The following column was written by senior writer Jason Grodsky.

Usually this end of the year column is reserved for graduating seniors to say there farewell and thank yous, but the senior class here in the sports department at the Daily Illini is a little thin and as the longest employed person in sports and someone who is moving on I’m going to do the honors.

I feel very grateful to have worked at the DI for the three years I’ve been here and to have had the opportunity to a side of Illinois athletics that few get to see. But it’s my time to step down and move on to bigger and better things and let some of the up-and-coming writers take the reigns and lead the way.

I’ve bled Orange and Blue since the day I was born and grew up watching Illini sports and sitting in the crowds at Memorial Stadium and the Assembly Hall. When I first started working at the paper as a freshman who came a whole two miles away from his house to go to college, I never thought it would take me to the places I’ve been and allow to meet some of the most interesting characters this campus has to offer.

This year alone I’ve gotten to travel to Maui and sit five feet away from the greatest basketball player of all time. The football team’s magical run took me to Pasadena to chat it up with some of the best sports journalists in the world today (even if getting there took a 54-hour Greyhound bus trip from hell). And the best part of all of those trips and the countless others I’ve taken to cover games: I was getting paid to do it. Well, if you call what gets deposited into my bank account every two weeks getting paid.

Getting to where I am couldn’t have been possible without the help from certain people along the way, so I’d like to take the chance to thank them.

First off I’d like to thank former sports editors Erin Foley, Mike Rodriguez, Dave Just and Steve Contorno, all of whom have helped me refine my writing. Erin you taught me the ins and outs and took a chance on a kid who loved sports and gave me my big break. Mike and Dave, you two were probably the most entertaining guys to work under, and Steve, we may not have seen eye-to-eye on everything but I know you’ll make a great Editor-In-Chief.

To my partners in crime: Dan Johnson, Mike Theodore, Alex Symonds, Adam Harris and Jermey Werner. Thanks for making this past year one all never forget. From football practices, to the list of questions we came up with at the Western Illinois game, to the trip on Route 666, to the “bucket o’ beers” in Indianapolis, to not remembering the DI Sports Desk bar crawls, it’s been a great ride and I know you’ll keep up the quality of the sports section and surpass what I’ve done.

A special thank you the Illinois Division I Hockey team and head coach Chad Cassel. Covering you guys was probably the best time I had covering a team. Congratulations on a well deserved ACHA National Championship this year. Figures, I come in after you guys win a national title the year before and then the year I stop covering you guys you win another one. Guess I was the bad luck charm.

A big shout out to all the guys on the Illinois Division II Hockey team (yes, there are two teams). Playing with you guys the last two years has been indescribable and I’m looking forward to another year of late night practices and bus trips next year. I told all of you guys I would eventually get you into the paper.

To men of Alpha Sigma Phi, you’ve made the studying part of college bearable. You truly are gentlemen and scholars, with hearts beneath your vests. My times at the Ole Gal will never be forgotten.

A lot of credit has to be given to a group of guys that I’ve spent a very large portion of the last five-plus years with talking sports and getting into all sorts of shenanigans with. You know who you are and there are too many memories and moments to even start mentioning. I know we have another summer to remember ahead of us, even if Fat City is gone. Lets just all try to stay out of the hospital this year when August rolls around.

Last but not least, I’d like to thank my family. You all have supported me over the years and helped me reach my goals. I’m still convinced that you guys are the only people who even read my articles. A special thanks to my mom who has pulled my all my clips of the things I’ve written to make me an organized portfolio.

The biggest thank you is reserved for my grandpa, John Maurer. You’ve been my inspiration. Without you I wouldn’t be where I am today and I would be clueless in the world of sports, you’ve taught me pretty much all I know and I love you for that.

Finally, thank you to anyone who read any of the things I’ve written. It’s been a pleasure and trust me, I leave you in good hands.

