“To me, all creativity is magic. Ideas start out in the empty void of your head - and they end up as a material thing, like a book you can hold in your hand. That is the magical process. It’s an alchemical thing. Yes, we do get the gold out of it but that’s not the most important thing. It’s the work itself.” ― Alan Moore
“Many people procrastinate because they’re waiting for their motivation to rise. They forget that getting started is what leads their motivation to rise. Passion is not a prerequisite for progress. It’s often the result of progress.” — Adam Grant
Before Christmas, my wife, my step-daughter, and I went up to Algonquin, Illinois, to do some unique shopping. We stopped at Syrup for a late breakfast and enjoyed the food immensely. On a whim, I had the waitress add a couple of pumps of vanilla syrup to my coffee. Somewhat unsurprisingly, that little trick turned a good cup of coffee into an amazing cup.
Since then, I’ve been adding two or three pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup to my coffee mug, and I’m never, ever going to apologize for it.
I know there’s a contingent of people who treat coffee purity as a moral position and I’ve decided they can have all that. For me, the bitterness and the sweetness do something together that neither does alone. It’s just chemistry.
Also, it makes 6 am more manageable, which is worth something.
Illinois dropped more than 100 points on hapless USC last night. The 36-point victory is Illinois' largest in a Big Ten road win in 80 years.
This is pretty powerful. 10 Years. 1 Leader. Josh Whitman.
The Illini game on Sunday was more like it. Heavy domination on rebounding and size. They shot it incredibly poorly from three, like 7 for 30 something, but it didn’t matter because David Mirkovic was making everything, rebounding everything, and playing like one of the best freshman in the country.
More importantly, Kylan Boswell has recovered from his broken hand, and his presence defensively was incredibly important. The Illini routed Indiana 71-51 at home Sunday with Boswell back in the starting lineup. Nice cheer when he was announced from the crowd.
Having a seven man rotation is so much better than a six man rotation. Even better will be an eight man rotation when Andrej Stojakovic comes back from the high ankle sprain, likely for the Michigan game on the 27th.
On Valentine’s Day, I was tasked with acquiring a heart-shaped pizza from Papa John’s for my step-daughter and her friend. I walked into the place to order, and they had Dio’s “Holy Diver” playing at concert-level volume. It was a scene.
I placed my order and sat down to wait while they made the pizza. The guy swinging the dough around started singing, and suffice it to say, he was not on the same level as Ronnie James Dio. It was almost amusing, but he was clearly enjoying himself immensely.
I texted some friends, knowing they’d also enjoy the situation I was in. They loved the whole karaoke-and-pizza vibe.
It was obviously a greatest hits or playlist because the next song was “Rainbow in the Dark” and he continued to add his vocal stylings to the recording.
When my pizza was ready, I told the guy at the counter that I was really enjoying the Dio and he gave me a completely blank stare. Like, he either didn’t hear me or his opinion of the music choice/singing was less than enthusiastic.
I wanted to say to him, “Do your demons, do they ever let you go? When you’ve tried, do they hide, deep inside. Is it someone that you know?”
Somehow, I don’t think he would have appreciated it.
“I think that Valentine’s Day is only as good as you want it to be. You know, I don’t think it should be anything fancy, nothing crazy. As long as you’re spending time with that person that’s special, I think that’s a great Valentine’s Day.” — Prince Royce
Sometimes I wish I gave a shit about horror movies and the like, but I don’t. Friday the 13th was the first horror movie I saw. It might have also been the first sex scene I saw. First boobs were probably Airplane! or Caddyshack. I guess there’s a sex or sexy scene in Caddyshack, too.
I read a long investigative piece into the allegations against Neil Gaiman, and I read the coverage of his publisher moving forward with his new book anyway. I don’t know what happened in those rooms, and I’m not here to adjudicate guilt or innocence. However, I will say the piece raised serious questions about reporting standards, corroboration, and the speed at which accusations become convictions in public discourse. Just to be clear, no criminal charges have been filed, and all the civil lawsuits have been dismissed.
Is Neil Gaiman a scumbag? I have no idea. Probably? I don’t really know. And neither do you.
Brad Underwood is tired of the shitty officiating in the Big Ten Conference. Start at 13:35 if you don’t want to watch the whole thing.
The fix for this is so easy.
The Big Ten hires the highest-rated referees in all of college basketball and gives them a real salary, real accountability, and real opportunity. You set up a real league office, just like the NBA, with a staff of around 50 referees (maybe more, I didn’t do the math to see if that’s off) for the regular season and the B10 Tournament. The office then manages their training, evaluation, and performance reviews. The league covers travel and hotels and pays a real living wage for a high-stress job. NBA refs on the low end make $150K. I’d probably start at $50-60K, with the opportunity to earn more based on performance.
This should be Tony Petitti’s top priority. It isn’t, but it should be.
Lindsey Vonn crashed during a training run at the 2026 Winter Olympics. She was coming back after retirement, skiing against people half her age, and she crashed hard enough that her Olympic dreams were dashed. Her response was to keep dreaming.
