Chicago Sports

Bears safety Eddie Jackson seems to have avoided the worst.

He left the field Nov. 27 against the Jets with a Lisfranc injury to his left foot. That’s a scary diagnosis — the injury has cost some players their careers — but Jackson learned last week he won’t need surgery.

“That was a great feeling. …” he said. “I’m glad I was able to avoid the needle.”

Jackson, safety Jaquan Brisker and linebacker Sterling Weatherford went to the Greater Chicago Food Depository on Monday. In conjunction with Campbell’s Chunky Soup, Jackson donated 100,000 meals to the food depository, which works with partners throughout Chicago to distribute food to the needy.

Jackson didn’t think his injury was serious at first — he told trainer Andre Tucker to give him an injection and let him return. He learned just how serious a Lisfranc injury could be when he went to the locker room and tried to stand on his toes. He couldn’t.

A Lisfranc injury occurs when a player suffers damage to bone and ligaments in his or her midfoot. Jackson said he only had small damage.

Jackson, whose left foot remains immobilized, is due for an MRI on Dec. 30 or 31. He said he’s not sure when he’ll be back to normal. He’s taking his recovery slow but said the injury shouldn’t keep him from participating in offseason activities this spring.

“(Doctors said it’s all about my body, how I heal,” he said.

Read More

The Bears expect to restore their rushing attack with the return of running back Khalil Herbert on Saturday against the Bills. He’ll rejoin David Montgomery in the backfield after missing four games because of a hip injury.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Herbert will practice this week.

“He is cleared, ready to go,” he said. “He’s got all his jumps, his speed, he’s been cutting, he’s been moving — he looks great. We’re excited about his return.”

Herbert, also a kick returner, got hurt in the Nov. 13 loss to the Lions and went on injured reserve. This is his first game eligible to return, and the Bears will need to add him to the active roster by Friday.

Herbert was 11th in the NFL with 643 yards rushing (at a rate of six per carry) at the time of his injury and had four touchdown runs. He also has six catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.

In the four games without Herbert, Montgomery ran for 260 yards and three touchdowns and caught 13 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown.

Herbert had a promising rookie season after the Bears drafted him in the sixth round out of Virginia Tech and took a significant step forward this season. With Montgomery set to hit free agency and Herbert having two years left on his contract, the remaining games are an opportunity for Herbert to audition for a bigger role for next season.

Read More

The Blackhawks sent one notable prospect down to the AHL but called up another in a series of four significant transactions Monday.

Goaltender Arvid Soderblom was sent to Rockford with goaltender Alex Stalock (concussion) finally activated off injured reserve. Meanwhile, defenseman Isaak Phillips was called up from Rockford with defenseman Jarred Tinordi (facial fracture) placed on injured reserve.

Soderblom, 23, held up admirably well in a difficult situation over the past two months and proved he has high potential to be an NHL starter down the road. A rough final start Sunday against the Rangers dropped his save percentage to .894, but he still saved 1.5 goals above expected.

Stalock’s return finally restores the Hawks’ goalie tandem to the veteran duo it was originally supposed to be: Petr Mrazek and Stalock. It’s unclear if Stalock will start one of the Hawks’ last two games — Wednesday against the Predators; Friday against the Blue Jackets — before the NHL’s Christmas break.

Tinordi’s stretch of bad injury luck continued Sunday when he took a slap shot to the mouth, and he’ll miss at least those two games as a result.

But Phillips’ first Hawks stint of the season will be interesting. Already in his third pro season at age 21, he has ascended rapidly up the Hawks’ prospect hierarchy after making his first four NHL appearances last season. He has dominated in Rockford, leading all AHL defensemen with a plus-17 rating and ranking ninth among AHL defensemen in scoring (with 17 points in 25 games).

Read More

MINNEAPOLIS – Point guard Goran Dragic spent two seasons with Jimmy Butler.

It took Dragic just a few minutes to figure out exactly what Butler was about when the former Bulls All-Star first arrived on South Beach.

“I loved having him as a teammate because with Jimmy you know where you stand right away,” Dragic said. “If you’re willing to sacrifice for the team, he’ll have your back 100% because that’s how he plays. If you don’t sacrifice, he’s going to have a problem with you.”

So who on this current Bulls roster is holding teammates accountable?

Who has the onions and respect of everyone wearing the uniform to let it be known that what’s been taking place the last week is not only unacceptable, but will also lead by example in showing that it can’t happen anymore?

