Last week we kicked off the return of the NHL with our preview of the Blackhawks preseason. But this week, we’re tearing up the ice rink at the United Center and lowering the basketball hoops. Because, Chicago basketball fans, the NBA is back! And with the return of the league comes one special thing: the start of the 2021 Chicago Bulls preseason.

Now, before we get started talking about the 2021 Chicago Bulls preseason and what to expect when the regular season starts, we’ll just say one thing. The outlook for this newly constructed team is quite promising. How promising exactly? Well, we probably say this every year, but making the playoffs should be the first of this teams’ goals. They just missed out last year after they failed to get it together post-All Star break. But it’s a new year, a chance to prove the doubters wrong. And it all starts with the 2021 Chicago Bulls preseason.

Who’s New To The Bulls Roster?

It’s likely that you have many questions about the Bulls in 2021. Like how well can this new roster perform? What does the 2021 Chicago Bulls preseason schedule look like? And heck, who even are these new guys? Well, lucky for you, we’re here to answer all of those questions, and we’ll start with the players.

All in all, there are eight new players on the Chicago Bulls roster in 2021. They are DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Derrick Jones Jr., Tony Bradley, Marko Simonovic, Alize Johnson, and Ayo Dosunmu. Now, many of these additions happened during the 2021 NBA free agency period. Most notably were the acquisitions of DeRozan, Ball, and Caruso, who are all poised to make an immediate impact for the Bulls. Derrick Jones Jr. is another interesting guy who has the ability to get the offense moving quickly, something the Bulls struggled with in the 2nd half of last season. He can also put up plenty of effort on the defensive end, and will slot in as a reserve behind LaVine and DeRozan.

Ayo Dosunmu, one of the Bulls two rookies along with Simonvic, is another exciting piece to keep your eye on in the 2021 Chicago Bulls preseason and beyond. Dosunmu, the UIUC alumni, has earned plenty of praise during training camp this preseason. Which makes sense of course, he was an absolute beast in college. He’ll just have to prove it on the court when the games start to count as he works to climb up the depth chart for minutes.

Upcoming 2021 Chicago Bulls Preseason Schedule

With a total of four games on the schedule for the 2021 Chicago Bulls preseason, the regular season will be here before we know it. Last night the guys took the floor for their first game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They won quite handily against the Cavs and Lauri Markkanen. Like seriously, don’t even get us started on how dominant LaVine looked. Their other games will be against the New Orleans Pelicans on 10/08, the Cavs again on the 10th, and the Memphis Grizzlies on 10/15. Once that’s all said and done, they’ll open their 2021 regular season on the road against the Detroit Pistons on October 20th.

The post UrbanMatter’s Preview of the 2021 Chicago Bulls Preseason appeared first on UrbanMatter.

Read More

Post ContentRead More

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes at Arlington International Racecourse. | Mark Welsh/Daily Herald

“We haven’t been asked for anything yet, we haven’t committed to anything yet and we wouldn’t without plenty of thoughtful public discussions about it,” Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said.

Public financing of a new stadium isn’t among Arlington Heights’ opening plays as it tries to lure the Chicago Bears to the northwest suburb, but the village could offer some perks to the McCaskey family if the game goes into overtime.

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said Tuesday that “everything is open to discussion” when it comes to negotiating with the Bears organization, but any taxpayer-funded incentives would only be considered “as a last resort.”

“We’re always willing to talk, but certainly since nothing has been asked for or suggested to us [by the Bears] at this point, we’re going to play it by ear,” Hayes said. “Like any business we’re trying to attract or retain, we certainly have an open mind.”

Arlington Heights, like many municipalities, does offer incentives to businesses, such as through the creation of tax increment financing districts. “But generally, we like to hold those as a last resort, if necessary,” Hayes said.

Mark Welsh/Daily Herald
Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes

As for other ways the village could help subsidize the cost of a billion-dollar NFL stadium, “we haven’t been asked for anything yet, we haven’t committed to anything yet, and we wouldn’t without plenty of thoughtful public discussions about it,” Hayes said.

