What’s New

The Sun-Times is counting down the 50 high school basketball programs with the most wins during the decade.

When high school basketball fans think back to the 1980s, programs like Quincy, Providence St. Mel, East St. Louis Lincoln and the arrival of city powers King and Simeon are easy to think back on.

The 1990s brought us memorable basketball giants in Peoria Manual and Thornton, a few steamrolling Proviso East teams and the continued dominance of King.

The first 10 years of the 2000s included Glenbrook North, Peoria High and the beginning of a Simeon juggernaut.

Earlier this year we broke down the decade’s best teams and best players. Now, with every season of the past decade complete, it’s time to look at the Chicago area programs who won the most.

This list is comprised of the 50 winningest programs over the past 10 years, starting with the 2010-11 season and concluding with the 2019-20 season. Every team in every class throughout the Chicago area will be broken down in a variety of ways. But total wins, with winning percentage used as tie-breaker, determined the rankings.

We present No. 17 Marian Catholic today and will add one program a day going forward.

17. MARIAN CATHOLIC: 216-90

Decade’s biggest storyline: Perhaps no program rose from the ashes more than Marian Catholic over the course of the decade.

Let’s rewind to the 2009-10 season, just before the start of the new decade, when Marian Catholic finished the year 8-23. Then make the prediction to high school basketball fans that Marian Catholic would be among the top 20 winningest programs in the entire Chicago area over the next 10 years and see the response you would get.

The Spartans averaged nearly 22 wins over the 10-year period; prior to the decade the program had two 20-win seasons total. In addition, the Spartans won six regional championships, the first three sectional titles in program history and finished third in the state in Class 3A in 2017-18.

Before this past decade? Marian Catholic had won only three regional titles the previous five decades combined. And before coach Mike Taylor took over the program there was just one regional title.

Underrated highlight: Tyler Ulis. The 5-8 dynamo was a game-changer for Marian Catholic basketball and one of the greatest and most exciting players the state saw over the past 10 years.

Ulis led the Spartans to a 57-7 record and sectional titles as a junior and senior. He finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,335 points.

While he was a McDonald’s All-American and went on to become a star at Kentucky, the impact Ulis had in changing the culture at Marian Catholic is immeasurable.

Player of the Decade: Tyler Ulis (2014)

All-Decade Team: Tyler Ulis (2014), Ki-Jana Crawford (2014), Myles Howard (2016), Chris White (2019) and Ahron Ulis (2020)

Other decade highlights:

-The 2012-13 team set a school record with 29 wins. That team won regional and sectional titles before falling to Edwardsville in the supersectional.

-While the most recognizable and probably most remembered Marian Catholic teams were the two teams Tyler Ulis led to the supersectional in 2013 and 2014, the only Spartans team to bring home state hardware was the 2017-18 team that finished third in the state in Class 3A. The Spartans, led by Ahron Ulis, Malik Tidwell and Chris White, fell to Morgan Park in the state semifinals.

-Marian Catholic won four East Suburban Catholic Conference championships (2014, 2016, 2019 and 2020) during the decade. The program won two ESCC titles the previous 50 years.

-While Tyler Ulis became the all-time leading scorer in program history during the decade, brother Ahron Ulis finished as the second all-time leading scorer.

-Another underrated moment came this past season when the Spartans upset neighborhood rival and top sectional seed Bloom in the sectional semifinals.

-The Spartans won the Big Dipper Holiday Tournament at Rich South in 2012 and 2013 while also capturing the 2018 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic championship.

Read More

The Chicago Blackhawks are set to play their old coach, Joel Quenneville. The Chicago Blackhawks did not look good at all in their first two games of the season. They gave up ten goals and only scored three. The thing they have to keep their heads up right now is the fact that both of […]

Joel Quenneville’s team looks to keep the Chicago Blackhawks down – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

Read More

Read More

Inauguration celebrations with beer, plus Bell’s Hopslam.Read More

A man was injured in a fire Saturday night on the Northwest Side.

The blaze was reported in the 4600 block of North Delphia Avenue, according to Chicago fire officials.

