Chicago Sports

It didn’t take long for Rich to replace Jamere Dismukes as basketball coach. The school hired former Orr and Englewood coach Lou Adams on Wednesday.

Adams turned Orr into a powerhouse, winning three state championships in his 12 years at the helm. He stepped down after last season.

“I wanted to take a little time after Orr and see if the right opportunity opened up,” Adams said. “I couldn’t believe the facility at Rich. They might have the best one in the state of Illinois. It’s a very exciting situation.”

The Rich gym was redone two years ago and the school recently completed construction of a fieldhouse with three regulation wood courts.

Dismuskes took over at Rich in the spring but never coached a game at the school. He left for Homewood-Flossmoor last week.

Adams says the players were pleased that the coaching saga was over.

“They were happy to see me,” Adams said. “I didn’t know if they would know me. I talked to them and the parents for about an hour and a half. It was a good meeting. They have a lot of talent.”

Senior Ray Austin and junior Tyler Wooten are expected to be the Raptors’ top players this season.

Adams, who lives on the South Side, will continue to work at Orr and just be coaching at Rich.

“It’s going to be a little strange coaching in the suburbs and not the Public League,” Adams said.

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Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki returned from paternity leave with a shock of bleach blonde hair on top of his head.

“The baby keeps crying all night,” Suzuki said through interpreter Toy Matsushita. “So, it’s all the stress, it’s naturally turned blonde.”

He smiled.

Recovering from jet lag, after traveling back from Japan, Suzuki was out of the lineup for the second straight day on Wednesday. But he’d always planned on coming back to finish his first MLB season on the field.

As expected, Suzuki’s rookie year has featured a push and pull of adjustments. He started out hot, winning Rookie of the Month in April. Then, as pitchers got more data on him and adjusted to his tendencies, he slumped, batting .211 in May before spraining his left ring finger sliding into a base late in the month.

He’s found his stride late in the season. Suzuki entered Wednesday batting .314 since mid-August. He’d already hit three home runs in September, despite being away for a week and a half for the birth of his first child.

“There’s only so many games left in the season, and for the team to let me go back to be with my wife for my firstborn is something that I’m really really appreciative for,” Suzuki said. “So, I’m going to do my best to finish off this season strong for the team.”

The way manager David Ross sees it, timing has been the biggest factor in Suzuki’s recent success.

“The stretch where he struggled, you saw a lot of timing issues and him playing with leg kicks, and spreading out, and being a little bit taller, and how to see the ball and get off his A-swing as consistently as possible. Maybe feeling for it a little bit,” Ross said. “And then you saw when he got locked in, the timing looked better, he was all connected in the box mechanically. And you saw more aggressive swings, right-center, left-center power. That’s the guy that he knows he is and we believe he is.”

Suzuki also pointed to off the field influences.

“You’ve got to put into perspective just being in a different country,” he said. “So, you’ve got to get used to a new language, new culture, new atmosphere. That’s been one of the huge factors of me being able to succeed here. And recently, I’ve been able to adapt to it pretty easily [compared to] before. So, that’s one of the most important things, getting used to life.”

Suzuki, who the Cubs signed this past spring to a five-year, $85 million deal, is an integral piece in the club’s rebuild.

“There’s definitely real signs in there of an All-Star caliber player,” Ross said.

Suzuki himself has high expectations for next year.

“Obviously, personal statistics are important,” he said. “But for me, the most important is winning. When you win, the atmosphere in the locker room is amazing. So, that’s what I want to feel next year. I want to win with this team and win a championship.”

It’s an ambitious timeline.

Both Willson Contreras and Marcus Stroman this week were frank about the work the front office has to do to supplement the young talent and make this a competitive team.

“I love what we have, I love the young group of guys,” Stroman said, when asked specifically about the pitching staff. “I’ve said it before, I think we’re a few pieces away from being really, truly competitive in the league.”

An active offseason could make competing for the division title, at least, not look so far away.

“This team is really young,” Suzuki said. “And I feel if everyone understands what their role is and improves a lot more as a player on the field, I feel like we can become a really good team. And I think we’re really close to that, so I’m really excited for what’s ahead for us.”

In the meantime, Suzuki has a season to finish. And jet lag to battle.

