What’s New

Most high school football players learn the game in youth leagues or on grade school teams.

Crystal Lake South’s Justin Kowalak has had a much different journey, in every sense of the word.

The senior quarterback and returning honorable-mention all-stater in Class 6A was born in Plainfield and lived there for about six years before the family moved to Poland, the homeland of his parents.

A couple of years later, the family moved to England. Kowalak’s football debut came not too long afterward.

“Me and my brother weren’t in the best of shape,” he said. “My dad was like, ‘We’ve got to get these kids outside and doing something. What’s more American than football?’ ”

Kowalak loved the sport right away, but American football — as it’s known abroad — is nowhere near as popular in England.

He was able to train with the Durham Saints, a club team affiliated with Durham University. It was a unique experience in more ways than one. Because of a lack of players, they often practiced five-on-five, with a quarterback, running back, two receivers and a center on offense.

Sometimes American-born graduate students worked out with the team.

“They had a guy come over from Holy Cross,” Kowalak said. “He was on the Dolphins’ practice squad — 6-5, 240, an absolute beast.”

Besides training with much older players, Kowalak was learning the game in a very 21st-century way.

“My dad looked up [videos] on YouTube on how to throw the football,” Kowalak said.

When it came time for Kowalak to enter high school, he and his family decided the best way to pursue his football career was to come back to the United States.

“Me and my dad had to have a conversation: ‘If you’re really invested in it, we have to do this,’ ” Kowalak said.

So the summer before his freshman year, he moved in with a family friend in Crystal Lake, more than 3,800 miles away from his family. He only has seen them twice since, once for Christmas, then again last summer during the pandemic.

While it has been hard at times to be away from loved ones, Kowalak hasn’t wavered from his commitment to advancing his football career.

“The motivation was my parents,” he said. “They worked hard, spent their hard-earned money for me to be here. I didn’t have time to be homesick. Football helped me out a lot, being busy.”

And Kowalak has helped out Crystal Lake South a lot. Coach Rob Fontana kept Kowalak on the varsity as a freshman backup to all-conference quarterback Ian Gorken.

Before the next season, Gorken came to Fontana and offered to switch positions, saying, “Justin is going to make us better. I’ll play receiver or wherever you need me.”

So Kowalak was the starter for the Class 6A playoff qualifiers, throwing for 1,995 yards and 12 touchdowns and running for another 100 yards and two TDs.

Then, of course, came the pandemic shutdown. When the Gators finally got back on the field for six games this spring, Kowalak put up more big numbers: 1,630 passing yards and 12 touchdown passes and 185 rushing yards and three rushing TDs.

He picked up right where he left off last week, throwing for a program-record 395 yards and three TDs and running for 22 more yards in a 42-38 loss to Jacobs. That boosted his career totals to 4,334 yards of total offense and 32 touchdowns.

Impressive as they are, Kowalak’s numbers don’t even tell the whole story, Fontana said.

“He’s a football savant,” Fontana said. “Besides my [assistant] coaches, there’s not a guy on our team who watches anywhere near as much film as he does.”

His hope is that colleges will start taking more note of the 6-foot, 180-pounder with the big numbers, spongelike thirst for football knowledge and intriguing backstory.

South Dakota State, where former Neuqua Valley quarterback Mark Gronowski had a breakout rookie season this spring, and Murray State have shown the most interest so far.

Kowalak just wants a chance, like he did when the only option was working out with college kids years ago.

“I feel like my game has gotten so much better,” he said. “It’s night and day if you watch my film sophomore year to this year.”

Read More

A 4-year-old boy was shot twice in his head and critically wounded Friday evening in Woodlawn on the South Side, police said.

The child was inside a home around 9 p.m. in the 6500 block of South Ellis Avenue when bullets came through the front window, Chicago police said.

Paramedics took the child to Comer Children’s Hospital, police said. A 34-year-old woman was also taken to a hospital for lacerations related to the shooting, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

At the scene of the shooting, shell casings littered the front yard of a three-story apartment building that had a shattered front window.

Police said no one was in custody.

Activist Andrew Holmes spent time with the father of the boy outside the hospital.

“He’s in total shock and he just wants his child to survive,” Holmes said.

