CHAMPAIGN—itzgerald Toussaint ran for 192 yards and a touchdown and backup quarterback Devin Gardner threw a key TD pass to lead No. 22 Michigan past Illinois 31-14 on Saturday.Starting quarterback Denard Robinson scored two rushing touchdowns, but didn’t play after a big third-quarter hit. Details about his injury weren’t available. In relief, Gardner hit Martavious Odoms for a fourth quarter touchdown that gave Michigan (8-2, 4-2 Big Ten) a 24-7 lead after Illinois scored. The Illini (6-4, 2-4) for the fourth week in a row didn’t score in the first half and, after opening 6-0, they’ve lost four straight.The game, even at halftime, felt like blowout. Illinois (6-4, 2-4) had 30 yards of offense at the half, including minus-12 on the ground, and not one point on the board. They didn’t move the ball into Wolverines territory until late in the third quarter.And still, thanks to their defense, a missed field by Michigan goal and a touchdown by Robinson called back by the officials, the Illini were in the game at 17-0 when quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase drove them deep into Michigan territory late in the third quarter. Scheelhaase gave Illinois life it might not have deserved, running in from the 14 with 19 seconds left in the quarter. Scheelhaase sold a strong fake that gave him room to run outside and, at 17-7, Illinois had its first points and a shot. But the Wolverines responded.After a quick stop by Illinois’ defense, J.T. Floyd picked Scheelhaase off and returned it 43 yards. From the nine, Gardner found Odoms and the margin was back to 17. Ilinois answered with an 18-play drive that took 6:08 off the clock, capped by Jason Ford’s 1-yard run with 3:50 to play. Michigan answered with a score of its own 40 seconds later, when Toussaint ran it in from 27 yards out following a failed onside kick. Then, it was finally over. Michigan missed plenty of chances to put the game away early, while Illinois responded with mistakes of its own. Each team had three turnovers, and two came in the final six minutes of the first half, during a quick series of possessions that ultimately went nowhere. Robinson, after hitting Kevin Koger on a 40-yard pass, ran for what the officials initially ruled was an 8-yard touchdown. But replays showed Robinson stepped out near the 2-yard line and the officials called it back. On fourth and 1, a low snap appeared to slow Robinson in the backfield and Michael Buchanan dragged him down for a loss. But Ford dropped the ball on the next play and Michigan’s Thomas Gordon recovered it at the Illini 13.Three plays later, Whitney Mercilus sacked Robinson and knocked the ball loose. Tavon Wilson recovered it with 3:55 left in the first half, in the process giving the Illini their best field position of the game to that point at their own 32.Ford appeared to fumble again inside his own 20 with 14 seconds left in the first half, a ball Courtney Avery grabbed and ran into the end zone. But replays showed Ford’s elbow hit the ground before the ball came out, and the officials overturned that call, too, sparing Illinois yet again.With 1:05 left before halftime, Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons missed a field goal from 36 yards with a stiff wind at his back.He atoned for it early in the third quarter, after Ryan Lankford dropped a third-quarter punt that Michigan’s John McColgan fell on. This time, Gibbons converted on a 26-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead with 4:31 to play in the quarter.As erratic as both teams were, though, Toussaint was a rock. He had 121 yards by the end of the first quarter, and set the tone for the game early.

