After not having a pick in the first round, the Chicago Bears had to wait until Friday to add to their roster under the Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus era. And on Friday night, the Bears made their first selection at No. 39 overall in the draft taking cornerback Kyler Gordon of Washington.

The selection of Gordon adds a much needed body to the cornerback room for the Bears’ defense behind Jaylon Johnson. Gordon was an All-Pac 12 player in 2021 for the Huskies.

Analysis

Here is a breakdown of Kyler Gordon’s game via NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein:

Cornerback who comes with an elite, high-performance engine but a GPS still in the process of loading. Gordon’s dynamic athletic qualities will show up in testing, but more importantly, they are all over his tape. His blend of play strength and explosive burst affects the passing game from press, off-man and zone coverages. He plays with an alpha demeanor and hitting is definitely part of his overall package. Gordon lacks polish and needs to play with better route recognition and anticipation, but if those elements click, his ball production could be near the top of the league as one of the top playmakers in the game.

Highlights

Make sure to check out our Bears forum for the latest on the team.

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It’s been a quarter century since the coming-of-age rock musical “Spring Awakening” swept the Tony Awards.But in Porchlight Music Theatre’s revival of Duncan Sheik (composer) and Steven Sater’s (book) adaptation of German playwright Frank Wedekind’s 1891 drama, one thing remains inarguable: Killer numbers like”Totally F*****” and “The B**** of Living” will resonate powerfully as long as humans experience anger, frustration, heartbreak and unfairness.

In director/choreographer Brenda Didier’s staging, that brutal relevance shines through despite uneven vocals and some egregiously over-the-top acting.

Didier’s production is mostly solid, but, amid moments of soaring sublimity, the ensemble struggles with the score’s substantial musical demands, particularly the male roles.

The plot follows Wendla (Maya Lou Hlava), a smart, inquisitive teenager who hasn’t the faintest idea how babies are made despite being an aunt twice over. She pleads with her mother for information, but she’s met with the uncertain implication that nice girls and proper women never speak of such things.

Wendla and precocious schoolmate Melchior (Jack DeCesare) fall in love and dream of a future in which their children aren’t punished for asking questions.

Subplots underscore the story’s exploration of lethal hypocrisy and rigid narrow-mindedness.Ilse (Tiffany T. Taylor) is an incest survivor thrown out of the house after reporting her father. Moritz Stiefel (Quinn Kelch) is devastated beyond repair when told he’s failed his final exams.

Sheik’s score is rich in snarling, growling rock-and-roll angst, amplified by microphones the characters wield like weapons, and choreography that’s more Rolling Stones-in-an-arena tour than 1890s small-town Germany. Porchlight gets the growls and snarls, the pitch less so; ramping up the volume does not mask sour notes.

And conductor Justin Akira Kono’s six-piece band is spread too thin. Despite the impassioned performances of the musicians, there’s a tinniness to the sound.

But Porchlight’s production also shines. The ensemble’s a cappella blend is gorgeous. Its delivery of the text has a crystalline clarity.

As Wendla, Hlava captures both the joy and the restless discontent of a young woman constricted by societal expectations that allow no room for variation. From the bitter demands of “Mama Who Bore Me” to the glimmering hope of “Whispering,” Hlava conveys the full emotional spectrum.

Alas, DeCesare is miscast as the upstart Melchior. DeCesare reads more early 30s than late teens, and his command of the score’s upper register demands is shaky.Kelch’s Moritz also struggles. He’s part Billy Idol, part Jim Carrey, both dialed up to 11 throughout and bringing Moritzwithin a whisker of cartoon territory.

Then, there’s John Marshall Jr. as the outwardly suave, secretly defiant Hanschen. Marshall’s remarkably high falsetto is stunning, his bone-dry, comic timing a highlight. There are plenty of doomed teenagers in “Spring Awakening,” but Marshall’s Hanschen–think Oscar Wilde meets George Michael–is determined not to be among them.

