Thomas Graham turned off the NFL draft broadcast after Round 5, disgusted, and walked into the back room of the Newport Beach, Calif., house he’d rented to celebrate what he thought would be a joyous day.

The former Oregon cornerback — whom Pro Football Focus considered the 76th-best draft prospect — turned on his favorite television show and tried not to think about football.

His agent called and tried to cheer him up. His parents did too.

“They just said, ‘We believe in you, just as much as you believe in yourself,” Graham said Sunday. “‘Your name is going to get called. When it is, take advantage of that opportunity.'”

And then, finally, Bears head coach Matt Nagy called to welcome him to the team.

“How’s your day going?” Nagy asked.

Graham, who still wasn’t over falling to No. 228 overall in Round 6, didn’t sugarcoat his response.

“Long,” he told Nagy. “Frustrating.”

Then the celebration began. Everyone in the house began screaming. Relieved and thrilled, Graham eventually went for a run on the beach.

“All that did was kind of put a chip on my shoulder. …” Graham said. “So I’m just going out there ready to go play, ready to go ball and do the things that I’ve always done my whole life, which is just go out there and make my family proud.”

Friday’s rookie minicamp practice was the first practice Graham had participated in — save for Senior Bowl week — since the Ducks’ 2019 season. Graham, who would have entered his senior year as the active FBS leader with 32 breakups, decided to opt out of the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season.

Practice hasn’t been strange, Graham said, except for the fact that he’s found himself making audibles using the terminology the Ducks — not Bears — use.

He’s a quick study, though. Starting his freshman season two months after his 18th birthday, Graham led Oregon with three interceptions in 2017. He started 39-straight games in his Oregon career, totaling eight interceptions.

“I don’t think the speed is very different [in the NFL],” he said. “I think it’s just being able to learn the playbook and being able to play fast, and I feel like that’s the major difference. Definitely coming in as a rookie, I don’t know the defense. I’ve had a chance to learn some of it, but I didn’t really know all of it before I got here.

“So being able to play fast once you learn it is, I think, going to be able to slow the game down for me. Just kind of being a freshman in college all over again.”

Of the Bears’ five third-day draft picks, Graham might have the best chance to make an impact right away. The Bears cut two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Kyle Fuller and didn’t make a splash to replace him, adding Desmond Trufant on a veteran minimum deal to compete with Kindle Vildor and Artie Burns. They didn’t add anyone to replace nickel cornerback Buster Skrine after cutting him in March, leaving Duke Shelley as an option.

Graham played field corner at Oregon — always lining up on the side of the defense with the most room to run — but, at 5-foot-10, he has a slot cornerback’s build.

“I absolutely think there’s an opportunity for him,” Nagy said. “You guys could see two years ago what type of player he was. We saw it. Really, really talented.”

He’ll be coached well; Nagy said nickel cornerback is a personal expertise of both defensive coordinator Sean Desai and secondary coach Deshea Townsend.

“It’s really going to be, ‘What can he handle mentally?'” Nagy said. “And then competition, man. Let’s let those guys go out there and then see what they can do against our guys in the slot.”

Graham said the Bears want him to play both outside and inside cornerback. The latter, though, should be his fastest path to playing time.

“Me personally, I want to go out there and start, but nothing is given in this league,” he said. “You have to go take it. You have to earn it.”

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If BGA President and CEO David Greising were a teacher filling out Lightfoot’s report card, he’d say she has the most “room for improvement” in the category of “works well with others.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot cannot be “written off completely,” but she has “a lot of work to do” to have even a shot at re-election.

That’s the bottom-line, mid-term assessment of Lightfoot from David Greising, president and CEO of the Better Government Association.

If Greising were a teacher filling out Lightfoot’s report card, he’d say the biggest “room for improvement” is in the “works well with others” category.

So far, Lightfoot hasn’t. In fact, her abrasive, micro-managing style and thin-skinned propensity to take things personally and lash out is alienating people and driving them away.

“Lori Lightfoot’s pique, her vulgar statements, her open personal animosity toward some of the people she gets caught up with doesn’t necessarily seem to advance an agenda. It looks more like a lack of discipline on her part. She keeps shooting herself in the foot,” Greising told the Sun-Times.

He pointed to Lightfoot’s recurring tension with Gov. J. B. Pritzker and her string of recent losses in the Illinois General Assembly.

