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Jays’ hitting coach ejected in pregame exchangeon June 22, 2022 at 9:30 pm

CHICAGOToronto hitting coach Guillermo Martinez was ejected while exchanging the lineup card on Wednesday afternoon before the Blue Jays-Chicago White Sox game.

Video of the incident shows Martinez shaking hands with the four umpires before saying something to get him ejected.

The spat likely stems from Tuesday night’s game, as plate umpire Doug Eddings came under fire for some questionable ball and strike calls. Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker was ejected in that game, a 7-6 win by the White Sox.

After being ejected on Wednesday, Martinez could be seen arguing face-to-face with Eddings before leaving the field.

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Draft betting roundtable: Is Jabari Smith a lock at No. 1?on June 22, 2022 at 9:49 pm

The 2022 NBA Draft begins on Thursday night as the college basketball’s top prospects await their turn to become a central piece of an NBA franchise.

This year’s draft features plenty of questions regarding the top picks. Will the Orlando Magic pick Auburn sharpshooter Jabari Smith with the No. 1 pick or go with Duke star Paolo Banchero or Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren? Will the Sacramento Kings decide to trade the No. 4 pick? Is there a prospect outside of the top four who could rise on draft night?

Our experts have you covered with all of the answers to help you make the best wagering decisions for this year’s draft.

All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook

Jabari Smith is the odds-on favorite to be selected No. 1 overall. Is Smith a safe bet to go to the Orlando Magic or is another prospect like Chet Holmgren or Paolo Banchero a better pick?

Doug Kezirian, ESPN Betting Analyst: This is a hard pass for me. While I personally would draft Smith, there is enough buzz surrounding Holmgren and Banchero. Draft betting is pretty wild so I always prefer to avoid laying juice unless I feel extremely confident. Smith should be the guy but there’s no need to force this wager. Banchero’s odds steamed from 14-1 to +175 in a matter of days so the value is all gone. There’s too much noise right now.

Eric Moody, ESPN Betting Analyst: Instead of going with Smith, I would recommend going with Banchero at +175. He is the best available player, according to NBA Draft analysts. Banchero averaged 17.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 39 games for Duke. He scored the most points of all true freshmen, ranked sixth in rebounding, and ranked fifth in field goal percentage. The Magic were 29th in PPG (104.8) last season and could use a scorer. With his unique blend of size and agility, Banchero can score at any level.

Paolo Banchero averaged 17.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 39 games during his freshman season for Duke. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Andre Snellings, ESPN Senior NBA Writer: All the reporting suggests that Smith to the Magic is so widely expected that it would be a major upset for anyone else to be the pick. But, according to ESPN’s NBA Draft Projections, Holmgren and Banchero are tied as the best prospects in the draft, with Smith third. The latter will be a point of discussion on draft night, through their rookie seasons and likely over the course of their career. These three players will always be compared to each other, but for the sake of draft betting, Smith seems like the safest to go to the Magic.

What play offers the best value in this NBA Draft?

Erin Dolan, ESPN Betting Analyst: Keegan Murray over 5.5 (+210). The top three picks (Smith, Holmgren, and Banchero) are seemingly set, despite arguments about the order. That leaves the Sacramento Kings at No. 4 and Detroit Pistons at No. 5. Since the Kings reportedly have considered trading their pick, I think Murray will go over 5.5. He doesn’t fit the typical profile of an athlete that goes in the top five. He’ll be 22 years old next month and the top five picks in the NBA Draft the past two years have all been freshman. Secondly, he scored most of his points at Iowa in the low post and at 6-foot-8 he isn’t tall enough to score there against the top defensive players in the NBA. He averaged 24 PPG and nine RPG during his sophomore season, which is impressive, but it would not surprise me if he is drafted after the No. 5 pick.

Tyler Fulghum, ESPN Betting Analyst: E.J. Liddell over 21.5. Liddell was a great player for Ohio State, but at almost 22 years of age, he’s one of the older prospects in this class. He doesn’t offer elite length or athleticism either. Expect a team to target him near the end of the 1st round or top of the 2nd round.

Kezirian: Bennedict Mathurin under 6.5. I honestly feel this prop will close at 5.5. Mathurin has serious buzz to go fifth and I have heard on two podcasts he’s not falling past sixth. His odds to be the fifth pick have crashed from 20-1 to +240 over the past week. His prop of 6.5 only saw the juice shift. This is a very strong play.

Moody: Jalen Duren under 10.5. Duren is a post-centric player and one of the youngest prospects in this class. He averaged an impressive 12.0 PPG and 8.1 RPG as a freshman with Memphis. Duren recently worked out for the Portland Trail Blazers, who hold the No. 7 pick, but I’d like to see him go to the San Antonio Spurs. They don’t have an immediate need for a center, but the quality of the big men available as well as the uncertainty surrounding Jakob Poeltl‘s contract could lead to them to draft one this year. In a few years, Duren might become quite the force if he can develop and maximize his fundamentals. San Antonio would be a great landing spot for him in a program that nurtures players. Duren’s chances of being drafted early are excellent either way.

