Chicago Sports

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The Chicago Blackhawks have been a little bit of a hot team over the last few weeks. That is actually a bad thing because there is a generational player that they can get in the draft if they win the lottery and finishing in last would improve their chances.

Connor Bedard is the generational player that is lighting the world on fire with his play this year. He is dominating in the WHL with the Regina Pats and he was a key to Team Canada winning the Gold Medal at the World Junior Championships. The Blackhawks need him but aren’t guaranteed him.

In their effort to get him (or Adam Fantilli, Matvei Michkov, or Leo Carlsson who are all very good as well), they need to finish as low as possible. The results of some games so far this week have been great for this effort to finish as low as possible.

On Monday, the Calgary Flames hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was Johnny Gaudreau’s return to Calgary after leaving in free agency but all Blackhawks fans are watching for was if they got some standings points. Luckily, although Columbus lost, it was in overtime so they picked up a point.

The Chicago Blackhawks need everything to go their way in the standings.

A day later, the Blackhawks were beaten badly by the Vancouver Canucks. They stayed in it for a little bit in terms of the scoreboard but they were outshot 48-14 and lost 5-2. The Canucks are bad too and they looked like the late 1980s Edmonton Oilers in this game.

On the same night, the Anaheim Ducks played the Arizona Coyotes so a three-point game would have been perfect for the Hawks but the Ducks won in regulation. If you had to pick a team to win there it would be the Ducks because they are worse than the Yotes and will finish with fewer points.

Then on Wednesday, those pesky Blue Jackets went to play the other team in Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers. They got to overtime again which was good but this time they found a way to win this one and make it three out of four points so far this week.

Now, the Coyotes sit in 29th with 35 points, the Blue Jackets sit in 30th with 33 points, the Ducks are in 31st with 33 points (they have one less win so they are lower with the same number of points) and the Blackhawks are in 32nd (dead last) with 32 points.

The Blackhawks players and coaches aren’t thinking about this stuff but you can bet the fans and front office are. The best interest of the team would be finishing as low as possible so this week has been great so far.

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CHICAGO — A central Illinois man was charged Wednesday with setting fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic earlier this month, federal law enforcement said.

Tyler W. Massengill, 32, of Chillicothe, is accused of “malicious use of fire and an explosive to damage, and attempt to damage” the clinic in Peoria, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.

Massengill was arrested by Peoria police Tuesday. Online court records did not indicate whether he had appeared in court or been assigned an attorney yet.

The U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement that security camera video showed a man approaching the building with a bottle, lighting a rag on one end of it, smashing a window and putting the incendiary device inside, before quickly fleeing on foot.

Investigators said Massengill initially denied responsibility but later acknowledged setting the fire. According to a U.S. District Court criminal complaint, he told them his then-girlfriend had had an abortion three years ago and it upset him, and he thought that if his actions caused “a little delay” in a person receiving services at the health center, it may have been “all worth it.”

The attack on the clinic occurred the night of Jan. 15, two days after the state enacted sweeping reproductive health care legislation aimed at protecting abortion patients and providers.

No patients or staff were inside, but the blaze caused “extensive” damage that will cost more than $1 million and force the clinic to close for months for repairs, said Jennifer Welch, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Illinois.

“This senseless act of vandalism has robbed the community of access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment and gender-affirming care, as well as medication abortion services,” Welch said, describing the range of services the clinic provides. She added, “We are pleased an arrest has been made.”

If convicted, Massengill faces up to 40 years in prison with a minimum sentence of five years, according to the U.S. attorney’s office statement. The charge could also carry up to three years of supervised release and $250,000 in fines.

