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“Tony La Russa is out of touch with the game, cuz,” former Cy Young winner Sabathia said. “He should not be managing one of the best teams in the American League, period.”

CC Sabathia threw a high hard one under Tony La Russa’s chin.

The former Yankees and Indians pitcher, a Cy Young winner and six-time All-Star, called out the White Sox manager for his old-school take on not swinging at 3-0 pitches with big leads.

La Russa calls it a sportsmanship matter.

Sabathia said La Russa shouldn’t be managing the Sox.

“Tony La Russa is out of touch with the game, cuz,” Sabathia said on his R2C2 podcast with Ryan Ruocco. “He should not be managing one of the best teams in the American League, period. The fact that Tim Anderson, basically the captain of their team, had to go on Instagram and step up for his teammate like, ‘Yeah, the game wasn’t over.’ ”

Publicly, Sox players have been much more reserved with reactions to La Russa’s views and for calling out his own player, Yermin Mercedes, for missing a take sign before he homered against Twins position player Willians Astudillo. On an NBC Sports Chicago Instagram post, Anderson, the Sox shortstop, said, “The game wasn’t over! Keep doing you, big daddy.”

To which Mercedes responded, “Yes sir, let’s do it, baby.”

Sox pitcher Lance Lynn said anything goes when position players are pitching, and Sabathia agreed. In much louder, profane tones.

“If you’re going to put a (expletive) position player in there to pitch, guess what? If he’s going to lob (expletive) over the plate, we going to (expletive) tee off,” Sabathia said. “Put a 10-run rule up there, cuz. If y’all don’t want to see people get embarrassed and you don’t want to see position players pitch and people swing on 3-0 counts and all that [expletive], then make it a 10-run rule so the [expletive] game will be over and you don’t have these stupid unwritten rules.

“That’s just (expletive) stupid. It’s stupid. Period. I’m sorry. This (expletive) is terrible. He shouldn’t be (expletive) managing that team. If you not going to step up and have your players backs, what’s the point of being the (expletive) manager of the White Sox?”

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For William Crawl, 71st Street served as an anchor and safe haven in a life fraught by mental illness. But he was killed there Wednesday night when he was caught in the middle of a gun fight.

As a teenager, William Crawl hung out with his buddies at the pizza parlors along the buzzing retail corridor on 71st Street in South Shore.

Years later, homeless and struggling with mental illness, he returned to the street.

“He’s been out there, like a mailbox, for years. Doesn’t matter if there’s snow or cold. He didn’t bother anybody, wouldn’t hurt a fly,” said Lincoln Brown, a barber and one of several shopkeepers who said they regularly offered Crawl a place to warm up, a bite to eat, and odd jobs to make sure he had a few dollars in his pocket.

Anthony Vazquez, Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

On Wednesday evening, Crawl, 49, was standing outside a convenience store that he counted on every morning for free coffee when he found himself caught in the middle of a gun fight.

Seeking refuge, Crawl ran inside the store but apparently didn’t realize the shooter outside was exchanging gunfire with people inside the store. He was fatally shot in the back of the head. A 16-year-old boy involved in the gunfight was also shot and killed.

Anthony Vazquez, Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

News of Crawl’s death spread fast and hit hard.

“We’re a Christian barbershop, so I try not to curse in here. But it’s a damn shame,” said Brown, who works across the street from where Brown was killed. “Some people live a lifestyle where that comes with it. He wasn’t that. He was a good person.

“I wish they’d stop this senseless killing,” Brown added as he cut a man’s hair with electric clippers. “They’re driving good people out of the city. We can’t take it no more. We’re getting tired of it.”

Crawl didn’t always live on the street.

One of four siblings, Crawl grew up just blocks from where he was killed, the son of a police officer and a nurse, according to his brother, Anthony Crawl, 53.

He graduated from South Shore High School, where he played basketball, and spent a semester at Chicago State University.

“He loved dressing up, he loved cars, he loved jewelry, he loved all those things anyone else would love, and he loved to work. He had a few jobs,” Anthony Crawl said.

He also had five kids and a wife.

