Week 3 of the 2021 NFL season was a career low point for Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy.
The Bears’ coach has had his fair share of head-scratching moments in Chicago, but none greater than what he displayed in that loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Bears offense was so bad that they ended up with a net one yard passing and, in total, 47 yards of offense.
The Sun-Times’ experts offer their picks for Sunday’s home game against the NFC North rival Lions:
Bears, 17-13
The Bears? Winning a football game? With this offense and these players? Don’t ask me why. I have no idea. After last week’s embarrassment in Cleveland, why anyone would have confidence in the Bears’ beating any team, even the historically comical Lions, is beyond me. And yet here I am, boarding a ship of fools. Now that I think about it, it could be a cry for help. Season: 2-1.
Lions, 18-16
Interesting tussle here, for sure. Bears coming off a pitiful, semi-historic dump against the Browns; Lions desperate not to start 0-4. Bad vs bad. Maybe terrible vs worse. Likely clothes-rending and firings coming up in one or other rust belt city. Pray it’s Detroit. Alas. Season: 3-0.
Bears, 28-17
The Bears defense feels just as likely to score a touchdown as the offense, and I’m betting they continue their years-long dominance of quarterback Jared Goff. It’s hard to find a reason to believe in the Bears, but I’ll settle on a five-word mantra: Have you seen the Lions? Season: 3-0.
Bears 17, Lions 9
This is supposed to be the easiest game on the Bears’ schedule, but perhaps there’s no such thing as a cupcake for them. Nonetheless, the Lions are in shambles — even by their standards — and it’s inconceivable that the Bears would blow this game. Season: 2-1.
Bears, 23-17
The Bears look like they might never win again after Justin Fields’ nine-sack debacle against the Browns last week. They’ll go all-out to protect the quarterback this week — and they still know how to beat teams that are in their league. Season: 3-0.
Bears predictions: Week 4 vs. LionsPatrick Finleyon September 30, 2021 at 9:00 am Read More »
An 18-year-old man was if facing murder charges in connection to a fatal shooting Monday in the Near West Side.
Anthony Watts was arrested Monday after he was identified as the man who shot and killed 57-year-old Qiaoming Shao in the 1300 block of West Grenshaw Street, Chicago police said.
That night, Shao was delivering food when Watts allegedly approached him and opened fire, police said. Shao was struck in the chest and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Watts was arrested shortly after, police said.
He is facing one count of first-degree murder and a misdemeanor charge for obstructing identification, police said.
Watts was expected to appear in bond court Thursday.
Courtney Vandersloot is not a newcomer to the WNBA record books.
She held three of the top five playoff assist totals going into the Sky’s 101-95 double-overtime victory Tuesday against the Connecticut Sun in Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals at Mohegan Sun Arena.
By the end of the game, she still held three of the top five spots, but her name replaced Sue Bird’s at the top of the list with 18 assists.
The 12 points and 10 rebounds she added made her the second player in league history with a playoff triple-double. She joined Sheryl Swoopes, who had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Houston Comets in 2005.
The Sky go as Vandersloot does. If they want to advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2014 and the second time in franchise history, they’ll need to follow her lead and her passes.
“I’m not surprised because this is what she does,” Sky coach/general manager James Wade said.
Wade compared the game to the boxing match between Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago in ”Rocky IV.” He knew it was going to be a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish, and it helps to have Vandersloot at the helm in those games.
That was never more apparent than in both overtime periods.
As exhaustion began to set in for the Sky, who were playing their third game in six days, Vandersloot turned things up a notch. She had four assists, three rebounds and two points in 10 overtime minutes, propelling the Sky to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
The triple-double wasn’t even the most impressive part of Vandersloot’s performance. Her hustle plays were vital. From the jump, she controlled the game, setting the pace for her teammates, getting in passing lanes and coming up with momentum-changing defensive stops.
“It’s remarkable for her to do what she did, play the minutes that she did, defend, rebound and come down and facilitate through pressure,” Candace Parker said. “Sometimes we get spoiled because we see it all the time. It really has been fun for me to watch the way she’s always two plays ahead of what the defense is going to do.”
