Chicago Sports

Tomorrow is Selection Sunday for March Madness, otherwise known as the NCAA Tournament. Unless the colleges lock the players out (not gonna happen), Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will take place March 25 and 27 at the United Center.

Meanwhile, baseball is back!

As your quiz commissioner, I pledge not to lock any of you out.

Good luck this week. I hope to double your pleasure and double your fun.

1. The Wrigley Company introduced Doublemint gum in 1914 and did not use two different mints in the gum. The name came from the double distillation process used to produce double the peppermint flavor. Now that we got that out of the way, which Chicago player has hit the most doubles in a season?

a. Billy Herman

b. Mark Grace

c. Albert Belle

d. Magglio Ordonez

2. Here are three active players: Anthony Rizzo, Jose Abreu and Kris Bryant. Who has the most sacrifice bunts?

a. Anthony Rizzo

b. Jose Abreu

c. Kris Bryant

d. All the same

3. “Saturday in the Park” was the band Chicago’s first gold single, and it got me thinking. In the last 10 seasons (2012-21), which team has had the better winning percentage on Saturdays?

a. Cubs

b. White Sox

c. The same

4. Ty Cobb was “The Georgia Peach.” Mickey Mantle was “The Commerce Comet.” Bob Feller was known as “The Heater from Van Meter.” Which of the following Chicago pitchers could be described as “Perth at Birth”?

a. Lance Lynn

b. Liam Hendriks

c. Zach Davies

d. Rex Brothers

5. Who is the only Cubs player to wear uniform No. 68? Here’s a hint: He was a recent World Series participant.

a. Jorge Soler

b. Martin Maldonado

c. Brooks Raley

d. Joc Pederson

6. Dennis Franz, the pride of Maywood, Illinois, has been as much fun as you could want from an actor in many TV shows. He was award-winning as Detective Andy Sipowicz in the ABC television series “NYPD Blue.” Which baseball-themed show was Franz also a regular in?

a. Hill Street Blues

b. Bay City Blues

c. Beverly Hills Buntz

d. Chicago Story

7. Since 1901, which Chicago team has allowed 20-plus runs in a game more often?

a. Cubs

b. White Sox

c. The same

8. Jose Abreu is a lifetime 13-for-22 (.591) against which pitcher?

a. James Shields

b. Kyle Hendricks

c. Marcus Stroman

d. Jake Arrieta

9. Final question for the week: In the 2021 season, the Sox had nine walk-off victories and the Cubs eight. Which team had more walk-off losses?

a. White Sox

b. Cubs

c. The same

ANSWERS

1. Billy Herman hit 57 doubles for the 1935 Cubs, then doubled down on his success with another 57 doubles for the 1936 Cubs.

2. Feel free to add Joey Votto, Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout to this trio of players who never have recorded a sacrifice hit.

3. In the last 10 years, the Dodgers have played better than any team in baseball on Saturdays (161-92, .636). The Cubs are 22nd in the majors with a record of 116-135 (.462). The White Sox have the worst record, going 106-143 for a winning percentage of .426.

4. Liam Hendriks was born in Perth, Australia.

5. From 2014 to 2016, Jorge Soler, the 2021 World Series MVP, wore No. 68 when he played for the Cubs. He remains the first and last with that number for the team.

6. The briefly aired “Bay City Blues” (not to be confused with the Raymond Chandler novel of the same name) centered on a Bay City, California, minor-league baseball team, the Bluebirds. Dennis Franz played pitching coach Angelo Carbone.

7. The Sox have allowed 20-plus runs 10 times, with a high of 22 runs in 1937. The Cubs have given up 20-plus runs 11 times, allowing 23 five times.

8. Jose just loves hitting against Kyle Hendricks.

9. They each had eight walk-off losses.

Have a great week. Write to me; I answer emails. Tweet me. Tell your friends about the quiz and send me any fun Chicago baseball questions.

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Would it have killed Aaron Rodgers to leave Green Bay and the Packers-Bears rivalry in the rearview mirror once and for all?