A week after the Bears announced their $197.2 million purchase agreement for the now-shuttered Arlington International Racecourse, Hayes said he expects to meet with team officials soon to hear more about their “specific vision” for the 326-acre parcel.

The sale, which is thought to be contingent on the Bears receiving village zoning approval, is not expected to close for more than a year.

Any stadium proposal would have to gain approval from Arlington Heights’ design commission, plan commission and ultimately its nine-member village board, which includes Hayes.

“We have a lot of time to talk these things through. We’re not rushing into anything,” he said.

A Bears spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the team would seek taxpayer-funded benefits, at either the municipal or state level.

The team would be on the hook for about $87 million if it were to break its Soldier Field lease with the Chicago Park District five years from now, pocket change in the grand scheme of potentially financing a new stadium that’s sure to have a 10-digit price tag.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times file
Arlington International Racecourse at 2200 Euclid Ave. in Arlington Heights. The mayor of the village said it would only offer tax breaks to the Chicago Bears to move there “as a last resort.”

Whether the team leaves the lakefront or not, taxpayers won’t be done footing the bill for Soldier Field’s 2002 renovation until 2033. The often ridiculed “spaceship” overhaul that made it the NFL’s smallest stadium was bankrolled by bonds issued by Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, debt that will total $660 million by the time it’s paid off.

That’s why several state lawmakers have moved to block any public funding for a new stadium. Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said public financing for a new stadium is “not something that we’re looking at,” but he wouldn’t rule it out.

Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has invited the Bears to the negotiating table to stay at Soldier Field.

“I would love that the Bears be part of our present and our future,” she said last week. “But we’ve got to do a deal that makes sense for us in the context of where we are.”

Read More

Former big leaguer and general manager Eddie Robinson, who was the oldest living former MLB player, has died at age 100. He was an All-Star twice while with the White Sox in the early 1950s. | Gene J. Puskar/AP

Robinson was the oldest living former major league player whose more than six decades in professional baseball included being general manager for two teams.

BASTROP, Texas — Former White Sox first baseman Eddie Robinson, the oldest living former major league player whose more than six decades in professional baseball included being general manager for two teams, has died. He was 100.

The Texas Rangers, the team for which Robinson was GM from 1976-82, said he died Monday night at his ranch in Bastrop, Texas.

Robinson was the last surviving player from the 1948 World Series champion Cleveland Indians. That championship was part of the first baseman’s 13 big league seasons, during which he played for seven of the eight American League teams that were active during his career and was a four-time All-Star.

He represented the White Sox as an All-Star in the 1951 and 1952 seasons.

After he finished playing, Robinson was a coach for Baltimore before switching to player development and scouting for the Orioles and several other teams. He was GM of the Atlanta Braves from 1972-76, then had that role with the Rangers. He worked as a scout and consultant for former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in the early 1980s, and his last year in baseball was as a scout for the Boston Red Sox in 2004.

Robinson made his big league debut with Cleveland at age 21 in 1942, then served in the military during World War II before returning to the Indians from 1946-48. He also played for the Washington Senators (1949-50), the White Sox (1950-52), Philadelphia Athletics (1953), New York Yankees (1954-56), Detroit Tigers (1957) and Baltimore (1957). The only AL team of that period he didn’t play for was Boston.

He hit .268 with 172 homers and 723 RBIs in 1,315 career games. He had three consecutive 100-RBI seasons, with at least 22 homers in each of them, for the White Sox in 1951-52 and the A’s in 1953.

“The Texas Rangers are incredibly saddened with the passing of the legendary Eddie Robinson, who spent nearly 70 years in professional baseball as an All-Star player and respected executive,” the team said in a statement. “For Eddie Robinson, it was truly a life well lived.”

The Rangers helped Robinson celebrate his 100th birthday last December, and said he made a final spring training visit to Arizona last February. The Texas native was a regular visitor to Rangers home games in his later years.

