The daily pitch from Sports Editor : Oct. 31, 2026

Oct. 31—➜ . Preps coordinator details the health struggles the Clinton junior cross-country standout has had to deal with the last two years. If you start to feel sorry for yourself, .

➜ . But we’ll be back on Nov. 9 with Illinois men’s tennis coach .

➜ featuring the work of beat writers and , along with photo editor .

double-doubles has in his Illinois men’s basketball career. The 7-foot-1, 270-pound center will start his third season with the Illini at 7 p.m. on Monday when No. 3 Illinois hosts Fairleigh Dickinson in its season opener at State Farm Center in Champaign. On Friday, Ivisic was one of 20 names on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list given to the top center in men’s college basketball.

➜ . The Illini (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) could head into November on a three-game win streak if they can beat the Terrapins (2-5, 0-4) on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at SECU Stadium in College Park, Md.

➜ . The Illini (15-7, 7-4 Big Ten) fended off Northwestern late Thursday night for their third consecutive victory. The Buckeyes (10-11, 3-8) visit Champaign for a noon first serve on Sunday at Huff Hall.

➜ . The Cobras’ volleyball team (42-3) hosts Sauk Valley at 9 a.m. and Carl Sandburg at 11 a.m. on Saturday in their final regular-season matches.

➜ LeBron James, Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic.

➜ “The Office.”

➜ Christmas.