A man was shot and critically wounded Sunday morning on the Northwest Side. | Sun-Times file photo

The 33-year-old was on the sidewalk about 12:41 a.m. in the 700 block of North Leamington Avenue when someone in a passing vehicle opened fire, striking him in the arm and torso, Chicago police said.

A man was shot and critically wounded Sunday morning in a drive-by in South Austin on the Northwest Side.

The 33-year-old was on the sidewalk about 12:40 a.m. in the 700 block of North Leamington Avenue when someone in a passing vehicle opened fire, striking him in the arm and torso, Chicago police said.

He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was in critical condition, police said.

No one was in custody.

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Notre Dame’s Kevin Austin Jr. celebrates with teammates after catching a pass for a two-point conversion to tie the game against Virginia Tech. | Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

He kicked a 48-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining, capping a dramatic rally to give the Irish a 32-29 victory on Saturday night.

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Jack Coan’s play in the first quarter for No. 14 Notre Dame on Saturday night got him benched. What he did in the fourth quarter made the Fighting Irish winners, and left coach Brian Kelly gushing about his senior quarterback.

Jonathan Doerer kicked a 48-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining, capping a dramatic rally to give the Fighting Irish a 32-29 victory over Virginia Tech.

“I’ve been in a lot of games, coached in a lot of games, but I don’t know that I’ve ever coached a group of guys that had such resolve and mental toughness, that regardless of the situation, they just kept playing,” Kelly said. “Unfazed by the circumstances.”

The Fighting Irish (5-1) tied it at 29 on Coan’s 4-yard pass to Avery Davis and a two-point conversion completion to Kevin Austin with 2:26 left. After Notre Dame forced the Hokies to punt, Coan drove them 45 yards in seven plays, and Doerer split the uprights, sparing the Fighting Irish a second straight loss.

Coan “prepared himself mentally to go back in the game and lead two drives,” Kelly said. “You guys should be thinking about great things to write about that guy because that doesn’t happen very often.”

Kelly knew there were things his team didn’t do well against the Hokies, but said he’ll brush off any negatives written because of how it finished.

“What I take from these games is watching a guy like Jack Coan come in under those circumstances and rise above it. It was just, for me, incredibly enjoyable to watch him play,” Kelly said.

The Hokies (3-2) had taken command with an interception return for a touchdown by Jermaine Waller late in the third quarter and another touchdown drive started by an Nasir People’s interception. That drive finished 19-yard run by Braxton Burmeister with 3:55 to play, making it 29-21.

“Obviously, that’s a tough locker room. What a football game,” Hokies coach Justin Fuente said. “It’s a tough one, obviously, to swallow.”

Freshman Tyler Buchner ran for a touchdown and threw for another for Notre Dame (4-2) after replacing Coan to start the second quarter, but his two second half interceptions both turned into Virginia Tech touchdowns.

Kyren Williams ran for 81 yards and one touchdown and caught an 8-yard pass from Buchner for another score the Irish.

Raheem Blackshear also ran for a touchdown for the Hokies and John Parker Romo kicked three field goals.

THE TAKEAWAY

Notre Dame: Buchner likely earned himself more playing time among the three QBs the Irish have used this season. Notre Dame ran 13 plays and managed just 27 yards with Coan behind center in the first quarter. Buchner led a 75-yard touchdown drive in is first series in the second quarter.

“He did some nice things like you saw, he’s young. He’s going to be really good,” Kelly said.

Virginia Tech: Connor Blumrick replaced Burmeister in the fourth quarter after Burmeister appeared to hurt his throwing hand late in the third quarter. Burmeister was able to throw on the sideline. Blumrick’s second pass attempt was intercepted when the Hokies tried for a two-point conversion. Blumrick later got hurt on a running play and Burmeister returned to the game.

UP NEXT

The Fighting Irish have a week of before facing Southern California in South Bend.

The Hokies face Pittsburgh in their third of four straight home games.

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Tyson Fury punches Deontay Wilder during their WBC heavyweight title fight Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. | Al Bello/Getty Images

Fury got up from two fourth-round knockdowns and stopped Wilder to retain his WBC title in the conclusion to a superlative heavyweight trilogy.

