Hammock has it going with the Huskies. | Getty

Coach Thomas Hammock’s Huskies — one of the most surprising success stories in college football — keep outlasting one opponent after another.

Two minutes and 57 seconds. Otherwise known as an eternity.

That’s how long it took for officials to uphold Northern Illinois’ go-ahead two-point conversion in the final minute of a season-opening 22-21 upset win at Georgia Tech.

“It felt so long because you weren’t sure, right?” Huskies coach Thomas Hammock said two happy months later. “You’re on the road, playing a Power 5 opponent. There were so many variables, you didn’t know which way it would go.”

After Rocky Lombardi’s touchdown pass to roommate Clint Ratkovich, Hammock kept his offense on the field. For a coach coming off a winless 2020 season, it was a bold move. A run stopped short, a pass batted down — either would be crushing.

But Lombardi rolled right and, a split-second before being blasted by a blitzing linebacker, found a friend in the back of the end zone. Tyrice Richie twisted his body to snag a ball thrown slightly behind him, his left hand hit the turf while cradling the ball — which bounced a bit — and then, well, you know how it goes. Confusion. Tension. A desperate waiting game. Let’s round up and call it three minutes of purgatory.

NIU blocked a 60-yard field goal try on the final play to seal the first college victory many on the team had experienced. The Huskies were the second-youngest team in the country last season — starting 11 true freshmen — when they went 0-6 amid the preparation challenges and pervasive strangeness of pandemic football.

“Thanks for believing,” Hammock told his players in the locker room. “This is your validation.”

From the start, Hammock has told this team how hard it would be to win. You don’t go from 0-6 to blowing people out. Instead, the Huskies — one of the most surprising success stories in the country — have outlasted one opponent after another. They upset Toledo 22-20 with five field goals from John Richardson, the last one coming with 26 seconds to go. They upset Central Michigan 39-38 with a comeback from 18 points down and another last-minute field goal, this one by backup kicker Kanon Woodill. Both those wins came on the road, too.

The Huskies are bowl-eligible at 6-2 and the only Mid-American Conference team with an unbeaten record in league play. Hammock, in his third season at his alma mater, is building something in a way predecessors Rod Carey and Dave Doeren didn’t have to.

“I’m not going to say I didn’t think this was possible,” Hammock said. “I thought if we were able to [compete] early, the players would handle the moment the right way given what they’ve been through.”

And speaking of strangeness, November — the MAC’s silly season — has arrived. That means games on days of the week the football gods never intended. For NIU, it means three straight Wednesday games, starting this week at Kent State, followed by a Tuesday regular-season finale. All four contests will be on ESPN2 or ESPNU, giving college fans — even those of down-and-out Illinois and Northwestern — a chance to watch a pretty good in-state team get after it.

Nineteen years ago, one game into his own senior season, Hammock — a two-time 1,000-yard running back who scored 25 touchdowns at NIU — had to stop playing after being diagnosed with a heart condition. He spent the next few months soaking up what he could from his coaches while an idea of what he might do with his life started kicking around in his head.

He began as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin, to where he eventually returned as running backs coach and led one of the greatest groups — Montee Ball, James White, Melvin Gordon — the college game has seen. After that came five years in the NFL as running backs coach of the Ravens, who ranked second in the league in rushing in 2018, Hammock’s last season.

All that was great, but steering his own ship back in DeKalb has been better. When he interviewed for the job, he told the administration that Year 3 was when they’d really learn what a Hammock-led program was all about.

“It took some time,” he said, “but now you can see it.”

It was worth the wait.

JUST SAYIN’

State football rankings, current edition: 1. NIU, 2, Southern Illinois, 3. Illinois, 4. Northwestern, 5. Bears.

Get a load of the SIU, 6-2 and ranked No. 7 in the Football Championship Subdivision.

“Shame on you,” wrote an emailer because I haven’t shown any love to the Salukis.

What was it George W. Bush said? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me … you can’t get fooled again.

o On second thought, are the Bears too high at No. 5? Loyola Academy up in Wilmette is looking mighty tough.

o So, Scottie Pippen has a memoir — entitled “Unguarded” — coming out in which he rips Michael Jordan, the Bulls organization and the “Last Dance” documentary series?

If that’s his diabolical plan to get me to watch all 10 episodes again, it’ll probably work.

Also, wouldn’t “Unguarded” have been a better name for a Dickey Simpkins memoir?

o Congratulations to Illinois center Kofi Cockburn, who was voted an AP preseason All-American along with Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, Villanova’s Collin Gillespie and Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis. Cockburn also was named the Big Ten’s preseason player of the year in a media vote.