But no — Rodgers just had to sign a four-year, $200 million extension to continue quarterbacking that team the Bears just can’t beat. It’s like the guy thinks he owns the Bears or something.

In this week’s “Polling Place” — your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter — we asked how many more NFC North titles Rodgers will win with the Green and Gold.

“He owns the NFC North and the Bears for good measure,” @JBIRD1268 commented.

Look, we kind of pointed that out already.

“Who cares about NFC North titles?” @mrsin61 wrote. “How many Super Bowls has he won? Not as many as Tom Brady.”

Fair enough. We also asked how many division titles the Bears will win in the next four years — teeing it up for @FfejMoshpit, who commented, “Five” — and, finally, which team will win its next Super Bowl first. On to the polls:

Poll No. 1: Aaron Rodgers just signed a four-year, $200 million extension with the Packers that made him the highest-paid player in football. How many more NFC North titles will he win?

Upshot: Since succeeding Brett Favre as the Packers’ starter in 2008, Rodgers has led the team to eight division crowns. That’s twice as many as the Vikings have in that time frame and, ahem, eight times as many as the Bears have. Still, one in five respondents sees a goose egg from here for Rodgers in the division-title department. We’re sure that’s exactly how it’ll work out.

Poll No. 2: How many NFC North titles will the Bears win in the next four years?

Upshot: “Way to ram the point home, Sun-Times,” @raviroyalcomeup protested. Were we making a point? Sometimes we do that by accident. Anyway, the “1 or 2s” edged the “nones” by a little. Which is unlike most of the games in this not-so-evenly-matched NFL rivalry, with the Packers tending to edge the Bears by a whole heck of a lot. It has to change eventually, though, or so one would like to believe.

Poll No. 3: Which team will win its next Super Bowl first, the Packers or the Bears?

Upshot: This vote sure turned out right down the middle, and it makes some sense. The final word goes to @KalamityJim: “The Bears’ new era is already in motion. The Packers are clinging to an aging era that shows no sign of bringing the ultimate goal again. Gotta think time is on the side of the Bears rather than the Packers on this one.”

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What is the value of midfielder Gaston Gimenez?

To some, he’s a Designated Player who hasn’t had the game-breaking moments to justify his contract. To others, he’s an important cog who makes crucial contributions that might go under the radar.

After Saturday’s 0-0 tie with Orlando City, coach Ezra Hendrickson made it clear where he stands.

“Gaston, he showed me something very, very special,” Hendrickson said. “The way he played today, the ground he covered today. That’s what you need to see from your DP. And that trickles down. You know, when the young guy sees your DP making tackles like that and working hard like that. You have no choice. You know, it’s contagious.”

Playing a more defensive role with Hendrickson choosing to keep midfielder Federico Navarro on the bench, Gimenez led the Fire with 11 recoveries and three shots. He also tied for the lead with four tackles won and completed 35 passes, matching defender Rafael Czichos for second most on the team.

However, Gimenez appeared to lose track of the ball in the buildup to Orlando City’s goal that was waved off after review. His attempts on goal also did little to trouble Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, a pattern that continued after he pulled a prime chance wide during the Fire’s season-opening 0-0 draw with Inter Miami.

So in a lot of ways, the first two weeks of this season are a perfect microcosm of why Gimenez divides opinion. For his part, Gimenez insists he doesn’t think much about the debate around his play.

“Some people are going to like it more than others,” Gimenez said Wednesday through a translator. “Some people are going to disagree and some people are going to be fine with it but I don’t really have much more to say on the topic. I do know, however, that every time I go out, my intention is always to leave everything out on the field and to take the club as high as possible and to help the team in every way that I can.”

If Gimenez weren’t a DP, the discourse around him would be different. Teams need players who contribute in ways that don’t always result in goals, something Gimenez is doing in a role that’s a little different than the deep-lying distributor he was expected to be.

