>>Illinois Faces Ohio State

(Champaign, IL)  --  Number-14 Illinois tries to bounce back from a tough start to Big Ten play tomorrow
afternoon by welcoming number-eight Ohio State to Champaign.  The Illini lost
their conference opener 68-61 to Purdue on Wednesday.  Illinois is 13-and-2 on
the season, while the Buckeyes are 11-and-2. You can hear that game on Newstalk 97.3 WTIM.

>>Bears Continue Coaching Search

(Lake Forest, IL)  --  The Bears are continuing to search for a new head coach to replace Lovie Smith.  The
"Chicago Sun-Times" reports Chicago interviewed Saints offensive coordinator
Pete Carmichael yesterday.  ESPN also reports the Bears have received permission
to interview Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians about the job.

>>Bulls In Miami To Face Heat

(Miami, FL)  -- The Bulls hit South Beach tonight to take on the Miami Heat.  Chicago has won two out of three to improve to 17-and-13 on the season.  The Bulls were 96-94 winners last time out
against the Magic.  Miami enters tonight's game with a 22-and-8 record.

>>Northwestern Blown Out By Michigan

(Evanston, IL)  --  Northwestern suffered a 94-66 home loss in its Big Ten opener to second-ranked
Michigan last night.  Jared Swopshire and Kale Abrahamson had 11 points to lead
the Wildcats while Alex Olah and Tre Demps each added 10 points.  The 'Cats fell
to 9-and-5 on the year.  The Wildcats continue Big Ten action at 13th-ranked
Minnesota on Sunday night.

>>NHL Talks Continue As Deadline Looms

(New York, NY)  --  Negotiations between the NHL and players continued on Thursday.  Both sides will
reportedly meet again today starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.  The players are
expected to vote again to give their executive board authority to file a
"disclaimer of interest," effectively allowing individual players to file
antitrust lawsuits against the league.