Holmes said the father’s shirt was drenched in blood.”

Outside Comer Children’s Hospital Friday night, advocates try to console the father of a child who was shot in Woodlawn.Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

He held his son until the paramedics arrived,” Holmes said. “Nobody wants to lose a loved one, especially his little guy,” he added. “We just need to pray the boy makes it.”

The child was the second 4-year-old to be wounded in gun violence in Chicago this week.

On Tuesday, a 4-year-old girl was shot and wounded while she combed a doll’s hair on the stoop of her home in Englewood. Police said she was caught in the crossfire of gunmen in two cars.

Last month, a 4-year-old girl became the youngest person to die from gun violence in Chicago this year. Makalah McKay was accidentally shot by another child who found a gun Aug. 5 in the 6400 block of South Carpenter Street in Englewood.

In June, a 4-year-old boy was wounded in an accidental shooting on the same block where Friday’s shooting occurred. Police said the child was hit in the hand and a 17-year-old boy was shot in the foot June 21. A 15-year-old boy seen leaving the home was arrested and charged with unauthorized use of a weapon.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

Chicago police outside Comer Children’s Hospital, where a 4-year-old boy was taken in critical condition Friday night after being shot in Woodlawn.Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Read More

Read More

Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

WILD OF THE WEEK

Ron Wozny emailed last Friday about swallowtail caterpillars living in his parsley for three days already.

WOTW, the celebration of wild stories and photos around Chicago outdoors, runs most weeks in the special two-page outdoors section in the Sun-Times Sports Saturday. To make submissions, email [email protected] or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).

WILD TIMES

HUNTER SAFETY

Friday, Sept. 10-next Saturday, Sept11: Morris, [email protected] or (815) 343-7330

Sept. 11-12: Diamond, [email protected]

Sept. 18-19: Kankakee, (815) 935-2700

Sept. 25-26: Joliet, (815) 727-4811

Sept. 30 and Oct. 2: Chicago Heights, [email protected]

Oct. 2-3: Elburn, [email protected] . . . Momence, (815) 472-4900

FUNDRAISER

Sept. 12: Save the Dunes celebration of monarch butterflies in the region, music and food at Michigan City’s Brewery Lodge & Supper Club; a portion of the proceeds benefits Save the Dunes’ work to protect and advocate for the Indiana dunes. Tickets start at $40, click here for info and tickets.

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

Sept. 12: Boat America, Chicago, Bob Allen, [email protected]

FISH GATHERINGS

Wednesday, Sept. 8: Steve Jonesi,”Tactics & Techniques for early season opportunities,” Fox River Valley chapter of Muskies Inc., Schaumburg Golf Club, 7 p.m., frvmuskie.com

Wednesday, Sept. 8: Ben Garvens, “Artificial Bait Strategies for Geneva’s Deep Structure,” Lake Geneva Fishing Club, Poplar Creek Bowl, Hoffman Estates, 6 p.m., lakegenevafishingclub.com

ILLINOIS PERMITS/SEASONS

Next Saturday, Sept. 11: Hunting for teal, rail (Sora and Virginia only) and snipe (Wilson’s) opens

DALE’S MAILBAG

“I noticed that the loach wasn’t identified by the folks profiled in the article [Aug. 25 Sun-Times]. I wanted to let you know that that loach is an Oriental weatherfish (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus). I did master’s research at Loyola on this species. They’re not commonly caught and most people don’t know they’re in the river or even exist. So it’s pretty cool that the angler was able to catch it.” John Belcik

A: I appreciate that, having the best readers.

BIG NUMBER

50: Age that Woodsy Owl’s famous line, “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute,” turns on Wednesday, Sept. 15.

LAST WORD

“Pockets of good production exist, although 2021 wild rice production is generally poor across much of northern Wisconsin. Harvesters can find opportunities by scouting online and on-the-ground.”

Jason Fleener, Wisconsin DNR Wetland Habitat Specialist, noting modern scouting techniques for a timeless pursuit

Read More

Sky rookie, Dana Evans remembers making the hour-long drive from Gary, Indiana, to Allstate Arena when she was in high school.

