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Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols ahead of Minnesota’s game in Utah on Thursday.

He joins six Timberwolves players in the protocols, including starters Patrick Beverley, Anthony Edwards and Jarred Vanderbilt.

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In a tweet shortly after the announcement, Towns lamented that he can’t catch a break.

Towns’ mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died at 59 last year from complications with COVID-19. Towns said before last season that six other family members had also died from complications with the virus.

The All-Star center himself tested positive for COVID-19 in January of last season and went on to miss 13 games.

“I am a high-risk case,” Towns said of his experience with the virus after returning. “COVID did not treat me well whatsoever. A lot of scary nights.”

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Monotony might be Lonzo Ball’s best friend.

The way the Bulls point guard described it, his days have been pretty simple. To the Advocate Center for a practice or shootaround, to the United Center for a game, in the hotel room on the road, and relaxing in the compound for home games.

That’s it.

“I don’t really do too much,” Ball said. “I just play and go back home really. There’s not a lot of situations where I can probably get Covid, and I’m just thankful I haven’t gotten it yet.”

So is the former No. 2 draft pick on to something or just very lucky? Considering the science, it’s likely the latter, but hey, if it ain’t sick, don’t fix it.

Ball — at least as of Thursday — was one of the few Bulls regulars not to be in the NBA’s coronavirus health and safety protocols this season.

It’s a very short list actually, with Ball, Alex Caruso, and Tony Bradley — if he counts as a regular.

As badly as the roster was decimated, however, it seems like the dark days are behind the organization for the time being. There aren’t many NBA teams that can state that right now.

The Big Three of Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine were finally reunited, as Vucevic was down with a positive test back in November, DeRozan a few weeks ago and was already back, and then LaVine made his return in Thursday’s practice, feeling good that he only missed two games because of the postponements.

LaVine was part of that last big group of Bulls players that went into the protocol, along with Alize Johnson, Ayo Dosunmu and Troy Brown Jr. All four were cleared, as was Devon Dotson, who just went in earlier this week, but already tested out.

The only two players that didn’t practice were because of just good old-fashion NBA injuries.

Caruso was still dealing with a sprain in his left foot and was going to be shut down for about a week before the medical staff re-evaluates where he’s at, and Derrick Jones Jr. was sidelined with a hamstring tweak, but it wasn’t believed to be serious.

That was it, as coach Billy Donovan reported not one single player left in the health and safety protocol.

As a matter of fact, the Bulls roster was overcrowded, after veteran Ersan Ilyasova and guard Mac McClung were added as hardship exemptions before the Bulls knew they would get this healthy, this quick.

What’s even more amazing than the number of players able to practice? What little damage the Bulls took in the standings throughout this entire protocol ordeal.

They started getting hit after the Nov. 29 win over the Hornets, and since then have only lost two games — the back-to-back in Cleveland and Miami.

Yes, the schedule will catch up with them at some point with three games to make-up, but sitting with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference entering this weekend not only says a lot about the depth that the front office added, but the mindset that continued being reinforced in the locker room.

“I mean we harp on it every day, just being resilient,” Ball said. “We want to be one of the hardest-playing teams in the league.

“It gets back to the resilient part. We had guys step up. We have an identity we want to play with as a whole. We address that whenever we can meet. Guys come in with the mindset that they want to work hard and play hard, and we start from there and go from there.”

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Monotony might be Lonzo Ball’s best friend the last month.

The way the Bulls point guard described it his days have been pretty simple. To the Advocate Center for a practice or shootaround, to the United Center for a game, in the hotel room on the road, and relaxing in the compound for home games.

That’s it.

“I don’t really do too much,” Ball said. “I just play and go back home really. There’s not a lot of situations where I can probably get Covid, and I’m just thankful I haven’t gotten it yet.”

So is the former No. 2 draft pick on to something or just very lucky? Considering the science, it’s likely the latter, but hey, if it ain’t sick, don’t fix it.

