Welcome to our highlights of events and entertainment on stage at Chicago’s theaters. From local productions to Broadway hits, our guide has the latest on shows in the city. Bookmark this page and check back for updates and ticket information.
Ghostlight Theatre
Levi Denton-Hughes as Soledad in “It’s Poppin'” at Ghostlight Ensemble.Ghostlight Ensemble
WHAT: Ghostlight Theatre’s “Make/Believe,” its annual festival for young audiences, takes place virtually this year. Featured are six new short plays that run the gamut from “Sunshine and the Sea of Lost Things,” about a child with no memory lost at sea to “It’s Poppin’,” about a balloon afraid of soaring through the clouds, to “Splash of Magic,” about a young Black girl trying to conquer her fear of swimming.
WHEN: The festival streams live at 2 p.m. June 5-6 and on demand to July 4
What: June is Chicago Dance Month and it kicks off on May 29 at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand. Presented by See Chicago Dance, the free live event features performances by Aerial Dance Chicago, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater, Mandala Arts and The Seldoms. The celebration continues with pop-up performances (3 p.m. Saturdays June 5-Sept. 4, Navy Pier), a park-wide dance “scavenger hunt” featuring an eclectic group of artists (4:30 p.m. June 9, 30 in McKinley Park, 2210 W. Pershing) and a virtual event with more dance performances (6 p.m. June 24). All events are free. Visit seechicagodance.com/dancemonth.
Welcome to our highlights for concerts, festivals and live music in Chicago. From free shows at Millennium Park to large festivals like Ravinia and Lollapalooza, and intimate shows at small local venues, our guide has all the latest music entertainment. Bookmark this page and check back for updates on concerts and events.
‘Raices to Roots’
Poet Luis Tubens a.k.a. Logan Lu (from left), dancer Alyssa Harslton, singer Lester Rey, choreographer and dancer Maria Luisa Torres, dancer Angela Townsend, and musicians Natalie Land and Peter “Maestro” Vale celebrate Puerto Rican stories of pride and resilience through original Afro-Latin dance, spoken word, and music in “Raices to Roots.”Marlon Taylor
WHAT: The Chicago Puerto Rican experience is celebrated in “Raices to Roots.” Using “home” as a theme, a cast of artists embody stories of pride, struggle and resilience through original Afro-Latin dance, spoken word and music. The performers are poet Luis Tubens a.k.a. Logan Lu; dancers Maria Luisa Torres, Alyssa Harslton and Angela Townsend; and musicians and performers Peter “Maestro” Vale, Natalie Land and Lester Rey.
WHEN: June 5-6, 24-27
WHERE: Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, 4048 W. Armitage.
WHAT: Philip Glass’ new opera, “Circus Days and Nights,” is a stunning fusion of opera and contemporary circus with a libretto by playwright David Henry Hwang. The opera, a collaboration between Glass and the Swedish contemporary circus company Cirkus Cirkor (artistic director Tilde Bjorfors directs) and Malmo Opera, brings to life the poetry of Robert Lax and takes audiences on an adventure into the world of the circus and the performers who dedicate their life to this art.
WHEN: The world premiere opera livestreams through June 13
WHAT: Blues guitarist Tab Benoit jumpstarts the return to live music with a multi-night stand at City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph. One of the most impressive guitarists to emerge from the bayous of Southern Louisiana, Benoit has found a favorite second home in Chicago where he fits right in with the city’s long held love of the blues.
WHAT: The Chicago Sinfonietta concludes its season with a program titled “Fusion: Stronger, Together,” which includes the world premiere of “La Leccion Tres,” an orchestra commission from collaborator and Grammy Award-winning musician Victor Wooten. Also on the program: an arrangement of the Suite from Astor Piazzolla’s tango opera, “Maria de Buenos Aires,” and Valerie Coleman’s “Suite: Portraits of Josephine,” a musical tribute to Josephine Baker. The concert streams at 7:30 p.m. June 5.
WHAT: The Music Institute of Chicago Chorale presents an online performance of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana,”in an arrangement for two pianos and percussion. The soloists are soprano Angela De Venuto, baritone Leo Radosavljevic and tenor Peder Reiff.
What: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra returns with live performances May 27-June 13. The first program (May 27-30) conducted by Michael Mulcahy includes Aaron Copland’s iconic “Fanfare for the Common Man” and Samuel Barber’s 20th-century interpretation of a Bach chorale paired with works by Tilson Thomas, Bernstein and Schuller. Erina Yashima conducts (June 3-6) two “Novelettes” by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Schubert’s Symphony No. 5, the string orchestra version of Jessie Montgomery’s “Strum” and Kodaly’s orchestral “Dances of Galanta”; and Edo de Waart (June 10-13) conducts Mozart’s overture to “Don Giovanni,” Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll” and Mozart’s Symphony No. 40.
When: Live-streamed show at 8 p.m. May 28 from City Winery Nashville
What: Singer-songwriter Shannon McNally celebrates the release of her new album, “The Waylon Sessions” with a live-streamed show from City Winery Nashville. She’s assembled an all-star band along with special guests Rodney Crowell, Buddy Miller and Kenny Vaughn. On the album, McNally puts a woman’s spin on outlaw classics by Jennings and his cohorts. The result is not so much a tribute but a rethinking of a catalog long considered a bastion of masculinity.
“Tuesdays on the Terrace” at the MCA in Chicago.Copyright MCA
When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays June 1-Aug. 31
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art’s outdoor sculpture garden, 220 E. Chicago
What: Tuesdays on the Terrace returns to the Museum of Contemporary Art’s outdoor sculpture garden. The popular jazz concert series features an array of Chicago jazz musiciansFirst up on June 1 is Alexis Lombre’s Ancestral Awakenings. Free with advance reservations. Visit mcachicago.org.
More information: Get ready for some furious fingerpicking and perfect harmonies when the Chicago bluegrass band Henhouse Prowlers celebrates the release of a new album “The Departure” with four shows at City Winery.
What: The final online event of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra’s season includes Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” and Eric Ewazen’s Symphony in Brass, Valerie Coleman’s “Portrait of Josephine” and Joan Tower’s “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1,” which is often viewed as a feminist counterpoint to the Copland work of similar name.
Lollapalooza
When: July 29-Aug. 1
Where: Grant Park
What: Lollapalooza returns to Grant Park July 29-Aug. 1 with Foo Fighters, Post Malone, Tyler, the Creator, Miley Cyrus, Dababy, Marchmello, Journey, Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, Kaytranada and more. $375+/festival pass. Visit lollapalooza.com.
Pitchfork Music Festival
When: Sept. 10-12
Where: Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph
What: The Pitchfork Music Festival returns to Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph. Performers include Erykah Badu Phoebe Bridgers, St. Vincent, The Fiery Furnaces, Angel Olsen, Kim Gordon Waxahatchee, Flying Lotus, Thundercat and more.
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents announced Wednesday that they have reached a deal to form a new governing coalition, paving the way for the ouster of the longtime Israeli leader.
The dramatic announcement by opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, came shortly before a midnight deadline and prevented what could have been Israel’s fifth consecutive election in just over two years.
“This government will work for all the citizens of Israel, those that voted for it and those that didn’t. It will do everything to unite Israeli society,” Lapid said.
The agreement still needs to be approved by the Knesset, or parliament, in a vote that is expected to take place early next week. If it goes through, Lapid and a diverse array of partners that span the Israeli political spectrum will end Netanyahu’s record-setting but divisive 12-year rule.
Netanyahu, desperate to remain in office while he fights corruption charges, is expected to do everything possible in the coming days to prevent the new coalition from taking power. If he fails, he will be pushed into the opposition.
The deal comes at a tumultuous time for Israel, which fought an 11-day war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip last month while also experiencing mob violence between Jews and Arabs in cities across the country. The country also is emerging from a coronavirus crisis that caused deep economic damage and exposed tensions between the secular majority and the ultra-Orthodox minority.
Under the agreement, Lapid and Bennett will split the job of prime minister in a rotation. Bennett, a former ally of Netanyahu, is to serve the first two years, while Lapid is to serve the final two years — though it is far from certain their fragile coalition will last that long.
The historic deal also includes a small Islamist party, the United Arab List, which would make it the first Arab party ever to be part of a governing coalition.
In the coming days, Netanyahu is expected to continue to put pressure on hard-liners in the emerging coalition to defect and join his religious and nationalist allies. Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, may also use his influence to delay the required parliamentary vote. There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu or Likud.
Lapid called on Levin to convene the Knesset for the vote as soon as possible.
Netanyahu has been the most dominant player in Israeli politics over the past three decades — serving as prime minister since 2009 in addition to an earlier term in the late 1990s.
Despite a long list of achievements, including last year’s groundbreaking diplomatic agreements with four Arab countries, he has become a polarizing figure since he was indicted on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in 2019.
Each of the past four elections was seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule. And each ended in deadlock, with both Netanyahu’s supporters as well as his secular, Arab and dovish opponents falling short of a majority. A unity government formed with his main rival last year collapsed after just six months.
The new deal required a reshuffling of the Israeli political constellation. Three of the parties are led by hard-line former Netanyahu allies who had personal feuds with him, while the United Arab List made history as a kingmaker, using its leverage to seek benefits for the country’s Arab minority.
“This is the first time an Arab party is a partner in the formation of a government,” said the party’s leader, Mansour Abbas. “This agreement has a lot of things for the benefit of Arab society, and Israeli society in general.”
Among the concessions secured by Abbas were agreements for legal recognition of Bedouin villages in southern Israel, an economic plan for investing 30 billion shekels ($9.2 billion) in Arab towns and cities, and a five-year plan for combating violent crime in Arab communities, according to Army Radio.
Lapid, 57, entered parliament in 2013 after a successful career as a newspaper columnist, TV anchor and author. His new Yesh Atid party ran a successful rookie campaign, landing Lapid the powerful post of finance minister.
But he and Netanyahu did not get along, and the coalition quickly crumbled. Yesh Atid has been in the opposition since 2015 elections. The party is popular with secular, middle-class voters and has been critical of Netanyahu’s close ties with ultra-Orthodox parties and said the prime minister should step down while on trial for corruption charges.
The ultra-Orthodox parties have long used their outsize political power to secure generous budgets for their religious institutions and exemptions from compulsory military service. The refusal of many ultra-Orthodox Jews to obey coronavirus safety restrictions last year added to widespread resentment against them.
Bennett, 49, is a former top aide to Netanyahu whose small Yamina party caters to religious and nationalist hard-liners. Bennett was a successful high-tech entrepreneur and leader of the West Bank settler movement before entering politics.
In order to secure the required parliamentary majority, Lapid had to bring together eight parties that have little in common.
Their partners include a pair of dovish, left-wing parties that support Palestinian independence and three hard-line parties that oppose major concessions to the Palestinians and support West Bank settlements. Lapid’s Yesh Atid and Blue and White, a centrist party headed by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and the United Arab List are the remaining members.
The coalition members hope their shared animosity toward Netanyahu will provide enough incentive to find some common ground.
“Today, we succeeded. We made history,” said Merav Michaeli, leader of the dovish Labor Party.
The negotiations went down to the wire, with Labor and Yamina feuding over the makeup of a parliamentary committee.
Earlier this week, when Bennett said he would join the coalition talks, he said that everyone would have to compromise and give up parts of their dreams.
In order to form a government, a party leader must secure the support of a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat parliament. Because no single party controls a majority on its own, coalitions are usually built with smaller partners. Thirteen parties of various sizes are in the current parliament.
As leader of the largest party, Netanyahu was given the first opportunity by the country’s figurehead president to form a coalition. But he was unable to secure a majority with his traditional religious and nationalist allies.
After Netanyahu’s failure to form a government, Lapid was then given four weeks to cobble together a coalition. That window was set to expire at midnight.
Lapid already faced a difficult challenge bringing together such a disparate group of partners. But then war broke out with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on May 10. The fighting, along with the eruption of Arab-Jewish mob violence in Israeli cities during the war, put the coalition talks on hold.
But after a cease-fire was reached on May 21, the negotiations resumed, and Lapid raced to sew up a deal. He reached a breakthrough on Sunday when Bennett agreed to join the opposition coalition.
___
Associated Press Writer Ilan Ben Zion contributed to this report.
Emily Choi says she’s generally felt safe while living in University Village, but that changed after a man went on a racist tirade against her for wearing a mask while pushing her son on a stroller Wednesday morning.
“I was just shocked,” said Choi, 34. “It’s like, wow, this this happened to me and it’s in my own neighborhood and, you know, my son has to witness that which is terrible.”
Choi, of Chinese descent, was taking her 20-month-old son to daycare about 7:40 a.m. near the University of Illinois at Chicago athletic fields when she crossed paths with a white man who looked at her and said “‘take off your f- – – – – – mask, a- – – – – – -,'” she recalled.
“I had an option to not say anything and just keep walking, but I just wasn’t okay with it,” said Choi. “I felt like if I just said nothing and turned away, it’s like kind of accepting what he did.”
Choi works as a pharmacist, and said that as a healthcare worker she has seen the impact and toll of COVID-19, and she chooses to wear a mask to protect the immunocompromised.
While she tried to explain to the man that not everyone is vaccinated yet, the man ignored her and told her “‘you need to go back to Asia'” before walking off, saying “‘white power'” and thrusting his fist in the air, she said.
Choi sad the man was wearing a Cubs shirt, sandals, a baseball cap and had a white dog with him.
After overcoming her shock, Choi dropped her son off at daycare but then saw the man again in the field area with his dog while on her way home. She walked over to UIC staff nearby and reported the incident. Staff told her they would contact campus police, but when she checked in with police later she was told they couldn’t locate him.
Chicago police confirmed a woman reported being harassed by a white man for not wearing a mask Wednesday morning in the 900 block of West 14th Street. No one was in custody.
The incident is the latest in a wave of hate incidents against Asians and Asian Americans across the country. Between March 2020 and this past March, more than 6,600 anti-Asian hate incidents have been documented by Stop AAPI Hate.
President Joe Biden last week signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. The legislation will put a Justice Department official in charge of a review of anti-Asian hate crimes. Illinois lawmakers also recently sent a bill to Gov. J.B. Pritzker mandating Asian American history be taught in public schools.
Choi said she’s endured “periods and pieces” of racism throughout her life, but nothing like what happened to her Wednesday. She said finding the root cause of the recent increase in attacks across the country is difficult, but former President Donald Trump was a catalyst in helping to embolden people with prejudice in their hearts.
“It’s just so weird that people think it’s OK now and I’m not sure what shifted in our community to make that OK,” Choi said. “Part of me is always like you know, this was just always there, it’s just a bad mirror, Trump just showed a bad mirror of society and at the end of the day, the reality is that it’s in people’s hearts, it’s okay to them, this racism.”
Looking back on the incident, Choi said she probably shouldn’t have engaged the man after he insulted her for wearing a mask, but she wanted to set a good example for her son.
“I don’t want my son to think these kinds of things are okay. I want him to live in a world where people are called out for what they’re doing wrong.”
Naomi Osaka did more than stun the sports world when she pulled out of the French Open on Monday after she declined to participate in the post-match news conference, drawing a $15,000 fine.
The 23-year-old tennis champion’s bold decision to go public with her mental health struggle shone a light in a very dark place.
Osaka, the highest-paid female athlete on the planet, acknowledged in a social media post that she has been dealing with depression and anxiety since 2018 when she won her first Grand Slam, defeating Serena Williams amid a controversy that cheated Osaka of her greatest moment.
Whether going public at the tail end of Mental Health Awareness month was planned or a spur-of-the-moment decision, the four-time Grand Slam champion’s bombshell blew a hole through the stigma that still exists around mental illness.
“The truth is I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018, and I have had a really hard time coping with that,” Osaka said in an Instagram post.
“Anyone that knows me knows I am introverted, and anyone that has seen me at tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety … So here in Paris, I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious, so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences,” she said.
Osaka isn’t the only athlete in recent times that has talked openly about having a mental illness.
But usually, the admission comes after the athlete has been arrested or charged with criminal behavior.
Osaka framed her anxiety in a way that is likely to strike a chord with ordinary people struggling to overcome the anxiety or depression threatening to take over their lives.
Given the carnage we have lived through this past year with COVID-19 and gun violence, we could all use a little self-care.
But too many people try to push through the pain without treatment, and that’s a problem.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, “more than half of people with mental illness don’t receive help for their disorders.”
Additionally, a 2019 national poll conducted by that group found that mental health stigma is “still a major challenge in the workplace with more than one in three workers concerned about retaliation or being fired if they sought mental health care.”
While Osaka’s decision to decline interviews while competing in the French Open brought cheers and jeers, it opened the door to a wider conversation about where we are today regarding mental illness.
Frankly, it was disappointing that the initial reaction from the organizers of the four Grand Slam tournaments was punishment and disqualification.
After Osaka walked away from the tournament, the French tennis federation president showed a sliver of empathy.
“First and foremost, we are sorry and sad for Naomi Osaka … We wish her the best and the quickest possible recovery,” Gilles Moretton said in a statement the AP reported.
It would have been more humane, not to mention compassionate, to allow Osaka to skip the press conferences and do what she needed to do to take care of her mental health.
Like other athletes who have defied the league’s rules to make a point, Osaka will likely pay the price for her stance.
It will be worth it.
Her candor about a subject that is often treated as taboo could encourage others to seek treatment and possibly save lives.
Research has shown that “46 percent of people who die by suicide had a mental health condition,” according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
I hope that Osaka doesn’t stay away from the media for too long.
Beating out stiff competition in his own bullpen, Ryan Tepera has been named the National League reliever for the month of May.
Tepera threw 14 2/3 innings last month, earning 7 holds while striking out 19 and allowing a single earned run.
“I’m happy for him,” manager David Ross said. “That’s a great accomplishment, a great accolade for him to get. A lot of innings and a lot of traffic that he worked through to get us in the spot that we’re in right now.”
Ross pointed specifically to a moment on May 23 in St. Louis when he called on Tepera to get the Cubs out of a jam.
With the score knotted at zero in the bottom of the seventh, Tepera took over for Tommy Nance with two runners on and nobody out. Tepera worked out of the situation without allowing a run, and the Cubs went on to beat the Cardinals, 2-1.
“Tep’s done a really nice job of filling a bunch of roles for us,” Ross said. “I feel like I can bring him in with traffic. He knows how to handle the environment.”
The Cubs bullpen as a group has been stellar all season. Going into Wednesday’s game, their collective 2.69 ERA was the second best in baseball, and at close to 30%, they lead baseball in strikeout rate.
“Tep’s been extremely important to our success, as everybody has,” Ross said. “It really is a complete group down there that has contributed in so many different ways and everybody has their role, they fill it really well. They’ve filled in when other guys have gone down or not having success. Just like our offense, it’s been a next man up mentality.”
Role players the right fit
One reason for the Cubs’ success this season is the way guys called up from Iowa have stepped up and filled in when needed.
“Our scouting department did a good job evaluating these guys in the winter of what they were looking for to put in our lineup as backups in Triple-A,” hitting coach Antony Iapoce said.
Among them, Patrick Wisdom has stood out. In the first two games of the Padres series, he hit three home runs, and he is batting .435. Wisdom played briefly with the Cubs in 2020 and had stints with the Cardinals and Rangers in 2018 and 2019, and his success in Chicago of late has not been a surprise to Iapoce.
“It wasn’t that they learned anything from us, that’s who they are,” Iapoce said. “They put the ball in play, they barrel balls up, they use the whole field, and it helps in our lineup.”
MLB celebrates inaugural Lou Gehrig Day
Wednesday marked the first “Lou Gehrig Day” in Major League Baseball. June 2 is the anniversary of both Gehrig’s debut in 1925 and of his passing in 1941.
To honor Gehrig, ballparks displayed “4ALS” and uniforms had special patches. In the Cubs organization, there is an especially strong connection; Marquee announcer Jon “Boog” Sciambi has for years been active in raising money and awareness for those with ALS, and David Ross has participated in several of his fundraisers.
“It’s a special day,” Ross said. “I’m glad that Major League Baseball has really brought this thing to the forefront.”
ON DECK
Cubs at Giants
Thursday: Zach Davies (2-2, 4.65 ERA) vs. Anthony Desclafini (4-2, 3.56), 8:45p.m., Marquee, 670-AM.
Offensive lineman Ze’Veyon Furcron and running back Romeir Elliott were two Salukis who had plenty to celebrate this spring as SIU made the FCS quarterfinals. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)
Southern Illinois head football coach Nick Hill recalled his own playing days in Carbondale this season when fans loudly chanted “S-I-U, S-I-U” during a playoff victory at Weber State in Utah.
More than a decade after his playing days ended, Hill and the Salukis have brought the team’s fan base back to life thanks to its dramatic playoff run during the COVID spring season.
SIU was equal parts resilient and fearless, bouncing back from a season-opening loss to North Dakota with an eye-popping upset of FCS heavyweight North Dakota State, surviving a close call against Northern Iowa and rebounding from an emotional loss at Missouri State to end up in the national quarterfinals.
Don’t expect this SIU team to give up what it gained this season, which included boat loads of confidence in itself.
SIU has two capable returning quarterbacks, a dominant run game and dynamic wide receivers on offense to go with a veteran line to compete in the rugged Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Defensively, an immensely talented secondary leads the way, along with ultra-productive linebackers and solid talent along the line.
SIU opened plenty of eyes nationally and in its own back yard, and they should reap the benefits when stadiums ease COVID restrictions this fall.
Veteran linebacker Bryce Notree tweeted last month that he would love to see Saluki Stadium full when the team debuts at home Sept. 18 against Dayton.
This fall, sellouts should be an expectation and not a wish in Carbondale as they have been in seasons past.
Here are five burning questions as the fall approaches for the Salukis:
Can SIU tighten up its run defense?
In a season of amazing highlights, comebacks and good vibes, SIU’s biggest sore spot was its run defense. The 392-yard output by South Dakota State in March was tough to swallow, for sure. But the Salukis also gave up more than 200 yards in five other games.
One of the biggest hurdles this season was the loss of two defensive tackles – including Tulsa transfer Jajuan Blankenship – to season-ending injuries. This led to a shuffling up front that included moving standout defensive end Jordan Berner inside for the last four games of the season. He performed admirably there despite being out of position. If the Salukis can get healthy up front and add reinforcements on the line, they could turn those gaudy stats around quickly.
2. Who starts at quarterback this fall?
Roommates Stone Labanowitz and Nic Baker are sure to face off for the job during fall camp. Both have plenty of triumphs on their resumes and know the SIU system well, along with having a comfort level with the coaching staff.
Baker, the Rochester, Ill., native, was the player SIU turned to when starter Kare’ Lyles was hurt in the spring opener against North Dakota. Baker completed 68% of his passes before going down with a season-ending foot injury March 13 against Northern Iowa. Enter Labanowitz, the gutsy playmaker who made some dramatic plays while throwing for more than 1,200 yards and a 72% completion rate. This off-season, the Salukis also added Cincinnati transfer Michael Lindauer, who passed for nearly 11,000 yards as a prep player in Indiana.
Lyles entered the transfer portal this spring after graduating from SIU.
3. Does SIU belong with the MVFC’s heavyweights?
For every stumble last season, SIU seemed to have an incredibly resilient response. They never backed down from a challenge. This fall, the challenge is to remain among the conference’s elite.
