Glenbrook South’s Nick Martinelli (33) takes the ball down the court while Evanston’s Blake Peters (15) defends. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

A look at the preseason all-state team, the top state title contenders and much more.

Who is the best player in the Chicago area?

Glenbard West’s Braden Huff is the preseason choice. The Gonzaga recruit is 6-11 with guard skills. He’s a tremendous talent. But there are four major contenders, any of which could rise up and win the Player of the Year award: Young’s AJ Casey (Miami), Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt (Duke), Glenbrook South’s Nick Martinelli (Elon) and Thornton’s Ty Rodgers (Illinois).

Which players are on the preseason All-State Team?

This is an easy one. The five seniors listed above.

Which teams are the favorites to win Class 4A?

Preseason No. 1 Glenbard West and Young are the top-tier contenders. Kenwood, Glenbrook South, Curie and New Trier are in the second tier. St. Rita is likely too young to make a serious playoff push this season.

Is there a team that could make a Cinderella run in Class 4A?

New Trier is the one to watch. The Trevians have good shooters and bigs and play a challenging schedule that will prepare them for the playoffs.

Who are the favorites in Class 3A?

St. Ignatius, Simeon and Thornton are the top local 3A teams but keep an eye on Springfield Lanphier, which has 6-4 senior Tye Banks, 6-2 senior Cam Kincaid and talented junior Tevonta Jackson.

What are the other top teams from outside the area?

Tuscola, with Loyola recruit Jalen Quinn, is a top contender in Class 1A. East St. Louis, led by Missouri recruit Christian Jones and junior Macaleab Rich, is the best Metro East team. It should be a strong year for the Quad Cities, with Galesburg, Rock Island and Moline all poised for good seasons.

Which players are worth traveling to see?

Huff is a unique talent with a size and skill set that’s rare. And it is always fun to see a great high school team full of kids from the same community, that grew up together. So check out Glenbard West if you can. St. Rita is the other team not to miss. The Mustangs are loaded with talented sophomores, including 6-9 James Brown and Illinois recruit Morez Johnson. Check them out this year to get a look at what the future holds.

Which player has improved the most since last season?

Two city guards took major steps forward. Hyde Park junior Davontae Hall and Mount Carmel junior Deandre Craig should both post impressive numbers.

Which freshman is a budding superstar?

Young’s Antonio Munoz was very impressive at Riverside-Brookfield. Kenwood’s Bryce Heard, St. Rita’s Melvin Bell, Joliet West’s Jeremiah Fears and Fenwick’s Damion Porter Jr. are the other players to keep an eye on.

Who is the most important transfer?

The biggest transfer was JJ Taylor leaving Kenwood for Donda Academy in California. Kenwood also picked up the biggest addition, as Trey Pettigrew returned to the area from Arizona. He started high school at Fenwick.

Who are the most under-appreciated players in the area?

There are likely a ton of them. Unless a player was on one of the three elite club basketball teams, it was hard to get noticed during the pandemic. Watching those players emerge will be one of the joys of the next few months.

Which teams were overlooked in the preseason Super 25?

Expect a lot of turnover in the rankings this season. So much is unknown after the short season in February with no playoffs. Evanston, Lyons, Riverside-Brookfield and North Lawndale were the teams that just missed the preseason rankings. Expect Benet and Loyola to be strong, as usual.

What is the must-see game of the year?

Chicago fans are clearly excited about Sierra Canyon, with Amari Bailey and Bronny James, coming to play Simeon in February. But there is a must-see day this season. All four state title games will take place in Champaign on March 12. It’s the debut of the IHSA’s new state finals format and it should be tremendous.

What is the strongest conference in the area?

The Red South-Central just barely nudges out the Catholic League Blue. Both conferences have four ranked teams, but Simeon, Curie and Kenwood are all in the top 10.

Who are the top shooters?

Schutt, Glenbrook South’s Cooper Noard and Lake Forest’s Asa Thomas.

Which sophomores will emerge as stars?

Lemont’s Nojus Indrusaitis played like a star last season and should have a breakout year. All eyes will be on St. Rita. James Brown, a 6-9 center, showed his immense promise last season and 6-9 Morez Johnson committed to Illinois earlier this month.

