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Ask Sam Mailbag: 01.18.19

After watching the Lakers game and reviewing box score from the loss to the Nuggets I see a team with no go-to guy and no special playmaker who can score and get others shots and make them better, no defense, no shooting. Where do we go from here with this team?

Craig Chandler

Sam: Hey, what about how difficult it is to do one of these Ask Sam columns on a nine-game losing streak? Anyone thinking about me! So, how about looking at it this way: There's no great way to consider what's been going on with the Bulls lately other than to reassure you that,

The sun'll come out Tomorrow Bet your bottom dollar That tomorrow There'll be sun Just thinkin' about Tomorrow Clears away the cobwebs And the sorrow 'Til there's none When I'm stuck a with day That's gray, And lonely Carrying a nine-game losing streak and feeling eek! I just stick out my chin And Grin, And Say, Oh My The sun'll come out Tomorrow So ya gotta hang on 'Til tomorrow Come what may Tomorrow, tomorrow maybe they'll win tomorrow You're always A day Away

Quvenzhané Wallis with an assist from Sam Smith

I do not profess to be a NBA coach evaluator but it seems to me this team is not playing up to its potential. There certainly appears to be enough talent on this team to accidently win a game once in a while. The players seem upset about this especially after the Denver loss. I think it is not too early to judge Coach Boylen. From afar it seems this team is not responding to his coaching. My question is while I am a full fan of Paxson, I wonder why not name Boylen interim as most teams do instead of giving him a two year contract?

Dwayne Corry

Sam: I need to straighten at least that out. Jim Boylen did not get an extension. He was on an assistant coaching contract through the 2019-20 season matched with Fred Hoiberg, which is standard. When an assistant is promoted to head coach whether called interim or not it is routine for the assistant to be given a slight bump in salary—same as Larry Drew in Cleveland—for the additional duties and responsibilities. Boylen got that as soon as he acceded to the job as does every coach in that situation. He was already under contract through the end of next season and still is with the appropriate addition for being asked to do more as would be with any of us in most any job. I don't disagree with the absence of an interim title because your statement to the players should be we are serious and this isn't a substitute teacher, so put away your spit balls and whoopee cushions (what? they don't do that anymore?).

OK, it doesn't look like it sometimes, but a Western Conference trip in the midst of trades, injuries and reworking a playing system in the middle of the season isn't exactly a stable time. The Bulls say after every season everyone is evaluated and I assume that will be the situation again. But Boylen also has not had a training camp or a chance to hire his own staff or much consultation about personnel. Tough to judge.

I know you don't pay too much attention to college hoops, what are your thoughts about Zion? I know a guy who knows a guy that says he may not be worth a long term investment due to his style of play and weight... his knees may not hold up. I personally think he may be a tweener... he may be too short for a power forward and he may be slow/ heavy for small forward. Great athlete and great college player, but I don't see him being close to a superstar in the NBA. if we end up with him, where does he play? Can he play small forward? We already have 2 guys at power forward in Markannen and Carter.

Joe Dobrzynski

Sam: If he's as good as many suggest, then he plays wherever he wants. True, I don't watch much college ball—lately the NBA ball I have been watching has been bad enough—but I have ventured to a Duke game on occasion and see some flaws, like shooting, though I have yet to give him a physical. A lot of top picks don't work out. It happens. No matter what the NBA GMs say now, everyone wanted Greg Oden and not Kevin Durant. The kid looks like he could be a star, and, especially for the Bulls that's what they lack. I like Markkanen and LaVine a lot, and believe if you get them a star to attract some attention instead of all of it going to them they will be much better. Maybe the Duke kid does fade out. Who knows. Remember Brandon Roy who went from Rookie of the Year surprise to high school coach? But the draft is about taking a chance on a star. There are no guarantees. He looks to be the biggest star in this draft. I'd have no hesitation. And imagine if I were actually watching.

Can your remember NBA players from former generations who seemed way too athletic and powerful for their body to handle the rigorous of the league longterm? D-Rose comes to mind, Zion scares me, Larry Johnson? Jordan and Lebron do not really qualify to me, they are exceptional athletes as well, but their bodies did not seem as freakish as Zion's and Rose's jump, stop and acceleration ability was off the charts.

Sven Ruppert

Sam: Injuries are bad luck; Zion would be good luck.

Pundits everywhere, including those attached to the Bulls, are all salivating over Zion Williamson - and the Bulls are fast amassing a record that could make ZW a possibility in the next draft. My question is - in terms of fitting in with the Bulls - is Zion more of a short 4 on a team that seems all "4ed-up", or more of an oversized 3 who will have trouble guarding smaller, quicker players at that position? (a Jabari Parker with less range?). I know he's a talent, but who sits when he takes the floor and is he a Boylen-kind-of-guy?

Dennis Novak

Sam: I can see where the fan interest is going. As I suggested, I'm fairly confident he's Boylen's type of guy. It's not that difficult to fall in love with someone special.

What a great job the Nets have done so far this year. After arguably the worst NBA trade ever in 2014 it appeared the Nets would take a decade to recover. They traded away their draft picks for 2014, 2016 and 2018. In addition Boston got to swap picks with them in 2017. Success didn't seem possible until they could finally get their draft picks from 2019 going forward. The playoffs, maybe in 2024. Halfway through the season and they are 23-23 after winning an amazing game against the Rockets. The GM, coach and team are to be congratulated. The are an incredibly resilient bunch of unrecognizable and discarded players. Treveon Graham, Joe Harris, Rodeons Kurucs, Jarret Allen and D'Angelo Russell were their starting lineup against the Rockets. Against the Rockets they were down by 14 with a few minutes to go in regulation and tied it. In overtime, they were down by 6 with about a minute to go and won it. They help define resilience. This team finally has their own 1st round pick this year and chose winning to tanking. They have skipped the tank to build a winning culture. Kudos to a really great team. Can you make your magic now happen for the Bulls?

Bruce Roberts

Sam: Well, it has been my philosophy in avoiding the indignity and fraud of losing on purpose because losing makes you a loser. I fear it is occurring with the Bulls to some extent, though I am facing some ambivalence considering the two months lost to injuries and the coaching change and the hole so deep that perhaps it might be best for the rest of this season to not try so hard. Though I wince when I even think about it. The losing model guarantees you nothing, and I agree, good for the Nets for putting a very nice team together. But their problem with some good trades—and I still count the Jimmy Butler one good for the Bulls—is that they have yet to have that transcendent star and are last in the league in attendance. Maybe in free agency this summer? Winning is a curious thing. It only seems understandable when you examine the successful teams. But that is the best team I've enjoyed from Brooklyn since the '56 Dodgers.

After reading your take on Jabari Parker being back in the rotation after their loss to the Lakers, it made me think back to when you've said you're not a fan of his demeanor towards the media. Too terse, always on the defensive, etc with Zach Lavine being basically the polar opposite. That said, It made me wonder who have been some of your favorite players to speak to over the years?

Nicholas Hill

Sam: First regarding Jabari; his attitude and demeanor were awful when he came to the Bulls. Why, I never could figure. All everyone said was he was different, but not evil. Actually, since the benching, which wasn't a great idea, and in the return he's been much better. The point wasn't so much he wasn't cooperative. There were plenty of guys to talk to who are terrific people; but it was the way he was answering simple questions with defiant, one word answers. It's mire an insult to people at their jobs, failing to give respect to someone's job. Jabari never once was asked back then an unfair or even probing question. Anyway, he's been fine lately, if not detailed. All just about everyone in media really asks for is simple decency.

The truth is there are so, so many really good people in the NBA, kids who came from difficult backgrounds who are grateful for the opportunity, friendly, savvy and eager to help. Some of my favorites over the years for being open, outgoing, helpful and friendly were Elton Brand, Larry Bird, Steve Kerr, Magic Johnson, Phil Jackson, Joe Dumars, Kyle Korver, Jerry West, Jordan (pre-championships), Isiah Thomas, Johnny Kerr, Joe Caldwell, Chet Walker, Horace Grant, Charles Barkley, Mack Calvin, Wayne Embry, Brent Barry, Grant Hill, Bill Cartwright, Pau Gasol, Derrick Rose and too many more I'll regret leaving out.

