1951 – Bob McKeiver, Evanston

1952 – Frank Pinn, Mount Carmel

1953 – John Carroll, Fenwick

1954 – Jack Delveaux, Fenger

1955 – John Swain, Vocational

1956 – Ed Ryan, Leo

1957 – Mike Lind, Calumet

1958 – Jack Strobel, Fenwick

1959 – Dick Butkus, Vocational

1960 – Al MacFarlane, Taft

1961 – Jim Grabowski, Taft

1962 – Jim DiLullo, Fenwick

1963 – John Byrne, St. Rita

1964 – Chico Kurzawski, Weber

1965 – LaMarr Thomas, Thornton

1966 – Randy Marks, Loyola

1967 – Tom Spotts, Maine South

1968 – Carlos Matthews, Evanston

1969 – Barry Cernoch, Downers Grove

1970 – Ken Ferguson, Lane Tech

1971 – Bill Marek, St. Rita

1972 – Jeff Stewart, Elk Grove

1973 – Kevin King, St. Laurence

1974 – Frank Shellenback, Barrington

1975 – Mark Carlson, Deerfield

1976 – Rich Weiss, New Trier

1977 – Chris Boskey, St. Francis de Sales

1978 – Marty Finan, Fenwick

1979 – Tim Marshall, Weber

1980 – Mike Tomczak, Thornton F. North

1981 – Tony Furjanic, Mount Carmel

1982 – Eric Kumerow, Oak Park-R. Forest

1983 – Dempsey Norman, Tilden

1984 – Chuck McCree, Romeoville

1985 – John Foley, St. Rita

1986 – Kent Graham, Wheaton North

1987 – Jeff Lesniewicz, Homewood-Flossmoor

1988 – Brian Dunlavy, St. Viator

1989 – Alex Rodriguez, Lane

1990 – Corey Rogers, Leo

1991 – Mike Alstott, Joliet Catholic

1992 – Broc Kreitz, Waubonsie Valley

1993 – Greg Williams, Bolingbrook

1994 – Jason Loerzel, Maine South

1995 – Tim Lavery, Naperville Central

1996 – Mark Floersch, New Trier

1997 – Rocky Harvey, Dunbar

1998 – Philip Macklin, Proviso East

1999 – Ryan Clifford, Naperville Central

2000 – Brett Basanez, St. Viator

2001 – Tim Brasic, Riverside-Brookfield

2002 – Tom Zbikowski, Buffalo Grove

2003 – Sean Price, Maine South

2004 – Chris Jeske, Joliet Catholic

2005 – John Dergo, Morris

2006 – Dan Dierking, Wheaton Warrenville South

2007 – Jordan Tassio, Naperville North

2008 – Charlie Goro, Maine South

2009 – Matt Perez, Maine South

2010 – Reilly O’Toole, Wheaton Warrenville South

2011 – Ty Isaac, Joliet Catholic

2012 – Laquon Treadwell, Crete-Monee

2013 – Justin Jackson, Glenbard North

2014 – Dewayne Collins, Phillips

2015 – Julian Love, Nazareth

2016 – Jake Marwede, Loyola

2017 – Samson Evans, Prairie Ridge

2018 – Payton Thorne, Naperville Central

2019 – AJ Henning, Lincoln-Way East

2020 – Vaughn Pemberton, Loyola

2021 – Jack Lausch, Brother Rice

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Sometime around dawn Tuesday, Sheridan Freeman was inside a home in West Pullman when there was gunfire and the 23-year-old was shot dead, becoming the 800th homicide victim recorded in Chicago this year.

Crossing that deadly mark was common in the 1990s but has been rare since then. Murders have been increasing in the city for two straight years now, and shootings have been rising at an even faster rate, according to Sun-Times data.

Shelton was killed on a block where there had been a shooting just the day before, in a neighborhood that is among the deadliest in Chicago despite being targeted for extra resources by City Hall.

Police have released few details about Freeman’s death. He was shot around 6:30 a.m. inside a small wood frame home in the 12000 block of South Stewart Avenue, less than a mile from where he lived.

Freeman had a 1-year-old son and was a budding videographer who would often film his brother rapping, his mother said.

“He was fun-loving, very smart and talented,” Diane Archer said. “He made videos and wanted to go do film school. But time ran out.”

A day before Freeman was shot, a 29-year-old man was wounded in a drive-by shooting while walking down the same block at 3:15 a.m., police said.

