Home Blog Page 45

College football bowl picks, playoff and non-playoff games alike

If I tried to explain to you what an NCAA Tournament bracket pool is, you’d look at me like I had three heads. Everybody knows the bracket drill like the back of their hand.

Less common — but more fun, if you ask me — is a confidence pool during college football bowls season. Many of you know how these work, too.

But for those who don’t, the rules are simple. Step 1: Pick your winners of every bowl game. Step 2: Assign a “confidence” number to each winner. Step 3: Wallow in self-doubt until you notice how much time has gone by and reach Step 4, which is saying, “What the hell am I doing with my life?”

This season, there are 36 bowls outside the College Football Playoff and four first-round playoff games whose matchups we already know. Leaving the rest of the playoff — the unknowable — out of the equation, that’s 40 winners for us to pick. From there, we assign 40 points to the winner in which we’re most confident and descend in order until we’ve assigned a single point to the winner in which we’re least confident.

I’ll use my first-round playoff picks as examples. I’m so sure Texas will beat Clemson, I’m putting 40 points on the Longhorns. I’m also putting 36 on Penn State to beat SMU, 32 on Notre Dame to beat Indiana and 24 on Ohio State to beat Tennessee.

But the playoff games are the least complicated to consider because so many players on non-playoff teams are entering the transfer portal or opting out of bowl games to prepare for the NFL draft. Within 24 hours of the portal opening at the start of the week, more than 1,500 FBS players were in it. Some bowl teams will be unrecognizable versions of themselves. Before you risk anything on these games, you might want to do a little homework.

Or — here’s a thought — you can just crib off me.

Celebration: South Carolina State vs. Jackson State, Saturday

The MEAC champ is 6-2 against the SWAC champ in this bowl. That’s reason enough to put 6 on SCSU.

Salute to Veterans: South Alabama vs. Western Michigan, Saturday

Even with its QB1’s availability in doubt, South Alabama is good for a 25 in a home-state (Montgomery) game.

Frisco: No. 25 Memphis vs. West Virginia, Tuesday

WVU is a snoozy 6-6 and has some key guys missing this one. Ten-win Memphis gets 23.

Boca Raton: James Madison vs. Western Kentucky, Wednesday

Putting 26 on JMU, which plays strong defense, leads the nation in turnover margin and — unlike its opponent — hasn’t had that much roster flux.

LA: No. 24 UNLV vs. Cal, Wednesday

A lucky 7 on the team from Vegas, please.

New Orleans: Sam Houston vs. Georgia Southern, Thursday

One team has more than 20 scholarship players in the portal, and it isn’t Georgia Southern, which gets 28.

Cure: Ohio vs. Jacksonville State, Friday

A 19-spot for the MAC champs, even with coach Tim Albin having left for Charlotte.

Gasparilla: Florida vs. Tulane, Friday

QB Darian Mensah portaled from Tulane to Duke and took the Green Wave’s chances with him — 34 on the Gators.

Myrtle Beach: Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA, Dec. 23

Does Coastal even have a QB left to run out there? UTSA for 37.

Potato: Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State, Dec. 23

NIU’s upset of No. 5 Notre Dame can’t just be forgotten. Gimme 5, Huskies.

Hawaii: South Florida vs. San Jose State, Dec. 24

U-S-F! U-S-F! For 10.

GameAbove Sports: Pitt vs. Toledo, Dec. 26

Pitt fell way off after being ranked as high as 18th in the land. I’ve got 29 on a bounce-back.

Rate: Rutgers vs. Kansas State, Dec. 26

Two tough-minded teams, but K-Staters know how to win — 16.

68 Ventures: Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green, Dec. 26

September score reminder: Penn State 34, BGSU 27. And it’s BGSU here for 27.

Armed Forces: Navy vs. Oklahoma, Dec. 27

An upset would be fun, but 21 on the bigger, faster Sooners.

Birmingham: Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt, Dec. 27

Vandy gets QB Diego Pavia’s jersey number: 2.

Liberty: Arkansas vs. Texas Tech, Dec. 27

Woo! Pig! Sooie! A 3 on the Hogs.

Holiday: No. 21 Syracuse vs. Washington State, Dec. 27

Rolling big — 35 — on Syracuse, which stared down Miami when Miami absolutely had to win.

Las Vegas: USC vs. Texas A&M, Dec. 27

Two disappointing teams belong together, but the pick is Trojans for 8.

Fenway: UConn vs. North Carolina, Dec. 28

Putting Ted Williams’ number — 9 — on UConn at Fenway Park.

Pinstripe: Boston College vs. Nebraska, Dec. 28

Is cheering for Boston at Yankee Stadium wrong? BC for 4.

New Mexico: TCU vs. Louisiana, Dec. 28

TCU’s excellent second half of the season demands a big ol’ 33.

Pop-Tarts: No. 13 Miami vs. No. 18 Iowa State, Dec. 28

Is Miami’s morale shot? A fairly confident 18 on ISU.

Arizona: Colorado State vs. Miami (Ohio), Dec. 28

The other Miami too often struggles to score — 14 on CSU.

Military: NC State vs. East Carolina, Dec. 28

NC State for 13 because there’s no rolling over allowed against another team with “Carolina” in its name.

Alamo: No. 17 BYU vs. No. 23 Colorado, Dec. 28

Deion Sanders insists his stars are playing. OK, then, 12 on the Buffs.

Independence: No. 22 Army vs. Marshall, Dec. 28

There’s no stopping Army in this one. Going huge — 39 — with zero hesitation.

Music City: No. 19 Missouri vs. Iowa, Dec. 30

Dueling black-and-golds? Love it. Iowa for 11.

ReliaQuest: No. 11 Alabama vs. Michigan, Dec. 31

Michigan was on my mind until its best two defensive players opted out. Instead, 30 on Bama.

Sun: Louisville vs. Washington, Dec. 31

Next season starts now for Washington, an underdog that gets a 15 from me.