That should be the real concern for the entire Bulls organization. That type of player might not exist in that locker room.

“We’re not playing for each other,” Dragic said after the embarrassing 150-126 Sunday loss to the undermanned Timberwolves. “It’s as simple as that.”

A damning statement from a veteran who has spent 15 seasons in the NBA and has seen it all, and not the only one Dragic made.

“Somebody told me – and he was right – it’s easy to talk about sacrifice,” Dragic said. “But somebody else’s sacrifice is easier to talk about. But when it comes to you, when you have to sacrifice for the team, then it’s a different story.”

Dragic didn’t name names, and he didn’t have to.

As soon as Zach LaVine put pen to paper on his five-year, $215 million max contract, it became his team. That contract should carry that responsibility. If it doesn’t then the Bulls front office has to look in the mirror and evaluate their own decision-making process.

That’s why the one player that has to wear that, and at the same time lead the charge in trying to turn the effort level on both ends of the court around, starts and stops with LaVine.

Heading into Tuesday’s showdown against the Heat in Miami, LaVine will do so with a defensive efficiency rating of 114.9. Unacceptable for his athletic ability, especially after the two-time All-Star showed with Team USA and the first six weeks of last season, that he can be a high-effort defender.

Not an elite stopper – LaVine will never be that – but effort is something he can control.

Yet on Sunday, there was barely any of that.

The Timberwolves did what they wanted on the offensive end, wherever they wanted. And while LaVine wasn’t the only culprit by any means, there’s 215 million reasons why he’s the face of the franchise and has to be held at that highest standard.

To his credit, he’s acknowledged after the last two-straight losses that he had to be better. But talk is cheap at this point.

Just look at one simple stat: Charges taken so far this season.

Alex Caruso leads the team with six, 33-year-old DeMar DeRozan has four, and reserve Coby White has three. LaVine? Zero.

How about two-point shots contested by the backcourt players? Ayo Dosunmu, Caruso and DeRozan each rank higher than LaVine.

Coincidence or stats simply being bent a certain way? Maybe, but the eye test doesn’t lie. LaVine was a turnstile on the defensive end against the Timberwolves.

The guy eating up the highest amount of payroll can’t be that. Not if that team has high aspirations.

“It’s hard to be a great anything as a group unless you’re really going to do it for the guy next to you,” coach Billy Donovan said. “That’s what it comes down to. We have to do it for each other.”

But there has to be a starting point in that sacrifice and selflessness. And he wears No. 8.

Read More

Marist is a particularly interesting team this season. Three freshmen and two sophomores are key players. Those prospects will bring out the recruiting evaluators and highlight-video makers.

But coach Brian Hynes is depending on a core of seniors to carry the load. Mason Ross, Kaden White, Justin Lang and Dermot Smyth are solid, unselfish players that have provided a foundation for the RedHawks to succeed this season. They are off to a 10-1 start.

“They are high character kids that don’t care about stats,” Hynes said. “They care about their teammates. They are the kids you dream about coaching.”

Marist picked up its first loss of the season on Friday, falling at home to St. Patrick. After the game, Hynes wondered how his team would respond.

“Will we come together or stronger or start to show the chinks in the armor,” Hynes asked.

His group responded with a big road win against Naperville North on Saturday. The freshmen and sophomores were decent in the loss to the Shamrocks, but rose up and starred on Saturday.

Freshman guard Adoni Vassilakis scored 15 points and 6-6 freshman Stephen Brown scored 14. The RedHawks will be a load to handle when the young players are scoring.

Expect Marist to take some lumps throughout the season, that 10-1 record isn’t loaded with high-quality wins. But the RedHawks have a high ceiling and could be a factor in the playoffs after the freshmen and sophomores gain more experience.

Guard down

Simeon will be without guard Kaiden Space until sometime in January. The Stony Brook recruit broke his wrist in the Chicago Elite Classic against St. Rita.

The Wolverines haven’t missed a beat without Space, but losing a key guard will be a factor at the loaded Pontiac Holiday Tournament, where Simeon would have to win four tough games in three days to capture the championship.

Young faces Simeon on Friday at Credit Union One Arena. The event is named Sayonara, as there will be a ceremony to honor retiring Wolverines coach Robert Smith.

