IHSA Girls Basketball

Watseka def PBL 39-30

Kinzie Parsons led with 12 points

Cissna Park def Momence 44-35

Bonnie Russell had 17 points

Dwight def Iroquois West 35-24

Dee Mack def GCMS 40-23

Ridgeview def Fisher 51-27

Armstrong Potomac def Georgetown Ridgefarm 51-20

Mattie Kennel had 12 points

Normal West def Mahomet Seymour 63-40

(Champaign--jc)  -- It’s 7 in a row for the University of Illinois Fighting Men’s basketball team with a 59 to 51 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers last night in Champaign. U of I Men’s Coach Brad Underwood said the game was a struggle, but gave credit to Minnesota…

U of I Men’s Basketball Coach Brad Underwood

Next up for the Illini is a road game on Sunday at Iowa. The broadcast begins at 11 Sunday morning with the opening tip at Noon. 

(Paxton-jc)  --The Paxton Buckley Loda Lady Panthers were in Watseka last night to take on the Lady Warriors for the top spot in the conference. The Panthers beat the Warriors to win the Sangamon Valley Conference tournament last Saturday. Last night, the Warriors got some revenge with a 39 to 30 win. One positive for the Lady Panthers is their depth. P-B-L Girls Basketball Coach Nathan Lawler says  he can play 12 kids any given night. 

P-B-.L  Girls Basketball Coach  Nathan Lawler 

(GIlman-Onarga--jc) -- The Paxton Buckley Loda Panthers are the number 1 seed in next weeks Sangamon Valley Conference Tournament. The tournament is set for Iroquois West High School in Gilman and Onarga Middle School in Onarga. The Panthers take on the Momence Redskins at 6 on Tuesday night in Gilman. The second game in Gilman on Tuesday is Central Clifton and Watseka. Cissna Park is the number 2 seed and will face Iroquois West in Onarga at 6 on Tuesday followed by number 3 seed St Anne and Dwight. The final 4 is set for one week from today in Onarga with Championship Day set for Saturday February 8 in Onarga. Games start at 3 in Onarga. The Championship game tips around 7-30 that evening at Onarga Middle School. 

(Paxton-cf)- The PBL Panthers have a rematch of the Championship game of the Holiday Hoopla Championship game earlier this season. They will be taking on Tuscola, and coach Schonaur says that the keys are simple, hit your shots limit the three point shooting, and keep Jalon Quinn in front of them. 

PBL Boys HC Adam Schonaur. 

IHSA Boys Basketball Tonight

PBL at Tuscola

Cissna Park vs Watseka

Rantoul vs Central Catholic

St. Joe Ogden vs Prairie Central

GCMS at Dee Mack

Fisher at Heyworth

Milford at Oakwood

Armstrong Potomac at Chrisman

Mahomet Seymour at Lincoln

IHSA Boys Basketball on Saturday

Cissna Park vs Milford

Iroquois West at Beecher Shootout

Rantoul at Mahomet Seymour

St. Joe Ogden at Westville

GCMS at Salt Fork

Tonight  on WPXN it’s IHSA Boys Basketball as the PBL Panthers are on the Road to take on the Tuscola Warriors. Pregame at 6:45 with tip around 7pm.

Saturday Morning it’s On the Sidelines from 7-8 brought to you by Compass Insurance Partners in Paxton and Cissna Park, MATCO Fire Equipment in Paxton, Monical’s Pizza in Paxton, Shield’s Automart in Paxton and Shield’s Auto Center in Rantoul. 

Then it’s our Live Action Auction from 8-10.

On Sunday it’s Fighting Illini Basketball as Illinois is at Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes at noon. Pregame at 11am.

IHSA Girls Basketball

Bismarck Henning Rossville Alvin def St. Joe Ogden 47-31

Big Ten 

Michigan St. def Northwestern 79-50

Penn St. def Indiana 64-49

NBA

Indiana Pacers def Chicago Bulls 115-106 OT

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference office announced today that Wisconsin men’s basketball player Brad Davison has been suspended for one game and issued a public reprimand for violating the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy after he fouled an opposing player with 32 seconds remaining in the second half against Iowa on Jan. 27, 2020. Davison received a flagrant 1 personal foul from the game officials for his action. Davison is ineligible to play in Wisconsin’s next game on Feb. 1, 2020 against Michigan State.

(Champaign--jc)  -- The Big 10 is dominating the nations top 25 polls as we close out January. University of Illinois Men’s Basketball Coach Brad Underwood says night in and night out, there are no surprises…

U of I Mens Basketball Coach Brad Underwood.

The Illini are home tonight against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Our coverage on WPXN begins at 5-30 this afternoon with the pre game show. The tip is set for 6-30 at the State Farm Center. 

IHSA Girls Basketball

PBL at Watseka

Cissna Park vs Momence

Iroquois West vs Dwight

Rantoul vs Prairie Central

GCMS at Dee Mack

Fisher vs Ridgeview

Milford at Bismarck Henning/Rossville Alvin

Armstrong Potomac vs Georgetown Ridgefarm

Mahomet Seymour vs Normal West

Big Ten

Minnesota at Illinois

Iowa at Maryland

Tonight on WPXN it’s Fighting Illini Basketball as Illinois host the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Pregame at 5:30 with tip at 6:30.

IHSA Boys Basketball

PBL def St. Thomas More 52-44

Trey VanWinkle led with 17 points

Iroquois West def South Newton 53-20

Ryan Tilstra scored 23 points

Danville def Watseka 81-50

Monticello def Rantoul 56-43

St. Joe Ogden def Unity 54-46

Payton Cain had 15 points

Milford def Salt Fork 51-46

Tanner Sobkoviak scored 23 points

Oakwood def Armstrong Potomac 74-63

Mahomet Seymour def Bloomington 62-60

Grant Coleman scored 29 points

Pontiac def Prairie Central 67-63

IHSA Girls Basketball

Danville def Watseka 57-53

Fisher def Uni High 49-23

Kallie Evans led with 11 points

Mahomet Seymour def St. Thomas More 41-28

Savannah Orgeron led with 8 points

Prairie Central def LeRoy 44-26

Becca Conlisk had 11 points

Big Ten

Michigan def Nebraska 79-68

Rutgers def Purdue 70-63

(Paxton-cf)- The Paxton Buckley Loda Panthers Boys picked up another win against the Illini Prairie Conference last night, beating the Sabers 52-44. P-B-L Boys Basketball Coach  Adam Schonauer said that the conference has very good competition, that those are styles of teams you will see in the postseason, 

PBL Boys Basketball Coach Adam Schonauer. The PBL squad went 7 and 2 against Illini Prairie teams this season. 

(Urbana--jc)  Good teams that become great teams seem to have a number of players step up during a game. That is what is happening to the current University of Illinois Men’s Basketball team. U of I Coach Brad Underwood says his team is doing just that…

U of I Mens Basketball Coach Brad Underwood

Next up for the Illini is a  home game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers tomorrow night in Champaign. The broadcast on WPXN begins at 5-30 with the tip at 6-30.

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

Iroquois West vs Beecher

St. Joe Ogden vs Bismarck Henning/Rossville Alvin

Big Ten 

Northwestern at Michigan St.

Indiana at Penn St.

