Chicago Sports

Andrew Benintendi is the White Sox’ top free agent prize this offseason, a $75 million addition for five years that should shore up the outfield for 2023 and beyond.

But the Sox also added two experienced outfielders to the potential mix for 2023 in Billy Hamilton and Victor Reyes, who have been signed to minor league deals with invitations to spring training.

A career .239 hitter with 324 stolen bases, Hamilton, 32, had one hit in 20 at-bats in 2022 and was 10-for-11 in stolen bases for the Marlins and Twins. He batted .220/.242/.378 in 71 games for the Sox in 2021, providing occasional spark off the bench for a team that won the AL Central Division. Hamilton and Reyes can play all three outfield positions.

Reyes, 28, batted .264/.294/.379 in 394 games over five seasons with the Tigers. A switch-hitter, he batted .254/.289/.362 with three homers in 93 games in 2022.

The Sox’ 40-man roster currently lists four outfielders — Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets. But Vaughn is expected to play first base in 2023 following Jose Abreu’s exit, and Jimenez figures to be used primarily as a designated hitter. Benintendi will be added when his signing is announced.

Benintendi’s contract is the largest in Sox history, surpassing the $73 million, four-year deal Yasmani Grandal signed before the 2020 season.

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Curie coach Mike Oliver was embarrassed by his team’s performance at his shootout last weekend. The Condors lost to Mount Carmel by 15 points and Oliver lit his players up after the game, publicly questioning their toughness and claiming his team didn’t have a leader.

“No one likes to read that in the newspaper,” Oliver smiled and said after his team responded to the drubbing by knocking off No. 19 Oswego East 65-52 at Triton in River Grove on Saturday.

The No. 12 Condors started hot, draining five three-pointers in the first quarter to build a 25-10 lead.

“He’s the kind of coach that says exactly what he feels and I agree with what he was saying,” Curie’s Jeremy Harrington said. “Before games we would be joking around in the locker room. Today we were all serious. All business. We knew we had to come out and start with a lot of energy.”

The Condors expanded their lead to 21 points in the third quarter. Oswego East (10-2) charged back late, pulling to within seven points on a three from Ryan Johnson with 1:48 left but that was as close as it would get.

Both teams were without their point guards. Curie junior Carlos Harris was out sick and Oswego East senior Bryce Shoto twisted his ankle at the end of a win against Plainfield North on Friday.

“Carlos is a big piece of our team so we knew everybody had to step up,” Barrett said. “We really showed our camaraderie to come together after [Oliver] called us out and we played without Carlos.”

Harrington, Kros Barrett and Chikasi Ofoma each scored 15 points for the Condors (8-3) and Mason Minor added eight points.

“This is what I thought we would look like at the beginning of the year,” Oliver said. “We are deep. I wasn’t surprised. This is what I’ve been waiting on.”

Harrington, a 6-5 senior, has been one of the most productive players in the Public League for several seasons. He’s an unorthodox player, capable of shooting from three and playing in the post. It creates major matchup problems for opponents, but college coaches have yet to offer him a scholarship. He’s received some interest from Division 3 schools.

“I definitely have a chip on my shoulder,” Harrington said. “I’m just going to go out and prove every game that I’m one of the best seniors in Illinois. I’ll show the college coaches that I deserve those offers. I really don’t know what the coaches don’t like about me.”

Towson recruit Mekhi Lowery stepped in and handled the ball in place of Shoto and also dominated in the post. The 6-7 senior was everywhere, finishing with 13 points, 20 rebounds and four assists for the Wolves.

Johnson scored 20 and senior Tyler Jasek added nine points for Oswego East.

“This is a learning opportunity for us,” Wolves coach Ryan Velasquez said. “That’s a good team and it was a physical game. We didn’t play our best in the first half but a bunch of guys responded in the second half.”

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Caleb Jones has endured a chaotic holiday season.

The spotlight burned a hole in him during brother Seth Jones’ absence in November, and a stretch of several games with brutal turnovers tested his confidence. Then Seth returned but a hip flexor injury cost Caleb himself three games.

But now both Jones brothers are finally healthy, and they produced two of their better outings of the season Thursday and Friday against the Golden Knights and Wild, respectively — even though the Blackhawks still predictably lost. Coach Luke Richardson praised both of them Friday.

“Seth looked good,” Richardson said. “He never was beaten. And then he added a little bit of offense. [He] wasn’t racing up and down 200 feet all game. We don’t need him to do that. We just need him to look for the right opportunity to dive in there and take advantage of a breakdown.

