Before the Fire signed Cuauht?moc Blanco, Bastian Schweinsteiger or Xherdan Shaqiri, there was Hristo Stoichkov.

Even though the Bulgarian forward starred for his country in the 1994 World Cup, won that year’s Ballon d’Or as the best player in the world and was a standout for Spanish megaclub Barcelona, the Fire have a special meaning to Stoichkov. He still has a house in Lake Forest and has kept his bonds with the city and club, where he spent just three late years (2000-02) of his illustrious career.

Patting his heart as he spoke, Stoichkov made that clear.

“The Chicago Fire [are] more than a team,” he said.

The Fire celebrated a major landmark this weekend, capped off with a 1-1 tie with the New England Revolution on Sunday in front of 14,357 that ended their 25th season. Saturday was the 25th anniversary of the team’s Oct. 8, 1997 birth, marked by a party at the Museum of Science and Industry; and on Sunday, the Fire wore jerseys with special red numbers and silver anniversary logos.

Stoichkov served as the ceremonial “Fire starter” before the match, and members of the 1998 MLS Cup-US Open Cup double winners were recognized at halftime.

Though the current team finished 10-15-9 (39 points) and 12th in the Eastern Conference, the former players were glad to toast the franchise, which wasn’t an original MLS club but helped the league establish itself in Chicago.

“It gives you a sense of pride to see how much we have evolved, being part of the league right now and being part of the Chicago Fire history, it’s a great thing to see,” said Diego Gutierrez, a midfielder on the 1998 team. “I have high hopes for this club as well.”

The Fire’s first nine years were successful, bringing six trophies. Things obviously haven’t gone as well since the end of the 2009 season, and the Fire are out of the playoffs for the fifth straight year as they try to find their way back into relevance in Chicago.

Before their 50th anniversary, the Fire have a lot to do to make that milestone the mark of a triumphant club and not one just looking back longingly at the first decade of their existence. Gutierrez hopes for more championships, more World Cup players and a soccer-specific stadium downtown over the next 25 years.

“The words ‘Tradition, Honor, Passion’ are not in vain. They carry weight,” Gutierrez said, referencing the club’s credo. “I think that pretty much every single player that has ever worn this uniform has to embody that. When you get together with [fellow alumni] 25 years later, that’s the case. These guys are special.”

One player who represents that is DaMarcus Beasley. While he was with the Fire he became a regular for the US men’s national team, and eventually appeared in four World Cups and went onto a successful career in Europe and Mexico. When he came to Chicago in 2000, Beasley saw the family environment and winning culture the team enjoyed, and said he couldn’t have asked for a better club to join.

To return to that level, Beasley wants the Fire to keep their belief and give coach Ezra Hendrickson time. Longer term, more trophies and the current Fire players understanding what came before them would lead to better days.

Beasley has hope that can happen. He believes in owner Joe Mansueto, and asked Fire fans to understand how long the project could take.

But as the Fire marked their 25th anniversary, Beasley sees a lot that doesn’t need to be altered.

“The traditions and culture of the Fire,” Beasley said, “will never change.”

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LANDOVER, Md. — Derrick Henry rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown, and the Tennessee Titans made a last-minute goal-line stand to beat the Washington Commanders 21-17 Sunday, rolling into their bye week on a three-game winning streak.

David Long Jr. intercepted Carson Wentz at the 1-yard line with 6 seconds left — the second time in three games Tennessee’s defense has preserved a victory.

Getting there was all about Henry, who also had two catches for 30 yards, including a screen pass that set up Dontrell Hilliard’s 13-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. He surpassed 100 yards on the ground for the second consecutive game, and the Titans improved to 24-3 when Henry reaches that mark.

When Henry got into the end zone in the third quarter, it was Tennessee’s first second-half touchdown since the season opener. It also tied him with Earl Campbell for second on the franchise TDs list with 73, one back of Eddie George.

Leaning on Henry allowed the Titans (3-2) to handle five sacks of Ryan Tannehill, who was 15 of 25 for 181 yards and the TD pass to Hilliard.

Washington (1-4) lost its fourth straight. Carson Wentz was 25 of 38 for 359 yards with two TD passes to Dyami Brown, but the Commanders were 1 of 11 on third down, including the interception.

