The Southeastern Conference remains the kingpin of college football.

That only will become more true as its footprint grows — enormously — with athletic powerhouses Texas and Oklahoma expected to relocate from the Big 12 in 2025 or sooner.

But the alliance among the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast and Pac-12 conferences that became official Tuesday could — and should — prevent the SEC from using its outsized heft to dictate the direction of college athletics’ bell-cow sport.

It’s also — one hopes — a shot in the arm for many other college sports, including Olympic sports at the low end of the revenue spectrum.

Commissioners Kevin Warren of the Big Ten, Jim Phillips of the ACC and George Kliavkoff of the Pac-12 — three newbies, essentially, in those positions — promised a ”collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling.”

That eventually will mean more — and, in some cases, highly attractive — head-to-head regular-season football games between teams from the three conferences, as well as more early and midseason games and events in basketball and other sports.

”The three conferences are grounded in their support of broad-based athletic programs, the collegiate model and opportunities for student-athletes as part of the educational missions of the institutions,” a joint statement read.

And that means maintaining support for an array of more-vulnerable sports, which are present in greater numbers throughout the Big Ten, for example, than in the SEC. Ohio State has nearly twice as many men’s and women’s sports programs as Alabama. Illinois and Northwestern likewise have more than Alabama. Football is life in SEC country.

The Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 also pledged to protect student-athletes’ mental and physical health, safety and wellness; to prioritize diversity, inclusion and gender equity; and to support social justice.

More than anything else, however, this is about football and where things are headed in a new era when the so-called ”Autonomy 5” conferences — the Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12, SEC and Big 12 — have taken so much power away from the NCAA.

With three of those conferences in alignment, the SEC ought not be able to bully its way to whatever it wants in vital areas, including playoff expansion, playoff television partners and revenue. Also, a key part of the spirit of this alliance is conference stability. Assuming the SEC is taking all it wants from the Big 12 in Texas and Oklahoma, let the football kingpin’s growth stop there. The Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 will work together, as needed, to remain whole themselves.

In June, a four-member committee led by extraordinarily effective SEC commissioner Greg Sankey compelled the board of the College Football Playoff to recommend an expansion from four to 12 teams. The Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 were unrepresented on the committee. That undoubtedly got the attention of Warren, Kliavkoff and Phillips, the former Northwestern athletic director.

The alliance makes it difficult for the SEC to bend playoff expansion to its wishes — wishes that undoubtedly start with there being as few automatic bids as possible. The more at-large slots, the better for the only conference that has had at least four teams among the top 12 of the final CFP rankings in each of the last three seasons.

The common belief in the industry is that the earliest we might see an expanded playoff field is the 2023 season. With ESPN owning exclusive rights to the playoff through 2025 — and with the SEC its biggest college football business partner — those two entities would love to see things move fast. The Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 likely would prefer to slow things down, let the ESPN contract expire and see the CFP taken to the open market.

”I’m a big believer in expanding the College Football Playoff,” Warren said, ”but I’m also a big believer in being methodical and doing our homework.”

Along with his allies, of course.

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Want a piece of Al Capone?

His favorite pistol? Gold- and diamond-encrusted jewelry emblazoned with his initials? A letter Capone wrote from Alcatraz to his only son, Sonny?

Or, an end table or bed frame, perhaps?

They are among 174 items that will be auctioned Oct. 8 after the decision by Capone’s three surviving granddaughters to let go of a large chunk of their family’s history while they’re still alive to share the stories that go along with the items.

Among the items being auctioned are Al Capone’s 14kw gold and diamond match cover containing 63 single cut diamonds.Sheldon Carpenter/Witherell’s Inc

Diane Capone, the eldest granddaughter, said that while the world came to know him as “Scarface” and “Public Enemy Number One,” she knew him as “Papa” and wants people to know he was not all bad.

“I remember very distinctly holding onto Papa’s finger and he would walk me around the garden and point at different flowers and statues,” she told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday.

Her father, Sonny Capone, was Al Capone’s only child.

“My most vivid memory is the day Papa died and my dad lifting me up onto his bed so I can kiss him. And he turned to me and he kissed me and he said ‘I love you baby girl,’ and those were his last words to me and they are indelibly imprinted in my mind.”

Fires that have threatened her home in the foothills of Northern California also motivated her to part ways with the items, many of which originated from Capone’s mansion on Palm Island, a short distance from Miami Beach, Florida.

Diane Capone, 77, is retired but formerly worked as an admissions counselor at a community college in Santa Clara.

The auction — dubbed “A Century of Notoriety: The Estate of Al Capone” — is an invite-only affair at a private country club but will also accept online bids.

A Colt Model 1911 semi-automatic pistol that was said to be Al Capone’s “favorite.” Sheldon Carpenter/Witherell’s Inc

The starting bid is $50,000 for Capone’s .45-caliber Colt model 1911 semi-automatic pistol, his “favorite” weapon, according to the auction house.

When asked if she had any concerns her grandfather’s favorite gun or any other heirlooms might end up in the hands of nefarious folks who idolized Capone for the wrong reasons, she said it wasn’t something she’d thought about.

“Well, I certainly hope that doesn’t happen. I don’t really think there’s much chance of somebody who’s really a bad person having access to it, but I have no way of knowing. I just certainly hope to God nothing like that would ever happen,” she said.

Witherell’s, the auction house handling the sale, uses a licensed firearms dealer to assist in the sale and background check. “I think that it would go to a responsible high-end collector,” said Brian Witherell, who heads up the auction house.

A personal letter from Al Capone to Sonny Capone, written from Alcatraz.Sheldon Carpenter/Witherell’s Inc

When it comes to squaring the man she knew with the violent gangster the rest of the world knew, Diane Capone has no answers.

