MOSTLY LOCAL SPORTS

The BLACKHAWKS are en fuego!!!!! eight in a row and 'BIG HOSS' appears to be waking up and if marion hossa starts scoring, the good times will keep on rolling on madison.
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want to change your life this weekend?  go to the annual boat show at McCORMICK PLACE  and get a great deal on that boat you always wanted. then you can start hanging out on the chain o lakes all summer long, spend hundreds each weekend on food & drink plus buying gas at five bucks a gallon in addition to paying a thousand for the inevitable broken propeller. when you add all that up plus the price of a divorce attorney, you'll never be the same. (you'll get to keep the boat, believe me)
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can we all agree that NICK SABAN is the greatest coach of the last three decades? five national championships and all them after surviving the regular season of the SEC. incredible.
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ok, so you don't want your kid to play football? i don't blame you and i would strongly suggest you get him fitted for a nice set of golf clubs and start him off at a local par three. 

and if he's any good later in life.....JORDAN SPIETH made over 53 million dollars last year. he turns 23 in july. and he got a free education without tearing up his knee or suffering a concussion.  even if your kid turns out average like most of us, it's a game he can play the rest of his life.
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BO RYAN knew exactly what he was doing when he bailed as coach of the basketball team early in the season because now that the players from ILLINOIS have graduated from their program, the badgers are back to being a bunch of fat & stupid farm boys who lack imagination and are basically devoid of athletic skills. the badgers sit 9-9 and 1-4 in the big ten.  hello N.I.T.
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on the flip side, kudos to CHRIS COLLINS and his NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS for their early success in the big ten (3-2) and an overall record of 15-3 that could have them heading to the ncaa post season for the first time in school history.
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another local school doing well at the halfway point is NORTHERN ILLINOIS with a 14-2 record and 3-0 in the mid-american conference under the tutelage of coach MARK MONTGOMERY, who played at MICHIGAN STATE and then was an assistant under TOM IZZO for nine years, in which the spartans made the tournament every year.  it's amazing how the apples don't fall far from the trees and success breeds more success. 
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and now onto the 'we still suck' file in which you'll find the DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS at 6-11 and 0-6 as they continue to get their asses kicked in the big east.  talk about a perfect team for the mac conference...........what the hell was coach DAVE LEITO thinking when he came back to this pile of garbage?  i guess everyone needs a paycheck.
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and in the 'we still think we're good' file, let's take a look at the FIGHTING ILLINI, who stand at 9-8 with a 1-3 conference record. this team hasn't been consistently good since the BILL SELF era in the early 2000's and are still trying to recover from recruiting thugs and gangsters under BRUCE WEBER. 
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finally, R.I.P. to hall of famer MONTE IRVIN, who followed JACKIE ROBINSON in breaking the color barrier in MLB and played 8 years for the new york giants and one year with the hapless cubs. 

he wasn't allowed to play in the majors until he was thirty but was one of the finest defensive outfielders of his time. monte also played in two winning world series and then after retirement, he worked as a scout for a few years before taking an administrative position with MLB. touch 'em all, monte.
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gotta go comb my 9 hairs and get ready for the powerball interview tonight. FYI--if i'm the sole winner, i'm renting a jet and everyone is going to ceasar's palace in las vegas for the kentucky derby so get your fancy hat ready. or better yet, i'll buy you one.