Deep into a Georgian night, just before closing time, a liquor-soused SEC football fan might receive back-slaps for slurring an opinion that his favorite conference should secede from the NCAA, set its own rules and conduct its own playoff. Strange though... See more
Story by The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill. Tate Are the Illini a national title contender? Loren Tate, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill. Tue, Jun 2, 2026, 2:47 PM UTC Jun. 2—➜ Goosebumps! Andrej Stojakovic 's return is "a powerful message th... See more
➜ Goosebumps! Andrej Stojakovic’s return is “a powerful message that brings goosebumps.” ➜ Illinois now has “the scariest roster in college basketball … no obvious weakness … absolutely terrifying.” ➜ With Stojakovic back, “this lineup is absolutely dirty... See more
Dan Hartleb’s Illinois baseball team won the Big Ten regular-season championship two years ago. The 2024 Illini finished two games ahead of Nebraska, with Indiana, Iowa and Michigan next in line. That was then. This is now. The Midwestern baseball world c... See more
Much of what we do in this business is speculation. It was appropriate that a columnist for my first newspaper called his words “Speculating in Sports.” Day after day, we wallow in guesswork. Just last week, a CBS Sports ranking of 2026 Big Ten football t... See more