This is where I — an AP voter — admit that my first-team votes went to Timme, Juzang, Gillespie, Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim and Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell.

Cockburn is terrific, but Liddell — a two-time Illinois Mr. Basketball and two-time state champion at downstate Belleville West — is the Big Ten’s best all-around player. His inside-outside scoring ability and defensive versatility will have him in the Wooden Award hunt until the very end.

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Holly Mathews (left) and Jonathan Ceballos were killed in a shooting Sunday that wounded at least nine other people. | Provided/GoFundMe

“I really hope they get these guys. This isn’t right, this isn’t right at all,” said Sharyl Mathews, mother of Holly who was killed early Sunday.

At 22, Holly Mathews had her life figured out.

She was in her senior year of college, studying to be an arborist while working two jobs. Two weeks ago, she became engaged and was choosing bridesmaids.

“Her time was precious,” said her mom Sharyl Mathews, days after her daughter was gunned down during a Halloween party where 10 other people were shot early Sunday. “It’s hard to breathe. My daughter was my whole world.”

Mathews had gone out with a friend to a house party in Frankfort. They left around midnight and, at the suggestion of the friend, stopped by another party in Joliet Township.

“They felt a bad vibe and were there for only 10 minutes,” Sharyl Mathews said.

Before they could leave, two gunmen opened fire from an elevated porch into the crowd of around 200 people in the backyard of a home in the 1000 block of East Jackson Street.

Provided photo
Holly Mathews (right) and her mother Sharyl Mathews (left).

Mathews was shot in the ribs and was pronounced dead in the yard. A man, also 22, was killed. Nine other people were hospitalized, and one remains in critical condition.

Sharyl Mathews said she fell to the ground when the sheriff’s office knocked on her door with the news. “We love her very much,” she said by phone Tuesday. “I don’t know how to go on without her.”

The other person who died was Jonathan Ceballos, remembered by family as “a great brother, friend and son.”

“I remember how much you used to love riding horses, going to Mexico, how we used to play soccer together all the time and how you always made people laugh,” his younger brother Carlos Ceballos wrote in an online fundraiser.

“I honestly can’t believe you were taken from us at such a young age,” he said. “You didn’t deserve this.”

Police had been called at least three times about noise at the party but had not tried to disperse the crowd. Police said the shooting appeared to be gang-related but offered no details.

No arrests have been made, though Mathews said police told her they are sifting through evidence. “I really hope they get these guys,” she said. “This isn’t right, this isn’t right at all.”

‘Always smiling’

Mathews recalled how sweet her daughter was to be around. “She was always smiling. She made friends with everyone. She was goofy and funny,” she said.

Her daughter was creative, and could paint, draw and construct mosaics. Mathews was very close to her 17-year-old sister and “best friend,” her mother said.

After a fire at the family home last year, Holly Mathews moved in with her partner. He proposed to her two weeks ago while they vacationed in Utah. Her boyfriend had helped her get a job at his workplace, a tree trimming tool manufacturer, and sparked her interest in being an arborist, her mother said.

She switched her major from nursing but continued working a second job as a nursing assistant at a rehab center.

“She was a workaholic,” her mother recalled. “She was on track to be successful. They were talking about buying their own house. And now it’s gone.”

Mathews’ funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday at Fred C. Dames Funeral Home in Joliet.

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Workers begin to remove the Cleveland Indians sign from above the scoreboard at Progressive Field. | Ron Schwane/AP

The removal of the letters is expected to take several days. The sign will be placed in storage while the club evaluates options for a permanent spot for it. A new “Guardians” sign will replace the old one and be erected before opening day 2022.

CLEVELAND — The Indians began removing the team’s scripted logo atop the giant scoreboard at Progressive Field on Tuesday as they transition their name to the Guardians.

Crews started dismantling the letters, beginning with the “I” on the 80-foot-long sign. It’s another step in the offseason change for the Major League Baseball team, which has been called the Indians since 1915.

The removal of the letters is expected to take several days. The sign will be placed in storage while the club evaluates options for a permanent spot for it.

A new “Guardians” sign will replace the old one and be erected before opening day 2022.

The American League franchise announced earlier this year it was changing its name in a move prompted by a national reckoning on racist names and symbols.

The team already has removed other signage inside and outside the downtown ballpark. The team’s official name switch is expected to take place in a few weeks, when Guardians merchandise will go on sale.

