chicagotribune--2020-02-08--Retiring Big Ten referee Dan Capron on Jim Harbaugh, Urban Meyer, Bo Pelini — and the coach who acte

Retiring Big Ten referee Dan Capron on Jim Harbaugh, Urban Meyer, Bo Pelini — and the coach who acted ‘like a 4th-grader’

Fast forward to 2000 .
I was hired into the Big Ten as a head linesman , despite having worked at the referee position in the Division III ranks .
This effectively doubled the size of the hurdle that greeted me : Not only would I be officiating at a level where the athletes were significantly faster in front of crowds which were massively larger , I would be doing it from a position on the field which was largely foreign to me .
As you might expect , things did not go well .
After my first year , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the supervisor of officials : I finished seventh out of seven head linesmen and in the bottom third of the officiating staff as a whole .
I was moved to a different crew for 2001 .
At the end of the 2001 season , I received another letter : last among head linesmen , bottom third of all officials .
I was moved to yet another crew for 2002 .
Same result .
At this point , I lived in the legitimate fear that I would be dropped from the staff .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was Parry ’ s policy that he would not move an official to referee unless he had proven himself and earned the respect of his crew mates at another position .

Referee Dan Capron once announced, “Timeout, Wisconsin.”
The crowd erupted in laughter. Why? The teams on the field were Nebraska and Miami.
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“My most embarrassing moment,” he says.
There haven’t been many, or else Capron would not have been selected to officiate the Alabama-Georgia national title game in the 2017 season, the 2016 Alabama-Washington semifinal, the most-attended college football game in American history (156,990 at Bristol Motor Speedway for Tennessee-Virginia Tech in 2016) and two Big Ten championship games, including Ohio State’s victory over Wisconsin in December.
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“He’s a professional, a man of high intelligence and conviction,” says Frank Steratore, the brother of former NFL and college basketball official Gene Steratore and a side judge for the 2019 conference title game. “And he is a Big Ten guy.”
A Big Ten guy with stories.
Capron, a South Side native and Marist High School alumnus, entered his 20th season knowing it would be his last. At 63 he is retiring his whistle while remaining a partner at the Chicago law firm Capron & Avgerinos.
An Illinois graduate with a law degree from Indiana, Capron dished on his career in stripes.
Why 20? A nice round number?
Bill Carollo (coordinator of Big Ten football officials) said, “You’re still functioning at full throttle.” But I noticed slippage in some of my physical abilities, and I didn’t want to get to the point where he did (too).
Bill gave me a great schedule and pretty much let me pick where I wanted to work my final Big Ten game. But he was very clear: The postseason is serious business; there are no graduation presents. So far I’m delighted with my decision. Check with me again in August.
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Did you ever want to officiate in the NFL?
The NFL is significantly more money, the difference between making $50,000 and $200,000 in a year. And you get union protection.
Everything else about officiating in the Big Ten is better. We’ve got bands, we’ve got cheerleaders, we’re on a college campus. The atmosphere is a different feeling from an NFL stadium. And our crowds are bigger.
You were the referee for the incredible Michigan-Ohio State game in 2016 in which Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett was awarded the first down in double overtime.
Dan Capron performs the pregame coin flip before the Big Ten championship game between Ohio State and Wisconsin on Dec. 7, 2019, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (Peter H. Bick / HANDOUT)
My gosh, it was electric; the first one (in the series) that went into overtime. It’s unlike any other game because your radar is on every second. When that game ends, you’re mentally exhausted from maintaining such a focus for 3½ hours.
How about the coaches? Start with Urban Meyer. What is he like during the game?
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He is unlike any other Big Ten coach. He is distant, uncommunicative. He had a staff member whose job it was to communicate with the officials. I’d come over at the end of the first half, as I’m obligated to do, and say, “Coach, you’re out of timeouts.” Or maybe I’d say something like, “Coach, No. 64 is on the edge (of getting a penalty); you better talk to him.” I was engaging in what we call preventive officiating.
If you don’t want to listen to what I have to say, you’re probably not doing your team any favor. I’m not expecting that coaches will be warm and fuzzy, though some of them are absolutely lovable. Coach Meyer was all about the business of coaching his team, and he wanted nothing to do with the officials or with officiating.
That seems shocking for a guy who leaves no stone unturned.
Anytime I would approach his sideline, he would turn and go the other direction. Now, in his defense Ohio State is a pressure-packed job and he’s got a million things on his mind. The other coaches seem to be able to parse that out in such a way that they’re able to communicate with the officials. For whatever reason, that wasn’t on his radar screen. The pregame meetings were as brief as he could possibly make them … captains’ numbers, kickoff time, everybody legally equipped. Check, check, check. Good luck, Coach. Goodbye.
How about the Barrett play?
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Of course the ruling on the field was that he made the line to gain (on fourth-and-1) and it was going to be a first down. The buzzers went off and it got kicked up to replay. I don’t know why the network didn’t have a camera right on the yard line. It was broadcasting malpractice. Because there was no camera on the yard line, there wasn’t a good angle to make the determination on an excruciatingly close call. I’m talking about within an inch. So replay couldn’t get a read on it, and they did what they’re supposed to do. The ruling on the field stands.
Dan Capron's B1G crew is officiating the national championship game. You might be familiar with its greatest hit pic.twitter.com/L0aSWWrhz1 — Ramzy Nasrallah (@ramzy) January 9, 2018
By the way, the line judge who made that call is Brian Bolinger from Indiana. That was his last Big Ten game because the next year he started in the NFL. Pretty damn good.
Jim Harbaugh got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for slamming down his headset and flinging his play cards in the air.
The head linesman — from the state of Michigan, not that it matters — (assessed the penalty). … Coach Harbaugh threw his clipboard out on the field. Well, that’s a no-brainer. First of all, he was complaining about an offside call, which is not the hardest in the book to make. It was a completely valid call.
You have to be able to control yourself. There’s a tremendous amount of gray area with the unsportsmanlike conduct call. His actions were black and white. If that head linesman doesn’t make that call, he’s going to get downgraded by the boss. And it’s going to cost him.
You throw something out on the field, I can understand that … if you’re a fourth-grader. If you’re an adult that’s paid (more than) $5 million a year to coach a major college football team, I would expect more.
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And then he spent the postgame ripping you guys, earning a $10,000 fine.
He’s still not the worst coach. The worst coach I’ve ever worked for, ever, not even close, no one within 10 miles, is Bo Pelini. (laughs)
I had Purdue at Nebraska. Darrell Hazell was at Purdue. Total gentleman. Nebraska was heavily favored, but it was a very close game. Nebraska had the ball, and the quarterback muffed the snap from center and there was a big pileup. And so now the umpire is digging in there to see who has the ball. I’m standing back. I don’t get involved in those. All you need is for somebody to stand up with their helmet and clock you in the jaw, and it could kill you.
My umpire looks at me and I swear he says, “White ball.” Meaning Purdue. Nebraska is in red. I step out and I point: Purdue ball. Simultaneous with me, my center judge points the other way. Nebraska’s ball. Now we are convicted of being idiots. No matter what else happens, we are the three stooges.
We get together. I say, “You just said ‘white ball.’ ” He says, “No, I said ‘red ball.’ ” Look, let’s be clear: Who recovered the ball? Nebraska, Nebraska, Nebraska. No (official) has Purdue.
Unbeknownst to me, Coach P is over there on the sideline going crazy. I step out and announce: The ruling on the field is that the loose ball was recovered by Nebraska. It will be second down and 10 at the such-and-such yard line. As I turn to the Nebraska sideline, he is pointing at me, screaming at the top of his lungs, “I’ll have your job!” The moment “job” was out of his mouth, my flag hit its apex. So now there’s 15 yards against Nebraska.
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The game goes on uneventfully, and Nebraska ends up winning. We go in the locker room and I say to my guys, “Do you think I should call Bill (Carollo)?” because he always wants to know about anything controversial. He doesn’t want to get blindsided. The consensus was better to be safe than sorry. Give Bill a call.
I take out my cellphone and call the command center. I ask for Bill. I hear: “Hang on, he’s on the phone with Pelini.” The game wasn’t over for four minutes!
I remember when he swung his cap and almost hit an official.
That was so out of line. If he had been ejected, it would have been supported (by the conference).
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini nearly strikes an official in the face with his cap during a 2013 game against Iowa. (Eric Francis / Getty Images)
How about the scoop-and-score fumble recovery that was overturned in the Ohio State-Clemson semifinal in December?
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I’m not being critical of anybody, but once it goes upstairs, with the exception of targeting, the replay official is not supposed to re-officiate the play. The replay official is in the nature of an appellate court. And he is there to correct obvious mistakes. Unless there is indisputable video evidence that the call was wrong, the play stands.
What was your best or favorite moment over the 20 years?
I had the Alabama-Georgia national championship. That was pretty cool.
Delighted to see my old friend and fellow @MaristChicago alum, Dan Capron, referee the college #NationalChampionship game! Fabulous ref and a good guy. pic.twitter.com/C6oYinb8xF — Jeff Nowak (@jeffreysnowak) January 9, 2018
You know, you were talking about the Michigan fan base. Well, they’re pikers compared to the Georgia fan base. I was getting emails, texts. It was ugly, vile. Something gets out on the internet that I somehow worked for the University of Alabama, and it becomes gospel truth. Of course I couldn’t care less (who wins).
I'm sure Dan Capron slept like an angel last night. #BamaMoney pic.twitter.com/1z2RJE691h — Mad Dawg 🐾🦴 (@Mad_Dawg19) January 9, 2018
We had a miss. Alabama was on the ropes. They were deep in their own territory and they’re punting. The punt gets blocked. There’s a flag on the ground because the line judge had Georgia offside. Oh, boy. He (the player, Tyler Simmons) actually had a running start and timed it (properly). He wasn’t offside.
But that wasn’t my call. The blocking backs, a split-second before the snap, moved. That was a false start. That should have been my call. It still wouldn’t have been a blocked punt but instead a five-yard penalty against the offense. You never want to make a mistake of any kind in such a high-profile atmosphere.