“I really can’t get to sleep, so it’s been pretty tough,” he said. “I get a little sleepy during the games, so don’t ever get me on camera during the game today.

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For Bears linebacker Nick Morrow, halftime isn’t just a chance to catch his breath and refuel. It’s a chance to get better. So whether it’s coach Matt Eberflus or defensive coordinator Alan Williams doing the talking, he’s listening. Just three games into the season, he believes they make a difference.

“It’s really cool,” Morrow said. “You sit in the halftime meetings — no matter if we’re up or gave up a lot of points or whatever –and they’re always like, ‘Hey, look, we’ve got to do this and this. We’re going to adjust to this. They’re doing this — let’s use this as an adjustment.’

“And they’ve worked together before, so you can see where they’re on the same page with that. They’re really good at finding those adjustments and helping us execute it. And maybe it’s something we haven’t done a lot, so it’s like, ‘Hey, we did this back in training camp or whatever.’ It’s the coolest thing, seeing them adjust on the fly.”

The players can already see that it makes a difference. This defense is still defining itself after allowing 10 points to the 49ers, 27 to the Packers and 20 to the Texans, but one common thread is encouraging — they’ve been better in the second half than the first.

The Bears, in fact, have allowed 45 points in the first half this season, but just 12 points after halftime. They’re one of three teams (along with the Bengals and Broncos) to not allow a second-half touchdown so far.

“We make adjustments … series by series. But halftime for us is very organized,” Eberflus said. “We have a lot of information given the players from up top –and [what] we do, I’m not gonna disclose all that. But I think it’s very good and the players know exactly what’s going to come in the second half, in terms of what we’re gonna call and how we’re gonna attack an offense.”

To the players, they’re reaping the rewards of an offseason and preseason of hard work. “The emphasis is on finishing no matter what drill we’re in,” said Morrow, who played his first five seasons in the NFL with the Raiders, “[individual drills], team periods, special teams, weight room — everything’s about finishing. I think that shows up for sure.”

Defensive tackle Justin Jones, like Morrow a newcomer to Eberflus’ defense, bought in to Ebrerflus’ ‘bring your track shoes’ work ethic when he signed with the Bears. But he has a much greater appreciation for it now that he’s seen it in action.

“The thing I’ve noticed here is that our practice is most much harder than the game,” Jones said. “I feel like in a game, I just don’t get tired.

“I didn’t really see it at first. Initially, I’m like ‘Oh, we’re gonna be running, running, running, running, running.’ And I was like, ‘All right, I get it.’ But I see it now. I see that it’s good that we did that. And it’s good that they stayed on it and didn’t lower the standard [just] because people didn’t understand.

“We’re getting it. And we got it. And that’s why guys are conditioned. A lot of teams aren’t conditioned like that. So when it comes to the fourth quarter, we’re good.”

The Bears’ resilience will be tested Sunday against the Giants at MetLife Stadium. The Giants (2-1) have been a second-half team on offense this season –scoring 47 of their 56 points after halftime.

The battle lines are drawn, but the Bears feel they have a lot going for them at halftime –preparation and an ability to be better.

“It’s fun,” Morrow said. “It gives you confidence, because you know that no matter what happens out there, if [the coaches] don’t have an answer, they can work together to find one. So you’re not out there on your own, wondering what’s going on. It’s always complementary between their communication with each other and the communication with us –and that helps us play fast.”

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While the rest of his teammates were showering and getting ready to celebrate a win, Bears receiver Darnell Mooney walked out on the turf of Soldier Field minutes after Sunday’s game. A Bears employee followed with a pitching machine and fired footballs at Mooney, who was still in full uniform.

The receiver was frustrated after the game, in which he had a drop. He told quarterback Justin Fields that perhaps the quarterback locked in on him too often, trying to get him the ball in a season in which he has only four catches on 11 targets. Mooney, though, blamed himself and not the Bears’ offense.

“I didn’t think I helped out as much as I planned to,” Mooney said.

None of the Bears receivers have. For all the attention given the Bears’ play-calling and Fields’ inability to operate it smoothly, there’s been a disturbing realization the Bears’ receiving room might be even more pedestrian than first thought. And it was considered one of the league’s least impressive before the Bears ever played a game.

