Chicago Sports

Music of the Baroque has presented hundreds of concerts in downtown Chicago and elsewhere across the city during its 52-year-history, but it has only ever performed one time at the Ravinia Festival, and that was nine years ago.

To at least partially rectify the Chicago chamber orchestra’s absence from the Ravinia lineup, the group will present its first-ever concert in the festival’s 3,350-seat open-air pavilion on Sept. 3.

“Of course, we’re thrilled to be going to Ravinia and on the main stage, too — that’s fabulous,” said Jane Glover, who will begin her 20th season as Music of the Baroque’s music director with this appearance.

One of the initiatives of Jeffrey Haydon, who took over as president and chief executive officer of the Ravinia Festival in 2020, is to bring more top-level Chicago-area groups to the series, and he believes Music of the Baroque fits the bill.

“Obviously, we’re an international music festival,” he said, “and we’re bringing artists from over the country and all over the world, and that will continue to happen. But we also have international-quality music that takes place in Chicago, and just because it’s local doesn’t mean it should be overlooked.”

At the same time, he said, the relaxed atmosphere at Ravinia is ideal to present audiences with new styles or periods of music with which they might not be familiar, like the sounds of the 17th and 18th centuries in which Music of the Baroque specializes.

He’s confident that listeners who give Music of the Baroque a chance will like what they hear.

“If you close your eyes and listen to the harpsichord,” he said, “and translate that into electric guitar, it’s actually pretty close. A lot of these harpsichord parts are pretty rock-ish. It’s pretty remarkable how exciting baroque music is.”

In choosing the repertoire for this concert, Glover took into account the outdoor setting, where it can be tough for certain small-scale or quieter works to register.

“We’re not going to play delicate Purcell or Vivaldi, that sort of thing,” she said. “We’re doing the bigger stuff.”

She is sticking to the tried and true, presenting works by the four famed composers she sees as the pillars of Music of the Baroque’s repertoire — Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart.

The concert also will spotlight famed pianist Garrick Ohlsson, back for his 41st concert at Ravinia, first having performed at the festival in 1981. He will be the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 9 in E-flat Major, “Jeunehomme.”

While Ohlsson is an old friend of Glover and a regular at Ravinia, this will be his first time with Music of the Baroque.

“So we are thrilled that he is coming,” Glover said. “He’s got such delicacy as well as such great power, and I know his Mozart is glorious, and we’ve done quite a bit of it together elsewhere.”

Haydn wrote more than 100 symphonies, and this program kicks off with the less frequently heard Symphony No 59 in A major, “Fire,” an audience-pleasing work that Glover described as having “great wit and energy.”

“Wherever you put the pin on the list of Haydn symphonies, you always come up with something spectacular,” she said.

After Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 3 in G major, the program concludes with Handel’s ever-popular “Music for the Royal Fireworks,” which was written for an outdoor setting like the one in which it will be performed.

“So it absolutely comes home, in a sense,” Glover said.

The Sept. 3 concert also marks the second appearance at the festival by Glover, adding a kind of encore to the Ravinia’s July 29-31 mini-festival, “Breaking Barriers: Women on the Podium.” She is one of more than 100 noted women conductors whose stories are featured in an outdoor display this summer on the Ravinia grounds.

The British conductor is marking two decades with Music of Baroque and has no plans to leave any time soon.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she said. “It’s a relationship that I value hugely. Every time I come to Chicago, I feel I’m sort of coming home musically.”

Music of Baroque’s return to Ravinia had been in discussions for several years, with a tentative idea that it might happen around the group’s 50th anniversary, but the COVID-19 shutdown made that impossible.

Conversations already are under way about future appearances at the festival, perhaps featuring more adventuresome repertoire.

“I hope,” Glover said, “this is the beginning of a lovely relationship.”

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The Big Ten Football season kicks off in Ireland between Northwestern and Nebraska

Three Big Ten Teams Begin their season Saturday as the College Football world looks on. For full season breakdowns check out Austin Schmidt’s Aug. 25th article: College Football Power 5 Betting Preview.

Week ZERO is officially upon us, and while it isn’t the deepest slate you’ll ever see, it is the perfect prelude to what promises to be an incredible CFB season, both across the nation and right here in Big Ten country. Beyond Ohio State, who I believe is going to run away with this thing from moment one, the rest of the Big Ten is as wide open as it has ever been. Three Big Ten teams will be in action Saturday, including the offseason darlings, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. An absurd amount of pressure will be sitting on the entire program’s shoulders in Ireland and throughout the entire season, as Scott Frost attempts to solidify his job and return the Huskers to some sense of relevancy.

Each of the three teams competing this weekend are looking to put a forgettable 2021 in the rear view mirror as Nebraska and Northwestern each posted 3-9 seasons, while Illinois managed a 5-7 campaign under first year coach Bret Bielema. As far as gambling goes, I understand it can be very difficult or impossible for Illinois residents to find action on these games with Illinois’ restrictions on college sports, but for those who have the luxury of betting at a physical location, betting offshore, or live out of state, you can find my best bets for the weekend here along with my preview for each game. 

