Chicago Sports

Wrigley Field will host a college football game for the third time since 2010 when Iowa plays Northwestern next season.

Northwestern and the Cubs announced Tuesday that the Wildcats’ home game would be played Nov. 4.

Northwestern played Illinois at Wrigley in 2010 in the MLB ballpark’s first college football game since 1938, and the Wildcats hosted Purdue there in 2021.

Wrigley Field has a long history of hosting football games. The Bears played there from 1921 to 1970 before moving to Soldier Field. The old Chicago Cardinals also played at Wrigley, as well as DePaul until its program folded in 1939.

Northwestern had been scheduled to play Wisconsin at Wrigley in 2020, but the game was moved to Ryan Field in Evanston because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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We will all find out the early state tournament matchups and pairings later this week. Coaches throughout the state will seed their respective sectionals by Thursday at noon.

The hope here is the coaches — all of the coaches — find the time to do a little homework in preparing to seed their sectional. We’re here to offer a little help.

It’s fun to project and analyze. This is the annual City/Suburban Hoops Report’s sectional seed forecast, where each local Class 3A and Class 4A sectional is broken down. There is research done and reasons why that are provided.

The seeds are based on all that has transpired since the season tipped off Thanksgiving week. There is a lot to take into consideration. It’s more than just the win total when you have head-to-head play, schedule strength, quality wins, how a team is currently playing and the eye test to include.

Here is how I see the sectional seed breakdown.

Class 4A: Barrington

1. Libertyville (21-5)

2. Stevenson (19-5)

3. Palatine (20-6)

4. Prospect (16-10)

5. Barrington (17-4)

6. Fremd (15-8)

7. Warren (15-13)

8. Hersey (16-11)

Overview: What’s tricky in this sectional is the top three teams have all played each other and beaten each other. Then there is a fourth team lurking with wins over a couple of the top three.

Let’s sort it all out.

Since a 3-3 start to the season, Libertyville has gone an impressive 18-2, including a win over Stevenson. The Wildcats won the Wheeling Hardwood Classic and beat talented Glenbrook North along the way. Despite being absolutely throttled in its last game to Rolling Meadows, they have earned the top seed.

Palatine is also a hot team. And it beat Libertyville way back in early December. But Stevenson knocked off Palatine at Thanksgiving. Palatine’s overall r?sum? isn’t quite as strong, particularly with hiccup losses to sectional teams Fremd and Lake Zurich. Stevenson has beaten Lake Zurich twice.

Stevenson gets the second seed and Palatine is third. But hold on …

Want to throw a wrench into the whole thing? Prospect has beaten both Palatine and Stevenson — by a combined two points. And the Knights are smoking hot since the calendar turned to 2023. Prospect has just two losses in its last 12 games. Prospect had a shot at the buzzer to win both of those games.

There are few sectional seeds that will or should change over a Tuesday-before-seeds result. But could this be one of them?

Prospect plays Hinsdale Central Tuesday night. If the Knights find a way to beat one of the hottest teams in the state, it might be time to move Prospect up. That would be wins over Stevenson, Glenbrook South and highly-ranked Hinsdale Central in the last two weeks. They are too hot and playing too well not to reward them. Bump them up a seed or two if it beats Hinsdale Central.

It’s been a nice, surprising season for Barrington. The Broncos settle in as the fifth seed.

Fremd has some very good wins over sectional opponents. The Vikings split two games with Barrington, beat both Prospect and Palatine and knocked off Warren.

Then it’s Warren, Lake Zurich and Hersey rounding out the seventh, eighth and ninth seeds. Warren beat Lake Zurich in late January and Hersey pounded Lake Zurich earlier this season.

Class 4A: New Trier

1. New Trier (25-4)

2. * Rolling Meadows (23-4)

3. * Glenbrook North (23-3)

4. Glenbrook South (20-8)

5. Evanston (20-7)

6. Loyola (20-8)

7. Niles North (22-6)

8. Taft (17-9)

Overview: This loaded sectional has sorted itself out in recent weeks. Despite so many 20-win caliber teams, there are really only a couple of seeds that still need to be figured out.

New Trier is very much deserving of the No. 1 seed. The body of work the Trevians have put in with non-conference wins over Rolling Meadows and Loyola — and being on top of a conference that features the three other top teams in this sectional — is impressive.

The No. 2 and No. 3 seeds should be determined Tuesday night. Rolling Meadows and Glenbrook North play one another with the winner getting the two seed, the loser dropping to the third line.

The quandary is in the four through six seeds among Evanston, Glenbrook South and Loyola, teams with similar r?sum?s and records.

Glenbrook South and Evanston have both lost to New Trier twice. They’ve both lost to Rolling Meadows. And they’ve split the two games they’ve played each other this season. But GBS won the most recent game in early January and gets the edge between two teams with similar schedules and records.

