Chicago Sports

Matt Eberflus: Bears QB Justin Fields is ‘sore’ but fine

Quarterback Justin Fields was sore the morning after the Bears’ 12-7 loss to the Commanders, but Bears head coach Matt Eberflus didn’t sound too concerned about his health.

“He’s a little bitsoretoday,” Eberflus said. “But he’ll be OK.”

Fields said Thursday night that he hurt his left shoulder, an injury that he also dealt with earlier during the season. It happened in the first half; he was spotted using resistance bands to stretch coming out of halftime.

Fields was battered Thursday night, taking 12 quarterback hits, five sacks and running a whopping 12 times.

Fields’ recovery is aided by the Bears’ schedule. They don’t play another game until Oct. 24, a “Monday Night Football” contest at the Patriots. Bears players met at Halas Hall on Friday and then left for a three-day weekend, which is allowed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement after a Thursday night game.

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Chris Rock review: Chicago Theatre show, not quite a revelation, still satisfies

The comedian who once called a special “Never Scared” doesn’t carry himself like someone afraid. Chris Rock still jokes freely and provocatively about such touchy subjects as abortion, race and, in one unfortunate case, Jada Pinkett Smith.

But as he said Thursday in the first of four shows at the Chicago Theatre, “I gotta watch what I say!” Cancellation is an ever-present threat for every comedian, no matter how revered. And that anxiety extends to the lobby, where patrons have to pass through a metal detector and put their phones in pouches in order to see the ostensibly fearless funnyman.

Over the years, there have been Chris Rock sets packing surprises — that the wacky guy from “Saturday Night Live” could be such a deep thinker, or that a complexity could be distilled to such a perfect catchphrase, or that the roaster of relationships could be so humble in assessing the collapse of his own.

This is not such a set. Called “Ego Death,” it’s a collection of effective Chris Rock product touching on his life, some hot-button issues and the state of the country. It’s not a revelation, and there’s never a stretch of prolonged, gut-busting hysterics like he’s achieved before, but it’s still a night spent in the company of an excellent teller of excellent jokes.

When this tour started, Rock had just taken the smack heard ’round the world, a slap from an offended (and later apologetic) Will Smith on the Oscars. At first he avoided discussing the incident on stage, saying he needed to process it.

Now he does, but in the context of one of his broader themes: victimhood. While some race to the E.R. for a paper cut, Rock said, he brushed off the pain and got back to work. “I took that s- – – like Pacquiao,” he bragged.

One of the biggest laughs of the night came when he referenced his vulnerable role in “New Jack City,” noting that while Smith once portrayed the mighty Muhammad Ali, “I played Pookie!”

He could have fought back, he said, but remembered his parents’ rule: “You don’t fight in front of white people.”

Pop culture is still on the mind of the man who tosses around mentions of celebs as varied as Vera Wang, the Tinder Swindler and Migos. Rock’s recent heroes include Lil Nas X (for being utterly himself) as well as Kris Jenner, a model in-law for welcoming all manner of broken Black people into her family (or so her TV show portrays it). Speaking of Caitlyn Jenner’s ex, when Rock talks about trans people, it’s only with admiration, in contrast to his sometime collaborator Dave Chappelle.

On the political side, Rock’s gags about Donald Trump’s flaws and Joe Biden’s age say nothing new about the nation’s most joked-about men. More successful is a bit about Hillary Clinton blowing her presidential chances by ignoring instructions from God.

Later the show takes a turn to the personal, following up on the divorce he recounted in his last Netflix special, “Tamborine.” Without mentioning current love interest Lake Bell, Rock does says he’s single and dating but treading carefully to avoid a #Metoo scandal. As an illustration of what he’s dealing with, he displays on a giant screen some texts from a female acquaintance with a very explicit proposition.

If Kevin Hart’s 2020 special “Zero F- – -s Given” didn’t give you enough insight about how a rich comedian can spoil his children, Rock here offers some of his own confessions about lavishing luxuries on his offspring. An overlong anecdote about his daughter breaking school rules has some interesting thoughts about decisions regarding discipline. But Rock loses some relatability as he goes on and on about the perks of her private school, where a class trip means flying the teens to Portugal.

And when he gushes about his daughter landing in culinary school in Paris, all the exulting comes off as smug but at least allows a callback to one of Rock’s classic punchlines: “I kept her off the pole!”

