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Are You Stressed Out?on April 26, 2021 at 12:26 am

Spiritual and Physical Wellness

Are You Stressed Out?

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Chicago Psychic Medium Edward Shanahan never stops.on April 26, 2021 at 12:54 am

Chicago Paranormal and Spiritual

Chicago Psychic Medium Edward Shanahan never stops.

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Chicago Psychic Medium Edward Shanahan never stops.on April 26, 2021 at 12:54 am Read More »

Man, 18, charged in 7-year-old’s killing wasn’t one of the shooters, prosecutors sayTom Schubaon April 25, 2021 at 11:21 pm

Shell casings litter the scene at a McDonald’s parking lot Sunday afternoon where a 7-year-old girl was shot and killed and her father was seriously wounded as they waited in a drive-thru.
Shell casings litter the scene at a McDonald’s parking lot Sunday, April 18, where a 7-year-old girl was shot and killed and her father was seriously wounded as they waited in a drive-thru. | Anthony Vázquez/Sun-Times file photo

Marion Lewis was allegedly found with guns tied to Jaslyn Adams’ slaying after he was shot during a police chase last week on the Eisenhower Expressway, prosecutors said Sunday. He was also linked to the vehicle used in her slaying.

Prosecutors on Sunday said a teenager charged in the fatal shooting of a 7-year-old girl at a McDonald’s drive-thru was allegedly found with guns tied to the attack after he was shot during a police chase last week on the Eisenhower Expressway — but he wasn’t one of the gunmen.

Marion Lewis, 18, of East Garfield Park, faces counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and a litany of other felony charges stemming from the killing of young Jaslyn Adams earlier this month and Thursday’s rush-hour pursuit. He was denied bail during his initial court hearing Sunday.


Chicago police
Marion Lewis

While Lewis wasn’t named as one of the alleged gunmen in Jaslyn’s shooting, Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin DeBoni linked him to the vehicle used in the her killing. DeBoni noted that Lewis was identified with the help of Jaslyn’s father, 28-year-old Jontae Adams, who was wounded in the April 18 shooting.

That afternoon, a silver Audi pulled into the parking lot of a McDonald’s, 3200 W. Roosevelt, and stopped behind Adams’ tan Infiniti, DeBoni said.

That’s when two individuals wearing hoods got out of the Audi and began firing into the car carrying Jaslyn, with one of them using a Draco, AK-47-style assault weapon with a “banana clip,” according to DeBoni.

After both shooters hopped back into the Audi, Adams attempted to drive forward, prompting the suspects to get out of the car again and open fire. Forty-five shell casings were recovered at the scene — 28 from the assault rifle and 17 more from a 40-caliber handgun, DeBoni said.

The shooting was caught on surveillance footage, according to DeBoni, who said Lewis wasn’t seen getting out of the Audi. However, Lewis allegedly posted a video to social media earlier that day that showed him driving a vehicle with interior details matching the Audi.

DeBoni said he was traveling with two individuals whose hooded sweatshirts matched those of the shooters, one of whom was seen with the Draco assault rifle allegedly used in the shooting.

Jaslyn and her father were both struck by the gunfire and taken to Stroger Hospital, where the young girl was pronounced dead and Adams was treated for a gunshot wound to the torso.

Jaslyn Adams
Provided
Jaslyn Adams

Adams identified Lewis and another suspect as members of the same gang based on the social media post, which was discovered after he told investigators that Lewis previously threatened him online. Police have said the attack that killed Jaslyn was gang-related and was believed to be tied to another shooting later that day that wounded two people at a Popeyes in Humboldt Park.

All three suspects in the video were identified as associates by a detective, DeBoni said.

Lewis was later tracked to an apartment in Lombard using a Facebook account, said DeBoni. Officers on Thursday set up surveillance at the apartment complex, where they noticed the Audi and saw Lewis leave with a backpack and get into a stolen Dodge Durango.

