team was truly special. Defense seems to have been stepped up with the addition of some of the youth and transfers on this years squad. Watching Osiris, Dinma and Phillips are still fun. Dinma is still a hole filler underneath and Phillips is more confident out front. Osiris has stepped back up hit offensive attack (I thought it was a bit muted last season). The new guys make this a real treat. Johnson, Lewis, and especially Carmichael are filing in nicely. If you come to see nothing else, come to watch Carmichael. He's a blocker and he does it with quite a style. 20091121 North Florida v Illinois State - Images by Alan Look

Well, the Ridgeview Mustangs ended the football season winless losing the final game at home to the Heyworth Hornets 62-38. The game was played in the rain and on a muddy field producing ground campaigns from each team and keep fans to a minimum. Those that did come saw a lot of courage and fortitude by players on both teams.