Chicago Sports

The Fire are members of the Play Proud United initiative that aims to make sure soccer is a comprehensively safe space for LGBTQ+ youths and fans. And they’re not doing it just to check a box for community activism.

“It aligns with our values,” Evan Whitfield, a former Fire player and the team’s vice president of equity, alumni relations, and engagement told the Sun-Times. “We’re for all of Chicago, and that obviously includes the LGBTQ+ community. Doing a collaborative effort across three countries and four leagues very much aligns with our spirit of collaboration in attempting to make everyone feel welcome in our space.”

As Whitfield said, the initiative includes the Fire and Philadelphia Union, the USL’s San Diego Loyal and Oakland Roots SC, Pacific FC of the Canadian Premier League, the NWSL’s Angel City FC and San Diego Wave, and Tigres UANL of Liga MX. In April, the Fire sent a four-person congregation made up of front-office members and representatives of fan and community groups to a 50-hour session in Los Angeles where they were trained with exercises, programs and tools to take home so they can educate others. There will be another 50-hour session this December in Monterrey, Mexico where Tigres is based.

The original Play Proud program was founded in 2018 by Common Goal, which works to push anybody involved in soccer to come together to create equality. Play Proud, launched with United States women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe, has the goal of teaching people involved in sports how to build inclusive spaces.

One additional motivation for the Play Proud United initiative is the 2026 World Cup that will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The coalition of teams want that event to be free of homophobia and welcoming for all.

“It’s important to really over-communicate and over-share the fact that this space is safe for everyone,” Whitfield said, “and that sports are for everyone.”

Unfortunately, the Fire got a reminder of how important programs like this are during their March 5 home opener. Whitfield said he was made aware that some fans were using a homophobic chant that has beset Mexican soccer. And though there have been efforts to rid soccer of the shout that roughly translates to “male prostitute,” the process isn’t complete.

The Fire have a process to stamp out the chant, and when it was heard in March at Soldier Field, Whitfield said the club determined that supporters “self-policed” the incident. He gave them kudos for creating an inclusive community to call out the chant and not allow it to spread.

“The chant is a blight on the global game and it’s obviously one of the reasons Play Proud United was created, to combat that very issue,” Whitfield said.

That chant is one example of how hard it can be to change people’s minds and habits. Whitfield is aware of how challenging that can be.

That doesn’t mean Whitfield and the Fire are shying away from trying and dedicating time and money to the effort.

“Change is the hardest thing that any of us collectively or individually can endeavor to do,” Whitfield said. “It doesn’t mean that we don’t attempt to do it.”

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Well, we made it through the first month of the season. Actually, some of us didn’t make it all the way through. There were too many visits to the injured list. We had wins and wind and losses and rain throughout the month, but that’s April, right? We also had a 21-0 victory by the Cubs, which got me thinking about the 21-0 win the Bears had over the Giants on their way to winning the Super Bowl in 1986. There are many who think the Cubs have as much of a chance of winning the World Series this year as they have of winning the Super Bowl. But let’s enjoy the moments as they come.

Here’s a quiz that’s ideal for the end of the month. Have fun.

1. The Chicago record for wins in the first month of the season is 17. Who holds it?

a. Cubs

b. White Sox

c. They share it

2. Roger Clemens had 57 wins in March/April, the most of any pitcher. Which pitcher, who spent some time pitching in Chicago, had the most March/April wins?

a. Rick Sutcliffe

b. Ferguson Jenkins

c. Tom Seaver

d. Mark Buehrle

3. After 12 MLB seasons, Jake Arrieta is retiring. From 2015 to ’17, it was hard to find a better pitcher than the Cubs’ Arrieta, who led the majors with 54 wins. During that span, Arrieta won the Cy Young Award once and had a 2.71 ERA. The following four -pitchers trailed Arrieta in wins, but did Arrieta have a better ERA than each of them? You have a chance to get four right answers on this question.

a. Max Scherzer (50 wins)

b. Zack Greinke (49 wins)

c. Chris Sale (47 wins)

d. Clayton Kershaw (46 wins)

4. Good for Arrieta for retiring when he did. He was aware enough to know, as he said, “It’s just my time.” This got me thinking about Steve Carlton, the great pitcher, who stayed too long at the fair. At the end of “Lefty’s” 1983 season, he had a record of 300-200 and a 3.01 ERA. When he finally hung up the cleats five years later, he was 329-244 with a 3.22 ERA. Which of the following teams did Carlton toil for in those last five seasons?

a. White Sox

b. Mets

c. Twins

d. Giants

e. Indians

f. All of the above

5. Today is Michael Kopech’s birthday, He was born April 30, 1996, in Longview, Texas. On that date, the Sox lost 5-3 to Cleveland and finished the month with a record of 15-10. The 1996 Sox went 85-77. Who was their manager that season?

