WGN News Blog

JR's SPORTS :60: Bears' Cutler Delivers 49ers A High "5"

2009-11-14T01:04:11Z

By JERRY RILES Penalties, turnovers, and injuries.

That was the formula for yet another Bears defeat on Thursday night.

But woe and behold these mucks had a chance to pull it out to win it 13-10 on a last drive of the game.. And boy what an ugly, sloppy, nasty drive.

Unfortunately, it ended just like it started for starting Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. With an interception.

The final 10-6 49ers over the Bears.

San Francisco's Michael Lewis picked off Cutler's final pass of the game in the end zone to seal the victory.

"I think we are a better football team," Head Coach Lovie Smith said after the game. "We need to just finish a game and get a win."

The Bears were penalized 10 times for 77 yards against the San Francisco 49ers.

Just before the 2-minute warning at the end of regulation, Bears offensive lineman Chris Williams was a bit overzealous and was called for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty that pretty much ended the Bears chances in a 10-6 loss.

Cutler threw 5 interceptions on the night. His 17th of the season after just nine games. The first 5 pick game of his career. He finished with 29 completions, 52 attempts, for 307 yards on the night.

"Jay realize what that did for the team. There's still a lot of football to go," Smith said. "This one hurt but we'll comeback."

A year ago at this time, he had thrown just 10 picks after the 10th week of the season with the Denver Broncos.

The difference though, between this season and last, is that he has already been sacked 19 times. The last Bears QB to throw 4-interceptions in one game twice in one season was Billy Wade back in 1962.

Cutler recorded his first 4-INT game of the season in week 1 against the Green Bay Packers.

Is Cutler trying to force too many of his throws in trying to make something happen? Is the offensive line that bad and aren't giving the pro-bowl QB enough time? Are the Bears poorly coached or are they just simply bad?

The Niners defensive line did an impressive job of taking away the run game of the Bears and putting pressure on the O-line while forcing Cutler to make mistakes.

The last time the Bears defeated the Niners in San Francisco was way back in 1986 when the great late Walter Payton was running the rock.

Mike Ditka's Monsters beat the west coast squad 26-10 in week 6. Tight end Desmond Clark left the game after injuring his neck.

After suffering a tough loss against the Arizona Cardinals last week and now this humiliating defeat the Bears and Smith will have time to prepare for Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles a week from Sunday at Soldier Field.

The Bears fall to 4-5 on the season.

(Jerry Riles is a bi-weekly 5on5 contributor featured every other Tuesday in the RedEye)

JR's SPORTS :60: Cards Deal Bears Ugly A$$ Beat Down!

2009-11-10T20:17:18Z

By JERRY RILES

Losing ugly.

Better yet, it was an old fashion butt kicking.

The Arizona Cardinals kicked the Bears all over their home field beating the so-called Monsters of the Midway 41-21, dropping them to 4-4 on the season.

Defensive end Alex Brown, in his post game comments, said it's not easy for him to put a loss like this behind him.

Believe me it's not easy for the Bear fans either.

Brown stepped up by admitting that he needed to play a better game defensively. He collected 2-sacks and a forced fumble in the Bears fourth loss.

Unfortunately, Brown and the Bears could not stop Kurt Warner and that Cards offense. Arizona moved the ball successfully producing an impressive 18 first downs against the home team in the first half.

They were so good, the squad from out West converted all five of their third downs against the Bears defense. Warner threw five TDs on the day. It all started going downhill very early.

Thanks to 3-time pro-bowler defensive tackle Tommy Harris. At the 13:42 mark in the first quarter, on just the fourth play of the game, Harris' frustration level exceeded its limit.

The defenseman punched Card's right guard Deuce Lutui in the face as he lay on the turf of Soldier Field. The refs saw it and tossed him out of the game for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Bears were also hit with a 15-yard penalty. Talk about a lack of discipline. Talk about a stupid penalty. Does this come down to coaching? The game just started. How could a player in the eighth game of the season lose control on just the fourth play?

Is Head Coach Lovie Smith to blame? Fans are calling for his firing. Should he be fired? Have the players given up on the coaching staff?

It appears there's no imagination on either side of the ball. Harris gets ejected. Charles Tillman is escorted off the field and into the tunnel after injuring his shoulder.

He would be done for the day, and linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer gets rattled as well. This Bears team appears to be going in the wrong direction. DOWN!

Smith believes the Bears can fix the problems they have. That's nice to know, but unfortunately, they won't have much time to work on getting things righted.

It's a short week. Very short.