It somehow got even worse Tuesday, when the Bears put Byron Pringle, the prize of general manager Ryan Poles’ first free agency swing, on injured reserve with a calf injury. He’ll be out at least four weeks.

The Bears knew this could be coming. Only three teams spent less than the Bears’ $11.2 million on wide receivers this season. Between now and the trade deadline, though, Poles should scout the market for a jolt at the position.

Receiver has never been a more important position in the league — teams will likely only part with players who are bad fits or are overpaid. Giants receiver Kenny Golladay, a Chicago native, qualifies as both. But even he might be needed by the Bears’ Sunday opponent; the Giants put receiver Sterling Shepard on IR with a knee injury.

Help isn’t on the way for the Bears — unless you consider that help to be rookie receiver Reggie Roberson Jr., whom they signed to the practice squad Wednesday.

“Whenever you lose a starter –or a player like that, that’s a good blocker and certainly stands for everything we believe in– that certainly hurts,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “And guys are gonna have to step into that role and share that role as well.”

Who, exactly?

“Well, we’ve only got so many guys, right?” Eberflus said.

The Bears are left with two healthy receivers who have caught more than one pass this season (Mooney and Equanimeous St. Brown), one with one 51-yard catch (Dante Pettis) and another, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, who has played eight offensive snaps. N’Keal Harry, for whom Poles gave up a 2024 seventh-round pick in a July trade, has been on the IR since the start of the season. He’s eligible to return starting next week, though Eberflus has given no indication that his return is imminent.

The Bears have been left to pine for rookie Velus Jones, who could make his NFL debut Sunday against the Giants after missing most of the preseason — and the first three games — with a hamstring injury. He was limited in practice Wednesday, leaving Eberflus to say it would be “difficult” to know how much he can handle in a game situation.

“My heart, my head, my soul is in it,” Jones said. “But if my hammy’s not in it, that’s an issue.”

Expecting Jones to be in sync with Fields after so much time away is folly — even if Jones said he’s been “manifesting” what that might look like.

“I can help him out a lot,” Jones said. “That’s why they drafted me early in the third round.”

At this point, anything would help.

“We can definitely use him,” Fields said.

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The latest rankings of Illinois high school football teams in each class, according to an Associated Press panel of sportswriters.

Class 8ASchool W-L Pts Prv

1. Loyola (10) (5-0) 109 1

2. Lincoln-Way East (1) (5-0) 99 2

3. Glenbard West (5-0) 89 4

4. York (5-0) 75 8

5. Warren (4-1) 38 3

6. O’Fallon (4-1) 32 5

(tie) Maine South (3-2) 32 7

8. Glenbrook South (5-0) 25 9

9. Marist (3-2) 21 NR

10. Neuqua Valley (4-1) 20 NR

Others receiving votes: Edwardsville 19, Bolingbrook 17, Plainfield North 14, Naperville North 9, South Elgin 5, Homewood-Flossmoor 1.

Class 7ASchool W-L Pts Prv

1. Mount Carmel (11) (5-0) 110 1

2. Hersey (5-0) 91 9

3. Prospect (4-1) 69 2

4. St. Rita (3-2) 68 4

5. Pekin (5-0) 60 5

6. Wheaton North (4-1) 53 7

7. St. Charles North (4-1) 41 NR

8. Hononegah (5-0) 31 10

9. Jacobs (4-1) 30 3

10. Batavia (3-2) 27 8

Others receiving votes: Downers Grove North 11, Geneva 9, Lake Zurich 5.

Class 6ASchool W-L Pts Prv

1. East St. Louis (12) (3-2) 120 1

2. Simeon (5-0) 103 2

3. Lemont (5-0) 85 3

4. Prairie Ridge (4-1) 77 4

5. Crete-Monee (3-2) 73 6

6. Notre Dame (4-1) 57 7

7. Chatham Glenwood (4-1) 46 5

8. Wauconda (5-0) 36 T10

9. Belvidere North (5-0) 27 NR

10. Normal West (4-1) 12 NR

Others receiving votes: Carmel 7, Kenwood 7, St. Ignatius 6, Cary-Grove 2, Antioch 1, Champaign Centennial 1.

