Chicago Sports

The Blackhawks have found the coach of their rebuild.

Luke Richardson, a Canadiens assistant for the past four years, was chosen Friday as the 40th head coach in Hawks franchise history.

He’s expected to sign a contract in the coming days, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported, although an official announcement and introduction is not expected until next week.

Richardson, 53, brings extensive experience as both a player and assistant coach in the NHL. He enjoyed a long career as a defenseman, logging 1,417 career games over 22 years with the Maple Leafs, Oilers, Flyers, Blue Jackets, Lightning and Senators.

He joined the Senators’ coaching staff upon his retirement in 2009 and has logged eight years as an NHL assistant and four years as an AHL head coach since, making intermediate stops in Binghamton (the Senators’ AHL affiliate) and with the Islanders before landing in 2018 in Montreal under Claude Julien.

But Richardson doesn’t bring any previous experience as an NHL head coach, unlike many of the bigger-name coaches that spun through the league’s coaching carousel this summer. That’s partially because some of those bigger-name coaches weren’t interested in a team just starting to rebuild, and partially because the Hawks wanted a fresh face to match the general theme of their rebuild.

Richardson’s hiring means that Derek King, who went 27-33-10 as the Hawks’ interim head coach for most of the 2021-22 season after taking over for Jeremy Colliton, won’t remain in that position.

Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson — who is 20 years younger than the coach who will now report to him — had already cleared out the coaching staff beneath the head position. Assistants Marc Crawford and Rob Cookson were fired shortly after the season ended. That’ll allow Richardson to bring in his own staff in the coming months.

“We want coaches that are able to communicate, able to drive a message and create a positive culture and [able to] get players to want to come to the rink and compete every single night,” Davidson said last month.

Before settling on Richardson, the Hawks reportedly also considered Canucks assistant Brad Shaw, Flames assistant Ryan Huska and Penguins assistant Todd Reirden –likely among others — for the job.

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The Cubs hosted a beam-signing ceremony Friday at the site of the future DraftKings Sportsbook, which will be attached physically and spiritually to Wrigley Field. I assume everyone involved found a way to get dollar signs, commas and zeros, lots of zeros, into their signatures.

What I love most about the Cubs’ $100 million deal with DraftKings and the forthcoming glass-and-steel sportsbook is that there’s no pretense about what’s at work here. That would be money. Oh, sure, team officials have pushed the idea that the project is a way for the franchise to keep up with the evolving needs of the fanbase, a fanbase that wants to gamble. That’s very considerate of them.

But the agreement between the Cubs and DraftKings is about one thing only: the flow of cash. The Ricketts family was able to frame the renovations at Wrigley as something for the fans, in the same way it could build the Hotel Zachary across the street from the park and say it was something for tourists. It was a bit of a con, but the more enthusiastic among you bought into the notion of the Cubs’ community outreach program.

There’s no way to hide the purpose and goal of a sportsbook, however. It’s money for money’s sake. People will walk into the two-story building when it opens in 2023 to bet on sporting events, including Cubs games, and DraftKings will make a lot of money. The Cubs will benefit financially from having more people on their property and, if the sportsbook is successful, from getting another huge payday when their contract with the company is up. The meaning of life in Wrigleyville, its reason for being, is to make the Rickettses richer. So it’s perfect that Wrigley Field will soon have a gleaming sportsbook attached to it at the corner of Addison and Sheffield, like a hood ornament on a Rolls-Royce. No reason to be subtle anymore.

Also not subtle: The Cubs aren’t good at baseball.

There are so many sleights of hand going on that it’s easy to lose sight of what this is supposed to be about. You know, baseball. You can have a party on a team-owned rooftop across the street from the ballpark, you can get a scoop at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on the Cubs’ “campus” and now you can bet on games. Pay no attention to the Cubs’ second rebuild in 10 years, the one that had them losing 14 of their previous 17 games heading into their weekend series against the Cardinals.

In quainter days, the Cubs sold sunshine, people-watching and bad baseball. The Ricketts family realized there was lots of money to be made off more tangible things, things made of brick and mortar.

Where do you draw the line on money-making ventures? Wrong question.

