12-13-2024 Normal Community West High School Wildcats Basketball defeated by Richwood Knights

  From my chair, the West v Richwoods varsity boys basketball game looked closer than it ended up. West fell short on a 50-36 game. West has what seems to be an unusually young bunch of ballers with just 3 seniors on the team. Two or three of the starters for this game were sophomores and very hard working young men!

Be sure to check out all this games and this seasons photos at https://alanlookphotography.zenfoliosite.com

Locally seen talent to Quarterback in NFL SuperBowl

On September 15th, 2012 Jimmy Garoppolo visited Hancock Stadium at Illinois State University as the starting quarterback for the Eastern Illinois Panthers.  Who knew that 8 years later he would become one of 2 starting quarterbacks in the NFL's SuperBowl.  Jimmy of course is the 2nd starting Quarterback from Eastern to do well.  Ten Years before, another named Tony Romo completed his senior year at Eastern.  Tony went on to an NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys.

Freelance photographer Alan Look was fortunate to have captured both players in action.  The image of Tony Romo was taken at Eastern during the Homecoming game in 2002 against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.  The image has been used by national media and in several books.  The images of Jimmy Garoppolo were both used by Upper Deck as trading cards for his rookie season.

Redbird Classic - a real winner!

Illinois State University Redbird Women's Volleyball hosted a 4 team volleyball this past weekend.  Participating visiting teams were #7 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles, #7 ranked University or Illinois Fighting Illini and the Knights from the University of Central Florida.  Events kicked off on Friday evening with the Knights and Golden Eagles followed by ISU v the Illini.  Both those matches went 4 sets with Golden Eagles defeating the Knights and ISU upsetting the Illini!

On Saturday UCF took on the Illini in a morning match.  The Illini fell once again moving their record in the tournament to 0-2 and setting UCF's record to 1-1.  The evening matchups included a 5:30 match between UCF and Illinois State and the nightcap was Marquette and the Illini.  Both matches went 5 sets, both thrillers with ISU taking the win over UCF and the Illini besting Marquette.

Sunday afternoon, the final match between Marquette and Illinois State was nothing short of epic.  Marquette opened by taking the first set.  ISU returned to the floor for the second set with an improved look, taking it to tie the match and then coming in the 3rd set to take 2 straight both at a score of 25-18.  Marquette struggled back in the 4th set to tie the match and forcing the 5th.  The score in the 5th seesawed back and forth past the normal 2 ahead at 15 to win and eventually ending at a score of 21-19 with Marquette on top.

Final results for the tournament by team were:
ISU - 2-1
Marquette - 3-1
UCF - 1-2

Illini - 1-2

There was some really great volleyball played this weekend.  We encourage everyone to get out and see these teams.

Photo coverage can be found here:  https://alanlook.photoshelter.com/gallery/2019-Illinois-State-Redbirds-Volleyball-photos/G0000M5uXz0kVczI/C0000jPKkS1Kv84g

Football season gets started with ISU Redbird Red-White Scrimmage

The local football season kicked off today with the Illinois State Redbird Red-White scrimmage.  A healthy combination of fans and students attended the event and the preliminary activities which included the annual student promo photo on the field in Hancock Stadium with the Big Red Marching Machine, cheerleaders, flag corp, and Redline Dancers forming ISU all wearing red shirts.

High School football will follow in 13 days with the first Friday Lights games.

Get out this fall, support your local teams and see some of the great talent that passes through our communities!

Red-White game gallery

Make Music Normal Festival review

To many of the festivals hosted in Normal, the Make Music Normal festival is pretty young.  That doesn't keep it from being a great event.  The festival set in the more mature business district of the town provides an inviting rustic, quaint and appealing venue.  The festival seems to be growing every year.  This year it sported 6 stages in about a 3 block area of North, Broadway and Beaufort streets, including the round a bout area.  Providing the entertainment for the festival are a large number of bands from both the twin cities, central Illinois area and the nation at large.  The festival gives music lovers a place to see the local entertainment outside the usual bar and restaurants and without a cover charge.  Along with the entertainment are a number of vendors selling assorted eats and drinks, including wine and beer.  The music genres are varied and include something for just about everyone.  Folk to pop to rap to indie rock and country music and more are present.  If you don't like what's on one stage, just walk down the street to another stage!

