Join Draft Dr. Phil and Shayne “The Smartest Man” as they recap the Dalton signing and what the hell might be going through Ryan Pace’s brain at this very moment. The guys are then joined by NFL Draft Prospect – Michigan State DT Naquan Jones to talk about his journey, and ESPN Producer Mike Antoniou.
After a pathetic home loss to the Spurs See Red Fred and Doug Thonus climb aboard the tattered remains of the vehicle and attempt to travel home without a roof.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the ChicagoBears and Desmond Trufant have come to an agreement on a one-year contract. The Trufant announcement comes a day after it was announced that the Bears and former All-Pro Cornerback Kyle Fuller were parting ways after seven seasons.
A four-year-old boy was shot March 19, 2021, in Washington Park. | Sun-Times file photo
The boy was riding in a vehicle about 4 p.m. when someone in another vehicle pulled alongside in the 6100 block of South Michigan Avenue and opened fire, Chicago police said.
A 4-year-old boy was shot Friday afternoon in Washington Park on the South Side.
The boy was riding in a vehicle with his family about 4 p.m. when someone in another vehicle pulled alongside and opened fire in the 6100 block of South Michigan Avenue, Chicago police said.
The boy was struck in the chin and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, according to Deputy Chief Yolanda Talley.
No one is in custody as Area Two detectives investigate.
It wasn’t as bad as the blown 23-point lead against the Spurs, but Bulls coach Billy Donovan has seen enough and wants his team to stop letting go of the rope late.
Reminded before Friday night’s game against the Nuggets that the Bulls hadn’t won in Denver since February 2006, 19-year-old rookie forward Patrick Williams offered a reminder of his own.
“Yeah, I mean, I was 5,’’ Williams said as the video call turned to giggles.
There was very little to laugh about by the time Friday night ended. In control of the game most of the night, the Bulls again blew a big lead. And while it wasn’t 23 points, like the lead they blew against the Spurs two nights earlier, they were nonetheless up by 14 with eight minutes to go before eventually losing 131-127 in overtime.
“We play like a self-fulfilling prophecy,” coach Billy Donovan said. “That’s what we do. The amount of things we had to do to put them in position to win the game was mind-boggling. But it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, and I think it’s a great challenge for our team. . . . For us to become the team I think we can become, and play basketball the way we do for really long stretches of time, this is an area we have to overcome. We have to find a way to make the necessary plays. And it wasn’t one play — it was a lot of them.”
Two in particular stood out. The first was guard Coby White fouling Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. on a three-point attempt with 7:27 left. The other was the play that tied the game in regulation. Bulls forward Thad Young got sucked in on center Nikola Jokic, who found Jamal Murray for the tying shot with 0.4 on the clock.
Hutchison’s hiatus almost over
There will be a place for forward Chandler Hutchison when he’s ready to return to the rotation. How that will look and whom he replaces are details Donovan will figure out. What’s important is that Hutchison will be returning “sooner than later,’’ Donovan said.
Hutchison also posted a message on Instagram that he was indeed returning soon.
“He and I have had a chance to talk several different times,” Donovan said. “I think he’s doing a lot better, and I think he’s working toward getting himself back. The exact date, I am not quite sure.”
The Bulls’ 2018 first-round pick has been out since Feb. 5, missing 19 games with unspecified personal issues. In his absence, Otto Porter Jr. has returned to the rotation after a back injury, while Denzel Valentine also has been getting minutes at small forward.
Temple coming along
Veteran Garrett Temple has missed four straight games with a sprained left ankle, but he continues to progress on this weekend trip.
“He’s able to do more and more, which is encouraging,” Donovan said. “After the first couple of days of evaluating him, dealing with swelling and things . . . he’s responded very well. He’s been able to do different things on the court. [Friday], actually, at shootaround, he was doing some shooting, which was good to see. He’s definitely progressing, but a lot is going to depend on the cutting, the straight line running and how he responds.”
There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Gemini.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
You are empowered for the next four weeks because the sun is in your sign. (This happens only once a year.) This will restore, replenish and recharge your batteries for the next 12 months! You’ll also have a strong need to express yourself, which you will do!
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Your personal year is ending; however, your new year will not begin until your birthday. Therefore, use the next four weeks to make goals for what you want for your new year ahead. Goals make decision-making easier, plus they give you a sense of purpose and structure.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
You will be more popular in the next four weeks! You will definitely benefit by working with and cooperating with others. Strive to establish who you are with your friends. Also, this window of time is excellent for setting goals.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
In the next four weeks, bosses, parents, teachers and VIPs will admire you more than usual. (It’s smoke and mirrors.) With this blessing, obviously, this is the best window in the entire year to go after what you want. Demand the advantage!
