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Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner is expected to be sidelined beyond the Feb. 10 trade deadline with a stress reaction in his left foot, complicating the franchise’s hopes to deal him prior to the offseason, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

The Pacers, who announced the injury Tuesday, said Turner would be re-examined in two weeks for the stress reaction. Sources said the recovery time could be approximately one month.

Turner is expected to get a CT scan in two weeks to check on the healing, sources said, and that’ll help to clarify a timeline for return. Turner, 25, has been central to the Pacers’ plans to reshape an underachieving roster in a trade.

A stress reaction isn’t an injury that will frighten teams away from Turner, but his inactivity and recovery time could temper offers to the Pacers — and perhaps a deal around the NBA draft in June could be a better avenue to bring back maximum value. The Pacers have been discussing several veterans in trade talks, including Turner, Domantas Sabonis and Caris LeVert, sources said.

Turner, who has led the NBA in blocks during the 2019 and 2021 seasons, has averaged 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks this season.

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Former Colts executive Bill Polian talks to a reporter before a game between Indianapolis and Miami in 2019. | Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Not good, but if you work for the Colts or Bills, you could be in for a big pay raise in Chicago!

The Bears certainly are busy doing stuff. Talking to job candidates. Gathering intelligence. Diligently doing due diligence. Making friends. So much activity. It almost takes your breath away, this bustle.

Keeping up with who’s on their interview list for coach and general manager is like watching the stock ticker on CNBC. So far, the Bears have met with seven coaches about the job Matt Nagy used to have and nine personnel types about the job Ryan Pace once called his. Pretty much everybody from the Colts and the Bills has or will get interviews. It’s probably complete coincidence that one of the major players on the Bears’ search committee is Bill Polian, a former general manager in Buffalo and a former GM and team president in Indianapolis. But if you happen to have a Peyton Manning or Jim Kelly jersey in your closet, don’t be surprised if get you a phone call from Halas Hall.

Given the Bears’ track record over most of the past three decades, it’s difficult to look at all of this without smirking (if you’re a cynic) or weeping (if you’re someone who thinks winning a Super Bowl is sort of the whole idea).

My fellow smirking cynics know the long history of bungling under McCaskey ownership. There was 1999, when the Bears prematurely announced that they had hired Dave McGinnis as their head coach, only for McGinnis to say he had never agreed to their offer. No deal and, hello, Dick Jauron. The Bears could have had Bruce Arians as their head coach in 2013 but instead chose Marc Trestman. They could have drafted Patrick Mahomes in 2017 but instead picked Mitch Trubisky.

It doesn’t necessarily follow that because the franchise blew those situations that it will botch the decisions in front of them now. But, well, you know.

The generous thing to do would be to buy into Polian’s Hall of Fame career as reason to believe that this is the time that the Bears finally get it right. He won a Super Bowl with the Colts, went to three straight Super Bowls with the Bills and went to an NFC Championship Game with the Panthers. That’s a lot of excellence. But the Bears have been a lot of blah under the McCaskeys, and when you think about these two worlds colliding, you can’t help but think that beige will prevail.

I’d recommend not falling in love with whomever the Bears hire for their coach or general manager, at least not right off the bat, but I know some fans can’t help themselves. They’re the ones whose candle for this franchise somehow remains lit. They’re the ones who flog themselves daily with an official Bears stick.

But keep in mind that it’s a crapshoot. Nobody knows which candidate will succeed and which one won’t. So that could be good news. Or it could be the scariest news of all. It’s about luck, and the McCaskeys don’t appear to be in possession of the good kind. So what’s likely to happen here?

The Bears fell in love with Nagy because he came highly recommended by Chiefs coach Andy Reid, a giant in the game. Recommendations are huge in the hiring process. Pace might have had 15 pages of questions for each coaching candidate in 2018, but Reid’s endorsement and Nagy’s nice guy-ness were probably enough to carry the day — that and Nagy saying he really, really wanted to be the Bears’ head coach, which caused chairman George McCaskey to lose all bodily function for a few moments.

The hope would be that Polian is above the who-knows-who boys’ club that is the NFL. Given that’s he’s been out of the league for 10 years, perhaps he’s had time to observe people and situations without emotion or outside influence, like a scientist peering through a microscope. But then you see that the Bears are interviewing both Bills coordinators, the Colts defensive coordinator, a former Colts head coach, the Colts director of college scouting, the Colts assistant general manager and the Bills assistant director of player personnel. And you say to yourself, “Fingers crossed!”

