I’ve seen some seniors come through this place and use this space to write a long, sap-infested column about how they were grateful to cover Eastern sports. Other DEN staffers write about how they were grateful to cover the athletes hidden behind the nooks and crannies of this bagel-bound corner of central Illinois.

That’s not my style.

I’m grateful to have the opportunity to cover Panther athletics, but I earned it. I’m thankful for many of the people in the athletic department. But why focus on them? They know who they are.

To have success after attending Eastern is to be an underdog. Employers pick graduates who attended the University of Illinois and Northwestern and figure they know what they’ll get. No doubt some uncertainty exists when an employer hires an Eastern grad, simply because the employer might not know the school.

That’s their loss.

Here’s my salute and/or gripe go to the countless underdogs on campus.

Jan Thompson: He’ll forever be known as Eastern’s man with the golden 2-foot shooting touch. After all, he drained the two-footer sealing Eastern’s status as a 2001 NCAA Tournament team, err, wait, that was a goaltending call.

Would the shot have fallen? We’ll never know, but we do know Thompson carries the ability to set a pick on his mom and Panther fans should always love him for that. He has the ability to always carry great position near the hoop. In other words, he stands around a lot.

Bob Spoo and Rick Samuels: These two come from the same type of cloth. Both are old-guard coaches who turn not-quite-ready-for-the-big-time prospects into key players each year at the blink of an eye.

As long as they can keep a core of young assistant coaches around who can stay in touch with today’s style of players, they’ll be at Eastern for as long as health will allow.

Athletes who don’t make Page 12: Only so many issues come out each year and because Eastern fields enough sports to make the Goodwill Games blush, the DEN staff can only put so many out front.

Keep griping about lack of coverage because everyone knows that’s why athletes play the games – for media attention. Or at least, that’s what nationally-recognized players show us. College players are no different as the letters to the editor page routinely shows.

Women’s basketball: Director of Athletics Rich McDuffie said the athletic department would look into spending more money on the Panther basketball programs.

If he knows what’s good for the sports, he’ll spend the money to find a better women’s basketball coach. In her tenure at Eastern, Linda Wunder did nothing but show she was past her prime.

The team’s biggest problem is motivation. It can’t play in the second half and struggles to hold the lead in the first. Look no further than Wunder for blame.

Spend the money and don’t miss out on wondering how many wins could’ve come if Wunder wasn’t here.

Oh Henry and Tony Romo: Don’t screw up.

If both overcome all the odds only to wind up in a police blotter or Atlanta strip club controversy, Eastern’s reputation would be damaged beyond repair. Hopefully the two talented, strong character-type guys realize they carry more than their own future when they parlay their talent to the professional level.

Superstars from Eastern are a different kind than anywhere else in the nation. A great player from Eastern must have a great work ethic. Nothing gets handed out to them the way a blue-chip athlete gets prime treatment at a top college.

Domercant and Romo had better not lose sight of what got them to where they are. To do that would be a death sentence.