Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields (1) missed Thursday’s game against the Lions with cracked ribs, but could return against the Cardinals on Dec. 5. | Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

The Bears’ head coach reiterated that Justin Fields will start when he recovers from cracked ribs he suffered against the Ravens. That’s his call — and always has been, he said.

The Bears’ ever-entertaining quarterback situation — Justin Fields or Andy Dalton — took a back seat to a bigger soap opera storyline at Halas Hall last week. But make no mistake — regardless of Matt Nagy’s fate, it’s always about the quarterback.

So a day after Andy Dalton threw for 317 yards and directed a game-winning field goal drive that gave the Bears a 16-14 walk-off victory over the winless Lions on Thursday at Ford Ford, there was plenty of quarterback fodder as the Bears begin a “mini-bye” week before facing the Cardinals on Dec. 5 at Soldier Field:

Nagy reiterated that Fields will be the starter as soon as he is healthy. Nagy said Fields is not throwing yet but did not rule out a return against the Cardinals.

“He’s moving around pretty good,” Nagy said. “We have some time on our side to declare … where he’s at. Every day matters for him. He’s doing a good job of keeping the communication open.

Nagy confirmed that Fields has cracked ribs, but even that report by NFL Network indicated that the “tiny cracks” were not severe and would not alter the optimistic recovery timeline.

With the Bears (4-7) having a long shot hope of making the playoffs and Dalton’s steady veteran hand arguably giving the Bears a better chance to win games today, Nagy doesn’t have to rush Fields back. Even if he doesn’t play against the Cardinals, he could return against the Packers at Lambeau Field on Dec. 12 — and still have five games left in the 17-game season to continue to lay the foundation for 2022.

“We’re going to have to wait and see truly where his health is at to [see if he is] able to play or not,” Nagy said. “We don’t want to obviously risk more injury to him.”

Nagy said trainer Andre Tucker and the team doctors will make the determination. “[Fields] just has to communicate with his pain [level],” Nagy said.

Addressing yet another brushfire from last week’s chaos, Nagy denied a report by veteran Bears reporter/analyst Hub Arkush — who has close and long-held Halas Hall ties — that Bears chairman George McCaskey ordered Nagy to make Fields the starter after Fields’ first NFL start against the Browns.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” Nagy said.

Nagy had said the day after the Browns game — in which Fields was sacked nine times in a 26-6 loss — that Dalton would remain the starter when he recovered from a knee injury he suffered against the Bengals the previous week. Two days later, Nagy announced that Fields would be the full-time starter.

That seemed like an oddly sudden change of heart, though the decision fell in line with the popular notion that Fields should be playing. But it’s equally odd that George McCaskey would suddenly take a heavy-handed approach to a football matter when he has vowed repeatedly to not do that. He and team president Ted Phillips are well aware of Bears fans’ disdain for them meddling in football affairs when they have virtually no football background.

Nagy’s denial of that report was unsolicited in response to a question about the season-long challenge of managing the quarterback situation. The Bears signed Dalton in free agency to be their starter. But they unexpectedly were able to acquire Fields — a potential No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft — via a trade with the Giants for the 11th overall pick.

The Bears initially planned for Fields to sit behind Dalton as a rookie apprentice — a move that was unpopular with Bears fans who wanted Fields to at least have a chance to compete with Dalton for the starting job.

Nagy resisted the call for that, but even he couldn’t stick by his original plan. When the season started, Fields played five snaps against the Rams and two against the Bengals as a change-of-pace quarterback — similar to Saints coach Sean Payton’s use of Taysom Hill in place of Drew Brees. Dalton suffered the knee injury early in the second quarter of the Bengal game, Fields played the entire second half and eventually was named the full-time starter.

Fields has been inconsistently effective, but was making progress — arguably proving the point he should have been the starter from Day 1 — before he suffered injured ribs against the Ravens last Sunday.

Nagy said he had no regrets about how the plan was initiated or how it has played out. But even his support of the plan illustrated how bumpy it has been.

“When you have a plan … you go with it,” Nagy said. “Andy got hurt and Justin comes in. Justin’s the starter. Justin gets hurt. When Justin gets back to being healthy he’s back in. When you have that plan, you stick to it and you don’t look back.”

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People line up to get on the Air France flight to Paris at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday Nov. 26, 2021. | Jerome Delay/AP

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be mostly cloudy with a high near 31 degrees. Tonight will also be mostly cloudy with a low around 28 degrees. Similar conditions will continue into tomorrow, with a high near 40 degrees and a 30% chance of rain.

Top story

World reacts after new omicron variant emerges in southern Africa

The discovery of a new coronavirus variant sent a chill through much of the world today as nations raced to halt air travel, markets fell sharply and scientists held emergency meetings to weigh the exact risks, which were largely unknown.

A World Health Organization panel named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category that includes the delta variant. The WHO suggested the variant could pose greater risks than delta, which is the world’s most prevalent variant and has fueled relentless waves of infection on every continent.

