Today: High: 58, Low: 38

E!"#$%&'Wednesday: High: 46, Low: 31

Thursday:High: 40, Low: 25

VOLUME 95, NO. 65 DECEMBER 1, 2009 8 PAGES

D&%(" TUESDAYSPORTS, PAGE 8: Gus Bode says congratulations to Dale Lennon and Deji Karim.

Madeleine LerouxDAILY EGYPTIANMLEROUX@SIU.EDU

SIU was not the only university to receive a small portion of state appropriations last week.

The university received $15.5 mil-lion Nov. 24 from the Comptroller’s office in a belated appropriation payment to help make December payroll. While the state continues to deal with overwhelming debt and little revenue, funds are beginning to open up to state universities, many of which are struggling to meet payroll obligations.

Carol Knowles, spokeswoman for

Comptroller Dan Hynes, said the state owes SIU about $113 million for the fiscal year after the $15.5 mil-lion payment last week.

“We are in frequent communica-tion and are continuing to work with SIU and all of the other universi-ties to address their funding issues,” Knowles said.

Darcie Schinberger, director of university relations for Western Illinois University, said the state made an appropriation payment of $4.3 million on Nov. 24 to help the university make today’s payroll. Schinberger said Western Illinois is still owed roughly $32.3 million in state appropriations.

Melanie Magara, assistant vice president for Public Affairs at Northern Illinois University, said the university received $8 million in state appropriations last week, the first pay-ment made for the fiscal year. Magara said the university is now owed $58 million in state appropriations.

Jay Groves, Illinois State University spokesman, said Illinois

State has received more than $5 mil-lion in state appropriations for the fiscal year. Groves said he did not know when the payment was made, but the university is still owed more than $46 million for the fiscal year.

According to the Gatehouse News Service, the University of Illinois, which is supposed to be ap-propriated $743 million in general

funds, has asked for about $340 mil-lion of that money and received about $400,000 as of Nov. 24.

According to the Herald & Review, Eastern Illinois University is owed more than $22 million in state appropriation as of Nov. 13.

SIU President Glenn Poshard said the university is facing a $16.5 million gap in funding to meet Jan. 1 payroll obligations. Without addi-tional appropriation payments from the state within the next two to three weeks, Poshard said the university could face furloughs and layoffs.

Christina SpakouskyDAILY EGYPTIANXTINA25@SIU.EDU

The university’s new Social Justice Leadership Institute has met its enrollment goal, but the program may lose its keynote speaker as a result of the budget crisis and spending freeze.

Amanda Phillips, coordinator of student development, said the Social Justice Leadership Institute, which will begin spring 2010, is a

new program that plans to promote leadership by teaching courses that urge students to make a difference on campus and in the community. Phillips said the program would in-clude workshops, small group dia-logues and critical-thinking courses.

The institute’s leaders had planned to bring in Tim Wise, a premier social justice activist, as its keynote speaker, but because uni-versity officials enacted a spending freeze, Phillips said it is unable to assure Wise’s participation.

“The contract just hasn’t gone through yet,” Phillips said. “We can’t move on it because of the budget.”

Larry Dietz, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, said any contracts that have not been signed by offi-cials are being held until the end of the year. He said officials are trying not to cut any student activities, but right now, they must hold related expenditures.

“Our holdings have nothing to do with our agreement with the pro-gram; it has to do with cooperating

with the other units on campus,” Dietz said.

Despite the budget struggles, Carl Ervin, coordinator of Student Development-Multicultural Programs and Services, said the program is still on target and moving forward with plans. He said the goal was to select 50 students, and because they received 80 applications, he’s confident they will narrow it down to the best candidates. The 50 candidates will be selected by a committee and finalized by the end of the year, he said.

“We’re going to make this hap-pen even though we have to deal with the budget (crisis),” Ervin said. “It’s going to be bare bones, but we’ll just have to rely on creativity.”

Phillips said the budget situ-ation changes some of what was planned, but alternative plans will provide the same end goal, which is for students to come up with a vi-sion for social change.

“We want (students) to walk away saying that ‘I was challenged and I challenged others,’” Phillips said.