It would be nice if whomever the Bears hire for coach or GM didn’t say in his interview what he thought the team wanted to hear. But I’m not optimistic about that either. Do you think any candidate in his right mind would tell the Bears that Justin Fields isn’t nearly as good as the franchise thinks he is? And do you think the Bears would want to hear it?

With this team, you can’t be hopeful and afraid at the same time without pulling a muscle. Pick a side.

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Former Colts executive Bill Polian talks to a reporter before a game between Indianapolis and Miami in 2019. | Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Not good, but if you work for the Colts or Bills, you could be in for a big pay raise in Chicago!

The Bears certainly are busy doing stuff. Talking to job candidates. Gathering intelligence. Diligently doing due diligence. Making friends. So much activity. It almost takes your breath away, this bustle.

Keeping up with who’s on their interview list for coach and general manager is like watching the stock ticker on CNBC. So far, the Bears have met with seven coaches about the job Matt Nagy used to have and nine personnel types about the job Ryan Pace once called his. Pretty much everybody from the Colts and the Bills has or will get interviews. It’s probably complete coincidence that one of the major players on the Bears’ search committee is Bill Polian, a former general manager in Buffalo and a former GM and team president in Indianapolis. But if you happen to have a Peyton Manning or Jim Kelly jersey in your closet, don’t be surprised if get you a phone call from Halas Hall.

Given the Bears’ track record over most of the past three decades, it’s difficult to look at all of this without smirking (if you’re a cynic) or weeping (if you’re someone who thinks winning a Super Bowl is sort of the whole idea).

My fellow smirking cynics know the long history of bungling under McCaskey ownership. There was 1999, when the Bears prematurely announced that they had hired Dave McGinnis as their head coach, only for McGinnis to say he had never agreed to their offer. No deal and, hello, Dick Jauron. The Bears could have had Bruce Arians as their head coach in 2013 but instead chose Marc Trestman. They could have drafted Patrick Mahomes in 2017 but instead picked Mitch Trubisky.

It doesn’t necessarily follow that because the franchise blew those situations that it will botch the decisions in front of them now. But, well, you know.

The generous thing to do would be to buy into Polian’s Hall of Fame career as reason to believe that this is the time that the Bears finally get it right. He won a Super Bowl with the Colts, went to three straight Super Bowls with the Bills and went to an NFC Championship Game with the Panthers. That’s a lot of excellence. But the Bears have been a lot of blah under the McCaskeys, and when you think about these two worlds colliding, you can’t help but think that beige will prevail.

I’d recommend not falling in love with whomever the Bears hire for their coach or general manager, at least not right off the bat, but I know some fans can’t help themselves. They’re the ones whose candle for this franchise somehow remains lit. They’re the ones who flog themselves daily with an official Bears stick.

But keep in mind that it’s a crapshoot. Nobody knows which candidate will succeed and which one won’t. So that could be good news. Or it could be the scariest news of all. It’s about luck, and the McCaskeys don’t appear to be in possession of the good kind. So what’s likely to happen here?

The Bears fell in love with Nagy because he came highly recommended by Chiefs coach Andy Reid, a giant in the game. Recommendations are huge in the hiring process. Pace might have had 15 pages of questions for each coaching candidate in 2018, but Reid’s endorsement and Nagy’s nice guy-ness were probably enough to carry the day — that and Nagy saying he really, really wanted to be the Bears’ head coach, which caused chairman George McCaskey to lose all bodily function for a few moments.

The hope would be that Polian is above the who-knows-who boys’ club that is the NFL. Given that’s he’s been out of the league for 10 years, perhaps he’s had time to observe people and situations without emotion or outside influence, like a scientist peering through a microscope. But then you see that the Bears are interviewing both Bills coordinators, the Colts defensive coordinator, a former Colts head coach, the Colts director of college scouting, the Colts assistant general manager and the Bills assistant director of player personnel. And you say to yourself, “Fingers crossed!”

It would be nice if whomever the Bears hire for coach or GM didn’t say in his interview what he thought the team wanted to hear. But I’m not optimistic about that either. Do you think any candidate in his right mind would tell the Bears that Justin Fields isn’t nearly as good as the franchise thinks he is? And do you think the Bears would want to hear it?