Class 5ASchool W-L Pts Prv

1. Morris (6) (5-0) 113 1

2. Kankakee (4) (4-1) 94 2

3. Sycamore (1) (5-0) 88 4

4. Mahomet-Seymour (1) (5-0) 84 3

5. Peoria (5-0) 73 5

6. Morgan Park (5-0) 68 6

7. Glenbard South (5-0) 44 7

8. Highland (4-1) 29 9

(tie) Nazareth (2-3) 29 8

10. Sterling (4-1) 18 10

Others receiving votes: St. Patrick 6, Mascoutah 5, Rockford Boylan 4, Mount Vernon 3, Kaneland 2.

Class 4ASchool W-L Pts Prv

1. Sacred Heart-Griffin (12) (5-0) 120 2

2. Richmond-Burton (5-0) 98 3

3. Joliet Catholic (4-1) 91 1

4. St. Francis (5-0) 88 4

5. Rochester (4-1) 67 5

6. Stillman Valley (5-0) 62 6

7. Wheaton Academy (5-0) 54 7

8. Carterville (5-0) 35 8

9. Genoa-Kingston (4-1) 20 9

10. Macomb (5-0) 15 10

Others receiving votes: St. Laurence 4, Breese Central 4, Columbia 2.

Class 3ASchool W-L Pts Prv

1. IC Catholic (11) (4-1) 128 1

2. Williamsville (1) (5-0) 108 2

3. Reed-Custer (1) (5-0) 97 3

4. Princeton (5-0) 96 4

5. Byron (4-1) 69 5

6. Mt. Carmel, Ill. (5-0) 65 6

7. Fairbury Prairie Central (5-0) 53 7

8. Eureka (5-0) 48 8

9. Seneca (5-0) 21 T10

10. Paxton-Buckley-Loda (5-0) 17 9

Others receiving votes: Tolono Unity 10, Durand-Pecatonica 3.

Class 2ASchool W-L Pts Prv

1. Wilmington (11) (5-0) 128 1

2. St. Teresa (2) (5-0) 118 2

3. Maroa-Forsyth (5-0) 101 3

4. Bismarck-Henning (5-0) 86 4

5. North-Mac (5-0) 85 5

6. Rockridge (4-1) 59 7

7. Downs Tri-Valley (4-1) 41 8

8. Knoxville (4-1) 23 6

9. Carmi White County (5-0) 22 10

10. Johnston City (5-0) 21 9

Others receiving votes: Nashville 15, Pana 8, Vandalia 6, Mercer County 2.

Class 1ASchool W-L Pts Prv

1. Lena-Winslow (13) (5-0) 130 1

2. Colfax Ridgeview (5-0) 111 3

3. Camp Point Central (5-0) 98 4

(tie) Hope Academy (5-0) 98 5

5. Athens (4-1) 60 2

6. Shelbyville (5-0) 57 8

7. St. Bede (5-0) 56 7

8. Greenfield-Northwestern (5-0) 33 NR

(tie) Fulton (3-2) 33 6

10. Ottawa Marquette (4-1) 17 10

Others receiving votes: Tuscola 12, Gilman Iroquois West 5, Forreston 2, Kewanee-Annawan-Wethersfield 2, Aurora Christian 1.

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We take a look at the point guard situation for the Chicago Bulls after the Lonzo Ball news from media day

The recent news of Lonzo Ball still having pain in his knee comes in unfortunate timing, with the Chicago Bulls’ first preseason game less than a week away. Now Chicago must look into their depth in the backcourt and decide who will be the play caller and court leader in a season with high expectations within a tough Eastern Conference.

The immediate question that comes into play with Ball sidelined with no timetable of return is: Who should be the starting point guard for the Bulls? Looking at Chicago’s roster for the 2022-23 NBA season, Coach Billy Donovan has some options and will need to decide who’s the best fit for this crucial position on the team. Donovan has already spoken on this new dilemma recently,

“We’ll have to see how these guys gel and mesh once training camp starts and we start practicing,” Donovan said. “But I think we have enough back there that we can get the job done from that standpoint.”

With that being said, let’s take a look at Chicago’s options for the starting point guard spot to begin the season.

