Author: staff

Sports

PGA Tour says Saudi-paid players are no longer eligible for tour events. But can they come back later?

Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and other PGA Tour members who teed off in the Saudi-funded golf league Thursday are no longer eligible for PGA Tour events under penalties Commissioner Jay Monahan shared soon after the first tee shot was struck.Still to be determined is whether those players are ever welcome back.AdvertisementThe ban includes participation in the Presidents Cup, which would involve the South African trio of Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace.[ [Don’t miss] Phil Mickelson the latest golfer to sign up for the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational — ending his 4-month hiatus ]The USGA already has said eligible players can still compete in the U.S. Open next week. The PGA Tour does not run the majors.AdvertisementIn a memo sent to tour members, Monahan said that even if players resigned from the tour ahead of the first LIV Golf Invitational outside London, they will not be allowed to play PGA Tour events as a nonmember by getting a sponsor exemption.Nine players have resigned from the PGA Tour, a list that includes Johnson and Sergio Garcia. Mickelson, who earned lifetime membership with his 45 PGA Tour titles, has not.[ [Don’t miss] Arlo White, the Chicago Fire’s occasional voice, will be the lead announcer for the controversial new LIV Golf series ]“These players have made their choice for their own financial-based reasons,” Monahan wrote. “But they can’t demand the same PGA Tour membership benefits, considerations, opportunities and platform as you. The expectation disrespects you, our fans and our partners.”At issue is players competing without a conflicting event release from the PGA Tour. Players typically receive three such releases a year, but Monahan denied releases for the LIV Golf Invitational because it is an eight-tournament series that has five events in the United States.The tour does not allow releases for events in North America.“We have followed the tournament regulations from start to finish in responding to those players who have decided to turn their backs on the PGA Tour by willfully violating a regulation,” he wrote.

News

False alarms

This story was produced as a collaboration between The TRiiBE and the Reader. On February 20, 2020, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) shackled Shannon Ross’s…

News

22 months

Jeremey “Mohawk” Johnson has been on electronic monitoring since August 2020, after he was arrested for allegedly hitting a cop with a skateboard at an anti-ICE…

Sports

4 things we learned at Chicago Bears OTAs, including Braxton Jones taking 1st-team reps and Kyler Gordon’s absence

The Chicago Bears were back at practice Wednesday at Halas Hall after the NFL stripped them of Tuesday’s practice for violating league rules that prohibit live contact.Along with explanations from players and coach Matt Eberflus about those violations, here are four things we heard as the Bears wrap up their third week of organized team activities.AdvertisementEberflus said early on that they planned to test players at different spots on the offensive line during offseason practices, and he showed that Wednesday.The Bears started practices in May with Larry Borom at left tackle and Teven Jenkins on the right side. But Borom, who started eight games at right tackle as a rookie last season, was back on the right side Wednesday. Jenkins, a 2021 second-round pick, took reps at second-team right tackle while Jones got experience with the first team.AdvertisementBears tackle Braxton Jones stretches at rookie minicamp at Halas Hall on May 6, 2022, in Lake Forest. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)“We’re just trying to find the best combinations of people, especially when you’re looking at the offensive line,” Eberflus said. “Who’s the best five guys out there so we can succeed? And it creates competition when you do that, when you’re moving guys around. Who can function at different spots and who can really execute?”The Bears drafted Jones out of Southern Utah in the fifth round after he started 11 games at left tackle in his final college season.“Braxton is a tough kid, very athletic,” Bears guard Cody Whitehair said. “He’s got really long arms as well. He’s learning. As hard as that is to be thrown in the fire like that, I feel like he has responded well and I’m excited to see what he can bring.”[ [Don’t miss] Bears 2022 schedule: Here’s who they’ll play — and our predictions for each matchup ]Eberflus has been hesitant to provide reasons for individual absences during OTAs, but he did say Gordon was in the building this week.Safety Eddie Jackson and edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad were present at the Walter Payton Center but didn’t participate on the field. Edge rusher Robert Quinn, who has not been spotted during OTAs, again was absent. The Bears have a mandatory minicamp next week.ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 11 Meet the Chicago Bears’ 2022 NFL draft class. (Jae C. Hong/AP)With Gordon out, Jaylon Johnson was back with the first-team defense after Eberflus had played him on the second team two weeks ago. Eberflus said then not to read too much into the grouping.“We were just assessing him where he was, and he’s done a great job with that,” Eberflus said Wednesday. “He’s learning the defense. It takes him a while to learn the defense because he just was coming in, so that takes a couple of days to figure out: ‘Hey, what is this call? What is that call?’ And he’s done a great job. He played really good today.”Safety DeAndre Houston-Carson had a pair of interceptions against Fields, including one during a two-minute drill in which Fields’ pass glanced off the hands of wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown. Johnson also had a nice pass breakup.AdvertisementBut Eberflus said it was a different story Monday, when the offense had an “outstanding day” with 11 chunk passes and one chunk run.[ [Don’t miss] The spring praise for Bears QB Justin Fields is flowing. But how much does it really mean? ]“That’s going to happen during the course of the game, so we understand that and I’ll talk to the players about this,” Eberflus said. “Sometimes it’s, ‘Hey, that team has a really good offense,’ so our defense is really going to have to step up and play while our offense is going to have to dominate that game or vice versa.”Jones was upbeat about his first couple of months with the Bears after signing a two-year, $12 million contract to be their three-technique defensive tackle. He is enjoying getting to know a young group of defensive linemen — and he also feels like he fits well within Eberflus’ defense.“It’s that penetrating three-technique, get off the ball and really just effort,” Jones said. “That’s kind of the staple of my game … flying around, making tackles and making plays and being disruptive. I feel like I fit in. I feel like I’m at home in this scheme.”Bears defensive lineman Justin Jones stretches April 20, 2022, at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)Eberflus said the Bears had “visual evidence” from Jones’ time with the Los Angeles Chargers that he would fit the role. And Eberflus has been pleased with what he has seen.“I love the athletic ability, I love the man, I love his attitude,” Eberflus said. “He’s working super hard, and again, the evaluation will continue to go all the way through training camp.Advertisement“When we put the pads on, then we get our true evaluation. But where he is right now, we are extremely excited about that.”