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Campus employee Mike Gould hoists himself into a tree on Greek Row to trim overgrown branches blocking light from a lamp. Plant and Service Operations has been cleaning the canopy around light poles helping to keep sidewalks safe. The next step is to find lights that are out and replace the bulbs. Todd Sigler, SIUC Director of Public Safety, said during the Oct. 4 Campus Safety Walk the lack of lighting and dense foliage are the main safety concerns for students who walk around campus in the dark.

LET THERE BE LIGHT

EVAN DAVIS | DAILY EGYPTIAN

W e don’t want to not pay our people and we don’t want to lay our people off.

— Glenn PoshardSIU president

See PAYMENTS | 2

NewsTuesday, December 1, 2009 !"#$%&'(%)*#"+2

“We don’t want to not pay our people, and we don’t want to lay

our people off,” Poshard said. “We just have extraordinary obligations financially.”

Poshard and SIU spokes-man Dave Gross both said they

are optimistic the state will come through with the money needed to make Jan. 1 payroll and Hynes said his office was in talks with the uni-versity to prevent a missed payroll.

PAYMENTSCONTINUED FROM 1

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Police BlottersThere are no items to report at this time.

SPRINGFI ELD — Want to know what type of leftover pizza a GOP candidate for state treasurer is eating for breakfast? Try Twitter.

Following the lead of President Barack Obama’s successful straight-to-voters Web campaign, many Illinois candidates for state-wide offices are hoping voters will follow their tweets and friend them on Facebook.

State political candidates have collected donations via Web sites for years, but now one site isn’t enough. Social networking means staking claims on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.

Take Democrat Dan Hynes. The candidate for governor tweets about football and campaign stops. He has a Facebook page and a YouTube video.

And GOP treasurer candidate Dan Rutherford posts casserole rec-ipes on his Web site. His breakfast on Nov. 14? He tweeted it was “OJ & leftover pizza: Giordano’s stuffed spinach & sausage and Pontiac Mario’s sausage & mushroom.”

Hynes’ and Rutherford’s on-line outreach is typical of how

e-campaigning is expanding for both Democrats and Republicans.

A consultant for Republican governor candidate Jim Ryan says the Web is at the forefront of Ryan’s campaign.

“We’ve managed to get our fin-gers into every single part,” said Curt Mercadante, who is helping Ryan on the Web.

Michael Cheney, a senior fel-low at the Institute of Government and Politics at the University of Illinois, said candidates want to be like Obama, taking their message directly to voters. He expects the campaigns to do even more online as the Feb. 2 primary gets closer.

For now, the candidates are on-line “largely because they want to make sure they have everything in play that they want to have in play,” Cheney said.

Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign in on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. But posting can be time-consuming.

“As you can imagine, Gov. Quinn doesn’t have much time for Facebook updates and tweets, so we have a new media team fo-cused on online outreach,” Quinn

spokeswoman Elizabeth Austin said.

GOP candidate for governor Dan Proft said his goal on Twitter and other sites is “to provide value-added content of a policy nature.”

But he’s not above an occasional movie review. He recently com-mented on Twitter that people shouldn’t bother seeing the movie “Paranormal Activity”:

“Not just with policy ideas I save taxpayers’ money. Save the $10 I spent (on the movie) ...” he tweeted on Nov. 15.

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.%+,/&')&'0)(,1%%2'3/#,$*&'

!!As you can imagine, Gov. Quinn doesn’t

have much time for Facebook updates and tweets, so we have a new media team focused on online outreach.

— Elizabeth Austinspokeswoman for

Gov. Pat Quinn

Luke McCormickDAILY EGYPTIAN

LMCCORM2@SIU.EDU

Editor’s Note: Ten-Year Itch is a weekly column focusing on a f ilm or album at least 10 years of age and deserving of a second look.

In the late 1980s, Minneapolis mu-sicians were treating their guitars like they owed them money. Mark Olson and Gary Louris were exceptions to the trend.

Instead of borrowing from former punk forefathers, the two artists grabbed from artists such as Neil Young and The Flying Burrito Brothers producing sun-shine-inflected country-pop classics.

Following two well-received albums, the group was signed to American Records and in 1992, released its best and most cohesive record, “Hollywood Town Hall.”