That said, Gimenez is in his third season as a Fire DP. And there’s an argument that what Gimenez is doing for the Fire could be provided by players who aren’t on a DP deal.

Hendrickson said he looks to Gimenez to be a leader and to carry the team along with attacker Xherdan Shaqiri and striker Kacper Przybylko. In Gimenez’s case, that might not be reflected in the number of goals and assists because of where he’s playing on the field.

“When I look at Saturday’s game, the amount of tackles that he made, the amount of timely tackles he made, the amount of passes that he had intercepted and stuff like that, that’s good to see,” Hendrickson said Wednesday. “Those things can really give you momentum throughout a game.”

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For Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones, it’s the quickness of the release that makes it so deadly.

”It’s just a bullet,” he said. ”It’s hard to get a stick on his stick when he can push it and pull it in certain areas.”

Jones is talking about forward Alex DeBrincat’s shot — arguably the most impressive skill possessed by any Hawks player at the moment.

For five seasons now, DeBrincat has used it to establish himself as one of the NHL’s most dangerous goal-scorers. Since entering the league in 2017, DeBrincat has unleashed it 1,725 times and found the back of net 153 times. That puts him eighth in the league in goals during that span and makes him the 24th player since 1990 to score more than 150 goals in his first five seasons.

But no matter how much his shot terrorizes the NHL’s other 31 teams, they never will have to face it as often as the Hawks’ own defensemen do in practices, scrimmages, morning skates and casual competitions during the course of the season. Indeed, they have the best sense of what makes it so effective — and so difficult to defend.

So why not ask them exactly what makes it so good?

”He has a real good ability to release it in a lot of different ways, get a shot off quickly and also change the point of release,” Jake McCabe said. ”A lot of the good goal-scorers around the league, they can change that point of release, [like] an Auston Matthews, who is always pulling it toward his feet and releasing it.

”[Alex is] no different. He can change that way to find the shot lane for himself. He’s elite at getting his shot off, whether it’s a one-timer or a puck on his backhand to his forehand. He always finds a way to get a really good shot on net.”

It’s worth noting the Matthews comparison is something DeBrincat takes pride in himself. On long summer days shooting hundreds of pucks or during late nights watching highlights from around the league, he often keeps the Maple Leafs star in the front of his mind, hoping to emulate — or maintain pace in the scoring race with — him.

Although McCabe did well in his overview of the elite aspects of DeBrincat’s shot, some of his fellow defensemen followed the prompt more closely, identifying one specific thing that makes it most dangerous in their eyes.

”What makes it so hard is he can fire it off so many different places around his body,” Connor Murphy said. ”He seems to snap it harder than anyone, winding up when he can do it just off his front foot.

”As a [defenseman], when you’re [spaced] out . . . you’re always trying to get a stick on his release or get your legs in the way of the shot. But you can’t read it when he releases it so deceptively like that.”

Caleb Jones has experienced the same challenge of trying to stick-check DeBrincat when he gets the shooting twinkle in his eye.

”He’s got a sneaky release,” Jones said. ”It’s really quick. It kind of pops off his stick. You might have your stick right on the puck there, and he kind of just snaps around your stick. . . . His shot, it’s something I haven’t seen. It’s pretty impressive.”

DeBrincat often can use a defenseman trying to block or deflect his shot to his advantage, McCabe explained.

”When you’re trying to go stick-on-puck, as soon as you’re poke-checking, that subtle movement of a drag to shoot between your triangle — shoot it between your legs — is tough to defend,” McCabe said. ”And it’s really tough on the goalie because . . . [the puck is] shooting through screens.”

DeBrincat’s one-timer has improved significantly, too, allowing the Hawks to start designing their power play around setting up one-timers for him along the inner ring of the left-side faceoff circle. He has scored 12 power-play goals this season, up from nine last season and 10 the season before.

Riley Stillman mentioned DeBrincat’s ability to rip one-timers off many types of passes as another elite skill.

