CBS Sportscaster Ranks Cure Bowl As Best Game-- Part 2

"The game's biggest lead came when Miles Joiner  caught a 12-yard TD from Rocky Lombardi to put Northern Illinois ahead 24-16 late in the first half.  Even that deficit was short-loved as  Coastal got a field goal a minute later to make it 24-19.

"Not only was it a  one-score game the entire time, but the lead changed seven times (4 times in the third quarter).  It was non-stop, back-and-forth football entertainment.  Coastal couldn't stop Northern Illinois, and the Huskies couldn't stop the Chanticleers.

"Aside from the final  possession of the half, the first 12 possessions of the game ended with points, and only three of them ended in field goals.  When Coastal's Charles Ooverson came onto the field for the game's first punt, he did so with only 54 seconds left in the third quarter.

"It came down to the very last play, too.    Northern Illinois had the ball at the Coastal 8-yard line with two second left, but Lombardo's pass to Joiner was stopped short of the end zone and the Chanticleers held on  for the win."

I Completely Agree, That Was One Hell of a Game.  --RoadNIU

Thanksgiving Weekend: Granny's Diner and Lots of High School Championship Football

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26

Web went to a new place that just opened Tuesday in Johnsburg called Granny's Diner.  The owner had come in to Sunnyside and we had a nice talk a couple weeks ago.

This is where the old Epic Deli was until it moved to a bigger place on Route 31 in McHenry.  We didn't expect a lot of people there, since it was new, but they had a crowd even when we got there just before they closed at 2 pm.

We both ordered lunch meals and there were huge and very good.  I think this place will do well.

During the course of the day, I watched a lot of the Illinois High School playoffs in Margaritaville (in our basement).  Wilmington, on Route 66, won in Class 2A, Byron (out by DeKalb, won in 3A and, no big surprise, but Joliet Catholic walked all over Springfield's Sacred Heart-Griffin to win a 4A.  Joliet Catholic beat our local high school, Richmond-Burton, last week.

Enjoyed cocktail at the bar and the Ultimate Juke Box.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27

I had planned on going to Crystal Lake for the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group and then to Algonquin for Half Price Books and White Castle, but kind of felt like I had a cold coming on, so decided to stay in.  

Today was the Class 5A to Class 6A high school playoffs.  In Class 6A, East St. Louis High School was heavily favored to beat Cary-Grove, in nearby Cary, Illinois, but this has to go down as one of the biggest David vs. Goliath games in the history of high school football as Cary Grove won 37-36n in frigid DeKalb at Huskie Stadium where the championship games were played.

Watched two great movies:  "Christmas Vacation" and  "Joker."

--RoadBall

Northern Illinois Closes Out Season With a Victory, End Up 5-7

Last night, the Northern Illinois University (NIU) football team ended its season at 5-7 with a 17-14 victory over Mid-American Conference division rival Western Michigan.  This was Thomas Hammock's first year as head coach.

It was also the first year I didn't even make it out to Huskie Stadium for even one of the five home games played there.

A few days ago I wrote in this blog about how often it is better for first year coaches not to have too good of a record and this fits the case.  Shoot, even our best ever coach, Joe Novak, had about as bad a record as you could have in his first three years at Northern.  In 1996, he was 1-10, 1997  0-11, and 1998 2-9.

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NIU 2019 GAMES:

NIU 24 Illinois State  10
Utah  35  NIU 17
Nebraska  44  NIU 8
Vanderbilt 24  NIU 18

Ball State  27  NIU 20
NIU 39  Ohio 36
Miami (Ohio)  27  NIU 24
NIU  49  Akron 0

Central Michigan 48  NIU 10
NIU 31  Toledo  28
Eastern Michigan  45  NIU 17
NIU 17  Western Michigan  14

Of course, our all-time nemesis and rival is Toledo, and at least we beat them.

But, even better, NIU is not bowl eligible, which is alright with me as we usually get blown out pretty bad in those games.

Looking Forward to 2020.  --RoadHuskie

DID YOU KNOW:  An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Final Boating?, Civil War, SNOW, Stucky's and Sunnyside

FRIDAY, APRIL 26

Had my favorite breakfast meal at McDonald's, the steak, egg and cheese bagel.  And, they use real steak.  And those caramelized onions!!    Drove to Hebron and picked up the boat where we kept it in a barn over the winter.  Since we are planning on selling it this spring, this could be the last time.  We have been boaters since 1985, but that time is ending. Met the Usual Suspects at the Legion for 50-50.

