It was an interesting week in the Super 25. I had a tough decision to make in the top spot. Glenbard West is obviously a strong No. 1. The Hilltoppers are undefeated and have been dominating ranked teams.

They smashed Larkin by 21 this week and dominated Rolling Meadows by 18 and Lyons by 32 over the holidays. The only close games Glenbard West has had all season were against Hillcrest and and Glenbrook South.

But Simeon’s performances in the Pontiac title game against Curie and at Kenwood on Tuesday were eye-openers. Glenbard West has only played one team in that elite class, Glenbrook South, and the Hilltoppers just squeaked by at a neutral site.

So at this point in the season it fair to say we have a 1A and a 1B.

Simeon’s players aren’t too concerned about the rankings.

“I don’t really care who is No. 1,” Wolverines senior Jaylen Drane said. “We like being the underdogs.”

Simeon guard Aviyon Morris is reserving judgement.

“We still have a lot to prove and a lot of work to do,” Morris said. “Check back with me when the city playoffs start.”

The When Sides Collide Shootout at Benet on Saturday could clear some things up. Glenbard West faces Young and Simeon plays Glenbrook South. Those should be highly competitive games that tell us a lot about all four teams.

St. Ignatius, Thornton, Yorkville Christian and Lemont all joined the rankings this week.

The Wolfpack is on a roll after a rough start, knocking off Bolingbrook, Mount Carmel and DePaul Prep recently.

Thornton has Illinois recruit Ty Rodgers healthy again and beat Homewood-Flossmoor.

Yorkville Christian is barely over .500 but almost knocked off Glenbrook South in Glenview on Saturday. The Mustangs have played a very challenging schedule. They’ve beaten Orr and Hyde Park while losing to Glenbard West, Oswego East and Burlington Central.

Lemont is a young, talented team that has ripped off five consecutive wins, including a nice victory against Lake Forest on Saturday. Sophomore Nojus Indrusaitis is one of the state’s top talents.

A group of talented teams drops out this week: Homewood-Flossmoor, Lake Forest, Orr and DePaul Prep. All will likely be back in the Super 25 sometime over the course of the season.

It’s fairly clear that the top six teams are a level above everyone else. The rankings are a bit muddy after that and changing significantly each week.

But there are an awful lot of teams I’m considering for the rankings every week. A solid group of 20 teams is competing for the final ten spots. That’s a healthier amount than in most seasons at this point, which should keep the season surprising and exciting.

New Trier’s gauntlet

New Trier took Simeon to the limit at Pontiac. The Trevians led most of the game before losing 69-66 in overtime. It was an impressive performance slightly marred by a collapse late in the game.

That’s left me a bit puzzled about where to slot New Trier, which was dominated by Glenbrook South at home back in early December.

It’s possible the Trevians are the seventh elite team in the area, but right now they lack a win to actually prove it.

New Trier will have a chance to prove it over the next two weeks. The Trevians next five games are against Bolingbrook, Benet, Yorkville Christian, Glenbrook South and Rolling Meadows.

