Feb 11, 2013 5:30 AM

The transition from winter toward spring and football toward baseball is an annual reminder of the late George Carlin's humorously insightful comparison of the two sports. Nobody articulated more insightfully the differences between the men’s men and the boys of summer, between body counts and pitch counts, between football players playing injured and baseball players not always playing hurt.

Feb 10, 2013 7:57 PM

Tyler Griffey capped a terrific week for Illinois with 16 points, and the Fighting Illini went 11 for 23 from 3-point range in a 57-53 win over No. 18 Minnesota on Sunday night. Three days after Griffey’s buzzer-beating layup gave Illinois (17-8, 4-7) a 74-72 victory over No. 1 Indiana, Tracy Abrams swished a step-back 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to stretch the lead over Minnesota to four. Abrams came off the bench for the first time this season after failing to score against the Hoosiers.

Feb 11, 2013 12:17 AM

The state of the Bulls could be summarized in part Sunday by a couple of practice court accessories. Two stationary bikes sat next to the practice court at the Berto Center. One was for Joakim Noah, who is trying to play through plantar fasciitis. Another was for Kirk Hinrich, sidelined by a sore right elbow. Marco Belinelli also skipped practice to rest a sprained ankle.

Feb 10, 2013 10:37 AM

Two-time world champion Mao Asada won the women’s figure skating crown at Four Continents on Sunday, leading a Japanese sweep. In the ice dance final, American pairs finished first and third. The Four Continents is the last major event before the March 11-17 worlds.