When it comes to Bradley basketball it seems to be good news, bad news.

GOOD NEWS is new Bradley coach Geno Ford was able to retain Jalen Crawford, recruited by the fired Jim Les. The talented guard from Detroit played last year at a prep school in Las Vegas and still plans to attend Bradley.

BAD NEWS is Coach Ford could not salvage the highly sought guard from Louisville, Kentucky, Remy Abell. Abell had committed to Bradley last year, but now has defaulted after learning of the firing of Les. Folks, this is really very bad news for Bradley. Sources tell me Abell is one of the best talents to consider Bradley since Danny Granger and Hersey Hawkins.

Here are some other good and bad news from the Hilltop, all based on rumors from people close to the university.

One source told me that Geno Ford was not the first choice and perhaps not even second or third for replacing Jim Les. The job was reportedly offered to the basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. He said no and reportedly two others rejected Bradley offers contrary to what the Bradley athletic director announced. Further, Ford first turned the Bradley offer down until the “pot was sweetened.”

Meanwhile, attorneys for fired Coach Les and legal counsel for Bradley have finally agreed to talk after weeks of silence from the Bradley side. The discussions are reportedly as friendly as those in the Middle East. Les wants full compensation for his termination claim sources.

There are a number of stories about the apparent declining relations between Les and Bradley president Joanne Glasser over a variety of subjects. Despite appeals from well-heeled and connected donors to save the coach’s job with threats of halting donations to the school, Glasser remained adamant about dumping Les. It should be added, others were as strong in supporting Glasser’s decision. These are rumors and just rumors and could not be verified.

COMING SOON!

Look for a new and refreshing sound for Peoria radio. WOAM-AM 1350 is planning to return to the air under ownership of the Larry Nelson family based in Plano, Illinois. No strangers to broadcasting, the Nelsons own a number of radio stations. They’re planning a distinctive and unmet programming format for central Illinois listeners.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting three of the four members of the family and it has been a delight. The last time I met station owners as pleasant and down-to-earth as Larry Nelson, his wife Pam, and son Doug, was years ago when Howard “Fritz” Frederick and Bob Frudeger managed WIRL. I can’t tell you what kind of sound you can expect, but I can reveal they want the station and its staff to be involved in the community. The station will not be located at 3641 Meadowbrook Road where Kelly Communications operated. As this column was being written, Nelson was finalizing a new site for station operations.

SPEAKING OF LOCAL RADIO

You can always tell when Arbitron is in town surveying radio stations. Primarily, the JMP radio stations, WMBD, WSWT, The Drive, The Wolf, are holding cash giveaways as a way of attracting listeners and thus higher ratings. It then raises the question, is the survey really accurate in measuring actual listener preferences?

And the last I heard, only the JMP stations buy survey results. Hmmm.

CITY COUNCIL ELECTION

Congratulations to those elected and re-elected to the Peoria City Council. As predicted, Chuck Weaver, Ryan Spain, Gary Sandberg, and Eric Turner were voter favorites. The big surprise was Beth Akeson beating Chuck Grayeb. Akeson had recently run for District 150 School Board and finished last in a three person contest while Grayeb was an experienced and popular member of the City Council from 1995 to 2007. Grayeb, while disappointed, said voters north of War Memorial Drive turned out and supported their choices, noting that four of the five winners all live in that area of the city.

Just about everyone agrees, cumulative voting is a disaster and should be eliminated. The only one who doesn’t is Donald Jackson, who helped bring the ridiculous voting arrangement to Peoria.

While Grayeb had the vocal support of fire, police, and teacher unions, that didn’t translate into any advantage. It appears the local unions are as impotent as Hugh Hefner and as financially reliable as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Consider two other recent elections. County Board member Bud Sous, a union member, was defeated for re-election by Rachel Parker and former Peoria County Board member Jeff Lickiss lost in his bid for District 150 School Board. Both, I’m told, had union support. Maybe it’s best if candidates for public office avoid union endorsements. It could be the kiss of defeat and worse than endorsement by the Peoria Journal.

ANOTHER MISS

While I missed only one prediction in the council race, I also missed where Peoria High principal Randy Simmons was headed. Close to retirement, Simmons moves from Central to Von Steuben. That will be like going from Detroit to Sun City. I thought he would wind up at Richwoods for his last two years.

What is exciting about the changes in the Peoria school district is the appointment of Brett Elliott as Simmons’ replacement at Central. Elliott has been serving as assistant principal at Roosevelt. At one time, Elliott was assistant basketball coach at Richwoods. He is the son of well-known comedian Royce Elliott who came home from 3rd grade at Irving School with 4 “F’s” and a “D” on his report card. His Dad told him he was spending too much time on one subject.

