MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 23: Tony La Russa #22 of the Chicago White Sox looks on against the Minnesota Twins in the fourth inning of the game at Target Field on April 23, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the White Sox 9-2. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Not only has Tony La Russa changed the Chicago White Sox lineup constantly – I am not sure he’s used the same lineup more than once – but his tinkering has produced some lineups that are downright laughable.
Yet, this past Sunday, La Russa came up with a lineup that seemingly made sense, and what did the White Sox do? They scored six runs quickly. And did so against a very good team – the Tampa Bay Rays.
To be fair to La Russa, having a good lineup doesn’t necessarily mean the team will have a good day – he put out a lineup I liked against Toronto last week and the team lost. Players have to play well, no matter the batting order or defensive assignments.
And yes, the Sox have been beset by injuries. Yes, La Russa can defend his moves by pointing to matchups, and yes, La Russa has access to behind-the-scenes info us fans and bloggers don’t.
The Chicago White Sox are a struggling ball club, and one thing that has hurt – or at least not helped – is manager Tony La Russa’s penchant to mess with the lineups.
But too often, La Russa has sat players who were hitting well. Or put them too low in the lineup, thus reducing their number of at-bats. Or he’s put weak hitters too high. Leury Garcia should never lead off.
Last weekend, La Russa finally seemed to see the light. Danny Mendick had been swinging a hot bat, so he got to leadoff. Andrew Vaughn, who is batting near .300, followed. Struggling Yasmani Grandal was dropped down to sixth. Platoon catcher Reese McGuire batted eighth, and two other players who are struggling a bit – A..J. Pollock and Josh Harrison – also batted in the bottom third.
I might’ve switched Pollock and Grandal – Pollock has shown flashes of his old self this season, and has some pop in his bat – but otherwise, this lineup made sense, given that leadoff man Tim Anderson is hurt, and middle-of-the-order power bat Eloy Jimenez is still rehabbing an injury. Ultimately, Anderson will be leading off when those two return and Eloy will be somewhere between third and sixth. It also helps that call-up Jake Burger has shown some power.
The thing is, if even a fan like me can figure out a sensible lineup that accounts for injuries, shouldn’t the Hall of Fame manager be able to do so? And I haven’t even touched on the idea that players are said to prefer consistent lineups, in part because no Sox player has, as far as I know, been willing to criticize La Russa to the media when it comes to the constant changes.
To be clear, lineup inconsistency and baffling lineup choices aren’t the only reason, or even the main one, that a potential World Series contender is barely treading water a bit over a quarter of a way into the season. The offense is anemic, the defense is porous, and the pitching is inconsistent. And several key players have missed significant time.
The good news is that there is still time, especially given a weak division and expanded playoffs, for the White Sox to make a run. And Lance Lynn, along with Jimenez and Anderson, should be back sooner than later. Furthermore, pitcher Dallas Keuchel is no longer around to get battered by opposing offenses.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – APRIL 23: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz looks on during the first half of Game Four ChicagoBulls (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
The NBA offseason is going to get real interesting for the Chicago Bulls — and real fast.
The 2022 NBA Draft is just over two weeks away, and following the draft, things are going to get hectic. The Bulls have some big-time free agency decisions looming, and it all starts with Zach LaVine.
But, another decision they may be faced with is whether or not to make a huge splash via trade. It’s been rumored recently by Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer that the Bulls could be in the market for Utah Jazz center and 3-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert.
According to the latest report, the Bulls have emerged as one of the top possible destinations for the 6-time All NBA Defensive Teamer.
If the Chicago Bulls could feasibly land Utah Jazz All Star center Rudy Gobert, then they must explore the possibility.
For a while now, it has been thought that Gobert is going to make the Jazz choose between he and fellow All Star Donovan Mitchell this offseason. Gobert believes the two of them cannot co-exist, therefore Utah will have to make a decision.
It seems that the Jazz are already prepared to keep Mitchell, thus moving on from the league’s best defensive big man.
The Bulls, meanwhile, made a big trade just two years ago for Nikola Vucevic to be their starting center. Last season, Vucevic was a bit volatile at times and the Bulls never knew what they would get from him on a nightly basis.
There is an argument to be made that the Bulls should move on from Vucevic, who would ultimately be included in a deal for Gobert in this scenario. Just what would it take for the Bulls to land Gobert? Let’s look at three possible trades.
