Chicago Sports

Ashley Kj?s took the day off work Monday.

Rather than suiting up for the office, Ashley suited up for the pub; instead of a coffee, he held a beer; and instead of a computer screen, his eyes were on a flatscreen TV in a Near West Side pub.

He was among dozens packed inside The Embassy, 1435 W. Taylor St. in Little Italy on Monday afternoon to watch the U.S. play Wales in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“I’m here to root for the US team,” said Kj?s, who was wearing a blue team jersey. His wife raised her eyebrows. A friend shook his head.

“But I follow a bunch of the Welsh players,” he added, explaining several players from his favorite professional team, Swansea City, were on Wales.

It was the opening match for both teams.

The half-avowed Welsh supporter was alone in a bar among fans wearing red, white and blue.

Almost all of fans gathered Monday admitted to some reservations to watching the popular game’s signature tournament this year, which has been mired in controversy over Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers and stance on LGBTQ rights.

“I don’t feel great about it,” said Ryan Fischer, 25, a University of Illinois physical therapy student who went to watch the game with her fiance and a classmate.

“You’re stuck in a situation where you want to watch, but it’s hard to fully support with what’s going on.”

A few teams planned to wear armbands to support LGBTQ rights but decided against it after FIFA threatened to punish players, according to the Associated Press.

“I get that you might not be able to share political messages but inclusiveness, wearing a rainbow-colored armband feels like less of a political statement,” said Reid Kiger, 24, Fischer’s fiance.

Any reservations faded, at least for a little while, after Timothy Weah put the U.S. ahead in the first half, bringing the room full of cheering fans to their feet.

“When they scored that goal, I got goosebumps,” said Michael Potsic, 35, who lives in Pilsen, adding that he hadn’t been following the team closely.

“There’s just something about watching the game in a crowded sports bar that’s great,” he said.

The confidence in the room turned to anxiety when Wales tied the score on a penalty kick with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

“There’s no way that was a penalty,” a few yelled.

Kj?s, and his dual sympathies, drew hard stares from his friends.

“I should never have come here,” he said.

Michael Loria is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South and West sides.

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Court Theatre’s stark, riveting production of “The Island” begins with the sound of waves crashing — almost lulling cadences that evoke beauty and tranquility. But when the lights come up in director Gabrielle Randle-Bent’s staging, there’s no water to be seen. We’re in a scorched world of burnt umber sand and concrete slabs bleached to bone. This is Robben Island, the South African prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years incarcerated. Here, the ocean was repurposed as a prison wall.

In the first, wordless scene of the 100-minute, two-man drama by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona, we see two prisoners going through the torturous machinations of the day.

The ear-piercing blast of a whistle sets the pace as shackled convicts Winston (Ronald L. Conner) and John (Kai Ealy) are forced to run in circles and engage in pointless hard labor, shoveling sand from one place to another, sometimes carrying it in their fists. When the shackles come off, the men are pitched in a gladiatorial combat involving a massive stone: One man climbs and pushes, the other tries to avoid getting crushed.

But more than combatants or prisoners, John and Winston are brothers. Their struggle — for survival, for sanity, for keeping their dignity and holding fast to the principles that got them arrested — is compelling in Randle-Bent’s furiously paced production. Key to that struggle: The ancient Greek tragedy “Antigone,” which John and Winston are rehearsing and plan to perform for the other prisoners.

Precisely structured, “The Island” drama plays out in four scenes, each encapsulating a day in the prison, and a scene from “Antigone.”

The prisoners’ choice of a play is apt: In Sophocles’ tragedy, Antigone is sentenced to exile by King Creon for the crime of burying her brother, who challenged Creon’s rule. Antigone knows what she’s risking when she insists on burying Polynices, but can’t deny her own moral compass. When we eventually learn why John and Winston are imprisoned, the parallel between their own acts of civil disobedience and those of Antigone are impossible to miss.

The sibling bond between Antigone and Polynices highlights the brotherhood of John and Winston. The dialogue makes the friendship and iron-clad loyalty between the men readily apparent, but Randle-Bent takes it to another level entirely by giving them a silent, ritualistic handshake that is profoundly moving.

Brotherhood, tyranny, unjust incarceration, revolution — there’s much to unpack thematically in “The Island,” but Randle-Bent propels the dialogue with a clarity that shines like a knife and an urgency that can’t be denied.

“Antigone” is a tragedy and “The Island” never leaves the prison, but there’s an overarching sense of desperate optimism that permeates each play. Creativity, solidarity and honor can endure, even in places designed to crush them.