Ball – at least as of Thursday – was one of the few Bulls regulars not to be in the NBA’s coronavirus health and safety protocols this season.

It’s a very short list actually, with Ball, Alex Caruso, and Tony Bradley – if he counts as a regular.

As bad as the roster was decimated, however, it seems like the dark days are behind the organization for the time being. There aren’t many NBA teams that can state that right now.

The Big Three of Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine were finally reunited, as Vucevic was down with a positive test back in November, DeRozan a few weeks ago and was already back, and then LaVine made his return in Thursday’s practice, feeling good that he only missed two games because of the postponements.

LaVine was part of that last big group of Bulls players that went into the protocol, along with Alize Johnson, Ayo Dosunmu and Troy Brown Jr. All four were cleared, as was Devon Dotson, who just went in earlier this week, but already tested out.

The only two players that didn’t practice were because of just good old fashion NBA injuries.

Caruso was still dealing with a sprain in his left foot and was going to be shut down for about a week before the medical staff re-evaluates where he’s at, and Derrick Jones Jr. was sidelined with a hamstring tweak, but it wasn’t believed to be serious.

That was it, as coach Billy Donovan reported not one single player left in the health and safety protocol.

As a matter of fact, the Bulls roster was overcrowded, after veteran Ersan Ilyasova and guard Mac McClung were added as hardship exemptions before the Bulls knew they would get this healthy, this quick.

What’s even more amazing than the number of players able to practice? What little damage the Bulls took in the standings throughout this entire protocol ordeal.

They started getting hit after the Nov. 29 win over the Hornets, and since then have only lost two games – the back-to-back in Cleveland and Miami.

Yes, the schedule will catch up with them at some point with three games to make-up, but sitting with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference entering this weekend not only says a lot about the depth that the front office added, but the mindset that continued being reinforced in the locker room.

“I mean we harp on it every day, just being resilient,” Ball said. “We want to be one of the hardest-playing teams in the league.

“It gets back to the resilient part. We had guys step up. We have an identity we want to play with as a whole. We address that whenever we can meet. Guys come in with the mindset that they want to work hard and play hard, and we start from there and go from there.”

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Matt Nagy is certainly to blame for the Bears’ plunge since 2018, and specifically the sickening depth they’ve dropped to this season, but it’s not 100% his fault.

Nagy has been asked repeatedly over the last few months about what specifically has gone wrong or what has been missing amid the decline, and he has filibustered every time. The most recent inquiry was Monday, after the team fell to 4-10 because of another weak offensive performance, and Nagy said he’d have time after the season to sort all that out.

Tons of time, really.

Nagy absolutely should’ve done better, and his firing will be more than justified. And once they dismiss him, he almost certainly won’t be sticking around to give the media a debriefing on the debacle. Even then, he’d probably take full responsibility.

But if he was willing to really get into it, he’d probably remind everyone — as the Bears have said constantly — that this was a collaboration of errors. General manager Ryan Pace’s fingerprints are all over this disaster.

It starts with the quarterbacks, where both of them have been wrong at almost every turn.

They both misjudged Mitch Trubisky’s ability, first Pace by bypassing greater talents to draft him No. 2 overall and by Nagy mistakenly thinking the Bears had a franchise quarterback in place when he took the job.

Their next joint venture was almost as bad. After finally accepting that Trubisky wasn’t the guy, they teamed up to trade a fourth-round pick for Nick Foles and commit to a three-year contract for him.

It didn’t take long to see that Nagy and Foles had trouble getting on the same page.

“I don’t know what that means by ‘not on the same page,'” Nagy said. “Nick’s been great this whole time.”

Here’s a quick refresher for anyone else feeling similarly forgetful:

-Nagy got upset with Foles over multiple delay-of-game penalties last season, including one coming out of a timeout and another that prompted him to rip Foles in the post-game press conference for taking too long to read plays off his wristband.

-Foles told the “Monday Night Football” broadcast crew that Nagy didn’t realize some plays were doomed from the moment he called them. He benched Foles later that season in favor of going back to Trubisky.

