Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky riffs on the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty, and interviews politicians, activists, journalists and other political know-it-alls. Presented by the Chicago Reader, the show is available by 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at chicagoreader.com/joravsky—or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t miss Oh, What a Week!–the Friday feature in which Ben & producer Dennis (aka, Dr. D.) review the week’s top stories. Also, bonus interviews drop on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
Chicago Reader podcasts are recorded on Shure microphones. Learn more at Shure.com.
With support from our sponsors
Chicago Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky discusses the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty on The Ben Joravsky Show.
Sunday afternoon was bittersweet for the Chicago Bears. On one hand, they improved to 2-1 on the season after a win over the Houston Texans.
However, it came with a cost.
Early on in this one, starting running back David Montgomery went down with an injury while pass blocking. He needed to be helped off the field and the Bears are calling it an ankle/leg injury.
According to head coach Matt Eberflus, Montgomery will be listed as “day to day,” which is good news, initially.
The double-edged sword in this scenario, though, comes when looking at Montgomery’s future and the Bears’ options behind him.
David Montgomery’s injury could lead to an uncertain future between he and the Chicago Bears.
After Montgomery left with an injury, it was second-year pro Khalil Herbert who took over the lead duties. All Herbert did was rush for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
“I told 32 that was for him today, that was for him today.”
As some have said over the course of the last year, Herbert’s running style does seem to fit better in the Bears’ zone scheme. Herbert is a little quicker than Montgomery and moves swiftly, following his blocks.
The league has changed over the years. In today’s NFL, running backs don’t often get paid — and when they do, it typically doesn’t work out well.
The league has also proven that running backs can be found and utilized from any round in the draft, even if they go undrafted altogether — see Eli Mitchell for a recent example.
With Herbert’s success in his first year-plus, it is not difficult to see a future where the Bears move on from Montgomery after the final year of his deal, which happens to be this season. In his limited action as a pro, Herbert is averaging a healthy 4.9 yards per carry — and 7.3 yards per carry this season.
Seeing Montgomery leave would be a tough scene, but it’s absolutely within reason. Should Montgomery miss next week’s game against the New York Giants, and Herbert runs well yet again, the Bears will likely have seen enough to know that they don’t need to spend on Montgomery after the 2022 season.
Chicago also picked up Trestan Ebner in this year’s draft to handle some special teams and third string duties. They have youth at the position. But more importantly, they have Montgomery’s successor in Herbert.
The White Sox have three routes they could take for their manager next season
According to a report from Bob Nightengale, the White Sox front office is currently divided on who should be managing the team in 2023.
While current Manager Tony La Russa still has one more year left on his contract, recent health issues have ended his season and put his future with the team in question. Sox fans have also voiced displeasure with La Russa’s managing all season, and blame him for the team’s underachieving.
Another option the White Sox are considering is letting interim manager Miguel Cairo get a full season at the helm next year. While the White Sox did get hot when Cairo originally took over, the team has lost their last six games and been completely eliminated from the divisional race. Certain managerial decisions have hurt the Sox late in games as well, so some people believe a promotion would not fix the team that much.
The last route some in the Sox front office are considering is bringing in a manager from outside the organization. While no names have been confirmed yet, experienced managers like Bruce Bochy or Joe Girardi could be possible candidates for them this offseason. Hiring a manager with no experience is unlikely since the White Sox needs an immediate turnaround next year.
While there is no indication of which route is most likely for the White Sox right now, this process is sure to be a major story throughout the next offseason. What is for sure is that the front office will need to get this decision right if they want to keep their World Series window open.
Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky riffs on the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty, and interviews politicians, activists, journalists and other political know-it-alls. Presented by the Chicago Reader, the show is available by 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at chicagoreader.com/joravsky—or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t miss Oh, What a Week!–the Friday feature in which Ben & producer Dennis (aka, Dr. D.) review the week’s top stories. Also, bonus interviews drop on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
Chicago Reader podcasts are recorded on Shure microphones. Learn more at Shure.com.
With support from our sponsors
Chicago Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky discusses the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty on The Ben Joravsky Show.
The NFL is replacing the Pro Bowl with weeklong skills competitions and a flag football game, The Associated Press has learned.