“It’s a conundrum,” she said. “Someday, when I get to heaven, maybe I’ll get to ask.”

On a side note, the home where Al Capone lived in Chicago, sits vacant at 7244 S. Prairie Ave., about four blocks east of the Dan Ryan Expressway in the Park Manor neighborhood.

Entrepreneur Duane Varan bought the brick two-flat in 2019 from a longtime owner who also lived on the property for $226,000 — more than double the asking price.

Varan, who is CEO of MediaScience, a media and advertising research company, didn’t return messages.

A home where infamous gangster Al Capone once lived in the Park Manor neighborhood at 7244 S. Prairie Ave.Scott Olson/Getty

The real estate agent who helped Varan buy the Capone home said Varan had hoped to restore it and turn it into a Capone museum, but for a number of reasons, including the pandemic, the plan has stalled.

According to his company’s website, Varan, who does not live in Chicago, is working on a Broadway musical about Capone.

Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), who lives across from Capone’s former home, said he hasn’t been in touch Varan about his plan, but he and other neighbors do not want the home to become more of a tourist attraction than it already is.

“We see people wandering the block looking lost and we just point at the home,” he said.

On Oct. 17, 1931, a jury convicted the notorious gangster of tax evasion in a federal court in Chicago. A few days later, on Oct. 24, the judge announced his sentence: 11 years and a $50,000 fine.

Following his release after serving seven years in prison, and suffering from advanced syphilis, Capone retreated to his Florida mansion with his wife, Mae, until his death in 1947.

Here are some other items up for auction:

Family members say this vintage silver print of Mae and Al Capone standing on the pier with their grandchildren, taken on Dec. 25, 1946, is the last photo of him before he died. Al holds Barbara and in the foreground, are Diane (from left) and Ronnie. Sheldon Carpenter/Witherell’s Inc

Al Capone’s platinum Haynes Stellite pocket knife containing 20 single cut diamonds and four steel blades. It’s from the late 1920s or early 1930s, the auction house said.Sheldon Carpenter/Witherell’s Inc

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden declared Tuesday he is sticking to his Aug. 31 deadline for completing a risky airlift of Americans, endangered Afghans and others seeking to escape Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The decision defies allied leaders who want to give the evacuation more time and opens Biden to criticism that he caved to Taliban deadline demands.

“Every day we’re on the ground is another day that we know ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport and attack both us and allied forces and innocent civilians,” Biden said at the White House, referring to the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate, which is known for staging suicide attacks on civilians.

He said the Taliban are cooperating and security is holding despite a number of violent incidents. “But it’s a tenuous situation,” he said, adding, “We run a serious risk of it breaking down as time goes on.”

The United States in recent days has ramped up its airlift amid new reports of rights abuses that fuel concern about the fate of thousands of people who fear retribution from the Taliban and are trying to flee the country. The Pentagon said 21,600 people had been evacuated in the 24 hours that ended Tuesday morning, and Biden said an additional 12,00 had been flown out in the 12 hours that followed. Those include flights operated by the U.S. military as well as other charter flights.

Biden said he had asked the Pentagon and State Department for evacuation contingency plans that would adjust the timeline for full withdrawal should that become necessary.

Pentagon officials expressed confidence the airlift, which started on Aug. 14, can get all Americans out by next Tuesday, the deadline Biden had set long before the Taliban completed their takeover. But unknown thousands of other foreign nationals remain in Afghanistan and are struggling to get out.

The Taliban, who have wrested control of the country back nearly 20 years after being ousted in a U.S.-led invasion after the 9/11 attacks, insist the airlift must end on Aug. 31. Any decision by Biden to stay longer could reignite a war between the militants and the approximately 5,800 American troops who are executing the airlift at Kabul airport.

In Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference the U.S. must stick to its self-imposed deadline, saying “after that we won’t let Afghans be taken out” on evacuation flights. He also said the Taliban would bar Afghans from accessing roads to the airport, while allowing foreigners to pass in order to prevent large crowds from massing.

At the Pentagon, spokesman John Kirby said Aug. 31 leaves enough time to get all Americans out, but he was less specific about completing the evacuation of all at-risk Afghans. He said about 4,000 American passport holders and their family members had been evacuated from Kabul as of Tuesday.

“We expect that number to grow in coming days,” Kirby said. He also said the military would have to start moving troops and their equipment out of Kabul several days prior to Aug. 31 in order to be out entirely by then.

It’s unclear how many Americans who want to leave are still in the country, but their status is a hot political topic for Biden. Some Republicans bristled Tuesday at the U.S. seeming to comply with a Taliban edict. “We need to have the top priority to tell the Taliban that we’re going to get all of our people out, regardless of what timeline was initially set,” said Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

And Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters Monday that “it was hard for me to imagine” wrapping up the airlifts by the end of the month.

Biden decided in April that he was ending the U.S. war, which began in October 2001. Former President Donald Trump had earlier agreed in negotiations with the Taliban to end the war in May.

However, Biden waited until the Taliban had swept to power this month, following the collapse of the U.S.-backed government and its army, to begin executing an airlift.

Tragic scenes at the airport have transfixed the world. Afghans poured onto the tarmac last week and some clung to a U.S. military transport plane as it took off, later plunging to their deaths. At least seven people died that day, and another seven died Sunday in a panicked stampede. An Afghan solider was killed Monday in a gunfight.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Group of Seven nations will not recognize a Taliban government unless it guarantees people can leave the country if they wish, both before and after the August deadline. A day earlier, the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, met with a top Taliban leader in Kabul. The extraordinary meeting reflected the gravity of the crisis and America’s need to coordinate with a Taliban group it has accused of gross human rights abuses.

