Chicago Sports

Maybe no one on the outside thought this was Lemont’s year.

There are just two seniors on the roster and none in the eight-man rotation Lemont leaned on in Friday’s Class 3A Marian Catholic Sectional final.

On the other side was Thornton, with four senior starters led by Illinois recruit Ty Rodgers.

But Lemont coach Rick Runaas asked his players two simple questions: Why not us? Why not now?

“Matas (Castillo), Nojus (Indrusaitus), Rokas (Castillo) — they’ve played as much basketball as anybody,” Runaas said. “It doesn’t matter what grade they’re in. They’re experienced. They know how to play.”

“Coach said we’ve had a whole season to play, we’re no longer the new kids,” junior forward Joe Pender said.

And they showed it, opening up a 13-point lead in the second quarter and earning an efficient 56-49 win.

Fresh off its first sectional title since 1975, Lemont (27-7) will seek the first trip to state in program history when it plays Simeon in Monday’s UIC Supersectional.

Rokas Castillo hit his first five three-point shots and finished with a game-high 21 points. Matas Castillo, Rokas’ twin brother, added 12 points. Indrusaitus, one of the state’s top sophomores, scored 10 and grabbed seven rebounds.

But the defensive effort on Rodgers may have been the biggest takeaway. Rodgers picked up his third foul in the first minute of the third quarter, his fourth about six minutes later and his fifth with 5:14 left and Thornton trailing by six.

He finished with six points on 2-of-9 shooting and six rebounds.

Lemont started out with 6-4 junior Patrick Gardner on Rodgers before shifting to a 1-2-2 zone with Indrusaitus, also 6-4, slipping in to help on the Thornton star.

So it was a good plan, one that also neutralized the rest of the Wildcats just enough.

“It was about team defense and getting on shooters,” Runaas said. “What we did effectively was not let them get out in transition. We didn’t turn it over a lot, didn’t have long misses.”

Rokas Castillo’s fourth three-pointer made it 22-9 early in the second quarter and the lead was 14, 36-22, when Thornton (23-6) finally made a run.

Ariohn Herring and Vincent Rainey each scored five points in a 10-0 spurt to cut the deficit to 36-32. But Lemont regrouped and the Wildcats never got closer than six again.

“They had a good plan,” Thornton coach Tai Streets said. “Ty was in foul trouble; we hoped that wouldn’t happen. But I’m proud of my guys, they kept fighting. …

“We thought if we shut Nojus down, we were gonna be OK. But (the Castillos) stepped up. They’re as tough as they come.”

It wasn’t even just the big three who carried the load for Lemont. Pender had five of his seven points early and Gardner added five rebounds and two assists.

“A lot of people put a lot of focus on the top three,” Pender said. “It was big for Gavin (Kelby) to come off the bench, for Conor (Murray) to come off the bench. Pat (Gardner) had a good game.”

Herring led Thornton with 15 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Rainey scored 14 and Mark Williams added nine points.

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The Martinelli family has been the driving force behind Glenbrook South basketball for quite a few years now. First it was Jimmy Martinelli, then Dom, and finally Nick.

On Friday in the Titan Dome the little brother and his team pulled off what no team from Glenview has ever accomplished. Glenbrook South beat New Trier 55-52 to win the Class 4A Glenbrook South Sectional, the first sectional championship in school history.

“Both of my brothers were here today watching,” Nick Martinelli said. “This means so much for the community. I respect all of these people so much and I’m so happy we were able to win this for the school and all the people that come to the games to encourage us.”

Martinelli scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. He was 5 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final minute to help seal the win. But it was senior Cooper Noard that put the Titans (33-2) over the top.

Noard scored 27 points and drained two crucial free throws with 2 seconds to play.

“He stepped up big time, obviously,” Martinelli said. “That kid is a maniac.”

Noard was 5-for-6 from three. He admitted that shooting in his home gym was a huge advantage.

“Last time [New Trier] beat us here and we weren’t happy about that,” Noard said. “This was my last game on this floor and I didn’t want to go out with a loss.”

The game was tight until Glenbrook South went on a 9-0 run midway through the third quarter to grab a 35-28 lead.

A rebound and bucket from Karlo Colak with 6:10 left to play pulled New Trier within three.