Nebraska (-13.5) vs Northwestern: O/U 50 (Dublin, Ireland) 11:30am CST

If I were to ask you the question, since Pat Fitzgerald took over Northwestern in 2006, how many consecutive losing seasons would you guess he’s had? Now mind you, I am not a Northwestern fan, this is not homer talk from a Wildcat faithful, I am incredibly neutral on this program from that sense. I have asked this question many times this summer and the consensus guess is in the 3-5 range. The correct answer is ONE. One time in the last 16 seasons the Wildcats put up two straight seasons with less than six wins and in fact it was consecutive 5-7 seasons in the 2013 & 2014 seasons.

I am very aware of how bad this team was last year, 3-9 (1-8 conf), I’m not blind to that, it was a brutal year to watch. Now I want you to direct your attention to 2019, a season in which NU also went 3-9 and won one conference game. Fitzgerald and his team flipped that into a 7-2 record (covid shortened 2020) and a date with Ohio State in the Big Ten Title Game the following year. NOW, before the Wildcat fans get themselves in a tizzy, I am by no means suggesting history will repeat itself, and Northwestern is going to win the Big Ten West, I absolutely do not expect that. What I do expect is this staff to once again be the best in the entire nation at using down to even horrific years, as a way to give his guys experience and be a totally different team in that following year.

So what does that mean this weekend against a Nebraska team that is getting an immense amount of buzz this offseason, with many calling this the return of the Cornhuskers to relevancy? What I expect is actually a fairly competitive game. Nebraska is still the more talented team, however, with increased experience defensively and some pieces filled via the transfer portal, I think the Wildcat defense will be greatly improved and will at minimum keep them in this game.

The expectation from the offensive side of the ball is very uncertain, but optimism does increase with the return of Cam Porter who burst onto the scene in 2020, only to miss the entirety of 2021 due to injury. That really is the recipe for Northwestern to somehow pull off an upset, or at the very least cover the 13.5 point spread. A legitimate and consistent ground attack, and a defensive performance that keeps Nebraska in the low 20s.

The Cornhuskers offense will be led by Texas transfer, Casey Thompson. Thompson threw for 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions across 12 games in 2021. Time will only tell what type of effect the trip to Ireland will have, if any, on either of these teams, but if you’re a Northwestern fan, you’re hoping Nebraska shows the same type of rust that they showed last season in Week 0 as they lost 30-22 in Champaign. I can see this game going a number of different ways, but I’ve put way too many eggs in the ‘Northwestern will be frisky’ basket this year, and I can’t pass up the points to kick things off. Give me a loss, but a cover for the Wildcats, though if they can find a way to pull off the upset, you can count on Scott Frost not leaving Ireland with his squad.

RMags’ Pick: Northwestern +13.5

Wyoming at Illinois (-11): O/U 44 (Champaign, IL) 3:00pm CST

The buzz and optimism heading into year two of Bret Bielema’s tenure at Illinois has not exactly been boisterous. In year one, Bielema inherited a less than formidable Big Ten roster that saw massive growing pains, yet given the circumstances the approval rating for the job that was performed was respectable. Now, as we head into year two, it’s very likely we will see a near mirror season, as roster turnover has taken place, and the reality that we won’t see the fruits of Bielema’s recruiting until at least next season.

As has been the case for the majority of Illinois’ recent history, the Fighting Illini will start a new QB under center in the form of Tommy DeVito, a grad transfer out of Syracuse. DeVito’s career has been interesting to this point, getting the bulk of the QB duties at ‘Cuse in 2019, only to find himself on backup duty over the past two years, tallying a total of seven games played with five touchdown passes to four interceptions. In that 2019 season however, he led the Orange to a 5-7 record throwing 19 touchdowns on five interceptions. While the jury is out on how effective he will be, it does appear that this is an improvement over Artur Sitkowski who played five games last season, finishing with a completion percentage of exactly 50%. Despite the uncertainty, it does appear that Illinois will have the QB advantage in this upcoming game.

Wyoming will start Andrew Peasley, a transfer from conference foe Utah State. Peasley’s time there was less than impressive, recording 18 games played over four seasons, with a completion percentage near 50%. For context on both quarterbacks, the over-under on each player’s passing yards in this game is DeVito o/u 166.5, and Peasley o/u 128.5. I do not expect either team to light up the game through the air, but I definitely like the potential for more efficiency from DeVito, and with the right defensive game plan and execution, this could be a very long day for Peasley and Wyoming’s offense.