BIG PLAYS

Wentz made arguably his best pass of the season to connect with Brown for a 75-yard score. It’s the longest first career TD reception for a Washington player since running back Matt Jones in 2015.

Tannehill found Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on a 61-yard completion that was the Titans’ longest offensive play of the season.

ROBINSON DEBUTS

Commanders rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. made his NFL debut six weeks to the day he was shot twice in the right leg in an attempted robbery in Washington. Robinson got a rousing ovation when he was the last player to be introduced and finished with 22 yards on nine carries as the team’s leading rusher.

Robinson returned to practice Wednesday after spending the first four games of the season on the non-football injury list. The team activated the third-round pick out of Alabama on Saturday.

INJURIES

Titans: DE Denico Autry missed some time in the third quarter with a back injury. He returned at the start of the fourth. … Three starters were inactive: LB Zach Cunningham (elbow), S Amani Hooker (concussion) and LG Nate Davis (knee/foot).

Commanders: RB Jonathan Williams was ruled out with a knee injury at the start of the fourth quarter. … RT Sam Cosmi did not play after undergoing hand surgery earlier in the week.

UP NEXT

Titans: Have a bye week before hosting the AFC South rival Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 23.

Commanders: Visit the Bears on Thursday night.

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The Chicago Bears made a game of it against the Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings did most of what they wanted in the first half. With an early 21-3 lead, the Chicago Bears appeared on their way to being blown out in Week 5. With their backs to the wall late in the second quarter, the Bears made a furious comeback against their divisional rival.

The Vikings would finish strong in the fourth quarter to knock out the Bears 29-22. The Bears appeared to make good progress overall in the game. It was arguably the Bears’ best performance this season. However, they still have yet to play a great complete game. Here we look at three studs and duds for the Bears in Week 5.

Studs

Justin Fields

After a few rough weeks, Fields played well against the Vikings. He carried the team with 208 yards passing and 47 yards on the ground. That was his first 200-yard passing performance of the year. The Bears’ offensive line showed improvement, and Fields took advantage of a cleaner pocket. Fields numbers could have been better, but a few wide receivers had crucial drops, and Darnell Mooney missed a chance to haul in an early touchdown.

Chicago Bears Red Zone offense

The Bears’ red zone offense was terrible against the New York Giants in Week 4. Head coach Matt Eberflus said the team focused on red zone situations in practice this week. The move paid off, as the Bears converted their two red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Rookie Velus Jones Jr. scored his first career touchdown on a creative play by offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

Kindle Vildor

Bears cornerback Kindle Vildor gave the team a big break Sunday. Vildor intercepted a third-quarter Kirk Cousins pass on a series the Vikings were driving into Chicago territory. His interception gave the Bears an extra possession the team used to march down the field and take the lead on a field goal. Vildor finished with five tackles on the day.

Three Duds

First quarter offense

The Bears’ offense struggled at the beginning of the game. Their first drive ended in a field goal. Not terrible, but they were trading three points to the Vikings’ seven, as the Vikings scored a first-drive touchdown. Fields receivers  The offensive line looked terrible, as their miscues caused a fumble on a snap, and Fields was sacked on third down. Wide receiver Dante Pettis had a bad drop.

Chicago Bears coverage on Justin Jefferson

The Bears didn’t have a good game plan for one of the NFL’s most dangerous wide receivers. It didn’t help that the Bears were missing their best corner, Jaylon Johnson. Jefferson went off on the Bears’ secondary, and his early play gave the Vikings a huge lead. He finished with 12 receptions for 154 yards. The Bears will need to come up with a better way to defend him in their January matchup.

Chicago Bears running backs

The Chicago Bears’ running game was good in the early season. This week, the Bears were expected to have a boost running the game as David Montgomery came back from injury. The Vikings were able to keep the Bears’ running backs under control Sunday. Montgomery finished with 20 rushing yards on 12 carries, just 1.7 yards a rush. Khalil Herbert gained 11 yards on 4 carries. The Bears need their running backs to be more effective going forward this season if they want to win games.

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MINNEAPOLIS — This was exactly the scenario in which the Bears need to see what Justin Fields can do.

