Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school football rankings for March 28, 2021on March 29, 2021 at 1:31 am

New additions to the Super 25

Barrington (2-0): The Broncos are off to a great start with wins against Palatine and Schaumburg.

Hillcrest (2-0): Mar’Keise Irving is a game-changing running back and the Hawks picked up a nice win against Lemont in Week 2.

Simeon (1-0): The Wolverines knocked off Hubbard and face Perspectives next.

Dropping out

Homewood-Flossmoor (1-1): This is a bit like Bolingbrook last week. Maybe it is too harsh to drop out after losing to Lincoln-Way East, but the Vikings were shut out 31-0. So they bow out for now.

Montini (0-2): It’s been a tough schedule, but 0-2 won’t get it done right now.

Phillips (0-0): This isn’t Phillips fault, but having a team that hasn’t played a game yet in the rankings just didn’t feel right when so many teams have played and won two games.

Week 3’s Super 25

With record and last week’s ranking

1. Loyola (2-0) 1

Thursday at No. 9 Brother Rice

2. Lincoln-Way East (2-0) 3

Friday vs. Lincoln-Way Central

3. Marist (2-0) 7

Saturday at No. 8 Mount Carmel

4. Batavia (2-0) 4

Friday vs. Geneva

5. Glenbard West (2-0) 6

Thursday vs. Downers Grove North

6. St. Rita (1-1) 9

Friday vs. Providence

7. Naperville Central (2-0) 10

Saturday at Naperville North

8. Mount Carmel (1-1) 2

Saturday vs. No. 3 Marist

9. Brother Rice (1-1) 5

Thursday vs. No. 1 Loyola

10. Warren (2-0) 11

Thursday at Waukegan

11. Nazareth (1-0) 12

Thursday at De La Salle

12. Maine South (2-0) 13

Thursday vs. Glenbrook North

13. Prairie Ridge (2-0) 14

Thursday at Crystal Lake Central

14. Hinsdale Central (2-0) 15

Saturday vs. York

15. Wheaton Warrenville South (2-0) 16

Saturday at Wheaton North

16. Joliet Catholic (2-0) 17

Thursday vs. St. Ignatius

17. Oswego (2-0) 20

Friday vs. West Aurora

18. Cary-Grove (1-0) 18

Will not play Week 3

19. Fremd (2-0) 23

Thursday at Palatine

20. Huntley (2-0) 24

Friday at McHenry

21. Barrington (2-0) NR

Thursday at Conant

22. Neuqua Valley (1-0) 21

Will not play Week 3

23. Simeon (1-0) NR

Saturday vs. Perspectives

24. Hillcrest (2-0) NR

Friday at Tinley Park

25. DeKalb (1-0) 25

Saturday at Waubonsie Valley

Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school football rankings for March 28, 2021on March 29, 2021 at 1:31 am Read More »

With Daniel Theis now in the mix, the Bulls need to get defensiveon March 29, 2021 at 1:47 am

Nikola Vucevic only has 11 playoff games on his resume.

What carries weight, however, is that’s about 11 more than most of his new Bulls teammates.

So when the big man stresses the importance of getting the defensive side of the ball organized as quickly as possible, he knows of what he speaks.

The question is how do the Bulls do that with so many new faces and so little practice time to get guys familiar with each other?

The first step started on Sunday with Daniel Theis joining his new team for a practice in San Francisco, after he was acquired from Boston on Thursday, but was delayed for family matters.

“The way I play, I’m physical,” Theis said in his first zoom call with the Bulls media. “That was my role with the Celtics too. Be a defensive anchor. Be vocal. Be loud.

“Put my body in there. Protect the rim. Protect the paint. Just be there for my teammates. Whenever I’m on the court, bring energy and help the team get better.”

Definitely a good starting point, but Theis can’t magically fix the defense all himself.

Those issues on that side of the ball were very present in the loss to San Antonio on Saturday, especially with the starters. Case in point was allowing 33 points in that opening quarter, but even more concerning looking confused on matchups, especially in transition and on pick-and-roll.

Donovan identified a number of those issues.

“The biggest thing we have to address is just our defense,” Donovan said of the new-look roster in its debut. “I didn’t think we had enough presence at the basket for a good portion of the game. I think it started out top. Our ball pressure and our guard pressure in the basketball pick-and-roll has to be much better. I thought the ball went wherever it wanted to go. And then I thought when it came downhill we didn’t have enough presence at the basket to contest and challenge.”