BOSTON — As Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics have gone through their roller-coaster ride over the past several months, turning their season around and reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in his career, there’s been plenty of debate about Tatum’s standing within the NBA.
But as he prepares to play in his first NBA Finals game at TD Garden on Wednesday night when the Celtics host the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals with the series tied 1-1, Tatum said he knows three more victories will give him an inarguable title: NBA champion.
“If you win a championship, they can debate a lot of things,” Tatum said after Boston’s practice Tuesday. “They can’t debate whether or not you’re a champion.
“Obviously lost the other night. Just looking forward to bouncing back tomorrow. First Finals game at home, at the Garden. It’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward to it, enjoying this experience.”
Tatum has emerged as the face of Boston’s franchise, earning a first-team All-NBA selection this season and a third straight All-Star selection before subsequently leading Boston on a playoff run past Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jimmy Butler to bring the Celtics to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
But his rise has brought with it debates over whether he’s a star or if he has graduated into the rarified air of superstardom.
After being asked if anything about this run “as a superstar player” has surprised him, Tatum smiled as he turned the question around and asked where the idea he was or wasn’t a superstar even came from.
“A lot of people want to debate,” Tatum said. “I guess you just commented about the superstar, whatever that means, right? I’ve seen there’s a huge debate: Is he a superstar or is he not? I want to know where that came from. Did I tweet that? Did I ever say I’m a superstar, I’m on the verge? That never came from me.
“It’s been a big deal this last year and a half or two years. I see it all the time. There’s always been a question in the back of my head, I wonder who spoke on my behalf or said that or why that was such a big deal.”
Beyond the natural push-and-pull of barroom debates, the argument has also arisen, in part, because of Tatum’s growth as a player. He and the Celtics went through three future Hall of Famers in Durant, Antetokounmpo and Butler to get here — including two seven-game series against the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals and finals.
Tatum won the first Larry Bird Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the Eastern Conference finals after he averaged 25 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists against the Heat. He had 30 and 46 points in two road wins in the Bucks series. And he has even found ways to contribute when he has struggled, like when he had 13 assists while scoring 12 points on 3-for-17 shooting in Boston’s Game 1 win over Golden State.
And he has helped prevent the Celtics from losing two games in a row in the playoffs — something Boston has done only once, period, since late January, and that came when half its team didn’t play in Toronto on a second game of a back-to-back late in the season.
“You have a bad day at work, the next day you want to have a better day at work,” he said. “I think everybody can understand that. You lose a game, or don’t play well, you want to come back and have a better game.
“I’m sure everybody can relate to that, whatever you work at. It’s all the same.”
What’s not the same is being three games away from an NBA championship for the first time in his career.
Boston is going to have to focus on taking care of the ball. When the Celtics have 15 turnovers or fewer in the playoffs, like they did in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, they are 13-2. But when Boston has 16 or more turnovers, like it did in Game 2, it is 0-5.
“Turnovers are a big part of the game, especially when you see how many times we turned it over and how many points they scored off that,” Tatum said. “You just think, if you could limit those turnovers, you could limit a lot of those points.
“Yeah, I mean, basically we don’t turn the ball over, we give ourselves a better chance to win. That’s not rocket science. It’s just a matter of doing that more often than not.”
So, what was it that you were talking about…killing babies is wrong?
Two narratives are running through the country right now:
Save babies and keep gun rights.
The Supreme Court may likely overturn Roe v. Wade this summer, ending the ‘threat’ that the ‘pre-born’ might be unborn.
Yet, the number of mass killings, especially of children, doesn’t seem to move the protectors of the Second Amendment. That’s the one that reads:
“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
But let’s think this through. If a child is indeed born, and they are ‘safely’ in the world, have parents who love them, support them and provide for their welfare, they are supposedly ‘safe.’
At least, until they go to school.
Or go to their grocery store.
Or to Walmart.
And even their house of worship.
And if they’re unlucky, in the wrong place at the wrong time, the wrong person–someone who doesn’t care if he (mostly, they’ve been white males between the ages of 18-25) will live or die, with a grudge against minorities/gays/bullies/life that they’ve been dealt will be issued a weapon of war to settle scores.
What happens to those ‘innocent babies’ then? ‘Saved’ by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, only to be silenced forever after they’ve had a chance to dream? To accomplish? To make an impact on a small group of individuals?
