The Bears are playing Tom Brady on Sunday. | Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Aaron Rodgers told Bears fans he owned them. Tom Brady heard him.

Aaron Rodgers told Bears fans he owned them.

Tom Brady heard him.

Speaking on his SiriusXM show — called “Let’s Go!” — the Buccaneers quarterback joked with host Jim Gray about Rodgers’ touchdown celebration Sunday at Soldier Field. He said he was watching film to prepare for Sunday’s Buccaneers-Bears game in Tampa.

“I was studying a little on the Bears and Packers,” he said. “Before we get started I wanted to say congrats to Aaron Rodgers, obviously. I know he’s a great quarterback, but I guess he’s now a shareholder of the Bears.

“I saw a clip of him really enthusiastically telling the crowd how happy he is to own Soldier Field. That’s really great stuff. He owns the Bucks now. Part-owner of Soldier Field. He’s got a great career beyond football.”

Rodgers has owned 1 percent of the Milwaukee Bucks since 2018. And, if you ask him, the Bears since in perpetuity.

“All my [bleeping] life, I own you,” Rodgers said as he looked into the Soldier Field stands after running for a fourth-quarter touchdown in Sunday’s win. “I own you. I still own you.”

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Goode’s Martese Whitehurst takes the handoff from Marquis Brown during practice. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

This calendar year, Goode is 11-2 with conference titles in the Illini Big Shoulders in the spring and the Illini Great Lakes in the fall.

The pandemic dealt a blow to Public League football that some programs are still recovering from.

A year of remote learning, missed offseason workouts and an on-the-fly spring season left a number of teams back at square one.

But in the Ashburn neighborhood, one program is not only surviving but thriving. And that came in the wake of some struggles after promotion to the more competitive Illini sections.

This calendar year, Goode is 11-2 with conference titles in the Illini Big Shoulders in the spring and the Illini Great Lakes in the fall. The Knights have qualified for the IHSA playoffs for the second time in program history and are in the Public League playoffs for the first time.

What’s the secret to Goode’s success? Trusting the process, according to senior quarterback Marquis Brown.

“COVID season, it was really tough to get through,” Brown said. “We stayed active, went to the field, threw some passes around. If we have a season or not, we’re still family. We’ll get through this together.”

The Knights went 4-1 in the spring with the only loss 45-0 to Carver, a rival they’d never defeated. This fall, Goode beat Carver — also an IHSA playoff qualifier after winning the Illini Second City — 65-6.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” Brown said. “No one thought we were going to win that game.

“We’re getting everybody to practice. We have some players who didn’t play in the spring due to COVID. The energy is up now.”

Coach Terrence McClarn has been at Goode since the start of the varsity program in 2014, two years after the school opened. He’s climbed the ladder from defensive backs coach to special teams coordinator to JV head coach to defensive coordinator. The head coach since 2019, he’s seen the highs and the lows.

In the program’s third year, Goode went 9-0 in the regular season, won the Chicago Great Lakes and lost 46-6 to Nazareth in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.

But like a lot of CPS teams that are successful in the Chicago sections, Goode initially struggled after promotion to the Illini. The Knights went 5-21 overall and 0-14 in conference play in their first three seasons in the Illini.

A key to getting the program back on track, McClarn said, was having more help. The early Goode teams had just four coaches; now there are nine. Like McClarn, they played for assistant head coach Mike Glenn’s youth football program.

With an enrollment of 981, Goode has around 60 players in the program. This year’s JV team is actually larger than the varsity with about 35 players. But McClarn resisted the urge to move anyone up because every one of those players was in his first season of football.

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times
Goode’s Marquis Brown passes the ball during practice.

There is experience and talent on the varsity. Brown splits reps at quarterback with senior Jaheed Puckett, who also plays wingback and defensive back.

Other mainstays include junior twins Martese and Marques Whitehurst, a defensive end/running back and linebacker/running back respectively, and two-way junior lineman Alejandro Guzman.

As the Knights keep checking off items on the program’s to-do list, a few remain. Former quarterback Jamari Johnson, now a redshirt junior defensive end at Division II McKendree, is Goode’s most prominent player at the next level.

Sending a player to Division I is high on McClarn’s priorities. The school’s academics help; through a partnership with Daley College, students can not only take college classes but can graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.

In the meantime, there are other goals to chase, including the program’s first postseason win.