“But mental illness kicked in and he found his own way of dealing with it, and we had to find our own way of dealing with that,” said Anthony Crawl, who lives on the South Side and works as a prep cook at a suburban restaurant.

“We tried to get him into the hospital and get him the help he needed, but you can’t make someone do what they don’t want to do,” he said.

His family tried to keep tabs, and sometimes Crawl would find his way to one of their homes to shower, eat and sleep.

“He was a kind person, he was a loving person and he helped people whichever way he could,” Anthony Crawl said.

“He helped older ladies carry their bags, he’d help them home. People, they trusted him, although he was mentally ill, they trusted him. That’s why he gained so much support and no one judged him because mental illness can happen to anyone,” he said.

“Our parents are still alive and we’re focused on paying attention to them and keeping them together,” he said.

Crawl had been in and out of the lives of his own kids. Anthony Crawl said he could not imagine the pain they, too, are going through.

There will also be a void on 71st Street.

“It’s going to be different around here without Will. He didn’t deserve that,” said an employee at a chicken and fish shop steps from where Crawl was killed.

Anthony Vazquez, Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Maged Salem, who owns the convenience store where Crawl died, and gave him coffee and donuts every morning, along with a few bucks for cleaning garbage from the adjacent parking lot.

“It’s sad,” he said.

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At least 230 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health officials, while 12 people in Israel have died.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip —Israel on Thursday announced a cease-fire in the bruising 11-day war against Hamas militants that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip and brought life in much of Israel to a standstill.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the cease-fire after a late-night meeting of his Security Cabinet. It said the group had unanimously accepted an Egyptian proposal, though the sides were still determining exactly when it was to take effect.

Senior defense officials, including the military chief of staff and national security adviser, recommended accepting the proposal after claiming “great accomplishments” in the operation, the statement said.

“The political leaders emphasized that the reality on the ground will be that which determines the future of the campaign,” the statement said.

One member of the Security Cabinet said the cease-fire would take effect at 2 a.m., roughly three hours after the announcement. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the closed-door talks.

Shortly after the announcement, air-raid sirens indicating incoming rocket fire sounded in southern Israel.

The agreement would close the heaviest round of fighting between the bitter enemies since a 50-day war in 2014, and once again there was no clear winner. Israel inflicted heavy damage on Hamas but was unable to prevent the rocket fire that has disrupted life for millions of Israelis for more than a decade.

The fighting began May 10, when Hamas militants in Gaza fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem after days of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site sacred to Jews and Muslims. Heavy-handed police tactics at the compound and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers had inflamed tensions.

Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes during the operation, targeting what it said was Hamas’ military infrastructure, including a vast tunnel network. Hamas and other militant groups embedded in residential areas have fired over 4,000 rockets at Israeli cities, with hundreds falling short and most of the rest intercepted.

At least 230 Palestinians were killed, including 65 children and 39 women, with 1,710 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not break the numbers down into fighters and civilians.

Hamas and the militant group Islamic Jihad said at least 20 of their fighters have been killed, while Israel said the number is at least 130. Some 58,000 Palestinians have fled their homes, many of them seeking shelter in crowded U.N. schools at a time of a raging coronavirus outbreak.

Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl and a soldier, were killed.

Since the fighting began, Gaza’s infrastructure, already weakened by a 14-year blockade, has rapidly deteriorated.

Medical supplies, water and fuel for electricity are running low in the territory, on which Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after Hamas seized power in 2007.

Israel considers Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks its destruction, to be a terrorist group and Hamas’ government is not internationally recognized.

Israeli bombing has damaged over 50 schools across the territory, according to advocacy group Save the Children, completely destroying at least six. While repairs are done, education will be disrupted for nearly 42,000 children.

Israeli attacks have also damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics and destroyed one health facility, the World Health Organization said. Nearly half of all essential drugs have run out.

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Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be mostly sunny with a high near 85 degrees. Tonight’s low will be around 68. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 85.

Top story

Chicago bringing COVID-19 vaccines straight to older residents’ doors to boost uptake: ‘It’s a concierge service’

City officials say they need more seniors to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and they’ll bring it to folks’ doorsteps to make it happen.