They take on the 49ers in San Francisco on Thursday night. It'll be a quick turn around for them for sure. The Bears have talked about executing a lot. Good luck.

They couldn't even do it against visiting Arizona at Soldier Field. And, the Cards did it without star receiver Anquan Boldin who is nursing an injury.

Tight end Gregg Olsen feels the Bears can bounce back from the terrible defeat. The only problem is they'll be taking on Mike Singletary's Niners, and he won't be feeling too sorry.

Olsen would have three touchdowns on the day in a losing effort. QB Jay Cutler who found his tight end would finish the day 29 of 47 for 369 yards including the three strikes and an interception.

Samauri Mike is very aware of this Bears team demeanor. Can Lovie's team get back on track Thursday night? In Singletary's words "Can't do it."

They are riddled with injuries, have very limited talent, and lack depth at the safety position. It sure would be nice to have Mike Brown back there playing center field. And the scary thing is, the schedule only gets tougher.

So if you thought the Bengals, Browns, and Cardinals games were ugly, just wait, there's more to come.

A .500 record might not be too bad by the end of December. Ugly, yes!

(Jerry Riles is a weekly 5on5 contributor featured every Tuesday in the RedEye)

JR's SPORTS :60: Yanks Win #27. What About The Cubs?

2009-11-05T19:54:35Z

By JERRY RILES

The New York Yankees are the Champions of the World. They defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to win the 2009 World Series for the 27th time in franchise history.

Call it money, call it high priced talent, call it the greedy, but whatever the case, the boys in pinstripes made it happen again. 7-3 was the final from the new Yankee Stadium. Alex Rodriguez collects his first.

Derek Jeter latches on to another. Johnny Damon picks up one with his second team. The Yankee magic continues in the Bronx. The goal and the mission was to win the entire thing after the Steinbrenner family invested and built a $1-billion modern day Yankee Stadium.

They acquired a smart, disciplined, and intellectual manager in Joe Girardi. They sought out and convinced C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira to sign on with a team of stars and they all made it happen.

Even pitcher Andy Pettitte, after all the steroid controversy, can finally smile up to the baseball gods and say thank you.

Are the Yankees deserving of the championship? Did they simply pay for the darn thing? Do you hate New York? Maybe yes to all or some, maybe no to all or some. But one thing for sure the drought is finally over in the Big Apple.

After nine years the Bronx-bombers once again bring home the World Series title and they win it in front of the hometown crowd. Even those fortunate enough to spend more than $1,000 for a seat per game during the regular season. How sweet it is.

Even former White Sox nutty guy Nick Swisher gets a ring. 29 homers during the season and most of them on the road. What a great teammate and quite an acquisition by the organization.

And son Hal the new GM of the team, was so elated after the victory, that he shouted out to daddy George Steinbrenner during the post game celebration who was watching from home, and said "Dad this one's for you."

The Boss gets his wish. Another title! A-Rod finally had the opportunity to hoist the trophy as a World Series Champion after an incredible post-season performance including six homeruns while also being binged three times.

Love 'em or hate 'em, the Yankees do it the right way. They pay, they play, they win. Hideki Matsui was named the game's MVP after killing the Phils pitching, including Game 6 hurler Pedro Martinez.

Godzilla belted in six runs in leading the Yanks to the 4-2 series victory over the defending champs. What a night in New York. Lady Liberty certainly is standing proud sitting in the Hudson River just outside the city that never sleeps.

The captain Jeter once again held the trophy in the house that HE built, and super closer Mariano Rivera was so ecstatic that he predicted that he would return to play for the squad for another 5 more years. And just think, it all started in spring training.

These guys just seem to play the game the right way, and when that happens, everyone can now see what the results are. The White Sox tasted that magic in 2005. Let's hope the Cubs can share in the experience come 2010.

The Ricketts, new owners of the organization, made a prediction after paying $850-million for the team, that there would be a World Series victory on the north side. The only question not answered was when.

Hopefully, the new family will be able to tell their fans very, very soon, "This one's for you." Congrats to the 2009 World Series Champions. The New York Yankees.

(Jerry Riles is a weekly 5on5 contributor featured every Tuesday in the RedEye)

JR's SPORTS :60: Bears Prepare For Ex-Mate Benson

2009-10-20T02:59:58Z

By JERRY RILES

Three turnovers, nine penalties, and a loss once again to the hosting Atlanta Falcons down in the Georgia Dome was not what Lovie Smith and his Chicago Bears were looking for, but it's what they got.

