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The teen boy was near the sidewalk about 4:50 p.m. in the 1100 block of North Lawndale Avenue when he was struck by gunfire.
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Sep 12, 2021, 6:10pm CDT
Teen boy, 16, shot in Humboldt ParkSun-Times Wireon September 12, 2021 at 11:10 pm Read More »
Caroline Polachek performs at the Green Stage at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Sunday’s performers at the West Loop fest include Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus and Cat Power.
The hot weather continued Sunday but the crowd was noticeably more sparse on the final day of the Pitchfork Music Festival 2021 in Union Park.
A lineup including Caroline Polachek, Thundercat, Yves Tumor, Danny Brown, Andy Shauf, Flying Lotus and Cat Power led up to the headlining set by the unpredictable neo-soul singer-songwriter Erykah Badu.
Hot on the heels of Lollapalooza last month, the music festival has strict COVID-19 safety protocols in place, requiring proof of full vaccination or a negative test within 24 hours for each day of the fest in order to gain entry.
In addition to the music, a popup art fair featuring the work of local artists makes for perfect summertime shopping and browsing.
Here are some images from Pitchfork’s final hours on Sunday:
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Caroline Polachek performs at the Green Stage at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Festivalgoers cheer as Caroline Polachek performs at the Green Stage at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Festivalgoers lounge and walk around the field near the Green Stage at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. Read More
NBAE via Getty Images
The Sky came within three but never led the Mystics after the first quarter. This loss puts the team back at .500 (15-15) on the season.
The Mystics came into Wintrust Arena Sunday still fighting for a playoff spot while the Sky are fighting to hold on to the No. 6 seed.
As coach and general manager James Wade critically pointed out after the team’s 79-71 loss to the Mystics Sunday, they can’t move up in the standings but they can certainly move down.
“Nobody looks at our team and thinks ‘Oh, I want to be like the Sky,'” Wade said.
Coming off an important, playoff-clinching win against the Las Vegas Aces last week, Sunday’s game should have been a tuneup for the Sky. Instead, they went down early to the Mystics after allowing them to go on an 11-0 run to end the first quarter and spent the rest of the game fighting their way back.
Turnovers, poor shooting and defending the three-point line were all points of issue Sunday. The Sky came within three but never led the Mystics after the first quarter. This loss puts the team back at .500 (15-15) on the season.
Wade expressed extreme displeasure with the starting five as energy was once again an issue for the Sky. He combatted that by switching things up with eight minutes left in the third quarter putting Dana Evans, Lexie Brown, Diamond DeShields, Ruthy Hebard and Stefanie Dolson on the court together.
His only regret was not leaving them on the floor. Evans finished with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting but only played eight minutes.
“We didn’t have many players that showed up tonight,” Wade said. “The bench came in and gave us a boost. They earned the right to finish it off and I should have stayed with them.”
Kahleah Copper was a nonfactor Sunday afternoon with three points. Candace Parker, Allie Quigley and Azura Stevens all finished scoring in double figures. The Sky made their first three of the game in the third quarter and finished the game shooting 13.6% from behind the arc.
Last time these two teams faced each other Tina Charles went off for 34 points and 17 rebounds. She sent the game to overtime and an eventual win grabbing a late rebound for a putback at the end of regulation. Wade said ahead of the game his team had to beat her to spots, crowd her space and take away her rhythm. They didn’t do any of that.
“Taking away some of her patent moves [was an issue],” Stevens said. “Clogging up her space more. We’ve seen other teams do that and they were successful. We could have done a better job at that.”
Charles had 31 points and 10 rebounds Sunday and shot 50% from three.
The race for the the No. 8 seed is tight between the Mystics, Los Angeles Sparks and New York Liberty. While the Sky have clinched a playoff spot, if the Wings win their final two games of the season and the Sky lose theirs it would put them in a two-way tie. The tiebreaking procedure would put the team with the better record in head-to-head matchups at the No. 6 seed, which is Dallas.