Citrus: No. 15 South Carolina vs. No. 20 Illinois, Dec. 31

Some 9-3s are better than others — 20 on the Gamecocks.

Texas: LSU vs. Baylor, Dec. 31

LSU has loads of talent but no mojo. Another upset — 17 on Baylor.

Gator: No. 14 Ole Miss vs. Duke, Jan. 2

QB Jaxson Dart is a go, and that means 38 easy-breezy points on Ole Miss.

First Responder: North Texas vs. Texas State, Jan. 3

Texas State is a 31-point play against a team forced into starting a true freshman QB with almost no game reps.

Mayo: Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech, Jan. 3

I’ve got 22 points on P.J. Fleck running his bowl record at Minnesota to 6-0.

Bahamas: Liberty vs. Buffalo, Jan. 4

What do you want from me? I flipped a coin and it came up Buffalo for 1.



Source link

Bears being cautious after Joe Burrow’s home broken into during ‘MNF’

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home was broken into Monday night while he played against the Cowboys, the latest in a series of thefts committed during games.

Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce had their homes broken into the day before a game and then the day of a game in October.

Bears players said they plan on being cautious when the team plays on “Monday Night Football.”

“It was happening before, but now it’s happening to big names and it’s a big matter,” receiver DJ Moore said Friday. “So, I’m taking it serious. …You definitely have to worry about it.”

Tight end Cole Kmet, the team’s NFLPA representative, said that the Bears security staff offers services to their players, be it actual guards or technology, when they’re on the road. The union also offers discounts for home security systems, he said.

“Things are very accessible nowadays in terms of being able to look things up, where people live …” Kmet said. “[It’s] definitely something that as a player you’ve gotta be aware of, because I would say at this point everyone kinda knows your schedule. They know when the house is occupied and when it’s not. It’s unfortunate, but it’s part of the deal.”

Moore warned that he has a premium security system.

“My house is wired like the Bat-cave,” he said. “You ain’t getting in. If you touch the house, the alarm goes off.”

Hoke on Tyrique

One day after cornerback Tyrique Stevenson said he didn’t want his Fail Mary gaffe to define him, cornerbacks coach Jon Hoke said he had a lot to deal with in the aftermath of the Commanders’ game-winning touchdown.

“Let’s be honest: It’s a tough one, especially in this city where football matters,” Hoke said. “He gets introduced the next game and he gets booed and all that. It’s tough.”

Hoke acknowledged the effect of the gaffe— “We had some tough games after that,” he said — but said sensed that Stevenson’s teammates remained supportive.

“Players are truly forgiving of teammates, they really are,” he said. “That’s what make it unique about sport, is they do protect each other.”

Swift still out

Running back D’Andre Swift missed his second consecutive practice because of a groin injury but offensive coordinator Chris Beatty expects him to practice Saturday.

“It’s one of those things where we are just trying to be prudent with it and also be able to be prepared for however the game presents itself,” he said. “I think he will be able to do what he does, but we are also prepared whatever way that may go.”

Other Bears players who missed practice were guard Ryan Bates (concussion), defensive tackle Gervon Dexter (knee), running back Roschon Johnson (concussion) and tight end Marcedes Lewis (veteran rest).

Cornerback Josh Blackwell (shoulder) was upgraded to limited. Safety Elijah Hicks (ankle) was limited, too.

Notes

• Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower called former Bears kicker Robbie Gould, who was named the head coach at St. Viator this week, “as detailed as a person I have ever been around.”

Kmet, who went to St. Viator, said he was excited by the development.

“It’ll be cool to see,” he said. “I’ll be rooting Robbie on heavily here.”

• Kmet declared U.S. Bank Stadium his favorite, saying it “feels like you’re in a ‘Game of Thrones’ set.”

Reminded that Bears president/CEO Kevin Warren helped build it, Kmet said he’d like one of his own.

“That one’s pretty beautiful,” he said. “So yeah, hopefully something like that.”

• The Vikings had one player not practice Friday: cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who has a hamstring problem.



Source link

Family grieves loss of Wheeling boy, 16, fatally shot in Logan Square: ‘No sleep, a lot of crying’

Whenever life had John Viruete or his big sister Martha Soto Padilla down, one would take the other out to eat, for even the most casual bite.

Often savoring McDonald’s or Burger King drive-thrus, the small gesture meant a lot: they could hash things out and cheer each other up before getting back to their lives.

It had a way keeping them safe.

“He’s my baby brother,” a somber Soto Padilla, 24, told the Sun-Times.

But a fallout over his lifestyle about six months ago ended their comfort food runs and Soto Padilla is left with a gnawing sense of regret that she was unable to lift him from the recent rough time he’d been enduring.

“Every hour it kind of creeps up to you and makes it more of a reality than a dream.”

Around 8 p.m. Wednesday night, Viruete, 16, was behind the wheel a gray car that had been reported stolen and was southbound in the 2300 block of North Kimball Avenue when he exchanged gunfire with occupants of a black sport utility vehicle, Chicago police said.

Viruete, who was shot in the head and crashed the car into two parked vehicles, died about an hour later at a hospital. A weapon was recovered in the car, officials said.

No arrests have been reported.

Viruete was the youngest of his four siblings and the only boy. He was a junior at North Cook Academy in Des Plaines and had been staying with his father, also of Wheeling, recently.

The tall Viruette was “very joyful,” and blessed with an infectious grin.

“He always had that smile, that goofy smile all the way to his ears,” Soto Padilla said. “He was basically a teddy bear.”

Viruete’s family described him as a “great kid with the wrong crowd” and tried to steer him away by involving police or urging him to spend more time with his dad.

He made friends very easily and cared deeply for his family, especially his mother.

“He always gave her a hug and told her everything’s alright,” Soto Padilla said. “He knew what buttons to push, but we all knew he was goofing around.”

Though he assured relatives he was “his own man” he was also a typical teen.