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Three studs and duds from the Chicago Bears loss in Week 6

The Chicago Bears lost a tough one Thursday night

The Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders continued the streak of dismal offense for the NFL’s Thursday night game. The Bears’ offense moved the ball several times into the red zone before failing to convert on three major opportunities.

It was a disappointing display for quarterback Justin Fields and his wide receivers. Both he and his wide receivers made bad plays, but Fields made enough plays to get a win. His receivers didn’t do their job, especially toward the end of the game when they dropped several game-winners. Special teams continue to be an issue for the Bears as well.

There were a few good things that happened for the Bears. But honestly, there are not many positives for the team to dwell on before the Bears go to New England on October 24th. Here’s a recap of three studs the Bears had Thursday night and three duds.

Studs

Khalil Herbert

Khalil Herbert finished with 75 yards rushing on seven attempts. Most of that came on a remarkable 64-yard run that set up the Bears with a red zone opportunity. Unfortunately, the Chicago Bears offense couldn’t convert the play into an eventual score. That was the theme throughout the night. But his explosive play showed the Bears they need to feed him the ball more.

Chicago Bears fans who stayed through the game

Chicago Bears fans who stayed until the end of the game at Soldier Field deserve a shout-out. They had to watch another frustrating offensive performance in a prime-time game. The game looked more like a joint team practice in training camp than an NFL regular season contest, as both franchises appear to be looking forward to the future. Bears fans made it known they’re unhappy with ownership.

“Sell the team” chants
Those could be for either team tonight https://t.co/3DtXtDOyPo

The Chicago Bears’ pass defense

The Bears struggle in the passing game. But at least the Bears’ defense found a way to make their opponent look much worse airing it out. The Bears kept a banged-up Carson Wentz to just 99 yards passing. Four passes were defended by the defense, including one by rookie Kyler Gordon. That was a good showing by the secondary, who got burned in Week 5.

Duds

Velus Jones Jr.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles received a lot of criticism for picking Velus Jones Jr. in the third round this year. Those complaints aren’t going away any time soon. Jones looks like a poor man’s version of Packers bust Amari Rodgers. After missing the first few games of the season with an injury, Jones has managed to fumble the ball twice on returns in three games.

Darnell Mooney

Darnell Mooney has talked about wanting to get respect as a top wide receiver in the NFL. Mooney has received positive headlines for his work ethic–especially how often he hits the jugs machine. That jugs practice didn’t help Thursday as Mooney missed a chance to win the game with a ball that hit his hands. Mooney couldn’t hold on and was ruled short of the end zone when he did come up with a bobbled reception. That’s not what the Bears need out of a number-one wide receiver.

Helmets

Not the orange helmets. Those looked surprisingly better on TV than they did in promotional advertisements.  But the orange helmet did help bring to fruition the apocalypse to the Chicago Bears’ hopes for a postseason.

Jones fumbled a punt return off his helmet, setting up the Commanders with their winning score. The Bears’ defense might have won the game without the miscue. Another helmet caused a turnover for the Bears when Fields’ low throw in the red zone bounced off a Commanders’ helmet and into the waiting arms of defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.

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Bruce Sutter dead: Hall of Fame pitcher for Cubs, Cardinals dies at 69

ST. LOUIS — Bruce Sutter, a Hall of Fame reliever and the 1979 Cy Young winner, has died. He was 69.

The Baseball Hall of Fame said Sutter died Thursday in Cartersville, Georgia. The Sutter family did not provide a cause of death in its statement, which was released Friday.

“All our father ever wanted to be remembered as was being a great teammate, but he was so much more than that,” it said. “He was also a great husband to our mother for 50 (years), he was a great father and grandfather and he was a great friend. His love and passion for the game of baseball can only be surpassed by his love and passion for his family.”

Sutter is considered one of the first pitchers to throw a split-finger fastball. The right-hander played 12 seasons in the major leagues, was a six-time All-Star and ended up with 300 saves over his career.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he was “deeply saddened” by the news.

“Bruce was the first pitcher to reach the Hall of Fame without starting a game, and he was one of the key figures who foreshadowed how the use of relievers would evolve,” Manfred said in a statement. “Bruce will be remembered as one of the best pitchers in the histories of two of our most historic franchises.”