From the stands, she’d watch players like Sylvia Fowles, Elena Delle Donne and Courtney Vandersloot lace up their sneakers and take the court for the Sky. She was a young fan with talent of her own that needed developing and a dream to play in the WNBA.

On April 15, that dream was realized when Evans was drafted with the 13th overall pick in the WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings, and on June 2, the journey came full-circle.

“[The Wings] had a game the night before the trade happened,” Evans said. “I played a minute. My agent called me after the game and said ‘We’re trying to figure something out with Chicago.’ “

Sky coach and general manager James Wade traded rookie Shyla Heal and draft assets in exchange for Evans, the backup point guard the team desperately needed.

No one could have predicted she had been right in their backyard all these years, watching, developing her skills and waiting for her moment to prove what she can do.

Since joining the Sky in June, Evans is averaging 3.7 points in 7.8 minutes. While Michaela Onyenwere (she’s averaging close to nine points and has started all 28 games) is the favorite for rookie of the year, Evans is making a case of her own. It has largely gone unnoticed by everyone except her teammates and coach.

But Vandersloot is the league leader in assists and fourth on the WNBA’s career assists list. And she plays heavy minutes, which means there aren’t many opportunities for Evans. But when called, she comes in ready and plays with the confidence of a veteran. Those qualities are what make her the backup the Sky always have needed.

Her teammates know when she’s on the court, the offense isn’t going to break down and she’s definitely going to hit a shot.

Against the Storm on Sunday, Evans had a career-high 14 points in 16 minutes and shot 66.7% from three-point range. She finished with three assists, two steals and a plus/minus rating of +20. Following this performance, her teammates serenaded her with ”rookie of the year” chants in practice.

“She’s in a place where she feels good, she feels confident,” Wade said before team’s 103-83 loss Tuesday to the Phoenix Mercury. “She’s maybe somebody that if she comes to us earlier, she’d probably be in the rookie of the year discussions.”

Wade said he’s impressed by Evans’ daily growth, something that’s unavoidable when you get a player with her ceiling and a veteran with Vandersloot’s basketball IQ on the same court.

Evans credits her success to the coaching staff’s commitment to her development which has been accelerated going up against Vandersloot in practice. Evans gets a master class every day on how to control games, execute on difficult passes, and get through pick-and-roll defenses. Evans’ basketball IQ has allowed her to consume every lesson like a sponge.

Wade has seen improvements in Vandersloot’s game in response to those matchups in practice as well. Defensively, Vandersloot has been tested by Evans, who does not let up when the ball is in her hands.

When the trade went through in June and Evans arrived in Chicago, no longer a young fan but a rookie, she knew the fit was right. Now, she’s focused on capitalizing on every minute she gets on the court.

“This league is so good, you have to be out there in order to get better,” Evans said. “Getting that experience on the court, learning on the fly is big [for me].”

Read More

Ishwara Glassman Chrein checked all the boxes when Fire owner Joe Mansueto was looking for a new team president.

During a search that included discussions with over 100 candidates, Glassman Chrein stood out because of her experience as head of sports partnerships and business development at Yahoo Sports/Verizon Media, where she built relationships and negotiated deals with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, BetMGM and NBC after spending nine years at WME IMG Sports, Entertainment and Media. Since coming aboard in June, she has impressed Mansueto with her energy, enthusiasm, fresh ideas and efforts to build an open culture that lets employees do their best work.

Missing from Glassman Chrein’s resume, which includes involvement in the media, sponsorship and sports-betting spaces was, experience in soccer or working in a team’s front office. Yet Glassman Chrein is confident her background will help the Fire become a better business, which could lead to the results she and Mansueto crave.

“One thing that’s been interesting to me coming into this role as president that I’ve learned is that nobody could come into this role as an expert in everything,” Glassman Chrein said. “The world doesn’t work that way. I think what we’re lucky to do is have a lot of really good people working here who have a lot of expertise. My job is to — with Joe — to give them the resources, the people and the money they need to make great things happen and to motivate them and support them.”

To Mansueto, her traits superseded the points on her CV that Glassman Chrein didn’t have.

“I was looking more for somebody who can build the culture, has the business acumen that could really drive building the fan base, ticket sales [and] sponsorships,” Mansueto said in July. “I don’t think you need to necessarily have a soccer background or even a team background.”

