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Months ago, I took the advice of a friend who suggested that I shouldn't bother to read the Internet, the greatest source of misinformation, because it served absolutely no worthwhile purpose.
He was right. Whenever I am tempted, which is rare, I pick up a good Civil War book instead. I don't iss the name-calling, the lack of historical perspective, the misconceptions, erroneous facts, anonymous rants and unsubstantiated accusations.
But sometimes I hear something that can't be overlooked, something that must be addressed, that can't go without a returning salvo.
As a University of Illinois graduate, who spent four years on the Urbana-Champaign campus as a student and four more as a sportswriter for the old Champaign-Urbana Courier, I never cease to be amazed by the paranoia of what has come to be known as Illini Nation.
We don't lose, they cheated. The NCAA and the Big Ten have it in for us. Great athletes don't come to Illinois because they get bought by other colleges. The Chicago media is against us. The slush fund was small potatoes compared to what other colleges are doing.
That has been the mindset since the 1960s.
But they keep looking for more excuses.
An Illinois assistant football coach recently went into the home of a highly rated recruit in the East. The coach began to talk about Illinois and the recruiting process and, somewhere along the way, the recruit mentioned that he had a conversation with recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, whom he had met a few weeks earlier.
The coach erupted. He claimed Lemming was a pro-Notre Dame, always tried to persuade players to go to Notre Dame and didn't like Illinois, among other things. And he even brought up my name. He portrayed me as an anti-Illinois writer from Chicago.
The recruit and his father were dumbfounded by the coach's outburst. Lemming had never mentioned Notre Dame, they told the coach. He had only talked about the recruiting process, what he had experienced for 30 years. Afterward, the father told his son: "You aren't going to Illinois."
I was told the name of the coach. I've never heard of him. I've never met him or talked to him or interviewed him. I hope he does a better job of evaluating talent than he did of checking out my background. Or Lemming's history at Notre Dame. The facts, not the myths.
But that apparently is the way business is being done at Illinois. Coach Ron Zook and his handlers have a "suspended list," a list of media (including me) that are judged to be subversives, people who supposedly never write anything positive about the Illini program, only negative issues.
Zook and his handlers have made it clear to some writers--the Sun-Times' Herb Gould is on their most favored list--that they only want positive articles to be printed and nothing less will be tolerated or approved. If you are on the "suspended list," you won't be granted an interview.
That's the way business is being done in Urbana-Champaign and South Bend. Imagine, Zook and Charlie Weis. Strange bedfellows.
Illinois' goal forever is to catch Ohio State and Michigan, to rise from their shadow and stand on the same podium. But they won't do it until they begin to display a measure of class, perceived or otherwise, the same type of class that took Ohio State and Michigan to the top. Trust me, Illini Nation, you'll know it when you see it.
Cell Phone Alerts
Yeah, like Zook and the University of Illinois' football program NEEDS Taylor Freakin' Bell. Ha, that's funny stuff.
funny how Taylor Bell always has an axe to grind. Someone, sometime in history made you , Taylor, very upset at your alma mater and honestly, thru all the ups and downs the football team has experienced through out the years, you only like to write about the negatives. My guess is Zook, like most people in the world, get a bit tired of the constant criticism. Everyone can take some, but not when it is 90% or 95% of the time. Lemmings love for ND is well documneted. You are Lemmings friend. hense the association whether you are pro ND or not. The Chicago media is and has been for some time, very anti - U Illinois.
Get over it. Face the fact that you dont like UI and they dont like you.
And remember, dont let the facts get in the way of a good story. And honestly, who reads the sun-times anymore? I saw your blog on InsideIllinois as I dont find your paper worthy of $.50, or wrapping up dead fish
Taylor,
"Suspended List", "never write anything positive about the Illini program, only negative issues", I'm not sure if I ever read anything positive you had to say about the university you attended and graduated from. I understand being positively critical but your views of UofI and its fans are insulting at times. It seems you and UofI are in need of marriage counciling because there seems to be deeper issues at hand.
I'm getting sick of reading the bickering within your message. I don't care to hear or read, what is being said behind your back. It sounds like a personal problem, so you should deal with it as so, not on a national blog or online news paper. Other wise, your views are coming off as childish to this reader.
Frankly this article makes no sense. Is there a point you are trying to make? Let me see if I've got this straight...