“Caleb is a pretty responsible guy, and he’s a good skater. Really, he doesn’t need to cheat and get up on the offense; he just needs to be a good second-wave guy. Same thing [as Seth].”

Richardson has been asking his defensemen to be more mindful — and generally more conservative — about jumping into rushes up-ice, and the Joneses have been perhaps the most frequent recipients of that message.

It might be finally getting through, though. Since Nov. 23 against the Stars — the game in which Seth returned — Caleb Jones’ expected goals ratio at five-on-five is an impressive 57.7%, which leads the team. And while Seth sits in the middle of the pack at 41.0% over that span, he finished above 59% against both Vegas and Minnesota, representing his best two-game stretch this season.

Switching Seth’s first-pair partner from Jack Johnson to Jake McCabe has made a significant difference. McCabe has quietly enjoyed a bounce-back season, and he has been especially reliable over the past month.

Johnson, meanwhile, has settled into a more appropriate workload on the third pairing with Caleb, who experienced similar improvement when Seth’s return previously bumped him from the first to third pairing.

Caleb’s hip injury popped up out of nowhere and knocked him out of rhythm briefly. The speed of the NHL always catches him “off-guard for a second” when he returns from any absence. But maybe he’s better when off-guard, because this week he has avoided many of the poorly timed errors that occasionally plague his game.

“I’ve felt pretty good,” Caleb said Friday. “I’ve been trying to really get up the ice and push the issue — sometimes maybe even a little too much and sacrificing a little bit [of defense], and that can’t happen, for sure. But I look at the year as a total, and I’m on pace to maybe have a career year and break some old numbers. All in all, it has been positive.”

He is correct about his stats. He set career highs in games played (51) and points (15) last season; he’s currently on pace to play 65 games and tally 25 points this season.

And he and Seth have also spent time talking to each other about heeding Richardson’s words and not “trying to force things” offensively.

Now if only the Hawks could make it a little easier on them — and everyone — by, for once, scoring a game’s first goal. The Rangers, who they’ll host Sunday in a potentially feisty rematch, are the only team they’ve scored first against in their last 16 games (and the only team they’ve beaten in their last 15).

“It’s tiring when you’re chasing games like we’ve been, because…you’re trying to get up and do so much, and then you don’t really have a lot of energy left when you come back,” Caleb said. “If you can play with the lead, it gets a little easier.”

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The Chicago Cubs have reportedly landed star shortstop Dansby Swanson

Cubs fans have been awaiting the signing of a star shortstop. According to Jeff Passan and David Kaplan, the Chicago Cubs have agreed to terms with former Atlanta Brave Dansby Swanson. Swanson has spent his entire 7-year career with the Atlanta Braves. Swanson will spend the next 7 with the Cubs as he has reportedly agreed to a 7-year, $177 million deal.

Swanson’s deal is a seven-year deal worth $177 million and includes a full no-trade clause, sources tell @BallySports and @Stadium. https://t.co/0YOtXfToDq

— Russell Dorsey (@Russ_Dorsey1) December 17, 2022

With Dansby Swanson coming to the Cubs, the team is expected to move Nico Hoerner to second base. With defensive shifts being abolished, the value of an elite defensive second baseman has only gone up. With the addition of Swanson, the Cubs are now expected to have one of the best middle infields in baseball.

The final numbers on a Dansby Swanson-Chicago Cubs deal should be done sometime soon, as @thekapman first said, but the upshot is: The Cubs are going to have a new shortstop and the best defensive middle infield in baseball with Swanson at short and Nico Hoerner moving to second.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 17, 2022

This signing proves to fans that the Chicago Cubs are officially invested in winning. Swanson recently married Mallory Pugh of the Chicago Red Stars. The newlyweds will now make Chicago their home for the foreseeable future.

With the addition of this 1x All-Star, 1x Gold Glover, and 1x World Series Champion, the Cubs are sure to keep adding players via free agency. Look for the Cubs to add a corner infielder as this offseason progresses

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The Cubs promised they’d compete in 2023, and they sent a message backing up that claim on Saturday. They agreed to a seven-year, $177 million contract with All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson according to multiple reports.

Swanson had plenty of suitors. Free agency opened with four top-tier shortstops on the market. But Swanson became the last man standing, as the other three shortstops signed in the span of eight days, all for at least 11 years and $280 million.

Swanson poised to give the Cubs an offensive boost. He doesn’t have as long of an offensive track record as Carlos Correa, Trea Turner or Xander Bogaerts. But Swanson, 28, had the best season of his career in 2022, showing a high upside just before hitting free agency. He earned his first All-Star selection this past season, won his first Gold Glove, and slashed .277/.329/.447.

