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The NBA and National Basketball Players Association have agreed on new health and safety protocols that would further shorten the timetable for asymptomatic and vaccinated players to return to play after a positive COVID test, league sources told ESPN on Friday.

Previously, such players could be cleared from protocols after seven days if testing data showed that their cycle threshold (CT) levels were above 35, but the new protocols would allow players to return after five days if their CT levels are above 30, league sources said.

CT levels can help indicate how infectious an individual may be, and a CT level of 30 is considered fainter than, say, 20.

The move should help replenish rosters that have been decimated by COVID as the Omicron variant rages through the league. As of Friday morning, 260 players total have entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols this season, including 247 in December alone. Nine head coaches have also entered protocols in December, and 11 games have been postponed.

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The only player from Illinois on the Georgia Bulldogs football roster took the unlikeliest path to get there.

Luke Collins, a freshman linebacker from St. Ignatius, never played a down before last year. Not allowed to play the sport by his parents through his high school years, he went behind their backs and used his entire life savings to go to a prep school in Alabama to learn the sport.

Now, he’s getting ready to dress for the College Football Playoff semifinal against Michigan in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

“I’m dumbfounded myself why I’m here, to be quite honest with you,” Collins said before Christmas. “It’s probably the biggest blessing I’ve had in my life.”

The story starts sometime during his high school years, after Collins had stopped asking his parents to play football and was focusing on finishing up a three-year varsity basketball career for St. Ignatius.

The summer before his senior season, Collins’ teammate and best friend Dan Flourey was getting college looks. A recruiter noticed Collins and asked if he played football. When Collins said no, the coach told him, ‘You play basketball like it’s football.'”

That was more fuel for Collins’ fire to hit the gridiron. But there was also a powerful tug in the other direction: his parents’ opposition, based on the risk of concussion or other injuries.

“I love my parents so much,” Collins said. “My dad (Patrick, a prominent lawyer and former assistant U.S. Attorney) is my idol and my hero. Having to be so strong and go against something he advised, that was something I struggled with.

“Having to literally disobey them — even today, looking back — doesn’t sit well.”

“I always call it ‘the COVID surprise,'” Patrick Collins said. “Basketball is the first love in our family. This came out of the blue.”

Defying his family wasn’t the only struggle for Collins. His senior year at St. Ignatius, he sent out dozens of emails a week, trying to find a place — junior college, prep school, whatever — that would teach him how to play football.

It was a month before he even got a response; that was from a prep school in South Carolina that said, no thanks.

But finally, Tim Sanders, the athletic director and football coach at Birmingham Prep in Birmingham, Alabama, called Collins and said, “I appreciate what you’re trying to do. We won’t stop you [from coming].”

That was all Collins needed to hear. He and his dad drove to Birmingham in the early days of the pandemic, sleeping in their pickup truck because all the hotels were closed.

Collins enrolled that fall, paying his way with his $3,000 in savings,.and Sanders took the newcomer under his wing.

“He fed me, he clothed me, he let me eat with him and his family,” Collins said. “He really looked out for me [like] a son.”

Collins played for Birmingham and put together a highlight tape that he sent out to a bunch of schools. Georgia was one of them, and was at the top of his wish list because of Collins’ admiration of coach Kirby Smart.

But Collins was realistic, which is why he widened his net.

“I didn’t have an amazing season [at Birmingham Prep],” he said. “There’s nothing that’s going to jump out at you [on the highlight tape] and say, ‘That’s a walk-on at Georgia.'”

But last December, Collins got a text from an unknown number, saying the sender was with the Georgia football staff and gauging his interest.

His first thought: It was his high school buddy, Flourey, pranking him. But Flourey denied it, and a few weeks later came the call that changed Collins’ life: Georgia really was interested in him as a walk-on.

Collins enrolled in the fall and joined the football program, wearing No. 57. He has what he calls a “very, very limited role” with the scout team as he continues his late-starting football education. But he has dressed for some home games and will be part of the traveling party for the Orange Bowl.

Now, his parents are even on board with his dream. “My dad … he’s been my biggest supporter,” Collins said, and his mom “watches every single game.”

“Right now,” he added, “all I’m thinking about is becoming the best football player I can be.”

Which beats wondering if he’d ever be a football player at all.

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For a while now, the Chicago Bulls have been playing short-handed in the front court. Ever since Patrick Williams was lost for the season, Billy Donovan has had to shuffle the starting lineup several times.

Now, it looks like Javonte Green has secured the starting four position going forward, with a mix of Alex Caruso and Derrick Jones Jr. as well.

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Dickerson is survived by his 11-year-old son, Parker, and parents, George and Sandy Dickerson. Dickerson’s wife, Caitlin, died from cancer at 36 in 2019.

ESPN 1000 Bears reporter Jeff Dickerson, 43, died Tuesday after battling colon cancer. Dickerson is survived by his 11-year-old son, Parker, and parents, George and Sandy Dickerson.

Dickerson’s wife, Caitlin, died from melanoma at 36 in 2019. According to ESPN, Dickerson died at the same hospice facility where Caitlin died.

