Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 15

New Monsters of Midway It- Streaking Bears, tough defense draw V- imp0iim iftft )wiwfl- I i ta pnmnarisnnsr.fi SHG ekes out 5A title; Morris quiets Normal IHSAplayoffsC4 Questions or comments regarding this section? Contact Sports Editor Mike Albright at 421-7909 Carolina on Mini's minds after title Compiled from staff and news service reports Irish eye BCS after escape The Irish virtually locked up their first Bowl Championship Series berth since their Jan. 1 2001 appearance in the Fiesta Bowl with a frighteningly close 38-31 victory Saturday JPyM? over Stanford. Si Darius Walker's 6-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion with 51 seconds left helped Notre Dame escape. Stanford had rallied for a 31-30 lead on a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback T.C. Ostrander to Matt Traverse with 1 :46 remaining.

The Cardinal's go-ahead score was set up by a 76-yard sideline pass from Ostrander to Mark Bradford to the Irish 4-yard line with 1:59 left. College footballC4 Funk doesn't skirt issue Nice skirt, Funky. In a Skins Game first, Fred Funk played a hole worth $75,000 while wearing a pink flowered skirt, his penalty for being outdriven by Annika Sorenstam. But the 49-year-old Funk got the Big TenACC Challenge No. 15 Illinois (5-0) vs.

North Carolina (3-0), Tuesday, 8 p.m. "Once we got the lead they extended their defense and that allowed for a lot of dribble-penetration," Illini coach Bruce Weber said. "(Randle) got inside and got a lot of things done. That's what we thought he could bring to our offense and this was a very good game for him." Randle agreed. "I think a lot of what I can do really came out today," he said.

"Last night I realized the younger guys are doing well but it's my job, James' job, the older guys' job. "I'm making progress. This gives me more confidence. Basketball is a game of confidence, and this game boosts me up." It also acts as a prelude to what awaits next. TITLEC3 Randle nets career best: rematch next By MARK TUPPER Executive Sports Editor SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas With a tournament championship in hand, the 15th-ranked Mini basketball team can now focus on a game ESPN is billing as "The Rematch." Illinois' 77-57 victory over Rutgers on Saturday night nailed down the championship of the South Padre Island Invitational.

It was a kind of coming-out party for Illini sophomore Brian Randle, who set the tone with a clamp-down defensive effort, then added a career-high 16 points, an assortment of heady passes and five rebounds. While Randle ended up being a tour de force at both ends of the floor, he had plenty of help from his supporting cast. James Augustine, named the tournament's most valuable player, fought early foul trouble and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Rich McBride added 11 points and Dee Brown 10 as Illinois improved to 5-0. McBride and Brown joined Augustine on the all-tournament team.

But Illini players, coaches and fans in attendance were buzzing about the play of Randle. "When he goes out and does what he can do, he's unstoppable," said Augustine. last laugh on a silly Associated Press Coach Bruce Weber found little to complain about other than this call after Brian Randle scored 1 6 to lead his team to Saturday's 77-57 win over Rutgers. Saturday in the desert, rolling in a 15-foot eagle putt from the it fringe on No. 9 to win DECATUR TURKEY TOURNAMENT skins.

fakes Tiger Woods ignited a battle of the sexes by ribbing Funk itself out that he'd never hear the end of it if Sorenstam outdrove him even once 1 ffs 1 of playo 54 during the Skins Game. After coming close on the first two holes, Sorenstam outdrove Funk by 7 yards on the third hole. Funk had agreed beforehand to wear the skirt for the entire hole if Sorenstam outdrove him. He just didn't imagine having to wear it so early. Brits remember soccer's Best Thousands of mourners of soccer star George Best turned Old Trafford stadium into a shrine on Saturday, leaving flowers, scarves and written tributes.

The 59-year-old Best, a former 4 I SIU prevails after failed pass on punt By MIKE M0NAHAN Staff Writer CHARLESTON Trailing 14-6 with eight minutes, 23 seconds left, Eastern Illinois' football team gambled on a fake punt from its own 26. The fake punt pass by Tom Schofield failed, and Southern Illinois took five plays to go the 26 yards to take a 15-point lead in Saturday's Division I-AA first-round playoff game at O'Brien Stadium. The Salukis went on to win the battle 21-6 and advanced to the quarterfinals to play Appalachian State, a 34-23 winner over Lafayette. "Our offense really stumbled out there today," said East- Manchester United and Northern Ireland player, died Friday after decades of alcohol abuse. hd 7m Deen hospitalized tl I since? earlv jy-v Herald Review photosLisa Morrison Mount Zion's Jase Bandelow works past Peoria Central's Mike Perkins during Saturday's championship game of the Decatur Turkey Tournament.

