Political flexing akin to a boxing weigh-in — think signatures instead of muscles — took place Monday as mayoral candidates turned in nominating petitions of varying heft to get their names not just on the ballot, but, with any luck, up at the top.

Community activist Ja’Mal Green hoped to make a statement by hauling his signatures — about 30,000, he said — in a wheelbarrow decked out with ribbons and bows.

Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas’ 6-feet-4-inch frame (down two inches from his youthful apex) — helped him stand out from the crowd Monday at the Chicago Board of Elections Supersite, 191 N. Clark St. Vallas turned in a stack he estimated to have “north of 40,000” signatures.

Vallas didn’t lug the pile of paper to the Loop himself, he joked: “I had a stronger person carry it in.”

Candidates who turned in their signatures first thing Monday morning earned a spot in a lottery to have their names appear at the top of the ballot, a position some believe offers a slight advantage.

Ald. Sophia King (4th) was accompanied by a sign-carrying entourage as she turned in her signatures, an estimated 37,000. Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson said he turned in about 41,000 signatures.

Businessman Willie Wilson said he handed in more than 61,000 signatures and took a moment to knock Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to hand in her signatures on Nov. 28 (the last day possible) and enter a separate lottery for the bottom spot on the ballot, a location also thought to offer a slight advantage.

“It’s obvious, she’s having problems getting signatures,” Wilson said.

Not true, according to a spokeswoman for the mayor’s campaign.

Mayoral candidates need just 12,500 valid signatures to get on the ballot, but often file multiples of that number to project strength and, more importantly, withstand any challenges filed by opponents over some of the signatures.

The deadline for candidates to file those challenges is Dec. 5.

State Rep. Kam Buckner, a former lineman for the University of Illinois football team, had no problem managing the heft of his petitions; he said they contained more than 24,000 signatures.

U.S. Rep. Jes?s “Chuy” Garc?a, a relative latecomer who announced his mayoral bid earlier this month, was absent Monday at the city’s election super site at Clark and Lake.

Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) on Monday bowed out of the mayor’s race and instead will put his signatures toward retaining his aldermanic seat.

The lottery for the top and bottom spots on the ballot will take place Dec. 6.

“I’m ordering an old-fashioned bingo machine as we speak,” Chicago Board of Elections spokesman Max Bever said Monday.

What happened to the device used last time?

“I don’t know. I couldn’t find it around here,” Bever said.

The election to determine the next mayor will take place Feb. 28 — but, if no candidate gets at least half the vote, a runoff between the two top candidates will take place April 4.

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Bears head coach Matt Eberflus didn’t want to tip his hand about Justin Fields’ health Monday, one day after he had X-rays on his left shoulder following a 27-24 loss to the Falcons.

“It’s like a day-to-day proposition right now,” he said.

Fields hurt his left shoulder when he was hit by Falcons cornerback Dee Alford on a first-down run toward the left sideline with 1:47 to play Sunday. He had X-rays on his shoulder after the game and complained of being in pain.

Eberflus didn’t want to give any clarity about the injury until the league-mandated injury report is due Wednesday. He admitted that there is a competitive advantage toward keeping the Jets, their opponent Sunday, guessing whether the Bears would start Fields or backup Trevor Siemian.

Eberflus wouldn’t say whether the team believes Fields’ injury to be season-ending.

Running back David Montgomery sounded resigned to playing without Fields in the short term.

David Chao, the SICscore.com analyst who was the Chargers team physician for 17 years, believes that, based on video evidence, Fields has a separated shoulder that would not necessarily prevent Fields from playing Sunday. The Bears could inject his left shoulder with Marcaine, a numbing agent, shortly before kickoff.

“The good news is, it’s common for NFL teams to safely numb an AC joint and play pain-free,” he said. “Now does that mean you’re sore after the game? Maybe.”

A sprained AC joint is the same as a separated shoulder. It occurs when there is damage to ligaments that connect the highest point of the shoulder blade, the acromion, to the collarbone.

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If you’re like me, and have practically every line of director Bob Clark’s 1983 holiday film classic “A Christmas Story” embedded deep in your cerebellum, then taking in “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” now playing at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, might require an adjustment period.