The changeover hit a snag last week when a roller derby team known since 2013 as the Cleveland Guardians sued the baseball team in federal court, alleging the switch infringes on its trademark.

In a statement, the Indians said they don’t believe there is a conflict between the parties and they remain confident in their position to move forward with the name change.

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Kyle Rittenhouse, center, is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha in August 2020. | Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP pool

But Rittenhouse’s attorney told the jury that his client acted in self-defense.

KENOSHA, Wis. — Jurors heard starkly different portrayals of Kyle Rittenhouse — instigator or victim — in opening statements Tuesday at his trial on charges of shooting three men on the streets of Kenosha during a turbulent protest against racial injustice.

A prosecutor said Rittenhouse set the bloodshed in motion when he started a confrontation with the first man gunned down that night, and killed him with a bullet to the back.

But Rittenhouse’s attorney told the jury that his client acted in self-defense after the first man tried to grab Rittenhouse’s gun and others kicked him in the face and clubbed him in the head with a skateboard.

“You as jurors will end up looking at it from the standpoint of a 17-year-old under the circumstances as they existed,” defense attorney Mark Richards said.

Rittenhouse, now 18, is charged with killing two men and wounding a third during the summer of 2020 with an assault-style rifle. The one-time aspiring police officer could get life in prison if convicted.

The teenager traveled to Kenosha from his home in Illinois, just across the Wisconsin state line, after protests broke out over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer. Rittenhouse said he went there to protect property after two nights in which rioters set fires and ransacked businesses.

The first witness was his sister’s boyfriend, Dominick Black, who bought the rifle for Rittenhouse months before the shootings because he was not old enough to own one at the time.

Black testified that he and Rittenhouse went to downtown Kenosha to help protect a car dealership from property damage, after cars at another lot owned by the same business were burned the night before. Black said he thought nobody would start trouble if they saw him with his assault-style rifle.

Black said he was on the rooftop when he heard gunshots but didn’t know Rittenhouse was involved until Rittenhouse called and said, “I shot somebody, I shot somebody.”

Afterward, Black said, Rittenhouse was “freaking out. He was really scared. He was pale, shaking a lot.” Black said Rittenhouse told him that he acted in self-defense because “people were trying to hurt him.”

In his opening statement, prosecutor Thomas Binger described the unrest in Kenosha as “two of the roughest nights that our community has ever seen,” and said outsiders were drawn to the city “like moths to a flame.”

Yet Binger repeatedly stressed that amid the hundreds of people in Kenosha and the anger and chaos in the streets, “the only person who killed anyone is the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse.”

“When we consider the reasonableness of the defendant’s actions, I ask you to keep this in mind,” Binger said, after explaining to the jury that a claim of self-defense can be valid only if Rittenhouse reasonably believed he was using deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

The prosecutor said that it is not known exactly what words were said, but it is clear that Rittenhouse started a confrontation that caused the first person shot that night, Joseph Rosenbaum, to begin chasing Rittenhouse across a parking lot.

Binger emphasized, too, that Rosenbaum, 36, was killed by a shot to the back after he threw a plastic bag. The prosecutor noted that the first two bullets hit Rosenbaum in the lower extremities, causing him to fall forward.

Richards, the defense attorney, argued that it was Rosenbaum who “lit the fuse that night.” Rosenbaum yelled an expletive at Rittenhouse and lunged for his gun before Rittenhouse fired at him, according to the defense.

Rittenhouse fired four shots in less than a second because Rosenbaum was “trying to take Kyle’s weapon from him to use against him,” Richards said.

Binger, the prosecutor, said that after shooting Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse fled the scene instead of rendering aid, despite portraying himself as a medic earlier in the night. But Richards said Rittenhouse didn’t stop to help because the crowd wanted to “kill him,” and instead ran toward police.

The crowd at that point clearly believed Rittenhouse was an active shooter, according to the prosecutor.

Moments after shooting Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin, who was seen on bystander video hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard. He wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, a protester from West Allis, Wisconsin, who had a gun in his hand as he stepped toward Rittenhouse.

The defense also apparently pushed back against the notion that Rittenhouse was an outsider drawn to Kenosha by a call to arms on right-wing social media. Richards said Rittenhouse had strong ties to Kenosha — his father lived there and Rittenhouse worked in Kenosha County as a lifeguard — and had seen livestreams of what was happening.

As his attorney displayed photos and video clips from the night of the shootings, Rittenhouse, wearing a dark pinstriped suit and tie, leaned on his elbows to view the images on a desktop monitor. He sat ramrod straight as audio of gunfire was played, and occasionally turned toward jurors, seeming to scrutinize their reactions.

His mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, sat behind him.

The most serious count against Rittenhouse, first-degree intentional homicide, is Wisconsin’s top murder charge.

Rittenhouse has been painted by supporters on the right — including foes of the Black Lives Matter movement — as a patriot who took a stand against lawlessness by demonstrators and exercised his Second Amendment gun rights. Others see him as a vigilante and police wannabe.

He is white, as were those he shot, but many activists see an race as an underlying issue in the case, in part because the protesters were on the streets to decry police violence against Black people.

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Carla Sumerlin with her son Torrence Sumerlin. | Provided

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 sunny with a high near 45 degrees. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low around 30. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 45.

Top story

Mom wants help finding son’s killer: ‘I never thought anyone would kill him over a pair of shoes’

Carla Sumerlin feels like she needs to do something to help catch her son’s killer.

So last week she sent letters to everyone on the 2400 block of West Polk reminding them that her son’s life was taken on that block and asking for anyone with information to contact the police.

Torrence Sumerlin, 26, an avid gym shoe collector, was there about 10:20 a.m. on August 26 to meet someone to sell a pair of Air Jordans.

Instead two people who’d been hiding nearby rushed him as he stood by his open trunk and shot Sumerlin in the chest.

Carla Sumerlin said she worried about previous such meetups to sell shoes and would call her son and ask him, “You OK? You want me to stay on the phone? Where are you?” and her son would assure her he was in a safe area.

“I always worried about him but I never thought anyone would kill him over a pair of shoes,” she said.

The assailants never even grabbed the shoes, said Carla Sumerlin, speculating that her son’s size and physique might have spooked the would-be robbers.

“He was an athlete. He worked out every day,” she said.

Read Mitch Dudek’s full story here.

More news you need

A person was arrested and remained in police custody as of this morning after two 13-year-old boys were shot, one of them fatally, on Halloween in northwest Indiana. Trick-or-treating had officially ended in the town shortly before the shooting occurred, an official said.

The Chicago Park District voted today to release a special counsel report on the “management response” to the burgeoning lifeguard scandal. The report will be made public this afternoon and a press conference is planned for later today.

Some Chicago Public Schools teachers say they were “blindsided” by the district’s enforcement of a 2019 privacy law that’s led them to lose access to key computer programs used to teach students. Sneha Day has more on how CPS’ interpretation of the law has cut off teachers from popular educational software.

Veterans Day is coming up, so the National Women Veterans United group celebrated contributions and stories of women veterans. Maudlyne Ihejirika has more on last weekend’s event, which featured keynote speaker Jessica Lynch, a former U.S. soldier and prisoner of war.

A bright one

Community projects see hope with new city pilot program

For 20 years, Heaven Gallery has opened its Wicker Park doors to artists and curators around the city.

Now, using art in a call for social justice, the gallery is highlighting the work of Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) artists in its Equity Arts Project.

“We know that creative neighborhoods have artists and they have arts organizations, but they’re constantly being displaced and moved around,” said Alma Wieser, president for Equity Arts and director of Heaven Gallery.

The project looks to end that displacement and provide “wealth building pathways” through mentorships, curating programs and exhibitions.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Heaven Gallery, located at 1550 N. Milwaukee Ave. in the West Town neighborhood, is one of 11 community-based projects to earn funds through the new Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Pilot Program announced Oct. 20.

But the project has been threatened by the owners placing the building at 1550 N. Milwaukee Ave. up for sale. Developers began circling in 2019, and only the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic kept the gallery safe from being sold for a while. Then, this fall, an uptick in crime in the neighborhood once again put a pause on interested developers moving forward.

And now, Equity Arts has been given another chance.

On Oct. 20, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Pilot Program in partnership with Elevated Chicago and Enterprise Community Partners.

Designed to promote healthy, walkable and affordable neighborhoods, 11 community-driven projects have been selected.

“Our ultimate goal with the ETOD program is to maximize the benefits that high-quality, affordable and reliable transit provides to our communities,” said Lightfoot in a press release. “Each of these 11 projects will help us fulfill this mission in an equitable and community-conscious way, as well as help to improve the overall wellbeing of our residents.”

Read Cheyanne M. Daniels’ full story here.

From the press box

DeMar DeRozan, who put up 37 points in the Bulls’ comeback win over Boston last night, brings a welcomed dose of calm to the roster.

