Anything goes during this evening on Twitch.
The pandemic has encouraged folks to be experimental in all forms of life.…Read More
Stand-up comedian Sam Tallent’s hilarious novel follows a dumpster fire of a man looking for redemption.
Is a monster still a monster if it knows it’s a monster? Stand-up comedian Sam Tallent has fashioned a golem-like creature called Billy Ray Shafer and set him on an anti-hero’s odyssey into a hell entirely of his own making in Running the Light (independently published), a book that is sometimes so funny it hurts.…Read More
The sad, funny monster in Running the LightDmitry Samarovon January 22, 2021 at 5:45 pm Read More »
Zeeshan Shah of Superkhana International schools us on his spiced egg sandwich, which “you can make right when you wake up, as long as you’re planning to go right back to sleep after.” Read the full recipe here, and our guide to Chicago’s best sandwiches here. (Video sponsored by Turano Baking Co.)Read More
In the Kitchen: Zeeshan Shah’s Spiced Egg SandwichDS Shinon January 22, 2021 at 8:11 pm Read More »
The actor, 66, on hallucinogens, Second City flops, and the true inspiration for John’s cheeseburger sketchRead More
Jim BelushiLynette Smithon January 22, 2021 at 8:24 pm Read More »
Illinois Department of Public Health director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said on Friday that all regions in Illinois that reach Phase 4 of COVID mitigations can play high school basketball.
Illinois Department of Public Health director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said on Friday that all regions in Illinois that reach Phase 4 of COVID mitigations can play high school basketball.
The full guidelines from IDPH have not been revealed yet, but it appears that conference and intra-region basketball games will be allowed soon.
The Illinois High School Association met with representatives from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office on Friday morning. IHSA spokesperson Matt Troha said the IHSA will release a statement as soon as possible. It’s unknown if the IHSA will start the basketball season immediately, which is what the current schedule says, or if basketball will be pushed back to spring. Football is currently scheduled to start on Feb. 15.
Currently, Region 3 (Southwest Illinois), Region 5 (Southern Illinois) and Region 6 (East Central Illinois) are all in Phase 4. Chicago and Cook County will move to Tier 1 on Saturday, that is one step away from Phase 4.
In order for regions to rollback to Phase 4 three things are required:
-Test positivity rate below 6.5% for 3 consecutive days (7-day average).
-Staffed hospital and ICU beds availability greater than 20% for 3 consecutive days (3-day average).
-No sustained increase in COVID patients in hospital (7-day average over 7 of 10 days).
In late October Pritzker said that winter high school sports, including basketball, would be “moved into spring.” That statement came just two days after Pritzker announced they were “on hold.”
The IHSA revised its sports calendar for this school year after football and other fall sports were delayed by Pritzker in late July. The new calendar moved several fall sports to the spring season and added a new summer season. The IHSA is expected to amend or totally redo that schedule at a meeting next week.
Illinois had awarded a state championship in boys high school basketball every year since 1908. That streak came to an end last March because of coronavirus. The IHSA canceled the entire boys state tournament on March 12 and no games have been held since then.
Lower and medium-risk high school sports are being allowed at various levels of play across the state. Badminton, swimming, competitive cheerleading and competitive dance teams are allowed to practice and compete. The IHSA’s possible schedule change may soon allow soccer and volleyball teams to begin practicing or competing as well.
Derick Almena, 50, pleaded guilty to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in exchange for a 12-year sentence.
OAKLAND, Calif. — The master tenant of a San Francisco Bay Area warehouse where 36 people perished when a fire ignited during a dance party in 2016 pleaded guilty Friday to the deaths, avoiding a second trial after the first ended in a hung jury.
Derick Almena, 50, pleaded guilty to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in exchange for a 12-year sentence. Already free on bail, Almena likely won’t return to jail because of the nearly three years he already spent behind bars and credit for good behavior.
His sentencing was scheduled for March 8 and will determine whether he will continue to be monitored electronically at his home in rural Northern California and be subject to supervised probation.
Prosecutors say Almena was criminally negligent when he illegally converted the industrial Oakland warehouse into a residence and event space for artists dubbed the “Ghost Ship,” stuffing the two-story building with flammable materials and extension cords. It had no smoke detectors or sprinklers.
The Dec. 2, 2016, fire broke out at the warehouse during an electronic music and dance party, moving so quickly that victims were trapped on the illegally constructed second floor. Prosecutors said the victims received no warning and had little chance to escape down a narrow, ramshackle staircase.
The case has been emotionally wrenching for family and friends of the victims, many who packed a courtroom for months in 2019, only to see a jury split on whether to convict Almena, who leased the building. The jury also found co-defendant Max Harris, who was the Ghost Ship’s “creative director” and would collect rent, not guilty at the same trial.
