Chicago Sports

In the fourth quarter of their game last month in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Hornets torched the Bulls.

History wouldn’t repeat itself Thursday at the United Center.

Every time the Hornets made a run, the Bulls had an answer. A layup from Ayo Dosunmu here, a three-pointer by Nikola Vucevic there and an overall strong response to any threat.

The Bulls sealed their 114-98 victory after Hornets guard LaMelo Ball was sent to the locker room for being assessed back-to-back technical fouls that All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan converted into free throws.

The victory brought the Bulls a step closer to .500, improving their record to 24-27.

”A lot of guys [contributed],” coach Billy Donovan said. ”Zach [LaVine] generated a lot of offensive for us with his passing. DeMar did the same thing. Ayo really did a nice job starting the game and getting downhill. Patrick [Williams] didn’t have a big night offensively, but he was a little more aggressive in the second [half]. Then I thought Coby [White] started the game aggressive.”

After he was selected by the NBA’s coaches to appear in his second consecutive All-Star Game and sixth overall, DeRozan was relatively quiet all game. He had three points in the first half before adding 12 in the second to finish with 15 to go with seven assists and four rebounds.

LaVine struggled, scoring only 10 points and shooting 1-for-4 from three-point range. Luckily for the Bulls, their bench showed up. White scored 20 points, and Andre Drummond had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The star of the game, however, was Dosunmu. After struggling in January by averaging only 8.5 points in the Bulls’ 14 games, he tied his season high with 22 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field in their first game in February.

”It’s a testament to our team,” Dosunmu said. ”We have a very deep team. At this point in the season, we’re going to need everybody to come out on both ends.”

Drummond averaged only 7.8 minutes in January and sat out five games completely. But Donovan needed him on the boards against a frontcourt led by Mason Plumlee.

”He’s been great,” Donovan said of Drummond. ”For a guy that’s been in the league as long as he has and has had the success he’s had, he’s a competitive guy. When guys are out of the rotation, I don’t think you as a coach ever want guys to say, ‘OK, this is great.’ He wants to be out there.”

NOTE: Guard Alex Caruso left the game early in the second quarter with a sprained right foot and didn’t return. Forward Patrick Williams came up limping in the fourth quarter before heading back to the locker room.

Coach Billy Donovan said Caruso had met with doctors, but Williams had not. After the game, Williams said he felt fine, other than slight swelling after removing tape from his right ankle.

Center Nikola Vucevic took a knee to the thigh in the final minutes that left him lying on the floor for a few moments, but Donovan said he was fine.

Read More

Uriah and Alanah Gomez explored a new sports complex on the West Side on Thursday. And taking in its pristine hardwood basketball court, cavernous indoor turf field and other facilities, the siblings nodded in agreement that it was something they could get used to.

“It’s so modern. It’s going to be an amazing program for kids in the neighborhood,” said Priscilla Gomez, their mother. “The kids here didn’t have anything prior to this building being built.”

Gomez said the family has been attending church in the area since before Alanah, 18, was born, and that for all that time, the 10-acre plot in the Austin neighborhood where the new complex stands was vacant.

The site at the intersection of Moffat Street and Laramie Avenue was home to a paint factory decades ago but had become a scar that they could see from Grace and Peace Church, immediately adjacent to the site.

Now, it’s the opposite — the North Austin Center includes 152,333 square feet of indoor space, outdoor turf fields, classrooms, a professional-size indoor turf field, an Esports lab and a baseball academy from one of Chicago’s hometown heroes.

The family had come from their home near Garfield Park to explore it during an opening ceremony that welcomed the public. After following the progress of construction, Priscilla Gomez was curious.

“I wanted to see it for myself,” she said. “Just to see where it is that my kids …”

… “are gonna be putting all their time,” said Alanah Gomez, finishing her mother’s sentence.

The aim behind the massive endeavor is to improve access to high-quality sports training for youth. To that end, kids from the neighborhood and Chicago will be able sign up for free to play in leagues at the facility, which will also be a host for travel teams and whoever else wants to join.

The Chicago Fire Foundation, which helped fund the building, will support 20 hours of free community programming every week, and Intentional Sports — one of three nonprofits based that will use the facility — will reserve the fields exclusively for free community programs on weeknights from 3 to 7 p.m.

Community nonprofits By the Hand Club for Kids and Grace and Peace Revive Center will provide programming for youth at the classrooms and community spaces at the complex, which will also be home to Jason Heyward’s Baseball Academy.

The former Chicago Cub was on hand Thursday to celebrate the grand opening with officials from the nonprofits, former Chicago Bear Sam Acho and elected officials Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, as well as hundreds of other community members.

