For the second year in a row, Uni boys JV and Varsity basketball will be participating in Coaches vs. Cancer, a nationwide effort by the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches to raise money to help find a cure for cancer.

Uni began the 2010-11 chess season with 58-0 victories over Stanford-Olympia and Mahomet-Seymour Thursday night. The team's next match is against Urbana High School on Nov. 18. In the future, Uni looks to improve upon their performance at last year's state competition.

About 220 Uni volunteers will participate in the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon on Saturday. Most of them will be involved in cleanup efforts, but several students will be running the half or full marathon. Check inside to discover how Uni High plans to give back to the Champaign-Urbana running community.

Baseball is a game you may have associated with senior Chris Yoder during his time at Uni. But why? What's the appeal of a game with so little action? Now that Opening Day has arrived, Chris explains baseball — the questions that drive the game (and its pauses), why it attracts its fans, and how the sport makes him sit on the edge of his seat and smile.

After losing five seniors from last year's state championship team, the Uni High chess team entered the IHSA state tournament last month as the 16th seed. Though they finished the weekend in 14th place, the team still managed to win the award for top small school. Senior Daniel Cheng, who went undefeated, offers his reflections on his final state chess tournament.

This week, people throughout the country have been going online, printing out brackets, filling them out, and putting them into potlucks before the men's tournament begins today. Will Fernandez, lifelong fan of all things hoops, has been no exception. Check inside to match wits with the OG's resident bracketologist.

Last month, Uni High joined in the fight against cancer by joining Coaches vs. Cancer, a nationwide effort by American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches to raise money to help find a cure for cancer. The result was a Uni success story: $2,200 was raised for the American Cancer Society's research efforts.

[UPDATED with final results.] Speedskater Jonathan Kuck (Uni '07) will compete this week in the Winter Olympics, representing the United States in the 10,000-meter race Tuesday and the team pursuit event Friday (quarters and semis) and Saturday (finals). Despite his busy schedule, he recently spoke with the Gargoyle via e-mail. Check inside for a preview of Jonathan's big week.

Although Uni has lost five players from its 2009 state champion team, this year's squad is optimistic about its chances of successfully defending the title. Team member Danny Ge, a veteran of last year's championship run, previews this weekend's IHSA tournament action.

This past Saturday ESPN's basketball College Gameday crew arrived on campus to get the Illini fans ready for their team's big game against the Michigan State Spartans, who were at the time ranked fifth in the nation. Will Fernandez was at Assembly Hall to take in the sights and sounds of one of the best student crowds in the country.

Back in April 2005, when this article was first published in the print edition of the Gargoyle, who knew that a future Olympian was walking the halls of Uni High? Well, actually, judging from this story, quite a few people did. Take a trip in time as we profile the speedskater as a young man — Jonathan Kuck back when he was a Uni student.

Jonathan Kuck (Uni '07) is in the stretch run of preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and the spotlight has been turned his way. The speedskater is featured in today's New-Gazette in a major profile. Check inside for an article excerpt and link as the OG begins coverage of Kuck's quest for Olympic gold.

(FEB. 2 UPDATE: T-shirt sales for this event have raised more than $1,000.) The Uni High boys basketball team is stepping up for the first time in the Coaches vs. Cancer movement, planning to make the Feb. 11 home game against Normal Calvary one to remember. Among the highlights: sales of commemorative T-shirts designed by Uni senior Eddie Diazmunoz, a 50/50 ticket raffle, and a halftime shootout.

As part of his research on Uni's low student fan support, OG reporter Will Fernandez spoke to student athletes to find out what it means to them to be cheered on by their classmates. But instead of putting those comments into his article, he decided to create a video featuring the athletes in their own words. Check out the results here.

Go to almost any Uni home athletic event, and chances are that the opposing team will have as many or more fans than the Illineks do. What can be done to encourage more Uni fan attendance? As Spirit Week '10 rolls on, OG reporter Will Fernandez tackles that question and looks at some possible solutions.