The main story surrounding the Illinois Fighting Illini losing 28-17 to the Wisconsin Badgers today is the fact that Illini Head Coach Ron Zook is a "dead man walking." New Illinois Athletic Director Mike Thomas said he won't make a decision until after the season is over, so I wouldn't expect to hear anything concrete until after the season's final game- next Saturday at … [Read more...] about 5 Biggest Reasons Illinois Should Fire Ron Zook Next Sunday
bowl games
Bowl Attendance is Actually Up 4% This Season
Despite an economic climate that's a bears a haunting and striking resemblance to the 1930s, people are opening their wallets to travel to the bowl bliss of college football. Yes, it seems like there are way too many bowl games, yes many of them have ridiculous sounding and horribly corporate names, but people are still coming. And after all, who really wants less football? … [Read more...] about Bowl Attendance is Actually Up 4% This Season
Picks for Every Single College Football Bowl Game!
TSB's leading resident college football and college basketball nerds pick each and every game; often in very snarky fashion. DK=David Kay, PMB= Paul M. Banks Dec. 18 New Mexico Bowl: BYU vs. UTEP, 2 p.m., ESPN (DK) BYU. The only bowl game in which neither team has a winning record. What a way to start the bowl season! I got the Mormons. (PMB) BYU. It’s a good thing … [Read more...] about Picks for Every Single College Football Bowl Game!
Ron Zook Delivers Jim Mora Style Mini-Rant (Video)
Last week the Illini football team imploded and lost at home to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, one of the worst teams in recent Big Ten football history. Words can't really express a college football let-down of this proportion, although we tried to do so here. Now a really promising 5-3 team that many pundits believed would finish 8-4 or even 9-3 doesn't even look like a … [Read more...] about Ron Zook Delivers Jim Mora Style Mini-Rant (Video)
Super Bowl Locations Should Change College Football
Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 isn't going to be as great for media members as pretty much any Super Bowl in the past. It's likely to be cold, windy and maybe even snowy for kickoff of the NFL title matchup in the New York area – the first time for a legitimate shot at "football weather" for football's biggest game. So now the NCAA has to wake up and realize conference expansion … [Read more...] about Super Bowl Locations Should Change College Football
NCAA Bowl Odds
Water coolers and sports talk radio hosts can rejoice once again this year, as the BCS system has people bemoaning the lack of a true playoff system in college ball. The Alabama Crimson Tide pulled off a tidy upset of the #1 Florida Gators last Saturday, moving into the Championship game. Listed anywhere from as 5.5-point underdogs up to +7, ‘Bama was getting only about 30% … [Read more...] about NCAA Bowl Odds
Which Drought Ends First- Cubs, Hawks, or Cats?
By Paul M. Banks Being a fan of Chicago sports can sometimes be as character-building as walking outside for long distances in January. With Northwestern’s tournament bubble officially burst last weekend, the Major League Baseball season starting in a couple weeks and the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs commencing the following week, it’s time to revisit the long suffering dry … [Read more...] about Which Drought Ends First- Cubs, Hawks, or Cats?