Tales from the 2004-05 Fighting Illini
Tales from the 2004-05 Fighting Illini

Author: Brett Dawson

Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC

Published: 2005-10

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1596701218

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The word team is often overused in sports writing. It's used casually to refer to a collection of players that represent any old franchise or college. It's used passionately to describe a rooting interest--that's our team. And, occasionally, it's used to discuss what has come to be a cliche: the idea of a group of individuals coming together for the common good, sacrificing all personal gain for the greater goal of winning a championship. Serious scribes don't toss around that meaning of the word team lightly--or very often. And with good reason. In sports, there's rarely a cause to use it. But, there is no wiser usage of the word team--a unified core of players all working toward the same goal--than when applying it to the 2004-05 Fighting Illini squad that we've all come to cherish. They were a team like no other. Tales from the 2004-05 Fighting Illini captures the team step-by-step on its March to the Arch. News-Gazette reporter Brett Dawson shadowed Bruce Weber's boys the entire season and shares his insights into what made this team so special. The entire season was a rollercoaster ride of emotion: from the thrilling peaks--victories over Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Michigan State and ArizonA and unfortunate lows--the loss to Ohio State and the death of coach Weber's mother. Dawson adds a new perspective to those moments, plus goes behind the scenes to discover what made this team tick. He examines their funny bone as well as their fierce will to win. It's all here: from Midnight Madness to the first Dee for Threeeeee to the hoisting of two Big Ten trophies and finally a date with North Carolina in the NCAA finals. Dee, Deron, Luther, Roger, and James--led by the nationalcoach of the year--have a story to tell. Until today, only half of it has been told.

More Tales from the Cubs Dugout
More Tales from the Cubs Dugout

Author: Bob Logan

Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1596700335

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This humorous and revealing title lets readers bite off a huge chunk of tasty Cubs? fun, fantasy, heartbreak, and happiness during unforgettable afternoons in the sun, rain, wind, and fog that make every inning an adventure at Wrigley Field. It's written in the sprightly style of Bob Logan, who covered baseball for 32 years as a sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald. All of the tales add up to an entertaining slice of Cubs lore in every chapter, full of enjoyable facts, and well remembered characters.

One for the Ages
One for the Ages

Author:

Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9781596701328

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During the most historic and record-setting year in Illinois basketball history, the Illini captured the hearts of fans everywhere. Those fans can now celebrate the 2005 championship run in One for the Ages: The 2004-05 Fighting Illini's March to the Arch. The first title to be available on the market following the Illini's nearly perfect season and run to the Final Four, the book is full of vibrant full-color photos from The News-Gazette in Champaign, taking readers through the regular and post-seasons. Included are statistics and game recaps for the most significant games as well as complete coverage of the Big Ten Tournament, the NCAA Tournament, and the Final Four.

Blood, Sweat, and Cheers
Blood, Sweat, and Cheers

Author: Todd Mishler

Publisher: Big Earth Publishing

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9781931599955

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For pure spectacle, passion and tradition, nothing in sports beats a college football rivalry--and the Big Ten has some of the best. Whether it's Wisconsin and Minnesota renewing thier ancient battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe, or Ohio State and Michigan scrapping for conference dominance, you'll discover the history, ritual, and color of some of football's oldest and greatest blood feuds.

The University of Illinois Memorial Stadium
The University of Illinois Memorial Stadium

Author: Kevin Hinders

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-10-28

Total Pages: 560

ISBN-13: 1040143873

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This book offers a rigorous but graphically compelling narrative historic analysis of one of the most important civic buildings not only of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, or the State of Illinois, but arguably of the United States, Memorial Stadium. Like all spatial products, the design and construction of the University of Illinois Memorial Stadium embodies the social, political, economic, aspiration, and aesthetic values of its time. This book will engage in critical analysis including documenting the civic discourse that led to the Stadium and thereafter explore the iterative nature of the Stadium in shaping civic discourse. In this vein, central topics include its role in embodying the state’s economic growth; the changing nature of the sociocultural tendencies and its impact on campus life and the University’s community; the Stadium’s effects on UIUC sports and the campus’ built environment; the rise of College sports as big business; and the impact on mass culture across the State and the country, like the use of stadiums as concert venues and place of public discourse. More than a simple study of the building’s conceptualization, design, and construction, this book reveals why Illinois’ Memorial Stadium is an iconic part of the American Midwest’s built landscape and in many ways part of the American mythic landscape. This will be interesting reading for all those familiar with the building, as well as all students and scholars of sports architecture.