I really don't have an opinion on Boylan yet as a coach, but I have read "experts" opinions on the internet which feel the Bulls young talent is not developing since he took over (They were all hurt under Hoiberg so nothing to really compare). Do you feel there is acceptable growth in the Bulls players as individuals and as a group under the watch?

Jason Doll

Sam: I know from being a parent we shouldn't monitor growth by the week or month. I know it's different in sports, and there have been some setbacks the last month or so. But let's be real, as it were. It's a month with a new coach, players off injuries having lost their preseason and yadda, yadda. I know no one likes hearing it and a losing streak headed to the bottom of the league and a succession of blowout losses is depressing. We saw plenty of good things from LaVine pretty much until the coaching change and plenty from Markkanen, who came back strong against the Nuggets. The glimpse showed you he has a lot of stuff. Carter is that tough guy the Bulls always talk about. The Bulls talk about growth, too, but I assume they mean over a season and not a losing streak. We should know a lot more by summer when the Bulls make Williamson player/coach/primary stockholder and the new team logo.

The Wolves (while not amazing) have twice as many wins as the Bulls while playing in the Western conference. Meanwhile, the Bulls are actually worse this year. If the future success of the Bulls (drafting Zion) has nothing to do with the assets/players acquired in the Butler trade doesn't that mean GarPax lost that transaction?

Matthew Ruth

Sam: Curious way of looking at that. Though I am going to Williamson's Hall of Fame enshrinement in September. I think the Bulls would make that deal again, and I'm fairly sure the Timberwolves would not, and certainly not Thibodeau, which probably would mean he still was working there. I'm still on board for LaVine, Markkanen and Dunn for Covington and Saric.

I'm interested to see what happens the rest of this season. Apparently, Boylen will be gradually introducing more pace. Let's see how Dunn plays as that happens.I think he's a very solid player and that he can play faster than we've seen. But can he see the court well & drop dimes on the run? Can he take more 3's and still make a good % of them? It's hard to assess his fit into an offense they aren't really running yet. Hopefully, we'll know enough after 39 more games to make a sound decision. For that matter, if we draft a point guard it can still be a competition for the starting job. Dunn would be an awfully strong player to have coming off the bench. The great teams have player like that – who might start elsewhere – on their benches. Why not us? But from the Nuggets game there's no doubt in my mind now that the tank is on. Boylen's comments are a dead give-away. Yes, it's "a season of discovery"… yet another one. Anyway, I'm giving the game ball to RoLo – 17 & 6 in 19 min. on 8-10 shooting plus some nice intangibles. Everybody else mostly stunk.

Art Alenik

Sam: When the season started the No. 1 question on most lists was Kris Dunn, and I think it still is. The Denver game was disappointing—yes, in many respects—the way Dunn made a point after the Lakers game of apologizing, which I didn't think was necessary as bad games happen, but then didn't do much again. End of bad trip, altitude, a team making 20 threes. It may have looked worse than it was. Dunn has had some very effective games, and his numbers are respectable at 12.5 and 6.5 coming off missing two months. But I'm still having difficulty figuring out what he exactly is in this era of high scoring, hot shooting point guards.

I don't think sixth man is a horrible thing, though many NBA players, like Parker, have disagreed. It seems like a nice way to make a living. Having a guy like Dunn coming in as a combo guard may be the stuff of an excellent team. I don't think the Bulls have fully made up their minds on Dunn and it's hard to get a read from Dunn about how he'd deal with such a competition and situation because he is so guarded. Hey, he's a guard in case you missed that one. I get it. He's only played a bit more than a month, so it's not so much the tank as many of the the questions don't have answer yet.

Who is Zach Lavine as a ball player or are you still waiting to see? He is having a good statistical year and the team is not winning. I see a talented offensive player with an innate ability to score and on the defensive end someone who will not be a difference maker. Will he be more than a great scorer? Is it fair to start the Jamal Crawford comparisons and if that's the career he has, is it good enough for the Bulls to continue to keep him on their rebuilding roster? If he continues to put up just under 24, 4, and 4, will there be serious suitors on the trade market? Is he the person the Bulls should be building a team around or will his need to have the ball on the offensive end, hinder the progression of young players?

Tim Koncel

Sam: I don't think it's either you're Michael Jordan or James Harden or you're Shaun Livingston. I like Zach as a player a lot. Many don't like him as much as I do. I don't worry about the defensive component as much since James Harden seems to have done OK without it. Yes, Harden is a build around, and maybe Zach isn't quite that player, but he makes tough shots, takes tough shots, can get to the basket and is a good shooter and great athlete. Who are the Bulls to say that's not good enough for them? Enough with these Shaquille Harrisons and David Nwabas who compete like crazy. That's not the NBA. Maybe it's the NBA bench, but they're in every draft. In the second round. Zach has a chance to be a star, and those are the players the Bulls need to be accumulating. Zach has flaws, but this is his first full season back after his ACL and has never started more than 47 games in an NBA season at 23 years old. I think the Bulls these days are pushing him toward too much two-point play, and he's a willing player trying to do what is asked. My guess is he's not so sure it's what's best. But he's trying to be a good teammate and professional. The Bulls could do a lot worse. And have. More often than not, someone else's spouse or date isn't exactly who they seem from your vantage.

Its not so much the recent turmoil that has made me anxious about the rebuild it's just that even on a "good" night (not getting blown out at Utah on 2nd if back to back), the way the bulls are losing - take 9 more shots shoot a decent percentage but make 9 fewer 3s - is troubling given both the analytics or really, math (you can score more counting by 3s) and trends in the nba. In other words - isn't the urgent need drafting or signing guys who either can hit the 3 or have potential to be good 3 point shooters. I suppose if valentine can come back he would fit that description.

Guy Danilowitz

Sam: I'm fairly sure that's obvious to them as well. Yes, they could use some Valentine, and Holiday made threes (in streaks). I'd look at it as a larger issue if this were the final version of the team. I've mentioned the need for a wing player who can make plays off the dribble and shoot, a backup big man, preferably a defensive seven footer to tag team with Wendell Carter Jr., perhaps a point guard and, certainly, shooting. I'm not sure how the team sees it, but I can see Carter, Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine as core players going forward. There may be others, but they're still on audition regarding play or salary. There's another high draft pick coming and a big money free agent or two this summer. Probably not one of the top two, but I believe a good player and maybe two. I don't see Markkanen or LaVine yet as that No. 1 option to build around, so they have to show as well, and they still are very young. Can you get a No. 1 in the draft? Maybe. If not in free agency, what about an ensemble and a lead like Dirk Nowitzki, who was good enough to be the best player on a title team and several close. Markkanen could be that good. If this were Year 4 I'd be more worried. There are a lot of moves still to make.

The Bulls now reportedly refuse to buy out lopez if he cant be dealt knowing he is going to the Warriors. Will garpax throw away a couple million over this fight and not buy him out since he obviously has zero trade value? Or is he the head of the "leadership council" so someone we need to play out his contract? Maybe we can do lopez a favor a favor, give him his entire salary in a buyout so we can get another extended run of felicio playing 20-30 minutes a night....need to see how his development is coming along again....or just burn that money too with asiks and jabaris and cam paynes and play carter jr 48 minutes a night?

Jake Henry

Sam: OK, you’re frustrated and needed to lash out and vent. I’ll wait a bit. OK, ready? Carter was almost out for six weeks, it seemed the other day, so what was the hurry to offload Lopez? And then he was. The Bulls late Friday said Carter actually could miss two to three months after further reevaluations of his injury by hand specialists when the team returned to Chicago. And so now perhaps surgery. Another bad break in a broken season. But more than that this is a larger issue for the NBA that it won’t face; it’s another rich get richer, and the Bulls aren’t rich now. What some top teams apparently are doing—I can’t say I know for sure the Warriors are among them—is telling agents to get their players released or bought out for a small amount and they’ll bring them in on a minimum to give them some money back and then they can add playoff money and maybe be on a title team and their team gets nothing because these teams won’t trade because they are waiting for the buyouts.

So a team like the Bulls trying to get something for a player like Lopez or Jabari Parker gets shut out and the team like maybe the Warriors or Celtics or Raptors or Rockets gets to pick up a player without giving up anything. The NBA has said it wants to level the playing field for all teams and open up trade opportunities, but this buyout period inhibits trades and discriminates most against losing teams like the Bulls trying to add a player or draft pick. The NBA should eliminate the buyout fraud period because it helps just the few top teams, and the Bulls are right to say they won’t grant a buyout because it is being used against them by the top teams to help hold them down. It baffles me why anyone would be mad at the Bulls other than maybe Lopez’ family. And since when are fans upset because the Bulls won’t be able to make more money? Talk about entering Bizarro world.

