ChimpersCage

After nine years, one trip to the NCAA sweet sixteen (2006), an overall record of 154-140 and 74-88 (MVC), and a less than stellar finish in the Valley (4-14) this season, the Bradley Braves said goodby to Jim Les. Athletic Director Michael Cross stated that the decision was difficult but in the long-term best interest of Bradley basketball, the student athletes and the university. If you live or have lived in Central Illinois for any length of time and followed college basketball to any degree, you know Jim Les and the Bradley Braves Well. Les played for Bradley as a student and then in the NBA for seven season. The Braves and the Illinos State Redbirds share a mutual rivalry best know in basketball by the tag "War of 74". The arenas are always filled, the fans always pumped, the volume level almost crushing. Coach Jim Les - Images by Alan Look

in 2007 Illinois State Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger reached to his home state of Kansas to gather Tim Jankovich as a replacement for Porter Moser. Mosers tenure was tenuous at best and Zenger pulled the plug early on his 7 year contract. Best I can tell is Jankovichs contract is a 5 year contract with a rollover for extensions at the end of the term. That leaves him the remainder of this season and one more till the end of his first term. The first 3 years were pretty decent. Jankovich was able to keep the best of the talent that Moser had discovered and added some transfers along with signing some other good talent. Now, O is absent. Dinma gone. Talented others are on board, but the Birds are 0-3 in the conference with Witchita State coming here on Friday with a record of 3-0 in the Valley tied for first with Missouri State. The season has been disappointing to say the least. Soft preseason play is responsible say some. 3 Days ago, Zenger takes a job back in Kansas. Who w...

In 1961 when I first moved to Heyworth, the Heyworth Star was a thriving weekly newspaper. I can't tell you the whole history of the paper, but it was then run by Glen Beverage and his son Jim. I also don't remember a lot about Glen except that he always had a smile when I saw him. Jim lived 3 doors away from us on Poplar St. with his wife Nancy who taught school in a near by community and Sonja their girl who was the same age as I. Jim was a newspaper man through and through. Always looking for the scoop. Always at the local sports events. Always wearing a dress hat, carrying a camera, tablet and pen and when it was cold, a trench styled overcoat. He was inquisitive and full of common sense. He also liked to show off his shop to any youngster that showed an interest. More than once I walked in unannounced and he would appear in the front office and offer a quick tour. Didn't matter how busy he was, he always had time for an interested youth. In those days it was t...

I just read another headline about the economy... Dollar drops lower, Feds to take more drastic measures. Well, that's probably not an exact quote but you get the idea. Sure the recession ended last year, there isn't any fear of a double dipper, unemployment is down.... Good grief, do we really believe all that sunshine? I've been saying for sometime that, yes I'm going to get opinionated about something I have absolutely no schooling in - well I did take econ101 in college - and no real experience talking about, jobs are the key to the recovery. I'm not the only one saying it, it's just that the people in the know that are saying it just don't believe themselves. I'm talking REAL jobs, not seasonal jobs that will be gone when the trees change from one color to many or the other way around. Not jobs that pay 30% of the pay that one someone just lost. Not jobs that have no benefits like the last one that someone had. I'm talking about honest to...

I've been informed several times that I'm a pessimist. Well, I do seem to see the ugly side of things or the bad things that may happen, but I really think I'm more of a realist. How would bad things be avoided or even corrected if someone didn't identify them? Football viewing is a good example. There are several things (I'll include my short list below) that really irritate people (myself included) that can destroy the feeling of a great game. I think there are some simple steps that could be taken to remedy them. My short list, in no particular order. 1) Media Time Outs. Let's call them what they really are, enough of the politically correct. They are TV timeouts to sell advertising. Heck, they get more time outs per game than both teams combined. Did I miss something in the 1960's and early 70's listening to the games on WJBC with my dad? I don't recall any commercials unless there was a legitimate break in the action. I'm sure on th...

School is Finally back in session. The hottest part of summer is Finally coming to an end The sweet smell of fresh corn is Finally in the air Football is FINALLY back in season. I enjoy the preseason games on the tube in the hot beginning of August. It's always a welcome view compared to the reruns from last season, the hohum of new reality pilots, award shows and yet another season of the Cubs losing. I do hesitate to put a lot of credence to the preseason games of the NFL. They are full of rookies and 3rd place depth chart players working hard to make an impression on either the team they are currently with or for one of the hundred scouts watching each game to find a player that will get released and help their team. So, the action is usually filled with some great plays and emotion. That always seems to die a little in the last week of the preseason schedule. Still, couldn't the Bears look a little more like they really want to win? The 27th was opening night for IHSA...

Ok, I haven't posted in a while and I've been collecting these for a bit. Yes, I know they are a bit off the wall, but here it goes. My first edition of things that make me go HUH? - The box to check mark on the utility bill to donate a $1 for those who can't pay their bill. Do they think that maybe lowering the rate would help a lot more people to afford it and a lot more people to be able to donate for the less fortunate? How much of his bonus does the CEO donate? - Pay at the pump's where if you want to pay cash inside make you pre-pay. How do I know how much it's going to take to fill the tank? - Sports commentators that think they have to state the obvious and ones that think we tuned in to hear them talk. No need to explain. - Sports commentators that think they we tuned in to hear them talk about themselves. No need to explain, you know who I'm talking about. - 911. Quick, you need a police officer for a non-life threatening situation. what ...