Chicago Sports

As each year passes without DePaul sniffing an NCAA Tournament bid — the last one for the Blue Demons came in 2004 — slipping into irrelevance is magnified even more.

In another attempt to pump life into a program that’s been on life support, DePaul hired veteran Oregon assistant Tony Stubblefield in April of 2021. The easy-to-like Stubblefield is affable, full of energy and renowned for his recruiting prowess.

And if you look closely — real closely, like under a microscope — there has been success and positive strides made in Stubblefield’s 18 months on the job.

Stubblefield inherited a program that had gone a combined 5-28 in Big East play the previous two years; the first-year coach won six conference games in his first season while winning 15 overall. And he did so with a depleted roster, including losing leading scorer Javon Freeman-Liberty for seven key games.

In year one the program landed a consensus top 75 prospect in the country in current freshman Zion Cruz. They also went into the transfer portal and added the leading scorers from Oklahoma and South Florida in guards Umoja Gibson and Caleb Murphy, respectively. The Blue Demons will welcome LIU-Brooklyn transfer Eral Penn (17.1 points, 7.4 rebounds), who put up big numbers in the Northeast Conference, and former Simeon star Ahamad Bynum.

As Stubblefield enters year two, he has the arrow of DePaul basketball pointed in the right direction. We caught up with him as the season tips off in less than three weeks.

Sun-Times: In a word or two, DePaul basketball is …

Stubblefield: Chicago’s team.

S-T: Now that you’re beginning your second season, talk about the reception you’ve received from the Chicago basketball community since you’ve been here.

Stubblefield: It’s been very welcoming. There has been a great reception from the high school coaches, the AAU coaches, and the fans in Chicago. It’s something I’m really excited about, just seeing the DePaul community and beyond energized about what we are trying to do here.

S-T: What do you know today about DePaul basketball that maybe you didn’t know or were aware of the day you were hired?

Stubblefield: The love that people still have for DePaul basketball. It’s very clear. You see how badly they want to see DePaul basketball successful again. From the Ray Meyer days to the Joey Meyer days to the Pat Kennedy days, those people that have seen DePaul basketball at the top, who have seen them go to the NCAA Tournament on a regular basis, that’s still there. It hasn’t happened in so long that you think people have forgotten about it. But it’s still there. They want DePaul basketball to be great again and get it back to where it once was.

S-T: You have Ahamad Bynum from Simeon on the roster. Last year you had Brandon Johnson, a Chicago area native in your starting five. How important is recruiting Chicago talent, both city and suburban talent, in moving this program forward?

Stubblefield: I think it’s still very important. There is talent here and talent that is coached well. There are such good high school basketball coaches in the Chicago area and great AAU programs. It’s important for us to recruit Chicago. It’s important for our fan base. These players with name recognition, that carries weight with our fans.

S-T: When you get some downtime and get away from basketball, what’s that look like for Tony Stubblefield?

Stubblefield: I like to work out. I like to go for jogs on Lake Shore Drive and along the lake. I like to eat. Chicago has some of the best restaurants in the country, so I love going out for a great meal. Getting around the city, being active in the city. This city is so vibrant and with the energy, there is just so much to do that I like to enjoy the city in my down time.

S-T: Do you have one or two go-to spots now?

Stubblefield: I can’t put it at one or two. I probably have too many. That’s why I’m gaining weight.

S-T: What’s your plan and program philosophy in balancing the roster between high school talent, junior college players and using the transfer portal? And how difficult has that become?

Stubblefield: I don’t think you can build a program relying solely on the portal. I think you have to have a foundation of four-year guys who are going to be in the program. I’ve always had great success recruiting junior college guys, so I think we can have some success recruiting junior college kids here and there. And I think we have to use the portal when there is a major need. Replacing a guy like Javon Freeman-Liberty who averaged 22 points a game last year is not easy. You have to go get an older, more experienced guy to come in and do some of that heavy lifting. Have to have a combination of high school, junior college and portal. It has been more difficult to navigate. You also have to continue recruiting the players in your own program. You have to keep a pulse on your own kids and continue to recruit them on a daily basis.

