Why the Bears are ahead of the sportsbook gameon January 21, 2021 at 12:00 pm
Despite the early exit in the NFL Playoffs for the Chicago Bears they are near the top when it comes to their off-field activities. They have already signed a great deal with PointsBet, and the partnership can only be good news for both partners.
The idea of an NFL franchise signing a partnership deal with an online gambling company wasn’t possible in the past. The NFL had actually fought against the legalization of sports betting for a number of decades. Their fear was that such betting would damage the integrity of their sport.
Two years ago, a US Supreme Court ruling ruled that individual states could decide on legalization of gambling. That’s changed everything with an increasing number of states now legalizing gambling. They now enjoy the benefits of all the additional tax from gambling revenue.
Another state that has legalized gambling is Pennsylvania. There are great betting opportunities available at the Rivers online casino. It’s best to read up about any site that you wish to join before registering to find out about areas such as financial security, welcome bonuses and what games they have to offer.
Why the Bears are ahead of the sportsbook gameon January 21, 2021 at 12:00 pm Read More »
Imagine U and Chicago Children’s Theatre find ways to fight the winter blahsKerry Reidon January 21, 2021 at 10:05 pm
They’re bringing kids and families together through storytelling, crafts—and a viral 80s dance video.
When the COVID-19 lockdown first hit in March, a lot of companies whose mission focused on theater for young audiences found their digital shelves mostly bare. But they quickly ramped up their offerings with short films, workshops, and other activities designed to give kids and their families a break from the monotony of screen time routines.…Read More
Dining Vicariously Through Duncan Hines’s Restaurant Guideson January 21, 2021 at 9:39 pm
Before I learned to love restaurants, I learned to love reading about them. My mom, a faithful Bon Appétit subscriber, meticulously kept a multiyear archive of back issues on a shelf in a closet near our kitchen. Every so often, we would go through them together, cutting out recipes to save on index cards before tossing the old magazines.
While doing that, I discovered RSVP, a regular column where readers would write in requesting recipes for favorite dishes at restaurants they’d visited. I can remember indexing the most delicious-sounding ones in my head, creating a mental atlas of places I dreamed of visiting someday. Soon interest grew into a fixation. By the time I was 7 years old, I had picked up the extremely normal hobby of reading restaurant reviews in the local paper each week. It surprised no one when I went on to become a food writer.
The pandemic has necessitated a significant shift in how restaurants are written about, and often the news that journalists have to share is difficult. For a brief hit of pleasure, I have turned instead to reading about restaurants of the past in order to avoid thinking about those of the present. And it is through this nostalgic exercise that I discovered Duncan Hines.
Yes, the Duncan Hines of boxed-cake-mix fame. It turns out he was a vital figure in food-writing history, having published more than 25 annual editions of a best-selling restaurant guidebook during the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s. Adventures in Good Eating, as the compendiums were called, contained pithy recommendations for travelers to thumb through before making a pit stop for a meal.
The reviews were written in a no-nonsense Midwestern parlance that occasionally verged on corny. “If you’re against cruelty to vegetables and like your meats well treated too, try Keeney’s,” he wrote of a cafeteria in Wooster, Ohio, in the 1945 edition. Of a spot in Michigan called the Islington, he remarked, “In the pine-scented north where there is no hay fever and plenty of fun. Good food is an added attraction. Their whitefish is very good!” As his readership grew, he started selling seals of approval that the restaurants he had recommended could proudly display in their windows. He was, in some ways, America’s first food influencer.
Like fellow 20th-century epicures Julia Child (a diplomat’s wife) and James Beard (an actor), Hines didn’t set out to be a food writer. He and his wife, Florence, came to Chicago in 1905, and he took a job in advertising. Working out of an office in the Marquette Building in the Loop, he quickly became a top salesman, thanks in part to his willingness to hop in the car or on a train to attend to clients in, say, Ohio and then turn right back around once he was done.
During these business trips, he began keeping a journal of places he’d enjoyed dining at, noting their addresses, hours, and bills of fare. Before long, he started doing the same on weekend “motoring” vacations with Florence across the Midwest. From the early 1920s to the late ’30s, they covered between 40,000 and 60,000 miles together each year — this in addition to all of Hines’s business travel, which started to look more and more like culinary excursions. Once, Hines got embroiled in a conversation about lobster with a couple of friends who insisted that New England lobsters were the best. A few weeks later, Hines and his wife were in the back seat of these friends’ car on the road to Maine.
Hines’s travel notebooks became the stuff of legend, and soon enough any Chicago salesman who knew his stuff would call Hines before setting out on the road, asking for dining recommendations at his destination. By the mid-1930s, Hines was sick of fielding constant calls. So in 1936 he decided to publish the first edition of Adventures in Good Eating.