Who are the area’s best big men?

New Trier’s 6-8 senior Jackson Munro received raves over the summer and Oak Forest’s 6-9 senior Robbie Avila is already an established force. Expect Bartlett’s 7-1 senior Conrad Luczynski to emerge after posting good numbers as a junior. Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Owen Freeman, a 6-9 junior, is another namet to watch.

Who are the top point guards?

Simeon’s Jaylen Drane and Lyons’ Tavari Johnson, an Akron recruit, are the best pure point guards in the senior class.

Who is the new coach to watch?

Phil Gary at Oak Park is probably the most interesting new coach, simply because the school is always loaded with talent. He coached last year, but the Huskies only played six games.

Will fans and players have to wear masks at games?

Yes. As of now, the Illinois Department of Public Health requires that everyone in the gym and in schools wear masks. That could change at any time, but it seems like a small price to pay to have basketball back.

Listen to the season debut of the No Shot Clock high school basketball podcast. Michael O’Brien and Joe Henricksen break down the preseason Super 25:

Read More

Sun-Times file photo

Inbound traffic was still being diverted during the morning rush near Damen Avenue after the man was shot and killed on a ramp to the northbound Kennedy, Illinois State Police said.

A 60-year-old man was killed and another man injured in separate shootings Thursday morning on Interstate 55 near DuSable Lake Shore Drive and on a ramp to the Kennedy Expressway.

Inbound traffic was still being diverted during the morning rush near Damen Avenue after the 60-year-old was shot and killed on a ramp to the northbound Kennedy, Illinois State Police said.

The man was shot around 5:40 a.m. in the inbound lanes of the Stevenson and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Walter Schroeder. His name hasn’t been released.

A little over two hours earlier, a 19-year-old man was wounded in a shooting on the inbound lanes of the Stevenson near DuSable Lake Shore Drive around 3:15 a.m., state police said.

The teen was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition, Schroeder said. State police said he was expected to survive.

State police did not say if they believed the shootings were connected.

The state police asked anyone with information on the shootings to call (847) 294-4400 or email [email protected].

Shootings on Chicago-area expressways have more than doubled over the last year. There have been 213 reports of shootings or shots fired so far in 2021, according to state police. In the same period in 2020, there were 101 reports of gunfire.

Expressway shootings this year have already eclipsed 2020’s year-end total of 128 shootings.

State police have said they increased overnight patrols in Chicago by diverting troopers from other areas in the state.

“We have not previously confronted the concentrated levels of gun violence we have faced in 2020 and 2021,” state police director Brendan F. Kelly said in late September while announcing the increased patrols.

Officials announced earlier this year that state police would be getting $12.5 million to install high-definition cameras to help investigate and deter expressway shootings.

Read More

Read More

Read More

A female northern harrier in flight. | northern harrier, marsh hawk, outdoors

Marsh Hawk Red Ale release to help northern harriers, “Illumination” opening at the Morton Arboretum, Illinois’ first firearm deer season Friday through Sunday, sandhill cranes at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area, a lunar eclipse viewing and an owl prowl are in “Go & Show.”

I plan to be deer hunting all three days of Illinois’ first firearm deer season, Friday through Sunday, Nov. 19-21. But I will take some breaks to handle family events and some other things.

I am debating whether to take time Saturday for the release of Marsh Hawk Red Ale by Oak Brewing in Willow Springs. The release is built into a bunch of bird festivities, including release of the trailer for ” `The Magic Stump,’ a new documentary featuring harriers and other rare raptors that visit an Illinois prairie in wintertime.”

Maybe I will get my deer early and have the weekend for other things. (Surely I jest.)

This morning, I plan to attend the Chicago Fishing Advisory Committee meeting, the first in-person meeting in more than a year and a half.

For “Go & Show” this week, there’s the events around marsh hawks, the opening of “Illumination” at the Morton Arboretum, a reminder that the count on sandhill cranes should be spiking over the next couple weeks (I usually make my annual sandhill-crane trek about around this time), a lunar eclipse viewing and an owl prowl.