Only to be cut down before they have a chance to fulfill their potential?
After all, these kids had dreams. Matthew McConaughey might be ‘just an (Oscar-winning) actor,’ but he was powerful in his remarks at the White House on Tuesday, June 7.
McConaughey spoke in great detail about the children (in Uvalde, TX) and what dreams they held before they were killed – one wanted to be a marine biologist, one had been preparing to read a Bible verse at church the next week, and another wanted to go to art school in Paris. (per CNN)
Those dreams will not come true, thanks to one 18-year-old with a grudge and an AR-15. And for those who believe that these individuals constitute “a mental health problem:”
“In the U.S, it is easier to get a gun than it is to get mental health care,” stated Angela Kimball, of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), in 2019. “We need to flip the script. It should be easy—not hard—for people to get the mental health care they need.”
According to NAMI, research shows an increased risk of gun violence comes from a history of violence, including domestic violence; use of alcohol or illegal drugs; being young and male; and/or a personal history of physical or sexual abuse or trauma. Mental illness alone is not a predictor of violence.
Worse…nothing has been done to change the gun laws that make these weapons available to anyone age 18 or over, whose rage has been simmering just below the surface. Until one day, it boils over. Then, no one is safe.
He described what survivors told him about their children. And more gruesomely, about the impact of assault rifles on young bodies.
Visibly choking back tears, McConaughey said, “Due to the exceptionally large exit wounds of an AR-15 rifle, most of the bodies so mutilated that only DNA test or green Converse (the victim was wearing) could identify them. Many children were left not only dead but hollow. So, yes, counselors are going to be needed in Uvalde for a long time.” (per CNN)
Miah Cerillo, 11, was one of the ‘lucky’ ones at Robb Elementary School. She smeared the blood of her best friend over her body so she could appear dead. Imagine the trauma she’s harboring. I am astounded at her presence of mind, at such a young age. Not to mention her incredible self-preservation instinct. Did she learn that in active shooter drills, a process as traumatizing as it may protect them? Was it something she thought of herself? She’ll be testifying to Congress soon about her experiences.
How do you square protecting life and letting guns run rampant in society? That’s the conundrum the United States of America is in now.
McConaughey rightly said there was now a “window of opportunity” to enact meaningful gun legislation reform and called for universal background checks, raising the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 to 21, a waiting period for purchasing AR-15s, and the implementation of red flag laws (per CNN)
“These are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations to our nation, states, communities, schools, and homes. Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals. These regulations are not a step back – they’re a step forward for civil society and, and the Second Amendment,” McConaughey said.
And my two cents, for what it’s worth: Bring the assault weapons ban back. Or write a new one, lest criticism of “looking backward” ensues. Let the military be the keepers of these weapons of war–NOT PRIVATE CITIZENS. Not your ‘average Joe’ with a grudge and a death wish.
If Uvalde, Texas, or any other mass killing site–Columbine, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech University, Northern Illinois University, and countless others are to mean anything, we need to honor their memory and protect the living.
If not now, WHEN? If not us, then WHO?
I agree with McConaughey, “Enough with the counterpunching. Enough of the invalidation of the other side. Let’s come to the common table that represents the American people. Find a middle ground, the place where most of us Americans live anyway. Especially on this issue. Because I promise you, America, you and me, we are not as divided as we are being told we are.” (per CNN).
Let’s prove this by enacting laws that protect us all…, especially our children.
Writing and broadcasting are my life, especially about women’s sports and women’s issues. I believe in God, Title IX, equal pay and equal rights for all mankind. Recently, I became the guardian of a beautiful, inquisitive little girl. Occasionally, you’ll find me ‘mommy blogging.’ Read all about it!
Jessica Zimmerman’s memoir Sleeping With a Stranger is a thriller that could save your life. It is a shocking, gripping ride and a master class in resilience. When I asked Jessica why she wrote this bracingly honest bestseller, she didn’t hesitate for a minute; “There was this voice inside of me that said, ‘this story happened because you are supposed to share it.’”
When Jessica married her college sweetheart Brian, they rejected the usual script. They would not settle down, have kids, work the same job into retirement. Instead, Jessica would provide fun, adventure, and a plan to get out of Conway, Arkansas. Brian would figure out the finances and be their rock. What the couple didn’t know was that fate would reject that script and deliver an unimaginable rewrite.
