ISU quarterback Matt Brown is not expected to return to the Northern Iowa game after suffering a sprained knee in the second quarter. Matt Lancaster took over.
After being examined, Brown tried to plant and change directions but was unable to do so without pain.
Northern Iowa also lost its quarterback, Pat Grace, just before Brown’s injury. Grace was leveled by a hard block as ISU was returning an interception and was down on the turf for several minutes before slowly walking off. I have been told shortly before second half kickoff Grace will not return.
The Redbirds have three interceptions and Zach Kutch has boomed field goals of 52 and 51 yards as ISU takes a 16-3 lead into halftime against the No.9 ranked Panthers.
A spectacular interception and 32-yard return by ISU’s Chris Garrett is the game’s only touchdown at the break.

During fall clean up of garden storage and work areas, gardeners often find partially used packets of seeds. Can or should these seeds be saved? The answer to this question depends on how and where the seeds have been stored. Seeds have specific storage requirements, and unless these were met the seeds probably should be discarded.

To have viable seeds next year, they must have remained dormant, which means they must have been kept in a consistently dark, cool and dry location. Warm temperatures and moisture break a seed’s dormancy. High humidity can also trigger germination. Most horticulturists recommend keeping seed at a constant temperature, somewhere between 40 and 50 degrees F. High temperatures will seriously affect a seed’s longevity and can kill it.

Airtight plastic tubs or glass jars with screw-top lids work well as storage containers. Inserting a packet of silica gel in the storage containers will help dry seeds and reduce moisture problems. Carefully label the containers with the seed’s name and storage date. (Read more…)

I have this fun little game I like to play in my head, and thought I’d share it with you this Thanksgiving. As you’re counting blessings next Thursday, you might get a chance to play it, too.

I call it “HFM.” That stands for “Happy Family Moment.” (Or it could be “Happy Friend Moment.”)

It started one sunny day five years ago when my husband, daughter and I were out for a walk. Our dog Woody was with us, too. After a chaotic summer that had involved planning a wedding, gaining custody of a child and merging two households, I suddenly looked around and realized that for that brief moment, everything was peaceful. The child was laughing. My husband was whistling. Even the dog was happily investigating an interest-ing smell.

The sunshine warmed my face and happiness spread from my head to my toes. Not a scrap of worry was to be found. There was an unspoken connection within my little tribe and I recognized it as contentment. I whispered to my husband, “I’m having an HFM.” (Read more…)

 Choreographed cops? Police have to put up with assorted scoundrels, ne’er-do-wells, mischief-makers, scalawags, black sheep, scamps, drunks and assorted other bad eggs.

It’s the job, unfortunately.

Loud stereos? Around a college campus, that’s a certainty as well.

Occasionally, they even laugh about it?

OK, you read it here first:

Saturday night in Normal, police were reported to have a (Read more…)

Used to be all it took was a pen to sign a national letter of intent. Now, you need a laptop, Skype capabilities and a production crew.

Choosing a college has become a made-for-TV event for the nation’s elite recruits, particularly if you are No. 1 on ESPNU’s Top 100 list.

We were reminded of that last week when 6-foot-7 forward Harrison Barnes of Ames, Iowa, commanded his own reality show while signing with North Carolina. (Read more…)

There is still no official word about who or how many Illinois State basketball players will be redshirted this season.

But read between the lines.

Sophomore Jeremy Robinson hasn’t returned to practice as of Thursday to concentrate on academic issues. Redshirt. Freshmen Jon Ekey and Zeke Upshaw didn’t play in the season opening blowout at Southern Illinois Edwardsville. Redshirt, redshirt. (Read more…)