You got the scoop on an east coast recruit who cites a Tom Lemming blowup by an un-named assistant coach from the University of Illinois you've never heard of, and this is taken as a condemnation of how things are done in Champaign? You are a hack.
Then you make disjointed references to a delusional Illini fanbase full of conspiracy theories, just before you reveal a grand "suspended list" conspiracy subverting free journalism. Priceless...
Make an appointment with a psychiatrist. They are trained professionals who can do something about those voices in your head. You'll live a happier life. In the meantime, stop telling the world you are an Illinois alum in every article you write. You devalue my degree from that institution every time you do so.
Tinker my man...let it go allready. You're obsession with all things Illini is really sad/creepy. Do us all a favor and just retire. You're irrelvant and always have been.
GO ILLINI!!!!!!
You mean the same University of Michigan that had the greatest scandal (in monetary terms) in the history of the NCAA? Or the boxer Woody Hayes, Maurice Clarett, and Jim O'Brien?? Uh - no thanks. I will pass on that "same type of class."
yawn.. another day.. another riveting article..
Taylor, you really need professional help. You are a sad old man.
I thought this old hack retired years ago
Taylor bell is still pissed off since being passed over for the SID job at Illinois. Zook is absolutely right in not talking to a person who does nothing but portray the school in a negative light. One more thing, everyone in their right mind knows that Lemming has been on the Notre Dame bandwagon forever.....its no secret
Taylor you have had it out for Illinois ever since you got turned down for that job you wanted at the school.Taylor that has been years ago.Get over it.
Sorry article, from a sorry has been (or were you ever anything?)....
Taylor,
I guess I am being lumped in with the rest of the paranoid fans of Illini Nation because I happen to be, well, an Illini fan. I agree with you that many people that post things on the "internets" can be idiotic, delusional, and downright creepy. In fact, when it comes to message boards, the misinformation probably exceeds accurate information three-fold! (Am I being generous?) For some reason, I still find pleasure in reading the IlliniBoard, Scout.com, Rivals.com, The Drudge Report, Politico, and the SunTimes via the internet. I rarely post, but I do get a kick out of some of the humorous things that are posted.
The only problem that I have with your article is the comment about how classy Ohio State and Michigan's programs are. And that somehow because of their classiness; they have had on-the-field success.
First of all, haven't these programs had some "off-the-field" issues that probably would not be considered "classy?" Maurice Clarrett's problems and an ugly academic scandal come to mind along with NCAA sanctions and lowered banners at Michigan. Secondly, if your program is classy does that some how equate to success. I mean Bill Carmody's Northwestern Wildcats have been successful off the court but not so much on the court. They seem to be a pretty classy group but that didn't stop the Alumni and Media from calling for his head this past season.
We get that the Zooker and his Illinois program (and apparently its fanbase) are not a people that you are particularly fond of. (BTW, Some Gainesville, FL folks might be sympathetic with your viewpoint.) And I disagree with Coach Zook's apparent practice of keeping a Naughty and Nice list of sports reporters. (BTW, I would be curious to know who made the Naughty list?) But, Taylor, I struggle to believe that Illinois and Notre Dame are the only two programs that try to control what's written about them in the media.
Also, I think the only fair thing to do is to out the Illinois Assistant Coach that is apparently saying negative things about you and Tom Lemming. If you are going to print this information and paint Zook guilty by association, you should at least say his name and let Zook and the guilty assistant respond. I think if accusations were being made about me and how I run my business and if those things were printed publicly, I would want more specifics and the opportunity to respond. Fair or not?
Is that reasonable or is there some journalistic rule that you can allege something without saying anybody's name (the guilty asst., the source - father, the witness - the recruit) except Ron Zook who wasn't even present when this incident allegedly took place. Amazing! And its a wonder that the public continues to distrust the media at alarming rates.
Also, if you check into the "Tom Lemming is pro-Notre Dame" assertion. You would find that that allegation has been expressed by many different fan bases and programs across the nation via ESPN sportsboards, coaches, and newspapers. Not saying its true, just saying that its not exclusive to Illini fans.
P.S. U of I sports fans are not all bad. There are some really good folks down here that enjoy reading your columns and books and happen to also root for Ron Zook and Bruce Weber's athletic programs. Just so you know.