The Sky close out the regular season at home against the Aces and the Indiana Fever.
“It’s more of an internal thing [right now],” Dolson said. “We all have to have a bit more pride. We know how to play basketball but every team, every player in this league knows how to play basketball.”
Even though he couldn’t be at Wrigley Field managing the Cubs for the past nine days, manager David Ross kept close tabs on his team.
Ross watched every game with a binder of information that he likes to keep close by and would send texts to his coaches about things he was noticing. The chance to watch the games on television instead of from the dugout helped Ross to see the games a little differently.
“It was just a different perspective,” he said. “The main thing for me was seeing how pitches were coming out of guys’ hands, seeing the at-bats, seeing how other teams attacked our hitters. TV gives you such a different dynamic, and I hadn’t seen that in a while. It was good to be able to have that different perspective.”
It was tough not being able to be around his players, Ross said, because it’s much harder to read things like their body language watching from home.
That meant Ross had to spend a lot more time communicating with his coaches to see where different players were mentally as they scuffled. Patrick Wisdom, for instance, has not homered since August 28 and is in the midst of a .091 stretch at the plate. On Sunday, Ross went with Matt Duffy at third base.
Generally, the time away from the team was a reminder for Ross of how much he enjoys what he does.
“I think it’s clear I really like my job,” Ross said. “The ups and downs of it are what fuel you. I missed this passion, I missed these guys. Being part of a team, it feels good.”
Likes it so much that he watched his team and as well as the rest of the league, looking for ideas to improve his club. Most nights, Ross was sending clips of plays from other games to send to his coaching staff to show the players.
“I watched so much dang baseball I was grabbing stuff from other teams and other games that I would send to Andy (Green),” Ross said.
Ross was thankful not to experience any symptoms from COVID-19, other than boredom.
“Just counting down the days,” he said. “I never really felt bad at all. Thank goodness for college football.”
Nico rehabbing
Nico Hoerner (oblique) started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa Sunday. He played five innings at shortstop Sunday and went 0-for-2 with a pair of groundouts.
The I-Cubs have an off day Monday, and Hoerner is expected to stay on his rehab assignment through at least Wednesday. The team will assess how he is feeling physically and whether Hoerner is ready to rejoin the big league club later in the week.
Hoerner has been on the I.L. since July 29.
(Still) home sweet home
Despite the losing season and being swept over the weekend by San Francisco, the Cubs have a winning record (39-36) at Wrigley Field this year.
The Cubs play six more games at home this season, and if they were to drop four of those, 2021 would be the first time they’ve had a losing record at Wrigley since going 31-50 at home in 2013.
A 16-year-old boy was shot Sunday in West Elsdon on the Southwest Side.
He was riding his bicycle about 1:45 p.m. in the 3600 block of West 56th Street when he noticed a white Jeep Wrangler quickly drive by, Chicago police said.
The teen dropped his bike, ran and someone opened fire, striking him in the leg, police said.
He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition, police said.
Area One detectives are investigating.
16-year-old boy shot in West ElsdonSun-Times Wireon September 12, 2021 at 8:53 pm Read More »
Day Two of Pitchfork Music Festival came with unrelenting sunshine and high temperatures, as some festival-goers laid out blankets in the shade and others opted to stand in the sun while watching the day’s first performances at Union Park.
Scorching sets from Bartees Strange and local act Horsegirl made the afternoon feel even hotter, with both groups performing their own high-energy interpretations of indie rock.
Near the intersection of Ashland and W. Washington, two public transportation vessels sat repurposed — a CTA bus parked as a cooling station in anticipation of the day’s heat, and an L train car, converted into a Goose Island Beer Co. stand, where an exclusive festival collaboration beer with Saturday act Faye Webster was being poured.