The film, which is narrated by radio personality Jean Shepherd and based on his book “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” (from which the musical also draws), has such indelible performances and a singularly calm, yet quietly subversive tone that it remains, all these decades later, a truly unique comedic object.

“A Christmas Story, The Musical” is a much more run-of-the-mill affair — especially the mostly forgettable songs, written by “The Greatest Showman” duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

Still, like Frosty the Snowman’s old silk hat, there is undeniably some magic in this show.

Whatever the story suffers in the move from screen to stage — and it loses a lot — even diehard fans of the movie eventually will be able to settle in and enjoy the musical.

It helps immensely that director Scott Weinstein and a game, likable cast infuse every moment of this production with just the right amount of Christmas cheer.

Anyone familiar with the movie knows the story. Growing up in Depression-era Indiana, young Ralphie Parker (played this night by Keegan Gulledge, who shares the role in alternating performances with Kavon Newman) longs for nothing more than a Red Ryder BB gun, even though his mother (and his teacher and pretty much every other adult in his life) warns him that he’ll “shoot his eye out.”

As Ralphie schemes to acquire said rifle, the story ambles through vignettes that include the problem of a warm tongue on an ice-cold flagpole, a “major award” that’s revealed to be an obnoxiously “sexy” lamp and the relative taste of different brands of soap.

The problem is that musical theater and “A Christmas Story” make for uncomfortable bedfellows. It’s not unlike how Pasek and Paul’s monster Broadway hit “Dear Evan Hansen” was adapted disastrously into a movie. In that case, it turned out that getting cinematically up-close and personal with dear Evan didn’t do him or the show any favors.

But that kind of wow factor only serves to take Shepherd’s wry observations and blow them up until they have the size and subtlety of a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade float. In the play’s more human-sized moments, that outsized theater-kid energy doesn’t suit the material.

Despite a show saddled with these weaker passages, Sarah Reinecke and Lorenzo Rush Jr. give lovely performances as Ralphie’s parents that balance the occasional wackiness with real pathos. When the latter leads a chorus of dancing lamps, it’s a genuine delight.

And that’s where this production really shines: in those chorus-of-dancing-lamps-type moments in which Ralphie’s float-sized flights of fancy give Weinstein and company the opportunity to get big, get silly and go old-school.

When Ralphie starts imagining himself the hero of a Wild West shoot-em-up extravaganza in “Ralphie to the Rescue” or as the target of 1920’s gangland mafiosos — led by his teacher (Jenna Coker-Jones) — in “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out,” the show ignites with giddy, crackling glee.

Those numbers also feature the show’s true standouts: its gaggle of absolutely knockout child performers.

For the adult chorus members, the highlight is their turn as a horde of cantankerous department store elves and a drunken Santa (Jackson Evans).

As the narrator/Mr. Shepherd, Kevin McKillip brings a deft comedic timing as he yo-yos between wise observer and Ralphie’s inner monologue. McKillip’s performance does take a bit of getting used to, if only because his voice as Shepherd sounds more like a football play-by-play announcer than the actual Shepherd’s jocular purr. But that’s the show in microcosm.

“A Christmas Story, The Musical” is not “A Christmas Story” the movie. Weinstein and his team have clearly kept that in mind and made the most of it. I’d recommend that you do the same.

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The reeling Chicago Bulls host the red hot Boston Celtics at the United Center on Monday night.

After a fairly entertaining start to the NBA season, the Chicago Bulls find themselves in the midst of a rough four-game slide. Following two days off, the Bulls will look to end that ugly streak, but standing in their way will be the undoubted hottest team in basketball, the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics are on a different trajectory than the rest of the league right now, winners of nine in a row and a record of 13-3, the best in the NBA. This will be the third time that these teams have faced each other, with the Bulls having played two of their better overall games, splitting each game and covering the spread in both.

Typically this would be a point where you expect the Celtics to be due for a dud, and the Bulls to wake up with their backs against the wall, and while I optimistically believe that could be the case, I also would not be shocked to see these teams continue to be what we’ve seen from them over the past few weeks.