When cops in two “covert” vehicles attempted to box in the Durango, Lewis repeatedly hit a parked car until he was able to get free, DeBoni said. Lewis ultimately smashed into another police vehicle and led officers on a chase through the suburbs.

But after Lewis drove onto I-290, he lost control somewhere between Mannheim Road and 25th Avenue and crashed into a concrete barrier on the shoulder, DeBoni said. Still carrying the backpack, Lewis crossed multiple lanes of traffic and approached a silver Land Rover carrying five people, including children.

Lewis flashed a 40-caliber handgun and ordered the occupants out before banging on the driver’s window, DeBoni said. Lewis then fired a shot at the window, causing it to shatter. No one was struck, but DeBoni said the driver was cut by shards of glass and a passenger in the back was “unable to exit with her children in the car seats on either side of her.”

An officer who heard the shot saw Lewis pull the driver out of the SUV, DeBoni said. While ordering Lewis to raise his hands, the officer noticed the handgun underneath his thigh as he sat in the SUV.

As Lewis refused to comply with the officers’ orders and made motions toward the gun, the Land Rover began rolling backward. In the path of an open door, the officer fired five shots and struck Lewis in his left shoulder, DeBoni said.


Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times file photo
A police officer investigates a vehicle Thursday after a suspect in the killing of Jaslyn Adams was shot by Chicago police and taken into custody.

The handgun was recovered with a bullet in the chamber and 18 more in an extended magazine, DeBoni said. The Draco was found in Lewis’ backpack with 18 live cartridges.

DeBoni said the rounds collected at the scene of Jaslyn’s killing matched the guns.

Lewis has a lengthy juvenile record, including two pending cases in which he faces charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, criminal damage to property, burglary and looting. Lewis’ attorney, Steve Greenberg, said his client lives with his grandmother and suffers from mental health issues while urging Judge David Navarro to grant him bail.

In turn, Navarro denied Lewis bail. His next court date was set for Thursday.

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Man, 18, charged in 7-year-old’s killing wasn’t one of the shooters, prosecutors sayTom Schubaon April 25, 2021 at 11:21 pm Read More »

Ex-Rep. Luis Gutierrez slams Foxx for failing to watch Adam Toledo video before prosecutor: ‘Shame on you’Tom Schubaon April 26, 2021 at 12:18 am

Former Rep. Luis Gutierrez speaks Sunday at Daley Plaza about what he believes are missteps by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx regarding the Adam Toledo investigation. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

“I didn’t see a gun. What I saw was a frightened 13-year-old kid getting shot by a police officer,” Gutierrez said of the bodycam footage showing Adam’s fatal shooting.

Former congressman Luis Gutierrez slammed Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx on Sunday for failing to review video footage showing the police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo before a top deputy offered an erroneous account of the shooting during a court hearing earlier this month.

“That’s not acceptable,” Gutierrez said, calling out Foxx during a news conference at Daley Plaza. “Shame on you. How could you not have seen that video?”

Gutierrez went on to say he was “disappointed” in Foxx’s “explanation of the misleading description propagated by one of your top lieutenants” — an apparent reference to statements Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy made during an April 10 bail hearing for 21-year-old Ruben Roman, who was with Adam before the fatal shooting and arrested at the scene.

During the hearing, Murphy said Adam was holding a gun a moment before he was shot in the chest by a Chicago police officer early March 29. But bodycam video released days after the hearing showed that Adam apparently dropped a handgun and raised his hands right before a single bullet struck him.

Gutierrez said Foxx’s office’s initial description of the video footage effectively “muzzled” him and other community members.

“I would’ve spoken out earlier. I would’ve reached out,” Gutierrez said. “But you know what I thought? I said, the kid had a gun. He pointed it at the police officer.”

“And then I saw the video,” he added. “I didn’t see a gun. What I saw was a frightened 13-year-old kid getting shot by a police officer.”

A spokeswoman for Foxx didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Foxx ultimately placed Murphy on administrative leave because he “failed to fully present the facts” about the case, according to a statement from her office. But now, the state’s attorney has admitted that she didn’t personally review the videos or read the problematic proffer ahead of the hearing.