When I went to ESPN.com this morning, it was somewhat vindicating to see some support for what I wrote about last week. NCAA lists five major violations against Sampson, Indiana Staff The NCAA alleges Sampson broke five more recruiting rules. This includes breaking rules during which he was already under sanction.

As I wrote last week, I do not think that Kelvin Sampson should be allowed to coach in the NCAA at least for a given period of time. There needs to be stricter penalties for those who cheat so that they don’t think its ok to do so.

When I went on to espn.com this morning the two big stories were about steroids in baseball and this. What happened to going on to ESPN.com to see highlights from a baseball game, or a preview of a good basketball matchup.

Some may counter that ESPN is sensationalizing this news. I on the other hand think that its cheating that has gotten out of hand and that leagues and organizations should clear house of anyone who knowingly cheats the rules.

The Poinsettia Bowl.

It all starts with the Poinsettia Bowl.  A clash between the Utah Utes and the Navy Midshipmen.  Tonight’s clash starts the best time of the year, sans March Madness, in sports–the college football season.  I will get to see two or more good college football teams clash at a neutral site for all but three days from now until January 7 of the New Year.  Obviously, the highlight for all of those in the great state of Illinois will be the New Year’s Day matchup between the beloved Orange and Blue and the number six USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl.  And regardless of the outcome, the pageantry and atmosphere in Pasadena should be enough to sustain the recently win-starved and now nourished Illini fans.

But my favorite part is not only getting to season my favorite team since birth in a BCS bowl, but getting to watch good college football for almost every day for almost three straight weeks.  This is where the proponents of a playoff in major college football miss out.  Granted, the bowl system is all about money and a playoff is not a likely scenario no matter how many dual titles are handed out by the pollsters, but the magic of the bowl system, is all about the experience, not so much the destination.  And I know that the BCS may have its flaws, but you can’t replace the unforgettable postseason encounter.

The experience a college football player gets from a bowl game, win or lose, is something they take with them forever.  It helps the players get real-time experience, helps for recruiting, it helps the fanbases and as seen in the C/U area already, helps stimulate the campustown economy.  The bowl season also rescues sports fans from the huge empty crater that is college sports on television during finals week, not to mention the meaningless NFL games that can force even the biggest die-hard to start sawing logs on the couch.  Gimme any of this season’s bowl games over Z-fests like this weekend’s Kansas City at Detroit or the Falcons visiting Arizona in Glendale.

But for all of you proponents of a playoff in college footall, I want you to watch some of the constant football action over the next couple of weeks and look at the tradition, along with the passion and wide eyes of the players and coaches involved, and think for a second if a playoff could make up for all of the pageantry and excitement brought on from the (second) best time of year.

Vince Young celebrating after perhaps the greatest bowl game of all time. Courtesy of www.austinist.com

For those of you who read my column today and wanted to see exactly what play in the Louisville UConn game I was talking about you can watch it here

At the end of the video clip the announcers talk about playing through the whistle, as in Louisville should have kept playing until they actually heard a whistle. It is a split second decision to either hit the guy or not hit him. 99 times out of 100 you hit him and that’s a 15 yard penalty. On a fair catch especially, I don’t think that you can really play through a whistle, you need to assume that if he catches the ball he is down.

What the officials did was terrible and the fact that the play was not reviewable just proves to me that there are still issues in the instant replay system.

I’ve always had a place in my heart for Notre Dame football. I’m not really sure why. Ever since my mother sat me down to watch Rudy, I tuned into NBC every Saturday to watch intently over the tenures of Lou Holtz, Bob Davie, the laughably short tenure of George O’Leary, Ty Willingham, and now the supposed offenseive genius Charlie Weis.

You’d think that with the current state of this year’s Fighting Irish football team, I’d be wiping my tears with a Golden Domer blanket and dreaming of better days in South Bend. But this is the greatest point in my Notre Dame hating career and these are tears of pure bliss.

You read that right. I have hated Notre Dame football ever since I learned the rules of football. Because in my opinion, cheering for Notre Dame football is like going to a casino and cheering for the house. Granted, Rudy is a great film that I still watch often, but since the first ND game I’ve watched I have wanted to kick that little leprechaun back on the rainbow he came in on.