The narratives surrounding the Chicago Bulls continue to pick up with each loss, most recently as Zach LaVine was benched down the stretch in the midst of his worst performance of his career. You would hope that he and the rest of this Bulls team are fed up with how things have gone, and would be due for a huge response, but the consistency and urgency just haven’t quite been there.

The best bet of the day has been a roller coaster as well, as we began the season 6-2, followed by a six-game losing streak, and now having split the last two. I’m hellbent on getting this thing well into the green, and while it can be tough to predict who will produce on a nightly basis, I like the value of today’s pick in what appears to be a steady growth in role and production for the young player.

Best of luck tonight with whatever you chose, see some red, and GO BULLS!!

2022 Bulls Best Bet Record: 7-9 (1L Streak)

Patrick Williams Over 9.5 Points (Sportsbook Odds May Vary)

I understand the feelings toward Williams to start the season, but over the past couple of weeks, the confidence, production and overall role in the Bulls offense has increased.

Following an embarrassing open to the season, Williams has turned a corner with his confidence levels. He shoots when he is open, and attacks the basket when applicable. Over his six games, Williams has scored in double figures in four of the games, playing 26 or more minutes in four of the last six as well. Over the last three games, he has played north of 30 minutes in two of the outings, suggesting a more consistent role on the team.

His three-point shooting has been impressive and efficient as well, and I would argue the Bulls should look for him behind the perimeter at a much higher volume. Over their last six games, Williams is shooting nearly 50% from behind the arc.

The Chicago Bulls find themselves ranking 28th in the league in three pointers made per game, averaging 10.1 three’s per game, not a stat that is conducive to success. Even after a slow start to the season, Williams ranks second on the Bulls in three-point percentage, only behind Goran Dragic. If the Bulls want to boost those numbers closer to the league average, it might be time to find Williams behind the arc a few more times per game.

The narratives surrounding Williams have not been positive, but the talent and intangibles are there for him to be a really strong player in the NBA. Whether the Chicago Bulls want him in their future plans, or in potential trade opportunities, they have to find ways to continue his growth and improve his confidence to increase his impact and value. Give me the kid to hit double figures tonight. Best of luck and GO BULLS!!

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NEW YORK — Carlos Beltr?n, John Lackey and Jered Weaver are among 14 newcomers on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Hall of Fame ballot in what could turn into an evaluation of the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal.

R.A. Dickey, Huston Street, Francisco Rodr?guez, Bronson Arroyo and Matt Cain also are new to the ballot, joined by Jacoby Ellsbury, Jayson Werth, Mike Napoli, J.J. Hardy, Jhonny Peralta and Andre Ethier, the Hall and the BBWAA said Monday.

Holdovers include Scott Rolen, Todd Helton and Billy Wagner. Rolen received 249 of 394 votes last year (63.2%), when David Ortiz was elected with 307 votes (77.9%), 11 more than the 75% needed. Helton was on 205 ballots (52%) and Wagner 201 (51%).

Voters denied several stars tainted by steroids and scandal.

Barry Bonds (260 votes, 66%), Roger Clemens (257, 65.2%) and Curt Schilling (231, 58.6%) were dropped after their 10th appearances on the ballot last year and are among eight players who will appear on the ballot of the Hall’s contemporary baseball era committee, which meets Dec. 4 in San Diego ahead of baseball’s winter meetings.

Other holdovers on the BBWAA ballot include Andruw Jones (163 votes last year, 41.1%), Gary Sheffield (160, 40.6%), Alex Rodriguez (135, 34.3%), Jeff Kent (129, 32.7%), Manny Ramirez (114, 28.9%), Omar Vizquel (94, 23.9%), Andy Pettitte (42, 10.7%), Jimmy Rollins (37, 9.4%), Bobby Abreu (34, 8.6%), Mark Buehrle (23, 5.8%) and Torii Hunter (21, 5.3%).

Kent, who received his highest percentage last year, will appear on the BBWAA ballot for the 10th and final time.

BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of membership are eligible to vote. Ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 31 and results will be announced Jan. 24.

Any players elected will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown on July 23 along with anyone elected by the contemporary baseball era committee.