Lifestyle

Seeing more West African foods in grocery stores? Thank Hyde Park co-founders of AYO Foods for the shift.

The frozen meals that AYO Foods creates and markets sit next to P.F. Chang’s food in Target’s freezer section.But AYO Foods founders, Perteet and Fred Spencer, would prefer their fare be next to Amy’s Kitchen, the organic packaged and prepared foods giant.Advertisement“If you look at our caloric intake, our protein content, our fiber content, it’s very comfortable, if not better than some of the other kind of ‘better for you’ frozen items out there,” Perteet Spencer said. “And I can guarantee you it’s going to be much more flavorful.”AdvertisementThe Spencers launched AYO Foods, an array of West African frozen meals and hot sauces, in July 2020. In two years, they’ve expanded into stores nationwide, including Chicagoland Mariano’s, Heinen’s, and The Fresh Market stores.Frozen options range from jollof rice to cassava leaf stew, egusi seed soup just begging for some doughy fufu to sop up all the rich flavors, and chicken yassa, a popular dish of slow-braised chicken thighs with lemon and caramelized onion.The couple partnered with “Top Chef” alumnus Eric Adjepong and chef Zoe Adjonyoh — cookbook author and founder of Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, to promote West African cuisine through the brand. As the daughter of a Liberian immigrant, Perteet Spencer said she believes everyone deserves to see themselves when they walk down the grocery aisle. “We’re talking about an entire continent not represented in grocery stores,” Perteet Spencer said with an incredulous tone. “It’s not a monolith; we’re talking about 17 different countries (in West Africa). Every tribe, every country, they all have their unique way of doing things.”The regional cuisines share similar ingredients, and “it’s just the process of cooking — the different seasoning and flavors that you use — that separates them,” her husband said.Homemade egusi stew, made of egusi seeds, iru, chicken, onions and collard greens. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)Before making fresh egusi stew with egusi seeds, chicken, onions and collards, Perteet makes her way to an African market on Foster Avenue and North Broadway to gather dried crawfish and shrimp powder, seeds, and iru, also known as locust beans. Now, a version of the same dish with such hard-to-find ingredients is available at dozens of stores across the country.“We’re really excited to take people on this journey through West Africa to allow them to experience the flavors and ingredients,” she said. “The common mark that unites the food are these really slow-cooked, layered flavors … that’s pretty consistent with everything, whether it’s the dough rising on the puff puff, or the stew simmering on the cassava leaf.”AdvertisementFred Spencer likens the AYO Foods process to cooking soul food, with big pots, layered flavors and hearty, traditional fare. But finding ways to retain the depth and quality of those slow-cooked dishes on a mass production scale took serious effort, Perteet Spencer said. At one point, she brought in her mother so manufacturers could shadow her preparation in order to do it properly and not rush the process.“We have lots of horror stories early in our journey of partners that didn’t work out because they wanted to speed up the process,” she said. “If you have a pot of greens, the best ones are those that cook low and slow. We needed to honor that process as we found partners to scale this up.”The result are ingredient lists that are familiar and alluring: roasted garlic puree made of simply garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and thyme accents the chicken yassa; just five ingredients comprise the fried puff puff bread.“We’re using fresh vegetables, we’re doing that slow-cooking process. We’re not cutting corners,” she said. “It was really important for us to honor the process and not short change it as we went through our journey. It’s just how we operate.”Fred Spencer and his wife Perteet Spencer started the food company called AYO Foods, which focuses on West African cuisine. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)That operation began three years ago, when the Spencers, DePaul University college sweethearts, noticed market trends changing.Advertisement“We saw this huge rise in global flavors, a massive gap in flavors of the continent in total,” she said. So she left her corporate job as a brand manager with General Mills to bring joy to the world — ayo means “joy” in Yoruba — full-time, with Fred’s urging and support.While she takes credit for introducing her husband to Liberian food, she said she learned how to cook from her father. He immigrated from Lofa County, the northernmost portion of Liberia, to the Twin Cities in Minnesota at age 17, bringing with him cooking that reminded him of home. Her parents would eventually meet in Minnesota.Perteet and Fred’s large families serve as inspiration to the food brand, but it’s the pair’s love of food that is the nexus of AYO Foods. Fred, a real estate developer, opened a restaurant when he was 24 years old (something he said the couple might get back to someday). With a grandmother from Alabama, the Roseland native recalls cooking as a childhood chore, because he would get all the tedious food prep duties. But that’s changed since he’s gotten older.The family affair that cooking has always been is now one the youngest Spencers are picking up. Perteet and Fred’s daughters, 11 and 8 years old, like the kitchen so much, sometimes they have to be pushed out of the space. Their oldest tries to get her biscuits as flaky as her father’s, and she’s currently working on perfecting her macaroons, said Perteet Spencer.“They love being involved in the kitchen with us,” she said. “I didn’t start cooking until college, and to see them start so young, it’s exciting to see. You can’t have family together without a ton of really incredible food.”The first AYO Foods dishes were those the couple personally love — jollof rice, egusi soup and cassava leaf stew. The couple prides themselves on AYO Foods being rich in nutrients and low in sodium. Advertisement“Obesity is at an all-time high, diabetes is at an all-time high, hypertension is at an all-time high. We couldn’t in good conscience put out a product that was a contributor to all of that,” Perteet said. “I think one of the things that AYO does really beautifully is prove that food can be good and tasty, but still be good for you. We wanted to really be able to set a model for that.”Fred Spencer eats freshly made Egusi stew at home on May 19, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)The plan for the brand is to expand beyond frozen foods to bring greater inclusivity and diversity to shelves. AYO Foods already has pepper and shito sauces — the former is habanero-based, the latter has a seafood base, complemented by hot peppers, tomatoes and caramelized onions.“We started with frozen primarily because it’s the easiest transition to have authentic ingredients — not adding preservatives or anything like that — to bring the true essence of the food,” Fred Spencer said. “But we want to make this a broad brand, as opposed to just frozen.”The self-described “big dreamers” know the platform AYO Foods allows has a lot of wingspan to make an impact above and beyond celebrating the culture through packaged foods. The Moonboi Project is the Spencers philanthropic effort born from that platform — one that enriches the West African culture. In December, AYO Foods partnered with Girl Power Africa, a nonprofit committed to empowering women and children impacted by civil war and ebola in Liberia through entrepreneurship. AYO is supporting the cultivation of 15 acres of Liberian farmland, the Spencers said.“Part of what we’re doing with these dishes is bringing awareness to these crops, to this food, which we hope in turn creates increased demand and economic change in West Africa,” Perteet said. “Already we’ve built three homes, fully cleared the land, (and) we’re starting to see the first crop yield. And the yield of that is actually being used to give back to women who were victims of either ebola or the Liberian civil war as seed capital to start businesses of their own.”AdvertisementSeeing the impact the food brand is providing in such a short time has the Spencers excited about the potential of AYO Foods to not only change the lives of their immediate families, but other communities in desperate need of help, as well.“If anything can get across from any of this is that, AYO was created as a family company,” Fred Spencer said. “We’re doing this as a family together, and that’s what’s going to make it successful.”drockett@chicagotribune.com