In Court’s production, that endurance is grounded in the herculean, intensely physical performances by Conner and Ealy. Movement director Jacinda Ratcliffe powers the production with grueling physicality requiring some serious athleticism. Conner and Ealy deliver it with prowess while still being wholly believable as prisoners battered within an inch of their lives.

Conner’s Winston has to be sold on playing the titular princess of “Antigone,” his reaction to his costume providing a splash of levity. Ealy’s John is compelling as a passionate, capable thespian who has not been spared many of real life’s brutalities.

Yeaji Kim’s stark set design is dominated by mounds of red sand and a crushing stone slab the men must navigate. Mostly bathed in the harsh, hot colors of fire (impactful lighting design by Jason Lynch) and sun-scoured rock, it’s an effective hellscape. When John and Winston are called to hurl shovelfuls of sand at each other, blinding ropes of red dust swirl across the stage.

In the final moments, we see Winston as Antigone and John as Creon, performing the final scene from Sophocles’ 2,500-year-old play. It’s an acute merger of worlds — the dictums of ancient Greece blending into the punishing world of Robben Island, and today, with eerie impact.

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It wasn’t the answer that every Bulls fan necessarily wanted to hear from Zach LaVine, but it was the answer the two-time All-Star gave.

Asked if he sought out some advice from veteran teammate DeMar DeRozan in the aftermath of his “difficult” late-game Friday benching, LaVine responded, “It’s not a difficult moment for me. I had a bad game. You think it’s a difficult moment? We lost a game. I didn’t have a good game, I didn’t shoot well. It’s not a difficult moment. I got to go home and see my kid. I didn’t have a difficult day.”

Honest? Likely.

The kind of statement that a leader should admit to? That’s up for interpretation.

Whether it was trading teams or going through numerous coaching changes, LaVine’s leadership skills have seemingly been a work in progress. But by all accounts, he has taken the reins in that department the last few years, and while he might not be as hands-on as DeRozan is with the younger players, he is well respected.

Coach Billy Donovan reiterated that on Monday.

“I think guys that are at Zach’s level as a player, the one thing I’ve always admitted, and I think he’s no different, is there’s always areas in the offseason that he looks and tries to get better at,” Donovan said. “One of the things I respect about him in terms of the leadership role is he doesn’t fake it. What I mean by that is try and be someone he’s not in that role. I think one of the main things in a leadership position is you’ve got to be yourself.”

That’s why Donovan and LaVine were able to move on from the coach’s decision to bench him as quickly as they have, with both speaking their minds to each other and pulling no punches.

“There’s a lot of different ways to lead, you know?” Donovan said. “Probably Tim Duncan led different than Kobe Bryant or LeBron James, they’re all different. I think the biggest thing is to be authentic, and real, and genuine, and true to who you are, and I think [LaVine] really tries to do that. I think his voice would always carry weight just because he’s being genuine and true to himself, and I think that’s always been important to him.”

As far as if LaVine did actually have that conversation with DeRozan?

“I didn’t talk to DeMar about anything like that,” LaVine said. “I went home and chilled and digested the loss and got ready for [the Saturday] practice.”

Construction site

Coby White made his return from a thigh contusion on Friday, but Donovan was only able to get him four minutes of work in that loss.

That was stretched out against Boston, but there’s no doubt that it’s going to be a slow process to get him back into the rotation on a full-time basis.

“I thought we had a good practice [Sunday], some contact, so I think that helped him a little bit,” Donovan said of White. “He’s still doing some things after practices as well.

“We certainly have to try and help get him back into the rotation, get his feet back under him. He’s still under the same thing, he’s not going to be able to go long stretches, just to be honest. They want him in these game situation to build up a little more endurance before going too many minutes and putting himself at risk.”

White was averaging just under 22 minutes per game before the injury.

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The Chicago Bears might have a different quarterback next week

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields was injured at the end of the loss to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday. The Bears quarterback was seen carted off the field following the game. Head coach Matt Eberflus said Fields would be day-to-day. It’s possible the Bears could start backup quarterback Trevor Siemian after a report revealed Fields’ injury.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Fields sustained a left shoulder dislocation. Rapoport explained that the injury could be season-ending.

That would be a disappointing development for Fields and the Bears. The Bears, especially general manager Ryan Poles, took a risk by putting out a pathetic pass-blocking offensive line. Poles got his quarterback maimed as a result.

Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy took heat for a Fields’ designed run on the final drive when the quarterback looked to be in pain. According to Adam Hoge with NBC Sports, Eberflus said Monday that the play was a miscommunication between Fields and running back David Montgomery.

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The New York Jets may be starting a new Quarterback when they face the Chicago Bears in Week 12

While the Chicago Bears have seemed to find their Quarterback of the future in Justin Fields, the New York Jets are finding themselves on the fence about their second-year Quarterback in Zach Wilson Jr.

New York lost a close game to the New England Patriots 10-3 Sunday and their offense was a mess, totaling just 104 yards of offense in defeat.

Heach Coach Robert Saleh said on Monday that Wilson is no sure thing to start against the Bears this week.

Joe Flacco is the number two quarterback on the Jets roster currently. Flacco won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens all the way back in 2013 and started the first three games of the season for the Jets, totaling 901 passing yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions. Saleh also has fellow Quarterback Mike White on the roster, and no commitment was made to either of the three.

The Jets currently have a record of 6-4 and are just one spot behind the last playoff seed in the AFC. They could look toward the veteran Flacco instead of depending on the young Wilson to win games down the stretch.

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Sunday’s game might end up being a battle between two backup quarterbacks.

Jets coach Robert Saleh told reporters Monday evening that he was “keeping everything on the table” when it comes to deciding whether or not to replace Zach Wilson for Sunday’s game against the Bears.

Saleh wouldn’t say who could take the second-year quarterback’s place. Mike White, who made three starts last year, is the Jets’ second-stringer. Third-stringer Joe Flacco, though, started the first three games of their season.

“We’ve all got to be able to sit back and look at what’s best for this organization and this team,” he said.

Wilson is coming off a disastrous showing in a 10-3 loss to the Patriots on Sunday. He went 9-for-22 for 77 yards, four sacks and a 50.8 passer rating. His postgame performance was almost as bad; he seemed to shirk responsibility by saying that he didn’t feel like he let down a Jets defense that allowed only three points.

“I don’t think it’s indicative of how he feels about his team or teammates,” Saleh said. “I don’t think he’s na?ve to the fact that the offense didn’t play to the best of their ability.”

The Jets totaled seven yards in the second half and averaged 2.1 yards per play on the game. They lost on a last-second punt return touchdown.

Wilson was the No. 2 pick of the 2021 draft in which Justin Fields was drafted 11th.

Another late hit

The Bears plan to submit film of Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett making contact with Fields after he slid on second-and-9 with 1:42 to play Sunday. There was no flag for a late hit.

“I think we’ve got to look at it,” Eberflus said. “I think that we’ve got to protect these quarterbacks — and that’s including our quarterback. We have to do a better job in the league, the total league has to do a good job of that. Again, these guys are special. All these quarterbacks are special. We’ve got to do a great job of protecting them when they are on the sideline and when they are in the open field.”

The Bears have been submitting one or two hits on Fields for league review every week, Eberflus said. But they were particularly perturbed with the non-call Sunday.

“We’re not supposed to say anything about it, you know?” defensive lineman Justin Jones said. “But it’s tough, bro. It’s tough.”

This and that

o Eberflus clarified that the Bears were forced to take a timeout after Fields was tackled out of bounds with 1:47 to play because officials stopped play due to the quarterback’s injury. Had they not taken a timeout, backup Trevor Siemian would have been forced to play one snap.

o Receiver Chase Claypool played 42 percent of the Bears’ snaps on Sunday, which ranked him third among receivers behind Darnell Mooney (81 percent) and Equanimeous St. Brown (72 percent). He had two catches on three targets for 11 yards.

o Trestan Ebner played 22 percent of the snaps in relief of the injured Khalil Herbert, while fellow running back Darrynton Evans played 3 percent of them

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Bears quarterback Justin Fields has been improving in the finer points of the passing game and showed substantial improvement on his throws for most of the Falcons game before, of course, losing it on an interception.

But the overall uptick is important in the big picture — and right now as he deals with a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury. While that affects his passing motion, it’s much more of an encumbrance to his running ability. Assuming Fields keeps playing through the pain, he’s going to be better off throwing.

Incidentally, that’s something he needs to prove he can do anyway. It’s incredibly difficult to pass in obvious passing situations, like late in games, but that’s part of the job. It’s one of the boxes Fields still hasn’t checked.