Chicago has managed to keep pace with most state and national vaccination rates except when it comes to residents 65 or older. Only about 69% of Chicagoans in that category have gotten a shot, compared to 82% in that age group statewide and 85% across the U.S.

That’s why the Chicago Department of Public Health expanded its in-home vaccination program this week to offer dose-to-door delivery to anyone 65 or older, plus their caretakers and family members.

“We’ll problem solve and figure out how to get a vaccine to that person, no matter what their issue is, no matter what kind of vaccine they want, no matter where they live,” Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said during an online Q&A today. “It’s a concierge service. … So if you’re over 65, no questions asked: We will bring (the) vaccine to your house at a time that’s convenient for you, and vaccinate anybody else, really, in your family or at home.”

Read Mitchell Armentrout’s full story here.

More news you need

1. A week after the U.S. House threw out Jim Oberweis’ bid to overturn Rep. Lauren Underwood’s election, she spoke on the House floor yesterday. Underwood declared Oberweis’ baseless challenge a local battle in the ongoing nationwide war on truth.
2. The General Assembly passed a bill that would require Illinois schools to report incidents of sexual assault by one student against another to the state’s Board of Education. It was one of multiple notable bills passed yesterday by the GA.
3. Illinois public schools will be required to return to full-time in-person learning next fall. However, concerns remain about students who aren’t yet eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.
4. A local child seeking an organ transplant has found support from the Children’s Organ Transplant Association. They are raising money for what is expected to be a lifetime of medical-related expenses.

A bright one

Becoming A Man participants show what happens when potential meets opportunity

Christopher Rucker II was emotionally floundering his freshman year at Bronzeville Scholastic Institute High School when he learned about the Becoming A Man (BAM) program that serves at-risk Chicago Public Schools youth.

His father, who promised to be in the audience when Rucker gave his eighth-grade valedictorian speech at Harold Washington Elementary, died of a sudden heart attack.

Soon after, his mother lost her job. Things were really, really tight. Life seemed dark.

Provided

Then a BAM counselor invited Rucker to attend a meeting.

“A couple friends and I went. He started breaking it down. And something he said at that first session stays with me to this day. He said, ‘There’s no one way to be a man.’”

BAM, founded in 2001 to help young men navigate difficult circumstances, helped him see college as part of his future.

Rucker, now 21, was raised under challenging circumstances, mostly by his grandmother, in the Burnside, Chatham and South Deering neighborhoods.

BAM helped Rucker secure a full-ride scholarship to Philander Smith College, where he just graduated — within 2 1⁄2 years, and with a 4.0 GPA.

Read Maudlyne Ihejirika’s full story here.

From the press box

Former big league star CC Sabathia slammed Tony La Russa as “out of touch” today after the White Sox manager criticized Yermin Mercedes instead of standing up for him amid the controversy over the catcher hitting a homer on a 3-0 pitch in a blowout win.

Longtime Chicago sportscaster Mark Schanowski will join ABC 7 to help fill the void created when the station pulled Mark Giangreco off the air in January and fired him in March.

The Fire have a new president, Ishwara Glassman Chrein, and she will have a lot on her plate when she begins. Before joining the Fire, Glassman Chrein was the head of sports partnerships and business development at Yahoo Sports/Verizon Media.

Your daily question ☕

In honor of National Rescue Dog Day, tell us about when you adopted a pet. How’d you know they were the one?

Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you what you thought of this year’s Lollapalooza lineup. Here’s what some of you said…

“I have big reservations because of the pandemic. Otherwise, I’d go to it.” — Ivan Ruíz

“I would like to see Foo but I know that they’ll only be on for an hour or so.” — Jackie Waldhier

“Like this lineup better than the 2020 lineup for sure. 2020 was a bunch of no-names.” — Paul Saboya

“Journey and Limp Bizkit! For a minute there I thought this was Naperville Ribfest.” — Mike Danahey

Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

Sign up here to get the Afternoon Edition in your inbox every day.

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The panel praised changes the developer made based on two years of engagement with community groups.

