What’s New

One Eastern Conference contender is streaking up the NBA standings.

With a win on Monday over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Brooklyn Nets have run their streak to nine games, tying the longest in the league this season. (The other two teams to pull it off, the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, sit right above Brooklyn in the standings at the top two spots.)

Meanwhile, the top of the Western Conference has seen some reshuffling, with the New Orleans Pelicans regaining second place following three straight wins and the Memphis Grizzlies‘ Christmas Day defeat at the Golden State Warriors.

Then there’s Luka Doncic, who put up the first 60-point, 21-rebound, 10-assist performance in NBA history during Tuesday’s thrilling overtime win versus the New York Knicks.

Where do all 30 teams stand in the final NBA Power Rankings of 2022?

Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.

Previous rankings: Week 1 Week 5

For many of us, the early days of the pandemic meant lost time and opportunities, but for Royal Thunder, that long, lonely period sparked a rebirth. Formed in 2004, the Atlanta band had made a name for themselves with a mix of heavy psych, bluesy hard rock, prog, and more—but they’d split up just before COVID gut-punched the States. In the months that followed, vocalist and bassist Mlny Parsonz and guitarist Josh Weaver reconnected with the band’s original drummer, Evan Diprima, and reconvened as a trio. “We decided to get the band back together and do things right,” Parsonz told me over email. “It was a huge void in our lives, and we really missed our family Royal Thunder and the outlet it provided all of us.” The process of rebuilding the band from the ground up helped inspire a wealth of new material, including the new single “The Knife,” their first release since the 2017 album Wick. The thundering rock banger draws on a 90s alt-rock sensibility, an influence the band credits to having come of age during the early part of that decade. (In the same email, Weaver recalled that hearing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time as a 12-year-old skate punk inspired him to go home and pick up the guitar he’d received as a Christmas present years before.) Parsonz makes this compact three-and-a-half minute nugget feel vulnerable and personal with her powerhouse vocals, though its themes—confronting the ways we subconsciously sabotage ourselves, tapping into inner strength to fight for something better—are universally relatable. Though the band have been elusive about whether they’ll release a full album in the new year, they’ve dropped hints that they’ve got fun stuff in the works. So anyone who makes it out to this show at Cobra Lounge—part of a three-city jaunt—might just be treated to a preview of what Royal Thunder have in store for us as they rise from their own ashes.

Royal Thunder Sat1/7, 8 PM, Cobra Lounge, 235 N. Ashland, $17, 17+

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For many of us, the early days of the pandemic meant lost time and opportunities, but for Royal Thunder, that long, lonely period sparked a rebirth. Formed in 2004, the Atlanta band had made a name for themselves with a mix of heavy psych, bluesy hard rock, prog, and more—but they’d split up just before COVID gut-punched the States. In the months that followed, vocalist and bassist Mlny Parsonz and guitarist Josh Weaver reconnected with the band’s original drummer, Evan Diprima, and reconvened as a trio. “We decided to get the band back together and do things right,” Parsonz told me over email. “It was a huge void in our lives, and we really missed our family Royal Thunder and the outlet it provided all of us.” The process of rebuilding the band from the ground up helped inspire a wealth of new material, including the new single “The Knife,” their first release since the 2017 album Wick. The thundering rock banger draws on a 90s alt-rock sensibility, an influence the band credits to having come of age during the early part of that decade. (In the same email, Weaver recalled that hearing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time as a 12-year-old skate punk inspired him to go home and pick up the guitar he’d received as a Christmas present years before.) Parsonz makes this compact three-and-a-half minute nugget feel vulnerable and personal with her powerhouse vocals, though its themes—confronting the ways we subconsciously sabotage ourselves, tapping into inner strength to fight for something better—are universally relatable. Though the band have been elusive about whether they’ll release a full album in the new year, they’ve dropped hints that they’ve got fun stuff in the works. So anyone who makes it out to this show at Cobra Lounge—part of a three-city jaunt—might just be treated to a preview of what Royal Thunder have in store for us as they rise from their own ashes.