“He was mischievous, a crybaby, and had hormone anger issues like the next adolescent boy,” Soto Padilla said.

“But he was also lovable, easy to talk to… caring, sentimental, the person that would lend a ear, [a] hard worker, and just a sweet boy that loved his niece and nephew.”

Recalling those sacred memories, she fights a nagging sensation that she failed to protect him and maybe their food and chat runs were more important that she realized.

The tradition started about two-and-a-half years ago when the then-14-year-old Viruete called her. He had skipped school and was cold and hungry.

Soto Padilla didn’t think twice and two headed to Burger King. “Stay focused,” she urged. Don’t be “so influenced” by friends and “just get through high school,” she advised.

While it started only with Soto Padilla stressing the importance of staying on the right path she began confiding in Viruete when she felt indecisive, or when learning how to navigate newer trends like TikTok.

“We used to do it pretty often,” Soto Padilla said of their outings.

Their fallout was the last time the two spoke to each other.

“It was a hard time for both of us,” she said.

“I have a lot to regret for not being there for him and thought we had more time so I could watch him grow and take him out for his first beer at 21, attend his graduation at 18, and just hug him one last time to tell him I love you,” she said.

IMG_7958.jpg

Now, as Viruete’s relatives scramble to arrange his funeral, they had a message for his killer:

“You took someone out of this world way too early,” she said. “He was meant to do more.”

A GoFundMe page created to help with funeral costs has raised more than $1,300 as of Friday evening.

Soto Padilla said they’ve had “no sleep, a lot of crying, a lot of reminiscing.”

Times were good when a heart to heart over a quick bite would do the trick.



Source link

Cook County official Samantha Steele tried to ‘escape’ after alleged DUI crash, 911 caller said

A Cook County elected official tried to flee the scene of a crash she allegedly caused while driving drunk last month in Andersonville, according to a 911 caller who told a dispatcher she was clearly intoxicated.

Samantha Steele, a Democratic member of the obscure but influential Cook County Board of Review, is facing a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence following the Nov. 11 crash in the 5000 block of North Ashland Avenue.

No one was injured in the collision, but two parked cars were damaged, and Steele’s Honda was left inoperable. Still, she allegedly tried to take off before police arrived at the scene.

“She’s trying to turn her wheels and escape, but her car is messed up. She’s not going anywhere. She’s been talking about she doesn’t want to deal with this,” Dylan Roh told a 911 dispatcher, describing Steele as “drunk” and “messed up.”

In an interview, Roh and his partner Eli Montemayor recalled that they were preparing to put their child to sleep when they heard the crash, ran to their window and realized their car had been struck. Montemayor, who uses they/them pronouns, said they rushed outside and found Steele sitting in her car.

“Immediately, it was really clear to me that she was under the influence of something,” Montemayor said. “Her eyes were kind of like rolling back into her head and … there was a really long delay between her answers to me, like it looked like my words weren’t really landing.”

Montemayor said Steele eventually indicated that she wanted to leave after Montemayor tried to swap insurance information. “She was like, ‘I don’t really want to deal with this. Can I go?’ ” Montemayor recalled.

Eli Montemayor, right, and Dylan Roh assess some of the wreckage that was left behind after Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele was involved in a crash in the 5000 block of North Ashland, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024,

Dylan Roh (left) and Eli Montemayor assess some of the wreckage left behind after Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele was involved in a crash in the 5000 block of North Ashland.

A short time later, Montemayor and Roh said they separately witnessed Steele turning her car’s steering wheel in what they viewed as attempts to flee. Roh said he saw Steele’s Honda “jerk” forward about 2 feet, but the serious damage to her car likely prevented her from driving away.

Montemayor said they were “genuinely a little bit mind-blown” when they learned Steele holds a public office.

“This is an elected official who very easily could have killed one of the people who could have elected her,” Montemayor said. “She serves constituents who are nearby — like that was insane.”

When police responded to Roh’s call, Steele made sure the officers knew she was a politician.

One officer told her, “Ma’am, if you don’t exit the vehicle. … I’m going to help you to exit, and you don’t want that.”

“You don’t want that! I’m an elected official,” Steele allegedly shot back.

“Elected official of what?” the officer asked.

“Cook County,” Steele told him.

When the officer asked for her name, Steele held out her hand and said, “I’m Sam.”

The cop replied, “Sam who?” But Steele did not give the police her full name at that point.

Despite several requests, Steele would not initially provide officers with her driver’s license or get out of the car.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, she drank from what seemed to be a water bottle and used her cellphone to call the person she described many times as her attorney — Democratic Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton of Glenview. She only gave her driver’s license to police and left the car after Britton advised her over the phone to do so.

Cook County Commissioner Scott R. Britton in December.

Cook County Commissioner Scott R. Britton, seen at a board meeting of the Cook County Forest Preserve at the County Building on Dec. 17, 2019, has said he is not a defense attorney and will not be representing Samantha Steele in her case.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file

After Britton arrived at the scene, Steele said she was not drinking from a half-empty bottle of wine that was found in the car. Britton interjected: “Don’t say anything. Don’t say anything.”

Two days after the arrest, Britton said he was not a defense attorney and would not be representing Steele in her case.

The attorney Steele has hired, John Fotopoulos, declined to comment for this story. Fotopoulos has filed a motion seeking to reinstate Steele’s driver’s license, which was suspended after the crash.

Steele’s initial court appearance is set for Dec. 27.

Meanwhile, Steele continues to serve on a three-member board that has the power to rule on property tax appeals, effectively reducing tax bills. An Evanston resident, she represents the board’s district covering much of Chicago’s North Side and its northern suburbs.

Amid calls for her resignation, she appeared virtually earlier this month at the board’s first public meeting since she was arrested.



Source link

Pritzker calls for crackdown on delta-8, but hemp entrepreneurs decry ban: ‘We’re not the bad guys’

Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday picked a side in Illinois’ long-running debate over how to regulate delta-8 and other hemp-derived products, throwing his support behind a bill that would effectively ban most sales of the weedlike substances that have soared in popularity thanks to a loophole in federal law.