“Spreadsheets will tell you that a place like this doesn’t make sense,” said Andy McDermott, president of Intentional Sports. “Spreadsheets will make 10 acres in the middle of four communities sit vacant for 40 years and turn youth sports into a massive industry, pulling them farther and farther away from communities that need them most.”

“Here’s what spreadsheets can’t tell you. It can’t measure the intangible power of great humans who are pulled together to do something really, really hard,” he said.

Developers broke ground on the $35 million site in the summer of 2021, building it with funding from the Chicago Fire Foundation, Heyward and $3.5 million from the state. Sports programming will begin later this month. To find out more about the programs, visit www.intentionalsports.org.

Following remarks from McDermott, Mitts and Lightfoot in an auditorium, the crowd proceeded to the massive indoor turf field, where they cut a ribbon that spanned the length of it, some kids gave a ceremonial first kick of soccer ball and Heyward threw out a ceremonial first pitch.

Tre Demps, a former basketball player at Northwestern and director of the basketball programming at the complex, didn’t get to shoot a ceremonial 3-pointer, but the former shooting guard is already turning his focus to the programs ahead.

“The meat and potatoes of why we’re here is to provide equal opportunity in sports programming to youth in the neighborhood,” he said.

Free access to elite-level programs will make a big difference for younger players, he imagined, but more than that, he’s looking forward to the young athletes getting to spend years playing together.

“The biggest thing would be building relationships. These kids will be coming in as second-graders and the goal is to have them all the way through high school, playing on the same team together,” he said. “It’ll be valuable to have kids from all different neighborhoods under one roof.”

Michael Loria is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.

Read More

Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan earned his sixth All-Star nod Thursday night and his second straight in a Bulls uniform after being selected as an Eastern Conference reserve for the Feb. 19 showcase.

“You always want to see your guys get rewarded for their play and what they’ve done,” Billy Donovan said. “Obviously, it’s a prestigious honor. There are not that many guys that get a chance to be a part of it.”

In his second season with the Bulls, DeRozan’s field goal percentage is up. He’s shooting at a 51.1% clip compared to 50.4% last season, averaging 26.3 points, five assists and 4.9 rebounds per game.

DeRozan was voted a starter for last year’s game. The league announced starters Jan. 26. With it came voting returns that showed DeRozan was voted sixth by fans, who account for 50% of the vote, fourth by players (25%) and 10th by media (25%.)

The Bulls are four games below .500, but DeRozan’s All-Star-caliber play has been a bright spot.

Read More

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Boys Basketball

CHICAGO PREP

Rochelle Zell at Hope Academy, 5:30

INDEPENDENT

Latin at Elgin Academy, 6:00

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

IC Catholic at Wheaton Academy, 7:00

METRO SUBURBAN RED

Aurora Central at Ridgewood, 7:00

NOBLE BLUE

Mansueto at Pritzker, 7:00

SOUTH SUBURBAN RED

Oak Lawn at Reavis, 6:00

NONCONFERENCE

Hinsdale Adventist at Unity Christian, 5:30

Proviso East at Hammond Central, Ind., 7:00

Raby at Parker, 6:00

Rauner at Horizon-McKinley, 5:30

Schaumburg Christian at Westlake Christian, 7:30

Soto at Kelly, 6:00

Waldorf at Intrinsic-Belmont, 6:30

Woodstock at Harvest Christian, 7:00

LITTLE TEN TOURNAMENT (at Somonauk)

Semifinals

Serena vs. Newark, 5:30

Hinckley-Big Rock vs. Earlville, 7:00

Consolation

DePue vs. IMSA, 5:30

Indian Creek vs. Somonauk, 7:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE CONSOLATION

Quarterfinals

Kennedy at Wells, 5:00

Chicago Richards at Dunbar, 5:00

Senn at Schurz, 5:00

Von Steuben at Fenger, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE BLUE

Quarterfinals

Phoenix at Manley, 5:00

Bowen at North-Grand, 5:00

Julian at Chicago Academy, 5:00

EPIC at Little Village, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE BLUE 8

Semifinals

Chicago Tech at Carver, 5:00

CMSA at Goode, 5:00

RIVER VALLEY TOURNAMENT

Grace Christian at Illinois Lutheran, 6:00

Girls Basketball

PUBLIC LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

Second Round

Jones at Young

Payton at Morgan Park

Simeon at Lane

Amundsen at Hyde Park

Orr at Taft

Westinghouse at Phillips

Perspectives-LA at Northside

Lincoln Park at Kenwood

Read More

Andrew Vaughn was strictly a first-baseman when the Chicago White Sox drafted him 3rd overall in the 2019 MLB draft. He didn’t even play outfield until he was a member of the White Sox at the MLB level.