The new event will replace the full-contact showcase started in 1951. It will be renamed “The Pro Bowl Games” and will feature AFC and NFC players showcasing their football and non-football skills in challenges over several days. The 2023 Games will be held in Las Vegas, and the flag football game at Allegiant Stadium is Sunday, Feb. 5.
Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions company will help shape programming and promote the event’s content throughout the week. Manning, a 14-time Pro Bowl pick during his Hall of Fame career, will provide his perspective and will also be a part of the coaching staff for flag game.
“The Pro Bowl is something that we’ve been looking at for a while, really continuing to evolve,” NFL executive Peter O’Reilly told The Associated Press. “Coming out of last year’s game, we really made the decision based on a lot of internal conversations, getting feedback from GMs and coaches, getting a lot of feedback from players. We think there’s a real opportunity to do something wholly different here and move away from the traditional tackle football game. We decided the goal is to celebrate 88 of the biggest stars in the NFL in a really positive, fun, yet competitive way.
“The feedback very directly from guys who had been in the Pro Bowl recently was to keep the construct of the week, make sure you’re having that multi-day element. It was overwhelmingly positive both from players as well as from clubs.”
The Pro Bowl debuted in January of 1951 in Los Angeles and stayed there for 21 seasons before the game moved to different cities from 1972-80. Hawaii hosted from 1980-2009, and the game has had several homes in the years since, including Miami, Phoenix, Orlando and Las Vegas.
Quality of play in the Pro Bowl has often been criticized. Players, understandably concerned about getting hurt, treat it as an exhibition more than competition. A flag football game could increase competition while avoiding potential injuries resulting from tackling, blocking and hitting.
The NFL has a major interest in flag football. The league partnered with the International Federation of American Football to bring flag football to The World Games in July with an eye on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“You tap into all the stuff that feels great about Pro Bowl week, the skills, the helmets off, the engagement and then culminate that, keeping the AFC-NFC construct, in something that’s really important, which is flag football and that opportunity to have the best athletes in the NFL out there playing this game that is so much about the future of our sport,” said O’Reilly, the league’s executive vice president, club business and league events. “It’s been an evolution, but coming out of Las Vegas last year, we really focused on how do we reinvent and celebrate our all-stars even better.”
The league plans to announce the new format on Monday.
“The Pro Bowl has always been a time to step back and celebrate the game of football with teammates, fans and family,” Manning told the AP. “I’m thankful I can continue to be part of the week as all of us at Omaha Productions work with the NFL to reimagine The Pro Bowl Games. Making Sunday’s game a flag football game is great to see. Youth football has been extremely important to me, and knowing NFL FLAG will help grow this sport, I hope boys and girls can see themselves playing the same game as the best players in the world.”
Fan voting will still help determine the AFC and NFC team rosters. Tom Brady has the most invitations to the Pro Bowl with 15. Four players got 14 invites, including Manning. The East-West Shrine Bowl will be held at Allegiant Stadium on Thursday, Feb. 2.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 25: Pitching coach Ethan Katz #52 of the Chicago White Sox visits the mound to speak with Dylan Cease #84 of the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning of a game against the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field on September 25, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Coming into 2022, the Chicago White Sox came in with high expectations. They were supposed to roll over the rest of the American League Central Division and then take a step in the postseason once they got there. Instead, they are going to be watching from home.
It is a team that just went 0-6 on a homestand that they needed to win pretty much every game. It sure looked like they checked out after losing the first game of the series against those Guardians last week. Everything about it is a terrible look for the organization.
Getting swept by the Detroit Tigers following that disappointment that was the Guardians series is a joke and multiple people should lose thier jobs because of it. It is one thing for someone to flat out beat you but it is another when a team clearly checks out.
All people that follow and love this team were disrespected by their performance during the homestand. Losing to a team as bad as the Tigers in this kind of fashion should make each and every person feel bad about the job they did this year.
The Chicago White Sox needs to make some changes ahead of the 2023 season.
Rick Hahn put this team together and he should be let go too. He didn’t get to hire his own manager to cap off the rebuild but that isn’t an excuse for this team being as flawed as it has been this year. Kenny Williams should go too.
The players get no pass either. Dylan Cease was the only player that did his job well pretty much every single time he was out there. Guys like Johnny Cueto and Elvis Andrus deserve respect as well. Even a kid like Eloy Jimenez is amazing but he needs to figure out how to stay healthy.