Early evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection compared to other highly transmissible variants, the WHO said. That means people who contracted COVID-19 and recovered could be subject to catching it again.

In response, the United States and Canada joined the European Union and several other countries in instituting travel restrictions on visitors from southern Africa.

The White House said the U.S. will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries in the region beginning Monday. It did not give details except to say the restrictions will not apply to returning U.S. citizens or permanent residents, who will continue to be required to test negative before their travel.

Medical experts, including the WHO, warned against any overreaction before the variant that originated in southern Africa was better understood. But a jittery world feared the worst nearly two years after COVID-19 emerged and triggered a pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people around the globe.

The Associated Press has more on the new variant and the world’s response here.

More news you need

Chicago police have released video of two suspects wanted in the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Kevin Tinker down the street from his home in Roseland. The eighth-grader was outside a home that had been targeted earlier in the day, according to police, who would not say if the boy himself was a target.

Three-year-old Delilah Edwards was born with an underdeveloped left side of her heart, resulting in her having to endure nine surgeries in all, in part, because some of them didn’t work. Late last month, Delilah received a new heart, just in time for her and her family to enjoy Thanksgiving together.

There’s still time to head to the Black Gallery’s Buy Black Friday event. You can support Black artists and entrepreneurs at the market, which is open until 7 p.m., and then stick around for a fashion show from 8-9 p.m.

A new documentary features hours of unreleased footage pieced together to chronicle the Beatles during the recording sessions for “Let It Be” in early 1969,” some of the last sessions before the group’s break up. In his four-star review of “The Beatles: Get Back,” Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper hails the film as an instantly iconic musical epic.

A bright one

Old dormant grain silos on South Side are an enduring industrial canvas for graffiti artists

The towering, old grain silos near 29th Street and Damen Avenue, on the banks of the Chicago River’s south branch, date to Chicago’s heyday as a hub of manufacturing and food distribution.

While they haven’t been functional for decades, the dormant, weathered structures have long been a draw for graffiti artists and taggers who’ve turned the 24-acre site into something of an industrial canvas.

That includes the silos themselves, adjoining structures that are as tall as 15 floors and a series of cavernous tunnels snaking below.

Not exactly the safest place to roam — and not a legal place to visit, either, as the “No Trespassing” signs inform.

Nevertheless, it remains a popular spot for street artists to ply their colorful trade, whether considered art or an eyesore.

Mark Capapas/Sun-Times
The long-abandoned Damen Silos on the south branch of the Chicago River near Damen Avenue.

A street artist who goes by Werm has painted at the silos over the years — including on the roof in the mid-1990s when he says it wasn’t such a well-known spot.

Part of the allure of the place, Werm says, was that “there’s a lot of walls and it’s abandoned, it’s a place where anyone can go practice, and there’s no rules, and you can take your time.”

“Before there was no security, there were open gates and people could just walk in, it was a public underground street art gallery,” Werm says, adding security has definitely tightened up since.

Another veteran street artist who goes by Emte said a number of years ago a construction company he worked at was getting rid of hundreds of gallons of old paint, and he said, “I’ll take it.”

He brought it to the silo grounds and “we used it to roll out all the brick walls . . . we were just caking walls and inviting people to come paint.”

“It’s an outlet to express ourselves,” he said. “I wanted it to be a super-dope unsanctioned museum, and it did become that, but it only lasted five or six years.”

The site has become more widely known and graffiti artists descend like locusts.

We’ve got more on the Damen Silos here.

From the press box

Despite his solid play, the Blackhawks’ Seth Jones has been his own harshest critic. Ben Pope breaks down Jones’ approach on the ice.
The trade that sent Nikola Vucevic from the Magic to the Bulls last March was a message sent by the Bulls’ front office to the rest of the league. Tonight will be his first return to Orlando since the deal.
Andy Dalton was the leader the Bears needed yesterday — but it stops there, Patrick Finley argues. Finley makes the case for why Justin Fields needs to start the minute he’s healthy enough to do so — as soon as Dec. 5 against the Cardinals.

Six games involving local teams vying for the IHSA state football title will kick off this weekend. Michael O’Brien previewed the matchups, laying out what you need to know.

Your daily question ?

What’s your most wild, in-store Black Friday memory?

On Wednesday, we asked you: What are you thankful for this year?

Here’s what some of you said…

“I am most thankful for still being alive, for my family, for my friends, and for my work.” — Tricia Fitzgerald

“I am thankful that my family has stayed healthy during year two of the pandemic.” — Rosanne Zicca

“The kindness of others, modern medicine, and being here today.” — Christine Bock

“For the first time in almost two years, I visited my adult offspring and grandchild in Buffalo/Rochester NY — the trip was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions in N.Y. My grandson was 2-years-old the last time I saw them, now he’s suddenly four! It was worth the wait because everyone is healthy.” — Jan Berg

Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

Sign up here to get the Afternoon Edition in your inbox every day.