Vucevic agreed with all of that. Familiarity with each other will work some of that out. Understanding the new terminology will also smooth things out.

But at some point there just has to be a will that kicks in, especially against an aggressive team like the Spurs, who just went right at the Bulls’ defense.

“Part of it, for sure, was the terminology, for example, for me is very new,” Vucevic said. “The way certain things are done are new, so I had to get adjusted to that. But I think we weren’t doing a good job getting to the ball and helping and covering for each other and things like that. They were really aggressive coming at us and we just didn’t respond the way we needed to.

“If we play more aggressively there are going to be mistakes, but when you’re playing with more aggressiveness you can cover some of those things up.”

Covering up that better come sooner than later.

If the Bulls thought the Spurs put pressure on their defense with an aggressive mentality, take a look at what’s coming. The Warriors on Monday, then the Suns, Jazz and Nets.

“People tend to talk more about offense, which is very important, especially nowadays in the NBA, but we have to make sure we figure out both at the same time and get that right,” Vucevic said. “There are going to be games where we struggle offensively, and good defense is going to give us a chance. Hopefully once we get to the playoffs defense is very, very important.”

With Daniel Theis now in the mix, the Bulls need to get defensiveon March 29, 2021 at 1:47 am Read More »

Man fatally shot in drive-by in West Pullman: policeon March 29, 2021 at 12:26 am

A 29-year-old man was fatally shot Sunday evening in West Pullman on the Far South Side.

About 6:05 p.m., he was inside a vehicle in the 11900 block of South Prairie Avenue, when a vehicle pulled alongside him and someone inside fired shots, Chicago police said.

He was struck multiple times and brought to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he died, police said.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not yet identified the man.

Chicago police are investigating the shooting.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

Man fatally shot in drive-by in West Pullman: policeon March 29, 2021 at 12:26 am Read More »

Adbert Alzolay on making Cubs’ Opening Day roster: ‘It’s a huge step forward in my career’on March 28, 2021 at 11:29 pm

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Adbert Alzolay was speechless when finding out he made the Cubs’ Opening Day roster. Manager David Ross announced on Saturday that the right-hander had made the team for the first time.

Even with a day to process the good news, it still hasn’t set for Alzolay that when the team heads back to Chicago on Monday, he’ll be joining them.

“When he called me to the office, anytime you go into the office you are kind of in between because, right now, they have really hard decisions to make. But when he called me and told me, ‘Congrats you made the roster.’ It just brought joy to me. I was so happy I couldn’t say anything. The only thing that I could say back to him was that I was so happy to be getting this opportunity.”

Alzolay will begin the season as the Cubs’ fifth starter and he’ll likely see time in both the starting rotation and the bullpen as the team closely monitors his innings.

“I’m getting what I have worked for,” Alzolay said. “For me, it’s a huge step forward in my career. I feel that all the work that I’ve been putting in with all these guys here are at the complex this past offseason and these years, I feel like that is paying off. Like I said before, that was my main goal [to make the Opening Day roster]. I wasn’t paying attention to everything that was talking around me. I didn’t put any of those thoughts in my mind.”

Alzolay’s earned rave reviews this spring around the organization for his preparation and dedication to making himself the best pitcher he can be. Nobody has been a bigger advocate for Alzolay than veteran Jake Arrieta, who was as thrilled as anyone his mentee had cracked the rotation.

“It’s a tremendous honor to make an Opening Day roster and for Alzolay to be in a rotation, very happy for him,” Arrieta said. “I look forward to continuing to work with him and watch him grow. He’s nowhere near where he’s gonna be and that’s a good thing.

“He’s in a great place, he’s only going to get better. He’s a tremendous student of the game. He prepares himself extremely well and there’s still room to grow.”

Cubs sign Maybin to minor-league deal

The Cubs signed outfielder Cameron Maybin to a minor-league deal on Sunday. Maybin, 33, will report to the Cubs’ alternate site in South Bend to begin the season.

There wasn’t a spot for Maybin on the team’s Opening Day roster after the team’s final roster decisions and he was granted his release on Saturday. But the organization holds Maybin in high regard for both his professionalism and influence in the team’s clubhouse.