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Back to the Big Ten … how about the time Joe Paterno almost collided with you?
We’re in Columbus and it’s late in the first half, our final TV timeout. Penn State is pinned back and punting. I raise my hand to signal ready for play.
All of a sudden I see Coach Paterno running onto the field and right at me. Oh, (crap). He has his head down and he is running at me. The stadium almost went silent. What’s going to happen next?
He’s coming and coming and gets within five yards and runs right past me. A less experienced referee might have thrown a flag, but I’m like: Let’s not make trouble out of nothing. I blow the ball ready for play, they punt the ball and the half ends uneventfully. (Penn State defensive coordinator) Tom Bradley is now running off the field for halftime. I say, “Coach, what was that about?” He says: “Joe’s got a touch of the flu; he had a little diarrhea. He had to go.”
Any other Paterno tales?
Penn State’s playing a MAC team and getting all it can handle. Penn State has the lead late in the game and they’re trying to get that clock at zero. So Penn State’s got the ball, and all of a sudden the line judge who’s working his very first Big Ten game kills the clock, but he doesn’t throw a flag. I say, “What do you have?” He says, “I’ve got to charge a timeout to Penn State.” But he’s not even on the Penn State sideline. I ask why. He says the wideout on his side doesn’t have his mouthpiece in. By rule if the snap is imminent and a player is not legally equipped, it is a charged timeout.
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Penn State coach Joe Paterno pleads with an official during a 2004 loss to Northwestern. (MICHAEL KUBEL / THE MORNING CALL)
I say, “OK, pal, welcome to the Big Ten.” I turn on my microphone: “Charged timeout, Penn State.” Well, JoePa says: “What? What? I didn’t call a timeout.” I say, “The line judge says your wideout didn’t have his mouthpiece in.”
Then comes some of the greatest football wisdom I’ve ever heard in my life. Joe says, “Well, why didn’t he tell him to put it back in?”
What percentage of calls do you all get right?
In an average Big Ten game with 150 to 200 plays, we might miss four. That includes no-calls — missed a DPI (defensive pass interference), missed a hold, ineligible downfield. A trade secret: As an official, you would much rather have one of those than have a flag that’s thrown that’s wrong. You don’t want to put a flag on the ground unless you’re 110% sure. Bill (Carollo) has a saying: I want you to love your call. If you’re not sure, don’t throw the flag.
I want to ask about a few other coaches. How is Scott Frost?
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He came in and he required a little bit of acclimatization. He needed to get used to the fact that he’s now the head coach of a major program in a major conference. And he’s matured in the job. It’s a humbling job.
He’s in a pressure-cooker environment and I can respect that. Would I want to have beers with him after the game? Maybe not.
P.J. Fleck?
He’s very intense. He should probably switch to decaf. I think he thinks that he is still playing the game. And he’s not. But, boy, you can’t argue with the success he has had.
He drew that unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in Iowa City for sprinting onto the field after Tyler Johnson got hurt.
He ran out on the field before the referee had beckoned him. It was just a little overexuberance. If I was the referee on that game, I might have wanted to have that flag back, but I’m not going to criticize him because you’ve got to make these decisions in the blink of an eye. And I wasn’t there. So I don’t know what it looked like or felt like. Watching it on TV, that might have been a stern talking-to: “Look, Coach, I know you’re concerned about your player, but you’ve got to wait for us to kill the clock.” A coach cannot run on the field at all unless we permit it.
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Anything interesting from Ron Zook or Tim Beckman?
Ron Zook was a heck of a coach but a handful to deal with. He was very involved in how he thought that the officiating should be. He was around when we first started to become cognizant of helmet-to-helmet contact. They wanted us to start calling these high hits. I'll never forget there was a play that my field judge called where the ball is overthrown, 10 yards over the receiver’s head, and the Illinois defensive back lowers his head, uses the crown of his helmet and knocks him into the middle of next week. My field judge has a flag.
Ron Zook thought the flag was for defensive pass interference. And he was yelling that it was uncatchable, which it certainly was. But that’s not what the foul was for, and he couldn’t understand why that was a foul. Some coaches have a mindset of that’s the way that you’ve always played the game. But it’s the coaches who can adapt and re-teach their players who tend to do well.
Illinois coach Ron Zook argues with referee Dan Capron and field judge Craig Jeffreys during a 2009 game against Northwestern at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. (Stephen Haas / Associated Press)
Pat Fitzgerald?
Total class act. Another one is Kirk Ferentz. He sent a note to the Big Ten office congratulating me on a wonderful career. Paul Chryst. So many wonderful, decent people. Mark Dantonio gets a tough rap because he’s such a curmudgeon. He’s such an overt, blatant, obvious crab. But I’m crabby, too, and I can respect that. I’ve had a wonderful relationship with Mark Dantonio. The last time I had him, I walked in (and) said, “Hey, Smilin’ Mark, how’s it going?” I got a chuckle out of him.
I understand that these guys are highly paid and expected to win. By definition, 50% of them in any given game are going to fail. I get that and similarly I think they understand I’ve got a job to do and I don’t care who wins. I’m going to miss almost all of these coaches.
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Your final regular-season game was Northwestern-Illinois at your alma mater. You had your four daughters and nine grandchildren there. Plus Fitz and Lovie Smith.
They were the best, just magnificent gentlemen. They’re great coaches and they make college football better. And they make the Big Ten better. I was proud to officiate a game with those guys on the sideline.
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Bonus: An incredible story about Dan Capron’s start in officiating ...
Early in my officiating career, I joined the COA (Central Officials Association), which is the oldest and one of the largest such associations in the nation. Many giants of officiating have come up through the COA, including Jerry Markbreit, Tom Quinn, Bill Lemonnier and others. But the association has a history which is not entirely admirable. Up until the early 1960s, it was entirely segregated, 100% white. Black officials were expected to join their “own” association, the MOA (Metropolitan Officials Association). The racial bias was kept in place owing to a requirement that new COA members had to have an existing member as a sponsor. This served to maintain the status quo: nice and tidy and bigoted.
In about 1960, give or take a year, a very courageous COA member sponsored an equally courageous black official as a member. As you might imagine, this created vehement dissension within the ranks, loud and acrimonious. The sponsoring white member stood up and proclaimed, “We need to give this young man a chance.” To its credit, and largely because of the impassioned arguments of the sponsoring white member to do what is right, the COA admitted its first black member, but the sponsoring official lost many friends over the perception that he was using the COA for social engineering and needlessly rocking the boat. The COA has two divisions, and the sponsoring official worked basketball. The newly admitted black official worked football, so their careers diverged. The sponsoring official worked mainly high school and some small college basketball before his career petered out in the early 1970s under the demands of job pressures and a growing family. The black official distinguished himself, patiently climbing the ranks, paying his dues and eventually becoming the first black referee/crew chief in the Big Ten.
Fast forward to 2000. I was hired into the Big Ten as a head linesman, despite having worked at the referee position in the Division III ranks. This effectively doubled the size of the hurdle that greeted me: Not only would I be officiating at a level where the athletes were significantly faster in front of crowds which were massively larger, I would be doing it from a position on the field which was largely foreign to me. As you might expect, things did not go well. After my first year, I received a letter from David Parry, the supervisor of officials: I finished seventh out of seven head linesmen and in the bottom third of the officiating staff as a whole. I was moved to a different crew for 2001. At the end of the 2001 season, I received another letter: last among head linesmen, bottom third of all officials. I was moved to yet another crew for 2002. Same result. At this point, I lived in the legitimate fear that I would be dropped from the staff. The pattern was unmistakable, and it was Parry’s policy that he would not move an official to referee unless he had proven himself and earned the respect of his crew mates at another position.
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At that point, unbeknownst to me, one of the technical advisers in the Big Ten spoke up for me, arguing that it was not fair to expect me to excel as a head linesman when my natural position was referee. Technical advisers were retired Big Ten officials who served as observers/graders at each game. They reported to David Parry, and their opinions counted heavily in postseason evaluations of the officiating staff. I was later told that the TA who advocated for me literally used the words, “Give this young man a chance!” Parry agreed, and my performance at head linesman in the 2003 season was markedly — perhaps miraculously — better: first among head linesmen, top third of the staff. Shortly thereafter, I was moved to referee and never looked back. My entire career hung by a thread, and the fortuitous advocacy of a very kind technical adviser is what saved it.
Perhaps you can see where this is going. The technical adviser who spoke up for me was Gilbert Marchman, who also served for many years as Clerk of the Illinois Appellate Court. He had been the first black crew chief in the Big Ten. His own officiating career might have been squelched, or at least impaired, had a brave and forward-thinking basketball official not stood up for what was right, even if it was unpopular. That man was Leo Hennessy, who passed away in 2017. I married his oldest daughter, and to his dying day, he was so very proud that his son-in-law was a Big Ten official.
I am very proud of the stand that my father-in-law took 60 years ago, just as I am grateful that the man he helped was, in turn, able to help me. The color barrier at the COA is on the ash heap of history. The field judge for the Super Bowl was a black official from the COA, Michael Banks. He was the field judge on my crew when I was a D-III referee. The world is round.


chicagotribune--2020-02-08--5 questions for the Cubs before spring training, including how to focus with those Kris Bryant trade

5 questions for the Cubs before spring training, including how to focus with those Kris Bryant trade rumors swirling

The Cubs open spring training for pitchers and catchers Wednesday with David Ross looking to place his stamp on the @ @ @ @ @ unclear whether Ross will be able to pencil in Kris Bryant as his opening-day third @ @ @ @ @ will trade the 2016 National League MVP .

