The word team is often overused in sports writing. It's used casually to refer to a collection of players that represent any old franchise or college. It's used passionately to describe a rooting interest--that's our team. And, occasionally, it's used to discuss what has come to be a cliche: the idea of a group of individuals coming together for the common good, sacrificing all personal gain for the greater goal of winning a championship. Serious scribes don't toss around that meaning of the word team lightly--or very often. And with good reason. In sports, there's rarely a cause to use it. But, there is no wiser usage of the word team--a unified core of players all working toward the same goal--than when applying it to the 2004-05 Fighting Illini squad that we've all come to cherish. They were a team like no other. Tales from the 2004-05 Fighting Illini captures the team step-by-step on its March to the Arch. News-Gazette reporter Brett Dawson shadowed Bruce Weber's boys the entire season and shares his insights into what made this team so special. The entire season was a rollercoaster ride of emotion: from the thrilling peaks--victories over Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Michigan State and ArizonA and unfortunate lows--the loss to Ohio State and the death of coach Weber's mother. Dawson adds a new perspective to those moments, plus goes behind the scenes to discover what made this team tick. He examines their funny bone as well as their fierce will to win. It's all here: from Midnight Madness to the first Dee for Threeeeee to the hoisting of two Big Ten trophies and finally a date with North Carolina in the NCAA finals. Dee, Deron, Luther, Roger, and James--led by the nationalcoach of the year--have a story to tell. Until today, only half of it has been told.

This humorous and revealing title lets readers bite off a huge chunk of tasty Cubs? fun, fantasy, heartbreak, and happiness during unforgettable afternoons in the sun, rain, wind, and fog that make every inning an adventure at Wrigley Field. It's written in the sprightly style of Bob Logan, who covered baseball for 32 years as a sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald. All of the tales add up to an entertaining slice of Cubs lore in every chapter, full of enjoyable facts, and well remembered characters.

During the most historic and record-setting year in Illinois basketball history, the Illini captured the hearts of fans everywhere. Those fans can now celebrate the 2005 championship run in One for the Ages: The 2004-05 Fighting Illini's March to the Arch. The first title to be available on the market following the Illini's nearly perfect season and run to the Final Four, the book is full of vibrant full-color photos from The News-Gazette in Champaign, taking readers through the regular and post-seasons. Included are statistics and game recaps for the most significant games as well as complete coverage of the Big Ten Tournament, the NCAA Tournament, and the Final Four.

The sound of the public address announcer yelling out "Deeeee for Threeeee!" reverberated throughout the Assembly Hall for four magnificent seasons, "The One-Man Fast Break" became a household term to college basketball fans around the country, and orange headbands sold out in sporting goods stores everywhere in central Illinois. Dee Brown will probably go down in history as the most popular player to ever suit up for the University of Illinois, as he became the ideal teammate and a positive role model for children all over the state during his four years of basketball bliss in Champaign-Urbana.The daily newspaper that covered Dee Brown more than any other, The News-Gazette in Champaign, has put together a tribute to a player no Fighting Illini fan will ever forget. Dee Brown: My Illini Years highlights his four seasons through numerous articles and stories first found in the pages of the paper's sports section, along with dozens of vibrant full-color photos. The book also features tribute sections, an epilogue from Coach Bruce Weber, and quotes from teammates, coaches, and UI fans who witnessed the amazing and thrilling career of a college basketball legend that was highlighted by a trip to the 2005 national championship game.

For pure spectacle, passion and tradition, nothing in sports beats a college football rivalry--and the Big Ten has some of the best. Whether it's Wisconsin and Minnesota renewing thier ancient battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe, or Ohio State and Michigan scrapping for conference dominance, you'll discover the history, ritual, and color of some of football's oldest and greatest blood feuds.

This book offers a rigorous but graphically compelling narrative historic analysis of one of the most important civic buildings not only of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, or the State of Illinois, but arguably of the United States, Memorial Stadium. Like all spatial products, the design and construction of the University of Illinois Memorial Stadium embodies the social, political, economic, aspiration, and aesthetic values of its time. This book will engage in critical analysis including documenting the civic discourse that led to the Stadium and thereafter explore the iterative nature of the Stadium in shaping civic discourse. In this vein, central topics include its role in embodying the state’s economic growth; the changing nature of the sociocultural tendencies and its impact on campus life and the University’s community; the Stadium’s effects on UIUC sports and the campus’ built environment; the rise of College sports as big business; and the impact on mass culture across the State and the country, like the use of stadiums as concert venues and place of public discourse. More than a simple study of the building’s conceptualization, design, and construction, this book reveals why Illinois’ Memorial Stadium is an iconic part of the American Midwest’s built landscape and in many ways part of the American mythic landscape. This will be interesting reading for all those familiar with the building, as well as all students and scholars of sports architecture.

Benny Friedman, the son of working class immigrants in Cleveland's Jewish ghetto, arrived at the University of Michigan and transformed the game of football forever. At the time, in the 1920s, football was a dull, grinding running game, and the forward pass was a desperation measure. Benny would change all of that. In Ann Arbor, the rookie quarterback's passing abilities so eclipsed those of other players that legendary coach Fielding Yost came back from retirement to coach him. The other college teams had no answer for Friedman's passing attack. He then went pro -- an unpopular decision at a time when the NFL was the poor stepchild to college football -- and was equally sensational, eventually signing with the New York Giants for an unprecedented 10,000, bringing fans and attention to the fledgling NFL. Passing Game rediscovers this little-known sports hero and tells the story of Friedman's evolution from upstart to American celebrity, in a vivid narrative that will delight and enlighten football fans of all ages.