Funkerstation » hances to steal the unlikeliest of win

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- When Illinois players talk about the differences between this summer and last, they talk about excitement and calm.They use both words to describe changes that have begun under their first-year leader, longtime NFL coach Lovie Smith. And both words illustrate the sharp contrast between this summer and last, when their coach was fired just a week before the opening game.I think thats a great feeling. Its a feeling we havent felt in a while, just as players, senior quarterback Wes Lunt said.Part of Smiths job has been trying to repair both the reputation of Illini football and the teams morale, both damaged when Tim Beckman was fired last summer amid allegations that he mistreated players and interfered in medical decisions.Of course, Smith is at Illinois to do more than polish a tarnished brand. Under Beckman and replacement Bill Cubit, wins were scarce. Cubit was thrust into the interim role when Beckman was fired and the team finished 5-7 (2-6 Big Ten). Illinois never won more than six games in Beckmans three seasons.We were a five-win team last year, I understand that, Smith said. I know were going to be a better team.A few things to keep an eye out for as Illinois prepares to open the season:A LOAD OFF LUNTLunts history of injuries and a lack of proven pass-catchers -- another anterior cruciate ligament tear is expected to sideline Mike Dudek for a second straight season -- mean Illinois will need to be able to run the ball. That means sophomore KeShawn Vaughn, the only experienced back on the roster, will see a lot of carries.In order for us to have success at the running game Keshawn Vaughn has to have a good year. He realizes it, Smith said.Vaughn carried the ball 157 times for 723 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman.DEFENSE FIRSTSmith pointed out before preseason workouts that defense should be Illinois strength. But the Illini lost a half-dozen starters from a defense that was ranked eighth in the Big Ten in points given up at 23.3 per game and ninth in yards allowed at 350.8. The emergence of Dawuane Smoot at defensive end gives Illinois a strong pass rusher. He led the team with eight sacks and 15 tackles for losses in 2015. Transfer Hardy Nickersons arrival from Cal -- his father, also Hardy Nickerson, is the defensive coordinator -- should strengthen a thin group of linebackers.KEY GAMESIf the Illini can finish the nonconference schedule 2-1 with wins over Murray State and Western Michigan, the Big Ten schedule offers four games that would not require dramatic upsets to win. Illinois hosts Purdue and faces Rutgers on the road. If the Illini win those, the Oct. 29 home game against Minnesota and the Nov. 26 game at Northwestern could be make-or-break games for a bowl berth.PREDICTIONThe Illini are energized by their new coach and his NFL pedigree, but this is essentially the same team that was 5-7 last season, minus a number of key starters. Lunts ability to stay healthy will be a major factor. The home-heavy schedule and a handful of winnable Big Ten games give Illinois a path to a bowl game. But given the likelihood of injuries and first-season hiccups for a brand-new coaching staff, 5-7 and sixth in the Big Ten West seems about right.SEASON OPENERThe Lovie Smith era begins at home on Sept. 3 against Murray State. The Illini and Racers have never played. The Racers, a Football Championship Subdivision school, were 3-8 last season.---Online: AP College Football site: http://collegefootball.ap.org/---Follow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAPLeBron James Shoes From China . 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Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.Melbourne United survived a late scare and snapped their National Basketball League season duck with a 98-87 victory over the Adelaide 36ers on Friday night.Piloted by Tai Wesley (18 points) and Todd Blanchfield (17), Melbourne exploded with a dominant 32-17 second term and led by as many as 24 points late in the third quarter in Adelaide.With skipper Mitch Creek exiting the match with a leg injury sustained in the first quarter and star guard Jerome Randle (20 points) fouling out late, Nathan Sobey provided much-needed spark off the bench for the home side, helping peg the gap back to five points near the death.But they werent able to overhaul those final buckets and slipped to a 1-2 record.United led by one point after a see-sawing opening stanza before blitzing Adelaide in the second, with Blanchfield catching fire from the perimeter and Wesley proving a powerhouse in the paintAfter a tough first half - on the back of sustained shooting ails in the opening round - Chris Goulding finally found his range, while Wesley demonstrated a nice outside stroke to go with his inside game, as Melbourne worked out to 80-56 late in the third.While United fired on all cylinderss, Adelaides offence repeatedly spluttered with poor shot options and consistent turnovers proving costly before Sobey and Ferguson did their best to conjure a last-ditch miracle.ddddddddddddive points down inside the final 30 seconds, Daniel Johnson fluffed two late chances to steal the unlikeliest of wins and Melbourne iced it from the stripe through Goulding.Adelaide coach Joey Wright took some heart from the Sixers fierce fourth-quarter fightback even though the damage was already done.Its great that we came back ... we knew if we played like that from the beginning wed be successful. But we didnt.They controlled the tempo in our own gym which was disappointing.Melbourne coach Dean Demopoulos said United must improve their ability to close out opposition fourth-quarter comebacks, after his sides 24-point third-quarter lead was whittled to just five points inside the last minute.Obviously wed like to do better, he saidBasketball is a game of runs and every team is going to get them.We could do a better job of closing that quarter out. ' ' '