Robinson is survived by his second wife, Bette, and his four sons, Robby, Marc, Paul and Drew.

Read More

Hyde Park’s Jaylin Ramseur (9) faces Mather’s Terence Young (11) as he runs the ball. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

The latest rankings of Illinois high school football teams in each class, according to an AP panel of sportswriters.

The latest rankings of Illinois high school football teams in each class. according to an Associated Press panel of sportswriters:

Class 8A

1. Loyola (11) (6-0) 110 1
2. Neuqua Valley (6-0) 96 2
3. Warren (5-1) 79 5
4. Maine South (5-1) 71 8
5. Lockport (6-0) 54 10
6. Marist (4-2) 50 4
7. South Elgin (6-0) 44 9
8. York (6-0) 42 NR
9. Glenbard West (5-1) 14 3
10. Bolingbrook (5-1) 10 NR

Others receiving votes: Hinsdale Central 9. Lincoln-Way East 8. Naperville Central 8. Palatine 5. Glenbrook South 3. Glenbard North 1. O’Fallon 1.

Class 7A

1. Brother Rice (10) (5-1) 118 1
2. Batavia (2) (6-0) 109 2
3. Wheaton North (5-1) 88 4
4. Mount Carmel (4-2) 73 3
5. St. Rita (4-2) 63 5
6. Hersey (6-0) 58 6
7. Normal (6-0) 51 7
8. Hononegah (6-0) 37 8
9. Prospect (5-1) 27 9
10. Collinsville (6-0) 11 NR

Others receiving votes: Hoffman Estates 10. Moline 10. Buffalo Grove 2. Wheaton Warrenville South 2. Geneva 1.

Class 6A

1. East St. Louis (11) (5-1) 128 1
2. Cary-Grove (2) (6-0) 118 2
3. Kankakee (6-0) 98 3
4. St. Ignatius (6-0) 83 5
5. Lemont (6-0) 77 4
6. Crete-Monee (4-2) 58 6
7. Wauconda (6-0) 42 9
8. Kenwood (6-0) 38 7
9. Lake Forest (5-1) 24 10
10. Richards (5-1) 20 10

Others receiving votes: Deerfield 11. Harlem 7. Chatham Glenwood 7. Prairie Ridge 3. Washington 1.

Class 5A

1. Rochester (10) (5-1) 116 1
2. Fenwick (1) (4-2) 98 2
3. Mascoutah (6-0) 93 3
4. Morris (1) (6-0) 73 7
5. Sterling (5-1) 61 9
6. Mahomet-Seymour (6-0) 53 10
7. Providence (3-3) 49 T4
8. Peoria (4-2) 46 T4
9. Glenbard South (5-1) 32 NR
10. Marion (5-1) 13 NR

Others receiving votes: Metamora 10. Sycamore 10. Morton 5. Decatur MacArthur 1.

Class 4A

1. Joliet Catholic (14) (6-0) 140 1
2. Sacred Heart-Griffin (5-1) 119 2
3. Richmond-Burton (6-0) 114 3
4. St. Francis (5-1) 100 4
5. Kewanee (6-0) 59 8
5. Genoa-Kingston (5-1) 59 7
7. Phillips (4-2) 58 5
8. Coal City (4-2) 54 6
9. Stillman Valley (5-1) 28 NR
10. Peoria Notre Dame (4-2) 13 NR

Others receiving votes: Dixon 10. Hyde Park 5. Breese Central 5. Quincy Notre Dame 4. Murphysboro 2.

Class 3A

1. Wilmington (5) (6-0) 121 1
2. IC Catholic (8) (6-0) 114 3
3. Monticello (6-0) 98 2
4. Tolono Unity (6-0) 88 4
5. Williamsville (5-1) 74 5
6. Byron (6-0) 73 6
7. Farmington (6-0) 44 8
8. Princeton (5-1) 40 7
9. Montini (3-3) 23 NR
10. Benton (6-0) 9 NR

Others receiving votes: Mt. Carmel, IL 8. Reed-Custer 7. Nashville 6. Clark 4. Durand 2. Carlinville 2. Monmouth-Roseville 1. Wheaton Academy 1.

