Moderator: Greetings to all once again. Lets attack the questions of the day and see where they lead us.

Dave C., Champaign, IL: Fred,

Huge game coming up Sat b/t Centennial 20-1 and Hillcrest 22-2 from the Chicago area. Hillcrest is ranked in the AP top 10 as is Centennial. Any knowledge about the matchups, team strenghts, etc. Does Hillcrest have any D-1 recruits? Should be a fun game to watch.

Moderator: Hi Dave. First, let me say that I'd be more concerned about this game from Centennial's standpoint had the Chargers not suffered a loss a couple weeks ago to Richwoods. Regardless of whether the team felt pressure from the year-long unbeaten streak, there's nothing like a loss to get a group of players refocused and concentrating on some areas where they might have been slipping by. Hillcrest is ranked fourth this week and Centennial moved up a slot to No. 2 in the latest AP poll. Obviously, this is a game that could go either way. Teams would like to think that when an opponent is virtually equal, the home court (and home fans) plays a bit of an edge. Remember the game has been moved up to a 5:45 p.m. start for varsity in order to allow fans who are so inclined to get to the Illini-MSU game afterwards at 8 p.m. I don't know a lot about Hillcrest, but I know junior point guard Julius Brown has had at least two 20-point games in a row. Thanks for the question.

Theresa Hoffman, Urbana, IL: Urbana has a big sports weekend starting with the Urbana/Centennial JV/V basketball game at the Urbana Middle School Friday - 6pm. Big 12 Swim/Dive meet on Saturday at the Urbana Indoor Aquatic Center starting at 9 am for the divers - 1:00 for swimmers. High School basketball schedule all games at Urbana High School on Saturday: Freshmen girls at 9:00 am, freshman boys at 10:30 am. JV/V basketball at 1:00. Would be great to get a lot fans and the press to come and support the athletes and the booster clubs as we will have concessions and Tiger merchandise for sale. Thanks for your help Fred.

Moderator: Hi Theresa. Doesn't it seem sometimes that there's either a lot going on about the same time or a huge void? Sure is a busy weekend for Urbana. The Aquatic Center is a great place to showcase the swimmers (and divers!) and that in itself makes Saturday a busy day. It's nice to see the boys varsity game with Carbondale is scheduled for the afternoon (1 p.m.) so that travel doesn't become an issue when the Terriers return home. You hope those sorts of things are reciprocated when your school is facing a long weekend road trip. I know it's not at home -- and won't help the concession stand sales -- but Saturday is a huge weekend for the wrestlers. Urbana and other area Class 2A schools with the sport compete in a regional at Mahomet. If the projections are correct, the championship matches could start around 1 p.m. I hope lots of folks go out to support their local teams this weekend.

Kevin K. Heyen, Paxton, IL: The PBL varsity boys' basketball team (17-2,5-0,ranked 10th in the state in class 2A AP poll) has been dominating their opponents this season with a run and gun offense and a smothering defense, not to mention their athletic ability to entertain fans with fast-paced transition play complete with slam dunks. This PBL team and its players and coaches are not getting the respect, recognition, and exposure locally that it deserves. Why is this?

Moderator: Hi Kevin. I'll have to be honest here. I've been thinking that the game coverage for PBL has been at least as good -- and in most cases better -- than for any other area school with the possible exception of Centennial. Thanks to the willingness of Jeremy Werner, a great addition to our News-Gazette team as sports editor of the Paxton Record, we've had a presence at a number of the Panthers' games. And, I'm sure he'll be at more games and writing stories for us in the very near future (like Friday's Sangamon Valley conference semifinal game). Scot Vogel's team is playing well and, as you indicate, is deserving of the state ranking and coverage which comes with it.

tom egelston, champaign, il: fred i would like to comment on coaches that don't call in scores.i don't think they are over worked or underpaid.i also would imagine they have losing records and don't want them published.there are many ways to get scores reported to the newspaper,fax internet, phone,etc.i would imagine they don't mind you writing articles about them or there teams.i suggest you switch jobs for a week and see how they would like working your job seven days a week alll hours and traveling all over the state and seeing your family maybe on sunday evenings only.that is being over worked and underpaid and under staffed.i don't believe they could finish the week.i have lived in chicago suburbs and other parts of the country .i lived in florida the last four years.probably the football capital in the country.if a coach couldn't call in scores he would be looking for a job,maybe walmart.that is why florida has national champs in many sports every year.they have turf fields that raise and lower for rain and some even jumbo tron scoreboards and sold out for life such as lakeland.to get to see a game in many schools is an honor.i have lived around the country and have read many articles from reporters on high school sports by far your the best i have read.the idea of printing coaches names in paper that don't call in scores as back in the day is a great idea and the athletic directors.coaches just be glad you have a reporter who is dedicated to his job.tom egelston

Moderator: Hi Tom. Thanks for the support. I'll say this about coaches/schools that don't report their results: it's much easier to deal with when it is the same coach/school on a consistent basis. You contact the coach, AD, principal, etc. when this occurs in an effort to get some satisfaction and the information we need. But in a year like this, where it is truly very widespread, it is much harder and time consuming to try and police. When I get to work in the morning, it's not an option to spend time on the phones with six or eight schools seeking results which weren't reported. If I do that, there's no hope of getting to everything else on my to-do list. The system works well if the coach -- or someone the coach designates -- reports all the results. Maybe it will happen this spring when we get into the baseball/softball/girls' soccer/track seasons. Thanks for the comments.

Brad, Urbana, IL: Fred,

am enjoying your all decade teams each Monday.

Your football team was this past Monday and just have a quick question. When it comes to teams who have mulitple good players at a certain position, ( for instance Unity and SJO have both had very good RB's over the decade for example), how do you pick one over another? Go by stats? Longevity?