The area that I feel most confident in for this matchup is Illinois’ rushing attack led by Chase Brown up against this Wyoming rush defense. In 2021, the Cowboys ranked 99th in both rushing yards allowed per game and yards per attempt allowed. With some serious turnover on defense, we could even see an even bigger dip in those categories in 2022. Chase Brown returns as the starting RB for the Illini after posting 1,005 yards rushing across 10 games. 2021 was fairly up and down for him on a week to week production basis, however, when given a matchup this favorable, he has excelled. Three times he was given over 20 carries and each time he saw massive production, twice exceeding 200 yards. The down weeks can be chalked up to stingy Big Ten rush defenses, or games in which Illinois was down three scores in the blink of an eye. I fully expect Brown to be the player of this game, and will confidently predict at least 125 yards on the ground for him.

While I do believe Illinois will win this game, I am hesitant to endorse the -11 selection this weekend. I honestly have this in the 24-10, 24-14 range, putting the spread at a tossup and ultimately, a stay-away. However, you will absolutely see me with plenty of Big Ten unders this season, and given the prediction that I just laid out, I’m taking my first Big Ten under of the season at under 44, along with a Chase Brown prop if you can grab it!

RMags’ Pick: Under 44 & Chase Brown Over 101.5 Rush Yds

Week 0 Bonus Pick: FAU -7.5

FAU will host Charlotte in a matchup of two 5-7 teams from 2021. On the surface you may think this is closer than a touchdown matchup, but look deeper and you will find that Charlotte is really bad. FAU heads into year three under Willie Taggert and should have a big edge defensively in this game. I’m predicting a blowout in this one.

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The top four seeds advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 WNBA playoffs with relative ease, but the matchups and storylines that await in the next round are hardly short of intrigue.

The top-seeded Las Vegas Aces and No. 4 seed Seattle Storm face off in a battle featuring seven former No. 1 overall draft picks. The Aces are hungry to win the franchise’s first championship, which would make Becky Hammon the first first-year coach to win a WNBA title since Van Chancellor in 1997, the league’s inaugural season. But Sue Bird and Tina Charles have plenty to fight for, too, as Bird readies for retirement with four (and if things go her way, five) WNBA titles to her name, while Charles switched teams midseason in search of her coveted first.

Fresh off winning decisive Game 3s in the first round, the No. 2 seed Chicago Sky and the third-seeded Connecticut Sun are hoping to carry that momentum into the semifinals, where they’ll meet for the second straight year and in the postseason for the third consecutive summer. Behind Candace Parker, who has indicated this could be her final season in the league, the defending champion Sky are looking to become the first WNBA team to repeat since 2001-02. The Sun — the W franchise with the most playoff wins (33) but no title — hope to advance to their second Finals in four seasons before their championship window diminishes.

The Sky swept the Sun in the regular season (4-0) with a 4.5-point average margin of victory, while the Aces had a 3-1 edge this summer in meetings versus the Storm, with an average margin of victory across all four games coming in at 9.5.

ESPN’s M.A. Voepel, Alexa Philippou and Kevin Pelton answer the biggest questions that’ll determine the semifinals and predict which teams will reach the WNBA Finals.

Of the seven former No. 1 draft picks in the Aces-Storm semifinals, which player will have the single-biggest impact on the outcome of the series?

Pelton: Jewell Loyd. Her two games against the Aces in the season’s final week — one point at home; a career-high 38 in Las Vegas — reflect the extremes of Loyd’s possible performance. With this series likely to be decided in late-game situations, the Storm will need the Loyd we saw pull out Game 1 vs. Washington by scoring 12 of her team’s points in a row down the stretch.

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Philippou: Loyd is the clear X factor, but I’ll throw in A’ja Wilson, too. The 2020 MVP (and a front-runner for the award this year) had a disappointing start to the playoffs, going 2-for-11 from the field in Game 1 against the Mercury before rebounding with a more characteristic 7-for-9 outing in the next game. For the Aces to make their second Finals appearance in three seasons, no doubt Wilson’s fingerprints need to be all over the court, both offensively and defensively.

Which trio has been the best ‘Big Three’ in the playoffs so far?

Voepel: My initial thought is the Aces, but it’s perhaps a different trio than we would have chosen earlier in the season: Chelsea Gray, who has elevated to tie for the team lead in scoring in the playoffs, Kelsey Plum and Wilson, who is doing her typical MVP candidate stuff. But that leaves out Jackie Young, so maybe we give the Aces the moniker of “Best Quartet” and list Chicago’s Candace Parker, Kahleah Copper and Courtney Vandersloot as a more specific Big Three.

The great Leon Barmore, legendary coach of Louisiana Tech, once said that if you gave him three really good players, he could win a lot of games regardless of how good the other two were. I think that would be true of any of the semifinalists’ top three, but having an elite center-forward, a dynamic wing and a spectacular point guard is a great formula for the Sky.

Kahleah Copper’s Chicago Sky went 4-0 against the Connecticut Sun in the regular season. M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire

Pelton: Adjusting for opposition, I’d go with Seattle’s group of Loyd, Bird and Breanna Stewart. They had to be at their best to sweep the Washington Mystics, including Bird improbably posting her best game score ever in a playoff game with 18 points and 10 assists during her final postseason and Stewart coming within two assists of her first career triple-double.