There is a strong lineup of games overall. Hyde Park will face Mount Carmel, Joliet West takes on defending Class 3A state champs Sacred Heart-Griffin and St Rita faces a good team from Indianapolis.

Unbeaten starts

A significant number of teams have a chance to head into holiday tournaments unbeaten. Simeon (8-0), Benet (10-0), Glenbrook North (10-0), Lyons (7-0), and Lemont (10-0) are all ranked and undefeated. Barrington (8-0), Manley (11-0), Seneca (9-0) and TF North (7-0) are also unbeaten.

There’s a chance Lyons and Lemont could still be undefeated and face off in the York title game on New Year’s eve. Simeon and Benet are on opposite sides of the bracket in Pontiac and could also meet in a title game featuring teams with perfect records.

Read More

Many NHL coaches view goaltending as a sort of foreign craft. They leave their goalies to their goalie coach and largely ignore their day-to-day routines.

Former Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville certainly fell into that category.

“I remember ‘Q’ sometimes [would say], ‘Oh, that was a bad goal,’ ” longstanding Hawks goalie coach Jimmy Waite said. “I had to explain to him why maybe it wasn’t a bad goal, why [our goalie] played it that way. And then he’d say, ‘Oh, OK, that makes sense.’ “

But Hawks coach Luke Richardson does not fall into that category. As with many things, he operates differently than his predecessors in terms of the attention he pays to the Hawks’ goalies.

He’s so interested in them that Waite was originally taken aback.

“Working with Luke is weird because he really cares about what the goalies do,” he said. “At the start of practice, he wants to make sure they’re warmed up before we get to the harder drills. He thinks about the goalies all the time. And he knows a lot about goaltending. I’m surprised how he does it.”

Richardson attributes that characteristic to his long playing career as a defenseman, during which he had to communicate with tons of goalies when retrieving dump-ins and coordinating defensive-zone coverage.

It probably has something to do with his inclusive, hands-on personality and overall coaching style, too. Writing off goaltenders as eccentric, hard-to-relate-to specialists because of their job’s uniqueness wouldn’t align with how he operates.

“You need to talk to a goaltender in their language, their mentality, so I like to know a little bit about that and understand it,” Richardson said. “I want to make sure we’re on the same page, that our [approach] is working for the goaltenders or if we have to maybe change it a little bit.

“What we’re preaching, Jimmy likes it, and I think the goaltenders like it and are comfortable with it. We just have to execute things.”

Richardson’s attentiveness toward goaltending is especially relevant because goalie Arvid Soderblom, who made his 15th career start Sunday against the Rangers, is one of few high-upside prospects on the Hawks’ NHL roster. The more coaching and organizational investment he receives, the better.

The Hawks haven’t made their goalies’ lives easy this season. As with most of their other team weaknesses, however, there’s not much Richardson or Waite can do, considering the talent deficit of the roster they’re working with.

Entering Sunday, their team save percentage had dropped to .890 (ranking 25th in the NHL) and their save percentage against high-danger shots had dropped to .807 (ranking 22nd).

Petr Mrazek is the main reason why: He’s 2-7-1 with an ugly .872 save percentage and minus-7.9 goals saved above average (GSAA). Soderblom entered Sunday at 2-9-2 but with much better stats: .904 save percentage, plus-3.9 GSAA. Alex Stalock, who Richardson said Sunday could finally return from his concussion within a week or two, has been stuck at 3-2-1 with a .914 save percentage and plus-3.6 GSAA since Nov. 1.

Richardson has talked to Waite and the goalies a lot about the penalty kill, in particular, incorporating their feedback about “where they want to see the pucks come from” into the Hawks’ structure.

They asked for tighter coverage on back-door passes and chances, so that they can stay more square to tight-angle shots, prompting Richardson to work on that with his penalty killers.

“[The goalies] appreciate interest, and they’re a big part of the team, as well,” he said. “I ask Jimmy’s thoughts on, ‘Is that enough at practice? Is this good for practice? Is this good for the pregame skate?’ I like to give them the best opportunity to be feeling confident at the start of the game.”

Read More

MINNEAPOLIS — Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan grew up playing basketball in a park in Compton, California, with a very simple rule:

”You want to go home with your ball? You’re going to fight to make sure that you play with your ball and you take your ball home,” DeRozan said.

The Bulls’ embarrassing 150-126 loss Sunday to the Timberwolves left DeRozan and his teammates without their pride, their dignity and anything that resembled any sort of fight.