The Lions, behind 32 points from Ryan Lee, earned their third straight title with a 56-50 win. iqg 1 waif Best October and died from multiple organ failure. At games across Britain, fans observed a minute of silence before Saturday's matches. In Scotland, at Celtic's home match against Dunfermline, fans broke into a minute's applause before kickoff. Jockey second in final ride Gary Stevens finished second in the last ride of his Hall of Fame career, pushing heavily favored 6-foot-3, 200-pound Lee.

The Braves (2-1) simply couldn't keep 'We were taking a chance at that point, just trying to get something going. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't' Bob Spoo, Eastern Illinois coach era coach Bob Spoo. "We had given to us by the defense and we just hurt The Panthers had gone on just two of its eight drives before the fake punt. "We were taking a chance at that point, just trying to get some 1 Louve Royale within a length of winner Moonshine Gal in a 17i6-mileraceon Churchill Downs' turf course. Despite the loss, him off the block, off the boards or off the book.

"We tried to not let him get down close to the basket," Mount Zion coach Jay Driscoll said. "He did a great job of taking what we gave him, and he hit most of his (15-foot) jump shots. We'll Center scores Lions share in title victory By TODD ENGLE Staff Writer DECATUR Mount Zion got to Saturday's championship game of the Team Soy Capital Decatur Turkey Tournament with a good dose of last-second heroics. The title game against Peoria Central was shaping up to be another heart stopper, but the Lions' Ryan Lee made sure there would be no drama. His six-point spurt part of a 32-point night propelled Peoria to a 56-50 victory and its third straight Decatur Turkey Tournament title.

The Lions (3-0) won the tournament for the 14th time largely because Mount Zion couldn't find an answer for the Championship Peoria Central 56, Mount Zion 50 Third place Eisenhower 66, Limestone 63 Fifth place Joliet62, MacArthur 60 Seventh place Centralia 55, Lanphier 49 Saturday's scoresC7 x'1 1 i i 1 Stevens Stevens left as "the happiest guy in the world," he said to the applause from thousands of fans on a cold, overcast day. Stevens, 42, finished with 5,005 career victories and more than $220 million in purse earnings. definitely have to find an answer for a dominant post player like he is." LEEC7 Mount Zion's Steve Agee scans the passing lanes as Peoria Central's Jeremy Abner looks on. Speak up For tourney fans, bigger isn't always better Who deserves Convention Centre. The thing going," said Spoo.

"Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't." Eastern took the opening kickoff as SIU won the toss and deferred. The Panthers moved methodically down the field until the got inside the SIU 20. Vincent Webb had four carries for 31 yards in the drive, but a loss of three on a running play from the Saluki 12 and two incomplete passes resulted in the Panthers attempting a field goal. Zach Yates made the 32-yarder for a 3-0 EIU lead. SIU answered with a five-play, 70-yard drive that culminated with Arkee Whitlock scoring on a 6-yard run out of the Power I.

Craig Coffin made the extra point for a 7-3 SIU advantage. 3 TUPPER sunt X. to win college football's Heisman Trophy? Reggie Bush, USC 64 Vince Young, Texas 17 Brett Basanez, Northwestern 9 Matt Leinart, USC 6 Laurence Maroney, Minnesota 2 Other 2 Today's question: With Rex Grossman healthy, should rookie Kyle Orton remain the Bears' starting quarterback? Vote online at: vvww.beraldHpevIew.cornsports with rows of seats stretching from courtside into the clouds, there are 12 rows of blue plastic chairs positioned on risers. Capacity is about 1,300, and maybe 1,100 or so attended Friday's Illinois-Wichita State game. I'd say 600 appeared to be orange-clad Illini fans and about 400 seemed to be dressed in Wichita State gold and black.

So there might have been 100 locals who showed up to see the games without team affiliation. No question Texas is a football state, so it's no surprise there wasn't more of a clamoring for tickets TUPPERC3, SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas Only when you attend one of these Thanksgiving college basketball tournaments do you realize the odd circumstances under which they are conducted. Whether it's in Maui, Anchorage, Las Vegas or here in the Rio Grande Valley, big-time basketball teams go at it in gymnasiums that would be snickered at by Midwest high school standards. But for the few hundred fans lucky enough to be here, it's a rare, rare chance to see your favorite team while sitting feet from the edge of the court, 4 gym is well-lit and the atmosphere is excellent. But this is in stunning contrast to the big-time college hoops environment we're used to seeing every other game of the season.

At a typical Illini home game, more than 16,000 fans fill the Assembly Hall and cheer from distances that are anything but intimate. But why beg for tickets high in Section of the Assembly Hall when you can settle into a seat 30 feet from coach Bruce Weber, as fans did Friday and Saturday at the Convention Centre? Instead of a vast arena often in the shadow of the team bench, close enough to hear the head coach bark out his instructions. Take Illinois' appearance in the South Padre Island Invitational as an example. The games are played at the South Padre Island EIUIC4 I.