A slow week in sports leads to a slow week in content. But here we are, Sunday evening, and we’re going to try and squeeze some life out of the week that was in sports in this week’s Sunday State of Mind.

Some big changes afoot for Illinois football
Lovie Smith has been fired, his number’s been called
Seventeen wins in five years at the school
That’ll get you fired, and back in the job search pool

Another head coach fired, Auburn’s Guz Malzahn
After a 6-4 season, he’s now Guz Malz-gone
He brought the Tigers to the title game in 2013
But now the curtain has closed, end of scene

The NBA preseason returned this week
It’s still worth watching for basketball geeks
Doesn’t it seem like the offseason was incredibly short?
Everything’s weird and off schedule in this world of sports