The album’s 10 tracks do not contain a standout piece. The record’s contents blend together to create a cohesive state-ment in strong songwriting.

Instead of the record floating away as peaceful background music, Olson and Louris’ creative chops keep ears perked throughout the entire listening experi-ence. This is not to say the record was or is eye-opening, because it does not con-tain any real groundbreaking sounds. It

is hearing two musicians at their creative collective peaks making such pleasurable, soothing music that makes this record a standout.

It is a shame the group never reached some semblance of commercial success. Basically every song here has an infectious-ly hummable hook that could have pierced the mainstream. Then again, these tunes would have faired better two decades ear-lier. They did not stand much of a chance pitted against grunge and the rock ‘n’ roll getting radio play in the early ‘90s.

The band’s sound on its third record does not differ from the rest of its out-put, as it is indebted to Young and Gram Parsons. However, the band completed these 10 tracks without them dripping in nostalgia. Confidence bleeds through each electric riff, acoustic strum, skin slam and piano tinkle. Each track is an original Americana slice.

The band’s lack of commercial ap-peal with this record and its follow up, “Tomorrow the Green Grass,” seemed to take its toll on band leader Olson as he left the group after the band’s fourth record.

Before his departure though, The Jayhawks created a ragged, passionate alternative-country masterpiece with “Hollywood Town Hall.”

Perhaps someday he will get the recognition (along with Louris) he so richly deserves.

P !"#$Tuesday, December 1, 2009 • 3

D A I L Y E G Y P T I A N

TEN-YEAR ITCH

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PROVIDED PHOTOI t is hearing two musicians at their creative collective peaks making such pleasurable, soothing music that makes this record a standout.

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David EspoTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Driven by partisanship, the Senate plunged into a widely anticipated debate Monday over sweeping health care legislation that President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats have vowed to approve and Republicans sworn to block.

Debate is expected to last for weeks over the legislation, which in-cludes a first-time requirement for most Americans to carry insurance and would require insurers to cover any paying customer regardless of their medical history or condition.

“We must avoid the temptation to drown in distractions and distortions,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in the first moments of the first speech of the day, a jab at Republicans that was reciprocated minutes later.

“Well, I don’t know what’s more preposterous: saying that this plan ‘saves Medicare’ or thinking that people will actually believe you,” Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said of Reid’s oft-made statement.

At a cost of nearly $1 trillion, the legislation is designed to extend health care to millions of American who lack it, abolish insurance indus-try practices such as denying cover-age based on pre-existing conditions and cut back on the rise of health care spending overall.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the 2,074-page bill would cost nearly $1 trillion, and reduce deficits by $130 billion over the next decade. In all, CBO said 31 million uninsured individuals would receive insurance if the bill were en-acted, many of them assisted by fed-eral subsidies. A total of 94 percent of the eligible population would wind up covered. The legislation would be paid for through a combination of cuts in projected Medicare pay-ments to hospitals and other provid-ers, a payroll tax on the wealthy, and taxes on drug makers, medical device manufacturers, owners of high-cost insurance and others.

It has taken months to advance the legislation to the floor, Democrats struggled with their own inter-nal divisions as well as Republican opposition.

Democrats control 60 seats in the Senate, precisely the number needed to trump a promised Republican filibuster. While Reid spent most of the day jousting with Republicans, his ability to steer the bill to passage will depend on finding ways to fi-nesse controversial provisions within the measure. None is more important than calls for the government to sell insurance in competition with private firms. Liberals favor the plan; moder-ate and conservative Democrats op-pose it. As drafted the bill establishes a so-called government option, al-though each state can block it.

Even before Reid rose to speak, the two parties were squabbling over a new CBO study assessing the legisla-tion’s impact on the cost of insurance.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is-sued a statement saying it showed that “whether you work for a small business, a large company or you work for yourself, the vast majority of Americans will see lower premi-ums than they would if we don’t pass health reform.”

Not so, said a statement from McConnell’s office: “Most people will end up paying more or seeing no significant savings.”

The 28-page report was less clear-cut than either side said.

It said that by 2016, premium prices for Americans working at large

companies, about 134 million indi-viduals, would be between zero and 3 percent lower on average than would otherwise be the case.