At first, Brian was a dream husband, reliable and supportive. Jessica was a brilliant shooting star, making her high-spirited way through a series of business and personal triumphs and disasters. Then came two pregnancies, one after the other. Surprises, but delights. When they discovered they were expecting twins while parenting a toddler, Jessica allowed herself a few panicked moments lying prone on the bathroom floor. Then she texted every parent of twins that she knew, asking them to share the best part of the experience. She could always find that crack where the light gets in.
Fast forward a year. Jessica is in Kroger’s and it’s not just any grocery run. In her cart: Disney Pull-ups for a potty-training toddler, boxes of Pampers for her twins and packages of Depends for her husband. What in the world happened? Proving that there is a god of bad timing, Brian had developed a devastating illness just when his family needed him most. In a major reversal, Jessica would solely have to rely on Jessica. And so would everybody else.
What follows is a harrowing tale of fighting the medical establishment and blazing one’s own path. Brian had developed a catastrophically inflamed colon. So inflamed, it was practically on fire. However terrible you imagine those symptoms and the ensuing situations, it was worse.
The doctors would take Brian on a terrifying rollercoaster of well-meaning cluelessness that nearly murdered him. Jessica could no longer afford to be the fun one. But the insightful, brilliant, strong, creative, compassionate person she becomes will keep you on the edge of your seat, cheering, crying, and gasping with every twist of this fast-paced story. Prepare, too, to laugh hysterically because this intrepid author has a sense of humor that is not only hilarious but miraculous under the circumstances.
Can Brian recover? Will the marriage survive? Who is the “stranger” in the title? (It’s not just Brian.) Did I mention that Jessica creates a million dollar business to boot? I don’t want to give away too much. I will guarantee that this is memoir at its best. Jessica and Brian’s story is one you won’t hear anywhere else. Jessica kindly spoke with me by phone about her unforgettable journey, and how to thrive when life throws one of its wild curveball pitches
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TELLING A HARD STORY
Teme: Why was it important to tell this very personal story?
Jessica: It’s the only time in my life that I’ve felt truly called to do something. This book was a gamble. It is not a story you really want people to know. It is very embarrassing. It is insanely vulnerable. I’ve never written a book, so I was just going on gut. It felt like a mission.
Of course, I would have never written it without my husband’s approval. At first, there were two parts of the book that I absolutely was not going to put in there – there was a golf course incident and the part about him wanting to commit suicide. He said, “You have to include them for anyone who is going through what I went through.”
Teme: Did Brian have any hesitation about sharing? Or was he on board right away?
Jessica: He was on board from the very beginning. He was at his worst in spring of 2016. I remember we were laying in bed. He was naked because he didn’t have enough energy to take his clothes on and off every time he had to go to the bathroom. The lights were off except for the glow of my computer screen. We were thirty-three at the time. I remember looking at him and thinking, “He looks like he’s eighty years old. I don’t recognize this person.”
But he never had hesitation ever. I had more hesitation. I knew for two years that I needed to write about it and I kept putting it off. It was like a heavy conscience. I would think about it twice a day, and then three times a day, and then it was once an hour, twice an hour, then it was every ten minutes. Finally it was like, “The only way I’m going to escape this is if I actually do it.”
Teme: What was your hesitation?
Jessica: I didn’t know if I wanted people to know this story. That’s why it had to be something so much bigger than me to share it. I grew up in a small town. People that knew me would read it. I didn’t know what it would be like to know somebody had read this and then see them at the grocery store. Would it hurt my feelings if I knew they read it and then never said anything to me? Which was the case in a lot of situations. I had to let go of all the hurt feelings.
FIGHTING FOR FAMILY … AND THE TRUTH ABOUT FRIENDS
Teme: You went from being an uncertain young wife to being a superhero in the way you fought for your family and kept your business going for your employees. What changed in your sense of self?
Jessica: I would love to say that there was some amazing shift, but honestly, you really don’t know what you’re capable of until your back is against the wall and you have a gun pointed at your head, which is exactly what I felt like.
All of the stuff that you would typically overthink and ask opinions, I didn’t do any of that. I had to skip that and just go, “What must I do?” My back was against the wall and I came through. But it wasn’t in the healthiest of manners. I paid for that and had to work on myself and get myself back together.