City planners Thursday endorsed a developer’s multiyear plan to build on Near North Side property owned by Moody Bible Institute, praising the overall design and the collaborative process with community groups that produced it.

The proposal by JDL Development, with an estimated value of $1.3 billion, calls for up to 2,680 residential units and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. It also would provide 2.5 acres of publicly accessible parks, a widely praised feature that JDL enlarged after community meetings.

“This is one of the most optimistic developments I have seen in my time here,” said the city’s planning commissioner, Maurice Cox. Highlighting design changes the developer made to integrate the buildings with the dense neighborhood around it, Cox said, “It’s reassuring to see someone work successfully with the city grid that they’ve been handed.”

The Chicago Plan Commission, which includes Cox, unanimously endorsed the project. The vote by the panel that includes mayoral appointees sends the matter to the full City Council for a final zoning decision.

The proposal calls for a mix of housing types on about 8 acres. The rough boundaries are the CTA’s Brown Line, Oak, Chestnut and Wells streets, although the two tallest buildings in JDL’s plan would be just north of Oak on what’s now Moody’s soccer field. They would come in the project’s final phase.

JDL CEO James Letchinger said he hopes to start on the site’s southeast end late this year. New construction and the renovation of four existing buildings will take years and be subject to market cycles, but Letchinger said he is confident about Chicago’s rebound from the pandemic and the Near North Side’s continued residential appeal.

The tallest buildings would be at 300 and 310 W. Oak St. and would rise 65 and 57 stories, respectively, on what’s now Moody’s soccer field.

“We’re still incredibly invested in Chicago, and we’re not going anywhere,” Letchinger said. His firm is completing the One Chicago development of two high-rises on Chicago Avenue across from Holy Name Cathedral.

The Moody Bible project goes under the name North Union, a term Letchinger used for his aim to enliven blocks between River North, the Gold Coast and the former Cabrini-Green public housing site. Moody Bible has decided the area is excess property and has agreed to sell to Letchinger, but it continues its Christian education at its main campus, 820 N. La Salle St.

A separate part of the same zoning proposal would apply to Moody’s continuing campus and would allow 1,372 units of future housing on the property, but there are no current plans for that.

Letchinger said that at full buildout, the mostly tax-exempt property could generate $20 million a year in property taxes. The development requires no help from tax increment financing, and Letchinger has agreed to an affordable housing requirement that exceeds city ordinance.

He would build 236 units with rent limitations to meet affordability requirements. In addition, he’s promised another 118 affordable units either on- or off-site, although he said the number could change if the city wants a higher proportion of three-bedroom units.

Ald. Walter Burnett Jr’s 27^th Ward includes most of the development. He said it has “100% support” from him and from leading community groups. Burnett also said he hopes the project will spur interest from the CTA in adding an L stop at Division Street.

The design is the result of “a robust process, an expansive process that included a lot of voices,” said Teresa Cordova, an urban planning professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and chair of the Plan Commission.

Letchinger said his firm, working with Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, worked through a two-year schedule of meetings with the city and local groups. “I have never had a community meeting that didn’t result in an improved product,” he said.

The design keeps curb cuts off Wells Street. The proposed architecture mostly calls for buildings that are tapered on higher floors.

Brian Ernst/Sun-Times file

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Daniel Hernandez was a 20-year-old college student in his first week interning for Giffords when he went to her “Congress on your corner” constituent event where a gunman opened fire killing six and injuring 13, including Giffords, in 2011.

PHOENIX — Daniel Hernandez Jr., the intern hailed as a hero for helping save the life of then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords following an attempted assassination a decade ago, announced Thursday he’s running to represent her former district in Congress.

Hernandez was a 20-year-old college student in his first week interning for Giffords when he went to her “Congress on your corner” constituent event where a gunman opened fire killing six and injuring 13, including Giffords, in 2011. He kept the congresswoman conscious and applied pressure to her head wound until paramedics arrived.

His actions were widely praised during a period of shock and unity that gripped the nation. Then-President Barack Obama called Hernandez a hero at a memorial for the victims and also while he a guest at the State of the Union address weeks later.