New manager, same third baseman — for now.
The Cubs open spring training for pitchers and catchers Wednesday with David Ross looking to place his stamp on the roster. It’s unclear whether Ross will be able to pencil in Kris Bryant as his opening-day third baseman or if the Cubs will trade the 2016 National League MVP.
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Here are five spring questions for the Cubs.
1. Can the Cubs focus with Kris Bryant trade rumors swirling?
After missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014, the Cubs made sweeping changes on the coaching staff and in their hitting and pitching departments.
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While the Kris Bryant questions will persist, David Ross and Co. must focus on a turnaround as players seek to rebound from inconsistent seasons and newcomers look to make a favorable impression.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 167 Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant stand at the plate during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on July 26, 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
If Bryant is dealt, his replacement at third base likely would come from outside the organization. David Bote, Ian Happ and Daniel Descalso could work there this spring, but none should be viewed as the long-term solution.
2. How different will spring training look under David Ross?
Bench coach Andy Green, bullpen coach Chris Young, first base/catching coach Craig Driver and quality assurance coach Mike Napoli are among the coaching newcomers, and Kyle Evans will be more visible as senior director of major-league data and development.
David Ross gave the keys to Green to organize spring training, and the structure will be different after five seasons under Joe Maddon.
Cubs manager David Ross speaks to students during the Cubs Community Service Day on Jan. 16, 2020, at Horace Greeley Public School in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
President Theo Epstein emphasized the need for more teaching at the major-league level in his end-of-the-season news conference Sept. 30, and players should expect more face-to-face instruction than in recent years.
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This cannot be overlooked, especially two years after Cubs players quickly tuned out hitting coach Chili Davis. Davis went on to help Peter Alonso and Jeff McNeil prosper last season with the Mets.
3. Who will play second base?
Here are a few reasons the Cubs have several candidates to play second base this spring: Their second basemen were last in the National League in 2019 with a .220 batting average, and they ranked 14th with a .301 on-base percentage.
An ideal scenario for the Cubs would feature rookie Nico Hoerner sharing playing time with a veteran left-handed hitter. But Hoerner, 22, must play at least half the time to continue his development after batting .282 in a 20-game stint with the Cubs despite not having played a game at Triple-A Iowa.
Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner attempts to turn a double play against the Reds on Sept. 18, 2019. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Bote played well at second and raised his batting average from 2018 by 19 points to .257 and his on-base percentage by 43 points to .362.
After an impressive start, switch hitter Robel Garcia struck out 43 times in his final 87 at-bats.
Daniel Descalso had the worst season of his career — hitting .173 in 82 games — but refused to blame it on an ankle injury. The Cubs are pursuing other veteran left-handed hitters, including Scooter Gennett and Jason Kipnis, according to reports, and they added Hernan Perez.
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4. What’s the answer for the leadoff spot?
Executive Matt Dorey drew attention at the Cubs Convention when he said he can envision Nico Hoerner as a potential leadoff hitter in the future.
Trying Hoerner sooner than later doesn’t seem so outrageous considering Cubs leadoff batters were last in the majors last year with a .294 on-base percentage and .212 batting average.
The Cubs' Kyle Schwarber hits a double against the Cardinals on Sept. 20, 2019. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
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The biggest challenge may be to use multiple candidates without exposing them to failure over an extended period. Kyle Schwarber posted a .304 on-base percentage in 56 games in the leadoff spot last year, and Jason Heyward produced a .252 mark in 32 games.
A retooled swing could help Albert Almora Jr. get more at-bats against left-handers. Almora batted .342 against lefties in 2017 but dipped to .213 last season and started only 22 games in the second half.
5. How will the bullpen shake out?
Quality bullpen depth is essential in 2020 because of a couple of rules changes. The minimum injured list stint for pitchers is now 15 days. And relievers must face a minimum of three batters unless they complete an inning, so versatility is key.
The Cubs expect newcomer Jeremy Jeffress, a 2018 All-Star, to rebound from his disastrous 2019 season with the Brewers and claim the duties once held byPedro Strop and Steve Cishek.
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Brewers relief pitcher Jeremy Jeffress delivers against the Pirates on Aug. 7, 2019. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
Rowan Wick could settle into setup duty if he continues his impressive rise. Newcomers Dan Winkler, Ryan Tepera and Jharel Cotton each has minor-league options and provides flexibility.
The Cubs need a fifth starter; Tyler Chatwood is the leading candidate for now.
The bullpen’s early failures in 2019 put plenty of stress on a team now looking to retool and win — a great challenge in an incredibly competitive NL Central.


chicagotribune--2020-02-08--Meet the Chicago artists behind the new Jordan Chicago Collaborators’ Collection

Drew the Barber : It means a lot .
I think we can all relate to the impact that Jordan @ @ @ @ @ shape or form impacted our lives or we experienced through his dominance in the league @ @ @ @ @ up in a family of seven siblings — eight , including me — we couldn @ @ @ @ @ the whole Jordan shoe thing .
But when my auntie finally got me a pair @ @ @ @ @ I got hooked to .
So to be somebody who grew up to really see @ @ @ @ @ and now be part of the impact , is really special .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ in full words ; it ’ s like a feeling that I have , you @ @

Jake "JB" Brode and Cole Bennett, of the multimedia company Lyrical Lemonade, created apparel and shoes with the Pink Line in mind. They designed this Jordan Aerospace 720 UC shoe for the collection. (Nike)
The hype is here for the 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend. And rightly so; the event hasn’t stopped in our city since 1988. So, off-the-charts enthusiasm is not unwarranted. Add to that all the celebrities, entertainment and fans that will be on site to partake of all the greatness that Chicago offers.
That greatness seeps from the pores of local Chicagoans and comes forth in the work of local creatives who were tapped to be a part of the Jordan Chicago Collaborator’s Collection, a streetwear collection of clothing and kicks that embody our city’s connectivity and attitude.
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Eight Chicagoland artists were each assigned a color from the CTA’s eight colored train lines and tasked to use it to create items that reimagine what the term “unite” means to them and to the city, said Israel Mateo, Jordan Brand’s Footwear Energy Designer.
The group consists of: Designer Virgil Abloh (Red Line), Artist Cody Hudson (Orange Line), Designer Shelia Rashid (Purple Line), Chance The Rapper’s SocialWorks (Blue Line), streetwear boutique SucceZZ (Yellow Line), multimedia company Lyrical Lemonade (Pink Line), and four students from Wings organizations and programs that mentor urban youth for success (Green Line).
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“In addition to being authentically connected to the city, each collaborator chosen truly embodied the spirit of ‘unite’ and had a creative vision to make styles for Chicago, from Chicago,” Mateo said. “The collaborators in this collection — all of whom are connected to sneaker culture — represent not only phenomenal talent, but they also represent hard work and grit that is unique to the city. By collaborating with these eight local creatives to create a collection that directly ties back to Chicago, we believe it will inspire the community. We hope each piece lets Chicago locals feel proud to wear today and moving forward.”
Artists like painter/sculptor Hudson decorated his orange-colored hoodie and long-sleeve tee with graphics and a reimagined six-point star from the Chicago flag. Chicago native and Louis Vuitton’s men’s artistic director Virgil Abloh infused the Red Line with his brand Off-White to create a look that is anything but black and white.
Virgil Abloh, designer of haute streetwear label Off-White and Louis Vuitton’s men’s artistic director, created apparel and Air Jordan V Retro SP shoes for the Jordan Chicago Collaborators' Collection with the CTA's Red Line in mind. (Nike)
“Virgil has a very real connection to the Air Jordan V because he remembers how great Michael Jordan played in the shoe, and Michael wearing that shoe was one of the fonder memories Virgil had of him that served as inspiration,” Mateo said. “He didn’t want to over-design the shoe or make drastic changes to it. It was about highlighting the original shoe and bringing it to a new generation so they could get the same feeling he had when he got Vs through his lens.”
We talked to a few of the creatives selected to contribute to the collection and what it means to do apparel for such an iconic Chicago name as Jordan: Andrew Henderson (aka Drew the Barber), a Country Club Hills native and founder and president of the West Town barber shop No Cuts No Glory, whose hoodie and tee reflect the Brown Line, and Plano native Cole Bennett and Kalamazoo native Jake “JB” Brode (the team behind the innovative multimedia company Lyrical Lemonade), who took the color pink and punched it up for the Jordan Aerospace 720 shoe along with a hoodie and long-sleeve tee. The interview has been condensed and edited.
Andrew Henderson (aka Drew the Barber) from Chicago's No Guts No Glory barber shop designed a hoodie and long-sleeve tee with the CTA's Brown Line in mind for the 2020 All-Star Weekend. His designs were inspired by Chicago's old transit tokens. (Nike)
Q: How would you sum up what your contribution to the collection is really about in one or two words?
Drew the Barber: It’s really paying homage to a time when Chicago was great. Not that it isn’t … but Chicago basketball in that sense.
Q: Can you share your design process?
Drew the Barber: I knew through the project with tying it to the CTA trains, I really wanted to use it to pay homage to a time in 1988 when the game was last here for the All-Star. Through that, my wife actually came in and helped me through that process and brought up the idea of the coins (tokens) and the transit and the time that it was, so I did a lot of research on that and just really brought that idea to life. I sketch a lot, so from what she told me from her childhood and remembering it and me sketching it out, it really came to life.
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Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade: We were given the Pink Line and put our spin on it. Our colors at Lyrical Lemonade are blue and yellow, so that pastel look works perfectly with pink.
JB of Lyrical Lemonade: Cole hit it on the head about the colors — our blue and yellow mixed with the Pink Line perfectly in what we already do as a brand. The 720 silhouette, we just wanted to add elements of shoes that are nostalgic for us, elements from those mixed in with a modern look.
Q: What does it mean to have your work showcased in this collection in your hometown for this event?
Drew the Barber: It means a lot. I think we can all relate to the impact that Jordan, in some way, shape or form impacted our lives or we experienced through his dominance in the league. Being somebody who grew up in a family of seven siblings — eight, including me — we couldn’t afford to do the whole Jordan shoe thing. But when my auntie finally got me a pair, it was something that I got hooked to. So to be somebody who grew up to really see the impact the brand has and now be part of the impact, is really special. It’s hard to really explain it in full words; it’s like a feeling that I have, you know?
Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade: Collaborating with Jordan brand is a dream of mine as well as JB because we wore Jordans growing up. It was the shoe of choice growing up. And whoever thought that we’d be able to work with such a company? It’s really just surreal.
Q: What is it about Chicago? What’s our secret sauce?
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Drew the Barber: We’re just from Chicago. It runs through our veins. There’s a certain pride that comes along with that … putting on a pair of Jordans. He developed that presence here in Chicago and even though the Bulls may not be on their best run right now, we still have to take pride in that because of what he left behind. Being a barber and being in the shop, you see guys literally bring out a brand new pair of shoes to come to the shop just so he can show that he has them. It’s just a sense of pride that we all carry that I think lives throughout the city and it kind of effects everybody.
Lyrical Lemonade's Jake Brode and Cole Bennett. (Nike)
Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade: People come to Chicago to draw inspiration. I think the best thing about Chicago is that people who work in Chicago aren’t just coming to work in Chicago. Chicago means something to them and if it didn’t before, then it does shortly after they’ve gotten acclimated. And I think that creates for a special community because when we have something like the All-Star Weekend, you see all Chicago-centric brands coming together and pushing a narrative. A city like New York or L.A., it’s such a big marketplace already so people are just putting things together to see what they can do. But in Chicago it really feels cultured. The inspiration that you get from being in Chicago, and the drive and the sense of community is the secret sauce of Chicago and why people want to be here.
JB of Lyrical Lemonade: Not being from Chicago originally, for me, what’s inspiring is pretty much what Cole touched on — the openness of our peers, their ideas and willingness to share and collaborate, which I feel is pretty rare and for that to be a general mindset with everybody in the Chicago creative community I think is pretty special.
All pieces of the collection will be available globally on jordan.com on Feb. 15. The collection will also be available in Chicago at Jordan Brand’s All-Star activation space, HUB23 (5200 S. Cottage Grove Ave.), leading up to and during All-Star Weekend at different dates.
drockett@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-07--Gun rights groups sue Illinois State Police, saying delays in FOID and concealed carry applications