-In his lone media appearance of this season, Foles took the mic in August and basically begged the Colts to trade for him because coach Frank Reich “understands me as a player; He understands me as a person.”

And that was Nagy and Pace’s solution to the biggest problem on the roster.

From there, they pivoted to Andy Dalton and Justin Fields. Nagy was tasked with grooming Fields in the best interest of the franchise’s future, but knew he needed to win now to save his job and trusted Dalton. That played out haphazardly, to no one’s surprise.

Nagy and Pace haven’t had many good answers for the other deficiencies that have sunk the Bears, either.

The offensive line has been an ongoing concern, some of the offensive skill players like Anthony Miller have been problematic and the defense has steadily slid to the point where no one trusts it anymore.

Those failures are as much on Pace as anyone. That’s why chairman George McCaskey will have no credible explanation for separating the fates of Nagy and Pace. One of the reasons he gave for retaining them in January was “how well they collaborate.”

As Nagy so oddly-yet-profoundly described the offense’s futility in mid-November, “It’s no one’s fault other than everybody’s.” That applies broadly here. Nagy has done a dreadful job with his part of the project, but there’s much more to it.

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With its Olympic obligations out of the way, clearing three weeks in February, the NHL now has a window in which to reschedule its many postponed games.

But the logistical process of doing so requires solving a surprisingly complex puzzle. Each team has a varying number of games, against specific opponents in specific locations, that need rescheduling. And every arena has a varying number of non-hockey events booked throughout February, limiting the days available to reschedule games.

Given all that hosting a game with fans entails — ticketing, security, traffic management, parking, hotel availability, food and beer availability, arena worker availability, etc. — it’s complicated enough to do so for games scheduled since the summer. Arranging games on a month’s notice, especially sandwiched between other events, is even more challenging.

The NHL and its franchises will have no choice but to be flexible, though. The league began its rescheduling process this week, reaching out to teams to compile a list of each arena’s open dates within the newly opened Feb. 6-22 Olympic window.

In all, 48 postponed games need to be rescheduled league-wide — because out of the 50 postponed games so far this season, only one has been made up and only one more already has a new set date (in March).

More than just those 48 games are expected to be moved into February, though, in order to maintain schedule balance — the NHL doesn’t want some teams largely idle while other teams with more postponed games play regularly throughout the month.

Meanwhile, the NHL has also promised teams at least one free “bye week” during the window so players can still enjoy some time to rest and/or go on vacation, The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro reported.

Blackhawks’ situation

The Blackhawks need new dates for three postponed games: at home against the Flames (originally scheduled for Dec. 13), at home against the Panthers (originally scheduled for Tuesday) and at home against the Stars (originally scheduled for Thursday).

The Hawks could fall into the category of teams that see additional games moved into February, too, but that’s hard to predict.

The United Center already has six Bulls games, a Christian rock concert and a rap concert booked during the Feb. 6-22 window, crossing eight nights off of the list. The vacant days during which Hawks games could presumably be scheduled are Feb. 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20 and 21.

The Hawks were already scheduled to resume post-Olympic play with a three-game homestand starting Feb. 25 against the Devils, so extending that homestand to six games sounds easy enough in theory.

The complexity of the puzzle confronting the NHL emerges, though, when considering the Flames, Panthers and Stars’ situations, as well.

The Flames — inundated by a massive COVID-19 outbreak — need six games to be rescheduled, including a trip to Nashville and four home games in Calgary in addition to their Chicago trip. Their home arena has four junior hockey games and one lacrosse game booked in the Feb. 6-22 window.

The Panthers need three games to be rescheduled, including their Chicago trip, a trip to Minnesota and a home game against the Predators. Their home arena has three concerts booked during the window.

The Stars need just two games to be rescheduled — at the Hawks and home against the Jets — but their arena has four NBA games and four concerts booked during the window.