Snellings: Shaedon Sharpe under 7.5 (+160). Sharpe had a series of outstanding private workouts that skyrocketed him up draft boards. He was the No. 1-ranked player in his high school class and is one of the youngest top prospects in the draft with incredible physical tools, explosiveness and shooting ability.

What are you looking for when betting on the NBA Draft? Are there any other prospects beyond the top four (Smith, Chet, Paolo, Ivey) that intrigue you for the top 10?

Kezirian: In all drafts, the top of the first round is easier to predict than the bottom. Value sometimes does exist with over/under totals of draft position, but the odds have all shifted dramatically by now. So the best approach is to attack it early and then continue to consume information.

Moody: Drafting for fit is not recommended by most draft analysts. As a result, you should take the best prospect available, since you never know how your roster will look in the years to come. While this is true for the top of the draft, finding the perfect fit for your team in the mid-to-late first round can improve a team’s probability of success. Dyson Daniels, who signed with the G League Elite last summer, intrigues me. The 19-year-old guard offers immediate and near-term value on both offense and defense and the Atlanta Hawks could be a perfect landing spot for him. The Hawks don’t tend to score a lot of points when Trae Young is off the court. Last season, Atlanta scored 119.3 points per 100 possessions played with Young, compared to 109.4 points without him. The addition of Daniels could help fill that void.

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Snellings: I look for informed momentum, fit and a combination of upside and risk/reward vs. each team’s situation. While I believe teams should draft for talent near the top of the draft, if the talent is similar, then fit, upside and risk/reward factor into play. I’d expect a team like the Rockets, for example, to swing for the fences on upside because that’s where their team is. It would make no sense for them to lean into the most NBA-ready player at the expense of upside, because they aren’t ready to win anyway. As for ‘informed momentum’, when it comes to a situation like the three players and teams at the top of this Draft, I think the preponderance of reporting around the expectations of who a team likes plays a significant part in prognosticating where they are.

Sharpe is the prospect that catches my eye the most because he has the highest ceiling. His successful string of workouts indicates that his upside is realistically attainable.

Fulghum: Sharpe is an insane athlete standing 6-foot-5 with a 7-foot wingspan, massive hands and a reported 49-inch vertical leap. Sharpe was widely regarded as the best prospect in the 2023 class before reclassifying to the 2022 class. He didn’t play a single game at Kentucky last season, but NBA GMs and scouts shouldn’t hold that against him. He’s just 19 years old, and his physical traits are reminiscent of Ja Morant. Sharpe has the fifth-shortest odds to be the No. 1 pick, so the market is indicating what teams think of his potential. After dealing CJ McCollum to New Orleans, the Trail Blazers would be wise not to let Sharpe slip past them at No. 7.

Do you expect any surprises in this draft? Prospects who could go higher than their projected draft position on Caesars?

Kezirian: There will always be surprises. The question is where — and I actually think we could see one with the second overall pick. Sam Presti is not afraid to take risks and I would not be shocked if he drafted Jaden Ivey with the No. 2 pick. Ideally he would trade down and still draft Ivey but sometimes there is no one willing to trade up. Presti once reached for Russell Westbrook, who had a very similar draft profile to Ivey. The Purdue guard is 20-1 to go second.

Moody: One name that immediately comes to mind is Ousmane Dieng. The 19-year-old just finished his first season with the NBL’s New Zealand Breakers. At 6-foot-10, 200 pounds and with an over 7-foot wingspan, Dieng offers a lot of upside as a forward in the NBA despite his underwhelming averages. He could possibly emerge as a top-12 pick on Thursday night.

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Draft betting roundtable: Is Jabari Smith a lock at No. 1?on June 22, 2022 at 9:49 pm Read More »

White Sox’ Danny Mendick hurts knee in collision, leaves game; Adam Engel exits with sore hamstring

The injuries will not stop.

Shortstop Danny Mendick injured his right knee in the second inning of the White Sox’ game against the Blue Jays at Guaranteed Rate Field and had to be helped off the field after a collision in foul territory with left fielder Adam Haseley Wednesday.

One inning later, right fielder Adam Engel left the game with a sore right hamstring.

Mendick needed assistance walking off and was unable to put pressure on his right foot.

Mendick caught a pop fly off the bat of the Blue Jays’ Santiago Espinal in the second inning when Haseley, running over from his position in left field, banged into him. Mendick was starting at shortstop with Tim Anderson getting a rest on Anderson’s third day back coming off the injured list.

Leury Garcia replaced Mendick at shortstop.

