Shelbyville Boys basketball will see a familiar face on the sidelines this year in head coach, Bob Herdes. Coach Herdes was a guest on Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show where he spoke about being a part of the program in the 70s before moving away from the game and the administration at the time. Coach Herdes then came back at the junior high level and after some twists and turns, he has found himself back in the driver's seat for this year's Rams squad.
Coach Herdes talked about their season opener with Sangamon Valley tonight at 7:30pm.
After seeing some game film from last season and getting some time together in practice, Coach Herdes says even though they are not as familiar as they would like to be with this Sangamon team; the Rams know their game and hope to take advantage of the opportunities that it will present.
Tune into that ball game tonight on NewCountry.FM 98.3 WSVZ or online at TDN.com under the WSVZ LISTEN LIVE tab.
Taylorville boys basketball has found a way to move to 2-0 on the season after their 75-55 win over Granite City Tuesday night, by simply playing the game the right way. THS has won both games in convincing fashion over their opponents and with already versatility when it comes to who fills up the scoring column as well as where on the floor it comes from for the team.
Head coach Ryan Brown says a simple aspect of the game like passing, was a key factor in their win over the Warriors of Granite City.
The mid range game for the Tornadoes in this game was a complete flip from game 1 that saw them seal the deal from behind the arc.
THS will be back in action tonight at 6:30pm on Newstalk WTIM, 96.1FM in Christian County, 107.5FM in Shelby County, worldwide at taylorvilledailynews.com under the WTIM LISTEN LIVE tab, and the pre, half, and post game shows will all be simulcasted on TDN.com's facebook page. Jake Linder and Daniel Statum will be on the call starting at 6:15pm.
The Taylorville Tornadoes boys basketball program started off the season with a 63-48 win over Nokomis in round 1 of the Stove Top Classic. A back and forth 1st half saw THS head into the locker room with a slim 27-25 lead before busting things open at the end of the 3rd where they extended their lead to 9 at 44-35. Head Coach Ryan Brown said speed is what was needed in their season opening win.
Coach Brown says although Nokomis had 6'5'' and 6'7'' underneath, the Tornadoes were able to us speed and aggressive play on the defensive end to combat that size difference.
Be sure to tune into round 2 of the Stove Top Classic as Taylorville looks to stay undefeated against Granite City on the road. Tip-off is set for 7:30pm, you can listen to the pre game show at 7:10pm on 96.1FM in Christian County, 107.5FM in Shelby County, worldwide at taylorvilledailynews.com with Newstalk WTIM. The pre, half, and post game shows will be simulcasted with a live stream on the taylorvilledailynews facebook page! Jake Linder and Daniel Statum will be on the call.
Taylorville boys basketball will tip off tonight in round 1 of the Stove Top classic from THS West Gym against Nokomis at 7:30pm. Head coach, Ryan Brown visited with Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show last Saturday morning and says he is very excited to get the team he has seen in practice, out on the floor against competition.
Coach Brown says Nokomis will be tough task and Monday night's game should be a battle.
Listen for the pre game show with Jake Linder and Daniel Statum at 7:10pm on Newstalk WTIM 96.1FM in Christian county, 107.5FM in Shelby county, and worldwide at taylorvilledailynews.com under the WTIM LISTEN LIVE tab as well as video simulcast on Facebook LIVE on the taylorvilledailynews page.
As heard Saturday afternoon on Genuine Country 94.3 WMKR and New Country 98.3 WSVZ, the EIU Panthers defeated Eastern Kentucky by a final score of 24 to 0.
The Taylorville girls basketball program will begin their season tonight at 8pm on day 1 of the 23rd Annual Taylorville Lady Tornadoes People's Bank & Trust Holiday Tournament against Jacksonville. Head coach Mark Hannant visited with Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show last Saturday morning and gave some insight to his coaching experience.
Coach Hannant says his loyalties lie with taking care of the Tornadoes program.
Listen in for Lady Tornadoes basketball tonight on Newstalk WTIM 96.1FM in Christian County, 107.5FM in Shelby County, and under the WTIM LISTEN LIVE tab at taylorvilledailynews.com where you can also find a full schedule of the tournament under the “sports” tab. Micheal Pickett and Tom Finks will be on the call for the pre game show at 7:45pm.
Taylorville boys basketball will begin the year really ready to settle in with their 2nd year head coach, Ryan Brown. THS, although not overall gifted with height, will use their quickness and athleticism to keep them in ball games. Coach Brown was a guest on Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show and says that his team will see many different looks on the defensive end this season.