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President of Brazil’s Olympic Committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman (left) and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach visit Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Jan. 22, 2014. | Associated Press file photo

Carlos Arthur Nuzman was on the International Olympic Committee when his colleagues were allegedly bribed in the vote that awarded the 2016 Games to Rio de Janeiro over several cities, including Chicago. Nuzman will remain free while he appeals.

SAO PAULO — Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the head of the Brazilian Olympic Committee for more than two decades, was sentenced to 30 years and 11 months in jail for buying votes for Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Olympics.

The ruling by Judge Marcelo Bretas became public Thursday.

Nuzman, who also headed the Rio organizing committee, was found guilty of corruption, criminal organization, money laundering and tax evasion.

The 79-year-old executive, who was an IOC member for 12 years including at the time his colleagues were allegedly bribed in the 2009 vote, won’t be jailed until all his appeals are heard.

He and his lawyer did not comment on the decision.

Bretas also sentenced to jail former Rio Gov. Sergio Cabral, businessman Arthur Soares and Leonardo Gryner, who was the Rio committee director general of operations. Investigators say all three and Nuzman coordinated to bribe the former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, Lamine Diack, and his son Papa Massata Diack for votes.

Cabral, who has been in jail since 2016 and faces other convictions and investigations, told Bretas two years ago he paid about $2 million in exchange for up to six votes in the International Olympic Committee meeting that awarded Rio the Olympic and Paralympic Games. He said the money came from a debt owed to him by Soares.

Cabral, who governed Rio state from 2003-10, added that another $500,000 was paid later to Diack’s son with the aim of securing three more votes of IOC members. Lamine Diack was a senior IOC member at the time

Bretas’ ruling labels Nuzman as “one of the main responsibles for the promotion and the organization of the criminal scheme, given his position in the Brazilian Olympic Committee and before international authorities.” The judge also said the sports executive “headed and coordinated action of the other agents, clearly as a leader” to illegally garnish support at the IOC.

The judge said he will send the results of the investigation to authorities in Senegal, where Papa Massata Diack and Lamine Diack live, and France. A French court in 2020 sentenced Lamine Diack to two years in jail for corruption while leading track and field. Now 88, Diack returned to Senegal in May.

Rio’s bid beat Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid to host the 2016 Games. The vote was held in Copenhagen, where then-President Barack Obama had traveled to campaign for his home city Chicago. Many years later, while still in office, Obama hinted at possible corruption in sports when he described the 2016 Olympic vote as “a little bit cooked.”

The investigation in Brazil began in 2017 after French newspaper Le Monde found members of the IOC had been bribed three days before the vote.

In 2017, the IOC suspended Nuzman’s honorary membership.

“Now, the IOC ethics commission will study the judgement against Mr. Nuzman and will make its recommendations as soon as it receives the full information from the Brazilian authorities,” the IOC said on Friday in a statement.

AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report

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Notre Dame’s Jimmie Fidanzia (2) reacts after scoring a touchdown against Kenwood. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

Ricciardi ran for two touchdowns in the first half and then stopped two Kenwood drives with interceptions as the Dons cruised to a 35-6 win at Gately Stadium in the 91st Prep Bowl.

Francesco Ricciardi had been waiting for this.

An all-conference running back/slotback, Ricciardi has done plenty on that side of the ball as Notre Dame’s leading receiver with almost 1,000 total yards.

But the Dons also needed some help in the secondary on Friday, and the junior delivered a big two-way performance.

Ricciardi ran for two touchdowns in the first half and then stopped two Kenwood drives with interceptions as the Dons cruised to a 35-6 win at Gately Stadium in the 91st Prep Bowl.

“I’ve been practicing [defense] since last year,” Ricciardi said. “I was just kind of there for reserve. It was fun to get out there.”

Ricciardi’s interceptions came at the Notre Dame 2-yard line and in the end zone, keeping Kenwood (10-3) from digging itself out of a 35-0 halftime deficit.

“He subbed in for somebody who was hurt,” Notre Dame coach Mike Hennessey said of Ricciardi. “That’s what happens. Good people create good situations.”

Notre Dame’s defense did that all day, getting seven takeaways: six interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Four of the takeaways came in the final 5:27 of the first half and two of those resulted in touchdowns: Randy Russ Jr.’s 27-yard pick-six and Jalil Johnson’s 25-yard scoop-and-score.

“Once we got that first pick, we knew it was time for us to turn up after that,” Johnson said.

Those TDs turned a 21-0 Notre Dame lead into a 35-0 halftime edge.

“It was really good to see our team come together more because we haven’t really had many takeaways this season,” Ricciardi said.

The Dons also scored on some razzle-dazzle as Colin Randazzo threw a 32-yard option pass to Nathan Garnhart for a TD in the first quarter. Randazzo ran for a game-high 74 yards on 25 carries, while Dons quarterback Vincenzo Ricciardi rushed eight times for 56 yards.

All in all, it was a redemptive performance for Notre Dame (7-6), which followed a 3-6 regular season with four straight wins in the Prep Bowl playoffs.