I’m just now, really, becoming my full true self. It is hard when you realize you are capable of doing it all. We all have our vices in the face of fear or pain. My vice is control because my biggest fear is abandonment or being out of control.
Would it be better for me to not feel the responsibility of everything and to be able to lay some stuff down? Is that the best example for my kids? Would it be better to have a little more help? I spent four years building up heavy walls of just survival. Now I’m taking a sledgehammer to the walls and breaking them down.
Teme: What could you have done differently? You had to take control. If you hadn’t, the doctors were going to take control in a drastic and terrible way. You did everything brilliantly.
Jessica: You’re very kind to say that. People say, “I don’t know how you did that. You’re Superwoman.” I’m genuinely not. I just woke up and did what absolutely had to be done. I had newborn twins. They had to be fed. I would get up and make their bottles and feed them. I had a two-year-old daughter. She had to be dressed. They went to preschool, so I’d pack their bottles and lunch and take them to preschool. That had to be done. I had to go to work. I had to make money. I had to be there for my employees. I had to deal with Brian’s doctors and all of it.
There are things that got put on the back burner. I lost several friends during this time. They just couldn’t understand. I could only spend my energy doing what I had to do to survive and for the other four human beings in my family to survive. That meant not answering phone calls and text messages and not explaining everything, not calling people every single time we were in the hospital. I felt at the end of all of this, people who are really my friends are going to understand. I just didn’t have the bandwidth. It was, “What has to be done next? And let me get it done.”
Teme: How can friends do better?
Jessica: Oh my goodness. I think that’s the true question. I’m so glad you asked it. All anybody wants who is struggling is to be heard. That’s it. The person who is receiving the information is in the most honored position. To have somebody say, “Here are my problems. Here’s how I feel …” They are not coming to you for an answer. They are coming to you to feel heard. My biggest struggle was any time I would share I would be met with advice that I did not solicit.
Teme: Oh, I really hate unsolicited advice.
Jessica: Yeah. I would be met with these suggestions that would have never worked. I wasn’t asking friends for medical advice. I was just sharing what I’m going through. So I think the very best friends are people who listen and just acknowledge your pain. “I’m so sorry you’re going through that. I am here for you, whatever you need.” Don’t pretend you know what they’re going through. Don’t give an example, “Oh, well, I know so-and-so that …”
Teme: That is a fabulous answer. Unsolicited advice is one of my most gigantic pet peeves. Often it’s oversimplified and also, if there were an easy answer, you would have thought of it and pursued it. I don’t know if people realize that unsolicited advice is generally unhelpful.
Jessica: It’s coming from a place of insecurity. I have to remember, “Nope. Don’t give advice unless asked.” It comes from the fear that, “They’re sharing this with me and if I don’t give them something great, they won’t share with me in the future.”
Instead of fully listening and paying attention, we’re halfway listening, but we’re in our brains going, “What am I going to say?” It isn’t a conversation anymore because you’re just waiting for a stopping point so that you can insert something great where somebody will go, “Oh, thank you.” But that’s not the point.
Teme: For all my intolerance of unsolicited advice, I’m guilty of that, too.
Jessica: We all are. We’ve got to unlearn it. I’m still working on it.
HOW TO RISE AND INSPIRE
Teme: How does one avoid feeling like a victim after going through something that could really shake a person?
Jessica: A lot of therapy. I have been in therapy once a week since June 2017. I love it. I think that it’s fascinating to educate yourself about yourself. My therapist has said things that have been incredibly freeing. I’ve lived this huge part of my life living like a victim and feeling like, “You don’t know the life that I’ve lived, the pain that I’ve experienced.”
There came a point for me where a shift happened. It was like, “What if none of this really happened tome? What if it all happened for me?” I also believe that the goal isn’t happiness. The goal is to feel our feelings and have our feeling teach us, guide us, and they eventually lead us to the next step we’re supposed to take. So really, it is all about paying attention. A victim mentality is an easy excuse to not learn from your pain. Pain is a teacher. It’s not going to leave you until it teaches you, so it’s just going to keep coming. At some point, you have to stop and go, “Okay, what is this teaching me?”
I was able to shift and to say, “I’m not a victim who survived. I’m going to be a survivor who inspires. I’m going to share. I’m going to be open and vulnerable. It’s not going to be for everybody, but if it helps some people, then great.”
WHAT IS RESILIENCY?
Teme: How do you define resiliency?