Royal Thunder Sat1/7, 8 PM, Cobra Lounge, 235 N. Ashland, $17, 17+

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The Chicago Bears are 3-12 but they have a lot of reasons to keep playing hard. The hope is that certain players continue to play well while the team as a whole continues to lose so that they can end up with a top-two pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

One player to keep an eye on over these next two games is Justin Fields. It will be interesting to see how his playing time looks over the final couple of games as he has been knocked around a lot this season.

On deck this week is the Detroit Lions who are trying hard to get into the playoffs. Jared Goff and the crew had a terrible start to the season but have since bounced back and now have a very real chance of making it to the postseason.

They will be motivated to be at their best against the Bears which should mean that the Bears have no chance. They are one of the worst teams in the NFL so it won’t be surprising at all to see them be horrible in this game.

It also wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bears come up with an upset here over Detroit. Of course, that would be terrible for their draft stock, and nobody is actually rooting for that but the players are going to be trying to play spoiler.

2023 could be a great year if this team is smart but it is going to take some smart decisions and lots of hard work. They can’t forget that as an organization.

If Justin Fields needs to sit at any point over the next two weeks, he should. We now know after this year that he is the guy and everything should revolve around his future. One game against the Lions (or the Vikings for that matter) should not stand in the way of that.

JJ Watt Retires

JJ Watt has been a wildly respected foe for a long time. He spent most of his career with the Houston Texans before his short tenure with the Arizona Cardinals. This is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and a five-time Pro Bowler. It is a lock that he will be in the Hall of Fame.

On Tuesday, he announced that he will retire from the NFL after this season. That is some big news as one of the greatest ever will be leaving the game.

Few have been more respected for their game on the field and the person they are off the field more than him. Congrats to him on his amazing career.

Other NFL News:

The races in both the NFC and AFC are heating up. With two weeks left in the regular season, there is still a lot left to be decided.

It will be interesting to see how injuries play a part in all of this. For one, Jalen Hurts is still questionable after missing last week. His Philadelphia Eagles are the frontrunners to be the number one seed in the NFC but can they do it without him?

The Miami Dolphins are barely hanging onto a playoff spot and Tua Tagovailoa is going to be out. They need to come up with some magic without their quarterback in order to finally get back into the postseason.

This league is amazing right now and completely unpredictable. As we get closer to the postseason, the more exciting it gets.

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One of the biggest Chicago Bears rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, is already the NFC North Division champions. The San Francisco 49ers are the NFC West Champions. The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys are fighting it out and nobody in the NFC South wants to make it.

There are going to be some Wild Card teams as well which always makes this thing a whole lot of fun. In a few different ways, the Chicago Bears are going to influence how it goes in one way or another. They will either pull out a major upset win or they will be beaten and help some teams.

It starts this weekend against the 7-8 Lions who are trying to squeak into the postseason for the first time in a long time. They are probably happy to be playing the Bears as it is a game that they should be able to win. However, a loss for the Lions will just about finish them.

One week later, the Bears will be playing the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings should mop the floor with the Bears but it will all depend on the status of Minnesota’s starters. If the Philadelphia Eagles clinch the number one seed, the Vikings may just rest their guys.

If they don’t, the Vikings will be all in on beating the Bears. Again, the Bears will either roll over for the Vikings because they are a bad football team or they will stun them and take away their chances of a first-round bye. Anything is possible in this league.

The Chicago Bears will have some influence on the NFC playoff picture this year.

Bears fans should be rooting for the Bears to lose them both. Neither the Vikings nor the Lions are likely good enough to win the Super Bowl so seeing them get into the playoffs won’t hurt the Bears at all. It will, however, help the Bears inch closer to a top-two pick.

If the Lions beat the Bears this week, that will also keep Detroit ahead of the Green Bay Packers which would be amazing to see. No Bears fan wants to see the Packers go on a run into the playoffs as the hottest team in the league.

Yeah, the Bears could cause havoc in the NFC in terms of the postseason field but the best-case scenario in every way would be for them to just lose both games.

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The Chicago Bears are incredibly bad. They showed that against pretty much everyone they have played this year which is why they are 3-12 going into Week 17. There have been some moments where they were looking like they are turning a corner which is good but they are still far away.

That was most noticeable against the Buffalo Bills on Christmas eve which proved to be a blowout in favor of Buffalo. The Bears stood their ground for a lot of the game but Buffalo just simply has more talent.