“What legacy do you want to leave behind?” McClarn said he asks his players. “We want to set the bar high for the next person.”

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“I’m willing to put the work in, and I’m willing to put it all on the line,” Kofi Cockburn said. “Illinois basketball means a lot to me.” | Doug McSchooler/AP

With Cockburn back, Illinois should have the firepower to compete for the Big Ten title again.

For all the excitement at Illinois, from earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament to the Illini’s second-round loss to Loyola, the biggest decision for the immediate future came in the heat of midsummer when Kofi Cockburn announced he was coming back for his junior season.

The seven-foot center’s choice brought another dose of sky-high hopes for the 11th-ranked Illini, who went 24-7 overall and 16-4 in the Big Ten last season. Cockburn is the unquestioned anchor of the team after averaging 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game — something he wants to better.

“I’m willing to put the work in, and I’m willing to put it all on the line,” Cockburn said. “Illinois basketball means a lot to me.”

With Cockburn back, Illinois should have the firepower to compete for the Big Ten title again. The season opener is Nov. 9 at home against Jackson State and the first month of the schedule includes games against the likes of Marquette, Notre Dame and Cincinnati.

REPLACING DOSUNMU

Sophomore guard Andre Curbelo isn’t playing down expectations even after star guard Ayo Dosunmu’s departure to the Bulls.

“I’m not afraid to say we’re going to be better than last year,” Curbelo said. “Once we click and we do everything, we’re going to be pretty special.”

Curbelo is the unquestioned distributor and playmaking guard for Illinois as a sophomore. He earned Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year honors as a freshman, averaging 9.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists. That early tourney exit is a source of motivation now.

“I’m going to have that in the back of my head, probably for the rest of my life,” Curbelo said. “We can’t take anything for granted. I think that’s something that game taught us.”

COLEMAN’S CEILING

Coach Brad Underwood is counting on sophomore forward Coleman Hawkins.

“Coleman has made huge strides,” Underwood said. “He’s 6’10”, he’s extremely versatile. He can be a playmaking forward for us.”

Hawkins played sparingly as a freshman, averaging just six minutes, but that looks likely to change.

“(Hawkins) literally can play the three, four and five, and is really an elite defender in his own right,” Underwood said.

FRONTCOURT PAYNE

Six-foot-ten forward Omar Payne transferred to Illinois after leading Florida with a 75% shooting percentage and averaging 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds. Underwood thinks Payne gives Illinois another influential post presence along with Cockburn.

“He’s elite at getting to the rim,” Underwood said. “He’s as quick-twitch of an athlete as we’ve had, but I’ve been very impressed.”

ILLINI DEPTH

Don’t overlook the importance of fifth-year guards Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams. Both are strong defenders, and Williams has guarded nearly every position on the court.

“Those are two guys that I look up to a lot because they prioritize winning and they do whatever it takes,” Cockburn said. “That’s great leadership because these young guys come in and see that, ‘Yo, this is what it takes.'”

The Illini return starting wing Jacob Grandison, and added Utah graduate transfer Alfonso Plummer, who averaged 13.6 points per game and shot 38.3% from 3-point range. Plus, 6-foot-6 guard Austin Hutcherson is healthy after rehabilitating from a back injury.

“There’s no doubt Ayo was in a prominent role in everything we tried to do last year,” Underwood said. “We’ll fit these pieces in and see how it works, but right now, I really like all the pieces.”

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Stage-lovers, attention! The vibrant Chicago theater scene is bringing another much-anticipated production to you in November. Don Clark, Chicago-based Film and Theatre Producer and Co-Owner of the Chicago Magic Lounge, presents the World Premiere of WHEN HARRY MET REHAB – a comedy that takes sobriety seriously, based loosely on the real-life experiences of Chicago sports radio personality, Harry Teinowtiz.

Dan Butler will star as Harry. Butler is best known for his role as “Bulldog” for seven seasons on the legendary television comedy Frasier, as well as “Art” on Roseanne. WHEN HARRY MET REHAB previews November 24 and opens December 5 at Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue, for a limited engagement. Co-authored by former ESPN personality and playwright Spike Manton (Leaving Iowa), WHEN HARRY MET REHAB chronicles in a humorous yet poignant way how an alcoholic on the edge of clueless annihilation ended up in the hands of a magician whose greatest trick was making his denial and excuses disappear.  

