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Sports Editor Matt Daniels has this to say about what’s happening in the area:
Brian Cardinal guarding LeBron James in the 2011 NBA Finals.
3 reasons why we love sports today
➜ 1. Thanks to our 11 guest pickers from previous high school football seasons for their weekly predictions for 10 games. This week’s guest is Brian Cardinal.
➜ 2. Cardinal is a 1995 Unity graduate who played four seasons of college basketball at Purdue University, then played 12 seasons in the NBA, where he currently works. The 47-year-old helps oversee academics and player pathways for NBA academies and travels overseas to support programs including academies in Australia, Mexico and Senegal.
➜ 3. When not traveling, Cardinal lives in Westfield, Indiana with his wife Danielle, their three children (Bryson, 18, Emery, 16, and Delaney, 14), and their German family. Shepard, Paxton.
The St. Thomas More bench cheers during a Class 2A volleyball sectional semifinal game Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, at Monticello High School.
Number game: 3
The area’s high school volleyball teams will be looking to win the section title Thursday with all games starting at 6 p.m. In Class 3A, Mahomet Seymour (35-3) will host Normal U High School (35-3) and St. Thomas More will play. (34-4) will play Bloomington Central Catholic (32-4) at Monticello for the 2A title, while Cissna Park (33-3) will face Bloomington Central Catholic (32-4) in the 1A title game at Ottawa Market. They will face Lexington (29-7).
Jasmine Brown Haggar’s Illinois women’s basketball team opens its season Thursday night against No. 19 Florida State at State Farm Center in Champaign.
crowd control
3 events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. No. 19 Florida State, Illinois women’s basketball. The fact that the Illini returned 83 percent of their points from a team that went 19-15 last season and won the WBIT title is cause for optimism around CU ahead of Thursday night’s season opener. .
➜ 2. Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Illinois Men’s Basketball. The Illini have never lost to the Cougars, going 3-0 by an average margin of 27.6 points in three games played in 1981, 2009 and 2011 before tipping Friday night at 7 p.m.
➜ 3. Southern California, Illinois Volleyball. The Illini are 0-2 against ranked teams at Hough Hall and 0-4 against ranked teams this season and will play the No. 20 Trojans in Champaign Friday at 5 p.m.
Taylor, Francis, and Michael Rosenbaum.
coach corner
We have three questions for first-year Tuscola girls basketball coach Michael Rosenbaum. His Warriors open the season Nov. 18 against Marshall.
➜ 1. My favorite sports teams are Illinois Basketball, TCU Football, and San Antonio Spurs.
➜ 2. There are three coaches I would love to have dinner with… Dale Schuling, Gregg Popovich, and Tim Kohlbecker. All the world’s problems will be solved.
➜ 3. My biggest complaint is giving instructions and repeating them 5 seconds later.