Dee Brown
Dee Brown

Author: News-Gazette

Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13: 1596701714

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The sound of the public address announcer yelling out "Deeeee for Threeeee!" reverberated throughout the Assembly Hall for four magnificent seasons, "The One-Man Fast Break" became a household term to college basketball fans around the country, and orange headbands sold out in sporting goods stores everywhere in central Illinois. Dee Brown will probably go down in history as the most popular player to ever suit up for the University of Illinois, as he became the ideal teammate and a positive role model for children all over the state during his four years of basketball bliss in Champaign-Urbana.The daily newspaper that covered Dee Brown more than any other, The News-Gazette in Champaign, has put together a tribute to a player no Fighting Illini fan will ever forget. Dee Brown: My Illini Years highlights his four seasons through numerous articles and stories first found in the pages of the paper's sports section, along with dozens of vibrant full-color photos. The book also features tribute sections, an epilogue from Coach Bruce Weber, and quotes from teammates, coaches, and UI fans who witnessed the amazing and thrilling career of a college basketball legend that was highlighted by a trip to the 2005 national championship game.

Passing Game
Passing Game

Author: Murray Greenberg

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2008-11-04

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 0786726954

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Benny Friedman, the son of working class immigrants in Cleveland's Jewish ghetto, arrived at the University of Michigan and transformed the game of football forever. At the time, in the 1920s, football was a dull, grinding running game, and the forward pass was a desperation measure. Benny would change all of that. In Ann Arbor, the rookie quarterback's passing abilities so eclipsed those of other players that legendary coach Fielding Yost came back from retirement to coach him. The other college teams had no answer for Friedman's passing attack. He then went pro -- an unpopular decision at a time when the NFL was the poor stepchild to college football -- and was equally sensational, eventually signing with the New York Giants for an unprecedented 10,000, bringing fans and attention to the fledgling NFL. Passing Game rediscovers this little-known sports hero and tells the story of Friedman's evolution from upstart to American celebrity, in a vivid narrative that will delight and enlighten football fans of all ages.

Northern Illinoise
Northern Illinoise

Author: Dave Wischnowsky

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2004-11-12

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 1462803156

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Northern IlliNOISE Tales of a Territory Theres noise. And then, theres Northern IlliNOISE the sounds of which are unlike anything else that youll encounter. Anywhere. Take Dave Wischnowskys word for that. Because, from August 2002 to July 2005, the author of the popular Wisch List column for The Daily Times a newspaper located in the picturesque town of Ottawa in the heart of North Central Illinois did nothing but listen to those sounds. And then wrote about every dang story he heard. In Northern IlliNOISE: Tales of a Territory, follow Wischnowsky as he chronicled life and the people who live it in and around La Salle County in north central Illinois. Featured in "Northern IlliNOISE" are 75 of the versatile Wischnowskys award-winning "Wisch List" columns, which cover any and every topic under the sun. From the inspirational to the silly, from the hapless Chicago Cubs to the University of Illinois rollicking basketball program, to the rich history and geography of Northern Illinois, it can all be found along with much, much more in "Northern IlliNOISE." Included among the books scads of terrific tales is the powerful legend of former Ottawa Township High School student Mark Wiebe, a young man diagnosed shortly after birth with the debilitating disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which left him for the most part paralyzed and his body weighing only 40 pounds. In spite of his limitations, however, nothing could keep the wheelchair-bound, but utterly-irrepressible Mark and his beloved marbles from carrying more weight in the hearts of others than an entire army of able-bodied men. Marks amazing spirit and story touched thousands both before and after his death at the age of 17 in June 2003. Through "Northern IlliNOISE," youre also invited to follow Wischnowsky, a former award-winning sports writer, as he followed his beloved Chicago Cubs on a wild, wacky, funny and (big surprise) ultimately fruitless cross-country journey through the 2003 and 04 Major League Baseball seasons. From Chicago to Miami to Atlanta to Milwaukee to Denver ... to Despair, Wischnowsky was there for the Cubs entire comitragic playoff run of 2003. And then back again for their high hopes and, of course, ultimate heartbreak during the wild summer of 2004. In addition to Wischnowskys array of "Wisch List" columns, "Northern IlliNOISE" also includes the remarkable tale of "Pilgrim George," a man with a gray, waistlong beard, denim robe and wooden staff who, for the past 34 years, has been walking the earth on a neverending pilgrimage in the name of Jesus Christ. An astounding story of faith, determination and courage, Pilgrim George who has no job, no money, no family and no home relies on the goodwill of others and the grace of God each day as he fulfills the calling he said he received from the Lord more than three decades ago. The 29-year-old Wischnowsky is the winner of a total of 18 editorial awards from 2001-05, including six first-places and one Top 10 National. Through his "Wisch List" columns and now through "Northern IlliNOISE" Wischnowsky has touched lives, moved hearts, and tickled funny bones with a style and passion for writing unlike anything youll find elsewhere. So, cmon ... feel the NOISE.

