First things first: my game stories from Thursday night, for the Post-Tribune and the Tribune-Star.

My morning didn’t go quite as I planned — that’s what happens when you’re both sick and don’t get to sleep until after 1 a.m. Ah, the good ol’ days of staying up all night.

So, anyway, the whole sick thing. I’ve been battling a cold (or something) for about two weeks now. Not enough to warrant real medical attention, but definitely a damper on, oh, exercise and the thought process and all that. So, I’m impressed with myself at being able to turn out two different stories last night, especially on a tight deadline thanks to Illinois’ tendency to foul on every IU possession.

So I don’t have a lot to add, other than to note that Cody Zeller showed a lot more poise than his Illinois counterpart, Meyers Leonard. Not that Leonard snapped or anything, but he clearly was frustrated by the fouls being called on him. Did he have a valid beef? Eh, it’s the Big Ten; the next time a game goes by that doesn’t have some kind of WTF foul calls will be the first.

Oh, and one more piece of advice: make sure you have your recorder with you when you go to cover a game. Would have helped me last night. But I definitely have it tonight as I cover girls high school swimming state finals.

So, there’s that …