If Indianapolis or St. Louis or some other National Football League team ever needs a new preseason home, there's one nearby.
Just follow the balloons.
Ecstatic with how Illinois training camp has gone, Rantoul plans to court the pros next.
Pending blessing from the village board, a packet promoting the benefits of Camp Rantoul will be sent to NFL teams as early as this fall.
"Even if it doesn't work out immediately, if we can get our name out there it will help," village administrator Gary Adams said. "I'm convinced we can do it."
Adams and other Rantoul officials visited Platteville, Wis., last month to see how a small college handled the Chicago Bears. Among their findings:
– The Bears aren't very good.
– Rantoul can accommodate the NFL. It is Platteville with warmer weather and more comfortable beds.
"A year ago, this would have been a pipe dream," Adams said. "But after seeing Platteville and talking to Coach (Ron) Turner, I think we have the facilities to pull it off. We as a community would be foolish not to try to take advantage of it."
Before you start drawing your Peyton Manning poster, consider the highest hurdle.
Rantoul's commitment is to Illinois (this is the first of a five-year deal between the city and the Illini). Finding room for both the NFL and the Illini is dependent on scheduling. The NFL would have to be out of Rantoul by the time UI veterans report in early August. Most NFL teams left camp this week, so the timing may not work out.
"We wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our relationship with Illinois," Adams said.
Otherwise, Rantoul seems capable.
Players eat, sleep, meet and train in a confined area that would make NFL coaches drool. The community, which welcomed the Illini to town with a big hug, has hospitality to spare (a local laundry even offered to wash the UI's practice gear).
And NFL teams are out there. The Colts are considering leaving Anderson, Ind., and the Rams' deal with Macomb expires in a year.
"We'll send out our package and see if there's any interest," Adams said. "Hopefully it can work out."
Quiet, please
It's disappointing to see Turner closing practice to the media on a full-time basis.
Our football beat writer, Bob Asmussen, attended 95 percent of last season's practices. Columnist Loren Tate was a regular, too. Many story ideas and analyses came from attending workouts.
The danger becomes relying on the UI and its image-obsessed athletic department for information. A diary used to update media unable to attend practice is thick with notes and quotes. Then again, it's one-sided. It's quick to point out how great the offensive line looked in practice but doesn't mention a thing about any holding calls.
Understand Turner has a NFL background, where privacy and paranoia are in place. And he's not the only coach to limit access: Six other Big Ten Conference schools have similar policies. If he's thinking about surprising Washington State with a double-reverse on the opening kickoff, Turner shouldn't have to worry about the play showing up in a Friday afternoon headline.
Still, closing every practice is a bit extreme. Seems to me a floundering program with sagging ticket sales would welcome the attention.
Basketball notes
– We know Illinois guard Cory Bradford had 24 points and eight rebounds in three games – all losses – for a Big Ten all-star team that returned from Europe on Friday. Everything else is sketchy.
For some reason, full statistics weren't kept. Brian Ellerbe's team was to play five games, but only three were reported to the Big Ten office.
– It's been a good summer for former News-Gazette Area Player of the Year Brian Cardinal.
In July, he won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. men's basketball team at the Goodwill Games. Now comes word he's 1 of 25 finalists for the Wooden Award, handed out annually to college basketball's best player.
The Tolono toughie, who averaged 12 points and 4.9 rebounds as a sophomore, is 1 of 4 Big Ten players on the list, joining Michigan's Louis Bullock, Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves and Northwestern's Evan Eschmeyer.
Jim Rossow is sports editor for The News-Gazette.
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