A Democrat, Hernandez currently represents parts of Tucson in the state House of Representatives. He’s developed a moderate profile as one of a handful of Democrats who occasionally cross the aisle to work with Republicans, sometimes to the frustration of more progressive members of his party.

“Gabby Giffords continues to inspire me and I strive to follow her example of service for our community,” Hernandez said in a statement announcing his candidacy.

A trauma surgeon who operated on Giffords that day, Dr. Randy Friese, is also running for the former Giffords seat. He now serves with Hernandez in the House. State Sen. Kirsten Engel is also seeking the Democratic nomination.

Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District has historically been one of the most competitive in the state. It currently covers parts of Tucson, stretching to the state’s borders with Mexico and New Mexico, but the boundaries will change before next year’s election due to the every-decade redistricting.

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Episode 100 is here! We talk with Jonnie from On Tap Sports Net & Sox on 35th to recap the Twins series, talk breaking unwritten rules, and all things White Sox! A fourth of the season is in the books and the Sox are in first place in the Central. Hopefully, this is just the start. Go Sox!

The post GGTB A Chicago White Sox Podcast; Episode 100: Just Getting Started first appeared on CHI CITY SPORTS l Chicago Sports Blog – News – Forum – Fans – Rumors.Read More

The panel praised changes the developer made based on two years of engagement with community groups.

City planners Thursday endorsed a developer’s multiyear plan to build on Near North Side property owned by Moody Bible Institute, praising the overall design and the collaborative process with community groups that produced it.

The proposal by JDL Development, with an estimated value of $1.3 billion, calls for up to 2,680 residential units and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. It also would provide 2.5 acres of publicly accessible parks, a widely praised feature that JDL enlarged after community meetings.

“This is one of the most optimistic developments I have seen in my time here,” said the city’s planning commissioner, Maurice Cox. Highlighting design changes the developer made to integrate the buildings with the dense neighborhood around it, Cox said, “It’s reassuring to see someone work successfully with the city grid that they’ve been handed.”

The Chicago Plan Commission, which includes Cox, unanimously endorsed the project. The vote by the panel that includes mayoral appointees sends the matter to the full City Council for a final zoning decision.

The proposal calls for a mix of housing types on about 8 acres. The rough boundaries are the CTA’s Brown Line, Oak, Chestnut and Wells streets, although the two tallest buildings in JDL’s plan would be just north of Oak on what’s now Moody’s soccer field. They would come in the project’s final phase.

JDL CEO James Letchinger said he hopes to start on the site’s southeast end late this year. New construction and the renovation of four existing buildings will take years and be subject to market cycles, but Letchinger said he is confident about Chicago’s rebound from the pandemic and the Near North Side’s continued residential appeal.

“We’re still incredibly invested in Chicago, and we’re not going anywhere,” Letchinger said. His firm is completing the One Chicago development of two high-rises on Chicago Avenue across from Holy Name Cathedral.

The Moody Bible project goes under the name North Union, a term Letchinger used for his aim to enliven blocks between River North, the Gold Coast and the former Cabrini-Green public housing site. Moody Bible has decided the area is excess property and has agreed to sell to Letchinger, but it continues its Christian education at its main campus, 820 N. La Salle St.

A separate part of the same zoning proposal would apply to Moody’s continuing campus and would allow 1,372 units of future housing on the property, but there are no current plans for that.

Letchinger said that at full buildout, the mostly tax-exempt property could generate $20 million a year in property taxes. The development requires no help from tax increment financing, and Letchinger has agreed to an affordable housing requirement that exceeds city ordinance.

He would build 236 units with rent limitations to meet affordability requirements. In addition, he’s promised another 118 affordable units either on- or off-site, although he said the number could change if the city wants a higher proportion of three-bedroom units.

Ald. Walter Burnett Jr’s 27^th Ward includes most of the development. He said it has “100% support” from him and from leading community groups. Burnett also said he hopes the project will spur interest from the CTA in adding an L stop at Division Street.

The design is the result of “a robust process, an expansive process that included a lot of voices,” said Teresa Cordova, an urban planning professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and chair of the Plan Commission.

