To subscribe, please click here
Want a copy of today’s edition? Here’s a map of single-copy locations
Sign up for our daily newsletters
Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Former Illini wide receiver Pat Bryant is set to take part in the Senior Bowl this week.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Senior Bowl practices started on Tuesday in Mobile, Ala., and former Illini Pat Bryant is there. The standout wide receiver gets to showcase his skills in front of NFL personnel before Saturday’s kickoff.
➜ 2. Voting for our high school Athletes of the Week runs until noon on Thursday. The four boys’ finalists are all wrestlers, with Ronald Baker III from Champaign Central, Briley Carter from Clinton, Brock Owens from LeRoy/Tri-Valley and Josiah Williams from Danville up for the honor.
➜ 3. The four girls’ finalists are Amelia Scharp from Iroquois West basketball, Lily Sizemore from Gibson City-MelvinSibley basketball, Anna Vasey from Unity wrestling and Kylie Waldinger from Mahomet-Seymour basketball.
Tori Thomas has the best mark in the pole vault this indoor season after she cleared 15 feet this past Friday.
Numbers game: 15
feet is how much Illinois women’s track and field pole vaulting standout Tori Thomas cleared this past Friday during the Illini Challenge at the UI Armory in Champaign. The mark by the senior from Rock Island broke the Big Ten, school and UI Armory records and is the top mark in the country right now. Stephanie Richartz set the old Illinois record at 14-7 1/4 in 2015, while Chloe Timberg from Rutgers set the old Big Ten record of 14-11 in 2024.
Kylan Boswell, left, and the Illinois men’s basketball team will strive for its second straight win on Thursday night at Nebraska after beating Northwestern 83-74 this past Sunday at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. No. 18 Illinois at Nebraska men’s basketball. The Illini (15-5, 6-4 Big Ten) have won three straight Big Ten road games, while the Cornhuskers (12-8, 2-7) have lost two straight home games. We’ll see if the trend continues when the two meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Lincoln, Neb.
➜ 2. Illinois at Rutgers women’s basketball. It’s a small sample size, but Shauna Green has never lost to the Scarlet Knights coaching the Illini. She’ll try to get to 5-0 Thursday night in Piscataway, N.J.
➜ 3. Nebraska at Illinois men’s gymnastics. The home opener for the Illini, who have beaten No. 4 Michigan and lost to No. 2 Oklahoma, is set for 6 p.m. Friday at Huff Hall in Champaign.
Georgetown-Ridge Farm volleyball coach Kim Fraser
Coach’s corner
Three questions with veteran Georgetown-Ridge Farm volleyball coach Kim Fraser, who has led the Buffaloes since 2010:
âžœ 1. My favorite sports are … volleyball and softball.
âžœ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Pat Summit, John Wooden and John Cook.
âžœ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … lazy athletes.