As I stood gazing at Lake Louise, one of the crown jewels of the Canadian Rockies, the feeling was one of awe - even a religious experience.   Suddenly a little old lady clad in orange and blue tugged at my sleeve and softly asked:

     "Have you heard how Deron Williams did in today's game?"

     Later, while slipping and sliding on the 1,000 foot thick Athabasca Glacier, a guy yelled:

     "Did ya hear anything about Justin Spring?  How'd he do?"

     The Rocky Mountaineer train rolled through and past the peaks, rivers, and incredible scenery on the way from Kamloops to Vancouver, but the conversation on board among members of the U of I Alumni Association Explorers was:

     "How are things going in Rantoul?  Anybody hurt?  Juice passing any better?"

     Seems those in the Illini Nation want to know everything, every day, minute-by-minute if possible,  about their teams and players.  

     Now, it is no problem.

     I simply whipped out my Blackberry, clicked on IlliniHQ.com, and answered all their questions right on the spot.

     I had no answers for the poor Olympic watchers from Canada.  They wanted to know when their country was going to win one medal of any kind.   When the thriving country of Togo won a  bronze and went one-up on Canada - the Canadians began looking forward to 2010 when the Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver.