Author: staff

Offensive lineman Teven Jenkins (76) stretches during Bears minicamp on June 15 at Halas Hall. Jenkins, the team’s second-round draft pick this year, has missed all eight training camp practices because of a back injury. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

The Thalheimer family, including Jadyn, 6, from left, Chad, Harley, 10, Betsy and Colby, 8, fish in their backyard pond on Aug. 5, 2021, in North Barrington. The entire family has coronavirus and has been quarantining for the last 10 days. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

The Thalheimer family, including Jadyn, 6, from left, Chad, Harley, 10, Betsy and Colby, 8, fish in their backyard pond on Aug. 5, 2021, in North Barrington. The entire family has coronavirus and has been quarantining for the last 10 days. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

“The goal of the unit is singing, and as long as you’re in sync with that, it’s just so refreshing to be amongst a group where you’re not thinking about the news,” he said. “Taking a moment to be quiet, or have introspection, but then at the flip of a switch or at the drop of a cue, it’s the most exuberant, joyful moment.”

“His two-strike numbers have been really (good), controlling the zone, mainly for the things he’s done against right-handed pitching has been really obvious,” Ross said. “And when you put up numbers and consistent numbers and be able to do those quality things, that matters. So the next step is, can you do it at this level and how consistent can you be here doing those things?

Without Kimbrel, Ross will be mixing and matching with his bullpen, which also lost Ryan Tepera to the Sox and Andrew Chafin to the Oakland Athletics. Ross used Kyle Ryan and Manuel Rodríguez in save opportunities this week, and Codi Heuer, acquired in the Kimbrel deal, may also be in the mix.

Let’s get this out of the way: The lake can be cold. You snap on a pair of water shoes on a warm summer day and step gingerly into the clear Lake Superior waters of Madeline Island’s Big Bay. Edging ever deeper, though, is a process. You inhale sharply with every step, advancing to your waist, your chest, your shoulders — and finally, full submersion. But once your body adjusts to the shock, the feeling is completely invigorating. Curative. As summer vacation returns with a vengeance, the Midwest’s best beaches will provide a no-frills escape this year. These aren’t the Gulf Stream waters, and this certainly isn’t the Caribbean. But from the Great Lakes to the 10,000 Lakes, the best beaches of the “North Coast” are collectively like our Caribbean. So don’t let the coastal elites tell you that the Midwest has no beaches. They have no idea. Here, we share 12 of our favorites. By Simon Peter Groebner and Kerri Westenberg, Star Tribune Jun 28, 2021

Temperatures will reach up to the late 80s, and potentially creep up to highs in the low 90s Sunday and early next week. Despite the high likelihood of “popcorn” thunderstorms throughout the weekend, there is no predicted widespread severe threat, the weather service said.

More gold could be coming for the United States. American Kyle Snyder, the returning Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 97kg freestyle class, will go for gold on Saturday. He defeated Turkey’s Suleyman Karadeniz 5-0 in a semifinal. He will face the Russian Olympic Committee’s Abdulrashid Sadulaev in the final. Sadualev, the No. 1 seed in this class, won gold at 86kg in 2016 and is a four-time world champion.

A 28-year-old woman and 26-year-old man were standing in the parking lot when they were shot, police said. The woman was hit in the left leg and was taken to Rush University Medical Center in fair condition, and the man was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital also in fair condition with a gunshot wound to the left leg and arm, police said.