The man was taken to Resurrection Medical Center in serious-to-critical condition, fire officials said.

Crews extinguished the blaze by 10:41 p.m., officials said. No other injuries were reported.

Read More

The Sun-Times is counting down the 50 high school basketball programs with the most wins during the decade.

When high school basketball fans think back to the 1980s, programs like Quincy, Providence St. Mel, East St. Louis Lincoln and the arrival of city powers King and Simeon are easy to think back on.

The 1990s brought us memorable basketball giants in Peoria Manual and Thornton, a few steamrolling Proviso East teams and the continued dominance of King.

The first 10 years of the 2000s included Glenbrook North, Peoria High and the beginning of a Simeon juggernaut.

Earlier this year we broke down the decade’s best teams and best players. Now, with every season of the past decade complete, it’s time to look at the Chicago area programs who won the most.

This list is comprised of the 50 winningest programs over the past 10 years, starting with the 2010-11 season and concluding with the 2019-20 season. Every team in every class throughout the Chicago area will be broken down in a variety of ways. But total wins, with winning percentage used as tie-breaker, determined the rankings.

We present No. 18 Orr today and will add one program a day going forward.

18. ORR: 216-68

Decade’s biggest storyline: One of the potential headlines the pandemic prevented from happening was Orr winning a fourth straight state championship last March. But there are still three titles to celebrate.

This program, which arrived at the start of the decade with a star player in Myke Henry, won state championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019. And coach Lou Adams and the Spartans were primed and ready to win another one. Orr advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals this past season before the plug was pulled on the season.

The breakthrough team in 2016-17 was led by a host of underclassmen. The most dominant team in 2017-18 featured a senior group featuring Dannie Smith, Raekwon Drake, Chase Adams and Ty Mosley.

As a Class 2A team the 2017-18 Orr team beat big school basketball powers Young twice, Proviso East, Fenwick, St. Joseph, Bogan, Curie and St. Louis Vashon before winning the state championship over Winnebago 76-49.

Underrated highlight: How many high school programs have a full-fledged, highly-acclaimed documentary filmed about them?

“Shot In the Dark,” which was nominated for Outstanding Long Sports Documentary at the 40th annual sports Emmys, was a moving and emotional film that followed the Orr basketball program for two years. The film was broadcast nationally on Fox in 2017.

Player of the Decade: Myke Henry (2011)

All-Decade Team: Myke Henry (2011), Jamal McDowell (2013), Lou Adams Jr. (2014), Dannie Smith (2018) and Raekwon Drake (2018)

Other decade highlights

-For the majority of the decade Orr played in one of the state’s toughest conferences, the rugged Red-West/North, and won or at least shared five league titles.

–Orr won the 2017 Proviso West Holiday Tournament.

-The Spartans reached the city title game for the first time in program history in 2018, falling to Simeon 69-59.

Read More

Read More

Here’s the latest news on how COVID-19 is impacting Chicago and Illinois.

Latest

Pritzker’s latest announcement likely puts an end to hopes of a basketball season; football holds on by a thread

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

Friday was confusing. Documents were emailed to media. Websites that allegedly outline the state’s entire sports policy during coronavirus weren’t updated (and then they were). The Illinois High School Association had a last-minute meeting with Deputy Gov. Jesse Ruiz.

Gov. Pritzker hit on high school sports very briefly in his COVID-19 update.

There was some good news for high school athletes. Low-risk sports will be allowed when regions move to Tier 2. Rockford, Peoria and southern Illinois hit Tier 2 on Friday and some regions in the Chicago area could be there as early next week.

“There are regions that are moving into lower tiers of mitigations,” Pritzker said. “In those tiers there are [sports] that are opening up. That’s a good beginning.”

Low-risk sports (boys and girls bowling, cheerleading, dance, girls gymnastics and boys swimming and diving and badminton) will be allowed to play conference and intra-region games.

Medium-risk sports will be allowed to conduct full practices and high-risk sports (basketball and wrestling) will be allowed to hold no-contact practices in Tier 2. There are no IHSA medium-risk winter sports.

Read the full story here.

