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Hulu documentary profiles three competitors having different experiences because of inconsistent state rules.

Sarah Rose Huckman, Andraya Yearwood and Mack Beggs are like millions of other high school student-athletes who excel at their chosen sport, who get up in the predawn hours to work out, who love to compete, who sometimes feel as if they LIVE to compete. Granted, it’s not always easy to balance studies, athletics, family life and friends — but that’s what all high school athletes experience.

The difference for Sarah, Andraya and Mack is they are transgender teens. They know who they are. It’s certain elements in the outside world that won’t accept that, don’t quite understand it, are at odds about how to react to that.

Director Michael Barnett’s “Changing the Game” is an expertly crafted, empathetic, journalistically sound documentary following three strong, bright, likable and admirably accessible and forthcoming transgender teen athletes: Connecticut track standout Andraya Yearwood, a dominant sprinter who won the state title in the 100-meter dash; New Hampshire skier and activist Sarah Rose Huckman, and Texas wrestler Mack Beggs, who identifies as male but still had to compete against girls because of state laws saying athletes must compete in accordance with the gender on their birth certificate. Beggs became a two-time girls’ state champion, even as he made it clear he wanted to compete with the boys and even as his story made national headlines, with many claiming Beggs had an unfair advantage.

HULU

“Policies for transgender high school athletes vary from state to state,” notes a graphic in the documentary. In New Hampshire, where Sarah Rose Huckman competes, she says, “When I got to high school, the policy was, [a transgender teen] had to have gender reassignment in order to compete on the selected team that you would like to play on.” Sarah Rose becomes an activist intent on changing that rule. But she’s also just a teenage girl who records adorable makeup tutorials on YouTube and works hard on the family farm.

Cut to Connecticut, where students are free to participate in sports based on their gender identity. “It feels amazing just knowing I get to be who I am,” says Andraya Yearwood, who trains with “Coach Brian,” who says simply, “Andraya’s out there competing with the other girls, and that’s the way it should be.”

HULU

Meanwhile, in Texas, Mack Beggs is living with the grandparents who adopted him when he was 6 years old, and while Grandma Nancy is a 25-year veteran of the Dallas Police Dept., happily rattles off the list of guns she owns, tells us she’s a “hardcore Republican” and staunch conservative, make no mistake about it — she and Grandpa Roy are 100% supportive of Mack and keep reminding themselves to use the proper pronoun.

Clearly an advocacy film, “Changing the Game” acknowledges the viewpoint of the parents of girl wrestlers in Texas who are frustrated seeing Mack win match after match, when even Mack would rather wrestle with his fellow boys, and the parents in Connecticut who feel Andraya has an unfair advantage. For many, this remains a complicated and nuanced issue, and “Changing the Game” handles the subject with grace and illumination.

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In preparation for the historically violent weekend, the Chicago Police Department canceled days off and put officers on 12-hour shifts while community groups fanned out across the city to draw people out of the line of fire.

Two people have been killed and at least 26 others wounded in shootings across Chicago over Memorial Day weekend.

In preparation for the historically violent weekend, the Chicago Police Department canceled days off and put officers on 12-hour shifts. Meanwhile, community groups fanned out across the city to draw people out of the line of fire.

“This is our city that we love, and there is loss of life, and it should make us weep and roll up our sleeves,” said John Fuder of Chicagoland United in Prayer, whose group is sponsoring prayer marches across the city this weekend.

Shootings are up 36% this year compared to the same period in 2020, according to Sun-Times data. Homicides are spiking in areas long afflicted with gun violence.

Last year, Memorial Day weekend was the deadliest period of the year, with 12 killed and 42 others hurt.

Logan Square homicide

In the most recent fatal attack, a 29-year-old man was killed Saturday night in a shooting in Logan Square on the Northwest Side.

Mike Alicea was on the sidewalk about 9 p.m. when someone got out of a vehicle in the 3700 block of West McLean Avenue and began shooting, according to Chicago Police.

He was struck in the arm and leg and taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Residents in the block watched investigators work from their porches and windows.

