Every year, one thing remains the same: the ChicagoBears and their quarterback polarizing quarterback situation. For the past couple of seasons, it had been the argument of whether or not Mitchell Trubisky was cut out to be the franchise guy. That ship ultimately sailed, and it started to take off the moment the Bears […]
The new lineup change (part two) certainly benefitted the Bulls once again. This time, however, the Bulls used their star power to take down the Thunder instead of having nine players score in double-figures as they did versus the Toronto Raptors last game.
Zach Lavine and Lauri Markkanen are getting better with the new Chicago Bulls starters.
Starters Recap
Zach LaVine put up 40 points, four rebounds, and two assists in just three quarters and 31 minutes of play on Tuesday night. He shot an incredible 15/20 from the field and 7/12 from three-point land. After having a quiet 15-point game last time versus the Raptors, LaVine took over this one. He outscored the Thunder 20-16 himself in the third quarter.
Lauri Markkanen, the sidekick to LaVine, showed out with a 22 point, five rebounds, and a one assist game. He shot a much improved 50 percent from the field and 33 percent from distance (shot 25 percent from the field and 22 percent from distance last game). Markkanen showed great offensive ability in the paint and excellent defense, sporting a +25 plus/minus in the game.
The two new starters, Tomas Satoransky and Thaddeus Young reaped the benefits of having their names called to start the game. Sato put up 13 points, two rebounds, and seven assists. Young scored 17 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, flirting with another triple-double, as he has done multiple times this season.
Patrick Williams, the rookie, remained quiet on Tuesday night after putting up a career-high 23 points on Sunday night against the Raptors. He shot a difficult 1/9 from the field for two points and three rebounds.
An official stands in front of a massage parlor after a shooting, late Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Atlanta. | AP
Authorities say shootings at three Atlanta-area massage parlors have left several people dead, many of them women of Asian descent.
ATLANTA — Shootings at two massage parlors in Atlanta and one in the suburbs left eight people dead, many of them women of Asian descent, authorities said Tuesday. A 21-year-old man was taken into custody in southwest Georgia hours later after a manhunt.
Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said three people were killed at a spa in northeast Atlanta, while a fourth person was killed at another spa across the street. He said all four victims were female, and “It appears that they may be Asian.”
Atlanta police officers responding to a call of a robbery in progress at one spa around 5:50 p.m. found three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds, police said. While they were at that scene, they learned of a call reporting shots fired at another spa across the street and found a woman who appeared to have been shot dead inside the business.
Earlier, around 5 p.m., five people were shot at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Atlanta, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said. Two of the victims were dead and three were transported to a hospital where two of them also died, Baker said.
Authorities were not immediately releasing the gender or race of the victims, Baker said.
A man suspected in the Acworth shooting was captured by surveillance video pulling up to the business around 4:50 p.m. Tuesday, minutes before the shooting, authorities said. Baker said the suspect, Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, was taken into custody in Crisp County, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Atlanta.
Baker said they believe Long is also the suspect in the Atlanta shootings.
With two shootings at massage parlors in Atlanta and the knowledge of the Acworth shooting, Atlanta police said they dispatched officers to check nearby similar businesses and increased patrols in the area.
Two men are charged in connection with a carjacking and attempted carjacking from March 14, 2021, in Lawndale. | Adobe Stock Photo
Dakari Davis and Ladon Braxton allegedly opened fire on a 45-year-old man about 9:09 p.m. in the 3800 block of West 13th Street and then unsuccessfully tried to take his car, police said.
Two 20-year-old men are accused of firing shots at a man before trying to take his vehicle Sunday in Lawndale and then carjacking a woman who stopped to observe the incident.
Dakari Davis and Ladon Braxton are each charged with attempted murder, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, attempted vehicular hijacking and aggravated possession of a stolen vehicle, Chicago police said. All charges are felonies.
Davis and Braxton allegedly opened fire on a 45-year-old man about 9:09 p.m. in the 3800 block of West 13th Street and then unsuccessfully tried to take his car, police said.
The duo then allegedly carjacked a 23-year-old woman who had stopped nearby to observe the attempted carjacking, police said.
Both were arrested after a brief foot chase blocks away minutes later, police said.
