'This one is special': Illinois football assistant shows off Citrus Bowl championship ring
Illinois football had a turnaround season under fourth-year coach Bret Bielema, winning 10 games for the first time in two-plus decades, including a victory in the Citrus Bowl.
At least one coach has received his championship ring from the big bowl win, as receivers coach Justin Stepp posted multiple photos of the bling to X.com last week.
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The silver-colored ring reads "CITRUS BOWL CHAMPIONS" on top, circled around the block "I" logo, encrusted with multiple orange and blue jewels.
Illinois football 2024: Every story from Illini run to Citrus Bowl title
One side of the ring includes a number, plus the Citrus Bowl trophy. The other side has a last name and the program's 100-year logo. Inside the ring are engravings of "The Land of Lincoln Trophy" and "The Cannon" — won in 2024 in rivalry victories against Northwestern and Purdue.
Also engraved inside are the initials "DD," a tribute to late Illini assistant Dana Dimel, who died in December.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois football: Illini shows off Citrus Bowl championship ring
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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
'This one is special': Illinois football assistant shows off Citrus Bowl championship ring
Illinois football had a turnaround season under fourth-year coach Bret Bielema, winning 10 games for the first time in two-plus decades, including a victory in the Citrus Bowl. At least one coach has received his championship ring from the big bowl win, as receivers coach Justin Stepp posted multiple photos of the bling to last week. Advertisement The silver-colored ring reads "CITRUS BOWL CHAMPIONS" on top, circled around the block "I" logo, encrusted with multiple orange and blue jewels. Illinois football 2024: Every story from Illini run to Citrus Bowl title One side of the ring includes a number, plus the Citrus Bowl trophy. The other side has a last name and the program's 100-year logo. Inside the ring are engravings of "The Land of Lincoln Trophy" and "The Cannon" — won in 2024 in rivalry victories against Northwestern and Purdue. Also engraved inside are the initials "DD," a tribute to late Illini assistant Dana Dimel, who died in December. This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois football: Illini shows off Citrus Bowl championship ring
Forbes
12 hours ago
- Forbes
Chicago White Sox Transaction Is A Dispute-In-Waiting
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Ishbia agreed, but on the condition that he'd have a path to control, a smart insistence. Without Reinsdorf's consent, the soonest Ishbia can take control is 9 years. That's an eternity, especially in professional sports, where one great season, even one headline, can fundamentally alter franchise values. I still recall a sports banker suggesting in 2020 that the sign-stealing scandal could affect team sales. But there are other demand shocks that can be more permanent. The White Sox are currently in the American League Central division basement. But they have a promising farm system, ranked as high as number 2 by some outlets. What happens if they start winning games? Such a turnaround was a factor in a dispute over another multi-year transaction; Glen Taylor's sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx to Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore (I wrote about its brilliance here). Then there's labour negotiations. 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New York Times
13 hours ago
- New York Times
Blackhawks power rankings, from Frank Nazar to Mitch Marner to (you guessed it) CHSN
Ten years ago might seem like forever, but it wasn't that long ago that the Blackhawks were still playing hockey this time of year, the way the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers are. But these days, June is about hiring coaches and developing prospects and making draft picks. The idea is that if you do enough of those right, eventually you'll be back to playing well into May and June. Easier said than done, of course. Advertisement So, how are the Blackhawks doing this offseason? Let's take a look with the latest edition of our power rankings: The new Blackhawks head coach won the press conference, as they say, but there's plenty of overlap between Hawks fans and Bears fans in this town, so this city knows to take that with a big ol' lump of salt. Still, it's not hard to understand what GM Kyle Davidson saw in Blashill, with his strong mix of experience and development. 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As part of their centennial celebration, the Blackhawks have introduced a team-specific Hall of Fame, which will be located at Fifth Third Arena. Duncan Keith and Steve Larmer are probably the odds-on favorites to be the first inductees (aside from everyone who already has their numbers retired), but you never know. Why no love for Charlie Gardiner in the Heritage Era? Advertisement If you're a Comcast subscriber and were waiting eight-plus months for the Blackhawks and Comcast to reach an agreement, you finally received some good news this week … possibly. Of course, you do need to be paying for Comcast's top tier to watch the channel, which will cost you just as much as the direct-to-consumer app would. But there are still plenty of those subscribers, as Comcast is still Chicago's biggest cable provider. The Blackhawks' viewership won't return to where it was with NBC Sports Chicago, but Comcast carriage will help with that 78 percent viewership loss. You rarely see an interim head coach stick around after failing to get the job long-term, but it's now happened twice with the Blackhawks, with Derek King and Anders Sörensen. Maybe