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
The next four weeks are powerful for you because the sun will be in your fellow fire sign, which will be supportive to all your activities. In particular, you will want to travel, explore new ideas, study and take advantage of opportunities in publishing, the media, medicine and the law.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Your focus will be on taxes, debt, shared property and insurance issues in the next four weeks. (This might include estates and inheritances.) Tie up loose ends because decisions and activities in these areas will benefit you in this window of time. Just do it.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Because the sun is opposite your sign for the next four weeks, you will need more sleep. (Go to bed.) However, this polarization will also give you a chance to see your closest relationships with more objectivity, which means you can see how to improve how you relate to others.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
It will be easier to be productive in the next four weeks because the bottom line is you want to work smart. You want to get better organized in every aspect of your life, including your health. (Probably also how you relate to your pet.) Yes, you want it all!
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Lucky you! The next four weeks are fun-loving, lighthearted, playful and romantic. This is an ideal window for a vacation; however, most of you cannot travel. Nevertheless, you can explore the arts and travel online and enrich your life in exciting ways.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Home, family and your private life will be your primary focus in the next four weeks. In fact, many of you will be more involved than usual with a parent. It will please you to cocoon at home and be able to relax among familiar surroundings. This will rejuvenate you!
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Your daily pace will accelerate in the next four weeks — no question. Short trips, errands, appointments plus increased reading, writing and studying will give you a busy schedule. You will also be eager to enlighten others with your ideas. Oh yes, go, go, go!
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Financial matters are your top concern in the next four weeks. You will give more thought than usual to your earnings, your cash flow, your assets and your possessions. You might think more about how to take care of what you own. Good stuff!
If Your Birthday Is Today
Film director Spike Lee (1957) shares your birthday. You are warm and caring. You are also creative and you need variety in your daily routine. Because you are entering a new cycle, it means it’s time to define some goals to determine what you want for yourself in the next few years. Be confident and physically energetic about going after what you want. Just do it!
Adam Miller (from left), Andre Curbelo and Ayo Dosunmu celebrate during the Illini’s first-round victory Friday against Drexel. | Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
The degree of difficulty is about to jump significantly for the Illini. On Sunday, they’ll face eighth-seeded Loyola.
No drama. No upsets. No regrets.
That’s all any coach of a No. 1 seed can hope for in an NCAA Tournament opener, and that’s what Brad Underwood got from Illinois’ 78-49 romp over outmanned Drexel on Friday afternoon in Indianapolis.
“A great matter-of-fact game,” Underwood said. “I’m loving the balance we’re playing with right now.”
Oh, there were a few early jitters, even in this controlled environment, as the newly minted Big Ten Tournament champions ended the program’s eight-year absence from this stage. The Illini missed five of their first six shots from the field and had just two points through the first four minutes.
Yet, they were able to stabilize quickly and avoid the sort of agony second-seeded Ohio State experienced Friday across town in a stunning overtime loss to No. 15 seed Oral Roberts.
“Every kid dreams about playing in the NCAA Tournament,” Underwood said. “They’ve done that since they were 5 years old. When they stepped out there, there was a little anxiety, a little nervousness.”
Then Trent Frazier hit a couple of jumpers, Kofi Cockburn threw down a couple of dunks and the 22½-point favorites settled in. They took the lead for good 6½ minutes in and limited the Dragons to 22% shooting from the field in building an 18-point halftime lead.
From there, it was cruise control until Underwood finally removed his starters for the final 97 seconds.
“It was amazing,” All-America guard Ayo Dosunmu said on CBS after finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. “I had goosebumps going out there. I know [after] last year, not having an NCAA Tournament, it was unreal for me just to get out here and play.”
Playing at Indiana Farmers Coliseum, a minor-league hockey arena about 6.2 miles north of Lucas Oil Stadium — site of last weekend’s Big Ten proceedings and the -Final Four a fortnight from now — the Illini followed the calm example of their on-court leader.
Focusing on distribution and defense, Dosunmu remained scoreless until the final six minutes of the first half as the Dragons hung around. That’s when he dropped in eight quick points to key a 20-8 burst.
“I just let the game come to me,” the Morgan Park High School product said. “That’s the way I was taught the game of basketball, and that’s how I always love to play the game of basketball.”