Taylor’s Ilse brings a rich, robust tragedy of “The Dark I Know Well,” and, in its repetitive, final refrain, she and Ariana Burks’ Martha deliver a power surge of hopeless rage that’ll make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

As the Adult Men and Women, McKinley Carter and Michael Joseph Mitchell effectively move from diabolically heartless (the school officials) to concerned (Melchior’s mom) to fatally misguided (Moritz’s dad).

Nobody on stage is helped by Patrick Chan’s lighting design, which features a distracting array of disco-like effects that blink on and off in various colors, beams of blue shooting up through the floor during one particularly climactic moment.

Costume designer Bill Morey’s cottage-core prairie dresses and awkward knee breeches credibly lend the cast a late 19th century air. Christopher Rhoton’s minimalist set design, framed by cut-out trees, showcases Didier’s expressive choreography.

“Spring Awakening’s” depictions of sexuality walks a thin line between comedy, profundity and tragedy. And intimacy designer Kristina Fluty doesn’t falter so much as a breath.

“Spring Awakening” is about harrowing, not happy, endings. Despite its missteps, there’s transcendence and beauty in Porchlight’s timely take.

NOTE: The production arrives as “Spring Awakening” experiences a resurgence in pop culture: On Tuesday, HBO airs ‘Those You’ve Known,” a documentary exploring how a 19th century German play became a 21st century rock musical that broke ground with its intentionally anachronistic score and its depictions of sex.

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The Bears drafted Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon with their first pick in the second round Friday, giving them another big-bodied Pac-12 player to pair with Jaylon Johnson. They used pick No. 39 on Gordon, who was present at the NFL draft celebration in Las Vegas.

Gordon was a first-team all-conference player last year, his only one as a starter, defending nine passes and intercepting two more. The Seattle-area native, who weighs 5-11 and weighs 194 pounds, has a background in dance and martial arts. He danced until age 15.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, he credited those activities with enabling him to play a strong cornerback.

“With dance and Kung Fu, honestly, just like my body control, the way I move my body,” he said then. “Just my ball skills just the way I’m able to control myself. Even just in press technique with my hips and how I’m able to balance, and the weight transition on the ground, and just make up so much time and speed. I definitely feel like that helps a lot.”

Gordon’s favorite cornerback growing up was the Jets’ Darrelle Revis. He said he admires Marshon Lattimore, Denzel Ward and Stephon Gilmore now.

The Bears entered Friday holding Picks No. 39 and 48 in the second round and No. 71 in the third round. They didn’t draft in Round 1, a result of former general manager Ryan Pace’s trade for quarterback Justin Fields in last year’s draft.

The Bears had a long list of needs entering the second round. Cornerback was in the top three, beside wide receiver and offensive line. Gordon will get a chance to start right away, with Johnson also playing outside and Tavon Young the favorite to play the slot.

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Luis Robert returned to the lineup after missing the last two series with a sore right grain. When he got there, he saw that his spot was taken.

Andrew Vaughn, who took a .300/.375/.600 hitting line, team-best .975 OPS and four home runs into the White Sox’ game against the Angels Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field, batted second for the fourth straight game and fifth time in his last six.

“He earned that spot,” La Russa said of Andrew Vaughn, the team’s best hitter in a slumping offense so far this season. “We talked about it. That’s the way I was taught, that number two spot, especially when you have quality middle guys, it’s a really important spot.”

Robert, who missed six games, is much faster than Vaughn, but coming off the groin issue likely limits his value as a stealing threat.

“Hopefully we get Luis sharp right away and with his legs he’s a nice fit there as well,” La Russa said.

“It’s very nice to see his name in there, now we’ve got to keep him in there. Track it inning to inning with him, at-bat to at-bat. Make sure everything is not getting tight or sore. It’s a lift for us.”

With Yoan Moncada (oblique) at Charlotte on a rehab assignment, the Sox are “trending in the right direction,” La Russa said.

“People are getting hurt all over baseball, the game you’re playing is the game that counts and the guys who are playing can help you get a win. You don’t want to get distracted by what if, what if. Just take what we’ve got.”