With your comments on how sloppy Gobert was and with what should be a realization that, against the better 7 foot centers, Wendell Carter may always be overmatched, I have to respond to a comment you made a couple of weeks ago regarding a player who is truly a top 3 center in the league, Nikola Jokic.

After watching him destroy Portland with a 40/10/8 performance, I think that you need to make an effort to actually watch a few Nuggets games so you can make a more informed assessment. In doing so, he totally outplayed the guy who should be the Bulls starting center, Jusuf Nurkic, who is averaging 15.2/10.2/1.36Blks in just 27 minutes per game. Jokic 19.7/10.2/7.6 with a career .356 3PT% is far more valuable to his team than any other center including Embiid. His 21 career triple doubles in 270 games places him second all time behind Wilt's 78 which, if he stays healthy until he is 30, he will eclipse.

Peggy Flynn

Sam: So why would the Bulls want Nurkic if Markkanen actually played as well as Jokic Thursday? And as one correspondent from above mentioned, it was game ball for Lopez playing against Jokic. Jokic is terrific. Yes, I did see the Nuggets play. And, unfortunately, up close Thursday. They're pretty good; if they think they are contenders, Golden State straightened that out earlier in the week. But they've built a very good team; good for them. Yes, I know, the snarky Nurkic thing is the Bulls deal to move up in the draft to take Doug McDermott. The Nuggets took Nurkic, whom they traded for Plumlee, and Gary Harris. They obviously did better, but it's only fair to judge at the time. And I know not a single Bulls fan ever wrote me asking that the Bulls please draft Nurkic. And moving up in the draft from outside the lottery to inside the lottery is always viewed as a coup and was that night. What's so great about Nos. 16 and 19? Like to have those picks again this season instead of a lottery pick? The Bulls were at least aggressive in search of talent. It didn't work out. It happens in the draft a lot. But it made sense. I still can't figure out why Doug can't make more shots.

Anyway, as for Jokic, he's really good. I agreed that. All I believed, and I still do, is he's not an MVP candidate and maybe a top 20 NBA player. Which is very good. The Bulls would like to have a top 20 player. But he's still not even been in one playoff game in his career and has been playing pro ball five or six years. It takes actually being on the winning team in one playoff game before I make someone a top 10 player and MVP candidate. He's having a terrific season. I'd still like a look at his games this spring. Get back to me then. I can be persuaded.

While I used to enjoy the three-point shot I've come to dislike them over the past five years or so as the league as gone so heavily towards them. I don't so much mind that the big man has been de-emphasized, though I wasn't rooting for that either. The NBA has always been my favorite sport/league to watch as it has the best athletes in the world, and because they're not wearing helmets or padding, you can really see that athleticism displayed every game. All the three-point shooting has reduced the number of times per game that players are attacking the hoop and thus displaying their otherworldly natural talents. Of course they still do so some, but now it seems the top goal is to draw contact and a foul and actually attempting to make the shot is just a bonus. Much like baseball has become too much about home run, strikeout or walk, basketball is too much three point shot or free throws. I may be a bit hyperbolic but the emphasis on efficiency in sports - which I understand makes sense in terms of impacting winning - is making them less aesthetically pleasing and thus less fun to watch.

Steph Curry is great and fun to watch, but in terms of his natural athletic and physical talents, where do you think he'd have stacked up in the NBA of the 80s and 90s?

Cameron Watkins

Sam: I feel like the sergeant driving the car in the MASH movie who was always grumbling, "Damn Army" about the behavior of the crazy doctors. Damn Analytics! Again! But relax, not nearly as bad as baseball. I always say great players would be great in any generation and it goes backward as well. Curry wouldn't have the freedom to roam like he does, and some coach would bench him for shooting way out there. Back then they made you throw it inside or sit down no matter how many you made in practice. But Curry is much more clever with the drive than just his shooting. He would be a player like Cleveland's Mark Price, who was a small man and great shooter and one of the best pick and roll guards I ever saw. At least before Steve Nash. Price was a great shooter and multiple all-NBA player and would have been many more if not for injuries. But playing with a seven footer in an era of great centers, his major responsibility was to make his center look better than him. That would have been the difference for Curry, who would have been an All-Star, and better than his dad, who could shoot about as well, but couldn't dribble.

What is Boylen doing with these rotations? We leaves the starters in deep each game, evidenced by the game against the Nuggets when Lavine, Dunn, and Markkanen were all on the court with 6:30 left in the 4th down 35. Also, in the beginning of the 3rd, (which is when most teams go on their run) Boylen usually keeps the starters in for the first 8 minutes with no subs, allowing the Bulls to get blown out. The lineup of Dunn, Lavine, Hutch, Markkanen, and Carter is -29 in terms of point differential. This is not something that should be happening with the talent. It's time to stop allowing the starters to continue to make mistakes and let the rest of the bench contribute, as they have recently outplayed the opponent's bench

Adam Richard

Sam: Venting, also? I've gotten plenty today. I'm not sure you want to see Selden, Harrison, Felicio and Blakeney against Denver's starters. I'm not getting as much mail asking for them to play more as much as you you may think.

Source: https://www.nba.com/bulls/news/ask-sam-mailbag-011819

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PREMIER Design + Build Group named to Fastest Growing Companies list by Crain’s Chicago Business for fourth consecutive year

PREMIER Design + Build Group says it has earned a spot on the Crain’s Chicago Business “Fast 50” list of the region’s fastest growing companies. The designation marks the fourth year in a row that PREMIER has earned a spot on this list of Chicago’s fastest growing companies.

To compile its annual list, Crain’s solicits nominations from companies headquartered in the seven-county metro area with at least $15 million in annual revenue. Privately held companies provide audited financial statements, tax returns and other financial data. Crain’s then works with accounting firm Plante Moran to verify financial documents and revenue.

PREMIER’s president Alan Zocher said that he and fellow co-founders Alec Zocher and Brian Paul launched the company with a shared vision: “We set out on a simple mission: offer unbeatable client service. Treating our clients as our partners has paid off.”

Executive vice-president Brian Paul credits PREMIER’s talented staff for the company’s year over year growth: “Our people are the best of the best in the design and build industry. We wouldn’t have attained this level of success without their determination and dedication.”

The road to success, however, has had its share of bumps, according to executive vice president Zocher: “We have confronted everything from an economic recession to natural disasters over our 15-year history, yet we have persevered and continued our steady growth. We feel we are prepared for anything.”

Crain’s named PREMIER to its 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 “Fast 50” lists. There are just nine companies in the Chicago area that have been named to this exclusive list for four or more consecutive years.

Source: https://chicagoconstructionnews.com/premier-design-build-group-named-to-fastest-growing-companies-list-by-crains-chicago-business-for-fourth-consecutive-year/

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gardenpeony71-blog · 5 years

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Chicago’s Forgotten Fountains

Fountains have been flowing in Chicago since early in its history, softening the city’s hard edges and soothing its citizens. Alas, scores of these watertossers—from the scandalous Nymph Fountain to the respectable Pioneer Court Fountain—have been destroyed by time, neglect, poor design, changing tastes and tight budgets.

In most cases, all that’s left of these lost fountains is a faded photo, old postcard, or scant written record. But these monuments should not be forgotten. Many of them were beautiful or inspiring. Others were portals to Chicago history. Most have a lot to spout about.

The Nymph Fountain, for instance, was installed one night in early June 1899, under “the friendly darkness of night,” on the lawn south of the Art Institute by students of Lorado Taft, Chicago’s foremost sculptor of the day. The forty-foot-diameter fountain featured eight larger-than-life nude female figures in sensuous poses. The work was a class project, made of temporary materials, but Taft hoped to build it in “imperishable bronze.” Given the reception the work of art received, that would never happen.

University of Illinois Archives

The Nymph Fountain shocked Chicagoans, so Lorado Taft never built a permanent version.

The Nymph Fountain created a stir and attracted crowds that at times required police to manage. It became the “talk of the town,” with politicians, editorialists, and religious figures weighing in. “The nymph is not an intellectual goddess…[and] stands for nothing related to high or noble intellectual accomplishments,” said the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.