Mendick, who led off the first inning with a single, played very well as Anderson’s replacement while the All-Star was on the IL with a groin strain. Mendick was 13-for-46 (.283) with two homers and 10 RBI in his last 11 games. He owned a career-best, nine-game hitting streak from June 9-18.

The Jays were on their way to salvaging the third game of the series, pounding Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito for 10 hits in the first four innings. Alejandro Kirk homered on a 3-0 pitch in the third inning and Bo Bichette’s grand slam in the fourth gave the Jays a 7-0 lead.

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White Sox’ Danny Mendick hurts knee in collision, leaves game; Adam Engel exits with sore hamstring Read More »

Whatever you do, don’t let James Harden into your life, Bulls fans

Newspaper writers get tons of emails from people trying to sell things. In the past few weeks, I’ve received press releases about top NBA draft prospect Jabari Smith’s visit to the Empire State Building (I’m supposed to care why?), the scandal of 30% of U.S. students not knowing how many stars are on the American flag (it’s 50, I just checked) and Jeep’s marketing campaign for the new film “Jurassic World: Dominion” (when a dinosaur chasing a Wrangler becomes a sport, call me).

On Wednesday, Bookies.com sent me an email with the subject line, “James Harden Next Team Odds.” Nothing bores me more than Harden’s quest to find another team that will pay him a lot of money to endlessly dribble a ball and not win. So I didn’t open it.

My sports editor suggested I might want to take a look because the gambling site had the Bulls as the fifth most-likely landing spot for Harden, who has an option to buy out the last year of his contract with the 76ers and become a free agent before the 2022-23 season. This ruined my day and, worse, made me mad that I had allowed it to ruin my day.

I can’t stand Harden’s game. I see no beauty in it. If he were a song, he’d be the 15-minute drum solo. He has terrific stats. He’ll get in the Hall of Fame whenever he becomes eligible. But whatever he does on the court can only be described as sorta basketball. There’s a ball, and there’s a guy in a uniform dribbling, passing and shooting – all the good things associated with the game – but that’s where the resemblance to basketball ends. Four guys wearing the same uniform as Harden are on the court to minister to him. They’re there to make baskets so he can get assists. Otherwise, they get out of his way so he can score and rebound.

I grant you that it’s not the easiest distinction to understand, but if you know the sport at all, you know that what Harden does kind of looks like basketball and feels nothing like it.

I was about to write that he can’t lead a team to a title, but that’s not the essence of it. It’s that any team with him on its roster can’t win a title. The proof is a 13-year career, no NBA championships and the slow realization by most people (not him) that going solo will never lead to a ring.

So the Bulls and Harden?

Have you ever seen a man’s head explode?

OK, here’s where I stop and try to make myself understand that I’ve allowed outside stimuli to negatively affect my day. A few moments ago, I didn’t know that Bookies.com existed. And now this gambling site is telling me that the Bulls, for unknown, inexplicable reasons, are a possibility as Harden’s next employer.

I don’t believe there’s any way in the world that the Bulls, who have been so pragmatic and specific about building a team with what they consider to be the right kind of players, would want someone as self-absorbed and disruptive as Harden. But now there’s a germ of an idea in my head and no antibacterial soap to kill it.

In the past, a team could sell itself on the idea that Harden would fill seats. It wasn’t something it would say out loud, but any owner who acquired him knew that’s what the player would deliver. Fans were drawn to a man who scored, flopped and Euro-stepped to their heart’s desire.

But as time went on and his talents started to erode, the allure of a one-man band wasn’t so obvious anymore. He gobbled cap space, and he didn’t deliver trophies, which is supposed to be the whole idea. Fans, even the ones who swallowed Harden’s empty calories, started turning on him. He forced his way out of Houston to form a super team in Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. A year later, the Nets traded him to Philadelphia, where he again couldn’t fit in, despite $44,310,840 reasons he should.

Now that the idea of Harden the Box Office Attraction has shriveled, it would seem to be difficult for any team to make an argument for wanting him on its roster. He doesn’t play team ball. Can’t win. Makes too much money. Doesn’t draw appreciative crowds the way he once did.

I, too, know all of this. Yet I receive one email that I never intended to open, from a website I never heard of, and now I can feel my heartbeat in my ears.

Am I not in charge of my own happiness?

Apparently not.

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Are progressives or conservatives a greater threat to democracy?

Are progressives or conservatives a greater threat to democracy?

Can democracy survive? (C-Span)

Could both sides be right that the other side is the biggest threat?

Obviously, both sides can’t be right. One side or the other is the biggest threat. But if you watch MSNBC, CNN, FoxNews or loads of other media, you’ll discover that both sides believe that the threat comes exclusively from the other side.