Writing these last couple paragraphs has not only helped me vent, but it has also reminded me of why I dislike the Irish from South Bend so much. Here it goes.

First, the school has the most fair-weather and bandwagon fans this side of the Yankees and Red Sox. When Brady Quinn was playing pitch and catch with Jeff Samardzija last year and Charlie Weis got his big money extension, everyone I saw on Green Street and in class was high on the Irish. But after they had their yearly crash down to earth come bowl season and have started 2007 with four losses, a large majority of the Irish faithful who were chirping in my ear last season suddenly claim no Irish fandom at all. But I will admit I do know many good Irish Catholic ND faithful who follow the team no matter what. To my friends in this category, this is not directed to you. But those of you that support the Irish sparingly, please be a real fan and support your team through thick and thin like a real fan.

Second, they are perennially overrated. Granted, most of this is due to their national fan base and the fact that they are God’s team (not touching that one), but the media is also at fault here (I won’t even start on Lou Holtz). Turn on “College Football Today,” or any show having to do with sports, and you will see sound byte after sound byte from Charlie Weis proclaiming that they’re starting from scratch this week or that Jimmy Clausen will help erase the fact the Irish are averaging .8 yards rushing per attempt with a balanced attack. C’mon, we are all sick of seeing it.

But the fact that they receive lofty rankings to start each season that rise with each game — even if other teams are idle (this year was a lone exception) and seem to disappoint come bowl season is no surprise. The reason they haven’t won a bowl game since the 1994 Cotton Bowl is because of the poll voters and media hype for a program that routinely plays all three military academies in a season. Their schedule, with this season’s first eight games as an exception, is always a joke, with appearances from teams such as the aforementioned servicemen, Duke (WOW), and many others.

In 2005 The Irish were given a BCS bid over the Oregon Ducks — a team with a better resume and higher BCS ranking — to play in the Fiesta Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Irish were dominated in a 35-20 drubbing from the Buckeyes in a game that was never even remotely close.

Fast forward to 2006. Notre Dame returns nearly all its key players and its “offensive genius” Weis, and his team gets steamrolled by future No. 1 pick Jamarcus Russell. LSU won 41-14, which puts the Irish averaging a whopping 14 points per BCS bowl while allowing 38 per game. Maybe if they played a real schedule and weren’t hyped on every media outlet, they would look better when they play a national TV game not on NBC.

So although Jimmy Clausen will probably blossom into a good quarterback and Notre Dame will most likely return to glory, the Irish haters of the world like me can have their cake and eat it to. Eat it while it lasts.

Props to Minnesota and Indiana last week for barely beating mid-major teams and thwarting our perfect week. But anyway, here’s our predictions for this week’s Illini Media Company sponsored Big Ten Pick’em Contest. If you need refreshing on what this contest is about, here it is: In Friday’s edition of the Daily Illini, you’ll find an ad in the Sports section with the following weeks Big Ten games. You’ll have until the next Thursday to hand in those picks for the weekends Big Ten games to the Illini Media Building located between Fifth and Sixth Streets on Green Street. Then on Friday, David Just and Steve Contorno, the Daily Illini Sports Editors, will make thier picks as well and post them on the DI Sports Wrap-up blog. If your picks beat ours, then you’ll be put in a drawing to win free tickets to the next home game. Got it? Ok here we go.

Remember, the following picks are for this weekend’s games, but you needed to get the entry form from last Friday’s DI and submit it by yesterday to be included in this week’s contests. If you want to be in next week’s contest, go find a Daily Illini on Campus somewhere and search for the entry form with the games listed for the weekend of September 22.

Here’s the Sports Desk’s picks, Big Ten teams in caps, the winners in bold.