The Bears beat themselves 21-14 falling to the Falcons for the second straight year. Last year it was a Matt Ryan deep pass coupled with a Jason Elam game winning field goal.

On Sunday night, it was a combination of coaching, poor execution and just bad judgment. Running back Matt Forte fumbled the ball twice inside the red zone with the Bears knocking on the door. That should not have happened.

Offensive coordinator Ron Turner should have called a Jay Cutler dive at the one for the touchdown instead of handing to Forte. The running game wasn't clicking based on the play selection.

Did the Bears drop this contest because of the lack of creative play calling by Turner? Did Lovie and his coaching staff fumble the ball in game planning? Was it Cutler trying to do too much, or was the offensive line just bad?

Smith admitted during the post game comments that the blame for the lost starts with him. He's absolutely right. It starts with the top man. The coaching staff should've been prepared. Turner wasn't.

Cutler was indeed too cocky. When you try to thread the needle between three defenders down the middle of the field to get the ball to the tight-end, that's simply being too cocky. Play smart. I'm not against taking chances, but do it intelligently.

The play of the offensive line was not up to standard as well. Future Hall Of Famer Orlando Pace was called for a false start on fourth and one during the Bears last drive.

Defensively, rookie middle linebacker Nick Roach, filling in for the injured Brian Urlacher and Hunter Hillenmeyer, got brunt several times simply because he has very limited experience. Defensive coordinator Smith and sideline guy Urlacher should've assisted the Northwestern grad in recognizing some of the Falcons lineups and formations.

They didn't and Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzales hooked up for a 10 yard touchdown strike in the back of the end zone. Now the Bears are tied for second in the NFC North with rival Green Bay. Both at 3-2 with Minnesota leading the division with a 6-0 slate.

Next up, former teammate Cedric Benson and the Cincinnati Bengals in Ohio. Benson will be ready. He had a disappointing game against the Texans rushing for 44 yards on 16 carries.

Let the games begin. It's time to regroup fellas.

(Jerry Riles is a weekly 5on5 contributor featured every Tuesday in the RedEye)

JR's SPORTS :60: Those Amazing Hawks.

2009-10-13T20:56:19Z

By JERRY RILES

Here come the Hawks. Man, here come the Hawks. What a tremendous performance by Coach Joel Quenneville's bunch.

The Blackhawks skated to a 6-5 come from behind victory over the Calgary Flames over at the United Center.

The comeback, as you've heard by now, was for the record books. Trailing 5-zip in the first period, the sluggish boyz ripped off six unanswered goals in the next 45-minutes to knock off the Flames in front of a spirited UC crowd of 20,000.

Brent Seabrook scored the game winner :26 into the overtime period. OVERTIME! This was the second time in two games the Hawks needed extra time to win. Saturday it took a club record nine-round shootout against Colorado to claim that amazing 4-3 victory off an Andrew Ladd goal.

It would be the longest shootout in team history. Last night's overwhelming win would be the Hawks biggest comeback in the team's history as well.

Some hockey experts around town believe the guys on skates have a better and more exciting game than the guys on the hardwood. What do you think? Back-to-back history making performances supports their argument.

The Bulls are still trying to figure things out without their star player and second year head coach Vinny Del Negro.

Derrick Rose has yet to lace them up this early preseason due to a bad wheel. If you ask me, both the NHL and the NBA are pretty good and exciting. Could they both improve...of course?

Jonathan Toews believes if the Hawks stay the course and reach their short term goals throughout the season the bigger picture of advancing to the Stanley Cup will happen for sure.

"To win our division or make the playoffs, even, is going to be a tough task," the captain explained.

"We have to not try to bite off more that what we can chew at any given time. If we keep everything short-term and worry about that, the long-term goals will take care of themselves."

With Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith and the rest of the boyz it should make for a fun and exciting season.

(Jerry Riles is a weekly 5on5 contributor featured every Tuesday in the RedEye)

JR's SPORTS :60: Cabrera- Don't Blame It On The Alcohol Dude!

2009-10-07T01:10:43Z

By JERRY RILES

Hey, Miguel Cabrera you can try to blame it on the alcohol as Jamie Foxx would say. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll get off that easy.

I don't mind having a nice cold one or two after work with co-workers and/or friends, but to hang out with the team who's chasing you in the division and possibly trying to help eliminate the Detroit Tigers from the playoffs, man that's cold.

To make matters worse, you get to the house at about 5am in the morning and began to get into it with your wife. If she's upset with you for staying out all night long and then coming home intoxicated the only thing you needed to do was man up.