Though similar guides existed at the time, Hines believed he offered something unique. While other publications delivered favorable reviews in exchange for advertising dollars, Hines prided himself on never accepting a free meal, though he did apparently accept gifts — in one case, a Cadillac — from restaurateurs he’d already favorably reviewed. He loved showing up anonymously; he made reservations under fake names, and he purposefully chose an old photo of himself to accompany his author bio so restaurateurs couldn’t spot him in their dining rooms. The only company doing anything similar to his food-travel guides at the time was a tire manufacturer in France called Michelin.
Despite once claiming that he “would like to be food dictator of the U.S.A. just long enough to padlock two-thirds of the places that call themselves cafes or restaurants,” Hines was no gourmand. Even after years on the road, the man’s favorite cocktail was an unholy mixture of gin, grenadine, an egg, honey, and pickled-watermelon juice, and he often bragged of being able to drink a dozen of these in a sitting. Judging from the meals described in his books, his palate tended toward simple food, at both roadside spots and high-end hotels.
Indeed, far from considering himself an arbiter of gastronomic taste, he conceived of his project as a noble attempt at protecting the lives of his fellow salesmen. In an era when health inspections were less than rigorous, there were more than a few horror stories circulating among traveling types about unlucky diners getting a bad meal on the road and dying of food poisoning. So, basically, Hines was chronicling establishments that served decent-tasting food that wouldn’t kill you. He was so obsessed with the not-killing-you part that he insisted on inspecting the kitchen of any restaurant he was considering for his guide to ensure it was clean enough to recommend.
Hines became famous for Adventures in Good Eating — so famous, in fact, that by the time he stopped actively writing reviews, sometime in the 1950s, he had licensed his name to several food products. Those products, in turn, became famous too, and now his legacy rests not on his restaurant reviewing but on boxes of devil’s food cake mix.
Hines saw going to restaurants as a particularly appealing kind of leisure sport, and I suppose I do too. The way some people get really into golf, I get really into dessert menus. Now, with COVID-19 keeping us indoors, I miss the act of recreational dining all the more, of setting forth on a couple of hours’ adventure with the hope of having something interesting and good to say about it afterward. And I miss reading about the similar adventures of others. These are stories that keep a certain promise alive: that the next great meal is just ahead.
Classic high school basketball game rewatch: Glenbrook North vs. Carbondale (2005)on January 21, 2021 at 4:39 pm
Dave Weber wasn’t afraid to say it in 2005.
“I think [Jon Scheyer] is the best player ever to play high school basketball in Illinois. I know that’s a big statement. I’m not saying he’s going to be the best college player or the best pro. His records are just mind-boggling. There is no one who is so complete.”
Weber, the Glenbrook North coach at the time, said that before Scheyer’s senior season.
It’s been 14 years since Scheyer graduated high school. Since then the state has experienced a phenomenal run of talent: Derrick Rose, Jabari Parker, Jalen Brunson, Jahlil Okafor and more.
And guess what? Weber’s statement still holds up.
Scheyer is the only player in Illinois high school basketball history that is in the all-time top 20 in total points, assists and steals. He’s fourth all-time in scoring, 20th all-time in assists and 10th in steals. He was on pace to finish in the top 10 in rebounding before his senior season but fell short. I couldn’t find a total for rebounds, but it is likely he was just outside the top 20.
The only other all-time top 20 scorer that features in any of the other categories is Mike Robinson of Peoria Richwoods, who is eighth in rebounds.
Do a CTRL+F for Scheyer on the IHSA’s all-time records page and be amazed.
Statistically it is easy to make the case that Scheyer is the most complete player in IHSA basketball history. But there is another factor. Scheyer won. He really, really won. Scheyer led Glenbrook North to the Class AA state title in 2005, his junior year. There wasn’t another Division I player on the team.
Scheyer and Glenbrook North lost to Simeon and Derrick Rose in the 2006 state quarterfinals. That’s the most highly-anticipated game I’ve covered. Many forget this, but Scheyer also led Glenbrook North to third place in Class AA his freshman year.
Scheyer was a total media sensation. Jabari Parker was a bigger national star than Scheyer. Parker was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. But locally, it isn’t close. Scheyer and Glenbrook North were the biggest story in Chicago sports during the winter of 2005-06.
One televised Glenbrook North game had higher ratings than all five college basketball games that were on at the same time. That just doesn’t happen. More than 13,000 fans showed up to watch the 2006 supersectional game at Allstate Arena against Warren.
There was a huge national moment for Scheyer. He scored 21 points in 75 seconds at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament in 2005. He finished with 52 points against the host Panthers.
After the game, Scheyer passed out in the locker room — dehydrated and exhausted. He ended up in the hospital, but made it to the Spartans’ game the next day by halftime. He scored six points and became the all-time leading scorer in tournament history.