A nine-time All-Star, Beltr?n had a .279 batting average, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs and 312 stolen bases for Kansas City, Houston, the New York Mets, San Francisco, St. Louis, the Yankees and Texas. He was hired as Mets manager on Nov. 1, 2019, then was fired on Jan. 16 without having managed a game, three days after he was the only Astros player mentioned by name in a report by Major League Baseball regarding the team’s illicit use of electronics to steal signs during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series.

Alex Rodriguez, a three-time MVP and 14-time All-Star who hit 696 home runs, was suspended for the 2014 season for violating MLB’s drug policy and collective bargaining agreement, and Ortiz’s name was alleged to have appeared on a list of players who tested positive during 2003 survey testing.

Lackey won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series for the Anaheim Angels as a rookie, then added World Series titles with the 2013 Boston Red Sox and the 2016 Cubs. He was 188-147 with a 3.92 ERA in 15 seasons and 8-6 with a 3.44 ERA in the postseason.

Weaver, a three-time All-Star, was 150-98 with a 3.63 ERA.

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South Carolina remained No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll Monday after a chaotic week that saw half of the top 10 teams lose at least one game.

The Gamecocks again were the unanimous choice, receiving all 29 votes from a national media panel after edging No. 2 Stanford in an overtime thriller Sunday. South Carolina has now won 16 consecutive games against ranked teams dating to a 2021 loss in the Final Four to Stanford, which remained second in this week’s poll.

UConn moved up two spots to third after beating then-No. 3 Texas and 10th-ranked N.C. State last week. Ohio State is fourth and Iowa State is fifth.

There have already been eight losses by teams ranked in the first 10 this season, the most before Thanksgiving since 2000 according to ESPN. Of the eight losses, three have come against unranked teams. Seven top 10 teams lost before Thanksgiving last year.

Huskies coach Geno Auriemma sees losses by the top teams as a good thing for the sport.

“It’s great sign for women’s basketball, I think that now you can’t just walk into the gym and you know, roll it out there and go, ‘Yeah, well, we’re a top 10 team in the country, and we can just roll over (you). Just because you’re unranked,'” he said. “I think those days are over.”

Auriemma sees the trend continuing as the season progresses.

“I think if this keeps up, that’s the kind of thing that’s made March Madness,” he said. “The madness that is on the men’s side, right. And we need some of that madness on the women’s side. More of it.”

Indiana jumped six spots to No. 6 while Notre Dame, North Carolina, Iowa and Louisville round out the top 10.

The Longhorns have dropped three consecutive games and fell 16 spots to 19th in one of the biggest falls since the AP Top 25 became a writers’ poll in 1994-95. Tennessee, which is 2-3 for the first time since the 1981-82 season, dropped 12 spots to No. 23.

The Lady Vols lost two games last week, including falling to UCLA in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Bruins vaulted into the poll at No. 19.

Like many teams across the country, Texas and Tennessee welcomed in a few new players from the transfer portal and it takes for them to adapt.

“You’ve got a lot of teams now that because of the transfer portal, they’re getting really good players. But they’re trying to learn how that new school plays, what the standards are,” said Louisville coach Jeff Walz, who has two transfers of his own. “And it makes it different, in my opinion.”

Kansas State entered the poll at No. 25 after beating then-No. 4 Iowa last week. Oklahoma and Nebraska fell out of the poll.

TOPPING RANKED TEAMS

The Big East improved to 6-0 against Top 25 opponents this season. UConn and No. 16 Creighton each have two while No. 23 Villanova and Marquette each have one. The Golden Eagles are just outside the Top 25 this week.

RISING HEELS

North Carolina moved up five spots to eighth, its best ranking since 2015 when the Tar Heels were also eighth. They are playing in Oregon on Thursday in the Phil Knight Invitational and then either Iowa State or Michigan State on Sunday.

FEAST WEEK

Many of the top women’s teams are playing in tournaments around the country as well as Mexico and the Bahamas this week.

