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Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois Sports Extravaganza, Part Two, Basketball

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By Paul M. Banks and Paul Schmidt 8 minutes until tipoff Welcome back to Champaign, the Pauls are still in the house.  Quite literally, the House of Paign! Is this game on TV?  Who knows...who cares??? We're here to break down all of the action for you tonight, and we're only slightly tired after the barnburner that was the Illinois football game. Illinois and Boise … [Read more...] about Illinois Sports Extravaganza, Part Two, Basketball

#20 Illini Fighting on in Las Vegas Invitational

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By Paul M. Banks It's Feast Week! When there's non-stop college basketball, so many games start at bizarre times. And not just because games are going on in obscure parts of the world in far away time zones. In order to accommodate the television coverage, some games start at...like this one starts at 8:30 pm. #20 Illinois vs. the Wofford Terriers in the second round of the … [Read more...] about #20 Illini Fighting on in Las Vegas Invitational

A Glimpse Into The Illini Future: Quarterback Jacob Charest

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By Paul Schmidt While the Illini were falling to the Northwestern Wildcats, essentially ending their long shot run at a bowl bid, Illini fans did get an extended look at next year's early leader in the starting quarterback race, Jacob Charest, the redshirt freshman out of Butler High School in Matthews, North Carolina. Charest posted some modest numbers but, after being … [Read more...] about A Glimpse Into The Illini Future: Quarterback Jacob Charest

Press Box Live Blog: NU-ILL

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By Paul M. Banks and Paul Schmidt (PMB) Here we go, Land of Lincoln trophy on the line.... (PS) Illinois' offense looks anemic so far...great field position on their first two drives and no points to show for it. Jacob Charest has looked really, really sharp so far nice zip on his balls.  The problem still lies in my guy Matt Eller, who missed a chip shot field goal for a … [Read more...] about Press Box Live Blog: NU-ILL

Illini Ink Top 10 Recruiting Class

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By Paul M. Banks In case you missed it, today was "National Signing Day" for basketball. I totally understand if it's not on our your radar, because it's the day that we "officially" learn what we've already known for months, and sometimes years. We pretty much know where all the top recruits are going, but this is the day it becomes a contract. It just puts the notoriously … [Read more...] about Illini Ink Top 10 Recruiting Class

Illinois’ Jon Asamoah Talks Tough About the Season, His NFL Future

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By Paul Schmidt The University of Illinois has had a challenging season. Everyone knows about the copious amount of talent on offense, but what might actually surprise some is that the top rated player, by position, by ESPN’s NFL draft guru Mel Kiper isn’t Arrelious Benn – it is offensive guard Jon Asamoah. Asamoah has been a three year starter for the team, and in fact … [Read more...] about Illinois’ Jon Asamoah Talks Tough About the Season, His NFL Future

Illini Win??!!?? Yes, You Read That Right!

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By Paul Schmidt There's no one anywhere who predicted an Illinois win Saturday against Michigan.  I'm about the biggest Illinois apologist that there is, and even I was urging you to bet against the Illini, and to lay 7 points while doing it! After a short amount of time, however, the glow of a great victory has waned and left two very poignant questions to be … [Read more...] about Illini Win??!!?? Yes, You Read That Right!

Who Had The Worse Weekend, the Chicago Bears or the Illinois Fighting Illini?

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By Paul Schmidt For most Chicago area football fans, the weekend wasn't a complete loss. For anyone who is a University of Illinois graduate and a Chicago Bears fan...let's say you've had better weekends, and leave it at that. During the awfulness that was the Bears' game on Sunday, it spawned somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 tweets on Twitter about just how bad the … [Read more...] about Who Had The Worse Weekend, the Chicago Bears or the Illinois Fighting Illini?

Ron Zook Explains It All

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By Paul Schmidt Most of the time, after a tough loss, I take a lot of what coaches say for granted.  Typically you get a bunch of coach-speak anyway, cliches abounding, and most of it is useless quote fodder. Not Ron Zook tonight. He made a bunch of interesting comments in the presser, and once again gave very little insight into what is actually happening with an … [Read more...] about Ron Zook Explains It All