Baseball Hall of Fame inductee at induction ceremonies in Cooperstown, N.Y., July 30, 2006.

Jim McKnight/AP file

Sutter debuted with the Chicago Cubs in 1976. The reliever won the Cy Young in 1979 in a season where he had 37 saves, 2.22 ERA and 110 strikeouts.

He joined the St. Louis Cardinals and played with them from 1981 to 1984. There, he won a World Series in 1982, ending Game 7 against the Brewers with a strikeout.

“Being a St Louis Cardinal was an honor he cherished deeply,” the Sutter family’s statement said. “To the Cardinals, his teammates and most importantly to the greatest fans in all of sports, we thank you for all of the love and support over the years.”

His last save, No. 300, came with the Atlanta Braves in 1988. Sutter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

“Bruce was a fan-favorite during his years in St. Louis and in the years to follow, and he will always be remembered for his 1982 World Series clinching save and signature split-fingered pitch,” Cardinals owner and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement. “He was a true pioneer in the game, changing the role of the late inning reliever.”

Bruce Sutter warms up in St. Louis in 1981.

Scott Dine/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP file

Sutter was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in January 1953. The Baseball Hall of Fame said in a release that he learned the split-finger fastball from a Cubs minor-league pitching instructor while recovering from surgery on his right elbow.

The Cardinals said Sutter is survived by his wife, three sons, a daughter-in-law and six grandkids.

“I feel like a brother passed away,” Hall of Famer Jim Kaat said. “I knew Bruce deeper than just about any other teammate. We spent a lot of time together, and as happens when your careers end, you go your separate ways. But we stayed in touch and considered each other great friends.”

AP Sports Writers Ron Blum and Tom Canavan contributed to this report.

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FOCO releases two new Chicago Bears Pro Gate Bobbleheads

Two new Chicago Bears bobbleheads have been released by our friends at FOCO

The 2022 season isn’t going as planned for the Chicago Bears, falling to 2-4 on the year after the loss to Washington on Thursday Night Football. But fans might help their sorrows by reliving the glory days of the 1985 team.

And to do that, our friends at FOCO have released special bobbleheads with Mike Singletary and Richard Dent being featured.

As part of the NFL Pro Gate series, both Dent and Singletary get their own bobblehead in this line. Check out pictures of the two bobbleheads below:

Mike Singletary Pro Gate Series BobbleheadRichard Dent Pro Gate Series Bobblehead

Each bobblehead is numbered out of 322 and costs $70. You can preorder Richard Dent here and Mike Singletary here.

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Red trees, mushrooms and dryness, and divining woolly bears

Master naturalists/master gardeners milled around last week before a seminar on fall foraging. When the leader didn’t show because of a scheduling snafu, we rambled off for a couple hours as a group.

We swapped tidbits about boneset tea and the dyeing properties of pokeweed berries. That inspired me to do my rendering of Tony Joe White’s biggest hit, “Polk Salad Annie.” My guttural non-verbal utterances drew on the best of Terry Boers on The Score.

Our first good find was a puffball, so dried out that a touch elicited a puff of spores. Next was a chicken of the woods mushroom, stunningly fresh considering the dryness for weeks. Between the dryness and the frost/freeze last weekend, it’s been tough for mushrooms.

So I checked with Andy Miller, curator of fungi for the Illinois Natural History Survey.

“Many fall mushrooms produce larger fruiting bodies than the spring morels, and thus require more moisture,” he replied. “The recent dry spell will certainly reduce the number and size of our favorite fall mushrooms such as chicken-of-the-woods, hen-of-the-woods, and oyster mushrooms. An early freeze like we have recently experienced will also reduce the number of fall mushrooms, but if it warms back up again and we receive some rainfall, they should continue to produce fruiting bodies.”

The rains Tuesday and Wednesday should help.

Despite the extended dry spell, a fresh chicken of the woods mushroom found last week on a ramble through a wooded area.

Dale Bowman

Next we found a woolly bear, very late for my first sighting of the year.

That inspired me to ask Illinois state biologist Eric Schauber if anybody at the INHS was working on woolly bears or anything on the folklore of their winter forecasting.

“No, we haven’t had anyone specifically working on woolly bears, but our entomologists point to the `authoritative source on the topic’ by May Berenbaum,” he replied.