IHSA Girls Basketball

Unity def PBL 52-51

LeRoy def Cissna Park 47-23

Iroquois West def South Newton 49-41

Shelby Johnson had 14 points

St. Joe Ogden def Rantoul 52-25

Ella Armstrong had 17 points

Lexington def GCMS 56-48

Fieldcrest def Fisher 55-47

Milford def Westville 42-33

Kaylee Warren scored 21 points

Schlarman def Armstrong Potomac 46-35

Big Ten

Iowa def Wisconsin 68-62

NBA

Zach LaVine (lah-VEEN’) scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead foul shots with 2.1 seconds left to send the Bulls past the Spurs, 110-109.

(Paxton--jc) The Paxton Buckley Loda Panthers play host to the St Thomas More Sabres in boys basketball tonight. PBL Boys Basketball coach Adam Schonauer says  challenges and adjustments in games continue to be keys for panther wins…

PBL Panthers Boys Basketball Coach Adam Schonauer

(Champaign--jc)  The Fighting Illini have seen recent success due to combined efforts.The most recent win was on the road at Michigan on Saturday. University of Illinois Fighting Illini Men’s Basketball Coach Brad Underwood says  the Michigan game was one where several players stepped up enough to get the win…

U of I Men’s Basketball Coach Brad Underwood.

Next up for the Illini is a home game on Thursday against Minnesota. You can hear the game live on WPXN starting at 5-30 Thursday afternoon. 

(Champaign--jc)  You can add the St Thomas More Sabres into the 8 man football field this fall. The Illini Prairie Conference school made the announcement on Monday. Officials at the high school on Champaign’s northside say smaller numbers of football players was one factor to go to 8 man. Over the past 2 years, the Milford Cissna Park 8 man football team won a state championship and finished runner-up in the state championship last fall. Other area teams in the 8 man include Champaign Judah Christian, Blue Ridge and Danville Schlarman. The group that oversees the 8 man league say more schools are expected to join before the start of play in August of this year. 

IHSA Boys Basketball

PBL vs St. Thomas More 

Cissna Park at GCMS

Iroquois West vs South Newton

Watseka vs Danville

Rantoul at Monticello 

St. Joe Ogden at Unity

Milford vs Salt Fork

Armstrong Potomac vs Oakwood

Mahomet Seymour vs Bloomington

IHSA Girls Basketball

Watseka vs Danville

Fisher vs Uni High

Milford at South Newton

Mahomet Seymour at St. Thomas More

Big Ten

Michigan at Nebraska

Purdue at Rutgers

Tonight on WPXN it’s IHSA Boys Basketball as the PBL Panthers host the St. Thomas More Sabers. Pregame at 6:30 with tip at 6:45.

The basketball community is mourning the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant at age 41. The former Lakers guard, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others are dead after their helicopter went down Sunday morning about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bryant won five NBA titles during a 20-year playing career spent entirely with the Lakers. He retired in 2016 as the league’s No. 3 all-time scorer and remained there until Lakers forward LeBron James passed him on Saturday. Bryant was the league MVP in 2008, captured two scoring titles and earned 12 selections to the NBA’s All-Defensive teams.

Big Ten

Michigan St. def Minnesota 70-52

Maryland def Indiana 77-76

Ohio St. def Northwestern 71-59

NFL

The AFC beat the NFC 38-33 for a fourth consecutive Pro Bowl victory in Orlando. The NFL’s annual all-star game also held a moment of silence for Kobe Bryant in the first half. Players paid homage to Bryant in several ways. 

Congratulations to the PBL Lady Panthers who won the SVC Tournament Saturday night by beating Watseka 51-36. 

All Tournament Team

Mackenzie Bruns  PBL (MVP)

Kirra Lantz  PBL

Hannah Schwarz  PBL

Natalie Schroeder  Watseka

Kennedy McTaggart  Watseka

Kayla Kodat  Dwight

Shelby Johnson  Iroquois West

Hannah Offerman  Clifton Central

Jasmine Toepfes  St. Anne

Alexis Seggebruch  Cissna Park

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

PBL at Unity

Cissna Park vs LeRoy

Iroquois West @ South Newton

Rantoul vs St. Joe Ogden

GCMS vs Lexington

Fisher vs Fieldcrest

Milford at Westville

Armstrong Potomac vs Schlarman

Tonight on WPXN it’s Fast Talk. Get the Latest news in NASCAR from 6-7.

Then it’s the Brad Underwood from 7-8.

IHSA Girls Basketball

SVC Girls Basketball Tournament at Watseka

SEMI FINAL GAME

#1- PBL (17-6)                  51

#4- Iroquois West (6-19)    24

Mackenzie Bruns led with 14 points

SEMI FINAL GAME

#2- Watseka (19-5)       48

#3- Dwight (9-9)           33

Natalie Schroeder had 19 points

CONSOLATION SEMI FINAL GAME

#5- Clifton Central (9-16)    40

#8- St. Anne (1-26)            15

CONSOLATION SEMI FINAL GAME

#6- Momence (6-16)         46

#7- Cissna Park (3-20)      32

HOIC Tournament 

Eureka def Fisher 53-33

Other

Olympia def Rantoul 55-22

Mahomet Seymour def Central Catholic 44-40

Nichole Taylor had 17 points

IHSA Boys Basketball

VVC Tournament

Georgetown Ridgefarm def Armstrong Potomac 50-33

Bismarck Henning/ Rossville Alvin def Hoopeston Area 68-32

Salt Fork def Oakwood 50-38

Big Ten

Minnesota def Ohio St. 62-59

Indiana def Michigan St. 67-63

(Watseka-Lawler)- The PBL Lady Panthers secured a spot in the SVC championship game last night with a 51-24 win over IW. Panther Coach Nathan Lawler said that his squad had to make some adjustments on defense, but likes how they came out in the second quarter…..

PBL Lady Panther Head Coach Nathan Lawler 

IHSA Boys Basketball tonight

Cissna Park at Dwight

Iroquois West vs Gardner South Wilmington

Watseka vs Momence

Rantoul at IVC

St. Joe Ogden @ Olympia

Mahomet Seymour at Dunlap

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

VVC Tournament

5th Place Armstrong Potomac vs Westville

3rd Place Hoopeston Area vs Salt Fork

IHSA Boys Basketball on Saturday

Watseka @ Herscher

Milford at Judah Christian

HOIC Tournament from Illinois Wesleyan Shirk Center

VVC Tournament from Danville Palmer Arena

Championship Day

5th Place  Westville vs Oakwood

3rd Place Hoopeston Area vs Salt Fork

Championship Bismarck Henning/Rossville Alvin vs Georgetown Ridgefarm

IHSA Girls Basketball on Saturday

SVC Tournament in Watseka

7th Place Cissna Park vs St. Anne

5th place Clifton Central vs Momence

3rd Place Iroquois West vs Dwight

Championship PBL vs Watseka

HOIC Tournament from Illinois Wesleyan Shirk Center

3rd Place El Paso Gridley vs Fisher

Championship Fieldcrest vs Eureka

VVC Tournament from Danville Palmer Arena

Championship Oakwood vs Bismarck Henning/Rossville Alvin

Big Ten on Saturday

Illinois at Michigan

Nebraska at Rutgers

NFL on Sunday

Pro Bowl

WPXN has a new Podcast! The On the Sidelines crew Jay Eshleman and Cale Fleming host the brand new “Jay and Cale Show”. Episodes can be found on the WPXN website! Also episodes can be found on the Stitcher Radio App for Android users and Apple Podcasts for iOS users. Don’t forget to Like, Rate, Download, and Subscribe! 

Tonight on WPXN it’s IHSA Boys Basketball as the Cissna Park Timberwolves are on the Road to take on the Dwight Trojans in Sangamon Valley Conference play. Pregame begins at 5:30 with tip at 5:45. 

