The New England Revolution have historic opportunities in Wednesday night’s 8 p.m. match at the Chicago Fire.

The Revolution (17-4-4) can set a club record for wins in a season and, with 56 points in the bank, can equal the high-water mark of 59 set in 2005. They can also clinch a spot in the MLS playoffs with a record seventh road win.

The Revolution own the best record in MLS with eight games remaining and are on course to claim the first Supporters Shield in team history. The Revolution faced the Fire in the season opener and played to a 2-2 draw.

“We know what there is to play for,” said dynamic midfielder Tajon Buchanan, a member of the Canadian National Team who will compete for Club Brugge in Belgium in 2022.

“We are trying to win everything but yeah, we’ve just got to keep getting results that we should be getting. We are taking it game by game and keep putting in good performances.

“We are leading the league right now so everything is in our hands. We’ve just got to stay focused, take it game by game and hopefully keep performing.”

The Revolution are coming off an unsatisfactory 1-1 draw against the reigning MLS champion Columbus Crew on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

The match was the first of a grueling four games in 11 days. Following the match in Chicago, the Revolution host Orlando City FC on Saturday (7) and visit CF Montreal on the Sept. 29.

Revolution coach Bruce Arena mixed and matched his starting 11 even when they were playing one game a week. Arena will expand that strategy during this busy stretch and he has the depth to liberally substitute in the second half of each game.

“We see how players come out of games and then make decisions for the next game,” said Arena. “The priority is to try and put a team on the field that can win a game.

“Each and every game we’ve rotated in and that won’t change. Obviously, the travel makes it a little bit more difficult. We try to put a team on the field that’s as fresh as they can be and obviously, try to get them in position to try and get three points.”

A tie is preferable to a loss, but the Revolution were irate with themselves for not getting three points against the Crew especially at home, where they are 10-1-2 and unbeaten (6-0-1) in the last seven games.

The Revolution set a new club single-game record with 11 shots on goal and matched the old standard with 33 total shots. The Revolution battered Crew keeper Eloy Room, who played the second half with an injured left leg. Adam Buksa’s career high 11th goal of the season was the bright spot.

“Every game we go in we want to get three points and put in a good performance but sometimes those things don’t happen,” said Buchanan. “In the last game I thought we played good, I thought we controlled the game but the end product just wasn’t there on the the night.”

After he shot four people inside an SUV, authorities say Antoine Darnique Suggs drove around St. Paul for hours, stopped to talk with his mother, got gas and a drink, and asked his father to follow him to Wisconsin where he dumped the vehicle in a cornfield.

He was in and out of the car containing the bodies for about seven hours, according to a timeline police put together using video footage, cellphone data and witness reports that is laid out in criminal charges.

So much blood had pooled in the SUV that police found puddles of it at different places where he had parked.

“Suggs told his father that he snapped and shot a couple of people,” is all the criminal complaint offers as a motive for the quadruple homicide.

Suggs, 38, was charged Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court with four counts of second-degree murder with intent in the fatal shooting deaths of siblings Jasmine Christine Sturm, 30, and Matthew Isiah Pettus, 26, both of St. Paul; and friends Nitosha Lee Flug-Presley, 30, of Stillwater; and Loyace Foreman III, 35, of St. Paul.

POLICE TIMELINE OF EVENTS

Events leading to their deaths unfolded over a two- to three-hour time period in the early morning hours of Sept. 12, according to the police investigation:

• 1 a.m. — Witnesses told police Sturm and Foreman, who were dating, and Pettus were hanging out on the patio at Shamrocks bar at 955 W. Seventh St. in St. Paul.
• After 1 a.m. — An employee at the White Squirrel Bar, located at 974 W. Seventh St. in St. Paul, told police that Sturm came in and that Flug-Presley was with a man who looked like Suggs.
• 1:38 a.m. — Investigators found a receipt for the White Squirrel from a purchase by Foreman. A witness told police the group got into a black SUV, a Mercedes.
• 2:50 a.m. — Suggs returns to the White Squirrel.
• 3:08 a.m. — Foreman creates a phone contact for Suggs, according to phone data.
• 3:30 a.m. — Suggs’ phone and the Mercedes park for a time. This is when police believe Suggs shot the four.
• 3:48 a.m. — Surveillance video shows the Mercedes drive west on Seventh Street toward the McDonald’s near Madison Street. The SUV then headed toward Shepard Road, but returned to Seventh Street and headed east. Video surveillance captures the passenger side and it appears Flug-Presley is slumped over in the seat.
• 4:30 a.m. — Suggs places a phone call to his father, Darren Lee Osborne, 56, of St. Paul.
• 5:00 a.m. — Suggs meets up with Osborne. Suggs tells his father he shot some people and asks him to follow him in another vehicle so he can dump the car and get a ride back.
• 7:42 a.m. — Surveillance video from University Avenue and Eustis Street shows the Mercedes following a Nissan Rogue. Flug-Presley is seen slumped in the same position she was found dead in hours later.
• 9:48 a.m. — Video from the Holiday gas station at 281 N. Snelling Ave. shows the Mercedes at a gas pump. Flug-Presley’s body is visible. Suggs entered the store.
• 10:06 a.m. — Cell tower data show Pettus’ phone in the area of Interstate 94 and Dale Street heading east toward Wisconsin.
• 10:26 a.m. — Minnesota Department of Transportation video shows the Mercedes and Nissan at the Minnesota and Wisconsin border.
• 2:18 p.m. — The Mercedes and the four bodies are discovered in a cornfield in Dunn County, Wis.

FOUR VIOLENT DEATHS

The violence of the victims’ deaths can be seen through the Ramsey County medical examiner’s autopsy reports detailed in the complaint.

Flug-Presley had a gunshot wound that entered her mouth and out the back of her head. Pettus had two gunshot wounds to the back of his head and a third gunshot wound to his left arm. Foreman had a gunshot wound to his face and the top of his head. Sturm had a gunshot wound that went through her left palm and into her face.

Last week, Dunn County authorities charged Suggs with four counts of hiding a corpse. Suggs, who had flown back to his residence in Arizona, turned himself in to authorities.

Police are still uncertain what caused Suggs to allegedly kill the four people he had been hanging out with that early Sunday morning. The criminal complaint gives a few clues.

A witness said Suggs was arguing at the White Squirrel and said something to the effect of, “having six children and this happening every time he comes back to Minnesota.”

Osborne told police that Suggs had spoken to him and his mother about taking care of his kids and trying to get along with each other, according to the complaint.

‘HE SNAPPED AND SHOT A COUPLE OF PEOPLE’

When Suggs was alone with his father, Suggs told him that “he snapped and shot a couple of people” and that the “shooting happened in the vehicle on Seventh Street,” the criminal complaint states.

After following Suggs to Wisconsin, Osborne dropped him off in Minneapolis. Osborne denied knowing there were bodies in the SUV. When the two headed for the border, they left their phones in St. Paul, the complaint states.

“The phones never physically moved past the area of Lexington Parkway and Interstate 94,” the complaint states.

Suggs has a prior conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also has a prior conviction of aggravated domestic assault.

Suggs remains in custody in Arizona awaiting extradition. The Ramsey County attorney’s office is requesting bail be set at $10 million.

NORMAL, Ill. – Twenty-five-year-old Jelani Day is a graduate student studying to get his master’s in speech pathology at Illinois State University. He was last seen Aug. 24 and hasn’t been heard from since. 

Police found his car, a 2010 White Crysler 300 with a blacktop, in a wooded area in Peru, Illinois, a few days later. 

“Nothing is more important to me than getting Jelani back,” Carmen Bolden Day, Jelani’s mother said. “I need help to find my son, it’s been 28 days.”

Jelani’s family from Danville and a faculty member reported Jelani missing after he did not show up for class for several days. Bloomington police said they need tips from the public in their ongoing search.

Brenden Rice had high expectations for himself and the rest of the Colorado receivers this year.

Three games into the season, it’s been a difficult road for that group, as the Buffaloes’ offense has gone through some struggles.

“Very frustrating,” Rice said. “But we’ll get it together. I’m still proud of this offense. I can’t wait to show the world what we can do and what we are able to do. It’s only a matter of time.”

CU (1-2) is looking to get its offense on track as it visits Arizona State (2-1) on Saturday (8:30 p.m., TV: ESPNU) in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.