Philippou: Pelton’s right in that Seattle’s Big Three faced the toughest competition, but I’ll still go with what we’ll call the Vegas Backcourt Big Three of Plum, Gray and Young. As Voepel alluded to, Gray isn’t typically thought of in any “Big Three” and was the only Vegas starter to not get an All-Star bid last month. But she has been playing at an otherworldly level in recent weeks, hitting 20 points in five of her past eight outings — including a career-high 33 against the Storm in their regular-season finale — and at least 15 in all but one. Moreover, she has shot 10-for-13 on 3-pointers while averaging 6.0 assists to start the postseason. If Gray maintains this level of play, and Plum and Young continue to do their thing alongside her in the backcourt, Vegas could very well cut down the nets next month for the first time in franchise history.

Chicago upset Connecticut in four games in last year’s semifinals. The Sun can win this year’s matchup if … ?

Voepel: The Sun play high-level defense and rebound the ball well, like they did in the second half of Game 3 against the Wings. The game was close in the first half and then Alyssa Thomas pretty much told her teammates to get with it, and they responded. They forced turnovers, contested shots and seemed to wear out the Wings. Coach Curt Miller said that if there is one thing that usually can carry the Sun through in the toughest games, it’s defense. Considering how good the Sky’s offense is, this will be a very difficult test.

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Philippou: Voepel is spot-on regarding the Sun’s identity. I’d just add they’ll also need their perimeter players to step up. Courtney Williams (5.7 PPG, 30.8% shooting in the playoffs) struggled in the Dallas series, but Natisha Hiedeman and, off the bench, DiJonai Carrington helped make up for that, plus DeWanna Bonner had a huge momentum-shifting run in Game 3. Some combination of two of those four need to be on any given night to help take pressure off the bigs inside. As always, ensuring they can get Jonquel Jones enough touches will be critical for the Sun, too.

Pelton: If the Sun get some stops. Remarkably, Chicago shot 55.5% from the field in a 4-0 series sweep of Connecticut. No other team shot better than 47.5% against the Sun. In that context, it’s amazing Connecticut managed to stay close in all four games, with three of them decided by four points or fewer. It’s also interesting because that’s the inverse of last year’s playoff series, when the Sky never shot better than 50% in any of the four games but still won 3-1.

Let’s stick with upsets: Seattle can topple top-seeded Las Vegas if … ?

Pelton: The Storm stay hot from 3-point range — an obvious answer but it’s true. Las Vegas’ ups and downs this season were largely a product of opponent’s 3-point shooting. The Aces went 6-8 when opponents hit at least 35% of their 3s and are undefeated (18-0, including the playoffs) when they’re under 33%. Seattle made at least half of its 3-point attempts in both games of the sweep over Washington.

Philippou: Vegas reverts back to some of its poor defensive habits. Becky Hammon frequently says she doesn’t care as much about her team’s offensive output as its defensive effort and execution. If the Aces let up on that end of the floor, the Storm are too savvy and experienced of a team to not make them pay. To do that, players aside from Stewart will have to step up.

Voepel: The post battles between these two teams will be riveting. But one of the biggest keys for the Storm will be somehow slowing the Aces’ perimeter power. Las Vegas shredded Phoenix from behind the arc in the first round, but that was a decimated Mercury team. Seattle will look to the likes of Loyd, Gabby Williams and savvy vets Bird and Briann January to stop Plum, Gray and Young from taking over. If Seattle is able to limit the Las Vegas guards enough, the Storm can win this series. Because of Seattle’s franchise history, it won’t necessarily seem like an upset if the Storm win the series, although on paper it would be.

Remember how epic the 2018 semifinal series between Seattle and Phoenix felt? This feels the same, and if it goes five games like that one did, it will be a treat for WNBA fans. Both teams will be playing with a ton of emotion. The Storm want to keep Bird’s career going as long as possible and the Aces believe they have been on the brink of a championship the past two years but were stopped short (in 2020 by the Storm in the Finals and last year by the Phoenix Mercury in the semifinals).

ESPN Stats & Information

Will Chicago or Connecticut advance to the WNBA Finals?

Philippou: Chicago will advance. It’s hard to overlook the Sky’s 7-1 run against Connecticut dating to last season’s semifinal. Kahleah Copper said Tuesday that the team “fell in love” with the version of itself it put on display from Games 2 and 3 of the first round, and that there’s no going back now. That version featured both stellar offense and stifling defense, a combination that might once more be too much for the Sun.

Voepel: I’m going with Chicago. The Sky were annoyed by losing Game 1 to the New York Liberty at home, but they’ve also used it to their advantage in how well they played since. Chicago has been a big thorn in the Sun’s side of late, and that could continue. Chicago’s offense has just been too much for Connecticut to beat once so far this year, so doing it three times in a series seems a bridge too far.