Nobody, even the aforementioned players that had good years when out there, should be considered a lock for next season. Everything needs to be on the table as this team tries to retool ahead of the 2023 year. We can only hope that the right decisions are made.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 25: Justin Fields #1 of the Chicago Bears looks to pass against the Houston Texans during the first quarter at Soldier Field on September 25, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
On Sunday, the Chicago Bears defeated the Houston Texans by a final score of 23-20. Roquan Smith made an interception with less than two minutes of the game clock remaining tied at 20.
The Bears were able to run the clock down to just a few seconds and kicked a game-winning field goal. It was a fantastic ending in terms of entertainment.
Unfortunately, this game was bad news for Bears fans but they are going to have a hard time admitting it. Justin Fields was awful and it is time to start worrying. It is still very much in question whether or not he is the guy in the long term.
Yes, he has very minimal help. However, with this many games into the careers of guys like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Justin Herbert amongst others, you were able to tell that they have the ability to make others around them better.
It is time for the Chicago Bears to be worried about Justin Fields’s development.
Fields can have a pass for a lot of this season but it is fair to worry about his future. It doesn’t seem, as of yet, that he can go out there and be a game-breaker. In order to win the Super Bowl, you need to have a guy like that under center.
They won the game which is nice but it was on the back of the solid defense, an amazing running game, and the fact that they were playing a really bad team. Fields playing much better in a loss would make most people feel much better about the future of this team.
Justin went 8/17 for 106 passing yards with no touchdowns with two interceptions. He also rushed the ball eight times for 47 yards. It was just not a good game for him at all. The Bears need him to make plays in order to beat good teams.
It is possible that it all clicks for Fields one day soon which is obviously what the Bears are hoping for. He is in his second year with a second head coach and a second offensive coordinator. The team hasn’t helped him out at all which isn’t his fault.
It is also true that Fields wasn’t drafted by the new regime led by first-year GM Ryan Poles. If he doesn’t see improvement soon, he certainly isn’t tied to Fields emotionally as he isn’t the one who made the decision to take a chance on him by trading up.
We can only hope that Fields continues to progress and it starts on the road next week with the New York Giants. That team isn’t very good (on paper) either so it is a good opportunity for him to correct some mistakes. It is time to be worried but we will wait to hit the panic button.
NBA training camps and the 2022-23 season are right around the corner, and players and coaches are set to preview their team’s upcoming campaigns with their respective media days this week.
For some teams, this year’s media day will be the first introduction of some of their big offseason additions. These include the Atlanta Hawks‘ new shooting guard Dejounte Murray, the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ new shooting guard Donovan Mitchell and the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ new center Rudy Gobert. Each of which will meet with reporters for the first time as a member of their new respective squads.
This year’s rookie class will also make their NBA media day debuts. First overall pick Paolo Banchero will get some facetime with Orlando Magic beat reporters fresh off his Summer League performance as he prepares for his first NBA training camp.
Then there are some veteran teams that will have some serious questions and concerns to address heading into the season. The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets, who bear the pressure of being serious win-now contenders this year, got plenty of the media’s attention last year for all the wrong reasons.
ESPN’s countdown of the league’s best players returns for its 12th season. See which stars made the cut, which vaulted to the top and which are sliding down the list.
LeBron James and Russell Westbrook will have to explain to Lakers reporters why they will bounce back from last year’s losing campaign.
Meanwhile, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will have to answer for their spree of off-the-court distractions and offseason of near departures in their first media appearances since their first-round playoff exit last season.
Here’s what players are talking about as media days kick off across the league:
Sept. 25
Giannis says Steph is ‘the best player in the world’
For Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, the debate about the best player in the NBA is simple.
He doesn’t consider himself the current best player in the league because his team fell short of winning the championship last season. So, he was ready to cede that accolade to Warriors star Stephen Curry instead.
2 Related
“I think the best player in the world is the person that is the last man standing,” Antetokounmpo said Sunday afternoon at Bucks media day. “It’s the person that takes his team to the Finals, the finish line and helps them win the game. … that’s how I view it. I believe the best player in the world is Steph Curry.”
Antetokounmpo, who was named the No.1 player on ESPN’s NBArank, acknowledged that he is one of the best players in the league and could have made the claim for the top spot after the Bucks won the 2021 NBA Finals. But after Milwaukee lost in the second round of the playoffs last season in a seven-game series against the Boston Celtics, he fell short of the claim.
