Tate: It has to get better
With temperatures in the 90s, the Memorial Stadium crowd didn’t match the announced 42,175, and those hardy souls disappeared by the thousands as the game progressed. The north student section had...
View ArticleTate: An Ode to ’83
It was hot in September 1983, but sweating Illini fans weren’t easily dislodged from their seats. Even after an opening loss at Missouri (28-18), Illinoisans turned out 72,852 strong to see John Ayres...
View ArticleLoren Tate: Wow!
And those of us who considered Illinois more than an eight-point underdog would like the crow served on rye bread ... with Dijon mustard. Apologies for all the doubts you expressed about Nathan ......
View ArticleTate: Chicago hope
There are more than 3,000 varsity athletes in the 76-team Chicago Public League and, while there are three on the Illini basketball team, there’s not one on the 109-man UI football roster. &nb......
View ArticleLoren Tate: Hearty effort + schedule = optimism
If the Illini football team defeats Washington at Soldier Field, fans can start dreaming about getting to six wins. Are you a dreamer? Did you see bowl bubbles floating skyward after Illinois’......
View ArticleTate: Positives in a negative
CHICAGO — As losers go, this wasn’t a match for Texas A&M’s effort against Alabama on Saturday. But Tim Beckman’s Illini kept 47,312 customers in their seats, rallying within a touchdown of...
View Article’83: A season to remember … Michigan State
Don Thorp was at his best in the Illini's 20-10 victory against the host Spartans, columnist Loren Tate wrote. EAST LANSING, Mich. — Mike White’s Fighting Illini laid the groundwork Saturday......
View ArticleLoren Tate: Groce has put UI back on map
Men’s basketball coach John Groce has gone beyond Illinois’ borders to recruit some of his latest blue-chippers, and the strategy is starting to pay off. In the realm of bouncing and shooting an...
View ArticleTate: No real surprise here
LINCOLN, Neb. — If you aren’t attracted to Iowa, how about taking up residence a few miles west where it’s fiscally sound and shows less than 5 percent unemployment? A weekend in the state capital...
View ArticleLoren Tate: Volleyball, soccer need to pick up pace
The two women's squads — in addition to Tim Beckman's football team — want to play in the postseason, but there is more work to be done. Watch out for flying objects. Mischievous and grotesq......
View Article’83: A season to remember … UI 17, Ohio State 13
Each week during the season, we’ll look back at how the ‘83 Illini were doing in what turned out to be a magical run to the Rose Bowl. Today: Beating the Buckeyes CHAMPAIGN — The dark spell of Ohio...
View ArticleTate: Illini have fallen – can they get up?
All the appropriate words won’t change one fact: Illinois got hammered again Saturday, and losses take a toll. CHAMPAIGN — Experts have pondered, without success, an age-old problem: ... Continue...
View ArticleTate: Bardo’s book has former Illini up in arms
“I couldn’t sleep the first night after I saw this. I had people texting me from Chicago. It makes me look unlike the person I try to be." “One day we’ll come face to face, and I h... Continue reading →
View Article’83: A season to remember … UI 49, Indiana 21
Each week this fall, we'll look back at how the 1983 Illini were doing in what turned out to be a magical run to the Rose Bowl. Today: Closing in on history. CHAMPAIGN —The Fighting Illini mad......
View ArticleTate: Attention turns to Big Cliff
With all eyes firmly fixed on 3 p.m. Friday, the concentration of Illini Nation will be diverted tonight when Valparaiso comes calling at the State Farm Center. It’s good to be distracted from...
View ArticleTate: Passing’s no fad for Illini
Passing is basketball’s most overlooked skill. Some have a natural, eyes-in-back-of-head knack for it, others don’t. In 2005, when Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head were running the show —...
View ArticleLoren Tate: Football is struggling? What’s new?
This job was supposed to be fun. But the message stinging our ears at bars and barbershops — when Illini football comes up — and what you’re seeing at Memorial Stadium are a culmination of more than a...
View ArticleTate: Ekey gives Illini a shot
Illinois State fans weren’t unhappy when Jon Ekey transferred for his final season at Illinois. It was the Redbird judgment that he had little to offer after playing himself out of the starting lineup....
View ArticleTate: Thank goodness for Cubit
This isn’t retooling, it is full-scale reloading. Starting over. They handed Cubit a weapon but did they provide any bullets? Bill Cubit arrives with solid credentials, a frank and upbe... Continue...
View ArticleLoren Tate: Illini show drive on road
Rice, teammates use lane to their advantage against UNLV. During Tuesday’s first half in Las Vegas, 6-foot-9 Roscoe Smith, 6-8 Khem Birch and the athletic UNLV leapers blocked seven Illini sho......
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