Pritzker called it a matter of protecting children, despite the vehement opposition of hemp industry advocates who say state Sen. Kimberly Lightford’s bill would wipe out thousands of jobs and criminalize nonintoxicating CBD products at the benefit of billion-dollar cannabis corporations.

“As this market has flourished, there have been far too many stories of people, especially children, ingesting intoxicating hemp products and getting sick,” Pritzker said during a West Loop news conference. He held up bags labeled “Nerdy Bears,” an example of the unregulated psychoactive gummies that are packaged to resemble familiar candy brands.

Gov. JB Pritzker holds up delta-8 products at a Friday news conference.

Gov. JB Pritzker holds up delta-8 products at a Friday news conference.

State of Illinois livestream

The bill sponsored by Lightford, a Hillside Democrat, would limit sales of most hemp-derived products to licensed cannabis dispensaries, except for beverages, which would be allowable for licensed alcohol sellers and distributors.

But pending a lengthy evaluation period to set consumer safety and licensing standards, most of the hemp product merchants who have proliferated in an estimated $800 million industry would be cut out completely.

Pritzker, who championed weed legalization when he took office, has long called for regulations on hemp products, as have leaders of both the cannabis and hemp lobbies.

The governor said Lightford’s approach was better than alternatives offered up by hemp industry leaders who welcome stringent licensing requirements that would let them stay in business.

“I understand that there are a lot of stores that are selling these products that would not be able to sell these products,” Pritzker said. “But typically, they’re not stores that are dedicated to this product. There are a few, but mostly these are convenience stores, gas stations. They’ve got other products that they sell. They wouldn’t go out of business not selling this one.”

Lightford’s bill passed the Illinois Senate by a 54-1 vote in the spring, but never made it to the statehouse floor. It’ll require a three-fifths House majority to pass it by the end of the lame duck session Jan. 7.

West Side state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, will be fighting it. He’s pushing to limit sales to people 21 or older, require manufacturers to undergo product testing to obtain $500 licenses, impose a 10% tax rate on sellers and — most importantly — allow current sellers to stay in the market.

“To think we’re going to turn back the hands of time for a prohibition when we thought we learned from the prohibition of cannabis — that’s what’s most disappointing,” Ford said. “With synthetic drugs being spewed in communities, when you drive it to the underground market, it makes it more dangerous for people, and that was the main reason we regulated cannabis.”

The hemp-based brouhaha centers around delta-8, the mind-altering substance that can be derived from the plant, which federal lawmakers didn’t account for when they legalized sales of hemp derivatives in 2018.

Other derivatives like CBD are used in a wide array of lotions, oils, shampoo and more popular wellness products that don’t have psychoactive effects.

Lightford said her bill “protects consumers, helps our cannabis industry flourish, keeps the promise to our social equity communities and doesn’t stifle reputable hemp business establishments.”

But Jennifer Weiss said she’s terrified the proposed legislation would drive her out of business at Cubbington’s Cabinet, her Victorian-inspired apothecary in the Roscoe Village neighborhood.

“Almost every single thing that I sell, due to the various components of the bill, would be banned,” said Weiss, who added that she opened the shop in 2020 specifically because of the lack of regulations around hemp products. “I wanted to provide a trustworthy source of these products. We’ve been pushing for thoughtful regulation.”

Charles Wu, CEO of Chi’Tiva locations and director of the Illinois Hemp Business Association, estimated 10,000 people would be put out of work from the hemp product industry if Lightford’s bill becomes law. He called it “an unjust and cynical attempt to protect the handful of billionaires who own most of the licensed cannabis industry.”

“It’s like a Coke vs. Pepsi situation, and Coke gets to make all the rules, which is not cool,” Wu said. “We’re not the bad guys. We’re not like the out-of-staters who are shipping in this [lookalike packaging] crap that the cannabis side tries to paint us as. We have been willing and asking for much more strict, limiting licensing.”

Tiffany Chappell Ingram, director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, said in a statement that “we look forward to working collaboratively to put in place a measure that will empower consumers, protect public health and help ensure our state’s legal cannabis industry can reach its full potential.”



Source link

Homewood Metra station debuts new accessibility features with completion of $21 million renovation project

After nearly two years of work, the Homewood Metra station renovation is complete, increasing ADA accessibility and breathing new life into the 100-plus-year-old station.

The eastern entrance — the final portion of the 20-month, $21 million project — reopened to riders Monday. Much of the station, which serves Amtrak, Metra and Pace, opened to the public in May, though accessibility features, such as the new elevator, weren’t finished until this month.

Homewood Village President Rich Hofeld said during the project, new developments such as residential buildings, shops and restaurants were added to the area surrounding the station.

“Homewood is excited to open the facility and reconnect the commuters to downtown Homewood,” Hofeld said in a news release.

The east head house was made more accessible with a new ramp, wind breaks, warming house and gatehouse, as well as a renovated platform.

The tunnel, which was built in 1911, also has new drainage, ventilation, lighting and interior finishes, as well as new stairs and elevators connecting it to the platform. A new space for Pace buses to operate out of — with three bus bays, a covered waiting area, and driver facilities — was also added.

The project was funded by local, state and federal funds, with the bulk of the money coming from Amtrak funds to ensure its compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Our region’s riders deserve world-class public transportation, including accessible, safe and comfortable stations,” said Regional Transportation Authority Board Chair Kirk Dillard. “The redeveloped Homewood Metra station is a shining example of what is possible when agencies work together.”

processed-F6DFD262-DABE-47F8-87F2-80FDC6A272D6.jpeg

The eastern entrance, the final portion of the $21 million renovation of the Homewood Metra station, reopened to riders Monday; much of the station was opened to the public in May.