Saturday morning it’s On the Sidelines from 7-8 brought to you by Compass Insurance Partners in Paxton and Cissna Park, MATCO Fire Protection Equipment Monicals’s Pizza, Paxton IGA, and Shield’s Auto Mart in Paxton and Shield’s Auto Center in Rantoul.

Then it’s our  LIVE Action Auction from 8-10.

Then it’s Fighting Illini basketball as Illinois takes on Michigan at 11am. Pregame at 10am.

Following Illini basketball it’s IHSA Girls Basketball with Championship day coverage of the SVC Tournament.

IHSA Boys Basketball

HOIC Tournament

Consolation Bracket

GCMS def Heyworth 65-58

Braden Roesch scored 24 points

IHSA Girls Basketball

HOIC Tournament

Consolation Bracket

Tremont def GCMS 40-34

Big Ten

Penn St. def Michigan 72-63

Iowa def Rutgers 85-80

 NBA

Zach LaVine (lah-VEEN’) scored 25 points to send the Bulls past the Timberwolves, 117-110

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

SVC Tournament

#1 PBL vs #4 Iroquois West 

#2 Watseka vs #3 Dwight

Consolation Bracket

St. Anne vs Clifton Central

Cissna Park vs Momence

HOIC Tournament at Shirk Center

El Paso Gridley vs Fieldcrest

Eureka vs Fisher

Other

St. Joe Ogden at Pontiac

Milford at Judah Christian

Mahomet Seymour vs Central Catholic

Tonight on WPXN it’s IHSA Girls Basketball as coverage of the SVC Tournament continues. Our First game features #1 PBl vs #4 Iroquois West followed by #2 Watseka and #3 Dwight. Our pregame begins at 5:45 with first tip at 6pm.

IHSA Boys Basketball

PBL def Iroquois West 64-39

Trey VanWinkle led with 18 points

St. Joe Ogden def St. Thomas More 66-45

Payton Cain and Ty Pence each had 23 points

Prairie Central def Olympia 63-45

Trey Bazell scored 30 points

Washington def Mahomet Seymour 52-50

VVC Tournament

Salt Fork def Armstrong Potomac 51-19

Georgetown Ridgefarm def Oakwood 48-36

Bismarck Henning/Rossville Alvin def Westville 59-17

IHSA Girls Basketball

Mahomet Seymour def Centennial 57-25

Nichole Taylor had 11 points

630am

(Gilman--jc)  -- The Paxton Buckley Loda Panthers were on the road last night in Gilman to take on the Raiders of Iroquois West. PBL Boys basketball coach Adam Schnonauer says the Panthers played well offensively…

PBL Boys Basketball Coach Adam Schonauer. Next up for the PBL Panthers is a home game next Tuesday against St Thomas More.

Big Ten

No. 21 Illinois used a second-half offensive flurry to pull away from Purdue 79-62 for its fifth consecutive win. Kofi Cockburn scored 22 points and had 15 rebounds to lead the Fighting Illini on Tuesday night. Trent Frazier added 21 points. Illinois swept the Boilermakers for the first time since 2008-09 

Maryland def Northwestern 77-66

Wisconsin def Nebraska 82-68

NHL

Florida Panthers the Blackhawks 4-3

MLB

Derek Jeter and Larry Walker will be giving speeches in Cooperstown, New York, this summer. Jeter was a near-unanimous selection for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The former Yankees shortstop and longtime team captain appeared on all-but one of the 397 ballots cast by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Walker will join Jeter on the induction stage after being elected in his 10th year on the ballot. 

IHSA Girls Basketball

SVC Tournament

PBL def St. Anne 52-29

Baylee Cosgrove led with 10 points

Iroquois West def Clifton Central 36-34

Ashton Miller had 12 points

Watseka def Cissna Park 43-30

Kennedy McTaggart had 11 points

Dwight def Momence 43-26

HOIC Tournament

GCMS def Flanagan Cornell 50-33

Emily Clinton had 19 points

Fisher def Dee Mack 35-34

Sydney Hood led with 11 points

VVC Tournament

Salt Fork def Georgetown Ridgefarm 46-11

Bismarck Henning Rossville Alvin def Westville 47-25

Oakwood def Armstrong Potomac 41-19

IHSA Boys Basketball

PBL def Quincy Notre Dame 56-48

Drake Schrodt and Trey VanWinkle each had 16 points

HOIC Tournament

Lexington def Fisher 78-64

NBA

Bucks def Bulls 111-98

Big Ten 

Rutgers def Minnesota 64-56

IHSA Boys Basketball tonight

PBL at Iroquois West

Rantoul vs Unity

St. Joe Ogden vs St. Thomas More

Mahomet Seymour at Washington

HOIC Tournament at Illinois Wesleyan Shirk Center

VVC Tournament at Danville Palmer Arena

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

Mahomet Seymour at Centennial

Tonight on WPXN it’s Fighting Illini Basketball as Illinois travels to take on the Purdue Boilermakers. Pregame at 5 with tip at 6pm.

Then it’s Bonus coverage of IHSA Boys basketball as the PBL Panthers are on the Road to take on the  Iroquois West Raiders.

NFL

The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs have earned trips to Miami for Super Bowl 54 on Feb. 2. The Niners are heading to the game for the first time since 2013, while the Chiefs are ending a half-century Super Bowl drought. The 49ers cruised to a 37-20 win over the Packers. The Chiefs held NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry in check to complete a 35-24 victory over the Titans.

NHL

Patrick Kane reached 1,000 career points when he picked up an assist on Brandon Saad’s third-period goal, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 for their season-high fifth straight win

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Illinois defensive passing game coordinator and safeties coach Gill Byrd said Friday he is leaving the program because of an unspecified illness in his family. Byrd, who worked with head coach Lovie Smith for three NFL teams, coached at Illinois for two seasons. Smith said Keynodo Hudson will coach all defensive backs next season after coaching the cornerbacks in 2019. Alfred Davis (defensive tackles coach) and Jimmy Lindsey (defensive ends) will join the program.

Trent Frazier scored 16 points, including hitting four 3-pointers, and Brad Underwood’s No. 24 Illinois hung on for a 75-71 win over the Wildcats on Saturday.

The PBL Lady Panthers earned another conference win against the Iroquois West Lady Raiders on Thursday. The Lady Panthers have the #1 seed heading into the Conference tournament tonight against St. Anne. PBL Girls Basketball Head Coach Nathan Lawler says a second round matchup could be tough with Clifton Central getting one of their key players back.. 

Lawler also said that it's hard to beat a team twice as PBL could see IW in the SVC tournament this week. 

IHSA Girls Basketball

SVC Tournament

Glenn Raymond Middle School in Watseka

6pm     #1 PBL vs #8 St. Anne

730pm #4 Iroquois West vs #5 Central Clifton

Watseka High School

6pm      #2 Watseka vs #7 Cissna Park

730pm  #3 Dwight vs #6 Momence 

St. Joe Ogden vs Monticello

Today on WPXN it’s IHSA Boys Basketball as the PBL Panthers play Quincy Notre Dame in the MLK Tournament at Bloomington Central Catholic High School. Our pregame begins at 12:15 with tip at 12:30.

Tonight it’s IHSA Girls Basketball with coverage of the SVC Tournament in Watseka. Our first contest features the #1 seed PBL Lady Panthers vs #8 seed St. Anne Cardinals at Glenn Raymond Middle School. Pregame at 5:45 with tip at 6pm. Game 2 features the #4 seed Iroquois West Raiders vs the #5 seed Clifton Central Comets. Games to be played at Watseka High School are #2 seed Watseka Warriors vs #7 seed Cissna Park Timberwolves followed by the  #3 seed Dwight Trojans and the #6 seed Momence Redskins.