At that point, the Titans slowed the game nearly to a halt. Glenbrook South was methodical, doing everything it could to hold on to the ball and wait for New Trier to foul. Neither team scored for nearly three minutes.

“We’ve been waiting all year to get in a situation like that where we need to win a game,” Martinelli said. “We know we have guys that can take care of the ball well. So we just took our time. We wanted to win. That’s all we cared about.”

RJ Davis hit two massive three-pointers for the Titans and finished with nine points.

“When you are playing with guys like Nick and Cooper than can both go for 25 every night your job is just to stay ready,” Davis said. “That’s what this team is about, staying ready to make plays.”

Junior Josh Kirkpatrick led New Trier (30-4) with 21 points, including a gutsy three-pointer with nine seconds left that pulled the Trevians within 53-52.

Jackson Munro had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists for New Trier and Jake Fiegen scored 11.

Glenbrook South will face Barrington in the Forest View Supersectional on Monday at 7. The winner advances to the state semifinals in Champaign on Friday.

“This game goes down as one of the best I’ve ever been a part of,” Glenbrook South coach Phil Ralston said. “We played an awful first half and we were just down two. Our kids tightened the ship up a little bit and that third quarter starter out with a big three from [Noard]. We hit that and didn’t look back.”

Watch the final minute of New Trier at Glenbrook South:

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A big matchup for the Chicago Bulls Friday night as they face off against the Milwaukee Bucks, and boy did Derrick Jones Jr lay down the gauntlet in the 3rd quarter.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo has officially been posterized by the Bulls’ forward:

DERRICK JONES JR. ON GIANNIS’ HEAD 😳 pic.twitter.com/38ZgPE3rtJ

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) March 5, 2022

Have mercy. That might be the dunk of the year.

The post WATCH: Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Jones Jr Posterizes Giannis first appeared on CHICITYSPORTS – Chicago Sports Blog – News – Forum – Rumors – Fans.

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New Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson isn’t waiting long to restructure the front office around him.

Two of the highest-ranking members of the hockey operations department — Ryan Stewart, the assistant GM who headed pro scouting, and Mark Kelley, the longtime amateur scouting director — were let go Friday by the Hawks, per a team memo.

Mike Donaghey, the Hawks’ director of player personnel, will now oversee amateur scouting on an interim basis, while the Hawks’ pro scouts will temporarily report directly to Davidson.

Their departures — which come just three days after Davidson was named permanent GM — pave the way for Davidson to completely overhaul the perspectives and people forming his inner circle of advisors and foreshadow more departures to come.

But most of all, the moves yet again massively shake up a front office that barely changed for years under Stan Bowman but has now lost a ton of well-known faces in the past two years.

Kelley had been a staple of Hawks draft days since 2008, operating as the leader and public face of the team’s wide-ranging network of scouts.

Although highly successful head European scout Mats Hallin presumably remains with the team, Kelley’s exit translates into a harsh review of the Hawks’ recent draft classes, which have been hit-or-miss in the first and second rounds and mostly fruitless in later rounds.

Stewart was promoted to assistant GM alongside Davidson and Mark Eaton in November 2020 after, like Davidson, rising up the organizational ladder steadily since 2006. He had overseen pro scouting, another area in which Davidson likely determined the Hawks had underperformed recently.

With the trade deadline — arguably the most important time of the year for pro scouting — just over two weeks away and the NHL draft about four months away, the Hawks will need to pivot quickly in both regards.

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A global pandemic wrought havoc on the international economy, but it couldn’t stunt the growth of Illinois’ young legal sports betting industry.

Two years ago, as word of a troubling new virus was spreading across the globe, Blackhawks announcer Eddie Olczyk put a hundred bucks on the White Sox to win the pennant — and put the state on the map as the 15th in the nation to lay odds legally on sports.

Five COVID-19 surges and nearly $9 billion in wagers later, Illinois is considered one of the nation’s top four sports betting markets, with gamblers plunking down an average of $156 every second.

And it’s about to get easier for more residents to get in on the action, as a tweak to state gambling law takes effect Saturday allowing people to sign up for sports betting accounts on their phones instead of driving to a casino or racetrack.

When Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law introducing Illinois sports betting in 2019, potential gamblers were required to sign up at brick-and-mortar casino sportsbooks, which could then offer the types of mobile betting applications where more than 95% of bets are placed.

