The Blago brothers, a wristwatch war and other exposés

Congratulations to Illinois for making it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Not the University of Illinois of course. The Illini were knocked out by powerhouse Western Kentucky in the first round.

I'm talking about some top players from the state of Illinois who are on other college teams.

U of I will struggle as long as it continues to lose blue-chip high school basketball players to out-of-state universities, including North Carolina, Kansas, Missouri, Duke, Purdue and even Gonzaga. All feature players from Illinois.

Perhaps U of I players had the right idea when they declined to come to the postgame interview area last month after losing in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Somebody might have asked them why the state's best players don't want to play for the state's flagship university.

Then again, if Illinois is intent on positioning itself as the U of Ivy, maybe athletic prowess isn't a priority.

Also noteworthy:

• As protesters tussled with authorities during last week's G-20 summit in London, there was some serious lawbreaking underway.

It wasn't the demonstrators who were violating the law that I'm referring to. It was the news crews.

They were all ignoring the new UK Anti-Terror Law that forbids photographing of police or military personnel. That is a difficult law to follow when police are arresting people.

Although such a law does not exist in the United States, some in the news business fear that a continuing erosion of journalists' rights under the First Amendment might lead to such a crackdown.

• If Rod and Rob - the Blagojevich brothers whose relatives must have a terrible time at the Thanksgiving table - had used some common phone sense, they might not be in the federal doo-doo they are today.

The FBI wiretapped their phones. Prosecutors say those recordings between the Blago brothers and other co-conspirators have led to much of the other evidence against them.

Drug dealers, money launderers and terrorists these days prefer to use disposable phone numbers. Not disposable phones. Disposable numbers. There are services that allow you to pick a number, assign it to a cellular device or a land line, use it for a call or two and then dump it. The criminal set is finding that technology invaluable in avoiding law enforcement.

Maybe Rod and Rob weren't as smart as they thought.

• Wouldn't you like to know when some of the trillions of dollars in federal relief funds are due to arrive in Illinois? Will they be coming into Union Station or at O'Hare?

It is fitting that the first part of the jackpot is called the Troubled Asset Relief Program. You know it as "TARP."

Of course, only a Chicago cynic would note that a tarp is used to cover up something and usually ends up all wet.

• The weather aside, many Chicago golfers consider this week to be the official start of summer because the Masters tournament is held at Augusta.

Whether Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are head-to-head on Easter Sunday, the two top golfers will have an interesting behind-the-scenes competition under way. Who can get the best camera angle on their wristwatch?

Mickelson has a deal with Rolex and that is why he wears a leather-strapped watch even when he is playing professional tournaments. To many golfers, who remove their watch to play, Mickelson has always looked a little goofy wearing his.

But as one of 150 "Rolex Ambassadors," he is given whatever Rolex watches he wants and in return he must wear them in public. That is the payment for his endorsement. Free, expensive Rolex watches.

Tiger Woods was a Rolex Ambassador until, industry sources say, he asked for money as well as watches. Rolex said no, our watches are enough. Mr. Woods now wears Tag-Heuer brand watches and has his own line with that company - one of his proud, cash sponsors.

• Summer interns will soon begin arriving at Chicago offices, businesses and in newsrooms as well. Regardless of where college interns are posted this summer and in what line of work, they may have more responsibilities because of business cutbacks.

And interns may feel more pressure to perform as employers look at the assignments as trial balloons for real, paid employment after graduation.

In any creative-based internship, the best writers are the ones who stand the best chances to get real paid jobs. So remember, as the great Russian short-story author Anton Chekhov suggested: "Don't tell me the moon is shining - show me the glint of light on broken glass."

• Lost art: whistling while you work. You just don't hear people doing it anymore. Maybe it would be offensive to the grumpy.

• Trouble sleeping at night? Need a new mattress?

Despite advances in product safety and a big reduction in bedroom fires the past 30 years, here's what the tag on your new bed says: "Your new mattress is not fireproof. Although your new mattress meets fire safety standards issued by the U.S. Product Safety Commission, it will burn if ignited. Compared to older mattresses, your new mattress will, if ignited, burn more slowly and less intensely, giving you more time to escape."

Sweet dreams.

• Chuck Goudie, whose column appears each Monday, is the chief investigative reporter at ABC 7 News in Chicago. The views in this column are his own and not those of WLS-TV. He can be reached by e-mail at chuckgoudie@gmail.com.