Just as it had Friday, Pitchforkpushed a mobile notification about an hour before gates opened reminding fans of COVID-19 protocols, including recommendation for masks — which were present on attendees, but far from ubiquitous.
The festival also announced via its app that hip-hop heavyweight Jay Electronica had been dropped from the bill, without explanation. Scheduled to perform in his time slot was producer RP Boo, adding another local Chicago act to this year’s lineup.
But when fans weren’t packed in to see acts like Maxo Kream (who went shirtless in response to the sweltering heat), chilling in the shade or exploring the park, they were waiting in lines. Lines for the water refill station and stands selling alcohol, food and merch could be seen stretching fairly far back. During the dinner rush Friday night, wait times were long for a taste of local vendors like Cevapcici Chicago and Beat Kitchen.
Highly anticipated on Saturday were late-night sets by Jamila Woods and St. Vincent.
Here’s a look at some of Saturday’s sets:
Although St. Vincent performed with the Willis Tower blinking in the distance behind her, the singer and guitarist brought her own skyline anyway — a shadowy backdrop that stretched the width of the Green Stage for her Saturday night headlining slot at Pitchfork Music Festival.
The experimental indie rock artist provided a memorable performance on stage, featuring a revolving setpiece, costumes, choreography and more. It was all part of the fully-realized, high concept productions the 38-year-old — named Annie Clark — has become known for throughout her nearly 17-year career.
Clark’s commitment to an aesthetic is a notable characteristic of her St. Vincent project, for which she has created a taxonomy of album eras defined by fashion and sound — like her domme-style dress during 2017’s “MASSEDUCATION,” or the futuristic, spaceship-chic look of her 2015 self-titled album.
Her current aesthetic and sound for her latest album, “Daddy’s Home,” both draw heavily from the 1970s, as the music veers into funk and R&B and the fashion embraces feathery coats and hair. On Saturday, she sported a blazer emblazoned with the word “Daddy” on the back as she brought the album’s singles “Pay Your Way In Pain” and “The Melting of the Sun” into the live setting.
The new throwback direction also informed her opening song, a funk-inspired reinterpretation of “Digital Witness,” from her self-titled record.
Joining her on stage, in addition to her band, were three background singers — one of the best features of Clark’s performance. With nearly flawless harmonies and tight choreography, the three singers added significantly to each song on which they were present.
Some of the best moments of the night came when Clark dug into her back catalog to perform fan favorites like “Actor Out Of Work” — from 2009’s “Actor” — and “Cheerleader” — from 2011’s “Strange Mercy.” Those prompted passionate sing-alongs from the thousands of fans in attendance, and exhibited the artist’s undeniably inventive talent as a guitarist.
Also in the mix was a skit which served as Clark’s slight kiss-off to Pitchfork, which gave her latest record a less-than-glowing review. Pretending to talk to her sister on an old telephone, she asked the crowd to cheer. “You would only give them a 6.8?” she said with a slight smile, before asking the crowd to cheer again. “I know, I know, Best New Crowd,” she said, hanging up.
Jamila Woods performs at Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park on Saturday night.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Chicago singer-songwriter and poet Jamila Woods made her triumphant return to Pitchfork on the Blue Stage Saturday, where the crowd was ecstatic to see her.
Showcasing her sharp lyrics and masterfully arranged contemporary jazz, R&B and indie-leaning sound, Woods jammed through a set composed of pieces from her latest, 2019’s “LEGACY LEGACY! LEGACY!” and her 2016 debut “HEAVN.”
Woods was joined by a four-piece band and two background singers, making for fully realized adaptations of her songs that brought a new, organic energy to her already vital recordings. The one-two punch of her emotionally evocative instrumentation coupled with her poignant lyrics taking on themes like discrimination, gentrification and sexism was moving. In between a few songs, those themes were emphasized by audio of icons such as the poet Lucille Clifton.