At small companies, estimated to provide coverage for 25 million by 2016, the average premium would be between 1 percent higher to 2 percent lower on average. That did not factor in the federal subsidies that would be available to the firms to spur them to provide coverage. Those receiving the assistance would have premiums as much as 11 percent lower on average.

CBO said for non-group cover-age, premiums would rise by between 10 percent and 13 percent on aver-age. But more than half that group is expected to receive federal subsi-dies that would result in premiums as much as 59 percent less costly on average. Individuals purchasing cov-erage without any federal assistance would presumably face higher costs, although CBO’s letter did not indi-cate how much more.

The debate over premiums was only one of many expected as the Senate dug into a complicated bill that seemingly delved into every cor-ner of the health care system.

But both parties seemed to have political considerations in mind as the day wore on.

The first proposed change to the legislation, offered by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., would increase insurance benefits for women, man-dating that policies include an annual health screening.

As the health care debate has un-folded in Congress, both parties have spent months vying for the support of women.

Not to be outdone, Republicans issued a statement saying that as writ-ten, an advisory committee that re-cently drew criticism for proposing a delay in routine mammogram screen-ing would have even greater authority.

The two sides also sparred over is-sues important to seniors, a group that polls show is particularly concerned about the impact of health care.

Reid sought Republicans’ agree-ment that Social Security would be protected as debate moved ahead.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., ob-jected, saying Reid had included an unrelated provision in his request, but refused to extend the same protection to Medicare.

NewsTuesday, December 1, 2009 !"#$%&'&()*+"(4

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Across1 Heats a bit6 Movie music11 Cigar residue14 Like loud crowds15 “Family Matters” nerd Steve16 “I like __”: ‘50s cam-paign slogan17 Striding self-confidently19 Blender setting20 Having sufficient skill21 No-brainer college course22 Lamp-to-plug link23 God of thunder25 Short races27 It’s a virtue, so they say31 iTunes download

32 Midterms, e.g.33 Emitted a delighted sigh35 Beaver or boater38 Tick off39 Paid to play40 Hepcat’s jargon41 Condescending cluck42 Climbing tool for frozen surfaces43 TV host Philbin44 About, in a memo46 Words while delivering a blow48 Team supporters, col-lectively51 Hobbling gait52 Tiny pond plant53 Aired, as a TV show

55 Wolf’s shelter59 Dry gently, as tears60 Enjoying an extrava-gant existence62 Brit. record co.63 “Maria __”: 1940s song64 Kitchen tearjerker65 Pooch66 ‘50s Ford flop67 Part of a Santa costumeDown1 Muted trumpet sound2 Mideast native3 Dice throw4 Provide a schedule slot (for)5 Indian title6 Crop yielding a common

sweetener7 PC monitors8 Gives the nod to9 Went off the wagon, e.g.10 Right-angled pipe11 Shooting for the stars12 Mini, midi or maxi13 Whammies18 Casino sign gas22 Finish in front24 “For __ a jolly ...”26 Towel holder27 Saucy28 Graph’s x or y29 Carrying on conceitedly30 Bother big-time34 Six-sided36 Nike competitor

37 Try out39 Game in which “bullets” can be whatever card you decide40 747, for one42 Nest egg component, for short43 Sleep lab acronym45 Org. with dribblers47 Crowned checker48 Washed-out49 San Antonio mission50 Gutter sites54 Trig function56 La Scala solo57 Operatic prince58 Tear apart60 Filmmaker Spike61 Soft toss

