Some Englewood Parents Succeeding, Despite Atmosphere Of Violence

(CBS) — This is Englewood, where Trevor McGraw is trying to raise his two sons: 9-year-old Latrelle and 10-year-old Lerone.

He watches them when they play, takes them to the park, walks them to school and prepares them for the times he may not be around.

“I got to sleep with them, I wake up with them. They ain’t got no choice,” the father says.

He tells them to be wary of “crowds” and “saggy pants.”

“They don’t ask why. They listen. They’re good boys,” McGraw says.

And they’re excellent students, on the honor roll. McGraw says mom stays on top of the homework, but they both stress discipline. No video games during the week.

Fourteen year old Marquis Sewell lives a few blocks south of the McGraws. He’s learned similar lessons from his parents.

“I don’t really enjoy being out here. I can’t play outside like I want to or meet new people,” he says.

When menacing guys approach, he says, “I’ve been taught to walk away and not really acknowledge them.”

Sewell goes to school out of the community. His parents drive him. They keep him busy after school and every summer with camps and other educational activities.

It’s paid off.

“I want to be a marine biologist. I have been studying marine biology and I feel that it’s like a God-given gift,” he says.

His mother, Lakeisha Gray-Sewell, is asked about the advice she has for parents in similar circumstances.

“Make sure they’re exposed to different organizations, different opportunities, that they’re exposed to art, culture especially,” she says. “Seek always to learn and to grow yourself and then your child will see that and they will emulate you.”

Both parents also keep their children active in organized sports and stress the importance of family time.

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Silverman: As Contract Extension Shows, Quenneville Near The Top Of NHL Coaches

Joel Quenneville. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

By Steve Silverman-

(CBS) — It could not have been easy for Blackhawks general manager to send Dave Bolland packing after he scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal against the Boston Bruins just days after he accomplished the feat.

Yet, Bowman did not hesitate and Bolland will now attempt to exert some leadership for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Bowman did not have to agonize at all over his most recent decision. In giving head coach Joel Quenneville a three-year contract extension, he has helped secure the team’s immediate future.

All Quenneville has done since he came aboard early in the 2008-09 season is win two Stanley Cups for a team that had not won even once since 1961.

“There’s no one we’d want coaching this team more than Joel,” said Bowman. “He’s done a fantastic job over the years. I think the record (222-106) speaks for itself.”

Quenneville’s straight-forward approach has worked well with his players. He is not a player’s coach, but he’s not a humorless curmudgeon, like Darryl Sutter of the Los Angeles Kings, either.

Quenneville is one of the best head coaches in the game. Here’s our ranking of the top five coaches in the game.

5. Barry Trotz, Nashville – Take a look at Trotz behind the Nashville bench, and it looks like Hollywood central casting got their assignments mixed up. Trotz can certainly play the role of the hockey coach, but he looks a lot more like the classic evil scientist character that James Bond might have to battle in order to save the world.

Looks aside, Trotz has been the Predators’ only coach. He has coached a strong defensive style over the years, and even though the Preds have not been one of the NHL’s most gifted teams, his teams have made the playoffs in seven of the last nine years. While they failed to get to the postseason in 2013, look for a bounce-back season from Trotz and the Preds.

4. Paul MacLean, Ottawa – This may be a bit of a reach because the 2013 season was only his second full year, few coaches have gained as much respect as MacLean. His Senators have made the playoffs in both seasons. They nearly upset the top-seeded New York Rangers in the 2012 Eastern Conference playoffs and they upset the Montreal Canadiens this year before they were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

What made MacLean’s performance notable was that his team was devastated by injuries. Most expected the Sens to be sellers at the trade deadline, but MacLean never allowed this team to lose confidence even though they lost Erik Karlsson, Milan Michalek, Craig Anderson and Jason Spezza for long periods of time.

3. Claude Julien, Boston – Julien’s tenure in Boston has been quite successful, as he has been to the playoffs every year. He led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011 and would have had his second this year if they had been able to overcome the Blackhawks.
Julien is not an inspiring lockerroom speaker, but he excels at all other aspects of coaching. When it comes to strategy, matchups and teaching the game, he does not have to take a back seat to anyone, except perhaps our top-ranked coach. He is also among the most honest and decent men coaching in North American professional sports.

2. Joel Quenneville, Chicago – It’s his focus and intensity that has allowed Quenneville to become one of the top coaches in the sport. He does not let injuries or off-the-ice issues distract him from his job, which is to keep the Blackhawks winning. His adjustment vs. Boston in Game 4 – going after defensemen Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg — allowed the Blackhawks to turn the series around and win their second Stanley Cup in three years.

1. Mike Babcock, Detroit – He is the best and most consistent coach in the game. He is probably the NHL’s equivalent of Don Shula, the legendary Hall of Fame coach of the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins. Bum Phillips once said Shula could take “his’n and beat your’n, and then take your’n and beat his’n.” While Phillips was grammatically challenged, it’s clear what he meant and the same thing applies to Babcock.

In addition to being a Stanley Cup winner, he has also won Olympic gold as Canada’s head coach in 2010, and he was selected to serve in that capacity again in 2014. When it comes to motivation, teaching, strategy and matchups, Babcock is without peer.

No team gave the Blackhawks more of a run for their money than the undermanned Detroit Red Wings, and the Blackhawks and the rest of the Western Conference are thrilled that the Wings have moved to the Eastern Conference.

Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman was with Pro Football Weekly for 10 years and his byline has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Playboy, NFL.com and The Sporting News. He is the author of four books, including Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Football — The Top 60 Players of All-Time. Follow him on Twitter (@profootballboy) and read more of his CBS Chicago columns here.