That would be Berenbaum’s “Entomological bandwidth” (doi.org/10.1093/ae/54.4.196). After reading, I highly recommend it for those interested in the folklore of woolly bears.

“Probably the last attempt to investigate the scientific basis of the meteorological predictive powers of the banded woollybear was launched by Charles Curran of the American Museum of Natural History,” Berenbaum noted in the article. “Beginning in 1947, he conducted a series of experiments attempting to correlate band width with winter severity, but abandoned this work in 1955, concluding that the correlation was predictive about half the time (making woollybears about as successful in predicting winter weather as contemporary meteorologists).”

Dale Bowman’s first woolly bear of the year, spotted last week on a ramble through a wooded area.

Dale Bowman

I wander all over the greater Chicago area. This fall I noticed extra colorfulness of maples, especially the red and sugar maples.

Christy Rollinson, forest ecologist at The Morton Arboretum, agreed, “Maples seem to be having a particularly spectacular year. At The Morton Arboretum, we’re doing more photography-based monitoring so we can better quantify the intensity of the color changes, not just the timing, but we don’t have that data yet to say exactly how much more vibrant these trees are. Many other places, such as New England, are also showing particularly bright color this year.

“There is still a lot to be learned about what controls the timing and intensity of fall color, but in general, vibrant fall color is a sign of a good growing season, healthy trees, and a sunny fall — all of which we’ve had this year.”

As to the vibrant reds, Rollinson noted, “The bright sunlight of the past few weeks will promote the production of red pigments (anthocyanins) that are characteristics of not just maples, but Virginia creeper and poison ivy as well. Trees that have these two vines wrapped around their trunks have been particularly noticeable this year.”

It’s a fall to notice.

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High school football: Week 8’s top games

No. 3 Simeon vs. No. 24 Morgan Park, 1 p.m. Saturday at Gately

It’s been a while since so much has been riding on the Battle of Vincennes. Both teams are 7-0 overall, 4-0 in the Red South and loaded with top talent. Simeon has had only one close call all season, beating Bolingbrook 35-31 in Week 2. Cincinnati recruit Malik Elzy is a top-300 prospect nationally capable of making game-changing plays as a receiver, defensive back and special teamer. Running back Andre Crews has multiple 200-yard games and a Kentucky offer. Morgan Park junior Tysean Griffin is also a multidimensional talent with three SEC offers (Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee). Yet another two-way star is sophomore Jovan Clark, who earned his first Power Five offer (Maryland) as a freshman.

No. 7 Hersey at Elk Grove, 7:30 p.m. Friday

Elk Grove (6-1, 2-1 Mid-Suburban East) is one of the season’s best feel-good stories. The Grenadiers have clinched their first winning season and IHSA playoff berth since 2013. Three-year starting quarterback Mitch Janczak had 183 total yards in last week’s win over Rolling Meadows. Hersey (7-0, 3-0) has three shutouts and has allowed more than two touchdowns only once, in a 41-34 win against Prospect. Quarterback Colton Gumino is a player to watch in the sophomore class.

Lockport at No. 3 Lincoln-Way East, 7 p.m. Friday

Defending Class 8A champ Lockport (5-2, 1-2 Southwest Suburban Blue) is coming off a miracle comeback against Bolingbrook, rallying from 13 down with less than two minutes left to win 34-33. Senior tight end Hyatt Timosciek caught seven passes for 187 and two TDs, plus the game-winning conversion. Lincoln-Way East (7-0, 3-0) just keeps rolling along. The Griffins’ closest game so far was a 43-32 win over Bolingbrook in Week 5. James Kwiecinski’s running has been one of the keys for East.

Lyons at No. 6 Glenbard West, 1:30 p.m. Saturday

Both teams are 6-1 overall, 3-1 in the West Suburban Silver with losses to league-leading York: 17-13 for Glenbard West and 27-14 for Lyons. Lyons offensive lineman Eddie Tuerk is one of the nation’s best in his class. Quarterback Ryan Jackson has a proven receiver in Yale-bound tight end Graham Smith. Glenbard West has gotten back to basics, running behind a big, experienced offensive line. Junior back Julius Ellens has been one of the season’s breakout stars.