a. Ozzie Guillen

b. Jerry Manuel

c. Gene Lamont

d. Terry Bevington

6. You can shop Chicago at the virtual Made in Chicago Market today (there’s more in the paper about this). This got me thinking of second jobs for ballplayers back in the day. They had outside gigs to make some money for the family. Even though it’s April, can you tell me which of the following players sold Christmas trees in a parking lot?

a. Jim Palmer

b. Stan Musial

c. Roy Campanella

d. Richie Hebner

7. By the time April is finished, Seiya Suzuki will have drawn a lot of walks. Who holds the Chicago record for most walks in March/April?

a. Sammy Sosa

b. Jim Thome

c. Frank Thomas

d. Ron Santo

8. On April 23, Miguel Cabrera became the 33rd member of the 3,000-hit club. He also became the second member of the club who picked up his 3,000th hit in the month of April. Who was the first?

a. Alex Rodriguez

b. Cal Ripken Jr.

c. Lou Brock

d. Albert Pujols

9. As I stated, “April showers bring May flowers.” Which of the following are not real major-leaguers?

a. Pussy Willow

b. Pete Rose

c. Tyler Flowers

d. Tulips McGee

ANSWERS

1. The same. The Cubs won 17 games in 2008 and 2016. The Sox won 17 in 2000, 2005, 2006, and 2016.

2. Here are the March/April winners in -order: Ferguson Jenkins (42), Mark -Buehrle (32), Tom Seaver (29) and Rick -Sutcliffe (28).

3. Arrieta had a better ERA than three of these great pitchers. Only Clayton -Kershaw (2.07) was better. The others were Max Scherzer (2.76), Zack Greinke (2.93) and Chris Sale (3.21).

4. Carlton did not play for the Mets, but he also pitched for the Phillies.

5. Terry Bevington took over the managerial reins from Gene Lamont in 1995 and remained through 1997. He finished with a 222-214 record.

6. Stan Musial sold Christmas trees from a parking lot alongside his St. Louis Cardinals teammates Red Schoendienst, Marty Marion and Terry Moore in the late 1940s. Jim Palmer sold suits in a clothing store in Baltimore. Campy owned and operated a liquor store in Harlem. Richie Hebner was a gravedigger.

7. Sammy Sosa had 26 walks. Jim Thome had 25.

8. Cal Ripken Jr. picked up hit No. 3,000, a single, on April 15, 2000, against the Twins. A-Rod hit his (a homer) on June 19, 2015, off Justin Verlander of the Tigers. Lou Brock did it on Aug. 13, 1979, off Dennis Lamp of the Cubs. Albert Pujols got his on May 4, 2018, when he singled against the Mariners.

9. Pussy Tebeau played in 1895, but there was no Pussy Willow. I bet you knew Pete Rose. Tyler Flowers was a White Sox catcher from 2009 to ’14. And while Daisy Davis played in the 1880s, there was no Tulips McGee.

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A 3-year-old girl died in an apartment fire Saturday morning in Brozeville on the South Side.

Fire officials responded to the blaze in the 600 block of East 43rd Street when a “heavy fire” broke out in the rear of the three-story apartment building, spokesperson Larry Langford said, adding that the girl was rescued from the second floor.

She was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital initially in “very critical” condition with smoke inhalation and burns as paramedics performed CPR, but was pronounced dead shortly after, Langford said.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.

This is a developing story, check back for details.

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A 3-year-old girl died in an apartment fire Saturday morning in Brozeville on the South Side.

Fire officials responded to the blaze in the 600 block of East 43rd Street when a “heavy fire” broke out in the rear of the three-story apartment building, spokesperson Larry Langford said, adding that the girl was rescued from the second floor.

She was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital initially in “very critical” condition with smoke inhalation and burns as paramedics performed CPR, but was pronounced dead shortly after, Langford said.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.

This is a developing story, check back for details.

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Four people were in custody after shots were fired at Chicago police officers Friday night in Lawndale on the West Side.

The officers were in the 1300 block of North Kedvale Avenue about 11:50 p.m. when the shots were fired, officials said.

Officers didn’t return fire and no injuries were reported, police said.

A weapon was recovered.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability were investigating.

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The Bears had more needs than valuable picks going into the draft, so it’ll take general manager Ryan Poles at least two classes to get through the necessary roster repairs.

He got started on that list in the second round Friday by taking Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon at No. 39 and Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker at No. 48.

“We can’t fix everything in one year, but we can keep chipping away,” Poles said.

The stakes are low this season, but drafting Gordon could put out a blazing fire in their secondary.

They inexcusably went into last season with just one dependable corner in Jaylon Johnson and the results were predictable: They allowed the NFL’s highest passer rating, third-most completions of 20-plus yards and fourth-most touchdown passes.