A few local favorites we experienced were: 
Old Smoke refers to themselves as an American Blues Rock Band.  Members of the band are: Jessica Wheet, Adam Humphreys, Heath Brandon, Chris Lackey and Travis Wheet.

Wildermore, playing funky jazzy rock is made up of Dave Gueldenhaar with guitar and vocals, Matthew Gueldenhaar playing keyboard and vocals, Zak Hoffman on drums and vocals and Aaron Wissmiller on bass and also contributing vocals.

A big fan favorite and one of ours is a storytelling Chicago Farmer, a singer songwriter raised in Delevan now from Bloomington Normal.  Chicago Farmer will bring memories and correlations of Bob Dylan and Neil Young.  Cody Diekhoff is the Chicago Farmer.

The Neals - a wife and husband team from Hudson.  The Neals perform a lot of original material in two part harmonies and would be considered in the indie-folk genre.  Tommy and Breann Neal are The Neals.

Long time staple Mark Boon.  Mark does a variety of different tunes.  He performs solo and also with various groups and is widely known for his association with the Unknown Legends.

Geoff Beran and the Mystery Van are an indie-pop band that put on an exciting up tempo show.  The group consists of Geoff Beran, Jeff Walker, Ken Thornton and Ryan Howes.

Bradley takes down Illinois State in Redbird Arena!

Redbird Arena - 2-16-2019 Bradley at Illinois State

The Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball outcomes have been absolutely unpredictable this season.  A few games back, Illinois State defeated Loyola to take the lead in the conference.  Last night they lost to a struggling Bradley team.  Actually, Bradley has been staging a bit of a comeback the last few seasons, albeit a slow one.  But, nothing seems to happen overnight with maybe the exception of the Loyola Rambler cinderella team last season...Devine Intervention?

The game has always been a rivalry, but in recent years it's been beat up.  This game, 9000 people filed in to the 'nest' to watch the game.  Some accounts say the contingent of Braves fans that travelled 40 miles from Peoria were more energized.  Maybe so, so much red in Redbird that I couldn't tell the fans apart by just looking up.  Still, the rivalry wasn't like it was in its heydays a dozen plus years ago when the thunderous crowds could have been heard halfway to Peoria... the years my ears would ring for days and I'd swear I'd wear hearing protection the next year.

Enough of my ramblings...  The Valley is truly up for grabs this season.  Arch Madness is going to have to sort it all out.  Here's to hoping the 'Birds are healthy and bring their best game.

a fairly small Photo Gallery!  Hope you enjoy looking!

Sacred Heart Griffin Cyclones defeat the Pioneers of University High

In a conference game and on Senior Night at University High, the Cyclones of Sacred Heart Griffin whistle past the Pioneers 71-46.  The Cyclones started quickly and moved to an 8 point lead before the Pioneers could muster a single point and that one from the charity stripe after a missed layup.  I don't watch the scoreboard closely or read the stats, but it didn't appear the Pioneers ever came within 7 the rest of the game.  They did put together a few nice runs, but it was just never enough.

Charlie Hamilton of the Cyclones scored 25 points, getting open shots frequently.  Nick Broeker dumped in 15.

Photo Gallery!

Play4Kay at Redbird Arena

The annual Play4Kay women's basketball game at Redbird Arena this year was held on Sunday February 10 and featured the Indiana State Sycamores and the Illinois State Redbirds.  The normal faire of stationary bikes, treadmills, raffles, t-shirts, etc., helped to raise $20,000 for the Kay Foundations campaign against cancer.  For those that don't know, the foundation is named for famed women's college basketball coach Kay Yow.

A couple of pretty interesting things at this years game were the sneakers worn by Illinois State coach Kristen Gillespie.  The sneakers were a one of a kind pair that were commissioned by the foundation.  Several pairs of sneakers were made, and to my understanding were all different.  All the sneakers were given to different coaches across the country.  The pair worn by Coach Gillespie were auctioned off in a silent auction and transferred to the winner after the game.

The other item that was interesting was a result of the lighting upgrade over the past year.  The new LED lights that are aimed at the dome are color adjustable.  Normally patrons of the arena have seen them in Red.  During the "Pink" game, the lights were set to pink.  It's a really interesting feature and it will be interesting how they are used in the future.