”It seems like his wheelhouse is 3 feet wide,” Stillman said. ”He hits the net with everything. Whether you pass it to him [at] 2 miles an hour or 100 miles an hour, he can still hit it.”

But the quickness, deceptiveness, adaptability and location versatility of DeBrincat’s shot only matter if the accuracy is there, too. He has that skill, as well, of course.

”It’s not necessarily about how hard your shot is; it’s about how quickly you can get it off and where you can put it,” DeBrincat said. ”[In practice], I just try to pick a corner and keep hitting that corner and then move on to other spots. Accuracy is a big thing in this game, too, with goalies being so good and reacting so quick.”

DeBrincat has put all of these talents on display time and again this season, marching through arguably his best individual season in spite of the Hawks’ struggles. He’s on pace to top his previous career high of 41 goals, set in 2018-19, and still might flirt with 50 if he remains red-hot down the stretch.

And none of the Hawks’ defensemen is upset about that, especially given that they’re not the ones responsible for any of the official goals filling up DeBrincat’s stat sheet.

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One of the most fearless football players of his era laid atop a bamboo bed in a Panamanian jungle last fall. It was 2 a.m. and Mike Singletary, the Bears’ Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker from 1981-92, had to use the bathroom. Though he spent the next few minutes trying to convince himself he didn’t, soon it was time to act.

“It gets to the point where you can’t wait,” he said.

It was pitch black outside — the nearby fire had died — and Singletary didn’t want to get lost in the remote jungle on the way to the latrine. So he woke up the person with the nearest bed — former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis — to go along with him. The two found their way to the bathroom area, and back, without incident.

“Those first couple nights …” Singletary said, “it’d take ya some time to get used to that.”

Singletary was filming “Beyond the Edge,” the CBS reality show that premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m.. Singletary and Lewis were joined by country singers Craig Morgan and Lauren Alaina; reality show vets Colton Underwood [“The Bachelor”] and Eboni K. Williams; [“The Real Housewives of New York City’]; supermodel Paulina Porizkova; former NBA star Metta World Peace; and former “Full House” kid sister Jodie Sweetin. The nine contestants spend two weeks enduring challenges in the jungle to raise money for their charities. Think “Naked and Afraid,” but with clothed celebrities.

It’s an out-of-character turn for Singletary, who was the 49ers’ head coach for 40 games from 2008-10. His most recent head coaching gigs were two years at Trinity Christian Academy-Addison in the Dallas area, where he went 1-21 from 2018-2019, and eight games with the AAF’s Memphis Express before the league suspended operations in 2019.

He spent the last two offseasons trying to latch on with the only franchise he knew as a player.

Despite not serving as an NFL position coach or coordinator since 2013, Singletary was one of nine people Matt Nagy interviewed for the Bears’ defensive coordinator job in January 2021. He didn’t get the job.

Shortly after the Bears fired Nagy two months ago, Singletary picked up the phone and called president/CEO Ted Phillips to put his name in for head coaching consideration.

“To let them know that I was available,” he said. “And, if the opportunity presented itself, to hopefully have an opportunity to do so.”

They didn’t interview him.

Singletary said he’s learned from his most recent stops. At the high school level, he said, parents are instrumental to how successful a program can be. At the AAF, he said, “it’s amazing how many people fall through the cracks” and miss out on chances to become NFL players.

He envisioned a Chicago homecoming as combining football with a greater good. Singletary, who lives in the Dallas area, launched his own non-profit organization, “Changing Our Perspective,” after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. His charity focuses on health, education and mental wellbeing for marginalized youth.

“I saw an opportunity in Chicago because that’s one of the point places that I see — being there and knowing the South Side and the West Side and the issues they have,” he said. “Having the opportunity to coach there would have been a win-win situation.”

Singletary hasn’t closed the door to coaching somewhere “if the right opportunity comes about,” but said he wants to focus on his non-profit. That’s one of the reasons he agreed to appear on the reality show — each week, the show awards money to contestants’ charities.

“My wife was shocked and to be honest with you, so was I,” he said.