“…we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is also the beauty of life; we can try.
“I tried. I dreamt. I jumped.
“I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying.”
Just wow.
The Super Bowl halftime show featured Bad Bunny with special guests Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. It was great. I loved the dancing, the (real) wedding, and the message. I didn’t know the songs or what he was singing, but the storytelling was clear. He’s not my music, but I’m an old fart. I think the last Super Bowl halftime performance I even think about, years later, was Prince in the rain. Right now, Bad Bunny is one of the biggest musical stars on the planet.
There’s always been alternative halftime shows. This year, the one getting all the attention featured Kid Rock, an artist who has not had a meaningful hit since 2008’s “All Summer Long,” which, incidentally, is just a riff on better songs (Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London”). I don’t mean to call Kid Rock irrelevant, but he is. The Puppy Bowl probably got better or about the same numbers as the show featuring Kid Rock and a bunch of musicians you’ve never heard of before.
Bad Bunny performed to 120 million people in a language that half the country doesn’t speak fluently, and it worked because the performance was excellent and the moment was genuine. That’s it. The NFL didn’t book him to make a political statement. They booked him because he is an international superstar, and the NFL is trying to expand to other non-American markets. Kid Rock and the people putting on this show are yelling at a cultural shift they don’t like and can’t stop. Too bad. So sad.
As soon as Seattle finally scored their first TD after four field goals, the game was over. New England could not find any rhythm and the Seahawks took it to them defensively.
It wasn’t much of a game, and at one point, Maria asked if I was enjoying myself. I was mostly meh.
I didn’t even think there was a clear commercial winner.
Today is the first day I could legitimately wear a T-shirt or a Polo to work without a coat. I’m sure this is just “Fool’s Spring” and it will get super cold next week. It is nice, so I’ll just take advantage of it and wear my favorite Illinois T-shirt.
“When you write a blog post, you’re creating a standalone document with a permanent URL. It exists at a specific address on the web, and that address doesn’t change based on who’s looking at it, when they’re looking at it, or what algorithm has decided they should see next. The post is there, stable, waiting for whoever wants to find it.” — Joan Westenberg
Use the moments of high motivation to make it easier when you have low motivation.
- When you feel like you should exercise, set out your gym clothes and water bottle so it’s easier to do the next workout.
- When you feel grateful, buy some Thank You cards so it’s easier to write the next Thank You note.
- When you feel the urge to eat healthy, pick a recipe now so you don’t have to decide what to make for the next meal.
Use the occasional burst of motivation to make the next habit easier.
Ayo Dosunmu has been traded to the Timberwolves.
I haven’t been following too closely, but I guess he’s having a pretty good year. The Bulls are in full rebuild mode and are trading all kinds of players. Ayo was posting 15 points, three rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game in a reserve role for the Bulls.
He’ll join Terrance Shannon Jr. on the T-wolves. Cool.
It just means I won’t randomly watch a Bulls game on TV anymore.
My wife has chided me for continually listening to podcasts focused on Illinois sports or politics. Guilty as charged.
To her point, I finally started Remarkably Bright Creatures on audiobook. My wife often finds new books via Instagram Reels. This particular title was among the recommendations and was specifically praised for its audiobook version. She loved the book and could not wait for me to read it so we could talk about it.
I currently have about six hours remaining. So far, it is delightful. I’m enjoying the narration quite a bit. Michael Urie is a standout here.
I have no idea where the story is headed, but I can’t wait to learn more.
With Spring Training on the horizon, Chaim Bloom and the St. Louis Cardinals finally moved Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners in a three-way trade that yielded some prospects and cleared the way for Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker to prove their worth in 2026, and cleared a spot for J.J. Wetherholt to make the show as well.
The Cardinals traded Donovan and received a bundle of five assets for their rebuild: 3 prospects drafted in the 1st-2nd rounds, plus two draft picks that give St. Louis 6 of the first 86 selections in the 2026 MLB Draft. The prospects are Jurrangelo Cijntje, a hard-throwing pitcher who needs work in the minors and to stop with the whole switch-pitcher thing, and outfielders Tai Peete and Colton Ledbetter, who, as I understand it, are still learning how to hit professional pitching.
I guess that’s a good return for two years of Donovan, who was an All-Star, but not really a star. I’m also guessing this completes the offseason moves with Donovan, Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras all traded.
Bloom has lessened the payroll and broken up the infield logjam. The only players on the Cardinals now making 5 million plus in 2026 are pitcher Dustin May ($12 million) and outfielder Lars Nootbaar ($5.35 million). May is on a one-year deal with a mutual option, while Nootbaar has two years of team control. Both are trade candidates if they’re playing well in July and the Cardinals are out of the playoff picture (and they will be, and they will be traded, zero doubt).
The tank-and-rebuild process grinds on as the Cardinals continue to look toward 2028, because it ain’t happening this year or even the following year. Plus, the strike is coming…