Gutierrez likened Foxx’s actions to those of her predecessor, Anita Alvarez, who came under heavy fire for her handling of the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014.

Alvarez waited a year — until the day that shooting video was released by a judge’s order — to file murder charges against former Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke, who shot McDonald 16 times. Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated battery.

“You rightfully accused your predecessor of hiding the Laquan McDonald video,” Gutierrez said to Foxx. “But you chose to not even bother to see the Adam Toledo videos.”

Gutierrez noted that he even dropped his support for Alvarez and endorsed Foxx “believing that you would show greater sensitivity to all disenfranchised communities.”

He now plans to reach out to Foxx’s office Monday to request a meeting to voice concerns about her handling of Adam’s case and what he sees as a glaring lack of Latino leadership in her office.

“I want her to say I’m sorry to all of us that continue to fight for social justice or equality because she silenced our voices.”

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Ex-Rep. Luis Gutierrez slams Foxx for failing to watch Adam Toledo video before prosecutor: ‘Shame on you’Tom Schubaon April 26, 2021 at 12:18 am Read More »

Brewers’ Brandon Woodruff silences Cubs’ batsJared Wyllyson April 25, 2021 at 11:27 pm

Milwaukee Brewers v Chicago Cubs
Anthony Rizzo reacts after striking out during the fourth inning against the Brewers on Sunday at Wrigley Field. | Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images

Woodruff attacked mostly with his four-seam fastball and sinker, occasionally working in his changeup. Overall, the different movement between Woodruff’s two fastballs proved too much.

As the average pitch velocity in the major leagues creeps up, the Cubs’ offense is still looking for ways to keep up with the growing number of power arms they’re facing.

En route to a 6-0 loss, they mustered just two hits against Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff, who topped out at 99 miles per hour Sunday afternoon.

“He’s a bulldog up there, and it’s fun facing him because you know he’s coming at you,” Anthony Rizzo said. “We just didn’t have it today.”

Woodruff attacked mostly with his four-seam fastball and sinker, occasionally working in his changeup, which Rizzo said looked the best he’s seen. Overall, the different movement between Woodruff’s two fastballs proved too much for the Cubs’ lineup.

“Commanding two fastballs for him is a big deal,” Nico Hoerner said. “A lot of guys with that much velocity, they don’t have command of two fastballs and it makes the at-bat challenging, for sure. Pretty relentless with attacking the zone. He’s in the zone a really high percentage with all of his pitches.”

The Cubs’ best scoring opportunity came in the fourth inning when Ian Happ lead off with a walk and David Bote singled, but Woodruff got out of the inning by striking out Rizzo and getting a double play when Kris Bryant struck out and Happ was caught trying to steal third base.

As a group, they had a .216 batting average going into Sunday’s game, which is in the bottom third of the league. There doesn’t look to be much chance for improvement, either. Their .224 expected batting average (xBA), which is calculated based on things like average exit velocity and launch angle, is the lowest in baseball.

The lineup did make some good contact against Woodruff, but to no avail. They didn’t produce a baserunner through the first three innings, despite Javier Baez, Jason Heyward, and Nico Hoerner all putting balls in play with exit velocities over 100 mph that had expected batting averages of .890, .580, and .540 respectively.

A gametime temperature of 44 degrees and the wind coming in from center field didn’t help things either. For instance, Baez’s shot to center in the second inning had all the makings of a home run, but instead it landed in Jackie Bradley, Jr.’s glove.

“You’ve got a cold day, wind blowing in, and against a guy who is just tough to scratch across a couple hits,” Ross said. “Hit a couple balls hard right at guys early on. Found some ways to get runners on, just couldn’t really get the line moving too much. That’s kind of how the story goes sometimes when you’re facing an ace on the other side.”

Woodruff faced the Cubs for the third time this season, and after Sunday’s game he has 22 strikeouts and five hits in 19 innings against them.

