Chicago Sports

In a year that has been marked mostly by demoralizing departures as the Bears bulldozed the roster in the first phase of their rebuild, the midseason trade for wide receiver Chase Claypool provided a burst of excitement.

So much elite talent had exited Halas Hall, including linebacker Roquan Smith the day before, but landing Claypool was a sign that this project is indeed headed somewhere good and construction was underway.

But it hasn’t felt like that at all in the month and a half since Claypool arrived.

The trade has been a flop so far, though the Bears are optimistic their investment of trading a second-round pick — currently No. 35 overall, where teams can find all-pro receivers like Deebo Samuel and Davante Adams — will pay off as Claypool fully integrates into the offense.

That hasn’t happened yet, which is surprising considering he’s a proven talent and the Bears’ glaring need at the position is even greater after Darnell Mooney’s season-ending foot injury.

Matt Eberflus insisted Claypool is “in a good spot,” but he has averaged just 4.4 targets and has yet to play more than 67% of the offensive snaps in a game. He acknowledged Claypool hasn’t mastered the book.

“I wouldn’t say he’s there yet, [but] he’s getting there,” Eberflus said. “It’s all new to him, and there’s a lot of volume of offense that he has to learn.”

Claypool missed practice Wednesday because of a knee injury. Presumably it’s the one he suffered against the Packers, but he was able to finish that game with a brace.

The Bears haven’t said it outright, but the tone from Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has indicated they view this as more of a long-term project — almost like this is an early start to Claypool’s 2023 ramp-up. Don’t fret, they’ve said at every turn, but they say that about almost everything.

While it’s true any move this season would be future-focused and Claypool will be better once he gets a full offseason to prepare, certainly everyone expected more than 12 catches, 111 yards and no touchdowns over his first five games.

The NFL’s best receivers, like Adams, Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson, get more than 10 targets per game. Given Claypool’s stature, the absence of any other proven receiver on the active roster and the big-picture implications, he needs that level of involvement coming out of the bye week.

The Bears must gain a thorough grasp on how good Claypool is before next season, which makes the remaining four games crucial. He had a productive first two seasons with the Steelers, but they were quick to offload him despite being a fellow rebuilding team.

With 2023 being the final season of Claypool’s rookie contract, he’ll seek an extension this offseason. He said “for sure” he had that in mind in his introductory news conference, and there’s no way general manager Ryan Poles viewed him as a rental when he gave up that draft pick.

The going rate for a wide receiver like Claypool likely would be $18-20 million per year, and the last thing Poles needs is to get ensnared in another contract standoff like he did with Smith.

Poles also is staring down a lengthy list of personnel problems to solve and needs to know whether Claypool is a solution. Poles definitely needs to add the best receiver possible in the draft or free agency, but if he doesn’t secure Claypool, he’ll need more.

The last four games, especially the next two against the Eagles’ and Bills’ exceptional pass defenses, are an opportunity for Claypool to erase any doubts stemming from his slow start.

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After an interesting offseason where Roquan Smith expected the Bears to be on his side. It seems GM Ryan Poles had different plans despite what he said to Smith.

The Chicago Bears made the move to trade star linebacker Roquan Smith ahead of the NFL trade deadline this year, a move that shook up the locker room. After contract negotiations stalled over the Summer and Smith requesting a trade, he got his wish.

But it appeared as if that was the plan all along for the Bears despite Poles telling Smith otherwise.

In a new article by The Athletic’s Dan Pompei on Wednesday, it was revealed by Smith that Poles told the linebacker numerous times that he didn’t plan on trading him. Here is what Smith said to Pompei in the piece:

“I thought Poles would ship me out, but he told me numerous times, ‘I don’t plan to trade you at all.’” He continues “So I was like, ‘I guess I won’t be going anywhere.’ He said we’d talk at the end of the season.”

During the offseason Smith expected the Bears to be on his side as he was looking to stay in Chicago. Things took an unexpected turn when Smith was moved to weak side linebacker, which then led to Smith deciding to step away from camp and eventually requesting to be moved out of Chicago.