For now, the U.S. military coordinates all air traffic in and out of the Kabul airport, but the Taliban will take over there after the planned U.S. pullout, Mujahid said. It’s unclear when commercial flights might resume, putting pressure on the current evacuation efforts to get as many people out as possible.

Meanwhile, a U.S. official said Burns, the CIA director, met with Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar — an extraordinary moment for the U.S. spy agency, which for two decades targeted the Taliban in paramilitary operations. It was not clear what exactly they discussed.

The CIA partnered with Pakistani forces to arrest Baradar in 2010, and he spent eight years in a Pakistani prison before the Trump administration persuaded Pakistan to release him in 2018 ahead of U.S. peace talks with the Taliban.

Mujahid, meanwhile, pushed back on the idea that Afghans need to flee, arguing that the Taliban have brought peace and security to the country. He said the main problem was the chaos at the airport, and he accused the U.S. of luring away engineers, doctors and other professionals on which the country relies.

Earlier, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said she had credible reports of “summary executions” of civilians and former security forces who were no longer fighting, the recruitment of child soldiers and restrictions on the rights of women to move around freely and of girls to go to school.

She did not specify the timing or source of her reports.

It has been difficult to determine how widespread abuses might be and whether they contradict the Taliban’s public statements or reflect disunity in its ranks.

From 1996 until the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, the Taliban largely confined women to their homes, banned television and music, chopped off the hands of suspected thieves and held public executions.

___

Burns reported from Washington, Lemire from Lowell, Massachusetts., Faiez from Istanbul. Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer and Matthew Lee in Washington, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

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The first early Chinook come to shore close to Chicago and lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report; but there is also fishing for perch on southern Lake Michigan in Indiana and Michigan and for bluegill, catfish and bass on inland waters in the heat.

Capt. Bob Poteshman of Confusion Charters texted the photo at the top and this on Friday:

10 lb Catfish caught today aboard the Massive Confusion in 145 fow off Chicago on a 12 color lead with an orange Stinger Spoon by the young lady in the picture

Lake Michigan holds its surprises.

ILLINOIS FROG SEASON

Illinois’ bullfrog (only) season runs through Oct. 15. A fishing license is required. “Bullfrogs may be taken by hook and line, gig, pitchfork, spear, bow and arrow, hand, or landing net.” Daily bag limits eight, possession limit 16.

LAKEFRONT PARKING

Chicago Park District’s parking passes for the fisherman’s parking lots at DuSable and Burnham harbors are on sale at Henry’s Sports and Bait in Bridgeport and Park Bait at Montrose Harbor.

Readers suggest SpotHero app downtown. Otherwise, here are some basics: Foster (free street parking or pay lot); Montrose (now a mix of metered and free street parking); Belmont (pay lots on north and south sides); Diversey (pay lot or street parking); DuSable Harbor (pay lot or fisherman’s lot); Northerly Island/Burnham Harbor (meters, pay lot or fisherman’s lot); 31st/Burnham (meter parking between McCormick Place and 31st Street Harbor); Oakwood/39th (meters); 63rd Street/Casino Pier (pay lot); Steelworkers Park (free street parking at east end of 87th); Cal Park (free parking).

AREA LAKES

BIG FISH: The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Big Fish Contest at Monee Reservoir runs through Tuesday, Aug. 31. Click here for details.

Ken “Husker” O’Malley with a local, late-summer largemouth bass.Provided

Ken “Husker” O’Malley emailed the photo above and this:

Hey Dale,

Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing.

Area lakes-fishing has seen excellent with the consistent weather pattern we are in.

Bass have been very good early on spro frogs in the thickest slop you can find. This technique is not a numbers game, but will catch the bigger bass in the system. Evening hours work a baby 1 minus over the top of weeds.

Bluegill remain up shallow and are good on a variety of plastics during morning and evening hours under a slip float.

Here is the nature pic of the week. If you build it they will come.

TTYL

—

Ken “Husker” O’Malley

Husker Outdoors
Waterwerks fishing team

Pete Lamar emailed:

Hi Dale,

An interesting weekend of fishing. I did my first night-time fishing for bass in months. There was a lack of preparation, but dumb luck saved the day. Kane County lakes and ponds tend to be pretty clear, so I prefer a new moon and/or a lot of clouds-i.e., dark conditions-for night fishing. I didn’t realize that Friday was a full moon. Fortunately, it was a late moon rise; I had about an hour of prime conditions after sunset before the moon got high enough to throw a lot of light. Good numbers of bass landed, but they were sluggish when hooked, probably due to high water temps and low oxygen content. I’m going to leave them alone for a few weeks, until we get a few nights in the 50s. There are enough cool-running streams in the area to keep me busy until then.

. . .

Pete

BRAIDWOOD LAKE

Dwayne Armstrong had a good day for big catfish and eater-sized ones at Braidwood Lake. Provided by BoRabb Williams

BoRabb Williams texted the photo above and this on Sunday:

Dwayne Armstrong had a CLASSIC Day at Braidwood Saturday with 4 Blues over 15lbs

Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset. Click here for the preview.

CHAIN O’LAKES AREA

Art Frisell at Triangle Sports and Marine in Antioch said bluegill are excellent shallow early and late, other times they’re deeper on ice jigs, waxies or spikes; catfish are excellent on stinkbait, crawlers, large or medium roaches, try main lake points like for walleye; white bass are good in the heat in 8-10 feet on small minnows, spikes or light jigs, use countdown-method to find them; walleye are fair on leeches or crawlers, back to bridge areas and main lake points with hot water; try crappie deeper in 10-15.

NOTE: Check updates on water conditions at foxwaterway.com or (847) 587-8540.