Gun rights groups sue Illinois State Police, saying delays in FOID and concealed carry applications infringe on right to bear arms

“ We passed the concealed carry act in 2013 , we charged a really healthy amount for a five-year license @ @ @ @ @ gets $ 120 , and the purpose of that money was to hire staff to @ @ @ @ @ permits in a timely manner , ” Pearson said .
“ We ’ re asking @ @ @ @ @ funds .
Those funds were not tax money , they were fees paid by users @ @ @ @ @ they did not get .
”

Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson speaks at a 2013 rally in Springfield in for the right to carry concealed fire arms. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Two prominent gun rights groups in Illinois have filed a lawsuit against state police, alleging that delays in the processing of concealed carry and gun ownership cards are violating the “fundamental individual rights” of gun owners.
The Illinois State Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation filed the suit in federal court on Jan. 31. Also listed as plaintiffs are two Chicago-area gun owners: Goran Lazic of Vernon Hills, who according to the suit had his firearm owner’s identification card revoked because of a domestic battery arrest where charges were eventually dropped, and Ryan Thomas of Wilmette, who has sought to have get his FOID card back after moving back to the state.
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Both men said in the lawsuit that they’ve been trying to restore their legal gun ownership status in Illinois since 2017.
Though the lawsuit targets the state police, it lays blame with state legislators and the governor, who plaintiffs say have approved budgets diverting money from fees paid for concealed carry and firearm owner’s identification cards from the Illinois State Police to other parts of the state budget.
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Those fees were meant to pay for Illinois State Police staff to process those requests, said Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson.
“We passed the concealed carry act in 2013, we charged a really healthy amount for a five-year license, of which state police gets $120, and the purpose of that money was to hire staff to process FOID cards and CCL permits in a timely manner,” Pearson said. “We’re asking for is restoration of those funds. Those funds were not tax money, they were fees paid by users to get a service which they did not get.”
The Illinois State Police did not respond to a request seeking comment.
More than $29 million was transferred from three Illinois State Police funds used to pay for the processing of FOID cards and concealed carry licenses, according to the lawsuit, citing a report by the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. That money was put into the general revenue fund.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified “monetary damages,” attorney fees and for the state police to issue Thomas and Lazic their FOID cards.
pnickeas@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-07--Electric vehicles are hard to find at the Chicago Auto Show. Next year will be a different story.

But at the Chicago Auto Show , which runs Saturday through Feb. 17 at McCormick Place , full battery-powered EVs @ @ @ @ @ between as they are on America ’ s roadways , with only a handful of @ @ @ @ @ can buy and drive .
Based on EV product launches scheduled for 2020 alone , @ @ @ @ @ next year ’ s show .

The auto industry is betting hundreds of billions of dollars that this is the decade you’re going to buy an electric vehicle.
From a sporty Ford Mustang crossover to the rebirth of a brawny GMC Hummer truck, legacy and startup automakers alike have hundreds of electric vehicles in the development pipeline, with industry projections that EV sales will surpass traditional internal combustion engines by 2030.
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But at the Chicago Auto Show, which runs through Feb. 17 at McCormick Place, full battery-powered EVs are as few and far between as they are on America’s roadways, with only a handful of models on display that you can buy and drive. Based on EV product launches scheduled for 2020 alone, that should change dramatically by next year’s show.
“We feel there’s going to be a lot of growth,” said Ted Cannis, global head of electrification for Ford, which is featuring the Mustang Mach-E at the show. “Once you get that critical mass moving — and it’s going to start moving because of us and others in the industry — you’ll have a whole pipeline of activity then.”
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Attendees examine the Ford Mustang Mach-E during a media preview at the Chicago Auto Show on Feb. 6, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Little more than a science experiment at the turn of the century, mass produced EVs began hitting the market around 2010 with early entries such as the Nissan Leaf. But limited range, expensive batteries and the lack of an out-of-home charging infrastructure made them a fringe offering.
In 2012, California-based Tesla disrupted the automotive world when it began delivery of its sleek but pricey Model S, which brought blazing speed, 300-mile range and a new vision of electrification to the industry. Tesla delivered 367,500 electric vehicles last year and although it has yet to turn an annual profit, it surpassed $100 billion in valuation — more than GM and Ford combined.
While EVs accounted for less than 2% of all auto sales in 2019, automakers are all in for 2020, from Detroit’s Big Three to startup electric truck manufacturer Rivian, which is set to begin production later this year in Normal.
Tesla and Rivian were no-shows at this year’s auto show, but roughly 10 EV models are on display. Here are some highlights:
Ford Mustang Mach-E
Announced in November, the all-electric 2021 Mustang Mach-E crossover is expected to roll out later this year, with an inaugural production run of about 50,000 vehicles. Built in Mexico, the Mach-E comes in rear-wheel and all-wheel drive and starts at about $44,000, with a high-performance GT version priced at about $60,000. Both qualify for a full $7,500 federal tax credit.
The models offer a target range of 250 to 300 miles, with the GT version doing 0 to 60 mph in just over 3 seconds. Branding it a Mustang was a "pretty bold statement around electrification” plans for Ford, said Dave Pericak, director of icons for the automaker.
“We didn’t take the decision to make it a Mustang lightly,” said Pericak, who previously served as Mustang’s chief engineer. “It will have all the performance, but it will have a soul. It’s just a ton of fun.”
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The interior and display screen inside the Ford Mustang Mach-E. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Attendees at the Chicago Auto Show media preview examine the front hood interior space in the Ford Mustang Mach-E. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The spartan interior includes a 15-inch display screen that will use machine learning to anticipate your habits, such as asking if you want to phone home on your return commute after work. It also has low-tech features such as a cup holder.
Ford has an all-electric F-150 truck in the developmental pipeline, but hasn’t disclosed many of its electrification plans. Pericak said launching with two iconic nameplates shows that Ford is “leaning in,” despite the dearth of electric vehicles at the 2020 show.
“Electrification is a big part of our plan and where we’re headed,” Pericak said.
Audi e-tron
Audi, which is owned by German automaker Volkswagen, rolled out its first EV offering last year, the e-tron. By 2025, it expects a third of its U.S. product line to be electric, according to Cody Thacker, head of electrification for Audi of America.
The featured speaker at an auto show luncheon Thursday hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago, Thacker said the auto industry is investing $300 billion into electrification, and that consumer adoption will become widespread.
The 2019 Audi e-tron, a midsize electric SUV with two rows of seating and an estimated range of about 204 miles. (Audi)
Thacker said the biggest barrier to adoption is “range anxiety,” the fear of running out of juice before finding a plug to recharge your vehicle. While most daily commutes are less than 30 miles, Thacker said getting to “the family reunion in Ohio” remains a concern for EV owners.
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“That is real, that’s something we have to think about,” Thacker said at the luncheon. “This is where the public charging infrastructure needs to get deployed.”
Audi has a white e-tron SUV on display at the show. The all-wheel drive vehicle, which sells for about $75,000, has a range of 204 miles and does 0 to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds. It is parked, fittingly, next to an Electrify America charging station.
Electrify America, also owned by Volkswagen, is investing $2 billion in a nationwide charging network as part of the automaker’s massive 2016 settlement with federal and state regulators over its diesel emissions testing scandal. The company expects to have 800 charging stations with about 3,500 chargers in 45 states by the end of next year.
Thacker said even though automakers are gearing up, the consumer side of the equation is "not quite ready to go yet.” EV prices will need to come down and the infrastructure needs to be developed for widespread adoption to become a reality.
"People are worried: If I have my family in the car and it’s the middle of the night and I have 5 miles left, I want to know that I can pull off the highway and charge my vehicle,” he said.
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Chevrolet Bolt
Launched in 2017, Chevrolet’s all-electric subcompact crossed the 200,000 sales mark last year, which triggers a one-year phaseout of the $7,500 federal tax incentive. Buyers can still get a $1,875 credit through March 31.
The 2020 Bolt, which sells for about $37,000 — before the tax credit — has boosted its range by 10% this year to 259 miles on a full charge, making it a more attractive, if utilitarian, EV offering than some of its flashier rivals.
The 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV on display at the Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
In January, there were 3,000 Bolts sold — its best sales month ever, according to Chevrolet spokesman Steve Majoros.
“The reality is, Bolt EV was the first to crack the code on range and cost, and continues to do that," Marjoros said. "Other entries have come into the marketplace, but the Bolt EV still has the most range — with the exception of a high-performance Tesla Model 3.”
Majoros said the resurgent success of the Bolt is “just a precursor” to new EVs in the pipeline from Chevrolet and GM, including the rebirth of the Hummer nameplate — once the embodiment of a gas-guzzling behemoth — as GMC’s first all-electric truck. The Hummer, which will be built at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, was teased in a Super Bowl spot, with plans to reveal the vehicle in May.
“There’s going to be a lot of news from Chevrolet and GM,” Majoros said. “We know where the market is going."
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Despite the growing buzz over EVs, old-school muscle cars are still stealing the show. Visitors at the Thursday preview mostly bypassed a pair of Chevy Bolt EVs for a 490-horsepower Corvette Stingray, while a 660-horsepower GT Liquid Carbon supercar is Ford’s most prominent display.
Pericak didn’t bother to offer mileage estimates for GT Liquid Carbon, which sells for $750,000.
“We don’t worry about that in a car like this,” Pericak said.
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rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-07--Tyson to cut 500 jobs, including some in Chicago, as part of restructuring

