It saddens me to say this

but I believe the time has come for Illini coach, Bruce Weber to go. Make no mistake about it, Bruce Weber is an excellent coach, probably one of the top five coaches in the nation and if his only responsibility was in taking a young group of players and turning them into a championship team, Weber would be the Illini's coach for life.

However, we all know there is more to collegiate coaching than just "coaching". He is also responsible for recruiting top quality player to the university and on a scale of 1 to 10 Weber would score a -5. His recruiting has been dismal at best and I see no improvement long term.

It was no fluke that Illinois made it to the finals in 2005, he took a bunch of kids who were good players and molded them into a TEAM that was OUTSTANDING. Weber made that team what it was. Bill Self recruited the players, but Weber made those players a team. It seemed that with the success of 2005, Illinois had finally reached the pinacle of collegiate success yet since that time Weber has been unable to recruit a single top player in the country.

Weber recruited assistant coach Tracy Webster in hopes that he would be able to tap into the Chicago talent and in losing him to Kentucky on Friday, he has also lost Darius Miller, who committed to Kentucky on Friday.

I like Weber, I liked him when he was at Southern and will probably always like him but I am no different than the thousands of other Illini fans who after tasting success want more of it. I have no problem waiting a couple of years for success but when a coach has shown that he possesses no ability to recruit top flight talent, I am left with little choice but to call for his replacement.

The success we enjoyed in 2005 could not have been accomplished by any other coach and Weber is to be commended for that, however, one appearance in the finals is not enough to ensure a coach a life long position and with that I have finally, reluctantly I might add, joined the chorus of fans that are now calling for Weber to be replaced.

New links

I have added a few new links:

1. Jewish Republican Coalition.

2. Illinois Review (A good conservative website).

3. Fred Thompson Campaign website.

The links are in addition to the Backyard Conservative, and GOP Bloggers; both of which are excellent conservative blogs.

Enjoy,

D.W.

Interesting statistic

It has been 9, 553 days since Ken McElroy was murdered in downtown Skidmore, MO in front of 25+ people in broad daylight and nobody has been indicted, tried or convicted for the murder.

The American Justice system at its finest.

Sentences, Bond Amounts and disparity in the Justice System

I am sure that I am not the only one that has noticed the disparity in the justice system in Illinois.

If one is charged with a crime in Morgan County, the odds of you receiving a low bond amount are nill; yet the same crime in Chicago, Rockford, or Peoria will only cost you a few hours until the bond can be posted.

If you are convicted in Sangamon County you will on average receive a sentence that is 50% longer than if you were convicted in Cook or Winnebago County.

I do not advocate the lowering of bond amounts or sentences, what I do advocate for is a justice system that is fair and uniform throughout the entire state, instead of this huge difference between the various counties and cities. Allowing a hang 'em high judge to unduly punish a person is no more acceptable than a french bread judge that is afraid of ruining some kid for life.

If the State of Illinois adopted a uniform sentencing and bonding plan, there would be far less dissatisfaction with the general public.

Thompson - His Race to Lose

Senator Fred Dalton Thompson is a conservative, much to the chagrin of the Los Angeles and New York Times. It is important to note that when a newspaper attacks a candidate (which both of these have done with Thompson) it is for only two possible reasons: 1. they are attempting to sell more papers, or 2. they are scared of the candidate. It does not take a Nuclear Engineer to determine which is the case here.





Thompson has a down home likeability to him however more importantly he has a shoot-straight personna that many have compared to President Ronald Reagan and that voters have a tendency to migrate towards. He is well spoken and has a voice that is very easy to listen to.

The leading Republican candidates: Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain all face the troubling prospect of losing support almost immediately.

Mitt Romney will lose the conservative voters who are not ready for a Mormom to be elected President and the social conservatives who do not believe Romney has a strong enough history to be trusted with the nations highest office.

Giuliani will lose the social conservatives that believe in a strong defense but are wary of Giuliani on the social front.

John McCain - He is one presss conference away from pulling out of this race. McCain wanted to be annointed the heir apparent, but the new breed of Republican voters are no longer willing to entrust the nations highest office to someone just for party loyalty....you need to stand for something, and John McCain has flipflopped one time to many for a lot of them.

This is Thompsons race to lose.....the real question is, will he?