The record was deceiving, though. Five of the Dons’ losses came to teams that reached the IHSA quarterfinals, and two were against teams playing for state titles on Saturday: Fenwick and St. Rita.

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times
Notre Dame Players celebrate winning the Chicago Prep Bowl against Kenwood at Gately Stadium.

Being able to hit the reset button and get another month of practice along with the four wins was big for a team that will return some key skill players in 2022.

“It really gave us an opportunity to come full circle,” Hennessey said. “We struggled in the beginning [of the season], played some good teams. Probably in the long run, [that] really helped.

“The kids have demonstrated some resilience and persistence, and came out and played good, tough football.”

Like Notre Dame, Kenwood was playing in its first Prep Bowl. A bright spot for the Broncos was the defensive effort of junior linebacker K’Vion Thunderbird, who had an interception and 11 tackles. Quarterback Lou Henson scored Kenwood’s lone TD on a fourth-quarter run.

Coach Sinque Turner will remember the highlights: Kenwood’s first 10-win season and Prep Bowl appearance, a program-best third straight IHSA playoff berth and more.

“It was a season full of success and history,” he said. “I’m proud of my guys. You’ve got a lot of guys going Division I, making all-state, all-city.

“It was a good experience. We’ll learn from it. We’ll come back bigger, faster, stronger next year.”

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Matt Nagy stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter Thursday. | Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images

The Bears coach acknowledged Friday that dealing with rumors is part of his new reality.

Rumors about Matt Nagy’s job status aren’t going to go away because he beat the Lions by two. They figure to hover over Halas Hall the rest of the season, clearing only if the Bears go on a miraculous win streak or Nagy gets fired while there are still games to play. The latter remains far more likely the former.

Nagy, to his credit, acknowledged Friday that dealing with rumors is part of his new reality.

“Is this going to stop?” he said. “No. It’s probably going to continue. There’s still going to be rumors that happen. But as long as we understand as players, and coaches, and everyone in this building — what’s real and what the truth is — then we’re OK.”

Nagy pointed to Thursday’s 16-14 win against the Lions — the Bears’ first since Oct. 10 — as evidence that his team can handle distractions. That might be the only complimentary thing one could say about defeating a winless team at the gun.

“There’s a right and way to handle [distractions],” Nagy said. “The wrong way is you let it affect you. We didn’t do that, and we haven’t, and we won’t. Also, you stay ahead of it by knowing, like I just said ? not just us, but other players? there’s going to be more distractions. That’s just natural.”

The spark that threatened to set Halas Hall on fire Tuesday was a one-source story from a Patch.com reporter who doesn’t cover sports. It said Nagy had been told Monday he’d be fired Friday, whether he beat the Lions or not.

When “Black Friday” began and Nagy was still employed, the Patch.com reporter wrote: “Did I get bamboozled when a trusted source, in the position to know, told me Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy was told he would not be on the sidelines after Thanksgiving? Or did something change at Halas Hall after I reported what the high-level source told me? I don’t know.”

Tuesday, Nagy said he wasn’t told he’d be fired. Wednesday, McCaskey told Bears players it wasn’t true. Thursday, general manager Ryan Pace told the team’s pregame show it wasn’t true.

It’s unlikely Nagy would have been pre-fired — and then unfired — but never actually fired.

The Bears’ reluctance to have Nagy’s bosses shoot down the report quickly Tuesday, though, set the stage for a bizarre 72 hours.

Nagy laid out what he said was the truth Friday. Unprompted, he shot down recent reports of Bears’ dysfunction. He claimed a Shaw Media report that chairman George McCaskey forced Nagy to keep Justin Fields as his starting quarterback “couldn’t be … furthest from the truth.”

Refuting a Tribune report that players found Nagy canceling late Tuesday afternoon meetings to be bewildering — given the coach had talked to his superiors earlier that day — Nagy blamed a scheduling error. The Bears’ schedule mistakenly said there was a meeting, Nagy said, and he told his players there was not. He called it “almost comical” to believe the schedule change was “because I’m getting fired.”

However, confusion and doubt among some players Tuesday afternoon and later in the week was — as Nagy would say — real. And preventable.

“A lot in your head after going right from Sunday to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, then playing Thursday,” tight end Cole Kmet said after beating the Lions. “There’s a lot in your head. You don’t know what’s true and what’s not. That was difficult for me. You don’t know what’s going on. …

An Arlington Heights native, said he had to turn off his phone this week because his friends wanted to ask him about the rumors.

“It was pretty chaotic,” he said.

They’ll probably ask again.

The Bears have never fired a head coach during the season. For the first time, they have motivation — a new NFL rule allows teams to interview assistant coaches for head coaching jobs over the last two weeks of the season. The value of that disappears, though, if the Bears also decide to replace general manager Ryan Pace.

