Illinitalk

Wow, what a week. March 2nd was an all-time great day for the Good Hope Orange Household. Oskee Mom Mom gave birth to our first child! The Illinette came into this world at 10:37 p.m. and weighed in at 9 lbs. 9 oz. and was 21 inches long. She is amazing and such a blessing.

On Thursday, the Illinette listened to her first Illini game via the radio thanks to AM 670 on the Illini sports network. While I loved our hospital, the fact that they no longer had ESPN 2 was a major disappointment, but I will let it slide thanks to the fantastic care they game to Oskee Mom Mom and the Illinette.

On Sunday, the Illinette and Oskee Mom Mom came home, which probably saved Good Hope Orange's TV from being destroyed as he watched the Illini suffer their first loss of the season. It was very disappointing but the Illinette must already be mellowing her dad as I did not yell nor throw anything during the entire game. It must be all that stuff about how we should set a good example. Oskee Mom Mom was shocked at how well I handled the loss. But as Chief wrote in an earlier column, we just need to keep everything in perspective.

The week brightened again yesterday when the Illinette got a good report from the doctor at her checkup and the Big 10 Conference awards were announced. Congratulations to Dee Brown on being not only the Player of the Year but also the Defensive Player of the Year. Rick Telander of the Sun-Times has a good article on how regardless of the award, it is still a team game for Dee. Congrats also go out to Dee, Deron, and Luther for being 1st Team All Big 10, to Augie for making the 3rd Team, and to Roger for receiving honorable mention (he should have been at least 3rd team with Augie but so it goes--man, I must be mellowing--I would have ranted about that had it been a couple weeks ago). Finally, props to Coach Weber on being named the Big 10's Coach of the Year. He should have received this award last year too but it is certainly well-deserved this season.

Well, that's all for now but check back tomorrow for my updated thoughts on the Big 10 and NCAA tournaments.

P.S. Big thanks to Chief for carrying the load while I have been taking care of Oskee Mom Mom and the Illinette this past week. It is greatly appreciated. Hopefully, everything is about back to normal and both the Chief and I will be posting regularly again. Thank you to our readers for your patience and understanding!