Ending North Dakota State’s 39-game winning streak Feb. 27 in Carbondale was a masterpiece. And, it is undoubtedly the signature win of Hill’s tenure as head coach. But the Salukis must continue to – as Labanowitz said after beating Northern Iowa – hang big fish on the wall.
To continue building their resume, SIU needs to dominate the non-conference rivalry with Southeast Missouri, push around the teams below them in the league and make a positive showing in their FCS game at Kansas State on Sept. 11.
For some SIU fans, flexing their offensive muscle against Illinois State and Western Illinois, who both opted out of the season and left the Salukis in a scheduling bind while they were chasing a player berth, is a must.
However, focusing on wins against the Dakota schools and UNI is how to build a playoff resume again this fall and beyond.
4. Will the Salukis rest on their accomplishments?
Not. A. Chance.
SIU fans only need to look as far as Twitter to see how many transfers are headed to Carbondale. Along with Lindauer, the offensive additions include running back Donnavan Spencer (Western Carolina), tight end Tyce Daniel (Memphis) and lineman Sam Neuman (Trinity Valley Community College).
On defense, cornerback David Miller (Navy), linebacker Kholbe Coleman-Abrams (Bowling Green), and tackles Kam Bowdry (Tennessee-Martin) and DeShondrick Foxworth (Buffalo) committed to SIU via the transfer portal, where the Salukis have been relentlessly active since the season ended.
5. Can the quick turnaround from the spring be a detriment?
The Salukis wouldn’t trade their playoff run for anything. But their bodies will have to bounce back quicker than other teams on their schedule, including ISU and WIU. Those two MVFC programs drew the ire of Saluki fans and head coach Nick Hill for opting out of the season just before both were scheduled to play SIU. Losing the two games took away a pair of likely wins for Southern and forced them to scramble to find a game against Southeastern Louisiana, which turned into a playoff play-in game. (Remarkably, some SIU observers were still shooting social media arrows at ISU, WIU and the Missouri Valley during the team’s playoff run.)
The upcoming fall season involves a calendar turnaround that hasn’t been experienced before in college football. How SIU navigates it will go a long way to determining its success.
Blog co-authors Barry Bottino and Dan Verdun bring years of experience covering collegiate athletics. Barry has covered college athletes for more than two decades in his “On Campus” column, which is published weekly by Shaw Media. Dan has written four books about the state’s football programs–“NIU Huskies Football” (released in 2013), “EIU Panthers Football (2014), “ISU Redbirds” (2016) and “SIU Salukis Football” (2017).
Dalton is going into his 11th season tasked with learning a new offense and mentoring Fields. | AP Photos
Nagy is often overly optimistic about where the Bears stand, but he might be right to feel joyful about who they have at quarterback
Matt Nagy is happy.
It isn’t that manufactured happiness that came from forcing himself to look on the bright side as he tried to make chicken salad out of whatever you’d call Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles’ interpretation on quarterback play the last three seasons. Instead, to borrow one of Nagy’s favorite phrases, it’s real.
For the first time in his career as Bears coach, his quarterback situation is pretty much ideal. He has steady veteran Andy Dalton in line to start this season and limitless rookie Justin Fields in training to replace him as soon as possible. And while that’s not as good as trading for Russell Wilson would’ve been, it’s the best Nagy has had it.
Nagy isn’t going to publicly take a blowtorch to Trubisky, but it couldn’t be clearer that his praise for Dalton on Wednesday — after just two practices — illustrated why it was so frustrating to be stuck with Trubisky and Foles last season.
“He is doing a great job of making anticipatory throws,” Nagy said of Dalton. “If there’s one thing that these wide receivers are going to come [away with] out of these OTAs, they’re going to see that when that ball is supposed to be there, that ball is gonna be there.
“So they better get ready to put their hands up to catch it, you better be at the right spot. It really is impressive with how much he’s digested this playbook already.”
Dalton’s career numbers are remarkably similar to Trubisky’s, but trust makes all the difference for Nagy. He grew exasperated with Trubisky’s less-than-masterful grasp of the offense, his struggles reading defenses and inaccurate throws that wasted opportunities.
Nagy knows what he’s getting from Dalton, who has played 144 games and taken more than 8,000 snaps. He’s not mobile, his deep ball is average and the Bears absolutely view him as a one-year rental, but they can tailor the playbook to his limitations and expect consistency.
That changes everything when Nagy calls plays.
“When the quarterback already knows what the defense is doing, he can play faster than others,” Nagy said. “I hope we all understand what that means for a vet versus a young guy.
“He’s gonna throw the football and if you’re not there and it’s an incompletion and it’s your fault, then are we going to keep letting that happen or are we going to get somebody else [at receiver]?”
Adding to the Nagy’s bliss at quarterback, Dalton is on board with his request that he tutor Fields along the way.