Here are some examples

Steve Bannon is “attempting to insert a lit bomb into the mouth of American democracy.The Five Biggest Threats Our Democracy Faces: from the Brennan Center for Justice.Waking up to the woke threat by Barry Ziman in Washington ExaminerBad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy by Batya Ungar-Sargon.

It’s tiresome. Annoying. Repeated ad nadeem. And wrong. Here’s the truth: You can find threats to democracy from both sides, serious ones. But you never, ever hear that said in this politically poisonous atmosphere.

Yes, Jan 6 posed a threat to democracy. As we’ve been reminded over and over again by the hyper-partisan, Democratic-controlled “Select” House committee. And yet, that committee itself is a threat to democracy,

Jan. 6 and its aftermath confirm there are degrees of threats. Whoever tried to stop by extra-legal means the confirmation by the Electoral College of Joe Biden as president posed a threat. That’s the truth, whether they did it by inciting a crowd of blockheads to invade the Capitol or by the individuals who menaced legitimately elected officials carrying out their constitutional responsibility,

That’s why I”m for a full exposure of anyone who did that, including former President Donald Trump, the goofy Proud Boys or any freelance rioters. Preferably, the job belongs to a special counsel who is insulated from the obvious left-wing, Democratic bias in the Justice Department that now hobbles the true application of justice. If that means the indictment and trial of a former president, so be it.

As for the “mob” that had marched to the Capitol, as if their lemming-like minds were somehow controlled by Trump: If they didn’t force their way into the Capitol, fight the police and engage in specific law-breaking activities, their peaceful protests ought not to be a threat to democracy. It was their right to assemble, petition the government and speak, or shout, their minds.

And yet…

The Jan. 6 committee is itself a threat to democracy. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cast aside centuries of precedent by not allowing the minority party (GOP) to select its own members for the “select” committee. She has brazenly excluded the voices of elected representatives of a specific group of people–Republicans in red states–in pursuit of a partisan goal. She has created a show trial by refusing to allow the accused (and already convicted) to cross-examine the witnesses. Pelosi would have been right at home at the Cuban show trials conducted by Fidel Castro.

Castro’s show trial. Maybe the defendants were guilty, but democracy was trashed by holding a show trial in a sports arena with a cheering crowd,

Let me go on. While universal access to the ballot box is an essential element of democracy, the Democratic war against election security is itself a threat to democracy. Claiming that having to have an ID to vote is an effort to deny the vote to black voters is a dangerous charade. Voter fraud is truly a threat to democracy; to ignore it is to reveal crass political motivation.

Now for Trump: He’s a threat to democracy because he doesn’t seem to understand democratic principles. To think that Vice President Mike Pence could single-handedly stymie the Electoral College is a clear symptom that Trump is either ignorant or a true danger. His ego stands in the way of self-government as prescribed in the Constitution, laws, judicial caselaw and deeply ingrained tradition. He ought not run again.

But on the other hand…

One of the biggest threats to democracy was the “Russian hoax.” Democrats, such as Rep. Adam Schiff of California, concocted out of whole cloth a fantasy about Trump being in cahoots with Russia. It wasn’t just an unconscionable attempt to subvert Trump’s election. It involved the political corruption of the FBI, intelligence agencies and the FISA court. (Why hasn’t that court held anyone in contempt for lying to it?)

Speaking of elections. The damage done to their credibility has been extensive thanks to Trump and (to a lesser extent) Stacey Abrams, the defeated Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate. I think there’s plenty of evidence of election fraud, but whether there was enough to overturn an election, I don’t know. And how, for heaven’s sake, would an election be overturned now?

And now for the media: No, Washington Post, while “democracy dies in darkness”–your slogan–thanks to you and your left-wing legacy, corporate, mass and social media colleagues, democracy is dying in ignorance.

Too many examples of destructive bias are available to go into any depth here. By denying, discrediting or ignoring legitimate issues raised by conservatives, Republicans or other people you’ve already judged to be wrong, if not despicable, the left-wing media’s threat to democracy is enormous,

The tilt is obvious to just about everyone, except for the practitioners of what used to be called journalism. As a former journalist, I cannot adequately describe my loathing for how they have corrupted what once was a proud and essential profession. What the hell are they teaching in journalism schools these days? Where the hell are my former “old school” colleagues who understood and tried to practice objective, fair journalism? Do you truly accept this corruption or have you been so cowed by the woke among you that you’re in hiding?

There are more threats to democracy, but I leave them for now to make a plea for an end to the–what?–evilization of politics. Respect is an essential ingredient for a functioning democracy. Ability to listen and.compromise is too. America is, or at least should be, the best example to the world that democracy works. Autocratic regimes in China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and elsewhere are determined to prove that democracy doesn’t.