Justin Fields showed against the 49ers what he can do operating mainly off otherworldly instincts. Now it’s on the Bears’ coaching staff to put the rookie in a position to take the offense to the next level, Mark Potash writes.
For all the excitement over Fields’ play Sunday, the Bears still scored just 22 points in a loss. Maybe fans should cool off on the excitement a bit, Rick Telander writes.
Based on an early excerpt from Scottie Pippen’s memoir, he’s not a big fan of Michael Jordan these days.

If the Broncos could trade Von Miller, can the Bears trade Khalil Mack?

Your daily question ?

How do you feel about Scottie Pippen taking shots at Michael Jordan and the Bulls in his new memoir?

Send us an email at [email protected] and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: When do you think it’s acceptable to start hearing Christmas music? Here’s what some of you said…

“The day after Thanksgiving at the very earliest. Anyone who is doing it now is plain wrong.” — Abby Oliver

“When the individual enjoys it! I prefer to listen to it the day after Thanksgiving through New Years, but if you enjoy it sooner, listen away.” — Beverly Hajek Cooper

“Day after Thanksgiving until at least New Year’s Day.” — Joanna Urban

“December 24 starting at 6:15 p.m.” — Kenneth M Bobo

“November 1st. At Home was playing Christmas music today. It was lovely!” — Kaye Westmoreland-McCluskey

“December 1st, and not a day sooner! November is the turkey’s month!” — Bradley Nawara

“Whenever a person wants to start hearing Christmas music is the right time to start hearing Christmas music.” — Harris Brokke

Thanks for reading the Chicago Sun-Times 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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Bears general manager Ryan Pace did not make a trade Tuesday. | Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

The Bears didn’t make a trade before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. deadline.

The Bears didn’t make a trade before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. deadline.

That means wide receiver Allen Robinson, backup quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Nick Foles and others will ride out the rest of the season on a team that currently sits at 3-5 and is in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

General manager Ryan Pace’s decision to stand pat wasn’t surprising. Bears chairman George McCaskey said he wanted to see progress from both Pace and coach Matt Nagy when deciding whether or not to employ them beyond this season. A fire sale would have been the opposite of progress,

The Bears weren’t motivated by trying to tank, either, given that they owe the Giants their 2022 first-round pick as a result of the Justin Fields trade.

The NFL trade deadline came and went with few shockwaves Tuesday. Steelers linebacker Melvin Ingram, who has only one sack over the past two seasons, was the biggest name moved Tuesday. He went to the Chiefs for a sixth-round draft pick.

A day earlier, the Broncos traded star edge rusher Von Miller to the Rams.

Pace’s history suggested he wouldn’t deal at the deadline. He hasn’t traded a veteran player during the regular season in six years. In his first season in charge, in 2015, Pace dealt edge rusher Jared Allen and inside linebacker Jon Bostic to the Panthers and Patriots on the same September day, landing sixth-round picks for each.

The Bears were coming off one of the most embarrassing losses of the John Fox era — a 26-0 defeat in Seattle during which backup quarterback Jimmy Clausen threw for 63 yards. The Bears punted to end each drive and ran three plays in Seahawks territory.

In the six years since, Pace has made only two in-season trades. Both were to add, not trade, veterans. On Oct. 26, 2017, he gave up a conditional pick to the Chargers for receiver Dontrelle Inman; he’d catch 23 balls for 334 yards in eight games paired with rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

On Oct. 5, he traded a 2023 sixth-round pick to the Dolphins for returner Jakeem Grant, who has been dynamic for the Bears.

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Las Vegas Metro Police investigators work at the scene of a fatal crash involving Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III. | Eric Jamison/AP

According to police, Ruggs was driving a Chevrolet Corvette a little before 3:40 a.m. when it crashed into the rear of a Toyota Rav4 on a busy thoroughfare in a residential area several miles west of the Las Vegas Strip.

LAS VEGAS — Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III is facing a driving under the influence charge after a fiery vehicle crash early Tuesday in Las Vegas that left a woman dead and Ruggs and his female passenger injured, authorities said.

According to police, Ruggs was driving a Chevrolet Corvette a little before 3:40 a.m. when it crashed into the rear of a Toyota Rav4 on a busy thoroughfare in a residential area several miles west of the Las Vegas Strip.

The Toyota caught fire and the driver died, police said. She was not immediately identified.

Ruggs, 22, “showed signs of impairment,” police said in a statement that said he will be charged with felony DUI resulting in death.

Ruggs and his passenger were hospitalized. Ruggs’ injuries were described by officials as not life-threatening. His passenger was not immediately identified.