Now, the Bears turn their attention to two NFC North rivals in the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings to close out the season.

The thing that will help the Bears to most is to lose both of those games. If that happens, they will either have the first or second overall pick which is the most ideal when you are loudly rebuilding which they are.

The Chicago Bears are not going to be anywhere near a playoff team this season.

NFC Playoff Picture:

The Philadelphia Eagles are holding onto the number one seed. They are in a tight division race with the Dallas Cowboys. However, the NFC North Champion Minnesota Vikings have their sights set on the number one seed as well. With Jalen Hurts potentially still out, it might be a battle.

The San Francisco 49ers have already clinched the NFC West but won’t be the one seed despite a common belief that they are now the best team in the conference.

The NFC South is the worst division in football as the under-.500 Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead it with the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints on their heels. It is honestly wild that one of these teams will get a home playoff game.

As for the Wild Card spots, this is a huge race. The loser of the NFC East top spot, either the Eagles or Cowboys, will be the top Wild Card team.

Then it comes down to the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers. Two of those five teams will sneak in. The Giants are the only one of the bunch already with eight wins so they are likely to be one of the two.

AFC Playoff Picture:

The Conference opposite of the Chicago Bears is the one that has the most Super Bowl contenders.

The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are fighting it out for the one seed in the AFC. Each of them has clinched their division (AFC East, AFC West) at 12-3. The Bills have the tiebreaker by virtue of their head-to-head matchup victory.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens have each clinched a playoff berth but the AFC North is still to be decided. The Bengals have the inside track as they have one more win than them. It should be wrapped up soon but the other will be a Wild Card team.

In the AFC South, the Jacksonville Jaguars have come all the way back to tie the Tennessee Titans who have lost five in a row. They play each other in Week 18 and that game may just decide who makes the playoffs as a division champion and who goes home.

Like the Ravens, the Los Angeles Chargers sit in a Wild Card spot with their ticket to the postseason clinched. That means there is one more playoff spot left that will likely either go to the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, or New York Jets.

The Dolphins are the only team listed there that is at eight wins and the rest are at seven. The concerning thing for them is that they have been sliding lately and are likely to be without their quarterback for a while.

The Chicago Bears might be out of this thing but it is still incredibly entertaining. Hopefully, the playoffs become as entertaining as the regular season has been.

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The Chicago Blackhawks come out of the Christmas break as the worst team in the NHL based on their record, standings points, and points percentage. It is largely by design as they have their sights set on a rebuild that lives and dies with the 2023 NHL Draft.

They are seeing some of their already drafted studs play well in the World Junior Championships right now but the NHL team still has games to play in the post-Christmas portion of the season.

It all starts on Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. This will be another example of the worst team in the NHL playing against one of the best teams in the NHL as Carolina has its sights set on the Stanley Cup later in the spring. They certainly have the roster to do it.

Chicago is going into every game just hoping to play well enough to have a chance. That is good for the coaching staff to instill in the team so that when they get better players, the baseline will already be there for them.

In fact, they are coming off a win as they won the final game before Christmas over the Columbus Blue Jackets (also a bad team) by a final score of 5-2. It was one of the better games that Chicago has played this season.

The Chicago Blackhawks don’t have an easy path ahead of them this year.

Obviously, in the grand scheme of things every loss is technically good as the Hawks really want to win the draft lottery. Connor Bedard is a generational talent that can change the fortunes of a franchise with his play. Having the worst record in the league will increase the chances of getting him.

This Hurricanes team is going to present the Blackhawks with lots of speed and skill. They have forwards like Martin Necas, Andrei Svechnikov, and Sebastian Aho who are incredible with the puck and can make plays with the best of them.

There are also some other forwards that can burn you on certain days if you don’t play well like Jordan Staal, Seth Jarvis, and Teuvo Teravainen. Some of these guys are good veterans and some of them are youngsters who are just getting better with each day.

Brent Burns leads the group offensively on the back end as he is starting to settle in with the Hurricanes after years with the San Jose Sharks. Brady Skjei, Jaccob Slavin, and Brett Pesce are outstanding on the back end as well.