Source link

‘No one I know was proud of being Syrian until last week’

Jihad Shoshara was looking forward to an overseas adventure in the Peace Corps after he graduated from the University of Chicago. But his father, an immigrant from the Middle East, and his mother, a second-generation Mexican American, were apprehensive.

Shoshara had never traveled outside the United States before, and his parents were less than thrilled that he didn’t have a say in where he’d be assigned. As a compromise, the couple suggested their first-born scrap his Peace Corps plan and fly more than 6,000 miles away to a country where they were confident he’d be safe: Syria.

“I couldn’t turn them down because I had never met my (paternal) family who lived there,” my friend Shoshara, now 55, told me of the pivotal decision he made in the summer of 1991.

Days after landing in Damascus, Shoshara wondered what he had gotten himself into as his eyes glazed over the stark, minimalist “Soviet bloc”-style architecture and innumerable Hafez al-Assad posters that reminded Syria’s citizens who was in charge.

The class hierarchy and insularity that permeated Syrian society were just as suffocating. Most painful was the self-censorship Shoshara was forced to adopt, stalling the meaningful and honest conversations he yearned for. Blurt the wrong thing about the Assad regime and “someone could get hurt,” he was informed.

Yet the deflating challenges and sullen buildings weren’t enough to deter Shoshara from falling in love with the Syrian people, who showered him with kindness and compassion right up to the last moments of his yearlong visit.

When a panicked Shoshara realized he had misplaced the money that he had set aside to cover an exorbitant exit visa fee, an uncle searched the airport crowd and approached a man he vaguely knew. The acquaintance smiled, opened his wallet and lent the cash.

“This is how the Arabs are,” the uncle said, turning to Shoshara.

A young man in a green shirt and jeans stands on top of a boulder that overlooks a city. His arms are folded.

Jihad Shoshara during his visit to Syria in 1991

That generosity and the deep connection Shoshara formed with his Syrian relatives lured him back. He popped in after graduating from medical school and made another trip to Syria before marrying Sofia Shakir, my childhood friend and classmate. The couple went again a few more times with their three children in tow, beaming with excitement whenever they drove past Umayyad Square, the historic roundabout built by a company that Shoshara’s grandfather co-owned.

Assad’s ouster: ‘I wouldn’t allow myself to believe it’

The civil war that raged in Syria for nearly 14 years put an end to those excursions. Shoshara didn’t dare try to enter the country, as he faced arrest, or worse, for his so-called illicit activities. His crimes? Treating Syrian refugees on international medical missions with the Syrian American Medical Society since 2015. Anyone suspected of caring for a patient who the Assad government considered an enemy was labeled a “supporter of terrorism,” Shoshara, a pediatrician, explained.

With the recent ouster of Bashar al-Assad, Shoshara, who lives in La Grange, is no longer deemed a threat for helping Syria’s desperate former residents.

“I wouldn’t allow myself to believe it,” Shoshara said of the collapse of the Assad family’s brutal rule, which included systematic torture and extrajudicial killings. “No one I know was proud of being Syrian up until last week. This was the will of the Syrian people. They did this. There was no third party involved. They were the ones who made it happen.”

A man in a baseball cap and jeans is sitting and holding a stethoscope up to child. The child is standing with his back to the camera.

Dr. Jihad Shoshara examines a Syrian child at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan in 2015. Shoshara has gone on several similar international missions with the Syrian American Medical Society since then.

Shoshara hopes to return to his father’s homeland at some point, fully accepting that the sea of outstretched arms that embraced him in the past has nearly dried up on Syrian soil. He likens the paternal side of his family to an ornate crystal chandelier that brightly dangled over Damascus until it was sent crashing down in 2011, sending its shattered pieces to Germany, Austria, France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco.

The experiences of his relatives and the refugees he’s met make it difficult for Shoshara to stomach the rhetoric of xenophobic Europeans, fellow Americans and others who disparage newcomers as opportunistic leeches.

“Nobody wants to be a refugee. No one wants to leave their homes,” Shoshara said. “There were many middle-class professionals I met in the camps. These people could be us.”

Shoshara said it’s important that the U.S. government doesn’t “look at Syria as a security issue, but as a people, human rights issue.”

“We have to ensure that the Syrians enjoy the freedoms we promulgate and espouse, because we have not done a good job at supporting other people who want the same things we do,” he said.

While Shoshara appreciates the encouraging, celebratory calls he’s been receiving, he’s less enthused when the good will peters out into trepidation over the possibility of religious militants taking control.

Too soon, said Shoshara, who, for now is cautiously optimistic about Syria’s future. Let the Syrian people’s jubilation soak in for a few days before dampening their already weary spirit, he suggested.

The old chandeliers may have burned out, but there’s already a strong glow returning through the thousands of faces pulsating with joy.

Rummana Hussain is a columnist and member of the Sun-Times Editorial Board.

Want to write a letter to the editor or an op-ed? Check out our guidelines.

Get Opinions content delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.



Source link

Frank Nazar’s return to NHL makes Blackhawks’ future feel more tangible

NEWARK, N.J. — The Blackhawks’ top prospect forward, top prospect goalie, one of two top prospect defensemen and best prospect-developing coach have all joined the big club in just over a week.

In a season billed as somewhat of a gap year between the tear-down portion of the rebuild and the youth movement to come, the Hawks’ promising future has quickly become much more tangible and present.

Frank Nazar’s NHL call-up Friday provided the biggest jolt of excitement yet. The 20-year-old forward will make his NHL season debut Saturday against the Devils, then make his second career regular-season appearance at the United Center on Sunday against the Islanders.

Goalie Drew Commesso should make his first career NHL start in one of those two games, and a lineup featuring Nazar, Connor Bedard, Lukas Reichel, Kevin Korchinski, Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser and Nolan Allan will skate in front of him.

This Hawks roster still features a lot of veteran placeholders of little relevance to the future, but interim coach Anders Sorensen’s arsenal of young players is nonetheless expanding rapidly.

