Football ranked 14th

The Street & Smith FCS preseason poll picked the Eastern Illinois football team to finish 14th this season. In addition, the Panthers were also picked to finish first in the OVC. The rankings were announced earlier this week. This lasting ranking becomes the third Eastern has received by a preseason publication so far and is also the highest. Lindy’s magazine and the online publication

AnyGivenSaturday.com each picked EIU to finish 19th this year. Donald Thomas, a senior linebacker, was named preseason All-American by Street & Smith last month after earning Ohio Valley Conference Defender of the Year and leading the Panthers with 127 tackles. This year the Panthers will be looking to win their third straght OVC championship. The team will feature 15 returning starters including eight on a defensive unit that ranked number one in the country in turnovers gained with 36.

Following EIU in the preseason OVC rankings are Tennessee Martin, Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State. National champions Appalachian State was picked as the favorite for a repeat as they go for their third straight national championship. Following Appalachian State in the national rankings was Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota State and Northern Iowa. Illinois State was ranked 8 and will play EIU on September 15. Eastern will host Tennessee Tech at 6 p.m. at O’Brien Stadium on Thursday, August 30 to kick off the 2007 season. The game will be the first time Eastern will open the season with a conference game as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Eastern alum arrested at Wrigley field

The man who now faces charges for charging onto Wrigley Field during the ninth inning of last Monday’s game was recently identified as EIU alum Brent Kowalkoski of Elmwood Park. After Howry surrendered a three-run home run giving the Rockies a 9-8 lead, Kowalkoski jumped onto the field and ran towards the mound from the first-base line. He was brought down by Anton Migursky, a Wrigley Field security guard, before he could reach Howry and was removed from the field. After his arrest Kowalkoski was charged with illegal conduct within spots facilities, a misdemeanor, and is scheduled to appear in court on July 26.