NOTE 2: The Stratton Lock and Dam is open 8 a.m. to midnight through Sept. 30.

CHICAGO RIVER

Jesse Gonzalez with his PB carp from the Chicago River.Provided by Jeffrey Williams

Jeffrey Williams messaged about his brother Jesse Gonzalez:

my brothers PB

23 pounds 35 in

DOWNSTATE

POWERTON: Hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Sept. 30.

EMIQUON: Access permits and liability waivers are again required. They are available Tuesday to Saturday at Dickson Mounts Museum, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

HENNEPIN-HOPPER: Open through Sept. 6. Closed Mondays (except Labor Day). Check regulations at http://www.wetlands-initiative.org/dixon-paddling-fishing.

SHELBYVILLE: Check with Ken Wilson of Lithia Guide Service. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Check with Jason Johns of Boneyard Fishing.

FOX RIVER

River is very low with little flow.

Pete Lamar emailed:

Hi Dale,

An interesting weekend of fishing. . . . There are enough cool-running streams in the area to keep me busy until then. Speaking of cool streams, I fished a new stretch on one of my favorites over the weekend. As is typical, the water was cold, even in late August. I know all about the differences between stream trout, steelhead and smallmouths, but I’m beginning to think that there are far more similarities than differences. Find the favored habitat-wood is good; foam is home; rocks rock-and the fish will be there. Trying to coax a hooked smallmouth out from under a downed tree brought back a lot of memories of steelhead fishing in Indiana.

Pete

In this heat, I suspect that the cooler tributaries are a better choice.

GENEVA LAKE, WISCONSIN

Arden Katz said largemouth bass were good in 8-12 feet around the docks on the west side of Geneva Bay; pumpkinseeds and bluegill were good on the north side of the lake in 17-20 feet from “The Narrows” west.

GREEN LAKE AREA, WISCONSIN

Guide Mike Norris emailed:

Fishing Report – 8/22/2021

Mike Norris

Big Green Lake – Bluegills remain excellent outside of weedlines and in 20 – 30 feet along drop offs. There are plenty of medium sized gills, but you will find the bigger gills just outside of the pack. Try to find unpressured areas away from the community spots for gills exceeding 9 inches. Fishing for both largemouth and smallmouth bass remains steady. You must work the rocky drop-offs and deeper weedbeds to catch them. Jig and crawfish combos, drop shots and working a plastic worm on a shakey head jig are all working. It took 22.37 lbs. last Sunday to win an Angler’s Choice bass tournament held on Big Green. The big fish for the contest was a 6.05 lb. largemouth bass.

Lake Puckaway – Frog fishing lily pads is producing catches of largemouth bass up to 3 lbs. The best pads to fish are in the Fox River downstream of Lake Puckaway. Bluegills and crappies are being caught along main lake weedlines.

To book a guide trip reach out to me via my Facebook page at mike.norris.7773 or email me through my website at www.comecatchsmallmouth.com

GREEN/STURGEON BAYS, WISCONSIN

Click here for the Wisconsin DNR weekly report.

KANKAKEE RIVER

George Peters with a smallmouth bass from the Kankakee River.Provided

George Peters emailed the photo above and this about the state of the river:

“coming down from last weeks central Illinois rain. Bright color baits show up best in stained water, fishing should improve without more rain. G, Peters

Bob Johnson emailed the photo below and this:

Hi Dale -Back to Kankakee River Saturday morning with some of the same Smallmouth action just slowed down some most likely from heat. Water temps were at 80 with water slightly stained at around normal pool. Surface lure bite was not happening but crawfish imitators were. I tossed a texas rig 1/16 oz lead and 4/0 off shank with crawfish tail. Also used Berkley max scent for a couple Bass. Catch and release

Bob Johnson with a Kankakee River smallmouth bass.Provided

LAKE ERIE

Click here for the Ohio DNR Report.

LAKEFRONT

The wait is on for shoreline kings, with a smattering of catches early.

Dan Leslie at the Salmon Stop in Waukegan said they just starting to see some kings and steelhead from the pier on Saturday when the water temperature dropped, orange seems to be the color; then water warmed on Sunday and it shut down; boaters are either working out deep or in 70-90 feet.

Steve Palmisano at Henry’s Sports and Bait texted:

Interest is building!! Hoping for a nice run.

People are ready for the run of kings.

Stacey Greene at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor texted:

Still not a thing just a few carp in the harbor

Another big catfish comes from deep on Lake Michigan, this time on the Confusion C4.Provided

Capt. Bob Poteshman of Confusion Charters said they caught another 12-pound catfish on the Confusion C4 Tuesday in 140 feet on lead core. Otherwise, lakers off Chicago remain good with occasional kings and coho in 110-200 feet of water; out of North Point, some good steelhead (troll faster with spoons) in 200, with plenty of lakers, a few coho and an occasional king.

Capt. Scott Wolfe of School of Fish Charters emailed:

The late summer/fall pattern is fully set up.

Lake trout limits with most being over 15 pounds every trip. A few bonus steelhead. Mature coho and 3 year old kings in the mix. 110-150 feet deep like always. Jimmy Fly Mo rigs in green and gold on the bottom. Warrior Spoiler Spoons 10 to 30 feet off the bottom and on coppers and leadcores. Keep a couple of lines higher in the water column, 50-60 feet down for the bonus fish.

The mature kings should be in the harbor this weekend. Definitely by Labor Day weekend, which is been the best harbor king fishing the past several years.

In the harbor, both bass and northern have been taken casting. It’s very weedy this year. Any presentations you can work through the weeds works. White spinner baits have been good for us and are easy to use, a plus for me.