Starter Jake Arrieta did his best to keep the Cubs in the game, limiting the Brewers to one run in six innings. He struck out eight Milwaukee batters and allowed only two hits and three walks and worked out of jams in the first and sixth innings.

“Woodruff is extremely tough,” Arrieta said. “So giving up one in the first and being able to squeeze my way out of it, I understood that that was about as much as I could give up, if we wanted a chance to win the ballgame. Sometimes, you’ve got to bear down and make big pitches.”

The score held at 1-0 through eight innings, but any chance of a late-inning Cubs comeback was lost in the top of the ninth when reliever Jason Adam gave up three runs without recording an out. Dillon Maples took over on the mound and allowed two of the inherited runners to score for a five-run inning for Milwaukee.

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Brewers’ Brandon Woodruff silences Cubs’ batsJared Wyllyson April 25, 2021 at 11:27 pm Read More »

Michael Kopech hangs 10 (strikeouts) in impressive 5-inning startMike Berardinoon April 26, 2021 at 12:40 am

Michael Kopech struck out a career-high 10 batters and earned his third career victory Sunday against the Rangers. | Nam Y. Huh/AP

Running his fastball up to 98.6 mph and generating 14 swing-and-miss strikes, Kopech was in total control on a walk-free afternoon.

Leave it to NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes to put Michael Kopech’s Sunday performance in perspective.

“I know he isn’t on the right team,” the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback tweeted of his fellow Texan and former youth baseball rival, “but my guy is a monster!”

The beneficiary of an 11-hit outburst, Kopech struck out a career-high 10 Texas Rangers in five innings as the White Sox completed their first series sweep with an 8-4 romp at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Running his fastball up to 98.6 mph and generating 14 swing-and-miss strikes, Kopech was in total control on a walk-free afternoon. Zack Collins said catching Kopech was “almost like playing a video game back there.”

Starting in place of Lucas Giolito after a minor finger injury pushed his turn back to Tuesday, Kopech had thrown between 26 and 41 pitches in his first five outings. Sunday, he was allowed to reach 87 pitches while picking up his third career victory.

Now 31 months removed from Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow, Kopech likely will face workload restrictions all season. But even in a swing role with only the occasional spot start, his confidence is growing by the outing.

“I feel like right now I’m throwing a better fastball than I did when I had a 100-mph fastball,” Kopech said. “That might sound strange, but I just know what’s going on in my body and my mechanics every time. Not that i have perfect command right now, but I’m throwing a lot more strikes and I’m happy with that.”

David Dahl lofted a solo homer off a wayward slider with one out in the second, but Kopech was otherwise brilliant. He allowed three harmless singles overall and struck out at least two batters in each of his first four frames.

Offensively, Jose Abreu led the charge with a two-run homer in the first off Japanese righty Kohei Arihara (2-2). The White Sox worked four walks in their first six trips against Arihara, who boasts seven different pitches but commanded none of them in the 43-degree chill.

Arihara followed a 40-pitch first with a 30-pitch second, but the long wait did not seem to bother Kopech. Showing “electric” stuff, according to Collins, Kopech reached three-ball counts just three times in two full trips through the order, ultimately retiring each of those batters.

With Dylan Cease struggling in the No. 5 starter role, the drumbeat will only grow louder for Kopech to enter the rotation. Manager Tony La Russa was left once again to tamp down that excitement.

“This is definitely not the time to think about moving Michael into the rotation,” La Russa said. “He needs to be one of those guys we rely on in the second half of the game. It’s all to the good — his good and our good.”

Spot starts could pop up again when the proper rest is available, but the White Sox and Kopech have a plan and intend to stick to it.

“Michael Kopech is going to be a starting pitcher, a top-line starting pitcher, but right now it made sense to get him in condition and add more and more pitches,” La Russa said. “I don’t have a crystal ball. He could pitch in the bullpen all year long. It’s exciting to see he could do both for us.”

Kopech, who turns 25 on April 30, noted he felt “a lot more energetic” than he expected as his outing progressed, but he isn’t about to lobby for a rotation spot.