The world ’ s second-largest processor of poultry , pork and beef said in its first-quarter financial filing Thursday that @ @ @ @ @ to contribute to the company ’ s overall strategy of financial fitness through the elimination @ @ @ @ @ certain enterprise functions .
”

Tyson Foods is eliminating about 500 jobs, mostly corporate roles in Chicago and Arkansas, as part of a restructuring program.
The world’s second-largest processor of poultry, pork and beef said in its first-quarter financial filing Thursday that the cuts are “expected to contribute to the company’s overall strategy of financial fitness through the elimination of overhead and consolidation of certain enterprise functions.”
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Most of the job cuts will happen in Chicago, where Tyson employs about 500 people, and its headquarters of Springdale, Arkansas. The company said the cuts involve a variety of roles and declined to give a breakdown by location.
“It’s always difficult to eliminate jobs and we’re doing this only after careful consideration,” spokesman Gary Mickelson said in an email. “We’ve already eliminated some of the positions and expect some others will be affected in the months ahead.”
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Mickelson said the layoffs are part of “an ongoing focus on financial fitness as we seek to ensure our competitive position.”
Tyson on Thursday reported $10.8 billion in sales for the quarter, up 6% compared with the year before but short of Wall Street’s consensus. Though its beef and pork segments exceeded expectations, poultry profits took a hit as growing chicken production and heavier birds suppressed pricing. Overall net income rose 1%.
The company expects to save $55 million in fiscal 2020 and $65 million the following year as a result of the restructuring program. It estimated it would spend $44 million on severance and other costs associated with the job cuts.
Tyson also plans to increase capital spending to $1.3 billion for the year as it builds additional processing capacity for case-ready fresh chicken, beef and pork.


chicagotribune--2020-02-09--Spike Lee honors Kobe Bryant with tuxedo at Oscars

Bryant won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2018 for “ Dear Basketball , ” which served as @ @ @ @ @ letter he wrote to announce his retirement from the NBA after 20 seasons with the @ @ @ @

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chicagotribune--2020-02-09--Oscars 2020: Best and worst red carpet looks at this year's Academy Awards

See the stars light up the red carpet at the 92nd Academy Awards on Sunday , Feb. 9 , 2020 @ @ @ @ @ best and worst fashions from this year 's Oscars .


chicagotribune--2020-02-09--Death of man, 28, hit by Red Line train after slipping off Wrigleyville platform ruled an accident

The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition Saturday afternoon after he jumped over a handicap gate at @ @ @ @ @ , slipped on the platform and fell onto the train tracks where a train hit @ @ @ @ @ police .

A 28-year-old man died after being hit by a Red Line train in Wrigleyville, according to officials.
The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition Saturday afternoon after he jumped over a handicap gate at the Red Line Addison station, slipped on the platform and fell onto the train tracks where a train hit him, according to Chicago police.
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The man, who police said was intoxicated, was hit by a train in the 900 block of West Addison Street in the Wrigleyville neighborhood about 4:55 p.m. on the northbound tracks, said police and CTA spokesman Jon Kaplan.
The man was taken about 6:15 p.m. to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, said Frank Velez, a commander for the Chicago Fire Department.
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The Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled the man’s death an accident.
Northbound and southbound Red Line trains between the Belmont and Howard stations were suspended following the incident, but they were back on the move again by 6:25 p.m., according to Kaplan.
pfry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-09--A strong Big Ten finish could get 14-10 Purdue off the NCAA Tournament bubble

The Boilermakers had 10 losses by the end of January and are one game better than .500 in conference play @ @ @ @ @ No .
26 in the NCAA 's NET rankings as of Sunday and play in @ @ @ @ @ which ranks well ahead of the Big 12 and Big East conferences .

Purdue is positioned to chase down an NCAA Tournament bid, thanks in part to the Big Ten's depth of quality teams.
The Boilermakers had 10 losses by the end of January and are one game better than .500 in conference play. Yet they are ranked No. 26 in the NCAA's NET rankings as of Sunday and play in KenPom's top-rated league, which ranks well ahead of the Big 12 and Big East conferences.
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That means Purdue will have plenty of chances to keep bolstering its resume, even with relatively little room for error through its final seven regular-season games.
"We're going to keep getting tough matchups," junior center Matt Haarms said after Saturday's win at Indiana. "Every game in the Big Ten is a tough one, continue to play tournament-caliber teams, and we want to show that we belong in the tournament."
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After getting within a game of last year's Final Four, Matt Painter's Boilermakers lost nonconference games to Texas, Marquette, now-No. 8 Florida State and now-No. 19 Butler before Christmas. Then they stumbled to five league losses in seven games in January to stand at 11-10.
But Purdue (14-10, 7-6) has won three straight, including Wednesday's home rout of No. 17 Iowa followed by Saturday's win at Indiana. Both are Quadrant 1 wins that top an NCAA Tournament resume, joining a 29-point win against preseason No. 1-ranked Michigan State in mid-January and a November neutral-court win against VCU.
Overall, Purdue is 4-7 against opponents in Quadrant 1, defined as home games against top-30 teams in the NET, neutral-site games against top-50 teams and road games against top-75 teams. The Boilermakers also have a 29-point win against reigning national champion Virginia for a Quadrant 2 victory, while a December loss at Nebraska is their only Quadrant 3 loss.
As of midday Sunday, Purdue was headed for a No. 10 seed in BracketMatrix.com’s average of 89 tournament projections, with the Boilermakers appearing in 70 mock brackets for the 68-team field.
And there are still five Quadrant 1 games ahead, including Tuesday at home against No. 22 Penn State (No. 19 in NET), Saturday at Ohio State (17th) and a road rematch with the Hawkeyes (28th) on March 3.
A strong finish could get the Boilermakers comfortably clear of the bubble by Selection Sunday, which is five weeks away.
Rising
Arizona State: The Sun Devils (15-8, 6-4 Pac-12) have won five of six, including Quadrant 1 wins against Arizona and Washington.
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Oklahoma: The Sooners (15-8, 5-5 Big 12) have been up and down, though Saturday’s win against No. 13 West Virginia is their third — and best — Quadrant 1 win.
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Rhode Island: The Rams (18-5, 10-1 Atlantic 10) are surging, winning 10 straight to go from 91st in the NET as of Jan. 6 to No. 35 as of Sunday. There are two big games ahead against sixth-ranked Dayton, the first coming Tuesday.
Wisconsin: The Badgers (14-10, 7-6 Big Ten) are in a similar position to league-mate Purdue, though their win Sunday against Ohio State improved them to 7-7 against Quadrant 1 teams after entering the day at No. 37 in the NET.
Sliding
Cincinnati: The record looks good for the Bearcats (15-8, 8-3 American Athletic Conference), but Sunday’s loss at Connecticut dropped them to 1-5 against Quadrant 1 teams with three Quadrant 3 losses (Colgate, Bowling Green and Tulane) to sit at 46th in the NET. They also have just one Quadrant 1 opponent remaining (at No. 25 Houston on March 1).
Florida: The Gators (14-9, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) are going in the wrong direction. Ranked sixth in the preseason AP Top 25, Florida has lost four of six after Saturday’s loss at Mississippi.
Memphis: The Tigers (17-6, 6-4 American Athletic Conference) suffered a Quadrant 3 loss to South Florida at home Saturday, dropping them 13 spots to 60th in the NET. Memphis has one Quadrant 1 win and recently lost No. 2 scorer D.J. Jeffries for four to six weeks to a knee injury.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack (15-8, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) ended up on the wrong side of the bubble last year and could do it again. A recent three-game skid included a Quadrant 3 home loss to struggling rival North Carolina, though games with No. 7 Duke (twice) and No. 8 Florida State offer chances to improve a No. 62 NET ranking.


chicagotribune--2020-02-09--RuPaul’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ hosting debut overrun by Democratic candidates

The last time RuPaul was on `` Saturday Night Live , '' America had n't even impeached its second president @ @ @ @ @ has gone three-for-three on presidential Senate acquittals , and RuPaul has graduated from the punchline @ @ @ @ @ titled `` What 's That ? ''
to a charming full-blown host whose studio audience @ @ @ @ @ vocabulary .
This weekend , the longtime `` Drag Race '' host , both in @ @ @ @ @ joined musical guest Justin Bieber to give the `` SNL '' episode a throwback feel @ @ @ @ @ sketch , that was only overshadowed by Shadow Inc. and the disastrous Democratic caucuses in @ @