What was the point of this article? It sounded to me like you were just complaining about not getting enough interviews. If you were a good journalist you would find a real story instead of whining about some personal vendetta against you.
Tom Lemming isn't pro Notre Dame? You mean he didn't pick the 18 players in the last All-star game that signed LOI's with "significant offensive advantage" Weis? Who did then? Touchdown Jesus? You mean Ohio State (Troy Smith, Maurice Clarett, Woody Hayes, Jim O'Brien) and Michigan (Rich Rodriguez, Lloyd Carr, Bo, Steve Fischer, Chris Webber and the rest of the Fab Five) are the standard for class amongst universities? I guess Ron Zook and Bruce Weber really should quit now then. They will never achieve those "high standards."
Wow, talk about pot and kettle Taylor. You don't print the name of the assistant coach you make allegations against or the source of the story. Could be a true story, could be totally false, or somewhere in between. Sounds just like something a common internet poster and "the misconceptions, erroneous facts, anonymous rants and unsubstantiated accusations." you accuse them of committing.
Wow...what a shocker this is. Another well written piece of trash from Taylor "Tinker" Bell. You really need to let it go Tinky. You are losing what little credibility you had by writing piece of crap articles like this. Seriously, what is wrong with you?
This is funny stuff. Mr. Lemming is a known hack. Ask any coach or fanbase outside of the schools he pimps for and you'll get the same answer. He's well known for shading his comments to teams that he has good relationships (or a nice "subscriber" base) with.
And Mr. Bell, I don't know what world you are living in. As a journalist, you put yourself on the record with everything you wright. At least 2 out of 3 pieces of yours that reference Illinois come off as some type of hit piece or at a minimum attempt to paint UI, it's coaches or players in a negative light. You are on the record. As proof - I ask you to show me within the last 6 months the number of positive articles you have written about Illinois.
If I were Zook, I wouldn't give you the time of day either. You reap what you sow, and your history in print shows that you are can't be relied on to print anything positive about UI. Clinton had CNN, Bush has Fox News, and Ron Zook has anyone but you.
I'd love for you to prove me wrong. Why don't you post some links of some positive stories about UI that you have written? Oh, I'm sure they are out there, but the number of hatchet jobs outweighs them in a landslide.
Why would RZ talk to you about anything with that kind of history in print? Stop whining and lay in the bed that you made for yourself.
Hey: Have you ever liked anything about Illlinois since you "graduated" from there.
Your articles on both high school sports and college sports reek of someone "who was a wanna be but never was."
And anytime you think that Lemming isn't PRO Notre Dame you should be compeLled to have listern to him rant about ND constantly. Then maybe you do.
It is very obvuious that the Chicago press is basis against ILLINOIS and you seem to spearhead this faction quite often! MY QUESTION IS WHY!!!!
GO ILLINI!
I love all these unnamed sources...nice work for a 'journalist'.
Sounds like someone is just a little jealous they didn't get the exclusive interview from zook. give me a break. You don't deserve to wear the orange and blue.
You are anti U of I, I can't remmember a positive article you have ever written about the Alma Matter. How much of a guru are if you don't know the staff at U of I. The staff has not had a major turnover.
I guess writers like you get off on making people upset with your hate speak on schools or programs. So don't get upset when people call you out for who you are Tinker Bell
I would say that most of the comments for this article were written by Zook himself, but I'm pretty sure Zook can't read or write. So they're probably from somebody on his staff.
Regardless, Taylor Bell's piece is dead-on. Zook has been spinning so much disinformation and revisionist history that he really ought to run for Congress.
This is how washed up writers try to make themselves relevant. You are pathetic Taylor. Maybe you should jump a shark on water skis for your next act.
Taylor, you talk about paranoia, but go back and look at what you wrote. Who is paranoid, Taylor? It is unfortunate that you've painted all Illinois fans with the same brush, but that really underscores the criticism that many Illinois fans have of you -- that you look for any reason to blast Illinois. Your rant was unbecoming of you as a professional journalist. It kind of reminds me of a pro athlete giving the hometown fans the finger because there are some boos from the stands. Both are highly unprofessional and only further strain the relationship.
My only wish is that you would have actually roomed in Barton Hall in the fall semester in 1959. You were set to be a roommate of a friend of mine. Then I'd know for sure what a jerk you really are.
