Shimkus wearing UIS baseball uniform in Congressional Baseball Game

U.S. Congressman John Shimkus of Collinsville will take the mound at Nationals Park when congressional Republicans square off with their Democratic counterparts at 6:05 Central time Tuesday night.

He'll be trying to exorcise the demons from his last outing, when Republican members of Congress fell to Democrats 15-10 in 2009.

Shimkus, 52, who pitched junior varsity for West Point, said lawmakers take the seven-inning game seriously. "This isn't pansy ball," he said. "We're playing the best ball we can at our age. It's bragging rights for the whole year."

Shimkus will wear the uniform of the University of Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars, who debut next spring.

The game was featured in a June 29, 2010, article in the Chicago Tribune.

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It's official: Gamble, UIS bid farewell

The University of Illinois Springfield and Kevin Gamble made official Gamble’s resignation as head basketball coach on Monday.

Gamble will be taking over a position with NCAA Division I Providence College in Providence, R.I., as the director of player development and video operations. Gamble, who was a member of Lanphier’s 1983 Class AA state championship basketball team and had an 11-year career in the NBA, was the first basketball coach in the fledgling UIS program.

“We thank Kevin for all he has done for UIS and the Springfield community,” UIS Director of Athletics Dr. Rodger Jehlicka said in a statement. “We want our coaches to achieve their goals both personally and professionally and coaching at the Division I level has always been one of Kevin’s dreams. We wish Kevin nothing but success and his family the best as they move east.”

Gamble was 130-79 as the Prairie Stars’ head coach and oversaw the program’s development from NAIA to NCAA Division II.

The news was featured in a June 29, 2010, article in The State Journal-Register.

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UIS' Gamble takes job at Providence

Kevin Gamble, the only coach the University of Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars men’s basketball team has ever had, said Sunday he has accepted the director of player development position at NCAA Division I Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island.

Providence will announce the move today, according to Gamble.

Gamble, a Lanphier High School graduate, took charge of UIS’ new men’s basketball program in 2000. His career record at the NCAA Division II school was 130-79. The 2009-10 team was 11-13 overall and 7-11 in its first season competing in Division II and the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

UIS left the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and American Midwest Conference in 2009. Under Gamble, UIS won the AMC tournament during the 2005-06 season and advanced to the NAIA national tournament where it lost in the first round.

Gamble's decision was featured in a June 28, 2010, article in The State Journal-Register.

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