Singletary surprised himself with how intrigued he was by the idea — bad weather, giant bugs, strange food and all.

“You’d wake up and there’s this insect about 6 inches from your face and you’re trying to figure out, ‘What the heck is this? I don’t even know what this is,'” said Singletary, who said he ate snails. “It was pretty amazing and beautiful at the same time. Scary at times.”

He talked to former soldiers and survivalists about how to prepare. They told him the biggest challenge would be building fires in the rainy jungle, and they were right. Eventually, cast members collected logs and kept them in a dry place, away from the rain.

“My football background … always comes into play in terms of being able to survive,” he said. “The mental toughness that you have to have in order to continue to move forward. All the little things about moving your feet and having good vision as you run through the jungle. It was pretty wild. There were a lot of things that you just don’t think about on an everyday basis. When you’re in a jungle it’s a whole different mindset.”

And no, he joked, he didn’t have to imagine former Bears coordinator Buddy Ryan motivating him along the way.

“I don’t think I needed Buddy yelling at me on top of everything else that was going on,” he said.

He leaned on Lewis, who was his next-door neighbor — they had mosquito nets above them and in between them when they slept. Singletary, who was once Lewis’ position coach with the Ravens, talked to his fellow Hall of Famer every night about the day’s activities.

Eventually, Singletary didn’t even notice the cameras. Ever the intense competitor, he was locked in on the task at hand.

“If there were cameras or no cameras, whatever the situation was — after a while, you get beat down by all of the elements that are out there,” he said. “If there’s a camera there, you notice it. If there’s not a camera there, you could care less. You’re just so busy trying to focus on your teammate and yourself and how you’re gonna get through this next event, or how you’re get through the night, or how you’re gonna start the day.”

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MESA, Ariz. – Cubs manager David Ross was dress shopping when he got the news that baseball was coming back.

He and his teenage daughter Landri had a function coming up, so he took her to the mall Thursday. That’s when the Major League Baseball Players Association voted to accept the league’s latest proposal and the owners ratified the new collective bargaining agreement.

Landri went into the dressing room to try on some options, and Ross started shooting off individual texts to each of his players.

“Willson Contreras texted me back like two seconds later,” Ross recounted Friday. “He’s ready to go. I think all these guys are ready to go.”

Finally, after a 99-day lockout, MLB coaches could contact their players, front offices could sign free agents, and spring training facilities could welcome back major-leaguers.

Saturday morning, players on the Cubs 40-man roster began to trickle into the Sloan Park complex. Their dozen early spring training reportees included pitchers Marcus Stroman, Kyle Hendricks, Justin Steele and Manuel Rodriguez, outfielder Ian Happ, second baseman Nick Madrigal and versatile fielder Nico Hoerner.

Happ, the MLBPA team rep, was the Cubs players’ connection to the collective bargaining process. He broke the news to many of them on Thursday with a message to the group chat: We got the vote.

“I proceeded to do my happy dance,” Steele said.

Happ, on the other hand, took a deep breath.

“For the first time in six months,” he added.

Happ came into the week with “cautious optimism,” he said. But that had been the case for several weeks, and an agreement had remained elusive.

As the process went on, Happ consistently canvassed his teammates on collective bargaining issues, with the help of Cubs pitcher Scott Efross. This week several Cubs players praised Happ’s diligence in keeping them informed.

“We were able to have really good sense going into yesterday of where we stood,” Happ said, “and then just able to check in kind of in the final hours to make sure everybody was on board. And we were all together on it.”

Happ cast his vote in favor of accepting the league’s proposal.

Happ said he was most proud of the progress they made on compensation for younger players, especially as a group of union leaders who wouldn’t directly benefit from those changes.

“I think that speaks volumes to the unity of our group and how we feel the game is trending,” Happ said.

The new CBA raised minimum salaries from $570,500 in 2021 to $700,000 in 2022, with incremental increases over the course of the agreement, up to $780,000 in 2026. It also created a pre-arbitration bonus pool of $50 million for top performers.