You're 67 or 68. Give it up. Find something else to do. Your anti-UI rants are really stale.
Nice journalistic integrity by the way, anonymous sources. I'm sure you didn't learn that in J-school.
Taylor,
Are you embarassed that not a single person has spoken on your behalf following this article. You're an embarassment to the University of Illinois and the The Chicago Sun-Times (And nobody respects the Sun-Times). Find some journalistic ethics and find some friends. You're pathetic.
-Sports Fans everywhere
OK, so you write a venemous anti-Illini article and at the end of it you try to say that you are not anti-Illini? Why the h--- did you write this article then? TO quote a famous inmate, "What are you, obtuse?!"
taylor bell needs to reeducate himself about writing based on fact and avoid writing with a unilateral negative bias towards specific programs and people. i wonder what his editor thinks about him.
Well Taylor I guess you pissed off a lot of the Illini nation. These people have some valid points about you. You need to listen to them and change some of your reporting. As it is I agree with you that a Coach shouldn't take a reporter off a beat because he writes what is probably the truth about a program. As I have said to you in the past and these coaches: YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!!! As I have told you in the past I am not an Illini fan, don't really care to tell you the truth. A lot of these guys are dopes and want to hide that fact from recruits. I am a big fan of Tom Lemming. I think he is the most credible football scout out there. I don't think he favors Notre Dame or any other school. He actually does the footwork and looks at players and film. Most scouts don't do that which for me makes them not credible for my taste. Well for once we agree probably the only time too.
Who is Taylor Bell?
First of all, I take issue with the commenter who said "not a single person has spoken on your behalf."
I spoke on his behalf. I also think most, if not all (excluding mine, of course) of the comments on here are by one or two people using various aliases to grind the same ax. To him/them, I say: Get a clue. Zook is not the nice guy/victim that he would like you to think he is. I know you'll never acknowledge that, because you obviously work for him. I just hope you've got some whiteout handy for your resume.
I think Taylor Bell tells it like it is, and the Zook Mafia doesn't like hearing the unfiltered truth.
I live in Kansas, traveling through Chicago on business and happen to come across the on-line blog tonight in my hotel room, seeing what is up with Chicago sports.
You sir, have to be the biggest hack I have ever read a blog about.
First, sir, why not post this in print addition. Second, why don't you name your sources. Third, why would you reach out to help try and destroy the reputation of an athletic program of an university you graduated from?
It is so well known for EVERYONE in FB College sports that Lemming is a shill for Notre Dame. I travel to Omaha, Wichita, Des Moines, Little Rock, Tulsa, OKC and St. Louis and any college football fan of Big 12, Big 10 football. All of them to a man will profess that if they know who Tom Lemming is.....he is a backer of Notre Dame...common knowledge.....nothing big here....
Other than your blatant misuse of beliefs without facts to prove it and hate for your alma-mater for some reason????????????
OK...who is Taylor Bell? Seriously, who is he? Sorry, I must have missed something cause I don't know who this dude is. Sorry T Bell
Oh my God, somone said Tom Lemming is a schill for Notre Dame!!! Who would say such a thing?
The answer: A number of recruits. See Rolle, Myron.
The fact of the matter is there has been a lot more good to write about Illinois than bad over the last two years. However, you always seem to have a negative stuff i.e. this one.
"Trust me, Illini Nation, you'll know it when you see it."
Class like:Michigan baseball scandal,Ed Martin,Frieder,Fisher,Chris Webber,Football coach fired after drunken incident at a restaurant,hockey coach arrested after drunken incident,wrestler dies trying to make weight,four AD's in last 11 years,an ineligible freshman played on last year's football team,the John Hagen academic fraud crap.
OSU legendary coach tackles opposing player and is canned,Clarett car burglary crap,Jim Obrien stuff,and this black eye during JT's watch:
According to a list compiled by The Associated Press, 20 Ohio State players were arrested or faced disciplinary action for rules violations between Tressel’s hiring in 2001 and 2005, though the athletic director Gene Smith said there had been no instances of misconduct the past two seasons.
A number of the arrests were alcohol-related, but one player pleaded guilty to robbery, and another pleaded guilty to felony charges related to drug and gun possession. Two others were suspended after being charged with marijuana trafficking and passing fake in-house currency at a strip club.