The centerpiece of Woods’ set was her voice — an unwavering apparatus that she deftly wielded throughout her set to convey the emotional range embedded within her songs. On “GIOVANNI,” Woods’ vocals came through clear and riveting as she uttered lines like “I am not your rib, I am not your Eve.” On “Lonely,” she was sober, singing with urgency, “I don’t wanna wait for my life to be over to let myself feel the way I feel.”
The crowd was electric, singing, grooving and smiling as Woods did the same, often with her mic on the stand and hands free to flow with the music, pulling the crowd in with each word — resulting in a captivating performance.
One of the many highlights of her set was a ruminative, slow-burning cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It smoothly segued into her song “BASQUIAT,” to the cheers of fans who enthusiastically yelled “Don’t get burned!” with her on the verses.
Woods also debuted a new song she called “Headfirst,” which sounded like a beautiful meditation on falling for someone. “Come in the water’s warm, I won’t hurt you,” she sang reassuringly. It was her first time playing the song in front of people, she said.
Her set was one of the best of the weekend so far, with the artist and her band in sync and sounding just about perfect, and the palpable feeling of joy and gratitude reciprocated by Woods and her fans
That was apparent as she finished her last song — a stunning blend of both versions of her 2020 single “Sula” — and introduced her band to cap her allotted set time.
As chants of “one more song” came from the front of the crowd, others on the edges tapered off to catch St. Vincent’s headlining set as it kicked off on the Green Stage. But Woods and her band actually heeded the call, stepping back onto the stage for a stirring performance of her song “MUDDY.” It served as a treat for those who stuck around and a thank you to the city that made her.
Georgia Anne Muldrow performs at the Blue Stage at Pitchfork Music Festival on Saturday night.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Los Angeles producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Georgia Anne Muldrow began her Saturday evening set with an affirmation for the growing crowd in front of the Blue Stage.
“I see the best in you. I wish the best for you. I want the best for you!” she yelled into a mic, as a sequin cape sparkled behind her in the dusk of the evening.
As the crowd cheered back, she moved into her set, standing solo on the stage while producing beats, pounding synth keys, singing, rapping and stringing together words that rang like poetry.
The effect was a live, experimental mixtape that spanned her prolific, more than 15-year catalog, interspersed with improvisations. It all made for one of the weekend’s most provocative and captivating performances.
Muldrow’s latest work is an instrumental album titled “VWETO III,” a record “intended for movement,” as she described in a statement upon its release in May. “It’s to be played when you birth yourself back outside after a long introspective period to get the things you need,” she wrote.
That message felt like the ethos of her Saturday evening set, during which Muldrow dropped virtually nonstop freeform beats that kept the crowd moving on their feet.
In addition to her prowess as a producer, her voice was also an incredibly compelling focal point of her set. It unfurled over synth-heavy beats into a mic soaked in an echo effect. It reverberated as she belted through moments of blues and R&B, as she grooved to the edges of the stage. It commanded as she spit bars, reasserting herself as a profoundly talented emcee.
She left the crowd with a final affirmation: “One word — love yourselves more than you do!” she exclaimed, before blowing kisses into the crowd.
Faye Webster performs at the Blue Saga at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park on Saturday.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Backed by a four-piece band featuring what might have been the only pedal steel heard this weekend, Faye Webster gently rocked the sizable crowd gathered at the Blue Stage to see her Saturday.
The Atlanta-based singer-songwriter and guitarist eased into her evening set with mid-tempo selections from this summer’s “I Know I’m Funny haha” — a breezy, alternative-indie folk album infused with elements of rock and country.
Songs like the album’s title track encapsulated Webster’s ability as a lyricist and singer to balance themes of affection coupled with vulnerability, while cheekily cooing lines like, “I think your sisters are so pretty, got drunk and they forgot they met me.” On Saturday she dedicated the song to “all the sh—y men out there.”
As Webster’s tight, laid-back set moved along steadily, rock artist Ty Segall was ripping into his set on the Red Stage at full volume, sometimes drowning out Webster’s slightly subdued vocals.