Coach Brown, who says you have to be adaptable to different styles in high school basketball when it comes to coaching; also mentioned this Tornadoes team will use defense as a measure for how much a player is going to see the floor.
Taylorville's first game is Monday at home against Nokomis in round 1 of the Stove Top Classic. Listen for Jake Linder & Daniel Statum on the call for that game on Newstalk WTIM 96.1FM in Christian County, 107.5FM in Shelby County, and worldwide at taylorvilledailynews.com under the WTIM LISTEN LIVE tab.
The Taylorville girls basketball team will look to kick off the 2016-17 season this Friday night in the opening round of the 23rd Annual People's Bank & Trust Holiday Tournament against Jacksonville at 8pm. 5Th year head coach, Mark Hannant has been involved with the Taylorville program in one way or another for the last 14 years and he says this squad will rely on experience even at the underclassmen level to push this team throughout the year.
Coach Hannant was a guest on Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show last Saturday morning and says this team will rely on a transition game as opposed to a half court offense, based on the size of the team this year.
Taylorville volleyball saw a magical season come to an end in the Super-Sectionals of the Class 3A IHSA Playoffs when they fell to Mascoutah in straight sets. Head coach, Kim Peabody says she could not be more proud of her team and the year they had in 2016.
Assistant Coach, Matt Peabody says although the season may have been a surprise to some, it was not necessarily that to him.
Both coaches appeared as guest on the Newstalk WTIM Coaches Show last Saturday morning. The program won their first Sectional title in Taylorville High School history.
The Taylorville football program has come to an end after their 2nd round loss to Althoff Catholic last week. Although, football is over, Seniors Parker Stokes and Heath Fleming who appeared as guests on Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show last Saturday morning, say they will take memories with them into other sports and for life.
Fleming, Senior linebacker and wrestler for the Tornadoes had a couple team accomplishments, that are high on his list of favority moments form the 2016 season.
Senior linebacker and back up offensive weapon, Parker Stokes.
THS head football coach, Jeb Odam says the year may not have been quite what the team wanted, but overall he is proud of the season and his players.
The Shelbyville Rams continued their amazing postseason run when they took down Mendon Unity High School, 36-34 in round 2 of the Class 2A IHSA State Playoffs. Rams head coach Bill Duckett was a guest on Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show and he said the Rams are just riding a wave of momentum right now deep into this postseason.
Shelbyville will face #14 seed St. Thomas More next weekend, who has completed 2 upsets to make their way into round 3 of the IHSA State Playoffs.
The Taylorville Tornadoes season came to an end Saturday night when they fell to the Crusaders from Althoff Catholic 61-25 in round 2 of the Class 4A IHSA State Playoffs. THS head coach, Jeb Odam was a guest on Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show and said he knew going into the game that this team was going to be tough to bring down.
The Tornadoes ended their season at 8-3 on the year and will return many key play-makers to the 2017 squad.
Taylorville had only 1 more runner to see through to the Class 2A Cross Country State meet and that was Anna Lowry who finished 44th overall. Lowry finishes as the top runner in the Apollo conference and had one of the best seasons in school history.
The Taylorville Tornadoes volleyball season came to an end Saturday night as they fell to Mascoutah in straight sets 25-21 & 25-17 in the Elite 8 portion of the Class 3A IHSA Super Sectional. THS finishes their season on a fantastic run and a record of 24-12, that saw the Tornadoes win their 1st Sectional Championship in school history.
The UT Martin Seahawks defeated the EIU Panthers Saturday afternoon by a final score of 33 to 17. The game was heard on New Counrty 98.3 WSVZ, Genuine Counrty 94.3 WMKR, and online at taylorvilledailynews.com.
The Chicago Cubs are World Champions for 2016. This is a headline that is not new by any means. Although, it may not be new to the average fan or even the super fan, it is new to a southern Illinois kid who got to be a part of the historic run by the North Siders.
Spencer Patton grew up in Kinmundy, Illinois and went to school at South Central High School. A multi-sport athlete, Patton shined throughout his athletic career, especially on the baseball diamond. Once he graduated high school, Patton chose to play his college ball at Parkland in Champaign before transferring to Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.
In 2011, Spencer enjoyed one of the finest single-seasons in SIU-E history. He finished with a 9-3 record and a team best 2.55 ERA. The 9 wins is the 3rd most in a single season, as he became just the 4th pitcher in school history with at least 100 strikeouts in a season. His 109 K's is the 2nd most in a single season, averaging 11 per nine innings which is 3rd best all time. He also struck out a career high 12 batters in three consecutive starts.
Patton was then primed and ready to enter the 2011 Major League Baseball draft where he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 24th round.