Quarterback Troy Smith, who this season brought Ohio State its seventh Heisman Trophy, was convicted of misdemeanor disorderly conduct after a 2003 fight in a campus parking lot, where, a woman reported, her jaw had been broken. He was later suspended for two games bridging the 2004 and 2005 seasons after accepting about $500 from a booster.
Early in 2005, an editorial in The Dayton Daily News said the booster incident, following other player misconduct, made Ohio State “look like a second-rate, generic state school, that has no reputation beyond sports and parties ? and seeks none.”
Bill Livingston of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, one of Ohio’s most influential sports columnists, said of Tressel in an interview, “I’m a great admirer of him as a game-day coach, but the public image of the man doesn’t measure up in all aspects.”
The most notorious scandal of the Tressel era at Ohio State involved Clarett, the freshman star during the 2002 championship season whose career soon imploded. He was suspended in 2003 for N.C.A.A. rules violations, and would not play again, his early success corroded by questions of preferential treatment in the classroom; falsification of a police report involving stolen items from a car borrowed from a local auto dealer; and Clarett’s accusations that he was provided with cash and a no-show job.
Ohio State denied any wrongdoing and Clarett’s most explosive charges were never verified. Clarett is now in prison in Toledo, serving at least three and a half years on charges of aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.
The Clarett and Troy Smith episodes bore some resemblance to an incident that occurred during Tressel’s tenure as coach at Youngstown State. The university was cited by the N.C.A.A. for lack of institutional control after Ray Isaac, who quarterbacked the 1991 team to a Division I-AA championship, was later found to have accepted $10,000 and access to cars provided by the former chairman of Youngstown State’s board of trustees."
Only in Illinois could the football coach take crap from radio and print media, after taking the worst program in D-1 to the Rose Bowl in year three,...the basketball coach take crap after BT championship years,a NC game and graduating nearly everyone that walks in the door,and a basketball coach that thumbs his nose on the state school be lauded as a hero.
Excellent article. Illinois football fans need realize they aren't on the same plain as Michigan and Ohio State. Let me know when Illinois makes back to back bowl games.
Kids make mistakes and kids get arrested. Ohio State kicked every one of those players discussed above off the team...with the exception of Troy Smith. ....and spare me the "he was only kept because he was a great player" stuff. Troy got a disorderly conduct charge when he was a backup kick returner. I could name 15 Illinois players over the past several years that had charges equal to disorderly.
Clarret was an honer student who was smart enough to graduate high school early...then made a series of bad choices which landed him in jail. Claret was never found guilty of anything during his time at Ohio State and had he not challenged the NFL rule, would still have 3 years of eligibility left.
Get em Zooker! I am so glad that Ron Zook is taking a stand against Tinker Bell. I also love how Taylor acts surprised, like he is the victim in all this. Wow, I can not believe that after 30 years of trashing a programs they would tell me that I can not have an interview.
Dude, are you serious?
I just became a HUGE Zook fan. LOVE IT!!! Zook em!
Folks, we're barking up the wrong tree here. Mr. Bell continues his tirades because it generates readership at the Sun-Times. Don't any Illini alums control any print ad spend dollars? The Sun-Times doesn't have a dog in this fight, they'll drop Mr. Bell when the bottom line is affected.
Two things Mr. Bell:
1. The media never has been and never will be bigger than the sport they report on. You should know this by now, but you sure as hell don't act like it.
2. You have to have some loyalty to the Illini left in that old body of yours. Find it and display it in your next article/blog...you'll be much happier.
I think the job Tinker Bell was passed over for was as sports editor of the old Champaign-Urbana Courier. Regardless, his anti-Illinois bias is something we have all been exposed to for nearly 35 years. Hopefully, one of these days the Sun-Times will put him and his ridiculous rants into retirement. I am sure it is killing him that Illinois football looks like it is headed for a major resurgence and that the football program treat hims like the complete and incompetent tool that he is.
Maybe when sports writers have something good to write about Ilinois they will. Let's face it was a waste of money to send that team to the Rose Ball. It was like a High School team playing a Pro team. When it comes to the Big Ten, Illinois is in a class of their own, and they are wstill trying to figure what which one that is. Year after year Michigan and Ohio State produce good football teams, lets see what Illinois does this year.
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