Loyola, which has lost to Taft and De La Salle in the past two weeks, lands at No. 6. The Ramblers have a heck of a win over Brother Rice to pump themselves up, but they fell to Evanston in overtime back in December. And that recent Taft loss is lurking.

The only question remaining that would throw things back up in the air a little is if Glenbrook South loses to Conant on Tuesday night. That would be a loss to a lower-seeded team in this sectional — and the fifth loss in the last seven games. The Titans need that win Tuesday night to solidify the No. 4 seed.

Niles North has the wins but just hasn’t played the schedule the six teams ahead of it have played.

Taft, Conant and Niles West will all be jockeying for seeds 8-10. Taft has 17 wins and a quality sectional victory over Loyola and has also beaten Niles West.

Class 4A: Bartlett

1. Benet (25-1)

2. Wheaton-Warrenville South (22-4)

3. Geneva (22-5)

4. Metea Valley (19-8)

5. Lake Park (18-8)

6. Naperville North (16-11)

7. Bartlett (17-10)

8. York (12-15)

Overview: The top two seeds are easy. Benet is a clear top pick. Wheaton-Warrenville South checks in at No. 2.

Geneva has lost a couple of late. But the Vikings have done enough to secure the third seed, while Metea Valley lands the four seed. Metea Valley has the win total and took care of Bartlett, Naperville North and Lake Park during the regular season.

Lake Park is playing its best basketball of the season with eight wins in its last nine games.

Bartlett has 17 wins but has scuffled in the second half of the season. The Hawks are just 4-7 since Christmas tournament time. But Bartlett’s wins over Hinsdale Central and Geneva back in December keeps the Hawks in the top seven.

Class 4A: St. Rita

1. Kenwood (21-5)

2. Brother Rice (24-4)

3. St. Rita (16-10)

4. Marist (22-5)

5. Bloom (16-8)

6. Oak Lawn (18-8)

7. Homewood-Flossmoor (16-11)

8. Thornwood (17-10)

Overview: Kenwood is the obvious No. 1 seed.

St. Rita has played an outstanding schedule. And it did beat Brother Rice. But it was way back in December and we’ve learned a lot about these two teams over the past two months.

Brother Rice has just been too consistent and edges ahead based on that consistency and wins over ranked teams in Curie, Bloom, Bolingbrook, Marist, Rolling Meadows and Mount Carmel. The expectation is for St. Rita and Brother Rice to meet in a rematch in the sectional semifinals.

Bloom suffered recent losses to Proviso East, Homewood-Flossmoor and Thornwood but played shorthanded with injuries. The schedule the Blazing Trojans have played, which also includes wins over H-F and Thornwood, pushes them to the No. 5 seed. Bloom has beaten Mount Carmel and New Trier while losing to Kenwood, Lincoln-Way East and Hillcrest.

It’s Oak Lawn and Homewood-Flossmoor with the fifth and sixth seeds, respectively. H-F has played a tougher schedule. But Oak Lawn has some wins that resonate, including a victory over Mount Carmel, beating Lemont and losing to highly-ranked Hinsdale Central in overtime.

Thornwood’s late January wins over Rich and Kankakee gives the T-Birds the No. 8 seed.

Class 4A: Hinsdale Central

1. Young (20-5)

2. Hinsdale Central (24-3)

3. Curie (18-9)

4. Downers Grove North (23-3)

5. Lyons (21-4)

6. Proviso East (19-6)

7. Riverside-Brookfield (20-5)

8. Lincoln Park (9-15)

Overview: This will be interesting as there are highly-ranked teams and high win totals up and down this sectional.

Young has still lost to just two in-state opponents: Kenwood by two points and to Joliet West. The Dolphins have beaten St. Rita, Kenwood and a host of out-of-state teams. Young gets the top seed.

Hinsdale Central is rolling and is without question the No. 2 seed with a 16-game winning streak.

Then it’s between Curie and Downers Grove North for the third seed. If these seeds hold up, the fourth seed would get top-seeded Young in the semifinals and the third seed would face Hinsdale Central on the Red Devils’ home floor. Pick your poison.

Curie’s loss total will jump out. But the Condors have played a brutally tough schedule and still earned some high-quality wins. Curie’s win over Simeon in late January was a major signature win, along with wins over New Trier, Riverside-Brookfield, Oswego East and Joliet West. That’s enough ammunition to give the Condors the edge and the third seed.

Downers Grove North has won nine straight with impressive wins over Glenbrook South and Bolingbrook during that stretch. DGN split with both Hinsdale Central and Lyons. But the most recent LT matchup went DGN’s way in late January.

Lyons has beaten Glenbrook South, Proviso East and Riverside-Brookfield in recent weeks and locks up the fifth seed.

With nearly identical records, it’s a toss-up between Proviso East and Riverside-Brookfield for the sixth and seventh seeds. But Proviso East has played the tougher schedule and has beaten St. Rita and Bloom while playing Benet and Lyons very tough.

