University of Illinois trustees have approved a two-year deal for head football coach Bill Cubit. The pact will pay 1.2-million per season, which makes Cubit the lowest-paid coach in the Big Ten. Cubit served as interim coach after Tim Beckham was fired in August.
Kobe Bryant will start in the All-Star Game in his final NBA season. The Laker star, who is retiring at the end of the year, led all players in voting en route to his 18th All-Star selection. Steph Curry and LeBron James were also voted starters by the fans.
The Blackhawks’ franchise-record 12-game winning streak came to an end with a 2-1 loss to the Lightning. The Bolts extended their own winning streak to seven games with the victory. Tampa’s longest winning streak in team history is eight.
Major League Baseball is pushing back this year’s non-waiver trade deadline one day to August 1st. The move is designed to avoid having players on the field during Sunday afternoon games as they are about to be dealt to other teams.
The White Sox and reliever Matt Albers have agreed to a one-year deal. The pact includes a club option for 2017. The 33-year-old Albers went 2-and-0 with a 1.21 ERA in 30 appearances last season.
Free-agent slugger Yoenis Cespedes is in between division rivals. FOX Sports reports Cespedes is torn between an offer from the Nationals and his desire to remain with the Mets. Washington has reportedly offered a five-year deal while the Mets haven’t gone past three.
The Rams are facing another lawsuit by St. Louis fans. This one centers around personal seat licenses, which the plaintiffs feel should remain valid despite the team moving to Los Angeles. They argue they bought the PSL’s under an agreement they would remain valid until March 2025.
The participants in Super Bowl 50 will be determined on Sunday. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning could square off for the final time when the Patriots battle the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. The Panthers will host the Cardinals in the NFC title game.
Illinois has a road date tomorrow night at Minnesota. The Fighting Illini were trounced 103-69 at Indiana on Tuesday for their fifth loss in six games. Illinois is 9-and-10 on the season and 1-and-5 in the Big Ten. The Gophers have lost eight in-a-row to fall to 6-and-13 and 0-and-7.
Coming up tonight on Talk 101FM, it’s High School Basketball as the Talk 101 High School Game of the Week presented by World of Powersports is at Eisenhower High School as the Panthers play host to Chatham Glenwood. The Dale’s Southlake Pharmacy Pregame Show gets underway at 7:15p.m. and the tipoff follows at 7:30p.m. Join Scott Busboom and Glenn Purvis with all the action tonight on Talk 101, and online at decatur radio dot com.