Dylan Cease didn’t win the American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday. Justin Verlander did, as expected, and by a unanimous vote among baseball writers.

The 26-year-old Cease is way behind the 39-year-old three-time winner in years but not far off in performance. He was second in Cy Young voting after a remarkable season in which Cease’s 2.20 ERA ranked second to Verlander and his 227 strikeouts were second to Gerrit Cole. Cease made 32 starts, four more than Verlander.

To see the White Sox’ ace on MLB Network’s Cy Young show, flanked by his girlfriend and twin brother and surrounded by family and friends before the results were announced, was to see not only a more accomplished pitcher after his fourth season but a thinking-man’s pitcher with a gifted arm and a more secure, mature individual.

“As the years have gone on, I have gotten a lot more comfortable with a lot of things that go along with being a big-league baseball player,” Cease said after enjoying a meal with the guests at his Cy Young announcement gathering. “It’s as simple as little things like getting used to the travel, things you’re not used to experiencing in the minor leagues. I was comfortable this year, and performing and producing always feels good.

“But it’s a team game, so if the team is not doing well, it’s hard to really, I guess, not be a part of that negative feeling, as well.”

Negative feelings? What about not being chosen for the All-Star Game? Cease had every right to kick and scream, but he quietly acknowledged the inexplicable snub (he was eighth in the majors in ERA and third in strikeouts at the time) and used it as motivation. Meanwhile, the Sox had one of their most disappointing seasons in memory, finishing 81-81 and keeping Cease from a chance at personal postseason payback after he recorded just five outs in his start in Game 3 of the Sox’ 2021 AL Division Series loss to the Astros.

“I try to be as positive as I can and just be grateful to be there,” Cease said. “A lot of times, it’s just that feeling of gratitude and [it’s] surreal still being a major-league baseball player. It really is hard to imagine, especially watching the game growing up, enjoying baseball and to reach the peak like that.”

The Sox have a new manager in Pedrol Grifol and will have several new coaches to be announced, but pitching coach Ethan Katz and bullpen coach Curt Hasler will return, for which Cease is grateful. Cease thanks Katz for taking him “to the next level.”

“I really owe a lot of my success to Ethan and Has,” Cease said. “Ethan from Day 1 came in and had a plan to help me, and we work really well together. He was able to give me information and put me in the right direction.”

Cease’s fastball command improved under Katz’s watch, and his slider was one of the most unhittable pitches in baseball. A big knucklecurve and a changeup round out a formidable four-pitch mix.

“His progression has been evolving for a couple of years now,” Katz said. “Just watching the day-to-day work. The conversations we have, the belief and trust in his stuff. He has grown a lot.”

Katz said Cease’s ability to control the running game saved him multiple runs. He deciphered reports on his outings, used them to his benefit and had clear conversations with Katz from start to start, Katz said.

“So he grew a lot, and he is still growing,” Katz said. “There is still some stuff — I said this a lot — that he’s still evolving, even with the year he had.”

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Anybody else remember the Bulls’ rousing win in Miami to open the season? What fun that was. But then they lost to the Wizards, got run out of the gym by the Cavaliers and, well, here we are almost a month later with a team that appears to be — at best — just kind of OK.

In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter, we asked respondents to sum up the Bulls’ problems in one of four words: ability, chemistry, effort or health. Plain old ability was the most popular answer, though respondents didn’t stop there.

“They can’t beat the good teams,” @JBIRD1268 commented. “Replay of last year.”

Going further, @sonofrpc predicted the Bulls “won’t contend for a title until the ’30s, at minimum.” Twitter might not make it to the 2030s, but we like the NBA’s chances.

We also asked for your opinions about Bulls coach Billy Donovan as well as your plans — if you have any — to catch the Bulls live this season. On to the polls:

Poll No. 1: Sum up the Bulls’ problems in one word:

Upshot: We hear all the time about the Bulls having “three All-Stars,” but are Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic really that special of a trio? That doesn’t even get into the players — we’re looking at you, Patrick Williams — surrounding them. Is it really about talent most of all? Whatever it is, this group doesn’t play enough defense and clearly doesn’t bring it every night.

Poll No. 2: What’s your take on Bulls coach Billy Donovan?