Illini vs Northwestern is always a fun game to watch, no matter the venue whether it be in Champaign or Chicago. Northwestern always comes to play and let me say this, they can beat you. The Wildcats this season are 6-10(1-5) with their only Big Ten win being over Nebraska. Illinois holds the all-time record at 136-32. 

The Wildcats are led in scoring by Miller Kopp who is averaging just over 12 PPG. Pete Nance is the Wildcat’s best rebounder(in terms of stats) and he is long and athletic. If the Illini keep the defensive pressure that they have been able to bring on the two-game win streak, the Illini are in good shape to win this game and make it three in a row. 

The Illini are playing their first game since being voted as the 24th best team in the nation. I wrote a blog on how this is their first time being ranked since the 2014 season. The Illini still have a lot to prove this afternoon, one being that after having their week break that they can come back and still strike. The Illini needed the time off to hit Ubben and work on “tidying” things up. Also to get some guys healthy this week as Trent took some shots and got pretty banged up against Rutgers this past Saturday. 

Cale’s Keys: 

Keep the defensive rotations strong: The Illini have played stellar defensive which has propelled them to where they currently sit. Lockdown the perimeter and having Kofi down low forcing slashers away from the rim. 

Score: Jump out in the scoring column early. Griff, Ayo, and Trent if those guys can each have an 8 to 10 point game, mission accomplished. 

Look for Kofi: Feed the big man down low and get him touches early and often. Look for Kofi to have around a 7-10 game.

IHSA Girls Basketball

PBL def Iroquois West 57-44

Mackenzie Bruns led a balanced attack with 14 points

Watseka def Cissna Park 45-22

Natalie Schroeder had 15 points

Heyworth def GCMS 45-39

St. Joe Ogden def Prairie Central 51-44

Payton Jacob had 14 points

Effingham def Mahomet Seymour 54-48

The PBL Panthers earned a conference win against the Iroquois West Raiders last night. PBL Girls Head Coach Nathan Lawler said what he likes most about his team is that he doesn't have to coach every possession and has confidence in his girls and that they already know what sets to run.. 

PBL Girls Head Coach Nathan Lawler 

(Farmer City--jc)  One of the biggest and most exciting races of the 2019 MARS tour was held at the Farmer City Raceway with the FarmerCity 74. 54 late models did battle for $10,000 top prize at Farmer City Raceway. Kent Robinson Racing came out on top.The Mars tour is making its 20-20 stop in Farmer City on May 8th this year.

The PBL Panthers are coming off a road win against Illini Prairie Conference foe St. Joe Ogden. They face two more Prairie Conference teams this week with the Monticello Sages tonight and Bloomington Central Catholic on Saturday. PBL Boys Basketball Coach Adam Schonauer says they’re in a rhythm now and need to see better competition.

PBL Boys Basketball Coach Adam Schonauer

IHSA Boys Basketball tonight

PBL vs Monticello

Cissna Park vs Clifton Central

Iroquois Westat Watseka

Rantoul at Mattoon

St. Joe Ogden at Teutopolis 

GCMS at Heyworth

Mahomet Seymour vs Effingham

Big Ten

Wisconsin at Michigan St.

Michigan at Iowa

IHSA Boys Basketball on Saturday

PBL vs Central Catholic at MLK Tournament at Bloomington Central Catholic

PBL vs Farmington at MLK Tournament at Bloomington Central Catholic

Iroquois West vs Herscher

Watseka at Grant Park

Rantoul vs La Salette 

Milford vs Chrisman

HOIC Tournament at El Paso Gridley High School

Vermillion Valley Conference at Danville Palmer Arena

IHSA Girls Basketball on Saturday

Cissna Park vs Milford

Watseka at South Newton

St. Joe Ogden at Mattoon

HOIC Tournament at El Paso Gridley High School

Vermillion Valley Conference at Danville Palmer Arena

Big Ten

Ohio St. at Penn St.

Purdue at Maryland

Northwestern at Illinois

Indiana at Nebraska

WPXN has a new Podcast! The On the Sidelines crew Jay Eshleman and Cale Fleming host the brand new “Jay and Cale Show”. Episodes can be found on the WPXN website! Also episodes can be found on the Stitcher Radio App for Android users and Apple Podcasts for iOS users. Don’t forget to Like, Rate, Download, and Subscribe! 

Tonight on WPXN it’s IHSA Boys Basketball as the PBL Panthers host the Monticello Sages. Our pregame begins at 6:30 with tip at 6:45.

Saturday Morning it’s On the Sidelines from 7-8. Brought to you by Compass Insurance Partners in Paxton and Cissna Park, MATCO Fire Protection Equipment in Paxton, Monical’s Pizza in Paxton, Auto Mart in Paxton and Shield’s Auto Center in Rantoul and Paxton IGA.

Then it’s IHSA Boys Basketball as the PBL Panthers play Bloomington Central Catholic at the MLK Tournament at Central Catholic High School. Pregame at 10:45 with tip at 11am

We will continue with coverage of the MLK Tournament at 3:45 as the Panthers play Farmington. 

Then we will join Fighting Illini Basketball in progress as Illinois hosts the Northwestern Wildcats at the State Farm Center. 

Big Ten

Rutgers def Indiana 59-50

Minnesota def Penn St. 75-69

NBA

Zach LaVine had 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and the banged-up Chicago Bulls beat the Washington Wizards 115-106

NHL

Zack Smith scored twice to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

The PBL Lady Panthers are coming off an overtime win against Champaign Centennial on Monday where Mackenzie Bruns scored 34 points. Head Coach Nathan Lawler says it was a team victory though.

PBL Girls Head Coach Nathan Lawler

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

PBL vs Iroquois West

Cissna Park at Watseka

Rantoul vs Central Catholic

St. Joe Ogden vs Prairie Central

GCMS at Heyworth

Fisher at Flanagan Cornell

Milford vs Armstrong Potomac 

Mahomet Seymour at Effingham

WPXN has a new Podcast! The On the Sidelines crew Jay Eshleman and Cale Fleming host the brand new “Jay and Cale Show”. Episodes can be found on the WPXN website! Also episodes can be found on the Stitcher Radio App for Android users and Apple Podcasts for iOS users. Don’t forget to Like, Rate, Download, and Subscribe! 

Tonight on WPXN it’s IHSA Girls Basketball as the PBL Lady Panthers host the Iroquois West Raiders in Sangamon Valley Conference action. Our pregame begins at 6:30 with tip at 6:45.

The LSU Tigers are facing a potential NCAA bylaw infraction and it isn’t even really their fault. After LSU’ s commanding win in the National Championship, Odell Beckham JR. was in attendance in NOLA to watch his alma-mater win the Natty. Beckham was in the locker room with the team after their win and was seen in an Instagram Live video handing out massive amounts of cash to the players. He also is being accused of handing some of that money to star QB Joe Burrow. He was later on ‘Pardon My Take’ a well-known podcast from Barstool Sports saying “Odell was there and was handing out cash.” Burrow is no longer a student-athlete at LSU since he is graduated and does have multiple degrees. LSU did not know that Beckham was handing out the cash in the locker room after the win, but this could impose serious fines and worse sanctions on the team and the school for future LSU events.