Syndergaard scratched

Angels righty Noah Syndergaard was scratched from his scheduled start Friday due to an illness. Jimmy Herget will take his place. Angels manager Joe Maddon said Syndergaard could pitch later in the four-game series.

Ryan Burr reinstated from Charlotte

Right-hander Ryan Burr returned from his rehabilitation assignment at Charlotte, and righty Kyle Crick to was optioned to Charlotte to make room. Burr was on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder strain.

Burr recorded five outs over two scoreless appearances at Charlotte. He posted a 2.45 ERA in 36 2/3 innings with 33 strikeouts in 34 games last season. Crick allowed four earned runs in six innings this season.

Talking things over

When the pitching staff meets before each series to go over the opponent’s hitters, right-hander Kendall Graveman is all for the pitchers speaking up more.

“A lot of times it’s led by a pitching coach or bullpen coach,” Graveman said, “and the analytical department has put together some numbers. My goal is eventually we get to a place where we’re leading those meetings because we know the hitters that well.”

Players can study video on their phones, tablets or laptops, or in the video room. It takes time and effort, Graveman said, but pitchers can come to the meetings armed with info.

“We have the time and technology at our fingertips to watch it at our home if we want,” Graveman said. “I’m hearing guys speak up in those meetings, saying ‘This is what I saw, I feel like I can attack him’ and bouncing those ideas off everyone. That’s the biggest thing, having a knowledge of how to get guys out.”

This and that

Dallas Keuchel will receive his 2021 Gold Glove Award, the fifth of his career, in a pregame ceremony Saturday.

*Joe Brand will fill in for Len Kasper on the ESPN 1000 radio broadcast Saturday. Radio voice Len Kasper is broadcasting the game with A.J. Pierzynski for Fox Sports 1.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. –That didn’t take long.

Less than a month after Blackhawks forward Sam Lafferty and general manager Kyle Davidson made clear their mutual interest in re-signing, the Hawks announced Friday a two-year contract extension for Lafferty with a $1.15 million salary cap hit.

“I’m just really grateful,” Lafferty said. “Things weren’t looking that great for me for a little while there in Pittsburgh, but people here [in Chicago] believed in me. I’ve got to keep proving them right.”

Lafferty’s production –11 points in 45 games –doesn’t pop off the page, but his combination of intense work ethic and subtle skill have been impressive.

His ability to beat defenders one-on-one to create opportunities for himself is a rare trait on this Hawks roster. Only Alex DeBrincat has produced more individual scoring chances (per 60 even-strength minutes) than Lafferty has since his Hawks debut Jan. 13.

He is already 27, but he seems like a potentially late-blooming impact NHL player.

“That was a great signing,” said interim coach Derek King, one of Lafferty’s biggest supporters all season. “He’s going to be a big part of the rebuild. He’s the kind of player you need. [He] brings some energy; he’s a good character kid. He’s got a lot of upside to him.”

“Sam’s speed and up-tempo style is the brand of hockey we hope to see the team play over the coming years,” Davidson said in a statement. “Sam adds a dynamic to our roster that allows him to fit seamlessly throughout the lineup and give our coaches a reliable forward that can be trusted in nearly every situation.”

Raddysh vs. Hagel

Speaking of trades with encouraging early results, the much-discussed Brandon Hagel trade also looks wise so far.

Taylor Raddysh –just one of four assets the Hawks acquired from the Lightning –has singlehandedly outscored Hagel since trade day.

Raddysh tallied 10 points in his first 20 Hawks games after scoring twice Wednesday. Hagel, conversely, is off to a slow start in Tampa, having recorded just six points in his first 21 games. Hagel’s playoff performance will matter far more, but the Lightning will certainly want him to pick up the pace.

Dach needs reset

There’s no fair way to characterize Kirby Dach’s third NHL season other than as an abject disappointment. He finished with only nine goals and 17 assists in 70 games.

But Dach is still only 21 years old –six years younger than Lafferty and 2.5 years younger than Hagel, for reference. He has time to turn things around. He just needs a mental reset this summer.