We will be targeting trophy trout the rest of the year. The late season pattern is off to a great start.

Capt. Scott Wolfe

School of Fish Charters/Manipulator
schooloffishcharters.com
630-341-0550

Talking fall patterns.

LaSALLE LAKE

Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset. Click here for the preview of prospects.

MADISON LAKES, WISCONSIN

Click here for the update from D&S Bait.

MAZONIA

Both units are open for fishing.

MINNESOTA

Tyler Clark with a largemouth bass on a one-day license in Minnesota.Provided

Tyler Clark emailed the photo above and this:

Another MN one day license

Gladstone Lake near Brainerd.

Thanks for sharing that (maybe) tiger Muskie in the Chicago River! Very cool!

It was very cool.

NORTHERN WISCONSIN

Christian Howe emailed:

Dale,

It is my pleasure to send you my first fishing report in over a year. I’m finally back on two feet and confident enough sit in a boat to fish.

The fishing gods must have been looking down on me and the kids today. We had a ball with nearly non-stop panfish action. Bluegill and RedEars are in the weeds, mainly cabbage in 6-9ft with small perch mixed in. The mother load of nice keeper perch are deeper, over grass adjacent to mudflats in 16-20ft. Crawlers are taking most of the fish on a simple split-shot and hook. Bass are relating to the wind n an almost puzzling way for me. I didn’t see a bass until I fished the “walleye” chop on the windswept shores. Twister tails on an 1/8oz jig and shallow diving cranks have been real good. I tried bottom-bouncing crawler harnesses for walleye during the with no luck.

After supper and getting the kids into bed I ventured out after dark and trolled #9 original rapalas and husky jerks over cabbage beds and put 11 walleye, 5 largemouth, 2 smallies in the boat. Oh. And a bluegill. I’ll chalk this all up to the blue moon Sunday, and me making up for lost time. And boy did I need it.

Side note, due to the drought up this way the sugar males are turning red and the birch are showing early signs that change is in the air. The could be a year when colorama peak hits in mid September.

Thanks Dale, I hope to see you soon.

So good he is back, out and about again. Been too long.

Kurt Justice at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop in Minocqua emailed:

Odd to be moving into the second half of August and seeing water temps rise and no sign of signals of Fall yet. Some patterns have not set up as usual for this time of year.

Bullheads: Very Good – On bodies of water with good numbers and size, surprisingly showing up on slip-bobber rigs baited with medium fatheads being fished for crappies. Fish of 11 – 14″ being caught.

Smallmouth Bass: Good – Smallies beat action coming along coontail edges and off shore rock humps using Ned rigs and drop-shot rigs. Some very nice fish reported this week topped by a 6 1/2 # caught be an 11 year old working a crawler harness!

Largemouth Bass: Good – Top-water action during the last two hours before dark best using Whopper Ploppers and Choppers. Wacky Worming and jig/creatures combo in green weed patches for daytime!

Bluegills: Good – Best outside deep coontail edges using small leeches. Some popper action towards dusk on the warm evenings.

Northern Pike: Good – Spinner baits and chatter baits on cloudy/windy days, but with most days sunny, live chubs and suckers on jigs or under floats producing better.

Yellow Perch: Good – Fair- Some nice perch (9-11″) along breaks in 10 – 12′ where wood is present is best. 1/2 crawlers or medium fatheads.

Crappies: Fair -Good- Off and on action, but some big slabs recorded including a verified 17″ SLAB caught (8/23). Fish not bunched but all seem to be found in 12-17′ near wood or deep coontail.

Walleye: Fair – Need to pick your battles. High skies with little wind tough. Opportunities on mornings with fog or evenings best. Retails and crawlers best.

Musky: Fair – Poor – Not getting many good reports and most from anglers catching mid-30″ fish over weeds in 12′ of water or less.

We’ll see what the upcoming week brings. Overcast and chance of rain will made walleye anglers happier.

Kurt Justice

Kurt’s Island Sport Shop

It feels good to have somebody mention bullheads.

NORTHWEST INDIANA

Capt. Rich Sleziak texted, “A nice king caught in 40 feet of water outside of Burns Ditch aboard Triplecatch on Saturday.”Provided by Triplecatch Charters

Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station texted:

Some nice kings are being caught out of portage in 40ft of water not a lot of fish but some good ones for sure.

Perch action from the portage to Michigan city in 20 to 35ft of water was good up to Saturday then the wind blew on Sunday and shut down fishing.

This weeks forecast looks good the perch bite should happen baby golden roaches best bait.

Willow slough still giving good panfish up pretty good action using jumbo red wigglers and waxworms

ROOT RIVER, WISCONSIN

Click here for the Wisconsin DNR’s report, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday.

SHABBONA LAKE

Concessions are going. Site hours through Oct. 31 are 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT

Click here for the southern Lake Michigan reports from the Wisconsin DNR.

SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

Thumper at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said the good news is the perch are in, generally in 40-45 feet, from north of the St. Joe pier south to “The Chalets;” in the river, smallmouth, catfish (some good catches) and a few walleye are being caught, expect steelhead soon with cooler water; boaters are working 120-140 for coho, lakers and very few kings.

Paddle and Pole hosts the Berrien Springs Fish Ladder Camera.

WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN

White bass from the Wolf River.Provided by Bill Stoeger

Guide Bill Stoeger in Fremont texted the photo above and this:

Another specie of fish is beginning to show up in the river that most haven’t seen since May. Crappie are also moving in with the high water from recent rains. There were a few walleye taken in the Fremont area, but it’s a bit early to say the fall run is starting.

Nicely turned.

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Facing a rapidly shifting landscape in college sports, the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten and Pac-12 have agreed to work together with the goal of creating stability during a volatile time.