“He was simply the best,” ESPN 1000 morning-show host David Kaplan said. “When people die, everyone says nice things. He was truly that guy. Never had a mean bone in his body.”

“When I walked in there last [Thursday], all these guys were there because we all loved him. Jeff said to me, ‘I just gotta get to my next chemo treatment.’ That was today.”

To honor Dickerson, ESPN 1000 aired local shows all day Wednesday. Mike Greenberg’s national show from noon to 2 p.m. was preempted. (Scroll down for the schedule.)

“He deserves that, to celebrate his life with friends,” said Danny Zederman, who was promoted to program director at ESPN 1000 earlier Tuesday. “We lost a teammate and a close friend. It’s really painful. Tomorrow is gonna be really cathartic.”

To help assist his son, Parker, Dickerson’s sister-in-law, Jen Etling Hobin, set up a GoFundMe page with the proceeds going to help Parker and to help fund cancer research. As of 9 a.m. Friday, the fund has raised more than $950,000.

Some of Chicago’s sports franchises and leading figures have contributed. The Bears donated $25,000, as did the Green Bay Packers. Also, the owners of the Washington Football Team, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings also contributed $25,000. Among the top contributors, 11 NFL franchises or ownership contributed to “Parker’s Fun.”

Former Cubs first basement Anthony Rizzo donated $5,000. Along with Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and Cubs executives Crane Kenney and Jed Hoyer were among the top givers as well.

Zederman said Dickerson was remarkably strong in what became his final days.

“He went through it with his wife. She battled for years,” Zederman said. “When he was diagnosed, I went to visit him. He had seen the battle firsthand, he knew what was coming for him and he still said, ‘I’m not worried at all. I have to be here.’ I went to visit him Christmas Eve, he was alert, coherent, cracking jokes, and he still was telling me ‘I’m going to beat this thing.’ ”

Dickerson had many roles with ESPN. He began covering the Bears in 2001 with ESPN 1000, then added ESPNChicago.com to his plate in 2009. He moved to ESPN.com full-time in 2013, becoming part of the website’s NFL Nation vertical.

“Jeff did as good a job as anybody can do on what might be the most competitive beat in the city,” Kaplan said. “We all want to work hard, but that Bears beat, you’ve gotta come up with content, the team usually stinks. Jeff was able to be opinionated and break news.”

Said Zederman: “There are people in this business that I think they forget how great it is to work in this business. JD never lost sight of the fact that he was covering his favorite team as a child. He never lost sight he got paid to watch Bears practices. It made him proud to be associated with the Bears. Because of that, he took great pride in his work. He knew about the third-string offensive lineman.”

The Bears released a statement, saying: “We are absolutely heartbroken to learn of the passing of our friend and colleague Jeff Dickerson. Always the consummate professional, JD took a great deal of pride in his coverage of the Bears for 20 years. He was a true professional and even better person.”

Dickerson also hosted a national radio show with Jonathan Hood, was a TV analyst for Loyola men’s basketball and reported for ABC 7. Dickerson graduated from Buffalo Grove High School and attended the University of Illinois.

Update: Dickerson’s age was corrected. He would’ve turned 44 in January.

To contribute to “Parker’s Fund,” click here.

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When the Chicago Bears traded up to draft Justin Fields earlier this year, they traded up for their future. This was a franchise-changing move. Remember that, now, as we’re diving into talking about his latest injury.

Fields has been dealing with an ankle injury for a couple of weeks now, forcing him out of action last week against the Seattle Seahawks. Fortunately, Nick Foles and company were able to pull off a miraculous win late in the game.

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The Chicago Bears and New York Giants have a connection in the year 2021. The Bears traded up to New York’s spot in the draft to select Justin Fields. It was a great selection for the Bears as they have their quarterback of the future but the Giants have their first-round pick in 2022 now.

With Chicago sitting at 5-10 and New York sitting at 4-11, the Giants are going to have two really nice draft picks this year. It is up to them to make them count but the Bears made that trade-off. It isn’t like Ryan Pace has made significant first-round selections anyway so it doesn’t really matter. Roquan Smith and (hopefully) Justin Fields are the only ones for him to be proud of.

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In August 2014, Becky Hammon played her final game for the San Antonio Stars, and said goodbye to the WNBA to move on to an assistant coaching role with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. Now, she’s reportedly finalizing a five-year deal and returning to the WNBA, and in a roundabout way to the franchise with which she spent eight of her 16 seasons as a player.

Hammon is taking over as head coach of the Las Vegas Aces and will try to lead them to their first WNBA title. The Aces were originally the Utah Starzz when the league launched in 1997. Then the franchise moved to San Antonio in 2003, and finally to Las Vegas in 2018. The Aces honored Hammon this past season by retiring her jersey, and now she will be coaching where it hangs in the rafters.

Bill Laimbeer has coached the Aces to a 77-45 record the past four seasons, losing in the WNBA semifinals in 2019 and 2021 and the WNBA Finals in 2020. While it’s not clear at this point what role, if any, Laimbeer will have with the franchise, he has set a very good foundation for the Aces. Can Hammon get them across the finish line to a championship?