One thing is clear so far in Poles’ short tenure so far with the Bears. He is looking to shape and form this team in his own image. Without having a big contract like Smith’s would have been on the books leaves him plenty of space to make moves in his own interest.

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Some of us (who, me?) seem to be constantly erecting challenges for Justin Fields. He runs the ball like few quarterbacks ever have, and we want to know if he can pass. He completes 70% of his passes in a game, and we want to know if he’s ever going to go deep. He sets the NFL on fire with his talent, and we say, “Is it too much to ask for the kid to lead a fourth-quarter comeback?”

Completely unfair, totally unrealistic and … well, sure, Fields had a strong game against Miami star Tua Tagovailoa last month, but can he keep up with Jalen Hurts on Sunday?

It’s not what you would call a level playing field, with the running-and-passing Hurts leading the 12-1 Eagles and the running-and-passing Fields leading the 3-10 Bears. The Eagles have a great defense, the Bears don’t. The Eagles lead the NFL in points, the Bears are 19th.

And, yet, the question is on its knees, begging to be asked: Is this a prove-it game for Fields?

Hurts is what Fields wants to be when he grows up in a hurry. The conventional thinking is that all he needs is a team around him to do it. But that’s an injustice to Hurts, who is one of the leading candidates for league MVP. In his third season in the league, he’s thrown 22 touchdowns and three interceptions. Fields’ numbers in his second season are 13 and 10. Touchdown-to-interception ratio mostly falls on a quarterback, not on whom he has around him.

For Fields to take the next step, a step closer to Hurts, he needs to become a better passer. It’s why Sunday at Soldier Field has such a feeling of possibility to it. If he can go toe to toe and arm to arm with Hurts, it would be a huge leap for the 23-year-old quarterback.

He obviously has the running part down. He’s been a gift to a city that had no reason to expect one this season. It feels greedy to want more after you’ve seen what he can do with his legs, but unless we’re witnessing a revolution at the quarterback position, Fields is going to have to improve his passing.

Hurts has completed 68% of his passes this season and is averaging 8.1 yards an attempt. Fields is at 61.7% and 7.5 yards an attempt. There’s a big disparity in accuracy. Now, you’ll argue that Hurts completed 61.3% of his passes last season, his second in the league, but it doesn’t logically follow that Fields will reach Hurts’ level next year. If we’re playing that game, you can argue that because John Elway struggled in his second season, Fields will become a Hall of Famer. And all of Chicago shouts back: Exactly!!!

The converse to my initial assertion, that some of us are constantly raising the bar for Fields without taking the time to fully appreciate him, is that others are in a major hurry to turn him into the best quarterback in the league. Maybe he will be someday, but as of right now, a flag would be thrown for piling on with the expectations.

That’s why we pay particular attention to games like Sunday’s. That’s why it’s a prove-it game for Fields, no matter what Bears coach Matt Eberflus might be tempted to say about quarterbacks not actually playing against quarterbacks. Fields has proven he can run the ball. I wish he would stop proving it so much, both to prevent injury and to force him to keep progressing as a passer.

That might be like taking the paint brush from Michelangelo and handing him a violin. But Fields eventually will have to do both things well if he’s to become what so many people already think he is. I don’t think that’s putting up an unreasonable challenge for the him, nor do I think it’s missing the point of the sensation that he already is. We can ooh and aah over his running (a league-leading 7.1 yards a carry) and still expect a lot more out of his passing. By the way, Hurts has rushed for 10 touchdowns this season, Fields eight.

A column for another day is whether Hurts, Fields and Lamar Jackson are what quarterbacking will look like in 20 years or whether the brutality of football makes a long career for a running quarterback impossible.

For now, let’s put Fields up against Hurts and see what happens. Let’s see if he can take that next step, a big one. His fan club thinks he already has.

Let’s see him prove it.