Davis and Braxton were expected to appear in court Wednesday.
Erik Brztowski said the walleye are pulling up on the Wisconsin River. | Provided
Lakefront coho, return of river fishing, fading ice and the opening of Illinois’ early catch-and-release trout season on Saturday leads this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.
Of course, the good weather last week helped spark a lot of fishing and for this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report leading the way are lakefront coho, return of river fishing, fading ice and the opening of Illinois’ early catch-and-release trout season on Saturday.
One sign of spring is walleye pulling up in rivers, such as Erik Brztowski showed on the Wisconsin River.
ILLINOIS SPRING TROUT SEASON
Opening day is April 3, except at the five Forest Preserves of Cook County sites, which open April 7.
Click here for general information on Illinois’ spring trout season. Click here for details on the delayed start of FPCC.
ILLINOIS’ EARLY CATCH-AND-RELEASE SPRING TROUT SEASON
Early catch-and-release season opens Saturday, March 20. You need a trout stamp and fish must be released. Nearby sites are Rock Creek at Kankakee River State Park, Pine Creek at White Pines Forest SP, and Apple River at Apple River Canyon SP.
Click here for general information on Illinois’ spring trout season.
LAKEFRONT PARKING
Chicago Park District’s parking passes for the fisherman’s parking lots at DuSable and Burnham harbors are on sale at Henry’s Sports and Bait in Bridgeport and Park Bait at Montrose Harbor.
Readers suggest SpotHero app downtown. Otherwise, here are some basics: Foster (free street parking or pay lot); Montrose (free street parking); Belmont (pay lots on north and south sides); Diversey (pay lot or street parking); DuSable Harbor (pay lot or fisherman’s lot); Northerly Island/Burnham Harbor (meters, pay lot or fisherman’s lot); 31st/Burnham (meter parking between McCormick Place and 31st Street Harbor); Oakwood/39th (meters); 63rd Street/Casino Pier (pay lot); Steelworkers Park (free street parking at east end of 87th); Cal Park (free parking).
AREA LAKES
Most area lakes and ponds are open or still opening up.
ProvidedKen “Husker” O’Malley with an early largemouth bass.
Ken “Husker” O’Malley emailed the photos above and below and this:
Hey Dale,
Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing.
Area lakes-open water is here. Most lakes opened up towards the end of last week out south. Nature is coming to life as frogs, turtles, and muskrats were enjoying the warm weather. Even flocks of Sandhills were seen flying back.
Bass have been decent on lipless crankbaits during mid afternoon hours on sunny days. Fish the north shorelines as they will warm faster.
Bluegill are good on leftover waxworms fished under a float using ice jigs. They are active on sunny days in shallow bays with wood.
Here is the nature pic of the week [below]. Enjoying the warm sun after a long winters nap.
TTYL
—
Ken “Husker” O’Malley
Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team
ProvidedKen “Husker” O’Malley’s nature shot of the week.
BRAIDWOOD LAKE
Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset.
CHAIN O’LAKES AREA
Art Frisell at Triangle Sports and Marine in Antioch said ice if gone; crappie are going area-wide with ice-out; walleye are fair on large fatheads or roaches on slip-bobber rig (some perch mixed with the walleye).
DOWNSTATE
POWERTON: Shore and boat fishing is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Dicky’s Bait Shop in Montgomery reported water level is up and dirty, and current is strong; good walleye below the Montgomery dam on Monday; catfish are a little slow, but some good ones on cut-up muskie suckers in North Aurora; a few nice smallmouth, especially downstream.
FOX RIVER, WISCONSIN
Guide Mike Norris emailed:
Fishing Report 3/15/2021
Mike Norris
. . .
Wisconsin Dells – Numbers of walleyes are being caught on the Wisconsin River by boaters drifting downstream from the Wisconsin Dells dam along current seams with a split shot and minnow. The walleyes tend to run on the small size though.
Pettenwell Flowage – This 23,000-acre opening in the Wisconsin River is a favorite for early-season walleye anglers. Try fishing within the first three miles beneath the Nekoosa Dam where walleyes congregate to spawn early each spring. Cast jig and minnow combinations to eddies formed by bridge pilings and downed timber.