“He needs to just clear his mind, get away from the game for a little bit and come back refreshed,” King said.

Johnson does, too

To conclude his extremely chaotic season, Tyler Johnson finally found some stability the last two weeks. Entering Friday, he’d played in seven straight games, tallying three points, averaging 14:40 of ice time and prompting King to admit, “I wish I had him all year.”

This upcoming offseason, which will be much longer than his last two since they followed the Lightning’s Stanley Cup runs, should be crucial for him.

“I can’t wait to get some training in me,” Johnson said. “[The] last couple years, I’ve played a lot of hockey [and] really haven’t had any off time — or any time — to get my body back where I want to be. With the surgery, it set me back a little bit. … It’s gonna be a pretty exciting time.”

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Throughout the Bulls season, guard Zach LaVine was about the business of putting the team first, even ahead of his ailing left knee.

On Friday, with the 2021-22 season now in the books for the organization, he was about the business. Period.

Let the game of chicken begin.

Speaking to the media after his exit meeting with the front office and coaching staff, LaVine reiterated what he has warned for years: He views himself as a max player, and entering unrestricted free agency this summer, he wants to be compensated like a max player.

If that involves the Bulls — who can pay LaVine the most — that would mean a five-year deal somewhere in the neighborhood of $212 million total, and $42.4 million per year. If it means going elsewhere, it would be one less year, but still a deal with $40 million-plus per season.

While both sides have indicated in the past that they wanted to work out a deal to keep LaVine a Bull, even if that means going into the luxury tax area at some point, the Bulls were also hoping that the two-time All-Star would take into consideration that the more money he was willing to leave on the table, the more wiggle room they would have to help build the roster around him.

A nice concept, but LaVine sounded like he was out of the doing favors concept of this upcoming negotiation.

“I plan to enjoy free agency with what it is as a whole,” LaVine said. “I think you’re going to have to experience A-Z without making any fast decisions. I think that’s something that me and [agent] Rich [Paul] get to go through and experience.”

Translation: LaVine will be open to all offers.

That’s the Paul way and what Paul’s agency, Klutch Sports, brings to the table. Hometown discounts are nice … for other guys.

“I mean, I think it’s important to me,” LaVine said, when asked if being a max player was a priority. “But you get paid what you’re valued at, and I see myself as a top guy in this league. And I think I’ve proven that over the last four years. And I think that’s what we’re going in negotiating. I think that’s what [general manager] Marc [Eversley], AK [executive vice president of basketball operations], and Rich are going to have to discuss.”

A discussion that Karnisovas seemed very excited to have.

During his session with the media on Friday, Karnisovas stressed “continuity” in the organization, using that buzzword over and over again. That included bringing LaVine back if the two sides can find common ground.

“The thing is we have a relationship with him, he knows exactly what to expect here, and you know, we have a really good relationship with him,” Karnisovas said of LaVine. “The last two years have been the best years of his career, so we’ll see what happens.”

First things first, and that means LaVine taking the next week off to “chill out,” but then admittedly seeing his knee specialist in Los Angeles to figure out what the next move was to get him back to 100%. LaVine has been dealing with swelling and discomfort in the knee since early December, and a source told the Sun-Times earlier this week that the guard had already told teammates an exploratory surgery was needed.

LaVine was still trying to downplay that scenario, but admitted to how much maintenance it actually took to keep going, including “overtime” for the training staff.

“Once I get back to L.A., go see my doctor, communicate with him and figure out what’s the best plan of action,” LaVine said. “Right now, I don’t know. We’ll figure that out.”

Results that the Bulls would like to find out as soon as possible, but results that shouldn’t influence much.

Karnisovas was asked if the knee could be a sticking point in the negotiations with LaVine, and said, “No, I don’t think so.”

Don’t think so?

Game on.

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I know what I don’t want for the Bulls more than what I do want for them. That might not seem particularly helpful heading into the offseason and beyond, but bear with me here. Sometimes a negative can inform a positive.