Freshman quarterback Brendon Lewis has struggled through the first three starts of his career and the Buffs have just 273 passing yards. Navy is the only one of the 130 FBS teams averaging fewer yards through the air than CU’s 91.0 per game. CU and the three service academies – Army, Air Force and Navy – are the only teams averaging less than 100 passing yards.

Tight end Brady Russell leads the Buffs with six catches, while Rice leads the receivers with five catches for 35 yards.

Rice said it’s important for the playmakers, who all want the ball more, to focus on what they can do to help the struggling offense, rather than hang their heads.

Boston College coach Jeff Hafley wants a downfield passing threat regardless of who is throwing the football.

Phil Jurkovec threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns in a 51-0 victory over Colgate in the season opener. A week later, Jurkovec suffered a season-ending right-hand injury on the opening possession of a 45-28 win at UMass. Dennis Grosel came in and threw for 199 yards and a touchdown.

The vertical passing game was nonexistent in the Eagles’ 28-3 victory at Temple. Grosel was 5-of-13 for 34 yards with a pick as BC settled into a power run scheme. But the Eagles need to revive their vertical mojo against SEC opponent Missouri at noon Saturday at Alumni Stadium.

“We are going to be a vertical passing team no matter who is playing quarterback,” said Hafley following Tuesday’s practice. “This scheme is not going to change and we have full confidence in Dennis.

“We went up so fast in that (Temple) game and I felt so good about the way we were playing on defense that we were going to run the ball. Dennis is a confident guy and if we have to throw 50 times to win then we will throw 50. If we have to throw for more than 400 yards to win, we will throw for 400 yards.”

In his only start in 2020 at Virginia, Grosel threw for 520 yards, equaling the single-game record set by Doug Flutie against Penn State in 1982.

“I think the way Temple played we were a little more underneath and stuff like that,” said Grosel. “But we are going to open the playbook back up and we know how to do it and let it fly. We have that mentality coming to this week. We were talking about it in meetings and we showed it in practice. We are going to open it up and let it fly. “

The Eagles got by with “vanilla” game plans because they took convincing early leads in all three games. That’s unlikely to happen against the Tigers, so Grosel is prepared to execute the pass plays BC practiced but left on the table.

“We still have a lot of stuff in our back pocket and plenty of stuff we haven’t even shown yet and it’s good stuff,” said Grosel.

A nickel’s worth

There is more to playing the nickel defensive back than keeping tabs on the slot receiver.

Hafley has entrusted the complex coverage and run-support responsibilities of nickelback to junior veteran Josh DeBerry. DeBerry recorded six tackles against Temple.

“Josh had one of his best tackling days and I thought all our corners tackled really well,” said Hafley. “When he is at the nickel position, sometimes he has an interior gap and sometimes he has an exterior gap. He might be the edge to the defense on some plays or if the ball gets outside, he has to set the edge and essentially be our force player. When he is in the nickel he blitzes, he fills in on run support and sometimes he’s in the box like a linebacker.”

DeBerry showed the versatility to play cover and nickel corner last season when he recorded 44 tackles, 33 solos with two TFL, two forced fumbles and an interception to earn All-ACC honorable mention. In three games this season, DeBerry is tied with linebacker Vinny DePalma for third with 12 tackles and two TFL.

“He is one of our toughest players physically and mentally on the team in my opinion and he is one of our better tacklers,” said Hafley.

Grant’s tomb

Punter Grant Carlson landed two inside the 20 and was named ACC specialist of the week. Carlson averaged 51.4 yards on five punts with a long of 62 against Temple that included a remarkable flip of the field.

With the ball on the BC 14 and his back to the goal line, Carlson launched the ball 59 yards. Jadan Blue retreated six yards to create a seam, but gunner Elijah Jones dropped Blue for a five-yard loss resulting in a flip of the field of 64 yards.

“He had two huge punts that totally flipped the field and Elijah had to run like 70 yards to make that one tackle and he made it immediately,” said Hafley. “Those are game-changers. Those take points away.”

Carlson is eighth in the nation with a 45.1 net average, with five inside the 20.

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH

COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have climbed to an average of more than 1,900 a day for the first time since early March, with experts saying the virus is preying largely on a distinct group: 71 million unvaccinated Americans.

The increasingly lethal turn has filled hospitals, complicated the start of the school year, delayed the return to offices and demoralized health care workers.