Glassman Chrein isn’t short on tasks.

The Fire are looking for a new shirt sponsor and don’t expect Motorola to return in that role next year because of that company’s changing priorities. Glassman Chrein said the Fire are talking to mainstream companies but also are getting interest from “challenger” brands, and firms from the growing sports-betting space.

Speaking of sports betting, the Fire are seeking an exclusive betting partner, which Glassman Chrein said would bring revenue but also fan engagement via free-to-play games in which fans could guess who scores first and even the formation the team uses. The Fire are expected to remain on Ch. 9 next year, but the league’s media-rights deal is up in the air for 2023, and how that will impact teams locally is unclear.

Beyond that, she’s part of a group that must rebuild interest in the team and turn around a franchise after a decade of decline.

“There’s a lot of work to do,” Glassman Chrein said. “There’s no doubt that we have a lot of things we want to do better. We want to get to know corporate Chicago and have partnerships with them. We want more people in the stands at Soldier Field, and [sporting director] Georg [Heitz] and his team are working really hard on winning more. We all want the same things.”

Read More

LAS VEGAS — Compared to Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy, Matt Youmans views the captain and first mate of the S.S. Minnow as expert navigators.

“I had more faith in Gilligan and the Skipper than I do in Nagy and Pace,” Youmans says. “The Bears’ duo has a long way to go and is running out of time to get there.”

A senior writer/broadcaster for the Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN), Youmans reinforced his sour forecast on the Bears by betting that they would win fewer than 7 1/2 games and, at -250, miss the playoffs.

The Bears have finished under their projected season-victory total in four of the last five years, according to second-generation Vegas oddsmaker -Kenny White.

Youmans gauges an offensive line speckled with issues, which is bad news for quarterback Andy Dalton, the immobile veteran serving as the bridge to greenhorn understudy Justin Fields.

”Don’t be fooled by a few big plays in the preseason because the rookie is not ready,” says Youmans, a Purdue graduate who worked at The Times of Northwest Indiana, in Munster, before landing in Vegas in 2000.

“The defense appears to be slipping, [so] it’s time for the great Khalil Mack to step it up. The schedule has so few soft spots that it’s tough to see this team overachieving and getting to eight or nine wins.”

He maxes the victory threshold at six, seven with luck, for the franchise with one winning campaign in eight seasons.

“The good news is the Lions look like a clown show again,” Youmans says, “so the Bears aren’t the worst team in the division.”

Smart money has reinforced those sentiments, while recreational bettors have displayed their bias. We also spotlight a nifty angle from an industry oracle. And leaguewide, finally, two teams have dominated V-egas sportsbook action:

LOSING SEASON LIKELY

Last season, the Bears barely eked by the Falcons (both 8-8) for the newly added third NFC wild card. This season, the NFL added one more regular-season game to the slate.

Westgate SuperBook executive vice president Jay Kornegay has had to remind some patrons that there are now 17 games as they’ve perused season-victory totals.

“It doesn’t always compute,” he says. “Sixteen has been so ingrained for decades. A friend said, ‘The Broncos and nine [wins]? That’s way too many.’ I reminded him of the 17 games, and it’s, ‘Oh, yeah. That makes sense.’ ”

The Bears are 42-54 in six seasons under Pace, plus two playoff defeats. In his three seasons, Nagy is 28-22. Against the spread, he’s 24-26, which plummets to 12-21 over the last two years.

In Bears first halves, White details, Under has cashed 32 of 49 times (a return of 13-plus units) under Nagy.

Kornegay has watched pros drive the host Rams from 7- to 7 1/2 -point favorites — not insignificant — for the Bears’ opener Sept. 12.

He says swarms of amateur punters have moved “Yes” on the Bears making the playoffs from +250 (risk $100 to win $250) down to +220, shifting “No” from -300 to -260.

(Spreads, odds and prices are subject to change.)

At Circa, the Bears are 100-to-1 to win Super Bowl LVI, -14,000 (bet $14,000 to win $100) to not win it all, 48-1 to win the NFC and +675 to win the NFC North.

At the South Point, sportsbook director Chris Andrews says a wave of action against the Bears has moved “No” from -220 to -250.