Lincoln Park, Oak Park and Lane are all hovering around the No. 8 seed with similar records. Lincoln Park has played the best schedule and has beaten Lane while Oak Park has sputtered, losing six of its last eight.

Class 4A: Bolingbrook

1. Joliet West (22-5)

2. Bolingbrook (21-6)

3. Oswego East (22-5)

4. Lincoln-Way East (21-4)

5. Romeoville (19-10)

6. Neuqua Valley (21-7)

7. Andrew (15-11)

8. Lockport (16-10)

Overview: There is a clear top four in this sectional with similar records that will all be expected to advance to the sectional semifinals. This is going to be a fun sectional with four teams that have played and beaten one another and in close games.

Joliet West built a schedule loaded with high-profile, highly-ranked teams. Thus, the record the Tigers have heading into sectional week stands out.

There was a loss to Oswego East. But Joliet West’s slate is long and impressive with wins over St. Rita, Metamora, Rolling Meadows and Young. And there is no shame in losing to the likes of Kenwood, Benet Curie and Oswego East.

Bolingbrook is playing very well and has a tight win over Oswego East and two victories over Lincoln-Way East. The Raiders land the second seed with Oswego East and Lincoln-Way East to follow neatly in line.

Romeoville and DuPage Valley Conference leader Neuqua Valley are next in line. Neither has a true statement win on the r?sum?. But Romeoville has definitely played the tougher schedule with losses to Joliet West (twice), 3A power Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, Brother Rice, Bolingbrook and 22-win Yorkville.

There is a glut of teams with 14, 15 or 16 wins that will land somewhere between the seventh seed and the 11th seed. Take your pick among Lockport, Plainfield North, Waubonsie Valley, Andrew and West Aurora.

We’ll rule out West Aurora as a top eight seed; the Blackhawks have bottomed out with seven losses in their last eight games. Plainfield North has lost to sectional teams West Aurora, Romeoville and Lockport.

So the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds go to Andrew and Lockport, respectively, the two teams with the best records among the remaining bunch. Plus, Andrew beat Lockport while Lockport knocked off Waubonsie Valley.

Class 4A: Rockford Jefferson

Sub-Sectional A

1. DeKalb (19-9)

2. South Elgin (17-9)

3. Hampshire (13-14)

4. Larkin (13-14)

Sub-Sectional B

1. Huntley (19-7)

2. Rockford Guilford (19-7)

3. Rockford Auburn (16-11)

4. Rockford East (17-10)

Overview: DeKalb has played the better schedule and has the most wins in Sub-Sectional A and receives the No. 1 seed. With two wins over Larkin, it’s South Elgin with the No. 2 seed.

Hampshire has quietly put together some nice wins — and played some quality non-conference opponents in losses — to inch past Larkin. The Whip-Purs just beat Huntley and have played a host of 20-win teams and conference champs.

Huntley’s holiday tournament win in December over Rockford Guilford was an important one. With a win over NIC-10 leader Guilford, Huntley gets the top seed in the sub-sectional.

Guilford, fresh off a nice win over Stevenson, has victories over both Rockford Auburn and Rockford East, while Auburn has played a quality schedule and beat Rockford East in late January.

Class 3A: De La Salle

1. De La Salle (18-9)

2. St. Ignatius (17-9)

3. Fenwick (16-12)

4. Westinghouse (17-10)

5. Payton (15-10)

6. Perspectives-MSA (12-15)

7. Prosser (3-20)

8. Bulls Prep (15-13)

Overview: The top seed comes down to two teams whose arrows have been pointing in different directions.

A month ago it was a foregone conclusion St. Ignatius would be the top seed and heavy favorite in this 3A sectional. However, the Wolfpack have struggled mightily in the past month, losing seven of its last 12 games.

De La Salle, meanwhile, has been on the rise. The Meteors are also fresh off a win over Loyola, a team that beat Ignatius last month.

The two teams do meet very soon in the regular season. But while St. Ignatius plays in the much tougher Catholic League Blue — De La Salle leads the Catholic League White — there is no denying which team is playing better basketball right now. De La Salle gets the nod.

Fenwick’s schedule gets them the No. 3 seed while Westinghouse, which doesn’t have a marquee win, earns the No. 4 seed while playing in the Public League’s Red-West/North.

Payton beat Bulls Prep this season and leads the Public League’s White-West.

Yes, Prosser’s paltry record gets them in the top eight. Prosser, which plays in the Red-North/West, is simply better than the other contenders.

Class 3A: Grayslake Central

1. Lake Forest (16-10)

2. Deerfield (20-5)

3. Grayslake Central (22-3)

4. St. Patrick (14-9)

5. Notre Dame (13-13)

6. St. Viator (11-15)

7. Antioch (13-12)

8. Fenton (20-7)

Overview: Lake Forest has played the toughest schedule of teams contending for the No. 1 seed. Plus, the Scouts buried Grayslake Central 55-34 and beat Deerfield in January. Yes, records matter. But so does head-to-head and schedule strength.