The beauty of writing the Thunder blog is that the online community that reads it is so, uh, colorful and loyal that the blog/conversation continues to feed itself.
I post. You talk for 2 weeks. Amazing.
But a new post is long overdue, so here goes:
Many are clamoring for someone to write “the Thunder are good.”
OK, I’ll bite: The Thunder are good.
Usually, you can begin to tell around Game 15 or so what kind of team it is going to be. (At least that’s been my experience.)
Saturday night at the Coliseum will be Game 14. The Thunder are 1 point out of first place, perfect at home, have 2 solid goaltenders, deep and interchangeable lines and a happy dressing room.
So, yeah, they’re good — way better than years past anyway.
It would be disappointing if they didn’t make the playoffs. But it’s still November, so let’s not get too worked up about late April/early May just yet.
The Thunder are in the middle of a very slow week. Off until Saturday’s home game with Fort Wayne and off again Sunday.
In talking with Skalde Tuesday, he’s equal parts tired of sitting around this week and willing to take advantage of the time off because a four-game week next week awaits as does a busy December.
R.Finnerty was considering hopping the pond, so says this story.
I wouldn’t expect to see P.Colaiacovo until next week. Colaiacovo (I know I’m going to misspell the guy’s name sooner or later) looked fine in practice Tuesday. But Skalde has really been cautious about this groin injury. A. Martin’s play in net has given Skalde time to be cautious.
The Thunder bagged practice Wednesday in favor of raking leaves part of the day around Blo-No. Check back for a link to photos from the raking.
In case you missed yesterday’s story on very regimented C.Macdonald.
The Mallards have made a player move.
More stuff you might be interested in.
From the Thunder:
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Officials from the Bloomington PrairieThunder have several things in store for fans attending Saturday’s International Hockey League game against two-time defending champion Fort Wayne.
The first 2,000 fans entering U.S. Cellular Coliseum for the 7:05 p.m. contest will receive PrairieThunder magnetic schedules, compliments of Turnberry Village, 901 Valley View Circle, Bloomington. Turnberry Village is the official housing partner for the PrairieThunder.
Also, fans bringing a canned good or non-perishable food item to the game will receive one free ticket per per-son to the PrairieThunder’s Dec. 29 game against Muskegon. The canned goods or food items will be donated to the “Holiday Food Drive” to benefit the Clare House food pantry in Bloomington.
And, fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to the game that they can throw on the ice when the Prai-rieThunder scores its first goal as part of the annual “Teddy Toss” game. All stuffed animals will be donated to the McLean County Toys for Tots organization.
Tickets for all PrairieThunder games are available at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum box office, calling Ticketmas-ter at 800-745-3000 or 309-585-0507, ext. 304.
I’ll try to chime back in by the weekend. Then again, you’ve heard that promise before.
OK, talk amongst yourselves. –ME

At a stage in our evolution where “Ren & Stimpy” and “Rugrats” have receded into musty nostalgia, there’s nothing unusual about abrasive TV cartoon characters aimed at kids.

But there was a time, lest we forget, when animated abrasion was a rare and subversive commodity, indeed.

We speak, of course, of the work of the great Jay Ward and Bill Scott, the genially anarchic duo behind such TV-tailored classics as “The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show” (which premiered a half-century ago this very week), “George of the Jungle” and “Dudley Do-Right.” (Read more…)

LeBron James is among today’s brightest, most talented and engaging sports superstars. He seems sincere and genuine … qualities never to be assumed in athletes making millions of dollars.

What he did for a group of west side Bloomington youngsters this year was heartfelt, commendable. He promised each a pair of his signature shoes during an appearance at State Farm Insurance headquarters and followed through a short time later.

The look on their faces was priceless. “King” James had delivered, just as he does on the basketball court.

That said, LeBron is human and capable of misfiring. He did so a few days ago in starting a campaign to get the No. 23 retired by the NBA in honor of Michael Jordan. (Read more…)

I’ve heard Bill Belichick called a genius far too many times for far too many years now. After Sunday night, it’s time that stopped. (Read more…)

Letterman has a great time with his stupid pet tricks, but let’s be honest — aren’t recent headlines about Dave himself proof that humans are just as entertaining?

Yes, in our never-ending competition of humanity at work, these are the stories that make our latest News Is Stranger Than Fiction competition, as culled from the wires and papers:

• In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., an 83-year-old mayoral candidate was arrested after he became upset with a daughter for endorsing the other candidate and showed up at her house to confront her at the door with a gun.

• At a Family Christian Book Store in Simi Valley, Calif., a store employee who was trying to secretly install a peep camera inside a store bathroom first accidentally taped (Read more…)

Many wondered why the heck Illinois State would go to Edwardsville to play Southern Illinois Edwardsville, a transitional Division I team. To start the season there seemed to be beneath a team of ISU’s status, many thought.

After watching ISU’s 82-60 victory over the Cougars, it seemed like a good move by the Redbirds. (Read more…)

So we just observed the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down and the so-called “re-birth of freedom” in eastern Europe.

We just celebrated Veterans Day in America where, as one placard at a downtown celebration proudly proclaimed: “Thanks to our soldiers’ sacrifices, freedom reigns!”

In Iraq, the country’s new parliament has voted on a “long-awaited law” that, as a story in this paper put it the other day, paves the way “for all new freedoms never before seen.”

Yes, freedom has been a big topic in the news as of late and I am, of course, very happy.

It also makes me wonder:

Isn’t it time for someone to proudly speak up for non-freedom, (Read more…)

If someone were going to make a movie about the budget problems plaguing state government, it might be a version of “Field of Dreams” — in reverse.

If you build it, no one will come.

Here’s what got me thinking about this:

Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn, in full campaign mode, announced the state would soon build a new nursing home for veterans in Chicago. (Read more…)

When my kids were little and got hurt, I could scoop them up in my arms, dry their tears and “make it all bet-ter” with a fresh chocolate chip cookie.

Today, as a parent of an adult college student and two teenagers, I can’t always “make it all better.”

Life often teaches our children hard lessons about friendships, disappointments, dreams deferred and even about death as they approach and reach adulthood.

As their mother, I’ve acutely felt their pain in my heart, in my mind and in my insomnia as each of my three boys has walked through some painful times and general discontentment recently. (Read more…)