Images from the game can be viewed here!  It's a small gallery, but more can be found by looking in the 2018-19 Illinois State Women's basketball gallery!  We hope you enjoy the views!

Valpo Crusaders trample IState Redbirds in MVC Men's basketball game

Well, starting off with the positive is the Star Spangled Banner was adequately performed last night at the start of the game.  It wasn't or even attempted to be overdone!  Not a first, but pleasantly refreshing.

From there, depending on the team you follow or the perspective you have - the rest of the night was either really good, or not so good.  Valpo walked on to something like a 14 - 0 run to start the game.  The Redbirds finally got it going in the 4th quarter and cut a 23 point deficit to 7 but it wasn't enough to change the momentum.  The Crusaders picked back up and sharpened their swords to take the score to a 16 point lead as the buzzer ended the bloodshed

Not a huge gallery this game, but some pretty cool under the bucket shots are here.

Redbirds defeat Ramblers by 8, move to 1st in MVC

February 2, 2019 - Normal, IL:  The Illinois State Redbirds and the Ramblers of Loyola Chicago squared off for a Men's Missouri Valley Basketball game to see who would walk away in sole possession of 1st place in the conference at near the midpoint of the season.  Dick Ludtke, a long time broadcaster was on hand to do the radio play by play and was recognized before the battle for his 1000th Redbird Basketball broadcast.

Just over 8100 fans nearly filled the 10,500 seat Redbird Arena and stayed in their seats to watch the entire game.  Although the point difference at the buzzer was 8 points in the Redbirds favor, the game was not really settled till inside the 1 minute mark.  The frenzied late play kept a crowd that oftens leaves with minutes left on the clock, in their seats till the end.

Photo Gallery!

McLean County Tournament concludes for 2019

We shot 12 games in 6 days - kind of a condensed week due to the weather here in McLean County - at the 2019 108th version of the McLean County Tournament.  The tournament is still the longest running basketball tournament in Illinois.

This year, the Eureka Hornets beat out El Paso Titans for the girls title and GCMS (Gibson City Melvin Sibley) Falcons beat out the El Paso Titan boys in a thriller that will be remembered for many years for the boys title.

Click to view all the images from the games we covered.

108th McLean County Tournament gets underway at EP-G Monday 1-21-2019

The 108th McLean County Tournament kicked off a couple days late this year due to the weather.  The original brackets and places of play are fairly skewed.  The actual brackets being used are located at www.hoiconference.com if you need to find them.

Alan Look Photography is again covering as much of this historic basketball tournament as possible.  Their work can be found at McLean County Tournament photos and galleries. There should be plenty of images to view and purchase.

Coach Norm Eash winningest CCIW coach in History

Wheaton Thunder rumbled into Bloomington Illinois on Saturday September 12th ranked at #12 in D3 football schools.  They never rumbled much the first half of the game, but came out in the 2nd half with a long kickoff return that left them just short of the goal and scored on the next play.  Illinois Wesleyan Titans got the ball back only to give it up on a fumble due to a pretty hard hit and the Thunder rumbled back into the end zone.  That was the last of the rumbles from the Thunder as the Titans muscled their way back up to their feet to push them out of Tucci Stadium.  Final score put the Titans on top.  The win was a good one for IWU and an even better one for Coach Norm Eash.  The win made Coach Eash the winningest football coach in the history of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).

Congrats to the Titans and Coach Eash.

Game Photos by Alan Look Photography and Best Look Magazine!

Redbirds tackle Panthers at 107th Mid-America Classic football game

The Illinois State Redbirds defeated the Eastern Illinois Panthers on September 8, 2018 at the 107th playing of the Mid-America Classic held at Hancock Stadium in Normal Illinois.  The combination of Brady Davis at quarterback coupled with runners and receivers Spencer Schnell, Markel Smith and James Robinson provided many of the highlights.  The Panthers used 3 or more players at the quarterback position and couldn't seem to get started against the Redbird defense.

Click for Photo Gallery

Images are available for licensing from the Best Look in Sports Action Photography in Bloomington-Normal, Alan Look Photography.