“Of course, I want to go out there and start every fifth day,” he said. “From my health standpoint, I understand I’m going to have to be restricted this year because I haven’t had a full season coming off the surgery. I just like pitching for a team that wants to win. Everybody wants to win.”

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Michael Kopech hangs 10 (strikeouts) in impressive 5-inning startMike Berardinoon April 26, 2021 at 12:40 am Read More »

Take Mary Schmich’s quiz: Are you ready to return to normal?on April 25, 2021 at 8:00 pm

The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

Take Mary Schmich’s quiz: Are you ready to return to normal?

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Take Mary Schmich’s quiz: Are you ready to return to normal?on April 25, 2021 at 8:00 pm Read More »

After some April showers, are White Sox seeing clear skies and an extended hot streak?Steve Greenbergon April 25, 2021 at 10:26 pm

Texas Rangers v Chicago White Sox
Nick Madrigal turns a double play Sunday against the Rangers. | Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Unless our eyes are tricking us, they’re 12-9. They’re nipping at the first-place Royals’ heels. They’re not even a month in, and they’re just fine.

Is it possible the White Sox haven’t even been going at it for a month yet?

Think about all they’ve already been through, starting with a major injury to slugger Eloy Jimenez late in spring training that was as much of an emotional gut punch as it was a blow to a potentially elite lineup.

Then came a coughed-up late lead against the Angels in the season opener — a sign of persistent struggles to come for a bullpen that was supposed to be outstanding. How outstanding? Top of the line, according to the team’s hard-throwing relievers themselves, who talked a mighty big game in Glendale, Arizona.

The Sox ended their opening road trip with a losing record. They ended their first homestand and still had a losing record. They lost shortstop Tim Anderson to a 10-day injury stint as they monitored a risky, ongoing left-field experiment with Andew Vaughn. They saw veteran fifth starter Carlos Rodon, who’d fought hard to earn that modest role, pitch the greatest game of his life and ace Lucas Giolito experience the worst start of his big-league career.

And through it all: the out-of-nowhere explosion of rookie batsman Yermin Mercedes, as good a story as there is in all of baseball in 2021.

And all on 76-year-old manager Tony La Russa’s watch.

And now here the Sox are — with a nice Monday off — having swept the Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field to run their first hot streak of the campaign to six wins in seven games. Unless our eyes are tricking us, they’re 12-9. They’re nipping at the first-place Royals’ heels. They’re not even a month in, and they’re just fine.

Here’s what’s happening:

MON 26

Cubs at Braves (6 p.m., Marquee)

Atlanta’s ballpark is barely four years old and already has undergone a name change, from SunTrust Park to Truist Park. How could these people host an All-Star Game if they can’t even spell “truest”?

Bulls at Heat (7 p.m., NBCSCH)

Still with a chance to sneak into the 10th and final East playoff spot, the Bulls simply can’t afford to lose. But that’s never stopped them before.

Tampa Bay Lightning v Chicago Blackhawks
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
It often seems the Hawks are just trying to hold on for dear life when facing the Lightning.

TUE 27

Champions League: Real Madrid vs. Chelsea (2 p.m., Paramount+, Univision)

It isn’t the same Madrid squad that owned Europe for half a decade behind Cristiano Ronaldo, but that just makes Los Blancos vs. Blues more compelling heading into the first leg.

Lightning at Blackhawks (7 p.m., NBCSCH+)

The defending Stanley Cup champs have made a mockery of the season series, going 6-0-1. Who do they think they are, the Predators?

Tigers at White Sox (7:10 p.m., NBCSCH)

Giolito runs back out there on the heels of the shortest start of his career: one miserable inning in Boston. But that’s why God invented the Tigers.

WED 28

Champions League: Paris-St. Germain vs. Manchester City (2 p.m., Paramount+, Univision)

Leg 1 in Paris will be the biggest test yet for City — best team in the world? — only three wins shy of completing an unbeaten romp through the tournament.

