While we had to wait and see whether Butler could complete its Cinderella run or whether UConn could close out an incredible postseason streak, the winner of the 2011 Chicago Tournament Challenge was never in doubt as not one competitor had either Butler or UConn winning the NCAA Championship. Now that UConn has cut down the nets, we can officially declare our winner. more ›

Well, the weekend's play sure didn't play out as expected. By the time the Final Four was decided yesterday, all of the one and two seeds were sent home. Top seed Duke exited on Thursday and overall number one Ohio St. was eliminated on Friday in the Sweet Sixteen rounds. Two seeds Florida and North Carolina, as well as one seed Kansas were bounced in the Elite Eight. Meanwhile, Butler surprises by making the Final Four again and Virginia Commonwealth, an eleven seed who had to play into the field of 64, joins them. UConn and Kentucky round out the Final Four. Needless to say, the chaos has wrecked everybody's brackets! Of the six million entries in ESPN's Tournament Challenge, only two correctly picked the Final Four. more ›

March Madness is upon us, but before we can get to the Big Dance, we've got to play the little ones first. The Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament opens play today in Indianapolis. more ›

Since the Big Ten announced it was considering expansion in December, there have been a lot of rumors and speculation but not much in the way of firm movement toward adding to the conference's roster of schools. That may change this week. Having originally laid out a 12-18 month plan toward expansion, Big Ten officlals acknowledged that they now plan to speed things up. Or, more accurately, the Big 12 is forcing them to speed things up. more ›

The first day of the NCAA tournament saw only one upset and that was the last game of the night as the 12th seed Western Kentucky Hilltoppers made 5th seed Illinois' visit to the Big Dance a short one, hanging on for a 76-72 victory over the Illini. After a close opening 10 minutes, Western Kentucky pulled ahead of a sluggish Illini team that was missing star Chester Frazier. The Hilltoppers were up 68-51 with a little over four minutes to play when Illinois showed life and began a furious comeback, cutting the lead to one score in the final minute, but just couldn't get over the hill. Trent Meacham led Illinois with 24 points and Calvin Brock did an admirable job filling for Frazier, scoring 14 and bringing down 10 rebounds. more ›

With Kansas' victory, we now have a winner in the Chicagoist Tournament Challenge. Out of 90 entrants, l.meuller's el #1 entry took top prize! He compiled 1260 points, which placed him in the 97.9th percentile. Chicagoist is quite impressed... especially considering that we just squeaked into the fourth quintile overall and 70th in our own damn pool. more ›

To enter, click this link to go directly to the group, or go to ESPN's Tournament Challenge, register or log in, and search for Chicagoist. The password is: chicagoist. One entry per person in the Chicagoist pool, please. more ›

This was not a good season for Bruce Weber's Illini squad. In his previous four seasons at Illinois, his teams had won at least 23 game and made the NCAA Tournament. His 2004-2005 team went 32-1 during the regular season before losing in the NCAA championship game. But this season, Weber's team finished below .500 at 16-19 and looked to have no shot at receiving an NCAA Tournament bid. more ›

Halloween is approaching and for one lucky segment of the population, this means loads and loads of free candy. We speak here of those younger than 14, the lucky group whose costume descriptions don't usually start with "sexy" and whose only goal is to fill up their pumpkins as they trick-or-treat around the neighborhood. more ›

Four years ago, Rich Seng was a former seminary student making low-budget TV ads for local businesses when a friend took him to a hip hop open mic at Subterranean. One thing led to another that night, and before anyone knew what hit ‘em two renowned local emcees were freestyle battling each other. An idea was born, and Seng started organizing the first Rhyme Spitters rap battle tournament. He relied on word of mouth and... more ›

The NBA's annual draft took place Thursday night, and the Bulls added three new faces to the roster. With the ninth pick--which the Bulls had via the Knicks due to the Eddy Curry trade--they selected Joakim Noah from Florida. If nothing else, he certainly made the biggest fashion statement of the night with his seersucker suit, bow tie and crazy hair. Picking Noah was certainly consistent with GM John Paxson's style of going after players... more ›

The NFL held its annual draft this past weekend, and the Bears attempted to fill the holes on their roster in the hopes of building a team that can return to the Super Bowl next season. On Friday, we outlined what we felt were the biggest needs for the Bears. How'd they do in filling those areas? In the first round, with the 31st overall pick, the Bears filled their need for a tight end... more ›

Monday night, the University of Florida Gators beat the Ohio St. Buckeyes 84-75 to capture their second consecutive NCAA men's basketball title. Florida also became the first school ever to win both the college football and basketball championships in the same school year. more ›

Although the clock was still hours from midnight, especially since they played on the west coast, the Southern Illinois Salukis' "Cinderella" run came up short last night, sending the last of our local teams home from the dance. While they hung with the first-seed Kansas Jayhawks most of the night, they just couldn't pull off the upset, losing 61-58. more ›