“I can’t say I’m shocked,” a woman who was returning home with her husband said. “As soon as it gets warm the shooters come outside.”

“We usually hear about shootings about a block away from here, or in the alleys a block away; it has never made it to our front yard like this,” her husband added.

Lawndale murder

Hours earlier, a 26-year-old man was fatally shot while driving in Lawndale on the West Side.

Luis Poole was driving east on Ogden Avenue when he was shot in the face and chest, police said. The vehicle he was driving came to a rest after striking a light pole in the 3100 block West Ogden Avenue.

Poole was brought to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

4 shot in restaurant parking lot in Grand Crossing

Four teens were shot Sunday night as they stood in the parking lot of a restaurant in Grand Crossing on the South Side.

The group was standing in the parking lot of a Subway, 6718 S. Stony Island Ave., when a dark-colored sedan drove by and someone inside fired shots, police said.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Two 19-year-old, struck in the legs and feet, were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition.

An 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were struck in their legs, police said. They were also in good condition.

Belmont Cragin shooting

In nonfatal attacks, two men were wounded in a shooting early Monday in Belmont Cragin on the Northwest Side.

The pair were standing outside about 3:45 a.m. in the 5700 block of West Grand Avenue when the male suspect approached them and asked what gang they were affiliated with, police said.

The men responded that they were not a part of a gang, police said. The male suspect then pulled out a handgun and fired shots before leaving the scene.

One man, 33, was struck in the arm and torso and critically wounded, police said. The other, 31, was shot in the leg and in good condition.

Man shot in face on Lake Shore Drive

A man was wounded in a shooting on Lake Shore Drive early Sunday in the Near South Side. The 20-year-old was traveling south about 12:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of South Lake Shore Drive when he heard shots and felt pain, police and Chicago Fire officials said.

He was shot in the face and was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stable, police said.

12-year-old grazed

A 12-year-old boy was grazed by a bullet early Saturday in Great Crossing on the South Side. The boy was with a group of people about 1 a.m. when someone inside a black Dodge Charger fired shots in the 7100 block of South Dobson Avenue, police said.

A bullet grazed his leg and he was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, police said. He may not have been the intended target, according to police.

At least 18 others were wounded in citywide gun violence over Memorial Day weekend, which lasts from 5 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

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The Chicago Blackhawks are a very weak team defensively. They were not good at all at keeping their opponents from high danger chances and ranked near the bottom of the league. The coach’s system not fitting the roster is a big part of it but not having great players is also a big deal. If […]

Chicago Blackhawks: 3 risky trade packages for Seth Jones – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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Chicago Blackhawks: 3 Nashville Predators free agents to snatch by Vincent Parise

While Chicago Bears fans wait in angst for the 2021 NFL season and hope to see rookie Justin Fields take over the starting job, some analysts can’t seem to get enough attention.

Former NFL quarterback (if you can even call him that) Chris Simms began releasing his quarterback rankings last week and, when he got to number 39, most of us stopped reading. At number 40, Simms had Cleveland Browns backup Case Keenum.

At 39? It was Fields.

Just after Fields was fellow rookies Trey Lance at no. 38 and Kellen Mond at no. 37 — an incredibly odd sight to see. At 36, he ranked Marcus Mariota.

These rankings are just a few days old, but have struck quite the chord in Bears fans all over, and justifiably so.

Chicago Bears rookie Justin Fields should use this absurd analysis for easy motivation.

Remember back in 2017 when evaluating quarterback prospects, Simms was the one who questioned whether Deshaun Watson could hit a 10-yard out with consistency and even alluded to the fact that Watson could be “out of work quickly” in the NFL.

Since then, Watson has gone on to throw for over 14,500 yards and 104 touchdowns and earned three straight Pro Bowl nods. Meanwhile, Simms’ NFL “career” saw him start just 16 games, throw for a total of 3,117 yards with 12 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

To say Simms was wrong on Watson is an understatement.

Never forget: this is also the guy who had the audacity to rank Tom Brady as his third-best quarterback of all-time and throw Joe Montana all the way down at number seven, for absolutely no logical reason.

