ChimpersCage

Once in a while I have a reason to dig through some old images. I always seem to find a couple of treasures. I shot the Eastern Illinois Homecoming football game in 2002. Tony Romo was still pretty much an unknown. He was in his senior year at Eastern. They were playing the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, a rival from the same Ohio Valley Conference. Not only was it homecoming, but the two teams were tied for 1st place and this game was well into the season being played on October 12. I was shooting for a small wire out from the east coast. I'm not sure I ever knew and I certainly don't remember if the images were being used by the media or a school, but there I was. Well, 8 years later, Tony is very well known and in the NFL. One of the images in the gallery below has licensed several times - from books to ESPN, it seems to get some pretty good play. When an image becomes popular, it also starts to get used by people who don't want to pay. So photographers start doing ...

It's normally the time of year that I must hit the yard and the house repairs before being able to get to any game. Pretty much, that means evenings spent working and maybe a game or two on the weekend when I get bored of the house and yard. Well, April 13th was different. It was just too nice to be all work, so I scooted out to the Illinois State campus to watch and shoot a little softball. Former Ridgeview star Lauren Kellar has been getting starts and lots of playing time as a freshman. It's always good to see local athletes on the local college teams and even more fun to get to see them play. Sure hope I can make some more of America's ball this season. 20100413 Illinois v Illinois State - Images by Alan Look

Robin Pingeton is leaving the Illinois State Redbirds after 7 years as head coach and taking her assistants with her. I can't say it is a real shock that a large D1 school had their eyes on her or even that she took the job. She is certainly qualified. It did surprise me that it happened so fast with what seemed to me as little discussion about it by anyone. Of late, the only real converstations I'd overheard were about 1st assistant Randy Norton who was reported to be a consideration at Indiana State. Randy last week expressed his desire to stay in Bloomington-Normal while his family enjoyed his daughters last year at Central Catholic High as a part of the recent State Champion Lady Saints. Well, surprise, surprise. It will be interesting to hear the reactions in the community. Robin has been great at ISU and has really built a program that was hardly even noticed under her predecessor Jenny Yopp. At the 7 year mark, Robin had shown both her prowness on the court as wel...

Wow, it's been a long time between rants! It's been a busy season. 72 games for me since Aug 29th of 2009, not counting a few that I was just a spectator at. Some of the recent highlights were the girls Illinois State High School playoffs, the D3 Women's NCAA Final Four, and several WNIT games. Be sure to check out the galleries at www.alanlook.com More later.

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...