When Vaughn was brought up to the big league team, the White Sox already had first base occupied by reigning AL MVP Jose Abreu. This left Vaughn having to learn to play a plethora of different positions to see the field.

In his first two years with the big league team, he has played first base, second base, third base, left field, and right field. Mind you, this is the same guy who strictly played first base for his whole college and minor league career.

Although he has had some pretty good offensive seasons, Vaughn was struggling in the outfield. According to Baseball Savant, Vaughn was the worst defender at ANY position in the entire league.

The Chicago White Sox need a big jump from Andrew Vaughn in 2023.

His OAA (outs above average) was a -20 which is horrendous. Vaughn also had the worst amount of runs prevented at -17.

I don’t blame Vaughn in the slightest bit. He has probably never played outfield in his life, then playing at the most competitive level in his career, he was expected to pick it up.

There’s no way that can be easy. On the other hand, it is very hard for the White Sox because there was no way they were going to put him at first over Jose Abreu.

But this off-season, the White Sox did not re-sign Jose Abreu and he was signed by the Houston Astros. Despite leaving a gap in right field, Vaughn will get to go back to playing first base.

Because of this, I believe Vaughn is bound to put up some monster numbers and hit for a lot more power. Think about it: Vaughn was tirelessly trying to improve his poor defense which took away from his offensive focus. Despite that, he still hit for a .271 AVG.

The thing is, he only hit 17 home runs when he has a lot more power potential than that. At the University of California, Vaughn hit 23 home runs in half of the at-bats he got in the 2022 season with the White Sox.

And yes, college pitching isn’t as good and they use metal bats but still, that is a huge drop-off. All in all, with Vaughn being able to go back to his natural position, he will have some big power production for the White Sox this year; something this team desperately needs to succeed in 2023.

Read More

When the Blackhawks selected Frank Nazar 13th overall last summer, the most likely timeline was that Nazar would spend one year at the University of Michigan and then turn pro.

But a hip injury that required surgery back in October has changed that timeline.

Nazar finally resumed skating a few weeks ago, progressing to the next stage of his rehab, but he has yet to play a game this season.

Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said Tuesday on a local radio show he’s “optimistic” Nazar will debut before season’s end, but that realistically might depend on how deep a postseason run the Wolverines make. Their regular-season finale is scheduled for Feb. 25.

From a Hawks perspective, however, Nazar’s long-term health and stability is far more important than a few crammed-in games this spring.

“We just want to make sure he’s 100% and not rushing back,” said Mark Eaton, the Hawks’ assistant general manager who oversees player development. “If he is [healthy] and able to play, that’s just an added bonus. But our main concern is making sure the hip is feeling good and he’s ready to have a great summer.”

Either way, the Hawks are leaning toward sending Nazar back to Michigan in 2023-24, pushing his rookie pro season to 2024-25.

“Whether he plays games for Michigan this year or not, it would be a hard transition for him to go right to the pro level,” Eaton said. “My thoughts at this point are that he certainly could benefit from a full year of college hockey next year.”

The Hawks nonetheless remain excited about his future potential. He looked fantastic in development camp last summer, with his relentless energy and work ethic adding extra dimensions to his offensive skills.

“I don’t see [this year] as a setback,” Eaton added. “This was something that was going to need to be taken care of at some point. Better now than three, four, five years from now. It’s an unfortunate thing that some guys have to go through, but it is a part of development, learning how to handle injuries and recover.”

More prospect updates

Speaking of longer timelines, defenseman Sam Rinzel — the 25th pick last summer — remains on the longer-term path that the Hawks expected when selecting him.

Rinzel has tallied 22 points in 31 games for Waterloo this season as one of the USHL’s top defensemen. He’ll be a freshman at Minnesota next year.

“I never want to say a player is above-and-beyond certain levels, but with Sam’s skating ability, he can do a lot of things…that he might not necessarily be able to get away with at the next level,” Eaton said. “[We’re] just letting him have the freedom to go out there and make plays and push himself and see what he’s capable of, but keeping that in the back of his mind.”

Forward Gavin Hayes, a third-round pick, has recorded 45 points in 46 games for Flint of the OHL, although he believes he has “more to give” production-wise.

Gaining strength and weight is Hayes’ No. 1 priority. He’s listed at 6-2, 178 pounds. The Hawks have been trying to help, recommending some supplements, but it has proven difficult during the season.