With this team, you can’t be hopeful and afraid at the same time without pulling a muscle. Pick a side.

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Evidence markers are seen near police officers standing near the intersection of East 53rd Street and South Woodlawn Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood, Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 18, 2022, after University of Chicago Police shot a man late Tuesday morning, according to the Chicago Fire Department. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

An officer had stopped to investigate someone on foot with a handgun near the corner of 53rd Street and Woodlawn Avenue, officials said.

A University of Chicago police officer shot and wounded a gunman who opened fire in Hyde Park late Tuesday morning, officials said.

An officer had stopped to investigate someone on foot with a handgun near the corner of 53rd Street and Woodlawn Avenue. The gunman opened fire as the officer stepped out of his vehicle, according to a statement from Eric Heath, associate vice president for safety and security at the university.

The officer returned fire and struck the man, according to the statement.

Paramedics picked up the gunshot victim, a man in his 20s, around 11:40 a.m. near Hyde Park Boulevard and Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. He was taken in critical condition to the university’s medical center with several gunshot wounds, he said.

No one else was injured, the school said in its statement.

Shortly after the shooting, police blocked off 53rd Street from Kimbark to an alley west of Woodlawn. Six evidence markers could be seen on the ground.

An employee who answered the phone at Kimbark Liquor and Wine said people ran in the store saying they saw “a guy waving a gun” before shooting erupted. The employee, who asked not to be named, didn’t see the shooting himself.

After the shooting, some residents walked by and asked what had happened. “Welcome to Hyde Park,” one woman said under her breath as she passed by with her dog.

The Chicago Police Department and university are both investigating the shooting. The officer is being placed on mandatory administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigations, the school said.

In April 2018, University of Chicago police shot a student about a block from Tuesday’s incident after the man allegedly charged at an officer holding a pipe during a possible mental health crisis.

The student, then-21-year-old Charles Soji Thomas, was later charged with aggravated assault of a police officer and criminal damage to property for allegedly smashing windows of cars shortly before the shooting. The charges were later dropped.

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The Bulls are clearly a better team with Alex Caruso in the lineup. | Nam Y. Huh/AP

The Bulls are now past the halfway point of the regular season, and when breaking down the individual importance each player has had, the line starts behind Caruso in many ways.

It’s more than a small sample size or just coincidence.

Life on defense for the Bulls is much more difficult without Alex Caruso active and playing.

The eye test has shown that, and the numbers have proven that.

Big picture?

The Bulls are 18-8 in games Caruso has played and 9-7 in the games he’s missed. In the last 13 games in which Caruso was sidelined, the defense has ranked 24th overall.

Then there’s what he means to the scoreboard. The Bulls hold the opposition to 105.7 points per game with Caruso, and allow 113.7 points per game when he’s in street clothes.

So basically they would rank eighth in the league in points allowed with Caruso and tied for 28th without him. They entered Tuesday sitting at 17th overall, allowing 109 points per game.

Any questions on who the team’s defensive player of the year has been at the halfway point?

There’s a strong argument to be made that not only has Caruso been the best defender on this roster, but also the leading candidate for Bulls Sixth-Man Award.

He’s started nine games — Bulls are 7-2 in his starts — but his main role is coming off the bench and finishing games.

That’s why there is a growing excitement for his likely Wednesday return, even under the cloud of minutes restrictions after being sidelined for almost a month.

Coach Billy Donovan knows the value Caruso brings, not only to the court but to the team’s swagger. All-Stars like Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan seem to play with more freedom, knowing they have a guy that embraces doing all the dirty work next to them.

Heck, when selecting the team MVP with the season halfway finished, Caruso wouldn’t win it, but he’s definitely earned some votes.

Not the only Bulls player to do so.

Team MVP: DeRozan – LaVine would finish second to his veteran teammate, and really couldn’t put up much of a debate.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo has stolen DeRozan’s crown as the “King of the Fourth” in the last week, not only scoring more in the final stanza — 8.4 points per fourth to DeRozan’s 7.7 — but has done so at a higher clip, shooting 55.7% in the fourth to DeRozan’s 53.2%.

LaVine was ninth in overall points in that final quarter, which isn’t too shabby, to go along with shooting 50.7% from the field.

Overall, there’s not one major stat that LaVine has bragging rights over DeRozan in, besides three-point percentage and free throw percentage.

Then there’s the attributes DeRozan has brought to the locker room, making it a culture in which players care about wins over their own individual success.