Dalton wasn’t blindsided by the Bears drafting Fields No. 11 overall a month after he signed. While they assured him their pursuit of Wilson or any other veteran was over, he assumed quarterback was high on their list going into the draft.
“I knew the situation I was going into regardless of whether they drafted somebody,” Dalton said. “I was on a one-year deal and I was going to be the starter… whatever happens after this year, happens.”
What Nagy hopes happens is that Dalton is good enough to keep the Bears in the playoff race while Fields treats this season like grad school before taking over in 2022. He believes that will happen seamlessly and harmoniously — and of course that rings of Nagy’s trademark over-the-top optimism. He always thinks everything is going to work out perfectly.
Duke associate head coach Jon Scheyer is expected to succeed Mike Krzyzewski. | Ben McKeown/AP
The Glenbrook North graduate is expected to become the Blue Devils’ new coach if Mike Krzyzewski retires after the upcoming season.
Jon Scheyer reached out to his usual Chicago contacts in late March. It wasn’t to pick anyone’s brain about local recruits or ask about a player in the transfer portal. It was to prepare for a follow-up interview at DePaul.
Athletic director Kevin White approved Scheyer as Kzrzyzewski’s successor on Wednesday according to multiple reports. Kzrzyzewski, a coaching legend who grew up on the West Side, will retire after the 2021-22 season.
Scheyer, 33, has been an assistant at Duke since 2013-14 but he’s never held a head coaching job at any level.
Scheyer is stepping into huge shoes. Krzyzewski played his high school ball at Weber, a Catholic school on the Northwest side that closed in 1999. He went on to play for Bob Knight at Army.
In 41 years as the head coach at Duke, Krzyzewski has won five national championships, reached 12 Final Fours and coached the U.S. Olympic team to gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016. Overall, he’s won 79% of his games at Duke and has recorded the most wins of any Division I basketball coach in history with 1,168 career victories.
However, this past season was Duke’s worst ACC finish in Coach K’s illustrious career. And he missed out on a local recruit for the first time. No area player had ever turned down a scholarship offer from Krzyzewski until Rolling Meadows star Max Christie chose Michigan State over Duke in July.
Scheyer isn’t super well-connected in Chicago, but he is an Illinois legend. Every basketball parent will remember his name, even if their kids don’t. Scheyer and Glenbrook North were the biggest story in Chicago sports during the winter of 2005-06.
“I think [Jon Scheyer] is the best player ever to play high school basketball in Illinois,” Dave Weber, the Glenbrook North coach at the time, said before Scheyer’s senior season. “I know that’s a big statement. I’m not saying he’s going to be the best college player or the best pro. His records are just mind-boggling. There is no one who is so complete.”
Statistically it is easy to make the case that Scheyer is the most complete player in IHSA basketball history.
He’s the only player in Illinois high school basketball history that is in the all-time top 20 in total points, assists and steals. He’s fourth all-time in scoring, 20th all-time in assists and 10th in steals.
Those stats won’t help him much in the Duke hot seat. But Scheyer has a proven track record as a winner. He was a high school legend, a star player at Duke and a standout recruiter as an assistant coach.
The fact that Scheyer went hard after the DePaul job shows he wasn’t afraid of a challenge. He was ready to start near the bottom of the Division I coaching ladder. Instead, he will start at the top. Despite the media glare and pressure it will be an easier task.
Scheyer knows how to recruit Duke-level talent. He was the lead recruiter for Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson. Wintrust Arena is nice, but convincing kids to play at Cameron Indoor Stadium and follow in the footsteps of dozens of NBA stars is a sweet first gig if you can get it.
In-game coaching is the big unknown for Scheyer, but actual basketball has always come naturally for him. This is the guy that scored 21 points in 75 seconds at the Proviso West Tournament in 2005. Coaching a bunch of McDonald’s All-Americans at Duke doesn’t seem nearly as challenging.
Yemina party leader Naftali Bennett arrives to speaks to the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, Sunday, May 30, 2021. | AP
The dramatic announcement by opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, came moments before a midnight deadline and prevented the country from plunging into what would have been its fifth consecutive election in just over two years.
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents on Wednesday announced they have reached a deal to form a new governing coalition, paving the way for the ouster of the longtime Israeli leader.
The dramatic announcement by opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, came shortly before a midnight deadline and prevented what could have been Israel’s fifth consecutive election in just over two years.
“This government will work for all the citizens of Israel, those that voted for it and those that didn’t. It will do everything to unite Israeli society,” Lapid said.
The agreement still needs to be approved by the Knesset, or parliament, in a vote that is expected to take place early next week. If it goes through, Lapid and a diverse array of partners that span the Israeli political spectrum will end Netanyahu’s record-setting but divisive 12-year rule.