For Nazar, the call he had been waiting months for finally came last night from Rockford general manager Mark Bernard, who told him to hop on a plane to Newark.

“It was a really exciting moment,” Nazar said. “I was shocked. [When] you get a random call at night from the GM, you can kind of expect what he’s gonna say, but you never know. When I heard the good news, it was a lot of joy.”

Hawks GM Kyle Davidson’s decision to send Nazar to the AHL at the end of training camp has proven definitively to be the right move. The Michigan product dominated there, racking up 24 points in 21 games — tops among rookies and sixth overall in the AHL — while accumulating a tremendous stockpile of confidence.

Nazar talked Friday about how “growing up, the only thing you think of is just scoring goals,” and he got to do that over and over again. He also made countless additional dazzling plays that didn’t lead to points.

His defensive reliability is another strength — and a contrast to most rookies, including Bedard last year. He substantially reduced the difference between his best and worst shifts thanks to a mental checklist he created to remind himself to always keep his feet moving and think on the fly.

His challenge now is to transfer all of that confidence and playmaking skill into the NHL, where he tallied one point in three solid outings at the very end of last season.

His success doing so might determine whether he stays with the Hawks for good or returns to Rockford after an educational NHL stint. If the latter happens, it shouldn’t be interpreted as a step back; a scout recently mentioned that could actually be the best outcome for his long-term development.

“It’s an adjustment to come up mid-season and mid-road trip with a team that’s trying to work through a lot of stuff, but it’s our job to help him through that,” forward Taylor Hall said. “The biggest things we [will] look for from him are energy, compete and enthusiasm. That’s what, as a young player, you’re required to show.”

Nazar immediately slides in as the second-line center between Hall and Tyler Bertuzzi (who has finally found his rhythm this week) and as a part of the top power-play unit. Sorensen, a key catalyst in Nazar’s development in Rockford, advised him to “trust his instincts” as he jumps in head-first.

“The numbers he’s put up in the AHL, those are really good,” Hall added. “Hopefully he can contribute and play well and help us win, because we’re in need of wins. Obviously he has a relationship with Anders, and Anders is comfortable enough to put him in that spot, so we’re excited.”



Source link

Bears QB Caleb Williams’ interception-less streak isn’t worth preserving

Caleb Williams has thrown 255 passes without being intercepted, the longest streak ever by a rookie quarterback.

It’s not a streak worth preserving.

Not when the Bears average 288.5 yards per game, the fewest in the NFL. They also average 182.7 passing yards per game, the third-fewest in the league.

Not when the team is on a seven-game losing streak that has claimed Williams’ head coach, offensive coordinator and whatever sense of joy the Bears’ go-for-it season was supposed to provide.

And not when Williams ranks 32nd out of 41 qualifying quarterbacks in aggressiveness percentage, which NFL Next Gen Stats uses to measures how often a quarterback throws into tight coverage. Williams throws into tight coverage — defined as defenders being within one yard of receivers when the ball arrives — just 12.2 percent of the time.

He doesn’t throw the ball downfield often, either. His 4.9 completed air yards, which measures the length of the throw on completions, is 31st in the league.

Williams going two months without throwing an interception isn’t a feature of the Bears offense, then. It’s a bug.

This is the time for Williams to take risks and push the ball downfield. The Bears’ season is over — they figure to be eliminated from the playoffs this week — and the only thing remaining that matters is Williams’ development. If Williams gambles down the field and a safety jumps in front of a deep ball, so what?

“I’m not one that, I tend to throw interceptions,” Williams said this week. “I know in the beginning of the season I threw a couple early on, a couple stupid ones. I think protecting the ball is the most important thing.”

Williams has thrown five interceptions — none since Oct. 13 in London — and has fumbled the ball away three times, including Sunday in San Francisco when he tried to stop his throwing motion. The streak is commendable, but means little on a team that will spend the final four weeks thinking more about next season than this year. Williams will be better in 2025 if he spends the rest of this season figuring out what he can — and can’t — do.

“I touch the ball the most on the football team, so being able to protect in those ways helps us win games … I’m going to try and do that and keep doing that for the next four games,” he said.

Chris Beatty, who is Williams’ third different offensive coordinator this season, said coaches never talk to Williams about avoiding interceptions.

“It’s all about being calculated and, ‘Hey, we see a certain matchup that we like, let’s try to take advantage of it,’” he said. “There’s some things that we want to try to do a little bit more of. And then there’s some things that we might be missing because we’re seeing them for the first time in a game or full speed. So those are things we’re trying to get better at. ….

“I don’t think it’s a lack of aggressiveness as much as, [Williams] has got to be calculated when he wants to do those things and then understand there are times to do it: ‘You know, we’re 1-on-1, we need to take some shots.’”

Receiver DJ Moore said he didn’t want Williams trying to force things, though.

“If he doesn’t have interceptions, we’re doing something right,” Moore said. “I don’t want him to start having interceptions. He’s doing what he’s doing at a high level.”

Williams hasn’t been effective when he’s taken deep shots, though. Only four teams have fewer explosive passing plays — going for 20 yards or more — than the Bears. The team’s longest play this season has gone for 47 yards; only two other teams claim a shorter longest play.

There are 41 quarterbacks who have tried at least 14 passes of at least 20 yards. Williams’ Pro Football Focus score ranks 40th, ahead of only the Jaguars’ Mac Jones.

Then there are the plays in which Williams doesn’t have enough time to look deep. He’s already the most-sacked quarterback in Bears history and is on pace to finish in the top three in NFL history.

The same Vikings the Bears play Monday took advantage of Williams’ mistake on Nov. 24. Williams took a sack that lost 12 yards in overtime, leading to a punt and a 30-27 loss. That’s not the way Williams wants to play in pressure situations.

“Taking a sack in OT — a stupid sack,” Williams said. “We’ve messed up in multiple situations, including me. Being able to learn from whatever it was — me taking a sack or mismanagement … Being able to snap out of it right in that moment [and] make the right play at the right time is the next point.”