Jessica: You have to believe in yourself. You have to know that you have a purpose, that you are worthy, that you are capable of absolutely anything. Instead of a fixed mindset that believes, “These are the cards I was dealt and this is the hand I’m going to play,” believe, “You know what? I can switch up my cards, or I can get better cards, or I can learn how to play this game so I can have a better hand.” So much of it stems from self-confidence. If you believe in yourself, it’s ninety-percent of the battle. A big part of believing in yourself is freeing yourself from what you think the world expects of you and starting to just care about what you know to be true.
FINDING THE FUNNY
Teme: I was so delighted with the humor in your book. You’re so funny. How did you maintain your humor through such hard times?
Jessica: When I was in it, there was no humor. But on reflecting, I was able to really see things and go, “Man, that’s kind of funny.” Like that my husband, who is already thin, happens to get a disease that makes him lose sixty pounds in three months right when I’ve given birth to twins! That’s funny! You can’t even make it up.
Teme: Who’s your favorite comedian or humor writer? Who has influenced your sense of humor?
Jessica: I love Gary Janetti. He is an author and television writer. He’s saying all the things that everyone thinks but no one says. When someone can point out the absurdity of reality, to me that is really funny.
JESSICA AND BRIAN TODAY
Teme: How are you and Brian now?
Jessica: We’re okay. We have gone through some really hard times. We’ve gone through major peaks and major valleys. We have been together since we were eighteen, which is a really young age. We have so much love and respect for one another. He and I are family until death do us part, forever and always. But we are different people coming out of everything we’ve gone through. If I’m being totally honest, sometimes I wonder. We have a very open relationship where we feel free and safe to discuss these things. One of the things that Brian gives me, that I don’t know if anyone else ever could, is the incredible gift of feeling completely free to be who I am and to feel safe and secure to know he’s always there.
With that said, sometimes I wonder if we have taught each other and been for each other everything we can. Can we continue to encourage one another to grow? Or are we stifling each other’s growth? So that’s what you work through, and that’s part of life and marriage.
I’m not going to say that I know for certain we’re going to be married the rest of our lives. We may very well be. We may have a 60th wedding anniversary, and I would love that. But I also don’t want to shame myself into thinking that that’s the only acceptable answer. I want to do what is best for him and I both, and what’s best for our family.
Teme: It’s refreshing to hear, “sometimes I wonder.” It sounds like a very natural, universal aspect of marriage.
Jessica: I don’t think it’s discussed enough. People put so much shame around it and say, “Well, I should just be grateful. I just need to ignore this.” The truth is, I have spoken with so many people that feel this way. Feel your feelings. Don’t put shame around them. Feel them and let them guide you to the next decision.
IF YOU’RE FEELING STUCK, JESSICA CAN HELP
Teme: Absolutely anything else we should add?
Jessica: I have a program on jessicazimmerman.com called The Game Plan. It is a step-by-step guide that I do for people who are trying to figure out how to live their true life. I ask questions that I don’t think a lot of people get asked that makes them really start thinking, “Do I actually want to be living the way I’m living, or do I want to do something different?” And it gives them permission to think differently and to question. If anybody is in a place where they feel stuck, it’s a great resource.
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Jessica Zimmerman’s memoir Sleeping With a Stranger is available at independent bookstores and wherever books are sold.
Learn more about Jessica and her creative, inspiring strategies for life and business at jessicazimmerman.com.
I’ve been a comedy fan since age four when Moe Howard asked me, “What’s your name, lil’ goil?” Fortuitously somehow by way of Washington, D.C., Poughkeepsie and Jerusalem, I ended up in Chicago, the comedy Mecca of the world where comedians are kind enough to give me their time and where I was lucky enough to meet the great Dobie Maxwell who introduced me to the scene. You can reach me at: [email protected]. (Please remember the “w” there in the middle.)
I am often very reasonably asked, “How DO you pronounce that?” The spelling is Teme, but it’s pronounced Temmy.
Draymond Green entered Game 2 of the NBA Finals with a very clear mindset: bring force.
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I’m going on about my summer and we lost the NBA Finals because we couldn’t meet force with force,” Green said ahead of practice in Boston on Tuesday. “So I think that was just kind of it for me, and understanding that, like I said, that is my department. That’s where I’m supposed to lead, and I can’t let my guys down.”