Such negative reactions left Chicagoans open to ridicule. The New York Times opined, “Preachers, or some of them, think the nymphs should have been provided with mackintoshes [raincoats], while even the most ultra of Chicago’s art cliques would not resent a shirtwaist as a sop to the prudish majority of the city’s population.”

Not everyone in Chicago objected. Mayor Carter Harrison Jr. “trundled down to the lakefront on his bicycle…to take a look at the fountain” for himself and proclaimed it “not in any sense objectionable,” according to the Chicago Tribune. Nevertheless, the prevailing sentiment was shock. Within a few weeks, vandals had “practically ruined” the Nymph Fountain, the Boston Evening Transcript reported. “Nearly every figure in the fountain had been mutilated, and many nymphs had their hands and arms broken off.” The article did not specify whether upright or uptight citizens did the damage.

No, nineteenth and twentieth century Chicago was not like Paris, despite its efforts to elevate itself out of the mud and burnish its reputation built on butchering hogs. In another instance, a fountain created in 1908 by Leonard Crunelle that featured a nude boy was initially welcomed as part of an art show in Humboldt Park organized by the Municipal Art League “to forward the beautification of the city.” The handsome sculpture was “set like a jewel” in Humboldt Park, said the Tribune. “It’s evident at a glance that the scene is improved by the statue, and that the statue is set off by the scenery without the slightest incongruity.”

But after the exhibit, Crunelle’s piece was installed in an alcove on the north wall of the Sherman Park field house near 52nd and Throop streets, where it troubled the Felician Sisters who worked across the street at Saint John of God Church. They objected to the subject’s frontal nudity. The park district removed the sculpture, which has since disappeared. The alcove and basin are still there, the latter used as a planter.

Similarly, in 1887 the commissioners of Lincoln Park ordered that the private parts of Storks at Play’s merboys be covered with fig leaves. (The coverings were later removed.) And the original design of the 1893 Rosenberg Fountain in Grant Park portrayed the Greek goddess Hebe topless. Hebe is a cupbearer to the gods, and myth holds that Apollo dismissed her after she indecently exposed her breasts while serving drinks. The fountain’s sculptor originally portrayed Hebe topless, but the executors of benefactor Rosenberg’s will selected a safer design out of deference to public taste. The fountain, which still stands at Michigan Avenue and 11th Street, depicts Hebe wearing a clinging diaphanous gown and exposing only one breast—a design the Tribune dubbed “Hebe the Second.”

Pioneer Court fountain honored founders

Chicago’s self-aggrandizing Pioneer Court Fountain, which once adorned the high-profile plaza south of the Tribune Tower, displayed the names of twenty-five pioneers selected by the Chicago Historical Society (now Chicago History Museum) “for their contribution to Chicago’s birth, growth, and greatness.”1 But only one of the twenty-five pioneers honored was a woman (Jane Addams). And the name of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, “Father of Chicago,” was misspelled.

Chicago History Museum

The Pioneer Court Fountain once stood near where the new Apple Store is being built at Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River. It named 25 pioneers but lasted only 25 years.

The handsome fountain stood in the plaza that’s now being turned over to the new Apple Store. Its 50-foot-diameter marble basin echoed the openness of the 80,000-square-foot plaza. At the same time, its several jets shot water high into the air, mirroring the tall nearby buildings.

The plaza dates back to the early 1960s, when Equitable Life Assurance replaced a parking lot there with its building at 330 N. Michigan Ave. The fountain debuted in 1965, and the rim of its basin became a popular spot to sit, lunch, and people watch.

Chuckman Collection, 1981

Barely 15 years old, by 1981 the fountain was not well maintained, with several letters of the names of the honored pioneers missing.

The fountain was installed in 1965 and lasted only 25 years, ironically matching the number pioneers it named. It’s not known what became of the letters that spelled out the pioneers’ names, a few of which were missing when the water still flowed. The New Pioneer Court Fountain, stretching 300 feet, is attractive but less striking or impressive than its predecessor.

Deadly drinking cups

In 1879 the Illinois Humane Society, a secular organization founded to prevent cruelty to animals, donated what it called a “substantial and beautiful” drinking fountain to Garfield Park, but the work could also have been described as “strange and enormous.” It was about 20 feet high and featured the figure of a man sitting in a pile of rock slabs, some of which were carved with faces. Reportedly made of concrete, the fountain did not survive Chicago’s winters. The society also installed larger fountains exclusively for horses, including one in Lincoln Park that could water sixty horses at once. They’re all gone.

The society also installed smaller drinking fountains. It’s most common design was a modest affair featuring a faucet facing the sidewalk for people, a trough extending into the street for horses, and a basin for dogs flaring out from the base, which was inscribed “Illinois Humane Society.” By 1877 the society had sprinkled nine such fountains around Chicago and sixty by 1913, making it the most common fountain in Chicago.

Incredibly, two Illinois Humane Society Fountains remain and still function. One is at the northeast corner of Michigan and Chicago avenues; the other is nearby, just a few steps west of the Water Tower. Carriage horses that queue up there at Jane Byrne Park drink from the latter. These iron fountains are more than one hundred years old, yet tens of thousands of people pass by them daily without any idea of their historical significance. If they knew, they might stop to admire the fountains’ attractive Victorian style and quaint, diminutive size. They might also take a selfie—and, more importantly, a sip.

Photo by Julia Thiel; copyright Greg Borzo

The Illinois Humane Society Fountain at by the Water Tower still works, despite being well over 100 years old.

Most of these fountains were stolen. In the early 1960s, Charles Gasperik “liberated” one of them in the middle of the night. “At one time, there were scores of these fountains all over town, but many were torn out for scrap, especially during World War I,” he explained. “One near Clark and Lunt (streets) was put at risk when the store it stood in front of closed and there was no one left to protect it. So, friends and I rescued it one night. In case the police came by, we had a story cooked up about taking it to the Art Institute.”

Gasperik kept the relic in his garage until 1985, when he donated it to the Sulzer Regional Chicago Public Library. The library considered installing it in the triangular lawn south of its building but never got around to it, according to a library official. Years later, the city placed the fountain in storage and it’s never been heard from since. This fountain should be refurbished and installed, either at Sulzer or the fountain’s original location.

Initially people drank from these and other fountains using a metal cup chained to the base. At that time, it wasn’t known that cup sharing made people sick, but that changed gradually. In 1909 a Tribune article under the headline “Danger in the Cup” said, “It’s everywhere conceded the common drinking cup is a prolific means for the transmission of diseases.” Soon “Ban the Cup” campaigns spread across the country, and in 1911 Illinois prohibited what had become known as the “death cup.”

Chicago History Museum

Use of shared cups did not die out until the early 1900s.

Remembering forgotten fountains

Chicago has more than 100 outdoor, public fountains, but more than that have come and gone. Many of these forgotten fountains—from the big shots to the little squirts—have interesting or amusing stories to tell. The massive Buffalo Fountain in Ravenswood, a very large fountain in a tiny park, featured three enormous buffalo heads facing outward. It was Installed in the 0.07-acre park at Sunnyside, California, and Manor avenues in 1918, and by 1941 the sixteen-foot-tall concrete fountain had crumbled. Most locals don’t know that the name of their cherished park comes from the lost and forgotten Buffalo Fountain.

Chicago Park District, Special Collections

This large fountain gave the name to tiny Buffalo Park at California and Sunnyside avenues.

The 1890 Yerkes Electric Fountain in Lincoln Park was ahead of its time, combining water and electric lights, and foreshadowing both the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and Buckingham Fountain. The spectacular waterworks attracted tens of thousands to Lincoln Park. The dazzling seven-foot-tall piece was 120 feet in diameter. It had two rings of jets shooting water inward and one central jet shooting water as high as 110 feet, creating a pyramid effect. The ruthless Charles Tyson Yerkes, an archetypical nineteenth century robber baron who built much of the Chicago ”L,” funded the fountain in an attempt to burnish his poor reputation with the public, press and politicians.