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The Chicago Bulls return to the United Center on Wednesday night to face Tom Thibodeau and the New York Knicks.

The Chicago Bulls dropped another chance to gain ground on a fellow Eastern Conference foe on Sunday, losing to the Atlanta Hawks in overtime. This week, they will have not one, but two chances to take down a 14-13 New York Knicks team at the United Center with games against New York on Wednesday and Friday evening.

The New York Knicks enter these games currently on a four-game winning streak, holding opponents to 102 points or less in all four of those contests, including games against Cleveland, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Sacramento. To see the Knicks as underdogs and the total remaining in the mid-220’s is a bit interesting and could be telling that the Chicago Bulls may have a strong showing tonight.

The injury report for both teams is fairly noteworthy. The Bulls’ includes a probable designation for Alex Caruso, and a questionable listing for Ayo Dosunmu. The Knicks is a bit more significant with Jalen Brunson currently labeled as questionable. 2020 first round pick, Obi Toppin is out for tonight’s game, and former Chicago Bulls guard Ryan Arcidiacano is listed as doubtful.

If Brunson is ruled out of this game, it could open the door for none other than Derrick Rose to play a significant role in these two games. Rose has missed time this month due to a toe injury, but his injury designations were removed in their recent games, only to not see time in the game via a coaching decision, seemingly available in case of emergency.

With Brunson potentially out, that emergency could come in the form of a two game set against the Chicago Bulls. Miles McBride could assume a starting role or increased time in the case of Brunson’s absence, but the absence could result in a fun 20-minute or so appearance from Rose. If Rose is deemed 100% healthy he may even start and play north of 30-minutes.

After taking these last two games off, I am jumping back in looking to end this nasty losing streak. If you’ve lost all faith and decide to fade me to the moon, be my guest, but if you believe in the bounce back and positive regression, you better buckle up and get ready for some winners coming your way. This losing streak has been beyond frustrating, but I’m determined to get it going in the right direction. Best of luck, let’s see some red, and GO BULLS!!

2022 Bulls Best Bet Record: 9-15 (Ice Cold 6L Streak)Last Pick: Bulls 3Q -1.5 (12/07) – L

Demar Derozan Over 26.5 Points (Sportsbook odds may vary)

We are headed to the ‘King of the Fourth’, Demar Derozan to end this nasty losing streak. After two cold shooting nights to open the month of December, Derozan is heating up, having scored 27, 28 and 34 in each of the last three games.

This Knicks team is an interesting case to crack when looking at their defensive output and success. They rank 4th in three point percentage allowed, while allowing the most three point attempts per game in the league. They rank 4th in 2-pt baskets allowed per game, giving you cause for concern with Derozan, however looking deeper, that ranking derives from allowing just the 6th most points per game in the paint area.

To put it briefly, they force teams out of the paint and aim to allow teams to take contested three point shots. Derozan is obviously a different type of player as his goal is to get strong mid-range opportunities, a rare breed in the NBA as we have seen in 2022.

Last season, the opportunities were prevalent for Demar as he averaged 30.5 points per game against the Knicks across four games. As mentioned in the intro, there could be cause for concern with the Knicks coming in with a hot defense, but with a game total in the 220’s and a Bulls team total at 114.5, regression could be a fair assumption for the Knicks’ defense.

Give me a big performance from Demar to lead the Bulls to a potential victory tonight! Let’s see some red, and GO BULLS!!

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Justin Fields will miss Wednesday’s practice

The Chicago Bears are heading into Week 15 trying to evaluate talent and possibly play spoiler. The Bears are 3-10 and currently hold the second pick in the 2023 draft. Quarterback Justin Fields is one player the Bears want to see progress before next season. His status for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles is unclear on Wednesday.

According to Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, head coach Matt Eberflus said Fields would not practice Wednesday. The second-year quarterback has an illness. Fields is considered day-to-day.

