Major League Baseball announced Friday that it will move the All-Star Game from Atlanta’s Truist Park in response to Georgia’s new voting-rights restrictions. | John Amis/AP
The decision is in response to Georgia lawmakers enacting new voting-rights restrictions.
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball moved the All-Star Game from Atlanta’s Truist Park, a response Friday to Georgia enacting a new law last month restricting voting rights.
MLB had awarded the game to Atlanta on May 29, 2019, and the game was scheduled for July 13 as part of baseball’s midsummer break that includes the Futures Game on July 11 and Home Run Derby the following night. But Commissioner Rob Manfred made the decision to move the All-Star events and the amateur draft, which had been scheduled to be held in Atlanta for the first time.
“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” Manfred said in a statement.
“Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with Clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views. I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.”
Barring the long-shot acquisition of disgruntled quarterbacks Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson, Bears general manager Ryan Pace was unlikely to get a sure-fire upgrade from Mitch Trubisky/Nick Foles in free agency this year.
So why Andy Dalton? The former Bengals quarterback has been a starter for nine seasons in the NFL, but he’s been below average in four seasons since last making the Pro Bowl as an alternate in 2016 — ranking 18th in 2017 (86.6), 26th in 2018 (89.6), 32nd in 2019 (78.3) and 25th last season with the Cowboys (87.3).
“We feel like we’ve gotten better with Andy,” Pace said. “Obviously his experience — he’s a nine-year starter. He’s been to three Pro Bowls; a lot of leadership with Andy Dalton; decision-making; he’s won a lot of games in this league. Andy’s been a durable player — I think that’s something that’s understated.”
Pace also pointed to Dalton’s 64.9 completion percentage in 2020 with the Cowboys — his best percentage since his career-best 66.1% in 2015, when he was second in the NFL in passer rating (106.2).
But other than that, Dalton is long removed from that career year. What it seems to have come down to was Dalton’s fit for Matt Nagy’s offense.
“Andy really fits our style of offense,” Pace said. “When you go through it with our scouts and coaches, he can handle the drop-back game, he can handle the RPOs, the play-actions, the movements. Ad we just felt, as we went through those free-agent quarterbacks, he’s one of the more complete quarterbacks we evaluated in free agency. And we’re excited to have him.”
Pace confirmed that Dalton will go into the 2021 season as the Bears’ starter, regardless of whether he acquires a quarterback in the draft. And coach Matt Nagy said he will take over play-calling duties after giving them to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor in Week 10 against the Vikings last season — even though Dalton has previous experience with Lazor calling plays for him with the Bengals.
Nagy said the better fit relates to offensive scheme, but didn’t want to get into details, in part because he didn’t want to denigrate Mitch Trubisky or Foles.
“Some things will be a little bit different,” Nagy said. “There’s going to be some things that Andy likes that Mitch and Nick hated, and vice-versa. But we’re going to work together to figure out what that is. So as a personnel department — as Ryan as the GM, myself as the head coach and a coaching staff — when you through free agency and look at everybody that’s available, it was really a consensus for us to get Andy in here.”
The signing of Dalton — especially considering his recent mediocrity — is a tacit rebuke of not only the drafting of Trubisky, but the signing of Foles as a potential starter last season.
Foles struggled in nine games (seven starts) last season — an 80.8 passer rating (10 touchdowns, eight interceptions). He had a difficult circumstances — facing four top-10 defenses as the Bears’ offensive line was crumbling. But that wasn’t enough of a mitigating factor for the Bears to not look for an upgrade.
Coming off misses with Mike Glennon in free agency and Trubisky in the draft prior to Nagy’s arrival, Foles’ failure as an acquisition with Nagy in place — plus Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo — is particularly dubious for Pace. But neither Pace nor Nagy was interested in discussing that in detail.
“I think every year is a little bit different and there [are] different whys behind all of it,” Nagy said. “When you look at the way things went last year, it took us a little bit with the change that we made of starting Nick [in Week 4] and then going back to Mitch. And within there, there were some things that went on.
“We feel like this is the best for us as an organization right now, and things are always fluid every year and this is where we’re at right now and we’re excited about it. Nick understands where we’re at. Andy understands where we’re at. Our coaches know — Ryan, myself, and that’s kind of where we’re at right now. There’s just a process to it.”