Kelly Stewart, of Barstool Sports, has reviewed the SuperBook’s lines on every game and notes the Bears are favored in only four, which helped coax her to bet Under 7 1/2 victories, at -125.

THE TEASE

A particular NFL action that Vegas sports-wagering icon Michael “Roxy” Roxborough endorses is the teaser. He highlights a rare inherent advantage for the bettor, but it can’t be done willy-nilly.

“You cannot just tease any NFL game,” he tells me. The benefit arrives in taking two home teams, the teaser minimum in which both must hit, that cover the critical margins of seven and three points.

Two first-week SuperBook examples are the Buccaneers -6 1/2 points at home against the Cowboys on Thursday and those Rams against the Bears.

A 7-point tease in both cases might help bettors allergic to sweating. Reducing the Bucs to a half-point underdog means all they must do is win. Same with the Rams, who would be cut to half-point favorites against the Bears.

In Week 2, the advantage of taking the Packers at only – 1/2 at home against the Lions, rather than -7 1/2 is enticing. As are the Chiefs (against the Chargers) and Bills (vs. Washington), both at – 1/2 rather than -7 1/2 , in Week 3.

The luxury of eliminating those key numbers comes at a price. On Sunday, at my local mom-n-pop shop, the two-team, 7-point teaser cost -150, 6 1/2 points was -140, 6 points -125.

At that locale, like elsewhere, the teaser cost has inched up in recent years. Roxy advises shopping for the best price and points. Pros shun parlays, but Roxy understands the commoner’s quest for added cushion in trying to make money.

Back at the SuperBook, Kornegay is sweating a potential Chiefs-Bucs Super Bowl.

“By far,” he says, that duo has drawn the most futures money and tickets. “If those two get into the Super Bowl, we’re going to have to raise our sandwich prices.”

Read More

At least 13 people have been wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday evening, including a 4-year-old boy who was shot in Woodlawn on the South Side.

The child was inside a home about 9 p.m. Friday in the 6500 block of South Ellis Avenue when bullets tore through the front window, striking him twice in the head, Chicago police said.

Paramedics took the child to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was in critical condition, police said.

Early Saturday morning, five people were shot in a single attack in Lawndale on the West Side.

They were among a group of people about 12:15 a.m. in the 1400 block of South Tripp Avenue when someone unleashed gunfire from a black Nissan, police said.

A 22-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and a 37-year-old shot in the back and lower backside, police said. Both were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and were listed in good condition.

A woman, 25, suffered a graze wound to the hip and another, 33, was shot in the leg, police said. They took themselves to the same hospital and were also in good condition.

A 34-year-old woman was shot twice in the leg and taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition, police said.

At least seven other people have been wounded in citywide shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

Last weekend, at least six people were killed and 50 others were wounded in incidents of gun violence across Chicago.

Read More

Read More

A 4-year-old boy was among 15 people shot and wounded Friday in Chicago.

The child was shot twice in his head and critically wounded about 9 p.m. in Woodlawn on the South Side, Chicago police said.

He was inside a home in the 6500 block of South Ellis Avenue when bullets came through the front window, police said.

Paramedics took the boy to Comer Children’s Hospital, police said. A 34-year-old woman was also taken to a hospital for lacerations related to the shooting, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

At the scene of the shooting, shell casings littered the front yard of a three-story apartment building that had a shattered front window.

About 2:55 a.m., three people were shot in the 1300 block of North Hudson Avenue in Old Town on the Near North Side, police said.

A 41-year-old man suffered wounds to the hip, lower backside and leg and was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, police said.

A 40-year-old man was shot in the leg and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition, police said.

A third victim, whose age was not known, was grazed in the leg and refused medical attention, police said.

A few hours earlier, two people were shot while driving in Gresham on the South Side.

A man and woman, 40 and 39, respectively, were driving about 12:55 a.m. in the 8000 block of South Paulina Street when someone in a passing car opened fire, police said.

The man was shot twice in the leg and the woman suffered a gunshot wound to the arm, police said. Both were taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in fair condition.

Nine others were wounded in citywide shootings Friday.

On Thursday, three people were killed and 12 others wounded in shootings in Chicago.

Read More