. . .
GREEN LAKE AREA, WISCONSIN
Guide Mike Norris emailed:
Fishing Report 3/15/2021
Mike Norris
Ice is all but gone here in south-central Wisconsin and anglers are turning their attention to the Fox, Wolf, or Wisconsin River for early season open water walleye fishing from boats.
The Masters Walleye Circuit tournament is Friday and Saturday out of Spring Valley Boat Club.
KANKAKEE RIVER
ProvidedVictor Blackful with a Kankakee River largemouth bass.
Victor Blackful emailed the photo above and this on Wednesday:
Just when I thought I could not have a better day or dinner than yesterday…..SUPRISE…..I hit the kankakee backwaters in the des plains wildlife area down from I 55 and wow. Largemouth bass were jumping out the river and when they slowed down the 12 inch slab crappie came in.
23 Bass Average 10 inch Largest 19
11 Crappie 7 of those were 11 to 12
Well time to break out my cajun spice.
Shelbyville this weekend.
ProvidedVictor Blackful with a Kankakee River crappie.
ProvidedCharlie Mack with a Kankakee River smallmouth bass.
Larry Green tweeted the photos above and below and this:
We should had called you but the terrain was terrible and I was wobbly but the fish were happy
An inside joke, Green took me one year about this time for smallmouth at his early spot.
ProvidedLarry Green with a Kankakee River smallmouth bass.
Victor Blackful emailed the photo above and this last week:
Good Evening Dale
Well got out to 87th mid morning and action was slow but then came 2pm and it was time for action. Plenty of 10 and 11 inche perch and I saw at least 2 perch that were 13 to 14. Action lasted for about a 90 minutes then the fish got small. I also caught a white bass that was a surprise but over all it was a great day. The fishermen were great and so was dinner.
ProvidedWayne Hankins with an early lakefront brown trout.
Wayne Hankins (Salmon Nightmares) on Instagram had the photo above and this:
Great coho fishing Friday and Saturday. Crappie at tampier.
Stacey Greene at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor texted:
Hi Dale,For the most part there’s been some Coho and some brown trout around seems like the afternoon bite around this area was better for the coho the past week then the morning bite.After the windy weather yesterday the lake got pretty churned up and from the reports I had this morning from a couple guys the Coho were biting pretty well.Was quite a few Northerns caught one day last week 4 that I know of.Have reports from the south side that the perch are on fire! Nobody’s trying perch up this way that I know of.
Power line fishing on the pier has been good guys are getting browns and boat fishing also has been okay got one report and the fish are getting ready to go in my smoker
LaSALLE LAKE
Reopened Monday, March 15, under tough weather conditions. Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset.
With mild daytime temps and no precipitation for several days, fishing should be very comfortable. A few vehicles still being spotted on the lakes but not recommended. Almost all anglers using foot travel to stay safe. Best to wear your cleats.
Bluegills: Very Good – Reports of anglers getting nice sized Gills in 6-10’ weeds (a few 10” ers), but some still in 15-16’. Best using small jigs tipped with spikes or waxies. Beaver tail and red, blue and darker plastics also effective.
Crappies: Good – Good action with tip downs in 16-20’ weeds using Crappie minnows and medium fatheads. Some people using tungsten jigs tipped with glow plastics having success too. A few finding them mixed with Gills in 6-10’ range with small jig tipped with beaver tail or grubs. With water running through the holes, there have also been some reports of suspended fish right under the ice.
Yellow Perch: Very Good – Large numbers being caught in 20’ or so mud flats using tip downs with Crappie minnows or heavy jigs that get down quicker (Halis Pimples & Tungsten jigs). Wigglers always the go to when available though.
With good ice yet between 18-30” we should still have at least a solid couple of weeks before its over. Also anglers having very good success in Tomahawk below the dams with big Walleye numbers using large fatheads, medium shiners and suckers.
Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop Like us on FaceBook
NORTHWEST INDIANA
Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station texted:
Some decent gill and crappie action already at Willow slough
Coho action hit or miss for shore fisherman and boat fisherman doing a little better must put some time in to go home with some fish
With the warm up coming at the end of the week look for crappie to really pick up at the crappie spots
Slezs bait is already on the 3rd load of musky suckers some good musky already been had in musky county
ROOT RIVER, WISCONSIN
Click here for the Wisconsin DNR’s report, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday.
SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said coho are being caught the Cook Plant, water plant, in front of the harbor and slightly north in 8-20 feet; some whitefish being caught off the pier; lot of steelhead running up the river not many biting. Paddle and Pole hosts the Berrien Springs Fish Ladder Camera.
SHABBONA LAKE
March site hours are 8 a.m. to p.m.
SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT
ProvidedTony Hammond with a brown trout from Milwaukee.
Tony Hammond messaged the photo above and this from Milwaukee:
Browns are goin good up north in Wisconsin
BTW, I love the kayakers doing it.
Click here for the southern Lake Michigan reports from the Wisconsin DNR.
WISCONSIN RIVER
Erik Brztowski messaged the photo at the top and this:
Walleyes are starting to heat up on the mighty Wisconsin river, water is getting higher and warm weather with that has the bigger fish coming up to spawn. Water is still 38-39 degrees. So plenty of time left to get out and enjoy the run.
Guide Mike Norris emailed:
Fishing Report 3/15/2021
Mike Norris
. . .
Wisconsin Dells – Numbers of walleyes are being caught on the Wisconsin River by boaters drifting downstream from the Wisconsin Dells dam along current seams with a split shot and minnow. The walleyes tend to run on the small size though.
Pettenwell Flowage – This 23,000-acre opening in the Wisconsin River is a favorite for early-season walleye anglers. Try fishing within the first three miles beneath the Nekoosa Dam where walleyes congregate to spawn early each spring. Cast jig and minnow combinations to eddies formed by bridge pilings and downed timber.
. . .
WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN
Guide Bill Stoeger in Fremont texted:
Water temp is 34.9 this morning, been fishing 1 1/2 hrs , have 6 walleye in the boat. Fishing has been good up and down the river. Rigs and jigs working
The Bulls have played down to short-handed competition before, specifically the first two games out of the All-Star Break. With a new-look starting group, however, LaVine & Co. made sure that wasn’t going to happen.
Every game doesn’t need to be close.
After all, with 34 regular-season games still left to play, fingernails grow back only so quickly.
That’s why on a night that the Oklahoma City Thunder limped into the United Center severely short-handed, it was about time the home team treated a visitor rudely.
Thanks to Zach LaVine registering his third 40-plus point game of the season, as well as the new-look starting lineup putting the Thunder in a huge first-quarter hole, the Bulls (18-20) won their second straight game, beating coach Billy Donovan’s former team 123-102.
“The guy was unbelievable,’’ Donovan said of LaVine. “He scored 40 points in [31] minutes. … And listen, I don’t want to get into the short-handed stuff because we’ve got to play to a certain standard because you know what? We’re no different than any other team. We’ve been short-handed too. … Everybody is dealing with this, so for me it’s not necessarily who’s playing for a team or not playing, it’s how we’re playing.’’
How they played was making sure the ball moved offensively, but also LaVine and Lauri Markkanen got into a flow early.
“You want to get your two best scorers going and we did that,’’ guard Tomas Satoransky said. “It opens up everything. We were all running really well right from the beginning, and when that happens guys have good games.’’
That they did.
In a nice mix of going with a familiar formula of allowing LaVine to play aggressively but efficiently (15-for-20 from the field), as well as the new look first team that had Thaddeus Young and Satoransky in for Wendell Carter Jr. and Coby White, the Bulls appeared to be poised to end the rematch with the Thunder (17-23) quickly.
Not only was LaVine on fire in that opening stanza, but the entire starting unit was in sync. Just another reminder why Donovan made the change after the loss to Miami, looking to get his team off to quicker starts.
Satoransky and Young made sure to help that process along, as the two combined for nine of the 12 first-quarter assists, getting the Bulls out in front 42-28 after one.
While Donovan didn’t enjoy the bench unit spitting that lead back up in the second, the defense made sure that the Thunder would be put back in a corner for the second half, holding Oklahoma City to just 16 third-quarter points.
The big change? Carter was inserted back into the starting lineup to help combat the size of Moses Brown, and more than did his job.