S-T: What’s Tony Stubblefield, the head coach, need to learn, adapt or get better within year two as a head coach?

Stubblefield: You don’t know what you don’t know in your first year as a head coach. It’s really a learning curve during that first year. Your time demands you have to learn to manage. You get pulled in a lot of different directions. The focus has to be on the development of your players and recruiting and coaching your team. But there is so much more to it with fundraising and booster functions and so much more. You’re wearing a lot of different hats while at the same time you’re preparing your team to go out and win ball games.

S-T: Now that you know this program so much more, what’s the most underrated part of DePaul basketball that people aren’t aware of or realize?

Stubblefield: That DePaul basketball is still very much relevant. Because we haven’t been to the tournament in so long, I know people out there may not believe that. But people care. I see that. When we call on recruits and their families, or when we talk to people in the city, they want to see DePaul basketball have success. We’re in a great city with a big media market. We have everything here to be successful.

S-T: How is this DePaul team this season different than your first time last season?

Stubblefield: I think the big difference is our depth and having more options on this roster. We will be a more balanced team than we were last year.

Read More

The Bears (3-4) come into the game on Sunday vs the Cowboys (5-2) hoping to win back to back road games for the first time since 2020 while the Cowboys are trying to move up the standings in the competitive NFC East.  Here is a position by position breakdown of the Cowboys:

Quarterback: Dak Prescott just made his return last week as the starter vs the Lions after injuring his thumb in the season opener against the Buccaneers. During his absence, Cooper Rush was the starting quarterback and guided the Cowboys to a record of 4-1 during his starts. The offense only averaged 20.2 points per game and Rush served mostly as a game manager on offense.

During the game vs the Lions, the Cowboys rushed the ball a season-high 32 times which could have been a way to ease Prescott back from his injury. The Bears should be prepared for the Cowboys open up the playbook now with Prescott back as the starting quarterback and making his third start of the season.

Running Back: The Cowboys have one of the best running backs combos in the league with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Elliott has gotten a slight majority of the snaps this season but is only averaging 63.3 rushing yards per game which is the 2nd lowest in his career.

Pollard so far this season has had career highs in rushing yards per game and is averaging 5.6 yards per rush. In the game on Sunday against the Lions,  he had 83 yards rushing on 12 carries which lead the Cowboys. Pollard has had five of the six longest rushes this season for the Cowboys and has been the more explosive running back this year for the Cowboys. 

Pollard will be a unrestricted free-agent after this season and will be a sought after player this offseason. The run game will be a focus for the Bears as they look to continue to their impressive run defense from Monday.

Offensive Line: Coming into the season, the offensive line was facing a lot of changes from last season. Tackle La’El Collins signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in the off season and guard Connor Williams signed with the Dolphins both players were starters for the Cowboys last season. Then, left tackle and possible future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith suffered an injury in the pre season and has still not returned back to the lineup.

However, the Cowboys replaced Smith place on the line with rookie Tyler Smith who was drafted to play guard but was moved out to left tackle and has only allowed 4 sacks this season and has been helpful for the Cowboys until the return of Tyron Smith which owner and general manager Jerry Jones expects later this season.

Currently, the Cowboys ranked eighth in ESPN run block rate in the league. The Bears have only faced one other team this season that is currently in the top 10 in run block rate and that was the Vikings who the Bears gave up 117 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.  Also, the Cowboys have allowed the fifth fewest sacks this season. The Bears need to be prepared for this offensive line to impose their will on them during the game on Sunday.

Wide Receivers: Like the offensive line, this group also changed from the previous season with Amari Cooper being traded to Cleveland and Cedrick Wilson leaving via free agency to sign with the Miami Dolphins. The duo had a combined 113 catches, 1,467 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. In addition to the loss of Cooper and Wilson, projected starter Michael Gallup got hurt in the preseason missed the first three games of the season.

This group has struggled to make an impact which I think is due to the fact that Prescott missed some time and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore limiting the amount of passes for Rush. This year, was expected to be a breakout season for Cee Dee Lamb but he has not lived up to the hype. He currently ranks 16th in receptions and 14th in yards in the league and has yet to have a 100 yard receiving game. Lamb had only six targets vs the Lions which was a season low.