Letchinger said his firm, working with Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, worked through a two-year schedule of meetings with the city and local groups. “I have never had a community meeting that didn’t result in an improved product,” he said.

The design keeps curb cuts off Wells Street. The proposed architecture mostly calls for buildings that are tapered on higher floors.

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Such innovations are a positive sign for viewers of a network that has been caught in the crosshairs of a changing media landscape.

Before Marquee Sports Network arrived on the scene, NBC Sports Chicago hadn’t had a competing regional sports network since Fox Sports Net Chicago shut down in 2006. It wasn’t much of a competition, though. In 2004, FSN Chicago lost the Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox to Comcast SportsNet Chicago (the precursor to NBCSCH) and aired programming of little interest to Chicago fans.

But the Cubs are now on Marquee, which has been bent on bringing innovations to its broadcasts, such as camera technology and wind tracking. You might think that NBCSCH would be paying close attention to its RSN competitor, particularly during baseball season, but that’s not the network’s tack.

“I’ll watch it occasionally,” said Kevin Cross, NBCSCH’s senior vice president and general manager. “This is really no knock on anyone else. I believe very strongly that if you take care of the things that are important to you internally, the outcome of your competition will take care of itself.”

Cross always is looking to innovate for his viewers, and he and Greg Bowman, executive producer of live events, devised a pitch-tracking graphic that’s the first of its kind on baseball broadcasts and incorporated it into Sox home games about a month ago.

The graphic displays the pitch type in real time on the virtual overlay of the strike zone, in addition to location and speed. The latter two elements already had been shown on broadcasts, but combined with the type, viewers get a better picture of each pitch.

“We want to focus a lot of our attention on that duel between the pitcher and the batter,” Cross said. “We want to make sure that the viewer has everything they need to understand that moment. One of the things that has always been important to me is the pitch type.”

Cross and Bowman discussed the concept in one of their daily morning calls, and Bowman designed a mockup. They presented their idea to MLB, which provides broadcasts with its Pitchcast system, a network of cameras in every ballpark that tracks the speed, angle and spin rate of every pitch.

“MLB said, ‘Well, no one’s asked us that,’ ” Cross said. “So they came back with a couple of mockups, and then we went with it. MLB can offer it to anyone. It’s not like we put a trademark or patent on it. MLB created it on our behalf, but we want to make it available to anyone across broadcasting.”

The graphic is clear and unobtrusive. On-screen pitch tracking has come a long way from its previous iteration, which was on the side of the screen and didn’t provide the type. And it works for younger viewers who are accustomed to similar graphics in baseball video games.

NBCSCH can’t replicate the graphic for road games because it’s at the mercy of the world feed delivered by the home team’s broadcast. For those games, NBCSCH worked with MLB to create a drop-down box in the scorebug for the pitch type.

Such innovations are a positive sign for viewers of a network that has been caught in the crosshairs of a changing media landscape. Despite parent company NBCUniversal’s belt-tightening, consolidating and restructuring companywide, NBCSCH is plugging along as best it can with fewer resources.

But the question remains if the network will resume producing original TV programming outside of its game coverage, such as canceled shows “SportsTalk Live” and “Baseball Night in Chicago.” Cross said the network has emphasized podcasting and creating content for its digital platforms, though he acknowledged linear TV is still king.

“We’re exploring it, but I’ve always said, ‘Let’s make sure we don’t do pure vanity projects,’ ” Cross said. “We have to make sure that we’re doing it because it’s a demand by our viewers. Based upon everything we’ve seen, the viewer wants to be reached on multiple platforms.

“What they typically want is when the game is on, they want to stream it if they’re out and about, and they want to watch the pre- and postgame and the game if they’re in front of their TV at home.”

NBCSCH is well-positioned as sports media expands into streaming. It’s available on AT&T TV, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV. (Marquee isn’t available on the latter two.) But Cross, who will add the titles of president and general manager of NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago on June 1, keeps his focus on his audience.

“The best thing for me is to focus the most on what does the fan want,” he said. “The industry is fluid. We’re in this interesting moment where technology and people’s interests are all coming together. But at the end, there will always be sports fans, and they’ll always want to know where can I find my local game. So we’ll always be there for them in that regard.”