Upshot: As @JeffreyCanalia astutely points out, “He’s not Phil Jackson, but he’s not anyone from Iowa State, either.” That was a one-two punch to the cheeks of Tim Floyd and Fred Holberg, in case you needed help figuring it out. Donovan — due in part to his national championships as a college coach — gets a lot of respect, but squeezing far less than the maximum from this Bulls group isn’t going to help his rep.

Poll No. 3: How many Bulls games will you go to this season?

Upshot: Got a few hundred bucks stashed between your mattress and box spring? You’ll need every bit of it — and then some — to take your family of four to a game at the United Center. And that’s just once. And that’s to see a Bulls team that appears to be — at best — just kind of OK. Wait, did we say that already?

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Well, it’s almost Thanksgiving, the holiday you both love and dread. Yes, you love to eat and eat and eat until you drift into a tryptophan coma, but it’s the awake time you dread. They’re all there. Every relative you avoid all year long, all in one room. Look, there’s Uncle Scott. Over there is Aunt Melissa. The cousins, Max and Minnie, are there too. OMG! What will I talk to them about?

The Quizmaster is here to help save the afternoon/evening more than the Butterball Hotline. Each week, the quiz provides you with knowledge and fun. This week, I’m suggesting not to talk about politics or religion. Talk about some of the meaningless topics you learn from the quiz. You will find your relatives entertained, distracted or bored enough to go and talk to someone else. I will enjoy my tofurkey knowing that I helped you this holiday. Now you enjoy the quiz.

1. Which of these Thanksgiving baseball names is false?

a. Turkey Stearnes

b. Pie Traynor

c. Frank ”Turkeyfoot” Brower

d. Yammy Trump

2. Nov. 11 was Singles Day in China. Singles Day is an unofficial Chinese holiday and shopping season that celebrates people who are not in relationships. In 2022, Amed Rosario led the majors with 134 singles. Since 2020, Trea Turner has led the majors with 307 singles. One batter led Chicago in singles in 2022 and also led in singles from 2020 to 2022. Who is he?

a. Tim Anderson

b. Ian Happ

c. Nico Hoerner

d. Jose Abreu

3. One of the great fielding center fielders of the last decade, Kevin Kiermaier, has a special relationship with Chicago. What is it?

a. Kiermaier’s older brother, Dan, is the head groundskeeper for the Cubs.

b. Kevin went to college in Chicago.

c. Kevin stole four bases in a game against the Sox, his career high.

d. Kevin hit a leadoff home run against the Cubs and another against the White Sox.

4. On Nov. 8, HBO celebrated its 50th anniversary. Last spring, their iconic show ”The Wire” celebrated its 20th anniversary. Which team(s) play their home games in the city where ”The Wire” takes place?

a. White Sox/Cubs

b. Yankees/Mets

c. Rays

d. Orioles

(Be a part of the quiz. Send me a date or just a year, and I will try to craft a quiz question around it. It could be a birthdate, an anniversary or just a random date, and I will credit you in the quiz with your first name and last initial. Type ”YEAR” in the subject line in your email, and let’s see what happens.)

5. Chicago’s own Murph was kind enough to contribute a terrific date to share: May 1, 1951. It has great symmetry (5/1/51), and it also offers an amazing piece of trivia (which I also love). On that date, the Yankees topped the Sox 8-3 at Comiskey Park. In that game, three future Hall of Famers hit home runs (one hit his first). Which three?

a. Yogi Berra

b. Minnie Minoso

c. Nellie Fox

d. Phil Rizzuto

e. Mickey Mantle

6. Regular reader Bill S. sent me the date Feb. 2, 1876, and asked me to use it in a question. This is a great one — and not just because it was the first day I wore long pants. What happened of significance on that date?

a. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley was born.

b. The National League was born.

c. Charles Comiskey was born.

d. Orval Overall was born.