If we continue on the present path, they’ll be right

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Auburn’s Smith favored to go No. 1 in NBA drafton June 22, 2022 at 8:33 pm

Jabari Smith Jr. is the consensus favorite to be the No. 1 pick, but odds at sportsbooks have been moving on what bookmakers say has become the most-heavily bet NBA draft ever.

Smith, a versatile, 6-10 forward out of Auburn, remains the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in Thursday’s draft (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC). Since Monday, his odds have improved from -145 to -280 on at Caesars Sportsbook. Smith’s odds also have been improving at DraftKings, where he was sitting at -275 on Wednesday. The Orlando Magic own the first pick, barring a trade.

Duke‘s Paolo Banchero has the second-best odds of going No. 1 and also has seen increased betting interest this week. Banchero, who was 10-1 on Sunday, is listed at +280 on Wednesday at Caesars Sportsbook, ahead of Gonzaga‘s Chet Holmgren (+500), whose odds have been fading. Holmgren’s odds were as short as +145 earlier this week. Smith, Banchero and Holmgren are the only players with single-digit odds to be the No. 1 pick.

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The varying prices and odds movement have attracted heavy betting interest, especially from professional bettors. At Caesars Sportsbook, the odds to the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft have attracted five times as much money has was bet on the on the odds to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, according to Eric Fenstermaker, senior trading manager for Caesars Sportsbook.

“It’s the weirdest draft market I think I’ve ever booked,” Fenstermaker, a veteran Nevada bookmaker, told ESPN on Wednesday. “Usually, at this point, there’s clear-cut news on who’s going to be No. 1. But now we’ve got three guys who have each steamed (attracted money from professional bettors) at different times to be the first pick.”

Fenstermaker said a group of sharp bettors “who always beat us on the draft” targeted Holmgren last week, causing his odds to improve significantly. At one point, Holmgren was a co-favorite with Smith to be the No. 1 pick at Caesars Sportsbook. But the action has shifted toward Banchero this week.

Since Sunday afternoon, there had been more bets on Banchero to be the top pick than there had been on any other NBA market offered at Caesars Sportsbook. Online sportsbook PointsBet also reported a surge of betting interest on Banchero to go No. 1. In the past week, Banchero’s odds have moved from 16-1 to 5-2 at PointsBet.

“This is the nature of draft betting, where market movements are as wild as the rumors that drive them,” Jay Croucher, head of trading for PointsBet, said. “We saw similar crazy fluctuations with the number one pick market in the NFL Draft. Someone out there clearly thinks Banchero has a better chance than public perception to go first, but Smith remains the surest bet.”

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Chicago Sky Go Down – no wait – SKY WIN

Chicago Sky Go Down – no wait – SKY WIN

Last night’s Chicago Sky game versus the Las Vegas Aces started out terrible – there is no other way to describe it. Some may have left their TV’s, screens or laptops thinking this game is already over. But NO – hang in there because this is the 2021 Champs version of the Chicago Sky and they not only came back with a vengeance, they came back and made history making up a 28 point deficit to win the game by nine points.

Throwing out that first quarter, the Sky started their comeback with much more intense defense, more and more scoring by a variety of players, and looking like the old team that won the championship last season. Early in the game the score was 25-4 with the Aces on top by a huge margin. The Sky closed to within 11 by halftime and the break afforded the much needed time for the Sky to regroup.

The Sky began the third by scoring 20 of the first 24 points and going up by 5 as Las Vegas shot only 15.4 percent from the field in the period, while Chicago made 59.1 percent of its shots. Another major key stat was that Las Vegas shot 15.4 percent from the field in the period, while Chicago made 59.1 percent of its shots. The Sky had 5 players shoot in double figures led by our all-star guard Courtney Vandersloot with 25 points followed by our bench player (who could be a starter on any team) Azura Stevens who had 19 points.

The odds were truly against the Sky last night when the game started out, but with grit, determination and some darn good play, the Sky pulled this sweet victory off with flair and became an entry into WNBA history by overcoming such a huge 28 point deficit. The tag line for Las Vegas says – what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas except in this case when what happened in Vegas stood out in Vegas!

Can I also just say after this fantastic victory – Emma Meesseman and Rebekah Gardner welcome to the Chicago Sky franchise. These two players in particular have played huge positive roles in many of the Sky’s games this year and I, for one, am happy they play for our team. I also feel the Sixth Player of the Year award should go to Gardner – she’s been awesome and plays her guts out on both offense and defense in every game.

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Born in San Diego – raised in Chicago’s northern burbs. Lifelong Cubs, Bears & Bulls fan – Chicago Sky fan. Member professional golf media since 1996; golf professional; freelance photojournalist. School – UW Madison; former Marketing Director-booking agent for pro athletes for speeches, appearances and promotional work; I love sports of all kinds and work with several groups that provide sporting opportunities for Chicago’s inner city and under-served kids. Played tennis in high school and college – switched to golf for fun and then as a profession. Have been published in many national and regional sports publications – both words and photos. I believe in the power of sports to transform one’s life both personally and professionally.