Bulls at Knicks (6:30 p.m., NBCSCH+)

The Knicks lead the NBA in field-goal-percentage defense, and their best players — Julius Randle and RJ Barrett — play every dang game. Tom Thibodeau is in full effect, folks.

THU 29

NFL draft, Round 1 (7 p.m., Ch. 7, ESPN, NFLN)

By the time it gets to the Bears at No. 20, your cousin Earl’s kid might be the only QB left on the board. A cornerback, then? A receiver? A left tackle to protect Andy Dalton’s coiffure?

FRI 30

NFL draft, Rounds 2-3 (11 a.m., Ch. 7, ESPN, NFLN)

Who knows what GM Ryan Pace might do with picks Nos. 52 and 83? Maybe, just maybe, they’ll have been used to help the Bears move up in Round 1.

Cubs at Reds (6:10 p.m., Marquee)

Halfway through April, the Reds looked like contenders. Two weeks later, they might as well be the Bengals.

Indians at White Sox (7:10 p.m., NBCSCH)

The Indians can’t get ’em on, can’t get ’em over and can’t get ’em in. Other than that, their offense sure is something.

Bucks at Bulls (8 p.m., NBCSCH+)

Eleven straight losses — that’s how bad it has been for the Bulls in this alleged rivalry series. Like Packers-Bears wasn’t enough?

Clemson v Notre Dame
Photo by Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images
Notre Dame Stadium is getting ready for some spring football.

SAT 1

NFL draft, Rounds 4-7 (11 a.m., Ch. 7, ESPN, NFLN)

If you’re watching the draft for the third day in a row, face it — you’re beyond help. The good news is there’s absolutely nothing better you could be doing with your time.

Notre Dame Blue-Gold game (11:30 a.m., Peacock)

If Drew Pyne is going to wrest the starting QB role from transfer Jack Coan’s hands, this is the time to strut his stuff. If only we could be first to make a “Pyne/Coan” crack.

Kentucky Derby (1:30 p.m., Ch. 5)

Trainer Bob Baffert goes for a record seventh Derby win, this time with Medina Spirit, though Essential Quality checks in as the betting favorite. There’s also a Midnight Bourbon and a Bourbonic in the field. Anyone else thirsty? Post time: 5:57.

Panthers at Blackhawks (7 p.m., NBCSCH)

Guess who? It’s Q. Joel Quenneville’s gritty group just keeps finding ways to win.

SUN 2

Cubs at Reds (12:10 p.m., Marquee)

Fun fact: The Cubs have lost three straight Sunday games, by a combined score of 26-5. So they’ve got that going for them.

Indians at White Sox (1:10 p.m., NBCSCH)

It’s a new month for the Sox and a chance to really step on the gas. Insert Mercedes segue here.

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After some April showers, are White Sox seeing clear skies and an extended hot streak?Steve Greenbergon April 25, 2021 at 10:26 pm Read More »

Blackhawks sign Riley Stillman to 3-year contract extensionBen Popeon April 25, 2021 at 6:53 pm

Riley Stillman, recently acquired by the Blackhawks from the Panthers, signed a three-year contract Sunday. | Getty

Just six games into his Hawks tenure after being acquired from the Panthers, the 23-year-old defenseman has received a long-term extension with a $1.35 million cap hit.

After just six games, Riley Stillman has impressed the Blackhawks enough to earn a long-term contract.

The Hawks on Sunday signed Stillman, 23, to a three-year extension with a $1.35 million cap hit that will theoretically keep the young defenseman in Chicago through 2024.

“Having a young, physical defenseman like Riley in the fold is exciting for the future of our team,” Hawks general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement. “He is growing into an excellent all-around defenseman and that continued development is something we look forward to seeing firsthand. We love his size, and his toughness adds another piece to our defense.”

The former Panthers prospect, acquired in the multifaceted trade earlier this month that also included Henrik Borgstrom and Brett Connolly, has averaged 16:43 of ice time through his first six Hawks appearances — up from 10:43 in his eight Panthers appearances earlier this season.

