Three University of Illinois football players are expected to be formally charged today after they allegedly robbed a man in a residence hall early yesterday. Darta Lee, Zarrian Holcomce and Howard Watkins have all been jailed and suspended from the team. Champaign police told the News Gazette the men had a quote “stupid plan” that went awry when the victim recognized the voice of one of the men, ultimately leading to the arrest of all three.
In softball, Normal West edged Pontiac 2-0.
Illinois State’s Jordan de los Reyes is the Missouri Valley Conference Softball Player of the Year. She leads the conference in four offensive categories and is one of five Redbirds on the Valley first team, including Allison Spence, Sarah Finck, Shannon Felde and Riley Hale. Annie Heineman was named to the second team. The Valley tournament opens today at Illinois State’s Marian Kneer Stadium. The host Redbirds have the Number 2 seed and play in the semifinals on Friday night.
Illinois Wesleyan men’s lacrosse won its first-ever NCAA tournament game with a 19-15 victory at Aurora. The Titans play Number 7 Denison on Saturday.
Freshman guard Andre Washington has announced he’ll transfer from Illinois State. He saw limited playing time in 17 games during the past season.
The Cardinals defeated the Marlins 7-5. The Cards have compiled six straight wins and their nine-game road winning streak is the best since 1970. The Cards are off today.
The Cubs lost 3-0 at Colorado. The Cubs collected only three hits on the day at Coors Field. The Cubs take today off before a weekend series at St. Louis.
The White Sox and Twins were rained out. They’ll conclude the series tonight.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks have advance to the NHL’s conference finals by taking Game 7’s last night.
High water levels on Carlyle Lake in southern Illinois have forced the postponement of state high school bass fishing tournament next weekend.
Programming note: Matt Curl of the Fairbury American Legion Speedway returns to the WJEZ airwaves this Friday morning in the 8 o’clock hour for the Fairbury Speedway Update! Matt will preview all the excitement going on at the speedway this weekend.