Barring the long-shot acquisition of disgruntled quarterbacks Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson, Bears general manager Ryan Pace was unlikely to get a sure-fire upgrade from Mitch Trubisky/Nick Foles in free agency this year.
So why Andy Dalton? The former Bengals quarterback has been a starter for nine seasons in the NFL, but he’s been below average in four seasons since last making the Pro Bowl as an alternate in 2016 — ranking 18th in 2017 (86.6), 26th in 2018 (89.6), 32nd in 2019 (78.3) and 25th last season with the Cowboys (87.3).
“Obviously his experience — he’s a nine-year starter,” Pace said. “He’s been to three Pro Bowls; a lot of leadership with Andy Dalton; decision-making; he’s won a lot of games in this league. Andy’s been a durable player — I think that’s something that’s understated.”
Pace also pointed to Dalton’s 64.9 completion percentage in 2020 with the Cowboys — his best percentage since his career-best 66.1% in 2015, when he was second in the NFL in passer rating (106.2).
But other than that, Dalton is long removed from that career year. What it seems to have come down to was Dalton’s fit for Matt Nagy’s offense.
“Andy really fits our style of offense,” Pace said. “When you go through it with our scouts and coaches, he can handle the drop-back game, he can handle the RPOs, the play-actions, the movements. Ad we just felt, as we went through those free-agent quarterbacks, he’s one of the more complete quarterbacks we evaluated in free agency. And we’re excited to have him.”
Pace confirmed that Dalton will go into the 2021 season as the Bears’ starter, regardless of whether he acquires a quarterback in the draft. And coach Matt Nagy said he will take over play-calling duties after giving them to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor in Week 10 against the Vikings last season — even though Dalton has previous experience with Lazor calling plays for him with the Bengals.
Nagy said the better fit relates to offensive scheme, but didn’t want to get into details, in part because he didn’t want to denigrate Mitch Trubisky or Foles.
“Some things will be a little bit different,” Nagy said. “There’s going to be some things that Andy likes that Mitch and Nick hated, and vice-versa. But we’re going to work together to figure out what that is. So as a personnel department — as Ryan as the GM, myself as the head coach and a coaching staff — when you through free agency and look at everybody that’s available, it was really a consensus for us to get Andy in here.”
The signing of Dalton — especially considering his recent mediocrity — is a tacit rebuke of not only the drafting of Trubisky, but the signing of Foles as a potential starter last season.
Foles struggled in nine games (seven starts) last season — an 80.8 passer rating (10 touchdowns, eight interceptions). He had a difficult circumstances — facing four top-10 defenses as the Bears’ offensive line was crumbling. But that wasn’t enough of a mitigating factor for the Bears to not look for an upgrade.
Coming off misses with Mike Glennon in free agency and Trubisky in the draft prior to Nagy’s arrival, Foles’ failure as an acquisition with Nagy in place — plus Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo — is particularly dubious for Pace. But neither Pace nor Nagy was interested in discussing that in detail.
“I think every year is a little bit different and there [are] different whys behind all of it,” Nagy said. “When you look at the way things went last year, it took us a little bit with the change that we made of starting Nick [in Week 4] and then going back to Mitch. And within there, there were some things that went on.
“We feel like this is the best for us as an organization right now, and things are always fluid every year and this is where we’re at right now and we’re excited about it. Nick understands where we’re at. Andy understands where we’re at. Our coaches know — Ryan, myself, and that’s kind of where we’re at right now. There’s just a process to it.”
For the first time since Feb. 13, the Blackhawks have a player on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.
Rookie forward Brandon Hagel was placed on the list Friday, one day after playing and scoring a goal in the Hawks’ 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes.
Placement on the COVID-19 list doesn’t necessarily mean Hagel tested positive, however. Contract tracing, unconfirmed results and rule violations can also land a player on the list.
The Hawks held practice Friday with the rest of the team present. Philipp Kurashev moved into Hagel’s spot on the second line next to David Kampf and Dominik Kubalik, while Kirby Dach was elevated to first-line center between Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat.
