The daily pitch from Sports Editor Matt Daniels: April 30, 2024
Apr. 30—➜ 1. Four Eastern Illinois graduate who made their name in the NFL are coming back to their alma mater in Charleston in a little more than a month on June 1.
➜ 2. Denver Broncos coach , CBS analyst and former Cowboys quarterback , two-time Super Bowl winning coach with the Broncos and current Los Angeles Rams quarterback will headline 'An Evening with the Champions,' at Groniger Arena.
➜ 3. This fundraising opportunity at EIU — where former EIU quarterbacks Payton, Romo, Shanahan and Garoppolo will spin stories from their careers with tickets starting at $300 — will benefit the Panthers' athletic department. A dinner, cash bar and live auction are all part of the night.
Percent of the points returning on the Illinois men's basketball roster for the 2024-25 season. Of the 3,168 points the Illini scored last season en route to becoming one of the nation's most prolific offenses, only (234 points), (66 points) and walk-on (three points) are players who actually made a basket for Illinois last season and seem to be sticking around. At least right now. The rest of the roster is either out of eligibility (, , , , ), declaring for the NBA draft () or transferring (, , , , ). Welcome to college basketball in 2024.
➜ . We'll see if the Illini can add to their Big Ten-leading 76 home runs on Tuesday night in this nonconference game that gets underway at 6 p.m. at Illinois Field.
➜ . The top-ranked Cobras finished off the regular season Sunday with a sweep of Heartland and carry a 52-4 record into Thursday's Region 24 tournament game against the Loggers (14-32). First pitch is at 2 p.m. in Champaign.
➜ . The Illini Prairie conference showdown between the Sages (24-2) and Spartans (23-2) at Meier Field in St. Joseph was rained out Monday, but is rescheduled for 4:30 p.m. on May 6.
➜ the Illinois golf and basketball teams.
➜ Mike Small, Brad Underwood and Matt Painter. It would be great to hear their coaching philosophies with athletes in today's world.
➜ being late for anything.