"I said I was sorry for what I did," said Cabrera, who sat in front of his locker with a contrite look.

That's it? All this commotion as the team makes a playoff run and you can just say to them I'm sorry? I don't think skipper Jim Leyland is going to accept that kind of apology sitting down. You guys have to play 163 games this season to get into the playoffs. Talk about selfish.

Despite a 2-run blast off the end of your bat, the Tigers are going home and the Twins will face the New York Yankees in the first round of the ALDS. Talk about timing. You got caught with the three Ds. Drunk, Domestic, Defeat. What a tough week.

I must commend your wife Rosangel. She did not put up with your crap. How dare you begin yelling and fighting with her after staying out all night with a White Sox player in a Birmingham (Detroit suburb) hotel?

She had every right to scold and kick you out of the house. Now, you were the only two in the house, so I don't know if she hit and attacked you or not, but police felt they had to remove you from the residence to prevent any further confrontation.

I don't condone hitting women. Just be a man and step away. I know in your state it must have been somewhat difficult. It's been reported that Cabrera's blood alcohol level registered a .26 later after being taken to the police station.

Wow! Must have been pounding those tequila shots pretty heavily. And just think you had a game a few hours later. The question remains, should Cabrera have been out at all, let alone until 5am on a game day? Should he have gotten into a verbal (and possibly physical) confrontation with his wife waking his 4-year old daughter? Should manager Jim Leyland have punished the superstar by benching him down the stretch and into the tie-breaking clash against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night?

I guess when you're the man and can play the game of baseball better than most players in the league you can get away with almost anything. Including getting filthy drunk and fighting with your wife instead of just going home at a decent hour and sleeping it off.

Cabrera told his teammates and the media that it wouldn't happen again. I hope for his sake that's remembered the next time he slams a few cold ones down. Thank goodness it wasn't his wife who got slammed.

Then again, I think maybe she was the one doing the slamming that early Saturday morning.

You go girl!

(Jerry Riles is a weekly 5on5 contributor featured every Tuesday in the RedEye)

JR's SPORTS :60: The Cubs Are At It Again.

2009-10-06T00:41:44Z

By JERRY RILES

Cubs fans said goodbye to another year of not reaching the ultimate goal. Another season of saying "wait 'til next year". The 101st time the franchise will look toward another season of trying to get that monkey off their backs.

In one of his final press conferences of the season, Cub manager Lou Piniella told reporters that injuries were the main reason the Northsiders struggled in '09. It had nothing to do with a lack of production regarding pitching or hitting.

So, I ask the question, why was hitting coach Von Joshua brought in to boost the team's offense? He replaced Gerald Perry midway through the season in hopes of lighting a fire under a group of so called sluggers who could barely hit the side of a barn.

The only real bright spot for the Cubs offensively was second baseman Ryan Theriot. At one point during the first half of the season, the little spark plug had cranked out something like four homers in a five game span.

That all slowed down after a local writer simply asked the innocent question about rather or not The-riot was under the influence. The influence of possibly engaging in performance enhancing drugs.

Of course Theriot isn't engaging, we believe, but the newspaper article appeared to have some type of effect on him. He began to struggle at the plate along with the rest of his teammates. Joshua was supposed to change the hitting style of the Cubs, not work half a season.

GM Jim Hendry fired Perry halfway into the season. The logic behind the move was that Joshua was better suited to work with the younger guys, like Theriot and others.

"Basically I told him it wasn't anything that I was upset with him," Hendry explained. "He didn't do anything wrong. But when you come from the system in the middle of year, if things don't make significant differences, in improvement, then obviously in my opinion we need to do something different."

This sounds fishy to me. Why give him the job back in June then take it away from him in October? That's basically three months of service.

Now reports indicate that Joshua will go back down to AAA and former second baseman and current Peoria Chief skipper Ryne Sandberg may replace the former White Sox hitting coach. But why unload him at the end of the '09 campaign?

Could this be the first shoe to drop because of the new ownership in the Ricketts family? Are the Ricketts preparing to elevate Ryno to the manager's post after Sweet Lou is let go?

My concern for Cubs fans is will the new owners make smart business decisions, or just happy fan moves?

"Ryne has had a Hall of Fame career here as a player," Piniella said. "I'm not the one who is going to be hiring the next manager here, but certainly he'll be in the mix."

Remember this family used to hang out in the bleachers back when number 23 was making magic back in 1984 along with his loveable teammates. Unfortunately, Steve Garvey and the San Diego Padres put an end to that. But I digress.

