The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 11

SPORTS Top picks Around town SOFTBALL College DePaul at Illinois State, 3 p.m.; Illinois Wesleyan vs. Colorado College, 9 a.m., and Otterbein, 11 a.m., in Rebel Spring Games at Orlando, Fla. Complete listing of events, Page B2 Surfing Television BASEBALL: 3 p.m. Texas Rangers vs. Chicago Cubs Comcast Complete TVradio listings, Page B2 WEDNESDAY, March 21, 2007 Section Mike Egenes, sports editor, (309) 829-9000, ext.

246, e-mail: megenesgpantagraph.com REDBIRD BASKETBALL Em foific cins jo stalls Py penson T-l VV -A 71 1 I 'JR-I Inside TT S' I 8 -M 1 S. t-r" "3 Prep baseball preview Get a breakdown on how the Intercity baseball season will shape up. Page B4 The rundown Iowa buys Web names to stop coach-bashing IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em. The University of Iowa has come up I Returning ISU players react to coach's hiring I What others around college basketball are saying about Jankovich Back page and assistants at top programs from Big Ten and Big 12 conference schools. One of those names was Jankovich.

Soon after, Zenger received a telephone call from Self to promote Jankovich. "When you have a connection like that, you go on further down the line. At that point, you're walking down the aisle with a number of people," Zenger said, who added he talked to six or seven unnamed candidates. "Tim zoomed to the top of the list for a number of reasons. We had the opportunity to talk to him on the phone several times and eventually go meet with him.

The fit just appeared natural and continued to grow." This will be the second Division I head coaching opportunity for Jankovich. He was North Texas' coach for four seasons in the 1990s, compiling a 53-57 record and advancing to the Southland Conference Tournament championship game twice. Jankovich resigned from North Texas in 1997 and went to Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, posting a 50-14 record in two seasons as head coach. From there, Jankovich joined the Vanderbilt staff as an assistant for Kevin Stallings, a former ISU coach. SEE JANKOVICH BACK PAGE NORMAL Those watching the Kansas-Southern Illinois game in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday can be guaranteed of one thing: Tim Jankovich doesn't want his future Illinois State basketball teams to play like the Missouri Valley Conference representative on display in the West Regional semifinal at San Jose, Calif.

Sorry about that, Salukis. Jankovich was officially introduced as ISU's 18th head coach at a news conference Tuesday at Redbird Arena. The 47-year-old Jankovich replaces Porter Moser, who was fired March 5 after four seasons with a 51-67 overall record and 22-50 in the Valley. Later in the day, Jankovich flew west to rejoin Kansas in his role as assistant coach in the Jayhawks' quest for an NCAA championship. Jankovich told the crowd at Redbird Arena, which included several ISU players, he wants to play a fast tempo similar to how Kansas plays, instead of the grind-it-out Salukis.

"It's what I love, first of all. It's attractive to fans and recruits. I hope this team loves it," said Jankovich, who was joined at the news conference by his wife, Cindy, and their 7-year-old son, Michael. "From an offensive standpoint, we want to put as much pressure on the defense at all times. If you watch us (Kansas) play, we try to force the action as much as we can and try to attack.

"From a defensive standpoint, we want pressure, too. We'll definitely have a zone de- ii ilia in PantaqraphB MOSHER New Illinois State basketball coach Tim Jankovich, center, receives a hug from Redbirds guard Boo Richardson as John Marczak, ISU's director of basketball operations, looks on following Tuesday's news conference introducing Jankovich at in Redbird Arena in Normal. with a proactive method for fighting Web sites built to criticize its coaches by buying domain names. Web sites ripping college coaches fense, but we want to play man to man and be aggressive and force offense off the defensive end. The best games we play are when our defense is giving us offense, and we get that energy and momentum and the pace of the game quickens.

In a nutshell, pressure at all times and force the action on offense and defense." Jankovich agreed to a five-year contract to leave Kansas, where he has been Bill Self's assistant the past four ISU athletic director Shea-hon Zenger said Jankovich has not yet signed a contract, but he has inked a letter of agreement that states Jankovich will not be paid more than the previous coach. Moser had a base salary of $170,000 and a total compensation package of about $250,000 per year. Jankovich said he has "a number of people in mind" to serve as his three assistant coaches. However, he wished to talk to those who were on Moser's staff and others before making any final decisions. "I want different kinds of people.

I don't want to hire the same guy twice or three times," he said. "It's important to have those three guys be very different so you can account for a lot of different situations with personality and background." Zenger said after Moser was fired he and his staff compiled a list of about 70 candidates, including head coaches Plenty to smile about now, let's just hope it lasts Mike Egenes 1 1 wnmm'i 9 ii" mmmmmgB A I ii hi-n rinit'Ti if i iftfrT-imiiTr-TT rwr i rirrriiiiii "i'i'iiI the college ranks and head straight to the pros. Let's hope that doesn't turn out to be cruel irony in regard to how well Jankovich can land the big one. Illinois State is a good basketball job, and Jankovich comes from good basketball stock. But Division I basketball is about recruiting.

X's and O's mean nothing without talent, and landing talent means selling. Jankovich has been borne from an impressive pedigree of coaches. He's bright, funny and articulate none of which means much if you can't connect with recruits. The good news is that he's watched one of basketball's best pitchmen in Bill Self, who could sell ice cream at the Idi-tarod. SEE EGENES BACK PAGE Michael Jankovich is a 7-year-old with a smile.