7. Jim A. was kind enough to suggest 1951 as the basis for a question, and I am grateful to respond. In 1951, who hit arguably the most famous regular-season homer of all time? It has become known as ”The Shot Heard ‘Round the World.”

a. Jonas Salk

b. Ralph Branca

c. Bobby Thomson

d. Edward Jenner

8. Regular Bill F. sent in 8/8/88 for a question. This was the date, as you might recall, that the baseball gods decided, ”Not quite yet.” That was the scheduled date for the first official Cubs night game at Wrigley Field. The next night, Bill got to sit in the seats of the Sun-Times’ own Toni Ginnetti because the game the previous night was rained out. When the Cubs took the field on the night of Aug. 9, they beat the New York Mets and the pitcher who ended his career with more victories than any other born and raised in Hawaii. Who was he?

a. Ron Darling

b. Sid Fernandez

c. Shane Victorino

d. Don Ho

9. Sarah Josepha Hale, the woman who wrote a very famous poem, wrote letters for 17 years campaigning to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. What poem did she write?

a. ”Take Me Out to the Ball Game”

b. ”Casey at the Bat”

c. ”Mary Had a Little Lamb”

d. ”You Can’t Kill an Oriole”

ANSWERS

1. Turkey Stearnes and Pie Traynor are in the Hall of Fame. Frank Brower played in the 1920s, and his nickname was ”Turkeyfoot.”

2. Jose Abreu had 256 singles in 2020-22, and exactly half of them — 128 — came in 2022 to lead the White Sox and the Cubs. I hope the big guy can stay in Chicago.

3. Dan Kiermaier is the head groundskeeper for the Cubs. Perhaps his free-agent brother will join him in the Friendly Confines.

4. ”The Wire,” which I consider to be the greatest series to air on television, takes place in Baltimore. In one scene, Detective McNulty takes his kids to the market and quizzes them on the numbers of Orioles players as they stroll around. There is also a great Gus Triandos mention that is NSFW. Watch it for the first time or watch it again. It really holds up well.

5. Mike, this was great fun. In this game, Minnie Minoso hit his first homer as a White Sox. He had one in 1949 for the then-Indians. Yogi Berra hit his first homer of the season and the 76th of his career. Nellie Fox went 0-for-4. Phil Rizzuto went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. Mickey Mantle homered off Randy Gumpert for his first career homer.

6. This was great Bill; I thank you for playing. According to baseball historian John Thorn, 2/2/1876 ”marks the beginning of the National League and thus Major League Baseball, both structurally and statistically.”

7. Jonas Salk and Edward Jenner each developed vaccines (shots) that were world-changers — polio and smallpox, respectively. Ralph Branca threw the pitch that Bobby Thomson, who played two seasons with Cubs, hit to win the pennant for the New York Giants. Thomson is the only Glaswegian to play more than 10 seasons in the majors. Thank you, Jim, for this fun suggestion.

8. ”El Sid,” Sid Fernandez, had 114 victories and 96 losses from 1983 through 1997. Thanks for that one, Bill.

9. Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote ”Mary Had a Little Lamb,” had her wish come true when President Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday. My feeling is he did it to stop the spam from Ms. Hale.

This Thanksgiving, I thank my editor Chris De Luca and the great Sun-Times sports design team who assemble this madness each week. And a very special thank you to each of you, who are so kind to read and play the quiz every Saturday.

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Even with all eyes on quarterback Justin Fields and the rest of coordinator Luke Getsy’s emerging offense, it’s still hard to ignore a nagging issue with the rebuilding Bears: What’s the deal with this defense?

When coach Matt Eberflus was introducing the H.I.T.S. principle as a first-year defensive coordinator with the Colts in 2018, this was the time of the season it really started to kick in.

The Colts allowed 376.2 yards and 23.3 points per game in the first nine games but 292.7 yards and 14 points per game in the final seven. The Colts finished 10th in the NFL in points allowed and 11th in yards allowed.

The Bears have been heading in the opposite direction in their first season under Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams. In the first seven games, the Bears’ defense was encouraging, if not actually good: 12th in the NFL in yards (330 per game) and tied for seventh in points (18.9 per game). Even the worst game — 27 points allowed against the Packers in Week 2 — would have been good enough to win any of the last three games.

But since defensive end Robert Quinn was traded Oct. 26 and linebacker Roquan Smith was dealt Oct. 31, the bottom has dropped out. In the last three games — the last two without both those players — the Bears’ defense has allowed 381 yards and 33.7 points per game.