DON’T BE SURPRISED

Okay, so I missed a couple of predictions. Here’s another. Look for Chuck Grayeb and C.J. Summers to oppose the re-election of Gary Sandberg’s former wife, Barbara VanAuken for District 2 City Council. That will make for an interesting race.

IMAX OVERKILL

I’m not sure why the hyperventilating over news the downtown museum will not include an IMAX Theater. With all of the amazing technological advances in theater projection, it stands to reason logical people would consider other possible options. Besides, the theater at the Shoppes at Grande Prairie is going to have an IMAX. Why compete with them? I did some research on this subject last year and noted in this column that the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa, opted not to go the IMAX route. Instead they chose Immersion Theater with 3D sights and 4D special effects including dramatic sound, wind, mist, seat movement and smells. Tickets to see such films as “Turtle Vision” and “The World of Sharks” are a low $6.00. Interestingly, a visitor to the museum said the only thing he enjoyed was the IMAX Theater, which it isn’t.

NEWS TALK

Let’s see if I have this right over the alleged swingers club. Gary Sandberg said the proposed city ordinance was an over-reach for consenting adults. So is prostitution and smoking pot. Supporting Sandberg, not surprisingly, was PJS columnist Phil Luciano.

The ordinance passed with only Sandberg voting no.

I fell out of my chair when I saw Democrat Peoria County Board member Allen Mayer speaking at the public hearing on the redrawing of district boundaries. Mayer was calling for two Congressional districts. Now this is the guy who helped redraw county districts with fellow Democrat Sharon Kennedy. County District 9 was redrawn with a Democrat voting majority which helped Mayer to get elected.

Can you believe it? As if owning General Motors, now referred to as Government Motors, isn’t enough, the Obama administration is now practicing medicine. Using taxpayer money, the television channels are filled with advice for men about what tests they should be having. I thought that was the job of physicians not Washington bureaucrats. Besides, you can’t just walk into a doctor’s office and demand this test or that one anymore than you can walk into a hospital and demand to be admitted. The new slogan for the 2012 presidential race will be, “Bend over for Obama.” I wish the Obama administration would quit wasting taxpayer monies, especially after achieving the highest deficit in the history of this country.

IT’S EARLY, BUT…

I know the baseball season just started, but as a long suffering Cub fan it appears it’s going to be another ho hum season. I’ve said it before and will continue to say it until a major change is made; the Cubs will win nothing as long as Jim Hendry remains as general manager. He’s made more bad trades and spent more money than any other Cub GM and has nothing to show for it beyond a left fielder who can’t field and a right fielder who can’t hit and a pitching staff that can’t pitch. On top of that Hendry ignored the many Ryne Sandberg years of loyalty by hiring Mike Quade. How many Cub fans would go see Sandberg versus who? And it was Hendry who ignored Joe Girardi for “Sweet Lou” Piniella who was anything but sweet when it came to winning.

STRAIGHT THOUGHTS

The naming and dedication of the new Bob Michel Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic was a fitting tribute to the former Peorian. No one, save perhaps Bob Dole, has a more extensive record to his country as a veteran and public servant. Though slowed by age, the Michel infectious smile and effervescent personality were ever present and most welcome to friends and acquaintances. Congratulations and thank you Bob Michel for your service.

The PJS story about the dedication, written by Karen McDonald, was about as poor as Danielle Hatch’s account of Elton John’s concert. The quality of writing at the newspaper is like its declining revenues.

Hats off to Morton resident, Cathy Reynolds, for her latest CD, “Let It Shine.” This lovely woman has dedicated her career to singing the praises of our Lord and has won numerous national awards while doing so. Sadly, with close to 25 radio stations in the area, none has a format or policy to promote local talent. None.

I hate to visit the national political scene. However, like everyone else, I have opinions. I receive numerous letters from charitable organizations that exist to support our veterans, including those providing medical and financial services. I’m proud to say I give to Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, Help Hospitalized Veterans, Adopt-A-Platoon, Vets First and others. I don’t understand why these organizations even have to exist The federal government should be providing support for our veterans first before funding Planned Parenthood, AARP, NPR, PBS, the National Endowment for the Arts, etc. The fact that taxpayers fund the TV appearance of “Big Bird” over wounded vets is absurd. Our Congressional funding priorities are screwed up.

QUOTES OF THE MONTH

“God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.” -Jewish proverb

“A man never sees all that his mother has been to him until it’s too late to let her know that he sees it.” -W.D. Howells