Police reported no arrests in either shooting.

Shootings and murders rose dramatically in Chicago at the start of 2020, rising 50% over the year before. The pace picked up this year.

Chicago logged 784 homicides in 2020 and 552 in 2019, according to medical examiner data. There were 806 homicides in 2016.

At least 4,328 people have been shot in Chicago so far this year, according to police data, compared to 4,013 in 2020 and 2,556 in 2019 during the same periods.

More than 50% of the violence has occurred in 15 of Chicago’s 77 community areas.

Those 15 areas have been targeted with increased violence prevention spending in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s “Our City, Our Safety” plan, introduced in 2019. It funds street outreach, affordable housing, job training, health and wellness, community development.

But since violent crime began rising here and nationally in early 2020, most of the areas targeted with extra spending have seen an increase in shootings and murders.

One of those targeted areas is West Pullman, which has seen one of the steepest increases in violence. Murders have jumped 450% since 2019 in West Pullman, from six murders in 2019 to 34 this year, according to a Sun-Times analysis of city data.

The West Side has some of the deadliest neighborhoods. At least 69 people have been killed in Austin this year, 43 in Lawndale. Humboldt Park, like West Pullman, has recorded 34 murders.

On the South Side, Greater Grand Crossing and Auburn Gresham each have 38 murders; South Shore, 37; Englewood, 32; and Roseland, 26.

Eleven community areas in Chicago have recorded no murders this year, most of them on the North or Far Northwest sides.

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What a mess.

With Jason Peters recovering from a high ankle sprain and rookie Larry Borom on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the Bears face a precarious situation at offensive tackle heading into Monday night’s game against the Vikings — who lead the NFL in sacks with 41.

Even the “next-man-up” approach is shrouded in uncertainty:

Rookie Teven Jenkins, who replaced Peters against the Packers last week, missed the Bears’ walk-through practice Thursday with a non-coronavirus illness.
Germain Ifedi, who started the first five games of the season at right tackle before suffering a knee injury, practiced for the first time in 10 weeks Thursday and could be pressed into service at right tackle.
Swing tackle Elijah Wilkinson, who has played at left and right tackle in a reserve role this season, is on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Lachavious Simmons, the 2020 seventh-round draft pick who is listed as the second-team right tackle on the Bears’ depth chart, has not played since being benched after 22 snaps as an emergency starter for Wilkinson against the Buccaneers.
Alex Bars, a 2020 undrafted free agent, hasn’t played more than a token snap or two since replacing Simmons for the final 44 snaps against the Buccaneers.

With Peters expected to miss the Vikings game — though Nagy said he is hopeful Peters can avoid being put on injured reserve — even the Bears’ best-case scenarios at offensive tackle are shaky: Jenkins, making his first NFL start, at left tackle; and either Borom, an improving rookie, or Ifedi, playing for the first time since Oct. 10, at right tackle.

The Bears might have to get a little inventive offensively against the Vikings. Even with four of their five offensive linemen starting every game — Peters, left guard Cody Whitehair, center Sam Mustipher and right guard James Daniels — the Bears are second in the NFL in sacks allowed. And Daniels missed practice Thursday with a non-coronavirus illness.

Bears coach Matt Nagy said the Bears have nixed the idea of moving Jenkins to right tackle. Jenkins played 49 snaps at left tackle against the Packers and had four penalties — two holding calls and two false starts. He also gave up a strip-sack of quarterback Justin Fields that led to a turnover.

“That’s not an easy deal to walk into,” Nagy said. “I think he’s gonna get better. The plan is to try to keep him at left tackle. It’s not easy to go back and play right tackle, or flip-flop. So we’d love to be able to keep him at left tackle.”

After the rough debut, Jenkins had a valuable ally in Fields, who made a point to console his fellow rookie following the Packers game.

“I reached out to him because I know he was feeling a little bit down,” Fields said. “I think Tev wanted to play better than he did, but of course that being his first game, he’s not going to be perfect. So I just told him everything’s going to be fine. I mean, my first start I had one net passing yard [against the Browns]. So … I just told him to keep his head [up]. … Just keep working and everything was going to get better.”

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Please send scores and corrections to [email protected].

