Much Ado about Millines

Millines Benched (img-- brosher.com)

On the eve of Illinois Spring football kickoff, head coach Tim Beckman was forced to break some more bad news to the media. Illinois junior WR Darius Millines has been suspended from the team indefinitely due to violating team rules.

The news serving as the latest in a long line of setbacks this offseason for an Illinois squad that couldn't manage a Big Ten win last year. Beckman has had to replace five coaches from his first year staff, four of whom left voluntarily for positions elsewhere. The need for offensive playmakers is so great, that Miles Osei has been redefined as a WR only, no longer in the mix at quarterback. Defensive back Steve Hull, whose 2012 campaign was injury plagued, has also moved to wide receiver. Essentially, Millines acting out making an already thin position even thinner, isn't exactly what the doctor ordered.

Before last season, Millines was projected as the guy who was going to get the first crack at replacing AJ Jenkins production. Needless to say, much like the rest of Illinois offense, Millines didn't come close to anything resembling numbers one could expect from a number one Big Ten wide receiver. Regardless of this most recent setback, Millines was going to have to prove (much like every other offensive player on the field) that he deserves to be out there.

It's funny, sometimes you can get away with violating team rules when you're on a squad in the middle of the pack. Top programs won't put up with you, because there's a few people they have that can take your place. Weak programs don't have anything to lose, and if making an example out of you is the best way to get things going in the right direction, by all means. I'm not sure what Millines did, but I applaud Beckman for attempting to send a message to his team through the Millines suspension. At the very least, Beckman is letting this team know that there is a certain standard he expects every player on the team to live up to, no matter how choppy the waters may be.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the Illini have to offer this spring, with practice beginning tomorrow and running through the Spring Game on April 12th. With as bad as this team was a season ago, everyone will be looking over their shoulder. Very few jobs are safe, and that can make for great position battles.  

And if all else fails, the basketball team is pretty cool.

Greetings from Champaign

Hi. I'm back. For how long? Who knows. I have said in this space before that I've wanted to maintain a consistent blogging schedule. That's fallen flat more than a few times.

What I'm willing to tell you now is that I have moved to Illinois in an effort to further my career. Working at WHIZ was very rewarding in several different ways, and I always told myself I'd only leave Zanesville if I could find a job where my NEXT job after that would bring me back to Ohio. I believe I've found that at WICD.

Less than a month in, I'm doing more work than I've ever done, and it's incredibly rewarding. Being one man in a Big Ten market pulls you in a lot of different directions, with a lot on your plate every single day. When that plate gets consumed, it's a fun drive home. When I leave a little on it, I constantly hope that the following day will be better. That's how it works, and it is a blast. I've learned from a lot of different people (inadvertently or otherwise) that if you don't stop to enjoy what you're doing in this business, you won't last very long. This afternoon, I took a moment to check out the bronze plaque that marks the dedication of Memorial Stadium. It made me think about how lucky I am to be a part of something so many people have held so sacred for so many years.

Hopefully, I'll be a little more consistent with my posts. I'm very grateful to be where I am, and hopefully if you played a role in getting me here, you have already received some sort of "thank you". If not, thank you. And see you soon. 

Losing in Memphis

Rewind to this summer and fall, when my good friend Marc Juszak was crushing me for my Cleveland Indians, Browns and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I told him, "you just wait until Xavier starts playing, I will destroy you." Needless to say, I've had countless opportunites to destroy Juice's alma mater. Here's my latest effort, after the epic collapse to the Memphis Tigers. "Losing in Memphis" borrowed from Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis"

Welcome Back. Nicholas Sparks is Terrible.

This is probably my 18 millionth attempt to get a blog started. This blog will contain nothing in particular. You can expect a heavy dose of sports, and a little of everything else. The first post will fall in the latter category.

My niece knew I had a thought on all Nicholas Sparks books, so she asked me to share it with her. I have always had a problem with the pure drivel that Sparks writes; I don't fault the guy for making an honest living, but it just amazes me how he gets away with writing books that contain such horrible overarching messages.

Here's how every Nicholas Sparks book goes. I'll preface this by saying I have NEVER read a single Sparks book (but I have--reluctantly--seen The Notebook). A girl I used to work with read them ALL, almost as soon as they came out, and would readily offer unsolicited plot lines to anyone who would listen. It is based on these one-sided "conversations" on which I base the following theories.