Is there a line on money-making ventures? In Wrigleyville? Good one.

Sports gambling is a massive industry, and once Major League Baseball realized that the floodgates couldn’t be closed and that there was legal money to be made, it lost its century-long aversion to betting. As did the Cubs – so much that they now have the organism physically attached to their ballpark. Is that bad? Dangerous? Will Cubs players be more likely to bet on baseball or be tempted to throw games to make money?

We’re about to find out.

At minimum, though, it’s a very, very uncomfortable look. MLB used to do whatever it could to keep gamblers away from the premises. There are still signs in big-league clubhouses warning players that betting on games could lead to banishment. At MLB’s behest, FBI agents used to talk with players during spring training about the dangers of gambling and organized crime. If bettors mixed with players, the way they did during the 1919 Black Sox scandal, it could severely damage the game. That was the thinking, at least.

Now MLB and the Cubs have invited gamblers into their home. How does baseball go from being a fire-and-brimstone preacher railing against the evils of wagering to being in business with a bookie?

With the help of millions and millions of dollars.

MLB isn’t alone in its change of heart. American sports leagues once avoided Las Vegas like it was a leper colony battling the plague. Now there’s an NFL and an NHL team in the city, and it’s only a matter of time before the other major sports cannonball into the pile of cash lying there.

It would be wrong to dismiss the idea of a gambling scandal involving athletes as the product of an overactive imagination. Sports history is filled with players who have squandered their money. With gambling so prevalent now – and so legal – it’s not difficult to picture a player with financial difficulties being attracted to the possibility of easy money.

Does having a physical gambling establishment attached to a ballpark make it more tempting for a player to gamble? To throw a game?

Again, we’re about to find out.

Wrigley Field has been an amusement park for quite awhile. If it’s a cathedral of baseball, as people like to say, then it’s a cathedral with a water slide running from the back of the church to the altar. It seems to be about everything but baseball. Now it’s about something else: gambling. I’d like to report that it’s the final piece of the cash trough for the Ricketts family. That there will be no more money-making schemes ahead.

But I wouldn’t bet on it.

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The 2022 NBA Draft took place on Thursday and the Chicago Bulls selected guard Dalen Terry out of Arizona at No. 18 overall.

Terry is a 6’7″ Guard from the University of Arizona and is often referred to as a swiss-army knife type of player. After working out for the Bulls before the draft, Terry knew that Chicago was exactly where he wanted to be.

Sam Smith from NBA.com had the following quote from Terry regarding his thoughts on Chicago.

“I had a really good time there, actually; I really wanted to be there. It’s crazy. I called my agent immediately right after like, ‘Nah, that’s where I need to be.’ It’s great they drafted me. Man, I’m so happy. I feel I fit in perfectly. I’m a lengthy guard and will do anything to win.”

Dalen Terry should fit nicely with the Bulls. His style of play can allow him to fill any need the Bulls have. As a guard that touts a 7-foot wingspan, he will make for an interesting defensive piece alongside specialists like Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball.

All indicators say the Bulls got a steal with Dalen Terry at 18. His energy and skill set could be incredibly valuable for the Bulls. Many expected the Bulls to draft a front-court player, but it is more likely that the Bulls try to bolster their front-court through trades and/or free agency.

The rest of this offseason should be very interesting for the Chicago Bulls. Free Agency is right around the corner and the Bulls are definitely going to be busy.

Make sure to check out our Bulls forum for the latest on the team.

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Luke Richardson is expected to become the new head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, an NHL source confirmed to ESPN on Friday.

Richardson would replace interim coach Derek King, who went 27-33-10 after taking over for Jeremy Colliton 12 games into the season. Richardson, an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens, was offered the head-coaching job this week, sources said.

The Blackhawks are waiting on some contract details to be finalized, and the expectation is that Richardson will be formally announced as the coach next week.

Daily Faceoff first reported on Richardson’s expected hiring.

Luke Richardson helped the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final last season while filling in for Dominique Ducharme after he entered the NHL COVID-19 protocol. AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack

Richardson, 53, has been an assistant coach on the Canadiens’ bench for four seasons, working with three different head coaches. Before that, he was the head coach of the AHL Binghamton Senators, the top affiliate for the Ottawa Senators, from 2012 to 2016 and worked as an assistant for Ottawa and the New York Islanders.