For Cubs fans' sake, let's just hope this is the first move in the right direction for the struggling organization. Ryno replacing Joshua would be a great PR move.

I just hope the Ricketts don't become the Mark Cuban of baseball. Showering, taking batting practice, and yucking it up with the players because you own the team now. Instead, take a page from the Steinbrenner family and build a baseball dynasty like the New York Yankees.

Don't be too surprised if you see good ole Sarge, The Deer, Bobby Keith, and Jody-Jody Davis back in the pinstripes trying to bring back the glory days.

All that will be missing is Van Halen's Cub theme song "Jump" to start off the new regime. Here's to you, Men in Blue!

(Jerry Riles is a weekly 5on5 contributor featured every Tuesday in the RedEye)

Denmark: 45 Minutes Away

2009-10-02T06:27:30Z

I'm in the journalist work area here at the Bella Center and Mike has just been escorted into the Bid Cities Presentation Hall along with the other pool videographers to get into place. It's 8:05a here in Copenhagen and there is plenty of buzz in the air, as you might imagine. Chicago 2016 will present in about 45 minutes, then there's a 15 minute Q & A from the IOC members who will vote.

They then must quickly leave the area and then we will be taken to another area for a news conference with Mayor Daley and Pat Ryan. Right now we don't believe the President or Mrs. Obama will be at that one. I did get about maybe 3 hours sleep last night but today will be a LONG work day...and that's NOT a complaint, just info sharing. This work is fun..though I'll be a zombie by the time we get to O'hare tomorrow night.

Antwan Lewis, WGN Reporter

Thursday: Decision time in Denmark

2009-10-01T21:54:40Z

Day three in Copenhagen. It is the last night before the big vote. There are going to be a lot of anxious minds in Copenhagen tonight.

A lot of folks have asked Antwan and I if we had a chance to see any attractions. My initial reaction is to say, "no, we're running around all day covering the 2016 events." Then I thought about that statement after talking to a local resident. He was telling me about Danish life and growing up in Copenhagen.

You know, all it really comes down to is people. Not statues or monuments or any tourist attraction. It's about taking a couple minutes to chat it up with the locals and you'll learn more about a culture than you ever will on a double decker guided bus tour.

Mike D'Angelo, WGN Photographer

The Ubiquitous Oprah

2009-10-01T16:10:04Z

For anyone who doubted that Oprah is her own universe, tell him to ask me about how the Copenhagen, Denmark crowd went beserk when she got out of the car tonight at the Chicago 2016 reception.

Dude...I'm serious.

She should have currency printed with her face on it. She was very kind and gracious to me during our interview tonight (she's always like that) and just came she says to take care of biz. She got a great reception for the Danes that's for sure. And off subject here...but has anybody found out what beer I should try while over here???

Antwan Lewis, WGN Reporter

Day 2: Staying Healthy in Copenhagen

2009-10-01T16:04:49Z

Many of you may not know this, but I'm the "healthy one" in our newsroom. No, I am. The photogs hate me when it comes time to eat while we're out in the field because it's almost always some kind of green salad...chicken or tuna.

Having said that, OMG...I slipped over here in Copenhagen. I had a danish this morning. Ok...two. I set my alarm for the wrong time and was rusing and didn't get down to eat breakfast before Mike and I had to meet our taxi at 7a. So I had to eat "somethin" and WHAT would the Danes have out for the press to eat at the neews conference?? Danish. Those crispy flaky air-filled pockets of sin and no-redemption. Lol, BUT I will now have to try to get back on the wagon and but they sure were good!

Antwan Lewis, WGN Reporter

Day 2: Heavy Hitters arrive in Denmark

2009-09-30T18:14:40Z

Wednesday: The heavy hitters are starting to arrive to support Chicago: First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Friday, President Obama arrives.

There is definitely an energy in the air tonight. The hoopla for Chicago is great, but one thing I am really enjoying is the array of languages being spoken here. The world is literally convening in Copenhagen for the 2016 vote.

Everywhere we go in this city we stumble upon a group of people speaking something different everyday. You have Danish, the official language of Denmark. There's Spanish, Japanese, German, French and the most appealing to my ear, Portuguese.

It's a good thing though, for me and Antwan, that everyone seems to speak a little English because if we tried our hand at any of the above languages we'd still be trying to get out of the airport.