Fisher ruins Tri-Valley's winning streak

All good things come to an end, they say.  Tri-Valley has been the HOIC football champs the past 3 years and hasn't lost a regular season game in probably as long.  It all ended last night in Downs.  Rain fell steadily during most of the game making the ball difficult to hang on to.  A fumble late in the game seemed to seal the Vikings fate.

Game Photos!  More coverage in the LeRoy Leader 9-13 edition!

Ironmen topple undefeated Richwoods Knights

In a game riddled with technical fouls against the Knights, the Ironmen topple the Knights undefeated season by a score of 68-51.  In the first half, a technical foul was levelled against the Knights bench that effectively took the bench out of the rest of the game fearing that 2nd foul that would have prevented someone on that bench from participating in the next game.  To more technicals came in the 4th quarter.  The second on in the 4th quarter was called while the shots were being taken for the first!

Lady Redbirds tackle the Eastern Michigan Eagles

The 3-4 Lady Redbirds moved to 4 and 4 on the season today after hosting and defeating the 2-6 (now 2-7) Lady Eagles of Eastern Michigan.  The game started out with the Redbirds taking the lead, a lead they never relinquished.  Quarterly scores were: 13-3, 26-12, 44-28, and the final 65-56.  Officiating crew for todays game was LaSha Hopson, Andrew Bills and Todd Moistner.

Birds make comeback run, but fall short against Racers

A fairly uneventful first half led to a 2nd half full of excitement as the Racers of Murray State visited Redbird Arena to play basketball against the Illinois State Redbirds.  Refs whistles came alive in the 2nd have creating some tension and escalating the level of play.  The Racers at one point mounted a double digit lead of 13.  The lead only changed one time, with the Redbirds giving it up to the Racers.  Late in the game, the Redbirds had trimmed the lead to one possession, but a couple of miscues evaporated the chance of taking the lead back to win the game.  Final score on the board was 78-72.

Lady Titans defeat Thunder in CCIW play

The Illinois Wesleyan Lady Titans started 4 local ladies against the Titans.  On the floor at the tip off were Seniors Rebekah Ehresman (EP-G), Molly McGraw (CCHS), Junior Maddie Merritt (TVHS), Sophomore Sydney Shanks (CCHS) with the 5th starter a Junior from Nokomis, Ashley Schneider.

The game progressed with both teams taking scoring runs and exchanging the lead.  Close to midway through the 3rd quarter, the score was tied at 61.  The Titans made the adjustments and ended the competition on top 88 to 81.

The Titans had 4 players in double figures.  Rebekah Ehresman dropped in 16 to lead the Titans with Maddie Merritt and Kendall Sosa both adding 15. Raven Hughes rounded out those in double digits with 12.  Hannah Frazier led the Thunder with 25 points and Maggie Dansdill with 19.  The only other Thunder player in double digits was Jennifer Berg with 13.

Heyworth Hornets girls host travelling trophy for very first time!

The Heyworth girl's basketball team on paper is short on experience, especially in the depth of the bench.  The roster shows 4 seniors and the rest are all sophomores.  The lack of juniors would normally signal an alarm, and it probably does in this situation as well. The 4 seniors take the center, forward and one guard positions, whilst the starting sophomore handles the point guard duties.  It served them well in the defeat of the Eureka Hornets.  When I first looked up at the scoreboard it read 21-7, Heyworth in charge.  Eureka managed to bring it back to within 5 a couple of times, but Heyworth ended the comp at the buzzer with a 67-56 victory.  The sophomores that came in from the bench showed great poise and potential.  The Hornets outlook is good.

Eureka had hosted the travelling trophy since the end of last year, their first year of eligibility after joining the HOIC.  Us old timers know that those golden globed trophies started their existence in the McLean County Tournament.  It always warms our hearts to see them inside our county lines.  Thank you to the Heyworth Hornets for bringing it back home.  It's tradition!

I must also mention that (and most that know me at least subconsciously know this) I have a specially good time photographing refs and coaches.  Coach Tony Griffin is becoming one of my favorites.  Lots of emotion, lots of animation and all exactly in the right place!

Go Hornets!

Be sure to check the Alan Look Photography facebook page for discount codes on prints and files!