Bears star linebacker Roquan Smith missed his second consecutive practice Thursday, raising concern about his availability for the game against the Texans on Sunday.

Smith played every snap in the first two games, but it appeared that he injured his hip in the loss to the Packers.

Nonetheless, defensive coordinator Alan Williams was optimistic before practice that Smith would be healthy enough to play.

“As far as I know, yes,” he said when asked if he expects to have Smith.

Smith, arguably the best player on the roster, would be difficult to replace. Next in line behind him likely would be Matt Adams, who has predominantly been a special teamer in his career, but Adams also missed practice with a hamstring injury. After those two, the Bears would have to choose between undrafted rookies Jack Sanborn and Sterling Weatherford.

Special teamer Dane Cruikshank (hamstring) and tight end Ryan Griffin (Achilles) also missed practice. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson (quad) and wide receiver and return man Velus Jones (hamstring) were limited.

Even as he adjusts to his role in a new Smith leads the Bears in tackles, as usual. He has led the team every season since being drafted No. 8 overall in 2018.

Smith’s versatility is a hallmark of his game, but that multifaceted playmaking ability didn’t emerge in the first two games. He combined with rookie Dominique Robinson on a sack in the opener and has one pass breakup.

“I still like what he’s doing,” Williams said. “When he hits you, he hits you hard. He hits you tough. He processes quick, so that means when things are about to happen, he sees it in advance. I justexpectRoquan to continue to get better and better and better.”

Smith was fifth in the NFL with 163 tackles last season and had three sacks and an interception to earn second-team All-Pro honors. He sought a massive contract extension from the Bears in the recent offseason and ultimately requested a trade, but didn’t get either. He is playing out the final season of his rookie contract for $9.7 million.

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Thursday, September 22

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Sullivan vs. Amundsen at Winnemac, 4:15

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

UP-Bronzeville vs. King at Eckersall, 4:15

RED WEST

Crane vs. Little Village at Gately, 5

BLUE CENTRAL

Noble Academy vs. Muchin at Lane, 4:15

BLUE NORTH

Marine vs. Roosevelt at Lane, 7:15

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Harlan vs. DuSable at Stagg, 4:15

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

Ridgewood at Wheaton Academy, 7:30

Friday, September 23

RED CENTRAL

UIC Prep vs. Pritzker at Lane, 4:15

RED NORTH

Phillips at Taft, 7:30

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Lake View vs. Senn at Winnemac, 4:15

RED SOUTH

Curie at Brooks, 7:30

Hubbard vs. Simeon at Gately, 7:15

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Chicago Richards at Perspectives, 4:15

RED SOUTHEAST

South Shore vs. Julian at Gately, 4:15

RED WEST

Bulls Prep vs. Lincoln Park at Lane, 7:15

Payton vs. Kennedy at Stagg, 4:15

BLUE NORTH

Prosser at Chicago Academy, 4:15

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Fenger vs. Bowen at Eckersall, 4:15

CENTRAL SUBURBAN NORTH

Deerfield at Vernon Hills, 7

Highland Park at Niles North, 7

Maine West at Maine East, 6

CENTRAL SUBURBAN SOUTH

Evanston at New Trier, 7:30

Glenbrook North at Maine South, 7

Glenbrook South at Niles West, 7

DUKANE

Batavia at Glenbard North, 7

St. Charles East at Wheaton-Warrenville South, 7

St. Charles North at Geneva, 7

Wheaton North at Lake Park, 7

DUPAGE VALLEY

DeKalb at Naperville North, 7

Neuqua Valley at Naperville Central, 7

Waubonsie Valley at Metea Valley, 7

FOX VALLEY

Burlington Central at Crystal Lake South, 7

Cary-Grove at Prairie Ridge, 7

Dundee-Crown at Crystal Lake Central, 7

Hampshire at McHenry, 7

Jacobs at Huntley, 7

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Coal City at Lisle, 7

Herscher at Wilmington, 7

Reed-Custer at Peotone, 7

Streator at Manteno, 7

KISHWAUKEE BLUE

Marengo at Harvard, 7

Plano at Richmond-Burton, 7

KISHWAUKEE WHITE

Kaneland at Ottawa, 7

Morris at LaSalle-Peru, 7

Woodstock North at Woodstock, 7

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

Bishop McNamara at Elmwood Park, 6

IC Catholic at Aurora Central, 7

METRO SUBURBAN RED

Chicago Christian at Aurora Christian, 7

Riverside-Brookfield at St. Edward, 7

MID-SUBURBAN EAST

Buffalo Grove at Elk Grove, 7:30

Hersey at Prospect, 7

Wheeling at Rolling Meadows, 7

MID-SUBURBAN WEST

Conant at Hoffman Estates, 7:30

Fremd at Palatine, 7:30

Schaumburg at Barrington, 7

NORTH SUBURBAN

Lake Zurich at Warren, 7

Stevenson at Mundelein, 7

Waukegan at Libertyville, 7

Zion-Benton at Lake Forest, 7

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Grant at Round Lake, 7

Grayslake North at Antioch, 7

North Chicago at Lakes, 7:15

Wauconda at Grayslake Central, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN BLUE

