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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Rose Yeboah of the Illinois women’s track and field team will represent Ghana on Sunday in the high jump finals at the World Championships in Tokyo.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Congrats to Kodey McKinney of the St. Joseph-Ogden football team and Reis McFarland of the Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin volleyball team. The duo is our latest high school Athletes of the Week, powered by Copper Creek Contractors. Read more about the pair in Tuesday’s News-Gazette.
➜ 2. Illinois women’s track and field high jumping standout Rose Yeboah qualified for the finals at the World Championships on Thursday in Tokyo. She is the first high jumper from Ghana to reach the finals after she cleared 6 feet, 3 1/2 inches. Yeboah competes again on Sunday.
➜ 3. Illinois women’s golfer Alexis Myers is the Big Ten’s Women’s Golfer of the Week and Freshman of the Week after winning the Badger Invitational on Tuesday.
Bismarck-Henning graduate Dylan Dodd has pitched well out of the bullpen for the Braves in the last month entering Friday night’s series opener in Detroit against the Tigers.
Numbers game: 2.46
earned run average by Braves reliever and Bismarck-Henning graduate Dylan Dodd since his latest promotion to the big leagues on Aug. 22. The 27-year-old left-hander has not allowed a run in seven of his last eight appearances entering the start of Friday night’s three-game road series against the Tigers. For the season, Dodd has a 0-0 record in 25 appearances with a 3.34 ERA in 32 1/3 innings pitched. He has struck out 29 and walked just four.
From left, Illini volleyball players Kayla Burbage and Averie Hernandez, along with Illinois volleyball coach Chris Tamas, share a laugh on stage during ‘The News-Gazette Sports Page,’ radio show on WDWS 1400-AM and 93.9-FM at the Esquire in downtown Champaign on Monday evening.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Iowa State at Illinois volleyball. The Illini (4-3) host the Cyclones (8-1) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in their home opener at Huff Hall. Iowa State will get familiar with Huff at 6 p.m. Friday when it hosts Eastern Illinois (6-2) before the Panthers and Illini meet at 1 p.m. Sunday.
➜ 2. Illinois at Ohio State men’s basketball. The Big Ten opener for the Illini happens on Dec. 9 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio after the 20-game conference schedule was revealed Thursday.
➜ 3. Indiana at Illinois women’s basketball. The Big Ten opener for the Illini is on Dec. 6 — the same day as the Big Ten football championship game — at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Dylan Graves Tuscola football media day, at the N-G on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
Ask an athlete
Three questions with Tuscola senior Dylan Graves, who competes in football, basketball and track and field for the Warriors:
➜ 1. Three athletes I’d like to have dinner with are … Michael Jordan, Caleb Williams and Ryne Sandberg.
➜ 2. The TV show I most like to binge-watch is … “The Office.”
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … when someone doesn’t give 100 percent effort while competing.
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