”Giving up 150 points is beyond embarrassing, and we’ve got to feel that; we’ve got to feel that,” DeRozan said after the Bulls’ fourth consecutive loss. ”You’ve gotta feel low right now; you’ve gotta feel frustrated. Nothing against Minnesota, but it’s not like we’re playing against the 2016 Golden State Warriors.”

The 150 points were a franchise record for the Timberwolves and the sixth-most points the Bulls had allowed in their history (the fourth-most in regulation).

It was one thing getting dismantled by a Tom Thibodeau-coached team, such as the Bulls did in the second half of their loss Friday to the Knicks. After all, Thibodeau’s teams usually play with a physicality and attention to detail that can wear down a group that might have more talent on paper but not the will to stand toe-to-toe and trade blows when it matters most.

On Sunday, however, the Timberwolves were without big men Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf) and Rudy Gobert (left ankle). That should have made them easy pickings, right?

But that kind of thinking couldn’t have been more wrong, with the Bulls’ defense looking atrocious.

At the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves were shooting 43-for-62 (69.4%) from the field and 17-for-30 (56.7%) from three-point range. They got what they wanted where they wanted it, often leaving the Bulls confused and pointing fingers at each other.

The Bulls’ lack of focus defensively was what was disappointed coach Billy Donovan most.

”I can switch to zone, I can switch to different pick-and-roll coverages, but if the compete level isn’t high enough collectively as a unit, it doesn’t make a difference,” Donovan said. ”When you line up and play, the beauty of it is it doesn’t make a difference what happened yesterday or two weeks ago. You are not escaping the moment of the physicality and what you’ve got to do.”

The loss left the Bulls at 11-18 in the standings, but where they are mentally is the real concern.

Donovan talked about togetherness and a willingness to sacrifice for the man next to you, but the Bulls seem to be missing that right now. And while several players were asked about it, no one really could explain it.

”Obviously, we’ve got to find that connection because when things feel bad it seems like it can snowball and feel worse,” DeRozan said.

As far as the front office answering questions about where the Bulls are and its accountability for that, a request for an interview was denied.

The Bulls will practice Monday in Miami and will look to avoid a fifth consecutive loss Tuesday against the Heat.

”Until we buckle down and realize we’re leaving this park with our ball regardless, we’re going to keep getting the same results,” DeRozan said. ”I’m tired of going home without a ball.”

Read More

There was no question a new chapter would be written Sunday in the Blackhawks’ soap opera of drama with Rangers captain Jacob Trouba.

Trouba probably liked how the script turned out.

The hard-hitting, sometimes line-crossing defenseman blasted his second goal of the season past Hawks goalie Arvid Soderblom in the second period, helping the Rangers run away for a 7-1 blowout win.

Perfectly for Trouba, Andreas Athanasiou — who had ripped Trouba as “an $8 million man with zero goals” after barely dodging injury from a signature Trouba high hit in Madison Square Garden earlier this month — was on the ice at the time. Trouba was seen yelling at Athanasiou, “Hey, do you want the puck?”

“If he wanted it, he can have it,” Trouba told reporters postgame.

Athanasiou generated several chances to answer back, but world-class Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped him each time. The Hawks enjoyed some of the longest attacking shifts they’ve had in weeks, but they were shredded in transition as many of their usual double-pinching and defensive sorting issues reappeared.

As far as physical altercations, Sunday was considerably tamer than the Hawks and Rangers’ last few meetings. Trouba played a clean game, even after Jake McCabe coldly bumped him following his goal. The worst hit was actually a late knock from behind by Sam Lafferty on Rangers forward Filip Chytil, who was injured and did not return.

The Hawks have now lost 15 of their last 16 games and been outscored 31-7 over the last seven.

“There’s this weight on our shoulders where when things go wrong, they go really wrong,” Jonathan Toews said. “It keeps snowballing in the wrong direction for us. We’re mentally having a difficult time recovering as a team.”

Kane, Toews hit 1K

Toews and Patrick Kane both passed their individual 1,000-game milestones in previous seasons, but Sunday marked their 1,000th game together in Hawks sweaters.

Honored with a video montage at the first TV timeout, they shared a hug along the bench and received a standing ovation from the United Center crowd of 17,365.

During those 1,000 nights since their first game together on Oct. 10, 2007, they’ve together factored into 298 goals: 116 scored by Toews and assisted by Kane, 110 scored by Kane and assisted by Toews and 72 on which they both assisted.