Less than a month after the Southeastern Conference made an expansion power play by inviting Texas and Oklahoma to the league, three of the SEC’s Power Five peers countered with the creation of an alliance of 41 schools that span from Miami to Seattle.

During a 45-minute video conference Tuesday, the commissioners of the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 pledged broad collaboration on myriad issues and committed to league members playing more football and basketball games against each other in football and basketball.

They also suggested they wouldn’t be poaching each others schools.

“The history of college athletics, one expansion of a conference has usually led to another to another and to another,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said. “And to the three of us, we felt the stabilization of the current environment, across Division I and FBS — in Power Five in particular — this was a chance for a new direction, a new initiative that I don’t think has ever been done before.”

After weeks of discussions, the alliance is still mostly conceptual and collegial.

“There’s no contract. There’s no signed document,” Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff said. “There’s an agreement among three gentlemen and a commitment from 41 presidents and chancellors and 41 athletic directors to do what we say we’re going to do.”

The SEC sent shockwaves through college athletics when it was revealed that Texas and Oklahoma would be leaving the Big 12 to join the nation’s most powerful football conference no later than 2025.

“I wouldn’t say this is a reaction to Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC, but to be totally candid you have to evaluate what’s going on in the landscape of college athletics,” Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said.

As for the Big 12, its future is murky at best as the eight remaining members plot their next moves and try to work out a divorce from the Longhorns and Sooners. The realignment of Texas and Oklahoma could eventually lead the Power Five to shrink to four.

“We want and need the Big 12 to do well,” Phillips said. “The Big 12 matters in college athletics.”

But it will not be part of the alliance.

The alliance is also being formed as the NCAA shakes off a Supreme Court loss and considers handing off more responsibility to conferences and schools to run college sports. The NCAA Board of Governors has called a special constitutional convention in November, the first step toward what could be sweeping reform and a decentralized governance model.

“We did the alliance to protect the collegiate model,” said Kliavkoff, who is only in his second month on the job of leading the Pac-12 after serving as president of sports and entertainment for MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas.

There is also a proposal to expand the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams currently in the pipeline. The proposal was crafted by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, and unveiled publicly in June.

Kliavkoff and Warren both said their conferences support playoff expansion, while Phillips said the ACC had not landed on a final position.

The commissioners and university presidents are scheduled to meet in late September in Chicago to discuss what comes next for the expansion proposal.

“This is not a voting bloc,” Kliavkoff said of the alliance in a brief interview with AP. “We’ve not committed to voting together on anything. We’ve committed to discuss all of these issues, and to try to come up with solutions that are in the best interest of longterm college athletics.

“I’d be surprised if we come to different conclusions with respect to how we think about CFP expansion, but it’s not a voting bloc,” he said.

The scheduling piece could lead to numerous nonconference football games per season and multiple team events in basketball involving ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 teams, potentially creating new and valuable television inventory.

But that could take time to come together, especially in football.

Nonconference football schedules are typically made years in advance and many schools already have mostly full slates in the coming seasons. The commissioners said they did not expect their schools to break contracts to accommodate new agreements within the alliance nor would they prohibit members from scheduling schools from other leagues.

The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 tried to make a bold statement by unveiling the alliance, but with no concrete plans in place it will start as a merely a promise to act with mutual interests in mind.

“Hopefully, this will bring some much needed stability in college athletics,” Warren said. “I also think what it will do is allow people to understand where everyone else stands. Some of the events over the last couple of months have shaken the foundations of college athletics.”

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Most of the high school football players in the state have never played in a playoff game. It isn’t their fault, that’s the current reality thanks to COVID.

That isn’t the case at St. Rita. The top-ranked Mustangs have three players back that started in the Class 5A state title game three years ago: star running back Kaleb Brown, quarterback Tommy Ulatowski and offensive lineman Valen Erickson.

Brown is the state’s top player, an Ohio State recruit. He’s a running back/wide receiver with devastating speed. Brown’s been a headline-grabber for the past three seasons, but this year will be different.

Area fans and Bucknuts (Ohio State football fans) will be watching Brown’s every move this season. He’s ready.

“I’m looking forward to all of it, even the pressure,” Brown said. “I know a lot of people will be after me. I’m ready. I’m going to play smart.”

The 5-11, 177-pound senior has scored touchdowns as a running back, wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and kick returner so far in his career.

“Grabbing a pick for a touchdown is all that is left,” St. Rita coach Todd Kuska said. “That’s not in the plans just yet.”

The Mustangs return about seven starters on both offense and defense and have added several key transfers, including running back Kyle Clayton from Phillips.

“Rankings are great for PR,” Kuska said. “But if your kids have the right mentality it doesn’t matter where you are ranked. And I believe our kids have that mentality.”

“It’s our job to come on the field and show that we are No. 1,” Brown said. “Not everyone will see us that way now. It’s up to us to go out and execute.”

St. Rita was the only team to give Loyola a challenge in the spring. The Mustangs lost 7-3 and it is still on Brown’s mind.

“Honestly, this year will be a failure if we don’t win state,” Brown said. “I want it bad. Real bad. And Loyola. I want to beat them. I haven’t done that in high school so I want to accomplish that.”

St. Rita will likely be a Class 5A team. The Mustangs face Loyola Week 3.

St. Rita quarterback Tommy Ulatowski (4) passes to his receiver at practice.Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun-Times

“We have a chip on our shoulder this year,” Ulatowski said. “After three years on varsity we feel like we are the best at all times out there.”

The entire offensive line, led by Ericksen (a Nebraska recruit), Roco Velenti, Logan Blake and Collin Gerger, returns.

Kuska is expecting big things from senior wide receiver EJ Nwagwu.