Even the Bears’ second-half excellence has faded since Quinn and Smith left. The Bears allowed only five points per game and two total touchdowns in the second half in the first seven games. They’ve allowed 14 points per game and six total touchdowns in the second half in the last three.

This seems like new territory for Eberflus and definitely is in one aspect: With Smith and Quinn gone and defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad out with an injury, four rookies started against the Lions (cornerback Kyler Gordon, safety Jaquan Brisker, linebacker Jack Sanborn and defensive end Dominique Robinson).

”Those guys getting the work that they’re getting is invaluable,” Eberflus said. ”Those guys are getting experiences they can’t replicate [in practice] and that they need to get. Every year’s different. You’re dealing with a different skill set, a different bunch of guys you’re working with on defense or offense or kicking, and it’s our job to make sure we put the best product out there.”

As much as any coach, Eberflus is willing to give rookies and inexperienced players a chance. Gordon and Brisker are second-round draft picks who were all but handed starting jobs the moment they arrived at Halas Hall. Robinson, however, not only was a fifth-round pick but a long-term project because he had played only 16 games on defense after playing receiver at Miami (Ohio).

And Sanborn is an undrafted free agent who was impressive during the preseason on defense and special teams. With Smith traded, Eberflus has more experienced options in Matt Adams and Joe Thomas, but Sanborn has earned the opportunity.

There’s no telling where this thing will go, but the Bears are giving themselves the best chance to grow. The only position where a veteran who doesn’t figure to be on the next playoff team is playing in front of a young player is right tackle, where Riley Reiff has supplanted Larry Borom.

Equanimeous St. Brown and Dante Pettis playing ahead of rookie receiver Velus Jones might fit that category, but you can’t take as many chances on offense, where mistakes can impair Fields’ development — or get him injured.

On defense, however, Eberflus is more willing to take some lumps now for a bigger payoff later — and maybe even this season.

”You’re building a foundational floor,” he said. ”The H.I.T.S. principle, we want to build on that. Obviously, we want to take the ball away more. We’re going to work diligently to get those things done. But the experience those guys are getting is invaluable.”

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KEY MATCHUP

The Falcons were at their best this season — 2-2, with close losses to the Saints (27-26) and Rams (31-27) — when versatile running back Cordarrelle Patterson was healthy. The former Bears wide receiver/kick returner was averaging 113 total yards per game and 5.9 rushing yards per carry in four games until he went on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Patterson hasn’t been as productive since returning in Week 9 — 18 carries, 62 yards (3.4 average) and two receptions for 11 yards in two games. But he’s a threat for a breakout game as he continues to get back into his athletic rhythm.

Patterson’s versatility puts every defender — and literally, every defender — on alert, but rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn figures to be in the middle of it. Sanborn had 12 tackles, two sacks and an interception that was nullified by a disputed penalty against the Lions last week — his second NFL start since entering the lineup following the trade of Roquan Smith.

TRENDING

The Bears not only lead the NFL in rushing yards (201.7 per game), but they have rushed for 237 yards or more in their last five games — an average of 246.0 yards per game. (The Ravens have the next-highest rushing average in that span at 197.5 yards per game).

Justin Fields is a big part of that, of course. The second-year quarterback has rushed for 555 yards on 62 carries (9.0 average) in those five games. But even without Fields’ production, the Bears still would rank 12th in the NFL in that span (135.0 rushing yards per game) and 10th in yards per carry (4.9).

Running back Khalil Herbert, who is averaging 64.3 rushing yards per game and 6.0 yards per carry, is on injured reserve with a hip injury. Rookie Trestan Ebner is expected to replace him as a complement to David Montgomery.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Fields is coming off back-to-back games of 178 rushing yards against the Dolphins (an NFL regular-season record for a quarterback) and 147 last week against the Lions.

The Falcons have yet to face a quarterback even close to that kind of running threat. Quarterbacks have just 23 carries for 89 yards (3.9 average) in 10 games this season.

But Fields also should have opportunities in the passing game. The Falcons’ defense is 32nd and last in the NFL in passing yards allowed (280.1 yards per game). In his last three games, Fields is averaging 147.0 passing yards but has a 108.9 passer rating (seven touchdowns, one interception).

