Joakim Noah’s breakthrough season just got more decorated.

The Bulls center earned first-team All-NBA status Wednesday, joining Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Chris Paul and James Harden.

Here’s the link to the story in the Chicago Tribune.

By Don Gasaway

Catfish thump tasty morsels that anglers present to them.  Summer must be upon us.  It is the prime time for fishing for this muscle with fins.

A staple of southern cooking, catfish are also available in restaurants as well as local lakes.  But, it is more fun to catch your own.  Here are some tips for catching your own in Southern Illinois.

One top catfish producing lake is Crab Orchard Lake in the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge near Marion.  According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the catfish population of this 7,000-acre lake is self-sustaining and has not required supplemental stocking to maintain the fishery.

The Crab Orchard Lake contains both channel and flathead catfish.  It also contains a good population of bullheads, a member of the catfish family that does not gain the large size of the others.

Fishing for catfish is a laid back type of angling.  The rigs are simple and the baits, although often smelly, are simple as well.

It is a good idea to remember that catfish like cover.  They are bottom feeders that hold around rocks and stumps.  Once one sets the hook, the fish will do its best to break off the line.  Veteran catfish anglers prefer a line that is of at least 12-pound test.

The tough line helps prevent the sandpaper-like teeth of the fish from wearing or weakening the line causing a break.  With high quality tough line, anglers can fish around rocky, stump infested, underwater terrain.

Most often the rig for catfishing is simply a baited hook suspended beneath a float, cork, bobber or whatever you call it.  Cast to a probable location and allowed the rig to sink to the level where you believe the fish are located.

Bait can be live or dead.  Popular baits include minnows, leeches, crayfish, catalpa worms, leaf worms, red worms, nightcrawlers, frogs, and cut bait.  Cheese baits, popular in the spring, are less successful in the summer heat.

During periods of overcast or drizzle, catfish cruise the flats in search of food the same as they do at night.  Under such conditions, a three-way rig works well.  Attach one swivel to the line that goes to the reel, the second to a drop line of about eight inches with a heavy sinker on the end.  Attach the third swivel to a line of about 30-inches with a hook and bait at the end.  The rig allows the bait to float just off the bottom a location popular with catfish.

There are catfish in most of the other southern Illinois lakes including Rend Lake where the above photo was taken.  Another popular place to fish for them is Little Grassy Lake a1200-acres body of water to the south of Crab Orchard Lake but still in the refuge area.  It produces many channel catfish on a regular basis throughout the summer.

Whether fishing from shore or boat, in the evening or morning, night or day, catfish are a marvelous fish for action.  They can be as finicky as any game fish, and yet do not require a lot of expensive tackle to pursue.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Southern Illinois relief pitcher Kyle Pauly has been named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, Collegiate Baseball newspaper announced Wednesday. Pauly is one of nine relief pitchers in the nation to receive the honor this season.

Kyle Pauly

Pauly went 2-3 with a 1.43 ERA in 22 relief appearances for the Salukis in 2014. His 0.83 ERA in conference play was the lowest among all Missouri Valley Conference pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. The southpaw held batters to a .164 batting average and struck out 41 batters in 50.1 innings of work.

SIU has now produced eight Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans since 2002. Pauly is the first Saluki to earn the honor since reliever Tyler Dray did in 2011. This is the second postseason honor for Pauly, who was named to the All-MVC second team last month.

Complete list of 2014 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans

Southern Illinois senior linebacker Tyler Williamson has been named to the 2014 College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) FCS Awards Watch List, the CFPA announced this week.

The initial watch list includes 38 linebackers, vying for the top linebacker award in the Football Championship Subdivision. All players are eligible for awards at their respective positions; players are not preemptively eliminated from consideration.

The goal of College Football Performance Awards is to provide the most scientifically rigorous conferments in college football. Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams. Twenty-eight CFPA winners have been first-round NFL Draft selections.

Last season, SIU’s MyCole Pruitt earned the CFPA Tight End Award. In 2010, Saluki cornerback Korey Lindsey earned the CFPA Elite Defensive Back Award.

The full list of 2014 CFPA winners will be announced January 14, 2015.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Southern Illinois University finished fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports standings this academic year, the league announced today, marking the eighth time in the last nine years SIU has finished among the top four.

Wichita State won the All-Sports crown for the eighth time in the last 11 years. The Shockers finished first or second in 12 of the 15 sports it sponsors and set a school record with eight team championships.

The Salukis won conference championships in both men’s and women’s cross country, and took second place in women’s tennis. Seven of Southern’s programs finished in third place — volleyball, women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, men’s tennis, softball and women’s outdoor track & field.

Pts. Team (Championships)
2.133 Wichita State (8)
3.538 Indiana State (4)
3.971 Illinois State (1)
4.031 Southern Illinois (2)
4.900 UNI (1)

The way Lance Lynn tells it there has not been a day since he joined the Cardinals’ major-league rotation that Adam Wainwright missed a chance to chide him for what he didn’t have.

Here’s  a link to the story at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

COBDEN — Twenty-three straight.

The Trico Pioneers blasted four home runs and Jordan Lodge held Galatia-Thompsonville to four hits in a 12-2 win in the Cobden Class A softball sectional. It was Trico’s 23rd straight victory.

Here’s a link to the story in the Southern Illinoisan.

Psalm 61:1-3

When, in the course of a season, do you begin to lose a little steam?  When are you starting to run low on energy?  What can you do to regain your strength and vitality?

In Psalm 61 and verse 1 through 3, we hear a poetic prayer for renewed strength.  There we read, “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.  From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.”

The writer felt totally alienated and exposed.  He felt like he was at the edge of the earth and called out to God as his heart grew more and more faint.  He saw God as a rock, as a refuge and a strong tower to protect him from his enemies.

You may feel similarly when your strength is waning and all your muscles ache.  You may be physically, mentally and emotionally worn out by practice and competition.  What are you to do when your hearts grow faint?

As you prepare to compete today, follow the writer’s example and cry out to God as a refuge and a strong tower against your foe.  Today, that foe may be fatigue or pain.  Pray right where you are and He’ll be there to support and to protect you.