Colleen Dolan, mother of victim Chelsea Faith Dolan, told the East Bay Times that families were not informed of the plea deal possibility before last Wednesday.
“My heart dropped, especially when I heard it was going to be a slap on the wrist. I want my daughter back; we want to be with our family members who died. He gets to be with his family,” she said.
Almena had been jailed since 2017 until he was released in May because of coronavirus concerns and after posting a $150,000 bail bond. He is on house arrest with an ankle monitor in the city of Upper Lake, where he lives with his wife and children.
Tony Serra, Almena’s attorney, said Thursday that he could not comment because lawyers are under a gag order imposed by Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson.
The Alameda County district attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
All eyes are on Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson as recent reports have suggested that he has played his final game with the Texans and has requested a trade. The Chicago Bears are in need of a quarterback and Watson would solve the organization’s primary problem.
The issue for the Bears in regards to Watson is why would the quarterback approve a trade from the Texans to the Bears. The reason why Watson may be hesitant to approve a trade to the Bears is because that is the team that was negligent when evaluating the Clemson product during the 2017 NFL Draft Process. Bears’ general manager Ryan Pace never had a conversation with Watson as it has become overwhelmingly clear that Pace was set on Mitchell Trubisky.
When high school basketball fans think back to the 1980s, programs like Quincy, Providence St. Mel, East St. Louis Lincoln and the arrival of city powers King and Simeon are easy to think back on.
The 1990s brought us memorable basketball giants in Peoria Manual and Thornton, a few steamrolling Proviso East teams and the continued dominance of King.
The first 10 years of the 2000s included Glenbrook North, Peoria High and the beginning of a Simeon juggernaut.
Earlier this year we broke down the decade’s best teams and best players. Now, with every season of the past decade complete, it’s time to look at the Chicago area programs who won the most.
This list is comprised of the 50 winningest programs over the past 10 years, starting with the 2010-11 season and concluding with the 2019-20 season. Every team in every class throughout the Chicago area will be broken down in a variety of ways. But total wins, with winning percentage used as tie-breaker, determined the rankings.
We present No. 12 Niles North today and will add one program a day going forward.
Decade’s biggest storyline: How about simply the arrival of Niles North as a legitimate basketball program? It’s a huge storyline in high school basketball.
Consider this: Niles North went 74-192 the previous decade. Then the 2010s came with coach Glenn Olson in charge and arguably the biggest turnaround of any program in the Chicago area.
Prior to Olson taking over the program in 2009-10, Niles North won a total of 34 games the previous six seasons combined. Now the Vikings have averaged 22 wins a year over the past 10. There were nine 20-win seasons in the decade with a fair amount of postseason success, including five regional championships and the only sectional title in school history in 2011.
When you realize Niles North had one regional title and two 20-win seasons in the program’s first 46 years, it’s arguably the biggest turnaround of any program in the Chicago area when comparing the past two decades.
Underrated highlight: While the rise of the program was front and center over the course of the decade, three straight trips to sectional championship games in 2011, 2012 and 2013, including its first-ever super-sectional appearance, needs to be highlighted.
Niles North, led by future NBA player Abdel Nader, pulled out a 53-52 sectional championship win over Schaumburg before losing to Warren in the super.
Player of the Decade: Abdel Nader (2011)
All-Decade Team: Abdel Nader (2011), Malachi Nix (2013), Crishawn Cook (2016), Damaria Franklin (2018) and Aquan Smart (2020)
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Other decade highlights:
-The 2012-13 team set a school record for wins with 27, and last year’s team matched it. The 2012-13 team lost to New Trier in the sectional final while the Vikings lost to Loyola in the sectional semifinals last March.
-The top three scorers in school history — and five of the top 10 — all came over the past 10 years. Malachi Nix broke the school scoring record with 1,582 points, while Damaria Franklin (1,548) and Aquan Smart (1,472) finished their careers No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, on the all-time list.
Crishawn Cook and Abdel Nader are two other 1,000-plus point scorers who are among the top 10, while current senior Jalen Butler was well on his way to scoring over 1,000 points in his career if not for the current missed season.
-The program produced five Division I players in the decade: Nader (NIU/Iowa State), Nix (Farleigh Dickinson), Damarrion Bariffe-Smith (Jackson State), Franklin (Tennessee Tech) and Smart (Maryland).
-After losing in the title game twice earlier in the decade, Niles North won its first-ever Wheeling Hardwood Classic title in 2017, one of the top holiday tournaments in the state. The Vikings ran their record to a perfect 13-0 with a 72-65 win over Libertyville.