Fields missed the Bears’ loss to the New York Jets with a shoulder injury he sustained against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11. He played through it against the Green Bay Packers before the Bears’ bye week. The Bears could and should use this as an excuse to shut Fields down against the Eagles. Pro Football Focus grades the Eagles as having the NFL’s best pass rush. But knowing this staff, they’ll risk Fields’ shoulder to go 4-10 and cost the team draft position.

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Bears quarterback Justin Fields has an illness and will not practice Wednesday, head coach Matt Eberflus said.

The coach expects Fields to play Sunday against the Eagles. He called Fields “day-to-day” but said the quarterback has been “feeling better every single day.”

Fields spent Wednesday inside Halas Hall going through the team’s gameplan.

“He’s engaged there and learning [the gameplan] as we go,” Eberflus said.

Fields played against the Packers on Dec. 4 after returning from a separated left shoulder, completing 20-of-25 passes for 254 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. He ran six times for 71 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown.

The Bears spent last week on a bye. They returned to Halas Hall for a walk-through Monday and were set to practice indoors Wednesday because of rain in Lake Forest.

Fields missed one game last year because of illness; the Bears put him on the reserve/COVID-19 list before the season finale.

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The Chicago Bears could land a three-time Pro Bowl OT

The Chicago Bears need help on the offensive line next season. The Bears’ pass blocking has been pitiful this season. The offensive line has given up 42 sacks through 13 games. While injuries didn’t help them during the season, they came into the year ranked poorly. One analyst suggests the Bears add an offensive tackle who has been to the Pro Bowl three times.

The Bears have had their struggles all over the offensive line. There are weeks when the interior line is the problem, and then there are times with the offensive tackles are horrendous. Especially in pass protection. Bo Wulf wrote a piece for The Athletic on free agency possibilities for all 32 teams. Wulf thinks the Bears should look at adding Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr.

“The Bears enter the offseason projected to have the most cap room in the league. They have a franchise quarterback they desperately need to protect better — Fields’ 13.7 percent sack rate is far and away the highest in the league and the highest since David Carr in 2005. It’s convenient, then, that Brown could hit free agency. The Chiefs would presumably love to retain the 26-year-old, but they may have to franchise him a second time to do so. If he hits the market, the Bears, with a general manager in Ryan Poles who used to play on the offensive line and worked most recently for the Chiefs, seem like too perfect a fit.”

Brown would be an excellent pickup for the Chicago Bears

Signing Brown would be a legitimate way to help quarterback Justin Fields pass the ball better in 2023. Brown is a better pass protector than a run blocker. The 26-year-old has earned a 71.1 overall grade by Pro Football Focus for his first 13 games this season. Brown has only given up three sacks in a pass-heavy offense that’s seen him in pass protection for 611 snaps so far.

Brown would be a legitimate Pro Bowl-caliber left offensive tackle for the Chicago Bears. With Alex Leatherwood showing signs of progress, the Bears could have their tackle situation figured out for 2023. That would mean relegating Braxton Jones and Larry Borom to their rightful place, backups. They’d just need to focus on the interior part of the line.

Brown’s price tag ($16.6 million in 2022.) isn’t cheap, but the Bears will have enough money this offseason to get a deal done.

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NEW YORK — Grant Wahl died of an aneurysm in his heart when he was stricken while covering a World Cup match last weekend, according to an autopsy of the well-known American soccer writer.

Wahl’s wife, Dr. C?line Gounder, said Wednesday that an autopsy was conducted by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office.

“Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium,” she wrote on her husband’s website, referring to the wall that surrounds the heart. “The chest pressure he experienced shortly before his death may have represented the initial symptoms. No amount of CPR or shocks would have saved him. His death was unrelated to COVID. His death was unrelated to vaccination status. There was nothing nefarious about his death.”

Wahl, who was 49, was stricken in the media area of Lusail Iconic Stadium in Qatar early Saturday during extra time in Argentina’s quarterfinal match against the Netherlands. Emergency workers immediately attended to him and treated him for 20 to 30 minutes before taking him away on a stretcher, reporters in his vicinity said.