The last time RuPaul was on "Saturday Night Live," America hadn't even impeached its second president yet. Now the country has gone three-for-three on presidential Senate acquittals, and RuPaul has graduated from the punchline to a 1993 cross-dressing sketch titled "What's That?" to a charming full-blown host whose studio audience is well-versed in his drag vocabulary. This weekend, the longtime "Drag Race" host, both in and out of drag, joined musical guest Justin Bieber to give the "SNL" episode a throwback feel, including a Bop It sketch, that was only overshadowed by Shadow Inc. and the disastrous Democratic caucuses in Iowa.
The politics-heavy show sidestepped President Trump's acquittal by the Senate, Pete Buttigieg claiming premature victory in Iowa, and other debris from the political whirlwind with its Democratic debate cold open. Moderated by George Stephanopoulos (Mikey Day), the first debate sketch of the year brushed by the topics of the day before offering a few topical zingers spread thinly across the sprawling cast of candidates.
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Joe Biden (Jason Sudeikis) and Bernie Sanders (Larry David) got the best of the bunch, as David's intense, technophobic Sanders ranted like a true "Curb Your Enthusiasm" escapee. He explained that his private jet usage is really for the other passengers' sake, considering his frequent bathroom usage and loud chewing, and that he probably wasn't going to do anything about his army of Bernie Bro internet trolls.
Biden had more assurances, explaining that early poll numbers shouldn't cause any fears: "Joe Biden's gonna do what Joe Biden does best: sneak up from behind." Sudeikis' slang-slinging, out-of-touch Biden closed with a meandering anecdote culminating in a left-field "Cool Runnings" reference as the former vice president claimed to have given Jamaica's first bobsled team.
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This was the last off-the-wall gag because zipping between the plethora of candidates — rushing Colin Jost's deadpan Buttigieg to deliver a one-liner about not being as spicy as mayonnaise, for instance — including a brief pre-recorded appearance of Fred Armisen's Michael Bloomberg, who sponsored the debate, left little time for anything but the most timely jokes.
Amy Klobuchar (Rachel Dratch), or as she called herself, "the other half of the New York Times endorsement," attempted to link herself to an uninterested Elizabeth Warren (Kate McKinnon) through a reference to Shakira's and Jennifer Lopez's Super Bowl performance, complete with tongue-trilling zaghrouta. Andrew Yang (Bowen Yang), armed with a money gun, tried to stand out from a field looking to "out-poor" one another, while Tom Steyer (Pete Davidson) expressed his love for all involved because he was "tripping balls right now."
The cold open may have been overwhelmed with candidates, but the Weekend Update was equally packed with all the Trump it left out. The scumbag clarity of Cathy Anne (Cecily Strong), the woman who screams outside Michael Che’s window, necessarily cut to the core of the acquittal and Trump’s subsequent victorious speeches with gross out gags aplenty. After the earlier brouhaha “SNL” roused regarding the trial, this final act to the saga was a deflated piece of closure made secondary to the series’ dedication to the Democratic race.


chicagotribune--2020-02-09--Blackhawks are 3 points out of the final wild-card spot. Tonight starts a 5-game, 8-day road stretch

Blackhawks are 3 points out of the final wild-card spot. Tonight starts a 5-game, 8-day road stretch — all against playoff contenders.

“ It ’ s a lot of time on the road , but this is a pretty crucial time for @ @ @ @ @ .
“ If we can do well on the road and then be able to @ @ @ @ @ well at home , we ’ re going to be right in that mix of @ @ @ @ @ ourselves up .
”

The Blackhawks are four points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot with 28 games remaining in the season.
Starting on Sunday in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Hawks embark on a five-game, eight-day road stretch — all against playoff contenders — including bookend matchups against the Jets the next two Sundays.
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Here are some key numbers entering a pivotal point in their season.
2
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Games the Hawks have won this season against the Jets, along with an overtime loss, in three meetings.
Games on Saturday — Predators at Oilers and Flames at Canucks — that down the road could affect the playoff picture in the West.
Blackhawks goaltender Robin Lehner (40) blocks a shot from Jets left wing Mathieu Perreault on Jan. 19, 2020, at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
“Every game’s important, but when you play teams in your division, it’s big. Winnipeg’s good,” forward Alex DeBrincat said after practice Saturday at Fifth Third Arena. "We can get a four-point swing if we can beat them hopefully twice. ...
“Right now we’re focused on Winnipeg and going in there (Sunday) and hopefully stealing two points.”
Best of 5?
Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton likened the Hawks’ upcoming schedule to a playoff series.
“It’s just odd to play a team (twice on the road in a week),” he said. "Sometimes in the American League you play teams in back-to-back games but to play there and then leave and then come right back, it’s kind of different.
“But it’s kind of like a playoff-series situation. All of these teams we’re playing against we’re battling with, so you can treat it like a playoff series, and we’ve got to win more than them.”
Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton, top right, looks on in the second period of a game against the Flames on Jan. 7, 2020, at the United Center. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
24
As in Feb. 24, the trade deadline.
How the Hawks fare over the next week could determine whether they’ll be buyers or sellers. If they remain in contention, they’ll likely at least stand pat. But if they lose too much ground, they could look to shed salaries.
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Obviously, a lot is riding on this trip. Colliton hopes the Hawks “have good performances so we get the points we need to stay in the race and hopefully raise our nose above the crowd.”
11
Road games this month (nine remaining) — and home games in March. Traditionally a solid showing on the road sets things up for a strong finish (mostly) at home, though the Hawks have fared better in away games (13-9-4) than at the United Center (12-12-4).
“It’s a lot of time on the road, but this is a pretty crucial time for us,” DeBrincat said. “If we can do well on the road and then be able to come back home and do well at home, we’re going to be right in that mix of the playoffs and hopefully set ourselves up.”
5-11
Blackhawks defenseman Adam Boqvist looks to score against Maple Leafs goaltender Michael Hutchinson on Nov. 10, 2019, at the United Center. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune / Chicago Tribune)
Height of rookie defenseman Adam Boqvist, who practiced Saturday after missing Friday’s session with a right shoulder injury.
“It’s good to be back in practice,” Boqvist said. “It’s not as bad as I thought it was.”
For Boqvist, who weighs 179 pounds, his size can be a blessing and a curse against bigger bodies.
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On one hand, he’s able to use his speed on defense.
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“You can just see what a great skater he is,” Colliton said. “He’s able to close out. He and Kirby (Dach) had a race, and he just took away Kirby’s space. He’s not the biggest guy, I understand, but his skating, it allows him to be really effective at defending."
On the other hand, he has to take greater measures to protect himself.
Boqvist, 19, left Wednesday’s game after taking a blindside shot into the boards by the Bruins’ David Krejci in the second period of a 2-1 overtime loss. He played only 8 minutes, 48 seconds.
“I was in a bad spot there,” Boqvist said. “You always have to be aware he’s behind you or stuff like that. You never know how it’s going to go, but I have to be more ready for that type of hit. But it wasn’t the head or anything like that.”
Boqvist hurt the same shoulder at the NHL Prospect Tournament in September in Traverse City, Mich. — four Hawks prospects were injured in one game — and in a Dec. 23 game in which he exited in the first period.
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Still, he might play Sunday.
“We’ll see,” Colliton said. “He looked pretty good today, but I want to make sure he’s ready.”


chicagotribune--2020-02-07--Edward Millar, orthopedic surgeon at Shriners Hospital who ‘took on the most challenging and complex

Edward Millar, orthopedic surgeon at Shriners Hospital who ‘took on the most challenging and complex cases,’ dies

The Northwest Side hospital focuses on a wide range of pediatric orthopedic conditions , including rare diseases and syndromes , @ @ @ @ @ of a family ’ s ability to pay .
Millar helped add and expand programs @ @ @ @ @ changes in medical care of children in the late 1970s helped lead the construction of @ @ @ @ @ to Dr. Peter Smith , who worked with Millar for about 20 years .

Dr. Edward Millar was an orthopedic surgeon who first came to Shriners Hospitals for Children — Chicago as a medical student in the early 1940s, worked there for many years when staff doctors were volunteers and became the hospital’s first paid chief of staff in 1976.
The Northwest Side hospital focuses on a wide range of pediatric orthopedic conditions, including rare diseases and syndromes, and services are provided regardless of a family’s ability to pay. Millar helped add and expand programs and staff to reflect the changes in medical care of children in the late 1970s helped lead the construction of a new hospital, according to Dr. Peter Smith, who worked with Millar for about 20 years.
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“He particularly took on the most challenging and complex cases from throughout the Midwest at the new hospital,” Smith said.
Millar, 99, died of natural causes Jan. 3 in Northbrook Inn in Northbrook, according to his daughter, Becky Millar. Since 1969, he and his wife, Dorothy, who survives him, lived on a 50-acre farm in Libertyville, where they raised their 10 children as well as horses, dogs and bees.
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Dr. Edward Millar (Shriners Hospitals for Children - Chicago)
Millar was born in 1920 in Woodward, Alabama. After graduating from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, he went to medical school at Northwestern University. After graduating in 1945, he went into the Navy and served briefly in China.
At war’s end, he returned to Chicago. In medical school, he had met Dr. Harold Sofield, then Shriners’ chief of staff. He completed a residency that included time at Shriners in 1947 and began working at the hospital as an attending physician in 1950.
Millar succeeded Sofield as chief of surgery in 1965 and in 1976 became the first full-time paid chief of staff.
In addition to his work at Shriners, Millar maintained an active private practice in general orthopedic surgery, working at Evanston Hospital, Swedish Covenant Hospital and Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, west of Chicago.
“He was a relatively quiet man … but certainly was a determined individual,” said Dr. Kim Hammerberg, who met Millar in 1979 while in a residency program in pediatric orthopedics at Shriners. “His goal was to try to make Shriners Hospital available to any child or child’s family that needed orthopedic care.”
Hammerberg said under Millar’s leadership, programs in cleft lip and palate treatment were developed, along with a rehabilitation program for spinal cord injuries in children.
Biomedical engineer Gerald Harris met Millar in 1981 when he proposed a research program studying spasticity — muscle tightness and rigidity — and treatment effects in children and young adults with cerebral palsy.
“Dr. Millar was a huge factor in that … and was amazingly empowering for people interested in helping those kids,” said Harris, now director of the Center for Motion Analysis at Shriners in Chicago.
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Harris said the program included weekly conferences that brought together surgeons from all over the city. Monday morning rounds included engineers, therapists, surgeons and residents, all focused on evaluating and implementing the best treatments to give children the best care possible.
“Dr. Millar was just an incredible individual who was able to bring people together, recognize their talents and strengths and recognize their passion for helping kids,” Harris said.
Hammerberg said Millar was an inspirational leader whose use of aphorisms could be triggered when he thought someone needed to step up or make a decision. If a subordinate became too independent, Millar would remind him or her, “Around here, the tail don’t wag the dog, doc-y.”
He would also remind others when a decision was needed, it was time “to quit cutting bait and start to fish.”
In a Shriners special publication marking the Chicago hospital’s 90th anniversary in 2016, Millar talked about his approach to the mission.
“We take a personal interest in each child who comes here,” he said then. “Their problems are our problems. Through surgery, medications, therapy, or whatever means we know, we want every child’s life to be the best it can possibly be.”
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Becky Millar said her Dad was clear about his devotion to his young patients.
“He absolutely loved working with the children,” she said. “He loved everything about Shriners — that was his life.”
In addition to his wife and daughter, Millar is also survived by three other daughters, Delse Millar Busse, Marcy Millar Falduto and Chris Millar Hogan; six sons, Randy, Bob, Rick, Tom, Wally and Ron; 27 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren.
Services were held.
Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter.