___

Savage is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023

CHICAGO PREP

Ida Crown at Ellison, 7:00

LAKE SHORE ATHLETIC

Intrinsic-Downtown at Roycemore, 5:30

Lycee Francais at ACERO-Cruz, 6:00

Waldorf at Beacon, 5:30

Wolcott at British School, 5:30

METRO PREP

CPSA at Islamic Foundation, 6:30

NIC – 10

Auburn at Rockford East, 7:00

Belvidere at Boylan, 6:30

Guilford at Hononegah, 6:30

Harlem at Belvidere North, 7:00

Jefferson at Freeport, 7:00

NOBLE LEAGUE – BLUE

DRW Prep at Baker, 7:00

Golder at Muchin, 5:30

Hansberry at Mansueto, 7:00

Rauner at Pritzker, 5:30

UIC Prep at Noble Street, 7:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE BLUE-CENTRAL

Gage Park at Instituto Health, 5:00

NON CONFERENCE

Alcott at Holy Trinity, 5:00

Chicago Academy at Steinmetz, 5:00

Chicago Math & Science at Mather, 5:00

Comer at Jones, 6:30

Downers Grove South at Nazareth, 7:00

Fasman Yeshiva at Walther Christian, 8:00

Flanagan-Cornell at Earlville, 7:00

Gardner-So. Wilmington at Herscher, 7:00

Genoa-Kingston at Indian Creek, 7:00

Grant Park at Reed-Custer, 6:45

Horizon-McKinley at St. Francis de Sales, 4:30

Intrinsic-Belmont at Schurz, 6:30

Lake Forest Academy at Northridge, 6:00

Manteno at Momence, 7:00

Marengo at Winnebago, 7:00

Naperville Central at St. Charles East, 7:00

Pecatonica at Byron, 7:00

Phoenix at St. Laurence, 5:30

Plainfield South at Lockport, 6:30

Rochelle at Stillman Valley, 7:00

Romeoville at Proviso West, 6:00

Serena at Plano, 7:00

Shepard at Chicago Christian, 7:00

St. Charles North at Jacobs, 7:00

Warren at Kennedy, 6:30

Wells at Vocational, 5:00

TRI-COUNTY TOURNAMENT

at Putnam County

Seneca vs. Dwight, 6:00

Marquette vs. Roanoke-Benson, 7:30

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Daron Payne should be available for the Chicago Bears in this upcoming free agency class

The Chicago Bears are going to be a big player this NFL offseason with a lot of salary cap to spend and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Chicago has a bunch of needs to fill and has the assets to do so, as they are expected to be very active.

And one player that would be a big upgrade and help fill a void is defensive tackle Daron Payne. The current Washington Commanders tackle is coming off a big year in 2022 and fits the three-technique mold the Bears are looking for on their defense.

The Commanders could franchise tag Payne and not let him test the open market, which would certainly be a disappointment for the Bears. However, one Commanders insider doesn’t believe that will happen and that Payne will hit the free agent market.

JP Finlay spoke on the topic during a segment he hosts on 106.7 The Fan Wednesday. Finlay and his co-host Brian Mitchell had fellow reporter Ben Standig on to talk about the Commanders. In the segment, Finlay believes Payne is as good as gone:

“They are not going to,” Finlay said. “Do you think they are going to?”

“I would say no,” Standig said. “Independent of what Daron Payne did this year, teams just don’t typically pay two defensive tackles that kind of money. They have already paid Jonathan Allen. Then you have the the Montez Sweat and Chase Young extensions looming over the next couple of years. . . You put that all together and you would think that on some level it would make more sense, as good as Payne was, to use some of that money to get a right tackle, a center or a guard or what ever.”

Interesting enough that two insiders don’t believe that the team will retain Payne. That certainly means something.

Of course, they could be wrong and Payne could find himself back with the Commanders but that seems like a long shot.

It’s not guaranteed the Chicago Bears will get Payne but at least their target should be on the free-agent market. And they have plenty of money to land him.

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Chicago White Sox fans are getting a sneak peek at two bars opening in the 2023 season at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The “view bars” under construction on the 500-level concourse will feature walk-up drink service and table seating, the Sox announced this month.

The team demolished eight rows of seats in sections 516 and 548 to make room for the bars, which will be sponsored by Molson Coors’ brands Miller High Life and Blue Moon.

The idea behind the bars is to help fans experience the park in new ways, Brooks Boyer, White Sox chief revenue and marketing officer, said in a statement.

“These two new view bars invite fans to customize their ballpark experience, providing open spaces to see the game from different perspectives,” Boyer said.

The Sox initially had bigger plans for the bars when it applied for a building permit in September, but the bars were simplified afterward to meet the budget.

In that permit, issued by the city in November, the team said it planned to install a “premium seating skybox,” estimating the cost at $284,500. But the new renderings released by the team don’t show or mention the premium seating.

Internal planning documents also show the team had planned to build full-service bars that would have required extensive plumbing and electrical work. The bars would have featured large overhead “shrouds” to accent the bars.

An internal email from Nov. 14, 2022, shows the team decided to simplify the bars to meet its budget, four days before its building permit was issued by the city. The revised plan called for bars that are “self-contained units with minimal requirements for plumbing and reduced requirements for electrical services.”

Those documents were released by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority to the Sun-Times in an open records request. The ISFA is a government body that oversees renovations of Guaranteed Rate Field and Soldier Field.

Frank Bilecki, chief executive of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, declined to comment directly on questions about the planned bars.

A White Sox spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

Construction was contracted to James McHugh Construction Co., according to the building permit.

This isn’t the first time the team replaced bleacher seating with amenities. In 2019, the Sox added a bar in right field called “the Goose Island,” now known as the “Miller Lite Landing.”

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One person died and several other people were injured when a wind-whipped fire climbed nine floors of a high-rise apartment building near Lake Shore Drive in the Kenwood neighborhood Wednesday morning, according to fire officials.

The fire broke out just after 10 a.m. on the 15th floor and quickly spread upward along the outside walls and windows to at least eight other floors of the building in the 4800 block of South Lake Park Avenue.

The fire was raised to a 4-11 alarm as more than 300 firefighters and emergency responders were dispatched to the scene, according to Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt. By noon, flames were no longer visible.

A person was found dead in an apartment, fire officials said. Eight other people were injured, including a 70-year-old woman initially listed in critical condition, according to fire officials.

A firefighter was hospitalized in good to serious condition with a minor orthopedic injury, Nance-Holt told reporters.

The wind fanned the flames and quickly spread the fire to the upper floors, according to Deputy Fire Commissioner Marc Ferman. “It was a fast-moving fire,” he said. “And it was tough just staying ahead of it.”

Ald. Sophia King (4th) said many of the building’s residents are older people.

“I will tell you when I first walked up, I was aghast and my heart sunk,” she said. “But after talking to leadership, first responders, they have the situation under control.”

Barbara Joiner, a 69-year-old resident, stood outside the building with other neighbors as snow continued to fall. Joiner said she acts as a caretaker for another woman who lives in the portion of the building affected by the fire and was anxiously trying to reach her.

“Oh my God,” she said, remembering her reaction to seeing the flames once she got outside. “These flames are still rising.”

The building, at 4850 S. Lake Park Ave., has failed seven inspections since Oct. 27, 2021, according to city records.

The last inspection, on Dec. 1, 2022, cited management for failing to provide an annual fire alarm test for the building, according to records from the city’s Department of Buildings.

Contributing: Ashlee Rezin; Elvia Malagon; Associated Press

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The Chicago White Sox are dealing with another controversy. The Sox merry-go-round of bad press is extensive. The franchise still hired Tony La Russa for a second go-around as manager back in 2020 despite knowing about his second DUI arrest before he was named skipper.

Former Double-A manager Omar Vizquel was sued for alleged sexual harassment of a batboy with autism.

Vizquel also was investigated by Major League Baseball for domestic abuse allegations levied by his wife. The investigation happened after his dismissal from the White Sox organization.

The White Sox moved Wes Helms to the manager of their Triple-A affiliate even though he was Vizquel’s bench coach. Helms was then abruptly fired last season and it is still not clear what the reasons were for his departure.

