1 hr. ago
EVANSTON, Ill. — Against the window seal of David Braun's office conference room at Northwestern, a bronze statue of a man glares toward visitors.
An award Braun won in 2023, the miniature depiction of Bear Bryant, dressed in his trademark suit and a houndstooth hat, is fitting considering the program's upward trajectory and that his offense, under new coordinator Chip Kelly, is showing flashes of yesteryear: the Wing-T, Wishbone and option concepts that Bryant used to claim six national championships at Alabama more than four decades ago.
"You can call them dated. That's not fair," Braun says with a smile. "But creative!"
Life is good here in this northern Chicago suburb.
The 6-1 and 18th-ranked Wildcats are off to their best start since 2012; the fall foliage sweeps across this campus like a painter's brush; the university alignment and athletic investment is as its best since before the tumult around the clumsy handling of the end of the Pat Fitzgerald era; the program opened a more than $850 million new stadium earlier this season; and the offense is an entertaining throwback under one of the sport's most heralded gurus.
#bryant #evanston #northwestern #bear
An award Braun won in 2023, the miniature depiction of Bear Bryant, dressed in his trademark suit and a houndstooth hat, is fitting considering the program's upward trajectory and that his offense, under new coordinator Chip Kelly, is showing flashes of yesteryear: the Wing-T, Wishbone and option concepts that Bryant used to claim six national championships at Alabama more than four decades ago.
"You can call them dated. That's not fair," Braun says with a smile. "But creative!"
Life is good here in this northern Chicago suburb.
The 6-1 and 18th-ranked Wildcats are off to their best start since 2012; the fall foliage sweeps across this campus like a painter's brush; the university alignment and athletic investment is as its best since before the tumult around the clumsy handling of the end of the Pat Fitzgerald era; the program opened a more than $850 million new stadium earlier this season; and the offense is an entertaining throwback under one of the sport's most heralded gurus.
#bryant #evanston #northwestern #bear
2 months ago
The Arizona Cardinals began during the early years of the game of American Football, which was coming into existence. This new sport sprang up from the sport of rugby. And rugby came from soccer, which is officially called "football" on a global scale.
Teams back then didn't have home and away jerseys. They owned one set that followed the origins of baseball. In those days, baseball teams all had basically the same uniforms, so they had different colored socks. That is why the "Cincinnati Red Stockings" (Reds), "Chicago White Stockings" (White Sox), and "Boston Red Stockings" (Red Sox) still have this history to their franchise team names.
RELATED: CARDINALS ALMOST RELOCATED TO EVANSTON, ILLINOIS?
Stockings were used instead of traditional socks because they could travel from the cleat/shoes all the way to just below the knee. This long area covered the entire shin and gave a good glimpse of the color.
Almost every professional sports team has made some sort of change, whether that's in a team name, colors, team logos, uniforms, city, stadium, owners, or franchise letter font.
#stockings
Teams back then didn't have home and away jerseys. They owned one set that followed the origins of baseball. In those days, baseball teams all had basically the same uniforms, so they had different colored socks. That is why the "Cincinnati Red Stockings" (Reds), "Chicago White Stockings" (White Sox), and "Boston Red Stockings" (Red Sox) still have this history to their franchise team names.
RELATED: CARDINALS ALMOST RELOCATED TO EVANSTON, ILLINOIS?
Stockings were used instead of traditional socks because they could travel from the cleat/shoes all the way to just below the knee. This long area covered the entire shin and gave a good glimpse of the color.
Almost every professional sports team has made some sort of change, whether that's in a team name, colors, team logos, uniforms, city, stadium, owners, or franchise letter font.
#stockings
2 months ago
The John Mackey Award has been around since 2000 and is handed out by the Nassau County Sports Commission annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. With a bunch of preseason college football award watch lists being unveiled recently, the Mackey Award got in on all of the fun, with an Ohio State tight end landing on the preseason watch list.
To be frank, Ohio State has not been known for tight ends during its illustrious history, but this year, many believe Northwestern transfer Hunter Welcing could be a good one. He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention last season and will be entering his Redshirt Senior campaign after transferring to Ohio State.
Last year, Welcing tallied 28 catches for 296 yards (10.6 avg.) and two touchdowns to lead the tight end position in Evanston. Nate Roberts is projected by many to be the starting tight end for OSU, but the experience of Welcing could win out, especially with the loss of Max Klare and Will Kacmarek, who are now both in the NFL. And don't worry, Buckeye fans, if Roberts does grab the starting nod and receive a bigger volume of time, he could be added to the watch list later in the season.
In the meantime, though, there's no doubt Welcing will be in the rotation with his size, experience, and ability.
Ohio State has never had a John Mackey Award recipient, since it is arguably the best at producing elite wide receivers in the entire country, but it would be nice to get the recognition when the John Mackey Award is announced on December 11 during ESPN's Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
#state #welcing #john #college
To be frank, Ohio State has not been known for tight ends during its illustrious history, but this year, many believe Northwestern transfer Hunter Welcing could be a good one. He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention last season and will be entering his Redshirt Senior campaign after transferring to Ohio State.
Last year, Welcing tallied 28 catches for 296 yards (10.6 avg.) and two touchdowns to lead the tight end position in Evanston. Nate Roberts is projected by many to be the starting tight end for OSU, but the experience of Welcing could win out, especially with the loss of Max Klare and Will Kacmarek, who are now both in the NFL. And don't worry, Buckeye fans, if Roberts does grab the starting nod and receive a bigger volume of time, he could be added to the watch list later in the season.