“He’s a track star,” Kuska said. “Last year we had three D1 receivers and it was tough to crack the lineup. He’ll be a big target for Tommy.”

Linebacker/defensive lineman Djabril McNabb, who had seven sacks in the spring, will lead the defense.

“You should expect us to be flying and make every tackle,” McNabb said. “We’re short but we fly to the ball. All 11 men. Speed kills.”

The defensive backfield should be a strength. Starters Liam Bartos, BJ Hall and Jake Lehtinen are back. Senior Jake Polselli leads an experienced defensive line.

Everything is in place for a historic season at 77th and Western. And the Mustangs will find out who they are very, very quickly.

“The schedule starts out really loaded,” Kuska said. “The first three games are like playing in the Big Ten. Mount Carmel, then we go play a nationally-ranked team in Kentucky and then Loyola.”

ST. RITA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Aug. 27 vs. Mount Carmel

Sep. 3 at Louisville Trinity, Ky.

Sep. 11 at Loyola

Sep. 17 vs. Benet

Sep. 24 vs. St. Patrick

Oct. 1 vs. Nazareth

Oct. 8 at Marian Central

Oct. 15 vs. Providence

Oct. 22 at Notre Dame

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A suspect was in custody after a man was wounded in a shooting Tuesday afternoon in the North Center.

The 25-year-old was driving north about 2 p.m. in the 4200 block of North Western Avenue when another vehicle pulled alongside his and someone from inside fired shots, Chicago police said.

He was shot in the arm and was taken to Swedish Covenant Hospital in good condition, police said.

Shortly after, officers placed a suspect into custody and allegedly recovered two weapons, police said.

Area Three detectives are investigating.

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Want a piece of Al Capone?

His favorite pistol? Gold- and diamond-encrusted jewelry emblazoned with his initials? A letter Capone wrote from Alcatraz to his only son, Sonny?

Or, an end table or bed frame, perhaps?

They are among 174 items that will be auctioned Oct. 8 after the decision by Capone’s three surviving granddaughters to let go of a large chunk of their family’s history while they’re still alive to share the stories that go along with the items.

Diane Capone, the eldest granddaughter, said that while the world came to know him as “Scarface” and “Public Enemy Number One,” she knew him as “Papa” and wants people to know he was not all bad.

“I remember very distinctly holding onto Papa’s finger and he would walk me around the garden and point at different flowers and statues,” she told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday.

Her father, Sonny Capone, was Al Capone’s only child.

“My most vivid memory is the day Papa died and my dad lifting me up onto his bed so I can kiss him. And he turned to me and he kissed me and he said ‘I love you baby girl,’ and those were his last words to me and they are indelibly imprinted in my mind.”

Fires that have threatened her home in the foothills of Northern California also motivated her to part ways with the items, many of which originated from Capone’s mansion on Palm Island, a short distance from Miami Beach, Florida.

Diane Capone, 77, is retired but formerly worked as an admissions counselor at a community college in Santa Clara.

The auction — dubbed “A Century of Notoriety: The Estate of Al Capone” — is an invite-only affair at a private country club but will also accept online bids.

The starting bid is $50,000 for Capone’s .45-caliber Colt model 1911 semi-automatic pistol, his “favorite” weapon, according to the auction house.

When asked if she had any concerns her grandfather’s favorite gun or any other heirlooms might end up in the hands of nefarious folks who idolized Capone for the wrong reasons, she said it wasn’t something she’d thought about.

“Well, I certainly hope that doesn’t happen. I don’t really think there’s much chance of somebody who’s really a bad person having access to it, but I have no way of knowing. I just certainly hope to God nothing like that would ever happen,” she said.

Witherell’s, the auction house handling the sale, uses a licensed firearms dealer to assist in the sale and background check. “I think that it would go to a responsible high-end collector,” said Brian Witherell, who heads up the auction house.

When it comes to squaring the man she knew with the violent gangster the rest of the world knew, Diane Capone has no answers.

“It’s a conundrum,” she said. “Someday, when I get to heaven, maybe I’ll get to ask.”

On a side note, the home where Al Capone lived in Chicago, sits vacant at 7244 S. Prairie Ave., about four blocks east of the Dan Ryan Expressway in the Park Manor neighborhood.

Entrepreneur Duane Varan bought the brick two-flat in 2019 from a longtime owner who also lived on the property for $226,000 — more than double the asking price.

Varan, who is CEO of MediaScience, a media and advertising research company, didn’t return messages.

A home where infamous gangster Al Capone once lived in the Park Manor neighborhood at 7244 S. Prairie Ave.Scott Olson/Getty

The real estate agent who helped Varan buy the Capone home said Varan had hoped to restore it and turn it into a Capone museum, but for a number of reasons, including the pandemic, the plan has stalled.

According to his company’s website, Varan, who does not live in Chicago, is working on a Broadway musical about Capone.

Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), who lives across from Capone’s former home, said he hasn’t been in touch Varan about his plan, but he and other neighbors do not want the home to become more of a tourist attraction than it already is.

“We see people wandering the block looking lost and we just point at the home,” he said.

On Oct. 17, 1931, a jury convicted the notorious gangster of tax evasion in a federal court in Chicago. A few days later, on Oct. 24, the judge announced his sentence: 11 years and a $50,000 fine.

Following his release after serving seven years in prison, and suffering from advanced syphilis, Capone retreated to his Florida mansion with his wife, Mae, until his death in 1947.

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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 93 degrees, heat index values as high as 101 and a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low around 76 and a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 92, heat index values as high as 100 and a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Top story

City’s watchdog finds ShotSpotter rarely leads to evidence of gun crimes, investigatory stops

The city’s top watchdog issued a scathing report today that found ShotSpotter technology used by the Chicago Police Department rarely leads to investigatory stops or evidence of gun crimes and can change the way officers interact with areas they’re charged with patrolling.