“Moses Brown had I think six offensive rebounds in the first half,’’ Donovan said. “I wanted to start the same way [in the third] with the same group, but I think just putting Wendell out there against him was a bigger body.’’
If there was a cloud in the win, and a small cloud it was, rookie Patrick Williams scored a career-high 23 on Sunday against the Raptors, and it would have been nice to see the 19-year-old follow that performance up. Instead he scored just two points on 1-for-9 shooting, grabbing only three rebounds.
A collision with the rookie wall?
Tough to say, especially with the entire league in uncharted territory by playing so many games in this second half, let alone this rookie class dealing with it.
“The thing you always worry about with young players is the mental fatigue,’’ Donovan said. “Certainly that’s going to be the biggest challenge in my opinion, just with the loaded-up schedule on the back end. He hasn’t experienced anything like this at all in his life.’’
The Dingers crew interview Max Bain, Cubs pitching prospect, about his path through the Cubs farm system and more. Plus, the guys take questions from the Dingers fans.
The Bears signed Andy Dalton to a one-year deal Tuesday. | Emilee Chinn, AP Photos
The Bears wanted Russell Wilson. They’ll have to settle for Andy Dalton.
The Bears wanted Russell Wilson.
They’ll have to settle for Andy Dalton.
The question Bears general manager Ryan Pace must answer now is, “and who else?” After an offseason in which he claimed he’d exhaust every possibility to fix the most important position in sports, Dalton can’t be considered the final answer. Not in a season with Pace and coach Matt Nagy’s job on the line.
Even in the feel-good world of free agency, the most charitable thing that can be said about the Bears agreeing to sign Dalton on Tuesday is this: the contract is for one year. Adding Dalton doesn’t preclude the Bears from their next far-fetched trade idea for a disgruntled star, as unlikely as it to come to fruition, or from drafting a quarterback next month.
Without doing either, though, the Bears are precisely where they were at the start of the legal tampering period: in quarterback hell, with Nick Foles and Dalton — two passers who probably wouldn’t be a Week 1 starter anywhere else — fighting for the first snap of the season. Dalton has the edge; that the Bears felt the need to sign him is as damning of Foles as it is of Pace.
Paying Dalton $10 million makes trading for the Seahawks’ Wilson or the Texans’ Deshaun Watson only slightly more unlikely now than it was 24 hours ago — but that speaks more to the long odds of each endeavor.
The Bears let the world, and the Seahawks, know that they wanted Wilson, the Super Bowl champion, reigning Walter Payton Man of the Year and a likely Hall of Famer. Wilson sparked their trade pursuit — which ESPN called “very aggressive” — when he put them on a list of four teams to which he’d approve the trade.
Pace couldn’t offer enough to compel the Seahawks to start over. They weren’t prepared to swallow $39 million in dead money by moving him before June 1 — almost a quarter of their entire salary cap — for the privilege of trading the greatest player in franchise history. That stance doesn’t figure to change before the draft, unless Wilson’s public frustration with the franchise ratchets up to a degree never seen before in his career.
If the Bears didn’t have the firepower to make the Seahawks contemplate a trade, they certainly won’t be able to outbid more than half the league for Watson if the Texans make their frustrated star available before the draft.
More realistically, the next quarterback to join the Bears’ roster will come from college — though the Bears will likely have to trade up from No. 20 to land one of the five projected first-round passers late next month.
The Jaguars are certain to take Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence first overall. It’s unlikely the Bears can move into the top five, where BYU’s Zach Wilson and Ohio State’s Justin Fields are expected to be picked. Pace and Nagy attended North Dakota quarterback Trey Lance’s pro day last month; Alabama quarterback Mac Jones will throw next week.
The Bears could draft one and sell them as the future of the franchise.
If not, they’ll be back in the same spot next year — in quarterback hell, and, possibly, with different decision-makers at the helm.
Andy Dalton #14 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts in the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium on December 27, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. | Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Our Bears beat writers discuss the team’s signing of Dalton to a one-year deal.
Patrick Finley and Jason Lieser are underwhelmed by the Bears’ signing of Andy Dalton to a one-year deal Tuesday.
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