Thursday, December 16, 2021

CENTRAL SUBURBAN – SOUTH

Evanston at New Trier, PPD

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL

University High at Francis Parker, 6:00

METRO PREP

Universal at Lycee Francais, 5:30

PUBLIC LEAGUE RED-SOUTH / CENTRAL

Bogan at Simeon, PPD

Brooks at Hyde Park, 6:30

Corliss at Longwood, 5:00

Morgan Park at Curie, 5:00

Phillips at Kenwood, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE WHITE-CENTRAL

Catalyst-Maria at Richards (Chgo), 5:00

Hubbard at Kennedy, 6:15

Lindblom at Urban Prep-Englewood, 5:00

Solorio at Dunbar, PPD

Tilden at King, 6:15

PUBLIC LEAGUE WHITE-SOUTH

ACE Amandla at Dyett, 5:00

Agricultural Science at Vocational, 1-15 PPD

Carver at Urban Prep-Bronzeville, 5:00

Harlan at South Shore, 5:00

Perspectives-Lead at Fenger, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE WHITE-WEST

Crane at Jones, 6:30

Payton at Collins, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE BLUE-CENTRAL

Back of the Yards at Instituto Health, 5:00

DuSable at ACERO-Soto, 5:00

Englewood STEM at Excel-Englewood, 5:00

Gage Park at Hancock, 5:00

Horizon-Southwest at ACERO-Garcia, 5:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE BLUE-SOUTH

Air Force at Chicago Military, 5:00

Goode at Excel-South Shore, 5:00

Hirsch at EPIC, 5:00

Julian at UC-Woodlawn, PPD

Washington at Bowen, 5:00

UPSTATE EIGHT

Fenton at Bartlett, 7:00

NON CONFERENCE

Alden-Hebron at Hiawatha, 7:00

Beacon at Elgin Academy, 7:00

Belvidere at Harvard, 7:00

Cary-Grove at Lakes, 7:00

Golder at ITW-Speer, 7:30

Horizon-McKinley at Rickover, 6:30

Horizon-Southwest at Rickover, 6:30

Lake Zurich at New Trier, 7:30

Legal Prep at Antioch, 7:00

Northtown at Sullivan, 5:00

Rauner at Islamic Foundation, 5:30

Reavis at Providence, 7:00

Rochelle Zell at North Shore, 7:30

WATSEKA

at Milford

Iroquois West vs. Tri-Point, 4:30

Milford vs. Westville, 5:45

Hoopeston vs. Iroquois West, 7:00

LaSalette vs. Milford, 8:15

at Watseka

Cissna Park vs. McNamara, 4:30

Peotone vs. Illinois Lutheran, 5:45

McNamara vs. Donovan, 7:00

Watseka vs. Peotone, 8:15

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Beset by the coronavirus, the Bears need all the reinforcements they can get this week.

Two of their best defensive players might prove to be exactly that.

Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks is tracking to play for the first time since hurting his ankle Nov. 8. He was listed as a full participant on the Bears’ injury report Thursday — with a caveat. Because the team was forced to hold a walk-through due its dwindling roster size, the Bears merely estimated whether Hicks would have been able to play a full practice.

Hicks was a full participant in Friday’s walk-through, too, and said after it that the plan was to play against the Packers. The Bears ruled him out the next day, though, determining he hadn’t made enough progress in his recovery.

Hicks wanted to face his rivals, but is also motivated to return for another NFC North team.

“A coach told me once that you can’t play well against your division opponents, what good are you to the team?” he said Friday. “And I take that to heart. We’re gonna play you twice a year, you’re going to try to play your best ball.”

Roquan Smith — perhaps the Bears’ best player — was ruled a limited participant Thursday after reinjuring his hamstring four days ago at Lambeau Field.

“He puts up numbers just like the top linebackers that you can name,” fellow inside linebacker Alec Ogletree said Wednesday. “He does a lot of different things that you can’t coach, in a sense.”

More injury updates

Cornerback Xavier Crawford [concussion], receiver Marquise Goodwin [foot] and tackle Jason Peters [high ankle sprain] were held out Thursday. Peters and Crawford left the Packers game with injuries — Crawford was hit by teammate Eddie Jackson — while Goodwin was hurt on Thanksgiving.

Quarterback Andy Dalton still has not practiced since hurting his left hand trying to make a tackle against the Cardinals.

Defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga, one of seven Bears players battling a non-coronavirus illness, has a shoulder problem, too.

Tight end Jimmy Graham was limited with a knee issue.

Two return to practice

The Bears returned tackle Germain Ifedi and cornerback Duke Shelley to practice Wednesday, opening a three-week window for them to play in games.