This is an incredibly difficult game for the Blackhawks to have after the break but these are the cards they are dealt. Expect a painful second half of the season but it will all be worth it in the end if GM Kyle Davidson sticks to his plan.

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There may not be a worse season, in the history of the Chicago Bears, where at the same time, the fan base also holds extreme hope for the future.

At 3-12, the Bears are losers of eight games in a row and, by some accounts, you’d consider them to be “reeling.” Sure, you’d be right to make that assumption. They are reeling. Eight losses in a row is absolutely brutal.

Yet, there is still so much optimism in Chicago around this Bears team, because most fans are understanding the process by now.

Six months ago, that wasn’t the case. Some fans were upset that Ryan Poles “did nothing” this offseason to help quarterback Justin Fields, and also failed to address key spots in the defense.

But, now that we’re just a couple of months away from the beginning of the NFL offseason, that mindset has shifted — and things could get way more interesting for the Bears in the coming days.

With two games remaining, the Chicago Bears now have a real chance at landing the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Go ahead and re-read the above statement. I’ll give you a second. Go on, let it sink in.

The Chicago Bears, who have franchise quarterback and NFL-record breaker Justin Fields at quarterback, could end up with the first overall pick in next year’s draft.

That pick will undoubtedly be used on Alabama’s Bryce Young, although there will be plenty of smoke leading up to the draft making some believe it could be another name.

The Texans currently sit in that number one spot, but are coming off a win over the Tennessee Titans which puts them at 2-12-1. Should they win one of their remaining games and end the year with a record of 3-13-1, and the Bears lose their remaining two games, then Chicago would rise to that position.

Houston’s Final Two Games

Week 17: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 18: @ Indianapolis Colts

The Jaguars have been playing great football lately and are eyeing a playoff birth, shockingly enough. Jacksonville should end up winning this one, but it’s the Week 18 matchup that should worry Texans fans.

The Colts were just embarrassed on Monday Night Football after starting yet another quarterback this year in Nick Foles, and things don’t look to be trending anywhere positively over their final two weeks.

Houston, meanwhile, has been playing fairly competitive football for a few weeks now. Two weeks ago, they took the Chiefs to overtime. The week prior, they lost to Dallas by four after holding a lead over the Cowboys in that one.

The Bears, though, play two divisional games against Detroit and Minnesota — two teams that are clearly better than Chicago at the moment.

The one game that might put a damper on the Bears’ chances of that top pick, though, is Week 18 against Minnesota. If the Vikings are locked into that number 2 seed, they could choose to rest some players and, if that happens, Chicago very well could come away with a win.

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Something is afoot at Apparatus Projects, namely the beguiling “The door you open is determined by how you twist the knob. The room you enter is determined by how you open the door,” including artworks by Yani aviles, Mira Dayal, and Micah Schippa steeped in the delirious so-muchness of things and not-enoughness of words. 

Enter (no knob-twisting required) to Schippa’s standout, a hammered copper bell nesting in a gash in the gallery wall, romantically contracted to remain in place as long as the building stands. Linger for aviles’s looping sound piece, bells bathed in atmospheric noise, emanating from a closed door (this knob doesn’t twist either, I tried). An army of clues accompanies this vaguely spiritual chorus—a box of leaves “shipped west” (aviles), facsimiles of artwork glimpsed in apartment listings (Dayal), clock guts dissolved in fake tears (Schippa). The result: a show about the lives and languages of things—everything from talisman to coincidence, all phenomena speaking in a perhaps divine register. “Signs have always been the language of the Gods,” reads an apt Hölderlin quote in the exhibition text.

Installation view, “The door you open . . .” Apparatus Projects, 2022Credit: Julian Van Der Moere

I’m reminded of Nabokov’s 1948 story “Symbols and Signs,” whose protagonist is afflicted with “referential mania,” delusions that the external world reflects his inner life, causing the devotion of “every minute and module of life to the decoding of the undulation of things.” Nabokov’s objects control, the exhibition’s objects supplicate. The room, after all, is determined by how you open the door. 

 “The door you open . . .”Through 1/15/23: Sat-Sun noon-4 PM, Apparatus Projects, 1524 S. Western, Ste. 406, apparatusprojects.com

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