LAS VEGAS — After three fights featuring nine combined knockdowns and many unforgettable moments, Tyson Fury finally ended his epic heavyweight rivalry with Deontay Wilder with one last valedictory punch.

Fury got up from two fourth-round knockdowns and stopped Wilder with a devastating right hand in the 11th round Saturday night, retaining his WBC title in a thrilling conclusion to a superlative boxing trilogy.

Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) finished Wilder for the second straight time in their three bouts, but only after a back-and-forth evening featuring five combined knockdowns and several apparent moments of imminent defeat for both men. Wilder ultimately ended up facedown on the canvas at 1:10 of the 11th round after a chopping right hand fired from high in the air by the 6-foot-9 Fury.

“It was a great fight,” said Fury, the sport’s lineal heavyweight champion and a former unified world champ. “It was worthy of any trilogy in the history of the sport. He’s a top fighter, and he gave me a real (test) tonight.”

Wilder was knocked down in the third round and appeared to be on his way out, but he improbably rallied to knock down Fury twice in the final minutes of the fourth. The British champion was profoundly shaken, but he also gathered himself and fought on.

Wilder (42-2-1) absorbed enormous punishment and appeared to be physically drained for much of the bout, but the veteran American champ showed his toughness while still throwing power shots on weary legs.

Fury knocked down Wilder again with a concussive right hand midway through the 10th, but Wilder stunned Fury in the final seconds of the round. Fury persevered — and after the referee jumped in to wave it off in the 11th, Fury climbed onto the ropes in weary celebration before a frenzied crowd of 15,820 at T-Mobile Arena on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.

“Don’t ever doubt me when the chips are down,” Fury said. “I can always deliver.”

Fury then broke into a rendition of “Walking in Memphis,” in keeping with his post-fight tradition of serenading his crowds.

The fight likely concluded one of the most memorable rivalries in recent boxing history, a trilogy defined by two remarkable displays of pugilistic tenacity. Any three-fight series is a rarity in the fractured modern sport, but Fury and Wilder brought out the best in each other through a rivalry spanning nearly three calendar years.

They met first in late 2018 in downtown Los Angeles, where Wilder knocked down Fury twice in the late rounds of an excellent fight otherwise controlled by Fury. The second knockdown in the 12th round left Fury flat on his back and motionless while Wilder celebrated, but Fury improbably rose and reached the bell in a bout judged a split draw.

The second bout was in Las Vegas in February 2020, and Fury’s dominance was much clearer. The British champ battered Wilder until the seventh round, when Wilder’s corner threw in the towel on a one-sided victory and Fury claimed Wilder’s WBC title belt.

In this climactic third meeting, Wilder was somehow even tougher — and he repeatedly came close to beating Fury, a superior technician.

Wilder opened the first round with a strong jab and a good game plan, but appeared to tire early when he didn’t hurt Fury early. In the final minute of the third, Fury stunned Wilder with a shot and then escaped a clinch to land a two-punch combination that put Wilder down to his knees. Fury battered Wilder again with the crowd on its feet, but Wilder made it to the bell.

Fury appeared to be in control until late in the fourth, when Wilder landed a powerful right hand squarely to the top of Fury’s head. Fury staggered and eventually fell to the canvas, only to get up and then be put down again moments later amid the crowd’s stunned roars.

Fury made it to the fourth-round bell, and both fighters landed impossibly big shots without a knockdown in the fifth and sixth. Fury hurt Wilder in the seventh with a series of punches that sent Wilder sprawling back against the ropes.

Fury hurt a visibly exhausted Wilder again in the eighth with two huge shots, and the ringside doctor examined Wilder before allowing the fight to continue into the ninth.

Another damaging right hand from Fury swept Wilder’s legs out from under him in the 10th, but Wilder finished the round, even hurting Fury late.

It ended with one more right hand from close range. Wilder reached for the ropes on his way down, but landed facedown with his eyes glassy.

The bout was another loss for Wilder, but a validation of the former U.S. Olympian’s impressive toughness, as well as his determination to get this third fight even after the one-sided nature of their second meeting.

Last year, Wilder handled his first defeat since the 2008 Beijing Olympics in bizarre fashion. He fired Mark Breland, his longtime trainer who threw in the towel, and then accused him of spiking his water bottle with a muscle relaxant. Wilder also claimed Fury had illegal gloves, among a litany of far-fetched claims that left Fury — no stranger to ridiculous behavior himself — ridiculing Wilder for his lack of professionalism.