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--The giant beams are coming: I-294 ‘Mile Long Bridge’ is getting 187-foot-long concrete beams. Here’s

The giant beams are coming: I-294 ‘Mile Long Bridge’ is getting 187-foot-long concrete beams. Here’s why.

The existing Mile Long Bridge , built in 1958 , is a mix of concrete and steel beams .
The @ @ @ @ @ a mix , with 600 beams altogether , Kovacs said .
The Mile Long Bridge @ @ @ @ @ going in each direction , and each will have 27 spans and 26 piers or @ @ @ @ @ The current bridge has 53 piers each way , so the number of piers has @ @ @ @ @ explained Kovacs .

A semi hauling a 187-foot-long concrete beam passes under the Belvidere Oasis heading east along Interstate 90 on Feb. 7, 2020, in Belvidere. The beam is one of hundreds being made and transported to Illinois for the rebuilding of the Mile Long Bridge along Interstate 294. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
You may have seen them coming down Interstate 90, riding at about 45 mph with an Illinois State Police escort like visiting dignitaries.
They are concrete beams, each measuring as much as 7½ feet tall, 187 feet long, and weighing 245,000 pounds, traveling south from a factory in Janesville, Wisconsin.
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They will temporarily hang out near the 83rd Street Toll Plaza along Interstate 294, the Tri-State Tollway. But their ultimate destiny is to be part of the rebuilt Mile Long Bridge on I-294 in the southwest suburbs.
The beams are the heaviest ever produced or shipped in the Midwest, according to Gary Courneya, operations manager for County Materials Corp. in Janesville. Currently, the longest concrete beams on the Tollway are 170 feet long, installed at the Fox River Bridge on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (Interstate 90) and at the Des Plaines River Valley Bridge on the Veterans Memorial Tollway (Interstate 355).
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Why so big? By using longer beams over parts of the rebuilt 4,800-foot-long bridge, the Illinois Tollway can use fewer piers to hold up the bridge, which carries traffic over two major railroads, the Des Plaines River, the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, the Illinois & Michigan Canal and local roads, according to Tollway officials.
This will be more environmentally friendly and more cost-efficient, said Paul Kovacs, chief engineering officer for the Tollway. It also shortens construction time, Tollway Executive Director Jose Alvarez said.
Here’s a look at how and why the beams are used, and where they’ll go:
How the beams are made
The concrete beams are being manufactured at County Materials, a bit north of the Illinois border.
The beam is shaped like the letter “I.” Its skeleton is a green “cage” of steel rebar, on top of a bed of prestressed steel cables that look like a long, tightly wound hank of heavy black yarn.
Over this structure, concrete is poured, explained Courneya, who hosted a tour of the facility late last month. The concrete is left to cure for 14 days, and then any blemishes on the surface are removed.
Juan Pedroza guides the lowering of an 187-foot precast prestressed concrete beam in the shipping yard at County Materials Corp. on Jan. 24, 2020, in Janesville, Wisconsin. The beam weighs approximately 245,000 pounds and is part of a Mile Long Bridge project that will include 273 concrete beams on the northbound side. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
A 187-foot precast prestressed concrete beam is moved from the warehouse out to the shipping yard at County Materials Corp. on Jan. 24, 2020, in Janesville, Wisconsin. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Using thick chains and two enormous cranes, the massive beam is then carefully lifted and moved out of the County Materials factory and into the yard to await transport to Illinois. The beams are not stacked — they’re too heavy for it, according to County Materials employees.
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Why concrete beams?
The advantage of using concrete instead of steel beams is that they require less maintenance, Kovacs said.
But they can’t be bent, so they can only be used for places that are straight, Kovacs explained. Steel beams can be used in places that require a curve.
The other issue with concrete beams is their height. When you increase the length of a concrete beam, you also have to increase its height for maximum strength and durability, Kovacs said.
This means that long concrete beams are also high, so they can present a challenge in some areas.
But that’s not a problem on the Mile Long Bridge, Kovacs said.
The existing Mile Long Bridge, built in 1958, is a mix of concrete and steel beams. The rebuilt bridge will also have a mix, with 600 beams altogether, Kovacs said. The Mile Long Bridge is actually two bridges, going in each direction, and each will have 27 spans and 26 piers or support columns each way. The current bridge has 53 piers each way, so the number of piers has been cut in half, explained Kovacs.
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The old piers will be knocked down, and their concrete recycled, Kovacs said.
Illinois State Trooper Matt Konecki performs a routine walk-around inspection of a truck hauling a 187-foot-long concrete beam on Feb. 7, 2019 at the border between Wisconsin and Illinois. The beam is one of hundreds being made and transported to Illinois for the rebuilding of the Mile Long Bridge along Interstate 294. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Beam transport
Transport trucks hauling the beams will be traveling this month between 4:30 a.m. and noon on weekdays, with all delivery schedules weather dependent. The Belvidere Oasis may be a good viewing spot if you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of the beams.
The beams are going eastbound and down the Jane Addams (I-90) to I-290, then south to I-355, Interstate 80 and Interstate 57 before heading north on I-294. The trucks with the beams will be parked along I-294 near the 83rd Street Toll Plaza during the day, and the beams will be installed on new bridge piers constructed over the Des Plaines River during the overnight hours, according to Tollway officials.
To accommodate installation, overnight lane closures will be scheduled as needed on northbound I-294 between the 83rd Street plaza and the Mile Long Bridge. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. on the following morning on weekdays and by 9 a.m. on Saturdays, the Tollway said.
More beams, and construction
Once the beam installation scheduled for February is complete, the Tollway will start taking delivery of steel beams for placement over Forest Preserve property and the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal. About 110 steel beams from an Indiana manufacturing plant will be delivered, each measuring 120 inches tall and ranging in length from 57 feet to 134 feet long, the Tollway said.
Delivery of more than 430 concrete and steel beams to the construction site near Countryside, Hodgkins, Willow Springs and Justice will continue over the coming months. The northbound bridge is being built first, and then the southbound. Construction on the entire bridge is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2023.
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The Mile Long Bridge is part of the Central Tri-State, a 22-mile stretch from Balmoral Avenue near O’Hare International Airport to 95th Street in Bridgeview. It is the Tollway’s heaviest-traveled section, and sees 155,000 vehicles daily. The $4 billion rebuilding and rewidening plan for I-294 will add one or two lanes in each direction to the four-lane highway and use “flex lanes” on the inside shoulders for buses and emergency vehicles.
Tollway officials said the project can be done without raising tolls, and will be completed in 2026.
Transportation song quiz
Our last song could be about parking your limo, and is one of the top disco/dance club songs of all time. The song is “Pull Up to the Bumper” by Grace Jones. Isabell Kyrk, of West Ridge, and Emma Griffith, of Lakeview, were first with the answer.
Today’s song imagines a sickness that comes from staring for years at the painted markings on the highways. What’s the song, and who wrote it? The first person with the right answer gets a Tribune pen, and glory.
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-02-10--‘Parasite’ made Oscar history. Even better? 'Parasite’ struck a blow for Oscar quality.

The acceptance speeches ran a wilder gamut than the plotting of “ Parasite.
” After a terrific BAFTA speech in @ @ @ @ @ Phoenix ( picking up his best actor statuette for “ Joker ” ) took on @ @ @ @ @ .
He covered the waterfront , from the “ egocentric worldview ” of contemporary America @ @ @ @ @ more selfish inhabitants , i.e.
, those who “ plunder ( for ) its resources.
@ @ @ @ @ , Phoenix said , to “ guide each other toward redemption.
” He mentioned also @ @ @ @ @ “ cruel at times ” and “ hard to work with .
”

