>>Illinois Falls To Iowa In Overtime
(Champaign, IL) — Illinois is still winless in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini lost 104-97 to Iowa in overtime at the State Farm Center. Trent Frazier scored 27 points for Illinois, which lost its third in-a-row. The Illini are 10-and-8 overall and 0-and-5 in conference play. Illinois is off this weekend. The Illini will be on the road at Nebraska on Monday.
>>NFL Divisional Round Preview
(Undated) — The NFL playoffs resume this weekend with the Divisional Round. Tomorrow, the Eagles host the Falcons and the Titans visit the Patriots. Philadelphia is starting Nick Foles at quarterback for the injured Carson Wentz. On Sunday, the Jaguars travel to face the Steelers and the Vikings welcome the Saints to Minneapolis. The AFC and NFC Championship Games are next weekend.
>>NFL Looking Into Rooney Rule With Raiders
(Oakland, CA) — The Raiders’ hiring of Jon Gruden is coming under some fire. The NFL is looking into whether Oakland violated the Rooney Rule. Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie said on Tuesday that he interviewed two minority candidates before announcing Gruden’s return to Oakland. The two interviewed were Raiders tight ends coach Bobby Johnson and USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin.
>>Steelers’ Bell Would Consider Sitting Out Or Retirement If Tagged Again
(Pittsburgh, PA) — Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is already thinking about next season and beyond. The 25-year-old tells ESPN that he is prepared to sit out a season or even retire if the Steelers use the franchise tag on him for a second straight year. Bell’s franchise tag was worth 12.1-million-dollars this season. That number is expected to rise to about 14.5-million next season.
>>NFL Unveils 2018 London Lineup
(New York, NY) — The NFL is unveiling its three-game London slate for next season. The Seattle Seahawks will play the Raiders October 14th at Tottenham Stadium, the Philadelphia Eagles face the Jacksonville Jaguars on either October 21st or 28th at Wembley Stadium, and the Tennessee Titans take on the Los Angeles Chargers on either October 21st or 28th, also at Wembley Stadium.
>>Cardinals Avoid Arbitration With Grichuk
(St. Louis, MO) — The Cardinals are avoiding salary arbitration with outfielder Randal Grichuk. The two sides have agreed to a one-year contract worth a reported 2.5-million-dollars. The Cardinals still have three arbitration-eligible players in Marcell Ozuna, Tyler Lyons and Michael Wacha. Today is the deadline to exchange figures.
>>Blues Off This Weekend
(St. Louis, MO) — The Blues have this weekend off. They don’t play again until Tuesday against the Maple Leafs in Toronto. It will be the start of a two-game road swing that will also take St. Louis to Ottawa next Thursday. The Blues have lost three in a row and are third in the Central Division with 55 points, four behind the first-place Jets.
>>Report: Bears Hire Helfrich To Be OC
(Chicago, IL) — The Bears are turning to a former college head coach as their new offensive coordinator. ESPN reports Matt Nagy is bringing in former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich to be their OC. Helfrich went 37-and-16 in four seasons in charge of the Ducks. They averaged 42.6 points per game and 536.7 yards of offense under Helfrich.
>>Bulls Host Pistons Tomorrow
(Chicago, IL) — The Bulls begin a three-game homestand hosting the Pistons tomorrow night at the United Center. Chicago will also play Miami and Golden State on this stand. The Bulls ended a two-game losing streak by beating the Knicks in double-overtime on Wednesday. The Bulls are 15-and-27, six-and-a-half games out of a playoff spot. Detroit is 22-and-18.
>>Blackhawks Host Jets
(Chicago, IL) — The Blackhawks welcome the Jets to the United Center tonight. It’s the second of a six-game homestand for Chicago, which started with a 2-1 loss to the Jets on Wednesday. The Blackhawks are second-to-last in the Central Division with 48 points, but just two out of the second wild card in the West. Winnipeg leads the Central with 59 points.
>>Celtics Rally Past Sixers In London
(London, England) — The Celtics rallied from 22 points down to beat the Sixers 114-103 at the O2 Arena in London. Kyrie Irving collected 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists for Boston, which stretched its winning streak to seven games. Jaylen Brown added 21 points for the Celtics, who lead the Eastern Conference at 34-and-10. JJ Redick hit 5-of-9 from three en route to 22 points for Philadelphia.
Coming up tonight, the Talk 101 High School Game of the Week presented by Landmark of Taylorville is at Eisenhower as the Panthers play host to the Generals of MacArthur. Dale’s Southlake Pharmacy Pregame Show gets underway at 7:15 p.m. and the tip-off follows at 7:30 p.m. Join Scott Busboom and Kevin Hale with the call tonight on Talk 101 FM!