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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Champaign native Bryan Banks is a Big Ten football referee.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. If you watched the Indiana-UCLA football game closely enough on Saturday night, you saw Champaign native and Centennial graduate Bryan Banks as the referee for the Big Ten game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Pretty cool.
➜ 2. Centennial sophomore Farah Scott continues to shine on the cross-country course, setting a new school-record with a time of 18 minutes, 9.50 seconds on Saturday at the First to the Finish Meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Scott placed 13th in the Class 2A portion of the meet.
➜ 3. Happy birthday to my older sister, Michelle. Thanks for always playing catch and shooting hoops with me growing up, even if you did beat me at HORSE more than I care to admit. Rock chalk.
The last time Bret Bielema and Illinois played at Nebraska, the Illini left with a win in the 2022 season.
Numbers game: 23
years since Illinois football has played a Big Ten game as a ranked team against another ranked Big Ten opponent. That changes on Friday night when the 24th-ranked Illini play at No. 22 Nebraska. In the last Top 25 Big Ten matchup for Illinois, the No. 12 Illini won 34-22 at No. 25 Ohio State on Nov. 17, 2001 when Kurt Kittner threw two touchdown passes and Ty Myers returned a late interception for a touchdown.
Reis Claybrooke and the Mahomet-Seymour boys’ golf team tees off at the Champaign County tournament on Monday afternoon.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Illinois at Nebraska football. If the Illini want to have a potentially special season, they’ll need to leave Lincoln, Neb., with only the program’s 28th Big Ten road win this century on Friday night.
➜ 2. Champaign County boys’ golf tournament. Mahomet-Seymour is likely the team to beat when all the Champaign County programs tee off Monday afternoon for county bragging rights at Lincolnshire Fields Country Club in Champaign.
➜ 3. Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals. Former Illini Michael Massey has helped the Royals be in prime position to earn the franchise’s first playoff berth since its 2015 World Series title when this three-game series starts Monday night.
Paxton-Buckley-Loda softball coach Cassie Sprout
Coach’s corner
Three questions with first-year Paxton-Buckley-Loda softball coach Cassie Sprout:
➜ 1. My favorite sports team is … the St. Louis Cardinals.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Andy Reid, Carol Hutchins and Tony La Russa.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … being underestimated.