LANDOVER—Jonas Gary ran for a career-high 136 yards and two touchdowns, and Notre Dame made itself right at home against skidding Maryland in a 45-21 victory Saturday night.Tommy Rees completed 30 of 38 passes for 296 yards and two scores for the Fighting Irish (7-3), who have won three straight and seven of eight. Rees went 14 for 15 for 142 yards after halftime.Notre Dame has made a habit of playing one “home” game a year at a neutral site. Although this one was held at a stadium only 12 miles from the Maryland campus, both end zones read NOTRE DAME and most fans in the crowd of 70,251 at FedEx Field were pulling for the Irish.They were not disappointed. Notre Dame led 7-0 after four minutes, 24-7 at halftime and 38-7 midway through the third quarter.Maryland (2-8) dropped its sixth straight and also lost starting quarterback Danny O’Brien, who hurt his left arm. The right-hander was replaced by C.J. Brown, who ran 24 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to cap a 97-yard drive.Both teams were dressed for success. Notre Dame wore green jerseys and affixed large shamrocks onto their gold helmets, and Maryland pulled out its garish “Pride” uniforms – a white, red, black and yellow salute to the state flag. The Terrapins last wore the ensemble in the opener against Miami, a 32-24 win that remains their lone victory over an FBS team this season.After Gray ran for 84 yards and scored a pair of 1-yard touchdowns in the first half, Rees went 8 for 8 on an 84-yard drive to open the third quarter. The march, which was kept alive by Gray’s 19-yard scamper on a third-and-17, ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Cierre Wood (who finished with 99 yards rushing).Minutes later, Lo Wood returned an interception 57 yards for a score to make it 38-7.O’Brien returned for one play after the pick and left after being tackled hard on a 5-yard run. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 132 yards, one touchdown and one interception.A week ago, Notre Dame needed a second-half comeback to beat Wake Forest. In this one, the Irish took control early.After holding Maryland without a first down on the opening possession, Notre Dame cruised 67 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead. Gray ran four times for 32 yards, including a touchdown that extended his streak of games with a rushing TD to seven – most by a Notre Dame player since 1998.Late in the quarter, David Ruffer kicked a career-long 52-yard field goal to cap an 11-play drive and put the Irish up 10-0.In the second quarter, Notre Dame gave up its first sack in five games and 195 passing attempts. That possession ended in a punt, but the Irish quickly got the ball back and went ahead 17-0 on a 19-yard pass from Rees to Michael Floyd, whose 36th career touchdown tied him for third place on the school’s career list behind only Allen Pinkett (53) and Autry Denson (47).Held to three first downs on its first five possessions, Maryland finally got its offense clicking behind O’Brien, who went 5 for 5 on a 61-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Quintin McCree.Notre Dame promptly restored the 17-point margin with a 13-play drive that ended with a touchdown run by Gray on a fourth-down play.The Irish padded the margin soon after halftime. Notre Dame has outscored the opposition 77-13 in the third quarter this year.

CHAMPAIGN—Meyers Leonard scored 15 points and had six blocks and Brandon Paul added 14 points to lead Illinois to a 67-49 season-opening win over Loyola on Friday.Leonard, a 7-foot-1 sophomore, had nine points by halftime and hit the first 3-pointer of his career for the Illini. Paul overcame a cold-shooting first half in which he scored two points to lead Illinois.Paul’s 3-pointer with just over nine minutes to play gave the Illini a 48-38 lead and the breathing room they needed to finish off the Ramblers (0-1).Loyola had pulled to within 38-34 with 11:53 to play after an 11-2 run.Walt Gibbler led Loyola with 19 points, 15 in the second half.

WEST LAFAYETTE—Robbie Hummel scored 21 points to help Purdue defeat Northern Illinois 96-34 Friday night in the season opener for both teams.It was Hummel’s first regular-season game since he tore the ACL in his right knee in February 2010. He made 5 of 7 3-pointers in 20 minutes as Purdue rolled to the third-largest margin of victory in school history and the largest since 1911. It also was Purdue’s 18th straight home win.Purdue rededicated Mackey Arena during the first regular-season game since the facility was updated as part of a $100 million renovation project. It also was the first game on the new floor, which was replaced after flooding during the offseason.Purdue forced 28 turnovers and held the Huskies to 25 percent shooting.Tim Toler scored 11 points for NIU in coach Mark Montgomery’s debut at the school.

YPSILANTI—Derek Thompson scored 17 points as Eastern Michigan rallied from a seven-point second-half deficit to beat UIC 68-57 in a season opener Friday night.Paris Carter led the Flames with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds, both game highs. Daniel Barnes added 10 points.Darrell Lampley scored 12 points and Matt Balkema 10 for the Eagles, who raised their record against the Flames to 4-0.Barnes’ 3-pointer put the Flames ahead 38-31 with 16:42 to go, but the Eagles outscored them 37-19 from there. Antonio Green’s tip-in put Eastern Michigan ahead 50-49 with 6:57 remaining, and the Eagles led the rest of the game.Thompson went 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 from the line. Green, who scored nine points, made the Eagles’ only 3-pointer.Eastern Michigan outshot UIC 46.2 percent (24 of 52) to 39.6 percent (21 of 53).

Cleveland Melvin scored 17 points and Brandon Young added 10 as DePaul defeated Texas-Pan American 91-72 in a season opener Friday night played at McGrath-Phillips Arena,one of three Regular Seaspon games to be played on Campus by the Blue Demons this season.Brandon Provost finished with 16 and Jared Maree 14 for Texas-Pan American.Krys Faber finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for the Blue Demons, and Moses Morgan scored 16 points.DePaul, playing a rare home game on campus, led the entire way after jumping to a 10-0 lead. However, Melvin limped off the court after injuring his left foot with a minute left. Young also had seven assists and five rebounds.Morgan hit a 3-pointer and Young set up Faber for an easy dunk. Young put the crowd on its feet with a no-look midcourt alley-oop dunk to Melvin to give the Blue Demons a 36-17 edge. DePaul led 46-33 at the half.Maree hit a 3-pointer to cut DePaul’s lead to 51-43 with 16:14 left. Jesus Delgado made a free throw and a breakaway layup to get Pan American within 53-48. But DePaul answered with a 3-pointer from Melvin and a layup by Young to go back up by 10 with 12:20 left.Melvin’s putback and Young’s layup after a Broncs turnover made it 63-50. Morgan later hit a 3 to make it 75-55 with 6:59 left.Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau took in the game, and coveted 2013 recruit Jabari Parker sat in the front row behind the DePaul bench.

