Monday, October 1, 2007 11:05 PM CDT
Recognizing a former coach, awaiting news
By Brian Nielsen, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
Former publisher and forever Mattoon backer Bill Hamel called recently with news about Murney Lazier.
Longtime Mattoon folks should remember the native.
Evanston folks still do.
The school is to name its football field after Lazier at its Oct. 19 game and you don’t have to wonder why if you check out the Evanston season summaries on the IHSA Web site.
Lazier coached more seasons than he did losses — a 117-16-4 record in 18 years.
He only had one playoff team because IHSA playoffs began in 1974, the last year he coached Evanston before become an athletics director at Lyons Township.
Now a reunion is planned at Evanston. For more details check out the Web site www.lazierfield.com.
“As someone who grew up in Evanston myself, this is kind of a thrill for me,” Evanston Athletics Director Chris Livatino. “I grew up hearing of the legend of coach Lazier. It’s a great opportunity for our kids to hook up with their generation.”
We hope to contact Lazier for a story before the Oct. 19 ceremony.
Sites have not been determined but chances sound good that Eastern Illinois could play host to at least one super-sectional in the IHSA’s new four-class boys’ basketball tournament next March.
When the classes went from two to four, questions came up as to whether tourneys would still have the super-sectionals for Sweet 16 teams and if Charleston would again be one of the sites after having Class A supers in the past at Lantz Arena.
The difference now is that the super-sectionals are to be between Elite Eight teams sending the winner to state semifinals at Peoria in each of the four classes.
“I’m hopeful that the sites we’ve used in the past to host what had been our Class A super-sectionals will be the same sites that we’ll use to host Class 1 and 2A super-sectional,” said Kurt Gipson, the IHSA assistant executive director who works with boys’ basketball. “That would imply to me that Eastern Illinois would again have a super-sectional. Whether it would be 1A or 2A remains to be seen.”
While the large schools might have Class 3A and 4A doubleheaders, Gipson said he would like to have just one game per site for the smaller schools.
Eastern is likely to take any arena-filling super-sectional it would get.
“It’s a standard statement that we are always interested in hosting any IHSA event that does not conflict with an Eastern athletic function so obviously we’d be excited to be selected as a site,” said Dave Kidwell, EIU’s assistant athletics director for special projects. “We hope that the folks in Bloomington still hold us in well regard from hosting state track meets, basketball super-sectionals and the past couple of years a baseball super-sectional. Unless going four classes dictates different geographic locations, we assume again we would be offered the opportunity.”
Charleston Athletics Director Jerry Calandrilla recently requested that we photograph and publish the damaged Trojan wood carving that has stood at the corner nearly since the opening of the renovated Trojan Hill that opened in 2002.
My first response was that I was too mad to do or say anything knowing what had been done to the work of former Charleston coach and still friend Bill Monken, who usually gets paid good money for this work he has done since retiring from teaching and coaching.
Bill gave this to the program just as he put countless hours into Charleston football in the past.
I wonder about giving anyone the satisfaction of seeing their vandalism in the newspaper.
They might see the picture but I’m wondering if someone would have to read to them anything put in print.
But Calandrilla pointed out that he wanted in some way to publicly thank Monken for the Trojan carving, which may not be able to stand near the field any longer.
“We’ve had arms cut off before but this time it might not be able to be saved,” Calandrilla said. “It’s too bad because this was given to us by someone who put his heart into it just to give something back to the program.”
Brian Nielsen is sports editor of the Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Contact him at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
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