With Gallup missing time, the second leading receiver has been Noah Brown. Prior to this season, Brown had not started more than one game but this year given the opportunity he leads the team in yards per reception and is second on the team in receptions. If the Cowboys expect to be playing deep in January, someone is this group is going to need to emerge.

Tight Ends: Dalton Schultz was the starter going into this season looking to secure a long-term deal with the Cowboys however the two sides were unable to come to an agreement. Schultz agreed to a franchise tag and will be one of the free agents the Cowboys will have to make a decision about for next season.

He has missed two games this season with an injury to his knee but in the games he has played he has only had 129 receiving yards and needs to get to on-track to provide a receiving threat for this offense. His backup Peyton Hendershot has stepped in and has contributed 7 catches for 70 yards and one receiving touchdown.

The Bears have allowed the fifth fewest yards to tight ends this year and will need to be aware of Schultz as he is coming back from injury.

Defensive Line: The Cowboys have a league leading 29 sacks this season and the defensive lineman have 17 of those sacks. The defensive linemen that has caused the most havoc this season has been Dorance Armstrong Jr. Armstrong currently has six sacks which is tied for second in the league among defensive linemen. Prior to this season, Armstrong Jr. season-high in sacks was five. Opposing offensive linemen can’t just focus on Armstrong Jr, because at least six other defensive lineman have recorded sacks as well.

The Cowboys forced four fumbles in the game vs the Lions and the defensive line forced two of those fumbles. The defensive line has been great against the run as well only allowing one running back to have more than 100 yards rushing against them.

Justin Fields will be under constant distress on Sunday and the offensive line will have to deal with Armstrong and company on Sunday if they plan to win this game.

Linebackers: There is only one person to talk about in this group and that is linebacker Micah Parsons. Parsons, who won the defensive rookie of the year last year is the heavy favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year this season. Parsons is tied for second in sacks, fifth in quarterback sacks, third in forced fumbles and has the highest pass rush win rate this season according to ESPN. Parsons is a dynamic pass rusher and one of the best defensive playmakers in the league.

Last week, the Bears did not do a good job of dealing with the Patriots linebacker Matt Judon as he recorded 2.5 sacks and three quarterback hits. The Bears first priority on offense is to find Parsons and make sure they keep him away from Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

Secondary: The Cowboys are tied for the fourth most interceptions in the league this season with seven and have given up 185 yards per game which is also the fourth fewest in the league. The player that gets the most recognition for his cover skills in the secondary is Trevon Diggs. Diggs lead the league in interceptions last year with 11, but he also lead the league in yards allowed last year and penalties which is due to the his aggressive playstyle. This year, quarterbacks are completing 60% of their passes on him and is second in passes defended this season.

The secondary has only allowed one receiver to have more than 80 yards this season and have only 4 receptions over 40 yards this season. A team like the Bears that struggles to make passes will have difficulty making passes versus this secondary.

Kicker/Special Teams: Kicker Brett Maher has made made 15 out of 17 field goals this year and had a game-winner vs the Bengals in week 2. He is third in made field goals this season and is having a great year kicking. Punter Bryan Anger ranks 19th in punt yardage this season so it is possible the Bears could be given some decent field position in the game.

Kickoff and Punt Returner KaVontae Turpin ranks third in punt return yardage and fifth in kick return yardage this season. The Bears rank near the bottom of the league in return yards this season and will need to have their full attention to speedster like Turpin.

Follow me on Twitter: [email protected]

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More

Akeem Briscoe was washing his hands for dinner Wednesday night when a bullet fired from the alley behind his home came through the window and killed the 7-year-old.

“He just loved going and playing with the kids, doing different things,” the boy’s uncle Terribia Misters said.”He had a dog he called Angel, now he’s an angel himself.”

Akeem was in the bathroom when he was shot in the abdomen around 8:20 p.m. in the 2600 block of West Potomac Avenue in Humboldt Park,Chicago police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died hours later.