THE TOP 25

1. South Carolina (29 first-place votes) 4-0

2. Stanford 5-1

3. UConn 3-0

4. Ohio St. 4-0

5. Iowa St. 4-0

6. Indiana 5-0

7. Notre Dame 4-0

8. North Carolina 4-0

9. Iowa 4-1

10. Louisville 4-1

11. Virginia Tech 3-0

12. LSU 5-0

13. NC State 4-1

14. Maryland 4-1

15. Arizona 4-0

16. Creighton 4-0

17. Utah 4-0

18. Oregon 3-0

19. Texas 1-3

20. UCLA 5-0

21. Baylor 3-1

22. Michigan 4-0

23. Tennessee 2-3

23. Villanova 4-0

25. Kansas St. 5-0

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Zach Wilson and the New York Jets had a chance to leave Gillette Stadium in first place in the AFC East.

Instead, they slid to the bottom of the division with another disappointing loss to the New England Patriots.

New York’s inability to finish drives on offense proved costly on the scoreboard and the playoff picture as New England beat the Jets for the 14th straight time with a 10-3 victory Sunday. Rookie Marcus Jones’ 84-yard punt return for a touchdown ruined a solid effort by New York’s defense.

“The season isn’t over with. There’s still plenty of football left to play,” said defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, who had one of the Jets’ six sacks of Mac Jones.

A win over New England would have moved New York into first place in the AFC East this late in the season for the first time since 2010. Instead, being swept the Patriots could make the push to end an 11-year postseason drought tougher.

“It was a frustrating day,” said Wilson, who quickly replied, “No” when asked if he and the offense let the defense down.

New York managed just 103 yards and six first downs, and failed to find the end zone for the second time this season.

The defense did its part in containing Jones and the Patriots. But Wilson was just 9 of 22 for 77 yards and had 26 of New York’s 59 yards on the ground. In the second half, the Jets had just 2 yards on seven possessions.

“We’ve got to do some digging, watch the film, and see what we can come up with,” Wilson said.

When the Patriots won the first matchup of the season three weeks ago, the Jets were able to move the ball but were undone by three interceptions thrown by Wilson — who also had a career-best 355 yards. Sunday’s rematch featured a stark departure as the Jets gained minus-8 yards over their first five possessions of the second half. The windy conditions were a factor, perhaps more for the Patriots as the normally reliable Nick Folk missed two field goals.

“There are times when you can’t take shots down the field,” Wilson said.

Despite the shortcomings on offense, the Jets had a chance to win.

They got the ball on the New England 20-yard line with 1:52 remaining — but the drive started on an all-too-familiar note as Wilson came up empty on first and second down. But New York received a fresh set of downs after the Patriots were flagged for defensive holding on third down.

The momentum of Michael Carter’s 8-yard run on first down quickly faded as the Jets found themselves facing a third-and-1. And the final snap taken by the offense featured a completion that summed up the unit’s struggles.

Wilson hit Carter near the sideline with a short pass and the Patriots dropped the running back for a 2-yard loss.

“We called a play for a guy in a boundary,” Wilson said. “They gave us a coverage where I couldn’t work it, so I just — the play that we called was, I was trying to get the ball to (Tyler Conklin). They pretty much double-teamed him.”

Added coach Robert Saleh: “We wanted to finish the game with the ball. Obviously, in a perfect situation, it would have been with the ball and a chance to kick it for the win. But it didn’t work out.”

Instead of getting another crack in overtime, the Jets watched in horror as a gaffe on special teams unfolded at the worst possible time.

“This is unacceptable, no one wants to feel like this,” rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. “It is just not enough.”

The Jets sacked Jones 12 times in two games this season, but the offense couldn’t make nearly enough plays. New York made one trip into the red zone and went 3 of 14 on third down.

“I thought the defense was outstanding. I thought our D-line got after it,” Saleh said. “There’s a lot of things that we have to look at to see if we can find some efficiency in the offense.”

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Joe Henricksen and Michael O’Brien’s weekly discussion of high school basketball is back and all geared up for the first day of the season.

In this episode we discuss some of this year’s stop storylines, break down some sleeper teams that didn’t crack the preseason Super 25 rankings and take a look at the busy Thanksgiving week of games.

The podcast is on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so please subscribe.

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