Give or take a tooth. He was at Redbird Arena on Tuesday morning dressed in Redbird red. He flashed his Magic Johnson smile as he turned and waved upon being introduced to the crowd. Rumor has it that Michael could be the latest hot recruit for the Illinois State men's basketball program. His dad said as much.

Sounds like a too-common story of a too-young kid getting hyped by an overzealous parent to draw the college recruiters. Well, not exactly. In this case, the recruit lives with the coach. He tells him when to brush his golden smile and go to bed. His dad's name is Tim, and he's the 47-year-old whose new title is Illinois State men's basketball coach.

"He's my favorite player," Tim Jankovich said of his son after being introduced as the 18th men's basketball coach at Illinois State. But Jankovich, the coach, has some work to do here in our fair burg and in his own house. Not long ago, his prize recruit informed him from the back seat of the family truck-ster that he intends to pass up have popped up in increasing numbers in recent years. But the ongoing battle between Internet sites and athletic departments took a new twist last summer when Iowa officials purchased seven domain names, including firekirkferentz.com, in order to keep them off the market. The school also purchased domain names for potential sites about women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder, men's basketball coach Steve Alford and athletic director Gary Barta.

Each of the site names cost $25 to purchase and $25 a year to maintain, Klatt said. Anyone who types those names into a browser is directed to the school's official Web site. Uecker stalker asked to leave spring game MILWAUKEE (AP) A woman once charged with stalking announcer Bob Uecker was asked to leave a Milwaukee Brewers' spring training game. The baseball team notified the Phoenix police that Ann E. Ladd was at Monday's game, Police Sgt.

Joel Tranter said Tuesday. A restraining order issued in September bars Ladd from games Uecker is announcing and requires her to stay at least 500 feet away from him. Uecker was not announcing the Brewers' game against the Cubs. The Brewers would not say whether he was at the ballpark in Phoenix. Ladd voluntarily left the game when asked, Tranter said.

"She was peaceful and had a ticket to the game," he said. "We were asked to escort her away. She's no longer welcome back." Quotable "They're good. They have guys who are going to shake commissioner (David) Stern's hand in the NBA Draft." Chris Lowery, Southern Illinois basketball coach on the Kansas Jayhawks PantaqraphB MOSHER Michael Jankovich, 7, son of new Illinois State basketball coach Tim Jankovich, smiles as his mother Cindy rubs his shoulder after his father introduced him to the crowd during a news conference Tuesday at Redbird Arena. CARDINALS ILLINOIS STATE 5, VALPARAISO 1 ISU gives coach 800th career win Cardinals fans get a glimpse of teams' World Series prize By Randy Reinhardt rreinhardt.jpantaqraph.com NORMAL Efficient pitching and timely hitting.

It's a baseball coach's dream double play. That's how Illinois State coach Jim Brownlee will remember his 800th career victo "When you have good players, it makes it easy, and we've got good players." Jim Brownlee, ISU baseball coach Ill lL lr I A ti mj ry after a solid Redbird effort produced a 5-1 nonconference victory over Valparaiso on Tuesday at Red-bird Field. ISU pitchers Mike Hlavacek, Dan Sorce and Jim Sajewich By Randy Reinhardt rreinhardtpantagraph BLOOMINGTON Val Laymon of Normal was at a downtown St. Louis establishment on Oct. 27 watching Game 5 of the World Series on television.

When the Cardinals opened the Busch Stadium gates late in the game, Laymon was among thousands of fans without tickets who streamed in to witness history "They opened the gates in the top of the ninth," Laymon said. "I went there for the final out and was there for the trophy presentation, but I couldn't really see it from where I was standing." Laymon saw that trophy up close Tuesday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. She and friend Gina Rollinger of Bloomington were among the St. Louis fans who had their picture taken with baseball's famed Commissioner's Trophy.

"It's the culmination of being a fan for 24 years," said Laymon. "Gina and I went to several of the games last season. To see them finish it was fantastic." SEE PRIZE NEXT PAGE Online Jim Brownlee Jankovich's arrival Mm) Watch video of Tim Jankovich's press conference where he was named Illinois "I have a saying that players rise above coaching. When you have good players, it makes it easy, and we've got good players." With Hlavacek (1-0) working the first six innings and striking out five, ISU evened its record at 9-9. "I had a little more command of everything.

(Senior pitcher) Luke Baughman helped me with my change up and my mechanics earlier in the week. For the most part, I kept everything down." Hlavacek said. "Congratulations to Coach Brownlee. He's a great coach and he's had a great career." SEE COACH NEXT PAGE allowed just six hits and one walk and Redbird hitters made productive use of 12 singles as Brownlee's 28-year record improved to 800-731-5. "It's special.

It means I've worked for a lot of good athletic directors who allowed me to coach 28 straight years and be successful," Brownlee said. "I think it's more for the assistant coaches you've been with and the players you've coached. They get the wins. State's new men's basketball coach at www.pantagraph.com. Thursday Area player of year The Pantagraph names its All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

PantaqraphCARLOS T. MIRANDA Jake Brewer, of Gibson City, gets a close look at the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series trophy Tuesday at the U.S. Cellular store in U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.

Want to read Kindred? Randy Kindred's column ill return April II.