In the meantime, though, there's no doubt Welcing will be in the rotation with his size, experience, and ability.
Ohio State has never had a John Mackey Award recipient, since it is arguably the best at producing elite wide receivers in the entire country, but it would be nice to get the recognition when the John Mackey Award is announced on December 11 during ESPN's Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
#state #welcing #john #college
4 months ago
While John Cusack is incredibly private when it comes to his personal life, his prominent family tree more than makes up for it.
The Golden Globe-nominated actor, who turned 60 on June 28, has Hollywood in his blood, not only the son of a prominent Hollywood actor and writer, but also has four other siblings who are in the entertainment industry.
The last name "Cusack" should be enough of a tip off, but read on below to learn more about the High Fidelity star's famous family members…
Richard John "Dick" Cusack first began his career as an advertising executive before pivoting into acting. However, his first acting role didn't come until 1980's My Bodyguard, the same year his son John made his own debut in a short film. He continued acting for the next two decades, mostly playing authority figures in films like Class (1983, his son's major film debut), The Fugitive (1993), While You Were Sleeping (1995), and High Fidelity (2000).
He also owned a production company, through which he made documentary films, and worked as a playwright in Chicago. He was also responsible for the Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston, where all his kids trained in their craft. ****** passed away in 2003 at the age of 77, survived by his four kids and longtime wife Nancy.
The Golden Globe-nominated actor, who turned 60 on June 28, has Hollywood in his blood, not only the son of a prominent Hollywood actor and writer, but also has four other siblings who are in the entertainment industry.
The last name "Cusack" should be enough of a tip off, but read on below to learn more about the High Fidelity star's famous family members…
Richard John "Dick" Cusack first began his career as an advertising executive before pivoting into acting. However, his first acting role didn't come until 1980's My Bodyguard, the same year his son John made his own debut in a short film. He continued acting for the next two decades, mostly playing authority figures in films like Class (1983, his son's major film debut), The Fugitive (1993), While You Were Sleeping (1995), and High Fidelity (2000).
He also owned a production company, through which he made documentary films, and worked as a playwright in Chicago. He was also responsible for the Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston, where all his kids trained in their craft. ****** passed away in 2003 at the age of 77, survived by his four kids and longtime wife Nancy.
4 months ago
With the 55th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers selected Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli, further validating Chris Collins’ ability to develop and nurture pro-level talent amidst an ever-evolving college basketball landscape.
Los Angeles came out of nowhere and traded up with the Houston Rockets to pick Martinelli, after initially trading down to pick 57 in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks earlier Wednesday night. The Clippers were not reported to have met with Martinelli in the pre-draft process, but his resume likely spoke for itself to where LA President Lawrence Frank felt comfortable taking a flyer on the Wildcats legend.
Martinelli leaves Evanston as one of the most decorated scorers in program history. A two-time All-Big Ten selection, he averaged 23.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 ******* ists on 51/41.7/80.9 shooting splits in his senior season, winning the Big Ten scoring ******* le for the second straight year and setting a new Northwestern single-season record with 759 points. He is also a two-time First-Team Academic All-American, and one of only three Wildcats in program history to play in four NCAA Tournament games alongside Boo Buie and Brooks Barnhizer.
The pick extends a run of Collins-developed players earning professional opportunities that would have seemed improbable when Northwestern made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. Barnhizer went to the then-reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder at pick 44 in last year’s draft and earned real two-way trust in a system that has come to define what second-round development can look like. Martinelli’s path to Wednesday night was similar in spirit: four years in Evanston, steady improvement at every level, work ethic that draft evaluators rave about and a senior season that made the skeptics run out of arguments.
His selection also made history for the program itself, as Martinelli and Barnhizer are the first Northwestern duo to get selected in consecutive years since the NBA Draft shrank to its current two-round format in 1989.
Los Angeles came out of nowhere and traded up with the Houston Rockets to pick Martinelli, after initially trading down to pick 57 in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks earlier Wednesday night. The Clippers were not reported to have met with Martinelli in the pre-draft process, but his resume likely spoke for itself to where LA President Lawrence Frank felt comfortable taking a flyer on the Wildcats legend.
Martinelli leaves Evanston as one of the most decorated scorers in program history. A two-time All-Big Ten selection, he averaged 23.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 ******* ists on 51/41.7/80.9 shooting splits in his senior season, winning the Big Ten scoring ******* le for the second straight year and setting a new Northwestern single-season record with 759 points. He is also a two-time First-Team Academic All-American, and one of only three Wildcats in program history to play in four NCAA Tournament games alongside Boo Buie and Brooks Barnhizer.
The pick extends a run of Collins-developed players earning professional opportunities that would have seemed improbable when Northwestern made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. Barnhizer went to the then-reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder at pick 44 in last year’s draft and earned real two-way trust in a system that has come to define what second-round development can look like. Martinelli’s path to Wednesday night was similar in spirit: four years in Evanston, steady improvement at every level, work ethic that draft evaluators rave about and a senior season that made the skeptics run out of arguments.
His selection also made history for the program itself, as Martinelli and Barnhizer are the first Northwestern duo to get selected in consecutive years since the NBA Draft shrank to its current two-round format in 1989.