“I beat him three times,” Fury said after the finale. “I tried to show him respect, and he wouldn’t give it back.”

But Wilder also exercised the rematch clause in his contract to reclaim his belt, and an arbitrator ruled in his favor after Fury attempted to book a showdown with fellow British heavyweight Anthony Joshua. Fury resignedly agreed to complete the trilogy, but made it clear he expected to stop Wilder again.

It happened, but only after much more drama than even Fury could have imagined.

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Three people were shot October 9, 2021 in Lawndale. | Sun-Times file

They were standing on the street about 7:50 p.m. in the 3500 block of West 12th Place when a dark vehicle pulled up and someone from inside fired shots.

A man and two teenagers were hurt in a drive-by shooting Saturday night in Lawndale on the West Side.

They were standing on the street about 7:50 p.m. in the 3500 block of West 12th Place when a dark vehicle pulled up and someone from inside fired shots, Chicago police said.

A 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition, police said. A teen girl, also 16, was struck in the buttocks and was transported to Stroger Hospital in good condition.

A man, 20, was shot in the hand was also taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition, police said.

Area Three detectives are investigating.

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Yordan Alvarez slides home safely in Game 2. | Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Houston is taking everything from the Sox — their momentum, their mojo, their lunch money — and will be all too happy to sweep them.

There he was, clad in Astros gear and chugging a can of beer on the Minute Maid Park video board like he owned the place. And whipping Houston fans into a frenzy as he did it.

Hey, look, everybody! It’s Geoff Blum! You know, the White Sox hero who hit the winning home run in Game 3 of the 2005 World Series — against the Astros — and, oh, by the way, is immortalized with a bronze statue right outside Guaranteed Rate Field!

But the Astros are taking everything from the Sox so far in an American League Division Series that will end in a sweep if the Sox don’t dig deep Sunday in Game 3 and find a way to stay alive.

The Astros have taken away the Sox’ extra-base-hit power. They’ve taken away any pitching edge the Sox might have thought they had. They’ve taken the Sox’ momentum, their mojo, their lunch money — and even their Blum.

OK, so Blum didn’t even play a full season with the Sox. OK, so he did two stints in Houston as a player and happens to be the Astros’ TV color analyst. OK, so most Sox fans wouldn’t recognize Blum if knocked on their front door. Yes, without a mask on.

But, man, do the Astros have no shame? Is there no bottom to their greed? Is there anything at all the Sox have that the Astros don’t?

Blum chug-a-lugged in the stands during Game 1. He threw out the ceremonial pitch before Game 2 to his play-by-play man, Todd Kalas, son of the late, great Harry. By the time the Astros had beaten the daylights out of the Sox for the second game in a row, I was wondering what might have happened if Game 3 were in Houston instead of Chicago.

Would Frank Thomas have led the crowd in a stirring rendition of “Deep in the Heart of Texas”? Would A.J. Pierzynski have dyed his hair orange and blue? Would Barack Obama have agreed to serve as Dusty Baker’s honorary bench coach?

Speaking of Baker, the Astros manager was asked Saturday on the South Side, before his team got in an off-day, on-field workout, about the criticism of counterpart Tony La Russa that was bouncing around after Game 2. The criticism was mainly about La Russa’s use of his bullpen as a 4-2 Sox lead turned into a 9-4 deficit.

Baker and La Russa have had their share of beefs between them, of course, but this wasn’t the time to pile on.

“Well, I don’t pay much attention to rhetoric anymore,” Baker said. “You know, No. 2, I’ve gotten blamed myself sometimes. … Some of it you might earn, and some of it was out of your control, you know? But you have to stand together as a unit and not pass any judgment or pass any blame because there’s enough to go around.”

Baker mentioned La Russa’s predecessor, Rick Renteria, later in his comment, remembering the heat Renteria took for his decisions in the Sox’ series loss in Oakland last postseason. At least Renteria won a playoff game before he was fired. La Russa is one bad Sunday from being dump-trucked out of the playoffs like he wasn’t even there.