The report from the city’s Office of the Inspector General analyzed 50,176 ShotSpotter notifications from last January through May. Just 9.1% indicated evidence of a gun-related offense was found. Only 2.1% of the alerts were linked directly to investigative stops, though others were identified that didn’t correlate with a specific ShotSpotter notification, even though the alerts referred to the technology.

The watchdog found that CPD data it examined “does not support a conclusion that ShotSpotter is an effective tool in developing evidence of a gun-related crime.”

While the acoustic gunshot detection system had already come under heavy fire amid a recent study and other reports challenging its efficacy and accuracy, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Supt. David Brown have continued to publicly support the department’s use of the technology.

“If the Department is to continue to invest in technology which sends CPD members into potentially dangerous situations with little information — and about which there are important community concerns — it should be able to demonstrate the benefit of its use in combatting violent crime,” said Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety Deborah Witzburg.

The city’s three-year, $33 million contract with the Silicon Valley-based startup was initially supposed to expire last Thursday. But the deal was extended last December for two additional years at the request of the police department, according to Cathy Kwiatkowski, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Procurement Services.

Tom Schuba and Fran Spielman have more on the use of ShotSpotter technology in our city here.

More news you need

One day after Lightfoot demanded it, indicted Ald. Carrie Austin resigned today as chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Contracting Oversight and Equity. Austin will remain as alderman of the 34th Ward but is widely expected not to seek re-election in 2023.

A couple dozen Chicago high schools that had opted to only have one police officer in their buildings this school year could have a second cop for a little while longer, officials said yesterday. More than 30 schools voted in the spring to remove at least one officer with some voting to remove both of them.
A Park City family is mourning after 16-year-old Jesus Garcia drowned at Waukegan Municipal Beach in Lake Michigan over the weekend. In an online fundraiser for Garcia’s funeral expenses, his family said they lost a “beautiful, strong, smart, humble and most kind soul.”

CoinFlip, a Chicago-based operator of cryptocurrency ATMs, joined Gov. Pritzker to announce today that the company is bringing its headquarters to the Old Post Office downtown. The company signed a lease for 44,000 square feet in the renovated landmark, and officials said the company will add at least 30 jobs to its current count of 138 Chicago workers.

President Biden yesterday tapped Martin Malin, a Chicago labor law professor, to be the chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s Federal Service Impasses Panel. The panel deals with disputes between unionized federal workers and the federal government agencies employing them.

The three surviving granddaughters of Al Capone will auction off 174 items belonging to the notorious Chicago gangster in October. The items include his favorite pistol, icy jewelry with his initials, a letter Capone wrote to his son from Alcatraz and more.

Kanye West isn’t just bringing his “DONDA” listening event to Soldier Field this Thursday — he’s also recreating the family home he grew up in on the South Side as part of the show. Photos from inside the stadium show the construction of a building on the field that resembles the South Shore home West was raised in by his late mother, Donda.

A bright one

Donald Lawrence entrusts ‘Goshen’ to his Chicago dance partner

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater likes to tell stories, and what story is bigger or better known than the Exodus, the biblical saga of the escape of the Israelites from their Egyptian captors, complete with the parting of the Red Sea?

A contemporary reinterpretation of that ancient tale is at the heart of “Goshen,” an in-development dance-theater work created by Donald Lawrence, a Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter and gospel artist based in Chicago.

Deeply Rooted and 17 onstage singers will present a free preview — a 45-minute version of what is ultimately expected to be a 90-minute work — tomorrow at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

The presentation is titled “A Deeply Rooted Evening for Chicago’s Healing: GOSHEN (preview),” a nod to the show’s timing a few months after the coronavirus shutdown as arts organizations begin returning to live performances.

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater is shown in a movement from “Goshen.”Ken Carl

“It’s about persevering and making it through difficult times and healing, so we wanted to do it as a gift to Chicago,” said Kevin Iega, Deeply Rooted’s co-founder and creative/executive director and director of this project.

Goshen is named in the Bible as the place in Egypt where Joseph, a cast-out Israelite who rose to become second only to the pharaoh, invited his fellow countrymen to live following a severe famine. Much later, the Israelite descendants were enslaved, ultimately leading to the Exodus.

“Goshen was considered God’s protected place,” Lawrence said, “but if you want to use more spiritual-psychological wisdom, it’s like this place of peace and safety no matter what is happening around you, and it’s all inward.”

Kyle MacMillan has more on the performance’s backstory and meaning here.

From the press box

Your daily question ?

How would you describe the taste of Malort to someone who’s never had it before?

Yesterday, we asked you: How do you feel about Chicago’s annual Air & Water Show that brings roaring jets to the city skies each year? Here’s what some of you said…

“Archaic show of force.” — Nic Bhak

“They literally shake my house! I live for this weekend every year. It’s the last summer hurrah.” — Lisa Varga

“I hate it. I own a pet sitting business and I can tell you pet sitters dread this weekend each year because the noise scares the hell out of the dogs and cats. Many pet guardians feel the same as it’s traumatizing for their animals.” — Lita Peterson

“I love it! I get excited each time I hear them coming. I was at the Bears game and got to see them fly over a few times.” — Renata Buchanan

“It glorifies death and violence and this city has enough of that. They should leave the planes on the ground and put that money into actually improving people’s lives.” — Nick Burt

“It was happening before you moved there and is well-publicized, so you know it’s happening. If you don’t like it, get out of town for the weekend and see some other part of the state.” — Karma Grotelueschen

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