After Deerfield and Grayslake Central, it’s a quagmire among several teams.

St. Patrick has the most impressive wins among a bunch of teams vying for a top four seed, beating Loyola, Marist and Marian Catholic. The Shamrocks split with Notre Dame this season and get the No. 4 seed.

St. Viator will be overlooked in this seeding process by many. But they battled injuries early in the year. When the Lions lost to Antioch at Thanksgiving, their top player and scorer, Eli Aldana, was out with an injury. St. Viator has played a very good schedule in the East Suburban Catholic Conference and non-conference games with Libertyville, Evanston, Niles North and Sttevenson.

With seven wins in its last nine games, Antioch is playing the best among the rest. Plus, the Sequoits own a win over Deerfield. They split with Lakes but won the most recent matchup between the two.

Where do you seed Fenton? The wins are there. But the quality wins aren’t and they’ve lost three of their last five heading into Tuesday. But the Bison fall somewhere in that 7-9 range.

Lakes (16-7) has a nice record but has not fared well against sectional foes with losses to Antioch, Grayslake Central, Carmel and Deerfield.

Class 3A: Hillcrest

1. Hillcrest (25-2)

2. Marian Catholic (21-7)

3. Lemont (22-6)

4. Kankakee (18-9)

5. TF North (17-5)

6. Thornton (12-10)

7. Brooks (12-12)

8. Evergreen Park (15-13)

Overview: This sectional has an overwhelming choice at the top and breaks down quite easily. Hillcrest is the prohibitive favorite and easy top seed.

Marian Catholic has played a very strong schedule, owns some quality wins and has put together a good record over the past month (12-2 in its last 14 games). The Spartans get the No. 2 seed.

Lemont recently knocked off Brother Rice and TF North while Kankakee split with Thornton this year but won the most recent matchup.

Class 3A: Glenbard South

1. Simeon (23-3)

2. Mount Carmel (22-5)

3. Hyde Park (22-5)

4. St. Laurence (18-10)

5. Lindblom (17-14)

6. Bogan (14-10)

7. Glenbard South (14-11)

8. Nazareth (11-15)

Overview: Simeon is a clear top seed while Mount Carmel and Hyde Park, likely to meet in the sectional semifinals, settle in at two and three.

Hyde Park did beat Kenwood — and Mount Carmel has lost three straight — but it’s the Caravan with more quality wins over the course of the season. Mount Carmel has beaten Curie, Loyola, Moline and St. Rita.

St. Laurence is young, keeps getting better and has been sneaky good against some quality teams.

Bogan beat sectional foe Kennedy by double digits and has played both Kenwood and Hyde Park tough this year.

Nazareth’s record may not be impressive, but the Roadrunners do play in the East Suburban Catholic Conference and recently beat St. Ignatius.

Class 3A: Burlington Central

Sub-Sectional A

1. Burlington Central (22-5)

2. Marmion (17-9)

3. Kaneland (23-5)

4. Wauconda (12-11)

Sub-Sectional B

1. Crystal Lake South (20-7)

2. Rockford Boylan (18-9)

3. Freeport (11-14)

4. Prairie Ridge (12-13)

Overview: There shouldn’t be too much drama in seeding these two sub-sectionals.

Burlington Central beat Marmion. Marmion beat Kaneland. Those are your top three seeds in sub-sectional A.

It is a bit debatable at the top in sub-sectional B, though it really shouldn’t make a whole lot of difference at the end of the day.

There are very few common opponents between Rockford Boyland and Crystal Lake South. They both handled Jacobs. However, one solid team they both played is Huntley. Boylan lost to Huntley in January while Crystal Lake South is 2-1 against Huntley, including a win last Friday.

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Today is Feb. 8, 2023, probably, if you are reading this in a physical, ink and wood pulp newspaper on Wednesday, and not stumbling across it on the internet some other day in the tractless span of time before, or after.

Whatever day it is, were I to ask you what significant event occurred on Feb. 8, you might be stumped.

Now the third of February might be easier. On Feb. 3, 1959, in what would be widely remembered as the “Day the Music Died,” pop stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.D. “Big Bopper” Richardson, along with young pilot Roger Peterson, died in a plane crash the morning after playing the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. The on-this-day-in-history vignette usually ends with Don McLean penning his homage, “American Pie,” a cryptic, 8 minute and 42 second hit song released in 1971.

A shame to stop here. Because this is where the story starts to get interesting.

The music did not die Feb. 3. Only the musicians did, and then just the top stars of the 24-date “Winter Dance Party Tour” of the Midwest. The rest of the performers went by balky, cold, broken-down bus. Where the Big Bopper, singer of “Chantilly Lace,” was supposed to ride. But he had a cold, and asked 21-year-old Waylon Jennings, Holly’s bassist, for his seat on the airplane, and the two swapped. Valens won his fatal seat in a coin toss.