He rallied them from a huge deficit against the Vikings only to see his defense falter late, putting the game in his hands with two minutes left and needing a touchdown.

However, the ball ended up in someone else’s hands.

As Fields pushed the Bears upfield in pursuit of a game-tying touchdown, he hit little-known wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a long gain, but cornerback Cam Dantzler ripped the ball from him to secure a 29-22 win for the Vikings.

Fields had the Bears at their own 46-yard line with 1:12 left and hit Smith-Marsette for 15 yards. Rather than immediately duck out of bounds, Smith-Marsette tried to keep dodging and advancing, and that’s when Dantzler stripped him.

Fields started 2-for-6 passing and the Bears were down 21-3 in the second quarter, but he finished 15 of 21 for 208 yards and a touchdown for a career-high 118.8 passer rating. He also ran eight times for 47 yards and had a 53-yard touchdown run negated by Smith-Marsette’s flag for a block in the back.

The Bears took their first lead at 22-21 on Cairo Santos’ 51-yard field goal with 9:31 left in the game.

The Bears clamped down defensively in the second half, but crumbled at the end. The Vikings went on a 75-yard drive that drained seven minutes off the clock and took a 29-22 lead on Kirk Cousins’ quarterback sneak and ensuing two-point conversion pass to Justin Jefferson with 2:29 left.

All the corrections the Bears made after letting the Vikings roll through them in the first half were moot at that point. Cousins completed 6 of 8 passes for 57 yards on that drive, and Cook ran five times for 19 yards.

Cousins completed 32 of 41 passes for 296 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Jefferson caught 12 passes for 154 yards.

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On a weekend the Fire celebrated their first 25 seasons, they got a look at their future.

Making his first start Sunday, goalkeeper Chris Brady stopped four shots in the Fire’s 1-1 tie with the New England Revolution in front of 14,357 at SeatGeek Stadium. Homegrown player Alex Monis tied the game in the second half of stoppage time, stealing a point for the Fire.

With the Fire and New England both out of contention on the final day of the year and Gabriel Slonina still recovering from a concussion, coach Ezra Hendrickson gave Brady his debut.

The young goalie had little time to settle in.

In the first minute, Brady was unable to stop a cross for Giacomi Vrioni, but the close-range shot went wide. Three minutes later, Brady came out of his net to cut down the angle and stymie Vrioni to record his first save. Then in the 11th, Brady’s pass put Mauricio Pineda into trouble, but the Fire escaped without damage.

Brady was tested again in the 50th when he denied Vrioni, and made perhaps his best save in the 52ndwhen he dove to his right to stop Gustavo Bou’s try from the center of the box. Brady was again up to the task in the 60th facing Bou,but couldn’t do anything on Dylan Borrero’s curling score in the 88th.

Monis collected a loose ball in the New England box after a Fire throw-in and scored his first MLS goal.

Whether Brady is the Fire’s No. 1 in 2023 is one of the questions the team has to address this winter.

Slonina was sold to Chelsea and loaned back, and it’s possible he stays in Chicago next year to continue his development and keep his hold of the Fire net. Also 18 like Slonina, Brady is considered a top prospect but maybe not on Slonina’s level, and might need more time before becoming the Fire starter. If that’s the case and Slonina doesn’t return, the Fire would need to find a veteran stopgap who’d understand it would be Brady’s job when he’s ready.

But Brady has had a strong 2022 and earned his start Sunday.

A Naperville native, Brady played 12 games for Chicago Fire II in MLS NEXT PRO and registered five shutouts. Earlier this year, Brady backstopped the United States to the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship title and qualification for the Under-20 World Cup in 2023 and the Summer Olympics in 2024, winning the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper in the tournament.

“We think that he’s done well enough with the second team and he deserves an opportunity to see what he can do with the first team,” coach Ezra Hendrickson said Wednesday.

Outside of the goalkeeping situation, the Fire have a lot of work to do this offseason.

They finished 10-15-9 (39 points), good for 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Before anything else is done, owner Joe Mansueto has to make a final call on sporting director Georg Heitz, whose contract is up.