Class 2A

1. Decatur St. Teresa (11) (6-0) 128 1
2. Breese Mater Dei (2) (6-0) 115 2
3. Downs Tri-Valley (6-0) 99 4
4. Maroa-Forsyth (5-1) 90 5
5. Bismarck-Henning (6-0) 80 6
6. Pana (6-0) 66 7
7. Knoxville (6-0) 47 T7
8. Clifton Central (5-1) 40 10
9. Athens (5-1) 22 NR
10. Vandalia (5-1) 8 NR

Others receiving votes: Rushville-Industry 6. Johnston City 6. Sterling Newman 3. Bishop McNamara 2. Rockridge 2. Chester 1.

Class 1A

1. Lena-Winslow (13) (6-0) 130 1
2. Carrollton (5-1) 96 4
3. Abingdon (6-0) 94 3
3. Camp Point Central (5-1) 94 2
5. Forreston (5-1) 81 5
6. Mt. Sterling (Brown County) (5-1) 50 7
7. St. Bede (5-1) 46 6
8. Winchester West Central (5-1) 32 9
9. Moweaqua Central A&M (4-2) 22 10
10. Ottawa Marquette (5-1) 16 NR

Others receiving votes: Greenfield-Northwestern 14. Catlin (Salt Fork) 12. Fulton 11. Cumberland 9. Nokomis 6. Aurora Christian 2.

Read More

Last Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions came at a big cost for the Chicago Bears. Although they ran all over Detroit, Chicago also lost starting running back David Montgomery late in the game. This week, it was determined that Montgomery will miss roughly a month or so with a sprained knee. After looking like […] Chicago Bears: 3 running backs Bears should acquire immediately – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

Post ContentRead More

Post ContentRead More

Alyha Khalil, 17, holds up her art piece that will be displayed at The Loft, located at Steppenwolf Theater’s Arts and Education Center on Halsted. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

The Loft Teen Arts Project commissioned seven finalists’ pieces, allocating between $1,500 and $2,500 to five individual artists and two groups.

Most of Alyah Khalil’s oil paintings take her a month or even longer to complete.

But in July, after hearing about the Loft Teen Art Project at Steppenwolf Theater and after a week of six-hour-long days of painting, Khalil’s piece was complete.

“I’ve always wanted my art up in a gallery of some sort, whether that’s the Art Institute or… something as small as a school art show,” said Khalil, 17, of Irving Park. “Just seeing my art up is really encouraging and inspires me a lot to continue creating.”

A senior at Senn High School in Edgewater, Khalil was the youngest artist of the five individuals and two groups selected as finalists for the Loft Teen Arts Project. More than 150 young artists in the Chicago area applied, said Rae Taylor, manager of education partnerships at Steppenwolf.

Each finalist received between $1,500 and $2,500 to produce a piece inspired by the theme “The Future I See: Creating for Community.” The result: four paintings, two of which use mixed media; two photography projects; and a textile made by twin sisters as they sent the fabric back and forth from their colleges — Duke University and Northwestern University.

The seven finalist pieces will be displayed for a year in the Loft, which encompasses the entire fourth floor of theater’s new Arts and Education Center. The Loft is intended to be a “teen gallery,” a multidisciplinary touchpoint between theater and visual art said Megan Shuchman, Steppenwolf’s director of education.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Steppenwolf Theater’s new Arts and Education Center is located at 1650 North Halsted Street, adjacent to the iconic Chicago theater company’s main venue.

Steppenwolf began its $73-million expansion project in March of 2019. The center, which will also contain a 400-seat theater-in-the-round and wine bar, opens to the public next month. The theater company hopes to make the Loft Teen Arts Project an annual event, Taylor said.