Charges were not immediately filed. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he was aware of the crash and would await results of the police investigation.

Probation is not an option in Nevada for a conviction on a charge of DUI causing death, which carries a possible sentence of two to 20 years in state prison.

Ruggs’ attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said that on behalf of their client they also were investigating the crash “and ask everyone to reserve judgment until all the facts are gathered.”

The Raiders released a statement saying the team is aware of the crash involving Ruggs. “We are devastated by the loss of life and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s family,” the team said. “We are in the process of gathering information and will have no further comment at this time.”

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy issued a statement saying, “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victim of this horrific tragedy. We will continue to gather facts and monitor the matter under our policies, but our thoughts at this time are with those impacted by this devastating incident.”

Ruggs is a second-year wide receiver who was taken 12th overall in the 2020 draft after a productive three-year career at Alabama, including helping the Crimson Tide win the national championship as a freshman in 2017.

Ruggs has 24 catches for a team-high 469 yards and two touchdowns this season. As a rookie in 2020, he had 26 catches for 452 yards and two touchdowns.

Ruggs, from Montgomery, Alabama, caught 12 passes for 229 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman with Alabama in 2017. He caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa in the 26-23 victory against Georgia in the championship game.

The crash occurred three weeks after Jon Gruden abruptly resigned as Raiders coach over emails he sent before being hired by the team in 2018. Gruden stepped down after The New York Times reported that he frequently used misogynistic and homophobic language in those emails directed at Commissioner Roger Goodell and others.

The AFC West-leading Raiders (5-2) have won two in a row under interim coach Rich Bisaccia and now return to the field this week without their leading receiver in yardage. They’ll visit the New York Giants (2-6) on Sunday.

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It’s all about the fa-la-la at WLIT-FM as the Chicago radio station kicks off its 21st season of holiday music. | stock.adobe.com

It’s a Chicago radio tradition celebrating its 21st consecutive season this year.

We’ve not yet turned back the clocks, but Christmas holiday music is returning like clockwork to WLIT-FM, it was announced Tuesday.

The non-stop extravaganza kicks off at 4 p.m Wednesday at 93.9 F.M. It’s a Chicago radio tradition celebrating its 21st consecutive season this year. The seasonal music will be broadcast through Dec. 31.

As always, the news was made official on air Tuesday as well as via the radio station’s social media accounts. In the official tweet, station personality Melissa Forman and her adorable pup Nola spread the word.

“This year marks our 21st celebration as Chicago’s Christmas music station,” said LITE FM program director Mick Lee in the official statement. “93.9 LITE FM is ready to spread holiday cheer, joy and hope across Chicagoland by playing everyone’s favorite Christmas tunes.”

The question remains, as Forman giddily inquires: What will be this year’s first song?

What do you think it should be? Take our poll and let us know your choice from the 10 listed!

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Grace Watanabe at her 100th birthday. | Provided

Watanabe had no living relatives. Members of the city’s Japanese community rallied to support her in recent years.

Grace Watanabe, who survived a U.S. internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II and was the plaintiff in a pending lawsuit against a Lincoln Park nursing home where employees bilked her of $750,000, has died. She was 100.

She died Tuesday at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge after suffering a stroke, according to Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert.

After Golbert learned of the mistreatment of Watanabe — who suffered from advanced dementia — his office stepped in to have her moved to a different care facility in 2018 and filed a lawsuit against Symphony Residences of Lincoln Park.

The lawsuit is seeking to claw back the money allegedly stolen from her, as well as punitive damages.

Despite her death, the suit is expected to go forward, with the beneficiaries of her will — Misericordia and Mercy Home for Boys and Girls — stepping in as plaintiffs.

Watanabe had no living relatives.

“I would expect the charities would take over the case and continue it,” Golbert said. “They will be the administrators of the decedent’s estate. She was a remarkable woman and lived just such a remarkable life.”

Watanabe’s life savings — allegedly stolen by several Symphony employees through forged checks and by using her ATM card — was spent on jewelry, travel, ride-hailing services and fast food, according to Golbert.

The lawsuit names individual employees as well as executives at Symphony. While not accused of taking part in the theft, the suit alleges executives were aware of it and didn’t report it to law enforcement.

Members of the Japanese community in Chicago rallied to support Watanabe in recent years.

“They’ve regularly sent letters and cards to her and had Japanese food sent to her at the nursing home. Grace was so happy to see them at her birthday celebration,” Golbert said. “Many said what an inspiration her life story was to them.”

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