That includes expanded bargaining rights for the Chicago Teachers Union and a pension sweetener for Chicago firefighters — likely to be followed by a sweetener for Chicago police officer pensions, too.

“Why is she at odds with Gov. J.B. Pritzker? … Can she potentially salvage that relationship and make it something constructive? Can she get something done in Springfield, which so far, she’s not done very well in? There are some things she could fix if she chooses to,” Greising said.

“But it gets back to that question of her personal discipline, her sense of isolation. What sometimes appears to be almost a sense of paranoia that she just is wary of everybody she’s dealing with. … If she can’t address those issues, then her viability if she chooses to run for re-election will be compromised.”

Aside from the persistent questions about Lightfoot’s temperament, Greising said the mayor’s greatest weaknesses have been in areas expected to be her greatest strengths: public safety and police reform.

Lightfoot made her political bones on those issues. She’s a former Chicago Police Board president who co-chaired the Task Force on Police Accountability amid the furor that followed the police shooting of Laquan McDonald.

In 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel was ordered to release the video of Officer Jason Van Dyke — later convicted of murder — shooting McDonald 16 times after Emanuel was accused of concealing the video until he was safely reelected.

Lightfoot personally drafted the policy requiring the city to release body-camera and dashcam video of police shootings and other incidents involving cop shootings within 60 days.

She promised during her inaugural address to stop the “epidemic of gun violence that devastates families, shatters communities, holds children hostage to fear in their own homes.”

Yet she hits the midway point with crime and violence far worse than when she walked in.

In March, shootings were up 70% over the same period a year ago. Homicides were up 50%. Carjackings more than doubled.

Her hand-picked police superintendent, David Brown, a retired Dallas police chief, seems overwhelmed by the job. His officers continue to be shot at in record numbers.

“The progress on policing so far has been utterly disappointing. … Some of the videos that have come out have been very disturbing. It almost seems that we’ve made zero progress on addressing some of the serious problems” in the Chicago Police Department, Greising said.

“The hope was that, because she had an inside view of what is wrong with the Chicago Police Department, she would have fixes in mind. And she doesn’t appear to have fixes of her own. Nor does … Brown seem to have a strategy that offers any hope that he really can fix this problem of a high level of violent crime, of rogue policing.”

Progressives had high hopes for Lightfoot but have been bitterly disappointed by her failure to deliver the elected school board she promised as well as civilian oversight of CPD.

The mayor’s spotty record on environmental issues — including the Hilco smokestack demolition debacle in Little Village and General Iron’s now-stalled move from Lincoln Park to a Southeast Side that has been Chicago’s dumping ground for decades — will be another tough pill for progressives to swallow, Greising said.

The BGA president gives the rookie mayor her highest grades when it comes to the progress she has made toward righting Chicago’s financial ship and in her strong leadership during the pandemic.

He pointed in particular to the tough decision she convinced the City Council to make to raise property taxes by $94 million in 2021 followed by annual increases tied to the consumer price index.

But he saved some of his harshest criticism for her surprisingly poor record on the issues of government openness, transparency and her failure to honor Freedom of Information requests.

Greising pointed to Lightfoot’s “terrible” failure to promptly comply with Freedom of Information requests and to the secret City Council meetings held during the George Floyd demonstrations that the BGA sued the city to stop.

“The city is required to pay the legal fees of anybody who sues under Freedom of Information if the city is not complying with those requests,” and Emanuel wracked up $1.7 million in legal fees over eight years, Greising said.

“In two years, she’s a third of the way toward matching Rahm’s abysmal record,” Greising said.

“From a mayor who promised transparency — for this mayor to have this disappointing a record is really a surprise. … We would look for a lot better from her in the second half of her term.”

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At least five people have been killed in citywide shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

At least five people have been killed, and 32 others wounded in shootings across Chicago since Friday evening, including a 2-year-old girl who was shot in Little Village on the Southwest Side.

The girl was in the back seat of a car being driven by a male about 6:55 p.m. Friday in the 2800 block of West 26th Street when another vehicle drove up alongside them and someone inside that vehicle started shooting, Chicago police said.

She was shot in the leg and was taken by the driver to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was in good condition, according to police.