The lack of physicality is what stuck out to Green the most when he watched film from Game 1. He felt that the Warriors won that game for 42 minutes, but as they let their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter, the Celtics took advantage.
In his mind, it was what needed to be their No. 1 adjustment.
2 Related
Green’s upped intensity was felt immediately. On the very first possession of the game, Green tied up Al Horford behind the 3-point line, forcing a turnover. That set the tone for how he was going to play all night.
Horford, Marcus Smart and Derrick White combined to shoot just 6-for-23 from the field in Game 2. In Game 1, they knocked down 15 out of 23 shots from 3-point range alone.
“You get to the NBA Finals, and physicality and meeting force with force is important,” Green said. “It’s just something that you have to bring to this game … when I watched the film, and even just how I felt, I just didn’t think they felt us enough. You can’t get to this stage, to this level, and the reason you lose is because a team didn’t feel you. That’s a shame. You have to lose once you get to this level because a team was just better than you.”
Green credits his naturally forceful and physical nature to where he grew up (Saginaw, Michigan) and the era of basketball he watched as a child.
“Playing at Vets Park, playing at the Civitan Recreation Center, obviously, growing up I watched guys like Gary Payton, Rasheed Wallace,” Green said. “I watched all those guys and how they went about their business. Dennis Rodman. Seeing those guys over the years, and I have a huge appreciation for Uncle Oak, how he enforced things. That’s a part of the game. That is a skill.”
So as far as Green is concerned, Game 2 was not only a display of the raised level of intensity he and the Warriors needed following the opening game of the series; it’s also what they need — or more — to close it out.
Each month, ChicagoNow holds a contest for the best posts that appeared on ChicagoNow.com during the previous month. Of the more than 1`,000 posts that appeared on ChicagoNow.com during May 2022, here are the 20 judged to be the best. (Posts originally appearing on Margaret Serious were selected by the votes of other bloggers.)
I moved to Chicago from the south suburbs in 1986. I have diverse interests, but I love writing about what I’m interested in. Whether it’s a personal interest or part of my career, the correct words to get the idea across are important to me. I love words and languages — French and Scottish words enrich my American English. My career has included years as a journalist and years working in museums, and the two phases were united by telling stories. I’m serious about words and stories. So here I am, ready to tell stories about words and their languages.
May 28, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) hits a single against the Kansas City Royals during the ninth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Cubs appear to be heading toward a second consecutive Major League Baseball trade deadline where the team is likely looking towards selling their veteran players in an attempt to continue the retooling of their farm system.
Though, given the lack of star power that the Cubs have at the Major League level, this year’s trade deadline may not be as eventful as last season’s trade deadline. It seems rather inevitable that the Cubs will deal Willson Contreras before the trade deadline on August 2 and other players that could be moved are starting pitchers Kyle Hendricks, Wade Miley, and Drew Smyly; and relievers David Robertson, Chris Martin, and Mychal Givens..
Despite the idea that the Cubs will be sellers for the second consecutive trade deadline, and despite what popular belief may suggest, there have been signs that the team is inching closer to returning to relevancy.
This past offseason, the Cubs identified outfielder Seiya Suzuki and starting pitcher Marcus Stroman as players that could be a part of their next contending window. Suzuki was signed to a five-year deal while Stroman was signed to a three-year deal. Outside of Suzuki and Stroman, the Cubs were also in pursuit of free agent shortstop Carlos Correa this past offseason.
It is clear that the Cubs are no longer operating in free agency with a “sign and flip” mindset. The team is now identifying players that could be a part of their next contending window and that window may open in 2023 based on their reported plans for the offseason. Bob Nightengale of USA Today spoke to a veteran general manager in Major League Baseball and the general manager guaranteed that the Cubs will sign one of the top three free agent shortstops this offseason.
They have their eyes on shortstop Trea Turner, Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts.
“I guarantee you they’re going to get one of them,” one veteran GM told USA TODAY Sports.
The Chicago Cubs will have money to spend this offseason and could have their sights set on the free agent shortstop market.
Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner will be hitting free agency for the first time in his Major League career while Correa is expected to opt out of his contract with the Minnesota Twins, and Xander Bogaerts is expected to opt out of his contract with the Boston Red Sox.