Gordon’s potential gives the Bears’ defense a shot at having some dignity after a season in which Johnson led a crew of most practice-squad-level cornerbacks.

If Gordon is as good as advertised, he solves that problem immediately as a starter this season and for the long term.

The Bears ran draft simulations over the last few weeks, and Poles said Gordon popped up as available in some of those trial runs, but he never believed it was a legitimate possibility at No. 39.

“We kinda laughed it off,” he said. “We said, ‘No way.’ So when it actually happened, it was a really cool moment.”

The Bears could be well fortified for years to come with Johnson (23) and Gordon (22), and they have both of them under contract cheaply through 2023.

That part makes sense. The concerns swirled when Poles doubled down on defense with the Brisker pick when several top wide receivers were still available. Maybe he sees Brisker as insurance in case Eddie Jackson can’t play up to his contract.

Nonetheless, it was absolutely imperative that Poles emerge from this draft with significant help for quarterback Justin Fields. It was surprising that he waited until the third round at No. 71 overall to take an offensive weapon in Tennessee wide receiver Velus Jones.

“It has to be in the right spot,” he said. “Sometimes other positions are higher because [the prospects] are really good at their position. It’d be a mistake to ignore someone that good just because of a need [at receiver] right now.”

Even if the Bears are willing to write this off as a transition season, they need to supply Fields with everything he needs to make a significant jump. And right now, Poles’ plans at offensive line and wide receiver require a lot of faith.

The Bears allowed the most sacks in the NFL last season, and their only new starter as of now is free agent center Lucas Patrick. They have question marks at both tackle spots. Sam Mustipher is fifty-fifty to hang on to the starting job at right guard.

At wide receiver, Poles is betting that Darnell Mooney can be a true No. 1 target, ex-Chief Byron Pringle is still an ascending player at 28 and that former sixth-round pick Equanimeous St. Brown was an untapped talent in three seasons with the Packers.

Meanwhile, only seven receivers had been taken when the Bears were up at No. 39. Kentucky wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson and Alabama’s John Metchie III went a handful of picks later, and the Bears still had their choice of Baylor’s Tyquan Thornton, Georgia’s George Pickens, Cincinnati’s Alec Pierce and Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore at No. 48.

The draft is wildly unpredictable — Mooney was the 25th receiver picked in 2020, but is third in his class in catches and fifth in yards — but the odds of finding a dynamic receiver taper each round. Poles valued Brisker’s overall talent more than addressing the more pressing need at receiver, so Jones proving people wrong is pivotal to making this draft a success.

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The White Sox hit the ball hard, but had just three hits to show for it.

And another loss to show on their unraveling 7-12 season ledger, a 5-1 decision to an Angels team that won its sixth straight while handing the Sox their 10th defeat in 11 games.

Seven balls hit 100 miles per hour or more were outs for the Sox. But as they say, that’s baseball. And that’s the way it often goes during slumps like these. There is bad hitting, and there is bad luck. And good teams create their own good fortune.

The Sox are not a good team right now. They are hitting .180/.232/.282 over their last 14 games and scored three runs or fewer in 12 of their last 14 games.

“I don’t believe in luck,” Jose Abreu said through translator Billy Russo. “Luck doesn’t exist. But it seems like the other teams are playing with more players than us, like they have more players on the field than us.”

The Sox also made their major league leading 21st error, on catcher Yasmani Grandal’s throw to second on Shohei Ohtani’s stolen base in the eighth inning that shortstop Tim Anderson didn’t smother. The Sox have made errors in 10 of their last 12 games.

“We battled,” said starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, who gave up homers to leadoff man Taylor Ward and Ohtani in the first inning and finished with three runs allowed over six innings.

The two runs were all the Angels needed, even with fireballing right-hander Noah Syndergaard scratched as their start because of illness. A bullpen game was more than the Sox could handle.

“Our hitters were smoking the ball. Just got the short end of the stick there,” Giolito said. “I’m frustrated with myself for giving up another run in the sixth inning with two outs.

“It sucks, but we’ve just got to keep chugging along. I thought that we swung the bat pretty good, just couldn’t find any gaps.”

In the Sox’ defense, they have been ravaged by injuries, but other teams are banged up, too. To see their best hitter of late, Andrew Vaughn, take a pitch from Mike Mayers off his right hand in the ninth inning sent a shiver through the Sox bench. Vaughn was getting X-rays after the game but there was no word from the team Friday night on the results. He seemed to be OK, though.

After this latest loss, the theme in the players and from Tony La Russa was their luck could have been better, the preparation for this game was good and they at least brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning when Luis Robert batted with the bases loaded.

In the end, however, it was just another loss for a team that, after losing three straight series to division opponents, has three more games in a series with one of baseball’s hottest teams.