Young players took notice.

“For me and for people that aren’t at this level yet, it means a lot,” Cubs infielder/outfielder Nico Hoerner told the Sun-Times earlier this week. “And there’s so much talent in this game, it’s a shame to be missing time [in spring training,] but knowing that it’s for a good reason, it’s well worth it.”

There are still a few wrinkles to iron out.

Though the new CBA sets a 26-player roster limit (28 in September), with a max of 13 pitchers (14 in September), early-season roster expansion remains a possibility. Asked if he thought expanded rosters were needed to start the season, Happ said, “We’ll see.”

“We had an example of it in 2020 that probably helped,” he continued. “Definitely from the pitching perspective, to make sure guys are healthy, there’s an argument for it.”

Teams have waded into the free agent market not knowing exactly what the rules will look like to start the season. Notable signings Friday afternoon included pitchers Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers) and Carlos Rodon (Giants).

With their first post-lockout move later that afternoon, the Cubs agreed to a one-year contract with shortstop Andrelton Simmons, the Sun-Times confirmed. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported the terms of the deal.

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and general manager Carter Hawkins could be spotted zipping through the spring training complex in a golf cart Friday afternoon. But mostly they were out of sight in their offices, making calls and deals.

“You want to get guys in camp as quickly as you can,” Hoyer said before the first reports of Simmons’ signing broke. “Not all those deals are going to come together right away, but that’s certainly the goal.”

This will be a more hectic spring training than most. But even so, the excitement around the spring training complex was palpable. Baseball is back.

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Back in November, deciding between Glenbard West and Young as the preseason No. 1 was a difficult choice.

The Hilltoppers were excellent in the short 2021 season and dazzled everyone all summer. But I’ve seen a lot of dazzling summer teams fall flat in the regular season. That was always in the back of my mind.

About a week before the decision was made I started leaning towards Young. Daniel Johnson and Xavier Amos, two relative unknowns, had been excellent during the 2021 season and I believed that AJ Casey and Dalen Davis were underrated after having subpar summers.

I went with Glenbard West as No. 1 because things were about even and the Hilltoppers were the better story. I wasn’t at all sure they were better than Young. I had major doubts.

Glenbard West went out and earned it. The Hilltoppers have proven, again and again, that they are the top team in the state. And they are much better now than they were in November. They play with confidence and assurance that only comes from experience.

Young went through ups and downs. The lowest point of the season for the Dolphins was the 74-59 loss to Glenbard West on Jan. 22. Young was never really in the game.

So what reason is there to possibly believe the Dolphins can beat the Hilltoppers in the state championship game on Saturday?

Glenbard West star Caden Pierce has an answer.

“[Young] has made it to the state championship for a reason,” Pierce said. “They are a lot better than when we played them back in January. They were missing one of their starters. They are a completely new team now. They showed it against Barrington. It is going to be a good challenge for us.”

Johnson was the starter out injured in the first matchup. He’s been back for several weeks now and was a key factor in Young beating Kenwood in the city championship game.

After losing to Glenbard West on the last day of the regular season, Simeon coach Robert Smith mentioned that he thought Young might have a better chance against Glenbard West in a rematch because they would understand the Hilltoppers’ length and size. Smith said it is something a team has to experience, that it can’t be simulated.

Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost did his best to simulate Glenbard West’s length this week in practice. Brost had his defenders hold pool noodles in practice. The Hilltoppers’ starting lineup is 6-4, 6-6, 6-7, 6-8, and 6-11.

“You can prepare all you want, get pool noodles, and do all the stuff that we did,” Brost said. “But until you see it on the floor live, it’s a different beast. And then when they’re hitting shots, like they were tonight, then they’re almost impossible to beat.”

Glenbard West has shot well in every big game this season. The Hilltoppers have so many good shooters that one of them always seems to be hot. It’s hard to imagine that Glenbard West’s shooting ability will flame out in the state title game. So even if Young can handle the Hilltoppers’ defensive size it is going to be a battle.