The Sox saw their former senior director of player personnel, Dave Wilder, sentenced to two years in jail for defrauding the team in a bonus-skimming scheme.

Now, White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger is being investigated by MLB for domestic violence allegations.

Clevinger was signed this offseason by general manager Rick Hahn to a one-year deal to round out the starting rotation. Clevinger is facing a potentially lengthy suspension where it is likely he will not pitch this season.

The Chicago White Sox are continuing to make it hard to love and follow them.

The report states the Sox were not aware of the allegations against Clevinger until after he signed with the team. After the Tony La Russa DUI story, the organization has lost the benefit of the doubt that they were unaware of the investigation into Clevinger.

The White Sox can play the “we didn’t know” card but it is not like Mike Clevinger is an upstanding citizen, to begin with.

Either way, the Chicago White Sox continues to make decisions that leave the organization with bad optics. The White Sox just cannot seem to stop making the same mistake over and over again.

The Sox have always had an interesting relationship with their fanbase under Jerry Reinsdorf’s ownership. It has been especially hard to unconditionally love this team since the end of the 2020 season.

The Sox fired Rick Renteria as manager and replaced him with La Russa. That proved to be a disaster as the White Sox were bounced in four games in the 2021 playoffs. La Russa’s mind-boggling decisions helped the Sox finish at .500 and miss the playoffs last season.

Even worse, La Russa’s tenure marked two lost years during a contention window. Instead of upgrading the team to make sure they can take back the AL Central, the Sox have gone on the cheap to address their two most glaring positions.

The Sox will turn to rookie Oscar Colas at right field and have a Spring Training battle between prospects Lenyn Sosa and Romy Gonzalez at second.

The Sox signed Andrew Benintendi to the largest free-agent contract in franchise history this offseason. The problem is the Chicago White Sox have yet to sign a free agent to a $100 million contract.

The White Sox have continued to go on the cheap when it comes to acquiring prime talents like Manny Machado or Bryce Harper.

The White Sox could have pursued Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, or Carlos Correa but instead decided it is best to watch the bottom line. All that has done is let more teams pass them by on the list of World Series contenders.

This no-good rotten offseason has seen Jose Abreu leave the team via free agency. There is the possibility the team will have an issue with star player Eloy Jimenez. Jimenez wants to play outfield this season but he is much better suited to be a DH. That could lead to an unhappy player this season.

The organization seems to believe new manager Pedro Grifol can fix all the problems. The problem is he only fills out a lineup card and makes calls to the bullpen.

The Sox will not fix their issues until they take a long, hard look at them and figure out why they are repeating the same mistakes.

Instead, they choose to do the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Some call that insanity which is what it feels like sometimes when it comes to loving this team.

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One person died and several other people were injured when a wind-whipped fire climbed nine floors of a high-rise apartment building near Lake Shore Drive in the Kenwood neighborhood Wednesday morning, according to fire officials.

The fire broke out just after 10 a.m. on the 15th floor and quickly spread upward along the outside walls and windows to at least eight other floors of the building in the 4800 block of South Lake Park Avenue.

The fire was raised to a 4-11 alarm as more than 300 firefighters and emergency responders were dispatched to the scene, according to Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt. By noon, flames were no longer visible.

A person was found dead in an apartment, fire officials said. Eight other people were injured, including a 70-year-old woman initially listed in critical condition, according to fire officials.

A firefighter was hospitalized in good to serious condition with a minor orthopedic injury, Nance-Holt told reporters.

The wind fanned the flames and quickly spread the fire to the upper floors, according to Deputy Fire Commissioner Marc Ferman. “It was a fast-moving fire,” he said. “And it was tough just staying ahead of it.”

Ald. Sophia King (4th) said many of the building’s residents are older people.

“I will tell you when I first walked up, I was aghast and my heart sunk,” she said. “But after talking to leadership, first responders, they have the situation under control.”