Those three teams’ situations thus partially depend on the Wild, Jets, Predators, Maple Leafs, Blue Jackets, Ducks and Kraken’s situations, and the spiderweb spreads outward from there.

Jonathan Toews clearly wasn’t exaggerating when he said Tuesday the postponements throw “everything into a huge mess with our schedule.”

When the NHL will announce its new February schedule remains unknown, but that announcement could very well involve changes to the January, March and April schedules, too.

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While late Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray recovered from a stroke he suffered before the 1987 season, WGN-TV filled his seat with celebrity guests. They ranged from Bill Murray and Jim Belushi to Bob Costas and Pat Summerall.

That revolving door of broadcasters comes to mind whenever a Blackhawks game comes on NBC Sports Chicago. Not so much for the array of talent — all due respect, WGN put some of the best in the media world in Caray’s chair — but for the different voices replacing a legend.

The Hawks have employed several to sit in Pat Foley’s seat this season, the Hall of Famer’s last with the team, in what amount to live auditions. The Hawks have been pleased with what they’ve heard, and more voices are in the offing.

To be sure, Foley fill-ins Chris Vosters, Stephen Nelson and Mike Monaco have performed well. But, through no fault of their own, it has been a bit jarring hearing Hawks games on local TV called by unfamiliar voices. It takes time getting accustomed to an announcer’s sound, rhythm and cadence, which are part of the viewing experience.

Foley won’t be easy to follow. He didn’t create his own language like former White Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson did, but like when Harrelson and Caray were in the booth, fans often can tell how the Hawks rate in his eyes by the tone of his voice. Foley has been around hockey for 40-plus years. He knows what he’s watching.

That’s not to say the aforementioned trio are hockey neophytes. Vosters and Monaco have called college hockey, and Nelson has called the world junior championships. But the broadcasting industry stresses versatility these days. Foley’s specialization is going the way of the cable bundle. It will be hard for anyone to match his knowledge. Who else is such an authority on the off-ice lives of linesmen?

So to rate what we’ve heard, we’ll need to judge just that, at least for now. All three have a professional sound. They know what they’re doing on the air. They appear comfortable and affable and speak smoothly. But some differences stand out.

Vosters lacks a goal call. That needs to be addressed. Every goal doesn’t have to sound the same (even Foley deviates from “He scores!” on occasion), but the vast majority should.

Nelson went for a laugh a bit too often. That’s his personality and broadcasters need to be themselves, but they also need to be aware of themselves. That comes with time.

Monaco was helped by having the best game the three got to call – a 5-4 overtime victory against the Capitals – and he rose to the occasion. But he also went quiet at times rather than call the action.

Fans heard another voice when the Hawks were in Dallas on Saturday. Ralph Strangis, an Emmy Award-winning announcer who called the Minnesota North Stars in the early 1990s (we won’t hold that against him) and the Dallas Stars for 20 years, isn’t in the running to replace Foley. The Hawks hired him in the offseason as a broadcast consultant, and he’s helping lead them through this transition.

Strangis is working with the broadcasters. He has gone over game video with them in the Hawks’ offices and has offered advice. If you caught the game he called, that’s the type of broadcast the Hawks want. Strangis had energy and clearly tried to keep the mood positive as the Hawks got off to a terrible start before rallying and losing in overtime.

The next new voice fans will hear is Alan Fuehring, the voice of the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. He’ll call the Hawks’ game Jan. 2 against the Flames. Other voices we won’t hear might be considered, as well. The Hawks are making themselves open to anything, even the possibility of having two play-by-play voices replace Foley.

They’re also working to do right by Foley, who has been involved in the process and has a great relationship with Strangis. The Hawks have asked Foley which games he wants to call and with whom. He’ll be celebrated April 14 with the Sharks and their general manager, former longtime Hawk and Foley friend Doug Wilson, in town.

So consider this a rebuilding year in the broadcast booth. The Hawks are mixing up their pairings and trying new tactics. And just like you watching at home, they don’t know where it will lead.