A 10-year WNBA veteran, Vandersloot is playing the best basketball of her career, averaging 16 points, 9.7 assists and 7.7 rebounds in the playoffs. The Sky, as a result, are playing their best basketball of the season.
Vandersloot’s answer for the Sun’s No. 1 defense was to force it to defend multiple options.
The Sky didn’t settle for forced shots. They ran multiple plays and wore down the Sun, who had four players on the WNBA’s All-Defensive teams, including league MVP Jonquel Jones. The key will be maintaining that effectiveness the rest of the series.
“She picked us apart,” Jones said.
Vandersloot wasn’t the only player who dismantled the Sun’s defense: The Sky had 31 assists on 38 made field goals.
Certain aspects of the Sky’s game need cleaning up ahead of Game 2, including turnovers and containing the Sun on the offensive boards. The Sun had 19 points off Sky turnovers and 20 second-chance points.
Despite the punches the Sun threw, the Sky never lost their composure, not even when Connecticut went up by two with less than a minute to go in regulation. Vandersloot said the hits they absorbed in the regular season prepared them for the playoffs.
“We showed a lot of heart,” Vandersloot said. “When we were tired, we dug deep as a group. We need to keep doing that.”
Chicago artists and creative workers who have been financially impacted by the pandemic could soon find relief from the city.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is set to join the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events on Thursday in announcing a $2.3 million relief fund for creatives who have been suffered a loss of income during the pandemic.
The Chicago Creative Worker Assistance Program will benefit hundreds of members of the arts and entertainment industry by dispensing financial assistance grants ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 by the end of this year, according to a release from the mayor’s office.
Arts administrators, teaching artists, artisans, curators, independent cultural producers and technicians who lost income over the last 18 months due to coronavirus restrictions will be eligible for the monetary aid.
Lightfoot is hoping this news provides a major sigh of relief for creatives since many are gig workers whose pandemic unemployment insurance benefits have already expired.
“The pandemic took a particularly devastating toll on our arts and culture community as shows were canceled, music venues were closed, and artists faced financial insecurity,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “Revitalizing our arts and culture scene is essential to our ability to recover from this pandemic on both an economic and a social level. I am proud to offer continued support and relief to the artists and creators who bring us beauty, culture, and experiences that make us human.”
The announcement comes nearly a week after Navy Pier hosted “Chicago LIVE Again!” — a two-day outdoor festival that celebrated the return of live performances.
DCASE Commissioner Mark Kelly said he’s looking forward to see the city’s talented artists return to the spotlight this fall along with the resurrection of entertainment venues, which are gearing up for a busy end of the year.
“Chicago’s arts landscape has been devastated by the pandemic, but I’m excited to see our talented artists and venues come back to life and energize Chicago,” Kelly said. “In 2022, with additional funds — including a transformational increase in our Cultural Grants budget from $2.7 million to $20.7 million — and our operating budget being largely restored to pre-pandemic levels, I’m thrilled that DCASE is now poised to serve the needs of Chicago’s vital arts community next year and well into the future.”
The Chicago Creative Worker Assistance Program is scheduled to launch mid-October, with an application deadline in November. Grantees are expected to receive funds before the end of this year.
The city is planning to offer a second wave of financial assistance grants for creative workers next year, according to a release from the mayor’s office.
DCASE will host virtual information sessions about the Chicago Creative Worker Assistance Program Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. and Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. Creatives can register to learn more about the financial assistance at ChicagoCulturalGrants.org.
Coach Raphael Wicky took the fall late Wednesday, but the people above him never gave him a chance to succeed.
Hours after a 2-0 victory against New York City FC, sources confirmed the Fire have dismissed Wicky. Twenty-eight games into his second season, the Fire were 7-15-6 and on the verge of missing the playoffs again after falling short of a generous postseason format last year.
Asked about his job security after a defeat to FC Cincinnati this season, Wicky understood why the topic came up.
