Big Ten power rankings: Michigan rises to the top after Purdue’s upset of Ohio State

Jim Harbaugh’s crew is finally atop a ranking that doesn’t involve coolest spring break trips.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

Playoff pairings announced for first round games

Brett Detering is hoping the rematch isn’t a repeat.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

Former Cubs, Cards assistant Bell hired as Reds manager; Angels tab Ausmus

David Bell has been hired as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, tasked with helping turn around a team that skidded to a 67-95 record and last-place finish in the NL Central.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

Trubisky’s last-second toss a yard short as Patriots hold off Bears

CHICAGO — Tom Brady threw for three touchdowns and the New England Patriots hung on to beat the Chicago Bears 38-31 Sunday when Kevin White got stopped at the 1 on a 54-yard pass from Mitchell Trubisky.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.

Cardinals talking with Ankiel about a reunion as he prepares for comeback try

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has already had at least one conversation with former Cardinals pitcher and outfielder Rick Ankiel about his plans to come out of retirement and pursue a job as a reliever. In the coming weeks, Mozeliak intends to “touch base” and determine if common interest exists for a reunion.

Here’s a link to the story at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

NBC Sports Chicago to carry the LIVE announcement for every first round match-up on Saturday, October 20

COVERAGE OF THE “IHSA FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PAIRING SHOW” ON OCTOBER 20

 

NBC Sports Chicago to carry the LIVE announcement for every first round match-up on Saturday, October 20 beginning at 8:00 PM CT;

to also be streamed live on NBCSportsChicago.com, Facebook Live, & accessible via the NEW “MyTeams by NBC Sports” app!

Bloomington, IL/Chicago, IL  — The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Football Playoff Pairing Show presented by Wintrust returns to NBC Sports Chicago for its eighth season in 2018. NBC Sports Chicago – THE Home of the #AuthenticFan – will air the show live on NBC Sports Chicago+ on Saturday, October 20 from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM CT. Viewers are urged to visit NBC Sports Chicago’s “Channel Finder” page (NBCSportsChicago.com/channel-finder) for the exact NBC Sports Chicago+ channel locations in their area.

The IHSA Football Playoff Pairing Show, which will reveal the brackets and first round match-ups of all 256 playoff qualifiers across eight classes, can also be viewed via Live stream beginning at 8:00 PM on Saturday at NBCSportsChicago.com/WatchLive, on Facebook Live (Facebook.com/NBCSChicago), and will also be accessible for viewing to authenticated NBC Sports Chicago subscribers via the brand new MyTeams by NBC Sports app (NOTE: MyTeams is available on iOS and Android devices, at no cost, to fans anywhere in the U.S. and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store).

“The IHSA Football Playoff Pairing Show’ continues to be one of the most highly-anticipated events in the state of Illinois and we couldn’t be prouder to once again showcase two-straight hours of live, interactive coverage across all platforms on Saturday night,” said Kevin Cross, Vice President of Content for NBC Sports Chicago.

NBC Sports Chicago anchor Leila Rahimi hosts the show and will be joined by a panel of experts on-set, including long-time IHSA TV announcer Dave Bernhard and Illinois high school football bracketologist Steve Soucie. IHSA TV veteran Camron Smith will breakdown each class with media members from around the state, including NBC Sports Chicago prep football expert “Edgy” Tim O’Halloran. Viewers are encouraged to interact with the show and ask questions to be answered during the program by utilizing the Twitter hashtag #IHSAbrackets.

The program will once again feature highlights, coaches interviews and media analysis from all over the state. In addition, NBC Sports Chicago will be gathering teams & fan reaction moments throughout the “Land of Lincoln” on Saturday from numerous school playoff pairing parties taking place that evening.

“This is one of the most anticipated nights of the year on the IHSA calendar,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “Student-athletes, coaches and communities around the state have put their hearts into the last nine weeks, and for 256 teams, it’s an amazing chance to celebrate their accomplishments, while looking ahead to the path to the IHSA Football State Finals. We appreciate the time and effort that our partners at NBC Sports Chicago put into making this night so special.”

The IHSA Football Playoff Pairing Show kicks off NBC Sports Chicago’s playoff coverage of IHSA Football, which culminates with all eight state title games being televised and streamed by NBC Sports Chicago on Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 23-24), live from Memorial Stadium on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign.