Everyone gushed over the popular attraction. An 1895 history of Chicago said, “The projection of strong electric light through colored glass on falling water…renders Lincoln Park one of the most favored pleasure grounds in the country.” A reporter compared Yerkes to Caesar, who created “public spectacles of such magnificence that he became at once the people’s idol.” The Electric Fountain didn’t make Yerkes an idol or even do much to improve the negative views of him. People realized the best way to get to the fountain was to ride Yerkes’ cable car line to Lincoln Park, prompting the Tribune to note, “Thousands dropped nickels into the importunate hands of Yerkes’ conductors for the sake of looking at Yerkes’ ‘gift.’”

Yerkes was more or less run out of town in 1899 by disgruntled colleagues, dissatisfied transit riders, and a hostile press. This left no one to advocate for his Electric Fountain or pay for its expensive upkeep. Neglected and vandalized, it was removed in 1908.

Many fountains decorated Chicago’s two world fairs. The Columbian Fountain was a focal point of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Dominating the central Court of Honor, this magnificent piece featured Columbia atop the Barge of State, heralded by Fame, oared by the Arts and Industries, and guided by Time at the helm—all of which was surrounded by numerous water jets. Later, the 1933-34 Century of Progress featured many waterworks, but the Exposition Fountain in the North Lagoon stole the show. With a flow of 68,000 gallons a minute, it was billed as the largest fountain ever built. It included a 570-foot-long series of ostrich plume jets culminating in a dome of water more than 75 feet wide and 40 feet high.

American Architect, 1934

The Century of Progress’ Cascade of the Months was built as a permanent installation and survived for several decades after the fair. Located in front of the Adler Planetarium, it was the focus of a 500-foot-long, 93-foot-wide esplanade that the National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association built as its exhibit for the fair.

Curt Teich Postcard Archives

The Cascade of the Months was built in front of the Adler Planetarium as part of the Centruy of Progress. It featured one colorful terrazzo panel per month.

One of Chicago’s most distinctive lost fountains, this masterpiece featured twelve colorful ground-level terrazzo panels, one for each month. A thin sheet of water flowed over them and accentuated the shimmering effect of the bright, underlying terrazzo, which is composed of ground marble, glass, stone, or metal mixed with a binder, such as cement or epoxy. The mixture is then poured into patterns outlined by metal strips, allowed to harden, and polished. With the Cascade of the Months, craftsmen used more than 50 colors of paint and marble chips in a binder of white portland cement. The work sparkled, at least initially.

After the fair, the fountain fell into disrepair. By 1968 the work was in a deplorable condition. The planetarium removed it circa 1970 during a building expansion project. Although Chicago’s freeze/thaw cycle can be merciless, Richard Bruns, executive director of the association, said, “The planetarium’s installation could have been maintained because we have exterior installations from the early 1900s that are still in good shape.” Those who remember the bright terrazzo panels covered with flowing water must miss this “glistening magic carpet of color harmony.”

Riverview Park boasted Creation, a dazzling display of water with a highly decorated wall symbolizing creation as a backdrop.

Architectural Forum, 1930

In a few cases, physical remnants of lost fountains poke out, hidden in plain sight. The defunct Victor Lawson Memorial Fountain on the east side of the former Chicago Daily News Building along the Chicago River at 400 W. Madison Street is an empty shell. (Lawson was the longtime owner and editor of the newspaper.) This once mighty fountain had an unusual design: three large portals about 25 feet high gushed water into a semicircular basin near ground level. It has not run for decades and unlikely to ever operate again.

Art Institute of Chicago

The once mighty Victor Lawson Memorial Fountain on the east side of the former Chicago Daily News Building along the Chicago River is just an empty shell.

When they were built in 1929, the Daily News Building, plaza, and fountain made big news. “Their beauty will be massive, symmetrical, thoroughly American, and modern,” raved the New York Times. Especially important was the way the edifice embraced the river, decades before such a practice was required. In fact, the building was Chicago’s first significant modern commercial skyscraper to face the river, opening its arms to the river with its 400-foot-wide plaza, highlighted by its commanding fountain.

The Gateway Park Fountain, a beloved water spectacle in front of Navy Pier, lasted only twenty years. When it opened in 1995, Chicago celebrated its fun interactive design. “Watch out Buckingham Fountain,” shouted a Tribune article that went on to quote a tourist saying, “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The computer-programmed water wonder featured a large black granite block with more than twenty “skyrockets” that shot water as high as 100 feet. Surrounding the block, 200 “nanoshooters” buried at ground level delivered unpredictable bursts of water one-inch to six-feet high in fast-acting sequences. Kids chased around the dancing spurts of water and clung to the five-foot-high granite block to catch water cascading over its sides.

The fountain “explodes, with a dozen plumes of water high into the sky,” wrote the Tribune’s Rick Kogan. “Water shoots from holes in the pavement. Children giggle and get wet. Mothers and fathers sit there, watching in wonder the power and beauty of the liquid fireworks.”

Nevertheless, in 2016 the Gateway Park Fountain was demolished. The good news is that it was immediately replaced with a similar waterworks. The Polk Bros Foundation donated $20 million to remake the 13-acre Gateway Park—and rename it Polk Bros Park. The work included the new 75-foot-diameter Polk Bros Park Fountain. This interactive waterworks is equipped with more than 250 programmable water jets. The illuminated, multicolored piece “mimics the natural movements of waves, schools of fish or flocks of birds,” according to its designer. In the winter the area can be transformed into an ice-skating rink.

Finally, parts of fountains that disappear can be repurposed in a different time and place. Such was the case with Charitas. The eight-foot-tall bronze statue of Charitas debuted in 1922 as part of a fountain featuring a wide basin and water jets. It stood atop a large, square pedestal at one end of the basin. Ida McClelland Stout won a Daily News competition to sculpt the statue, which depicts a woman holding two children and symbolizes charity to underprivileged youth. Its original placement in Lincoln Park west of the Daily News Fresh Air Sanitarium—a health center that accommodated more than 30,000 children a summer during its peak—recognized the humanitarian work done there. (“Charitas” comes from Greek for charity.)

Chicago History Museum

Charitas stood in a fountain along the lakefront near Fullerton Avenue until the 1930s, when it was moved to the Garfield Park Conservatory. In 2016 it was returned to its original location, but as a statue on a pedestal rather than as a fountain.

When work on the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive in the late 1930s required removal of the fountain and a portion of the sanitarium (now the Theater on the Lake), the park district moved the statue to the Garfield Park Conservatory. Regrettably, the conservatory painted the bronze statue white to match Pastoral and Idyl, two white marble figures sculpted by Lorado Taft on display there. In the 1990s expert conservationist Andrzej Dajnowski removed the paint from and restored Charitas, but in 2001 the conservatory moved the statue into storage to make room for its blockbuster Dale Chihuly exhibit, “A Garden of Glass.” The statue remained in storage, even after Chihuly’s exhibit closed the following year. “No charity for Charitas,” said the Sun-Times in 2003.

In 2016 the park district reinstated this lovely statue south of the Theater on the Lake, near where it originally stood. Although no water bubbles around Charitas, Stout’s statue has been returned to its original pedestal, which during the intervening years held the bust of George Solti in front of the Lincoln Park Conservatory.

Endnotes

This article was last updated on Saturday, June 10th, 2017 at 5:54 pm.

Source: https://forgottenchicago.com/features/chicagos-forgotten-fountains/

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Today’s Headlines for Monday, December 3

Get national headlines at Streetsblog USA

Did you appreciate this post? Consider making a donation through our PublicGood site.

Source: https://chi.streetsblog.org/2018/12/03/129399/

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Athletics 10, Cubs 3: A tale of two games

MESA, Arizona — The good news from the Cubs’ 10-3 loss to the Athletics Thursday afternoon was that Kyle Hendricks looks in mid-season form.

Check out this strikeout, on a lovely changeup, of the very first batter of the game, Dustin Fowler:

In the second inning, Hendricks gave up an infield hit and then induced this nice DP grounder:

Hendricks faced seven batters, allowed two hits and got a lot of weak contact, which means his stuff is working the way it should.

Brian Duensing relieved Hendricks and got Cliff Pennington to hit a sharp grounder right at Kris Bryant, who made this slick play:

The Cubs weren’t doing much off our old pal Brett Anderson, who allowed a pair of hits and a walk in the second, but struck out the side. He threw three scoreless innings. If he’d have done that with the Cubs in 2017, maybe he’d still be here.