X-FACTOR

Bears wide receiver Chase Claypool, acquired in a trade with the Steelers on Nov. 1, has three receptions for 21 yards in two games. The 6-4, 238-pound Claypool is expected to play a bigger role in his third game, but what that means in a formative offense is an unknown.

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Over the last 18 months, Seattle Thunderbirds general manager Bil La Forge had regularly called Prince Albert Raiders GM Curtis Hunt about the possibility of trading for defenseman Nolan Allan.

On Wednesday, the two WHL organizations finally agreed on a deal. The Thunderbirds packaged three players and six WHL draft picks to acquire Allan, whom the Blackhawks selected with their 2021 first-round pick.

All of a sudden, two of the Hawks’ top prospects are teammates — and potentially more than that. There’s a good chance that Allan and Kevin -Korchinski, the Hawks’ seventh overall pick in 2022, will play the majority of the season on a pairing together.

And that fact isn’t being overlooked by their new (shared) junior team. During the negotiations, La Forge told Hunt, “We might as well get these guys together. They could play together for the next 15 years.”

Allan and Korchinski complement each other well.

The Hawks believe Korchinski could be one of the NHL’s next great offensive defensemen based on his elite skating, passing and reading-the-play abilities. He looked fantastic in NHL development and training camp, and he has 21 points in 14 games for Seattle this season, upping his production rate from his already-impressive 65 points in 67 games last season.

“Kevin has picked up right where he left off last year,” La Forge said. “He’s a dynamic offensive defenseman. He’s doing more defensive-type stuff for us this season out of necessity. We didn’t have the same defensive defensemen to start this year that we had last year. So he’s killing more penalties, he’s playing in more defensive situations and he’s handled it very well. We’re really happy with his development.”

Allan will help fill that defensive-defenseman void created by Blue Jackets prospect Samuel Knazko and Jets prospect Ty Bauer leaving the Thunderbirds to turn pro over the summer.

His NHL upside isn’t as high as Korchinski’s, but he’s big, physical, responsible and knows exactly how to shut down plays. He has learned how to contribute offensively, too, notching 41 points in 65 games last season and 11 in 16 games this season for Prince Albert before the trade.

“In our league, [Nolan] can do a little bit of everything,” La Forge said. “He’s a great defender. He’s shown the ability to play all special teams and eat a ton of minutes, especially late in the game.

“I’ve seen him score some nice goals, especially lately. That part of his game is developing. At this level, you have a calling card, and then your job in order to get to the NHL is to improve the other parts of your game. He has definitely done that.”

The Hawks already have sent development coaches to Seattle this fall to work with Korchinski, and they’ll presumably establish even more of a frequent-flier route now. Korchinski and Allan finding success together could provide a tantalizing glimpse into what the Hawks’ future defensive corps might look like.

More prospect updates

Sam Rinzel, the other defenseman the Hawks picked in the first round in 2022, is on a much slower path toward the NHL — which the team knew would be the case when choosing him. He has seven points in 13 games with Waterloo of the USHL, which is where he finished last season. He’ll enroll at Minnesota in 2023.

While Arvid Soderblom impresses in his ahead-of-schedule NHL stint this fall, Drew Commesso — the Hawks’ other top goalie prospect — has won four of five starts in his junior year at Boston University. His one loss was ugly, though. He allowed six goals in a 9-2 loss to Michigan on Oct. 14. He has a .905 save percentage, down from .914 last season.

Arguably the more exciting Hawks- related news at BU pertains to Ryan Greene, a second-round pick this past summer. The 19-year-old center already has boosted his prospect stock significantly and started his freshman season with a bang. He has 11 points in his first nine collegiate games, including six points in two matchups against UMass last weekend.

Frank Nazar and Colton Dach, arguably the Hawks’ top forward prospects, have run into injury issues.

Nazar underwent surgery and hasn’t played a game as a freshman at Michigan and likely won’t for a while. Dach suffered his second concussion in a short span (the first coming in development camp) soon after rejoining Kelowna of the WHL, but he returned Nov. 5 and has six points in his first six appearances.