Bremen at TF North, 7

TF South at Hillcrest, 6

Tinley Park at Lemont, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN RED

Argo at Oak Lawn, 7

Richards at Shepard, 7

SOUTHLAND

Bloom at Rich Township, 6

Thornton at Thornridge, 5

Thornwood at Kankakee, 6

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE EAST

Plainfield Central at Joliet West, 7

Plainfield East at Joliet Central, 6:30

Plainfield South at Romeoville, 7

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE WEST

Oswego at Minooka, 7

Plainfield North at Yorkville, 7

West Aurora at Oswego East, 7

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN BLUE

Bolingbrook at Lincoln-Way East, 7

Sandburg at Lockport, 6:30

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN RED

Lincoln-Way Central at Andrew, 7

Lincoln-Way West at Stagg, 6

UPSTATE EIGHT

East Aurora at South Elgin, 7

Elgin at West Chicago, 7

Fenton at Larkin, 7

Glenbard South at Bartlett, 7:30

Streamwood at Glenbard East, 7

VERMILION VALLEY NORTH

Momence at Dwight, 7

Seneca at Iroquois West, 7

WEST SUBURBAN GOLD

Downers Grove South at Proviso East, 7:30

Hinsdale South at Morton, 7:30

Leyden at Willowbrook, 7:30

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

Oak Park-River Forest at Hinsdale Central, 7:30

Proviso West at Downers Grove North, 7:30

NONCONFERENCE

Benet at Marian Catholic, 7:30

Bradley-Bourbonnais at Homewood-Flossmoor, 7

De La Salle at Brother Rice, 7

Eisenhower at Oak Forest, 7

Joliet Catholic at Crete-Monee, 7:30

Kingdom Prep, Wis. at Johnsburg, 7

Marmion at Marist, 6:30

Montini vs. Leo at St. Rita, 7

Nazareth at Carmel, 7:30

Notre Dame vs. St. Viator at Forest View, 7

Ottawa Marquette at Hope Academy, 7

Providence at Marian Central, 7:30

St. Ignatius at Mount Carmel, 7:30

St. Laurence at DePaul Prep, 7:30

St. Rita at St. Patrick, 7:30

Sycamore at Rochelle, 7

Saturday, September 24

RED CENTRAL

Hansberry vs. Rauner at Lane, 10 a.m.

Speer vs. Catalyst-Maria at Gately, 1

RED NORTH

Lane vs. Young at Winnemac, 10 a.m.

Westinghouse vs. Clark at Lane, 4

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Mather at Steinmetz, 3

Von Steuben vs. Schurz at Winnemac, 1

RED SOUTH

Morgan Park vs. Kenwood at Lane, 1

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Bogan vs. Dunbar at Gately, 7

Hyde Park vs. Ag. Science at Gately, 4

RED SOUTHEAST

Carver vs. Comer at Eckersall, 4

Corliss at Goode, 2:30

Vocational vs. Dyett at Eckersall, 1

RED WEST

North Lawndale vs. Raby at Lane, 7

BLUE CENTRAL

Johnson vs. Longwood at Gately, 10 a.m.

BLUE NORTH

Clemente vs. Foreman at Orr, 1

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Chicago Military vs. Washington at Eckersall, 10 a.m.

BLUE SOUTHWEST

Back of the Yards vs. Gage Park at Stagg, 10 a.m.

Solorio vs. Lindblom at Stagg, 1

Tilden at Englewood STEM, 11 a.m.

BLUE WEST

Kelly vs. Marshall at Orr, 10 a.m.

Phoenix vs. Collins at Orr, 4

SOUTH SUBURBAN RED

Evergreen Park at Reavis, 1

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

York at Lyons, 1:30

NONCONFERENCE

Addison Trail at Glenbard West, 1:30

Christ the King at Walther Christian, 1

Fenwick at Loyola, 1:30

St. Francis at Rosholt, Wis., 3

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Patrick Kane’s phone was bombarded all summer by texts from friends and family, who couldn’t avoid seeing his name in trade rumors in every corner of the internet.

Was he going to this team? Maybe that team? Maybe this other one?

Kane could do nothing but chuckle about the firestorm. Even Thursday, speaking for the first time since April after wrapping up Day One of Hawks training camp, Kane regularly laughed — with a bit of exasperation thrown in — at the onslaught of questions about his future.