Investigators found several shell casings in the alley, according to Deputy Police Chief Ron Pontecore.Police don’t believe anyone in the home was the intended target, he told reporters Wednesday night, but it was not known what sparked the gunfire.

He said detectives were looking at private security video footage. No one was reported in custody.

“When it’s a young child like this, an innocent child, it’s entirely tragic,” Pontecore said. Asked what he would tell the shooter, the deputy chief replied, “Own up to what you did, we have a very distraught mother.”

A neighbor who lives across the street said she heard the shots. It sounded like a “back and forth kind of thing,” she said, and she counted between 10 to 12 shots in all.

“I have a bad habit of counting when I hear noises like that,” said the neighbor, who did not want to be identified. “It’s different. It’s not like it’s a balloon popping.”

The woman came outside after the shooting and heard a woman crying for help before police arrived.

To herself, the woman said: “Please, not another kid.”

Jessie Fuentes, director of the violence prevention and strategic intervention unit for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center came to the house on Thursday morning with a team of colleagues who respond to violence in the neighborhood.

“You want to make sure the family has everything they need,” she said.

The group helps families financially, tries to ensure that there are no retaliatory shootings and, in this case, helps families find a temporary place to stay.

Misters said the family is reeling from the loss, which occurred just days after the boy’s father died from health issues.

“My sister is super grieving,” he said. “Her husband died, now her son. It’s not fair to her,” he said.

His sister called him after the shooting, and he rushed to the home from his dishwashing job at a University of Chicago dining hall. Most nights, he said, he stays at the Humboldt Park home.

The uncle recalled his last conversation with the second-grader had been about homework and a field trip coming up on Thursday. His mom had his lunch all packed.

“He asked me, ‘Uncle Tibbs, you should come with me,” Misters said. “He was so excited to go and now he’ll never get to.”

“Life is short. He’s gone so early.”

Akeem’s mother and older brother and sister were in the home at the time, Misters said. “They had to see their little brother get shot. On his way to the hospital, he said, ‘I’m OK.’

At least 12 children 13 years of age and younger have been killed in Chicago this year, according to data kept by the Sun-Times.

“Life is not fair,” Misters said. “Innocent kids shouldn’t be getting killed.”

Read More

It’s time to take a serious look at the job Rick Hahn has done in 8 years.

Rick Hahn has had a mixed record as Chicago White Sox general manager. That is not in question. But how much of it is his own doing and how much of it is owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s “Reinsdorfing“.

I want to start off by being honest with my readers.

I, like Rick Hahn, attended New Trier High School.

Okay, obviously, we don’t know each other. He graduated when I was little. But when I heard that the general manager of the Chicago White Sox and I shared a connection a la Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon, I was excited (Also, New Trier is Cubs territory. Like REALLY big Cubs territory).

Granted, NT is a big school with a lot of alum, but I still get excited hearing about famous Trevians like Raine Wilson and Joe Trohman (whom I also have a six-degree connection to, but that’s not the point). Heck, I loved seeing fellow Trevian Charlie Tilson playing for the Sox, although Tommy Wingels was the fellow Trevian I was most excited to see on a Chicago team when he joined the Blackhawks because I was friends with him at NT.

Point is, I may be biased to defend Hahn because we share an alma mater.

But putting my bias aside… what has Rick Hahn done to merit his job? It’s an honest question. The obvious answer is because “Jerry likes him”, but that’s not the point.

Hahn has been with the White Sox since 2002 and became general manager in 2013 after Kenny Williams was kicked up stairs.

The rebuild was clearly Hahn’s idea. Everyone had seen how the Cubs’ teardown brought them their first World Series since 1908, and Hahn wanted to replicate it as best he could. Also, he said the now-famous “mired in mediocrity”. Hahn set about removing key pieces, starting with trading Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox for Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech. He kept adding pieces; Andrew Vaughn, Luis Robert, Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, and Eloy Jimenez, while keeping Tim Anderson, Carlos Rodon, and Jose Abreu.

The White Sox were young and exciting (remember that?) and in a pandemic-shortened 2020 season, went to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

After that 2020 season, Hahn was named executive of the year by his peers.