Season record: 9-2

ILLINOIS at Syracuse
Akron at INDIANA
IOWA at Iowa State
Notre Dame at MICHIGAN
Pittsburgh at MICHIGAN STATE
MINNESOTA at Florida Atlantic
Duke at NORTHWESTERN
OHIO STATE at Washington
Buffalo at PENN STATE
Central Michigan at PURDUE
The Citadel at WISCONSIN

Good luck!

Should sports personalities have a social voice?

Steve Spurrier spoke. And it wasn’t about recruiting or starting quarterbacks or his old stomping grounds winning a National Championship.

It was about the state he coached in; not about bringing wins to it, but removing the South from South Carolina.

“The Old Ball Coach” elaborated on his feelings about South Carolina continuing to sport the Confederate flag in its state capital, calling it an embarrasment for him and his players. He cited a game last year when ESPN’s Game Day crew was at the South Carolina stadium and someone was waving the Confederate flag in the background.

The reaction to Spurrier’s comments have been split. Some people have lauded him for what he said, bringing a new voice to an old debate. Others have given him the Dixie Chicks treatment, telling him to just coach football and keep his mouth shut.

But why? Sports icons are some of the most influential voices in scaping culture beyond the arena. This past week, the ceremonies for the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s first game have taught us that sports have completely altered the way we look at society. Former athletes have become Congressmen, have worked to fight various diseases and end poverty in third world countries. Why is Spurrier any different?

The topic was very controversial, and the proximity in which he brought up the issue to those who would be greatly offended was very close. However, if anything Spurrier should have just as much of a right to speak as anyone else. Outside of having to recruit African-American athletes to a state that still proudly flies a symbol of slavery, Spurrier is also responsible for molding the minds of the young men he brings to his University. What kind of mentor would he be if he taught the kids to keep their opinions to themeselves, that you’re just an athlete and people just want to see you throw and catch, not speak your mind on politics and social issues?

This is America, the land of free speech. It’s ironic that those cursing Spurrier are supporting a symbol of suppression.

But maybe the most important factor in Spurrier said was not the words themeselves, but the voice in which he said it. In his perfect Southern dialect, Spurrier spoke in the same voice of those who raise this flag of hatred, which is why his words are so threatening.

Spurrier can become a football god in South Carolina, especially if he brings the state a National Championship. And his beautifully twangy voice will only grow stronger. You won’t be able to keep him from speaking, and you have no right to.

1. Fives always beat twelves?
2. You win as many games as the number of Krugers on your team.
3. Good free throw shooting is a dying resource.
4. Kevin Durant can’t beat a whole team by himself.
5. USC is not just a football school.
6. Memphis wasn’t that overrated. 
7. Cinderella must be home by midnight (or at least by the end of the Sweet 16).
8. Patrick Ewing Sr. has an awful sense of fashion.
9. Those OSU jerseys are still really ugly.
10. Bruce Pearl looks better painted orange than coaching it.
11. Good looking tennis player + Gorgeous former Miss Sweden = One ugly athletic basketball player (but we learned that last year, didn’t we?).
12. Dick Vitale is still annoying.
13. Duke can lose in March.
14. The Big Ten is pathetic … but still manages a team in the Final Four
15. Vanderbilt has athletic programs.
16. CBS does a great job of covering the tournament.
17. Illinois can’t score.
18. Your bracket will get busted.
19. Southern Illinois is for real … someday
20. North Carolina, UCLA, Kansas–great programs always find ways to go deep.
21. Ohio State is really, really lucky.
22. CBS instudio analyst Seth Davis always has that creepy smile.
23. UCLA cheerleaders/dance squad have THE BEST uniforms EVER.
24. Texas A&M - Acie Law IV = Texas A&M CC
25. This is the best time of the year … and we still got two rounds to go.

It was right there for them to take.

The season that was whispered to be a disaster could have been relinquished on one made basket. Anyone could have stepped up. Rich McBride could have came back from injury and put a dagger in the hearts of Virgina Tech with a long three. Warren Carter could have sunk a baseline jumper just like he did in the opening minutes. Brian Randle could have found another momentum changing dunk in his back pocket. Just one basket in that five-minute stretch and we would have all remembered why Bruce is in charge–he knows how to win when it counts.