I never thought I’d say this un-ironically, but I’d like to thank the Academy.
Thank you for picking the South Korean film “Parasite." It was the most vital, most elegant, most unpredictable and best film of 2019, and you picked it.
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You picked the best film of the year, the way you did three years ago with Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight" and precious few other times in the 92 years of the film industry’s annual company picnic.
You picked it, and not in patronizing, obligatory fashion. You realized Bong Joon Ho’s crafty marvel of a social thriller, about one family’s furtive, unpredictable entry into another family’s universe free from want, deserved the original screenplay award (for Bong and Han Jin Won), as well as the best director prize, en route to the gratifying surprise at the end.
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Everybody knew “Parasite” had the international feature film award in the bag and ready for pickup. But when the “Parasite” ensemble won the Screen Actors Guild prize the other night, it felt like a portent of good things to come.
And they came.
“Parasite” became the first film in a language other than English to win the best picture award in Oscar history, as well as the first South Korean title. One year after Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” lost the top Oscar to a ramshackle, well-acted fraud of a civil rights-era buddy act, things have temporarily course-corrected.
Had director and co-writer Sam Mendes’ “1917” won the prize, instead of “Parasite,” I’m sure a lot of folks inside Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre would’ve been perfectly content and reasonably enthused. But the spontaneous roar of joy greeting the ultimate win for “Parasite” Sunday didn’t sound like dutiful enthusiasm. It sounded like ecstatic relief — like the right kind of history was being made, for a change, in this country.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 44 Janelle Monae performs onstage at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello/Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
In fact, that’s what “Parasite" producer Kwak Sin Ae said on stage, standing at the microphone, surrounded by cast and crew. “I feel like a very opportune moment in history is happening right now," she said.
Let’s not be naive about Bong’s splendid domination of the key Oscar categories. “Parasite” is an economic miracle and an international box office smash. Bong made it for roughly $11 million in U.S. dollars, and the movie has grossed more than $165 million worldwide. That’s a fine fat profit, and a likely factor in why it got six nominations in the first place. Quality only gets you so far around Oscar time.
But you could hear it building, as you watched the 3.5-hour ceremony, nearly identical to the running time of “The Irishman" (winner of the unofficial “best film to get zero Oscars” award for 2019). The big wins for “Parasite” jacked up the crowd, because something strange was happening right before everyone’s eyes: The right film, the sharpest, most assured, most intriguing genre mashup, was taking care of business.
As for the rest of the evening, well, you know. Fine, if you could avoid being blinded by the nearly all-Caucasian acting nominees. At least the Oscars had the good sense to recognize the massive talent of Cynthia Erivo (up for the Harriet Tubman biopic “Harriet”), even if she didn’t win for best actress. Erivo, skunked by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts last month, declined an invitation to sing at the BAFTA awards. As she put it, she didn’t appreciate being “thrown in as a party trick.”
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On the Oscars, the opening number headlined by Janelle Monae slipped the knife in, deftly, with costumed dancers evoking conspicuously overlooked non-nominees from “Us,” “Dolemite Is My Name” and others. A strange and wondrous sight: This was auto-critique in real time, as was the rather laborious bit featuring James Corden and Rebel Wilson, in their full “Cats” get-ups, mocking their own flop movie’s cruddy digital effects.
Erivo’s superlative vocal technique lifted the song she co-wrote for “Harriet,” “Stand Up,” to a fierce musical highlight. As for Eminem’s incongruous rendition of “Lose Yourself," the “8 Mile” song for which he won an Oscar 17 years earlier, that was more of a splitter. The look on Idina Menzel’s face in the crowd was perfect non-verbal punctuation: Huh? Wha?
A couple of galling missteps threw me off, notably Taika Waititi’s adapted screenplay win for his coy Holocaust heartwarmer “Jojo Rabbit” over Greta Gerwig’s remarkable adaptation of “Little Women.”
The acting wins were pretty easy calls this year, with Joaquin Phoenix and Renée Zellweger picking up Oscars for leading actor roles while Brad Pitt and Laura Dern won in supporting categories.
There was a swell local angle to Sunday’s Oscars. Along with Karen Rupert Toliver, Chicago native and former NFL wide receiver Matthew A. Cherry won the animated short film award for “Hair Love,” a beguiling story of a father, a daughter, a morning ritual and the importance of meeting every challenge on its own terms.
Now available online, the movie, Cherry said, was made in part to “normalize black hair.” At the Oscars Sunday was DeAndre Arnold, the Texas high school student recently suspended for wearing dreadlocks.
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The acceptance speeches ran a wilder gamut than the plotting of “Parasite.” After a terrific BAFTA speech in London the other night, Phoenix (picking up his best actor statuette for “Joker”) took on the world and then some. He covered the waterfront, from the “egocentric worldview” of contemporary America to the planet’s more selfish inhabitants, i.e., those who “plunder (for) its resources.” It’s time, Phoenix said, to “guide each other toward redemption.” He mentioned also that he’d been “cruel at times” and “hard to work with.”
Once again, the Oscars did without an official host. Yet in the early going, the ideal hosts were right there, all four of them, staring all of us in the face and getting some serious laughs. I’m talking about Steve Martin and Chris Rock, and Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig. Two double acts, equally fabulous.
Those are your 2021 hosts right there.
This year, more than most, history caught up with the Oscars, and the Oscars had its eyes open. The jokes and speeches were plenty political, because our time is out of joint (thank you, William Shakespeare). If one presenter or awards recipient after another glanced on climate change, or (per Pitt) the John Bolton-free impeachment, well, that’s America right now.
Historical context popped up even in the sound editing category. “Ford v Ferrari” won that one. Since director James Mangold’s pricey gamble came out under the 20th Century Fox banner, and Fox is now owned by Disney, as Donald Sylvester said in his acceptance speech: The movie is/was “probably the last film ever made by 20th Century Fox.” Another acquisition, another round of layoffs. Another op’nin, another show.
That’s one example of history, steamrolling the past and erasing part of Hollywood history. But the triumph of "Parasite” symbolizes another.
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I really would like to thank the academy; this nearly makes up for “Green Book.”
Read the full list of Oscar winners.
Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
mjphillips@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @phillipstribune


chicagotribune--2020-02-09--Billie Eilish performs ‘Yesterday’ as Oscars In Memoriam remembers Kobe Bryant, Kirk Douglas

Eilish 's high-profile performance came shortly after her triumphant showing at last month 's Grammys , where the proudly eccentric @ @ @ @ @ Highland Park neighborhood walked away with music 's four most prestigious prizes — album , @ @ @ @ @ year , along with best new artist — in recognition of her smash 2019 debut @ @ @ @ @ Fall Asleep , Where Do We Go ? ''
It marked just the second time @ @ @ @ @ history that one artist took those prizes in a single night .

To memorialize those who've left Hollywood behind, the Oscars turned to music's brightest new hope.
Billie Eilish — the 18-year-old pop star who just swept the Grammy Awards — sang the Beatles’ “Yesterday” during the annual “In Memoriam” sequence honoring the movie industry’s dearly departed at Sunday’s Academy Awards.
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Accompanied by her brother and collaborator Finneas O'Connell on piano, Eilish sang the classic Paul McCartney ballad with a tasteful restraint that contrasted with her long black fingernails and signature neon-green hair. As the siblings performed, a list of late "legends and icons" — as Steven Spielberg described them in his introduction — rolled across the screen, starting with Kobe Bryant, the beloved Lakers star who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, and ending with Kirk Douglas, who died last week at age 103; between them came mentions of Rip Torn, Diahann Carroll, Robert Forster, Andre Previn, Doris Day, Peter Fonda, John Singleton and many others.
Eilish's high-profile performance came shortly after her triumphant showing at last month's Grammys, where the proudly eccentric singer from Los Angeles' Highland Park neighborhood walked away with music's four most prestigious prizes — album, record and song of the year, along with best new artist — in recognition of her smash 2019 debut, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" It marked just the second time in the Grammys' 62-year history that one artist took those prizes in a single night.
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As at the Grammys, where Eilish performed her slow-and-low “When the Party’s Over,” the singer went for a ballad at the Oscars, the better to show off her traditionally supple voice — and to flatter the old-school tastes of the showbiz establishment.


chicagotribune--2020-02-09--Ask Amy: Granny is too busy to babysit

Ask Amy: Granny is too busy to babysit

She makes me feel selfish for asking , but I really need the help to grow my business and support @ @ @ @ @ upset that she does n't `` want '' to help me when she spends so @ @ @ @ @ to me are n't as important as helping her family .

Dear Amy: I have a 4-year-old son and am expecting another child in a few months. I started my own business a few years ago, and my husband works full time.
My son is in daycare three days a week (we can't afford more care right now). I asked Mom if she would commit to helping me care for my son on one of the days when he is not in daycare. (My in-laws also help out.)
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She balked at the suggestion and actually started yelling at me about it. She works as a sometime-realtor, but makes herself very busy with women's groups and volunteer work.
She often offers to watch my son at the last-minute when it's convenient for her, but refuses to make a schedule to give me much-needed (begged for) help.
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She makes me feel selfish for asking, but I really need the help to grow my business and support my family. I get upset that she doesn't "want" to help me when she spends so much time doing things that to me aren't as important as helping her family.
She constantly calls me to tell me how "busy" she is, but it's with things that are completely voluntary, and meanwhile I'm drowning.
She loves my son and he's an easy, calm child, and my mom is in great health.
I realize she has her own life, but I can't see why she won't just agree to one day or even a half-day a week, when she often helps my sister (a stay-at-home mom with three kids).
— Frustrated Mom
Dear Frustrated: You obviously value your time and energy more than your mother's. And guess what? She has needs, too.
Why should your mother help you to grow your business on your schedule, when she has her own business to tend to? As a realtor, she may have to show properties on a varied schedule, which could conflict with a regular babysitting commitment.
You seem to believe that your mother owes you regular childcare. She does not. I'm taking it as a given that she already provided you with many years of childcare -- when you were a child and up to the time you left home.
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Your mother seems to spend plenty of time with her various grandchildren. You only have one household to tend to, while her commitments are not only to you, but to your siblings and their families, as well.
Perhaps you should enroll your son in a daily pre-school program. Or maybe you and your sister could trade childcare for each other (you take her kids one day and she takes your son one day). This would yield you one more workday each week.
When you make a request and keep hearing the same answer, you should either stop asking, or ask a different question.
Dear Amy: My friend's husband asked me what my new son-in-law's profession is.
When I described his job at a nonprofit, this buffoon said, "Oh, not a doctor or a lawyer...?" and laughed.
I was speechless and cannot look at this man without a feeling of disgust and an inner eye roll.
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What response should I have given?
— Appalled
Dear Appalled: I diagnose this comment as a dim-witted attempt at humor, disguised as social commentary, delivered with a thud.
It's quite possible that this man was commenting on the fact that many in-laws are overly proud (and only proud) of their doctor/lawyer connections. Maybe not.
It's OK not to know how to respond to someone when you feel blindsided.
(Most of my witty comebacks occur to me when it's way too late to deliver them.)
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Just know that the person who delivers a dud is the one who ultimately seems like a dud. Your only job is to get over it.
Ask Amy Daily No-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
Dear Amy: Kindly leave your political opinions to yourself. Your reply to "SDJ in the Northeast" is yet another example that you don't know what you are talking about. Many, many people in this country support the current president. We don't need your liberal blathering to know that we are right.
— Disgusted
Dear Disgusted: "SDJ" wondered if she should stay with her Trump-supporting boyfriend, who she said was wonderful in all respects. I said that she should stay with her wonderful boyfriend, and also examine her own closed-mindedness.
I consistently advocate for communication and compassion and against the use of incendiary language (much of which is unfortunately generated by our current president, who -- you must agree -- sets a terrible example in this respect).
Get the latest no-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning with our Ask Amy newsletter. Sign up here.
(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)
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Copyright 2019 by Amy Dickinson
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