A couple of hours west of Chicago, the Rockford IceHogs entered Friday with a 6-5-1 record, having won two straight. Lukas Reichel continues to rack up points, notching 14 in his first 12 games, but his overall game hasn’t been perfect, and he’s not on the verge of a call-up. Cole Guttman, the undrafted signing out of Denver who stood out during Hawks camp, missed time with a concussion but had three points in his first three games back.

Defensively, Jakub Galvas has played very well — he ranked sixth among all AHL defensemen entering Friday with 11 points in 11 games — but Alex Vlasic and Isaak Phillips seemingly remain ahead of him in the prospect hierarchy. The IceHogs notably boast the league’s top scorer in David Gust, who has 17 points, but he’s a 28-year-old journeyman on an AHL-only contract.

Gavin Hayes (17 points in 19 games for OHL Flint), Samuel Savoie (16 points in 17 games for QMJHL Gatineau) and Ethan Del Mastro (16 points in 15 games for OHL Mississauga) are chugging along roughly as expected.

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Two hours after he traded up to draft Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields on April 29, 2021, then-Bears general manager Ryan Pace bounded downstairs at Halas Hall and sat down in front of a computer for a Zoom conference.

“The excitement throughout our whole building, you could feel it as I walked down here tonight,” he said. “What he’s going to do for the future of our organization.”

Pace was right — eventually. But it was a future Pace wouldn’t be around to see.

After another underwhelming season, Bears chairman George McCaskey, at the urging of advisor Bill Polian, decided to clean house in January. He fired Pace and coach Matt Nagy, replacing them with Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus.

Eberflus didn’t keep a single Nagy-era position coach. Poles has replaced all but 19 players who were on the 2021 Bears.

Fields, though, remains.

In the last month, he has emerged as one of the NFL’s most exciting players, albeit on a 3-7 team. If he continues on the same trajectory that has seen the Bears average 31 points in the last four games, Fields could become Pace’s ultimate parting gift to the organization that fired him: a franchise quarterback.

It would be an ironic twist for a general manager whose seven-year Bears career is best-remembered for him trading up to draft another quarterback, Mitch Trubisky, instead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in 2017.

The Bears released Trubisky after four seasons. In fact, no first-round draft pick chosen by Pace received a second contract from the Bears. Fields is his last hope. If he turns out to be the dynamic quarterback the franchise has coveted since Sid Luckman retired in 1950, Pace’s tenure — in which the Bears went 48-67 with two playoff losses — will be remembered far more fondly.

Pace would have to enjoy that satisfaction from afar. Less than two months after the Bears fired him, he joined the Falcons — the Bears’ opponent Sunday — as a senior personnel executive. He declined comment for this story.

Pace should be credited for taking the long view of the franchise and trading up for Fields — he gave the Giants the No. 20 pick in 2021, a 2021 fifth-rounder, a 2022 first-rounder and a 2022 fourth-rounder — even though he knew his job was riding on a must-win season.

GMs rarely make such moves. While coaching changes after a quarterback’s first season are fairly common, front-office makeovers aren’t. Pace was the first GM since 2016 to get fired at the end of a season in which he drafted a quarterback in the first round. The last to do so was the Titans’ Ruston Webster, who had selected quarterback Marcus Mariota second overall about eight months before his ouster.

Two GMs since have left their posts after drafting quarterbacks, but both were retirements planned months in advance. The Ravens’ Ozzie Newsome left after drafting Lamar Jackson in 2018, and the Steelers’ Kevin Colbert retired days after picking Kenny Pickett in the first round in April.

History might prove Pace right for picking Fields. But it shouldn’t ignore what happened afterward. Pace and Nagy believed Fields had the skills to become perhaps the greatest quarterback in Bears history, yet they announced on draft night that he would be the backup to Andy Dalton.

It took a knee injury to Dalton to force Fields into regular game action. Later, when both quarterbacks were healthy, Nagy even asked McCaskey his opinion on which player to start. That made the chairman uncomfortable. He believed it was a decision best left to the coach. McCaskey cited the incident after firing Nagy. Fields’ 10 inconsistent starts last season — and the Bears’ 6-11 record — weren’t enough to save Pace’s or Nagy’s job.

The presence of a first-round quarterback, though, made their vacancies more attractive.

