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Sports

Oakland U. says itfired women'scoach for cause

ROCHESTER, Mich. (AP)— Oakland Universitysays women's basketballcoach Beckie Francis wasfired for cause earlier thismonth.The school released astatement Friday sayingFrancis' conduct and be-havior in April led to aninternal review in Maywhen she was sus-pended without pay. Itdid not provide any de-tails about her allegedconduct or the review.Francis declined com-ment Friday.Last week, her husband,Gary Russi, announcedhis retirement as presi-dent of the 19,000-stu-dent suburban Detroituniversity on the sameday Francis was relievedof her duties.

COLLEGECHATTER

IN THEKNOWCompany plansNotre Damecologne,perfume for fans

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP)— The smell of NotreDame doesn't comecheap.University licensing Di-rector Michael Low tellsthe South Bend Tribunethat that the CloudbreakGroup is working withSteiner Collectibles todevelop the fragrances.Low says ND Gold EauDe Toilette for men andLady Irish Eau De Par-fum will be available thisfall, with 3.4-ounce bot-tles expected to retailfor $62.Low says Notre Dameencourages its licensingpartners to develop in-novative products ofhigh quality that are notcommonly available.The Sports BusinessDaily first reported onthe Notre Dame fra-grance line earlier thisweek. It reported thatCloudbreak has built theYankees scent into abrand worth more than$10 million since rollingit out last spring.

PRO SPORTS, B2

Standings,schedules andscores

HEAT REPEAT, B3

Miami topsSan Antonio

TV BESTBET

SATURDAY

NHL

7 P.M.NBC — Playoffs, finals, game 5,Boston at Chicago

SUNDAY

BASEBALL

7 P.M.ESPN — Texas at St. Louis

MONDAY

HOCKEY

7 P.M.NBC — Playoffs, finals, game 6,Chicago at Boston

INSIDE TODAY

QUOTE OF NOTE

"I know I enjoy playing in games that mean a lot. I enjoy the big stage. Ithink we have a lot of players in this room that do that and that's the reasonwhy we keep getting back here."

Chicago Blackhawk Patrick Sharp, who leads the NHL with 10 playoff goals

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? INFORMATION? Contact Sports Editor Scott Holland at sholland@mcdonoughvoice.com or (309) 833-2114.

www.mcdonoughvoice.com � The Voice � Saturday, June 22, 2013

MONMOUTH COLLEGEMEDIA SERVICES

MONMOUTH – MitchTanney’s abilities off thefield -- rather than whatthe former MonmouthCollege quarterback dis-played in action -- werethe deciding factors in himlanding a job this weekwith the Chicago Bears.Tanney, who graduated

summa cum laude in2006 with degrees in mathand Spanish, was hired tofill the Bears’ newly-createdposition of director of an-alytics. He will be in chargeof analyzing and breakingdown data to give theBears the best options ineach situation for everyplayer.In other words, Tanney

will be compiling theequivalent of baseball’ssabermetrics. While he’llnever take a snap, Tanneywill be calling the signalsto some degree on Sundayafternoons. The Bears willuse Tanney’s reports forindividual game situations,scouting and player de-velopment.The older brother of re-

cent Monmouth standoutAlex Tanney, Mitch led theFighting Scots to a Mid-west Conference title andtheir first NCAA playoffappearance in 2005. Hisacademic and athleticbackground made himuniquely qualified for theposition.“There are very few peo-

ple who have a competitivefootball background likeMitch does at a key deci-sion-making position aswell as the math back-ground he has and the ex-perience in this field,” saidBears general managerPhil Emery. “What you’retrying to do is figure outthe probability of successof taking the chance ornot taking the chance interms of a successful out-come not only in that givensituation but what it couldmean in terms of the over-all game.”Tanney experienced

plenty of success on thefield. As a senior he setthe NCAA record for com-pletion percentage (73.6)on his way to a 19-2 record.In 2005, he was named afinalist for the prestigiousGagliardi Trophy.After playing for various

arena league teams fol-lowing his career at Mon-mouth, Tanney earned hisMBA from the Universityof Iowa and had been themanager of football prod-ucts and sports analyticsfor STATS LLC. Amonghis duties at STATS, Tan-ney performed historicalresearch and comparisondata projects.Tanney becomes the sec-

ond Fighting Scot to landa high-level position withthe Bears. Ken Geiger, a1953 Monmouth graduate,was a scout with the Bearswhen they won the SuperBowl in 1985.

FormerScot QBTanneygets jobwith Bears

WESTERN ILLINOISMEDIA SERVICES

MACOMB - Reachingthe ultimate goal in lifebrings with it highs andlows. One must have thestrength to handle anyadversity that comestheir way. Ceola ClarkIII continues to reachfor the ultimate goal ofplaying in the NBA, af-ter having to overcomeadversity during his six-year career at WesternIllinois University.The next step in

reaching that goal hasbeen accomplished.Clark has signed on toplay professional bas-ketball with Sigal Pr-ishtina in Kosovo.“(Sigal Prishtina) gave

me a guaranteed con-tract which is rare for arookie overseas,” Clarksaid.Ahmet Kandemir is

the head coach of theteam that plays in theKosovo Basketball SuperLeague and the BalkanLeague.“(Kandemir) speaks

real highly of me andthinks he can turn meinto a NBA player in afew years,” Clark said.The professional

dream was dealt a largeblow at the end of hisfinal season as a Leath-erneck. Driving into thelane against NorthDakota State in thesemifinals of the Sum-mit League Tournament,Clark tore his ACL.

