Phillips shakes off 504-day layoff, beats Westinghouseon April 3, 2021 at 11:33 pm

Jacoby Erving waited for his moment. The Phillips senior was the fourth string running back last season. And it has been 504 days between football games for the Wildcats. That’s a lot of time for anyone, but it feels even longer to high school kid.

So when Erving finally had his chance, he took total advantage. Erving took his first touch of the game, a handoff on Phillips’ second play, all the way to the house for a 50-yard touchdown run.

The Wildcats beat Westinghouse 46-6 on Saturday at Solorio. Erving and fellow running back Jamel Britt each scored three touchdowns.

“Throughout these 500 days I’ve been working and working and working,” Erving said. “We only have four games but I’m going to show out and ball.”

Erving had seven carries for 133 yards. He scored on the 50-yard run, a three-yard run and a 20-yard run.

Erving is small, fast and shifty. Britt is a punishing, 220-pound runner. He had six carries for 55 yards. Britt caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Phillips quarterback Tyler Turner and had a seven-yard and a 12-yard touchdown run.

“When I’m back there they think I’m a speed back and I can’t run people over,” Erving said. “And when [Britt] is back there they think it’s for short yardage. But he is versatile too. He can run and bust through a whole just like me.”

Chicago Public Schools began allowing limited fans at games this week.

“We were going to come out and do our thing with or without fans but to have the people here that love us and enjoy watching us play, it is so much better,” Britt said. “It motivates us.”

Turner, a junior, was 10-for-22 for 170 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception.

“The two senior running backs really stepped up,” Phillips coach Troy McAllister said. “They’ve both waited their turn patiently and they both stood up today.”

Phillips’ backbone was its defense. The Wildcats held Westinghouse, which beat Lincoln Park 26-0 last week, to just four yards rushing and 39 yards passing.

“We try to limit every opponent we face to negative yards,” Phillips linebacker Steven Hirsch said. “This is a great accomplishment but we still have work to do.”

Hirsch, who has committed to Wisconsin-Platteville, was worried he’d show up at college with one fewer season under his belt than everyone else, so just playing on Saturday felt like a gift.

“It’s amazing,” Hirsch said. “I was scared that all my future teammates would have full 14-game seasons and I’d be on the outside looking in and it was really tough. Even just four games, it is a blessing.”

Westinghouse (1-1) scored midway through the first quarter on a 90-yard interception return by senior LaDainian Linnear.

“That was a learning experience,” Warriors coach Julius Carter said. “We are a really young team. With the spring season popping up on us we are missing a few kids. We had a good win last week and now we played one of the top teams in the state. We have to bounce back, review the film, fix our mistakes and get ready for Lane.”

Phillips shakes off 504-day layoff, beats Westinghouseon April 3, 2021 at 11:33 pm Read More »

Kurt Miller, a Winnetka veterinarian who gave his all for people and pets, passes awayon April 3, 2021 at 9:59 pm

Dr. Kurt Miller was a man for all the right reasons.

Last Tuesday, we got to count all the ways he was.

A champion of companion animals, Dr. Miller, 56, a much loved North Shore veterinarian with a pachyderm-sized clientele, died suddenly at his home Tuesday.

Although he had recovered from COVID-19 late last year, his sudden death was a stunner.

Well-known and loved in the community, the man known as “Dr. Kurt” was a maestro in the magisterium of dogs and cats wiggling their way through his office since setting up his own shop, the Winnetka Animal Hospital, in 2007.

“I’m still crying,” said Marilyn Wirtz, wife of Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, whose late Beagles Bernie and Queenie pose next to the Stanley Cup in a wall portrait in Dr. Miller’s office.

“He was so special,” she said. “He knew we suffered if our pets suffered. He took care of us as well as our pets.”

Truth be told, Dr. Miller also tended to my golden retrievers Marley, Querencia, Zeb, Pip and Tutu along with cats Minou II, the “Terrible Tess,” and Calvin the magnificent mouser.

“In the category of a wonderful life, he checked all the boxes,” said Francee Nachbar, an office staffer and friend for 25 years.

“When Kurt was a young vet just starting out, he once drove a sick Boxer five hours to a teaching hospital in Missouri where a doctor was capable of doing a rare procedure, stayed for three days, and drove the client back without charging a dime for his help.”

As a client, there was always an available Tootsie Roll Pop to tide you through an office visit; as a patient there was always a dog treat exit.

And if you wanted a little adventure while waiting in his office, Zola the Ball Python could be viewed nesting in a large box off a back office wall — an act of adoption kindness when the young son of a client died.

“Kurt was a diagnostician whose practice was all about compassion and respect for companion animals and their important role in people’s lives,” said his wife, Julie, whose home was shared with “Blue” the Labrador, “Hazie” the new Great Dane Christmas puppy, and the PAWS Chicago rescue cat named “Anabelle,” a special needs kitty.

“Kurt, who had been considering becoming a doctor, opted to become a veterinarian after receiving a grant to work in Liberia, West Africa, on river blindness and where he helped with the release of chimpanzees used to develop Hepatitis C vaccine,” said his wife.

“He wanted them returned to the wild instead of being used for new AIDS experimentation.”

The couple, parents of son Nolan, 26, who recently got engaged — and daughter Grace, 21, who is soon to graduate from college, recently celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary.

“Dr. Miller was genuine,” said Dr. Bruce Kramer, a member of Miller’s medical staff.

Tech vet Kayla West noted the special, private room in Miller’s office complex designed to ease the delivery of difficult news,” she said.

“While hiring me, he offered inducements like the office’s ice cream socials Wednesdays and pizza day Fridays. He also loved to cook and loved to feed us.”