In the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, Richardson took over the Canadiens bench when coach Dominique Ducharme entered the NHL COVID-19 protocol. He went 3-3 and guided the Canadiens past the Vegas Golden Knights to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Ducharme returned for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, which the Canadiens lost in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Richardson played 21 years in the NHL as a rugged defenseman, most prominently with the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers.

The move would leave the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets as the only teams without a head coach.

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Can Keegan Thompson and Justin Steele be apart of the next great Cubs rotation?

The Chicago Cubs are nowhere near contention this season and it will take some time before they re-enter the contention conversation. For now, Chicago must focus on getting the right pieces for the next great team. Two young pitchers to keep an eye on are Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson. Both have shown flashes this season that they can be effective at the major league level. Moreover, they have stepped up in what has been an injury-plagued starting rotation for the Cubs.

Keegan Thompson

Thompson, 27, made his MLB debut last season for the Cubs. It’s safe to say he has taken the next step this season. Putting together a 7-2 record with a strong 3.10 ERA has given Manager David Ross an effective starter. Additionally, Thompson has back-to-back quality starts against the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. Furthermore, he started off lights out in the bullpen before transitioning into a starting role with the multiple injuries affecting the Cubs rotation.

Drafted in the third round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Cubs, Thompson has been one of few homegrown talents to emerge from the system. With a dazzling fastball, cutter, and curve combination, it has been fun watching Thompson bulldoze through opposing lineups. There is a lot to like about him, and in a down year for the Cubs, Thompson has been one of few bright spots.

Justin Steele

Steele, 26, has had an up and down season. With a 4.59 ERA, there have been a fair share of good outings along with a rough one every now and then. Similar to Thompson, Steele debuted with the Cubs last season and is getting a look as a potential starter moving forward.

He gave up five runs in today’s game against Pittsburgh, however, racked up eight strikeouts in five innings. He has swing and miss stuff as seen in his 10 strikeout game against the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this season. Steele relies heavily on a fastball-slider combo. He doesn’t throw his curveball often but it is a good pitch for him. Look for development over the course of the next few seasons on that pitch in order to strengthen his pitching arsenal.

Both Thompson and Steele are tough guys who have an edge while they’re pitching. So far, they have shown to be solutions in the rotation. As the Cubs go through a rebuilding period, these two young pitchers have been fun to watch. The future of the Cubs starting staff is in good hands.

Make sure to check out our Cubs forum for the latest on the team.

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The Blackhawks have found the coach of their rebuild.

Luke Richardson, a Canadiens assistant for the past four years, was chosen Friday as the 40th head coach in Hawks franchise history.

He’s expected to sign a contract in the coming days, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported, although an official announcement and introduction is not expected until next week.

Richardson, 53, brings extensive experience as both a player and assistant coach in the NHL. He enjoyed a long career as a defenseman, logging 1,417 career games over 22 years with the Maple Leafs, Oilers, Flyers, Blue Jackets, Lightning and Senators.

He joined the Senators’ coaching staff upon his retirement in 2009 and has logged eight years as an NHL assistant and four years as an AHL head coach since, making intermediate stops in Binghamton (the Senators’ AHL affiliate) and with the Islanders before landing in 2018 in Montreal under Claude Julien.

But Richardson doesn’t bring any previous experience as an NHL head coach, unlike many of the bigger-name coaches that spun through the league’s coaching carousel this summer. That’s partially because some of those bigger-name coaches weren’t interested in a team just starting to rebuild, and partially because the Hawks wanted a fresh face to match the general theme of their rebuild.

Richardson’s hiring means that Derek King, who went 27-33-10 as the Hawks’ interim head coach for most of the 2021-22 season after taking over for Jeremy Colliton, won’t remain in that position.

Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson — who is 20 years younger than the coach who will now report to him — had already cleared out the coaching staff beneath the head position. Assistants Marc Crawford and Rob Cookson were fired shortly after the season ended. That’ll allow Richardson to bring in his own staff in the coming months.