IHSA Boys Basketball

PBL def St. Joe Ogden 51-42

Colton Coy had 14 points

Cissna Park def South Newton 60-46

Ian Rogers Scored 25 points

Prairie Central def Iroquois West 56-28

Payton Dunahee led with 13 points

El Paso Gridley def GCMS 54-36

Dee Mack def Fisher 75-44

Milford def Hoopeston Area 46-41

Tanner Sobkoviak scored 20 points

Mahomet Seymour def Mattoon 73-37

Grant Coleman scored 44 points 

IHSA Girls Basketball

Cissna Park def South Newton 42-31

Mikayla Knake had 17 points

Urbana def Iroquois West 55-22

Danville def Rantoul 46-34

The PBL Panthers earned a road win against the St. Joe Ogden Spartans. PBL Basketball Coach Adam Schonauer talked about how he thought his squad performed last night in the 9 point win... 

PBL Basketball Coach Adam Schonauer 

BIg Ten

Wisconsin def Maryland 56-54

Ohio St. def Nebraska 80-68

Iowa def Northwestern 75-62

NHL

Jonathan Toews scored 42 seconds into overtime and assisted on Chicago's two other goals, as the Blackhawks rallied to beat Ottawa Senators 3-2

IHSA Girls Basketball Tonight

Watseka vs Donovan

WPXN has a new Podcast! The On the Sidelines crew Jay Eshleman and Cale Fleming host the brand new “Jay and Cale Show”. Episodes can be found on the WPXN website! Also episodes can be found on the Stitcher Radio App for Android users and Apple Podcasts for iOS users. Don’t forget to Like, Rate, Download, and Subscribe! 

A bittersweet farewell sent to one of the best linebackers I have seen play in my lifetime. Luke Kuechly has announced his retirement in a very emotional video that he released to his Instagram. Kuechly was the 9th overall pick in the 2012 draft out of Boston College. Kuechly is a seven-time pro bowler and a five-time All-Pro. He is only 28 years old and only played in 8 seasons for the Panthers. Kuechly also suffered 7 concussions in his time while playing professional football.  

Kuechly had a very good but short career. His total numbers will get him into the Hall of Fame with 18 picks, 7 forced fumbles, 12.5 sacks, and over 1000 tackles. Those are just his basic stats, the deeper you dive into the advanced analytics the better the player he is. 

Jay and Myself will have more on the podcast that will come out about his retirement and Luke Kuechly’s.

More suspensions and firings for the Astro’s cheating scandal are being handed out. Well this was wasn’t really handed out by the MLB league office but it was agreed upon to “part ways”. That’s right the Boston Red Sox and manager Alex Cora have agreed to “part ways” which I guess is the new term for fire in the MLB. 

I already wrote about what the ‘Stros did in the 2017 season, and Cora was involved. Not only is Cora involved in the sign-stealing scandal in that season, but he is also believed to be invovled in another with the Red Sox in the 2018 season in which the Red Sox(first season as manager)  won the World Series in 5 games over the LA Dodgers. Cora is believed to have used the video replay room to steal signs during the 2018 Red Sox season. That investigation is not final yet, so therefor that have been no rulings, fines, or suspensions of any nature handed out Cora.

I am very late on this but there was a very big occurrence in the MLB that took place yesterday. For those that didn’t see it, I’m talking about the Houston Astros. The Astros have been the center of a cheating scandal and it’s very apparent that they have done. 

Backstory, Mike Fiers a formal pitcher for the ‘Stros called the Astros out for the scandal, and there hasn’t been much rest until last night. Houston was using the video board located in centerfield at Minute Maid Park to tip signs to opposing pitching. When an Astro batter would step into the box there would but loud bangs when an off-speed pitch was coming. The sign would obviously be shown on the big board in center, and the camera was pointed right on the catcher so it was in clear view. After the sign was laid, there would be three or four very apparent “bangs” when the off-speed pitch was coming and that ball would  procced to be crushed out of the park. If you can find the Youtube video on it, it’s there and me being hard of hearing can hear it without any audio manipulation. There was a very long investigation that took place inside the MLB into the scandal and they finally came to a verdict yesterday afternoon. 

Manager AJ Hinch and General Manager and Jeff Luhnow have each been suspended for an entire season, effective immediately. The report came yesterday and the article that I read from ESPN’s Jeff Passan got a statement from Houston Astro’s owner Jim Crane “Neither one of them started this, but neither one of them stopped either.” Hinch or Luhnow can not be affiliated with any MLB organization for the entire upcoming 2020 season. 

I’m glad that the MLB came down hard on this issue, there is the old saying in the MLB that you don’t break the “unwritten rule” such as bunting to break up a no-hitter just as an example. I don’t like sign-stealing but I have grown up with older values when it comes to baseball. The 2017 World Series that Houston won, is just another stain on baseball that shouldn’t be there. Hopefully after this case, and other teams see how the MLB office responded, this will be the last case of this we will see in baseball.

I was waiting to post this blog to the website to make sure all of our ducks were in line(or whatever the saying is) but they are in a row or in a line, or a flock, or even a heard. As most of you know that listen to the daily newscasts, or IHSA events, WPXN has a brand new Podcast! Jay Eshleman and Cale Fleming(your On the Sidelines Hosts) sit down two nights a week and bring you all the sports talk you can handle. 

We are proud to say that the podcast has been picked up by multiple podcasting sites, and let’s go through them real quick. 

As always, you can listen to the episodes on the WPXN Website, but there are a few more way’s to get all the action that you can consume. The On the Sidelines program is the location where you can get all of your local IHSA coverage, and those shows will soon be turned into podcasting material(the first one will probably be this week) but the Monday and Friday shows cover all things Illini, NFL, MLB, and a little of the NBA. Jay and Cale have everything covered. 

The first external app that you can download is on Stitcher Radio(Android users) Stitcher is a very well known podcasting app that I have used in the past for other things. If you have an android you can find every episode on the Stitcher app which can be downloaded in the Google Play Store.

This is the one that we had to wait for the longest to hear back from. If you have an iPhone, a Macbook or a Mac PC, you can find the Jay and Cale show in the Podcast App. Apple took a few extra days to approve the show, but the wait is well worth it. 

Don’t forget to download, like, rate, subscribe, and review the Podcast! Down below are the links to each site for the show: 

Sticher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=496989&refid=stpr

Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jay-and-cale-show/id1494637848

Here is what is going on around the station this week! 

Tonight on WPXN it’s Nascar Live from 6 to 7 pm, then straight to PBL Boys Basketball as the PBL Panthers take on the SJO Spartans. 

Thursday Night it’s PBL Girls Basketball vs Iroquois West Pregame starting at 6:45 with Tip at 7 

Friday Night we continue to carry on the weekend tradition of a bunch of Basketball. We will have PBL Boys Basketball vs Monticello with the Pregame starting at 6:45 and Tip at 7. 

Moving into a very packed Saturday it’s On The Sidelines from 7 to 8 am to get your morning kicked off, then to Bloomington for the MLK Invitational Tournament as PBL will play Bloomington Central Catholic first with the pregame at 10:45 and tip at 11. After that PBL will take on Farmington with pregame at 3:45 and Tip at 4 pm. Lastly, we will join the Illini as the Men’s Basketball team takes on the Wildcats of Northwestern. 

Don’t forget that you can listen live on 104.9 WPXN, as well as listening to us anywhere and anytime on the WPXN app which can be downloaded in the Google Play, and Apple App stores! As we are your season’s ticket to a world of sports!