Figuring out the deep ball is something Williams can improve the next four games, too, particularly against a gambling Vikings defense that will give the Bears a chance at big gains.

“He’s not playing scared,” interim head coach Thomas Brown said. “He’s ripping some footballs into tight windows. I think it’s probably even more impressive. It’s not like he’s sitting back there not taking an opportunity. (He’s) taking chances down the field.

“We always talk about trying to find ways to be aggressive, not reckless. There is a fine line between the two of them.”



Source link

La película ‘Emilia Pérez’, no representa a México y su identidad

El mejor lugar para cobertura de noticias y cultura latina en Chicago. | The place for coverage of Latino news and culture in Chicago.

“Emilia Pérez”, la película escrita y dirigida por el francés Jacques Audiard ha provocado reacciones extremas y con mucha razón.

Por un lado, están los que la bautizan como un musical “audaz” sobre la historia de un renacimiento o una película “visionaria” llena de actuaciones célebres, hasta un filme que presenta la mirada transexual en el cine. Se alaba sobre todo, que tenga a tres latinas como protagonistas.

Y por el otro lado, están los que destacan el detalle más importante que está siendo ignorado: que su problema principal es que a pesar de que su historia se desarrolla en México, con una trama y personajes mexicanos, de mexicana no tiene casi nada.

“Emilia Pérez” se estrenó el 18 de mayo de 2024 en la 77ª edición del Festival de Cannes y fue seleccionada para competir por la Palma de Oro en su sección de competencia principal. En dicho festival ganó el Premio del Jurado y su elenco femenino ganó colectivamente el premio a Mejor Actriz.

Siendo mexicana, estaba intrigada por “Emilia Pérez”, su representación y sus alcances. Al estar ya disponible en la plataforma Netflix eso fue sencillo.

Confieso que lo hice por inercia, al leer los titulares de que según algunos críticos —sobre todo estadounidenses anglosajones y españoles— era una obra maestra, pero también lo hice motivada un tanto por la curiosidad de ver qué tanto podía hacer por una narrativa mexicana un realizador francés.

La vi antes que se anunciaran las nominaciones a la 82ª edición de los Globos de Oro, con las cuales arrasó. Tiene diez nominaciones, entre ellas Mejor Película Musical o Comedia, Mejor Película de Habla no Inglesa, Mejor Actriz en una Mejor Película Musical o Comedia —para Karla Sofía Gazcón—, Mejor Actriz de Reparto —en la que están Zoe Saldaña y Selena Gómez—, Mejor Director y Mejor Guión.

“Emilia Pérez” no es la primera vez, ni será la última, que un extranjero cuente su visión, real o imaginada, de lo que es o cree que es México. Esto es algo recurrente, donde parece que la cultura se “eleva” o es “salvada” cuando es vista a través de los ojos de otros.

Históricamente, el director ruso Serguéi Eisenstein lo hizo en su filme no terminado, “¡Viva México!” (1930), o el mismo Luis Buñuel en “Los Olvidados” (1950) —que también tuvo críticas y cuya versión original fue censurada y se tuvo que grabar un final alternativo— ya se habían atrevido a presentar su visión de México; en sus casos, también hubo controversia, pero con buenos resultados.

Esto porque tanto Eisenstein como Buñuel lo hicieron con conocimiento de causa del México de la época en que vivieron en el país, no en lo que inventaron a la distancia.

En sí, de entrada, la trama e historia de “Emilia Pérez” no es para nada mala, todo lo contrario, pero es su tratamiento y la apropiación cultural hecha tan mal.

Se centra en la historia de Rita Mora Castro, interpretada por la actriz dominicana Zoé Saldaña, quien un día recibe una oferta inesperada: ayudar a Juan “Manitas” del Monte ( interpretado por la actriz española Karla Sofía Gazcón), un temido jefe de un cártel mexicano a retirarse de su negocio y desaparecer para siempre, convirtiéndose en la mujer que él siempre ha soñado ser haciéndose llamar Emilia Pérez.

Si bien, como hombre “Manitas” es un narco verdugo, como mujer Emilia se vuelve la santa patrona y salvadora de los desaparecidos, llegando casi al nivel de una santa, virgen y mártir, con claros rasgos europeos, como las imágenes de todos los santos usadas en el adoctrinamiento.

Pero lo que sí es muy extraño es el tratamiento de la historia de “Emilia Pérez” que, pese a desarrollarse en México y con personajes supuestamente mexicanos, no representa bien la cultura y sí presenta una visión equivocada de México y su realidad.

Se podrá argumentar que un buen director y un buen actor pueden realizar y actuar lo que se les dé la gana, que es parte del oficio, pero eso aplica a cuando hay un conocimiento de causa y cuidando la autenticidad de la historia.

Tampoco es nada nuevo que un español interprete a un personaje mexicano, sobre todo en Hollywood. Por citar un ejemplo, Antonio Banderas lo hizo varias veces, aún cuando hay actores de origen mexicano.

Esto en filmes mexicanos también ha pasado, como fue en su momento la actuación del actor español Óscar Jaenada en 2014 en la película semi biográfica sobre “el mimo de México”, Mario Moreno “Cantinflas”.

Aunque actoralmente fue una interpretación que se basó en el parecido físico y el actor de alguna manera dio la talla, a la distancia de una década, puedo decir que su origen ocasionó que la representación de un icono mexicano no tuviera ni diera las referencias culturales de Cantinflas por ser un actor español ya que, efectivamente, pese a todo, es apropiación cultural. Como diría el mismo Cantinflas: ahí está el detalle.

Es por eso que “Emilia Pérez” no hace nada por México; sólo se apropia de la cultura y de la identidad en tiempos que hablamos y reforzamos que la identidad y la autenticidad de los contenidos es lo más importante, una conversación sobre todo necesaria en Estados Unidos.