Antetokounmpo also finished third in the voting for NBA MVP after averaging 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists last season, but he pointed out how individual awards failed in comparison to the thrill of winning the NBA Finals.
“The feeling I felt, it was a nice feeling,” he said. “I got jealous of Golden State, seeing them in the parade and the ESPYs. You know that feeling now. You know what is getting stripped away from you.”
— Jamal Collier
Can the Warriors run it back? ‘They want to experience that again’
Following their 2021-22 NBA championship, the Golden State Warriors repeated several times that this title felt different because of their journey through the hardships of the past three seasons. Their fourth championship in eight years was a statement: The dynasty wasn’t over.
Now, the champs are prepared to prove themselves all over again.
“I don’t think it’s the same chip [on our shoulders]. I’d be lying to you if I told you it was. But there are chips. There are chips. There’s no shortage of chips, I can tell you that,” Draymond Green said Sunday. “It may not be quite, ‘Oh, man, people don’t think we can do it again.’ That opinion is as far from relevant as it can possibly be.”
Added Steph Curry: “It’d be dumb to try to naysay us and actually think people are going to take you seriously. But we also know a lot goes into winning a championship and it’s not a guarantee every year, no matter how much of a chip on our shoulder we have. You just kind of embrace the work and the motivation.”
The Warriors feel they still have plenty to motivate them: For the first time in three seasons, they are starting the season fully healthy. They want to show their 2022 title wasn’t a fluke. Perhaps most importantly, their star core knows its championship window won’t remain open forever.
“I mean, the guys coming back who have won it for the first time, I just know they want to experience that again,” Klay Thompson said. “And, I mean, for me personally, and probably Steph and Andre [Iguodala] and Draymond, you think of the players who have won five championships, it’s such a short list. And to have the opportunity, just the opportunity, to be able to do that is so special.”
— Kendra Andrews
Sep. 24
Can Murray and Trae take the Hawks to the next level?
The Hawks are hoping that pairing Murray with their franchise point guard Trae Young can push their backcourt to a championship level. Murray, coming from the San Antonio Spurs, will be playing a major role on a postseason contender for the first time since 2019 when the Spurs made a first-round exit.
Murray and Young know their chemistry will be key to Atlanta’s success, and Murray weighed in a bit about what the team’s approach will look like when he’s on the floor.
“You’re gonna see the ball moving. I think that’s the No. 1 thing — playing the right way. A lot of excitement, playing defense, and like I always said, I love defense and I believe the best offense is getting a stop and getting out and running,” Murray told reporters.
“I’m just excited. We’ve got a lot of weapons around us, dudes that can do a bunch of things. It starts on the defensive end and it will translate to the offensive end, and it will be exciting.”
Porzingis is motivated by his NBArank fall
The Wizards are coming off their fourth straight losing season, but the trade for Kristaps Porzingis at last year’s trade deadline at least gave the franchise a potential franchise piece to build around going forward. Porzingis was on a statistical decline the last few years ever since tearing his in 2018. But had a productive 17-game stint with Washington at the end of last season, in which he averaged 22.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists, which were reminiscent of his lone All-Star season in 2017-18.
Porzingis came in at No. 86 in this year’s ESPN NBArank, which was his lowest since his rookie season in 2015, and admits that he is using the ranking as motivation this year.
“Especially this year, I’m coming in with a chip on my shoulder because of the ESPN rank.” Porzingis told reporters. “I use it as gasoline, as energy. I’m looking forward to reminding everybody what I can do on both ends of the floor.”
“A lot of people are the same—we just constantly feel like we need to conform to fit in. But I don’t want people to feel like they have to conform in my spaces. I want them to be whoever they are.”
by Jamie Ludwig
September 14, 2022September 14, 2022
For those who live there, the Ewing Annex Hotel is a refuge, an artifact, and a last chance. The man who’s been holding it together for more than 20 years is about to retire.
“A lot of people are the same—we just constantly feel like we need to conform to fit in. But I don’t want people to feel like they have to conform in my spaces. I want them to be whoever they are.”
by Jamie Ludwig
September 14, 2022September 14, 2022
For those who live there, the Ewing Annex Hotel is a refuge, an artifact, and a last chance. The man who’s been holding it together for more than 20 years is about to retire.