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Bears running back David Montgomery didn’t practice Wednesday, as expected, three days after suffering an injury in the Bears’ 23-20 win against the Texans.

Montgomery hurt his right ankle Sunday when, in the first quarter, he was pushed by Texans safety Jalen Pitre back onto defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour, who rolled up on his leg. The Bears first said that Montgomery had both a knee and ankle injury, and repeated as much on the injury report Wednesday. Eberflus said Monday that the concern was with his ankle, not his knee.

Wednesday, Eberflus would merely call him “day-to-day,” saying that, compared to how the injury looked, that was a positive.

“No doubt,” he said.

Montgomery, who is in the last year of his four-year rookie contract, ran for 122 yards on 15 carries against the Packers. Backup Khalil Herbert ran 20 times for a career-high 157 yards in a 23-20 win against the Texans at Soldier Field.

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Justin Fields is trying to take a calm, clinical approach to dealing with the “trash” game he played against the Texans. He’s choosing a steadier path than last week, when he rearranged his schedule to kick start himself.

It was challenging to maintain that steadiness Sunday night while scrutinizing the film of arguably the worst performance of his career. Fields completed just 8 of 17 passes for 106 yards with two interceptions for a 27.7 passer rating. As exasperating as it was for everyone else watch, it was even worse for Fields to see clip after clip of himself torpedoing the offense.

“It was frustrating, for sure,” he said of his evening. “But gotta learn from the mistakes.”

His reaction to the tape?

“Just got to play better,” he said.

He added, “All I really know — My response to that is get back to work and keep working.”

In a shift from the past week or so, including Sunday when he caught himself before using profanity to describe his play, Fields was brief and flat Wednesday as he tried to move on from his latest debacle and look toward an opportunity to straighten himself out Sunday at the Giants.

No visible anger. No setting his alarm for 4 a.m. to do extra work.

And that’s probably for the best.

After three shaky games to start the season, what Fields seems to need most is a reset. He needs to simplify the game. He needs to trust his talent.

The Bears are indisputably limited at wide receiver and unreliable in pass protection, which certainly makes his job harder, but there have been instances where he has looked indecisive. Opportunities were there — and those are precious in this offense — and Fields was late to identify them or off target.

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Nikola Vucevic was on top of his social media game over the summer, especially when it came to the rumors that the Bulls were looking to package him in a trade for Utah’s Rudy Gobert.

Once Gobert was sent to Minnesota in July, however, the Bulls big man tweeted, “Glad my offer for the house I found in Salt Lake got rejected then.”

Asked this week if he was ever concerned with being moved to the Jazz, Vucevic confessed that it was never really a worry.

“I was on Zillow every day … Salt Lake … nah, I’m kidding,” Vucevic said. “Honestly, I didn’t pay attention to it much. By speaking to AK [executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas] here and [Coach] Billy [Donovan], I knew their plan and what they were thinking.

“People asked me about it all the time and it was on my Twitter all the time. So when Gobert got traded to Minnesota I thought it would be a good time to have a little joke.”

That doesn’t mean Vucevic trade rumors have ended there.

The veteran is in the final year of his current contract and will become an unrestricted free agent. If things go south for the Bulls by the trade deadline, an expiring contract could be a huge trade asset for a Bulls organization that doesn’t have a ton of assets to move.

“Rumors are a part of what we do,” Vucevic said. “Whether they’re true or not, it’s out of my control. I focus on what I can control, and in the end I had some fun with [the Jazz rumors].

“At no point did I feel it was going to happen.”

Stay tuned.

Ball out

With Lonzo Ball having his left knee surgery on Wednesday, the waiting game has started.

The plan was a re-evaluation in four to six weeks, and if everything goes well in that time there will be a clearer timetable.

Ball spoke on Tuesday, and what he was concerned with was the emotional toll this latest obstacle has thrown his way.

“I mean it’s tough,” Ball said. “This is my third time working on this knee. I’m at a point where I just want to get it over with and get healthy and get back to playing. I missed the playoffs last year, I haven’t played basketball pretty much all year. So for me, I just want to get out there with my teammates and do what I love to do.”