Mike D'Angelo, WGN Photographer

Day 1: Antwan Lewis in Denmark

2009-09-30T14:46:32Z

Day 1: BUSY day today but this is so exciting. Denmark has a great "old world" charm to it, but we haven't had a chance to "see it" just yet...lol

The plane ride over was very smooth and I think I finally dozed off around 1am Chicago time. But it was packed and a lively flight.

Early day tomorrow for us b/c Michelle Obama arrives and there are a couple of events we'll be chasing down. If you miss my blog be sure to catch the live reports on the air and the stuff on the web. Also...ANYBODY with the name of a Danish beer I can bring back to my recuperating best friend Tom Negovan...PLS let me know. ( But he can't drink it until after he's of his pain meds)

Til tomorrow....

Antwan Lewis, WGN News Reporter

JR's SPORTS :60: Mayor Daley Let The Games.

2009-09-29T21:31:08Z

By JERRY RILES

Heads or tails? It can go either way. My feelings about the 2016 Olympics here in Chicago that is. I love the Olympics, sports, winning and definitely the City of Chicago. But I also love life and love my fellow brethren, although some of my close friends and family members may differ at times. All in all, the life that God has given us is very precious and we should all cherish each and every day that we breathe the air and walk on this glorious planet we call home. Unfortunately, there are too many young African American teens and young adults on the city's South and West Sides that no longer have that chance to enjoy life anymore.

They are no longer with us because someone felt that their lives weren't important enough. Derrion Albert became the fourth Chicago public School student to have his life snuffed out by violence this 2009 school year. Corey McClaurin, senior at Simeon High School on the city's South Side, lost his life just five days before Albert fell victim to a senseless and brutal attack. Mayor Richard Daley and the Chicago 2016 Olympic supporters are in Copenhagen this week in hopes of convincing the IOC to vote in favor of awarding the City of Chicago the bid.

I think the city winning the bin would be an incredible honor. My question is at what expense? Better yet, at whose expense? The lives of young African American teens living on the South and West Sides? I hope not. Chicago and the United States are being represented very well, and by very high profile and prominent African American supporters. The list includes, Pres. Barack Obama and his lovely wife Michelle, Oprah Winfrey, an endorsement from Michael Jordan, Gold Medalists Jackie Joyner-Kersee, sprinter Michael Johnson, triple-jumper Michael Conley Sr. just to name a few.

Too bad this prestigious group of leaders can't or are not interested in finding time to help come up with a solution to the brutal violence that is taking place in the city. They're more interested in traveling overseas to help the Mayor secure the 2016 Olympic games. Again, I love the Olympics. My love began many years ago when I was cheering on Frank Shorter to win the marathon. I rooted for Mark Spitz before there was a Michael Phelps. I ran along with Edwin Moses as he pushed toward Olympic glory in the finals of the hurdles. Yes, I screamed at the television as Florence Griffith -Joyner, Jackie, Evelyn Ashford, Carl Lewis, Kristi Yamaguchi, Bart Conner, Bruce Jenner, and the many other Americans, who represented this country in the past Olympics, brought home the Gold medals.

I urge the Mayor to rally a group of these individuals to come back to Chicago and help rid the City of these ridiculous acts of violence that are destroying its image. If Chicago receives the bid, jobs, programs, and better education must be implemented immediately to help those living in the community. The killings of young males must cease. The numbers are astounding. Before 2006, on average, 10-15 students were fatally shot each year. That climbed to 24 fatal shootings in the 2006-07 school year, 23 deaths and 211 shootings in the 2007-08 school year and 34 deaths and 290 shootings last school year.

Just this month, the city announced a $30 million project that targets 1,200 high school pupils identified as most at risk to become victims of gun violence, giving them full-time mentors and part-time jobs to keep them off the streets. Some money also will pay for more security guards and to provide safe passage for students forced to travel through areas with active street gangs.

Kudos to leaders like Fr. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina on the City's South Side. May his hard work and dedication to the lives of these young individuals not go unnoticed. So let the Games begin. But let's not forget that life is more than just a game. (Jerry Riles is a weekly 5on5 contributor featured every Tuesday in the RedEye)

Denmark: Day 1 (Tuesday Sept 29)

2009-09-29T18:31:07Z

Our first day in Copenhagen. We are a bit jet lagged and sleepy after a seven hour red eye but we hit the ground running on pure adrenaline.

This city is beautiful with old narrow streets and traffic that will make the toughest Chicago driver cringe. Antwan and I are working hard to bring you the best pictures and sound from not only the 2016 delegation but from the locals as well.

-Mike D'Angelo, WGN Photographer