We look at what the coaching move means to Hammon, to the Aces, the WNBA and the NBA.

What style does Hammon bring to the Aces?

As a player, Hammon was very respected. The story of her being undrafted out of Colorado State in 1999 has always needed an asterisk, because that was the year so many of the American Basketball League’s former players came into the WNBA, which influenced how many college players were picked in that draft.

Still, Hammon always used going undrafted as another motivational chip on her shoulder, although she already had enough just by being a 5-foot-6 guard from a mid-major school. But Hammon always believed in herself, and not long into her WNBA playing career, she made believers out of everyone. She was part of very good teams in both New York from 1999 to 2006 and in San Antonio from 2007 to 2014, including four trips to the WNBA Finals.

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Hammon was fearless in driving the lane, could hit big perimeter shots, was very good at distributing the ball and helped build the confidence of everyone around her.

As a coach, Hammon can get tough when she needs to, but she’s also an uplifting motivator. Laimbeer got along well with his superstar player, forward A’ja Wilson, so Hammon will be cultivating that relationship.

Hammon already has worked a bit with Aces players such as guard Kelsey Plum, whom she got to know when Plum was a rookie in San Antonio in 2017 before the franchise moved to Las Vegas. Hammon has a lot to offer the Aces’ guards from her own practical experience as a longtime perimeter player in the WNBA. But her years of NBA coaching put her in good position to guide Las Vegas’ interior strength, too.

What does this hire mean for the Aces?

Laimbeer has gotten the franchise to the brink of a title. The Aces’ former general manager, Dan Padover, left in October to take over as GM and executive vice president with the Atlanta Dream. Perhaps Laimbeer moves into the general manager role, which he has experience in with his past WNBA head-coaching jobs in Detroit and New York.

Owner Mark Davis, who bought the Aces in January, already has made multiple moves with the franchise, including bringing in former LSU coach Nikki Fargas as team president and former WNBA player Jennifer Azzi as chief business development officer. He seems committed to the Aces being a gold-standard-type franchise for the WNBA.

The Aces have one of the league’s best young players in Wilson, who was the 2020 MVP and is only 25. She is currently a restricted free agent, and center Liz Cambage is an unrestricted free agent.

Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson — all of whom won gold medals in 5-on-5 or 3×3 basketball at the Tokyo Games — and Kiah Stokes helped Las Vegas earn the No. 2 seed in the 2021 WNBA playoffs. Jeff Bottari/NBAE via Getty Images

Plum had the best season of her WNBA career this past year. She, Jackie Young and Dearica Hamby have been consistent contributors the past few years for the Aces. Chelsea Gray was a good fit as a free-agent signee in 2021, just as Angel McCoughtry was in 2020. Hopefully, McCoughtry, who missed this season with a knee injury, is back strong for 2022. Whether Cambage returns or not, Las Vegas should be a strong contender again.

What does this move mean for Hammon’s NBA future?

Many assumed that Hammon was on a path toward becoming an NBA head coach, as she is in her eighth season as a Spurs assistant.

Now, while it looks less likely that Hammon will be the first woman to make that breakthrough, it’s hard to know who it will be or when. If Hammon is successful with the Aces and wins a championship, perhaps she goes back to the NBA — and maybe still will be the first woman to lead a team. Or maybe she doesn’t go back at all.

Laimbeer left the WNBA during the 2009 season and then was in the NBA as an assistant with the Timberwolves from 2009 to 2012. But Laimbeer has said he thought he wasn’t going to get a chance to be an NBA head coach, and he came back to the WNBA, with New York.

It’s very difficult to climb the coaching ladder in the NBA, and to put it bluntly, we can’t know for sure how many franchises have given Hammon a legitimate shot to win a head-coaching position, as opposed to interviewing her to check off a box.

Maybe this move to the Aces is a chance for her to prove herself in a different way. Or maybe it’s what is right for her now. Regardless, there will be excitement among WNBA fans to have her back.

What it means for women coaching in the NBA remains to be seen. Commissioner Adam Silver has pushed the league to bring along women in a lot of different NBA roles, including as coaches, but it’s still going to take one franchise to make one bold move to put a woman in charge as head coach.

Who are the favorites for the other two open WNBA head-coaching jobs?

When the Liberty job opened earlier this month — the franchise and Walt Hopkins parted ways — the thought was that perhaps that franchise could lure Hammon. And she did interview with the Liberty, according to sources.

The favorite for the New York job now might be former Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello, who parted with the Mercury this month, too. As for Phoenix, Mercury assistant Chasity Melvin and Sparks assistant Latricia Trammell are in the mix, and Trammell also interviewed at New York, according to sources.

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The Chicago White Sox started a rebuild in 2016. The Chicago Cubs were the defending World Series champions and in danger of taking over Chicago baseball even more than they already have just based on branding. So far, the rebuild has been so successful.

It started by trading Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, and two others. The following day, they traded Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning, and Reynaldo Lopez.

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