Pelton: There are two contrasting trends I’m picking between. As noted, the Sky swept the season series, and higher seeds that did so are 22-4 all time in playoff series. (One of the four exceptions? Chicago beating Phoenix in last year’s WNBA Finals.) At the same time, the Sun had a much better point differential during the regular season, more than three points per game better than the Sky. That’s the largest advantage for a lower seed in more than two decades. Point differential tends to be a great playoff predictor, so I’m nervously sticking with Connecticut to figure out the matchup.

Will Las Vegas or Seattle advance to the WNBA Finals?

Voepel: Wow, this one is so hard. Las Vegas is the top seed for a good reason, and no matter the Mercury’s deficiencies, the Aces still ran them out of the arena in Game 2. How will Las Vegas look a week later for its opener against Seattle? Probably really good. But it’s compelling just how badly the Storm want this for Bird, and also for Charles, who has never won a WNBA title. So, what the heck: I’m rolling the dice a bit here against the team from Vegas and going with the Storm.

Pelton: This matchup favors the Aces, whose depth of perimeter talent tests the Storm defensively. Add in home-court advantage and I’m taking Las Vegas to get back to the Finals after these two teams met there in 2020.

Philippou: The Aces went 3-1 in the regular season against the Storm and won those games by an average margin of roughly nine points. It’s tough to see that script flipped in the postseason, for the reasons Pelton mentioned, and because the Storm’s inconsistent depth gives them a slimmer margin for error. But I’ll predict it’ll take a decisive Game 5 — which would be back in Vegas — for this series to be decided.

Which teams will meet in the WNBA Finals?

Pelton: Las Vegas vs. Connecticut

Philippou: Las Vegas vs. Chicago

Voepel: Las Vegas vs. Chicago

Which team will win the 2022 WNBA championship?

Pelton: Las Vegas

Philippou: Las Vegas

Voepel: Chicago

Who will be the WNBA Finals MVP?

Pelton: Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas

Philippou: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas

Voepel: Candace Parker, Chicago

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Only a true degenerate would be willing to make some plays for preseason football, but what are we supposed to do? Not give our hard earned money away? No thanks. So how about we take a look at what the current odds are and if we can make some plays this weekend in Cleveland. First off I am going to go into some of my thoughts on the current odds, but if you are just itching for the play then feel free to scroll down to the end. I won’t know you are doing it, but I hope a part of you feels a little bad.

Bears are starting at +5.5

BETMGM has the Bears as the underdog at +5.5 in a game where the starters are expected to play for both teams. I’m sure Justin Fields will be looking to make a statement after the last time he faced off against the Browns, and all of Chicago should be praying he keeps clean. The Bears were underdogs in their first two preseason games and went on to win. Is a threepeat in order?

Browns sit at -210 with Questions at QB

There has been no sighting of Browns Jacoby Brissett in the first two games of the preseason. With Watson owning the spotlight (is their a more negative word for spotlight in this context?) the question one reporter asked was if it is “hard to not try and be Deshaun Watson?” I will let Jacoby himself answer this one:

The Browns will be without Watson for the first 11 games so the decision to wait on giving Brisset some rest is an interesting (or in English, dumb) decision. The bears at +175 on the flip is definitely worth a look.

Now the Bears receiving core needs a big outing this Saturday with N’Keal Harry’s injury, so if they prove hungry enough perhaps that win will be even easier to obtain.

The O/U is currently sitting at 41.5

The Bears/Browns O/U at 41.5 is tied as the highest for Saturday (along with the Colts/Bucs) and the way both teams offenses have come out during the initial preseason games it likely isn’t a surprise. I personally was even leading towards giving this out as a strong over recommendation initially, but had a change of heart. For the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire fans I ask you remember the old ask the audience lifeline that was present. Believe it or not asking the audience is the right move 90% of the time! With that being said I had to do some second guessing when looking at my phone today.

Ok 80% going for the under? Are they just looking at big number means it can’t reach it? Either way it makes our choice a tad harder. Feel free to also note the +5.5 pick at 78%.

Get to your picks already

If you are still here, or just scrolled down to this part let’s get to my plays as I have two of them.

Bears +5.5 – I am staying away from the moneyline here as I tend to do with preseason games. There is just way too much uncertainty and the ‘safety’ of the spread is calling me back into its warm arms. I would go as high as 3 units here if you are feeling daring.Under 41.5 – Sigh…I am giving into peer pressure and going with the under. Stick with 1 unit so that way if your Bears spread hits then you aren’t at a full loss.

Now remember this is PRESEASON. Betting here can be wildly inaccurate, but stick with me and I promise at least we can have some fun.