But he’s getting better, as film review of the 27-24 loss to the Falcons showed:

Mooney is money

One of the strangest parts of Fields’ early-season passing struggles was that Darnell Mooney, the only proven wide receiver on the roster, wasn’t much of a factor. But that has changed. Mooney is back where he should’ve been all along: Standing as the Bears’ top option downfield.

He had just four catches for 27 yards over the first three games, but has averaged 4.5 catches and 58.3 yards over the last eight games. He caught his first two touchdown passes in the last three games, and both were on perfect throws by Fields.

On the 16-yarder touchdown in the first quarter of the Falcons game, Equanimeous St. Brown lined up wide left and Mooney was inside, then they crossed and Falcons cornerback Dee Alford crashed into St. Brown. That sprung Mooney open by a few steps, and Fields fired a flawless pass ahead of him that he could catch without slowing down, just as he did against the Lions.

“He’s getting better and better, and he’s trusting me,” Mooney told the Sun-Times. “He throws it up there and allows me to run up under it. He was trying to hit landmarks before, but I was like, ‘Bro, don’t think about it. Let’s just do our thing. Just throw it.’ We have that type of connection now.”

That’s very encouraging for the Bears. Mooney was a 1,000-yard receiver last season and, at 25, figures to be a fixture on the team.

And the deep shot they missed on later in the first quarter was still a step in the right direction. Fields needs to take those chances, and coach Matt Eberflus loved the throw even though it sailed a few feet too far.

Overthrowing on that play is better than underthrowing, and Mooney usually has the speed to get there.

“I definitely blame that one on me,” Mooney said. “I couldn’t hit my boost … That’s a good ball. It’s on me.”

Kmet rolling

It was hard to envision the passing game clicking without Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet leading it. Kmet is finally cooking. He has 12 catches for 150 yards and four touchdowns over the last three games. He’s not Travis Kelce, but that’ll work.

He made the best catch of his career in the second quarter when Fields hit him for 24 yards in the second quarter. It was a tough one-handed grab as cornerback A.J. Terrell drilled him in the ribs as the ball arrived, and that acrobatic maneuver overshadowed the fact that it was an excellent pass by Fields to lead Kmet downfield.

“Justin actually threw a really good ball, getting it over the [defenders up front],” Kmet said. “It’s in that little area where the safety can’t get to it and a corner can’t fall off and get to it.”

Montgomery’s big play

Speaking of the best play of someone’s career, has Fields ever made a more impressive throw than his 32-yarder up the sideline to running back David Montgomery early in the fourth quarter?

Fields scrambled right and motioned for Montgomery to break off his route and cut upfield, then threw across his body while rolling right to drop the ball right in front of Montgomery, who made the catch without breaking stride.

“Justin being Justin, making something happen,” Montgomery said.

It was the longest play of the game by either team and the Bears’ seventh-longest pass of the season.

Super scramble

Fields made another important pass on third-and-12 a few plays later, this time hitting St. Brown for 14 yards to extend a drive that ended with Montgomery’s touchdown run and tied the game 24-24.

He looked right to St. Brown as soon as he dropped back, but cornerback Darren Hall had him well covered. He rolled left, then ran back to the right and hit an open St. Brown on the sideline. He broke three tackles during that frenzy, gave himself an absurd 10 seconds to throw and, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, scrambled 33.2 yards — the longest by any quarterback for a third-down conversion this season.

On 126 third-down plays this season, Fields has picked up 30 first downs or touchdowns by passing and 33 by running for a 52.4% conversion rate.

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On many days after practice, after taking off his gear and fulfilling any interview requests, Blackhawks defenseman Filip Roos leaves his stall and meanders over to the goaltenders’ side of the locker room.

There, Roos and Hawks goalie Arvid Soderblom smile and talk — mostly in Swedish — about whatever comes to mind.

“It’s always nice having a Swede you know here,” Roos said.

Soderblom is more than just a fellow countryman to Roos, however. The two of them were born eight months apart and grew up just 20 minutes away from each other in Gothenburg, the second-largest city in Sweden and the largest on its southwest coast (across the sea from Denmark).

They played against each other regularly growing up in Gothenburg’s youth hockey leagues, then became teammates for the first time as late teenagers in the junior academy of Frolunda, Gothenburg’s pro team.

In 2017-18 on Frolunda’s under-20 team, Roos tallied 12 points in 43 games while Soderblom went 15-14-0 with a .905 save percentage in 29 games.

Then in 2018-18, Roos and Soderblom both made their big-league Frolunda debuts — but played only one game each — and spent most of their time on loan to Hanhals, a third-division semi-pro team located about 20 miles south of Gothenburg. Roos recorded 11 points in 24 games while Soderblom went 18-19-0 with a .908 save percentage in 37 games.