“When he had to close the office for 10 days last December because of COVID, he told us not to worry because we would be paid no matter what,” she added.

“It was his way of doing things.”

Thanks for doing things your way, Kurt.

March Madness . . .

. . . mayhem style!

In 2018, Loyola University’s beloved 101-year-old chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt spun March Madness magic cheering the Ramblers men’s basketball team into their historic Final Four run.

This year, it’s 15-year-old Riverside native Sam Tomas calling what could become the March Madness sure shot!

Translation: Tomas’ 2021 NCAA Men’s Tournament bracket is currently ranked #3 worldwide in the ESPN Men’s Tournament Challenge.
To wit: This puts the basketball-loving teen in the top 99.9999998 percentile.
Timeout: There are seven other people in the same slot tied for third place with Tomas.
The twist: A life-long Michigan State University Spartans fan, Tomas’ bracket is dubbed “MSU Underdog.”
The kicker: Once the UCLA Bruins made an improbable run to this year’s Final Four by beating Tomas’ beloved Spartans, his impressive bracket secured its #3 spot.

“The reaction has been crazy,” Tomas explained.

“I planned on Michigan State going to the Final Four, but once UCLA beat them, I just stuck with UCLA. I guess that was a good idea.”

Sneedlings . . .

Saturday birthdays: Eddie Murphy, 60; Alec Baldwin, 63; and Paris Jackson, 23. . . . Sunday birthdays: Robert Downey Jr., 56; Jill Scott, 49; and David Blaine, 48.

Kurt Miller, a Winnetka veterinarian who gave his all for people and pets, passes awayon April 3, 2021 at 9:59 pm Read More »

A power shift–kids are questioning experts on climate change at KCS II (town hall format) on 4/13on April 3, 2021 at 9:12 pm

A power shift–kids are questioning experts on climate change at KCS II (town hall format) on 4/13on April 3, 2021 at 9:12 pm Read More »

3 things we learned: Jacksonville State clips EIU Panthers in final OVC Charleston appearanceon April 3, 2021 at 9:42 pm

3 things we learned: Jacksonville State clips EIU Panthers in final OVC Charleston appearanceon April 3, 2021 at 9:42 pm Read More »

Wildfire burns 325 acres at Indiana Dunes National Parkon April 3, 2021 at 8:30 pm

Fire crews Saturday contained a wildfire to 325 acres of Indiana Dunes National Park in northwest Indiana.

The fire started Friday afternoon and had burned about 300 acres of Miller Woods at the Indiana Dunes by about 6 p.m., national park spokesman Micah Bell said.

By Saturday afternoon, the fire had been contained to 325 acres of the woods, Bell said.

No injuries or private property damage have been reported, Bell said.

In a satellite photo shared by the national park, smoke from the wildfire could be seen extending about 80 miles north onto Lake Michigan.

The area around Miller Woods is closed as fire crews work to put out the blaze, Bell said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Wildfire burns 325 acres at Indiana Dunes National Parkon April 3, 2021 at 8:30 pm Read More »

Gang members ‘instructed’ to shoot at police vehicles after Adam Toledo shooting, CPD warns officerson April 3, 2021 at 6:04 pm

Chicago police leaders have issued an “officer safety alert” to cops saying the department’s narcotics unit learned that factions of the Latin Kings in the Ogden patrol district on the Southwest Side “were instructed by ranking members to shoot at unmarked Chicago police vehicles.”

The alert sent out Thursday said factions of the gang planned to retaliate following the fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo at about 2 a.m. March 29 in an alley in the 2400 block of South Sawyer.

According to the alert, Latin Kings members were likely to shoot at a passing unmarked Chicago police vehicle and flee. It didn’t specify why the Kings would be retaliating. The police department’s News Affairs office declined to comment.

The warning covered a large portion of Little Village — between 23^rd and 28^th streets and between Lawndale Avenue on the west and Whipple Street on the east.

Police officials previously said that on the morning of the shooting, officers responded to reports of gunfire and found Adam and a man in an alley to the west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue.

An officer chased Adam — who police said was armed — and then shot him in the chest behind Farragut Career Academy High School. Police shared a photo of a gun allegedly recovered at the scene.

It wasn’t until two days later that the boy’s mother was notified of his death — and three days later until authorities revealed publicly that he was just 13.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates all city police shootings, said Friday it would show the “troubling video footage” of the encounter to the Toledo family before releasing it to the public.

Contributing: Sam Kelly

Gang members ‘instructed’ to shoot at police vehicles after Adam Toledo shooting, CPD warns officerson April 3, 2021 at 6:04 pm Read More »

2 cut during fight on Red Line train at Sheridanon April 3, 2021 at 6:44 pm

Two people were cut during a fight on a Red Line train Saturday at the Sheridan stop on the North Side.

A man and woman got into an altercation just before 11 a.m. on a train at the Sheridan stop, 3940 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago police said.

At least one of them had a knife, and both of them were cut during the course of the fight, police said.

The woman, 27, was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in good condition with a cut on her wrist, Chicago fire officials said.

The cut appeared to be self-inflicted and the woman was undergoing a mental evaluation, fire officials said.

The man, whose exact age was unknown, showed up later at nearby Thorek Memorial Hospital, police said. His condition was not immediately known.

CTA Red Line trains bypassed the Sheridan stop for over two hours as police investigated, but normal service resumed about 1:20 p.m., the transit authority said.

An investigation is ongoing, police said.

2 cut during fight on Red Line train at Sheridanon April 3, 2021 at 6:44 pm Read More »