A CUB FAN DREAMING...

I dreamed the 2005 Chicago Cubs had a great season. The starters all had lots of wins-- Prior 21, Zambrano 19, Woods 18, Maddux 15, and Rusch 13. Ramirez hit .325 with 40 HR and 115 RBI's. Burnitz matched Sosa's 2004 production by batting .260 with 33 HR and 90 RBI's. Patterson won the gold glove and had 22 HR, hit .275 and stole 35 bases. Garciaparra was healthy all season and hit .315. Derek Lee repeated last years production. The left field combination of Hollandsworth/Dubois hit a combined 32 HR and had a combined .288 batting average. Both Barrett and Walker had exceptional seasons.
The Cubs bullpen by committee worked out fine and the bench was much improved.
What a great dream. Too bad the Cardinals had such a terrible season.
Dream on Cub fans. Sometimes dreams do come true.

ILLINI SENIORS 

ILLINI BENCH VERY THIN

The Illini defeated Iowa by 10 points after a real struggle. With Rich McBride out with illness, both Jack Ingram and Nick Smith had to come through. They did--and the record goes to 27-0. However,the three mentioned above are the only trustworthy bench players. The same five have started all the Illin games this year. Let's hope they stay well and healthy.
Here are the average playing time per game of the top 10 players. Williams(33), Head (32), Brown (32), Augustine (26), Powell (25), McBride (16), Ingram (14), Smith (12), Carter (8), Pruitt (5).

Head-Augustine 

HEAD IS ILLINI MVP

25 Games into the season it is obvious that the MVP of the Fighting Illini basketball team is not pre-season all Big Ten player-of-the year Deron Williams, or the previous season Big Ten pre-season player-of-the-year Dee Brown, it is clearly Luther Head
The new most underrated player has to be James Augustine. He is steadily improving and will an NBA first round draft pick when graduates in 2006.
What do you think?

Courtney Hehn 

SAGES GIRLS WIN TITLE WITHOUT COACHES

Monticello beat Unity 51-44 on the Rockets home floor for their first regional title since 1998.
Head Coach Brad Garrett and Assistant Jack Hehn were suspended from coaching the tournament due to an infraction of an IHSA coaching rule. The coaches took three girls to get some special instruction from a well know shooting coach who holds lots of summer camps. Having special coaching is not against IHSA rules but only when you take one or two players. Because three players were there it was against regulations. Monticello reported itself and the regional game suspension by the IHSA of the coaches followed.
The rule is flawed. Had the special instuctor came to Monticello he could have instructed the entire squad for an indefinite period of time.
Actually only two of the girls were involved in the less than an hours worth of instruction. The third was a spectator. However the IHSA would not accept the explanation.

DEE BROWN 

DEE BROWN - ENJOY HIM

My first heroes in Illinois basketball were Lou Boudreau and Harry Combes. (that was a long time ago) I have had a lot of heroes since then, but Dee Brown may turn out to be the best of them all. The fans need to enjoy him. Players like him seldom come along. In my opinion he is the fastest player ever to wear an Illini uniform. He has personality to go with all his physical attributes.
Dee had a class rank of 16 out of 382 in his senior class at Proviso East high school. Add smart to his list of talents.

ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION- FARNS GONE

The Cubs did not get much in return for Kyle Farnsworth. They picked up three prospects. However they got rid of another problem child who will never grow up. Farnsworth was not helping the team win. His production was terrible. Farnsworth was 22-37 with a 4.78 ERA in six seasons. He is not a kid anymore, he had his chances and did not produce. The Cubs will save a few million dollars to spend on a real pitcher.
With troublemakers Sosa and Farnsworth gone the ball is in Dusty's court. Win games or he may be looking for a job after the a All Star break.

MONTICELLO HOSTS STATE 8th BASKETBALL

The new Monticello Middle School will be the host of the class AA 8th grade basketball tournament. The facility will seat 1,800. The event starts at 9 am on Saturday Feb 12 and won't end until Feb 17.

GET OVER IT ! SOSA IS GONE!

It's over Cub fans! No more jumps at home plate, no sprinting to the outfield, no thumping heart and throwing kisses--the old hero has moved to Baltimore. I am glad, and you should be also. He has worn out his welcome. He may have a good year with the Orioles. However, had he stayed with the Cubs, he would not have helped them. It was nice while it lasted but this is not the Sosa we once knew. I feel that Burnitz can put up similar numbers this year and create a lot less controversy doing it.