Their paths diverged after that, but they coincidentally both ended up experiencing career breakthroughs after landing in Skelleftea — a top-flight team in northeast Sweden. Those breakthroughs earned them NHL attention and, ultimately, contracts with the Hawks. The only difference was Soderblom did so in 2020-21 while Roos did so in 2021-22.

When Roos was weighing the Hawks’ offer last spring, he and Soderblom reconnected. Soderblom later helped Roos, while training together during the latter half of the summer, prepare to move to Chicago. They’re now close friends again.

“It’s pretty cool we’re here now together, four years later,” Soderblom said. “It has been a fun journey for both of us, ending up here in the same place.”

Soderblom was the lone Swede last season in Rockford, a city not exactly known for its diversity. Swedish defenseman Erik Gustafsson was a fixture on the Hawks’ NHL roster at the time, but their paths crossed only briefly. At times, it was lonely.

The 2022-23 Hawks also have one of the NHL’s smallest European contingents, one comprised of only four players: Roos, Soderblom, Swiss forward Philipp Kurashev and Czech goalie Petr Mrazek. So coach Luke Richardson, despite being Canadian, appreciates the value Roos and Soderblom’s presences provide each other.

“We have a close team with a lot of new guys, and they’ve really gelled together,” Richardson said. “It’s always nice to have someone from where you’re from, no matter if you’re from Europe, Canada, the U.S. or wherever. It’s nice to have someone from your corner that you can talk a little bit of ‘home shop’ with.”

Roos has rotated in and out of the Hawks’ third defensive pairing so far, tallying three points in 10 games. Soderblom’s red-hot start to the season has cooled lately; he now sits at 2-4-1 with a .909 save percentage.

They’re there for each other through the good and bad nights alike, though, and hang out frequently away from the rink. Soderblom has served as Roos’ Chicago tour guide and restaurant recommendation-giver; he even helped Roos set up his U.S. phone number.

And when they’re especially missing home, they’ve learned to love visits to IKEA — in order to buy both furniture and meatballs.

“We’re pretty similar, laid-back, chill guys,” Soderblom said. “He likes to have fun and take it easy. He’s a great guy to have around, and it’s fun to have him here now.”

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Ashley Kj?s took the day off work on Monday.

Rather than suiting up for the office, Ashley suited up for the pub; instead of a coffee, he held a beer; and instead of a computer screen, his eyes were on a flatscreen TV in a Near West Side pub.

He was among dozens packed inside The Embassy Public House, 1435 W. Taylor St. in Little Italy Monday afternoon to watch the U.S. play Wales in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“I’m here to root for the US team,” said Kj?s, who was wearing a blue team jersey. His wife raised her eyebrows. A friend shook his head.

“But I follow a bunch of the Welsh players,” he added, explaining several players from his favorite professional team, Swansea City, were on Wales.

It was the opening match for both teams.

The half-avowed Welsh supporter was alone a bar among packed with fans wearing red, white and blue.

Almost all of fans gathered Monday admitted to some reservations to watching the beautiful game’s signature tournament this year, which has been mired in controversy over the treatment of migrant workers and the country’s stance on LGBTQ rights.

“I don’t feel great about it,” said Ryan Fischer, 25, a University of Illinois physical therapy student who went to watch the game with her fiance and a classmate.

“You’re stuck in a situation where you want to watch, but it’s hard to fully support with what’s going on.”

A few teams planned to wear armbands to support LGBT rights, but decided against it after FIFA threatened to punish players, according to the Associated Press.

“I get that you might not be able to share political messages but inclusiveness, wearing a rainbow-colored armband feels like less of a political statement,” said Reid Kiger, 24, Fischer’s fiance.

Any reservations faded, at least for a little while, after Timothy Weah put the U.S. ahead in the first half, bringing the room full of cheering fans to their feet.

“When they scored that goal, I got goosebumps,” said Michael Potsic, 35, who lives in Pilsen, adding that he hadn’t been following the team closely.

“There’s just something about watching the game in a crowded sports bar that’s great,” he said.

The confidence in the room turned to anxiety when Wales tied the score on a penalty kick with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

“There’s no way that was a penalty,” a few yelled.

Kj?s, and his dual sympathies, drew hard stares from his friends.

“I should never have come here,” he said.

Michael Loria is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South and West sides.

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Chicago Bears Justin Fields NFL

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