Anyway, the first four innings flew by in just 51 minutes. In the last Sloan Park game on Tuesday, I think they were still in the first inning at the 51-minute mark. The A’s pushed across a run on George Kontos in the top of the fifth, but the Cubs came back and took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. Kyle Schwarber led off with a double that nearly made the berm, and after a bloop single by Jason Heyward, a pair of outs and a walk, Ryan Court singled in a pair. Here’s Schwarber’s double and Court’s hit:

And as far as Cubs fans were concerned, the game could have ended right there. But no, baseball rules say nine innings get played, so the game moved on, unfortunately for our side, because Jen-Ho Tseng was just horrendous in this one. The A’s sent 10 men to the plate and scored six times; Tseng was removed after the eighth hitter, by which time his outing was, in order: single, walk, walk, fly ball, single, single, triple, ground out. Yikes.

And in the next inning, Randy Rosario wasn’t any better. He served up long home runs to the first two hitters he faced, then retired three of the next four. Hope he was “working on something.” Tseng wasn’t likely to be a part of the 2019 Cubs, but Rosario was a useful bullpen piece for much of last year.

The Cubs plated one further run on a double by Court and a single by Cristhian Adames in the seventh, and the game dragged on for a couple more innings before ending.

It was a gorgeous afternoon in Mesa, the nicest day so far this spring. Game time temp was 73, light winds, unlimited sunshine, the perfect Arizona spring day. Attendance watch: 10,573 paid to see this game. That makes the season total for four dates 45,944, or 11,486 per date. I’d expect close to a sellout Saturday against the Brewers.

Before that, though, the Cubs face the Diamondbacks in Scottsdale Friday afternoon. Jose Quintana is on the mound for the Cubs, Robbie Ray for the D-backs. Game time is 2:10 p.m. CT and if you have MLB.tv, you can watch via the D-backs channel Fox Sports Arizona. There will also be an audio webcast via cubs.com.

Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/2/28/18245398/cubs-athletics-recap-kyle-hendricks-kris-bryant-mlb-scores

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Four levels of amenities at the Loop’s bold new Linea apartments

The new Linea, an architecturally bold, full-amenity, pet-friendly apartment tower at 215 W Lake St, has four levels of amenities. The building leased up rapidly and has a few apartments becoming available through normal turnover.

You can tour the top two floors of amenities in the above video with architect and co-developer Mike Moceri.

The distinctive hallmark of Linea’s bold architecture is a reprise of the classic Chicago bay window, with three walls of floor-to-ceiling glass. The bays dramatically expand Linea’s striking urban vistas.

Tour a 3-bedroom, 2-bath smart home and a unique corner convertible in the above videos.

Tour two new furnished models in the above videos.

Studio apartments at Linea rent from $1,975, 1-bedrooms from $2,275, and 3-bedroom, 2-baths from $4,800. A single 2-bedroom, 2-bath will be available in early January for $3,330. Floor plans and near real-time rent and availability info are online.

Linea’s furnished models showcase the livability and flexibility of its generously-sized floor plans, which have been thoughtfully designed to ensure space for dining room tables and home office desks.

The loft-aesthetic apartments feature high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, plank flooring throughout, in-unit washer / dryers and beautifully-finished kitchens and baths.

Linea’s four floors of amenities start with lobby-level lounges and top out with outdoor terraces and an indoor / outdoor pool.

Linea is a short block from the Riverwalk and from the downtown theater district. There’s Pedway access at the corner to the CTA’s Clark and Lake transit hub with connections throughout Chicago, including O’Hare and Midway airports. Scores of restaurants and bars, Millennium Park, Maggie Park, Daley Plaza and more are all within a few minutes’ walk.

Linea has on-site management, maintenance and leasing staff, and 24/7 door staff.

Source: http://yochicago.com/four-levels-of-amenities-at-the-loops-bold-new-linea-apartments/60355/

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Van Dyke takes communiun, shares teary reunion with family

Ok. Ok. Ok.

It’s true Jason Van Dyke, who was escorted into a Cook County sentencing hearing in a canary-yellow jumpsuit Wednesday, got to meet with his family privately.

It’s true no photos of him were taken during the hearing before Judge Vincent Gaughan, who will sentence Van Dyke — although a photo of Van Dyke in a prison jumpsuit circulated widely after his murder trial.

But here is what else happened in the privacy of the jury room behind Gaughan’s courtroom where Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of battery stemming from the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014.

• Van Dyke dissolved into tears when he saw his family.

“It was the first time Jason was allowed to see his wife, Tiffany, and his dad and cousin in the flesh and not behind a glass screen,” said a family source. “And the first time she [Tiffany] was able to hug him since he was taken away in handcuffs after the verdict,” the source added.

• A practicing Catholic who is being held in the Rock Island County Jail while awaiting what is turning into a complicated sentencing process, Van Dyke was permitted to receive communion from Sister Maria Paulina-Sterling — the nun from his parish at St. Jane de Chantal Catholic Church in Garfield Ridge.

“It’s the first time he has received communion since the verdict,” said the source. He writes letters everyday to his two daughters and is currently reading a book by Tony Evans, an African-American pastor who once served as chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys and is currently the longest serving NBA chaplain.

Daley schmooze . . .

It’s no secret former presidential contender Hillary Clinton may have managed a dreadful national campaign two years ago.

But she did win Nevada — a state now coveted by midterm marauder President Donald Trump.

So guess what?

Jorge Neri, the guy who managed Clinton’s successful Nevada campaign, is now managing Bill Daley’s mayoral campaign.

Sneed is told Neri is a Chicago native raised in Little Village by a single mom.

Minus the mask . . .

Ald. Edward Burke (14) may not have worn a costume to the City Council meeting on Halloween — as did six of his seat mates — but he did remind his fellow Council members that up until 2001 — there was a law on the books in Chicago making it illegal to wear a mask in the city.

“Fortunately for them, it was repealed,” chuckled Burke, who is known as the City Council’s historian.

Carol Marin and her nieces and nephews celebrate Halloween. | Provided

Boo!

Check out the spooky snapshot of Sneed’s buddy and former Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin, decked out as a witch, and her niece and nephews on the Halloween trail Wednesday night.

As Carol, a legendary broadcaster, would say: Trick-or-Treat, sister!

Tips & twaddle . . .

This and that: Interesting tidbits gleaned from Sneed’s “Sneedless to Say” collection:

• The Rauner report: Illinois First Lady Diana Rauner is not only a Democrat married to a Republican, but she is a fencer who plays piano.

• The bookcase: When famous publisher/bookstore chain owner Inge Feltrinelli died last month, her bookstore branches in Italy played a waltz from the film “The Leopard,” based on the book she published — and invited shoppers to dance.

Sneedlings . . .

I spy: Golden State Warriors Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr spotted dining at TAO and snapping photos with fans Monday night after defeating Da Bulls. . . . Bears stars Khalil Mack, Kyle Fuller, Zach Miller, Mitch Trubisky, Akiem Hicks and Prince Amukamara serving up appetizers and some vino Monday evening at Steak 48 for Bears linebacker Sam Acho’s third annual charity event “Celebrity Waiter Night”. . . . Today’s birthdays: Jenny McCarthy, 46; Penn Badgley, 32; and JoJo Fletcher, 28.

Source: https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/sneed-jason-van-dyke-laquan-mcdonald-tiffany-vincent-gaughan-tony-evans-bill-daley-hillary-clinton-jorge-neri/

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Five Bulls players score in double figures to beat Cavs, 104-88

The Bulls just might next be doing testimonials for the Chamber of Commerce. After all, no one was happier than the Bulls to be in Cleveland in January.

That's because the Bulls declared 10 was enough, and enough finally was enough, with a 104-88 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. No matter that almost half the Cavs roster and most of the presumed starters were injured or dismissed. The Bulls and bad have walked together this calendar year, so the Bulls badly needed this one after 10 consecutive losses, rookie Wendell Carter Jr. undergoing thumb surgery Monday and likely out the rest of the season, and much of the young roster looking more like they were suffering from osteoporosis.

But the Bulls snapped back in the Martin Luther King Jr. games with 25 points from Zach LaVine, 15 points off the bench from Bobby Portis and 13 points each from Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn, the latter also with nine assists and a team high plus/minus rating.

It wasn't quite a breakout game for the rangy 6-4 point guard from Providence. But it was providential and perhaps did help save Dunn from a breakdown—or spending even more time breaking down film of his latest flaws—following four of his last five games scoring six points with 29 percent shooting in that stretch of games.