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No. 6 St. Rita at No, 1 Mount Carmel, 7:30 p.m. Friday

They haven’t been conference rivals for a few years, but this matchup of South Side powers — the 100th in the series — should be one of the regular-season games of the year. St. Rita has advanced to the state championship the past two offseasons (there were no playoffs in 2020 because of COVID) and is loaded with talent and experience once again. Edge rusher Pat Farrell, an Illinois recruit, and linebacker Matt Kingsbury lead the defense, while junior Ethan Middleton will run behind an offensive line anchored by 6-4, 310-pounder Nick Strelczyk. With 18 starters back, Mount Carmel also expects to be playing on Thanksgiving weekend. Quarterback Blainey Dowling is among the returning starters, as are a pair of FBS commits: defensive lineman Asher Tomaszewski (Kansas State) and edge rusher Danny Novickas (Ohio).

No. 2 Lincoln-Way East at No. 15 Crete-Monee, 6 p.m. Friday

Rob Zvonar, the only coach in Lincoln-Way East’s 22-year history, had one of his youngest teams last fall and still reached the Class 8A quarterfinals. The Griffins are aiming higher this season with 16 starters back. Linebacker Jake Scianna and rangy sophomore edge rusher Caden O’Rourke — who already has a D-I offer from Akron — are players to watch on defense. James Kwiecinski and Petey Olaleye are capable backs who will run behind an experienced and talented line. Crete-Monee is always one of the top teams in 6A and that isn’t likely to change this year. The Warriors have three two-sport athletes who are reigning state relay champs in track: quarterback Joshua Franklin, a Western Michigan recruit who accounted for 3,034 total yards and 32 TDs last year; receiver Lynel Billups-Williams (Miami, Ohio); and defensive back Edward Clark.

No. 10 Kankakee at Nazareth, 7:30 p.m. Friday

Kankakee defensive back Jyaire Hill is the state’s top uncommitted senior and a leader of both the Kays’ 5A football runners-up and 2A track state champs last year. Another track/football standout, four-time state sprint champ and junior running back Tony Phillips, has transferred across town from Bishop McNamara. Nazareth went young last season, with numerous freshmen getting lots of playing time. One of them, quarterback Logan Malachuk, passed for 1,806 yards and 18 TDs. Wisconsin-bound two-way standout Justin Taylor also returns.

No. 7 Glenbard West at No. 12 Marist, 1 p.m. Saturday

Last year was something of a wake-up call for Glenbard West, which finished third in the West Suburban Silver and lost in the second round of the playoffs. This fall, the Hilltoppers have a renewed sense of purpose, a big and experienced offensive line led by Wisconsin recruit Christopher Terek and a proven running back in Joey Pope. Marist has 10 starters back from a Class 8A semifinalist, including a trio of FBS commits: defensive back John Nestor (Iowa), defensive lineman Jamel Howard (Wisconsin) and receiver Ryan Sims (Miami, Ohio).

No. 11 Neuqua Valley at Oswego, 7 p.m. Friday

Neuqua Valley returns 17 starters from a 10-2 team, including a premier pitch-and-catch duo in quarterback Mark Mennecke and receiver Grant Larkin (North Dakota State). Jaden McGee’s running adds another dimension to the Wildcats’ offense. Linebacker Cole Dutkovich, who owns several Division I offers, leads the defense. Oswego hasn’t thrown the ball a lot over the years, but that may change this fall with Michigan-bound tight end Deakon Tonielli and quarterback Cruz Ibarra both back.

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Thursday night football has arrived in the suburbs. And it might be here to stay.

There were two games in the area this Thursday: Wheeling at Round Lake and Waukegan at North Chicago

There aren’t enough officials to go around on Fridays and Saturdays, forcing several conferences to schedule some Thursday night games.

“Every school in the [Northern Lake] conference will have two home games on Thursdays,” Round Lake athletic director Ethan Karolczak explained.

The Southwest Prairie and a handful of other conferences will play on some Thursdays as well. Weeknight football has been around in the Public League for decades, but that is due to a shortage of football stadiums.

Wheeling knocked off Round Lake 58-7 in the opener for both teams. There was a running clock in the second half, but the Round Lake student section stuck around for the entire game.

Warriors running back Simon Micula scored five touchdowns. The day of the game didn’t matter to him at all.

“Thursday night, Monday night, we will play anywhere at any time,” Micula said. “We wanted to come out and show our identity. We are going to run the ball. We’ve been focusing on that since January.”

Micula had 13 carries for 90 yards, all in the first half.

“It was kind of old school football,” Wheeling coach Peter Panagakis said. “These kids have been together for four years and are pretty good. But we still have a lot of work to do.”

Wheeling was 1-8 last season. The Warriors beat Round Lake in the opener last year as well but went on to lose the next eight games. This team has higher expectations with 12 starters back, including Micula and quarterback AJ Marchetti.

Marchetti ran for a 22-yard touchdown and threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Justin Ghibea.

Round Lake scored on a 46-yard touchdown run by Isaac Jackson in the third quarter.

Both schools brought out nice crowds despite the uncommon nature of playing on a Thursday.

“This game was originally supposed to be played on Saturday but this is what we have to do now to deal with the shortage of refs,” Panagakis said. “But under the lights on Thursday isn’t a bad way to start the season.”

