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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Former Illini Terrence Shannon Jr. has had a strong start to his play this year in the NBA Summer League with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Terrence Shannon Jr. continues to assert his will in the NBA Summer League. The former Illini is averaging 22.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in three games with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have a 3-0 record in Las Vegas after cruising past the Pistons 89-73 on Tuesday.
➜ 2. Hard to fathom, but the first Illini sporting event of the 2025-26 school year is three weeks away. It’s only an exhibition match, but first-year Illinois soccer coach Katie Hultin and her team host Marquette at 6 p.m. on Aug. 7 at Demirjian Park in Champaign.
➜ 3. They’ll have to play the best golf of their careers if they want to hoist the Claret Jug on Sunday, but former Illini Brian Campbell and Thomas Detry start their stay at the British Open on Thursday.
Centennial and Champaign Central football play Sept. 5 at Tommy Stewart Field in Champaign.
Numbers game: 35
area high school football programs in The News-Gazette coverage area for the 2025 season. The IHSA is slated to unveil statewide schedules on Friday, and we’ll preview what area regular-season games to watch out for in Friday’s News-Gazette.
It’s unclear if Caitlin Clark will play, but the WNBA All-Star Game is Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Barracuda Championship. Much of the golf world will focus on the British Open. But former Illini Nick Hardy is at this PGA Tour event that starts Thursday in Truckee, Calif., and is noteworthy for its use of the Modified Stableford scoring system.
➜ 2. St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks. Brendan Donovan played well in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game. Will his Cardinals teammates follow suit when this three-game series starts Friday night?
➜ 3. WNBA All-Star Game. Don’t know if Caitlin Clark will play. But it’s Team Clark against Team Collier (as in Napheesa Collier from the Minnesota Lynx) when the game tips off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Tyson Finch, a 2025 Mahomet-Seymour graduate, played football and baseball with the Bulldogs.
Ask an athlete
Three questions with 2025 Mahomet-Seymour graduate Tyson Finch, who played football and baseball with the Bulldogs:
➜ 1. Three athletes I’d like to have dinner with are … LeBron James, Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau.
➜ 2. The TV show I most like to binge-watch is … “The Boys.”
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … people giving zero effort into something.
