Illinois needs buzzer beater to avoid a fourth early loss As Illinois players spilled onto the court in celebration of Jalen Coleman-Lands game-winning 3-pointer on Monday night, embattled Illini coach John Groce could only muster a relieved smile.  Groce knew the Illini never should have needed last-second heroics to eke out an 82-79 victory over lowly Chicago State. The shrewdly designed, … [Read more...]

Kyle 'Bush' receives congratulatory tweets for 2015 Sprint Cup title The upside of social media is that it gives a public voice to many people who previously wouldn't have one. The downside is, well, the same thing. Last week, many people on Twitter believed that NBC's rain delay filler of taped race broadcasts were live. They were likely some of the same people who thought Jimmie Johnson's … [Read more...]

Mostly NFL Notes: Talking Thomas Rawls, Cam Newton and a look around the league It’s too bad the news of Marshawn Lynch being inactive didn’t come until the later games Sunday, as Thomas Rawls totaled 255 yards and two scores during the most impressive performance of the day. Rawls got 7.0 YPC, finishing with 209 rushing yards while securing all three of his targets, taking one 31 yards to … [Read more...]

In a year full of second-place finishes, Kevin Harvick finishes second again HOMESTEAD, Florida – The theme of Kevin Harvick's season continued Sunday night at Homestead. The 2014 Sprint Cup Series champion picked up his 13th second-place finish of the season in the Ford 400. The driver that beat him? Kyle Busch, one of the three drivers he was racing for the title, meaning Harvick ends the … [Read more...]

Tire strategy calls don't work out for Martin Truex Jr. HOMESTEAD, Florida – Martin Truex Jr. and his team weren't going to win the 2015 Sprint Cup Series title racing Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick heads up. So the team tried some late-race strategy. It didn't pay off, as Truex ended up 12th in the Ford 400 and fourth out of the four drivers chasing the Sprint Cup Series trophy. … [Read more...]

Kyle Busch wins 2015 Cup title as Jeff Gordon's final try comes up short HOMESTEAD, Fla – Days before the Sprint Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Busch said he'd dreamed of beating childhood hero Jeff Gordon to win the title. The dream came true Sunday as Busch won his first Sprint Cup championship, outracing Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. in a one race, … [Read more...]

Washington State QB Luke Falk carted off after head injury (Video) Washington State quarterback Luke Falk was carted off the field in the third quarter against Colorado after taking his second significant hit to the head in as many weeks. Falk dropped back to pass when he was grabbed by Colorado’s Samson Kafovalu. Falk was whipped around and his head slammed against the turf. He appeared to … [Read more...]

Blackhawks GM backs Patrick Kane, dodges off-ice behavior ‘trap question’ Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman hasn’t said much of anything about Patrick Kane since training camp, where he pretty much didn’t have much to say about Kane, either.  But he spoke with reporters before the Blackhawks’ game at the Vancouver Canucks, said Kane is “absolutely” in the team’s long-term plans and praised … [Read more...]

LSU falls to Ole Miss 38-17 for third straight loss Will the rumors about LSU coach Les Miles' job status start intensifying? Miles' Tigers lost 38-17 to Ole Miss on Saturday. It was the Tigers' third-straight loss and came days after the Baton Rouge Advocate wrote that there were indications Miles would be coaching to keep his job as LSU's coach against the Rebels and Texas A&M. If those … [Read more...]

Oklahoma escapes TCU after Horned Frogs miss 2-point conversion TCU coach Gary Patterson's aggressiveness didn't pay off. After his team scored a touchdown with 55 seconds left to pull within a point of Oklahoma on Saturday, TCU didn't go for the tie. And as Bram Kohlhausen was flushed from the pocket, his pass to the end zone was batted down by Oklahoma's Steven Parker. Oklahoma survived … [Read more...]