DEER: Even people who aren’t hunters should also remember that the first firearm deer season is open Friday through Sunday in many counties. For me, it is my favorite time of the year.

MARSH HAWK: Details on the events and timing around the marsh hawk festivities are below, via Bob Dolgan, the talent behind “Monty and Rose:”

WILLOW SPRINGS, Ill. (Nov. 17, 2021) – A day of bird festivities are set for Saturday, Nov. 20, as Imperial Oak Brewing in Willow Springs releases Marsh Hawk Red Ale, a tribute to the state endangered Northern Harrier, aka the Marsh Hawk, a slim hawk of Illinois marshes, prairies and farm fields. Marsh Hawk Red Ale features hints of cranberry, cinnamon and vanilla and is designed to pair with a hearty autumn meal. Northern Harriers are among the species threatened by the possible removal of Bell Bowl Prairie, an ancient gravel prairie at Chicago Rockford International Airport. The prairie’s been given a reprieve until March 1 as the airport and other officials further study the plan to place a new road at the site for the transport of cargo, however the Rockford Airport Authority stated last week that “There’s no way to remove [a proposed road] that doesn’t affect the prairie.”

The listing of activities and times is below:

Bird walk at Willow Springs Woods, near the intersection of Flavin Road and Archer Avenue, at 8:30 a.m.

First tapping of Marsh Hawk Red Ale at Imperial Oak Brewing, 501 Willow Boulevard, Willow Springs, at 11 a.m.

Release of trailer for “The Magic Stump,” a new documentary featuring harriers and other rare raptors that visit an Illinois prairie in wintertime, at Imperial Oak Brewing, 501 Willow Boulevard, Willow Springs, at approximately noon.

Marsh Hawk Red Ale will be available in cans and on tap at Imperial Oak’s locations in Willow Springs and Brookfield (9526 Ogden). The beer release follows the success of Piping Plover Pale Ale, another bird-inspired brew from Imperial Oak that’s a tribute to “Monty” and “Rose,” the endangered Piping Plovers that have captivated Chicagoans the past three summers.

A percentage of proceeds from Marsh Hawk Red Ale benefit efforts to save Bell Bowl Prairie from development at the airport. Just 20 or so acres of gravel prairie remain in all of Illinois. According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, Northern Harrier populations have declined by 47% since the 1960s due to habitat loss and pesticides. The species is found in only a few remaining locations in Illinois, including Bell Bowl Prairie.

Click here for a sneak peek at “The Magic Stump” trailer, featuring birder Tyler Funk.

For more information:

https://imperialoakbrewing.com/

www.themagicstump.com

https://www.savebellbowlprairie.org/

ILLUMINATION: The annual holiday festival of tree lights at Morton Arboretum begins Saturday, Nov. 20. It’s become an event that my wife and I find a good couples night. And we also see lots of extended families, as in three generations.

Details are below:

Illumination: Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum returns to walking trail Nov. 20

–Five new light displays and world music featured–

LISLE, Ill. (Nov. 17, 2021) — Those looking for a unique winter light show this year will find it in the ninth annual Illumination: Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum, opening Nov. 20 with five new features and a curated selection of music from around the world along the walking path.

Illumination attendees will find familiar favorite features from previous years, as well as the newly created experiences of the Arboretum’s 26-foot tall Human+Nature Hallow sculpture lit at night, a glittering entry gateway, passage through 150 colorful lanterns, a blanket of white lights across a hilltop meadow and a conifer trail lined with dozens of spectacularly colored light reeds.

Arboretum Vice President of Learning and Engagement Preston Bautista, Ph.D., said that the use of music throughout the trail will immerse guests in the outdoor experience from beginning to end, while creating a welcoming feel for those from a variety of cultures and with different musical tastes. The wide variety of 20 selections include seasonal classics from The Nutcracker, festive music from cultures worldwide, as well as Harry Potter and Frozen 2 tracks.

Illumination runs from Nov. 20 through Jan. 2, 2022. Guests can warm up by crackling fires and roast marshmallows for s’mores, or stop in one of the concession tents for a snack and beverage. Also new this year is a special photo backdrop in Arbor Court. Returning favorites include Treemagination, Symphony Woods, Woodland Wonder, Ornament Hill, The Champion Tree, Enchanted Forest and Crown of Light.