Of the three, if the Cubs were to, in fact, sign one of them, logic would indicate that it will be Correa. The Cubs pursued Correa heavily this past offseason and their offer may have been more lucrative than the deal that he signed with the Twins but there have been questions as to if Correa’s switch in representation resulted in miscommunication with the Cubs.
If the Cubs do land one of the top free agent shortstops this offseason, that certainly would accelerate their rebuild, if not, completely change the priority from retooling the minor league system to contending at the Major League level.
May 10, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (7) throws a baseball to a fan before the second inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago White Sox are off to a rocky start. It has left a lot of doubt that this team is capable of winning the World Series.
White Sox All-Star Tim Anderson believes no one should give up on the preseason favorites to repeat as AL Central Division champions.
The Chicago White Sox are two games under .500 and looking up at the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Guardians in the standings.
They have a brutal June schedule to navigate and the Sox will have to do it without Anderson. Anderson is currently on the IL with a groin strain.
The former AL batting champ still believes the Chicago White Sox are contenders when he spoke with local radio sports talk show host Laurence Holmes on 670 the Score.
Tim Anderson said of the White Sox: “I know what my guys can do when everybody is healthy. It’s a long season. If we can just get our head above water, get to that finish line and hopefully hit another gear and just keep working, we got a shot.”
The Chicago White Sox need to get back to taking pitches and drawing walks as one way to turn the offense around. The Sox currently have eight players who have played 15 or more games with an on-base percentage under .300.
The poster boy for the on-base percentage dip is Yasmani Grandal. The Sox catcher spent most of last season batting under .200 but still maintained a high on-base percentage. He finished 2021 with a .420 on-base percentage but is at .274 this season-and batting well under .200.
Grandal needs to get back to his patient approach at the plate or he needs to go on the IL to address whatever is hampering him.
The Sox need to get back towards getting baserunners on and putting pressure on opposing pitchers. The White Sox also need to get those runners home.
The Sox have scored five or more runs only 13 times this season. They are averaging a paltry 3.65 runs per game. The Chicago White Sox have been banged up. Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, Andrew Vaughn, Yoan Moncada, and Anderson all have missed time at some point. Still, that is no excuse for the poor run production.
A couple of other ways the Chicago White Sox can stay afloat in the short term.
The Chicago White Sox can start by riding the hot bats of Danny Mendick and Jake Burger.
Mendick is 7-for-17 over the last seven days. He is not going to maintain that production all season. If he can be productive at the plate until Anderson gets back, that will help the Sox offense tread water.
Burger has nine hits, with three doubles, and a home run over his last ten games. Moncada looks like he is still battling nagging injuries. He gets credit for battling but with his struggles at the plate, Moncada needs another IL stint.
Burger has proved he can hold down the fort temporarily at third. The White Sox need to keep Vaughn batting at the top of the order as he has been the Sox most consistent bat outside of Anderson.
The Sox still need to pull the plug on the Josh Harrison experiment and send Gavin Sheets down to Triple-A. There are a few other moves to be made before the trade deadline to solidify the Sox October chances. Those three short term fixes could help the offense for a couple weeks.
Anderson might be right about the Sox being able to keep their heads above water until Jimenez, Lance Lynn, and TA returns.
Jose Abreu is starting to swing a better bat which is a welcomed boost. If Grandal can fix himself at the plate or heal himself on the IL, the Sox lineup might be able to stop taking on water and start treading it until the trade deadline.
The 2022 Pro Bowl is months and months away. As of right now, Chicago Bears players and coaches have their sights set on this upcoming training camp taking place later this summer.
But as fans and analysts of the game, it is hard for us not to look forward to the season and predict how well or how poorly our teams are going to do.
The last few seasons, the Bears haven’t been amongst the top of the NFL in Pro Bowl selections. Odds are the Bears aren’t going to be towards the top this season either.
With a completely new coaching staff and a very young and rebuilding roster, the Bears are more focused on improvement from the team.
The Chicago Bears haven’t sent many players to the Pro Bowl in the past few seasons. However, this young group could have a few surprise names on the ballot come voting time.
Despite low expectations from people around the league, the Bears do have many solid young pieces on both sides of the ball that could end up having huge seasons. With so much turnover this offseason, many new players will be given elevated roles and playing time, possibly leading to more production.
With more players getting significant minute boosts, there really is no saying how many players could have a breakout season. With that being said, here are 3 ‘Pro Bowl dark-horse’ candidates for the 2022 Chicago Bears.
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