"I think we had good energy," said Dunn. "I think both sides played well, the first unit and the second unit. I just kept grinding through the slump. Just kept coming in, being positive, staying consistent through my work; it's part of the NBA. I got the same looks I've been getting previous games and today I knocked them down. Gets the monkey off our backs. It sucks to lose 10 in a row. It's frustrating. Now, we can breathe a little bit and try to build from it, try to get a win Wednesday at home."

The Bulls went to 11-36 and now have the third poorest record in the NBA with the Knicks losing. The Cavs are at the bottom at 9-39. Many are looking at those records in consideration of the next NBA draft. But for the Bulls, it's more about production, pace and some pizazz from their core of young players.

There was a pulse Monday, though Markkanen still wasn't involved quite enough. But Chandler Hutchison did have a spirited (new favorite team adjective) game with eight points and nine rebounds. Hutchison didn't shoot much, but in flashes he shows flashes of a Scottie Pippen style of play with long strides and sensational finishes at the basket. Hutchison may also be the best on the team—which is actually how Pippen grew into the championship team point forward—on accelerating the pace of play on offense. He's just not particularly adept yet at passing and finding teammates on the run.

"When he starts galloping up the floor, I love it," said Bulls coach Jim Boylen. "He just has a feel for the ball; he's a multiple ballhandler for us, which we needed. He gives us the pace in transition. What we have to do better is when he handles it, we have to run better with him. That's something we we are talking about. We are learning how to play with him and he is learning how to play with us."

That's the sort of thing this season is supposed to be about now after the plethora of early season injuries and coaching change. It's just that a double digit losing streak distracts from that and changes the priorities, at least for a win.

"I think we had good energy. I think both sides played well, the first unit and the second unit. I just kept grinding through the slump. Just kept coming in, being positive, staying consistent through my work; it's part of the NBA." - Kris Dunn

It's been a difficult stretch for a young Bulls team playing in the Western Conference. But there's a little break now with Atlanta Wednesday and then Cleveland again Sunday. Five of the Bulls 11 wins were against Cleveland, Atlanta, New York and Phoenix. Not so great for draft lottery position, but at least it demonstrates the Bulls have more young talent than those teams. That's generally considered a positive.

Getting that young talent to show its talent has been the goal, and the issue at times. The Cavaliers were without Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, John Henson, Larry Nance and David Nwaba. So it wasn't exactly a final exam. But the Bulls got some good grades from this one

"We talked about first quarter starts," said Boylen. "I thought our energy and our spirit in that first quarter was good; kind of gave us momentum into the rest of the game. I thought we got a lot from a lot of guys and the flow, the tempo was good for us. Rolo (Lopez) had a couple of key buckets we needed. I thought Kris Dunn was very good. He was in rhythm. His pace was good. He made good decisions and I thought Zach was real efficient, which we need him to be. Jabari (Parker) made two big plays for us to start the (fourth) that I thought were huge buckets to try to maintain the lead. I thought the ball was moving pretty well, I thought we were finding the open guys. I really thought our defense set the tone."

The Bulls were good defensively, though not so good that they forced the Cavs into that zero for nine start. By then it was 7-0 Bulls, and the Bulls never would trail. They led 31-18 after the first quarter and the Cavs were never much closer than the Bulls 48-42 half-time lead.

The Bulls took control again to start the third quarter with a 16-6 run, and it was the often neglected Parker with all of his 10 points in a 14-2 run to start the fourth quarter that broke open the game, this time the opposition giving in late amidst a 21-point Bulls lead.

Which despite the victory also served to emphasize the Parker conundrum.

Perhaps no one on the team is more efficient offensively than Parker. He had 10 points in 12 minutes, and in the last five game since his last banishment, he has an amazing 65 points in just 83 minutes. He's not exactly sprinting back on defense or always engaged, but the Bulls also are trying to practice winning with improvement. Lopez is back at starting center with Carter's injury, and Lopez always competes seriously on both ends. Juts not that expeditiously. He's added a nifty drop step move and is at least attempting some threes. He had eight points and nine rebounds to match Hutchison for team high. The Bulls had a 50-38 rebounding advantage, which enhances pace.

But the Bulls opened the game with the first play for Lopez. It made sense from a basketball standpoint of attempting to establish inside play, which Phil Jackson did in the 1990s through Bill Cartwright and Luc Longley. They didn't get many shots; but they did get early shots.

Some of the disconnect with Parker is the notion he probably isn't part of the future. But then neither is Lopez supposed to be. Parker ranks with only LaVine and Markkanen on the team in a combination of being able to get your own shot, which is LaVine's strength, and an ability to make tough threes, which both LaVine and Markkanen do. Yet Parker barely played until the fourth quarter, and then he carried the offense.

LaVine bounced back, but his interruption in scoring seemed more institutional. He just wasn't getting shots. LaVine is too good to defer, which he seemed to be doing. He's too talented to be harnessed no matter his flaws. The Bulls were 15 of 30 on threes for the game and LaVine was three of six. He's averaged barely more than four threes attempted per game with the return of players from injury after averaging about six previously. He's too good a shooter to defer too much, especially when the Bulls are last in the league in attempting threes.

Similarly with Markkanen, who was three of five on threes against the Cavs. He should attempt 10 per game as good as he shoots. But the Bulls still have trouble getting him enough good shots. Though the Bulls pace up court was better.

"I told my guys, and I did it last game, too; I'm going to push the pace even more," Dunn said. "I feel like we have some good athletes out there. Zach, Hutch; especially when Hutch is running the floor, he opens up a lot of things. I'm going to push the pace now."

It's a departure from the slow down tempo pursued when Boylen took over from Fred Hoiberg. The Bulls still walk into numerous possessions, though there were more Dunn attempts to speed up. But there's a difference between playing faster and moving the ball. The ball still tends to become glued to Bulls players as they watch a dribble hand off or screen/roll. It still results in too many late clock shots, though to be fair it's difficult to develop that kind of chemistry and continuing on offense and defense given the current circumstances of post-injury without a training camp.

The Bulls had more moments Monday with Portis breaking out his three ball with three in consecutive possessions spanning the first and second quarters and Dunn throwing a perfectly timed lob pass to LaVine for a slam dunk. The Bulls rarely make those plays. Markkanen had a pair of third quarter threes and a tough, hanging jumper in the lane, Dunn got into the lane for a pair of steals and a run out score, and LaVine had a late spurt of scoring after steals.

LaVine's been running ahead, which the staff has asked him to do, though the Bulls under Jackson solved that problem with Pippen. Could the Bulls eventually do so with Hutchison?

Michael Jordan, as many recall, was an excellent scorer. Jordan agreed, and wasn't always confident in his teammates' similar abilities. So Jordan would hang back to get the ball inbounded after a basket or the handoff after a miss. That slowed the offense. It wasn't until Pippen developed into a capable distributor, which took a few seasons, before Jordan developed that trust and confidence and the Bulls offense expanded for others—my supporting cast, as Jordan liked to say—with Pippen running and the Bulls offense flowing. Can Hutchison be that guy?

"He just has a feel for the ball; he's a multiple ballhandler for us, which we needed. He gives us the pace in transition. What we have to do better is when he handles it, we have to run better with him." - Coach Boylen on Chandler Hutchison

He's been hesitant thus far, but even Pippen never started as a rookie until the playoffs. Though Pippen never was as hesitant as Hutchison to shoot. Pippen as a 22-year-old rookie after four years of college had plenty of poor games when he was invisible on offense. He had a dozen games with one score or none. Hutchison often draws physical comparisons to Pippen. Is he just now starting to bloom? Or did he just start moving more quickly to get a running start out of Cleveland?

Source: https://www.nba.com/bulls/five-bulls-players-score-double-figures-beat-cavs-104-88

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gardenpeony71-blog · 5 years

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Police dashcam records DUI suspect driving on wrong side of road in Riverside

A woman is facing DUI charges after a police dashcam recorded her driving on the wrong side of the road early Saturday in west suburban Riverside.

Authorities received calls at 12:25 a.m. about a motorist driving erratically on northbound First Avenue from I-55, according to a statement from Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel. The first officer to arrive in the area spotted the 2013 Nissan driving north in the southbound lanes of First Avenue.

“The vehicle had crossed the double yellow and drove directly at the fully marked squad car,” Weitzel said in the statement.