And then Jerry “Reinsdorfed”, went over his own GM’s head and hired Tony La Russa. Just watch La Russa’s introductory press conference. Hahn looks dead inside.

But Hahn had an opportunity to add pieces to the puzzle after that successful 2021 season, winning the AL Central and achieving the franchise’s first back-to-back playoff appearances ever. We had to wait because of the winter lockout, but as the winter went on, the White Sox stayed put while players like Kris Bryant went to Colorado. The White Sox front office was confident going into 2022, but more than a few Sox fans could tell something was off.

We all know how it ended.

The fact is, the White Sox were not only complacent, but they were also arrogant going into the season. (“Ask me after the parade”, anyone?) In hindsight, the lack of moves in the off-season leading up to 2022 was worse than they were even at the time. Hahn had plenty of time and choices to pick for a right fielder and a second baseman, before or during the season. Their big trade deadline acquisition was… Jake freakin’ Diekman. So no, Hahn does not get off scot-free.

He also traded away Fernando Tatis Jr for James Shields.

The 2022 season was a complete organizational failure. As part of that organization, Hahn deserves some of the blame. There are no excuses.

Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times laid out the evidence for the prosecution:

Hahn had losing seasons from 2013 to 2019, a winning record in the forgettable pandemic-shortened 2020 season (35-25), one division title in 2021 (93-69) and a 2-5 postseason record. Overall, the Sox have gone 700-817 (a .461 winning percentage) during Hahn’s tenure. Evidently, only the pandemic could make the Sox look good.

But since it is an organizational failure, not all of the blame falls on his shoulders. In fact, the progression of some of the players he acquired could not be predicted. No one knew that Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert were injury-prone, or that Yasmani Grandal would fall off a cliff this year. The Craig Kimbrel trade was seen as a smart move at the time.

Hahn seems to be aware of the job ahead for him. Judging by comments at his end-of-season press conference, Hahn seems determined to do things his way this time. He might even be forced to be creative to fix the gaping holes in the White Sox lineup, because Reinsdorf doesn’t seem to like throwing money at everything like they’re Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester City. Importantly, Hahn believes in what he’s built and wants to see it succeed.

Rick Hahn is not going anywhere… yet. Jerry Reinsdorf likes him, which means job security. But, as Laurence Holmes put it,

For the most part, I think Williams and Hahn have good intentions, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The last two years happened and are filled with consequences. Bloated salaries, positional redundancies and unfulfilled expectations will leave the Sox’ brain trust backed up against a Reinsdorf-imposed budget. It’s an excuse Sox fans have heard before. Hahn and Williams will have to get creative if they want to succeed, but, to be honest, their creativity has left a lot to be desired lately.

While his record is mixed, I think Hahn has done a solid job and deserves ONE (1) move chance to get it right (and I think he knows it, too). The fans are angry, and these players aren’t getting any younger. Even New Trier Trevians can lose their patience with each other.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More

A 7-year-old boy was killed Wednesday night when someone shot through the window of a home in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side.

The boy was in a bathroom washing his hands when he was hit in the abdomen around 8:20 p.m. in the 2600 block of West Potomac Avenue, Chicago police said.

He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died, according to police.

The gunshot appeared to come from the alley behind the home, where police found several shell casings, according to Deputy Police Chief Ron Pontecore.

Investigators don’t believe anyone in the home was the intended target, he told reporters Wednesday night, but it was not known what sparked the gunfire.

“When it’s a young child like this, an innocent child, it’s entirely tragic,” Pontecore said.

Asked what he would tell the shooter, Pontecore replied, “Own up to what you did, we have a very distraught mother.”

He said detectives were looking at private security video footage.No one was in custody.

Read More

Chicago Bears promoted an offensive lineman this week

The Chicago Bears are putting more faith in undrafted free agents this season. The Bears offensive line is banged up before their Week 8 game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Bears will be facing a ferocious pass rush without their center, Lucas Patrick, who had to be carted off the MNF game with a toe injury. He’s expected to be placed on the injured reserve this week. Patrick wasn’t the only offensive line injured this week.

