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Sports editor Matt Daniels looks back at what was happening in the area:
USA Volleyball
Former Illini and U.S. women’s volleyball team captain Jordyn Poulter (right) and the U.S. will come home with a silver medal from the Summer Olympics in Paris.
Three reasons why we love sports today
➜ 1. It wasn’t a gold medal like former Illini player Jordyn Poulter and the U.S. women’s volleyball team wanted after Italy swept the Americans off the court on Sunday on the final day of the Summer Olympics in Paris. But Poulter, 27, can add a silver medal to the gold she won three years ago at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
➜ 2. The closing ceremony in Paris was only on Sunday and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles are still four years away, but how cool would it be to see Poulter represent the USA in the first Summer Olympics in the USA since Atlanta 1996??
➜ 3. Speaking of cool, Illinois should do everything in its power to bring Poulter back for an Illini home game at Huff Hall in the fall, with her medals in tow.
Tanner Gordon is still waiting for his first MLB win with the Colorado Rockies, but the 26-year-old Champaign Central graduate showed a good pitch last Friday night against the Atlanta Braves.
Number game: 7
Strikeouts Graduate from Champaign Central Tanner Gordon had in five innings for the Colorado Rockies against the Atlanta Braves last Friday night. Gordon is still looking for his first MLB win after leaving the field with the lead before the Rockies’ bullpen faltered — again — but the 26-year-old right-hander should make his sixth start of the MLB season later this week. Colorado opens a three-game road series against the Diamondbacks on Monday night before beginning a three-game home series against the Padres on Friday night.
Athletics in Illinois
Former Illini Rajeev Ram (left) and his doubles partner Joe Salisbury will play in the final of the ATP Tour’s National Bank Open in Montreal on Monday night.
Crowd control
Three events I observe
➜ 1. Wright State vs. Illinois Football. Illinois’ season opener — and the first of hundreds of sporting events in the 2024-25 school year for the Illini — will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at Demirjian Park in Champaign.
➜ 2. Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins. Former Illini Michael Massey is having the best offensive season of his MLB career for the Royals, who would be in the playoffs if the season ended before this crucial AL Central series that begins Monday.
➜ 3. Opening of the National BankFresh from the silver medal at the Summer Olympics in Paris, the former Illini Rajeev Ram is aiming for an ATP men’s doubles title at the National Bank Open in Montreal on Monday evening.
Mahomet Seymour softball coach James Heinold shows his love for his favorite team, the New York Yankees.
Trainer Corner
Three questions for Mahomet-Seymour softball coach James Heinold, who led the Bulldogs to the 2022 Class 3A state tournament and a fourth-place finish this year:
➜ 1. My favorite sports team is… the New York Yankees.
➜ 2. Three coaches I would like to have dinner with are… Joe Torre, Lou Holtz and Mike Tomlin.
➜ 3. What annoys me most is… when a player says: “I can’t.”