Once that’s decided, Heitz or his replacement can figure out how to get the Fire back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. By restructuring Gaston Gimenez’s contract, the Fire have an open designated player spot to use alongside Xherdan Shaqiri and Jairo Torres. They also have to sort out the future of Jhon Duran amid the reported interest from Liverpool and Chelsea and other European clubs, and also add playable depth to a thin roster.

None of that was determined on an afternoon when Brady got his long-anticipated chance.

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The White Sox will reportedly not offer Jose Abreu a contract this off-season.

According to a report from Bob Nightengale, the Chicago White Sox could be moving on from first baseman Jose Abreu this off-season.

Nightengale indicates that the Sox will be looking to shake things up this off-season, which would involve not offering Abreu a new deal. Even though Jose Abreu was the Sox leader in many offensive categories last season, the team wants to give first base to Andrew Vaughn next year. Nightengale also indicated that Dylan Cease and Vaughn are the only untouchables for the Sox.

While Abreu is the most beloved Sox player by the fans and clubhouse, many have predicted this move for some time now. While the team does have too many first basemen on the roster, it would be tough for everyone to see Abreu leave. Abreu is currently 35 years old and he could become an interesting piece on the open market this year.

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In terms of actual goaltending, Petr Mrazek and Alex Stalock enter 2022-23 as one of the NHL’s shakier duos. Both struggled in different ways last season, although both could be bounce-back candidates this season.

In terms of playing the puck, though, Mrazek and Stalock are two of the league’s more competent goalies. Both demonstrated during training camp an eagerness and ability to leave the crease and make smart, safe passes.

“We’ll put in a little bit of work in before practices, doing stuff, but Petr and I have just done it for a while,” Stalock said. “There are goalies that are really comfortable with going out; there are some that prefer not to go out. It’s just [based on] your ability.”

Stalock is particularly active. Mrazek is more cautious, but he still does it somewhat frequently.

“I like to play the puck [but] just be careful,” Mrazek said. “I don’t think I’m the guy who plays the puck way too much. No crazy, crazy plays. I try to keep it simple and play it fast. You never know–mistakes can happen–but I try to keep it simple.”

There’s always an inherent risk with active puck-playing goalies. If they make an errant pass, if a teammate fumbles an otherwise fine pass, if they get caught behind the net without help or if the puck takes an odd deflection on a rim-around, disaster can occur.

They’re also hardly a game-changing aspect of the sport. Considering how poor the rebuilding Hawks’ roster is and how ugly their preseason results were, an unsuccessful season seems inevitable.

In most cases, however, it is an advantage–if only a minor one–to functionally have a sixth man capable of handling the puck. Hawks returning from last season already have some experience with that from playing with Marc-Andre Fleury, who had the same tendency. Fleury’s 20 career assists actually lead all active goalies.

The ripple effects start well before the puck enters the defensive zone. Knowing an active puck-playing goalie is behind them, the Blackhawks can more aggressively pressure the opponent’s puck-carrier outside the blue line. That, in turn, makes it more difficult for the puck-carrier to enter the zone with possession and more likely to instead dump it in.

Then, when they do, the goalie’s ability to leave his crease, stop the puck bouncing off the end-wall (or circling around the boards) and pass it to a tracking-back defenseman gives opposing forechecks less time and opportunity to tie things up.

“It forces teams to make a decision at the red line,” Stalock said. “This league has gotten so good with the skill guys going east-west when they come in the zone, you don’t want a team to have possession when they enter the zone. If…you make them make a decision, it makes it a lot harder. They can’t set up a forecheck, and they can’t get rush tries and three-on-two [breaks] and stuff like that.”

Swiftly turn a dump-in into a breakout enough times successfully, and opponents may change to a two-man forecheck designed to take away the goalie’s passing lanes to his two defensemen. New Hawks coach Luke Richardson saw that happen often with the Canadiens during Carey Price’s long tenure.

But if Hawks forwards circle back deep enough to help with the breakout, as Richardson has instructed them to do during camp, they’ll provide additional passing outlets for Mrazek and Stalock. And if the goalies can feed the forwards directly, bypassing the defensemen altogether, that can jumpstart a transition attack in the other way even faster.

“It can help relieve some pressure in our ‘D’-zone,” Richardson said. “So that’ll definitely be part of our game plan.”

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Bears are embarrassing themselves in every aspect against the Vikings today and trail 21-10 at halftime.

