NU scrimmage leaves Cats clawing for more in the fall

Beyond battles for starting spots, good passes, nice runs andsolid stops, Northwestern coach Randy Walker was on the lookout forsomething much more subtle during the team's spring football drills,which concluded with Saturday's scrimmage at Ryan Field.

"I saw no sense of complacency, and I was looking hard for it,hoping I'd find it, so I could get them," said Walker, worried thatwinning four of the last six games and a Motor City Bowl trip lastyear might translate into a less hungry spring squad. "But I didn'tsee it. I saw some real good things taking place for our footballteam, and I think it's going to serve us well."

Walker has high hopes for this season and has …

Vegetation Survey of Dean Hills Nature Preserve, Fayette County, Illinois

ABSTRACT

A study of the vegetation of Dean Hills Nature Preserve in Fayette County, Illinois was undertaken to document the composition and structure of the vascular flora and to provide information for land management decisions. A total of 313 species in 85 families and 204 genera were collected at the 30-hectare preserve which occurs on a glacial kame and has a rugged ridge and ravine topography. Mature mesic and dry-mesic forest covers much of the preserve. The canopy is dominated by white oak (Quercus alba), red oak (Quercus rubra), and sugar maple (Acer saccharum). Data suggest that sugar maple is regenerating more successfully than the oaks. This same result has been found in …

Futsal: Italy beats Russia 2-1 to clinch 3rd place

Saad Assis scored the winning goal with just 13 seconds left Saturday for Italy to beat Russia 2-1 and clinch the bronze medal at the Futsal World Cup.

Adriano Foglia put Italy 1-0 up in the sixth minute, but Konstantin Dushkevich equalized for Russia in the 25th minute.

However, Assis scored with time just about up.

Later Saturday, Brazil …

Blitz on speeding motorists

Speeding drivers in the Cheddar Valley are being warned thatpolice will be cracking down against offenders from this week, in anattempt to lower the amount of accidents during the festive season.

It's ahead of a new series of speed education courses startingfrom December 5.

Drivers caught flouting the 30mph limits in Winscombe, Wedmoreand other communities will be ordered to attend a course to learnfrom their mistakes, rather than being taken to court, fined andbeing given three penalty points.

Churchill, Cheddar and Wedmore parish council have heard regularreports of speeding drivers in their patches.

Cheddar's Draycott Road, Mark's …

Packers puzzled winners Bears' conservative strategy big mystery, but nobody in Green Bay is complaining

GREEN BAY, Wis.--The Bears' game plan was simple Sunday. Realsimple.

It was, uh ... what was it exactly?

"They're the Bears," Green Bay Packers cornerback Mike McKenziesaid after spending three hours analyzing the Bears' offense andtrying to stop it.

Yes, that's the team's name. But what were they doing?

"Uh," McKenzie said, "I don't really know what they were doing.Whatever it was, it didn't work."

The Bears lost 17-7 at Lambeau Field, managing only 189 yards oftotal offense. Their most successful play? An incomplete 24-yard passin the third quarter on which McKenzie was called for passinterference. That led to the Bears' touchdown.

Other …

Syrian troops storm areas near capital of Damascus

BEIRUT (AP) — In dozens of tanks and armored vehicles, Syrian troops stormed rebellious areas near the capital Sunday, shelling neighborhoods that have fallen under the control of army dissidents and clashing with fighters. At least 62 people were killed in violence nationwide, activists and residents said.

The widescale offensive near the capital suggested the regime is worried that military defectors could close in on Damascus, which has remained relatively quiet while most other Syrian cities descended into chaos after the uprising began in March.

The rising bloodshed added urgency to Arab and Western diplomatic efforts to end the 10-month conflict.

The violence has …

'Glee' star Lea Michele to perform at Super Bowl

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — "Glee" star Lea Michele will sing "America the Beautiful" before the Super Bowl on Feb. 6 in Texas.

It will be the seventh time the song has been performed at the Super Bowl.

The Golden Globes-nominated singer and actress from the Fox musical comedy will join a list of "America …