SATURDAY, APRIL 27

Drove to Crystal Lake for the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group, topic the Battle of Shiloh.  Then took the truck into the emission testing station where it passed.  All week the weather had predicted a snow storm.  The rain turned  to snow about 10:30, but didn't stick on the roads.  We ended up with three inches on the deck rails and a white covering on the grass.

SUNDAY, APRIL 28

Big meltdown of the snow.  None left by evening.  We went to Stucky's and watched NASCAR and the Chicago Cubs and White Sox games..  A couple we know came in with their two six-month-old huskie (NIU spelling) puppies so had to go out and play with them on the deck.  Also, a former student of mine came in and remembered "Demerit Points."  Something all my former students remember.

Snow At the End of April?  Don't Even Think About Calling It Warming!!  --RoadDog

A PLETHORA OF TIDBITS:  A cardigan worn by a man is sometimes called a mandigan.

Five True Facts About Northern Illinois Football

This appeared in the Brigham Young, Utah, student newspaper as they prepared to play NIU this past Saturday.

1.  Northern's home is Brigham Field in Huskie Stadium, renamed in 2003 for Robert J. Brigham, former player, coach and athletic director.  (Brigham Young fans would find this of interest.)

2.  NIU has won four MAC championships )1983, 2011, 2012 and 2014) and has played in ten post-season bowls since 2004, most notably the 2013 Orange Bowl against Florida State.

3.  After a 17-6 victory over Eastern Michigan in 1998, the student body tore down the goal posts at Huskie Stadium, carried them down Lincoln Highway and planted them in the campus lagoon.  University President John La Tourrette personally paid to have new goal posts  installed.  (There was a good reason for this which I will tell you in a few days.)

4.  Next year, Northern is scheduled to play Utah, Nebraska and Vanderbilt.  (This year we played Iowa, Utah, Florida State and Brigham Young.  All are Power 5 Conference members.

5.  Former quarterback Jordan Lynch, a finalist in the 2013 Heisman Trophy, is a n assistant coach for the Huskies, handling the running backs.  (Well, now he is head coach at Chicago's Mount Carmel High School, a state perennial power.

NIU Huskies.  --RoadDog

We Didn't Want to Go To Arizona Anyway: NIU Loses MAC Championship and Trip to BCS Fiesta Bowl

Still recovering from the beatdown that Northern Illinois got last night from Bowling Green in the Mid American Conference Championship game. A victory meant that NIU was going to the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, in our second straight BCS Bowl game (earlier this year we were at the Orange Bowl).

If someone finds our defense somewhere between DeKalb and Detroit, please show them the way home as they certainly did not find the field last night. Jordan Lynch played ok, but it was not one of his best efforts, especially with the interceptions.

We were having discussions about going to the Fiesta Bowl game if the Huskies got there, but neither one of us really wanted to go, both preferring a return to the Go-Daddy Bowl in Mobile on Jan. 5th and that looks like where we'll be headed, perhaps to play against Arkansas State again.

But what a great year for NIU football. Ended with a 12-0 regular season record, played in our 4th straight MAC Championship game, beat two Big Ten teams, all that Jordan Lynch for Heisman Award, retirement of Diesel and new mascot Mission and the Chessick Indoor Center dedication and opening.

One other REAL GOOD THING, we probably won't have to find a new coach like we did within hours after winning last year's MAC Championship. Not only did we lose our coach to NC State in 2012, but also the team we played, Kent Stae, lost their coach to Purdue.

Ah, the Trials and Tribulations of Mid-Level College Football. --RoadDog

Hey Chicago Tribune...It WAS a BIG Game

I'm running a bit behind in my newspaper reading since I got back from North Carolina Thursday, but I just read Friday's Sports Section.

I was more than a bit surprised that there WAS NO ARTICLE on Northern Illinois' Mid-American Conference Championship game later that night. Hey, I realize we are not one of the Big Guys, but even then, there are a lot of NIU grads living in your service area.

At least you did send someone to cover the game in today's paper, but that was PAGE THREE!!

At least the Daily Herald had a front page article on Northern's linebacker Pat Schiller in their Friday paper.

Ya Done Been Scooped. --RoadDog