The law was written to give the casinos a head start on web-based betting companies such as DraftKings and Fanduel that previously operated within a legal gray area in Illinois for years.

That so-called “penalty box” period for the online giants was supposed to last for 18 months until they could snag a state gambling license — but both companies skated through a loophole out of the box within six months of Illinois’ sports betting launch on March 9, 2020.

By striking branding deals with existing brick-and-mortar sportsbooks that already had licenses, they were able to start taking bets after plastering their names on the downstate “DraftKings at Casino Queen” in East St. Louis and “FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing” in Collinsville.

COVID-19 made their transition even easier. Facing a massive pandemic budget shortfall and desperate for revenue, Pritzker suspended the in-person registration requirement, allowing people to sign up and bet from anywhere they could find a cell signal.

The governor allowed that to go on for about 10 months, but the in-person requirement has been back in place since last April.

The original law was murky on when the requirement would expire, so lawmakers passed a bill last fall marking March 5 as the expiration date — and keeping mobile registration in place for good.

The back-and-forth created some confusion for gamblers, but it hardly stymied growth. The statewide handle, or total amount of money wagered, eclipsed $8.9 billion from launch through December 2021, the most recent month for which data is available from the Illinois Gaming Board.

“Illinois has had one of the weirdest sports betting rollouts in the country, but it’s also one of the most successful markets,” said Joe Boozell, an industry analyst from PlayIllinois.com. “Illinois is so populous and has such rabid fan bases, it’s a recipe for a robust market.”

So far, the sportsbooks have come out on top with almost $651 million in revenue, generating $98 million in state tax revenue plus another $7.3 million for Cook County.

State Rep. Mike Zalewski, the Riverside Democrat who runs point on sports betting legislation, said the “law continues to generate millions of dollars for new universities, schools and libraries for our citizens and with a fully integrated network, the numbers will only improve.”

The state’s $8.9 billion all-time handle would shake out to about $903 wagered for every adult resident — nearly $13.5 million bet every day, or $9,341 every minute.

Of course, the bets don’t spread out quite so evenly on the calendar. Almost $61 million was bet on the Super Bowl alone in Illinois.

With March Madness kicking off March 13, Boozell said the state’s switch to remote registration could have “a substantial effect” — although bets on Illinois college teams still are allowed only in person.

“It makes things a lot easier for more casual fans,” he said.

It could also create more temptation for people dealing with gambling addiction.

Anita Pindiur, executive director of the Way Back Inn addiction rehabilitation center in Maywood, said she’s seen about a 30% increase in people seeking help for gambling disorder since the pandemic hit — with most of those in treatment citing sports betting as a problem.

Pindiur said the in-person registration requirement was “helpful, because it’s an extra step people have to take to get there.

“But does it stop people who have a problem? No,” she said.

Pindiur urges even casual gamblers to set financial limits and time limits on the apps.

The Way Back Inn offers free evaluations and can be reached toll-free at (866) 993-6503. For more information on problem gambling support, call 1-800-GAMBLER or text “ILGAMB” to 53342.

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A global pandemic wrought havoc on the international economy, but it couldn’t stunt the growth of Illinois’ young legal sports betting industry.

Two years ago, as word of a troubling new virus was spreading across the globe, Blackhawks announcer Eddie Olczyk put a hundred bucks on the White Sox to win the pennant — and put the state on the map as the 15th in the nation to lay odds legally on sports.

Five COVID-19 surges and nearly $9 billion in wagers later, Illinois is considered one of the nation’s top four sports betting markets, with gamblers plunking down an average of $156 every second.

And it’s about to get easier for more residents to get in on the action, as a tweak to state gambling law takes effect Saturday allowing people to sign up for sports betting accounts on their phones instead of driving to a casino or racetrack.

When Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law introducing Illinois sports betting in 2019, potential gamblers were required to sign up at brick-and-mortar casino sportsbooks, which could then offer the types of mobile betting applications where more than 95% of bets are placed.

The law was written to give the casinos a head start on web-based betting companies such as DraftKings and Fanduel that previously operated within a legal gray area in Illinois for years.

That so-called “penalty box” period for the online giants was supposed to last for 18 months until they could snag a state gambling license — but both companies skated through a loophole out of the box within six months of Illinois’ sports betting launch on March 9, 2020.

