Let’s have a parade: The regular season finally is over in the National Basketball Association.

No more talk about the Chicago Bulls’ bid for another 70-win season. No more wondering if Dennis Rodman is going to show for a game. No more yapping about Shawn Kemp’s inconsistent play and off-court troubles.

The real season, finally, has arrived. It actually started Thursday night with four conference quarterfinals.

Cary Franklin was named Freshman of the Year and joined teammates Gavin Sontag and Jerry Turek as All-Big Ten selections Thursday as the conference announced men's tennis honors.Franklin was 28-7 overall, 7-2 Big Ten in singles competition. He is the highest-rated Big Ten player (48th) in the latest Rolex Collegiate Tennis rankings.

BOSTON – Normally, there wouldn't have been anybody in Jean Driscoll's way.

The last seven years at the Boston Marathon, the Champaign wheelchair racer hit Cleveland Circle clear from her competition. But on Monday, Louise Sauvage stayed with Driscoll and forced a rare mistake.

The Illinois women's golf team had three of the top seven finishers Sunday in winning the 12-team Illini Spring Classic.

The Illini won their first event since April 23, 1995, with a two-day total of 626, 2 shots better than Notre Dame and 15 in front of Eastern Michigan. After building a 2-shot lead in the first round, Illinois and the Fighting Irish each carded a 316 in the second round.

   BOSTON  You won''t find posters of star runners Bill Rodgers or Uta Pippig on Miriam Nibley''s wall. She''s not one of those crazed Boston Marathon fans.

   But there she''ll be Monday morning, lined up for the nation''s most famous 26 mile, 385-yard race.

Second baseman D.J. Svihlik's two-run homer capped a three-run fifth inning as Illinois beat Penn State in the second game of a baseball doubleheader 11-5 Saturday at State College, Pa.

University of Illinois men's gymnasts Travis Romagnoli and Greg McGlaun each earned All-America honors Saturday during the event finals at the NCAA Championships in Iowa City, Iowa.

Pitcher Jeff Chiles, who had a 9-1 record last season for Crystal Lake South High School, has signed a national letter of intent with the University of Illinois.

In 1996, the 6-foot-3 left-hander was a first-team all-area selection of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald and a first-team All-Fox Valley Conference pick. In 70 innings, Chiles struck out 78 batters and allowed just 50 hits while compiling a 1.60 earned run average.