Horoscopes By Linda C. Black

Today’s Birthday — This is the time to complete some activities that have caused you to feel compulsive in the past. Work this year with feminine energy, or with a female who always has an extra iron in the fire. The goal for the year is to establish more constructive communication, especially with women.To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 6 — Make it a point to look at people when they talk to you. There’s a lot that’s not in the words. You’ll get glimpses of the future today.Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 7 — If you anticipate change today, you won’t be disappointed. You see possibilities everywhere, if things were just a little bit different.Gemini (May 21-June 21) — Today is a 7 — You need your imagination to figure out what others want. You accomplish a lot today through practical effort.Cancer (June 22-July 22) — Today is a 7 — Be prepared to change your mind. New ideas present great possibilities. Your mental light bulb turns on.Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 6 — Don’t hold on to your morning ideas, because by noon your mind will be going in another direction. Others inspire more creative action.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is an 8 — Ideas take you in two directions at once. By afternoon you decide which path to pursue. Results are good.Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 7 — First you fall in love with a new idea, and then you examine its practical value. It should work fine if you include others.Scorpio (Oct. 23—Nov. 21) — Today is a 7 — If you use your imagination today, everything will turn out beautifully. You need that to overcome someone’s fear.Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 6 — By the end of the day, you really understand how to help your partner. Start by asking what he or she wants.Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 7 — Devote yourself to sorting through old messages. If you clear up old business, you make space for a surprise later.Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 7 — Think long and hard before you open your mouth. The words come out fine, but be sure you mean them.Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 7 — Start off on the right foot by making a list of tasks. Others have time to help get things done.

ClassifiedsTuesday December 1, 2009 !"#$%&'(%)*#"+6

Tuesday, December 1, 2009Sports !"#$%&'(%)*#"+ 7

rvoyles@siu.edu

DEREK ROBBINSdrobbins@siu.edu

RAY MCGILLIS

ray1021jr@siu.edu

RYAN VOYLES

Is the media making too much out of Tiger Woods crashing into a tree and fire hydrant?

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Of course not. As part of the media, I think it is my duty to report second-by-second mundane details about whatever Tiger Woods is doing at this exact moment. Oh no, he just coughed! I have to go post it online! Now I’ll ask all his friends to talk about him, but I’ll promise them anonymity so Tiger will never know who they are. Up next, a one-on-one with the fire hydrant he hit.

Of course the media was going to blow this up. Woods is the wealthiest athlete in the history of mankind. Lucky for us though, I have a feeling this story is about to get a whole lot juicier. Once TMZ catches wind of a potential controversy, there’s not much anyone can keep hidden. Sit back and enjoy; this story could get quite interesting.

I think they are. If this was anybody else, it would have been kept quiet. He crashed into a tree and there was no alcohol involved, so what does it matter? Only Tiger and maybe his wife know what happened. If they want to keep it that way, I say let them. All the talk is just a bunch of gossip, andI have no place for that. Admittedly, Tiger is making this worse by not addressing the situation at all and only saying things such as, “It was my fault,” but there is no need to latch onto him for this either. Even Tiger is mortal.

Eastern Illinois football team’s offensive line coach Jeffrey O. Hoover, 41, was killed in a one-car accident on Interstate 57 Saturday while driving back from the foot-ball game in Carbondale.

Hoover, Eastern Illinois’ strength coach Erich Cash and members of both men’s families were driving back to Charleston following the afternoon game, when their vehicle swerved off the road to avoid a deer.

Cash and several members of

both coaches’ families were also injured in the crash.

According to Illinois State Police District 12, Hoover’s wife was driving a Chevrolet Suburban on I-57 northbound when she swerved in an attempt to avoid a deer in the road near Watson at 7:43 p.m. The vehicle rolled sev-eral times, before landing in the east side of the roadway.

Effingham County Coroner Leigh Hammer pronounced Hoover dead at the scene, resulting

from blunt force trauma to the head and chest.

The other passengers were transported by helicopter and am-bulance to St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital and Carles Foundation Hospital in Champaign.

The passengers were listed in fair to stable condition as of Monday.

Eastern Illinois had finished its season earlier in the day with a 48-7 loss to SIU at McAndrew Stadium.

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SUZANNE CARAKER | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Christine Presswood, a senior from Lincoln, brings the ball down the court during Wednesday’s game. Although this game marked the return of Presswood, who had a career best 20 points, the Salukis lost 82-77 to Western Michigan.

The first round of the Football Championship Subdivision play-offs officially wrapped up Saturday, leaving only eight teams to fight for chance to be named national champion. Only one thing could make the championships even more exciting.

Bowl games.Does anybody really want to see

these eight elite teams in the FCS competing this far into December hunting for a national champion-ship? Of course not. Everybody would much rather watch 78 teams play in a variety of bowl games, each competing to say, “We’re No. 29” after winning the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., the day after Christmas.