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BALTIMORE, Md. — Right-hander Lance Lynn pitched as rookie on manager Tony La Russa’s Cardinals team that won the World Series in 2011.

La Russa was 66 at the time. At 77, he’s still the same as he ever was, Lynn said.

“He’s never changed over the years,” Lynn told the Sun-Times this week. “He’s still as sharp as can be. He’s a Hall of Fame manager who has done a lot of things in this game that no one else has. He’s always going to have the fire to manage and compete. That’s just who he is.”

In his first year back from retirement after being hired by close friend and former employer Jerry Reinsdorf, La Russa guided the 2021 Sox to 93 wins and a division title. But the Sox were outclassed by the Astros in the ALDS and are 103-99 since the All-Star break last season, including a 1-3 record against the Astros in October. They are 63-62 this season and four games behind the surprising Cleveland Guardians after a stunning 4-3 loss against the Orioles in 11 innings Thursday night.

With closer Liam Hendriks protecting a one-run lead in the ninth, left fielder Adam Engel, a defensive replacement, dropped Kyle Stowers foul ball near the side wall that would have ended the game. Stowers then hit an 0-2 pitch for a tying homer.

The Orioles walked it off in the bottom of the 11th against Jake Diekman on Anthony Santander’s deep single scoring free runner Austin Hays to take the rubber game of the series.

Good luck trying to pin the team’s 2022 under-performance on La Russa, who was hired to make the Sox out-perform all comers and win a World Series in their current contention window. But La Russa has been criticized for lineup constructions, in-game decisions that include walking two batters intentionally with 1-2 counts and overseeing a team that often seems to lack urgency, gets out-hustled by opponents, ranks at the bottom of the majors in defense and looks fundamentally challenged at times.

The Sox have also been clobbered by injuries, and they saw third baseman Yoan Moncada exit Thursday’s game in the fifth with a tight hamstring. Moncada came up sore after he made an exceptional play charging Terrin Vavra’s bunt in the second.

Lynn, 35, has been around long enough to know players win and lose games, and he isn’t going to pin the Sox’ performance on La Russa.

“We’re not doing our job as players,” Lynn said.

Signed last July to a two-year, $38 million extension with a team option for 2024 after he led the AL in ERA in the first half in 2021, Lynn would include himself among them, but he did his job Thursday, pitching six strong innings of two-run ball (one run earned) Thursday but owns a 5.00 ERA and 3-5 record after starting the season in June due to knee surgery in April.

After Andrew Vaughn homered leading off the game against Jordan Lyles, Lynn gave up the lead when first baseman Jose Abreu misplayed Adley Rutschman’s ground ball for an error and Anthony Santander homered.

But Lynn allowed two hits and one walk after that while striking out eight.

The Sox, who out-hit the Orioles 11-6, tied it in the seventh when Vavra, the Orioles second baseman, made an errant throw to first trying to complete a double play on Josh Harrison’s ground ball and allowing Romy Gonzalez to score from third.

Abreu singled with two outs with in the eighth to score Sheets from third. Sheets had doubled for his third hit and eighth of the series and advanced to third on Luis Robert’s ground out.

Reynaldo Lopez pitched a perfect seventh, and Jimmy Lambert a perfect eighth.

Count Lynn in on the side of those who believe the Sox have what it takes to reach a third consecutive postseason.

“Yeah,” he said. “Just have to win games.”

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Brother Rice, a likely Super 25 team in November, has found its next coach.

A basketball program with a strong history and rich tradition took a hit with the sudden resignation of iconic Crusader Bobby Frasor last month. But athletic director Mike Fahey announced Thursday the hiring of Conte Stamas, a veteran coach and familiar name in Chicago area coaching.

While he’s recently spent five years rebuilding the Morton College program at the junior college level, Stamas burst on the scene nearly 30 years ago at the high school level when he was named the head coach at Evanston in 1994. He won four regional championships while at Evanston.

Stamas left Evanston for Lyons in 1989, where in 2000-01 he led the Lions to 28 wins, a fourth-place finish in Class AA and was named the City/Suburban Hoops Report Coach of the Year.

While Stamas hasn’t been a head high school coach since 2008, the Brother Rice job was too intriguing of a job to pass up. Stamas says he had a lot of respect and familiarity with the program.

During his time at Lyons from 1999-2008 Stamas played against Brother Rice when both were in the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York. His son attended coach Pat Richardson’s basketball camps at Brother Rice as a kid and Stamas remains close to Richardson, who won over 400 games as head coach at Brother Rice.

“This is a different place than a lot of other places,” Stamas said of Brother Rice. “The people here have been incredible, and I saw that through this process and felt so comfortable with them. There is a rich tradition. I love the neighborhood, the family atmosphere at Rice, the academics. … I felt so good about so much at Brother Rice.”

Even with coaching experience that dates back nearly four decades — Stamas was a college assistant coach for Pete Gillen’s highly-successful Xavier teams in the early 1990s — there is still an obvious enthusiasm from Stamas that draws attention.

