IHSSN Unveils New Feature

IHSSN Thursday Night Live Makes Its Debut
The Illinois High School Sports Network will be unveiling a brand new feature this week, a live chat. IHSSN Thursday Night Live will make its debut on Thursday (10/7) and will run from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. All are welcome to chat about high school football for the week, comment on teams you follow, the playoff outlook, the AP and IHSSN rankings, and anything else football.

Thursday Night Live will be hosted through the regular season AND through the IHSA Playoffs. Depending on the turnout, and length of the chats, it may be extended for a third hour.

Some exciting topics could be discussed in the coming weeks, as a member of the IHSA has expressed interest in being a guest chatter to field questions and dispel many myths about the organization. I will keep you posted, as this could generate some great discussion on how the football playoffs work.

Beau Spencer to Appear on IHSA Playoff Pairings TV Show
I have been contacted to participate on the IHSA Playoff Pairings TV show that will air on Saturday night October 23rd. The segment will run about five minutes, and after discussing my target area with host Dave Bernhard, we narrowed down a list of teams that I will speak about. I will be talking about; Rock Island, Alleman, Stark County, Rockridge, and Lewistown. Other media members that will be appearing include our partner at (www.illinoispigskin.com), Donnie Laur, Lee Hall from Peoria TV, Emily Tropp from the Rockford Register-Star, Matt Rodewald from NBC 5 in Chicago, and "Edgytim" Tim O'Halloran.

Volleyball Broadcast
IHSSN made a successful trip to Hartsburg, for a big matchup between the host Hartem Stags (18-3) and Illini Central Cougars (22-4). Credit Hartsburg-Emden athletic director Rodney Knuppel for bringing the broadcast to Logan County. It surely didn't disappoint, as the match went three sets, with all three extremely competitive. It was also Senior Night for the Stags, honoring six girls (Karly Anderson, Allisa Hoerbert, Haylie Langley, Betsy Leesman, Shelby Parke, and Kelsi Ubbenga). The chatroom in our Network1Sports broadcast page was busy, with at least 6 chatters in the room throughout the broadcast. Rodney assisted with commentary. There is no schedule set for the rest of the season, but there could be additional volleyball broadcasts as the season winds down, and the regionals begin in a couple weeks.

All-Stater Sierra Burris Injured
Unfortunately, all was not good in the broadcast of Hartem/Illini Central. Late in the third set (23-23), Illini Central All-Stater and Illinois State-bound senior Sierra Burris from Illini Central fell to the floor in extreme pain, holding her left knee. After a lengthy delay, Burris was able to slowly walk off, slightly assisted. Still in pain for the rest of the match, she spent quite a bit of time being tended to long after the match was over, and was seen with crutches. Wishing the best for Burris, as we hope this is not a serious injury and she will be able to play soon.

Basketball Previews
The goal was to start penning previews on October 1st. On that date, IHSSN had published 30 basketball previews, well ahead of schedule. With the busy schedule in the eventual transition, limited time can be given for writing them at this time. IHSSN has had an extremely high success rate with returned questionnaires this season, moreso than any other sports season since we began writing previews in the fall of 2009. Keep checking back, as new previews can pop up at any time.

Coaches Poll Update
Invitations are still being sent out to coaches to vote on a panel for the IHSSN Coaches Polls this basketball season. Still early in the sending of invites, the mailing list is nearing 40 coaches that have confirmed interest to vote in the polls. Expect the preseason polls to be released on November 16th. Just like the AP polls, we will take a break until the first week of January, when the first regular season poll will debut on January 4th.