Shelley went on injured reserve after hurting his hamstring against the Ravens last month, while Ifedi injured his knee against the Raiders in October.

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As if things aren’t going badly enough for the Bears, they’re now preparing to be without all three coordinators and as many as 20 players when they host the Vikings on Monday.

Bears coach Matt Nagy announced Thursday that assistants Bill Lazor (offense), Sean Desai (defense) and Chris Tabor (special teams) have tested positive for coronavirus and will be working remotely until cleared. They must test negative twice, 24 hours apart, to return to in-person coaching.

They’re not allowed to have any interaction with the team during the game if they’re still in quarantine, which means Nagy will need to tab substitutes. When he missed the 49ers game because of the coronavirus, Tabor coached in his place.

The coaching shakeup comes amid similar turmoil on the roster. The Bears put six players on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday, including stars Allen Robinson and Eddie Jackson. The additions pushed them to 12, including two practice-squad players, with all but one going on the list this week.

Furthermore, the Bears have eight players dealing with non-COVID illnesses. The team opted for a walk-through Thursday instead of practice because it was down so many players.

Any vaccinated players on the reserve/COVID-19 list will need to test negative twice in order to play Monday.

Nagy hinted that senior defensive assistant Mike Pettine was the likely choice to serve as defensive coordinator if Desai is out. The Bears hired Pettine this year after three seasons as the Packers’ defensive coordinator. He also spent four seasons in that role for the Jets, one for the Bills and was head coach of the Browns in 2014 and ’15.

Lazor’s replacement is largely unimportant since Nagy will almost certainly reclaim play calling. In that case, Nagy might not even need to name an acting coordinator.

Nagy called offensive plays last season until Week 10 against the Vikings, then reasserted himself as play caller in the offseason. He relinquished that role again after a disastrous offensive performance against the Browns in Week 3.

There has been suspicion lately that Nagy was calling plays again, but reiterated two weeks ago that, “Bill is calling all the plays.”

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So much has been happening these days in the sports arena, and several websites have come up to give the best college football bets. Online casino sites now have sportsbooks where punters can bet on live games, including college games.

Like with regular online betting, players get tips on how to make the most of a gamble, even with sportsbooks. They also need to look out for licensing with these sites to ensure they are legit. A good online casino in US cities will give its players the space to bet on any sport played in the country and even in leagues outside – such as the EPL. Betting tips include stats on players and a team’s history against the team it’s facing and others.

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CHICAGO — Bulls coach Billy Donovan said he was hopeful that the team would be cleared by the NBA to resume activities in the next few days, giving the Bulls some practice time before they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.

The Bulls have not gathered as a team since Monday morning, just before the league postponed their two games this week amid a COVID-19 outbreak that had landed 10 players in health and safety protocols.

The team hasn’t recorded any new cases of COVID-19 on the roster or coaching staff following the NBA’s decision to postpone Tuesday’s home game against the Detroit Pistons and Thursday’s road game against the Toronto Raptors.

3dAdrian Wojnarowski

19hBaxter Holmes

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Chicago’s practice facility has been largely dormant this week except for players shuffling in for daily COVID-19 testing or to complete rehab assignments.

“We haven’t been able to do anything at all,” Donovan said during a Zoom call with reporters on Thursday. “Right when [the games were postponed], the league came out with some protocols that we needed to follow.

“In terms of the activities of being able to come in here, get together as a team, work out as a team, do those kinds of things, we haven’t been able to do anything. … I’m hopeful the league will give us some time here, Friday and Saturday, to get the group back together that would be available to play on Sunday.”

Two players — Coby White and Javonte Green — have cleared protocols and have been in the team facility this week for individual workouts following their isolation period. Both should be eligible for Sunday’s game. DeMar DeRozan, Derrick Jones Jr. and Matt Thomas will have cleared their 10-day isolation period by Sunday, but Donovan said they would be day-to-day before returning to the court.

And Donovan confirmed that the players who tested positive most recently — such as Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Troy Brown Jr. and Alize Johnson — would all be out until after Christmas.

Players who test positive are required to miss at least 10 days unless they return multiple negative tests in a 24-hour window.

“We’ve had a lot of guys quite honestly that you would consider asymptomatic, where they have not really experienced any illness or sickness, but I still think there’s a period where they’ve got to deal with the medical staff and the league in terms of what they can and cannot do,” Donovan said.