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An invitation to listen to survivors

“It’s an invitation,” says Aaron Hughes, cocurator of “Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture, and Reparations,” an exhibition currently on display at the DePaul Art Museum. Marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, the exhibit examines the similarities between survivors of torture at the U.S. military prison with survivors of police torture here in Chicago

The installations, paintings, and sculptures are an invitation, as Hughes puts it, “To be with the work. To be with the research. To be with the questions. That invitation that we have been continuously invited into by survivors, by those most impacted. All our work is part of sharing that invitation.” 

And it’s strange: while one might expect a show about police torture, U.S. imperialism, and violence to be cold and hard to look at, the two-floor exhibition is indeed inviting. I have visited it three times so far, moving quietly through the rooms, looking at walls emblazoned with the names of police torture survivors, gazing up at pastel drawings of flowers pressed neatly into the corner of one room. 

It is not easy to sit here with the stories of brutality inflicted upon these survivors, but something continues to beckon me back. The work, the stories, even the quiet hum of survivor interviews piped through an installation on the first floor seems like an opening, a gesture to sit and stay awhile. Each time I exited the doors of the DePaul Art Museum, I found myself promising myself that I’d be back. 

The exhibition is the outgrowth of a ten-year collaborative partnership between Hughes and cocreator Amber Ginsburg. Together, Hughes and Ginsburg created the Tea Project, a performance and installation partially inspired by the words of one Guantánamo survivor who, in the epilogue of his book, said he would like to have tea with all of the people he wrote about. Thinking of a cup of tea as a site of connection with the possibility to transcend cultural and national divides, Ginsburg tells me, “We really started as within the anti-war movement, driven through Aaron’s experience of being a veteran and that being, in his words, a radicalizing experience.” 

“Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture, and Reparations | Chicago to Guantánamo”
Through 8/7: Wed-Thu 11 AM-7 PM, Fri-Sun 11 AM-5 PM, closed Mon-Tue; DePaul Art Museum, 935 W. Fullerton, 773-325-7506, artmuseum.depaul.edu. Artists Dorothy Burge and Vincent Wade Robinson are in residency and working in the museum’s event space during open hours through June 29; upcoming public events at the museum include a release party and poetry reading for the exhibition’s catalog on Thursday July 14. Go to resources.depaul.edu for more information.

Bringing together Hughes’s military background with her everyday experiences as “a citizen in America during an ongoing war,” Ginsburg and Hughes began to look “for moments of beauty.” But this was not simply an aesthetic practice of beautification, but rather one of deep, committed research and community building. It was in this process of seeing the “many instances of creative making along the way,” that Ginsburg and Hughes came to the idea of an exhibit that highlighted the devastating, intricate connections between the U.S. military practices of torture with domestic ones, as seen through police torture here in Chicago

As they talk, Ginsburg and Hughes reference “creative acts of resistance to state violence.” I ask them to clarify—what do they mean by that? So often one of the critiques lobbed at artists, makers of all genres, is that their art does little to materially affect the outcomes of harm. Hughes explains, “We use that term to describe a spectrum of creative acts. [For example,] the gesture of making a mark on a Styrofoam cup in complete isolation and that mark being seen as a threat to a massive prison, and yet people continue to make those marks and make flowers and poetry, it’s creativity despite.”  

Amber Ginsburg and Aaron Hughes’s Teacup Archive, 2014-ongoing includes white styrofoam cups with designs etched on them based on similar cups used and drawn on by Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp detainees. Credit: Amber Ginsburg and Aaron Hughes/Courtesy DePaul Art Museum

Hughes’s comment draws attention to the fact that, as of 2017, survivor-made art from Guantánamo is no longer allowed outside of the prison. He tells me that he believes this is because the art was considered “a threat to the logic of that system of incarceration and confinement and torture.” To further illustrate this point are two empty frames on the second floor of the exhibition, where paintings by Sabri al-Qurashi were intended to hang. The artwork’s inability to make it to the DePaul Art Museum, despite the organizers’ best efforts, is proof “that people that survive Guantánamo and survive police torture here in Chicago and survive the carceral system here in Illinois: many of them still live in a state of being un-free. And, you know, our work is connecting the dots so we can seek liberation together. And art is a way to imagine that,” says Hughes.