A week later, Scheyer was on WGN’s morning television show. The gag was, what else can Jon Scheyer do in 75 seconds? They had him tying shoelaces, making sandwiches, writing Coach K’s name on a blackboard. Then they whipped out a stopwatch and a basket and challenged him to do it again, score 21 points in 75 seconds.
He did it.
Scheyer was the Sun-Times Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball in 2006. The voting totals for Mr. Basketball are remarkable. He received 217 first place votes. The second-place finisher had 17.
For some reason the Scheyer vs. Rose game isn’t in the IHSA’s YouTube archive yet. It was actually a bust after all the hype. I’d like to rewatch it again though.
However, the 2005 state title game is in the archive and I watched it this week. It’s a terrific chance to watch how Scheyer, guard Sean Wallis and the rest of the Spartans brought a state title home to Northbrook.
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Wallis’ impact on the team cannot be understated. The connection he shared with Scheyer was special, it’s the best I’ve ever seen in high school basketball. Overall I think the 2006 Glenbrook North team was more talented than the 2005 team that won the state title. But it just wasn’t quite the same without Wallis, who graduated in 2005.
“Sean and I had a special connection,” Scheyer said before the 2005-06 season. “I could close my eyes, and I would know where he was on the court.”
That was obvious. Opposing defenses didn’t just key on Scheyer. They attempted to overwhelm him. There was always at least a double-team and on some occasions teams actually had three players guard Scheyer. Wallis had an uncanny knack for finding the exact right spot to be in to allow Scheyer to release that pressure.
Watch it below and read the original game story from 2005.
The starting lineups:
Glenbrook North (32-2)
F Matt Gold (25), 6-5 Sr.
F Zach Kelly (44), 6-7 Jr.
C Jonathan Radke (50), 6-5 Jr.
G Sean Wallis (12), 6-2 Sr.
G Jon Scheyer (23), 6-6 Jr.
Carbondale (31-3)
F Josh Tapp (23), 6-4 Sr.
F Phillip Fayne (24), 6-3 Sr.
C Manual Cass (41), 6-6 Jr.
G Ray Nelson (21), 6-1 Sr.
G Michael DeWalt (25), 6-0 Sr.
Glenbrook North brings it home: Scheyer scored 27 as Spartans roll to championship
March 20, 2005
BY MICHAEL O’BRIEN
PEORIA — Glenbrook North’s Jon Scheyer stood at the podium in the press room on Friday and boldly declared that he came to Peoria to win the state championship.
Scheyer delivered on Saturday night, scoring 27 points to lead the Spartans to a 63-51 win over Carbondale at Carver Arena.
After the game he dedicated the win to his coach, Dave Weber, whose mother Dawn passed away on March 11.
“We were all kind of stunned by that,” Scheyer said. We went out and got the best present we could for coach. This was all for him.”
Scheyer got his coach the title with one of the most dominant performances in state tournament history. Shaun Livingston, who led Peoria Central to the state title in 2003 and 2004, went directly from Carver Arena to the NBA, but he never dominated the state as Scheyer did.
Scheyer scored 35 points in the quarterfinals against Brother Rice and had 24 against Rockford Jefferson in the semifinals. He scored 48 in the supersectional against Waukegan, putting him just nine points shy of King star Marcus Liberty’s record of 143 points in the 1987 state tournament.
I was flipping through the program and saw that record before we played on Friday,” Scheyer said. I couldn’t imagine anyone scoring that much. Just to be mentioned with a legend like Marcus Liberty is great.”
“I’d just like to thank everyone who chanted ‘Overrated’ at him,” Weber said. “He was so fired up this season.”
The Spartans (32-2) led 52-35 after three free throws from Scheyer with 1:26 to play in the third quarter. A flurry of Glenbrook North turnovers at the start of the fourth quarter allowed Carbondale (31-3) a chance to get back in the game. The Terriers took advantage, opening the fourth with a 9-0 run to get within 52-45 on Josh Tabb’s driving layup with 4:22 to play.
Glenbrook North guard Sean Wallis’ jumper with 3:02 to play turned the tide and put the Spartans ahead 54-45.
“Sean and I have been talking about and dreaming about a state title our whole lives,” Scheyer said.” That jumper he made was the biggest shot of our careers.”
The strongest feature of Glenbrook North’s team then came into play — free throws. The Spartans iced the title at the line, shooting 9-for-12 in the final two minutes.
“I don’t think anyone thought a school like Glenbrook North could win a basketball state title in Illinois,” Weber said. I’m so proud of these kids. I think we made history.”
There is so much one-on-one in basketball these days. We execute a half-court offense and that makes us very rare in this area of high school basketball. I never thought we’d come here and win these games by the margin we did.”
Scheyer shot 9-for-17 and finished with three assists, three rebounds and two blocks. Wallis scored 15 points and Zach Kelly added eight points.