The Bulls are hopeful they are on the other side of this team outbreak that depleted their roster since Dec. 1, when White tested positive. The team should have at least 10 players available for Sunday’s game, including White and Green.

Donovan was encouraged that a break in action this week will rest players that were logging a lot of minutes to pick up the slack.

The Bulls were fully vaccinated as a team as of early November. And while some players have received booster shots, Donovan declined to get into specifics as to how many.

The NBA ramped up testing protocols for teams after the Thanksgiving holiday, and the Bulls have been testing daily since their first positive was triggered. However, the team also felt it was being put at a competitive disadvantage with such a large portion of its roster sidelined.

“I think the league is trying to do everything it can possibly do to play games and also keep teams safe and healthy,” Donovan said. “I don’t know what the right number is in order to say this team should play or this team shouldn’t play. Certainly we got hit really hard with this and we lost a lot of players. Other teams have been hit a little bit, but not as much. I’ve always said this, when you lose key players off your team, it definitely impacts you.

“With the surge that’s going on right now, I think the league is probably in the process of figuring out how they’re going to go about testing everybody else in the league. And certainly when you do more testing like that, you’re going to come across more guys that are going to test positive.”

As of Thursday morning, 60 players — including 43 in December — have entered the protocols this season.

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CHICAGO — Bulls coach Billy Donovan said he was hopeful that the team would be cleared by the NBA to resume activities in the next few days, giving the Bulls some practice time before they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.

The Bulls have not gathered as a team since Monday morning, just before the league postponed their two games this week amid a COVID-19 outbreak that had landed 10 players in health and safety protocols.

The team hasn’t recorded any new cases of COVID-19 on the roster or coaching staff following the NBA’s decision to postpone Tuesday’s home game against the Detroit Pistons and Thursday’s road game against the Toronto Raptors.

3dAdrian Wojnarowski

19hBaxter Holmes

1 Related

Chicago’s practice facility has been largely dormant this week except for players shuffling in for daily COVID-19 testing or to complete rehab assignments.

“We haven’t been able to do anything at all,” Donovan said during a Zoom call with reporters on Thursday. “Right when [the games were postponed], the league came out with some protocols that we needed to follow.

“In terms of the activities of being able to come in here, get together as a team, work out as a team, do those kinds of things, we haven’t been able to do anything. … I’m hopeful the league will give us some time here, Friday and Saturday, to get the group back together that would be available to play on Sunday.”

Two players — Coby White and Javonte Green — have cleared protocols and have been in the team facility this week for individual workouts following their isolation period. Both should be eligible for Sunday’s game. DeMar DeRozan, Derrick Jones Jr. and Matt Thomas will have cleared their 10-day isolation period by Sunday, but Donovan said they would be day-to-day before returning to the court.

And Donovan confirmed that the players who tested positive most recently — such as Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Troy Brown Jr. and Alize Johnson — would all be out until after Christmas.

Players who test positive are required to miss at least 10 days unless they return multiple negative tests in a 24-hour window.

“We’ve had a lot of guys quite honestly that you would consider asymptomatic, where they have not really experienced any illness or sickness, but I still think there’s a period where they’ve got to deal with the medical staff and the league in terms of what they can and cannot do,” Donovan said.

The Bulls are hopeful they are on the other side of this team outbreak that depleted their roster since Dec. 1, when White tested positive. The team should have at least 10 players available for Sunday’s game, including White and Green.

Donovan was encouraged that a break in action this week will rest players that were logging a lot of minutes to pick up the slack.

The Bulls were fully vaccinated as a team as of early November. And while some players have received booster shots, Donovan declined to get into specifics as to how many.

The NBA ramped up testing protocols for teams after the Thanksgiving holiday, and the Bulls have been testing daily since their first positive was triggered. However, the team also felt it was being put at a competitive disadvantage with such a large portion of its roster sidelined.

“I think the league is trying to do everything it can possibly do to play games and also keep teams safe and healthy,” Donovan said. “I don’t know what the right number is in order to say this team should play or this team shouldn’t play. Certainly we got hit really hard with this and we lost a lot of players. Other teams have been hit a little bit, but not as much. I’ve always said this, when you lose key players off your team, it definitely impacts you.

“With the surge that’s going on right now, I think the league is probably in the process of figuring out how they’re going to go about testing everybody else in the league. And certainly when you do more testing like that, you’re going to come across more guys that are going to test positive.”

As of Thursday morning, 60 players — including 43 in December — have entered the protocols this season.

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