”There’s always pressure, and when you don’t have results, obviously, yeah, there’s not many arguments,” Wicky said. ”The only thing I can say is that I’m here, 100% committed. I go every day to work hard. We work hard for our staff, and that’s all I can say. The question has to go to other people.”
Those people are owner Joe Mansueto and sporting director Georg Heitz. Indeed, they both have plenty to address as another season spins out of control.
Welcomed like a conquering hero when he took control in September 2019, Mansueto’s first full season ended without a playoff berth. His second is looking like a disaster, and perhaps that can be traced to the 2019-20 offseason.
In October 2019, then-president and general manager Nelson Rodriguez said the Fire would hire an executive to handle the first team. Mansueto and Rodriguez waited until November to fire coach Veljko Paunovic, then Major League Soccer neophyte Heitz wasn’t brought aboard until Dec. 20 of that year.
Though Heitz hasn’t used his late arrival as an excuse, he was forced to act quickly to rebuild the Fire to play in a league he knew little about. His first move a week later was hiring Wicky, a former colleague at FC Basel, who had been sacked by the Swiss club in 2018 and coached the United States to a last-place finish in its group at the Under-17 World Cup in 2019.
Would the Fire be in better shape if Mansueto had acted quicker and given Heitz more time to construct a roster and find a coach? Was it a good idea to hire an executive who never had worked in MLS? The answers are debatable, but the results are clear.
That leads to one more question: Should Heitz get to pick another coach? All three of his designated players have missed, and the Fire have gone backward.
Another Heitz miss was Wicky, who wasn’t blameless. In 2020, the Fire had a playoff spot in their grasp but went winless in their last six games and never developed an ability to finish matches. But that pales by comparison to what has happened this season.
And now a franchise that hoped it was turning away from the calamitous Andrew Hauptman era is looking for a new coach again.
Wicky didn’t get enough from what he had, but he isn’t the only one who made mistakes. He’s just the only one who lost his job.
Left-hander Carlos Rodon’s much anticipated start, his first in nine days and only his sixth in the final two months of the season, finally unfolded Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
It wasn’t overpowering but it was effective.
“I didn’t have my best stuff but went out there and got outs and gave my team a chance to win,” Rodon said after pitching five scoreless innings of one-run ball in the White Sox’ 6-1 win over the Reds. “Didn’t have that overpowering fastball but had some secondary stuff and got weak contact.”
It was something of a test run looking ahead to the postseason for the All-Star left-hander who has pitched through fatigue and soreness in recent weeks as his innings workload reached a level not seen since 2018. There are playoff plans to be made and pitching rotations to be mapped out for an anticipated best-of-five American League Division Series.
“He found a way to get hitters out, the big key is how he feels physically [Thursday] so he can get closer to where he was velocity wise, so just reserve judgment,” manager Tony La Russa said.
Rodon, who got outs without resurrecting the mid-to-upper 90s velocity that carried him to Cy Young contender status during the first half of the season, was mostly in the 90-91 mph range with his four-seam fastball, four-to-five mph below his average for most of the season. That still gives cause for some concern, but there was no qualm with his results. He got nine fly ball outs and just one ground ball out while striking out four and walking one. He threw an economical 69 pitches, 43 for strikes, and got eight swinging strikes.
“I’m not too concerned,” he said. “I got 15 outs and gave up one hit. Some days I’m not going to have it all.”
Michael Kopech relieved Rodon with three scoreless innings, leaving Rodon with a 13-5 record, 2.37 ERA and 185 strikeouts in the best season of his career. Rodon made 24 starts, threw 132 2/3 innings and had five starts with five-plus innings and one or no hits allowed, the most in AL history. And while he hasn’t pitched more than five innings in his last eight starts, Rodon went 5-0 with a 1.92 ERA over his last six.
“To put it in perspective, I threw 11 innings last year, this year I threw 132,” Rodon said. “That’s a lot on a body but I’m not going to use that as an excuse. I’m going to go out there and try to win for my team.”