By striking branding deals with existing brick-and-mortar sportsbooks that already had licenses, they were able to start taking bets after plastering their names on the downstate “DraftKings at Casino Queen” in East St. Louis and “FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing” in Collinsville.

COVID-19 made their transition even easier. Facing a massive pandemic budget shortfall and desperate for revenue, Pritzker suspended the in-person registration requirement, allowing people to sign up and bet from anywhere they could find a cell signal.

The governor allowed that to go on for about 10 months, but the in-person requirement has been back in place since last April.

The original law was murky on when the requirement would expire, so lawmakers passed a bill last fall marking March 5 as the expiration date — and keeping mobile registration in place for good.

The back-and-forth created some confusion for gamblers, but it hardly stymied growth. The statewide handle, or total amount of money wagered, eclipsed $8.9 billion from launch through December 2021, the most recent month for which data is available from the Illinois Gaming Board.

“Illinois has had one of the weirdest sports betting rollouts in the country, but it’s also one of the most successful markets,” said Joe Boozell, an industry analyst from PlayIllinois.com. “Illinois is so populous and has such rabid fan bases, it’s a recipe for a robust market.”

So far, the sportsbooks have come out on top with almost $651 million in revenue, generating $98 million in state tax revenue plus another $7.3 million for Cook County.

State Rep. Mike Zalewski, the Riverside Democrat who runs point on sports betting legislation, said the “law continues to generate millions of dollars for new universities, schools and libraries for our citizens and with a fully integrated network, the numbers will only improve.”

The state’s $8.9 billion all-time handle would shake out to about $903 wagered for every adult resident — nearly $13.5 million bet every day, or $9,341 every minute.

Of course, the bets don’t spread out quite so evenly on the calendar. Almost $61 million was bet on the Super Bowl alone in Illinois.

With March Madness kicking off March 13, Boozell said the state’s switch to remote registration could have “a substantial effect” — although bets on Illinois college teams still are allowed only in person.

“It makes things a lot easier for more casual fans,” he said.

It could also create more temptation for people dealing with gambling addiction.

Anita Pindiur, executive director of the Way Back Inn addiction rehabilitation center in Maywood, said she’s seen about a 30% increase in people seeking help for gambling disorder since the pandemic hit — with most of those in treatment citing sports betting as a problem.

Pindiur said the in-person registration requirement was “helpful, because it’s an extra step people have to take to get there.

“But does it stop people who have a problem? No,” she said.

Pindiur urges even casual gamblers to set financial limits and time limits on the apps.

The Way Back Inn offers free evaluations and can be reached toll-free at (866) 993-6503. For more information on problem gambling support, call 1-800-GAMBLER or text “ILGAMB” to 53342.

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INDIANAPOLIS — The day Ryan Poles took the job as Bears general manager, he took on a lengthy to-do list of necessary repairs left unfinished by Ryan Pace.

These aren’t little touchups like replacing some siding or repainting the bathroom. These concerns are more along the lines of putting on a new roof and replacing the water heater.

Given that he’s a former offensive lineman and seems particularly perturbed by that unit’s underperformance, that’s probably Poles’ priority. He views that as an emergency. But he might be able to fix that in free agency.

Supplying Justin Fields with a legitimate wide receiver corps should be next, and the Bears’ second-round pick, 39th overall, is a good way to address that problem. They have just two selections in the first four rounds — the other is a third-rounder at No. 71 — and must find immediate contributors with those picks because everything after that will be a long shot.

The wide receivers potentially in their reach in the second round are Georgia’s George Pickens, Penn State’s Jahan Dotson, Ohio State’s Chris Olave, Clemson’s Justyn Ross.

Olave and Dotson are probably pipe dreams; ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have both slotted as first-rounders. Olave was one of eight receivers to clock a sub-4.4 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Much of the conversation around Olave centers on him having history with Fields at Ohio State, where Olave averaged more than 100 yards per game and scored seven touchdowns with Fields in 2020. There’s a thought that reuniting the two would be similar to the Bengals pairing Joe Burrow with Ja’Marr Chase.

But what makes the Burrow-Chase combo special is that both players are great independently. Burrow has the ability to be a perennial MVP candidate. Chase could make the argument right now that he’ll be the NFL’s best receiver this season. The fact that they played together at LSU is just a nice bonus.