University of Illinois Athletic Director Ron Guenther will not be punished for his actions during the Illini NCAA Tournament loss to Virginia Tech. During the game, Ron Guenther was playing the role of frustrated fan rather than Athletic Director, as he was heard screaming advice at Coach Bruce Weber. It is reported he did not just stop there; he also berated players for poor performance, including calling forward Warren Cater an idiot. The Illini were... more ›

The DePaul Blue Demons (20-13) are flying high after defeating Kansas State 70-65 last night in the second round of the NIT tournament. The Blue Demons were led by Wilson Chandler and Sammy Mejia, each netting 18 points en route to the victory. But the Blue Demons have their work cut out for them as they are being targeted by the number one seeded team in the West Region, the Air Force Falcons. Air Force... more ›

Aviation enthusiasts like Chicagoist are giddy with jet-fueled joy today as we are exactly 2 hours from the arrival of the world's largest commercial airliner. That gives you just enough time to jump on the blue line to O’Hare (we kid — you know we love you, CTA). If you don’t follow aviation news (who doesn’t) you may not know that the Airbus A380 is huge — really huge. It has a wingspan of... more ›

Before we start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or get too far in the zone on the NCAA action, there are a few shows going on sale that we would like to talk about. more ›

The NCAA started a practice a few year back that, each year, screws over one unfortunate college basketball team. This year's victims are the Florida A&M Rattlers. While the Niagara Purple Eagles will be in Chicago this week to take on the Kansas Jayhawks at the United Center, FAMU goes home without actually getting to take in the same experiences the remaining 64 schools do — in spite of winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament. They miss out on the camaraderie of being around seven other teams over the course of 4 days. They miss out on playing in front of huge crowds and seeing how they stack up against some of the best teams in the country. more ›

If you're anything like Chicagoist, you spent Sunday evening poring over the brackets for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. And if you're anything like Chicagoist, you'll repeat this ritual daily until your picks must be turned in for your office pool later this week. Sixty-five teams will fight for a trip to the Final Four. All have hopes and dreams, but only four teams will make it to Atlanta, and only one team will cut down... more ›

Chicagoist had the pleasure of attending the Big Ten conference at United Center yesterday, an activity in which we normally don't get to take part. Amongst our colleagues, much was made of the fact that no alcohol is served during the events, not even in a Budweiser-sponsored skybox. We believe one such word to describe the practice was coined as "bullshit." However, the American Medical Association couldn't disagree more. They're sending out a newspaper ad... more ›

The Big Ten Men's Basketball Conference Tournament rolls into town on Thursday for what will be the last one hosted in Chicago until at least 2012. On Thursday, the tournament will kick off its seventh run at the United Center. Our friends in Indianapolis, not satisfied with their Super Bowl trophy earned by beating the Chicago Bears, have also outbid Chicago to host the annual Big Ten tournament from 2008 through 2012. The tournament kicks... more ›

In a week where Wisconsin earned its first ever #1 ranking for Men's Basketball and then quickly tossed it aside, losing to the Spartans of Michigan State, the next night it is the Illini who are getting all the press. more ›

The latest salvo in the battle for the future of Chief Illiniwek was launched yesterday by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, when they presented the University of Illinois' board of trustees, the university president and the chancellor with a resolution demanding the university "cease use of this mascot." Welcomed by the American Indian Studies faculty and the staff at the Native American House at the university, the resolution charges that regalia given to the U of I is being misused to represent the people of Kaskaskia, Peoria, Piankeshaw and Wea nations. more ›

University of Illinois-Chicago basketball coach Jimmy Collins, who took a leave of absence from the team less than two weeks ago, is expected to undergo surgery this morning to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The surgery comes just a day after Collins was admitted to the hospital after results from tests performed last week identified the aneurysm. The surgery will be performed at the University of Illinois Medical Center. According to a release by UIC, Collins "will not return to the sidelines to coach the Flames until he has fully recovered." more ›

Chicagoist works in an office full of men. Manly men. The kind who drink beer and eat meat and watch football ... lots and lots of football. Through this circumstance, we have come to know way more about college football than we would otherwise know. For example, that the Illini are having a pretty crappy season. 2-8? Good luck. They're going up against Purdue (6-4) in Champaign even as we type this. more ›

It looks like the University of Illinois' controversial mascot, Chief Illiniwek is about to dance his last dance. The university announced that he will perform at season opener in Champaign, and at home basketball game this winter before hanging up his head dress. more ›

Cheetara(h) more ›

Each year Chicagoist reaches into our deep war chest and pulls out a wrinkly Thomas Jefferson two dollar bill and head to MudBug Off Track Betting on Weed St. for the Kentucky Derby. We admit that we probably have no place in a betting parlor with such a minimal understanding of the sport. The page in the newspaper dedicated to horse racing is Greek to us. What the heck is a quiniela anyway, and what... more ›

"We Are Workers Not Criminals" via swanksalot. More coverage on the immigration rally tomorrow. more ›