According to the Bears’ Week 8 injury report, right tackle Larry Borom did not practice on Wednesday. His injury is listed as a concussion. Borom played in all of the Bears’ 71 offensive snaps against the New England Patriots Monday night. It’s unclear when he suffered the injury.

According to Chris Emma with 670 The Score, it’s expected that Riley Reiff would take Borom’s place against the Cowboys if Borom cannot play. On Tuesday, the Bears also made a roster move at the offensive line position to help bring depth to the unit.

According to the NFL’s transaction wire, the Chicago Bears promoted Dieter Eiselen to the 53-man roster Tuesday. Eiselen has been with the Bears since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2020. According to Spotrac, Eiselen will have a base salary of $705,000 for the 2022 season. $430,837 of that will count against the Bears’ cap this season.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More

Taft sophomore Stephen Carrera’s life changed in an instant over the Fourth of July holiday.

“I was trying to light a firework and it didn’t light,” he said. “So when I tried lighting it one more time, it just blew up in my hand. … I didn’t feel anything because I was in such shock. Me looking at my hand, the first thing I thought was, ‘Wow, am I ever gonna play football again?'”

That was an open question for others as well,

Taft coach Zach Elder headed to the scene as soon as he heard the news. By the time he arrived, Carrrera had already left in an ambulance.

“A couple kids on the team were there and they’re like, ‘His whole hand’s gone,'” Elder said. “So we had no idea what’s going on. So yeah, there was a real question mark.”

But then a few days later, Elder went to visit Carrera in the hospital. The news was less grim; though the middle and index fingers of his right hand would have to be amputated, Carrera’s hand was spared.

It was still a devastating injury. But you wouldn’t have known it from talking to Carrera.

“He’s the only kid who was [able to be] upbeat about it,” Elder said. “If I lost two fingers, I wouldn’t be talking to anyone. This kid’s watching movies and telling jokes. I think it just says a lot about the person he is, the character he has. He’s got a tremendous, upbeat personality and he’s vibrant. He took what I think everyone would see as a [negative] and tried to put as positive a spin as he could.”

The injury put Carrera’s season on hold while he adjusted to his new life, including — as a natural righty — learning how to write with his left hand (he is starting to write right-handed again too).

As the third in a line of brothers who came through the Taft program and someone who had played football since kindergarten, the idea of giving up the sport he loved was hard to take.

Initially, Carrera said, “I thought my chance of coming back to football was zero. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to play ever again. But just seeing how young I am — and since I’m young, I heal better and faster.”

So he started working about four weeks after the accident. At summer camp, Carrera practiced with the Eagles, doing non-contact work including conditioning and agility drills.

“When they did contact, I’d just go on the side and do more agility to get myself better,” he said.

Through it all, his teammates had his back.

“They kept pushing me through everything and just comforting me after this injury,” Carrera said. “I wouldn’t be able to do all this without them.”

Finally, Carrera was cleared to return to action for Week 6 this season as part of a running back-by-committee approach. In his second game back, Carrera had 13 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Clark.

“He’s been a nice little spark in the backfield of late,” Elder said. “He runs hard, he’s tough as hell, clearly. … Every time he gets the ball, he’s making the most of it.”

An 0-5 start peppered with close losses dashed Taft’s hopes for an IHSA playoff berth. But by finishing third in the Red North, the Eagles qualified for the Prep Bowl playoffs. They open the postseason by playing Brooks at Lane on Thursday.

Carrera is glad for whatever action comes his way now that he’s seen how easily football could be taken away from him.

“Me coming back [after] having this injury … anything is possible,” he said.

Read More

The Bears signed a former Northern Iowa wide receiver

The Chicago Bears made some important changes last week at wide receiver. The team cut Ihmir Smith-Marsette after a few awful performances in the regular season. The elevated Isaiah Coulter to take Smith-Marsette’s place. That left room for a wide receiver to be signed on the practice squad. The Bears have added a former Northern Iowa wide receiver to take that spot.

According to the NFL’s transaction wire for October 26, the Bears signed Daurice Fountain to the practice squad this week. Fountain was named the offensive MVP in the 2018 East-West Shrine game. He was taken in the fifth round of the 2018 draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Fountain was with the Kansas City Chiefs from May 2021 until the team released him on Oct. 24th. He was teammates with current Bears wide receiver Byron Pringle last season.