No. 25 St. Francis at Riverside-Brookfield, 7:15 p.m. Friday

This is the de facto title game in the Metro Suburban Red. R-B is 5-2 overall, 4-0 in the conference; St. Francis, which didn’t play Westmont, is 7-0, 3-0. Illinois-bound lineman TJ McMillen is a force for St. Francis, whose biggest test was a 17-6 win at Lake Forest in the season opener. Junior quarterback Diego Gutierrez has been solid for R-B, whose losses were to Wauconda and IC Catholic.

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Blackhawks expand hockey analytics department with new hirings

LAS VEGAS — Long behind the NHL curve in terms of investment in analytics, the Blackhawks are now catching up — at least in terms of staffing.

The Hawks hired five new employees this summer to work in their Hockey Strategy and Analytics department — increasing the department to six total members — according to an update of their front office directory.

The hirings match up with general manager Kyle Davidson’s messaging last spring, particularly after former Cubs executive Jeff Greenberg was hired as assistant GM. With the Cubs, Greenberg helped build and implement an analytics system called “Ivy” to centralize information gathering and processing, and he was brought to the Hawks to oversee a comparable project.

“We want to get to a point where all of our information…[is] housed in one system, and that’s a big build,” Davidson said in May. “It’s the heartbeat of the operation, so you know what’s going on in every area.”

Notably, two of the Hawks’ five new analytics staffers once directly worked on “Ivy” for the Cubs.

Ryan Kruse, the Hawks’ new director of hockey systems and technology, was previously a “creator and architect” of Ivy during nearly seven years with the Cubs, according to his LinkedIn page. He spent last year as the Los Angeles Kings’ vice president of research and development, building “valuation and projection models.”

Albert Lyu, now the Hawks’ hockey systems architect, also worked in the Cubs’ baseball systems department from 2015 to 2019.

The other three new additions to the Hawks’ analytics department are Chris McCorkle as senior analyst of hockey strategy and Sam Forstner and Mark Weinstein as senior data scientists. Forstner and Weinstein previously worked for the Islanders and Reds, respectively.

Andrew Contis, the Hawks’ manager of hockey analytics, is the one holdover in the department, having held that position since 2015. Mary DeBartolo, previously the department’s only other member, now works in player and alumni relations, per her LinkedIn page.

Elsewhere in hockey operations department, the Hawks’ coaching staff has one new addition: former Rockford video coach Adam Gill is now the Hawks’ assistant video coach beneath Matt Meacham.

Murphy dodges bullets

Connor Murphy’s injury luck hasn’t been favorable in 2022. A brutal-looking concussion resulting from a hit by Senators forward Parker Kelly on March 12 ended his 2021-22 season almost two months early. He also missed most of this season’s training camp with a back injury.

This week, pucks deflecting into his face became a new pattern. It happened to Murphy both during practice Tuesday and again during pregame warmups Thursday against the Golden Knights.

Fortunately, Murphy finally caught some breaks: Everything turned out to be fine — he needed only a few stitches –and he was able to play Wednesday and Thursday.

“The timing is always nice to not miss regular-season games,” he said Wednesday. “Injuries just are frustrating to miss any time. Usually you feel like you have yourself on a plan with the team, and any time you have to sit out days…it’s not fun or easy.”

Even the back injury might’ve been tolerable to play through had it sprung up during the regular season. His absence during camp was partially just precautionary.

“It’s hard to say what would’ve happened day-to-day…or how long the symptoms would’ve been,” he said. “But I do feel like I would’ve played a little bit more.”

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High school football scores: Week 8

Please send scores and corrections to [email protected].

Thursday, October 13

RED CENTRAL

Catalyst-Maria 32, Hansberry 6

Rowe-Clark at Speer

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Lake View 12, Steinmetz 8

Schurz 38, Mather 20

RED SOUTH

Brooks vs. Hubbard at Gately

Kenwood vs. Curie at Lane

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Perspectives 22, Ag. Science 0

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Antioch 56, Grayslake Central 28

Grayslake North 70, Round Lake 0

Lakes 21, Grant 18

WEST SUBURBAN GOLD

Leyden 35, Addison Trail 28

NONCONFERENCE

Fenger 36, Tilden 6

DuSable at Back of the Yards

Friday, October 14

RED CENTRAL

Rauner vs. Pritzker at Lane, 4:15

RED NORTH

Taft vs. Young at Lane, 7:15

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Dunbar vs. UP-Bronzeville at Hales, 5