His body was transported to New York.

“This transition was handled with the utmost care and sensitivity,” Gounder wrote. “This was an international matter that required coordination from multiple agencies domestically and internationally, and there was full cooperation from everyone involved. Our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in repatriating Grant, in particular the White House, the U.S. Department of State, FIFA, U.S. Soccer and American Airlines.”

Wahl had complained during the World Cup about feeling ill.

“My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you,” Wahl wrote on Dec. 5. “What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort.”

Wahl wrote that he tested negative for COVID-19 and sought treatment for his symptoms.

“I went into the medical clinic at the main media center today, and they said I probably have bronchitis. They gave me a course of antibiotics and some heavy-duty cough syrup, and I’m already feeling a bit better just a few hours later. But still: No bueno,” he wrote.

Wahl worked for Sports Illustrated from 1996 to 2021, known primarily for his coverage of soccer and college basketball. He then launched his own website, F?tbol with Grant Wahl, and a podcast with Meadowlark Media.

Wahl also worked for Fox Sports from 2012-19 and was hired by CBS Sports in 2021 as an analyst and editorial consultant. Wahl wrote the 2009 book “The Beckham Experiment” after English soccer star David Beckham joined Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy and the 2018 book “Masters of Modern Soccer.”

Gounder said a memorial service is being planned.

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Alex Ovechkin was celebrated like an honorary Blackhawk in the United Center on Tuesday.

After the Capitals superstar scored his third goal of the night to reach 800 for his career — becoming just the third player all-time to reach that milestone, pulling within one of Gordie Howe for second-most ever — Hawks hats showered the ice. The crowd of 16,181 chanted, “Ovi, Ovi, Ovi.” PA announcer Gene Honda made an announcement with enough fervor to make any uninformed observer probably assume the Hawks had scored.

On the Hawks’ bench, Jonathan Toews didn’t love watching it.

“It’s a pretty incredible milestone — one of a kind,” Toews said later. “In some sense, when we’re out of this moment, it’s one of those things you’ll look back on. He’s one of the great players of all time, so all due to respect to him, and [for] scoring three goals to do it.

“Getting himself an ovation and the “Ovi” chant in our building tonight and all that aside from the milestone, it didn’t feel great on our side. But lots of respect for him.”

Ovechkin’s hat trick also lifted the Capitals to an easy 7-3 blowout win, dealing the Hawks their 18th loss in their last 21 games, which likely contributed to Toews’ bitterness.

ESPN had picked up the game a few weeks ago — flexing out Flyers-Avalanche, its originally scheduled broadcast — once it became clear how quickly Ovechkin was trending to the milestone. His goal-scoring has been otherworldly throughout his career, but it has only picked up steam lately. He has scored 49, 51, 48 and 50 goals each of his last four full seasons, and he’s now on pace for 53 this season — at 37 years old. At this rate, he could tie Wayne Gretzky for the all-time record in less than two more years.

But the Russian winger has long been famed for his eccentricity almost as much as for his talent, and that was on equal display during this once-a-year Chicago visit.

He watched Hawks morning skate from the Capitals bench while wearing a jacket that haphazardly read, “Well I’m not Michael Jordan.”

The Hawks’ loose, sloppy, mistake-prone defensive coverage did not make life difficult for him. His first goal involved impressively knocking the puck out of midair, but the other two were easy tap-ins along the goal line.

He will seek one more goal to tie Howe on Thursday, when the Capitals host the Stars.

Johnson healthy at last

Nearly a month after he initially thought he would return, Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson finally slotted back into the Hawks’ lineup Tuesday.

His ankle having held up through contact at practice the past few days — the hurdle which attempting to cross in November led to his setback — Johnson skated on the third-line wing and scored in the first period.

Johnson missed 20 games this time, meaning he has now played in only 33 of a possible 109 games since joining the Hawks in summer 2021. Between his collapsed disc, concussion and ankle injury, he hasn’t been able to catch a break, health-wise.