The exhibition was custom designed and developed uniquely for The Morton Arboretum in partnership with international media and exhibit designers Lightswitch LLC and features energy-efficient, eco-friendly LED lighting.

Tickets are recommended to be purchased online in advance at mortonarb.org, since many nights traditionally sell out and tickets may not be available at the door. Ticket prices range from $8 to $24 per person. Children under age 2 will be admitted free of charge. Questions about the event can be directed to the Ticket Line at 630-725-2066.

Illumination will open each evening at 4:30 p.m., with last entry at 8:30 p.m. Lights go out at 9:30 p.m. The exhibition is closed Nov. 22, 25 (Thanksgiving) and 29, and December 6, 13, 24 (Christmas Eve) and 25 (Christmas Day).

SANDHILL CRANES: It’s been a slow start to the gathering of sandhill cranes at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area, southeast of Valparaiso, Ind. Normally this is about the time I trek over there. But I am waiting to see what the latest count is before I do that. The count normally occurs Tuesday morning, but this week is Thursday morning. If numbers come in, I will update here.

If going there, the best time to see the most sandhills is about an hour before sunset to sunset. It quiets down quickly when the sun goes down. If you want to make more of a day of it, drive around the backroads in the area before climbing the viewing tower, you will find cranes out in the fields.

Click here for more information on viewing the sandhills and the rare whooping crane at Jasper-Pulaski FWA.

ECLIPSE VIEWING, OWL PROWL: The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center in Willow Springs holds Partial Lunar Eclipse Wiewing event tonight (well, early tomorrow morning). If I wasn’t driving to deer hunting then, I think I would be there. Registration is required at (708) 839-6897.

I enjoy owl prowls. Here’s a good chance for those living south. Owl Prowl for Big Kids & Adults is Friday night, Nov. 19, at Hickory Creek Preserve.

Registration required by Friday, November 19, by calling 708.946.2216 or online: https://apm.activecommunities.com/…/owl-prowl-for…/7892

Read More

What a start to the season it has been for the Chicago Bulls. At 10-5, the Bulls look like the cream of the Eastern Conference crop right now. One of the reasons this Bulls team has been so good is because of […] 3 reasons the Chicago Bulls must trade for Marvin Bagley – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

Read More

Nine people were shot, one fatally, November 17, 2021 in Chicago. | Sun-Times file photo

A man was shot to death while driving in the 1100 block of South Keeler Avenue.

A person was killed and eight others were wounded in shootings Wednesday across Chicago.

In the day’s only fatal attack, a man was shot to death while driving in Lawndale on the West Side Wednesday morning.

The man, 32, was shot in the 1100 block of South Keeler Avenue about 12:45 a.m., Chicago police said. He crashed his car at Roosevelt Road and Keeler Avenue.

The man was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. His name has not yet been released.

In nonfatal shootings, four people were wounded in a drive-by shooting outside a restaurant in the West Loop early Wednesday.

The group was standing outside Alhambra Palace in the 1200 block of West Randolph Street when a black Jeep Cherokee drove past and someone inside opened fire about 12:45 a.m., police said. The Jeep fled east on Randolph Street.

A 41-year-old man was struck in the knee and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in fair condition, police said. A woman, believed to be in her early twenties, was also struck in the knee and taken to the same hospital in fair condition.

A 30-year-old man was struck in the left leg and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition, police said. Another 30-year-old man was struck in the thigh and taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition.

Wednesday afternoon, a 20-year-old man was shot in Humboldt Park on the Northwest Side.

About 3:30 p.m., the man was in the 900 block of North Lawndale Avenue when he heard shots, police said. He was struck in the chest and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.

A 25-year-old man was critically wounded in a shooting Wednesday night in Englewood on the South Side.

The man was sitting in his vehicle about 8:30 p.m. in the 5600 block of South Racine Avenue when a dark-colored SUV drove up and someone from inside fired shots, police said. He was struck in both arms and was taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.