“We want coaches that are able to communicate, able to drive a message and create a positive culture and [able to] get players to want to come to the rink and compete every single night,” Davidson said last month.

Before settling on Richardson, the Hawks reportedly also considered Canucks assistant Brad Shaw, Flames assistant Ryan Huska and Penguins assistant Todd Reirden –likely among others — for the job.

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“Life After,” the emotionally intense, sonically intricate new musical from Britta Johnson, opens without much fanfare. There’s just a lone man in a pool of light, leaving a voicemail message for his daughter Alice, asking her to please call back.

In the show’s second number, the teenager learns that shortly after leaving the message, her father died in a car crash.

Every family is messy, but the family in “Life After” is messy in a way that will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has lost a loved one when unfinished business still defined their relationship.

The 90-minute production, running through July 17 at the Goodman Theatre, is only the third major staging of “Life After,” following a 2017 world premiere in Toronto and a U.S. premiere in 2019 at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre.

Johnson began working on “Life After” more than a decade ago, when she was a teenager trying to cope with her father’s untimely death. The completed work is replete with non-hummable melodies, conversational lyrics and emotional depth, evoking the great Stephen Sondheim.

Director Annie Tippe and music director Chris Kong guide a nine-person ensemble and a live, seven-piece orchestra to melodic highs and dissonant lows. Grief and all of its shattering attendants — rage, confusion, denial, heartache — manifest themselves incrementally, snowballing into a force that will crush Frank’s survivors if they can’t make peace with his flaws.

Frank (Paul Alexander Nolan) ignites the emotional firestorm contained in “Life After,” but the story is centered on Alice (Samantha Williams). Alice is rarely without her clutch of Furies (Ashley Perez Flanagan, Lauryn Hobbs, Chelsea Williams), a trio who provide both a Greek chorus and an alternately hilarious/nightmarish manifestation of the clambering, overwhelming thoughts erupting from Alice’s psyche. Predominant among those thoughts is that she is responsible for her father’s death.

Alice isn’t alone in trying to navigate grief so all-consuming it subsumes reason. Her mother Beth (Bryonha Marie Parham) and sister Kate (Skyler Volpe) struggle over their own troubled, truncated relationships with Frank.

An author and a public speaker who seems a cross between Dale Carnegie and Tony Robbins, Frank traveled the world’s auditoriums dispensing advice in his “Transformotion” conferences. His self-help axioms are mostly cliches about standing on the edge of a new day and learning to forgive yourself. But even at their shallowest, Johnson finds shards of truth at the center of each clich? and hones them to piercing effect.

Tippe’s ensemble meshes into a perfectly imperfect nuclear family. When Alice, Kate and Beth are besieged by strangers bearing food, the bereaved can clearly see the condolence casseroles come with a hefty side of prurience and pity.

The plot moves nimbly as Alice tries to piece together the final hour of her father’s death, with her best friend Hannah (Lucy Panush) serving as a sounding board and, when needed, cheery raconteur.

Alice follows clues — scribbles on an old notepad, a flight number, a seemingly offhand comment from debate coach Ms. Tompkins (Jen Sese) — but none offers closure.

Every character has a similarly relatable journey. In the innocuously titled “Wallpaper,” Parham’s Beth delivers an anthem of joy, love, anger and blazing anguish that’s on a par with “Rose’s Turn,” the iconic five-alarm barnburner from “Gypsy.”

As Alice travels the stages of grief, her vocals color the merciless road she’s on, from “Alice Finds Out,” when she learns of her father’s death, to the benediction-like “Poetry,” when she finally comes to terms, as much as she can, with his memory.

Ann Yee’s choreography veers with grace and precision among the show’s many moods. Tap, modern or ballet-influenced, the movement expresses what the characters feel when words fail them. The cast is backed by an orchestra directed by Kong. The sound, whether hushed a cappella vocal or a lush, soaring string crescendo, is rich, clear and balanced.

Playing out on set designer Todd Rosenthal’s rendition of home surrounded by puffy clouds in a robin’s egg blue sky, “Life After” looks as good as it sounds.

Alice ultimately has to confront the brutal truth that sometimes people leave you halfway through the woods.