This is the team’s first direct brush with COVID-19 since late January through the first half of February, when Alex DeBrincat, Adam Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin, Ryan Carpenter and Lucas Wallmark all spent time on the list. Boqvist, Carpenter and Wallmark experienced bouts of the virus with mild symptoms while DeBrincat and Beaudin never actually tested positive.
Cases have rapidly declined over the past two months around the NHL but have begun to tick up again lately. The Canucks are currently experiencing an outbreak, with eight players reportedly testing positive Friday.
“We’re still in [the pandemic], no doubt,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “[We’re] definitely moving closer hopefully to the end than the beginning at this point. Everyone can get excited about things happening. But just like everything else, you have to take it day to day.”
MINNEAPOLIS — Kneeling on the neck of someone who is handcuffed and in the prone position is “top-tier, deadly” force and should not be used, the head of the Minneapolis Police Department’s homicide division testified Friday at Derek Chauvin’s murder trial.
“If your knee is on a person’s neck, that can kill him,” said Lt. Richard Zimmerman, adding that when a person is handcuffed in the prone position, “your muscles are pulling back … and if you’re laying on your chest, that’s constricting your breathing even more.”
His testimony came a day after a Minneapolis police supervisory sergeant who was on duty the night George Floyd died testified that he believes the officers who restrained Floyd could have ended it after he stopped resisting.
David Pleoger testified Thursday that officers are trained to roll people on their side to help with their breathing after they have been restrained in the prone position.
“When Mr. Floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers, they could have ended the restraint,” Pleoger said.
“And that was after he was handcuffed and on the ground and no longer resistant?” prosecutor Steve Schleicher asked.
“Correct,” replied Pleoger, who’s now retired.
Chauvin, 45 and white, is accused of killing Floyd by pinning his knee on the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as he lay face-down in handcuffs. Floyd had been accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a neighborhood market.
His death triggered large protests around the U.S., scattered violence and widespread soul-searching over racism and police brutality. The since-fired Chauvin is charged with murder and manslaughter, and most serious charge him carries up to 40 years in prison.
On Friday, Minneapolis police Sgt. Jon Edwards, the overnight supervisor the night Floyd died, said he secured the scene at the request of Pleoger, who was still at the hospital with Floyd. Edwards said Pleoger told him the encounter had the potential to become a “critical incident,” which could mean someone died or was seriously injured.
Edwards, who was not Chauvin’s supervisor, said he didn’t have details about what happened at that time but arrived to find two of the officers involved in Floyd’s arrest — Thomas Lane and J. Kueng — still at the intersection. He had them put up crime scene tape.
He called other officers to the scene and instructed them to go door to door looking for witnesses. Edwards said he learned later that Floyd had died, after homicide investigators arrived.
Thursday’s testimony began with Floyd’s girlfriend tearfully telling the jury how they met in 2017 — at a Salvation Army shelter where he was a security guard with “this great, deep Southern voice, raspy” — and how they both struggled with an addiction to painkillers.
“Our story, it’s a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids. We both suffered from chronic pain. Mine was in my neck and his was in his back,” 45-year-old Courteney Ross said.
She said they “tried really hard to break that addiction many times.”
Prosecutors put Ross on the stand in an effort to humanize Floyd for the jury, portray him as more than a crime statistic and explain his drug use.
The defense has argued that Chauvin did what he was trained to do when he encountered Floyd last May and that Floyd’s death was caused by drugs, his underlying health conditions and his own adrenaline. An autopsy found fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system.
Ross said she and Floyd struggled with addiction throughout their relationship — testimony that could help prosecutors blunt the argument that drugs killed Floyd. Medical experts have said that while the level of fentanyl in his system could be fatal, people who use the drug regularly can develop a tolerance.
Ross said they both had prescriptions, and when those ran out, they took the prescriptions of others and used illegal drugs.
In March 2020, Ross drove Floyd to the emergency room because he was in extreme stomach pain, and she learned he had overdosed. In the months that followed, Ross said, she and Floyd spent a lot of time together during the coronavirus quarantine, and Floyd was clean.
But she suspected he began using again about two weeks before his death because his behavior changed: She said there would be times when he would be up and bouncing around, and other times when he would be unintelligible.
Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson drove hard at Floyd’s drug use in cross-examining Ross, asking questions aimed at showing the danger of overdose and death.
Also Thursday, Seth Bravinder, a paramedic who arrived on the scene that day, said he saw no signs that Floyd was breathing or moving, and it appeared he was in cardiac arrest. A second paramedic, Derek Smith, testified that he checked for a pulse and couldn’t detect one: “In layman’s terms? I thought he was dead.”
On cross-examination, Chauvin’s lawyer pressed Smith on Floyd’s condition as he lay on the pavement. The paramedic expressed himself in blunt terms, saying Floyd was “dead” or “deceased.”
For the first time since Feb. 13, the Blackhawks have a player on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.
Rookie forward Brandon Hagel was placed on the list Friday, one day after playing and scoring a goal in the Hawks’ 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes.
Placement on the COVID-19 list doesn’t necessarily mean Hagel tested positive, however. Contract tracing, unconfirmed results and rule violations can also land a player on the list.
The Hawks held practice Friday with the rest of the team present.
This is the team’s first direct brush with the pandemic since late January through the first half of February, when Alex DeBrincat, Adam Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin, Ryan Carpenter and Lucas Wallmark all spent time on the list. Boqvist, Carpenter and Wallmark experienced bouts of the virus with mild symptoms while DeBrincat and Beaudin never actually tested positive.
COVID-19 cases have rapidly declined over the past two months around the NHL but have begun to tick up again lately. The Canucks are currently experiencing an outbreak, with eight players reportedly testing positive Friday.
A man who was wounded in a shooting Wednesday in Chicago Lawn died from his injuries the next day.
The 41-year-old was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital at 5:22 p.m. Thursday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His name has not been released.
About 4:22 p.m. Wednesday, the man was near a backyard in the 6000 block of South Artesian Avenue when someone approached and fired shots, striking him in the head, Chicago police said.
He was taken to Stroger in critical condition at the time, police said.
Apr 1, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (17) walks to dugout after striking out against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
During the 2020 season, the Chicago Cubs had an expression for each day in which Yu Darvish was the starting pitcher for that day’s game. “Today is win day”. That is because, for the most part, that is the day the Cubs knew they had a great chance to win given the success Darvish had last season.
Darvish is no longer with the team and that means that “Win Day” responsibilities were transferred to Kyle Hendricks. Hendricks was on the mound for the Cubs on Opening Day against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday and the Cubs lost.
Sure, there are the necessary caveats in terms of the meaning of Opening Day. Those caveats being “It is only one game”; “Don’t look at records until after Memorial Day”; and, “By the end of the season, no one will remember who won on Opening Day”.
All those caveats are true to a certain extent. Like for example, the World Series defending Los Angeles Dodgers losing to the Colorado Rockies can be chalked up to only being Opening Day and the Dodgers having a World Series hangover. At the end of the day, the Dodgers are still going to be among the top teams in the National League.
When it comes to the Cubs and their Opening Day performance? Those caveats can not be applied.
Reason being is that the performance that the Chicago Cubs had on Thursday was the same performance that the Cubs have had for the past three seasons. Their offense looked broken as they struggled to get on base let alone even put the ball in play. The bullpen struggled with throwing strikes.
What bailed the Cubs out during the World Series season of 2016 and 2017 was that their offense had the timely “big hit”. In fact, the Cubs’ offense was dependent on having the “big hit” and that is the reason they were successful and had extended Post-Season runs.
Starting with the 2018 season, the Cubs offense no longer was able to secure the “big hit”. Coupling that with the factor that the Cubs don’t really have high-on base hitters, it is very clear why the Cubs’ offense has struggled. It is something that former Cubs’ President Theo Epstein and current Cubs’ President have Jed Hoyer. It is something that both Hoyer and Epstein have vowed to fix.
However, the Cubs have had four free agent position player Major League contract signings since the 2018 season. Those signings were Daniel Descalso prior to the 2019 season; and, Joc Pederson, Austin Romine and Tony Wolters prior to this season. Descalso was injured for most of his two-year stint with the Cubs. Pederson profiles as a power hitter. Romine and Wolters are backup catchers. So essentially, the Cubs have done nothing to fix their offense.