Ginsburg draws my attention to another subject the exhibition explores: legal advocacy. She remarks, “The one other area that I would add that has been very inspiring to us is also the kind of legal advocacy as a creative legal resistance. Really emulating that in the exhibition are the two reparations banners looking across at each other.” Here, Ginsburg is referring to two floor-to-ceiling banners on the second floor positioned on opposite walls titled Speculative Reparations Ordinance for Guantánamo Torture Survivors and Speculative Reparations Ordinance for Chicago (Burge) Police Torture Survivors. Constructed in 2012 by attorney and organizer Joey Mogul, the banners draw a speculative legal framework of reparations for torture survivors. In 2015, Speculative Reparations Ordinance for Chicago was animated through the actual approval of a reparations ordinance in the Chicago City Council. This piece of art, like so many others in the exhibit, has real-life ramifications.

Nothing illustrates this to me more, though, than what happened the last time I visited the exhibition. Through an open door I saw Dorothy Burge, one of the artists featured in the exhibit, smoothing squares of blue fabric on a table. Burge is a quilter and an activist, and her quilted portraits hang from the ceiling of each room, hovering over quotes from torture survivors painted on the walls. Though I was feeling shy, I entered and introduced myself to Miss Dorothy, who immediately invited me to an online workshop she was scheduled to lead: guiding participants through the process of making quilt squares emblazoned with positive messages for torture survivors. Behind her stood Vincent Wade Robinson, a police torture survivor himself, who along with Burge is an artist-in-residence at the museum this month. 

Miss Dorothy led me back through the exhibit I just pored over, and showed me photographs of her grandnieces and nephews who are the subjects of some of her quilts. She showed me a photograph of a survivor of Guantánamo standing in a wrecked building and told me how much the photo reminded her of the wreckage of Cabrini-Green when it was demolished. She pointed to the purple and green portraits she’s made of incarcerated people and told me that two of the subjects have since been freed. As we parted ways at the entrance, she again invited me to attend her workshop. I am reminded of Aaron Hughes’s words: that the show is an invitation. The invitation seems beautiful, difficult, and urgent. Most of all, I realize that it is alive and breathing, a hand outstretched for me to come back, sip (metaphorical) tea, and listen.


‘We can imagine our way into something else’

When Anthony Holmes goes to the doctor today, he’s asked: How many heart attacks have you had? That’s because, Holmes says, the torture he faced in 1973 at the hands of then-Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge included shocking him with an electric shock box and suffocating him with plastic bags. Burge and the mostly white…


What are human rights to the incarcerated?

Two books explore the creativity of people in prison while highlighting their lack of access to basic necessities.


Enemy Kitchen, a food truck and public art project, serves up hospitality in place of hostility

Michael Rakowitz’s family recipes are bringing Iraqis and Americans together for free meals in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

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An invitation to listen to survivorsNina Li Coomeson June 22, 2022 at 4:59 pm

“It’s an invitation,” says Aaron Hughes, cocurator of “Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture, and Reparations,” an exhibition currently on display at the DePaul Art Museum. Marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, the exhibit examines the similarities between survivors of torture at the U.S. military prison with survivors of police torture here in Chicago

The installations, paintings, and sculptures are an invitation, as Hughes puts it, “To be with the work. To be with the research. To be with the questions. That invitation that we have been continuously invited into by survivors, by those most impacted. All our work is part of sharing that invitation.” 

And it’s strange: while one might expect a show about police torture, U.S. imperialism, and violence to be cold and hard to look at, the two-floor exhibition is indeed inviting. I have visited it three times so far, moving quietly through the rooms, looking at walls emblazoned with the names of police torture survivors, gazing up at pastel drawings of flowers pressed neatly into the corner of one room. 

It is not easy to sit here with the stories of brutality inflicted upon these survivors, but something continues to beckon me back. The work, the stories, even the quiet hum of survivor interviews piped through an installation on the first floor seems like an opening, a gesture to sit and stay awhile. Each time I exited the doors of the DePaul Art Museum, I found myself promising myself that I’d be back. 

The exhibition is the outgrowth of a ten-year collaborative partnership between Hughes and cocreator Amber Ginsburg. Together, Hughes and Ginsburg created the Tea Project, a performance and installation partially inspired by the words of one Guantánamo survivor who, in the epilogue of his book, said he would like to have tea with all of the people he wrote about. Thinking of a cup of tea as a site of connection with the possibility to transcend cultural and national divides, Ginsburg tells me, “We really started as within the anti-war movement, driven through Aaron’s experience of being a veteran and that being, in his words, a radicalizing experience.” 

“Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture, and Reparations | Chicago to Guantánamo”
Through 8/7: Wed-Thu 11 AM-7 PM, Fri-Sun 11 AM-5 PM, closed Mon-Tue; DePaul Art Museum, 935 W. Fullerton, 773-325-7506, artmuseum.depaul.edu. Artists Dorothy Burge and Vincent Wade Robinson are in residency and working in the museum’s event space during open hours through June 29; upcoming public events at the museum include a release party and poetry reading for the exhibition’s catalog on Thursday July 14. Go to resources.depaul.edu for more information.