Ray Emery made 24 saves, and Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Viktor Stalberg and Patrick Kane scored to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Friday. EmerRay Emery made 24 saves, and Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Viktor Stalberg and Patrick Kane scored to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Friday. Emery, who made his fourth start this season, lost a shutout bid with 9:10 left in the third when Olli Jokinen scored. Keith and Seabrook, the two top defensemen, both scored their first goals of the season in the Blackhawks’ 17th game. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots and made several tough, close-in saves to keep the game close. The Blackhawks (10-4-3) won their second straight, and the Flames (6-8-1) dropped their second in a row. Keith opened the scoring with 7:51 left in the first. Kiprusoff stopped Patrick Sharp’s drive from right wing, but kicked the rebound to the top of the left circle and lost his balance. Keith then golfed a shot from the high shot into the open net. Seabrook’s screened power-play goal with 7:49 left in the second made it 2-0. His quick, low drive from the top of the slot slipped past several players before landing in the net. About a minute later, Emery used a quick pad save to stop Curtis Glencross on a breakaway. Jokinen scored on a play off a faceoff in the Hawk zone midway through the third to cut the deficit to 2-1. Jokinen won the draw and pulled it back to Mark Giordano at the left point. Giordano skated down the boards, and passed back to Jokinen who fired in a one-timer from the slot. Stalberg made it 3-1 with 3:11 left in the game. After trailing in late down the slot, Stalberg took Marian Hossa’s centering pass from behind the net and connected from the edge of the crease. Kane fired in an empty-net goal with four seconds left.\

GROBBER’S NFL WEEK TEN PICKS

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Oakland over SAN DIEGO (Thur Night)

ATLANTA over New Orleans

Tennessee over CAROLINA

CINCINNATI over Pittsburgh

St.Louis over CLEVELAND

Buffalo over DALLAS

Jacksonville over INDIANAPOLIS

KANSAS CITY over Denver

MIAMI over Washington

PHILADELPHIA over Arizona

Houston over TAMPA BAY

Baltimore over SEATTLE

SAN FRANCISCO over NY Giants

New England over NY JETS(Sun Night)

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NFC NORTH GAMES:

GREEN BAY over Minnesota(Mon night)

BEARS over Detroit

Last week: 8-6, TOTAL through 9 weeks 85-43

LES

PATERNO JOINS OTHER BIG NAMES WHO WERE FIRED IN DISGRACE!

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***And so the the Joe Paterno era at Penn State is history and it ended in a bad way. Jerry Sandusky,Paterno’s former Assistant has more problems,having been indicted for his actions that triggered this scandal. Paterno just passes Eddie Robinson of Grambling as the all time Division 1 leader in wins among College Football Coaches.

***How disgraceful of an exit was this? Others who left their jobs in bad ways included:

*Ohio State’s Woody Hayes who was canned two days after he punched a Clemson player who had clinched a Gator Bowl win for the Tigers over the Buckeyes with an interception. Hayes refused to apologize. He died without ever doing so.

*Indiana’s Bob Knight was dumped after violating a zero policy issued by then IU President Myles Brand.Knight went after a student who simply said “Hi Knight”.

*Jim Tressel of Ohio State after several of his players got tattoos and other illegal gifts.

*Pete Carroll at USC after Reggie Bush and others were busted for getting gifts that were not allowed by the NCAA.

*Former Northwestern Coach Gary Barnett was forced to resign from Colorado in 2005 after a recruiting scandal that included the use of drugs, alcohol and sex to entice recruits was uncovered.

*Rick Neuheisel,a two-time offender. Washington fired Neuheisel in 2003 for gambling; taking part in a neighborhood March Madness pool. He also has been linked to several recruiting and other NCAA violations during his time at Washington and Colorado.

*Bruce Pearl who is still hated by all Illini Fans after he turned in Jimmy Collins for what were untrue claims that Collins and Lou Henson offered recruit Deon Thomas 80 grand and a Chevy Blazer.Pearl got in trouble HIMSELF with the NCAA for his recruitment methods. In 2010, he hosted recruits at his home and lied during an NCAA investigation into the matter. He was suspended for eight games and his entire staff had a $1.5 million salary reduction over five years and delayed retention bonuses. Pearl was also involved in a recruiting scandal in the late ’80s while working as an assistant at Iowa.