Stillman, who was set to be a restricted free agent this summer, said Sunday he wanted to get contract negotiations out of the way as early as possible in order to focus on improving his game and integrating with the team.

“It’s great to come into a place, an organization that believes in me and wants me to be here,” he said. “From what I’ve seen here the last two weeks, I love the city of Chicago, the organization all the way through is top notch and I’m really excited to be here.”

His physical play and conservative style are relative rarities among the Hawks’ defensive core, but his extension potentially spells bad news for the Hawks’ one other defenseman with a similar style: Nikita Zadorov.

Zadorov is now the Hawks’ only defenseman with an expiring contract this summer, although he will still be a restricted free agent.

Stillman hasn’t produced the most impressive statistics through his tiny sample size since the trade, with a 47.3% shot-attempt ratio and 40.2% scoring chance ratio during his even-strength ice time. Zadorov stands at 46.7% and 44.9% in those two categories, respectively, this season.

But Stillman does bring the same intimidating physicality that Zadorov hangs his hat on: he has been credited with 16 hits through six games, a rate (2.7 per game) only slightly behind Zadorov (3.4 per game).

And Stillman has, so far, been largely able to avoid the costly, inexcusable turnovers that have marred Zadorov’s first season in Chicago. Zadorov has averaged 5.3 failed defensive zone exits per 60 minutes, per analyst Corey Sznajder’s data; only a handful of other NHL defensemen are worse, and Stillman isn’t one of them.

Nothing is set in stone yet, but Stillman’s extension certainly increases the odds that Zadorov’s RFA rights are traded this summer.

Bowman considered offers for Zadorov at the trade deadline but asked a higher price than any suitors would meet. Lowering the price and actually moving Zadorov this July would represent waving the white flag on last October’s much-criticized Brandon Saad trade with the Avalanche.

The rest of the Hawks’ defense looks largely cemented for next season, however, with the exception of possible expansion draft loss Calvin de Haan. Veterans Connor Murphy and Duncan Keith and youngsters Adam Boqvist, Ian Mitchell, Wyatt Kalynuk, Nicolas Beaudin and Stillman should all be back.

That stability and youth seemed to appeal to Stillman.

“To come into a young group and have an opportunity to grow and develop and get better alongside those guys, especially on the back end, is really exciting,” he said. “[I’m excited] to see what this team and we can do in the future.”

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Blackhawks sign Riley Stillman to 3-year contract extensionBen Popeon April 25, 2021 at 6:53 pm Read More »

Mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig, starred at Lyric Opera, dies at 94Associated Presson April 25, 2021 at 7:02 pm

German-born mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig poses during the 42nd International record music publishing and video music market in Cannes, southern France, in 2008.
German-born mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig poses during the 42nd International record music publishing and video music market in Cannes, southern France, in 2008. | AP

The singer debuted at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Dorabella in Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” in on Nov. 9, 1959, with conductor Joseph Krips. In Chicago she also sang Elena in Boito’s “Mefistofele” and Preziosilla in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino.”

Christa Ludwig, a renowned interpreter of Wagner, Mozart and Strauss who starred on the world’s great stages for four decades, died at her home in Klosterneuburg, Austria. She was 94.

Her death was announced Sunday by the Vienna State Opera, which said she died Saturday.

A mezzo-soprano who also succeeded in soprano roles, Ludwig made her Vienna State Opera debut as Cherubino in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” on April 14, 1955, when the company was temporarily in the Redoutensaele. She was heard in the rebuilt opera house for the first time that Dec. 26 as Octavian in Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier.”

She sang 769 performances of 42 roles in Vienna.

“The words of the Marschallin often quoted by Christa Ludwig — `With a light heart and light hands, hold and take, hold and let’ — which she repeatedly referred to as a personal motto, were actual and true expressions of her way of life,” Vienna State opera director Bogdan Roscic said in a statement. “She took art as seriously as one can take it seriously, subordinated her life to it, but at her own request she said goodbye to the stage `with a light hand.′ Later she was able to talk about her decades almost without melancholy, always with a pinch of irony, self-knowledge, but also without false modesty.”