Surprise Player of the Year: Ayo Dosunmu – Being a standout at Illinois was expected to be much different than bringing instant energy to a conference-leading NBA team, but that’s exactly what Dosunmu has done.

There’s more than a handful of rookies who have much better stats than Dosunmu, but he’s proving to be a big-moment player for a very good team.

Not bad for a second-round pick.

Win of the Year: Beating Brooklyn 111-107 on Dec. 4 – Sure, the Nets didn’t have Kyrie Irving, but for three quarters it looked like it wouldn’t matter. Then DeRozan and LaVine happened in the fourth, to go along with some key defensive stops.

The Bulls had been opening eyes in Chicago prior to that comeback victory, but it was a performance that seemed to announce their arrival nationally.

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The Bulls are now past the halfway point of the regular season, and when breaking down the individual importance each player has had, the line starts behind Caruso in many ways.

It’s more than a small sample size or just coincidence.

Life on defense for the Bulls is much more difficult without Alex Caruso active and playing.

The eye test has shown that, and the numbers have proven that.

Big picture?

The Bulls are 18-8 in games Caruso has played and 9-7 in the games he’s missed. In the last 13 games in which Caruso was sidelined, the defense has ranked 24th overall.

Then there’s what he means to the scoreboard. The Bulls hold the opposition to 105.7 points per game with Caruso, and allow 113.7 points per game when he’s in street clothes.

So basically they would rank eighth in the league in points allowed with Caruso and tied for 28th without him. They entered Tuesday sitting at 17th overall, allowing 109 points per game.

Any questions on who the team’s defensive player of the year has been at the halfway point?

There’s a strong argument to be made that not only has Caruso been the best defender on this roster, but also the leading candidate for Bulls Sixth-Man Award.

He’s started nine games – Bulls are 7-2 in his starts – but his main role is coming off the bench and finishing games.

That’s why there is a growing excitement for his likely Wednesday return, even under the cloud of minutes restrictions after being sidelined for almost a month.

Coach Billy Donovan knows the value Caruso brings, not only to the court but to the team’s swagger. All-Stars like Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan seem to play with more freedom, knowing they have a guy that embraces doing all the dirty work next to them.

Heck, when selecting the team MVP with the season halfway finished, Caruso wouldn’t win it, but he’s definitely earned some votes.

Not the only Bulls player to do so.

Team MVP: DeRozan – LaVine would finish second to his veteran teammate, and really couldn’t put up much of a debate.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo has stolen DeRozan’s crown as the “King of the Fourth” in the last week, not only scoring more in the final stanza – 8.4 points per fourth to DeRozan’s 7.7 – but has done so at a higher clip, shooting 55.7% in the fourth to DeRozan’s 53.2%.

LaVine was ninth in overall points in that final quarter, which isn’t too shabby, to go along with shooting 50.7% from the field.

Overall, there’s not one major stat that LaVine has bragging rights over DeRozan in, besides three-point percentage and free throw percentage.

Then there’s the attributes DeRozan has brought to the locker room, making it a culture in which players care about wins over their own individual success.

Surprise Player of the Year: Ayo Dosunmu – Being a standout at Illinois was expected to be much different than bringing instant energy to a conference-leading NBA team, but that’s exactly what Dosunmu has done.

There’s more than a handful of rookies who have much better stats than Dosunmu, but he’s proving to be a big-moment player for a very good team.

Not bad for a second-round pick.

Win of the Year: Beating Brooklyn 111-107 on Dec. 4 – Sure, the Nets didn’t have Kyrie Irving, but for three quarters it looked like it wouldn’t matter. Then DeRozan and LaVine happened in the fourth, to go along with some key defensive stops.

The Bulls had been opening eyes in Chicago prior to that comeback victory, but it was a performance that seemed to announce their arrival nationally.

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For years, the Chicago Cubs became accustomed to selecting the top high school or college bat in the MLB Draft, with pitching addressed in free agency and/or trades. As a result, the Cubs have been scrambling over the last couple of seasons to re-stock their farm system with pitching prospects. Now in a rebuilding mode, […]

Early mock draft has Chicago Cubs taking top high school pitcher – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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Two-time NBA blocks leader Myles Turner is expected to be out beyond the Feb. 10 trade deadline, sources told ESPN, as the Pacers’ center recovers from a stress fracture in his left foot.Read More

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