Fountain has appeared in eight games during his three years in the NFL. He has caught two passes for 23 yards since he joined the league. At Northern Iowa, Fountain had over 2000 yards receiving and 23 touchdowns during his four years.

Here are some highlights of Fountain during his senior season:

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More

It was only a matter of time before Patrick Kane hit the back of the net.

After a notable — but not terribly concerning — five-game goal drought to start the season, Kane finally shattered his goose egg during the first period of the Blackhawks’ 4-2 win Tuesday.

The man with the third-most goals in franchise history was, personally, never worried at all. He had said as much before the game.

“I don’t think I want to stress about it too much,” Kane said. “I feel like our line is getting better every game, and there’s been chances the past couple games. [I’ve] just got to stay confident and be ready, when those chances come, to finish them off.”

And he said as much after the game, too.

“There’s going to be times throughout the season where you might go five games without a goal, but it’s probably more noticeable when it’s the beginning of the season,” he said. “So it’s nice to get one, but [I’ll] hopefully build off that and get hot here.”

The play that led to the goal likely matched what coach Luke Richardson imagined when he put Kane and newcomers Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou on the first line together. As Richardson himself said Tuesday, it demonstrated “what we’ve been working on since Day One.”

Following a dump-in and line change, Athanasiou stepped up at the attacking blue line to interrupt a Panthers breakout pass, allowing Domi to gather the puck in the neutral zone and pass to Athanasiou.

The speedy winger raced by Panthers defenseman Marc Staal down the wall before cutting and stopping behind the net. Domi drove into the crease, drawing two Panthers with him and leaving Kane wide-open at the faceoff dot on the side Athanasiou had vacated. Athanasiou passed to Kane and he had plenty of time to pick and hit his spot behind Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

“It’s a forecheck and an entry, and then the ‘F3’ is there as a good safety valve,” Richardson said. “It’s not rocket science; every team does it. But it’s just executing, and we’re executing better than everybody else right now.”

Through six games, Kane leads the Hawks with 32 shot attempts (second-place Seth Jones has 24) and 17 shots on goal, and he trails only Tyler Johnson in individual scoring chances (he has 16, Johnson has 17).

Kane has also tallied four assists, tying him for the team lead with Johnson — who unfortunately appears destined to miss significant time with the apparent foot or ankle injury he suffered Tuesday.

But the Hawks so far haven’t relied on Kane to drive their offense quite as much this season as in years past, and they’ve welcomed that trend.

He has recorded points on 25% of their goals and been on the ice for 38% of their scoring chances, down from 42% in both categories last season. That means other forwards are chipping in more — and indeed, the Hawks tout eight players with four or more points already.

“[Kane is] used to scoring, and this team is used to having him score,” Richardson said. “We need him to do that. But the beginning of the year is showing maybe we can score in different ways with different lines. That will take pressure off him.”

Added Kane: “You always want to feel that pressure that the team needs you to produce, and you always want to produce every night. But to win in this league, you need contributions from everyone. You can’t just depend on two or three guys. We’ve seen that over the years: Teams that have a lot of depth and can play four lines . . . seem to have the most success. It’s a good thing to have in here right now.”

Read More

A 7-year-old boy was killed Wednesday night when someone shot through the window of a home in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side.

The boy was in a bathroom washing his hands when he was hit in the abdomen around 8:20 p.m. in the 2600 block of West Potomac Avenue, Chicago police said.

He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died, according to police.

The gunshot appeared to come from the alley behind the home, where police found several shell casings, according to Deputy Police Chief Ron Pontecore.

Investigators don’t believe anyone in the home was the intended target, he told reporters Wednesday night, but it was not known what sparked the gunfire.

“When it’s a young child like this, an innocent child, it’s entirely tragic,” Pontecore said.

Asked what he would tell the shooter, Pontecore replied, “Own up to what you did, we have a very distraught mother.”

He said detectives were looking at private security video footage.No one was in custody.

Read More