“It is devastating,” said Dr. Dena Hubbard, a pediatrician in the Kansas City, Missouri, area who has cared for babies delivered prematurely by cesarean section in a last-ditch effort to save their mothers, some of whom died. For health workers, the deaths, combined with misinformation and disbelief about the virus, have been “heart-wrenching, soul-crushing.”

Twenty-two people died in one week alone at CoxHealth hospitals in the Springfield-Branson area, a level almost as high as that of all of Chicago. West Virginia has had more deaths in the first three weeks of September — 340 — than in the previous three months combined. Georgia is averaging 125 dead per day, more than California or other more populous states.

“I’ve got to tell you, a guy has got to wonder if we are ever going to see the end of it or not,” said Collin Follis, who is the coroner in Missouri’s Madison County and works at a funeral home.

The nation was stunned back in December when it was witnessing 3,000 deaths a day. But that was when almost no one was vaccinated.

Now, nearly 64% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. And yet, average deaths per day have climbed 40% over the past two weeks, from 1,387 to 1,947, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Health experts say the vast majority of the hospitalized and dead have been unvaccinated. While some vaccinated people have suffered breakthrough infections, those tend to be mild.

The number of vaccine-eligible Americans who have yet to get a shot has been put at more than 70 million.

“There is a very real risk you’ll end up in the hospital or even in the obituary pages,” Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer for the Ohio Department of Health, said to the unvaccinated. “Don’t become a statistic when there is a simple, safe and effective alternative to go out today and get vaccinated.”

Many low-vaccination communities also have high rates of conditions like obesity and diabetes, said Dr. William Moss of Johns Hopkins. And that combination — along with the more contagious delta variant — has proved lethal.

“I think this is a real failure of society and our most egregious sin to be at this stage where we have hospitals overwhelmed, ICUs overwhelmed and hitting this mark in terms of deaths per day,” Moss lamented.

New cases of the coronavirus per day in the U.S. have dropped since the start of September and are now running at about 139,000. But deaths typically take longer to fall because victims often linger for weeks before succumbing.

In Kansas, 65-year-old cattleman Mike Limon thought he had beaten COVID-19 and went back to work for a few days. But the virus had “fried” his lungs and he died last week, said his grandson, Cadin Limon, 22, of Wichita.

He said his grandfather didn’t get vaccinated for fear of a bad reaction, and he hasn’t gotten the shot either for the same reason, though serious side effects have proved extremely rare.

He described his grandfather as a “man of faith.”

“Sixty-five is still pretty young,” the young man said. “I know that. It seems sudden and unexpected, but COVID didn’t surprise God. His death wasn’t a surprise to God. The God I serve is bigger than that.”

Cases are falling in West Virginia from pandemic highs, but deaths and hospitalizations are expected to continue increasing for as many as six more weeks, said retired National Guard Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, who leads the state’s coronavirus task force.

Dr. Greg Martin, who is president of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and practices mostly at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, said the staff is buckling under the strain.

“I think everyone in 2020 thought we would get through this. No one really thought that we would still be seeing this the same way in 2021,” he said.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon activated the state’s National Guard on Tuesday to provide assistance to hospitals dealing with a surge of COVID-19 patients.

In Oklahoma, Hillcrest South Hospital in Tulsa is among several medical centers around the country to add temporary morgues. Deaths are at an all-time high there, at three to four times the number it would see in a non-COVID-19 world, said Bennett Geister, hospital CEO.

He said the staff there, too, is worn out.

“They didn’t sign up to be ICU nurses only to have people pass away on them,” he said. “They signed up to be ICU nurses to take people to recovery and heal people from the brink of death.”

NORMAL, Ill. – Twenty-five-year-old Jelani Day is a graduate student studying to get his master’s in speech pathology at Illinois State University. He was last seen Aug. 24 and hasn’t been heard from since. 

Police found his car, a 2010 White Crysler 300 with a blacktop, in a wooded area in Peru, Illinois, a few days later. 

“Nothing is more important to me than getting Jelani back,” Carmen Bolden Day, Jelani’s mother said. “I need help to find my son, it’s been 28 days.”

Jelani’s family from Danville and a faculty member reported Jelani missing after he did not show up for class for several days. Bloomington police said they need tips from the public in their ongoing search.