“One thing that hasn’t changed about me is my passion,” Stamas said. “I feel my tank is full in terms of energy and passion.”

That came through loud and clear during the interview process.

“I am really, really excited,” Fahey, who was hired as the Brother Rice athletic director July 1, said. “I went into this trying to find someone with as much energy and passion as I have for this place. What he brought in those interviews was something special. His vision and energy, along with the experience and success he’s had, stands out. He can hit the ground running here.”

Stamas says the Brother Rice job is one he would never pass up. The fact he’s stepping into a program primed and ready to win immediately was a bonus.

“You could say it was the cherry on top,” Stamas said. “I wanted this job no matter what, but the talent here is really good.”

Standout senior Ahmad Henderson, a Division I point guard who has committed to Niagara, is the key returning player from a team that won 24 games a year ago. He averaged 15 points and four assists.

But also returning is Nick Niego, who made 92 three-pointers last season as a junior, double-figure scorer Khalil Ross and promising young players in 6-5 Zavier Fitch, power guard Tre Dowdell, point guard Cale Cosme and sophomore Marcos Gonzalez.

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BALTIMORE, Md. — Andrew Vaughn led off as a Cal first baseman “a few times” in college, he said, and that was good enough for Tony La Russa, who inserted the .293/.344/.456 hitter and team RBI leader in the top spot in his lineup Thursday against the Orioles.

Vaughn showed he was up to the task on the first pitch, belting right-hander Jordan Lyles’ first pitch to right-center field for a home run. Then he doubled off the left field wall near the 384-foot sign in the third inning.

“Everybody steps in the box the same way,” Vaughn said before the game, downplaying the significance of his first leadoff experience in the majors. “Hopefully get the party started for the boys and hopefully we win today.”

Before posting the lineup, Vaughn, who played left field, said La Russa told him, “Just do your thing.”

With regular leadoff man Tim Anderson on the IL and AJ Pollock getting a day off, Vaughn was the pick to bat first with left-handed hitting Gavin Sheets — who had five hits in the first two games of the series near his hometown, then two more singles his first times up Thursday.

This lineup was molded around La Russa’s new 3-4-5 combo of Luis Robert, Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez as the manager looks to spark some offense.

“Mostly I like 3-4-5, it gives our run producers a chance to hit with runners on base, and Andrew is one of the best at doing that,” La Russa said.

The Sox had 10 or more hits in their previous three games, but averaging four runs and losing twice.

“We definitely want to cash in,” Vaughn said. “Get guys on base, get them in. That’s how you win ball games, score runs. We’ve got to try to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Grandal, Leury headed to Charlotte

Catcher Yasmani Grandal and Leury Garcia left for Triple-A Charlotte to begin minor league rehab assignments. Grandal feels good after hyperextending his right knee against the Guardians Saturday and Garcia’s back and hip are pain free.

Grandal, who has struggled with a .203/.307/.259 hitting line with three homers in 74 games, is eligible to come off the IL Wednesday. Garcia’s 10-day stint expires Saturday.

“See them next week,” La Russa said.

Grandal was also on the IL from June 12-July 22 with low back spasms. Last year he batted .337/.481/.673 with nine homers over his final 30 games after coming back from a torn tendon in his left knee.

He established career highs in on-base and slugging percentage and OPS in 2021, and a struggling Sox lineup is crying out for that type of production, but it remains to be seen what Grandal has left after battling multiple physical problems the last two seasons.

“I just take it as it comes right now,” Grandal said Wednesday. “Whatever happens, happens. I’ve never really taken care of myself as much as I’ve taken care of myself this year. So from now on, [bleep] it. That’s pretty much the only way I can explain it. Want to go until it breaks and if it doesn’t break, then we keep going.”

Eloy returns

La Russa said Eloy Jimenez, who didn’t play Wednesday after getting drilled in the left elbow by a 102-mph pitch, arrived early Thursday, worked out and “got the green light” to play.

Luis Robert, who took uncomfortable swings his last time up Tuesday due to some discomfort in his left wrist, was good to go, La Russa said, but he took a one-handed swing hitting into a double play ending the third after Vaughn’s double and Sheets’ single.

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BALTIMORE, Md. — White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada exited the team’s game against the Orioles Thursday with left hamstring tightness.

Trainer James Kruk came on the field to meet Moncada after the infielder made a nice play charging a bunt by Terrin Vavra and throwing to first baseman Jose Abreu for the out.

Moncada stayed in the game and made a running catch near the foul line in left field in the third inning but looked uncomfortable moving around otherwise.

He was removed from the game when the Sox took the field in the fifth inning. Second baseman Josh Harrison moved to third base and Romy Gonzalez entered the game at second.

Moncada, who had two singles, is day-to-day.

Moncada’s defense has been superb this season and during this series in particular. In the Sox’ 5-3 win over the Orioles Wednesday, he made a backhand stop on the line and in one move spun around, touched third and threw to first to complete a double play with the bases loaded.

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