“The effort has been there, the guys are grinding,” La Russa said. “But whatever the reason, the quality of at-bats can get better, and they’re working on it. It’s starting to show results. I’ve learned a long time ago, if you try to explain yourself it sounds like an excuse. The less you explain, the less excuses people think you’re making. But our offense is going to be fine. We’re going in the right direction.”

Bench coach Miguel Cairo was ejected in the top of the ninth inning by plate umpire,David Rackley, Cairo’s his second career ejection as a coach.

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The second night of the NFL Draft began on Friday night and it was finally time for the Chicago Bears to make some picks. After not having a first-round pick on Thursday, Chicago selected defensive back Kyler Gordon with the No. 39 overall pick on Thursday.

Gordon spent 4 years at Washington before leaving the program and now finding a new home with the Bears. The goal for Chicago is to pair him with Jaylon Johnson as their starting defensive backs and some even had Gorgon with a first-round grade.

But one stat in-particular should have Bears fans excited about their new rookie as ESPN’s Courtney Cronin tweets:

Some fans might’ve been surprised by this selection, but Gordon’s career at Washington speaks for itself. Not a single touchdown allowed in his entire career is something that fans will like the sound of.

The Bears’ secondary struggled mightily in 2021. Gordon will look to join Johnson as the other Bears’ starting cornerback in 2022. Johnson was a bright spot within Bears’ secondary last season. Fans will definitely be excited over this potential new cornerback pairing.

The Bears used their first two selections on strengthening their secondary. With the 48th overall pick the Bears selected the Safety from Penn State, Jaquan Brisker. Many expected the Bears to spend their first couple picks on a wide receiver and/or offensive lineman.

Now, Bears fans should definitely be expecting an improved secondary in 2022. Between these two picks and the emergence of Johnson, this secondary’s potential is limitless.

The draft is set to resume on Saturday with round three beginning in the morning.

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

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MILWAUKEE — “Nicky Two Strikes”?

Please, that’s so 2021.

It’s “Nicky Barrels” now.

The first nickname was Nick Madrigal’s when he played for the White Sox, hit .317 over parts of two seasons (83 games) and displayed an uncanny knack for putting good wood on the ball when down to his last strike. Behind 0-2, he had pitchers right where he wanted them.

The second nickname might not be on T-shirts and hoodies yet, but it’s what the Cubs are calling him. It has a heck of a ring to it, too. Just imagine if Madrigal actually starts hitting, right? His average with the Cubs — whom he joined in earnest this year after being traded last summer as he recovered from a torn hamstring — lagged at .218 entering the opener of a three-game series against the division-leading Brewers.

Madrigal was out of the lineup for the second straight game Friday, part of the Cubs’ plan to handle the second baseman with care as he tries to get through a full season for the first time. He has started 14 of 20 games, the most recent one a two-hit effort in Atlanta.

He’s itching to put that barrel to work. Does he feel a hot streak coming?

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” he said. “I mean, I feel great. I feel like I’m seeing the ball better and better each week. I’ve hit some balls right at guys, but I feel confident that my swing is where it needs to be. The hits are coming. You just have to stay with it.”

Cubs shortstop Nico Hoerner first got a look at Madrigal in the batter’s box when they were 11 and playing against each other in travel ball in Northern California. The standouts — future 2018 first-round draft picks — played together for Team USA in their mid-teens and later battled often as stars at Stanford and Oregon State, respectively.

At every stage, Hoerner marveled at the pint-sized Madrigal’s ability to go up, down, outside or in and put a difficult pitch in play and often where the defense wasn’t. It was true as they rose to prominence, their high schools a little over 80 miles apart. It’s no less true now that they’re locker neighbors at Wrigley Field and, wouldn’t you know it, here at American Family Field.

“That’s probably the most extreme skill that he has,” Hoerner said. “We all end up swinging at bad pitches here and there, but he has an amazing skill to make the most of it sometimes. I’m excited for what he’s going to do the rest of this year.”

Manager David Ross believes Madrigal’s size — he’s only 5-7 — not only shrinks the strike zone but makes it easier to let high pitches go and makes him quicker to drop the head of the bat on a ball that’s down. A questioner referenced Yogi Berra, who at 5-8 was one of the greatest bad-ball hitters ever. Ross countered with Astros star Jose Altuve, who is only 5-6 and another expert in this area.

Wait, we can’t go mentioning Madrigal in the same paragraph with those guys, can we? It’s not fair at all. But Madrigal “has the timing and the eye-to-hand coordination to be able to take the barrel to the baseball consistently,” Ross said.

Now he just has to start doing it. Madrigal managed to get traded from one team to another — one league to the other — without having to move from his downtown digs, and what a nice feat that was for a 25-year-old who enjoys living in the city even more than he hoped he would. For his next trick, he’ll have to try to replicate that .300-plus South Side average and definitely not languish 100 or so points below it.

“I’m not too worried about it,” he said. “It’s such a long season.”

A nickname rides on it.

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