“[Jonathan] was a lot more serious in his first few years,” Kane said. “He still has that serious element to him, but I don’t think he takes himself as serious now. He’s able to laugh at himself a little bit.”

Added Toews, smiling: “There were moments where I was envious of his confidence, and I wasn’t sure where he got it from sometimes. … But now he’s, believe it or not, just down to earth. He’s focused on the game and just very real and very humble with who he is. We’ve both probably matured in a lot of ways — and stayed immature in some ways, I’m sure.”

Toews recalled a funny story with old fan favorite and unique character Dustin Byfuglien that demonstrated the competitiveness embedded in his friendship with Kane.

“If we were quiet [and] we weren’t on each other on the bench, ‘Buff’ just knew how to stir the pot,” Toews said. “He’d usually say something like, ‘Kaner, why don’t you pass to Tazer there?’ He would get us going. Next thing you know, the two of us would be fighting, and Buff would just be chuckling and laughing.”

Read More

Patrick Finley and Jason Lieser discuss Justin Fields facing the Eagles defense almost by himself, the struggles of rookie Velus Jones and what they learned from a near-miss against the NFC’s best team.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify and Stitcher.

Read More

Bears wide receiver Velus Jones isn’t the kind of rookie who’s going to let one mistake bother him.

Or two.

Or three.

Jones’ problem is that his mistakes are adding up. After muffed punts against the Giants and Commanders temporarily cost him his return job, Jones committed an even more egregious error in the eyes of coach Matt Eberflus on Sunday when he fumbled on a sweep in the third quarter of a 25-20 loss to the Eagles at Soldier Field.

The Bears were trailing 17-13 and had a first down at the Eagles 42-yard line with 5:52 left in the third quarter when Jones took a handoff from Justin Fields and sped around left end. But as Jones turned the corner after gaining two yards, Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox dislodged the ball while making the tackle and linebacker Haason Reddick recovered at the Eagles 43.

The Bears’ defense bailed out Jones when it stopped the Eagles on downs at the Bears 33 after five plays. But that’s not likely to cut Jones any slack with Eberflus.

“I don’t like that. I don’t like it,” Eberflus said. “I don’t like it when guys lose the football. It’s not good. Guys have to do a better job securing the ball.

“I’ll look at the tape. But when you’re in traffic, you have to have five points of pressure on the ball. That’s an important piece to it. We’ll look and see where it is.”

Jones, a third-round draft pick, has been lauded by his coaches for being headstrong through difficult times and not playing scared despite his mistakes. But perhaps he needs to play at least a little cautious, because staying aggressive isn’t fixing the problem.

“I’m an aggressive runner, so I’m always trying to fight for extra yards,” Jones said. “I tried to split two defenders, but [I] just gotta put two hands on the ball. I’m fighting for extra yards and I think someone got it out from behind me. So I know what to correct. I just gotta keep two hands on the ball.”

It remains to be seen how many more chances Jones gets.

“He’s got to stay encouraged. He’s got to keep working and doing the right things,” Eberflus said. “I know he can do it right, We’ll coach him to do it that way.”

With five rookies starting, Eberflus knows he’ll have to live with growing pains. But he’s a little less tolerant of them this late in the season. Even safety Jaquan Brisker, the best rookie of them all, got caught when he blitzed the wrong gap next to center Jason Kelce on a third-and-eight play from the Bears 22-yard line late in the second quarter. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scooted through the other “A” gap with a clear path to a 22-yard touchdown that gave the Eagles a 10-6 lead with 43 seconds left in the first half.

“We had two guys in the same gap,” Eberflus said. “The safety is supposed to be in the other gap. We should have had that dead-to-rights. That’s unfortunate that it happened.”

Brisker said the error was more because of rust from missing two games because of a concussion than a rookie mistake.

“Just a missed assignment from me,” Brisker said. “Just trying to make a play for the team. I knew we were in “zero,” but I told DHC [safety DeAndre Houston-Carson] to take the tight end, [and] I didn’t locate the tight end. Wherever the tight end is, I’ve got to go the opposite of that.”

But unlike Jones, Brisker’s error was a blip and not a red flag.

“Once [Hurts] scored, I figured I went in the wrong gap … [and] I moved on,” Brisker said. “I really don’t let stuff like that dictate my performance going on. I know who I am.”

Read More