“Ankles are tough, especially in hockey,” he said Monday. “If I was playing basketball, football or any other sport [that didn’t involve] putting your ankle in a boot, I would have been back a long time ago.

“Guys that have it playing hockey, they always say it’s one of the worst injuries to have. I never really understood that until I had it, and it’s really annoying. Some days you just don’t really know. So it just lingers a little bit.”

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The schedule this week is a bit odd. There aren’t any big games, which is fine with me, I enjoy checking out new teams and places. But nothing really caught my eye on Tuesday’s slate as much as Romeoville at Brother Rice.

The Spartans were one of the only preseason ranked teams that I hadn’t seen yet. And the Southwest Prairie vs. Catholic Leaguematchup is a rare happening.

It turned out to be a solid decision, but not for the reasons I anticipated. I’d seen Brother Rice twice over the weekend and while the Crusaders were clearly a top team, the offense didn’t flow as well as I expected. Honestly, it left me less than enthused about the team’s prospects this season. Brother Rice isn’t stacked with talent, it has several good players but to really succeed it needed to be, well, Brother Rice.

It turns out new coach Conte Stamas agreed. And he thought all along that it might take a month or so for the offense to really click. It happened tonight and I’m glad I was there to see it.

Read all about that here:

Tuesday’s top games

Niles North 77, Niles West 64: Ok, I’m glad I saw Romeoville-Brother Rice tonight but this is the other place I was considering going. And after seeing the tweets I kinda wish I had been there. Looked like a great atmosphere and and Yaris Irby scored 38 points.

Hyde Park 72, Phillips 71: This is one of those scores that says good things about both teams. The Thunderbirds continue to get it done. Jerrel Oliver is off to a really nice start. And the big three produced again. Cam Williford had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Da’Marion Morris scored 22 and Jurrell Baldwin added 15 points and 13 rebounds. Great sign for Phillips though to play one of the best teams in the Red this close. Excited to get over there and see the team and the new gym.

St. Patrick 53, Marian Catholic 46 3 OT: Game of the night for sure, although I wonder if this was one of those games where the teams held the ball the majority of the overtimes. I wouldn’t blame them, four minute overtimes are super dumb. Sophomore EJ Breland scored 17 and junior Harper Krolak added 14. The Shamrocks are now 7-2.

Kenwood 79, Morgan Park 29: Another dominant win for the Broncos. Dai Dai Ames scored 26.

Marmion 58, Leo 28: Trevon Roots turns in a monster performance with 22 points, nine blocks and eight rebounds. Jabe Haith added 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. I’m starting to get intrigued by the Cadets. Not sure if I’ve ever covered a game at Marmion. I don’t think so.

Marist 54, Carmel 43: Another nice balanced scoring win from the RedHawks. Kaden White had 11, Keshaun Vaval 10 and Adoni Vassilakis nine points. Marist has a big showdown vs. St. Patrick on Friday.

Lindblom 75, Perspectives-Leadership 67: Lindblom’s tweet crowed about “Protecting the Nest” which is pretty cool. I wondered if the Eagles would be able to turn their strange little gym into a real home court advantage in the Red and it looks like that might be the case. Je’Shawn Stevenson scored 38 points and fellow junior Quentin McCoy added 14 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Jakeem Cole scored 20 for the Warriors.

Evergreen Park 76, Eisenhower 74: Nolan Sexton led the Mustangs with 23 and Lonnie Mosley added 21 points. Eisenhower guard AJ Abrams scored 25.

Beecher 79, St. Anne 52: These Adyn McGinley numbers keep getting the Bobcats into the notebook. Tonight the junior had 31 points, nine rebounds and five steals.

Oswego East 43, Metea Valley 33: Joe Henricksen and I talked about the interesting DuPage Valley conference on No Shot Clock this week and this score is kind of exactly what we meant. Ok, Meta Valley didn’t win but that’s a very respectable score against one of the best teams in the entire area.

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