it says something about the lack of egos of those two men, or maybe it says something about the Blackhawks organization, or maybe it just says something about how rare and precious NHL gigs are. Regardless, it's a win-win situation. The Blackhawks get to keep Sörensen, a well-regarded skills coach who has a built-in relationship with many of the Blackhawks' top young players. And Sörensen gets to stay in Chicago rather than go back to the AHL, even if it's in a lesser role. The Fifth Third Arena expansion has the potential to be a game-changer for the Blackhawks and youth hockey in the Chicago area. The expansion has everything a hockey family is looking for, from additional ice sheets to lounge areas to a bar/restaurant. Objectively, it's an impressive building. The 2,000-capacity arena also has the possibility to bring in top junior events and will house the Chicago Steel. As mentioned, the Blackhawks Hall of Fame will also have a physical space there. The Blackhawks are going to add a player or two this offseason. Time will tell whether those players are notable names. Advertisement Chicago has the cap space to pursue someone like that in free agency, but it might be easier for Davidson to get someone who fits what he's looking for via trade. The Blackhawks would like to find players who are compatible in age and talent with their rebuild plan. That likely means some team's restricted free agent. If a team is looking for draft capital in exchange, Davidson has plenty of that and seems eager to use it. The issue may be if teams also want established players in return. For the second straight year (and the third time since 2019), the real draft intrigue starts with the Blackhawks. But unlike last year, when either Artyom Levshunov or Ivan Demidov were extremely exciting, seemingly can't-miss prospects, there's no sure thing at No. 3. With the Islanders expected to take defenseman Matthew Schaefer and the Sharks expected to take forward Michael Misa, the Blackhawks can go in any number of directions. The early buzz is that forwards Caleb Desnoyers and Anton Frondell top the Blackhawks' board, but tantalizing offensive talents such as James Hagens and Porter Martone are there, too. Excitement among the fan base seems to be way down this year, which might be due to draft fatigue as much as the supposed quality of the prospects available. You can only draft in the top three so many times before it starts to get real old. It's one thing if the Blackhawks don't go after Mitch Marner and pin their hopes for progress on continued improvement from within. It's quite another if they let Ryan Donato walk, as well. After all, how do you tell fans you're trying to get out of the cellar when you don't go after a top free agent and you let your leading goal-scorer leave? Donato was Connor Bedard's most frequent linemate this past season. Taking him away and failing to get someone better to replace him isn't exactly putting Bedard in the best position to take the next step toward superstardom. Yes, Donato can probably cash in elsewhere, but will he get the same opportunity he got in Chicago? It might seem melodramatic to say re-signing a career journeyman like Donato is critical for the Blackhawks, but that's just where the franchise is at the moment. Davidson said at the combine that there's 'constant communication' between the team and Donato's camp, and he's 'still hopeful we can find a resolution there.' Not too long ago, the Blackhawks were expected to be top suitors for Mikko Rantanen and Mitch Marner, with either one being the catalyst to supercharge the rebuild and Bedard. But Rantanen came off the board early, and now the Blackhawks seem like extreme long shots to land Marner, as the focus has turned to potential trades (JJ Peterka? Marco Rossi? Anyone?) instead of free agency. Advertisement There's no doubt that Marner is an ideal winger for Bedard: he's a Selke-caliber two-way forward with three 97-or-more-point seasons in the last four years. With him on his line, Bedard could immediately become a 40-goal, 90-point player. But at 28 years old, Marner doesn't quite fit Davidson's (long, long, long) timeline. So Blackhawks fans might need to continue to be — and stop us if you've heard this one before — patient. CHSN may not have had Comcast carriage from the start, but what it did offer fans was free broadcasts accessible via an old-school antenna. From Chicago to neighboring states, you could watch CHSN for free. That was unique. As an early CHSN press release touted: 'Through free, over-the-air broadcasts, CHSN ensures every fan has access to their favorite teams.' Some of us learned antennas and over-the-air broadcasts sounded simpler in theory than in practice, but some people had no trouble getting the channel that way, and that's how they watched the Blackhawks. But now that viewing avenue is gone for most people. As part of the Comcast deal, CHSN agreed to sunset all of its Illinois over-the-air channels and a few of its out-of-state ones, too. Unless you're in Indianapolis, Milwaukee or a few other out-of-state locations, you can no longer watch CHSN for free. One step forward, two steps back. Yes, some of you can get Blackhawks broadcasts through your primary provider now. But not you, antenna folk. Not you, YouTube TV subscribers. And no matter what, you're paying up for it. An extra 20 bucks a month for the top tier of Comcast, or an extra 20 bucks a month for the app. Thirty bucks if you're a masochist and want to watch the Bulls and White Sox too. It's a lot to ask to watch a team — three teams, really — that don't seem to be in any hurry to be competitive. In other words, you should spend money on these teams — even though they won't. (Top photo of Frank Nazar, left, playing for Team USA at the World Championship: Michael Campanella / Getty Images)