Though, the Cubs offense will be forced to change after this season. Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, and Kris Bryant are all projected free agents. It seems like a near certainty that at least one of those three will not be back with the Cubs after this season. But until then, the offense will remain broken.
The jam-packed shortened season that recently wrapped up provided just enough time to get a glimpse of several surprise teams. The appreciation continues here with a look at the most pleasant surprises and overlooked teams of this truncated season.
Brother Rice (13-1)
No one saw this team coming.
With just two starters returning from a year ago — 6-7 Luke Moustakas and guard Garrett Greene — the Crusaders were a surprise in claiming a share of a Chicago Catholic League title. That included victories over Loyola, St. Rita, St. Ignatius and a buzzer-beating win over Fenwick.
Coach Bobby Frasor’s team played with precision and chemistry, an oddity in this year of shorter preparation time, pauses and fewer practices.
The sudden impact from sophomore Ahmad Henderson was significant. The 5-9 point guard blossomed this season, averaging 13.5 points, four rebounds and two assists a game while showcasing big-shot ability.
DeKalb (18-1)
DeKalb’s impressive win total snuck up on basketball fans as the season played out.
Senior Trenton Kyler, the DuPage Valley Conference MVP, was the veteran guard the Barbs knew they could lean on. But the junior trio of Lane McVicar, Tyler Westberg and Martez Jackson helped elevate DeKalb to a level not quite expected.
In particular, McVicar, a transfer from South Elgin, provided a huge boost. The 6-5 versatile wing averaged 13 points a game.
New Trier (13-2)
While all the talk centered around Evanston and Glenbrook South in the Central Suburban League South, it was New Trier that snuck up and grabbed a share of the title with the two favorites.
There weren’t big names and the nucleus is young and only going to get better, but the Trevians impressed by splitting two games with both Evanston and Glenbrook South.
Coach Scott Fricke will return three double-figure scorers in 6-7 junior Jackson Munro (14 ppg), 6-1 junior guard Josh Kirkpatrick and sophomore guard Jake Fiegen (11 ppg).
Corliss (11-3)
Anyway you look at this season for Corliss, it was a success, thanks in large part to the arrival of two transfers: senior wings Jeffrey Oakley (from Perspectives) and J Caleb Slawinski (from St. Joseph).
And that’s even after finishing second in the state in Class 2A two years ago and being two wins away from returning to the State Finals last season before COVID-19 shut everything down.
There were the 11 wins, including a victory over Clark, a ranked and much-more-talked-about team. But even the losses stand out. That’s because two of the three defeats were two-point losses while holding its own against highly-ranked Curie (69-62 loss) and Kenwood (76-74 loss).
Brooks (7-4)
Yet another Red-South/Central team that opened eyes in the shortened season. Brooks finished among the top four in arguably the state’s toughest league, thanks in large part to the monster season Chaz Harvey put together. He averaged 19.8 points a game, including 22.5 points a game in league action.
Downers Grove North (13-2)
With the talent and experience coach Jim Thomas returned from last season, the success shouldn’t have been a huge surprise. Nonetheless, there wasn’t a whole lot of talk about Downers North heading into the season.
A senior-dominated Downers North grabbed a share of the West Suburban Silver Conference behind 6-6 Jack Mielke. Plus, the Trojans capped off the season with a huge win over previously unbeaten and heavily hyped Glenbard West in the final week of the season.
Wheaton Warrenville South (16-2)
Was there a team that won 16 games more quietly than coach Mike Healy’s Tigers?
Behind hard-nosed senior guard Parker Brown and under-the-radar junior Tyler Fawcett, Wheaton South easily ran away with a DuKane Conference title with a 13-1 mark.
Bartlett (12-4)
Senior guard George Betevis filled a stat sheet and the emergence three underclassmen who all averaged in double figures: 7-1 junior Conrad Luczynski, junior shooting guard Ian Smith and freshman guard Kelton McEwen. The end result was an Upstate Eight Conference championship, including a UEC tournament title.
Luczysnki was dominant at times with 15.3 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and nearly four blocks a game, while McEwen emerged as one of the more productive freshmen in the Chicago area with 12.5 points a game and shot 40% from the three-point line.