If upcoming games against the first-place Cardinals and Packers go as expected, perhaps McCaskey would consider firing Nagy after the rivalry game, given the Bears would then have eight days to prepare for a Monday contest against the Vikings. The next two opportunities to make a move would fall four days before Christmas or two days after it — a tough sell for a franchise rooted in family. After that, the Bears have only two games to go, with the window to talk to assistants already open.

Nagy can take a deep breath this weekend, though. He’s still here — with questions about his future standing right beside him.

“The personal side of it, for me, was yeah, it was a different 24-48 hours,” he said. “But the emotional side for me was in that locker room celebrating with the team, because they showed me how much they cared. And told me. And it was just pretty neat.”

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Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

All the scores from around the area.

Friday, November 26, 2021

NON CONFERENCE

Chicago Tech at Austin, 5:00

Holy Trinity at Richards (Chgo), 2:00

Ogden at Dunbar, 3:00

ASHTON-FRANKLIN CENTER

Durand vs. Midland, 6:00

Amboy vs. Hiawatha, 6:00

LaMoille vs. Polo, 7:30

Leland vs. Ashton-Franklin Center, 7:30

BATAVIA

Marmion vs. Waubonsie Valley, 6:00

Raby vs. Batavia, 7:30

BLOOM / MARIAN CATHOLIC

at Bloom

Lincoln-Way Central vs. Rich, 10:30

Thornton Fr. South vs. Homewood-Flossmoor, 12:

Bloom vs. Hyde Park, 1:30

Hillcrest vs. Marian Catholic, 3:30

BOYLAN

St. Charles North vs. Freeport, 4:00

Richwoods vs. Marshall, 5:30

Boylan vs. Rockford Lutheran, 7:00

BUFFALO GROVE

Mount Carmel vs. Morgan Park, 5:00

Crete-Monee vs. Buffalo Grove, 6:30

CALVARY (NORMAL)

Calvary Christian vs. Deland-Weldon, 9:30

Donovan vs. Greenview, 11:00

CLEMENTE

Phoenix vs. Mather, 1:00

Lincoln Park vs. Solorio, 2:30

Clemente vs. Catalyst-Maria, 4:00

COAL CITY / MANTENO

at Coal City

Gardner-So. Wilmington vs. Serena, 5:30

Coal City vs. Morris, 7:00

at Manteno

Beecher vs. IC Catholic, 5:30

Peotone vs. Manteno, 7:00

CRYSTAL LAKE CENTRAL

Barrington vs. Hononegah, 11:30

Belvidere North vs. Hampshire, 1:00

Grayslake Central vs. Crystal Lake Central, 2:30

DE PAUL / LANE

at DePaul

Legal Prep vs. Jones, 4:30

DePaul vs. Notre Dame, 6:00

at Lane

Lake View vs. Englewood STEM, 5:00

Niles North vs. Lane, 7:00

DECATUR

Eisenhower (Decatur) vs. Springfield Southeast, 1:

Peoria Central vs. Bolingbrook (JV), 2:30

Thornton vs. Manual, 6:00

Bolingbrook vs. MacArthur, 7:30

EISENHOWER / SHEPARD

at Shepard

Southland vs. Shepard, 10:00

Chicago Christian vs. Perpsectives-Lead, 11:45

Eisenhower vs. Marist, 1:30

Richards vs. Andrew, 3:15

EL PASO-GRIDLEY

Roanoke-Benson vs. Olympia, 5:30

East Peoria vs. El Paso-Gridley, 7:00

FENTON

Maine West vs. Timothy Christian, 2:30

Montini vs. Waukegan, 4:00

Wheaton-Warr. South vs. Fremd, 5:30

Fenton vs. Rolling Meadows,7:00

GALESBURG

Madison vs. Moline, 1:30

Galesburg vs. Madison, 7:00

GENESEO

East Moline vs. Kewanee, 10:30

Rockridge vs. Princeton, 1:30

Rock Falls vs. East Moline, 4:30

Princeton vs. Geneseo, 7:30

GIBSON CITY-MELVIN-SIBLEY

Hoopeston vs. Lexington, 1:00

Fisher vs. Armstrong-Potomac, 2:30

Tri-Point vs. Prairie Central, 4:00

Gibson City-MS vs. Iroquois West, 5:30

GLENBROOK NORTH / ST. PATRICK

at Glenbrook North

Prosser vs. Payton, 12:00

Wheaton North vs. Niles West, 1:30

Conant vs. De La Salle, 12:00

Glenbrook North vs. St. Patrick, 1:30

JOHNSBURG / RICHMOND-BURTON

at Johnsburg

Grayslake North vs. Richmond-Burton, 11:00

Johnsburg vs. McHenry, 12:30

Geneva vs. Crystal Lake South, 1:00

Huntley vs. Wauconda, 2:30

LISLE

West Chicago vs. Evergreen Park, 5:30

Lisle vs. Westmont, 7:00

NAPERVILLE NORTH / OSWEGO

at Oswego

Downers Grove South vs. Oswego, 2:00

Naperville North vs. DeKalb, 3:30

Hinsdale Central vs. West Aurora, 5:15

Oswego East vs. Neuqua Valley, 7:00

NORTHRIDGE

Vernon Hills vs. Wheeling, 4:00

Senn vs. Northridge, 5:30

OAK LAWN / REAVIS

at Oak Lawn

Oak Lawn vs. St. Laurence, 4:30

Lincoln-Way West vs. Agricultural Science, 6:00

at Reavis

Sandburg vs. Kennedy, 1:00

Bremen vs. Reavis, 2:30

OREGON

Aquin vs. North Boone, 5:45

Milledgeville vs. West Carroll, 5:45

South Beloit vs. Hinckley-Big Rock, 7:15

Rockford Christian vs. Morrison, 7:15

OTTAWA

Streator vs. Marengo, 11:30

Pontiac vs. LaSalle-Peru, 1:00

Dixon vs. Illinois Valley Central, 2:30

Marengo vs. Pontiac, 4:00

LaSalle-Peru vs. Streator, 5:30

Ottawa vs. Oak Forest, 7:00

PALATINE

Elk Grove vs. Jacobs, 1:00

Cary-Grove vs. Hersey, 2:30

Palatine vs. Stevenson, 4:15

Glenbrook South vs. York, 5:45

PEKIN

Plano at Notre Dame (Peoria), 2:00

Marion at Pekin, 6:00

Plano at Morton (IL), 7:30

QUINCY

Lake Forest Acad-Org vs. St. Mary’s (MO), 5:30

Miller Career (MO) vs. Quincy, 7:00

RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD

Morton vs. Zion-Benton, 12:00

Brother Rice vs. Curie, 1:30

Thornwood vs. University High, 3:00

Riverside-Brookfield vs. Oak Park-River Forest, 4:3

ROCK ISLAND

Brooks vs. Canton, 5:30

Collinsville vs. Rock Island, 7:00

ROCKFORD

at Jefferson

Larkin vs. Bogan, 2:00

Jefferson vs. North Chicago, 3:30

Bogan vs. Winnebago, 5:00

at Rockford East

Auburn vs. Perspectives-MSA, 10:00

North Chicago vs. Rockford East, 11:45

Perspectives-MSA vs. Harlem, 1:30

East St. Louis vs. Auburn, 3:15

Guilford vs. Clark, 5:00

Harlem vs. Larkin, 6:45

Rockford East vs. East St. Louis, 8:30

ROWVA-WILLIAMSFIELD

Henry-Senachwine vs. Riverdale, 2:00

ST. ANTHONY

Robinson vs. Breese Central, 3:00

Teutopolis vs. Mattoon, 4:30

Rantoul vs. Highland, 6:00

St. Anthony vs. Effingham, 7:30

ST. CHARLES EAST

East Aurora vs. Willowbrook, 2:30

Plainfield East vs. South Elgin, 4:00

Benet vs. Proviso East, 5:30

St. Charles East vs. Westinghouse, 7:00

ST. VIATOR

St. Viator vs. Libertyville, 3:30

Evanston vs. Prospect, 5:00

SENECA

Hall vs. St. Anne, 3:00

Mendota vs. Newark, 4:30

Somonauk vs. Herscher, 6:00

Reed-Custer vs. Seneca, 7:30

STAGG

Lindblom vs. Argo, 1:00

Nazareth vs. Stagg, 2:30

SYCAMORE

Sycamore vs. Sterling, 4:30

Rochelle vs. Sandwich, 3:00

Belvidere vs. Dundee-Crown, 7:30

Yorkville vs. Burlington Central, 6:00

WASHINGTON (IL)

Joliet West vs. Metamora, 9:00

Tinley Park vs. St. John Bosco (CA), 10:30

Kankakee vs. Denmark-Olar (SC), 12:00

St. Rita vs. Yorkville Christian, 9:15

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN

Indian Creek vs. St. Edward, 2:30

Genoa-Kingston vs. Elgin, 4:00

Horizon-Southwest vs. Walther Lutheran, 5:30

Cristo Rey-St. Martin vs. Westminster Christian, 7:

WETHERSFIELD

Bureau Valley vs. Stark County, 3:30

Putnam County vs. Annawan, 5:00

Elmwood vs. Wethersfield, 6:30

Notre Dame (Peoria) vs. Charlotte (FL), 8:00

WHEATON ACADEMY

Francis Parker vs. Metea Valley, 2:15

Plainfield North vs. Lake Park, 4:00

Downers Grove North vs. St. Francis, 5:45

Wheaton Academy vs. Bartlett, 7:30

WJOL / ST. FRANCIS UNIVERSITY

Minooka vs. Providence, 1:45

Plainfield Central vs. Bradley-Bourbonnais, 3:30

Romeoville vs. Lemont, 5:15

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A passenger walks through International Arrivals, at London’s Heathrow Airport, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. | Alberto Pezzali/AP

Within a few days of the discovery of the new variant, it has already impacted a jittery world sensitive to bad COVID-19 news, with deaths around the globe already standing at well over 5 million.