“Life After,” on the other hand, will stay with you for a long while.

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CHICAGO — Bears linebacker Matt Adams was arrested Thursday night and charged with misdemeanor firearm possession and cited for having a high-capacity magazine and metal-piercing bullets, according to Chicago police.

Adams was arrested at approximately 6:46 p.m. in the 200 block of North Garland Court in Chicago. According to a summary of charges, police searched Adams’ vehicle and found him to be in possession of high-capacity magazines within the city limits of Chicago, which is a municipal code violation. Authorities also said they recovered a weapon.

Adams is in his first season with the Bears after spending the past four with Indianapolis, where he played under Bears coach Matt Eberflus, who was the Colts’ defensive coordinator.

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Linebacker Matt Adams, who followed head coach Matt Eberflus from the Colts to the Bears this offseason, was arrested Thursday night and charged with misdemeanor illegal gun possession and possessing a high-capacity magazine and metal-piercing bullets, according to police.

Possessing a high-capacity magazine and metal-piercing bullets within the Chicago city limits is a municipal code violation. Police found them while searching a vehicle that had been reported stolen. They arrested Adams on Garland Court, which is near Lake St. and Michigan Ave. He has a court date scheduled for Aug. 24.

Police questioned Adams after he was spotted near the vehicle, according to a police report. Adams said it was his car, and police found the gun inside. Adams has a license for the gun — but not in Illinois.

The Bears signed Adams to a one-year contract in April after he spent his first four seasons with the Colts, a time period that coincides with Eberflus’ time as defensive coordinator. He made his mark as a special teams player in Indianapolis, and the Bears envisioned him doing the same in Chicago. His experience in the defense was seen as a plus; many of Eberflus’ defensive deputies followed him to the Bears to run the same scheme.

Adams is the second Bears player to be arrested this offseason. Both have ties to the team’s new bosses. Receiver Byron Pringle was arrested for reckless driving and driving with a suspended license in April. He had previously worked with new general manager Ryan Poles in Kansas City.

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A 17-year-old boy was among three people killed by gun violence in Chicago Thursday, and two 13-year-old boys were among 13 others wounded.

One person was killed and three others wounded in a shooting in Gresham on the South Side. About 9:35 p.m., a man and a woman were standing outside in the 7900 block of South Lafayette Avenue when someone approached and opened fire, police said. The man, 21, was struck in the chest and hand and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said. The woman, 23, suffered a gunshot wound to the arm and was taken to the same hospital in fair condition, police said. A second man, 40, went to Little Company of Mary Hospital with two gunshot wounds to the right arm, officials said. He was also listed in fair condition. Another man, 26, went to the University of Chicago with a gunshot wound to the elbow and was in good condition, police said.A 17-year-old boy was fatally shot early Thursday in Little Village on the West Side. Jose Casarrubias was standing outside in the 2700 block of South Kedvale Avenue about 1:45 a.m. when someone stepped out of a blue SUV and opened fire, striking the boy repeatedly in the body, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.A man was shot to death in Englewood on the South Side about 5:45 p.m. The 23-year-old was sitting in a parked car in the 2000 block of West 65th Street when someone shot him in the chest, police said. He was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said.Hours later, two 13-year-old boys were hurt in shootings, within minutes of each other, on the West and South sides. About 8:20 p.m. a boy was outside in the 1900 block of South Drake Avenue when someone shot him in the leg, police said. The boy ran home and a family member brought him to Mount Sinai, where he was listed in good condition, police said. About five minutes later, another boy was standing outside in the 1800 block of West 46th Street when someone riding in the passenger sit of a gray Chevy Impala opened fire, police said. The boy was struck in the foot and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, police said.A man was shot during an attempted robbery on the Near North Side. The man, 26, was standing outside in the 500 block of North State Street about 3:25 a.m. when he was approached by a male with a gun, police said. The man was shot in the wrist during a struggle after refusing to follow the male’s demands, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and was in good condition, officials said.

At least seven others were wounded in shootings in Chicago Thursday.

A 15-year-old boy was among at least 12 people wounded in shootings in Chicago Wednesday.

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