Are we sure Dylan Cease is the right choice to start Game 3 for the Sox?

“He’s the right choice,” La Russa said matter-of-factly. “I’m fired up to watch him. We all are.”

Are we sure Craig Kimbrel should get into another game? Are we sure it was best to leave Michael Kopech unused in Houston? Are we sure Carlos Rodon doesn’t need to be warming up, like, this very second?

Yes, we are. Well, La Russa is. On all of it. That’s how the man rolls.

For the second day in a row, La Russa raved about the Sox “effort” in Game 2.

“It was special,” he said. “[The Astros] made some plays that gave them the edge, but there wasn’t anything wrong with the way we competed. A lot of the stuff that we made happen or almost made happen is the way we’re supposed to go about it. …

“If we play just as hard as we did [Friday], we’ll have a great chance [in Game 3].”

Isn’t effort supposed to be a given in October? Especially for a team led by a Hall of Famer who claims to manage each spring training game like it’s the last game of his life?

There are no such questions about the Astros, who are, according to La Russa, “exactly” like a team he used to battle often when he was managing the Cardinals. A team with a heck of a core: Lance Berkman, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Jeff Kent, Carlos Beltran. A few of those guys were on the field in Houston to watch Blum’s Game 3 homer go over the wall.

“Professional hitters, good hitters down the lineup,” La Russa said. “They run the bases well. They play good defense.

“Must be an Astros thing.”

Must be nice.

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Clark’s Yafae Cotton (4) finds running room against Rabi at Lane. | Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun-Times

The Eagles rarely pass, preferring to control the clock with a ground game featuring a variety of backs running behind a big, talented line.

There isn’t much razzle dazzle or mystery about Clark.

The Eagles rarely pass, preferring to control the clock with a ground game featuring a variety of backs running behind a big, talented line.

The formula comes in handy when there are unexpected hurdles along the way. On Saturday, the Eagles were without leading rusher Quadrell Hill, who hurt an ankle playing basketball earlier in the week. One of his backups, four-year starter Yafae Cotton, suffered a dislocated elbow on the first play from scrimmage of the second half.

But Clark kept plugging away and rolled to a 44-8 Illini Prairie State win over Raby at Lane to remain unbeaten.

Willie Taylor ran 15 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles (7-0, 4-0), who can win the conference title outright when they meet Payton (5-2, 3-1) on Thursday.

But Clark has bigger goals than conference this season. The Eagles are 0-5 all-time in the IHSA playoffs, but believe they can make some noise in Class 3A — much like Raby did in a run to the 4A semifinals four years ago.

“I wish they would have sustained that, because we need that on the West Side,” Clark coach Kevin Simmons said.

“I would love to make it past the first round. I think we have a good chance to host first round and I think we have a good chance to make it out of the first round.”

If they do, it’ll be behind that ground game. That starts up front with a line anchored by Elijah Edwards, the unit’s oldest member

“Since I’m the only senior on the line, they look up to me,” Edwards said. “So I’ve got to work hard for them to work hard. If I do bad, then they do bad. So I’ve got to work my hardest.”

That helps open holes for Taylor and Keondre Pitts, who ran 14 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns. They kept the ground game rolling even without Hill, who ran for 740 yards in the first six weeks.

“We practiced hard knowing he was going to be out,” Taylor said. “We built a system to be ready for the game.”

Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun-Times
Raby’s Kierre Turner (1) is brought down by Clark’s Jassani Freeman (11).

Clark also had a 35-yard punt return for a score by Lamar Phillips and backup quarterback Dontrell Starks’ 17-yard TD pass to Kejuan Fountain.

Raby (4-3, 2-2) had a 54-yard TD pass from Jalen Monroe to Marshaun McKinney.

Taylor said Cotton’s injury, which led to a lengthy delay while he was attended to, was tough to get through.

“It was real emotional,” he said. “I love all my guys. To see him go out like that, I just felt I had to do it for him,” Taylor said.

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A wreath encloses a photograph of Jelani Day near his casket at services held Saturday at Danville High School in Danville. | John Fountain/Sun-Times

“The journey does not stop here,” his mother Carmen Bolden Day said. “I’m only getting ready to lay Jelani to rest. But I can’t rest because I don’t know what happened to him.”