The surviving musicians, shocked and grief-stricken, performed the day of the crash, in Moorhead, Minnesota.

They played Sioux City the day after the crash. And Des Moines the day after that. Cedar Rapids the day after that. Spring Valley, Illinois the day after that.

The next night, Feb. 8, was the Aragon Ballroom in Uptown.

Two observations:

First, as a nation we are more sensitive — or, if you insist, soft, though I prefer “humane.” Under those same circumstances today, I can’t imagine a musical tour would continue. Contrast the Winter Dance Party to what happened when Damar Hamlin collapsed of a cardiac arrest in the first quarter of a Monday Night Football game — the game was canceled, the fans sent home. And he survived.

Second, the youth culture that would dominate society in the 1960s had not yet flexed its grip. We forget how marginal kids used to be. Children were seen and not heard. Especially their music. The Tribune ran a brief item on the crash on page 12. The Daily News and the Sun-Times ran the stories on their front pages, the Times noting that at first the surviving musicians were too sad to do the show that night in Moorhead, “but they changed their minds and remained true to the ‘show must go on’ tradition.

Actually, tour promoter, Irv Feld, of Chicago, refused to pay them unless they continued.

Neither the Daily News or the Tribune so much as mentioned Holly’s name the rest of the year. The Sun-Times noted the Civil Aeronautics Board blaming the inexperienced pilot for the crash in a brief squib on page 61, under the obituary of a cheese expert. Seven months after the crash.

I was uncertain whether the scheduled Feb. 8 Aragon concert really occurred. Documentary filmmakers spent five years tracking down fans who attended Winter Party Dance Tour gigs without locating anyone claiming to have seen the Aragon show. I had to dig a little to reassure myself the Aragon concert probably took place, striking paydirt in the autobiography of Waylon Jennings, who went on to become a country music star. Jennings had to step up and sing Holly’s songs.

“I was out there all alone, lost and scared to death. I had no clue. It seemed to take forever, crawling through Ohio and Iowa and Illinois,” he wrote. “In Chicago, we played the Aragon Ballroom and a girl named Penny took me under her wing.”

Jennings was shocked that the promoter forced them to play, and that venues tried to steal their share of the gate.

“I couldn’t believe people would act so unfeeling,” he wrote.

For years, Jennings also felt responsible for the crash, because of some innocent bandmate needling. Holly wasn’t happy that his bassist wouldn’t be accompanying him on the plane ride.

“You’re not going with me tonight, huh? Did you chicken out?” Holly asked, just before the chartered Beechcraft Bonanza took off. “I hope your damn bus freezes up again.”

“Well,” Jennings replied. “I hope your ol’ plane crashes.”

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A former Bears safety is a defensive coordinator candidate

The Houston Texans hired DeMeco Ryans as their head coach after they fired Lovie Smith following the season. The Texans are now looking at a former Bears safety as a possible defensive coordinator next season. Ryans and the Texans are looking to rebuild a team that finished 31st in the league–or one spot above the Bears.

According to Aaron Wilson with KPRC, the Texans have requested permission for Chris Harris to interview for their vacant defensive coordinator job. They also requested New York Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel to interview as well.

Harris played for the Bears in two stints. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Bears in 2005. Harris would play with them through the 2006 season when the Bears made it to the Super Bowl. Harris would intercept Peyton Manning on the possession following Deven Hester’s kick-return touchdown.

(As a Bears fan in my early thirties now, that was the best position I’ve ever seen the Bears in to win a championship. But they blew it with a three and out the next offensive series and a blown coverage on the Colts’ next series; that high feeling was short-lived.)

Harris left after the Super Bowl to play for the Panthers. He’d return to the Bears for the 2010-11 seasons. Harris would take the devensive quality control coaching job for the Bears during the 2013-14 seasons. We’ll see if the former Bears safety can rasie up the ranks to be the Texans’ defensive coordinator.

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The Chicago Bears didn’t have much success with Matt Nagy as their head coach. They had one good year in 2018 where they dominated their way to the NFC North title but fell off very quickly. It was more than just the head coach but he was a big problem by the time 2021 was complete.

Once he was let go by the Chicagoo Bears, he found himself back with the Kansas City Chiefs where he was before coming to the Bears. Now, he is back in the Super Bowl with them after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals last week.

On Monday, some videos of him talking to the media started to leak. He talked about a variety of different topics but Justin Fields is obviously the one that people are going to want to hear the most about.

Fields obviously had just one year with Nagy in charge and it didn’t go very well for anyone. There was a quarterback controversy and a lot of horrid showings from everyone.

Matt Nagy is still saying nice things about Chicago Bears’ QB Justin Fields.

People might not take any stock in what he says but it is cool to see Matt Nagy talk about Justin Fields in this way. Believing that the Bears can win a Super Bowl with him at the helm is a big thing for him to say. He is not obligated to say anything nice about his former team.