REMOTE PATROL

• The Cubs-Cardinals game at 6 p.m. Saturday is part of Fox’ season debut of “Baseball Night in America.” The network’s top crew of Joe Buck, John Smoltz and Ken Rosenthal will have the call. The series finale will air on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” at 6 p.m. Cubs TV voice Jon Sciambi will call the game for ESPN Radio, but that broadcast won’t air on ESPN 1000.
• The White Sox will have a national audience Monday, when ESPN airs their home game against the Cardinals at 7 p.m. Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez and Tim Kurkjian will have the call. The broadcast will be available in the Chicago market. NBC Sports Chicago also will air the game.

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The Cubs president said the team is at a competitive disadvantage by not being able to take advantage of relaxed restrictions for teams that reach have 85% of their players and coaches vaccinated. “We are not a player away from 85%,” he said.

Cubs president Jed Hoyer sharply expressed his disappointment Thursday that his players have not reached the 85% coronavirus vaccination threshold that has relaxed restrictions for other major league teams — saying it is putting the team at a competitive disadvantage.

“It’s disappointing to not be at 85 percent as a team,” Hoyer said in a press conference prior to Thursday’s game against the Nationals at Wrigley Field. “We’ve worked hard to get as many people vaccinated as possible. We’ve worked hard to try to convince or educate the people that have been reluctant. I think we’re at a place right now where I’m not going to give up hope that we can get there, but my level of optimism is waning, candidly.”

Players and coaches on teams that reach the 85% threshold can return to a greater level of normalcy with regard to day-to-day activities. They no longer have to wear masks in the dugout or bullpen and can dine at indoor and outdoor restaurants while on the road. But more importantly, vaccinated players who are asymptomatic do not have to be quarantined if they are determined to be a close contact of a person who has the coronavirus.

“It is disappointing, because there are conveniences that come with getting to 85% as a group,” Hoyer said, “just mask-wearing and dining and things like that that we would all like to have.

“But I also feel like there’s a real competitive advantage that we’re gonna miss. The contact-tracing thing is a big deal. And when you have a positive case, but the people around you have been vaccinated, that takes away that contact-tracing element to guys being out and by not getting the 85% we’re missing that. So it’s disappointing. I can’t say it any other way.”

Hoyer said he would not move players who did not comply, adding that “We are not a player away from being 85%,” he said.

Hoyer pointed to the Cubs series against the Brewers in Milwaukee in April as an indication of the impact. After coaches Chris Young and Craig Driver tested positive for the coronavirus, four players were put on the COVID-19 list — relievers Brandon Workman, Jason Adam and Dan Winkler and infielder Matt Duffy. And pitcher Kyle Hendricks was scratched from a start as a precaution after Hendricks came under the weather.

“Scratching Kyle before his start because he was congested and going through, when [bullpen coach] Chris Young and Driver had it and going through all of that — that’s a pretty horrible feeling. A pretty helpless feeling,” Hoyer said. “The fact that we aren’t able to eliminate that is disappointing. Injuries can be avoidable but sometimes they’re not and your season can get derailed when you have injuries and that’s part of this job. But I feel like this is one that can be avoided. And we’re not able to avoid it, in some ways.

“And I just want to be clear — there’s a lot of players that have gotten vaccinated. I commend them for it. This is not a blanket statement. But as an organization we have not been able to get the 85% and that does take away the ability to eliminate that as an anxiety.”

Cubs starter Jake Arrieta said last week he didn’t think the eased restrictions from hitting the 85% threshold are a big deal. “I don’t necessarily see that as a competitive advantage or disadvantage,” Arrieta said. “I know we do have a lot of guys vaccinated. We have not had any cases in the past month. So we’re doing OK as a group. And we’re being careful about where we go and who we’re around.”

Hoyer, while not wanting to get into a public debate with his pitcher, re-iterated his point in response.

“It’s irrefutable that … the more players are vaccinated … you can eliminate the contact tracing element of it — by definition that eliminates risk,” Hoyer said. “Eliminating risk is a competitive advantage.”

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