In the weekend’s latest fatal shooting, a man was shot dead Saturday afternoon in Woodlawn on the South Side.

About 2:45 p.m., he was in the 1300 block of East Marquette Road when someone opened fire, striking him multiple times, police said.

The 21-year-old was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Early Saturday morning, two people were killed and three others wounded in a shooting at a party in Gresham on the South Side.

Several people were at a gathering in the 7800 block of South Loomis Boulevard when a gunman opened fire shortly after 3 a.m., according to police.

A 26-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead, police said.

A 21-year-old was also struck in the head and taken to the same hospital, where he later died, police said.

A 25-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder and was also taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.

Another man, 23, suffered two gunshot wounds to the right arm and was transported to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, police said. A fifth man, 21, was struck in the shoulder and listed in fair condition at the same hospital, according to police.

In another fatal shooting, a person was found shot to death about an hour later at a gas station in West Garfield Park.

The male was found about 4:05 a.m. in the parking lot of a gas station in the 400 block of South Kostner Avenue with a gunshot wound to the chest, police said.

He was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Friday night, a man was killed and another injured in a shooting in Belmont Cragin on the Northwest Side.

About 11:50 p.m., officers heard several shots fired and saw an 18-year-old man running with a rifle in the 6200 block of West Diversey Avenue, police said.

Officers placed him under arrest and noticed he had two gunshot wounds to the back and one to the arm, police said. He was transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition.

While searching the area, officers also found a 32-year-old man on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head, police said. He was taken to the same hospital where he was later pronounced dead, police said.

At least 18 other people were wounded in citywide shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

Last weekend, five people were killed and 21 others hurt in incidents of gun violence across Chicago.

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

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He was on the sidewalk about 7:55 a.m. in the 3700 block of South Wood Street when a vehicle approached and someone inside opened fire, Chicago police said.

A 13-year-old boy was shot Sunday in McKinley Park on the South Side.

He was on the sidewalk about 7:55 a.m. in the 3700 block of South Wood Street when a vehicle approached and someone inside opened fire, Chicago police said.

The teen was struck in the head and neck, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.

No arrests have been reported. Area One detectives are investigating.

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City flattened three buildings and killed at least 42 people Sunday, medics said, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled the fighting between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza would continue despite international efforts to broker a cease fire.

In a televised address, Netanyahu said Sunday evening the attacks were continuing at “full-force” and will “take time.” Israel “wants to levy a heavy price” from Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, he said.

The violence marked the worst fighting here since the devastating 2014 war in Gaza.

The airstrikes Sunday hit a busy downtown street of residential buildings and storefronts over the course of five minutes just after midnight, destroying two adjacent buildings and one about 50 yards (meters) down the road.

At one point, a rescuer shouted, “Can you hear me?” into a hole in the rubble. “Are you OK?” Minutes later, first responders pulled a survivor out and carried him off on an orange stretcher. The Gaza Health Ministry said 16 women and 10 children were among those killed, with more than 50 people wounded, and rescue efforts are still underway.

Earlier, the Israeli military said it destroyed the home of Gaza’s top Hamas leader, Yahiyeh Sinwar, in a separate strike in the southern town of Khan Younis. It was the third such attack in the last two days on the homes of senior Hamas leaders, who have gone underground.

Israel appears to have stepped up strikes in recent days to inflict as much damage as possible on Hamas as international mediators work to end the fighting. But targeting the group’s leaders could hinder those efforts. A U.S. diplomat is in the region to try to de-escalate tensions, and the U.N. Security Council is set to meet Sunday.

In its airstrikes, Israel has leveled a number of Gaza City’s tallest office and residential buildings, alleging they contain Hamas military infrastructure. Among them was the building housing The Associated Press office and those of other media outlets.

The latest outbreak of violence began in east Jerusalem last month, when Palestinian protests and clashes with police broke out in response to Israeli police tactics during Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers. A focal point of clashes was the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a frequent flashpoint that is located on a hilltop compound that is revered by both Muslims and Jews.

Hamas fired rockets toward Jerusalem late Monday, triggering the Israeli assault on impoverished Gaza, which is home to more than 2 million Palestinians and has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.

The turmoil has also spilled over elsewhere, fueling protests in the occupied West Bank and stoking violence within Israel between its Jewish and Arab citizens, with clashes and vigilante attacks on people and property. The violence also sparked pro-Palestinian protests in cities across Europe and the United States, with French police firing tear gas and water cannons at demonstrators in Paris.