If there is one thing that he knows it is good quarterback play (sometimes). He knew that the Chiefs needed Patrick Mahomes when they drafted him and the franchise luckily believed him. Now, with Fields, it would be nice to see him be right about another one.

In this particular video, you’ll hear Nagy talk about how he handled Justin Fields and the rest of the quarterbacks on the team. It does sound a bit like he knows the mistakes that he made and that he can learn from them.

Although some of his ways of handling things were horrible, Nagy does seem genuine when he talks about how he wanted to do what he can to help the quarterback succeed. Sometimes, things just don’t work out.

Now, Nagy’s Kansas City Chiefs team is getting ready to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles who are also very good. This is an incredibly hard matchup to predict for a variety of reasons.

Bears fans might not be rooting for Nagy any time soon but it is nice to see him still have some good evaluations of the team.

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Andre Drummond had no clue what the Bulls roster would look like by Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.

That included the veteran big man talking about himself.

All the reserve center knew was he had packed for the three-city road trip, unsure who exactly would finish it out.

“I’ve preached the same message even when I was in Detroit,” Drummond said of the looming deadline and rumors surrounding it. “It’s the part of the season I can’t control. See what happens, play the game of basketball, the thing I can control, and let the cards fall where they may.”

Where they fell on Monday was directly on the heads of the struggling Spurs, as the Bulls (26-27) overcame a sluggish second and third quarter, to pull away in the fourth and turn it into a 128-104 laugher.

The team’s third-straight win, as well as their fourth over the last five games.

A loud enough statement for the front office to be buyers instead of sellers? Maybe, but as the Sun-Times has been reporting, all indications over the last few weeks were the Bulls were not looking to be aggressive sellers, even with all the inconsistencies this season.

Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas likes to play things close to the vest, and as of Monday, making some smaller tweaks to the Bulls roster was the possibility that had picked up the most steam around the league.

One of those tweaks could involve sending out Drummond, even with the big man playing one of his better games of the year against the Spurs, scoring 21 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.

Even with Karnisovas and coach Billy Donovan publicly insisting they had an open-door policy for any players with those kinds of questions, Drummond didn’t sound interested in knocking.

“I don’t think that’s my job to do,” Drummond said. “If anything it’s the agent’s job. As a player, I don’t think I should be asking those kinds of questions.”

Not that the Bulls made the entire night easy on themselves, but against lesser competition they seldom do.

Building a 12-point first-half lead, the slippage actually started late in the second quarter, when they let the Spurs gain some momentum and actually outscore them by eight points in the stanza.

That inconsistent play carried on through the third, with San Antonio (14-40) actually grabbing the lead with 4:31 left thanks to two Zach Collins free throws.

Then DeMar DeRozan said enough was enough, as the veteran hit a jumper with 1:33 left in the third to reclaim the lead, followed by the hoop and harm a minute later, and a 16-footer with eight seconds left in the third.

When the smoke cleared around DeRozan, the Bulls entered the fourth back on top 90-85.

Less than three minutes into the fourth, the Spurs’ youth and inexperience was completely exposed, and the Bulls built the lead back to 12, taking advantage of turnovers and empty possessions.

“I thought we were much more active defensively,” Donovan said of the turnaround. “We had a hard time for maybe two-and-a-half quarters when they were just coming downhill. I just thought are defensive intensity changed, our presence at the basket changed, and took away opportunities for them to pass.”

According to Spurs Hall-of-Fame coach Gregg Popovich, the current issues with his team goes much deeper than turnovers.

“These guys think they’re all stars in their own right, and the first thing before they’re even coached, they have to learn it’s not about them,” Popovich said of the growing pains he’s been going through with his roster. “They’ve got to get over themselves, they’re not that great. I don’t see Kobe or LeBron out there, so we’ve got to do it together. All those things.”

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It isn’t often that Billy Donovan was talking about one of his players still unable to run or cut in the rehab process, and it had nothing to do with point guard Lonzo Ball.

But there the Bulls coach was on Monday, talking about a possible timetable for Javonte Green to return from his right knee procedure, and not offering up a whole lot of great news.

While there have been no setbacks with the energetic wing player, there’s also no clarity on when Green would return back to the rotation.

“He’s not running right now,” Donovan said. “He’s biking. They really haven’t done anything dynamically with him. Lateral, straight-ahead running, any of that stuff. He continues to progress. Obviously the All-Star Break coming up will be another important period for him that week.”

In the 28 games he did play so far this season – including one start – Green was averaging 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds, but was tied for second on the team in plus/minus with a plus-55.

The Bulls announced Green’s surgery back in early January, and the All-Star Break was a checkpoint for him to have a more detailed timetable for a return. Donovan was still holding onto that.

“No, I just think there’s kind of a build-up that they normally do,” Donovan said, when asked if Green had any setbacks. “He is doing some things, some mobility stuff in the weight room. I haven’t heard of any setbacks.”