IHSA Girls Basketball

PBL def Centennial 62-53

Mackenzie Bruns scored 34 points 

Urbana def Clifton Central 52-22

Rantoul def Monticello 51-50

Unity def St. Joe Ogden 49-40

El Paso Gridley def GCMS 40-30

Fisher def Dee Mack 52-46

Sidney Hood scored 21 points

Armstrong Potomac def Westville 45-39

Kyla Bullington had 12 points

Mt. Zion def Mahomet Seymour 53-40

NBA

Boston Celtics def Bulls 113-101

College Football

LSU has won the College Football Championship by holding off Clemson 42-25.

IHSA Boys Basketball tonight

PBL at St. Joe Ogden

Cissna Park vs South Newton 

Iroquois West at Prairie Central

GCMS vs El Paso Gridley

Fisher vs Dee Mack

Milford at Hoopeston Area

Armstrong Potomac at Bismarck Henning

Mahomet Seymour at Mattoon

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

Cissna Park vs South Newton

Rantoul vs Danville

Tonight on WPXN it’s NASCAR Live. Get the latest news in NASCAR from 6-7.

Then it’s IHSA Boys Basketball as the PBL Panthers are on the road to take on the St. Joe Ogden Spartans. 

Party like it’s 2015. Yes, you heard that right. December to be exact. That was the last time that the Illini were ranked. The top song of 2015 was Adele’s “Hello” which seems like it just came out yesterday. 

But yes, the Illini have finally proved to everybody in the media that the preseason hype is actually true. In 2015 the Illini actually finished with a losing record, however. If I remember right, they finished 15-19(5-13).  The 2020 Illini are now ranked #24 on this week’s AP poll and man does it feel good to be the 24th best team in the nation. A huge turnaround from setting an Illini record in losses last season. 

Enjoy the excitement now, and get everything buttoned up and ready to defend homecourt again on Saturday as the Wildcats of Northwestern come to town looking to take down the Illini. 

NFL

The Green Bay Packers were able to stay ahead after building a sizeable lead. The Houston Texans weren’t as fortunate. The Packers forged a 21-3 halftime lead before holding off the Seattle Seahawks, 28-23 to advance to the NFC championship game against San Francisco.  The Chiefs spotted the Texans a 24-0 lead before taking control and winning 51-31. Kansas City moved into the AFC championship game against the Tennessee Titans.

Big Ten Basketball

Purdue def Michigan St. 71-42

Minnesota def Michigan 75-67

NHL

Dominik Kubalik scored two goals, Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2

(Paxton-Cale)- The PBL Lady Panthers Basketball team has had a busy schedule this past week and it continues this week. On Thursday they won on the road at Urbana, Saturday lost at home to Eureka and play at home against Centennial tonight and Iroquois West on Thursday. Head Coach Nathan Lawler talks about how they played against Urbana and what it was like to win over a school with double their enrollment.. 

PBL Lady Panther Head Coach Nathan Lawler

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

PBL vs Champaign Centennial

Iroquois West vs Milford

Rantoul at Monticello 

St. Joe Ogden at Unity

GCMS vs El Paso Gridley

Fisher vs Dee Mack

Armstrong Potomac vs Westville

Mahomet Seymour vs Mt. Zion

Tonight on WPXN it’s Fast Talk. Get the latest news in NASCAR from 6-7.

Then its the Brad Underwood Show from 7-8.

The Illini are playing really good basketball right now, with Alan Griffin giving very productive minutes, Ayo is playing like an NBA guard making shots in big moments, and taking over the floor. The Illini beat Wisconsin for the first time in 15 games, and for the first time in a long time at the Kohl Center. They have to keep rolling to make it to the tournament. 

Normally in the pregames, I go over the upcoming foe, but I am going to take a different route with this Illini Update as Big Ten play is in full swing, Bracketology. The newest update came out today from Joe Lunardi and the Illini still have a huge mountain to climb. 

If you look at the KenPom Ratings, Rutgers has had one a very easy strength of schedule, you still can’t sleep on them. Earlier this year we saw Miami come to the “House of Paign” and beat the Illini, as you would think Rutgers are a by far better team than the Hurricanes, but you have to defend home court. With the streak snapped against Wisconsin, the Illini need to take care of business on their home floor as they did against Purdue and Michigan. 

Back to the Bracketology, Lunardi has the Illini as one of the “First Four Out” which means that they are playing well enough to get the recognition on Selection Sunday, but they won’t be able to make it in. The other three teams that are in that category are Georgetown, DePaul, and Oklahoma State. The next move for the Illini is a “bubble team” before they can get in. Incomes the Rutgers game at home. Rutgers is another one of those pesky “quad 1 wins” which will give the Illini more of a case to make it into the tournament.  Take care of business tomorrow morning, and keep that Big Ten record at home alive.

WPXN has an action-packed Saturday coming at you! Here are all the programs that will be taking place this weekend. 

Saturday: 

7 am to 8 am- On The Sidelines with Jay Eshleman and Cale Fleming featuring Interviews with PBL Lady Panther Head Coach Nathan Lawler, Rantoul Eagle Boys Head Coach Ryan Parker, IW Boys Head Coach Zach Monk, PBL Boys Head Coach Adam Schonauer in studio. 

8 am to 10 am- Its the Live-Action Auction Buy Bid and Save only on 104.9 WPXN! 

10 am- Illini Pregame vs Rutgers

11 am- Illini tip-off against Rutgers 

Following the Illini game, we will have coverage of the SJO Shootout, as well as the PBL Lady Panthers vs Eureka, and PBL Boys vs Shelbyville! 

Don’t forget to follow all of our socials:

Twitter- @104.9 WPXN

Facebook0 104.9 WPXN

And download our app at 104.9 WPXN in the Apple App Store of the Google Play Store!

IHSA Girls Basketball

Clifton Central def Cissna Park 35-23

Watseka def Iroquois West 49-24

Kennedy McTaggart had 11 points

Tremont def GCMS 54-34

Tuscola def Fisher 38-30

Olympia def St. Joe Ogden 42-33

Milford def oakwood 40-27

Jakki Mowrey and Kaylee Warren each had 12 points

Prairie Central def Monticello 60-29

Elly Haberkorn scored 24 points

Big Ten

Michigan def Purdue 84-78

Michigan St. def Minnesota 74-58

NHL

Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2

IHSa Boys Basketball tonight

PBL vs Momence

Cissna Park at Iroquois West

Watseka at South Newton

Rantoul vs Bloomington

GCMS vs Tremont

Fisher vs Ridgeview

Milford at Schlarman

Armstrong Potomac vs Hoopeston Area

Mahomet Seymour vs Lincoln 

IHSA Boys Basketball on Saturday 

PBL vs Shelbyville

Watseka vs St. Anne

GCMS at Hoopeston Area

Milford at Georgetown Ridgefarm

Mahomet Seymour vs Crete Monee at St. Joe Ogden Shootout

Cissna Park vs Monticello at St. Joe Ogden Shootout

St. Joe Ogden vs Farmington at St. Joe Shootout

IHSA Girls Basketball on Saturday

PBL vs Eureka

Cissna Park at Hoopeston Area

Iroquois West at GCMS

Watseka vs Fisher

Rantoul at IVC

Tonight on WPXN it’s IHSA Boys Basketball as the PBL Panthers host the Momence Redskins. Pregame at 6:30 with tip around 6:45. 

Saturday morning it’s On the Sidelines from 7-8 brought to you by Compass Insurance Partners in Paxton and Cissna Park, MATCO Fire Protection and Monicals’s Pizza. 

Then it’s our  LIVE Action Auction from 8-10.

The Fighting Illini take on Rutgers at 11am. Pregame at 10am.