BRUSSELS — A slew of nations moved to stop air travel from southern Africa on Friday, and stocks plunged in Asia and Europe in reaction to news of a new, potentially more transmissible COVID-19 variant.

“The last thing we need is to bring in a new variant that will cause even more problems,” said German Health Minister Jens Spahn, amid a massive spike in cases in the 27-nation European Union, which is recommending a ban on flights from southern African nations.

Within a few days of the discovery of the new variant, it has already impacted a jittery world that is sensitive to bad COVID-19 news, with deaths around the globe already standing at well over 5 million.

The first cases outside Africa emerged in Israel, Hong Kong and Belgium.

Medical experts, including the World Health Organization, warned against any overreaction before all elements were clear, but nations that acted said their concerns were justified.

The EU is moving to impose a flight ban from southern Africa to the bloc and several of its nations already enforced one on their own.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said flights “should be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant, and travelers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules.”

She insisted extreme caution should be taken. “We do know that mutations could lead to the emergence and spread of even more concerning variants of the virus that could spread worldwide within a few months,” von der Leyen said.

The United Kingdom acted in the same vein.

“Early indications show this variant may be more transmissible than the delta variant and current vaccines may be less effective against it,” British Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers. “We must move quickly and at the earliest possible moment,” he said.

Belgium became the first EU country to announce a case of the variant.

“We have one case of this variant that is confirmed. It’s someone who came from abroad,” said Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke. “It’s a suspicious variant. We don’t know if it’s a very dangerous variant.”

Israel, one of the world’s most vaccinated countries, announced Friday that it has also detected the country’s first case of the new variant, in a traveler who returned from Malawi. The traveler and two other suspected cases have been placed in isolation. It said all three are vaccinated but that it is currently looking into their exact vaccination status.

The new variant immediately impacted stock markets around the world. Major indexes fell in Europe and Asia and Dow Jones futures dipped 800 points ahead of the market opening in the U.S.

“Investors are likely to shoot first and ask questions later until more is known,” said Jeffrey Halley of foreign exchange broker Oanda.

Oil prices plunged, with US. crude off 6.7% at $73.22 per barrel and the international Brent benchmark off 5.6% at $77.64, both unusually large moves for a single day. The pandemic caused oil prices to plunge during the initial outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 because travel restrictions reduced demand for fuel.

Airlines shares were hammered, with Lufthansa off 12.4%, IAG, parent of British Airways and Iberia, off 14.4%, Air France-KLM down 8.9% and easyJet falling 10.9%

The WHO cautioned that there was no need to jump to conclusions too fast.

Speaking before the EU announcement, Dr. Michael Ryan, the head of emergencies at the WHO said that “it’s really important that there are no knee-jerk responses.”

“We’ve seen in the past, the minute there’s any kind of mention of any kind of variation and everyone is closing borders and restricting travel. It’s really important that we remain open, and stay focused,” Ryan said.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed and said in a statement that it “strongly discourages the imposition of travel bans for people originating from countries that have reported this variant.” It added that “over the duration of this pandemic, we have observed that imposing bans on travelers from countries where a new variant is reported has not yielded a meaningful outcome.”

Those urgings were not received.

The U.K. announced that it was banning flights from South Africa and five other southern African countries effective at noon on Friday, and that anyone who had recently arrived from those countries would be asked to take a coronavirus test.

Germany said its flight ban could be enacted as soon as Friday night. Spahn said airlines coming back from South Africa will only be able to transport German citizens home, and travelers will need to go into quarantine for 14 days whether they are vaccinated or not.

Germany has seen new record daily case numbers in recent days and passed the mark of 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday.

Italy’s health ministry also announced measures to ban entry into Italy of anyone who has been in seven southern African nations — South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini — in the past 14 days due to the new variant. The Netherlands and the Czech Republic are planning similar measures.

The Japanese government announced that from Friday, Japanese nationals traveling from Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho will have to quarantine at government-dedicated accommodation for 10 days and do a COVID test on Day 3, Day 6 and Day 10. Japan has not yet opened up to foreign nationals.

The actions had a quick effect in the world of sports. A batch of British and Irish golfers withdrew from the Joburg Open before Friday’s second round after the U.K. government announced it was banning flights from South Africa.

The South African government said in a statement that the “U.K.’s decision to temporarily ban South Africans from entering the U.K. seems to have been rushed as even the World Health Organization (has) yet to advise on the next steps.”

The coronavirus evolves as it spreads and many new variants, including those with worrying mutations, often just die out. Scientists monitor for possible changes that could be more transmissible or deadly, but sorting out whether new variants will have a public health impact can take time.

The WHO’s technical working group is to meet Friday to assess the new variant — currently identified as B.1.1.529 — and may decide whether to give it a name from the Greek alphabet. It says coronavirus infections jumped 11% in Europe in the past week, the only region in the world where COVID-19 continues to rise. The WHO’s Europe director, Dr. Hans Kluge, warned that without urgent measures, the continent could see another 700,000 deaths by the spring.