Column: The Manny Machado issue: Do the Cubs want to spend $300M on a guy who won’t always hustle and plays dirty?

Quick, someone tell Manny Machado that playing dirty and refusing to hustle is no way to go through baseball.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

South Seven Conference champion Cahokia continues climb in Class 4A state football poll

Two weeks after clinching their first playoff bid since 2009 and a week removed from wrapping up an undefeated South Seven Conference championship, the Cahokia Comanches continue to move up in the Class 4A football poll.

Here’s a link to the story at the Belleville News-Democrat.

Rangers hire Shiraz Rehman as assistant GM from Cubs

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers have hired Shiraz Rehman as assistant general manager after he spent the past seven years in baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs.

Here’s a link to the post at the Southern Illinoisan.

Saluki Football vs. Indiana State notes & links

Jonathan Mixon

Tom Weber

By Tom Weber, SIUSalukis.com

Homecoming and Hall of Fame game

Story Links

Indiana State (2-4, 0-3 MVFC) at Southern Illinois (1-5, 0-3 MVFC)
Date & Time Oct. 20, 2018 | 2 p.m. CT
Location Carbondale, Illinois | Saluki Stadium (15,000)
TV/Video Stream ESPN+, Darren Kinnard, Mike Trude, Connor Onion
Live Stats Provided by SIU
Radio Saluki Radio Network with Mike Reis (play-by-play), Gene Green (analysis) and Connor James (analysis)
Radio Stream TuneIn (free)
Southern Illinois Game Notes (PDF) | Stats | Media Guide (PDF)
Indiana State Game Notes | Stats (PDF) | Media Guide (PDF)
MVFC Weekly Notes | Stats
All-Time Series         Salukis lead, 28-27 (H: 15-12, A: 13-15)
Social Media @SIU_Football image 4  |  @SIUSalukis image 7  |  Saluki Football image 6


Homecoming/Hall of Fame Weekend 
Saturday versus Indiana State is SIU’s Homecoming and Hall of Fame game. The distinguished, seven-person Hall of Fame class will be formally inducted in a ceremony on Friday night and then make public appearances during Homecoming festivities on Saturday. They will ride in the Homecoming parade and be introduced at the first-half quarter break of the game. The 2018 class features Jermaine Dearman (Men’s Basketball), Mallory Duran-Sellers (Softball), P.J. Finigan (Baseball), George Loukas (Football), Jeneva McCall (Track & Field), Bryan Mullins (Men’s Basketball) and Bruce Weber (Men’s Basketball Head Coach).

Series versus Indiana State
Indiana State has won its last three trips to Saluki Stadium in 2012, 2014 and 2016. The average margin of victory in those three games was 15 points. The visiting team has won five of the last six meetings between the schools, with SIU winning in Terre Haute in 2013 and 2017. 

Jeremy Chinn has created 12 turnovers in the last 18 games
In the last 18 games, S Jeremy Chinn (6-2, 211, Jr.) has six interceptions and six forced fumbles. A preseason All-MVFC pick, he is tied for second all-time at Southern in forced fumbles (6), trailing only Tyler Williamson (8, 2012-14). Chinn has started 23-straight games at safety for SIU — the longest active starting streak on the team. 

RB D.J. Davis — MVFC All-Purpose Yardage leader
RB D.J. Davis (5-8, 168, Jr.) is a prolific rusher, receiver and return man, who leads the league in All-Purpose yardage per game (152.3). He is sixth all-time at SIU with 3,499 career all-purpose yards (1,179 rushing, 641 receiving, 1,667 return). He opened the season with four-straight 100-yard rushing games. The last Saluki to do that was Deji Karim, who had five-straight 100-yard games in 2009. 
 
WR Raphael Leonard — MVFC Receptions leader
With seven more catches last week at Illinois State, WR Raphael Leonard (6-2, 193, Sr.) leads the MVFC with 35 receptions and has already surpassed last year’s season total of 34 catches. He has caught at least one pass in all 17 games he has played at Southern. Prior to SIU, Leonard played at East Mississippi Community College in 2016, where he was part of Season 2 of the popular Netflix documentary Last Chance U.