This scene from Lyric Opera’s 1960 production of Mozart’s comic opera, “The Marriage of Figaro,” under the musical direction of Josef Krips, features Christa Ludwig (from left), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Rita Streich.
Jack Lenahan/ Sun-Times Library file
This scene from Lyric Opera’s 1960 production of Mozart’s comic opera, “The Marriage of Figaro,” under the musical direction of Josef Krips, features Christa Ludwig (from left), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Rita Streich.

Ludwig made her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera on Dec. 10, 1959, as Cherubino, with Erich Leinsdorf conducting a cast that included Giorgio Tozzi as Figaro, Elisabeth Söderström as Susanna, Lucine Amara as the Countess, Regina Resnik as Marcellina and Teresa Stratas as Barbarina.

“Her singing was precise and even, each tone clear and true, and her Italian rippled along like a second music,” critic Louis Biancolli wrote in The New York World-Telegram and Sun. “The ovation was fully deserved.”

She sang 119 performances of 15 roles at the Met.

“Her debut season at the Met in 59/60 was the stuff of legends when she sang Octavian, the Marschallin, Brangane, and Amneris, all within a few months of each other,” Met general manager Peter Gelb recalled in an email. “Even if most of her career was centered in Europe, she was certainly regarded by Met audiences as one of the greatest mezzos of the second half of the 20th century.”

Ludwig was born in Berlin on March 16, 1928, to tenor Anton Ludwig and mezzo-soprano Eugenie Besalla-Ludwig. She grew up in Aachen, where her father was an opera administrator and as a young girl watched her mother sing with conductor Herbert Van Karajan.

She debuted in 1946 at Oper Frankfurt as Prince Orlovsky in Johann Strauss II’s “Die Fledermaus” and went on to the Staatstheater Darmstadt and Staatsoper Hannover before her breakthrough in Vienna.

Just before her first appearance at the Met, she debuted at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Dorabella in Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” in on Nov. 9, 1959, with conductor Joseph Krips, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as Fiordiligi, Fernando Corena as Don Alfonso and Ludwig’s husband, bass-baritone Walter Berry, as Guglielmo. In Chicago she also sang Elena in Boito’s “Mefistofele” and Preziosilla in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino.”

In the 1970s, her career was hampered when capillary veins in her throat burst.

“It was an experience necessary for my art,” she told The Associated Press in 2001. “I like to climb over obstacles, otherwise life is so boring.”

Ludwig sang her Met farewell as Fricka on April 3, 1993, and her Vienna State Opera farewell as Klytämnestra in Strauss’ “Elektra” on Dec. 14, 1994. She retired from singing while teaching occasional master classes.

“I could no longer compete with myself,” she said,

After her last performance she recalled it snowing and feeling relief.

“I went through Vienna without a shawl around my neck, with an open neck — and I was so happy!” she said.

Ludwig was married to Berry from 1957-70 and in 1972 married French actor Paul-Emile Deiber.

Her notable recordings include Fricka in “Die Walküre” on conductor Georg Solti’s landmark Decca version of Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)” and Octavian in “Rosenkavalier” with Schwarzkopf, Stich-Randall, Otto Edelmann and Karajan conducting.

She was a frequent collaborator with conductor Karl Böhm and with conductor Leonard Bernstein. She sang at Bernstein’s New York Philharmonic memorial concert in 1990.

Ludwig was made an Austrian Kammersängerin in 1972, made an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera in 1981 and awarded a knight French Legion of Honor in 1989 and a commander Legion of Honor in 2010.

Berry died in 2000 and Deiber in 2011.

Ludwig is survived by a son, Wolfgang Berry, and stepson Philippe Deiber.

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Mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig, starred at Lyric Opera, dies at 94Associated Presson April 25, 2021 at 7:02 pm Read More »