Sports Notes, 12/3/06

Some things just aren’t important enough to get around to until now …

-- Can I call ’em, or can I call ’em? Loyal readers might remember that I predicted only three Big Ten teams would be favored in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge: Wisconsin, Michigan, and maybe Purdue. Well, here’s the list of favoreds: Wisconsin, Michigan, Purdue (by a scant 1.5 points!) and my beloved University of Illinois Fighting Illini. I knew I missed my calling to be an oddsmaker in Vegas!

-- Speaking of Illinois … Saturday’s game against Arizona was billed as a rematch of the 2005 Regional Final in which Illinois erased a 15-point deficit in the last five minutes to storm into the Final Four. It looked to me more like a rematch of the 2001 Regional Final, between the same two teams, in which every single play for all 40 minutes ended with a foul called against Illinois.

-- I don’t see why Ben Wallace can’t take the stupid headband off. Then again, I really don’t see why the Bulls can’t let Ben Wallace wear the stupid headband.

-- Just in case there’s anyone left who doesn’t see the parallels between these BEARS and the 1985 team, the Giants just resigned 172-year-old punter Sean Landeta. With the Giants currently in playoff position, things are lining up for a repeat of the legendary phantom punt from the playoffs of that much-storied season.

-- Dan Monson resigned as coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team after a 2-5 start. I think the obvious question here is, why is Minnesota still in the Big Ten?

-- No, seriously. There have been 11 teams in the Big Ten for over a decade now. If we show one of them the door, it would actually be the Big Ten. We can’t kick out Northwestern because all the Big Ten faculties share academic resources. Plus, it’s funny to beat up on Northwestern. Minnesota has no athletic, academic or comedic value. It’s been nice knowing you, you frostbitten hillbillies, but your bar clock is striking 2 a.m.

-- Awfully nice of the Hawks to man up and scratch out two third-period goals to make Denis Savard a 2-1 winner in his coaching debut Wednesday night. And it’s fitting that Tuumo Ruttu, one of very few players on this team who consistently gives as much effort as Savvy did in his playing days, scored the game-winner. They’ve won twice more since then. I might have to go to a game.