Moderator: Programming notes:

- Illinois wrestling has its biggest match of the season Sunday at Iowa. Brian Moline, who calls wrestling matches for WDWS, has agreed to come aboard for a chat in about an hour. If you have a second, throw a question his way.

- We've contracted with the Big Ten Network to provide video highlights of every Illinois basketball game the rest of the way. Perhaps you've noticed we've only had video of home games, thanks to the work of several talented UI students.

— Bob Asmussen and photo editor Darrell Hoemann were in Kansas City on Thursday for a story/video on Nathan Scheelhaase, the talented quarterback who will sign with Illinois on Feb. 4. We'll have at least the video of their trip up and running by Feb. 1.

Let's get to some questions ....

Tim, Urbana, IL: Jim,

we know that Hester is at Illinois, Bardo at ESPN, and Gill with the Big 10 Network. Where do Johnson, Harper, Altenberger, etc. work?

Moderator: Tim

Illinois no longer is Linebacker U. It's Broadcaster U. Eddie Johnson is doing TV work for the Phoenix Suns. I talked to him Thursday for our Big Ten page Q&A (that will be on HQ later today). Found out he wanted to coach the Suns, but was bypassed.

"It's not something I'm chasing relentlessly, but if the right opportunity came about, I'd take a look at it."

Johnson is coming back to C-U on Feb. 8 to have his jersey raised to the Hall's ceiling.

Derek Harper does pregame TV for the Dallas Mavericks.

Doug Altenberger, previously a mainstay on Big Ten TV games prior to the Big Ten Network, does limited work with the BTN.

We're planning a story on Bardo's rise to prominence as an announcer in early March. Should be interesting.

Joe, Champaign, IL: Jim,

would it be possible to get a list of the other beat writers for football and basketball from around the Big 10, or the websites of the paper they work for? Is nice to read a little info on upcoming opponets before we play them.

Moderator: Joe

A while back, we introduced a "Links" section on the upper right of our main page. It has links to one newspaper in each Big Ten city, including a bunch that cover the Illini like the Trib, Sun-Times, Decatur, Peoria, etc. It also includes links to national outlets like Sporting News, ESPN, etc.

We'll keep adding to the list. I prefer offering as much news as possible, even if it means sending readers to a competitor of ours.

As far as beat writers go, head to "HQ & You" and click on "contact" and there's a list of HQ's staff and how to reach them. Maybe I need to add beat writers around the Big Ten to that list?

Reggie, VG, Illinois: Jim,

I'm still waiting for you to add the uniform number to the team listings in table format for the Illini players and their opponents in your pre-game articles. You list the class, height, weight (in football), PPG etc, but NOT the most important item in order for fans to identify the players-THEIR NUMBER!!

I've long advocated this in football and think it would be a great help to those viewing the game at home. When you're watching the game the announcers tell you who has the ball or who made a catch but they rarely tell if a lineman made a good block, or the name of a defensive player rushed the quarterback and didn't get a sack. With the numeric listing true fans would become that much better informed about the Illini and their opponents.

Moreover, with the advent of not having the names on the basketball uniforms this year, it becomes increasingly important to those people who might just be tuning in on a more regular basis due to the success of the squad. Heck, if people find out this information is in there, you might even sell an extra copy of your product or two!

I've asked Bob Asmussen twice, once in person and once on the Monday radio show, and he discussed it with Paul Klee live on the air. You might have been there as well. They both thought it was do-able and a good idea. Paul thought it would be great to start with the Illini-Indiana game since the Hoosiers don't have their names on the back of their jerseys either. It's now two weeks later and it still hasn't happened.

I'm wondering if the News-Gazette is in kahoots with the printers of the football/basketball programs. It would seem to me that all you might have to do is shrink the print a little more and there would be plenty of room. But, please don't shrink it any smaller than the scoreboard page-some of the information there is nearly illegible!

Can you enlighten me as to how difficult this is to do and/or why it hasn't been accomplished yet? Just trying to make a good product even better...

Moderator: Reggie

It's not our intent to deceive or make promises we can't deliver on. Asmussen once told me he'd buy lunch, too, and I'm still waiting.

Seriously, it's a good idea. And it's something we've made sure to include on HQ, if not the paper. Go to "HQ & You" and click on "stats" and then "men's big ten basketball." For each team, click on "rosters" and everyone is listed next to their uniform number. It tells me Bubba Chisholm wears No. 15.

There are certain limitations to what we can do in the N-G. There are few, however, at HQ.

As far as the game programs go, I don't have an answer. That is a university-produced product.

Kyle, Champaign, IL: Does Illinois have any chance against Iowa, in any of the weight classes?

Moderator: Kyle

I'm going to move your question to Brian's chat, which starts at noon. He has all the answers.

Thanks

Tim, Urbana, IL: Jim,

is there another school that has a site anything close to this? The site and info are much appreciated.

Moderator: Tim

Every newspaper has a Web site, but few focus so much energy toward one subject. Head to our "links" page and click on the Bloomington Herald-Times site, which also has an HQ name. Trouble is, it's a pay site, like we used to be, so you can't read much of the copy.

I know Knoxville, Tenn., has a site (govols.com) that hits the Volunteers pretty hard. Maybe other papers will follow suite in attempt to remain relevant.

Michael philips, grandview, Missouri: Whats the status of Marcus Jordan? For football whats the status of jelanie Jenkins Craig drummond tariq Edwards barrington Ronnie wingo and jeron stokes? Is it true that kraig appleton gotten into trouble in Chicago with the law? What is his status?

Moderator: Michael

Caught Klee on his way to Ubben this morning. Here's what he had to say about Marcus Jordan and more.

"Klee thought Marcus Jordan would commit to Miami (Fla.), but the 'Canes took another guard, and that doesn't look like a possibility anymore. He wonders if Iowa State is a possibility, since his Whitney Young teammate Chris Colvin is headed there. At this point, Jeff's

brother remains undecided."

Bonus Klee follows:

And one note on Wisconsin game: The only player on the current Illinois roster to play in a win against Wisconsin is Chester Frazier. He played 12

minutes in a 66-51 win at Madison in 2006, the last time Illinois has

beaten the Badgers. Trent Meacham said after practice yesterday, "Since

I've been here, we haven't beaten them."

-The Illinois coaches have used this break between games to hit the

recruiting trail. Bruce Weber was in the Chicago area Wednesday, and

assistant Jerrance Howard is headed that way to watch 2010 recruit Jereme

Richmond tonight.

-2009 recruit Tyler Griffey is closing in on his high school's all-time

scoring record. Klee will have more on Griffey's robust senior season in

the Live In-Game Report from the Assembly hall on Saturday.

If you need more, head to Klee's updated blog on HQ. He's got the scoop on Bruce Weber's favorite pizza.

Moderator: About Wingo, Appleton, etc., the stories change by the hour. Our HQ recruiting blogger, Jeremy Werner, is on top of the situation. Asmussen will weigh in, too, as events unfold.

Be sure to check out our Signing Day Countdown each weekday for the latest.

Moderator: Got a budget meeting to attend. Remember to bug Brian Moline with wrestling questions at noon today.

And be sure to check out Klee's in-game report starting around 2 p.m. Saturday.

Jim