Following Illini basketball it’s IHSA Girls Basketball as the Lady Panthers host Eureka. Then it’s IHSA Boys Basketball from the St. Joe Shootout as the Cissna Park Timberwolves face off with Monticello.

Then it’s PBL Boys Basketball as they host Shelbyville. 

We end the night with more coverage from the St. Joe Ogden Shootout.

Lovie Smith has at least one spot to fill on his roster for the upcoming season. Defensive Line coach Austin Clark has been hired by the Miami Dolphins to be the outside linebacker coach for the upcoming season. 

Clark, 30 was a huge hire for coach Lovie Smith two years ago, and he has been a very solid recruiter in his time for the Illini. Most notable last year or the class of 2019 he was responsible for bringing Moses Okpala, Keith Randolph, and Seth Coleman. Clark will be missed for his ability to coach raw talent, and the ability to bring in solid transfer talent. 

Congrats on your big move coach Clark! It will be fun to watch him on the sidelines in the NFL this upcoming season as hopefully, Miami can turn it around, Clark will be a huge part of that success.  

Big Ten

Sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu scored 18 points _ including a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left _ to rally Illinois to a 71-70 Big Ten Conference victory over Wisconsin. The win snapped a 15-game losing streak for the Illini, who hadn’t won a game against the Badgers since 2011. Freshman 7-footer Kofi Cockburn scored 15 points and reserve guard Alan Griffin added 12.

Indiana def Northwestern 66-62

NBA

New Orleans Pelicans def Chicago Bulls 123-108

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

PBL at Urbana

Cissna Park at Clifton Central

Iroquois West vs Watseka

St. Joe Ogden at Olympia

GCMS vs Tremont

Fisher vs Tuscola

Milford at Oakwood

Armstrong Potomac at Chrisman

Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tonight

Purdue @ Michigan

Minnesota @ Michigan State

NHL Tonight

Buffalo Sabres @ St. Louis Blues - 7

Nashville Predators @ Chicago Blackhawks - 7:30

Pregame-- 

The Illini tip in just over an hour at the Kohl Center, what will happen tonight? A win is a must(especially with the dominant showing last Sunday night at home against Purdue. Will Alan Griffin have another night like he did? Maybe, he has strung a few great games together over the last couple of weeks. Griffin with the double-double against Purdue, we will need that production again tonight. 

Who is Wisconson? 

Well, the Badgers this season are 9-5(2-1) while the Illini are 10-5(2-2). Wisconsin had a very impressive game against Ohio State and won. That is their most remarkable win of the season. Wisconsons NET ranking this year is #26 while the Illini are sitting at #37. Wisconsin has multiple outside shooters including Kobe King, who I think is Wisconsin’s best player. They averaging just over 68 PPG, one of the lowest in the Big Ten. 

Illinois-

 Coming off the win against the Boilermakers and dominant defensive performance, there is a magnitude of reasons why the Illini need to win this game tonight. Most importantly it will only their second quad 1 win of the season. For those that don’t know, quad one wins are what get you into March, the more the better and somehow the Badgers would be a quad 1 win. 

Illinois Probable Starters-- 

Ayo

Trent 

Da’Monte

Giorgi B  

Kofi

IHSA Boys Basketball 

Watseka def Beecher 53-33

Conner Curry and Drew Wittenborn each had 15 points

GCMS def Fisher 70-56

Braden Roesch scored 28 points

St. Joe Ogden def Williamsville 50-22

Chance Izard scored 21 points

Bismarck Henning/Rossville Alvin def Milford 56-46

Salt Fork def Armstrong Potomac 52-39

Mahomet Seymour def Effingham 71-67

Grant Coleman scored 30 points

Prairie Central def El Paso Gridley 54-47

Trey Bazzell led with 16 points

IHSA Girls Basketball

Watseka def Tri-Point 53-24

Kinzie Parsons led with 13 points

Mahomet Seymour def Effingham 58-48

Durbin Thomas had 16 points

Big Ten

Maryland def Ohio St. 67-55

Rutgers def Penn St. 72-61

NHL

Calgary Flames def Blackhawks 2-1

The PBL Panthers are coming off a lopsided win against the Rantoul Eagles last Friday night and host the Momence Redskins this Friday night. Coach Adam Schonauer talks about what’s been going on in practice this week.

PBL Boys Basketball Coach Adam Schonauer

Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tonight

Illinois @ Wisconsin

Northwestern @ Indiana

NBA Tonight

Miami Heat @ Indiana Pacers - 6

Chicago Bulls @ New Orleans Pelicans - 7

Tonight on WPXN it’s Fighting Illini Basketball as Illinois is on the road to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. Pregame at 7pm with tip at 8pm.

IHSA Girls Basketball

Unity def Rantoul 50-40

St. Joe Ogden def St. Thomas More 42-25

Taylor Wells led with 12 points

Fisher def GCMS 46-34

Sydney Hood had 13 points

Mahomet Seymour def Champaign Central 57-54

Savannah Oregeron had 14 points

Olympia def Prairie Central 50-42

NBA

Dallas Mavericks def Chicago Bulls 118-110

College Basketball

Gonzaga, Duke and Kansas remain atop The Associated Press men's college basketball poll. The Bulldogs received 54 first-place votes from a 65-member media panel. The Blue Devils had nine first-place votes and the Jayhawks two. No. 4 Baylor moved into the top five for the first time in three years and undefeated Auburn rose to No. 5. Butler climbed five spots to No. 6 for the program's highest ranking ever. San Diego State is the only other undefeated Division I team. The Aztecs jumped six spots to No. 7. Michigan State, Oregon and Florida State round out the top 10.

IHSA Boys Basketball tonight

Watseka at Beecher

St. Joe Ogden vs Williamsville

GCMS at Fisher

Milford vs Bismarck Henning/Rossville Alvin

Armstrong Potomac at Salt Fork

Mahomet Seymour at Effingham

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

Watseka vs Tri Point

Rantoul at Champaign Central

Tonight on WPXN it’s NASCAR Live. Get the latest news in NASCAR from 6-7.

Big Ten

Alan Griffin scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and Illinois defeated Purdue 63-37. The Illini scored the first 11 points and took a 32-19 lead at halftime. 

Michigan St. def Michigan 87-69

Minnesota def Northwestern 77-68

NFL

The Minnesota Vikings have advanced to the NFC divisional round at San Francisco by defeating the New Orleans Saints, 26-20 in overtime.

The Seattle Seahawks downed the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-9 to advance to play the Packers.

NHL

Dylan Sikura scored his first NHL goal, helping the Chicago Blackhawks rally for a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

(Rantoul-jm) -- Rantoul boys basketball coach Brett Frerichs has stepped down. Frerichs resigned in December in the middle of his fourth season with the program. Ryan Parker has taken over as the teams interim coach. Frerichs was 110-101 with the program.

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

Rantoul vs Unity

St. Joe Ogden vs St. Thomas More

GCMS at Fisher

Milford vs Salt Fork

Armstrong Potomac vs Oakwood

Mahomet Seymour vs Champaign Central

College Football 

Lending Tree Bowl - Louisiana vs Miami Ohio

NBA Tonight

Indiana Pacers @ Charlotte Hornets - 6pm

Chicago Bulls @ Dallas Mavericks - 7:30 pm

Tonight on WPXN it’s Fast Talk. Get the latest news in NASCAR from 6-7.

Then it’s the Brad Underwood Show from 7-8.

IHSA Girls Basketball

Fisher def Armstrong Potomac 43-39

Kallie Evans had 14 points

IHSA Boys Basketball

Grant Park def Milford 55-50

Big Ten

Cassius Winston had 21 points and Xavier Tillman scored 19, leading No. 14 Michigan State to a 76-56 win over Illinois. Ayo Dosunmu led Illinois with 18 points.

Purdue def Minnesota 83-78 2OT

NBA

Utah Jazz held off the Chicago Bulls 102-98

NHL

Vancouver Canucks def Blackhawks 7-5 

College Bowl Games

Gator Bowl 

Tennessee def Indiana 23-22

College Football Tonight

Idaho Potato Bowl - Ohio vs Nevada

Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tonight

Wisconsin @ #5 Ohio State

Rutgers @ Nebraska

NFL Saturday

Buffalo Bills @ Houston Texans

Tennessee Titans @ New England Patriots

NHL Saturday

St. Louis Blues @ Vegas Golden Knights - 3pm

NBA Saturday

Indiana Pacers @ Atlanta Hawks - 6:30 pm

Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls - 7 pm

College Football Saturday

Armed Forces Bowl - Southern Mississippi vs Tulane

Big Ten Men’s Basketball

Indiana @ #15 Maryland

#23 Iowa @ #21 Penn State

NFL Sunday

Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks @ Philadelphia Eagles

Big Ten Men’s Basketball

#12 Michigan @ #14 Michigan State

Northwestern @ Minnesota

Purdue @ Illinois

NHL Sunday

Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks - 6:30

IHSA Boys Basketball tonight

PBL vs Rantoul

Cissna Park at St. Joe Ogden

Iroquois West at Blue Ridge

Armstrong Potomac at Judah Christian

Tonight on WPXN it’s IHSA Boys Basketball as the PBL Panthers host the Rantoul Eagles. Our pregame begins at 6:30 with tip at 6:45.

Saturday Morning it’s On the Sidelines from 7-8 brought to you by Compass Insurance Partners in Paxton and Cissna Park, MATCO Fire Protection Services in Paxton and Monical’s Pizza in Paxton. 

Sunday night it’s Fighting Illini Basketball as Illinois takes on Purdue at the State Farm Center. Pregame at 6pm with tipoff at 7pm.

The White Sox have(almost) won the offseason thus far. People that read this are going to tell me that the NYY have, and rightfully so with the Gerritt Cole signing. The Blue Jays signed Ryu, the Twins signed Rich Hill and a declining Homer Baily, but the South Siders might be far and above the best team in the offseason here are some of their signings and happenings as a whole, and I don’t think they are done. 

Luis Robert- Signed a 6 year 50 million deal

Signed Dallas Keuchel 

Extended Jose Abreu 

Signed Nick Mazara 

Signed Yasmani Grandal 

Extended Lucas Giolito 

Edwin Encarnacion 

Gio Gonzalez 

Hey Cubs, you still there?

Illini Pregame-- 

The Illini return to the hardwood tonight in East Lansing to take on the Spartans of Michigan State. Pregame on WPXN will start at 6 pm with a 7 pm tip. 

Probably for tonight’s game- 

Illini: Ayo, Trent, Feliz, Kofi, Giorgi B. 

MSU: Winston, Henry, Brown, Tillman, Bingham Jr. 

The Spartans entering Big Ten play this season are ranked at 14 with a 10-3(2-0) record thus far. The Spartans are averaging 81.0 PPG while allowing less than 60. That ranks Top 20 out of 353 schools in both categories. Henry for the Spartans can jump out of the gym, he has athleticism that is off the chart, and he can shoot it. Ayo or Feliz would be the guards to draw that assignment, and they will have to really lock him down to secure a road victory. Winston for MSU did not play in their last outing on Sunday as he is nursing a knee injury, however he is expected to play today. 

The time has come and the Fighting Illini can prove a lot of people wrong in this game tonight. Conference play is in full swing and we will see how Kofi will play against a top 20 big in Xavier Tillman, and how well the Illini can execute a 40-minute gameplan. 

Cale’s Keys-

• “Make it Rain” or make some outside shots. The Illini are a very poor outside shooting team and have to turn that around to keep tournament hopes alive. If Trent, Griffin, or Ayo get hot like I’ve been saying all season you have to keep feeding them until they miss. 

• Ayo takes over: Ayo can significate improve his draft stock which last I saw he was projected as a second-rounder, by dropping no less than 15-5-5 tonight. If he can accomplish that, then the Illini will have a very solid chance to head back to Champaign with a W. 

• Giorgi-Kofi connection: Giorgi has been superb at feeding Kofi with his in-let passes this season. Keep that will need to be in full swing for the Illini as they will have to click on all cylinders to win tonight and it can be done, as they have done it already this season by knocking off Michigan. 

I will have the postgame later tonight and will be tweeting about the game.

What’s next in the NFL for coaches? Well, that question will be answered in the coming months, with one vacancy already being filled in Washington that still leaves the Browns, the Cowboys(possibly) and the Giants. Let’s look into who could be wherein 2020. 

As I stated in the opening statement, Washington has already hired their guy in Ron Rivera who was realized from duties around Week 15 from the Carolina Panthers. The Browns have fired Freddie Kitchens after going 6-10 in his first year of being the Browns head coach, or his first time being a head coach anywhere. Urban Meyer is a likely candidate for the Browns position, as naturally rumored, as well as Mike McCarthy and Lincoln Riley. Jason Garrett has been meeting with owner and GM Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys the last couple of days with another scheduled for today. I don’t see how he can keep his job as the head man in Dallas. 

Here is a quick snapshot of who I think will end up were: 

Browns: Urban Meyer- It’s very hard not to buy into the hype which I am 100% in on, it’s not far from Ohio State, and he loves OSU. I can see Meyer teaching Baker how to be a good QB who has had a very rough start to his NFL career with two coaches in two years. That roster is too talented to not be an appealing place for Meyer. 

Dallas: Mike McCarthy- Pending that Jason Garrett is heading out the door, I think McCarthy can take Dak and that offense to another level. The level that it needs to be in order to only win another Super Bowl but get back to the playoffs since he’s been there and won one in Green Bay.

NYG: Hugh Jackson- Yes, that Hugh Jackson. He was fired from the Browns job two seasons ago and has worked with the Bengals as their offensive advisor, and traveled the country watching and learning football. With Daniel Jones needing massive development, this will be a very important fire for the Giants. 

Bowl Games

Citrus Bowl

Alabama def Michigan 35-16

Outback Bowl

Minnesota def Auburn 31-24

Rose Bowl

Oregon def Wisconsin 28-27

Sugar Bowl

Georgia def Baylor 26-14

NFL

The Chicago Bears remain committed to Mitchell Trubisky as their starting quarterback despite his struggles this season. General manager Ryan Pace stopped short of saying the Bears will exercise their fifth-year option on Trubisky. He also did not rule out bringing in an experienced veteran who could push for the starting job. But after an 8-8 season, the Bears fired offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich and three other assistants this week.

College Football Bowl Games

Birmingham Bowl - Boston College vs Cincinnati

Gator Bowl - Indiana vs Tennessee

Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tonight

Minnesota @ Purdue

Illinois @ #14 Michigan State

NBA Tonight

Denver Nuggets @ Indiana Pacers - 6pm

Utah Jazz @ Chicago Bulls - 7 pm

NHL Tonight

St. Louis Blues @ Colorado Avalanche - 8:30 pm

Chicago Blackhawks @ Vancouver Canucks - 9 pm

IHSA Girls Basketball tonight

Fisher at Armstrong Potomac

Tonight on WPXN it’s Fighting Illini Basketball as the Illini are on the road at Michigan St. Pregame at 6pm with tipoff at 7pm.