He bounced around those farm systems for awhile where he saw great success before being traded to the Rangers organization in 2014. Patton made his Major League debut with Texas on September 4th, 2014. He was then traded to the Chicago Cubs in November of 2015 and that is where Patton's career fully came alive.
As an Illinois native, Patton used the hometown pride to back his 16 relief appearances in 2016 for the eventual World Champion Cubs that included 22 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings and a 5.48 ERA.
Patton, although he did not get the call to play during the playoffs, was on the 40-man roster at the time with the Cubs for his first World Series title. He was also a guest on Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show Saturday morning where he told host, Jake Linder how it felt to be a World Champion.
Patton continues to stay close with his southern Illinois home town community and those values as well as his faith have guided him to believe in one simple adage to live by in his life.
Pana Panthers football came to an end Friday night after a 35-13 loss in round 2 of the Class 3A IHSA State Football Playoffs. Head coach, Trevor Higgins was a guest on Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show Saturday morning and gave some reflection on the season overall as well as his thoughts on his team's final ball game.
The Panthers went on a stretch to start the season at 7-0 but finish at 9-2 overall. Pana had a top 3 share of the South Central Conference during the regular season as well, which saw all 3 teams finish with an 8-1 conference record.
Shelbyville football will be back in action for round 2 of the Class 2A IHSA State Football Playoffs Saturday afternoon against Unity High School. The 10th seeded Rams are coming off an upset win versus #7 seed Carmi last weekend and will look to do it again against the #2 seeded Mustangs Saturday at 2pm.
Rams head coach, Bill Duckett was a guest on Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show Saturday morning where he said he hopes his team can ride the momentum from the end of the regular season as well as last week into this ball game.
Tune in for that game on Groovy 97.3FM WRAN with Dave Devore on the call at 2pm or you can listen onine at taylorvilledailynews.com under the WRAN LISTEN LIVE tab.
Taylorville Football looks to upset Althoff Catholic Saturday at 4pm. The Tornadoes will be playing their first game at home of this young IHSA State Football Playoffs. THS will have their work cut out for them against the undefeated Crusaders team.
Head coach of the Tornadoes, Jeb Odam spoke on the Newstalk WTIM Coaches Show Saturday morning and says there is a couple different factors that go into the toughness of this Crusaders squad.
Kick off is scheduled for 4pm but you can hear the pre game show at 3:40pm with Jake Linder and Mike Pickett on the call. Tune into THE BIG 870AM all across central Illinois, 96.1FM in Christian County, 107.5FM in Shelby County, or worldwide at taylorvilledailynews.com under the WTIM LISTEN LIVE tab.
A 108 year wait is over. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series. A game that started on one day and ended on another was a fitting way to erase a century plus of pain and suffering. The 10th inning 8 to 7 win will be forever remembered. Cubs First Baseman Anthony Rizzo caught the final out and charged a pile of teammates with the ball.
The World Series MVP was Ben Zobrist who singled in the winning run. Zobrist is a Eureka (Illinois) native and went to Eureka High School and this is his 2nd World Series title.
A game 7 that had everything also had a brief rain delay. During the 15 minutes or so the teams were off the field, Right Fielder Jason Heyward called a players only meeting. The words were spot on according to World Series MVP Ben Zobrist.
Pana will face off against undefeated Newton High School Friday night in round 2 of the Class 3A IHSA State Football Playoffs. The Panthers are 9-1 on the season after a 36-35 nail biter win at home against Marshall High. Newton is averaging close to 48 points per game on the season coming into the match up with a tough Pana squad that is only giving up an average of 12 points per game to their opponents.
Head Coach, Trevor Higgins was a guest on Newstalk WTIM's Coaches Show and says his nerves are high, but he, as well as his team, are ready for the challenge.
The Eagles are the #1 seed in the south bracket whereas Pana is #8 and looking for an upset. Game time is set for 7pm.
Shelbyville Football went on the road and continued their late season dominance against Carmi High School in a lopsided 46-6 win. The Rams advanced to round 2 of the Class 2A IHSA State Football Playoffs where they will now play Unity High School, a team coming into the match up undefeated. The two teams are closely matched on defensive stats despite their different records, both Rams and the Mustangs give up right around 20 points per game on average to their opponents.
Head Coach of the Rams, Bill Duckett says his team is glad to be back at home after a long drive to White County in Southern Illinois last weekend.
Rams are set to kick off at 2pm this Saturday afternoon. Tune into that ball game on Groovy 97.3FM WRAN with Dave Devore on the call. Also, you can stream the game online at taylorvilledailynews.com under the WRAN LISTEN LIVE tab.