Barbara Joiner, a 69-year-old resident, stood outside the building with other neighbors as snow continued to fall. Joiner said she acts as a caretaker for another woman who lives in the portion of the building affected by the fire and was anxiously trying to reach her.

“Oh my God,” she said, remembering her reaction to seeing the flames once she got outside. “These flames are still rising.”

The building, at 4850 S. Lake Park Ave., has failed seven inspections since Oct. 27, 2021, according to city records.

The last inspection, on Dec. 1, 2022, cited management for failing to provide an annual fire alarm test for the building, according to records from the city’s Department of Buildings.

Contributing: Ashlee Rezin; Elvia Malagon; Associated Press

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CALGARY, Alberta — Seth Jones didn’t remember exactly how many shots on goal the Blackhawks recorded in their 5-2 loss Tuesday against the Canucks — the correct answer was 14 — but he knew it “wasn’t pretty.”

Nothing about the Hawks’ performance was. They took too many penalties, conceded too many breakaways, made several poorly timed line changes, lost plenty of defensive-zone puck battles, looked slow on their skates and mishandled the puck almost every time they did gain possession.

They far more closely resembled the version of themselves that lost 21 of 23 games earlier this season rather than the version that won six of seven earlier this month.

“Not our best game,” coach Luke Richardson said.

Combined with their similarly lackluster effort in Sunday’s loss to the Kings, it’s safe to assume that out-of-the-blue winning surge has ended. That chapter of the book can be sent off for printing.

So, in retrospect, how much damage did it do to Hawks management’s tanking plan? Not much, actually.

The Hawks now sit at 14-28-4, good for 32 points in 46 games — a .348 points percentage. They entered Wednesday ranked 30th in the NHL, just ahead of the Blue Jackets (31 points in 47 games, .330 points percentage) and Ducks (33 points in 48 games, .344 points percentage) and just behind the Coyotes (35 points in 48 games, .365 points percentage) and Sharks (38 points in 49 games, .388 points percentage).

Indeed, the race for last place has functionally narrowed to a five-team race. It’s hard to imagine anyone in the next tier of bad teams — composed of the Canucks, Senators, Canadiens and Flyers — crashing dramatically enough to enter the conversation.

The Hawks occupied last for a while, then rose as high as 29th a few days ago. But they could easily slide back into last by Sunday, when they’ll begin their bye week and All-Star break. They have two games left — Thursday against the Flames and Saturday against the Oilers — before then.

The Hawks have been aided by the Jackets earning points in three of their last six games (entering Wednesday) and the Ducks winning two of their last three, which prevented a gap from forming between 31st and 30th.

There’s also so much season left to be played. Of the Hawks’ 36 remaining games, 21 are scheduled for after the March 3 trade deadline, by which point their roster will probably be even worse. Six of those 36 games are against the Coyotes, Ducks or Sharks, matchups that could prove important in a twisted way.

All this hand-wringing over small movements at the bottom of the standings can get overblown. Nonetheless, in a year with exactly four elite prospects in the draft class, the difference between finishing last (which offers a 25.5% chance of picking first overall and a guaranteed top-three pick) and finishing third-to-last (which offers an 11.5% chance of picking first and a 28.8% chance of falling to fifth) is significant.

General manager Kyle Davidson, who made a rare appearance at a Hawks road game Tuesday — along with a who’s-who crowd of other NHL GMs — before taking in the NHL/CHL Top Prospects Game on Wednesday in the Vancouver suburbs, likely has many of those numbers committed to memory.

Richardson and the Hawks’ players, however, almost certainly do not. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman received blowback for claiming “nobody tanks” during a Tuesday news conference in Montreal, but he was correct when saying that “players and coaches do their best to win.”

That’s how Richardson can keep making tweaks to the Hawks’ systems, Jones can keep trying to shoot more and Andreas Athanasiou can keep improving his defense without internal conflict.

This was always destined to be a season of dichotomous objectives within the Hawks organization, and that is precisely what will play out over the next few months.

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