Because behind the scenes, at least as far as he admitted Thursday, not much has been going on at all.

“You pay attention to it a little bit at first, and then you kind of just block it out,” Kane said. “I think a lot of the rumors are just rumors and maybe [started by] people looking for things to talk about in August when nothing’s really going on with hockey, right?”

A few things are true. Kane was disheartened by the Alex DeBrincat draft-day trade to the Senators. Kane did sit down, after the draft, with Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson and associate GM Norm Maciver to discuss his and the organization’s future and bounce some questions (and answers) off each other. Kane is indeed aware he’s entering the last year of his contract.

But at the moment, the trade rumors are misleading: Kane is still a Hawk, through and through.

“There hasn’t been much discussion about anything, even with my agent or my parents or my family,” he said. “It’s not anything we’ve really discussed. We all know the situation…[with] what could potentially happen. It’s not really anything I’m thinking about as of yet, so we’ll see how it all plays out.

“Hopefully we can get off to a good start here and prove some people wrong. I know a lot of people are counting this team out, what we can do. But we have a lot of motivated players and a motivated coaching staff, as well.”

Roughly the same story applies to Jonathan Toews, as “boring” — his word — as it may be.

The Hawks captain did have a few discussions about his trade with his friends, family and his agent Pat Brisson (who also represents Kane) this summer, but hardly anything serious.

“I don’t think anything’s gotten to that point, or even close to it, over the summer,” Toews said. “I don’t think it will for quite some time this season. … The thought for myself personally has always been to kind of keep trudging forward and getting better.

“A lot of people are wondering and love to speculate and see what’s going to happen. I’m coming in here just fully excited to play hockey and not have any expectations. [I’m] not too concerned with what happens for me down the road this season or even beyond that.”

This story will be updated.

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You might find this hard to believe, but I went to Notre Dame football camp in the summer of 1988, before my freshman year of high school.

I swear to Touchdown Jesus.

This Jewish kid and his close Catholic friend, whose family bled gold and blue, spent several days on campus,learning from the staff of former coach Lou Holtz. I remember then-defensive coordinator Barry Alvarez teaching me how to backpedal into pass coverage. Ironically, I was wearing a Wisconsin T-shirt, and he called me “Badger.” (He became Wisconsin’s coach two years later.)

We did the whole Notre Dame thing: Toured the locker room, tapped the “Play like a champion today” sign and stepped onto the field. Holtz even spoke to us and performed a trick in which he tore up a newspaper and magically put it back together. (It must be his only trick because he showed it to the current team last month.)

My point is, Notre Dame football is special to me, even though I didn’t go to school there (I-L-L …). Naturally, the TV broadcasts are important to me. Since the Irish put their home games on NBC in 1991, fans have been blessed with some outstanding broadcasters: Dick Enberg, Tom Hammond, Don Criqui, Charlie Jones and Mike Tirico, to name a few.

Tirico’s Notre Dame days ended when he became the full-time play-by-play voice for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” Rather than continue a lineage of proven, veteran announcers, NBC went the other direction, hiring 27-year-old Jac Collinsworth, the son of longtime “SNF” analyst Cris Collinsworth.

That isn’t an accusation of nepotism. It’s a fact. So is that Jac graduated from Notre Dame in 2017 with a degree in film, television and theatre. It’s nice that NBC chose someone with Irish ties and promoted from within the network. Collinsworth has co-hosted “Football Night in America” since joining NBC in 2020, and he called USFL games for the network last spring.

But he doesn’t carry on the tradition, which makes me wonder just what NBC thinks of Notre Dame these days. The Irish still were basking in the golden glow of their 1988 national title when they agreed to a five-year, $38 million deal with NBC. They don’t carry the same heft they used to, but Notre Dame maintains a national following. Its games are a big deal and deserve a broadcast team worthy of them.

I gave Collinsworth and new analyst Jason Garrett, who replaced Drew Brees, a close listen the last two weeks – which was tough because they were tortuous games. Collinsworth didn’t deliver in the Irish’s loss to Marshall. His voice was practically monotone calling the action, resembling a flight attendant reciting safety instructions, and he failed to capture the enormity of the upset.

He made some technical mistakes, too. He asked Garrett a question just as the Irish were punting, and Garrett couldn’t answer because the broadcast went to commercial. They never revisited it. After plays, Collinsworth eschewed math for the yardage to go with, for example, “mid to long range.” He also was unaware the play clock had reached zero twice.

Collinsworth’s second game, a win over Cal, was better. He had more emotion, particularly on the Irish’s go-ahead touchdown, a couple of big sacks in the fourth quarter and the touchdown return of a fumble that was called back. He was quicker with the math on down and distance. He also showed his sense of humor during a sleepy first quarter, saying, “If you like watching punters, we have the game for you.”