But McBride didn’t find his stroke, Carter did more to fuel the fire than put it out and Randle sunk back into his shell. And Bruce, well, Illini nation could be calling for him to leave the program if another disappointing season follows.

So the question must be asked: Will next year’s team repeat this year’s semi-disasterpiece?

All signs point to … maybe?

Illinois returns three starters next season. Shaun Pruitt could be the premiere center in the Big Ten if he continues his progression and if Illinois guards can find a way to get him the ball more. Against Virginia Tech, he was almost always double covered because Illinois’ motion offense doesn’t include the penetrate and pass.

Randle could be the best player in the country if he stops getting tic-tac fouls and plays at the level he’s capable of. But sometimes it seems like he’s held back because he’s a step ahead of his teammates. He’ll send an amazing pass that will clunk off the hands of one of our big guys and skip out of bounds. That has to be frustrating. The team has to have more of a feel for each other if they want to succeed. Starting together for three seasons with Pruitt should bring the familiarity needed to bring the game to a new level.

Chester Frazier, as great as his defense skills have become, is a liability on offense. Keep in mind that Deron Williams didn’t break out as a scoring point guard until his junior season. Still, I don’t think Frazier has that talent, despite having the heart. And, he’ll most likely be replaced by incoming freshman Demetri McCamey who actually does look like he could be the second coming of Williams and joins a draft class sprinkled with mid-major talent. But McCamey is a (rare) solid recruit who’s limelight was stolen by the Eric Gordon circus and might already be better than Frazier. It’s sad to say that about Frazier when he puts 110% on the court, but you can’t win basketball games with guards that can’t score.

Unfortunately for the Illini next season, their X-factor could be in prison, or at least dismissed from the team. Jamar Smith had the ability to turn into one of the Big Ten’s top shooters and step in as a reliable guard. Instead, it looks as though Calvin Brock will be a starter, who hussles and can make plays, but doesn’t have a big-time shot.

Which brings us to Bruce. The orange blazer isn’t the only thing getting old on the Illini’s sideline. People are starting to get sick of Weber’s “good guy” reputation. As much as I like him as a coach and as a person, his recruiting has been par at best, his substitutions boggle my mind and his motion offense looks like a bunch of confused third graders running around at recess.

Next year will be Weber’s toughest coaching assignment as he tries to motivate a team littered with small-conference transfers and three-star talent. The schedule will be much more difficult than D-II programs as we try to compete at the illustrious Mauii Invite. If the Illini get half the distractions they had this season, they will plummet to the bottom of the Big Ten. If that does happen, I think the team needs to part ways with Weber. It would be best for both sides. Maybe the Big Ten was too big for Weber. Maybe he’s best throwing X’s and O’s at kids who have nothing to lose on the court. You can only teach a player so much at this level before they’re just a really good role player, unless they have the raw talent to begin with. If Bruce had this team in any mid-major conference, they would run over everyone. But in the Big Ten, 9-7 is the best they will ever do.

Next season will make or break not only Weber, but Athletic Director Ron Guenther and the entire Illini basketball program. Two year’s removed from a near national championship, this team should not be heading for the gutter, not in college basketball, not when you’re Illinois and not when you have the entire Chicagoland area to recruit from. But it is. And next season, Weber will be playing every game like it’s his job (and it is) and his team will play tight, systematic basketball (because that’s all they will know). I don’t think we have to worry about next year’s basketball team being a repeat of this year’s in terms of disappointment. Nope, I think we’re looking at a much larger skid than that. Next year’s team isn’t fighting for a tournament spot, its fighting for a winning record.

Wow. How great is it that Duke was eliminated by Virginia Commonwealth in the first round of the tournament?

What a great photo. It won’t stop me from using my American Express card though. Using it doesn’t make me simply an athlete, but a human being, too. Happy Trails, Coach K.