Author: staff
The now-retired Chicago police officer charged in a North Avenue Beach encounter that went viral last year made his first court appearance in the case Thursday,…
On the cover: Illustration by Betsy Ochoa. For more of Ochoa’s work, go to betsyochoa.com. The vibrant rainbow stripes on the Pride flag have come to be…
Seattle Storm star and five-time Olympic gold medalist Sue Bird announced Thursday the 2022 season will be her last playing in the WNBA.The announcement by Bird, 41, ended any speculation about her future; she had acknowledged in February when she re-signed with Seattle that this would likely be her final season. She strongly considered retirement after last season before choosing to return for a 19th season as a player.AdvertisementBird’s announcement came a day before Seattle’s game at Connecticut. The Storm will close out their road trip on Sunday in New York, about 30 miles from where Bird grew up in Syosset, New York.“As the season has gone, like I said, I pretty much knew, and then once I saw the schedule, and then once I started packing for this trip a little bit, I was like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be my last time playing in New York. My last time playing in front of my family and friends.’ And so that’s why the timing of this is what it is,” Bird said in a video posted by the Storm on social media.Advertisement“I just really felt strongly about announcing my retirement, saying it was my last year so I can share that with my family and my friends, all the people in New York who have watched me growing up so they can come and see me play for the last time in my home state. So I’m excited about that. It’s also bittersweet.”Bird is a four-time WNBA champion, 12-time All-Star and the oldest player in the league. She has spent her entire WNBA career with Seattle since becoming the No. 1 draft pick in 2002 following her storied college career at UConn. This season is her 21st associated with the franchise although just her 19th playing after missing two seasons due to injuries. She is the league’s all-time leader in assists and the standard by which other point guards are judged.Bird turns 42 in October and was on the cusp of stepping away a year ago, and when the Storm were eliminated by the Phoenix Mercury in the playoffs, fans chanted “One more year! One more year!” as she did an on-court televised interview.Those cheers were egged on by Phoenix’s longtime star Diana Taurasi, Bird’s former college teammate at UConn and part of all five of those Olympic gold-medal runs.In the end, the fans — and Taurasi — got what they wanted. Bird came back, for exactly one more year.“Sue Bird is Storm basketball,” her WNBA team tweeted moments after Bird made her decision known. “Every moment, every memory has one constant. No. 10. It’s time for the final chapter.”
An 11-year-old boy died Thursday morning after he was hit by a vehicle in Lawndale, Chicago police said.The boy was crossing the road in the 3300…
Celebrate how far we’ve come and brace yourself for the work to be done by enjoying libations and liberation at some of these Chicago gems: Berlin…
Less than two weeks after restarting formula production at its Michigan facility, Abbott has again had to halt manufacturing there amid flooding.Storms in southwestern Michigan Monday…
Less than two weeks after restarting formula production at its Michigan facility, Abbott has again had to halt manufacturing there amid flooding.Storms in southwestern Michigan Monday…
Lots of behind-the-scenes news in Chicago theater, and some well-deserved plaudits to note as well this week! At the Tony Awards this past Sunday, longtime Chicago…
Officials from Forest Park Plaza LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Living Word Christian Center, the company that owns and operates the 33-acre outdoor shopping, dining &…
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has pledged to do whatever it takes to curb inflation, now raging at a four-decade high and defying the Fed’s efforts so far…