“When you get to have guys like that around your group and on your team, it’s a positive,” Ross said. “When I got the news this morning about that, I was super excited. Happy to have him around. He likes being around. He’s a breath of fresh air every time you see him. He’s a quality human being, great baseball player. He’s done a lot in this game seeing winning, seeing losing. He knows how to talk to young guys. He relates to a lot of different things. He’s played a lot of different roles. I couldn’t be happier.”

Adbert Alzolay on making Cubs’ Opening Day roster: ‘It’s a huge step forward in my career’on March 28, 2021 at 11:29 pm Read More »

‘Next man up’ is White Sox motto heading into 2021 seasonon March 28, 2021 at 10:04 pm

GLENDALE, Ariz. — There is no getting around the magnitude of the loss of Eloy Jimenez.

Publicly, teammates, coaches and front office voices are saying what they would be expected to say, that the White Sox are deep enough offensively even without Jimenez and coupled with a good-looking pitching staff to forge ahead and still be a postseason team as they have expected to be.

“Next man up,” as Opening Day starter Lucas Giolito said.

Privately, they must be thinking that losing a Silver Slugger poised to ascend into All-Star company, a middle of the order masher who hits for average and to all fields and over walls from pole to pole is a crushing blow. Jimenez was not forgotten Sunday, his red batting glove hanging out of MVP Jose Abreu’s back pocket.

He won’t be forgotten all season long.

With Jimenez, many viewed the Sox as the team to beat in the AL Central, and many saw them as the best team in the American League. Without him, Billy Hamilton might be getting more reps in left field than anyone imagined a month ago.

“That’s a big blow. No way around that,” Giolito said. “I think we have that mentality. Injuries are going to happen. Things out of our control are going to happen.

“It’s like, what do we do now? Next man up, we have that culture in our clubhouse where we are going to support each other. We are all going to fight and do everything we can. It really sucks to lose Eloy for these next X amount of months, we have guys for that role and it’s just more motivation.”

Andrew Vaughn, a first baseman by trade, played left field for the second time in three days Sunday, an indication the Sox are seriously considering using him there quite a bit. La Russa didn’t rule out the possibility and for the second time, Vaughn wasn’t a hazard out there, catching a routine fly and getting the ball into second on a double.

Reliance on a pitching staff featuring four who finished in the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting last season. A rotation of Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Lance Lynn, Dylan Cease and Carlos Rodon (which has featured a combined 2.24 ERA this spring) and a bullpen touted as one of the best in baseball looks very good at the surface. With Jose Ruiz or recent waiver claim Nik Turley as the top 13^th arm candidates on the staff and largely untested prospects Jimmy Lambert and Jonathan Stiever first in line for next man up, the Sox’ depth will be tested.

With Adam Engel, who is working his way back from a hamstring strain, in left field – or Leury Garcia, who like Engel has played a lot in center — the Sox can be stronger defensively if La Russa chooses them to be.

“The only place you can look at is left field,” La Russa said. “Center field, right field, all four infield spots, catcher [are good]. … Whether it’s Andrew or who plays left field, they’ll hold their own. So I think it’s a contender kind of defense. Talk is cheap, but that’s what I think.”

After six weeks of spring training, in which the Sox lost reliever Jimmy Cordero to Tommy John surgery, Engel for the first couple of weeks and Jimenez, the Sox open the season with four games in Anaheim starting Thursday.

“The definition of how ready we are comes Thursday night when the other side is trying to beat you,” La Russa said. “I would not change anything about effort level of the club, the attention to the practices and nobody is been half-stepping it. No excuses.

“The weather has cooperated. We generated a lot of playing time. Lately we’ve been more competitive so that’s more fun. But there’s a lot of talent and in this game, you have to execute plays, pitches, at-bats, and I think we are a team that’s learning. But we are fast learners.”

‘Next man up’ is White Sox motto heading into 2021 seasonon March 28, 2021 at 10:04 pm Read More »

Man dead, firefighter hurt in East Garfield Park fireon March 28, 2021 at 10:24 pm

A man died and a firefighter was hurt in a fire Sunday morning in East Garfield Park on the West Side.

Authorities responded to a residence with its exterior on fire about 9:30 a.m. in the 2600 block of West Monroe Street, and found a 53-year-old male unresponsive inside, Chicago police and fire officials said.

The man was brought to Stroger Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, police said. A firefighter was taken to the same hospital as a precaution after suffering shortness of breath.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office hasn’t released details on the fatality.