“We have finally gotten to the point where we can finish what we started and what we set out to do,” Opoka said. “Back in sixth or seventh grade we talked about it. In eighth grade we met about it. And tomorrow we have an opportunity to obtain it. It’s really special.”

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CHAMPAIGN, IL-Bolingbrook’s zone defense managed to make Glenbard West look uncomfortable and a little beatable for a few minutes at the beginning of the second Class 4A state semifinal on Friday.

And then Bobby Durkin blew it all up, draining a Class 4A record-tying seven three-pointers to lead the Hilltoppers to a 77-47 victory.

“When Durkin is hitting shots like that they are almost impossible to beat,” Raiders coach Rob Brost said. “A lot of those were contested shots. You have to give those guys a lot of credit. They are really, really, good.”

Durkin, a 6-7 senior, scored 30 points, he was 7 of 12 from three-point range and had four assists.

“It was definitely a super cool experience,” Durkin said. “My teammates were getting me open shots and I was able to knock down the shots.”

Glenbard West (36-1) closed the second quarter with a 12-0 run to take control. Durkin made a three with 1:37 left in the half that ignited the run, turning a four-point game into a 38-22 Hilltoppers advantage.

“Early on their zone definitely disrupted and we were a little tentative,” Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka said. “That kind of flustered us at moments.”

It didn’t last long.

“It’s a credit to my teammates,” Durkin said. “When you have five guys that can all make plays it really opens things up.”

Sun-Times Player of the Year Braden Huff finished with 20 points and Princeton recruit Caden Pierce added 10 points and four assists. Ryan Renfro contributed eight points, 10 rebounds, and four steals.

“[Pierce] might be my favorite player in the state,” Brost said. “He might not score as much as some of their other guys, but he is the glue that really keeps them together. I don’t think he made a mistake tonight.”

Michael Osei-Bonsu led Bolingbrook with 16 points and 11 rebounds, one of the better post efforts against Glenbard West this season. Mekhi Cooper added 14 points for the Raiders (30-7).

“Hats off to Bolingbrook,” Opoka said. “What a great playoff run they had. They are great kids that competed at a high level. They have a lot to be proud of. They’ve been here four of the last seven years. That’s an unbelievable accomplishment in itself.”

The teams combined for 18 three-pointers, which tied the Class 4A state finals record.

“Bobby was on fire today,” Huff said. “We just continued to find him and that was the recipe for success.”

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — General manager Rick Hahn’s expectations are high enough to float “World Series” out there at his first public appearance of 2022 without rolling eyes.

The Sox have one of the best teams in baseball on paper, but they shouldn’t be done putting finishing touches on the roster.

More pitching is needed to bolster a rotation of Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech, Dallas Keuchel and Reynaldo Lopez, especially during a season that will follow a shortened spring training. Especially knowing Kopech has never thrown more than 132 innings in a minor league season and will be returning to a starting role. And especially not knowing what Dallas Keuchel, coming off the worst season of a Cy Young, world championship career, will do.

“Pitching concerns might be a little heavier on our mind than the position player side of things,” Hahn said Friday.

The Sox would be in better shape with Carlos Rodon on the roster, but he signed a two-year, $44 million deal with the Giants on the first day of the second phase of free agency which began as soon as the lockout ended. Rodon’s return to the Sox was not expected.

Rodon had his best season in 2021, throwing 132 innings — his most since 2016 — and posting a 13-5 record with a 2.37 ERA, 187 strikeouts, pitching a no-hitter and garnering a trip to the All-Star Game. Plagued by elbow and shoulder injuries throughout his career, he wasn’t the same during the second half as fatigue set in, swaying the Sox to decline giving him a $18.4 million qualifying offer, a choice that prompted Rodon agent Scot Boras to say “thank you” during the GM meetings in November. It was a choice that ultimately cost the Sox draft pick compensation.

