ChimpersCage

A pair of fairly handy wins for local teams this past weekend.  The Maroons of Champaign Central played at the Ironmens home of Normal Community.  The Jr. Varsity game was a one point win for NCHS, but the Varsity game had a much better cushion.  On Saturday afternoon, the Salukis of Southern Illinois University came to Redbird Arena to visit the Redbirds of Illinois State University.  It was almost a 40 point decision for the Redbirds.  The excitement lasted to the end as the Salukis recieved 2 technical fouls with less than a minute to go sendingBarry Hinson off the court with an ejection.  ISU walk on Matt Stacho saw some minutes late in the game and scored a pair of points off a lay up. Champaign Central Maroons vs Normal Community Ironmen photo gallery Southern Illinois Salukis vs Illinois State Redbirds photo gallery Both photo galleries are by Alan Look Photography .  Coverage will also be provided by the Normalite and Best Look Ma...

The McLean County Tournament concluded yesterday with the four final games from the right side of the bracket held at Shirk Center.  Third place games were played in the afternoon with Le Roy topping Tri-Valley in the girls page and Fieldcrest pulling out another close game, this one over Blue Ridge.  In the evening, El Paso - Gridley girls took the crown from Tremont and Tri-Valley and Ridgeview fans packed the house to see Tri-Valley victorious over Ridgeview.  There is never a bad Tri-Valley v Ridgeview game. Memories will last for ever and can always be stimulated with the right photo.  Get yours from Alan Look Photography and check out the coverage by the Normalite and Best Look Magazine . 2013 102nd McLean County Tournament photos -chimper-

The Ridgeview Mustangs pulled off an upset on Friday night in the first boys semi-final game of the 102nd McLean County Tournament defeating number one seed Fieldcrest Knights.  In the second game, Tri-Valley Vikings walked off the court all smiles after defeating the Knights of Blue Ridge.  The two wins set up an in county HOIC rivalry championship game between the Vikings and Mustangs. Fieldcrest Knights will meet the Knights of Blue Ridge in the boys consolation game. In the Girls bracket today, #1 seed El Paso - Gridley will take on the Turks of Tremont for the title match and the consolation game will be between the Le Roy Panters and the Tri-Valley Vikings. Click to view all the 2013 102nd McLean County photo galleries by Alan Look Photography . Be sure to check out the Normalite Newspaper Group  editions for coverage and the next issue of Best Look Magazine. -chimper-

The two girls semi-final games of the 2013 102nd McLean County tournament were held Thursday night at the Shirk Center on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University.  The Panthers of Le Roy took on the Titans of El Paso - Gridley in the first game.  The first half was pretty tight, but the Titans took the early lead.  In the 3rd Quarter, the Titans pulled away and never looked back till the final buzzer. The second game for which we weren't able to remain on site, pitted the Turks of Tremont against the Vikings of Tri-Valley.  We can report that the Turks won that game. The results of these two game set up a rivalry 3rd place game on Saturday between Tri-Valley and close neighbor Le Roy.  The Championship game on Saturday night sets up an outside the McLean County borders war between Tremont of Tazwell County and El Paso - Gridley of McLean and Woodford Counties. The boys semi-finals play tonight with Fieldcrest against Ridgeview and Tri-Valley against Bl...

If you are looking for some memories of the 2013 McLean County Tournament, be sure to check out the galleries of Alan Look Photography.  Alan Look Photography is a professional sports photographer who has lived in McLean County his whole life.  He has been published world wide in several well respected magazines, newspapers and books .  He works locally as a free-lancer and covers assignments for the Normalite Newspaper Group and publishes a quarterly sports and leisure magazine named Best Look Magazine. Be sure to check them out even if you don't purchase.  Looking is free! 2013 102nd McLean County Tournament Photos Alan Look Photography, McLean County's Best Look in sports action photography Best Look Magazine Normalite -Chimper-

Yes, this Saturday January 19th, the first rounds of the 2013 McLean County Tournament will be played at the gyms of Ridgeview in Colfax.  You can find the brackets on the McLean County Tournament page of Alan Look Photography .   Alan will be in and out hitting several of the games through out the week.  Check the website , the Normalite , and Best Look Magazines next issue for coverage and some great photos of the McLean County Tournament . This will be the 102nd McLean County Tournament.

Cornell Freeney has performed in several circus troupes.  Locally he is part of the Illinois State University Gamma Phi Circus.  The Circus performs in mid-April, but a couple of times a year if you attend ISU sporting events you can get a sneak peek.  Usually during a football game, they get a small group together to "kick" a field goal with a human being.  It's not as punishing as it sounds, they use a swinging platform to propel a young man over the horizontal bar of the goal post.  He lands on a very think mat on the other side.  It's pretty fun to watch, but we always wish the Redbirds would get extra points for it.  The official scorer never sees it that way. During basketball season, there is usually a halftime show around an act from the circus.  The last couple of years, it has been the German Wheel.  A wheel that must be 7 or 8 feet across and a couple of feet think, it is two rims with some cross members and some places to anchor...