Other observations of the Hawks’ new-look broadcasts:

His fashion sense aside, content analyst Colby Cohen has been the best addition. He has added insight in the studio, the booth and rinkside. His commentary from between the benches during the Dec. 17 game against the Predators complemented Eddie Olczyk’s always-sharp analysis. The game wasn’t great, but the broadcast was. Hopefully, the Hawks will station him there more. Cohen also proved prescient about the NHL’s crackdown on cross-checking, which he examined in a pregame show early in the season.
Andrew Shaw might have been a barrel of laughs as a player, but his personality was MIA when he joined the pre- and postgame shows early this season. Obviously, he’s new to TV, so we’ll cut him a break. The same goes for another former Hawk, Colin Fraser, but he should bring more to broadcasts as a full-time amateur scout for the Hawks. That’s a rare combo in the industry and should be developed.
Caley Chelios has been a nice addition. She joined the Hawks’ crew after five years as a commentator on the Lightning’s broadcasts. The pregame show with Chelios and her father, Chris, the former longtime Hawks defenseman, was enjoyable. Look for more family fun with Olczyk and son Nick, who has joined radio voice John Wiedeman as an analyst.
Speaking of Hawks radio, it was wonderful to see and hear Troy Murray back in the booth recently. As he battles cancer, expect to hear more from Fraser, Caley, Nick and Paul Caponigri in the analyst chair.
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The NBA and National Basketball Players Association are near an agreement to reduce the 10-day quarantine periods for COVID-positive players, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The arrangement — expected to soon be shared with teams — could return some players to active play in six days, based on testing procedures, sources said.

It is immediately unclear how the looming protocols change might impact rosters for the high-profile Christmas Day slate of games on Saturday.

The NBA, which is following a similar NFL protocols change, has been following the guidance of both league and union infectious disease specialists. The NBA also has been studying recent research in the UK and elsewhere.

8hAdrian Wojnarowski and Baxter Holmes

8hTim Bontemps

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Like the country and world, the NBA has felt the wrath of the omicron variant, which commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN’s Malika Andrews on NBA Today was responsible for as much as 90% of the league’s recent rash of COVID cases.

The NBA has had 141 players entered into health and safety protocols this season, including 127 in December. There have been 130 player entries in December overall, as three players have now entered the protocols multiple times this month.

ESPN’s Baxter Holmes contributed to this report.

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The Sun-Times’ experts offer their picks for Sunday’s game in Seattle:

Rick Morrissey

Seahawks, 17-13

These two teams deserve each other, but what did Bears do to have their Sunday afternoon ruined by this matchup? The Seahawks are coming off a Tuesday loss to the Rams. Seattle’s short week should favor the Bears, but we’ve seen them lose in all sorts of different ways this season. Why not this way? Season: 12-2.

Rick Telander

Seahawks, 28-16

You’ll forgive me for committing that cardinal sports sin–looking ahead. But I’m all about the Bears tussle Jan 2 against the lowly Giants. Two (currently) 4-10 teams goin’ at it next week is fairer. The Seahawks are out of the impotent Bears’ league. Get this loss over with and gird up for good ol’ Mike Glennon. Season: 11-3.

Patrick Finley

Seahawks, 24-21

The last three opponents the Bears have played have had more rest than them: the Cardinals and Packers were coming off byes, and the Vikings a Thursday game. Having played Tuesday, the Seahawks have had a day’s less rest. That’ll make this thing close. Season: 11-3.

Jason Lieser

Seahawks, 22-20

These are two bad teams, but the Bears are worse and on the road. A defeat will give them their second-most losses in a season since 2002 and severely threaten Matt Nagy’s chance of leaving with a winning record. He’s 32-30. Season: 12-2.

Mark Potash

Seahawks, 23-16

The only certainty for Nagy’s Bears in the final games of the season is that they won’t give up. With the Seahawks all but eliminated from the playoffs, this game truly could be a matter of who wants it more. Season: 11-3.

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