It was a gruesome mo-ment for those watch-ing, but Clark was un-deterred from letting itaffect his future in pro-fessional basketball.“I’ve been going to the

Illinois Bone and JointInstitute, they are reallygood with high-profileathletes, and said theyhaven’ t seen anyonewith an ACL that hasbeen so far ahead ofschedule,” Clark said.The injury occurred

on March 11, and if therehab continues to goas well as it has, hecould be back on thecourt by the end of Au-gust.“I started running two

weeks ago, there is noprojected date, buthopefully I can be backon the court at the endof August,” Clark said.“But, I’m not going torush it. I’ ll have to seewhat the doctors say andif it feels right mentally,”he added.The path to signing a

professional contract be-gan with finding anagent. He eventuallyhired Eamon Walsh ofLee Basketball Services.Clark drew interest fromteams in Austria andFrance before landingwith Sigal Prishtina.“Kosovo was the best

offer for me to play in ahigh league,” Clark said.“The Balkan League isone of the top leaguesoverseas,” he added.Sigal Prishtina won

the league champi-onship in six consecutiveseasons from 2005-2010. Playing overseaswill be much differentthan playing with theLeathernecks, howevera few of his formerteammates at Westernhave helped Clark in hisjourney.“I’ve been talking with

David Jackson andLouis Johnson (aboutplaying overseas), it ’sgreat to have those guysthat you’ve played withhelp you out and getready to pursue mydream,” Clark said.Physicality will be the

biggest difference in thegame for Clark.“I’m coming in at 24

(years old) against guysthat are five, six, andseven years (older) thathave professional expe-rience,” Clark said.Clark’s best friend and

former Northwesternpoint guard MichaelThompson has also giv-en him advice. “I’ve been talking to

him about the game andthe things that I needto be conscious of overthere,” Clark said. Thompson has spent

two seasons playing inFrance.Clark certainly expe-

rienced ups and downsat Western. The Gurnee,Illinois native redshirtedhis freshman season,2007-08. That team fin-ished 12-18. Losing sea-sons followed for the

next three years.“I’ve been through

every situation you canthink of,” Clark said. “Aninjury at the start of theseason (2010-11), goingthrough a rebuilding (ofthe program), coachingchanges, and adversity.” The Leathernecks

bounced back from a 7-23 season in 2010-11 toreach the SummitLeague Tournamentchampionship in 2011-12. “I know how it feels

to be at the bottom andto work your way to thetop,” Clark said.Clark wrapped up his

Leathernecks careerwinning a regular sea-son Summit Leaguechampionship in 2012-13. The title-clinchingwin came at WesternHall in front of morethan 5,000 fans.“The atmosphere we

had there with all thefans was awesome,”Clark said. “The way westarted at Western beingpicked last in the con-ference to now endingmy (senior) year win-ning a conference cham-pionship.” Now it’s on to a dream

of playing in the NBA,but the next chapter willbe set in Kosovo.“(Sigal Prishtina) will

be looking for me to stepright in and play, theylove my game and it’sgoing to be a great situ-ation,” Clark said. “I’mvery excited,.”

Clark’s professional career begins in Kosovo

SCOTT HOLLAND/THE VOICE

Western Illinois guard Ceola Clark III dribbles the ball up the floor from a game this last March. Clark an-nounced he was signing a professional contract to play basketball in Kosovo.

GOING PRO

CHICAGO (AP) — MattGarza pitched into theninth inning and AnthonyRizzo hit his first homerun since May 18 to leadthe Chicago Cubs over theHouston Astros 3-1 on Fri-day after a rain delay thatlasted more than 3 hours.Darwin Barney and

Scott Hairston also home-red for the Cubs.The subject of trade

speculation, Garza (2-1)allowed four hits andstruck out eight in eight-plus innings for his firstwin since beating Arizonaon May 31.Garza, who threw seven

scoreless innings Sundayin a no-decision againstthe Mets, walked Jose Al-tuve to begin the ninthand was replaced by KevinGregg, who earned his 11thsave in 11 tries.Chris Carter broke up

Garza's shutout bid witha leadoff homer in the sev-

enth. Carter's 15th homerun was a sharp line driveto right-center.Rizzo, who entered in a

4-for-40 slump, finishedwith two hits after the startwas delayed by rain for 3hours, 18 minutes. Thefirst baseman agreed to a$41 million, seven-year

contract on May 13 andhas struggled since thedeal, hitting .200 with onehome run and 11 RBIs.Barney was a triple short

of the cycle for Chicago,which had lost four of fiveand scored 11 runs in its

Garza pitches into 9th, Cubs beat Astros 3-1

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