Tales of Coles County, Illinois
Tales of Coles County, Illinois

Author: Michael Kleen

Publisher: Lake Ridge Press

Published: 2020-10-01

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1618760246

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The sixth and final edition of Tales of Coles County, Illinois combines the original Tales of Coles County, the Legends and Lore of Coles County, and a new third section on the Hidden History of Coles County with updated pictures, additional legends, and new stories. First published in 2004, Tales of Coles County, Illinois takes an entertaining look at local history through vivid historical fiction. When four students from Eastern Illinois University are stranded during a violent storm, they seek shelter with an elderly couple who give them more than they bargain for. After one night, the four will never look at Coles County the same way. With each story, they learn more about the place they've come to call home. The Second Battle of the Ambraw, the Charleston Riot of 1864, the Coles County Poor Farm, events surrounding the Airtight Bridge Murder, and the Blair Hall Fire of 2004, all are told. In the Legends and Lore of Coles County, Michael Kleen reveals over a dozen hidden stories from the from the area’s past and present, including ghost stories, folk tales, and other legends and lore. When did a poltergeist terrorize one rural family in Pleasant Grove Township? What is the real story behind the “Mad Gasser of Mattoon”? Why do they call one stretch of road "Dead Man's Curve"? The answers to these questions and more can be found in this definitive volume. In part three, Hidden History, Michael Kleen examines events some believe are better left unremembered. What is the history of Coles County’s ghost towns? What were some of its most infamous murders? What happened in the Tornado of 1917? Never-before published information about Mattoon's battle with Prohibition and even a local chapter of the KKK is inside.

Barack Obama
Barack Obama

Author: Burton I. Kaufman

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2022-03-15

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 1501761986

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In this insightful biography, Burton I. Kaufman explores how the political career of Barack Obama was marked by conservative tendencies that frustrated his progressive supporters and gave the lie to socialist fearmongering on the right. Obama's was a landmark presidency that paradoxically, Kaufman shows, resulted in few, if any, radical shifts in policy. Following his election, President Obama's supporters and detractors anticipated radical reform. As the first African American to serve as president, he reached the White House on a campaign promise of change. But Kaufman finds in Obama clear patterns of classical conservativism of an ideological sort and basic policy-making pragmatism. His commitment to usher in a multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural society was fundamentally connected to opening up, but not radically altering, the existing free enterprise system. The Affordable Care Act, arguably President Obama's greatest policy achievement, was a distillation of his complex motivations for policy. More conservative than radical, the ACA fitted the expansion of health insurance into the existing system. Similarly, in foreign policy, Obama eschewed the use of force to affect regime change. Yet he kept boots on the ground in the Middle East and supported ballot-box revolts geared toward achieving in foreign countries the same principles of liberalism, free enterprise, and competition that existed in the United States. In estimating the course and impact of Obama's full political life, Kaufman makes clear that both the desire for and fear of change in the American polity affected the popular perception but not the course of action of the forty-fourth US president.