In addition to his much-loved role on Frasier, highlights from Butler’s long and illustrious stage career include Broadway productions of Travesties, Biloxi Blues, Twentieth Century as well as the world premiere of Terrence McNally’s Lisbon Traviata with Nathan Lane and John Slattery.    

Butler is surrounded by a powerhouse Chicago cast that includes Ora Jones (Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodman Theatre, as well as Broadway productions of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Matilda), Elizabeth Laidlaw (Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre, Steppenwolf), Keith D. Gallagher (Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Northlight), Chiké Johnson (Steppenwolf, Goodman Theatre, Broadway production of Wit), and newcomer Richard Gomez (Columbia College, Chicago).

 WHEN HARRY MET REHAB is an evening in the theater that will leave a mark that is flat-out funny, moving, and unforgettable. It is a story of redemption, perseverance, and hope. It is estimated that over 22 million Americans are in recovery. This show is for them, their families, and their friends. 

 WHEN HARRY MET REHAB will run at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago previewing November 24 and opening December 5 for a limited engagement through January 30. The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm, Sunday evenings at 7:00 pm, with additional matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets range from $42 to $85 plus processing fees. For tickets and more information, visit www.whenharrymetrehab.com or call the Greenhouse Theater Center Box Office at 773-404-7336. 

Cast 

Dan Butler – Harry
Ora Jones – Barb
Elizabeth Laidlaw – Andrea
Keith Gallagher – Isaiah
Chiké Johnson – Vince
Richard Gomez – George 

Creative Team 

(Co-writer) Spike Manton
(Co-writer) Harry Teinowitz
(Direction) Jackson Gay
(Dramaturg/Creative Consultant) Jack Viertel
(Scenic Designer) Regina Garcia
(Costume Designer) Caitlin McLeod
(Lighting Designer) Simean Carpenter
(Sound Designers) Ray Nardelli & Chris Laporte
(Projection Designer) Chris Commendatore
(Casting Director/ Consulting Producer) Laura Stanczyk
(Associate Director) Maggie Spanuello
(Stage Manager) Shannon Golden-Starr
(General Manager) Pemberley Productions 

Image Credit: New Neighborhood

About Jackson Gay, Director

Jackson Gay is a director and co-Producing Artistic Director of New Neighborhood https://www.newneighborhood.net.

Upcoming work includes the new musical SCKBSTD (book by Mike Rafael with music by Bruce Hornsby); God’s Ear (Juilliard); New Neighborhood’s Endless Loop of Gratitude (REP); Goldie, Max & Milk by Karen Hartman (59e59), and Partnership (Mint Theater). Directing work includes Lucy Thurber’s Transfers for Audible, MCC and New York Stage & Film; Endless Loop of Gratitude with New Neighborhood (New Ohio’s Ice Factory); The Seagull (Juilliard); Kleptocracy by Kenneth Lin (Arena Stage); Lover Beloved with Suzanne Vega and Duncan Sheik (Alley Theater); These Paper Bullets! By Rolin Jones with music by Billie Joe Armstrong (New Neighborhood, Atlantic, Geffen, Yale Rep – Critics Pick Time Out NY, Best Production and Adaptation LA Sage Awards, Time Out Los Angeles, Connecticut Critics Circle Award Best Production and Best Director).

About Don Clark, Producer

Donald Cameron Clark, Jr., Esq. is a renaissance man who believes in the power of storytelling, whether to a jury, in a theater, or to his grandchildren. Clark began his professional career as a trial attorney at some of Chicago’s most venerable law firms. His memoir, Summary Judgment, was recently published. Clark is Executive Producer of the award-winning feature film “Guest Artist,” written by and starring Jeff Daniels. He produces plays on Broadway and in regional theaters.

Clark co-owns the Chicago Magic Lounge—a nightlife venue that is top-rated on TripAdvisor and one of “Chicago’s Best” according to Chicago Magazine. He is also a member of Chicago’s Cultural Treasures grant program. 

Featured Image Credit: When Harry Met Rehab

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Bruce Zolna tosses one of the early white bass into the cooler while guide Bill Stoeger works at the front of the boat on the Wolf River. | Dale Bowman

Fishing started slow, but turned great with multiple species during a day on the Wolf River with Bruce Zolna and guide Bill Stoeger

FREMONT, Wis.–Bill Stoeger had good reason to become a guide on the Wolf River in 1995.