At least 188 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including 55 children and 33 women, with 1,230 people wounded. Eight people in Israel have been killed, including a 5-year-old boy and a soldier.

The military said Sunday it struck Sinwar’s home and that of his brother Muhammad, another senior Hamas member. On Saturday it destroyed the home of Khalil al-Hayeh, a senior figure in Hamas’ political branch.

Hamas’ upper echelon has gone into hiding in Gaza, and it is unlikely any were at home at the time of the strikes. Hamas’ top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, divides his time between Turkey and Qatar, both of which provide political support to the group.

Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group have acknowledged 20 fighters killed since the fighting broke out Monday. Israel says the real number is far higher and has released the names and photos of two dozen alleged operatives it says were “eliminated.”

An Egyptian diplomat said Israel’s targeting of Hamas political leaders would complicate cease-fire efforts. The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations, said Cairo is working to broker an end to the fighting, as are other international actors.

The Egyptian diplomat said the destruction of Hamas’ rocket capabilities would require a ground invasion that would “inflame the whole region.” Egypt, which made peace with Israel decades ago, has threatened to “suspend” cooperation in various fields, the official said, without elaborating.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has affirmed its support for Israel while working to de-escalate the crisis. American diplomat Hady Amr met with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who thanked the U.S. for its support. Gantz said Israel “takes every precaution to strike at military targets only and avoid harming civilians, while its civilians are the targets of indiscriminate attack.”

Hamas and other militant groups have fired some 2,900 rockets into Israel. The military said 450 of the rockets had fallen short or misfired, while Israeli air defenses intercepted 1,150.

The interception rate appeared to have significantly dropped since the start of the conflict, when Israel said 90% were intercepted. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel has meanwhile carried out hundreds of airstrikes across Gaza.

On Saturday, Israel bombed the 12-story al-Jalaa Building, where the office of The Associated Press was located. The building also housed the TV network Al-Jazeera and other media outlets, along with several floors of apartments.

“The campaign will continue as long as it is required,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. He alleged that Hamas military intelligence was operating inside the building.

Israel routinely cites a Hamas presence as a reason for targeting certain locations in airstrikes, including residential buildings. The military also has accused the militant group of using journalists as human shields, but provided no evidence to back up the claims.

The AP has operated from the building for 15 years, including through three previous wars between Israel and Hamas. During those conflicts as well as the current one, the news agency’s cameras, operating from its top floor office and roof terrace, offered 24-hour live shots as militants’ rockets arched toward Israel and Israeli airstrikes hammered the city and its surroundings.

“We have had no indication Hamas was in the building or active in the building,” AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said in a statement. “This is something we actively check to the best of our ability. We would never knowingly put our journalists at risk.”

In the afternoon, the military called the building’s owner and warned a strike would come within an hour. AP staffers and other occupants evacuated safely. Soon after, three missiles hit the building and destroyed it, bringing it crashing down in a giant cloud of dust.

“The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today,” Pruitt said. “We are shocked and horrified.”

___

Krauss reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo, Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed.

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The shooting happened in the 1500 block of South Lawndale Avenue, Chicago police said.

Two Chicago police officers were shot Sunday morning in Lawndale on the West Side.

The shooting happened about 7:10 a.m. in the 1500 block of South Lawndale Avenue, Chicago police said.

One officer was shot in the shoulder and was in “critical but stable” condition at Mt. Sinai Hospital, according to CPD spokesman Tom Ahern. The other officer suffered a gunshot wound to the hand and was in good condition at the same hospital.

The person who fired shots at the officers was also struck, according to Ahern. That person’s condition was unknown.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Host Keegan-Michael Key zings MJ’s drive to win by recalling his hallway bet with a security guard, a highlight of last year’s Bulls docuseries.

It’s been a year since “The Last Dance” stirred up a new wave of interest in Michael Jordan’s heyday, but that didn’t stop “Saturday Night Live” from spoofing one if its iconic moments this weekend.

Host Keegan-Michael Key, a former Chicago improv star, played His Airness in flashback to the bit where Jordan played quarters with security guard John Michael Wozniak — and lost. Wozniak gloated with a “whaddya gonna do”-style shrug.

