Kritik und Anregungen » learning experience. Even though he was beat, Va

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- On the road recruiting recently, a song came on Illinois coach John Groces car radio about things best left in the past, Randy Travis Digging Up Bones.At Fridays media day, Groce said he wouldnt be digging much into a chaotic 2015-16 season that ended with a 15-19 record, three arrests and what seemed like endless injuries.Were not doing that, were moving on, Groce said.But the remains of last season, Illinois first losing season since 2008, were everywhere Friday.Before he took question from reporters, the fifth-year coach updated the health of the half-dozen key players who either missed some or all of last season with serious injuries or are out now.And he talked about how much the team would miss guard Kendrick Nunn, one of the three Illini players to be arrested last season. The other two, senior guard Jaylon Tate and redshirt sophomore forward Leron Black are both still on the team while Nunn, after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery, was kicked off the team and transferred to Oakland. A domestic battery charge against Tate was dropped while Black pleaded guilty to misdemeanor aggravated assault and will sit out six games this season.Ive gotten to the point where very little surprises me, Groce said with a laugh, adding that he thought the team two seasons ago went through enough when point guard Tracy Abrams was lost for that season with a torn Achilles tendon.As Abrams worked his way back from that in 2015, he tore an anterior cruciate ligament and was forced to sit out the 2015-16 season. His injury was the first thing that went wrong for last seasons Illini.But, barring any other injuries or setbacks for Malcolm Hill, who is nursing an infected blister and should be back next week, or Jalen Coleman-Lands, who is out through this month with a broken bone in his hand, Groce should have his deepest, most complete team since 2013-14.His first recruits at Illinois -- a class that included Hill, Tate and Nunn and was among the top 25 in the country -- are all seniors.Abrams is back and, Groce says, healthy. That gives Illinois a handful of potential choices at point guard, something last seasons team lacked.And graduate-transfer center Mike Thorne Jr. was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA after going down early last season with a torn meniscus in his left knee.Most of the players, like Groce, say they dont want to talk about last season, what it was like as the roster grew shorter with injuries or seeing teammates arrested.Ive pretty much got amnesia about all of that right now, said Abrams, who is 24 and who in five-plus years on campus already has bachelors and masters degrees.Most of them talked Friday about wanting to do something special in the season that will start Nov. 11 against Southeast Missouri State. None of them were eager to define what that might be, but Groce assumes they all talk among themselves about getting back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013, his first season at Illinois.For Black, though, special starts simple, with the fact that hes still on the roster.He was already out injured when he was arrested in February after threatening a bar bouncer with a knife. The moment he acted, he said, he knew he was making a mistake. One that might cost him.Im just not taking anything for granted because it all could have been taken away pretty easily, he said.---Follow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAPPaul Krause Youth Jersey . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Brett Favre Vikings Jersey . 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Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.MEXICO CITY -- Perhaps the fans have not seen many Jessie Vargas fights in the main networks in the U.S., but once a protégé of Floyd Mayweather he has passed test after test before stepping into the ring in what should be the most important fight of his career against Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.Born in California and now living in Las Vegas, Vargas was part of a Mexican Boxing team that participated in various international competitions. He has been trained by some boxing greats such as Roger Mayweather, Roy Jones Jr. and Erik Morales, before moving on to his present trainer Dewey Cooper.Victory against Sadam Ali to win first welterweight titleVargas knew that he was the underdog to win a vacant welterweight belt against Ali. As a matter of fact, being under contract with Top Rank, he had to fight in a Golden Boy Promotions event. In a very intense and aggressive fight, he knocked out Ali after nine rounds, taking over the belt that was vacated by Tim Bradley Jr. when he decided to face Pacquiao in what was supposed to be Pacquiaos retirement bout. It was a tremendous night for Vargas, who won at least seven of the nine rounds in a fight held at the DC Armory in Washington in March.Junior welterweight farewell against Antonio DeMarcoIn his last fight in the 140-pound division against DeMarco at the Cotai Arena in Macao, China, in November 2014, Vargas had to overcome the brave DeMarco, who had Freddie Roach in his corner. Vargas showed that he can handle southpaws as he was in the drivers seat en route to a a close but unanimous decision to retain his belt.Win over Wale OmotosoThiss turned out to be a battle between two undefeated fighters in March 2013.dddddddddddd Against Omotoso, a solid welterweight who had been avoided by other fighters, Vargas showed enough stamina to overcome adverse conditions and was able to adjust his strategy to get what turned to be a fair unanimous decision, even though he was dropped in the second round in a card at the Home Depot Center (now StubHub) in Carson, California, headlined by Bradleys war against Ruslan Provodnikov.Loss against BradleyA defeat can be hardly thought of as one of the best exhibitions from a fighter. Nevertheless, the loss that Vargas suffered against Bradley in June 2015, in his first title opportunity, was a great learning experience. Even though he was beat, Vargas showed in the closing seconds of the fight that he had enough power to hurt Bardley, in what was somewhat of a controversial ending when the referee mistakenly ended the fight with 10 seconds left. After that night, Vargas became a better fighter.Split decision win over Josesito LopezOne of the fights Vargas had to win to become a fan favorite was one against Lopez in 2011. Even though Vargas had a few good wins then, his fight against Lopez was a remarkable one and he came out with a split decision win at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the same night that Mayweather knocked out Victor Ortiz. Also, this was his first time as part of a pay-per-view event. This got the attention of fans, who had closely kept an eye on his career ever since. ' ' '