And the slow start on offense?
“We were getting good looks early, and we didn’t play for a week,” he said. “That had a lot to do with it, too. Once I settled in, we were all good.”
The Illini weren’t just good. They were highly entertaining, lobbing and dunking their way to a convincing win, their 15th in 16 tries since the middle of January.
The slickest move of all might have been Andre Curbello’s “nutmeg” pass through the legs of unsuspecting freshman forward Amari Williams. A cutting Cockburn took the feed and finished with authority for two more of his game-high 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting.
It was a nifty extension of the pregame juggling routine those two like to perform with a soccer ball and three small yellow balls.
The degree of difficulty is about to jump significantly for the Illini. On Sunday, they’ll face eighth-seeded Loyola, 71-60 winners over Georgia Tech, for a trip to the Sweet 16.
Venue and time were still to be announced as of Friday afternoon.
“No idea when we’ll find out,” Underwood said matter-of-factly. “That doesn’t matter. We’ll go play at the park, as long as we’re playing for something.”
Schimpf indicts Governor Pritzker for overdoing IL lock-downs of the economy (Too many, too much and too long). Schimpf argues those actions by the Governor were supported neither by the science, nor the data…
This morning’s Public Affairs’ show in Chicago features Paul Schimpf, who became five weeks ago the first announced candidate in the GOP 2022 Republican Primary for Governor. The program airs at 9:03 am on Cable Ch 21 (CAN TV) and repeats tomorrow morning at 8:33 am on Cable Ch 19 (CAN TV).
You can also watch here the show featuring GOP GOV candidate and Lt. Col. Paul Schimpf (Ret.) in Part 2 of his interview by show host Berkowitz.
You can also watch 24/7 Part 1 of Berkowitz’s Schimpf interview (focusing on the $400 Billion IL Gov pension liability issue) by clicking here.
The program featuring Schimpf also airs in Aurora tonight and this Monday at 6 pm on ACTV-10, also known as Cable Ch 10 and Aurora Community Television.
The program featuring GOP GOV candidate Schimpf also airs in Rockford this Thursday night, 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch 17.
Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo) , who graduated from the Naval Academy and spent 20 years in the U. S. Marine Corps, retired in 2013 as a Lt. Col. and soon thereafter was the 2014 Republican nominee for Attorney General, taking on Lisa Madigan, a 12 year incumbent, and getting outspent and beat handily.
But, Schimpf recovered quickly, beating former Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, the daughter of the late and storied U. S. Senator Paul Simon (also a former guest of Public Affairs), although Schimpf was again outspent big time, for a downstate Senate seat in 2016.
You can also watch here the show featuring GOP GOV candidate and Lt. Col. Schimpf (Ret.) discuss his experience as an advisor to Iraqi prosecutors and also as a Marine who helped “Collect the witnesses” from some very dangerous areas when in 2005 Saddam Hussein was tried for war crimes and other crimes against his people.
U. S. Marine Schimpf carried a 9 millimeter Beretta most of the time in Iraq, and when needed, he also had an M-16.
Schimpf also discusses how his military experience in solving complex problems (like gaining control of machine gun nests or the General Assembly) prepared him for being Governor of Illinois.
Substantively, Schimpf focuses on how he would prosecute politically, not criminally, Gov. Pritzker during a gubernatorial campaign for his failure to protect the most vulnerable to Covid– the elderly, those often with pre-existing conditions, in nursing, long-term care and retirement homes and Vets at long term care facilities, as at LaSalle.
Schimpf also indicts the Governor for overdoing (Too many, too much and too long) lock-downs. Schimpf argues that philosophy of the Governor was supported neither by the science, nor the data, and noted by Schimpf as early as April, 2020. Moreover, Schimpf argues that mis-judgement by Gov. Pritzker hurt the physical health, core livelihoods and economic well-being, more broadly, of the people of IL tremendously.
Schimpf, who is Pro-Life, talks of trying to change the culture in IL to make abortions “Unthinkable,” even if they might have to remain legal.
GOP GOV Candidate Schimpf is also critical of the Governor for the extremely long delays incurred by IL citizens when they seek to obtain FOID cards, necessary for them to possess guns lawfully.
8:55 p.m. More criticism for Loretto Hospital CEO who’s already under fire for vaccinating Trump Tower workers and Cook County judges
Sun-Times file
The president and CEO of Loretto Hospital, who authorized vaccinations for workers at Trump Tower, where a fellow executive owns a unit, is now under fire for providing vaccinations to more than 200 members of his southwest suburban church.