Police released a video from the squad car’s dashcam that shows a car rounding a curve on the wrong side of the yellow centerline toward the officer.

The officer turned on his squad car’s lights and siren, made a U-turn and stopped the Nissan at First Avenue and 31st Street, according to Weitzel. The officer could smell alcohol from inside the car when he approached it.

The same vehicle had previously been reported to Illinois State Police as a possible drunken driver on the Stevenson Expressway near La Grange Road, according to police.

Katherine J. Barretto | Riverside police

The driver, 38-year-old Katherine Barretto of Des Plaines, “denied using any illegal substance,” but her speech was slurred and her eyes were glassy, Weitzel said. She failed a roadside sobriety test and was taken into custody and charged with DUI, illegal lane usage and driving in the wrong lane.

She became combative at the police station an “was too intoxicated to attempt to book.,” Weitzel said. She was held overnight, posted bond and was “released to a responsible adult friend later in the morning.”

Source: https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/riverside-dui-dashcam-wrong-side-of-road/

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gardenpeony71-blog · 5 years

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Do You Have a Firehouse Fantasy? A SFH at 2100 W. Eastwood in Lincoln Square

This 4-bedroom single family home at 2100 W. Eastwood in Lincoln Square originally came on the market in March 2018.

It’s a genuine former Chicago firehouse which was bought in 2013 and converted into a single family home.

It’s on an oversized lot measuring 37×122 and has 3-covered parking spaces and a side yard.

There’s a 20 foot folding door to the side yard.

The house has radiant heated concrete floors and 10.5 foot ceilings with walnut stairs.

The hose room has been turned into the foyer.

The kitchen has stainless steel cabinets, a 60″ red Wolf range and other stainless steel appliances with white quarter counter tops.

The first floor has a family room in addition to the living/dining and kitchen.

All four bedrooms are on the second floor, which is the preferred layout for family buyers.

There’s a master suite with 2 walk-in closets and an office.

There’s a laundry room on the second floor.

The house also has central air.

The listing says there are triple pane windows.

Originally listed in March of 2018 at $1.45 million, it has been on, and off, the market since then and has reduced $75,000.

Converted firehouses are popular “homes” in television and movies (Princess Diaries anyone?).

This one is also in the popular north side neighborhood of Lincoln Square, near the shops and restaurants as well as the Brown line Damen El stop.

Is this your chance to live the fantasy?

James Buczynski at Compass has the listing. See the pictures here.

2100 W. Eastwood: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 3,800 square feet

Sold in June 2013 for $350,000 (according to Zillow but the CCRD doesn’t list a price)

Originally listed in March 2018 for $1.45 million

Reduced

Withdrawn in November 2018 listed at $1.375 million

Re-listed in January 2019 for $1.375 million

Currently still listed at $1.375 million

Taxes of $18,813

Central Air

3-car covered parking

Oversized yard

Bedroom #1: 17×12 (second floor)

Bedroom #2: 14×10 (second floor)

Bedroom #3: 13×10 (second floor)

Bedroom #4: 11×8 (second floor)

Office: 10×10 (second floor)

Family room: 21×17 (main level)

Laundry room: 9×8 (second floor)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2019 at 5:29 am and is filed under Lincoln Square, Single family homes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://cribchatter.com/?p=25739

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gardenpeony71-blog · 5 years

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Re-grading the 2016 Bears draft

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler went back and handed out grades for the 2016 NFL Draft, which is the proper time to hand out draft grades; three years after the picks are made.

Immediate draft grades are silly, as these players have yet to play a snap as a professional, but everyone does them, and everyone reads them. While I’m a vocally against doing immediate draft grades, my curiosity to see what the experts have to say about the Chicago Bears’ draft class leads me to search the interwebs as soon as possible.

The 2016 class was Chicago general manager Ryan Pace’s first with his full scouting staff in place, and it was also the first where we got to truly see his aggressive nature.

Here’s a reminder of the draft class from that season, with the five players in bold being ones that still play in Chicago.

1 (9) Leonard Floyd, OLB, Georgia

2 (56) Cody Whitehair, OL, Kansas State

3 (72) Jonathan Bullard, DL, Florida

4 (113) Nick Kwiatkoski, LB, West Virginia

4 (124) Deon Bush, S, Miami (Fla.)

4 (127) Deiondre’ Hall, CB, Northern Iowa (Eagles)

5 (150) Jordan Howard, RB, Indiana (Eagles)

6 (185) DeAndre Houston-Carson, DB, William & Mary

7 (230) Daniel Braverman, WR, Western Michigan (CFL)

Hall and Howard were both traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in separate moves, and Braverman was recently signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

That’s a solid draft class for Pace and his scouts, and Brugler gave the class a B. He tabbed Whitehair as the best pick of Pace’s class, and here’s what he said about that selection.

While Floyd has been a reliable contributor on defense, Whitehair was the best pick from the Bears’ 2016 haul, especially considering he wasn’t a top-50 draft pick. In three seasons, he has started all 49 games, primarily at center while also filling in at guard.

Whitehair just made his first Pro Bowl at center last year, but early reports from OTAs has him moving to left guard. I expect him to make the Pro Bowl again at his new position, becoming the third Bears lineman to make it at two positions.

He had the recently traded Howard as Pace’s best value pick from the 2016 draft.

In three NFL seasons, Howard has produced 3,370 rushing yards and 25 total touchdowns, missing only one game. He wasn’t an ideal fit in Matt Nagy’s offense and averaged only 3.7 yards per carry in 2018, which is why he fetched just a conditional 2020 sixth-round pick when the Bears traded him to the Eagles this offseason. However, Howard has certainly outplayed his draft position.

I was a fan of Jordan Howard, and I hope he does okay in Philly, but anyone that believes he’ll be their “bell-cow” is in for a surprise. The Eagles spent a second round pick on running back Miles Sanders from Penn State to help set up their own running back by committee room.

Brugler had Jonathan Bullard as his biggest miss.

Bullard has been a solid rotational piece, seeing action in all but two games the past three seasons. However, he has only five career starts with minimal production, including just two sacks. Bullard has been solid, but you expect more out of a top-75 draft pick.

Bullard lost playing time to Roy Robertson-Harris and rookie Bilal Nichols last year with only 28% of the snaps on defense after seeing 41% in 2017. Bullard seems to have settled into a nice rotational role on Chicago's defensive line, but he’ll never live up to the “steal of the draft” label he got by a lot of pundits after he was taken.

However, does that make him the biggest miss of the class?

Adam Jahns, formerally of the Chicago Sun Times, but now working the Bears’ beat for The Athletic, also chimed in on Chicago’s 2016 draft.

Beat writer’s take: The 2016 NFL Draft was the first time that the league experienced the aggressive, targeted approach of general manager Ryan Pace. He traded up from No. 11 to No. 9 to select outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. The Giants were believed to be high on Floyd, but the Bears leapfrogged them at No. 10. Instead, the Giants took cornerback Eli Apple, who was traded to the Saints in October of the 2018 season. Floyd might not be a top-tier rusher, but he still has value because of his athleticism and versatility. The acquisition of superstar Khalil Mack — and his massive contract — didn’t stop the Bears from picking up Floyd’s fifth-year option for 2020.

The Bears’ best picks from 2016 are arguably center/guard Cody Whitehair (second round) and running back Jordan Howard (fifth). But Whitehair, who has started every game over his first three seasons, is the only one of the two who will be a long-term fixture for the Bears. Howard ran for 2,435 yards and 15 touchdowns in his first two seasons under former coach John Fox, but he didn’t fit coach Matt Nagy’s offense. After a 2018 season full of career lows, Howard was traded in March to the Eagles for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2020. Linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and safeties Deon Bush and DeAndre Houston-Carson are regulars on special teams. — Adam Jahns

Jahns always brings something interesting in his stuff, and bringing up how Pace snagged Floyd from the Giants is a story a lot of fans aren’t aware of.

I think Floyd is going to have his best year as a pro in 2019, and I also think the Bears will try to sign him to a long term extension sooner rather than later.

What are your thoughts on the Brugler’s grade and on what Jahns had to say?

Source: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2019/5/24/18638631/chicago-bears-2016-draft-nfl-leonard-floyd-cody-whitehair-deon-bush-daniel-braverman-grading-grade

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