RED SOUTHEAST

Dyett vs. Corliss at Gately, 4:15

Goode vs. Carver at Gately, 7:15

Vocational vs. South Shore at Eckersall, 3:45

RED WEST

Crane vs. Kennedy at Stagg, 3:45

Little Village vs. Bulls Prep at Winnemac, 3:45

CENTRAL SUBURBAN NORTH

Deerfield at Maine East, 6

Niles North at Maine West, 6:30

Vernon Hills at Highland Park, 6:30

CENTRAL SUBURBAN SOUTH

Glenbrook North at Glenbrook South, 7

Maine South at Evanston, 7:30

New Trier at Niles West, 7

DUKANE

Batavia at St. Charles East, 7

Lake Park at Wheaton-Warrenville South, 7

St. Charles North at Glenbard North, 7

Wheaton North at Geneva, 7

DUPAGE VALLEY

Naperville Central at Metea Valley, 7

Naperville North at Waubonsie Valley, 7

Neuqua Valley at DeKalb, 7

FOX VALLEY

Cary-Grove at Burlington Central, 7

Huntley at Dundee-Crown, 7

Jacobs at Hampshire, 7

McHenry at Crystal Lake Central, 7

Prairie Ridge at Crystal Lake South, 7

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Manteno at Lisle, 7

Peotone at Herscher, 7

Reed-Custer at Coal City, 7

Wilmington at Streator, 7

KISHWAUKEE BLUE

Richmond-Burton at Harvard, 7

Rochelle at Plano, 7

KISHWAUKEE WHITE

Kaneland at Woodstock North, 7

Ottawa at Morris, 7

Sycamore at LaSalle-Peru, 7

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

Elmwood Park at Wheaton Academy, 7:30

IC Catholic at Bishop McNamara, 7:15

Ridgewood at Aurora Central, 7

METRO SUBURBAN RED

St. Edward at Aurora Christian, 7:15

St. Francis at Riverside-Brookfield, 7:15

MID-SUBURBAN EAST

Hersey at Elk Grove, 7:30

Prospect at Wheeling, 7:30

Rolling Meadows at Buffalo Grove, 7

MID-SUBURBAN WEST

Conant at Barrington, 7

Hoffman Estates at Fremd, 7

Palatine at Schaumburg, 7

NORTH SUBURBAN

Mundelein at Lake Zurich, 7

Warren at Lake Forest, 7

Waukegan at Stevenson, 7

Zion-Benton at Libertyville, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN BLUE

Bremen at Oak Forest, 6

Lemont at Hillcrest, 6

Tinley Park at TF South, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN RED

Argo at Shepard, 7

Eisenhower at Evergreen Park, 7

Oak Lawn at Richards, 6:30

SOUTHLAND

Thornridge at Rich Township, 6

Thornton at Kankakee, 6

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE EAST

Plainfield Central at Romeoville, 7

Plainfield South at Plainfield East, 7

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE WEST

Minooka at Yorkville, 7

Oswego at Oswego East, 7

West Aurora at Plainfield North, 7

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN BLUE

Lockport at Lincoln-Way East, 7

Sandburg at Homewood-Flossmoor, 7

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN RED

Bradley-Bourbonnais at Stagg, 6

Lincoln-Way West at Andrew, 7

UPSTATE EIGHT

Bartlett at South Elgin, 7

East Aurora at West Chicago, 7

Elgin at Larkin, 7

Glenbard East at Glenbard South, 7

Streamwood at Fenton, 7:30

VERMILION VALLEY NORTH

Iroquois West at Dwight, 7

Momence at Watseka, 7

Seneca at Clifton Central, 7

WEST SUBURBAN GOLD

Downers Grove South at Morton, 7:30

Proviso East at Hinsdale South, 7:30

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

Hinsdale Central at Proviso West, 7:30

Oak Park-River Forest at Downers Grove North, 7:30

NONCONFERENCE

Benet at Joliet Catholic, 7:30

Carmel at Marist, 6:30

Christ the King at Ottawa Marquette, 7

DePaul Prep at St. Ignatius, 7:30

Harlan at Solorio, 6

Hope Academy at De La Salle, 6

Leo at Marmion, 7

Lincoln-Way Central at Bolingbrook, 6

Marian Catholic at Brother Rice, 7

Nazareth at Montini, 7:30

Notre Dame at St. Laurence, 7:30

Reavis at TF North, 7

St. Rita at Providence, 7:30

St. Viator at Mount Carmel, 7:30

Willowbrook at York, 7:30

Woodstock at Johnsburg, 7

Saturday, October 15

RED NORTH

Clark vs. Phillips at Gately, 4

Lane at Westinghouse, noon

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Sullivan vs. Senn at Winnemac, 12:45