The fourth-floor Loft is outfitted with floor-to-ceiling windows, bright orange elevator doors, an outdoor terrace, a maker studio and more. But when teens and young adults come up to the Loft, Taylor said she wants them to feel the space is there specifically for them.

“Oftentimes, young folks get invited into places that are too precious to be touched because they look this nice,” Taylor said. “That’s never really the answer, particularly when you want to get them deeply engaged or to just have them feeling like they have agency and ownership… over the space.”

Khalil’s painting displays a grayscale portrait of Angela Davis, along with one of the activist’s famous quotes: “We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.” Flowers emerge from the painting, glued on where Davis’ hair would be, “to represent that Black hair is beautiful,” Khalil said.

Sketches of Davis already began filling a canvas when Khalil learned about the teen arts project, but hearing the project’s theme of “The Future I See: Creating for Community” only solidified her decision to submit that painting.

“The first thing that caught my eye was ‘community,'” Khalil said. “A lot of my work explores Black identities and their place in our communities… It was like it only makes sense to make this piece.”

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Rae Taylor (left) manager of Education Partnerships at Steppenwolf Theater, and artist Alyha Khalil, discuss where and how student art pieces should be displayed at The Loft.

Even back in kindergarten, Khalil said she remembers constantly drawing stick-figure portraits of her family and friends. She strayed away from painting, though, feeling like she wasn’t good at using acrylic paints. It wasn’t until her freshman year of high school that Khalil experimented with oil paintings, which allowed her to bring to life the realism portraits she dreamt up in her mind, Khalil said. Nine oil paintings make up her completed work thus far, along with photography and other side art projects.

Khalil ended up using the same piece she applied with as the one that will hang in the Loft for the next year, but the other finalists made new pieces, commissioned through the project. Each artist received a “Steppen-buddy” to help them craft a budget for art supplies and create a timeline for completing their projects, Taylor said.

As a finalist, Khalil had the opportunity to be a student curator for the project, helping organize and maintain the gallery, determining where each piece should be displayed. Being a curator is what Khalil aspires to be, she said, something she plans to pursue, attending an art school after graduating high school this spring. Her dream would be to attend the School of the Art Institute, Khalil said.

“It’s really inspiring, just to see my art, seeing the process from this to what my future pieces would look like,” Khalil said. “This is barely the start.”

Other finalists include:

Elizabeth Cervantes (age 18) from Mount Greenwood with an oil painting project
Liz Olivarez Lyles (age 21) from Lakeview with a mixed media project
Kaleia Maxey (age 17) from Beverly with a photography/collage project
Stevia Ndoe (age 18) from West Ridge/North Park with a photography project
Tia and Tyra Smith (age 20) from Chatham with a textile project
BUILD, a violence prevention and youth development organization based on the West side of Chicago, with a group artwork, medium TBA

Read More

A second person has been charged in the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old girl on June 2, 2021, in Back of the Yards. Sources say the shooting was linked to an ongoing conflict between two gangs.

Michael Aguirre, 26, was arrested on the West Side and charged with murder in the June 2 slaying of Savanah Quintero.

A second person has been charged with chasing down a 14-year-old girl and fatally shooting her in June in Back of the Yards on the South Side.

Michael Aguirre, 26, was arrested Monday on the West Side and charged with murder in the June 2 slaying of Savanah Quintero, Chicago police said.

Edgar Martinez has already been charged as the gunman in the shooting.

In Martinez’s first court hearing in June, prosecutors said the 17-year-old and two others confronted the girl and her boyfriend as they walked their dog to a corner store at 48th and Wood streets.

The trio allegedly yelled gang slogans and asked about their affiliations. As the couple left the store, the trio continued to harass them before Martinez was handed a gun and fired, striking Quintero in the back of her head, prosecutors said. She died three days later.

Her murder was believed to be linked to an ongoing conflict between a long-entrenched gang and one that is relatively new to the area, the Sun-Times has reported.

Aguirre, of New Lenox, also faces a count of attempted murder. He was expected to appear in court later Wednesday.

Read More