“I’ve been trying to [add] a couple pounds here and there, but then if we play a game, I sometimes lose it all,” Hayes said. “It’s challenging for sure. I don’t want to eat terrible food and bulk up that way, but stay lean while eating clean.”

The coming offseason will likely be crucial.

“He has a way of getting involved offensively,” Eaton said. “[He’s a] very smart player. As he adds some power and strength, that should help quicken up those first couple strides that will allow him to play at the pace expected of him at the next level.”

Read More

It would have been a great college prank, but the Iowa athletic department crushed it.

The Illinois student spirit group “Orange Krush” had its order for 200 tickets to the men’s basketball game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday canceled Wednesday after Iowa discovered the person who made the purchase falsely claimed the tickets were for a Boys and Girls Club in Champaign.

Iowa issued a refund for $5,400 and donated the 200 tickets to the Boys and Girls Club of Cedar Rapids.

Iowa athletics tweeted that when it contacted the Champaign Boys and Girls Club about the order, it was obvious the club did not buy the tickets.

“When contacting the individual who made the original ticket order,” the statement said, “they admitted to falsely ordering tickets under the non-profit organization.”

That person was Kilton Rauman, an Illinois senior and vice president of Illini Pride, the umbrella organization for Orange Krush.

Rauman said Thursday the group routinely uses an assumed identity to buy tickets for its annual road trip to an opponent arena. The reason, he said, is that he would expect an order from a group that cheers for the visitor and heckles the home team would be rejected.

For last year’s trip to Purdue, he said, he successfully bought 50 tickets for a group of “Boy Scouts.” He said he also has bought tickets for a “family reunion.”

“In the past we’ve been turned away for ordering under Orange Krush, which is completely understandable,” Rauman said. “I don’t think our athletic department would want to sell to a group of 200 kids from the Paint Crew at Purdue.”

Rauman said he called Iowa in September to order discounted group tickets for “a Boys and Girls Club.” The purchase went through in October and the tickets arrived at the mailing address for the Illinois athletic department, where Illinois Pride has its headquarters.

“I was shocked that it worked,” he said.

Well, it worked until Wednesday. That’s when Iowa notified Rauman the ticket barcodes would not scan and that a refund had been issued. Iowa declined to comment beyond its statement.

In retrospect, Rauman said, the Champaign mailing address attached to a large ticket order should have made Iowa suspicious before this week. Because of the late notice, he said, Orange Krush lost $6,000 having to cancel charter busses.

“Obviously, it did not pan out how we were hoping,” Rauman said. “There was no malice behind it.”

Read More

Don’t get Jason Benetti wrong. He’s thrilled to be back with Steve Stone in the White Sox’ TV booth. He’s excited to work again with the NBC Sports Chicago production crew he calls “amazing.” And he still feels the tug of Sox fandom from his youth.

But the run-up to the announcement last week that the Sox had picked up the multiyear option on Benetti’s contract wasn’t what he had hoped.

“The really good news is we got somewhere good,” Benetti said. “It was kind of a pain, really. There were some things that we had to get through that I thought were silly, and I’m sure they thought some of the stuff that I was talking about might’ve been silly. But we got there in the end.”

Had they not, other teams were ready to pounce. According to sources, the Braves were watching Benetti’s situation after losing longtime voice Chip Caray to the Cardinals. Instead, Benetti returns for his eighth season with the Sox alongside Stone, who’s back for his 16th.

But there was a disconnect during negotiations. Brooks Boyer, the Sox’ senior vice president in charge of revenue and marketing, saw the talks differently.

“I don’t think there were any complications to it,” Boyer said. “It really wasn’t much of a negotiation because we had picked up the option. It was just ironing out how we put [his] national schedule in [our] local schedule. So there really wasn’t anything that sticks out that was bothersome to me.”

The biggest topic in the talks initially was Benetti’s new national schedule with Fox. He’ll call his first slate of MLB games for the network this season, and that will take him off Sox local broadcasts for a number of Saturdays. In the fall, Benetti figures to miss some games to call college football on Fox.

Benetti said he has been mindful of the effects those commitments have on the Sox. During the 60-game season in 2020, he called just one college football game for ESPN and didn’t miss a Sox game for it. In 2021, he gave a game back to ESPN because the Sox wanted him on the mic at the end of the season.

“I know that based on what Hawk [Harrelson] did over all those years, the team’s preference would be for me to be there for every game, and I get that,” Benetti said. “And I truly do appreciate that they were able to get to a place where I can do both of these things. I think it’s mutually beneficial.”

“We’ve been very supportive and excited for Jason that he has grown his profile,” said Boyer, who last year allowed Benetti to call Peacock’s Sunday games. “We certainly get residual value for that. Jason’s connection got us the Bill Walton game [in 2019], which gave us a ton of national exposure.”