Ray Nelson led the Terriers with 11 points.
Glenbrook North opened the game with a 14-4 run. Wallis, Gold and Scheyer all made threes in the first three minutes of the second quarter to increase the lead to 28-13. Glenbrook North held Carbondale without a field goal for the final four minutes of the second quarter and led 34-28 at the half. Glenbrook North never trailed at halftime this season.
“[Scheyer] is better than I anticipated,” said Carbondale coach Jim Miller. “He does so many things so well and he makes everyone around him better. There is a reason why he’s rated as high as he is.”
Downers South defeated Rockford Jefferson 57-44 to capture third place. Mustangs guard Bryan Mullins, who battled illness all weekend, had 19 points and eight assists for the Mustangs (30-4).
Person dies in Austin fire; another escapes from 2nd-floor windowon January 21, 2021 at 4:41 pm
A person died and another was injured in a blaze that ripped through a home Thursday morning in Austin on the West Side.
The fatality was found in the top floor of the two-and-a-half story building in the 500 block of North Lawler Avenue, according to fire department spokesman Larry Langford.
Another man jumped from a second-story window and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition stabilized, Langford and a police spokeswoman said.
Crews were called to the blaze about 9:15 a.m., police said.
The fire was ongoing as of 10:30 a.m., Langford said.
The damage to the building was extensive, but it was too early to determine the fire’s cause, he said.
The winningest high school basketball programs of the decade: No. 13 Bolingbrookon January 21, 2021 at 5:21 pm
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. 13 Bolingbrook today and will add one program a day going forward.
13. BOLINGBROOK: 220-70
Decade’s biggest storyline: When it comes to the Raiders and the past decade, you take the best season in school history and run with it. The 2016-17 season was pretty magical.
Bolingbrook rolled through the regular season and postseason with regional, sectional and supersectional wins. Coach Rob Brost’s team headed to Peoria with a glitzy 29-1 record and the program’s first-ever trip to the State Finals. The Raiders fell to Simeon in the semifinals and beat Fremd to finish third in the state in Class 4A.
That great Raiders team, which was led by Nana Akenten, Kaleb Thornton, Malik Binns and the sophomore guard tandem of Joseph Yesufu and Tyler Cochran, won 23 consecutive games. They were the No. 1 ranked team in the state at one point and rose to as high as No. 14 in the country in one national poll.
Underrated highlight: The talent Bolingbrook has churned out over the decade is as impressive as any suburban program in the area. The eye-opening list includes 50 players who went on to play college basketball, including a lengthy list of Division I players.
Plus, Ben Moore (2013), who starred at SMU in college, reached the NBA with a cup of coffee with the Indiana Pacers in the 2017-18 season.
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Player of the Decade: Ben Moore (2013)
All-Decade Team: Ben Moore (2013), Prentiss Nixon (2015), Tyler Cochran (2019), Joseph Yesufu (2019) and Darius Burford (2020)
Other decade highlights:
-The decade was unlike any other in Bolingbrook basketball history. Prior to the start of the decade, Bolingbrook had enjoyed little postseason success with four regional championships since the school’s initial season in 1974-75. But Bolingbrook emerged as a state power with three sectional championships and two third-place state trophies.
-There were seven 20-plus wins seasons in the past 10 years, the same amount of 20-win seasons in the previous 35 years.
-Bolingbrook won three conference championships in the decade.
-While the run of talent is undeniable at Bolingbrook of late, there has been an impressive run in the classroom as well. Players in the program have earned a team GPA over 3.0 in 21 of the last 22 semesters during this decade.
-The amount of 1,000-point scorers at Bolingbrook is not a lengthy one, but the decade produced four of them: Prentiss Nixon, Joseph Yesufu, Tyler Cochran and Darius Burford. In fact, that foursome ranks third, fourth, fifth and sixth on the all-time scoring list at Bolingbrook behind Trent Jackson and Will Walker.
-The Raiders captured the 2016 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic championship.
Chicago Bears: Final four QBs should really make them thinkon January 21, 2021 at 4:00 pm
The Chicago Bears should really take notes on the final four quarterbacks remaining.
If the National Football League MVP voting came out and Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, and Tom Brady were the top four, not a single person would be surprised. They are also the final four quarterbacks remaining in the 2020-21 NFL Playoffs. Allen is the only one who hasn’t won the ring yet and his team might be going into this week with the best shot. The Chicago Bears should really watch this weekend and learn how an elite quarterback can change your fortunes.
We have had the misfortune of watching guys like Mike Glennon, Mitchell Trubisky, Chase Daniel, and Nick Foles take snaps for the Bears over the last few seasons. As a result, they have been a lousy team with a lousy offense. Even in the year that they went 12-4, the defense carried them all the way to the end before their kicker ruined it all.