Lorne Cook in Brussels, Colleen Barry in Milan, Pan Pylas in London, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Mike Corder in The Hague, Dave McHugh in Frankfurt, Carley Petesch in Dakar, Andrew Meldrum in Johannesburg and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed

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East St. Louis players celebrate after defeating Plainfield North 26-13 in the IHSA Class 7A high school championship football game, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016. | AP Photos

Scores from Friday and Saturday’s IHSA state football title games.

IHSA state football title games

Friday, Nov. 26

Class 1A
Lena-Winslow vs. Carrollton, 10 a.m.

Class 2A
Wilmington vs. Nashville, 1

Class 3A
Byron vs. Tolono Unity, 4

Class 4A
Joliet Catholic vs. Sacred Heart-Griffin, 7

Saturday, Nov. 27

Class 5A
Fenwick vs. Kankakee, Sat., 10 a.m.

Class 6A
Cary-Grove vs. East St. Louis, 1

Class 7A
Wheaton North vs. St. Rita, 4

Class 8A
Lockport vs. Maine South, 7

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Lilli (Susan Moniz) and Fred (Larry Adams) find each other irresistible on-stage and behind the scenes of the show-within-a-show that is “Kiss Me Kate,” currently running at the Marriott Theatre. | Liz Lauren

The cast delivers musical numbers to showstopping effect; it is difficult to imagine better all-hands-on-deck production numbers better than those that “Kiss Me Kate” pulls off.

There are several very good reasons to see the Marriott Theatre’s staging of “Kiss Me Kate.” You’ll see a marvelous musical — if you can ignore the plot and wholly focus on Cole Porter’s music and the spectacular choreography Alex Sanchez creates for director Johanna McKenzie Miller’s staging.

But that plot (book by Sam and Bella Spewack) largely lifted from Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” is a problem.

The good news is that the cast delivers the musical numbers to showstopping effect; it is difficult to imagine all-hands-on-deck production numbers better than those that “Kiss Me Kate” pulls off.

Set in 1948, the show-within-a-show centers on stage star Lilli Vanessi (Susan Moniz). Lilli is with a traveling troupe staging “The Taming of the Shrew,” playing Katharine, the titular shrew, opposite her ex-husband Fred Graham (Larry Adams), who is directing the show and co-starring as Petruchio, tamer of the alleged shrew.

The company also includes pragmatic bombshell Lois Lane (Alexandra Palkovic). Lois plays Kate’s insipid, much-wooed little sister Bianca in “Shrew.” Lois is also an actor “off-stage,” affecting a breathy-voiced Marilyn Monroe ditziness when there’s a man in the vicinity she wants to manipulate.

In Shakespeare’s play, Petruchio is a misogynist boor determined to bring Kate to heel. Fred is Petruchio’s modern-day counterpart, oozing ego and not above ad-libbing a spanking scene in “Shrew.”

As matters heat up, we are to conclude that both Lilli and Fred secretly still love each other, although it’s difficult to buy into this; he really is a jerk and she’s clearly got a double-digit IQ lead on him.

But if you’ve got to put up with a mess of hooey to get to numbers like the spectacular “Too Darn Hot” (led by a showstopping Jonathan Butler-Duplessis) and “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” (Lillian Castillo and Shea Coffman as gangsters making you wish vaudeville was still thriving), forsooth and for sure, it’s worth it.

Liz Lauren
Alexandra Palkovic and Daniel May are among the cast of Marriott Theatre’s production of “Kiss Me Kate.”

McKenzie Miller has Adams finding the funny in Fred/Petruchio’s utter lack of self-awareness. When Petruchio swaggers like a peacock on steroids through “I’ve Come to Wive it Wealthily in Padua,” it’s with an over-the-top macho-man bluster that’s impossible not to laugh at.

The supporting cast is an embarrassment of riches. As Bianca’s suitor Lucentio/Lois’ boyfriend Bill Calhoun, Daniel May floats through their duets with swoony grace. Allison Blackwell launches the big opening number — “Another Op’nin, Another Show” — with the glamor and roar the number demands.

Set designer Scott Davis manages the tricky business of creating both on- and off-stage worlds in the round, no small feat. And Theresa Ham’s colorful costumes brightly capture the silhouettes of the era.

Kate’s final monologue in “Shrew” has always been — problematic, to use the current word for it. In it, she states that women are “bound to serve, love and obey” their husbands, because a husband is “thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign…” you get the idea. It’s delivered largely in song here (“I Am Ashamed that People Are So Simple”), with Moniz making it delightfully unclear as to whether Lilli actually means it.

In “Shrew,” Kate’s final words are all about succumbing to Petruchio. In “Kiss Me Kate,” Moniz makes Kate’s last moments about the love of the theater, not necessarily her ex-husband. It goes a long way toward solving one of the show’s thorniest problems. But in spite of the text as much as because of it, McKenzie Miller makes “Kiss Me Kate” entertaining.

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