---

News

12:45 p.m. India launches world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination drive

NEW DELHI — India started inoculating health workers Saturday in what is likely the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination campaign, joining the ranks of wealthier nations where the effort is already well underway.

India is home to the world’s largest vaccine makers and has one of the biggest immunization programs. But there is no playbook for the enormity of the current challenge.

Indian authorities hope to give shots to 300 million people, roughly the population of the U.S and several times more than its existing program, which targets 26 million infants. The recipients include 30 million doctors, nurses and other front-line workers, to be followed by 270 million people who are either over 50 or have illnesses that make them vulnerable to COVID-19.

For workers who have pulled India’s battered health care system through the pandemic, the vaccinations offered confidence that life can start returning to normal. Many burst with pride.

“I am happy to get an India-made vaccine and that we do not have to depend on others for it,” said Gita Devi, a nurse who was one of the first to get a shot. Devi has treated patients throughout the pandemic in a hospital in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state in India’s heartland.

Read the full story here.

11:10 a.m. Cook County court employee test positive for COVID-19

An employee of Cook County’s Office of the Chief Judge tested positive for the coronavirus, raising the total number of employees with positive tests to 253.

The employee works in the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, the chief judge’s office said Friday in a statement. A new resident at the detention center who had already been released also tested positive.

In addition to the 253 employees who tested positive for the coronavirus, 19 judges have also tested positive since the start of the pandemic, according to the statement.

Read the full story here.

10:00 a.m. Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse found in compliance with COVID-19 regulations after fire leads to evacuation

A city investigation into Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse found it to be in compliance with coronavirus safety regulation after a fire Wednesday evacuated the restaurant.

The fire, which started about 9 p.m. in a second-floor fireplace, was quickly extinguished, and while no one was injured in the blaze, the restaurant did have to evacuate patrons from the building, according to Chicago fire officials.

That led to an investigation from the office of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, which had inspected the famed Gold Coast steakhouse just days before the fire and found them compliant with COVID-19 regulations.

BACP has reached the same conclusion after another investigation on Thursday, according to spokesman Isaac Reichman.

Reporter Sam Kelly has more.

9:45 a.m. Pritzker will allow bars and restaurants to open sooner than planned — but not yet

Illinois’ cash-starved bars and restaurants will be allowed to welcome customers inside sooner than originally ordered by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, but that reopening is still a ways off for Chicago.

The Democratic governor announced Friday that limited indoor service will be allowed for regions of the state that see their COVID-19 metrics improve enough to move down to the state’s Tier 1 mitigation level.

That’s a shift from the original plan laid out by Pritzker’s health team, which would’ve required regions to improve even further to return to the state’s Phase 4 of reopening.

Still, most of the state’s 11 regions remain in Tier 3, including Chicago and its suburbs.

Pritzker’s layers of tiers and mitigations have caused confusion for the thousands of establishments that have seen revenue dry up since the governor shuttered indoor service statewide in November in an effort to stem a record-breaking COVID-19 resurgence.

Reporter Mitchell Armentrout has more.

---

New cases

• Public health officials on Thursday announced 6,642 new cases of COVID-19 and 123 more deaths attributed to the disease. That makes 1,059,324 total cases and 18,049 total deaths statewide.

---

Analysis & Commentary

Who knew?

Apparently, only a few.

Who figured America’s presidential inaugural would be recalibrated by a gruesome twist in American history: sedition fueled by an accelerator named President Donald Trump and his thug acolytes.

The recent attack of domestic terrorism by the latest version of the historic “Plug Uglies,” is not expected to force President-elect Joseph Biden’s inauguration off the steps of the nation’s Capitol this week.

But it’s a good bet the nation’s “House,” invaded last week by soldiers of Trump’s alternative universe, will be hovered by a “Star Wars” sized military force ostensibly protecting celebrants looking sideways — and facing the possibility of a pat-down rather than a pat on the back.

Sadly, our nation’s inaugural transfer of power used to be a ball, a bash to celebrate the success of democracy.

Read the full column from Michael Sneed here.

Read More

Read More

Read More