“I got tired of listening to people cry into their beer about not catching any fish,” he said as Bruce Zolna and I fished with him.

I met Stoeger when he had Riverside Bar in Fremont, which he owned until 2003. Every few years I fish with him for white bass, crappie or walleye.

Last Wednesday turned into a multi-species action, out of Red Banks Resort.

We started hunting and pecking (four white bass at the first stop, a smallmouth bass at the second, blanked at the third.)

Dale Bowman
Guide Bill Stoeger prepares to land the biggest smallmouth bass of the day while fishing white bass with Bruce Zolna and Dale Bowman on the Wolf River.

At the sixth stop, action turned on at a bend with a deep hole coming up shallow with multiple current seams.

After a slow hour, the white bass started schooling minnows and busting the surface. Stoeger switched to a jig to get higher in the water column and went back-to-back-to-back, so I switched, then Zolna. Action came so fast I lost count of our fish and doubles. When action slowed after lunch there, we had caught dozens of white bass, two walleye and a freshwater drum.

“The jigs are more fun, but the river rig is very effective,” Stoeger said. “My wife loves to go if it is a jig bite. When there is surface action, they are suspended and the river rig on the bottom is useless.”

Our early catches were with river rigs: 4-5 feet of line behind the snap with about a 6-inch dropper sinker. With river rigs the cast is downstream or across current, so that the line stays tight and you can feel or see the bites.

Stoeger had us using fathead minnows, which are the closest bait sold that looks close to the banded darter. White bass attack them in schools. But nearly all the fish we cleaned had perch in their stomachs, not darters.

The water was 63 degrees. “It should be in the upper 40s or the low 50s,” Stoeger said.

Most action was associated with sand bars.

“I’m guessing a couple weeks yet,” Stoeger said. “There’s some weather coming in, but days are to be in the 60s.”

The company matched the fishing.

Zolna is a born storyteller; or, as a doctor described him in her visit notes, “loquacious.”

The Wolf River was the third leg of the semi-retired lawyer’s Post-Covid Cabin Fever Breakout Tour. He told about putting together a trip for Paul Newman at a charity event in Florida, where Newman caught his first fish, a mahi-mahi.

Between stories and fish, the day went fast.

Back at Red Banks, we cast the wall and boated four good smallmouth. Then Stoeger caught our only northern pike.

It was time. . . . to clean white bass and walleye–three gallon bags stuffed with fillets.

We totaled around 100 fish and seven species. Most were white bass, but also 11 smallmouth bass, four walleye, three rock bass, a crappie, the drum and the pike.

Reach Stoeger at (920) 570-1187.

Dale Bowman
Fall scene on the Wolf River during white-bass time.

Wild things

Fallen hedge apples splotch backroads. . . . Christian Howe’s annual fall-color report from southern Cook County to Iron County, Mich. is at posted at chicago.suntimes.com/2021/10/18/22733647/christian-howes-annual-fall-color-report-southern-cook-county-iron-county-michigan.

Illinois hunting

Over-the-counter sales of firearm deer permits went on sale yesterday. . . . Weather looks almost too nice for the north-zone opener of duck and Canada goose seasons on Saturday.

Stray Cast

Having the Bears interesting during postseason baseball is like catching walleye while fishing white bass.

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The Netflix logo is seen on the Netflix, Inc. building on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. | ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Ted Sarandos noted that Dave Chappelle follows in the tradition of comedians who push boundaries.

The controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle’s transphobic remarks in his latest stand-up special intensified late Tuesday, as Netflix’s Ted Sarandos did a flurry of phone interviews in which he admitted he “screwed up” his response to staff but reiterated his support of the comedy show.

While the embattled co-CEO allowed that storytelling can sometimes negatively impact society, he said he did not feel Chappelle’s “The Closer” needed a disclaimer.

“I should have first and foremost acknowledged in those emails that a group of our employees were in pain, and they were really feeling hurt from a business decision that we made,” Sarandos told The Hollywood Reporter. He also spoke with Deadline and Variety. “And I, instead of acknowledging that first, I went right into some rationales.”

Sarandos noted that Chappelle follows in the tradition of comedians who push boundaries, but speaking of the show he told Variety “I do not believe it falls into hate speech” because the jokes weren’t intended to cause physical harm.