The year before, he helped lead the Braves to a World Series title.

Swanson’s defensive prowess makes him an especially good fit for the Cubs. With him at shortstop, homegrown middle infielder Nico Hoerner is expected to move back to second base, where he was a Gold Glove finalist two years ago.

Playing Swanson and Hoerner side by side gives the Cubs a standout duo up the middle as the ban on defensive shifts goes into place for 2023.

“It’s really important to have good defense up the middle,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said earlier this month. “A middle of the infield player, you can’t hide in the shift anymore. So, I think that’s going to expose those guys even more, and it makes athleticism and defense in the middle of the infield that much more important.”

Swanson has ties to Chicago through Red Stars and US Women’s National Team star Mallory Pugh. The pair married last weekend.

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The Chicago Bears added two players to their active roster for Week 15

The Chicago Bears had several pass catchers dealing with injuries this week. The Bears ruled wide receiver, Chase Claypool, out for the Bears’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a knee injury. Tight end Trevon Wesco was ruled out as well. With wide receiver, Darnell Mooney lost for the season due to injury, the Bears needed to add players to the active roster for their game Sunday.

According to a statement by the Bears, wide receiver Nsimba Webster and tight end Jake Tonges have been elevated from the practice squad to the active roster.

Tonges has played in three games for the Bears this season. He played in Weeks 1, 3, and 4. Tonges has no receptions this season but was targeted one time. The undrafted rookie free agent from California is graded 52.5 overall by Pro Football Focus.

Webster has no stats this season. He appeared in six games for the Bears in 2021. I guess this will be a chance for quarterback Justin Fields to see what he can do with no talent against the NFC’s best team.

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MINNEAPOLIS – It starts with the foundation being built on uneven ground.

Then there was the questionable financial decision to spend max money on a three-season porch in a four-season city.

And the underwater treadmill in the exercise room? Necessary, but was it really supposed to get this much use?

So while it was admirable for the foreman to calmly sit there and get peppered with questions about this sudden dumpster fire of a structure, the person that should have been front and center Friday night was the architect.

That’s Accountability 101.

That’s also what Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas all but promised when he was hired.

“My professional philosophy is knowing players, constant communication, roster balance, and deal-making creativity,” Karnisovas said back in 2020 in his first meeting with the media.

“Constant” may have been a stretch, considering he’s communicated with the media maybe a handful of times since then, but the expectation has to be that he’ll talk soon, as this season continued to spiral downward after an embarrassing showing in the Friday loss to the Knicks.

Doesn’t he?

After all, it was Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley that doubled down on what was seemingly a flawed project, opting to take the road of “continuity” and bring back this core roster.

Entering this four-game road trip, the Bulls are one of the more disappointing teams in the NBA right now. One of them has to address the 11-17 start.

“Everything starts and ends with winning,” Eversley said in his opening presser with the media. “For Bulls fans, hear me when I say it: Our ultimate goal is to bring an NBA Championship back to the city of Chicago.”

Cool. Goosebumps.

One problem: Since that day almost two-and-a-half years ago, Eversley has spoken to the media even less than Karnisovas, and that NBA Championship parade that was thrown out there? Let’s just say there’s plenty of good seats still available at Grant Park.

But there was coach Billy Donovan after a third-straight loss, answering questions about the roster build and future trade possibilities as best he could. Questions that were above his pay grade. But someone had to answer them.

“I don’t personally feel that way,” Donovan responded, when asked if running back this same core group was a mistake by the front office. “I think the character in that locker room is really, really good. I just think that with the adversity that happens in the game, we have to collectively have more resolve.”

Then again, what’s the coach supposed to say? Donovan should be applauded for being a stand-up guy and taking the heat, but he’s also not going to take the flamethrower to the only bridge that gets him back home.

He’s publicly warned everyone about this 2022-23 campaign being much harder than last season’s short-lived playoff run, but for some reason those warnings were ignored by far too many.

Starting with his own boss.

It was Karnisovas who back in September, set the bar for a successful season at reaching at least the second round of the playoffs.

If the Bulls keep playing like this, however, they might not even reach a play-in game.

The good news?

There is a lot of time to make repairs. The regular season is not even a third in the books. That means plenty of basketball still to be played.

And if it does continue to crack and break? One of the architects will surely address it soon. They have to, don’t they?