The vaccinations were provided in February to congregants of Valley Kingdom Ministries International in southwest suburban Oak Forest, according to hospital spokeswoman Bonni Pear.
Pear said hospital President and CEO George Miller reached out directly to the Chicago Department of Public Health to ask about the church vaccinations before they took place.
“CDPH informed Mr. Miller that as long as the recipients lived, worked or received medical care in the city and were 1B-eligible they could be vaccinated. At the time the church vaccinations occurred, the mandate from CDPH was to vaccinate as many 1A and 1B-eligible Chicagoans as possible,” Pear said.
The hospital’s primary mission has been to vaccinate people who live in and around the predominantly black community in the Austin neighborhood where its located.
5:45 p.m. City snuffs out smokers, says they won’t have priority for vaccine
Being a regular visitor to Flavor Country might get you to the front of the line for a COVID-19 shot in most of Illinois and beyond, but not in Chicago.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised eyebrows when it included smokers on the list of people who should be prioritized for vaccination because of increased vulnerability to the coronavirus due to underlying health conditions.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker followed suit when he expanded the state’s pool of eligible vaccine recipients last month. So did officials in suburban Cook County, which will start inoculating people 16 and older with chronic conditions beginning Monday.
But Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady have snuffed out eligibility for smokers when registration opens to more residents with the city’s launch of vaccination Phase 1C on March 29.
4 p.m. Cook County to prioritize vaccinations in 32 suburbs
Cook County health officials will prioritize coronavirus vaccine appointments in more than two dozen of the hardest-hit suburbs to ensure equal access to the life-saving shots.
The 32 suburbs given high priority for shots were predominantly communities of color in the west and south suburbs, the Cook County Department of Public Health announced Friday.
3:15 p.m. 73% of students who opted in now showing up for in-person classes, CPS says — but vast majority remain home
Chicago Public Schools on Friday released the most comprehensive figures to date on school attendance since in-person learning resumed in February, with the administration saying they are “encouraged” by the numbers although the vast majority of students remain remote.
For the week of March 8 through 12 — the first week when all elementary grade levels were allowed back in classrooms — about three quarters, or 73 percent, of those students who were expected to show up actually did, according to CPS.
The district also said in-person attendance increased the longer schools have been open, pointing to the 55 percent of pre-K and students enrolled in cluster programs who attended in person on Feb. 11, increasing to 69 percent on March 12.
That group was the first to return to in-person learning following the district-wide closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, with K-5 students returning March 1 and grades 6-8 coming back March 8.
2:30 p.m. AstraZeneca vaccinations resume in Europe after clot scare
WARSAW, Poland — Countries across Europe resumed vaccinations with the AstraZeneca shot on Friday, as leaders sought to reassure their populations it is safe following brief suspensions that cast doubt on a vaccine that is critical to ending the coronavirus pandemic.
France’s prime minister rolled up his sleeve to get the vaccine and Britain’s planned to, as did a handful of other senior politicians across the continent where inoculation drives have repeatedly stumbled and several countries are now reimposing lockdowns as infections rise in many places.
Britain is a notable exception: The outbreak there is receding, and the country has been widely praised for its vaccination campaign, though this week it announced that it, too, would be hit by supply shortages. European Union countries, by contrast, have struggled to quickly roll out vaccines, and the pause of the AstraZeneca shot by many this week only added to those troubles.
1:20 p.m. What in-person school could look like for CPS high schoolers who opt in
CPS high school students have until Friday to decide whether to return for in-person classes this year — even though they have little idea what things will look like if they go back.
Chicago Public Schools officials have released few details about reopening plans, although they said earlier this week that April 19, the beginning of the fourth quarter, is the target date to restart. The district said it is eyeing a hybrid learning plan that would put students in classrooms two days each week, meaning students would have 18 days or so of in-person learning before school gets out in late June.
The district also said it hopes to keep students with the same teachers they currently have for remote learning.
It’s not just the district’s 74,000 high school students who have been given few details while CPS negotiates with the Chicago Teachers Union. High school principals are also waiting for more information.
12:30 p.m. Happiness Report: World shows resilience in face of COVID19
STOCKHOLM — The coronavirus brought a year of fear and anxiety, loneliness and lockdown, and illness and death, but an annual report on happiness around the world released Friday suggests the pandemic has not crushed people’s spirits.