“Right Side of my Neck,” arguably Webster’s most upbeat track, was a crowd-pleaser, with fans swaying and singing along to every word. The same was true when she and her band covered a song from the Nintendo Switch game, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.”
One of the biggest responses from the crowd came during her final song “Kingston,” one of her most well-known singles, off 2019’s “Atlanta Millionaires Club.” As she does in the recording, Webster uttered the lines, “The day that I met you I started dreaming,” acapella, followed by her band kicking in. Live, the drop hit even harder, as fans cheered — moved by the subtle dynamics that make Webster’s sound so catchy.
Check back soon for more from Saturday’s Pitchfork sets.
Festival-goers sit in the grass and listen as Waxahatchee performs on the Green Stage at Pitchfork music festival at Union Park, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
A man who was wounded in a shooting last week in Gresham has died.
On Sept. 3, Jamal Gibson, 26, was near the sidewalk in the 1300 block of West 76th Street when someone opened fire, striking him in the head, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
Gibson was pronounced dead Sept. 7 at the University of Chicago Medical Center, officials said. An autopsy ruled his death a homicide.
No arrests have been reported.
Man dies days after Gresham shootingSun-Times Wireon September 12, 2021 at 8:16 pm Read More »
A man is accused of fatally shooting another man last December in East Garfield Park.
Rayvon Lofton, 19, is the second man charged with murder in the Dec. 22 slaying of 20-year-old Jim Courtney-Clarks, Chicago police said.
Courtney-Clarks was in the 700 block of North Ridgeway Avenue about 12:45 p.m. that day when he was shot in the chest, police said. He died at Stroger Hospital.
Lofton was arrested Sept. 9 in the Loop after allegedly being identified as one of the attackers, police said.
He was expected to appear in court Sunday.
Rayvon Lofton is charged with murder in a fatal shooting that occurred in December in East Garfield Park. Chicago Police Department
In June, another man also was charged in the case.
Jerryyon Stevens is accused of driving a stolen Honda to the scene of the shooting. There, according to prosecutors, two members of the Traveling Vice Lords got out of the Honda and opened fire at Courtney-Clarks and another man as they walked on the sidewalk.
Stevens, 21, was once featured in a Chicago Magazine profile when he was a teenager. He faces a count of first-degree murder for the apparent gang-related attack on Courtney-Clarks.
Investigators used surveillance camera footage and cellphone records to track Stevens and the two gunmen, according to Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Kevin DeBoni.
Stevens’ face and distinctive clothing was recorded by a camera at a convenience store where Stevens met up with the gunmen before the shooting, DeBoni said at a court hearing in June.
Jerryon StevensChicago police
Stevens was also identified by a Chicago police officer who viewed the surveillance footage and recognized him, DeBoni said.
Stevens was the subject of a lengthy 2016 profile story in Chicago Magazine that detailed his dreams and the hardships he faced growing up on the West Side.
He was working at a family business and for a moving company to support his young daughter before his arrest, an assistant public defender said at that June hearing.
When Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio became the Broncos’ head coach in January 2019, he took two Bears assistants with him: defensive backs coach Ed Donatell, a three-time coordinator in an NFL career spanning almost 30 years, and little-known outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley, who would two years later become the Chargers’ head coach. To bring Sean Desai, who was under contract, Fangio had to ask the Bears for permission.
The team said no, even though Desai was merely a quality-control coach. “Vic didn’t take my calls for, like, three months after that,” head coach Matt Nagy said. “But it’s OK. I knew he’d get over it.”
Nagy thought Desai was smart and well-prepared. He gave him a small promotion — when Chuck Pagano replaced Fangio, Desai became the safeties coach — but couldn’t assure him of anything greater. “I was not letting Sean go,” Nagy said. “I knew that his goal was to be a coordinator. At that time, I couldn’t promise anything, but I could at least tell him and give him my word that, ‘If an opportunity does arise, you’re gonna have a chance at it.’