Eberflus certainly noticed. In January, he went deep into the interview process with the Jaguars, who had No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, and the Bears. Having a young quarterback in place was appealing.

“When you’re looking at different types of places to go, you take spots for that reason,” he said. “The No. 1 spot you look at is quarterback. You study and look at that, and I loved what I saw. I’m loving what I’m seeing even more since I’ve been here for this amount of time. …

“The athleticism, the toughness, the grit, the ability to make special plays. And he’s done that.”

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YORKVILLE, Ill.–A thick nine-point buck with a broken tine and a drop time started my morning Friday at Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area.

“Best deer I ever shot,” said Brady Feece, of Elburn. “I always wanted a drop-tine.”

Drop tines, a rarity, grow downward.

Shortly after, Jake Popp of Yorkville, came in with a Kendall County 10-point with busted tines.

“That’s another gnarly one,” Mike Wefer said.

“The one I saw the day before could have been it’s father,” Popp said.

The first portion of Illinois’ firearm deer season opened Friday and ends Sunday. As of Wednesday, 163,433 hunters had obtained permits, emailed Dan Skinner, forest wildlife program manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The opener was colder than usual. Dave Roper emailed from Hamilton County, “27 degrees, calm winds. 6 a.m., almost time.”

In northern areas, it was colder and windier as the day wore on with scattered snow showers and snow cover in some areas.

From Ogle County, where snow flurries were flying, Bob Coine emailed early morning, “Out of the box this morning, from first light, bucks are on their feet actively seeking does. We are seeing few does and fawns, but all of us are seeing bucks of all ages. A friend has a buck on the ground already.”

Numerous hunters checking in their deer mentioned that bucks were still chasing does.

Illinois discontinued check stations more than 20 years ago, but restarted them in counties with chronic wasting disease so samples could be collected and CWD hot spots marked.

Most years, I visit a check station on opening day. This year, it was my first time for Kendall County.

Roy Domazlicky, northern regional wildlife biologist, was the cutter for the day. He checked the teeth to age the deer and asked permission to take samples. With permission, he cut out the lymph nodes in the neck and a piece of tongue.

In the last couple years, the procedure changed slightly. Now, the nodes now are simply taken out and frozen before before being sent to a Wisconsin lab to check for CWD. The tongue samples go to Dr. Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, who has ongoing studies on white-tailed deer, at the University of Illinois.

When a deer came in, Wefer, wildlife division chief, checked in the hunter, asked whether taken with a shotgun or a muzzleloader and whether any wild turkeys, feral hogs or bobcats were sighted. Then he asked them to show on a map where the deer was killed.

This fall, Jim Dooley was the first reader to send me a photo of an armadillo spotted from a deer stand. It was under him for an hour.

Considering armadillos are inching north in Illinois, I asked Skinner if a question on armadillo sightings was coming.

“We already have a nice reporting tool on [wildlifeillinois.org/sightings/report-armadillo-sightings/] for anyone who would like to provide information on armadillo sightings in the northern half of the state,” he emailed.

Skinner also dug a historical nugget.

“Kendall County was opened to shotgun hunting in 1966,” he emailed. “A deer permit back then cost five dollars and allowed you to hunt between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The permit quota in 1966 for Kendall County was 200, and the shotgun season that year was Nov. 18-20 and Dec. 9-11. When you swing through the check station on Friday, that would be 56 years to the day since the Illinois Department of Conservation opened Kendall County up to shotgun deer hunting.”

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Aurora Central 55, Newark 44

