A clip of Jeff Jordan's first basket as an Illini

Check out the above clip. It's about 30 seconds of action from the Illini basketball team's trip to Canada for their pre-season exhibition tour. Why did I post it? It shows Jeff Jordan's first basket as an Illini. I didn't know he was a lefty. He's only 6'1", but he's got hops just like his old man.

Watch Erin Andrews paint an Illini nose!

The MichiganZone defends the Illini in its "Top 25 Re-evaluation"!

Listen up Illini fans! You're not going to BELIEVE this! Our friend Yost, over at the MichiganZone, puts up a very good argument about how the AP and coaches top 25 is pretty much skewed toward teams that get pre-season media hype. The blog post includes some legit props that are handed out to the Fighting Illini. It's a must read for Illini Fans!

Wednesday's Illini Chatter

We thought it'd be fun to take a run through the media maelstrom that has hit Illinois Football and Ron Zook this week. Here goes:

Matt Hayes of the Sporting News examines Illinois' meteoric rise in this article. It's another one of the many incredulous looks at Zook's recruiting magic, which he has now turned in to magic on the field. Yep, of course there's discussion of Zook's tears following the Wisconsin game!

The Sun-Times talks about how Zook has the Illini Football team "flyin'" here in this article.

Are you wondering what Kirk Frerentz thinks of the job Ron Zook is doing at Illinois? If so, then you have to check out this article. Of course, Frerentz acts like he's not surprised that Illinois is suddenly an awesome team.

It looks like Zook's on the field success is going to help his bank account. Illinois is allegedly trying to lock him up through 2012. They're looking to bump his already over $1 million annual salary by a couple hundred thou' a year. Zook, of course, claims he's not sweating the contract stuff at all. He just wants to win, baby.

InsideIllini.com posted a decent article that attempts to analyze why the Illini are "so good" so far. The article is kind of all over the place. It hypes their young talent, especially Martez Wilson. It gives most of the credit for the team's success to good coaching and to the players being tired of being doormats, however. The article claims that the most important game of the season so far was the Syracuse game, and credits that game with being the catalyst for everything that has happened since.

Here's an article from the Daily Illini that says the Illini are in now way going to overlook the "stumbling" Hawkeyes. Let's hope not! Iowa REALLY stinks!

The Detroit Free Press has posted an article titled "The Big Tennys", in which it dishes out mid-season awards. Illinois earned the title of "Biggest Surprise". Surprise!

Mark Tupper (we call him the Tubby Tuppster) writes a hype article about Illinois' bowl projections. Tupp Doggy Dogg can't resist injecting that Rose Bowl hype. Awesome!

If you want Zook's take on Saturday's game at Iowa, here is a condensed version of this week's press conference.

As you can see, the media wires are just FLOODED with Illinois stories. It's about time! Many of them still express cynicism about Zook. Emphasis is on how he's a great recruiter, so good, in fact, that his talent gathering abilities make his "bad coaching" meaningless. I don't buy any of it! I mean, look at Charlie Weis over at Notre Dame. They've had some good recruits come in there over the last three years. And Weis is in his third year just like Zook. Yet Notre Dame is a miserable 1-5! I think it's high time Zook start getting some credit for his coaching as well as his recruiting. Maybe it's that stupid "swinging gate" thing he has the Illini do on extra points. Stop doing that play, Ron, and you'll start getting the credit you deserve!

A look back at the Titanic win against the Sconnies!

FLASH TRAFFIC! FLASH TRAFFIC! FLASH TRAFFIC! THE SPORTING NEWS ANNOINTS ILLINOIS AS BEST TEAM IN BIG TEN!

Wow. I'm actually almost speechless. Read this article folks. The national media now believes that Illinois is the best team in the Big Ten.

Ha Ha! I bet recruiting will really take off now! How long till the drum beats for a national title run?

Go Illini!

Biggest Game in a Loooonnnnngggg Time against Wisconsin

Well, guess what Illini fans. The snowball was rolled off the top of Mount Everest last weekend after the victory against Penn St. at home. That snowball has turned into an avalanche for the Illini football program. The national media is starting to pay attention folks. Check out this story by ESPN.com. If the Illini can somehow beat Wisconsin on Saturday, the avalanche will undoubtedly turn in to one of biblical proportions! Imagine how easy it'll be for Zook to convince recruits to come to Illinois then!

Now, if he would only stop doing that "swinging gate" thing on extra points.......

Go Illini! Beat the Sconnies!