Sobre todo en Hollywood, donde los latinos seguimos siendo representados desde una visión eurocentrista que niega la raíz de los pueblos originarios con su color de piel más “café”, con los rasgos nativos y, en algunos casos, afrolatinos, esos que han prevalecido a través de los siglos y donde seguimos siendo retratados como un estereotipo.

Se habla mucho de la importancia de “verse” en los contenidos, pero no en cómo somos retratados y por quién. Eso también importa y mucho.

¿Latinas o hispanas?

Decir que esta película es protagonizada por tres actrices latinas no es lo correcto. Gascón es española, Saldaña dominicana y Gómez de raíces mexicanas.

Usar los términos en forma intercambiable no es correcto.

“Hispano” se refiere a una persona nacida en un país donde se habla español o que tiene ancestros hispanos y “latino” a una persona nacida en Latinoamérica o que tiene ancestros latinoamericano y también hace eco a las raíces de los pueblos originarios de América.

Sin embargo, los brasileños no pueden identificarse como “latinos” porque su idioma es el portugués y los españoles son hispanos, pero no latinos.

En su contexto más amplio, el término “hispano” sigue dando una representación que no va con la myor parte de la identidad mexicana y latina.

Si bien somos mestizos por aquello de la conquista, la identidad real tiene más de los pueblos originarios que de los españoles y aunque nuestros apellidos no sean “nativos”, nuestros rasgos y nuestro origen lo son mayoritariamente dejando a un lado mitos como eso de que en la conquista “le mejoraron la raza” a los pueblos originarios.

En el caso de la protagonista de “Emilia Pérez” el origen y aspecto de la actriz, cae en el sistema de castas que en México fue impuesto desde el tiempo de la Conquista para dar dominio al “conquistador”, porque “Emilia” no es lo que llamamos en México una “güera de rancho”: es una “tía” muy europea.

De acentos, ‘dialectos’, Selena Gómez y otros detalles de ‘Emilia’

Recientemente el que estuvo en el foco de la crítica fue el actor, comediante y director mexicano Eugenio Derbez por criticar el desempeño actoral de la actriz y cantante de origen mexicoestadounidense Selena Gómez, en especial por su acento al hablar español. Su “osadía” le valió incluso perder seguidores en redes sociales.

Aunque por un lado, su acento es lo único que puede considerarse auténtico de este filme, es el acento “pocho” de Selena interpretando a Jessi Del Monte, la mujer del “Manitas” y madre de sus hijos, que no es preciso en ese contexto. Jessi es como Selena, nacida y criada en Estados Unidos, pero aún así, su interpretación no es natural. Suena tan falso como forzado.

Entonces ¿cuáles son los “peros” que se le ponen a Emilia Pérez?

Empezaré por lo básico: sus diálogos en un español para nada mexicano. ¿Quién los tradujo? ¿Acaso la inteligencia artificial o Google translate? No tiene nada de malo usar las herramientas de traducción, agilizan el trabajo. Pero lo que se pasó por alto fue la edición de alguien que hablara el español mexicano, con sus propias palabras y diálogos.

Seguimos con el casting. Si bien se aplaude la actuación de Carla Sofía Gascón, al ser ella española no da la mexicanidad necesaria del personaje. En las escenas de “Emilia Pérez”, a Gascón a la hora de hablar se le escapa el seseo, que es la característica fonético-fonológica propia de España y que no se calcó en México durante los años que fue colonia.

También está el acento de Zoé Saldaña que, aunque su personaje aclara en una escena que es originaria de República Dominicana y se mudó a Veracruz siendo niña, ya en la edad adulta y madura en la que se encuentra hubiera perdido el acento. También el acento de Selena Gómez.

En el caso del idioma, si bien el español no es igual, varía del país y región en el que se habla. Lo que hablamos y la manera en la que cada país lo habla se le denomina de manera un tanto despectiva, “dialecto”, pero refleja una cultura, una historia, un modo de vida.

El español que se habla en “Emilia Pérez” no llega ni al supuesto español neutro. Y no olvidemos que por ser una historia supuestamente mexicana, debería notarse que en “Emilia Pérez” se habla mexicano y no es el caso.

Por qué la representación de México importa, aunque sea hecha por otros

A pesar de que es muy importante, lo de los acentos no es lo más grave de “Emilia Pérez”.

Lo más peligroso y problemático es su romantización de un México inventado y que maneja temas tan delicados como el narcotráfico y los desaparecidos.

Que otros se dediquen a contar nuestras historias sin ni siquiera tomarse el tiempo para estudiarlas y representarlas como se debe, por simple respeto, es demasiado problemático.

Si el realizador de “Emilia Pérez” se hubiera dedicado a investigar más sobre el idioma mexicano, los usos, costumbres del país y sobre todo, no abordar tan a la ligera temas que son problemáticos para México, otro gallo le cantaría.

Y traer a tema a “Emilia Pérez” en Estados Unidos, importa y mucho. Los mexicanos somos la mayoría del tan llamado “mercado hispano” ya que somos más de 37 millones de los 50 que integran ese mercado, según las cifras del Pew Center. Por lo tanto, el mercado es más latino.

Sin embargo, aunque a Estados Unidos y Hollywood les encanta nuestra cultura y no se diga nuestra comida, parece que no les gusta cuando nuestras historias y nuestras tradiciones son presentadas o representadas por nosotros. En sí, les gusta México, pero no que venga con mexicanos.

Posiblemente “Emilia Pérez” gane más premios, pero a costa de la apropiación cultural y de representar una vez más, mal a México y a la identidad mexicana. Debemos aprender de la diferencia de nuestras culturas, esas que nos hacen quienes somos y aprender del otro, no querer imponernos.

Somos capaces de contar nuestras historias, con todos sus matices e identidades y la historia de “Emilia Pérez” no es mexicana ni latina ni las representa, aunque tenga de protagonistas a una española y dos latinas.



Source link