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Saturday, December 17, 2022

EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLIC

St. Viator at Joliet Catholic, 2:30

METRO SUBURBAN – BLUE

Aurora Christian at Timothy Christian, 7:30

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Antioch at Grayslake Central, 5:30

Grant at Grayslake North, 7:00

Lakes at Wauconda, 4:30

NON CONFERENCE

Alden-Hebron at Ashton-Franklin Center, 2:30

Chicago Christian at Eisenhower, 2:30

DePaul at Evergreen Park, 12:00

Dixon at Woodstock North, 1:30

Downers Grove North at Downers Grove South, 6:

Earlville at Mendota, 1:30

Englewood STEM at St. Laurence, 3:00

Fasman Yeshiva at CPSA, 7:30

Fenton at Addison Trail, 4:30

Fremd at Warren, 4:00

Glenbrook South at Jacksonville, 3:30

Hansberry at Aurora Central, 1:00

Highland Park at Prospect, 7:00

Hillcrest at Bloomington, 6:30

Hinsdale Central at Bartlett, 2:30

Hinsdale South at Burlington Central, 12:30

Jacobs at Boylan, 2:00

Johnsburg at Kaneland, 6:00

Lake Zurich at Hersey, 3:00

Libertyville at Willowbrook, 2:30

Lockport at Waubonsie Valley, 7:00

Maine East at Glenbrook North, 3:30

Maine West at Conant, 5:30

Marist at Naperville North, 5:00

Marmion at IMSA, 1:00

Mather at Leyden, 2:30

Neuqua Valley at Rockford Lutheran, 6:00

Niles North at Taft, 4:30

Northridge at Notre Dame, 5:00

Oak Park-River Forest at Lake Forest, 4:30

Palatine at Hampshire, 4:00

Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Manteno, 2:30

Perspectives-MSA at Chicago Military, 5:00

Plainfield Central at Bradley-Bourbonnais, 3:00

Plainfield North at Sycamore, 3:00

Ridgeview at Gardner-So. Wilmington, 2:15

Rochelle at Princeton, 6:30

Schaumburg at Walther Christian, 6:00

St. Edward at Elgin, 1:00

Stevenson at Carmel. 7:00

Washington (IL) at Streator, 5:30

Westinghouse at Auburn, 6:00

BENTONVILLE (AR)

Young vs. Little Rock Christian (AR), 12:00

Simeon vs. Moravian Prep (NC), 3:00

BRADLEY TECH (WI)

Von Steuben vs. Tremper, (WI), 10:30

Legal Prep vs. Carmen (WI), 12:00

CRETE-MONEE

Intrinsic-Downtown vs. Richards, 12:00

Maine South vs. Southland, 1:30

Thornton Fr. South vs. Thornwood, 3:00

Oak Forest vs. Crete-Monee, 4:30

EUREKA COLLEGE

Marquette vs. Deer Creek-Mackinaw, 12:00

Eureka vs. Prairie Central, 1:30

Teutopolis vs. East Peoria, 3:00

Yorkville Christian vs. St. Thomas More, 6:00

El Paso-Gridley vs. Peoria Christian, 7:30

HILL SCHOOL (PA)

Lake Forest Academy vs. TBA

LOS ANGELES WASHINGTON (CA)

Prosser vs. Los Angeles Washington (CA)

MADISON TECHINCAL COLLEGE (WI)

Joliet West vs. Neenah (WI), 5:15

MISSOURI, UNVERSITY OF (MO)

Kankakee vs. Pembroke Hill (MO), 2:00a

TRITON

Lindblom vs. Latin, 11:00

Farragut vs. Rich, 12:15

West Aurora vs. Lane, 1:30

Bolingbrook vs. 21st Century (IN), 2:45

Hyde Park vs. Romeoville, 4:00

Curie vs. Oswego East, 5:30

Kenwood vs. St. Mary (MI), 7:00

Proviso East vs. Perspectives-Lead, 8:30

FORRESTON

Pecatonica vs. Aquin, 3:00

Eastland vs. Dakota, 4:30

Lena-Winslow vs. Milledgeville, 6:00

Winnebgo vs. Polo, 7:30

Newman vs. Pearl City, 6:00

Oregon vs. Forreston, 7:30

River Ridge vs. Stockton, 3:00

Byron vs. Orangeville, 4:30

SCOTTSDALE SAGUARO (AZ)

New Trier vs. Verrado (AZ), 4:30

WATSEKA

9th Place Semi-Final, 11:00

9th Place Semi-Final, 12:30

5th Place Semi-Final, 2:00

5th Place Semi-Final, 3:30

Semi-Final, 5:00

Semi-Final, 6:30

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