Jelani Day returned home Saturday a radiant, good and honorable native son.

His remains lay in a closed mahogany-colored casket, highlighted in bronze and topped with a spray of white flowers that was flanked by a multicolored assortment of dozens of roses and other floral arrangements that shone as vibrantly as the life that friends and family say he lived — before it was unjustly cut short.

But it was unquestionably a celebration of the life of the 25-year-old Illinois State University graduate student, whose body was found Sept. 4, floating in the Illinois River in Peru, despite the mystery and questions surrounding his disappearance and death.

The more than three-and-a-half-hour afternoon service, which began at noon and was held at downstate Danville High School, flowed with tears and with music, with prayers and praise. There were also messages of faith and hope.

John Fountain/Sun-Times
Mourners gather outside Danville High School Saturday as Jelani Day’s casket is led to waiting pallbearers in Danville.

Perhaps no message rang more loudly than the declaration that it ain’t over. Not his legacy or light. Not the demand for justice for Jelani Day.

“The journey does not stop here,” his mother Carmen Bolden Day told mourners. “I’m only getting ready to lay Jelani to rest. But I can’t rest because I don’t know what happened to him.

“Whoever you are, I want you to know, your time will come,” the mother continued as the crowd rang out in support. “Jelani did not deserve this.”

Throughout the service, there were expressions of love and of gratitude for having been touched by a light called Jelani. Among them was childhood friend Paul DeArmond, 26, who spoke of their ties since kindergarten, of their fondness and love for each other and of how Jelani’s desire to become a speech pathologist was birthed by his desire to help him.

The service began as a preacher declared from the podium, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?”

The choir, dressed in black, some holding red roses, sang “Praise Him, Praise, Him… Jesus, blessed savior, is worthy to be praised.” The drummer beat slowly, the melodic keys of a piano drifting toward heaven, filling this high school auditorium turned sanctuary.

Jelani’s family filed in, walking down the center aisle as hundreds of mourners stood, the crowd stretching even to the balcony, some wiping away tears, others trying to fight them back.

Soon, the song, “Jesus Loves Me,” spilled from the auditorium’s speakers as young people lined up to present red roses, one by one, to Jelani’s mother and the immediate family.

The choir sang: “The best is yet to come,” their joyful noise seeking to lift the spirits of those who gathered here and who grappled with a sense of not only sorrow, but disbelief and horror over Jelani’s death.

“We’re praying for their strength,” the program moderator said. “We’re praying for their strength.”

There were prayers for healing. Prayers for strength. Prayers for answers. Prayers for justice.

And there were reassurances that, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

John Fountain/Sun-Times
Paul DeArmond, 26, Jelani Day’s childhood friend, speaks at his service Saturday at Danville High School in Danville.

There were hands. Hands lifted in praise. Hands outstretched for divine strength. Hands for tissues to wipe away a flood of tears. And hands rested upon shoulders in comfort for this abrupt farewell amid the echoing question: “What happened to Jelani Day?”

There was also wailing — the unbearable audible release of sorrow too heavy to hold — that rose intermittently amid this grief-stricken assembly.

And yet, there was also celebration. In the old-time church way. The evoking of “Hallelujahs” and “Glorys” that have long soothed the souls of Black folk, even amid the endurance of unspeakable horrors, and which stirred the crowd, even if momentarily.

And there were remembrances: Of Jelani as a church boy, singing in the choir. Of his laughter. Of growing up.

And on today, there was the blessed assurance, one speaker told mourners, that Jelani “now has exchanged his white coat for a white robe.”

And there was a promise, a vow, to seek answers and justice for Jelani Day.

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Two teenagers were shot October 9, 2021 in Chicago Lawn. | Adobe Stock Photo

The were on the street about 5:50 p.m. in the 2500 block of West 70th Street when a dark SUV drove by and someone from inside opened fire.

Two teenagers were wounded, one critically, in a shooting Saturday afternoon in Chicago Lawn on the Southwest Side.

The were on the street about 5:50 p.m. in the 2500 block of West 70th Street when a dark SUV drove by and someone from inside opened fire, Chicago police said.

A 17-year-old boy was struck in the arm and was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition, police said. The other, 18, was shot in the chest and was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.

Area One detectives are investigating.

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