College basketball for the weekend starts tonight when Number-22 Illinois will host the 7th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes at the State Farm Center. The Illini’s game against Michigan State last Saturday was postponed due to COVID-19 within the Spartans’ program. The Fighting Illini are 10-and-5 overall and 6-and-3 in the Big Ten.
Illinois State heads to Iowa on Sunday to face Drake. The 5-10 Redbirds lost two in a row to Valprasio last weekend at the Redbird Arena.
Northwestern will host Rutgers on Sunday night at The Welsh Ryan Arena. The 6-8 Wildcats will try to break a seven game losing streak.
Notre Dame will travel to Pittsburgh to face PITT on Saturday. The 5-9 Fighting Irish look to bounce back after losing to Virginia Tech on Wednesday.
Also the Fighting Irish football program will be independent again after The ACC announced they are returning to its normal football schedule this fall. The league says they are going back to the eight-conference-game, divisional format with Notre Dame as an independent. All this is contingent on COVID-19 guidelines.
The Blackhawks open a two-game set against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at the Unite Center. The 2-3 and 3 Hawks fell to the Predators 2-1 Wednesday in a shootout.
The Bulls host the Portland Trail Blazers tomorrow night. Chicago hasn’t played since losing to the Celtics on Monday. The Bulls enters tomorrow at 7-and-10.
In Baseball News
The Chicago Cubs are adding Kohl Stewart to add depth to their pitching staff. The Cubs announced they agreed to terms with the right-hander on a one-year deal worth 700-thousand-dollars. Stewart last pitched in the major in 2019 with the Twins, going 2-and-2 with a 6.39 ERA. He opted out of last season due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Cardinals are bringing back veteran pitcher Adam Wainwright. The club and the three-time All-Star have reportedly agreed to a one-year contract worth eight-million-dollars. The right-hander has a career 3.38 ERA in 15 seasons.
Over in the PGA, Patrick Reed and Alex Noren share the lead after the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in California.
For fans of the square circle, the road to WrestleMania begins this weekend in the WWE with Royal Rumble on Sunday. Thirty men and thirty women will compete in the Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble Matches where you must be thrown over the ropes to be counted out. The winners of both matches will head to Wrestlemania in April for a chance to win the title belts.