Bringing together Hughes’s military background with her everyday experiences as “a citizen in America during an ongoing war,” Ginsburg and Hughes began to look “for moments of beauty.” But this was not simply an aesthetic practice of beautification, but rather one of deep, committed research and community building. It was in this process of seeing the “many instances of creative making along the way,” that Ginsburg and Hughes came to the idea of an exhibit that highlighted the devastating, intricate connections between the U.S. military practices of torture with domestic ones, as seen through police torture here in Chicago

As they talk, Ginsburg and Hughes reference “creative acts of resistance to state violence.” I ask them to clarify—what do they mean by that? So often one of the critiques lobbed at artists, makers of all genres, is that their art does little to materially affect the outcomes of harm. Hughes explains, “We use that term to describe a spectrum of creative acts. [For example,] the gesture of making a mark on a Styrofoam cup in complete isolation and that mark being seen as a threat to a massive prison, and yet people continue to make those marks and make flowers and poetry, it’s creativity despite.”  

Amber Ginsburg and Aaron Hughes’s Teacup Archive, 2014-ongoing includes white styrofoam cups with designs etched on them based on similar cups used and drawn on by Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp detainees. Credit: Amber Ginsburg and Aaron Hughes/Courtesy DePaul Art Museum

Hughes’s comment draws attention to the fact that, as of 2017, survivor-made art from Guantánamo is no longer allowed outside of the prison. He tells me that he believes this is because the art was considered “a threat to the logic of that system of incarceration and confinement and torture.” To further illustrate this point are two empty frames on the second floor of the exhibition, where paintings by Sabri al-Qurashi were intended to hang. The artwork’s inability to make it to the DePaul Art Museum, despite the organizers’ best efforts, is proof “that people that survive Guantánamo and survive police torture here in Chicago and survive the carceral system here in Illinois: many of them still live in a state of being un-free. And, you know, our work is connecting the dots so we can seek liberation together. And art is a way to imagine that,” says Hughes.

Ginsburg draws my attention to another subject the exhibition explores: legal advocacy. She remarks, “The one other area that I would add that has been very inspiring to us is also the kind of legal advocacy as a creative legal resistance. Really emulating that in the exhibition are the two reparations banners looking across at each other.” Here, Ginsburg is referring to two floor-to-ceiling banners on the second floor positioned on opposite walls titled Speculative Reparations Ordinance for Guantánamo Torture Survivors and Speculative Reparations Ordinance for Chicago (Burge) Police Torture Survivors. Constructed in 2012 by attorney and organizer Joey Mogul, the banners draw a speculative legal framework of reparations for torture survivors. In 2015, Speculative Reparations Ordinance for Chicago was animated through the actual approval of a reparations ordinance in the Chicago City Council. This piece of art, like so many others in the exhibit, has real-life ramifications.

Nothing illustrates this to me more, though, than what happened the last time I visited the exhibition. Through an open door I saw Dorothy Burge, one of the artists featured in the exhibit, smoothing squares of blue fabric on a table. Burge is a quilter and an activist, and her quilted portraits hang from the ceiling of each room, hovering over quotes from torture survivors painted on the walls. Though I was feeling shy, I entered and introduced myself to Miss Dorothy, who immediately invited me to an online workshop she was scheduled to lead: guiding participants through the process of making quilt squares emblazoned with positive messages for torture survivors. Behind her stood Vincent Wade Robinson, a police torture survivor himself, who along with Burge is an artist-in-residence at the museum this month. 

Miss Dorothy led me back through the exhibit I just pored over, and showed me photographs of her grandnieces and nephews who are the subjects of some of her quilts. She showed me a photograph of a survivor of Guantánamo standing in a wrecked building and told me how much the photo reminded her of the wreckage of Cabrini-Green when it was demolished. She pointed to the purple and green portraits she’s made of incarcerated people and told me that two of the subjects have since been freed. As we parted ways at the entrance, she again invited me to attend her workshop. I am reminded of Aaron Hughes’s words: that the show is an invitation. The invitation seems beautiful, difficult, and urgent. Most of all, I realize that it is alive and breathing, a hand outstretched for me to come back, sip (metaphorical) tea, and listen.


‘We can imagine our way into something else’

When Anthony Holmes goes to the doctor today, he’s asked: How many heart attacks have you had? That’s because, Holmes says, the torture he faced in 1973 at the hands of then-Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge included shocking him with an electric shock box and suffocating him with plastic bags. Burge and the mostly white…


What are human rights to the incarcerated?

Two books explore the creativity of people in prison while highlighting their lack of access to basic necessities.


Enemy Kitchen, a food truck and public art project, serves up hospitality in place of hostility

Michael Rakowitz’s family recipes are bringing Iraqis and Americans together for free meals in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

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An invitation to listen to survivorsNina Li Coomeson June 22, 2022 at 4:59 pm Read More »