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When Animals Attack: Red-Winged Blackbirds Protect Nests At Grant Park

CHICAGO (CBS) – It’s not quite a scene out of Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” but if you’re visiting Grant Park anytime soon, make sure to keep your eye out for some aggressive birds that are protecting their nests, or you could find out the hard way just how protective they can be.

WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports Red-winged Blackbirds are nesting in the park, and will swoop down on passersby to protect their territory – so watch your head.

One extra-protective bird has been wreaking havoc on unsuspecting pedestrians.

“This bird came out of nowhere, and he completely dive-bombed me, and he whacked the back of my head really hard,” said Cher Ames, WBBM’s marketing manager. “He conked me, and he latched on. It was actually pretty terrifying.”

Aggressive Birds Protect Nests At Grant ParkWBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser

She’s been attacked five times, and once the bird left a welt on her head.

“I’m like, ‘What the heck is going on?’ and he got stuck in my ponytail,” she said. “I’m running up the ramp, with my dog, screaming.”

Signs have been posted at the park, warning visitors of the swooping birds.

As one man stopped to read the sign, a bird swooped right onto his head.

Saul, from Brazil, said it was his first bird attack.

“It got me by surprise, because I didn’t see it coming,” he said. “It was different for sure.”

CBS 2's Ed Curran decided to investigate for himself and got dive-bombed several times. Lucky for him, he was wearing a hard hat.

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Woman Killed In Domestic Disturbance In Addison

ADDISON, Ill. (STMW) — A woman was killed in a domestic disturbance at her home in west suburban Addison Friday, authorities said.

Police responded at 3:12 a.m. Friday to the 900 block of North Craig Place for a “domestic disturbance,” according to a release from Addison police.

The woman died at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood at 5 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. She had suffered blunt head trauma, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The incident, which is not detailed in the release, is an isolated occurrence and there is no direct threat to the community, the release said.

Police did not release any more details early Saturday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Prosecutors: Teen Refuses To Pay Cabbie, Throws Bleach In His Face

(STMW) – An 18-year-old suburban man allegedly refused to pay a $175 taxi fare, then threw a cup of bleach into the cab driver’s eyes.

Oliver Dickens gave his ID to the driver as collateral when he got into the cab Thursday, but raised a fit when it was time to pay, even damaging and stealing the driver’s tablet computer, which Chicago Police found when Dickens was arrested at a Chicago home the next day, Cook County prosecutors said.

The victim, a 34-year-old man from Dundee, suffered burning and irritation of his eyes and skin, but did not require hospitalization.

Dickens has no criminal history.

Dickens was ordered held in lieu of $125,000 bail Saturday.

He is charged with aggravated battery and two misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property and theft of labor.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Four Injured In Near West Side Hit-And-Run Crash

AppId is over the quota

July 27, 2013 10:04 AM

CHICAGO (STMW) – Four people were injured early Saturday when a pickup truck that blew a stop sign crashed into a taxicab on the Near West Side.

The crash happened about 2:15 a.m. at Ogden Avenue and Congress Parkway, according to police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada.

A Ford pickup truck was heading east on Congress Parkway when it failed to stop at a stop sign at Ogden and struck a 2013 Toyota Camry that was heading south on Ogden, Estrada said. According to a witness report the Camry was a taxicab. The Ford fled the scene of the crash.

The driver of the Camry, as well as three passengers, were taken to local hospitals, according to police. Their conditions were not believed to be life-threatening. At least five ambulances were sent to the scene.

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Surging Royals Beat White Sox 5-1

 

Starting pitcher Jose Quintana #62 of the Chicago White Sox delivers the ball against the Kansas City Royals at U.S. Cellular Field on July 26, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

CHICAGO (AP) —James Shields tossed seven shutout innings and rookie David Lough homered and drove in another run to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

The Royals (49-51) have won four straight and six of eight since the All-Star break. The White Sox (40-60) have lost four of five.

Shields (5-7) allowed eight hits and walked two but faced only one real scoring threat, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning.

The veteran right-hander, in his first season in Kansas City, has pitched better than his won-loss record might indicate. He lowered his ERA to 3.09 and has been especially effective on the road, where he improved to 4-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 12 starts.

Chicago starter Jose Quintana (5-3) also pitched well but allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings to pick up the loss.

Lough led off the top of the third inning with a home run into the right-field bullpen to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. That’s where the score stayed until the seventh, when the Royals stretched the lead to 2-0 on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Tejada that scored Salvador Perez, who led off the inning with a double.

The White Sox’s best threat against Shields came in the sixth, when they loaded the bases with two outs. But catcher Josh Phegley grounded into a fielder’s choice to third base on the first pitch to end the inning.

The Sox finally got on the board in the eighth on a solo homer by Conor Gillaspie, but the Royals added three insurance runs in the ninth on run-scoring hits by Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas, and a sacrifice fly by Lough.

NOTES: White Sox RHP Jesse Crain, who has been on the disabled list since July 3 with a right shoulder strain, played catch on Thursday and said afterward, “It definitely wasn’t better today.” Crain, who has a 0.74 ERA in 38 appearances this season, said he will take four or five days off before throwing again next week. . Although he’s not ready to commit to it long-term, Royals manager Ned Yost said he will keep first baseman Eric Hosmer batting second for now. “Traditionally, a situational guy hits second,” Yost said. The slugging Hosmer was hitting .321 with a .519 slugging percentage in July before Friday. . White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham was back in the lineup on Friday after missing five games with a strained left wrist, the same wrist he had surgery on earlier this season. “There’s some soreness but no pain, so it’s go time,” he said. . Royals RHP Wade Davis (4-9) faces LHP Chris Sale (6-9) Saturday night in the second game of the series.

 (© 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)

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