Green wasn’t the only defensive-minded player on the roster sidelined, either, as Alex Caruso missed his second consecutive game with a foot sprain.

It was the eighth game Caruso had missed this season with an assortment of different injuries.

Clown show

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has never hid his growing frustration with the league turning to three-point centric, and again expressed that before the game with the Bulls.

“We should have a four-point shot and a five-point shot so you can make it a total circus,” Popovich said. “Just make it a carnival for the fans so they can scream when someone hits a five-pointer. It’s very boring.”

He was then asked if he felt the league would ever feel pressure to change the distance or at least eliminate the corner three pointer.

“It can’t change because analytically it’s true,” Popovich said. “We play some teams that are obviously more talented, but we’ll have more assists, more free throws, more points in the paint, more fast-break points, and maybe we make seven threes, and they make 14 … game over.

“The other stuff is minimized because the emphasis the three-pointer has on the game.”

Players’ league

The Kyrie Irving trade to Dallas was just the latest example of the power the stars have in the Association, and there wasn’t a Bulls that wouldn’t acknowledge that.

“It’s a player-driven league, and I think players probably look at it from the perspective of, ‘Listen, I can be traded at any point, and if I don’t feel like this is a great fit for me and I want to see something different,’ there’s an avenue or an opportunity for them to go in there and speak,” Donovan said.

Veteran center Andre Drummond had a similar take.

“It’s the NBA for you,” Drummond said. “In a matter of a tweet it can change the whole dynamic of the season. I think him going to Dallas is a huge thing, it’s huge news right now. Hopefully it works out for him.”

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PHOENIX — The Bears’ single-season sacks leader stood on the floor of the Footprint Center, his trademark knit hat now midnight green and black instead of navy and orange.

Robert Quinn never wanted to leave Chicago. It still bothers him that the Bears traded him to the Eagles on Oct. 26. But the end result — a Super Bowl appearance in his 12th season, after never winning as much as a single playoff game until this season — was enough to coax a crooked smile out of the corner of his mouth.

“It was an unexpected journey that I went on,” Quinn said Monday, “but it seemed to work out well in the end.”

Quinn didn’t want to uproot his family in the middle of the season. When general manager Ryan Poles dealt him for a fourth-round pick, he was furious.

“Honestly, I was mad,” he said. “Highly upset — just how it went down. You pull into the building and they say you’re getting traded, especially in the middle of the year. It isn’t really a good feeling.

“Especially after breaking the record. I thought that would help me.”

Exactly 400 days ago Monday, Quinn set the Bears’ single-season sacks record when he tackled Giants quarterback Mike Glennon in the fourth quarter at Soldier Field. He added a half-sack in the Bears’ season finale to extend the record to 18 1/2 . He was the most decorated edge rusher on the single NFL franchise best-known for defense.

So much has changed since.

“They had different plans for the organization and the team,” he said, “and I just wasn’t a part of it.”

That hurt, even as it seemed like the obvious endgame all along. When new Bears general manager Ryan Poles set about rebuilding the team, he traded fellow edge rusher Khalil Mack to the Chargers and let defensive tackle Akiem Hicks leave via free agency. Quinn was left on the roster, though, even though it was clear his timeline didn’t match the Bears’ window to be competitive.

Quinn skipped mandatory minicamp, paying a $95,877 fine and saying he was more comfortable taking care of his body on his own. The absence wasn’t publicly contentious; When the Bears honored him with the Brian Piccolo Award, Quinn showed up.

He arrived at training camp on time. Even as Quinn struggled on a popgun Bears pass rush in 2022 — he had only one sack before the trade — he claimed he didn’t want to be anywhere else. On Oct. 20, he told the Sun-Times he was “happy as I can be” at Halas Hall. Six days later, the Bears traded him, paying $7.1 million of Quinn’s salary to facilitate the move.

In return, agreed to void the final two non-guaranteed years of his contract, making him a free agent this offseason. What’s next? Retirement?

“We’ll see where life takes it,” he said. “I’m a free agent. You never know what can happen.”

Quinn struggled upon arriving in Philadelphia, recording two quarterback hits and no sacks in five games before being put on injured reserve with a knee injury. He returned from IR after arthroscopic surgery Jan. 7 and appeared in the regular season finale and the team’s two playoff games.

He played 40 snaps over those three games — and only six in the NFC title game win against the 49ers. He’s still yet to record a sack with the Eagles.

Adjusting to a smaller role was a challenge for Quinn, even if his peers– first-round pick Jordan Davis and veterans Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, Haason Reddick, Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph — formed the deepest defensive line in the sport.

“At first it was a little weird, but you start winning, it’s, ‘Whatever, I can fulfill my role as long as we win,'” Quinn said. “After a while, the adjustment came pretty easy for me. Winning makes it a lot easier.”