Officials were investigating the cause of the fire.

Man dead, firefighter hurt in East Garfield Park fireon March 28, 2021 at 10:24 pm Read More »

Indiana will hire Mike Woodson as next basketball coachon March 28, 2021 at 8:37 pm

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana will hire former star player Mike Woodson as its new coach, a person with knowledge of the decision confirmed to The Associated Press on Sunday.

The person requested anonymity because no official announcement had been made.

Woodson has spent 22 of the past 23 seasons coaching in the NBA. He was head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-10 and the New York Knicks from 2012-14. He went 315-365 in those nine seasons.

And though he’s never coached at the college level, he has two attributes Hoosiers fans have craved for decades — a connection to three-time national championship coach Bob Knight and a name Indiana fans revere. He also brings something else athletic director Scott Dolson said he wanted — familiarity with an NBA-style game that would appeal to today’s high school and college players.

Woodson didn’t play on any of Knight’s title teams but he did graduate as the school’s second-leading scorer and the second player in school history to top 2,000 points. He still ranks fifth with 2,061.

He replaces Archie Miller, who was fired March 15.

Indiana had been considered a potentially prime destination if Loyola coach Porter Moser considers leaving Loyola after leading the Ramblers on another NCAA Tournament run. This move effectively tables that possibility for now.

Woodson will be the sixth Hoosiers coach since Knight was fired in September 2000.

Indiana will hire Mike Woodson as next basketball coachon March 28, 2021 at 8:37 pm Read More »

24 shot, 1 fatally, in Chicago so far this weekendon March 28, 2021 at 7:02 pm

At least 24 people have been wounded in shootings across Chicago so far this weekend, including a 36-year-old man who was fatally shot Saturday on the South Side.

About 11:40 p.m., he was sitting in a parked vehicle in the 700 block of East 103rd Street when three male suspects approached him and one of the males fired shots, Chicago police said.

The man suffered gunshot wounds in the chest, arm and buttocks, police said. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office hasn’t released details on his death.

In nonfatal shootings, a 48-year-old man was shot in an attempted robbery early Sunday in Roseland on the Far South Side.

He was standing outside about 12:40 a.m. in the 10500 block of South Michigan Avenue when a person approached him and demanded his money, police said. The man refused and reached for the armed suspect’s handgun, according to police.

The gunman fired a shot and struck the man in the knee before fleeing the scene, police said. The man self-transported to Roseland Hospital in good condition.

A 31-year-old man was shot while riding in a funeral procession Saturday in Gresham on the South Side.

He was riding in a vehicle about 6:50 p.m. when someone fired shots as the procession passed through the 7600 block of South Ashland Avenue, police said. He was struck in the abdomen and arm, and rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.

A teenage bystander was wounded in a shooting Saturday afternoon East Garfield Park on the West Side.

The 17-year-old boy was walking about 4:30 p.m. in the 3300 block of West Ohio Street when someone in a vehicle drove by and fired shots at a nearby group of people, police said. Someone in the group returned fire, and the boy was caught in the crossfire, taking a bullet to the chest.

He was brought to Mt. Sinai Hospital in good condition, police said.

Hours earlier, four people were wounded, two critically, in Austin on the West Side.

The group was standing outside about 12:10 p.m. when someone fired shots at them in the 500 block of North Leamington Avenue, police said.

One man, 64, was struck in the leg, and another, 54, was struck in the thigh, police said. Both were taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition. A third man, 42, was grazed on the back and treated at the scene.

A fourth victim later showed up at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood with a gunshot wound to the shoulder, and was listed in good condition, police said.

Early Saturday morning, a man was critically wounded in a shooting in the South Shore neighborhood.

The 21-year-old was standing outside about 1:45 a.m. in the 7000 block of South Jeffery Boulevard when he heard shots and felt pain, police said. He suffered one gunshot wound to the groin and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition.

In the weekend’s earliest reported shooting, a man was shot Friday evening in East Garfield Park on the West Side.

The man, 22, heard shots and felt pain about 6:55 p.m. in the 3300 block of West Ohio Street, Chicago police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital with a gunshot wound to his buttocks and was listed in fair condition.

At least 14 other people have been wounded in citywide shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

Twenty people were shot, four fatally, last weekend in Chicago.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

24 shot, 1 fatally, in Chicago so far this weekendon March 28, 2021 at 7:02 pm Read More »