Weight watcher

Not only did forward Patrick Williams show up to this camp ready to prove something in Season 3, but also thinner.

In his mind, he was overweight last season, and that extra weight led to too many injuries. Williams had a severe ankle sprain going into the 2021-22 camp, and then of course suffered a severe wrist injury just five games into the regular season.

That’s why he wanted to make a change.

“I wasn’t able to move the way I wanted to,” Williams said. “So this summer was a chance to really lock in and kind of see how I felt. I tried a bunch of different lifts, kind of seeing what I like, kind of seeing what weight I wanted to play at.

“I think I feel a little bit more athletic. I just feel ready.”

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At this point, Jack Johnson is accustomed to needing his car’s navigation app for the first few days of training camp each year.

The former Kings and Blue Jackets stalwart defenseman –he spent about six years with each club –has recently become a late-career journeyman. The Blackhawks are his fourth team in as many years, having spent 2019-20 with the Penguins, 2020-21 with the Rangers and 2021-22 with the Avalanche.

But while Johnson is still learning how to get to Fifth Third Arena,he’s already fully comfortable in his role as a veteran mercenary.

After appearing in 1,024 NHL games, blocking 1,580 shots, dishing out 1,715 hits and finally earning his first Stanley Cup ring last season, the 35-year-old Indianapolis native exudes an aura of time-tested knowledge and patience that the otherwise largely inexperienced Hawks will need this season.

“That [role] was made clear,” Johnson said Monday. “But there’s nothing out of the ordinary that goes into that. You’ve just got to be yourself and be a good pro.

“The young guys now are very mature, probably more mature than young guys back when I started. They don’t necessarily need another coach, and we’ve got plenty of those. Sometimes they just need a friend and a teammate and somebody to be there. Because there are going to be ups and downs during the season, as a team and individually, [and] those are things that you have to learn how to navigate and how to deal with yourself. Hopefully as the older guys, we can [help them] navigate their way through.”

Working to his advantage is the fact Johnson already knows Seth Jones and Connor Murphy, the existing nucleus of the Hawks’ defensive core, quite well. Johnson and Jones spent 2.5 years together with the Jackets, while Murphy (as a Columbus native) and Johnson have often trained together during summers off.

With a wide array of young defenseman –from Alec Regula to Alex Vlasic to Ian Mitchell (when healthy again) to Isaak Phillips –on track to receive NHL time this season, those three veterans will be relied upon as mentors.

“[Jack is] a beast,” Murphy said. “Those [types of] guys have a wisdom that’s hard to describe. In the season, there’s always little moments when they’re able to settle things down for everyone, so they’re definitely valuable.”

Added new coach Luke Richardson: “He has been great: great in the dressing room, [great] on the ice in practice. [He’s] a true leader and pro.”

Johnson’s workout habits will also set a good example. Even Murphy, nine years into his own career, still tries to emulate some of Johnson’s favorite exercises, such as one particular resistance-band drill.

There’s no special secret to his longevity, though, other than hard work.

“A lot of people, as they get older, kind of back off,” he said. “I’m completely the opposite. I think as you get older, you almost have to work harder. So far, it has worked for me. It has kept me going.”

That training regimen helped him overcome a difficult pandemic-shortened 2021 season, during which a groin injury and subsequent surgery limited him to just 13 games, to bounce back for a full year in Colorado.

He scored in the season opener (against the Hawks), averaged 16:45 ice time over 74 regular-season appearances and enjoyed a lengthy playoff run for the first time, pushing any thoughts of retirement far out of mind.

“I’d been in the league a long time, but I’d never made it past the first round, so to go all the way was an incredible experience,” he said. “Right from the get-go, there was a definite feeling in the room and a confidence [that] there was no doubt we could do it. It was the most memorable year of my hockey life.

“After all the celebration and everything, I got home…[for] a little bit of normalcy. I was thinking about it: my body felt good, I still enjoyed competing and I had no reason to stop playing. Especially after winning, it just makes you want to do it again.”

The Hawks eventually came calling in August, about a month after free agency opened, offering a one-year, league-minimum contract. Johnson accepted it without hesitation.

“You still have to love the process in order to play the game,” he said. “Until I stop enjoying the process, I’ll want to keep going.”

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