Netanyahu, desperate to remain in office while he fights corruption charges, is expected to do everything possible in the coming days to prevent the new coalition from taking power. If he fails, he will be pushed into the opposition.
The deal comes at a tumultuous time for Israel, which fought an 11-day war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip last month while also experiencing mob violence between Jews and Arabs in cities across the country. It also is emerging from a coronavirus crisis that caused deep economic damage and exposed tensions between the secular majority and the ultra-Orthodox minority.
Under the agreement, Lapid and Bennett will split the job of prime minister in a rotation. Bennett, a former ally of Netanyahu, is to serve the first two years, while Lapid is to serve the final two years — though it is far from certain their fragile coalition will last that long.
The historic deal also includes a small Islamist party, the United Arab List, which would make it the first Arab party ever to be part of a governing coalition.
Netanyahu has attempted to put pressure on hard-liners in the emerging coalition to defect and join his religious and nationalist allies. Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, may also use his influence to delay the required parliamentary vote.
Lapid called on Levin to convene the Knesset for the vote as soon as possible.
Netanyahu has been the most dominant player in Israeli politics over the past three decades — serving as prime minister since 2009 in addition to an earlier term in the late 1990s.
Despite a long list of achievements, including last year’s groundbreaking diplomatic agreements with four Arab countries, he has become a polarizing figure since he was indicted on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in 2019.
Each of the past four elections was seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule. And each ended in deadlock, with both Netanyahu’s supporters as well as his secular, Arab and dovish opponents falling short of a majority. A unity government formed with his main rival last year collapsed after just six months.
The new deal required a reshuffling of the Israeli political constellation. Three of the parties are led by hard-line former Netanyahu allies who had personal feuds with him, while the United Arab List made history as a kingmaker, using its leverage to seek benefits for the country’s Arab minority.
“This is the first time an Arab party is a partner in the formation of a government,” said the party’s leader, Mansour Abbas. “This agreement has a lot of things for the benefit of Arab society, and Israeli society in general.”
Among the concessions secured by Abbas were agreements for legal recognition of Bedouin villages in southern Israel, an economic plan for investing 30 billion shekels ($9.2 billion) in Arab towns and cities, and a five-year plan for combating violent crime in Arab communities, according to Army Radio.
Lapid, 57, entered parliament in 2013 after a successful career as a newspaper columnist, TV anchor and author. His new Yesh Atid party ran a successful rookie campaign, landing Lapid the powerful post of finance minister.
But he and Netanyahu did not get along, and the coalition quickly crumbled. Yesh Atid has been in the opposition since 2015 elections. The party is popular with secular, middle-class voters and has been critical of Netanyahu’s close ties with ultra-Orthodox parties and said the prime minister should step down while on trial for corruption charges.
The ultra-Orthodox parties have long used their outsize political power to secure generous budgets for their religious institutions and exemptions from compulsory military service. The refusal of many ultra-Orthodox Jews to obey coronavirus safety restrictions last year added to widespread resentment against them.
Bennett, 49, is a former top aide to Netanyahu whose small Yamina party caters to religious and nationalist hard-liners. Bennett was a successful high-tech entrepreneur and leader of the West Bank settler movement before entering politics.
In order to secure the required parliamentary majority, Lapid had to bring together eight parties that have little in common.
Their partners include a pair of dovish, left-wing parties that support Palestinian independence to three hard-line parties that oppose major concessions to the Palestinians and support West Bank settlements. Lapid’s Yesh Atid and Blue and White, a centrist party headed by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and the United Arab List are the remaining members.
The coalition members are hoping their shared animosity to Netanyahu will provide enough incentive to find some common ground.
“Today, we succeeded. We made history,” said Merav Michaeli, leader of the dovish Labor Party.
The negotiations went down to the wire, with Labor and Yamina feuding over the makeup of a parliamentary committee.
Earlier this week, when Bennett said he would join the coalition talks, he said that everyone would have to compromise and give up parts of their dreams.
In order to form a government, a party leader must secure the support of a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament. Because no single party controls a majority on its own, coalitions are usually built with smaller partners. Thirteen parties of various sizes are in the current parliament.
As leader of the largest party, Netanyahu was given the first opportunity by the country’s figurehead president to form a coalition. But he was unable to secure a majority with his traditional religious and nationalist allies.
After Netanyahu’s failure to form a government, Lapid was then given four weeks to cobble together a coalition. That window was set to expire at midnight.
Lapid already faced a difficult challenge bringing together such a disparate group of partners. But then war broke out with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on May 10. The fighting, along with the eruption of Arab-Jewish mob violence in Israeli cities during the war, put the coalition talks on hold.
But after a cease-fire was reached on May 21, the negotiations resumed, and Lapid raced to sew up a deal. He reached a breakthrough on Sunday when Bennett agreed to join the opposition coalition.
___
AP correspondent Ilan Ben Zion contributed reporting.
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