University of Illinois beat, Champaign

In the meantime, they'll bring you more of Loren Tate's blathering about former Illini players. Enjoy.

 

No, Tate will soon be writing (think: this week) about how football season ticket sales are near an all-time low, followed by at least two in-season columns about the small crowds.
And then there will be the column with this headline:
UI lineup
still a work
in progress

 

Joe, I'm impressed. I fully expected to come back here and read a defense of that crap.

Well done.

The bourgeois simply won't be duped into watching this shit week after week, especially when the home slate includes giants such as Ohio U. and Eastern Illinois. Of course, there are seven home games now, so at least the stadium's existence makes a little more sense.

By mid-October, basketball practice will start, and the football team will be 2-4. Guess where the attention will go?

 

Is that wrong that the attention turns to basketball? I have a feeling Zook will turn the program around a little bit. And Loren does blather. I wish he'd write some opinion. He has it sometimes (like every rant about the anti-Chiefers). But in his game stories (which is what they are), he needs to give some opinion.

 

I sense this thread edging toward Danger, Will Robinson territory.

Nevertheless, I have no problem with the attention shifting to basketball. Is this the way it goes at Duke or North Carolina or Kentucky? Those schools usually suck at football and are great at basketball.

 

Just checking. I know you're in the circulation area so it actually affects you. And I was wondering what you thought of the prep football tab? Any thoughts you'd care to share? The college one comes out Friday. I'd also like to hear your thoughts on that ... if you don't mind.

 

I thought the prep tab was good. That's my deep thought, having seen it days ago. I think there was a discrepancy with how two of the powerhouse area teams were rated, but again, I'm recalling from days ago.

I'll have to check out the college tab Friday. Then it's off to the boondocks for this week's game, followed by a drive through the countryside for meth and moonshine.

 

No you didn't! I'll have you know that Eastern Illinois is the greatest school on the planet. Mark McGwire's wife is an alumnae (You're the copy editor...is that close?).

Plus, there's me. My one claim to fame is telling Coach Spoo that it looks like "that Romo kid" might be decent. That was a month before his first collegiate start.

Speaking of which, I hear Spoo was all over Mon Stertitz once.

 

It's alumna. Alumnae is plural.

And isn't Spoo in the hospital?

 

He is, or at least he was. I haven't followed it closely.

Also, good knowledge on the alumna. I see now that alumnae is plural. At least give me credit for remembering that there was a masculine/feminine distinction...I mean, other than the obvious.

 

Spoo in hospital. Sounds pretty major actually. He'll be out for Illinois game and more.

Dye, I'm surprised you actually thought the prep tab was decent --- knowing your history. I worked my ass off on that thing, so I'm glad you were satisfied.

 

I don't have much of an opinion on Spoo. I've heard that he's a great guy. I know some of the people who were in his program, including a neighbor who I heard pretty much raping a girl one night...talk about disturbing. The people I know really never reached their full potential...factory jobs and the like. They could have been so much more, particularly two very bright linemen and a star running back.

But I thought Samuels, the basketball coach, was a class act. That they fired him turned my stomach. I mean, it's freakin' EIU. What do they expect? You're going to have some up years and some bad years. Such is life when you're scraping the barrel for the best talent you can find that isn't worthy of big-school scholarships.