In addition to rotation depth, the Sox would also do well to address the bullpen. Multi-purpose outfielder-infielder Leury Garcia, best suited in that role, is the starting second baseman right now, and a platoon of Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets, Adam Engel and Garcia is what the Sox have in right field.

Hahn suggested that would be good enough.

“We’re prepared to go forward with the roster we have right now,” Hahn said.

But as usual, hiding his cards as he always does, played it down the middle.

“However, we are fully aware that there are places where we can get ourselves better,” he said. “Pitching staff and position player wise.”

In any event, hours before the Rodon deal was announced Hahn was not expecting the instant free agent and trade flurry of activity many predicted.

“Given the fact that we weren’t able to communicate with agents and other clubs [during the lockout], I’m not surprised it’s been a little bit slower than anticipated at this early stage,” he said.

Hahn expects the market to be active up to Opening Day. Just how active the Sox are will bear watching. He says he is, after all, aiming to win it all.

“I don’t think any of us would be doing our jobs properly–and by that I mean the front office, players, coaches–if our aspirations weren’t to win a championship, and feeling we need to do everything in our power to win the World Series in 2022,” Hahn said.

“To a man and woman in the organization, the goal is to do everything in our power to win in 2022.”

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, on Friday said he will hold a hearing on Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption this spring, with the 99-day lockout triggering new questions about the break.

The roots of this story goes back to a Chicago federal courtroom.

Before Kenesaw Mountain Landis became the first commissioner of organized baseball, he was a Chicago-based federal district court judge in the Northern District of Illinois.

In 1915, Landis presided over the first case testing whether federal antitrust laws applied to professional baseball teams. The Federal League of Professional Clubs sued the rival American and National leagues, claiming the industry monopoly they had was illegal.

Landis put off ruling on that case, and it was eventually settled.

But it did set the stage for the Supreme Court to unanimously rule – on May 29, 1922 – that the business of Major League Baseball was exempt from the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, absurdly asserting the sport did not engage in “interstate commerce.”

Through the years, Congress at various times has taken unsuccessful stabs at yanking or weakening that exemption, particularly after the 1994-1995 baseball strike.

Now, almost 100 years later, the latest baseball strife has sparked new scrutiny from Durbin.

I asked Durbin about MLB and its antitrust exemption in a call he had with Illinois reporters on Friday. In reply, Durbin said he will hold a hearing on the matter this spring.

“Major League Baseball has enjoyed an unusual, unique legal status in America for almost 100 years The courts decided that they will not be treated like any other business in America,” Durbin said.

“And they also decided, and this is hard to even say with a straight face, that Major League Baseball is not interstate commerce. For goodness sakes. Anybody who follows a baseball team knows that they move from state to state to play, collect money at the gate. It is an interstate business for sure.

“But they have enjoyed this status, and they’ve been exempt from the antitrust laws in the United States for a century. I think that has led to (an) attitude of many of these baseball clubs that they are above the law.”

In the wake of the lockout, Durbin said, “I think it’s way over time for us to have a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on this issue. I’m anxious to hear Major League Baseball rationalize their legal status today with this decision of 100 years ago.

“And the net result of that, of course, is that they have power within their companies to do things that other corporations can’t even consider.”

I asked Durbin if he talked to the White Sox and Cubs honchos – Jerry Reinsdorf or any of the Ricketts.

He hasn’t.

“They are my friends. I enjoy watching baseball at their parks. But I still have responsibility as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman to ask the important legal questions, and this is one of them.”

Durbin added, “I certainly want their side of the story to be accurately presented before the committee.”

He noted that Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has a pending bill to eliminate baseball’s antitrust exemption.

Durbin said he does not yet have a position on revoking the antitrust immunity the MLB enjoys.

Every time baseball’s antitrust break has been challenged, Durbin said, “the courts have said at the highest levels, it’s up to Congress, Congress has to decide, ‘Is this going to change?”‘

Said Durbin, “Well, we’ll start the Senate Judiciary Committee, where I happen to be a member. So I think that’s a good thing to do.”

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