*Kelvyn Sampson was involved in controversial recruitment methods. While at Oklahoma, 550 illegal calls were made by Sampson and his staff to recruit players. The NCAA barred him from recruiting off-campus for one year. At Indiana, Sampson was caught making impermissible phone calls again and was forced to resign in 2008. The NCAA imposed a five-year show-cause order on Sampson. He is now an Assistant to former Bulls Coach Scott Skiles with the Milwaukee Bucks.

*Eddie Sutton of Kentucky and Oklahoma State was forced to resign from Kentucky when it was found that his coaching staff was paying recruits. Cash was found in an envelope to player Chris Mill’s father. While coaching at Oklahoma State, Sutton was in a car accident and confessed to have taken prescription painkillers and drinking alcohol. Not long after, he resigned.

*John Calipari got UMASS and Memphis on probation and give it time, he will have long time cheater on probation as well.

*Jerry Tarkanian spent most of his career battling the NCAA. After he left Long Beach State, the program was caught for recruiting violations under Tarkanian’s watch. During his time at UNLV, he avoided NCAA scrutiny till he signed Lloyd Daniels.

LES

Doyel: Penn State campus erupts over Paterno firing

Ratto: Sadly, few coaches will heed this lesson

ST. LOUIS — Ken Hitchcock’s debut as St. Louis Blues coach was a huge success — even if he had quibbles with his first game behind the bench in nearly two years.

“I think far and away the weakest player was me,” the 59-year-old Hitchcock said after the Blues beat the Blackhawks 3-0 on Tuesday night. “I’m going to have to get a little bit further up to speed because it was a playoff atmosphere with a playoff-style game.”

Jaroslav Halak shrugged off his shaky start to the season with 29 saves and Chris Stewart scored on the power play to end a 10-game goal drought. T.J. Oshie had a goal and an assist, and defensemen Barret Jackman and Kevin Shattenkirk had two assists apiece. The Blues’ 6-7 start cost coach Davis Payne his job, and several players mentioned the Hitchcock hire as a “wake-up call.” Their penalty kill was impressive, blanking the Blackhawks on nine chances. Stewart’s deflection in the second period was only the fourth goal in 41 power-play opportunities for St. Louis, which entered as the NHL’s worst team with the man advantage. At his introductory news conference Monday morning, Hitchcock said it would take only one practice to fix the power play. Hitchcock coached his first game since getting fired by Columbus in January 2010. He encountered a mental challenge after Scott Nichol was sidelined by an upper-body injury in the first period. Corey Crawford made 20 saves for the Central Division-leading Hawks, who have lost three in a row. The Blackhawks were blanked for the second time, and the power play took the brunt of the blame.

“Right now who cares about the stat?” forward Jonathan Toews said. “We know we’ve got to be better, so we’ve got to keep working on it. I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville had little to say that was positive.

“Our puck possession, our puck movement, was terrible,” Quenneville said. “It’s certainly unacceptable.”

Hitchcock was the third straight Blues coach to face the Blackhawks in his first game at home. The first to win, too, after Payne lost 6-3 in 2010 and Andy Murray fell 3-2 in 2006. Hitchcock became the first Blues coach to win in his debut, period, since Mike Keenan on Jan. 20, 1995.Halak entered 1-6 with a 3.35 goals-against average and has been splitting time with backup goalie Brian Elliott. Halak was especially strong during several scrambles in front of the net, earning his first shutout since last season’s finale against Nashville. Stewart, who finished last season with 15 goals in the last 28 games, scored his third of the season and first since Oct. 13 for a 2-0 lead at 1:23 of the second. Stewart, who was planted in the slot to redirect a feed from Oshie, totaled just one assist during his slump. The Blues blunted a late charge by the Blackhawks when Oshie scored his third goal in three games on an innocent-looking shot from the left circle at 13:54. Ladimir Sobotka drove to the net and wedged the puck past Crawford midway through the first period for his first goal since March 30. He has four points in the last four games.

NOTES—The Blues paid tribute to Pavol Demitra and Igor Korolev, who died in the plane crash that wiped out a Russian KHL team, in a pregame ceremony attended by Korolev’s wife and two daughters along with several former teammates, including Brett Hull. The Blues wore patches with the No. 38, worn by both Demitra and Korolev, and placed a mural honoring Demitra in the lower bowl concourse….Blues forward and former Hawk Scott Nichol (upper body) was sidelined in the first period….Hitchcock coached his 1,043rd game, sixth-most on the active list. Quenneville is third with 1,096….The attendance of 19,150 was the Blues’ 46th sellout in a row.