By Sean McDevitt fightingillini.com Change has been the only constant during the last few years in college athletics. From the COVID-19 pandemic to Name, Image, and Likeness to the transfer portal to conference realignments, the changing landscape of college athletics is moving at breakneck speed. Major court cases such as…

By Sean McDevitt FightingIllini.com According to University of Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman’s daughter, Tate, his favorite construction vehicle is a bulldozer. Tate, at five years old, has assigned everyone in the Whitman household a favorite, from color to animal to ice cream. The favorites are set in stone. …

By Sean McDevitt fightingillini.com For many people, their hometown invokes a sense of pride and nostalgia. It means something to tell people where they are from. It’s where they learned how to ride a bike or had backyard barbecues. Where they met the friends and family that became the backbone…

This isn’t going to end well. — Amanda Seitz, writing for the Associated Press, has the scoop on Meta’s haphazard enforcement of its policies regarding abortion pills, guns, and illegal drugs. The AP obtained a screenshot on Friday of one Instagram post from a woman who offered to purchase or forward abortion pills through the mail, minutes…

One of the best Harrison Ford films. — Tom Ward, writing for Esquire, does a deep dive into the movie as it celebrates 40 years. Visually and sonically assured, intelligent and moody, there is much to be admired in Blade Runner. But why has its legacy endured to such a degree? Perhaps in its gloomy portrayal of environmental…

What do you call a cold civil war? — Ronald Brownstein, writing in The Atlantic, believes it might be time to start considering, in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, America as two separate countries entirely — maybe for good. All of this is fueling what I’ve called “the great divergence” now under way between red and…

About time — Drew Pastorek, writing for The Champaign Room, noticed something significant. It’s only been about 18 months since Bret Bielema replaced Lovie Smith as Illinois’ head football coach. I must admit I was initially not a fan of the hire. But I was optimistic after a promising debut season. …