DE Anthony Knighton — MVFC Sacks leader
DE Anthony Knighton (6-4, 253, So.) leads the MVFC in sacks (5.5) and is the active team leader in career sacks (12.0) and tackles for loss (18.0). He has started all 17 games in his career and also has two forced fumbles, five pass breakups and one blocked kick. In 2017, he was runner-up for MVFC Freshman of the Year after recording 6.5 sacks. 

Dawg Bites

  • LB Bryce Notree (6-2, 235, So.) leads the team with 56 tackles, including 37 stops in the last four games. He had 11 as a freshman last year. Notree also has 4.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, and an interception.
  • SIU’s defense ranks 12th in the nation in sacks per game (3.17). The team’s 19 sacks is on pace to top last year’s mark of 23 sacks.
  • SIU’s quarterbacks are the team’s No. 2 and No. 3 leading rushers — Sam Straub (148) and Matt DeSomer (119). They have accounted for 22 percent of the team’s rushing yardage.
  • The Salukis committed 12 turnovers in their first four games, but only one in their last two. They are now -2 in the turnover battle for the season.
  • RB Jonathan Mixon (5-11, 230, Sr.) is the team’s active scoring leader with  16 career touchdowns (96 points). He has missed three games this year due to injury and parts of two others.
  • QB Matt DeSomer has rushed for 100 yards twice in his career (versus Youngstown State in 2017 and 2018). The school record for career 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback is three, set by Fred Gibson in 1987-88.
  • TE Logan Crouse made his first career start last week at Illinois State. He is a 22-year-old true freshman who played three seasons of pro baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system.
  • Nico Gualdoni (6-0, 227, So.) is 9-for-10 on field goals in his career, with a career long of 39 yards, and 30-for-30 on PATs. He has not missed inside of 40 yards (9-for-9).
  • The offensive line allowed only four sacks during Weeks 1-4 (183 pass attempts), but yielded six during Weeks 5-6 (68 pass attempts). Last year, the Saluki offensive line surrendered just 10 sacks for an MVFC leading average of 0.91 sacks per game.
  • Prior to last week, SIU led at halftime of its first five games and out-scored its opponents by 30 points in the first half.


Only one senior on defensive two-deep
Of the 22 players on the current defensive two-deep, only one player is a senior (LB Withney Simon). There are seven juniors, seven sophomores and seven freshmen.

Active Salukis in the NFL
Miami Dolphins LB Chase Allen 
Age 24 … Signed as free agent in 2017 … Has played in 20 career games with 5 starts … 43 career tackles … Ranks 12th in career tackles at SIU (324).
Tennessee Titans TE MyCole Pruitt
Age 26 … Drafted by Minnesota Vikings in 5th round in 2015 … Has played 26 career games with 3 starts … 12 career receptions … Is SIU’s all-time receptions leader (22).

  • Safety Ryan Neal is a rookie on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad and cornerback Craig James is a rookie on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.


QB Sam Straub returns
QB Sam Straub (6-4, 247, Sr.) missed the Youngstown State game with a concussion, but returned last week at Illinois State. Straub also missed the last three games in 2017 with a broken wrist. In 16 career starts, Straub has passed for more than 300 yards eight times and has a 7-9 career record. He holds the school record for career 300-yard passing games (8), career 30+ completion games (4), and ranks eighth at SIU in career passing yards (4,323) and sixth in touchdown passes (37). His career high in passing is the school-record 450 yards versus Western Illinois on Nov. 19, 2016. 

Darrell James climbing career receiving list
With 1,749 career receiving yards, WR Darrell James (6-0, 209, Sr) needs 61 yards to pass Justin Roebuck into fourth place all time at SIU. James has caught at least one pass in 23-straight games — the team’s longest active streak.

WR Landon Lenoir with breakout season
Entering the year with nine catches, slot receiver Landon Lenoir (5-11, 190, So.) has already caught 27 passes this season, is second on the team in catches and has caught at least two balls in every game. Lenoir has two relatives currently in the NFL. Brother Lance Lenoir (age 23), who holds the Western Illinois school record for career touchdown catches (28), is currently a member the Dallas Cowboys. Cousin Laquon Treadwell (age 23) is a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings.

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