I liked the 2021-22 Bulls, a team that showed heart and effort and all those things you want in an NBA club but don’t always get. Its weakness was an unfortunate habit of shrinking in the presence of more talented opponents, which, if you’re ranking weaknesses, is a bad weakness to have. It showed up again in Milwaukee’s five-game dismissal of the Bulls in the postseason. They fell by 30 points in Game 3, and that wasn’t a fluke, wasn’t an anomaly, wasn’t a lone-wolf bad night. It was typical.

Some will argue that the Bulls didn’t have a killer instinct this season, but that would imply they were ever in position to kill anybody in any of those lopsided losses. They weren’t. Moving forward, the temptation is to say they need to acquire an assassin, or at least someone who sticks out his chin and begs to take on the other team by himself.

Yes and no.

Yes to “sticks out his chin” and no to “by himself.”

Look no further than the Bucks, the defending NBA champions, for a template. Now, you’ll argue that Milwaukee has everything it needs in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is 6-11 with a wingspan of 7-4, which means that jumping while dunking is optional for him. He’s almost painfully gifted. You’ll laugh at me if I say that one of the big reasons for his success is that he cares about winning and cares about his teammates. I’m even rolling my eyes after writing that. But it’s true. Call up any of his TV interviews and listen to him. He cares. If he’s acting, then he’s Denzel Washington good. He could have left the Bucks to play somewhere else in 2020, somewhere with brighter lights and more “brand” exposure, but he chose to stay in pleasant Milwaukee and chase a championship.

The Bulls aren’t going to get a Greek Freak this offseason, unless he’ll be hiding at the 18th pick of the first round of the June draft. But Giannis serves a purpose for me. He’s a reminder of what I don’t want for the Bulls. I don’t want a James Harden or a Russell Westbrook. Not those two players specifically because I don’t know any winning team in its right mind that would want either. I don’t want anybody with a me-first, I-second approach to the game. There’s a reason Harden and Westbrook have had incredible individual statistics and haven’t won an NBA title: The way they play the game is antithetical to winning championships.

Their supporters will point to the huge number of assists that both players have amassed in their careers as proof of their desire to involve teammates. But by all appearances, the goal for Harden and Westbrook has been triple-doubles, a statistical pursuit in which assists are things to be collected for one’s private collection, like artwork or sports memorabilia. Teammates are vehicles to help them get from Point A to Assist B. Who knows? Maybe we’ll be making the same judgments on Luka Doncic and Trae Young someday.

Back to the Bucks. It’s not just Antetokounmpo who wants to win. The Bulls could really use someone like his teammate, Jrue Holiday, another talented player who doesn’t know the meaning of “can’t.” They need more players whom opposing players hate to face. And as detested as Grayson Allen is in Chicago and anywhere where cheap shots are frowned upon, the Bucks seem to appreciate his drive to succeed. He matters.

There’s no doubt the Bulls have to raise their talent level, but how they do it is important. Plenty of gifted players are out there, but plenty of them wouldn’t know how to spell “team” if you spotted them all four letters in the correct order. It’s not just Harden and Westbrook. It’s all the players who aspire to be Harden and Westbrook. What I’m arguing for here is team “culture,” and I think I’m going to be ill. It’s a sports buzzword that drives me to the brink of insanity. But the Bulls are at a pivotal point. How they proceed could decide whether they turn into winners or remain a team that wilts against quality opponents.

It would help if they stayed healthy next season, but injuries to Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso were not the main reason they struggled at times this season. They need more talent, but the right kind of talent. Fair or not, I still look at LaVine as impressionable. Having DeMar DeRozan, an excellent player who cares about winning, as a teammate was a good thing for the 27-year-old. But if someone without DeRozan’s terrific attitude came along, I wonder which way LaVine would go. In the direction of Harden and Westbrook?

If the Bulls don’t offer LaVine a max contract in the offseason, it would be hard to blame him for going elsewhere for the money. But it’s worth noting that Antetokounmpo chose to sign a new contract with the Bucks in 2020 in hopes of bringing a title to Milwaukee. He did.

Doesn’t LaVine have some unfinished business in Chicago?

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