Ross has a little history with Fields, too, but it’s mostly from the Clemson-Ohio State rivalry that developed in the College Football Playoffs and showing up at the same high school camps when both were hot prospects. Nonetheless, he’s a fan.

“I think very highly of him,” Ross said this week. “Great player.”

Pickens and Ross each had their college careers disrupted by major injuries, and Poles’ staff must factor that into their evaluations.

Pickens tore his ACL about a year ago, but made it back by the end of November and had five catches for 107 yards over the last four games. Over his freshman and sophomore seasons, he totaled 85 catches, 1,240 yards and 14 touchdowns.

He is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds and ran a 4.47 in the 40-yard dash. Ross is 6-foot-4, 205 pounds. The Bears didn’t have a receiver taller than 6-foot-2 last season, and the four who played the most stood at an average of 5-foot-11.

Ross had neck surgery after an injury in 2020 and missed the end of last season with a stress fracture in his foot.

That’s what’s holding him back from being a first-rounder, because Ross was an electric playmaker who put up 1,000 yards as a true freshman and 865 the next season. After missing all of 2020, he had 46 catches, 514 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games last season.

“There is still a lot of doubt [among analysts], but I feel good about it,” Ross said of his health. “I’m 100% right now… I feel like I can go through the roof just because of my ability and size and everything.”

If healthy, Ross seems like he’d fit what the Bears want as they try to fill in the receiving corps around third-year player Darnell Mooney. It’s likely he’ll be the only receiver from last season they retain.

“You want explosive, athletic ability there that can produce chunk plays,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “So if you throw a screen, you want a guy that can take it and go for 15 or all the way.

“One guy might be quick and he’s really a short-route runner. Another guy can do it all. That would be our No. 1 receiver. Should be able to do that. And the other guy should be able to take the top off the defense.”

While it gets progressively tougher to find that kind of game-changer as the draft goes on, the Bears have a realistic chance at No. 37.

Of the 13 wide receivers picked in the top half of the second round from 2016 through ’20, five have had 1,000-yard seasons. The Saints’ Michael Thomas was top-five in catches, yards and touchdowns over his first four seasons after they took him 47th overall in 2016.

He’s rare, but the depth at wide receiver in this draft class gives the Bears a shot at finding someone like him. Many analysts believe it’s the most loaded position, and some of the top players are sure to slip to the second round. It’s up to Poles to figure out which ones everyone else will regret bypassing.

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It’s becoming more and more clear that Chicago Bears General Manger Ryan Poles is going to rebuild this roster early in his tenure the way he wants to. So far in his two pressers, Poles has dropped hints about how he wants the roster constructed both on offense and defense.

There also shouldn’t be any shock if Poles does release a few players in the upcoming free agency period here in March.  But now, there appears to be buzz surrounding a star player on the Bears defense.

Per Brad Biggs, the buzz around the NFL Scouting Combine this past week has surrounded edge rusher Khalil Mack and his future with the Bears. On Friday, Biggs wrote on Mack in his 10 Bears observations, revealing the rumored price tag for the edge rusher:

The name some folks in town are wondering about is Khalil Mack, the 31-year-old edge rusher who had six sacks in seven games last season before heading to the injured reserve list.

What would the market be for Mack? A second-rounder with another late-round pick the teams could haggle over was what an NFC executive suggested at the end of the season. An AFC executive suggested using the Von Miller trade as a template. The Denver Broncos traded Miller to the Los Angeles Rams for second- and third-round picks in 2022. The Broncos also paid down Miller’s contract to make the deal happen, absorbing $9 million of the remaining $9.7 million of his 2021 salary to facilitate the trade.

Mack is one of the best players on this defense but if the Bears can get out of that contract, it would be intriguing for Poles to do so. Plus, Mack missed most of last season with an injury.

For now it’s speculation but usually when Brad Biggs writes something like this, it’s worth paying attention too.

Check out our Chicago Bears forum for the latest on the team!

Make sure to check out our Bears forum for the latest on the team.

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It’s no secret that Bears fans can’t stand Aaron Rodgers.

But Chicagoans apparently have a lot of company. A Twitter survey conducted by BetOnline found that Rodgers far outpaced second-place Antonio Brown as the “most disliked figure in the NFL.”

Bill Belichick, Odell Beckham Jr. and Deshaun Watson rounded out the top (bottom?) five.

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