At least, that is what the newest public relations push by the Bowl Championship Series would have people believe.

In an effort to clean up its tat-tered image and restore faith in the system, the BCS has hired Ari Fleischer Communications to spin everything positive. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Ari Fleischer was the former press secretary for President George W. Bush.

So, yes, Fleischer has some ex-perience in working with people with image problems.

First step to reinventing the BCS: Creating a Twitter page. Amazingly enough, most of the tweets merely talk about how great the BCS system is and how a play-off system will destroy all of sports. Just like it destroyed the National Football League and the National Basketball Association.

Don’t believe them? Then check out the hottest new Web site that will tell you why you’re an id-iot for supporting a college playoff system. The site, playoffproblems.com, paints the picture of a horri-fying world in which teams “Don’t know where the games would be played.”

The horror.It should not be forgotten these

problems are already faced by the current system. Also, the Web site was created by “the BCS group,” so its coverage is obviously fair and balanced.

The site does provide insight-ful quotes from well-known figures such as Bill Hancock, who said, “If you think the BCS is controversial, wait until you realize how much

more contentious a playoff would be.” Strong words, indeed, but who is Hancock?

Why, he is the executive direc-tor of the BCS — leading the very group that is against playoffs. At least he is not a “Bracket Creeper.” A seemingly mystical figure the Web site said would force the ex-pansion of the tournament every year, forcing college football to play more and more games at the end of the year.

It’s not like the BCS and the bowls send out at least 68 in-vites to football teams across the country.

But this column is not here to bury the BCS — it really does it on its own. For all of its flaws, the BCS brags about its title game fea-turing the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country the last 11 years (those teams’ rankings chosen by the BCS). The championship game is often entertaining, there are some interesting matchups cre-ated by the big four bowls.

And besides, the playoffs will knock out the most important companion to the BCS — money. No bowls means less money for everybody. No one wants that.

62'3&//,7$8&-90$0'2:$';&<0$12'3&//,VOYLES’ VISIONS

Despite Western Michigan’s hot second half, SIU played well throughout the period, having a 51.5 field-goal percentage.

SIU also put four players into double digits for scoring. Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week senior guard Stephany Neptune had a double-double

with 11 rebounds and 22 points, Presswood had 20 points, junior guard Eboni Crayton had 16 points and freshman guard Teri Oliver had 10 points.

Neptune said the team has to fo-cus less on individual performances if it wants to win a game.

“We have got to keep working harder and play as a team,” Neptune said. “We can’t play for ourselves.”

BASKETBALLCONTINUED FROM 8

Despite all the praise directed toward the two Salukis, Lennon said he would only focus on the season and the next game.

“It’s nice to be honored like that, but it’s not important to me,” Lennon said. “Right now we’re still in the middle of a season, and if I take my focus off of that, it will be over.”

FOOTBALLCONTINUED FROM 8

!!I try to provide that spark if we don’t have that spark.

— Deji KarimSIU senior running back

rvoyles@siu.edu

RYAN VOYLES

E verybody would much rather watch 78 teams play in a variety of bowl games, each competing to say, “We’re No.

29” after winning the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., the day after Christmas.

S!"#$% INSIDER, page 7: Is Tiger’s media coverage too much?

TUESDAY 8DECEMBER 1, 2009

D A I L Y E G Y P T I A N

JULIA RENDLEMAN | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Deji Karim and SIU head football coach Dale Lennon celebrate a 48-7 home playoff win over Eastern Illinois University Saturday. Karim was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year, while Lennon was named MVFC Coach of the Year Wednesday.

FOOTBALL

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Derek RobbinsDAILY EGYPTIAN

DROBBINS@SIU.EDU

The first win is still eluding the Salukis.

The SIU women’s basketball team (0-4) dropped two games over Thanksgiving break — the first against Northern Illinois 74-65 in DeKalb on Nov. 22 and the second against Western Michigan (2-3) 82-77 in Carbondale Wednesday.

Head coach Missy Tiber said both games were winnable for SIU. She said in order to close games out, the team will need to grow.

“It comes with kids that know how to win; unfortunately, we are still learning how to do that,” Tiber said. “I was unimpressed with our

effort, and we were careless with the basketball.”

