A mix of clouds and sun. Gusty winds diminishing during the afternoon. High 57F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..
Clear skies. Low around 35F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: October 22, 2025 @ 4:57 am
The 2011 News-Gazette All-Area football team outside the Virginia Theatre in Champaign.
Chris Tamas and his Illini volleyball program is sitting in second place in the Big Ten with a 7-1 league record before hosting No. 11 Purdue on Friday night at Huff Hall in Champaign.
Guard Ayo Dosunmu is set to begin his fifth NBA season — all with his hometown Bulls — as Chicago tips off the 2025-26 season this Wednesday against the Pistons at the United Center in Chicago.
Jillian Schlittler is a senior two-sport standout at Unity.
Sports Editor
To subscribe, please click here
Want a copy of today’s edition? Here’s a map of single-copy locations
Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
The 2011 News-Gazette All-Area football team outside the Virginia Theatre in Champaign.
➜ 1. The News-Gazette is bringing back First Team All-Area team photos for our high school All-Area packages. Put on the shelf by the pandemic, we’ve invited six First Team All-Area boys’ golf picks and six First Team All-Area girls’ golf selections to our office to kick this off on Wednesday.
➜ 2. The first of 10 All-Area fall sports teams will be unveiled next Wednesday, Oct. 29 with boys’ golf and then girls’ golf on Oct. 30. New to the All-Area collection this school year: girls’ flag football, which is set to be released on Thursday, Nov. 6.
➜ 3. Another cool event coming up soon at our office: Faces of Winter on Sunday, Nov. 9. Invitations have been sent to all of our area high schools for what we consider one of the best days of the year.
Chris Tamas and his Illini volleyball program is sitting in second place in the Big Ten with a 7-1 league record before hosting No. 11 Purdue on Friday night at Huff Hall in Champaign.
years since the Illinois volleyball program has won a Big Ten title. Chris Tamas and his Illini (12-5, 7-1 Big Ten) are second in the league, only behind No. 1 Nebraska (18-0, 8-0). Illinois, which has won Big Ten titles in 1987, 1987, 1988 and 1992, returns to Huff Hall after a four-match road trip and brings a five-match win streak into a 7 p.m. match on Friday against No. 11 Purdue (15-3, 6-2).
Guard Ayo Dosunmu is set to begin his fifth NBA season — all with his hometown Bulls — as Chicago tips off the 2025-26 season this Wednesday against the Pistons at the United Center in Chicago.
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls. Hard to believe because it seems like just yesterday he was starring for Illinois men’s basketball, but former Illini Ayo Dosunmu begins his fifth season in the NBA and fifth with the Bulls when they tip off the season at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
➜ 2. Miami Heat at Orlando Magic. How much will Heat rookie and former Illini Kasparas Jakucionis play this season? First opportunity to answer that question comes at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
➜ 3. Minnesota Timberwolves at Portland Trail Blazers. Former Illini Terrence Shannon Jr. starts his second season with the Timberwolves in the Pacific Northwest with this 9 p.m. tip on Wednesday.
Jillian Schlittler is a senior two-sport standout at Unity.
Three questions with Unity senior Jillian Schlittler, who competes in volleyball and track and field for the Rockets:
➜ 1. Three athletes I’d like to have dinner with are … Madisen Skinner, Lexi Rodriguez and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
➜ 2. The TV shows I most like to binge-watch is … “Friends,” and “Vampire Diaries.”
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … hearing people chew.
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).
Illini football preps for showdown at Washington. … 11 area high school football teams have clinched playoff berths. … Regional semifinal boys’ soccer matches on tap today. … Catching up with Urbana girls’ swimmer Kate Gresch
First look at Illini men’s basketball on Sunday. … Former Illini Brown contributes significantly to Bengals’ win. … Boys’ soccer regional semifinal matches on tap. … Catching up with former Mahomet-Seymour two-sport standout Miles Woolsey
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