In this version, Jordan does not lose $5 bet gracefully. Looking back at the exchange years later, the notoriously driven, win-at-all-costs superstar says he was happy for his friend until “he did that little shrug, and I took that personally.”

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He insists on a rematch and vindictively raises the stakes to $1,000. The guard (played by cast member Heidi Gardner, with Wozniak’s trademark epic white perm) reluctantly agrees, but admits after losing, “That is financially rough for me.”

And then Jordan keeps piling on, insisting the next wagers include Wozniak’s pants, his glasses and worse. Wozniak gamely keeps up his cheery demeanor as he’s stripped of his property but ultimate grumbles to Jordan, “You have a problem.”

The bit also had room for visits from Phil Jackson (Alex Moffat, a former Bulls halftime performer), Charles Barkley (Kenan Thompson) and Dennis Rodman (Chris Redd, another former Chicagoan), who sums up the theme of the scene: “[Jordan] didn’t just want to beat you. He wanted to dominate you. He wanted to embarrass you.”

Jordan has a history with “SNL,” highlighted by his turn as the host in 1991, when he famously read daily affirmations into a mirror with confidence booster Stuart Smalley (Al Franken) and bantered with the Bears-loving Superfans.

Keeping the local theme alive on Saturday, Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost also noted the city’s program of releasing feral cats to reduce the rat population and quoted an alleged Chicago health commissioner as saying, in his best nasal Superfan voice, “Da caaats combat da raaats and dat’s daaat.”

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More Illinois Craft Beer pourings in Chicago, and more places opening with events.Read More

Carlos Rodon’s 2021 resurgence hit a snag Saturday night. However, he still found a way to contribute something to the White Sox.

Facing a Royals team that had dropped 12 of 13, Rodon allowed four runs and eight hits in his worst start of the year as the Sox lost 5-1 to Kansas City. Rodon entered the game with a 5-0 record, tiny 0.58 ERA and a host of other superlatives that put him in the same company as some of the best pitchers in baseball history.

But it was obvious early Saturday that Rodon wasn’t at the level that made him one of the most pleasant surprises in the sport and helped propel the Sox to first place in the American League Central.

“It started to come back,” Rodon said of his command. “I started to feel it in the last three innings. I just wish it would’ve shown up earlier on.”

Pitching for the first time in eight days after having his Thursday start pushed back because of a tight right hamstring and tight back, Rodon gave up Jorge Soler’s RBI single in the first and needed 28 pitches to get out of the inning. Salvador Perez then made it 4-0 with a three-run homer in the third, hitting a pitch he had to expand the strike zone to reach.

Rodon didn’t blame rust for how he began Saturday. He said his velocity was where it needed to be, though his command and delivery weren’t.

But despite the bumpy beginning, Rodon managed to throw 110 pitches and go 5 2/3 innings to save the bullpen a little bit of work. Both he and manager Tony La Russa appreciated what that meant.

“It was something we needed,” Rodon said. “I know the bullpen’s been used a little bit lately. We’re about to go on a stretch here where there’s not too many off days to come by, so I was happy to take the ball and go as long as I could.”

The Sox lefty also got kudos from La Russa for not letting the game get away. With the Sox offense struggling against Royals starter Mike Minor other than a Jose Abreu homer, Rodon gave the Sox an outside chance to rally late.

“If he gives in, he gives up there, the game could get really ugly, we use a lot of arms,” La Russa said. “Just one of those starts where early on, I give him a lot of credit for limiting the damage and giving us the chance to win, so I was really impressed.”

La Russa didn’t sound too concerned about Rodon, whose struggles Saturday only emphasize how dominant he was in his first five outings to lead one of the best starting rotations in baseball. The four runs he gave up to Kansas City were double the two he had allowed previously all year. His ERA rose to just 1.47, and the three-run second was the first multi-run inning of the season for Rodon’s opponents. Even after giving up eight hits, Rodon’s still allowed only 20 this year.

Over the last three innings, Rodon more closely resembled that pitcher. His delivery improved and he began hitting his spots, going deeper into the game than it looked like he would after the third.

“That was a major accomplishment for us,” La Russa said. “He got two outs in the sixth. He gets the loss, we get the loss, but I think there’s a lot to look at and feel good about as far as Carlos is concerned.”

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