Some senior leadership returned to the team as guard Christine Presswood returned to the lineup in the game against Northern Illinois.

Presswood had been out since the first exhibition with an eye injury and returned to play with a surgical mask.

“It doesn’t really hurt; I can play,” Presswood said.

Tiber said Presswood’s return to the lineup provided a boost to the team. Presswood scored seven points in the matchup against Northern Illinois and a career-high 20 against Western Michigan.

The Salukis shot better than Northern Illinois (3-3) in the game at 37.5 percent from the field

compared to Northern Illinois’ 35.3 percent. The Salukis also shot better from beyond the arc at 38.1 percent to Northern Illinois’ 21.4 percent.

SIU struggled with free throws and fouls. The Salukis went to the line 20 times in the second half and only hit 11. In the first half, they went 4-for-4 and ended the game with a 62.5 free-throw percentage.

NIU went to the line 44 times in the game and hit 35 of those attempts.

Tiber said SIU had every oppor-tunity to win the game and needs to play more disciplined in the future.

Tiber said fouls doomed the Salukis again Wednesday against Western Michigan.

“The game started really well, but then we got some kids in foul trou-ble,” Tiber said. “That’s the discipline

that we have been teaching them is to control your fouls. But we are not there yet.”

SIU also had problems with ball control, turning the ball over 24 times. Western Michigan had 17 turnovers.

“Turnovers are something we have been struggling with all year,” Presswood said. “There really is no excuse for it. We’re going to work and try to eliminate turnovers.”

SIU led for the majority of the first half and were leading at the break 35-33, but a second-half

turnaround by Western Michigan sunk the Salukis.

Western Michigan’s Miame Giden sparked the turnaround. Giden scored 19 points in the second half and ended with 31 points.

Tiber said a player the caliber of Giden is difficult to guard.

“They have a go-to player in Giden,” Tiber said. “She is a phe-nomenal player; we don’t have a scor-er of that caliber.”

!"#$%&'(#)'*(+)(,)-+.*-/(0##&/)&'1(2*'+*-/(3&4.&5"/Presswood returns to team with surgical mask

!!I t comes with kids that know how to win; unfortunately, we are still learning how to do that. I was unimpressed

with our effort, and we were careless with the basketball.

— Missy Tiberwomen’s basketball head coach

Please see BASKETBALL | 7

Ryan VoylesDAILY EGYPTIANRVOYLES@SIU.EDU

Winning the Missouri Valley Football Conference outright, be-ing ranked No. 1 in the country and earning the No. 3 seed in the playoffs was not enough, as head football coach Dale Lennon and running back Deji Karim are now bringing in more accolades.

Lennon was announced as the MVFC Head Coach of the Year Wednesday, while Karim became just the fourth player in SIU his-tory to be named the conference’s top offensive player.

Lennon, who has won the award twice in two seasons as SIU’s head coach, said his entire staff also deserved a piece of the award.

“I think it’s a great compliment to the staff,” Lennon said. “I’ve al-ways felt very good about the staff

that we were able to put together here, and we work well together … it’s a nice reward for a lot of people.”

Karim said he is just trying to get everybody involved in the game when he touches the ball.

“I try to provide that spark if we don’t have that spark,” Karim said. “I try to pump people up to get them going, and it helps my game, as well as it helps everybody else.”

Karim is the first Saluki since Joel Sambursky in 2004 to receive the honor.

The MVFC accolades may be the first among many this year for Lennon and Karim.

Lennon is listed as one of the finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the top coach in the Football Championship Subdivision. On Monday, Karim was named as one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award. The award is given to the top player in the FCS.

The other two nominees for the Walter Payton Award are Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards and Elon wide receiver Terrell Hudgins.

The Robinson and Payton awards are voted on by a select group of sports information direc-tors, writers and broadcasters cov-ering FCS football.

!"##$#%&'()*+&,)"(+&$-&.(//"0&,)$1Named best coach, offensive player

!!I t’s nice to be honored like that, but it’s not

important to me. Right now we’re still in the middle of a season, and if I take my focus off of that, it will be over.

— Dale Lennonfootball head coach Please see FOOTBALL | 7