We discussed where Drew Brees lands on the all-time QB list on @PFT_Live. Here are our top 10s. pic.twitter.com/PwzpWqVzZE

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 17, 2019

The most annoying part of Simms’ above rankings might just be that he has Aaron Rodgers as his GOAT. The single-Super-Bowl-winning Rodgers? The greatest quarterback of all-time?

Where is Freezing Cold Takes when you need them?

Are we really going to listen to a guy who started only 23 career games and whose career spanned five seasons as primarily a backup? How can anyone take these rankings seriously.

Simms fumbled 10 times in 23 starts, for crying out loud, and he wants to talk about Fields’ “mechanics issues?”

Good grief.

Not only will Simms be wrong about Fields, he will be more wrong about Fields than he’s been about any player in his career as an analyst — a career which, by the way, has gone far better than his days as an aspiring quarterback did.

When Fields breaks every franchise passing record in the Chicago Bears’ history book seven or eight years down the road, just remember these rankings. Remember those that actually took Simms’ words with anything larger than the smallest grain of salt.

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Fields as the 38th ranked quarterback in the NFL might be one of the worst pieces of analysis the sports world has ever seen.

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A 12-year-old boy was with a group of people about 1 a.m. Saturday when someone inside a black Dodge Charger fired shots in the 7100 block of South Dobson Avenue.

Twenty-seven people were wounded, two fatally, in shootings across Chicago since Friday night.

In the most recent fatal attack, a 29-year-old man was killed Saturday night in a shooting in Logan Square on the Northwest Side.

The man was on the sidewalk about 9 p.m. when someone got out of a vehicle in the 3700 block of West McLean Avenue and began shooting, according to Chicago Police.

He was struck in the arm and leg and taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His name hasn’t been released.

The shooting happened in front of an apartment complex located in the middle of the residential street. At least four shell casings could be seen inside an area police taped off, which stretched for half a block.

Hours earlier, a 26-year-old man was fatally shot while driving in Lawndale on the West Side.

About 2:15 p.m., he was driving east on Ogden Avenue, when he was shot in the face and chest, police said. The vehicle he was driving came to a rest after striking a light pole in the 3100 block West Ogden Avenue.

He was brought to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. He has not been identified.

In nonfatal attacks, two men were wounded in a shooting early Monday in Belmont Cragin on the Northwest Side.

The pair were standing outside about 3:45 a.m. in the 5700 block of West Grand Avenue when the male suspect approached them and asked what gang they were affiliated with, police said.

The men responded that they were not a park of a gang, police said. The male suspect then pulled out a handgun and fired shots before leaving the scene.

One man, 33, was struck in the arm and torso and was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition, police said. The other, 31, was shot in the leg and was taken to the same hospital in good condition.

A man was wounded in a shooting on Lake Shore Drive early Sunday in the Near South Side.

The 20-year-old was traveling south about 12:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of South Lake Shore Drive when he heard shots and felt pain, police and Chicago Fire officials said.

He was shot in the face and was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stable, police said.

A 12-year-old boy was grazed by a bullet early Saturday in Great Crossing on the South Side.

The boy was with a group of people about 1 a.m. when someone inside a black Dodge Charger fired shots in the 7100 block of South Dobson Avenue, police said.

A bullet grazed his leg and he was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, police said. He may not have been the intended target, according to police.

On Friday, a ride-share driver was grazed by a bullet during a struggle with a person who tried to rob him in Bronzeville.

About 6:55 p.m., the driver was in the 4000 block of South Wabash Avenue when a male got into the back seat of the car, pulled out a gun and demanded the 42-year-old get out of the vehicle, police said.

The two struggled over the gun, causing it to discharge, police said. The man was grazed in the abdomen and the attacker fled the scene.

The man was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition, police said.

At least 20 others were wounded in citywide gun violence between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday.

Last weekend, 12 people were killed and at least 42 others were wounded in shootings across Chicago, making it the deadliest of the year.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

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