At least two others were wounded in citywide gun violence Wednesday.

Seven people were shot Tuesday in Chicago.

Read More

Read More

As Venus Williams (Saniyya Sidney) practices, her father (Will Smith) watches the action in “King Richard.” | Warner Bros.

Funny and inspirational, he disappears into the role of the man obsessed with bringing his daughters to the top of their game.

Some 15 years after Will Smith gave one of his most authentic and enduring performances playing the real-life homeless salesman Chris Gardner in “The Pursuit of Happyness,” he delivers nomination-worthy work as another type of real-life salesman in “King Richard.”

Only this time around, Smith isn’t selling portable bone-density scanners; he’s pitching the American dream, he’s banking on the incredible potential of his young tennis-playing daughters Venus and Serena — and he’s selling himself as their manager, their mentor, their father, their king who believes they will ascend to thrones as the undisputed queens of tennis.

Spoiler alert: Against all odds, Venus and Serena Williams actually delivered on their father’s seemingly unrealistic expectations and have done pretty well on and off the tennis court through the years, winning a combined 30 Grand Slam events and changing the sport forever. We know the ending to this story, and yet director Reinaldo Marcus Green (“Monsters and Men”), working from a finely honed script by Zach Braylin, has fashioned an exciting, inspirational, warmly funny and deeply involving sports movie about a father who came from nothing and was known by nobody but was determined to the point of obsession with making sure everyone would know the names of his tennis prodigy daughters.

We “know” Will Smith as well as we know any major movie star/celebrity of the last 30+ years, and yet Smith does a remarkable job of disappearing into the look, the mannerisms, the speech patterns and the persona of Richard, who always looks a little haggard and hunched over, as if he’s still recovering from the latest beatdown (physical or otherwise) life has laid on him.

“King Richard” kicks off in the Compton of the early 1990s, with Richard working night shifts as a security guard and his wife Oracene “Brandy” Williams (Aunjanue Ellis), logging long hours as a nurse, as they raise their five daughters in a strict household where schoolwork is a priority and dad is always teaching life lessons, whether he’s delivering another lecture at home or driving the girls to public tennis courts where they plaster inspirational, homemade signs on the fences while hitting ball after ball after ball after ball — and then they hit some more, rain or shine, day or night. At times Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) roll their eyes at Daddy’s militaristic discipline and wish they could just be kids, but they clearly love the game, they’re obviously super talented and they have infectious, winning personalities. They’re also competitive as hell, and they’re in it to win it.

Still, this whole thing is nuts. Richard is nuts. As one prospective coach tells him before turning him down, he’s asking people to believe he has the next Mozart of tennis — make that the next TWO Mozarts of tennis — living in his house. (We’re constantly reminded throughout the story that tennis has traditionally been a sport for the wealthy and the white.) Yet despite resistance and skepticism from the established tennis community, not to mention the local gangs harassing the girls and beating the hell out of Richard and a nosy neighbor across the street who thinks Richard is abusive and calls the cops on him, nothing will stop him and his mission to wake the world to the wonders that are Serena and Venus.

Eventually, Richard and the girls draw the attention of real-life tennis coaches Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn) and then Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal), and kudos to both Goldwyn and Bernthal for overcoming the unfortunate hairstyles and tighty-tight tennis shorts of the time to create fully realized characters. (Bernthal is particularly effective at playing Macci, who becomes a long-term partner to Richard and adores the girls and wants what’s best for them, but is constantly clashing with the infuriatingly headstrong Richard, who at times seems more concerned about what’s best for Richard than what’s best for the girls.)

At times “King Richard” feels a bit overlong, as certain messages are conveyed time and again. It also glosses over some of Richard’s dalliances and personal foibles — though there is a powerful and important scene relatively late in the film in which Oracene lays into Richard for making major decisions about the girls without consulting her and reminds him he hasn’t done this alone, that she’s been there every step of the way. And every step of the way, even when Venus and Serena are in their dad’s shadow, Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton are so strong and real and likable and believable as the girls, they remind us the people most responsible for the success of the Serena and Venus Williams — even more than King Richard — are Serena and Venus Williams.

Read More