The editors of the 2021 World Happiness Report found that while emotions changed as the pandemic set in, longer-term satisfaction with life was less affected.
“What we have found is that when people take the long view, they’ve shown a lot of resilience in this past year,” Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs, one of the report’s co-author, said from New York.
11:15 a.m. CDC changes school guidance, allowing desks to be closer
NEW YORK — Students can safely sit just 3 feet apart in the classroom as long as they wear masks but should be kept the usual 6 feet away from one another at sporting events, assemblies, lunch or chorus practice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in relaxing its COVID-19 guidelines.
The revised recommendations represent a turn away from the 6-foot standard that has sharply limited how many students some schools can accommodate. Some places have had to remove desks, stagger scheduling and take other steps to keep children apart.
Three feet “gives school districts greater flexibility to have more students in for a prolonged period of time,” said Kevin Quinn, director of maintenance and facilities at Mundelein High School in suburban Chicago.
In recent months, schools in some states have been disregarding the CDC guidelines, using 3 feet as their standard. Studies of what happened in some of them helped sway the agency, said Greta Massetti, who leads the CDC’s community interventions task force.
9:30 a.m. Uber offering drivers access to streamlined vaccination booking process through Walgreens
Illinois Uber drivers will now have access to a simpler process to schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments through Walgreens.
The initiative stems from Uber and Walgreens’ partnership formed in early February to help COVID-19 vaccines become more accessible to underserved communities.
According to the Cook County Department of Public Health, ride-hailing service drivers are considered public transit workers and are eligible to be vaccinated in Phase 1B — which began Jan. 25 — along with first responders, educators, corrections workers, inmates and grocery store workers, among others.
Officials reported 1,655 new cases of the disease were diagnosed among 77,798 tests, decreasing Illinois’ average positivity rate slightly to 2.2%.
Analysis & Commentary
5 p.m. Loretto Hospital leaders deserve more than a ‘harsh reprimand’ for misuse of COVID shots
I was pleasantly surprised when Loretto Hospital, a small hospital in Austin, was chosen to kick off the city’s campaign to get Chicagoans vaccinated against the deadly COVID-19 virus.
The city’s honor did two things:
It pushed the issue of healthcare disparities from hand-wringing to action.
And it elevated the profile of a community hospital that desperately needed its own shot in the arm.
Sandwiched between the massive Loyola University Medical Center in nearby Maywood and the sprawling medical district to the east, Loretto has struggled to be recognized as a credible provider of care in an area that desperately needs access to quality healthcare.
Hospitals like Loretto have suffered because too often community residents with financial resources and good insurance choose to go elsewhere.
10:45 a.m. COVID-19, the Affordable Care Act and why America must tackle its health care disparities
One community at a time, the deadly coronavirus spread into every corner of the Chicago area last year, killing nearly 10,000 and sending thousands more to intensive care units at overwhelmed hospitals.
The harrowing story of COVID-19’s spread throughout Cook County, as told in a Sun-Times investigation by Kyra Senese and Eric Fan, drives home once again a powerful lesson about health care access:
America, much to its shame as the world’s richest nation, is a country beset by health care disparities that lead to enormous differences, based on race and income, in who lives, who dies and who can see a doctor when they get sick.
Those disparities, of course, were already clear to anyone who cared to look. They just became more glaring during a pandemic that swiftly killed the poor and vulnerable even as wealthier folks had the means to hunker down and avoid the virus.
7 a.m. Yup, got myself vaccinated, but won’t say how — oh, OK, I will
Yes, I got my first COVID vaccination on Monday. And no, I’m not going to tell you how it happened. In a manner embarrassing enough that I decided to never share the specifics. I didn’t lie. I didn’t body-check anybody out of line. Let’s leave it at that.
The moment I made this uncharacteristic decision — discreet silence not being my forte — my immediate qualm was, “So what do I say if people ask?”
And the fully formed thought instantly flashing into mind was:
“I’ll just say I got vaccinated at the synagogue with everybody else, in late 2019, just before the virus was released.”
That’s a joke. I make jokes. It’s a twitch, a reflex, to cover unease at getting the life-saving shot that 88% of Illinoisans haven’t gotten yet. Is it a good joke? Well, it plays on the psycho conspiracy theories that millions of Americans lap up like kittens around a dish of cream. Certainly not as wild as Secret Jewish Space Lasers.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22382958/Screen_Shot_2021_03_19_at_11.57.15_AM.png)
Sun-Times file
Leave a comment