Rodon, who rested his shoulder on the injured list in mid-August and was given extra days of rest throughout the season, had lasted only three innings in his last start against the Tigers on Sept. 20. The picture of him hanging his head in the dugout was anything but encouraging, and La Russa expressed concern about the discomfort his pitcher was dealing with.
If and when Rodon gets a chance to face the Astros and how far deep into the game he could pitch in the AL Division Series which starts next Thursday is something La Russa, his staff and general manager Rick Hahn will discuss in the coming days.
After Thursday’s off day, the Sox (91-68) have three games remaining against the Tigers. Lance Lynn will pitch Friday, followed by Lucas Giolito Saturday and Dylan Cease Sunday. That would allow Lynn and Giolito to pitch Games 1 and 2 of the ALDS against Houston next Thursday and Friday on five days rest, although the order hasn’t been set. Perhaps one scenario would be Rodon starting Game 3 with Kopech close behind. Another would be starting Cease.
Gavin Sheets hit his 11th home run against Reds right-hander Sonny Gray and drove in another run with a single and Tim Anderson hit his 17th of the season.
The Sox are 1 1/2 games behind the Astros, who have four games left and hold the tiebreaker.
Welcome to our roundup of movie screenings and events in Chicago. Bookmark this page and check back for updates on shows and activities.
Jessica Harper in “Suspiria.”International Classics Inc.
When: Oct. 1-31
Where: Chi-Town Movies Drive-In, 2343 S. Throop
What: Murderous movie madness returns with this year’s lineup of audience favorites, rarely screened films, filmmaker Q&A’s, vendors and even some surprises. The opening week features “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “Perdita Durango” (Oct. 1), “Suspiria” and “Terror” (Oct. 2), “American Psycho” (Oct. 3), “The People Under the Stairs” (Oct. 5) and “Altered States” (Oct. 6). Admission: $30 per car; $40 double feature per car.
More information: For a complete list of movies and updated information regarding the event’s COVID-19 vaccination and/or mask policies, visit musicboxtheatre.com.
Jean Arthur (from left), John Lund and Marlene Dietrich in “A Foreign Affair.”Paramount Pictures
When: Sept. 5-Oct. 3
Where: 3733 N. Southport
What: The Music Box Theatre honors the great German American actress Marlene Dietrich with a matinee series featuring her work with directors Fritz Lang (“Rancho Notorious”), George Marshall (“Destry Rides Again”), Billy Wilder (“A Foreign Affair”) and longtime collaborator Josef von Sternberg (“Morocco” and “Shanghai Express”). Tickets: $9.
More information: For vaccination and/or mask policy information, visit musicboxtheatre.com.
Wednesday was just like old times for Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.
The crowd at the United Center roared for his name in the starting lineup. He won the opening faceoff. And he centered Dominik Kubalik, his inseparable winger from 2019-20, as the Hawks opened the preseason with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Red Wings.
Toews, who sat out all last season, had participated fully in the Hawks’ first five days of training camp. But a complete preseason game — and sizable minutes in it — represented another impressive step forward in his path back to 100% fitness.
”Pretty happy and grateful to be out here,” Toews said in an interview on NBC Sports Chicago during the first intermission. ”That first period, I’ve got some D-zone video to watch or something. I was a little lost out there.
”Training camp has been tough, and it reminds you what the grind, what the routine, actually feels like. But to go through that for five days and continue to respond the way I have is a huge confidence-booster. . . . I’ve still got a lot of work to do, and I’ll keep getting better as camp and the season goes along. But I’m pretty happy with my progress.”
While most of the Hawks’ stars — including wings Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat — sat out the game and might not play much until the regular-season opener Oct. 13, this preseason is critical for Toews, and he likely will see the ice plenty during it.
”It’s just been great to have him back, first of all,” coach Jeremy Colliton said before the game. ”He has worked extremely hard to get himself ready. That process is ongoing, but he means a lot, just his presence to the team and leadership in the room. And he’s a pretty good player, too, so we want to get him back to as high a level as we can. But we’re going to be patient.”
Lukas Reichel’s appearance was also special. He donned a red Hawks sweater and played in the United Center for the first time, calling it a ”dream come true.”