Bluford Webber 42, Red Hill 11

Clemente 35, Foreman 15

Effingham 53, Dieterich 43

Fenwick 40, Phillips 36

Galesburg 69, Freeport 29

Geneva 50, Lake Zurich 43

Huntley 52, Hononegah 35

Hyde Park 83, Comer 11

Joliet West 58, Moline 30

Lake View 48, Francis Parker 35

Latin 55, Hope Academy 47

LeRoy 53, Roanoke-Benson 44

Lincoln 76, Mattoon 47

Benet 70, Rockford Guilford 34

Lyons 64, Wheaton North 31

Mt. Zion 45, Jacksonville 30

Nokomis 55, Vandalia 41

Normal West 69, Bloomington 56

Peoria Notre Dame 65, East Peoria 14

Pontiac 64, Fairbury Prairie Central 59

Prospect 68, Downers South 54

Rochester 44, Bethalto Civic Memorial 32

Rockford East 41, Earlville 32

Sandwich 39, Somonauk 22

Stevenson 59, New Trier 54, OT

Stillman Valley 44, Stockton 12

United 51, Yorkville Christian 21

Valmeyer 29, Lebanon 28

West Chicago 57, Elgin 44

Westmont 69, Islamic Foundation 28

Wheaton Academy 43, Harvest Christian Academy 26

Willows 37, North Chicago 12

Woodlawn 63, Cairo 24

Dundee Crown Tournament

St. Viator 63, Streamwood 33

Mundelein Tournament

Highland Park 65, Grayslake North 58

Taylorville Tournament

Taylorville 64, Hillsboro 40

Warren Tournament

Galena 52, Morrison 48

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The message was sent.

And it wasn’t subtle, either.

Now, Bulls coach Billy Donovan is about to find out who really heard it, who took it to heart, and who was poised to do something about it.

It obviously fell on deaf ears Friday.

Prior to Jalen Suggs breaking the hearts of the Bulls with a game-winning three pointer in the 108-107 shocking Magic win, Donovan was asked about the slow starts, too many lethargic moments, and the overall play of this product through 16 regular-season games, and now four-straight losses.

He did his usual coachspeak about it being on everyone in the organization, including himself and the coaching staff, but then did color outside his usual lines of correctness, making it very clear that this mess was on his Big Three, and theirs to clean up.

“The way I look at it is I’ve got a lot of respect on a lot of levels for Vooch [Nikola Vucevic], and DeMar [DeRozan], and Zach [LaVine] as who they are as players,” Donovan said. “We’re never going to be as good as we can be as a team until those three guys really drive the opening part of the game. It’s easy to look at maybe Ayo [Dosunmu] being a young player, Patrick [Williams] not being aggressive enough, ‘Hey, we’re just going to throw a guy in there.’

“Those three guys are important to our team, and if we’re working around them like you’re talking about, I don’t know if we can ever get where we need to get to.”

And that’s why making a radical change to the starting lineup wasn’t happening yet.

The closing group? That was a different story, as the Bulls (6-10) fought back from a 19-point deficit, took a four-point lead with 26.5 seconds left, and did so with LaVine benched in crunch time in the wake of a 1-for-14 shooting night.

“He had a tough night shooting and I thought that group fought their way back into the game,” Donovan said of benching his max contract guard. “One of those games that he just wasn’t playing well.”

That didn’t seem to sit well with LaVine.

“That’s Billy’s decision, he’s gotta lay with it,” LaVine said. “Do I agree with it? No. I think I can go out there and still be me even if I miss some shots. That’s his decision and he’s got to stand on it.”

Asked if he’ll talk to Donovan about it, LaVine said, “I’ll figure it out after this [press conference].”

DeRozan did score 41 points, but that didn’t change the fact that it was once again a bad start, leaving the Bulls to dig out of a hole.

It seemed they had when JaVonte Green dunked the ball with 26.5 seconds left, but Suggs hit two free throws, Vucevic missed his two free throws, and Suggs made it hurt.

Donovan, however, said the game was lost in the first half.

“[DeRozan, Vucevic and LaVine] are the leaders of our team, they are veteran players that have been in the league a long time,” Donovan said of the trio. “They’ve got to basically drive, whatever it is, defense, offense, everything. We’ve got to be able to get back, we’ve got to be able to contest threes, rebound, defend without fouling, we’ve got to be able to not turn the ball over and run good offense to generate shots. If shots aren’t falling, it can’t bleed into our defense. Your veteran guys drive that mentality and we need them to drive that mentality.”

There was more crashing than driving in the opening quarter against the Magic (5-11), as the Bulls again struggled defending the three-pointer and fell behind 37-24 after the first, and took a 14-point deficit into the locker room at the half.

“We played great once we’re behind,” LaVine added. “You can’t put a finger on why we’re coming out slow. You gotta put that on us.”

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