The defense has been virtually invisible, and the offense is having trouble even running a play.

From the start, the Vikings have done as they pleased offensively. With top cornerback Jaylon Johnson sidelined by a quad injury for the third consecutive game, star wide receiver Justin Jefferson hit 100 yards early in the second quarter. He also threw a 23-yard pass.

Jefferson has caught all 10 passes thrown to him and has 138 yards at halftime.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins completed his first 17 passes and is 22 of 26 for 217 yards and a touchdown for a 114.3 passer rating at halftime. Running back Dalvin Cook has 10 yards at 5.3 per carry and scored two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Bears’ offense has looked like it usually does. It started the day with a delay of game, then committed a false start on third-and-11 later in that series. The Bears also began the second quarter with a fumbled snap on first down from their own 14, and that quickly turned into a punt.

Quarterback Justin Fields completed just 3 of 8 passes for 73 yards in the first half and ran three times for 11 yards. David Montgomery is back after missing time with an ankle injury and has three carries for 11 yards and a touchdown in his return.

The Bears finally got something going just before halftime. After a 15-yard punt by the Vikings set them up at midfield, Fields launched a 39-yard pass to Darnell Mooney, who made a one-handed catch. Montgomery ran it in from the 9-yard line with 1:08 left.

The Bears had the ball for just 7:28 in the first half and ran 18 plays.

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Brother Rice spent all of last season in the headlines. Quarterback Jack Lausch won the Player of the Year award after turning in tremendous performances in the Crusaders’ thrilling, high-profile wins and losses.

It’s been a much different season this year. Brother Rice is rebuilding with a new coach and a new group of players.

The Crusaders arrived in Joliet on Friday at a respectable 3-3 having defeated the teams they were expected to (Hillcrest, Benet, De La Salle) and lost to some of the area’s best teams (St. Rita, Loyola, Mount Carmel).

The Week 6 loss to the Caravan was an eye-opener. Brother Rice gave top-ranked Mount Carmel its best test of the season, losing 28-21.

The Crusaders aren’t as wildly talented this year, but new coach Casey Quedenfeld has a group that will be a factor in the state playoffs. That was evident in the 31-24 double-overtime win against Joliet Catholic.

“This team has woken up,” Brother Rice quarterback Ryan Hartz said. “We’ve come together as a team the past few weeks.”

Surging in St. Charles

St. Charles North’s Drew Surges has emerged as one of the season’s breakout stars. The senior running back has been putting up huge numbers and making a major impact on both sides of the ball.

Surges, a safety and running back, had four touchdowns against Geneva in Week 5.

That was just a minor tuneup for the havoc he created against St. Charles East on Friday. Surges rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns, caught five passes, made seven tackles and blocked a field goal. One of the touchdown runs was for 55 yards.

Surges (6-1, 195 pounds) entered the season as a bit of an unknown. He currently has scholarship offers from Army, Bucknell, Georgetown and Navy.

Southwest Prairie fun

Plainfield North squeaked into the Super 25 last week. No one is entirely sure what to make of the Southwest Prairie conference this season (which is an annual dilemma).

Much like the Mid-Suburban League, Southwest Prairie football is generally a lot of fun to watch. The game is a bit more open and unpredictable than in the Catholic League, West Suburban or DuPage Valley.

Fans in Minooka enjoyed a real treat on Friday. Demir Ashiru, one of the best quarterbacks I’ve covered this season, helped engineer a 22-21 comeback victory for Plainfield North.

The Tigers rose a bit in the rankings this week and have a good shot of finishing the regular season undefeated.

Freshman watch

Logan Malachuk took over as quarterback for Nazareth late last season. Ethan Plumb started for St. Charles North. It was unique to see freshmen quarterbacks leading major programs.

It’s happening again this season. Jonas Williams, Bolingbrook’s freshman phenom quarterback, is already well-established.

Hinsdale Central started freshman quarterback Riley Contreras on Friday against York. The Red Devils made the move due to injuries, which isn’t quite the same as the other situations, but Contreras is a name to keep an eye on for the next few seasons.

Contreras threw a 26-yard touchdown pass and ran for 43 yards in Hinsdale Central’s loss to York.

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