The executive’s comments arrived just hours before Wednesday’s planned virtual walkout by Netflix’s trans employees. The protest stems from complaints about Chappelle’s “Closer” jokes about trans people and his re-alignment with those who believe a human’s sex at birth is immutable. Employees have expressed concern that such rhetoric can lead to violence against marginalized communities.

The negative spotlight on Netflix stands in stark contrast to a recent glow: The content-creating powerhouse, responsible for hits ranging from “Tiger King” to “Squid Game,” won 44 Emmys this year and hit 200 million subscribers. On Tuesday, Netflix reported third-quarter profit and subscriber growth numbers that beat Wall Street expectations.

Here’s what’s at issue and how we got here:

Dave Chappelle describes gender as ‘a fact’ in his new Netflix comedy special, ‘The Closer’

On Oct. 5, Netflix started streaming “The Closer,” a highly anticipated new special from Chappelle that quickly became one of the service’s most-watched shows. In it, the Emmy winner reacted to complaints that his 2019 stand-up special “Sticks & Stones” was “punching down” on the trans community.

Here’s what’s at issue and how we got here:

Dave Chappelle describes gender as ‘a fact’ in his new Netflix comedy special, ‘The Closer’

On Oct. 5, Netflix started streaming “The Closer,” a highly anticipated new special from Chappelle that quickly became one of the service’s most-watched shows. In it, the Emmy winner reacted to complaints that his 2019 stand-up special “Sticks & Stones” was “punching down” on the trans community.

The LGBTQ+ community calls Dave Chappelle’s remarks transphobic, Netflix suspends several employees

“The Closer” generated backlash on social media from both the LGBTQ+ community and some Netflix employees, who voiced concerns that the special promoted transphobic attitudes at a time when violence against such Americans is on the rise. There were 44 killings of trans people in 2020, according to the Human Rights Watch.

Last week, Terra Field, a Netflix software engineer who is trans, was among three employees who were suspended for joining a virtual quarterly meeting of top executives without an invitation. They later were reinstated, according to The Hollywood Reporter. On Friday, Netflix fired an unnamed employee who leaked how much Netflix had paid for “The Closer” (a reported $24.1 million), along with the special’s viewership (10 million).

In a series of tweets, Field said the special “attacks the trans community, and the very validity of transness.” In the course of two memos to staff, Sarandos defended the company’s association with Chappelle, declined to remove the special and questioned the need for alarm. “While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content onscreen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm,” he wrote.

Trans employees plan virtual walkout to protest Netflix’s support for the special

Not much is known about how extensive the walkout will be. According to The Verge and The Hollywood Reporter, a virtual walkout is being organized by Netflix’s trans employee resources group and is focused on Netflix’s Los Angeles offices. In an Instagram post, organizer Ashlee Marie Preston encouraged others to join an in-person rally outside Netflix’s building on Sunset Boulevard.

The goal of the walkout is to “use this moment to shift the social ecology around what Netflix leadership deems ethical entertainment, while establishing policies and guidelines that protect employees and consumers alike,” Preston wrote.

A list of demands the group plans to submit to Netflix will be made public during the walkout, the post says. But Field wrote in an essay Monday on her Medium blog that pulling the special isn’t at issue. Instead, Field wants media companies to “stop pretending” transphobia in media has no impact and “put a content warning in front of existing content that contains transphobia.”

Celebrities assemble for a PSA

In the wake of Chappelle’s special, “Dear White People” series producer Jacklyn Moore tweeted last week that she would not work with the streaming service as long as it continues to “put out and profit from blatantly and dangerously transphobic content.”

Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby, who was cited by Sarandos in a widely disseminated memo to staff, blasted the CEO on Instagram, writing, “Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me every time Dave gets 20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial world view.”

As part of the walkout Wednesday, organizers also plan to present Sarandos with a public service announcement that will include stars such as Angelica Ross, Jonathan Van Ness, Jameela Jamil and Colton Haynes.

Read more at usatoday.com

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The Chicago Blackhawks finally got to play at home for the first time this season. It was amazing to see the United Center packed for the first time since March 11th, 2020 against the San Jose Sharks. They let some fans in for two games to end last season but it was just more than […] Chicago Blackhawks: Embarrassing night for home opener – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

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