The Bears defense plummeted after the trades of Quinn and, a week later, linebacker Roquan Smith. With the two on their roster, the Bears allowed more than 20 points twice in six games. Once both Quinn and Smith were gone, the Bears gave up 25 or more points in every game the rest of the season.

The loss of their two defensive leaders sucked out whatever life the Bears defense had left. One day after the season came to a merciful conclusion, defensive lineman Justin Jones — who inherited a captaincy when the veterans were dealt — was clear about the psychological effect of the trades.

“It was a pretty big loss,” he said. “I’m not gonna lie.”

The Eagles marched on. They allowed a league-low 4.8 yards per play and finished the season with 70 sacks. The next-closest team, the Chiefs, had 55.

Quinn, who turns 33 in May, had spent his entire career — 12 seasons, 169 regular season games and 3,781 defensive snaps — without winning a playoff game. In the last month, he’s won as many playoff games — two — as he’d ever appeared in during his career. He lost first-round playoff games with the 2017 Rams and the 2020 Bears.

Sunday, he can win the Super Bowl.

“Surreal,” he said. “Thinking back, my rookie year we went 2-14,” he said. “Now to make the Super Bowl, it’s two different ends of the spectrum. In Year 12, I’m trying to enjoy the moment and appreciate everything. …

“I’m sure walking into the stadium, it’ll finally start hitting me.”

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Almost no athlete gets everything he wants from his career, including — maybe even principally — final glory.

Think of Ted Williams never winning a World Series or Eric Lindros never winning a Stanley Cup. Recall the way 39-year-old Muhammad Ali lost to young Trevor Berbick at the end, hair dye dripping down his temples.

Or remember Michael Jordan playing for the inept 2002-03 Wizards, his epic last shot for the Bulls against the Jazz for the 1998 NBA title all but forgotten.

Yet those men at least got the chance to play for everything on the biggest stage during their careers, some many times over, win or lose.

Think of those who never stepped from the wings into the bright lights. Think of Dick Butkus.

One of the two greatest middle linebackers ever — Ray Lewis is the other — Butkus is likely the greatest defensive player never to play in a Super Bowl. Defensive end Deacon Jones is in the mix, but at least Jones’ Rams teams won their division several times during his career. Butkus’ Bears teams went 48-74-4 during his nine-year career and won nothing.

With the Super Bowl coming up Sunday, you have to wonder how much the lack of a crowning achievement means to the now-80-year-old Butkus, to his sense of accomplishment.

”You know, I never thought much about it,” he says on the phone, pondering this from his longtime California home overlooking the Pacific. ”I mean, to do something like that, you have to have the other 50 guys all in, too.”

Clearly, the rest of the Bears, including coaches and management during Butkus’ career, weren’t along for any Super Bowl drive. The great Gale Sayers was also on those anemic teams, and, as good as he was, he never reached championship status, either.

Butkus has factored all that in and basically made it irrelevant.

”Maybe this is a little bit selfish, but I felt winning the MVP award in 1969, when we won one game [1-13], was important,” he says. ”We weren’t worth a [bleep], but it didn’t mean I didn’t play as hard as I could. You always play as hard as you can.”

The MVP trophy Butkus is speaking of was the prestigious Newspaper Enterprise Association NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award, which was voted on by players. Remarkably, Butkus won it again in 1970, when the Bears were 6-8 and once more finished last in the then-NFC Central.

The thing about Butkus was that he played in a white-hot fury. People who don’t know this can go online and watch some of his hits afield. Back then, with all the great winners in the league, a panel of NFL coaches nevertheless named Butkus as the one player they would want to build around if starting a team from the ground up.

Yet Butkus never played in a single postseason game. Some things, a man can’t control. Learning to accept that is what star players with bad luck or weird rolls of the dice must do, a kind of zen/life agreement. If they don’t, the hurt might never leave.

It’s not as though Butkus doesn’t have real pain from his career. Shoulder, back, hips, knees, ankles, feet — they’re messed up from the game he loved. He used to think there was something wrong with him for needing football so much.

”I talked to a shrink not that long ago, and he said, ‘Did you ever think you were ADHD?’ ” Butkus says. ”I said: ‘You know what? I do! When I was a kid, I didn’t give a [bleep] about school; all I could think about was football and recess.

”So I took some tests, and the doctor said, ‘Well, you’re not.’ ”

Butkus is just what he is.

He’s diminished, for sure, hobbled a bit, falling frequently from toe neuropathy, traveling now with his trusty, sit-down, collapsible scooter, spending hours in his home hyperbaric chamber to (hopefully) aid in any CTE that might settle in from years of annihilating stupid running backs and idiot blockers.

But he’s also cheerful. He does a lot of charity work, and he gives out the Butkus Award each year to the best college linebacker.

He’s in a special group with Jones, Barry Sanders, Earl Campbell, Dan Fouts and other greats who never played in a Super Bowl. But he and his deceased pal Sayers are by far the greatest never to have played a single postseason game.

Wouldn’t you know they both would be Bears.

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