Moderator: Hi Brad. You bring up an interesting point. One of the biggest factors in selecting our team is the performance over a period of time. If an athlete was an All-Area first-teamer three times that gives them an edge over the person who made the first team once but was Player of the Year for that one season. Continuing with that logic, since tough decisions and choices have to be made, for better or worse we decided not to pick what would be an actual team which could go out an play a game. In other words, if the football team doesn't include five offensive linemen and three or four defensive linemen, then that's the way it is. On the other hand, if it does include six running backs and three quarterbacks, that's the way it will be. This means we don't have to pick between backs with great stats from a couple of different seasons. It'll be the same when we get to basketball. If we have a team of all guards, or all centers, that's what we'll go with. We're not trying to pick what would be the players who could be the most competitive if we created a game for them. Rather, we are trying to recognize the individuals whose performance distinguished themselves the most from the previous decade. Thanks for asking.

tom egelston, champaign, il: frd,i would like to say urbana has done a great job of reporting scores to the paper and on there web page.also there has been great inprovement in wresling,they finished 5th in big 12 meet and had 2 2nd place finishers and 1 champion freshman cam mammmen.basket ball under new head coach russell has shown big strides lately beating charleston after 15 points down and beating danville.things are looking up for these sports.tom egelston

Moderator: Hi Tom. Actually, Urbana lost the game to Danville, but it's the only loss for the Tigers in their past four boys' basketball games. And, the effort against Danville was really good and the team was in the game for more than three quarters. I believe you are correct about the school's reporting of results. There have been very few, if any, problems with Urbana this winter as far as getting their information to us. I look for several wrestlers to qualify for sectionals and I would think that Jerae Murphy, Cameron Mammen and Chad Blaney could be in position to win their weight classes this Saturday at Mahomet. Thanks for the comments.

cam, mahomet, illinois: do you think mahomet will win the corn belt

Moderator: Hi Cam. The main thing, from my point of view, is that the Bulldogs are in position where they fully control their own destiny. With four league games left, M-S is tied with Normal U-High and Bloomington CC in the loss column (two each) and M-S plays both U-High and BCC next week. Win out and the Bulldogs will be the champions. Easier said than done. M-S' two Corn Belt losses wee to U-High and BCC and when they played Pontiac (another upcoming opponent) at home, won by three points. So, if you want a prediction, I would say it's not likely that M-S will win the Corn Belt outright this year. I think it's possible the Bulldogs could finish with three league losses and depending what else transpires, perhaps that would enable them to share the title. Thanks for asking.

Craig, Herscher, IL: Herscher (2A) is now 20-1. Do you think they can knock off the big city school again like they did when they beat Hales a few years ago?

Moderator: Hi Craig. Certainly it is possible. That was proven in the past. The odds are against them, but that's why games are played on courts and not on paper. Underdogs have a chance. The favorites sometimes falter. Once you get into the postseason and get beyond the first or second round of games, there's a lot of parity and a lot of teams capable of winning on that proverbial "given night." I've not had the chance to see Herscher play this year, so I don't know the particulars about their team, but when you have momentum from a season like the Tigers are having, there's reason to dream big as the playoffs approach. Thanks for asking.

John, Champaign, IL: What is you prediction on the game tonight between St. Joe and St. Thomas More girls game? Rivalry in volleyball. How is it in basketball? What are your keys? I disagree by the way with you and Tom on coaches calling in scores and getting docked for it. I remember when the gazette put all of the scores from across the state in so people were more informed in the box scores and you listed every game that day so people knew where to go in the area and where the good ones were. Should you be docked for not putting that in the box scores or not covering the good stories? I don't think so. However, as you said with the age of the internet, email, phones, faxes etc it would be very easy to know where the games are each day and what the scores were each night. As for time from families. Many coaches spend more time with their teams than they do with their own families too. So switching jobs would be no different. Everyone chooses their career and with it comes certain responsibilities. Yes, coaches should call in scores but not be punished if they don't. I don't think either make a good arguement. Just playing devils advocate.

Moderator: Hi John. There's a lot to play for tonight. A win will essentially lock up the conference title for STM (which has a Friday makeup against Tri-Point). A win by SJ-O will assure the Spartans of no worse than a tie for the SVC championship. I think if both teams were at full strength, SJ-O would be my favorite. But, that's not the case. Bria Olson (knee) and Rachael Graham (ankle) are not 100 percent; Josey Fruhling (hip) is out for the season and Kelsey Rademacher is starting to round into form following an appendectomy. My thoughts are that STM will prevail with both teams scoring in the low 40s. It will be interesting to see how STM handles the Tuesday one-point loss at Bismarck-Henning, which is still unbeaten. SJ-O still has enough talent that if the Sabers aren't mentally focused and ready to go, they could be beaten. As for your other comments, I, too, remember with pleasure the days when a more thorough listing of scores was readily available. People tell me not to live in the past, but some parts of the past are nice to recall with fondness. Thanks for the comments.

Chad, Urbana, IL: Whats your thoughts on Danville kids going D1 in football or basketball...hint hint possibly Illinois?

Moderator: Hi Chad. My thoughts. Danville kids to the UI? That would be great! Now, tell me who they are. I'm not sure there are any current seniors who would be recruitable by the Illini. Cameron Ford perhaps in football as a tight end or defensive lineman. He has visited Illinois State and has offers from some schools. He'll have a chance to play beyond high school. Some of the top underclassmen basketball players will too, specifically D'Lando Carter and Joey Robinson, but as of now, I would not regard them as high Division I recruits. The nice thing? Time will tell. They can still develop and elevate themselves in the eyes of others. Thanks for the question.

Moderator: Time to sign off for this week. We'll return again next Thursday. thanks to all for dropping by.