Clear to partly cloudy. Low 69F. Winds light and variable..
Clear to partly cloudy. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: July 3, 2025 @ 5:31 pm
Chris Tamas begins his ninth season as the Illinois volleyball coach when the Illini open their 2025 schedule against South Dakota State in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Steve Stricker with his 2011 John Deere Classic trophy.
Former Illini Aleks Vukic returns a forehand against Chun-Hsin Tseng during their first-round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday in London. Vukic won 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4).
RJ Cinnamon will be a sophomore at St. Thomas More during the 2025-26 school year and plays baseball and wrestles with the Sabers.
Sports Editor
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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s happening around the area:
Chris Tamas begins his ninth season as the Illinois volleyball coach when the Illini open their 2025 schedule against South Dakota State in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
➜ 1. The full Illinois volleyball schedule for the 2025 season is out. After the Big Ten opponents were announced in late May, nine nonconference opponents were unveiled on Wednesday.
➜ 2. Illinois starts its ninth season under coach Chris Tamas at 1 p.m. on Aug. 29 with a neutral-site match against South Dakota State in Cedar Falls, Iowa. South Dakota State finished last season with a 27-3 record and made the NCAA tournament before losing in the first round against Miami. The Illini went 18-13 last season and lost to Northern Iowa in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
➜ 3. The remaining eight nonconference matches are as follows: against Vanderbilt on Aug. 31 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn; at Notre Dame on Sept. 5; at reigning national runner-up Louisville on Sept. 7; against Cincinnati on Sept. 12, Miami on Sept. 13 and Illinois State on Sept. 14 in Normal; home opener against Iowa State on Sept. 19 and a home match with Eastern Illinois on Sept. 21.
Steve Stricker with his 2011 John Deere Classic trophy.
John Deere Classic titles former Illini Steve Stricker won from 2009-11 at the PGA Tour event in the Quad Cities. Stricker is the only golfer to win the tournament that started in 1971 and tees off Thursday in Silvis three straight years.
Former Illini Aleks Vukic returns a forehand against Chun-Hsin Tseng during their first-round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday in London. Vukic won 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4).
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals last scored a run against a National League team in the fourth inning against the Cubs on June 24. Since then? A span of 46 innings without a run against NL teams after the Pirates shut out the Cardinals for the third stright day on Wednesday. This series at Wrigley Field begins at 1:20 p.m. on Friday.
➜ 2. Wimbledon. Former Illini Aleks Vukic takes on top seed Janner Sinnik in the second round on Thursday at Centre Court at the All England Club.
➜ 3. John Deere Classic. Former Illini Brian Campbell and Nick Hardy tee off Thursday at the PGA Tour event in Silivs that seems to always produce low scores.
RJ Cinnamon will be a sophomore at St. Thomas More during the 2025-26 school year and plays baseball and wrestles with the Sabers.
Three questions with St. Thomas More sophomore RJ Cinnamon, who plays baseball and wrestles with the Sabers:
➜ 1. Three athletes I’d like to have dinner with are … Anthony Rizzo, Lucas Byrd and Javier Baez.
➜ 2. The TV show I most like to binge-watch is … “Stranger Things.”
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … people with no sense of humor.
Matt Daniels is sports editor at The News-Gazette. His email is mdaniels@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@mdaniels_NG).
Sports Editor
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