But the sides had settled in the fall on the number of games Benetti could miss, and his contract wasn’t finalized until Jan. 23. Boyer said the team figures out most broadcasters’ deals around the end of a season, then finalizes them in January.

“I didn’t think much of it. I don’t think anybody thought much of it,” Boyer said. “The reality is with our guys, they’re part of the family. I have a trusting relationship with [Benetti and Stone], and they’ve got a trusting relationship with us. It was just a matter of getting our inside general counsel to draw it up.”

What’s unique about the Sox’ negotiations with broadcasters is that they’re done with the broadcasters, not agents. Benetti has joked that he feels like a player in arbitration. Boyer disagreed with the comparison but stood by the Sox’ way of doing business.

“Whether it’s [executive vice president] Kenny Williams or [general manager] Rick Hahn, they don’t use agents,” he said. “We’re compensating them; we have a partnership with them. There’s never been a need to have any sort of outside entity come in and negotiate these things.”

But if there were, maybe Benetti wouldn’t feel how he feels. You’d think an organization wouldn’t want its front-facing talent on the front lines of contract talks. Benetti and Stone represent the Sox for three hours a night. There’s no sense risking the quality of one of the best broadcasts in baseball.

“I’ll be honest, there were points where I was really frustrated,” Benetti said. “Because I think the work has been strong and I appreciate the heck out of the fans and I have loved the Sox for all my life. I just thought it would be easier. But just because it wasn’t easier doesn’t mean it didn’t get done.

“Where I have put myself, totally honestly, the place I am is we got it done, and that means something. It means both sides wanted it to happen.”

Remote patrol

Former Cubs outfielder Dexter Fowler, who announced his retirement from baseball this week, joined Marquee Sports Network as a studio analyst. He made a promising debut Wednesday on “Cubs 360” and mostly will contribute on pregame and postgame shows.

ESPN will celebrate Michael Jordan on Friday, calling 2/3/23 “Jordan Day.” The network will feature content across multiple studio shows, and ACC Network will air four North Carolina games starring Jordan from 1981, ’83 and ’84.

The Score’s first Cubs spring-training broadcast is scheduled for Feb. 25, when the Giants visit Mesa, Arizona. Airtime is 1:55 p.m.

Read More

Everyone will always remember every single player on the 2016 Chicago Cubs with great fondness. Nobody on that team was a passenger as everyone carried their own weight.

One player who went above and beyond always was Dexter Fowler. He had a very interesting path to the Chicago Cubs as he played for the Colorado Rockies from 2008-2013 before one year with the Houston Astros in 2014.

When he reached the Cubs in 2015, things started to turn around for them. He was incredibly productive in a Cubs uniform and it was clear that he was going to be a part of something very special.

During the 2016 regular season, he was so good and he made his one and only All-Star appearance. What followed that year was something amazing for him and a team waiting to win it all for a century.

The Chicago Cubs will always be grateful for Dexter Fowler’s time with them.

Game seven of the 2016 World Series is known as the greatest game in Chicago Cubs history. Fowler led that game off with a solo shot to put the Cubs up 1-0 before an out was recorded. It was the first leadoff home run in World Series game seven history.

This was just one of his many magical moments in the two years that he spent wearing a Chicago Cubs uniform. Without his leadership both on and off the field, they don’t win anything and people should know that.

Fowler played the following four seasons with the St Louis Cardinals where he was still outstanding. He then played seven games with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 but hasn’t played since then.

After not playing in a major league uniform in 2022, he has announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. He deserves many congratulations and people in Chicago won’t soon forget him.

In fact, he is coming back to Chicago. He will be working with the Marquee Network as an analyst for Chicago Cubs baseball. For someone who only played two years with the club, he sure seemed to enjoy being a part of it. Winning a World Series probably helps.

That 2016 team will always mean a lot to a lot of people. Cubs fans can only hope that these guys continue to come back to the organization in some way when they leave the game as a player.

Congrats to Dexter Fowler on an amazing career. Hopefully, he enjoys retirement and it should be a joy to see him be a part of the Marquee Network broadcasts.

Read More

A historic mansion in Joliet used for weddings, banquets and other events was damaged by fire Wednesday afternoon.

Firefighters called to the Haley Mansion around 4 p.m. and found flames and heavy smoke coming from the attic and roof, according to fire officials.

No injuries were reported but the extent of the damage was not known.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The castle-like mansion was built 130 years ago by Patrick Columbus Haley, a lawyer and mayor of Joliet.

Read More