The 19-year-old German rookie skated on the third line with fellow youngsters Henrik Borgstrom and Alex Nylander.
Although his switch to the smaller North American ice surface has been abrupt, Reichel’s creativity, puckhandling and adeptness in tight spaces has helped him adjust quickly. He has realized, with the smaller rink dimensions, that he always has to ”know what’s coming next” — and his hockey IQ allows him to do so.
”He just keeps getting better,” Colliton said. ”If at some point there’s a plateau, that’ll be totally normal and we’ll help him through it. But he’s definitely had some real good moments so far in camp.”
Wing Brandon Hagel was asked Monday who will be the Hawks’ 2021-22 breakout star, like he was last season. His answer was wing MacKenzie Entwistle.
”I know his work ethic and what he does,” Hagel said. ”He really wants to get to that next level, and he has the ability to do so.”
Entwistle and Hagel have been roommates for years, dating to their time in Rockford, so there might be some bias there. But Entwistle, 22, has been impressive in camp, with Colliton raving about how he has taken a ”huge step forward year-to-year” with his skating, in particular.
At least four bystanders were wounded, one critically, in a shooting Wednesday in West Town. A fifth person, police believe to be a possible suspect, was also shot.
Two vehicles were driving in the 800 block of North Milwaukee Avenue about 4:45 p.m. when an occupant of one vehicle began shooting at the other, Chicago police said.
A 29-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the back and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, police said.
A 30-year-old woman and two men, 25 and 48, were taken to the same hospital in good condition, police said.
Another man, 27, was struck in the arm and transported to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said.
One of the victims is a “possible suspect,” according to Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott.
The scene of the shooting spanned two blocks of Milwaukee Avenue from Hubbard to Grand streets, Chicago fire officials said.
Crystal Wilson, a ride-share driver, said the gunman hit a passenger in her blue Kia before continuing its chase through the intersection. She remained on the scene waiting for officers to investigate her car.
“I’ve got a headache, I’m a little shocked,” Wilson said. “I live in Indiana so I don’t want to just leave my car… I was trying to take my passengers home, and we heard a lot of noise, and I thought the noise was like some random fireworks. And then he said, ‘No, I’ve been shot.'”
Wilson stopped the car and dialed 9-1-1 as another woman came over to help.
“These guys were hanging out in the window shooting…I was trying to focus on not hitting someone else’s car and… make sure my passenger was OK,” Wilson said.
Dancello Bennett and Harry McGraw were on their way to grab a bite to eat when they heard the sound of gunfire quickly approaching. McGraw dropped to the ground for safety while Bennett tried to run inside a building.
“We literally have an office down the street. Just grabbing lunch and [then] it’s like an all out gun war, like shooting down the streets,” Bennett said. “It’s wild.”
McGraw said it looked like a gunman from an SUV was shooting at a car in front of them. He thought he heard 20 to 30 gunshots in 10 seconds.
The fleeing car honked at other drivers to get out of their way so they didn’t get blocked in.
“It was just unbelievable to know that these guys are willing to risk it all in the midst of everybody else, just reckless driving, reckless shooting,” McGraw said. “So we need to pray for Chicago; we need better for Chicago.”
Daniel Cater, a new driver for Fortune Fish & Gourmet, was preparing to turn off Milwaukee Avenue onto Halsted Street when he saw two people hanging out of a car with guns.
Two bullets hit the top of the truck — inches from his head– and another bullet pierced his driver-side tire.
“I saw it happen; I knew that was shooting,” Cater said. “I’m still in shock, it was a near-death experience,” Cater continued. “It’s almost unbelievable … I could have died right now. I really don’t feel anything.”
Following the shooting, people gathered around the typically crowded six-way intersection littered with dozens of bullet casings.
Michelle Peterson, of Lake View, was having a drink on Clover’s patio, 722 W. Grand Ave., with a friend when she heard what she thought were fireworks.
“By the time we heard it, it was kind of too late to do anything about it. Two people were shot right there … in broad daylight, in the middle of a busy population area,” Peterson said.