“It happened now. And here we are. And I’m more excited than anybody to see him out there this season, doing his thing.” Nagy hired Desai after interviewing nine coordinator candidates following Pagano’s retirement in January. It was a popular decision inside Halas Hall — defensive players root for Desai — but less understood outside the building. Either way, it’s a high-stakes bet on someone who has never called plays before. If the Bears fail this season, general manager Ryan Pace and Nagy could both be fired. But both of them believe in Desai.
“I’m so excited for him and proud of him,” Pace said. “And the path that he’s taken.”
***
The professor of the “Leading Organizational Change” course at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management unveiled a slide of the first day of class that revealed his background. It read “Today’s Gameplan.”
What followed, though, had nothing to do with football. “I thought we were really going to hear something about the Bears,” said Diana Booth, who took the class in spring 2018. “It was something entirely different.”
In addition to being the youngest Bears defensive coordinator in the Super Bowl era and the first Indian-American coordinator in NFL history, Desai is a teacher. He got his doctorate in educational administration with an emphasis in higher education while coaching at Temple. He taught in the master’s and doctoral programs there.At Halas Hall, he’s known as “Doc.”
As an assistant with the Bears — he has worked under three head coaches, dating to 2013 — Desai has taught offseason business courses at Lake Forest, which shares a corporate park with the Bears. He didn’t teach this year but remains on the faculty. “You can tell that background is there sometimes, but it’s not a hindrance or anything like that,” outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey said. “I think he can relate to everybody.
”But there’s times — once in a while there’s a word that comes out, and I have to ask somebody, ‘What’d that mean?’ “He was kidding — kind of.
“He’s an efficient guy,” Shuey said. “He’s efficient in his teaching, and you can say that, even though he might be new at the coordinator role, he’s not new at the teaching role.”At Lake Forest, Booth said Desai arrived early and waited at the podium while students streamed in. Class started on time. He was impeccably organized.
“It’s just a personal leadership philosophy,” Desai said. “I think you’ve got to be organized. I think that reflects through your whole organization.”In my current role, I’m responsible for the defense and the staff and the players, and I’ve got to make sure I provide the roadmap for that. And they’ve got to feel that. And I think from a staff perspective and a player’s perspective, they know real quickly when you’re not organized. And so that’s a big pet peeve of mine.”
He was a perfectionist, Booth said.”He had very direct feedback — often with the terms ‘how’ and ‘why’ next to the points — to develop my critical-thinking skills,” she said. “To this day, those words are etched into my memory.”
Desai talks often about “why.” It’s not enough to force players to do something; you have to explain why it works in the context of the defense.”I want to have great teachers,” Nagy said. “And I think he’s an elite teacher. He knows how to connect.
“I get to see him in the classroom, when he’s in there explaining to every position the ‘why.’ How he teaches that and gets that point across, to what he does in walkthrough to having it come to fruition on the field . . . I think the guys see that and love that.” The more difficult question to answer is the “how.”
How will Desai, who has never called plays before, spark a defense that must dominate in order for the Bears to improve on back-to-back .500 seasons?How will he manufacture takeaways for a unit that led the NFL in 2018 but finished 22nd and 25th in the league, respectively, in the last two years?
How will he unlock pass rushers — Robert Quinn had two sacks after signing a $70 million contract last year — whose reputations outweighed their performance last year?How will he reinvigorate a defense with five starters in their 30s — including Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack and a slowed-down Danny Trevathan — and prop open their window of success for at least one more year?
How will he do what Pagano couldn’t?
***
Mack used to call Fangio an “evil genius.” Trevathan has a different way to describe Desai.”He’s a wizard,” he said.
Fangio is the best in the world at disguising pass coverages while keeping the scheme simple. From the classroom to practices, the players already see so much of Fangio in Desai. “He’ll say something, and it will sound just like Vic,” Pace said. “I think that’s a really good thing.”
Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai speaks while pointing to Khalil Mack during training campNuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images
Desai doesn’t want to be known as simply a branch on the Fangio tree, though, listing influences from former Temple head coach Al Golden to Pagano. “Vic is a mentor,” he said. “We’re close. We talk. We text. We do all that stuff, as I would with a lot of other mentors I’ve had in the profession. . . .
“The philosophies we’re trying to build here as a defense, there’s roots of everybody I’ve worked with. Everybody’s voice is a little bit in there, and I think that’s the benefit of it. That’s why I’m my own person. And we’re going to try to do this thing the way these players want to do it and the way these coaches want to do it, and we’ll be unified in what that brand is going to be out there.” That brand?
“He’s going to force teams to beat us the long, hard way,” inside linebacker Roquan Smith said. Desai will be more creative than Pagano in masking pressure and coverage.
Expect Mack to line up in different spots on obvious passing downs to mitigate double-teams and — in true Fangio form — for coverages to stay blurry until the last minute.
“Just moving us around, making it hard for quarterbacks to read us,” safety Eddie Jackson said. “If I line up on the left side one game, I might line up on the right. . . . Just keeping them on their toes so they won’t just go in breaking down film.”
***
Desai introduced the “Takeaway Bucket” during training camp. It’s a laundry bin that defensive players dunk footballs into after interceptions or fumble recoveries. “He’s allowing guys to be themselves, have a little more swagger,” Quinn said.
Desai himself has brought “a little flavor,” Trevathan said, even if it’s scholastic. “Sean studies football to a whole other level, to which it makes me step up my studying time and study game and makes me look at film a lot more than I used to,” Trevathan said. “I know he’s going to be studying.”
That trust is exactly what Nagy was looking for when he promoted Desai. “That starts in the classroom, when you can teach and connect,” he said. “The more of those that you have, I really believe the better you’re gonna be.”
Desai, though, needs to navigate the bridge from teacher to play-caller — and fast. He’ll need to learn play-calling on the fly, even as the Bears’ aging defense knows it must dominate starting in Week 1 to have a chance at a playoff berth. The learning curve for “Doc” will be steep.
But every coordinator, Nagy said, has to start somewhere.” The greatest coaches in the history of the world in every sport have had their first time, and there was always an unknown,” Nagy said. “So for Sean, that’s going to be an unknown for him until we get through this year.
“But that’s the fun part. That’s the challenge, the more you believe in somebody — and I believe in Sean.”
Every week of the season is revealing a bit more of the complete picture. That’s the way the season is supposed to work and the schedule-makers are helping us out. Week 4 should provide a lot of answers. There are four games featuring Super 25 teams squaring off and some other excellent matchups including Providence at Joliet Catholic and undefeated Glenbrook South at Barrington.
Fenwick (2-1) drops out this week after losing to the Celtics. New Trier is out after losing to the Broncos.
Barrington pops back into the rankings, as does another preseason ranked team, Hinsdale Central. The Red Devils picked up a nice win against Lyons.
With record and last week’s ranking
Friday at No. 3 Brother Rice
Friday at Palatine
Friday vs. No. 1 Loyola
Friday vs. No. 6 Mount Carmel
Friday vs. Providence
Friday at No. 4 Marist
Friday at Lake Zurich
Friday at Waubonsie Valley
Saturday vs. Proviso West
Friday at Andrew
Friday at Naperville North
Friday at McHenry
Friday at Lake Park
Friday vs. No. 24 St. Charles North
Friday vs. Benet
Friday vs. Glenbrook North
Friday at Sandburg
TBD
Friday vs. No. 20 Lockport
Friday at No. 19 Homewood-Flossmoor
Friday at Hillcrest
Friday at Geneva
Friday vs. Glenbrook South
Friday at No. 14 Wheaton North
Friday at Hinsdale South