But on sacks of Cal’s Jack Plummer, he used “Down goes Plummer!” too much, and the wrong word slipped out when he said “crossbar” but meant “upright” on a missed kick. He caught himself, though.

In both games, Collinsworth sounded knowledgeable talking about the teams. But all of his interviewing and studying couldn’t prepare him for live action. The USFL was supposed to be his training ground, not Notre Dame football in front of 2.5 million viewers for the Marshall game and 2.9 million for Cal.

Incidentally, Garrett impressed me. He brought emotion and valuable insight to the broadcast. The former Cowboys coach clearly understood his role. He got in and out with his commentary and didn’t talk over Collinsworth. It likely helped they worked together on USFL games.

Both will have to grow into their jobs on a national stage, but Collinsworth has more to do. He needs to command the broadcast and provide context for viewers. The Marshall game was a missed opportunity for him. Garrett understood, calling it one of the biggest upsets in recent college football history.

NBC will need more announcers starting next year, when its rights deal with the Big Ten begins. The package of prime-time games will require a top tandem to call it, one that doesn’t need seasoning. For Notre Dame games, fans might have to put up with the broadcast as much as they do the team.

Remote patrol

As predicted in this space, Andrew Catalon and James Lofton, CBS’ No. 5 crew, will call the Texans-Bears game at noon Sunday. (I’m 1-for-1!) Other NFL games airing Sunday in the Chicago market: Lions at Vikings, noon, Fox-32 (Brandon Gaudin, Brady Quinn); Packers at Buccaneers, 3:25 p.m., Fox-32 (Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen).The Blackhawks’ preseason opener Tuesday against the Blues will air at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Chicago.Read More

Faithful to its mission, the Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, better known as “Destinos,” is hosting its fifth rendition through late November, providing the stage for stories to be told theatrically about the Latino community in Chicago and the greater Latin America.

With the passing last month of Myrna Salazar, co-founder and executive director of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), the entity that organizes the festival, directors, producers and actors felt that the show must go on in her honor, celebrating the legacy of the Puerto Rican trailblazer who was a pillar in the local artistic community.

“We are doing what Myrna would have wanted: for the festival to continue to grow,” said V?ctor Salinas, Mexican playwright and actor, whose play “La P?jara de San Juan,” kicked off the festival earlier this month. The festival runs through Nov. 26.

“Destinos” has aimed, since its inception, to showcase the Latino diversity of the Chicago theater community, an effort that has solidified over the years.

Salazar’s life and legacy were celebrated at a gala opening for the festival at the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) in Pilsen. “Myrna was a warrior, super committed to the theater,” Salinas added.

Sara Carranza, CLATA’s director of communications, along with Christine A. P?rez, director of artistic and community associations, and Esteban Schemberg, production coordinator, are continuing that legacy.

“We are doing everything possible to make Myrna proud. We believe what she believed: that our voices [as Latinos] matter and that the only way to make them heard is to tell our stories ourselves,” she said.

“The most beautiful thing about our festival this year is that we are not trying to tell people how to live. We are all on this journey together,” she added.

This year, Destinos is highlighting local workssuch as “Las Migas,” by Mexican playwright Ra?l Dorantes, and “Tebas Land,” by Argentine Esteban Schemberg, as well as “The Wizards,” by Mexican-American Ricardo Gamboa.

“Local artists have a lot to say and they had to close [their ventures during the pandemic]. We wanted, with ‘Destinos’…for them to take center stage. This year their stories became more powerful,” Carranza said.

“Now that the world has been opening up, what is our place and what is our destiny?” Carranza wondered. One thing is certain: Myrna Salazar will forever remain the heart of the festival.

For more information about Destinos and to buy tickets, visit clata.org.

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Lucas Patrick looks like he’s ready to start at center for the Chicago Bears in Week 3

Through the first two games of the 2022 season, the Chicago Bears have used a rotation on the offensive line at right guard. Teven Jenkins has started both games so far but has split time with Lucas Patrick the rest of the game.

The move is due to Patrick having a brace on his right hand and not being able to snap after suffering an injury early in camp. The idea is to get Patrick game reps somewhere and with his experience at right guard, it made sense. But ideally, the Bears want Patrick at center and Jenkins at right guard full time.

It sounds like that’s going to happen sooner than later.

Patrick was spotted snapping the ball during Wednesday’s practice at Halas Hall as you can see in the video below:

On Thursday, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy confirmed that Patrick would once again snap during practice. That likely means he’s ready to go for Week 3 against Houston.

If that’s the case, it likely means Sam Mustipher hits the bench with Lucas Patrick replacing him but with this regime, we just never know.

This is something to monitor the rest of the week leading into kickoff on Sunday afternoon as the Texans come to town.

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