Von Steuben vs. Amundsen at Winnemac, 3:45

RED SOUTH

Morgan Park vs. Simeon at Gately, 1

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Hyde Park vs. King at Eckersall, 1

RED SOUTHEAST

Comer vs. Julian at Gately, 7

RED WEST

North Lawndale vs. Lincoln Park at Lane, 1

Payton vs. Raby at Winnemac, 9:45 a.m.

BLUE CENTRAL

Golder vs. Longwood at Stagg, 12:45

Muchin vs. Butler at Gately, 10 a.m.

Noble Academy vs. Johnson at Stagg, 9:45 a.m.

SOUTHLAND

Crete-Monee at Bloom, noon

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE EAST

Joliet West at Joliet Central, 11 a.m.

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

Lyons at Glenbard West, 1:30

NONCONFERENCE

Chicago Academy at Englewood STEM, 3

Chicago Christian at Indianapolis Phalen, Ind., 2

Chicago Military vs. Collins at Lane, 10 a.m.

Foreman at Kelly, 11 a.m.

Gage Park vs. Bowen at Eckersall, 9:45 a.m.

Marengo at Peoria Manual, 1

Marian Central at Mt. Carmel, Ill., 1

Marshall vs. Marine at Orr, 9:45 a.m.

Phoenix vs. Clemente at Orr, 12:45

Princeville at Walther Christian, 1

Prosser at Orr, 3:45

St. Louis De Smet, Mo. at Thornwood, 1

St. Patrick at Loyola, 1

Washington vs. Lindblom at Stagg 3:45

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Blackhawks can’t find net in narrow loss to Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS — For the second consecutive game to start the season, the Blackhawks put forth a respectable effort and took some valid positives from a difficult road matchup.

But for the second consecutive game, they lost nonetheless –this time 1-0 to the Golden Knights on Thursday.

Given the inherent dichotomy between the organization’s big-picture objective to earn as high a draft pick as possible next summer and day-to-day objective to play as hard as possible and develop its players as much as possible, that’s not a bad pattern. But it certainly isn’t satisfying, either.

“It’s a loss, right? It’s still tough,” coach Luke Richardson said. “But the compete level was really high tonight from everybody, [from] the goaltender out. We’re pretty happy with a lot of things we saw on the ice. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it across that line.”

That goaltender, Alex Stalock, made his wildly aggressive style work all night long while making just his second NHL start in three years. He stopped 36 of 37 shots in a borderline heroic, if extremely chaotic, outing.

“You’ve got to go all out in the NHL,” Stalock said. “I can’t show up and give it half-effort, that’s for sure. But [I’m] not a huge guy, so I’ve got to use my body in a way that’s effective. Sometimes, if it’s coming out and playing more aggressive,it works. Sometimes, it’s sitting back if you see the play. But tonight, obviously, you saw a few instances where it got [scrambled] but kept the puck out in the end.”

The Hawks’ penalty kill also improved, squashing all three Knights power plays in their home opener after conceding four ‘PP’ goals to the Avalanche on Wednesday.

The second period proved to be a challenge yet again, though, as the Knights recorded 13 scoring chances to the Hawks’ three. (Chances favored the Knights only 16-13 during the first and third periods combined.) One of those chances turned into the game’s only goal, a two-on-one snipe by Paul Cotter.

And the Hawks’ offense never incited much confidence they could dent stellar Knights goalie Logan Thompson, who stopped all 25 shots he faced. They’ve yet to score an even-strength goal so far this season.

“Defensively, [we were] much better,” Richardson said. “And we can only work on one thing at a time. Because if we work on everything, I don’t think we’re going to get better at everything at the same time. So if we can chip away at that and continue to get a little bit better every game with our sticks defensively, that’s just going to add to more possession time, which hopefully adds to more offense.”

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