Super 25 for Jan. 16, 2022

With record and last week’s ranking

1. Glenbard West (18-0) 1

Faces Young Saturday

2. Simeon (14-1) 3

Beat Kenwood

3. Kenwood (13-4) 2

Hosts Hyde Park Thursday

4. Glenbrook South (16-1) 4

Nick Martinelli is on fire

5. Curie (17-2) 5

Fell short vs. Kenwood

6. Young (11-6) 6

Big test vs. Glenbard West

7. Hillcrest (16-2) 12

Hosts Leo Tuesday

8. New Trier (16-2) 10

Very challenging week ahead

9. Hyde Park (12-4) 9

Lost to Simeon

10. Mount Carmel (17-1) 7

Winning streak is over

11. Wheaton Warrenville South (18-1) 11

No local losses

12. Rolling Meadows (18-2) 15

Beat Evanston, Prospect

13. Brother Rice (16-2) 13

Hosts Marist Tuesday

14. Leo (11-2) 14

Will be tested by Hillcrest

15. Larkin (18-2) 8

Couldn’t handle Glenbard West

16. Oswego East (20-1) 18

Beat Joliet West, Bolingbrook

17. Proviso East (13-3) 17

Three-win week

18. St. Ignatius (11-7) NR

Back on track

19. Thornton (10-4) NR

Ty Rodgers is healthy

20. Lyons (15-3) 20

Survived DeKalb

21. Burlington Central (17-2) 22

Faces Lyons on Monday

22. Yorkville Christian (11-10) NR

Impressing with rugged schedule

23. Riverside-Brookfield (12-2) 23

Handled Timothy Christian

24. Bloom (12-3) 24

Hosts H-F Saturday

25. Lemont (14-4) NR

Knocked off Lake Forest

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Two decades after they roomed together as teammates on the 1998-99 Maple Leafs, Derek King and Dallas Eakins remain close friends.

Entering their first meeting as opposing NHL head coaches Saturday — with King coaching the Blackhawks and Eakins the Ducks — they proved they hadn’t forgotten how to rib each other, either.

”I’ll look down at their bench and see if I can crack a smile on his face,” King said before the game. ”He’s pretty serious. I doubt he’ll look at me.”

”The only thing I’ll be laughing at is his ugly mug,” Eakins retorted.

The Ducks-Hawks game — a 3-0 win for the Hawks — represented the culmination of long journeys for both men.

In 1998-99, King was a proven scorer enjoying his last productive NHL season (52 points in 81 games) and Eakins a journeyman defenseman on his seventh team (he played only 18 games for the Leafs).

Ten years later, King was growing his family in Arizona when Eakins, then a rising-star coach, needed a second assistant to flesh out the staff of the Toronto Marlies, a Leafs affiliate.

That’s when their careers intersected again. King spent four seasons under Eakins with the Marlies, then stuck around for two more after Eakins took the Oilers’ NHL job.

They’ve stayed in close contact through each career step since.

When King was named the Hawks’ interim coach in November, one of the first peers he heard from was Eakins, now in his third season as the Ducks’ coach.

”I’m not sure there were many [people] more excited than me when he got this chance,” Eakins said. ”I’ve always been super-proud of King. I’ve seen firsthand the positive effect and influence that he’s had on young players.

”I still run across players from that [Marlies] group — whether they’re playing in the NHL or maybe they’re scouting now — and one of the first questions they ask me is: ‘Hey, how’s ‘Kinger’ doing? Have you talked to ‘Kinger?’ ”

Eakins and King, both 54, talked on the phone for hours in those early days of November, when King was thrilled but overwhelmed by the endless duties he was expected to fulfill and the messy situation he inherited. Eakins’ advice helped guide him through that chaos.

”Dallas is just a fair, honest coach,” King said Nov. 10. ”He’s a little more technical than I was, but I learned a lot from him [about] what to look for.”

”Whenever you end up in one of these jobs for the first time, as much as you’re confident and you’re ready and you’ve earned it, there is a little question in your head, like, ‘Holy man, I’m coaching an NHL team,’ ” Eakins said. ”The one thing that I really wanted to reiterate to ‘Kinger’ was that he was ready for it. [I told him] to trust his instincts — he already knows everything to do — and to coach the way he’s been coaching. It’s a big mistake to suddenly take on a different personality or a different style of coaching because you’re at the highest level. In the end, you have to be you.”

In the months since, they’ve ”text-messaged back and forth a little bit,” King said, but not during the last few days.

Both knew this matchup was coming up on the schedule, and both knew that meant it was time to suspend their contact. If the Hawks somehow make a miraculous playoff push this spring, the Ducks are one of the teams they probably will have to catch.

”It’ll be interesting,” King said. ”Obviously, he was a big part of me getting into coaching and a big reason why I’m here, [and] I’m happy for him that he’s doing well. But I hope he doesn’t do well tonight.”

Come Sunday, however, their friendship should be back on — at least until the Ducks return to Chicago on March 8.

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Three people were shot early Sunday morning after someone opened fire on two cars in Little Village on the West Side.

About 1 a.m., the shooter opened fire on a car driving east in the 2600 block of West 24th Street, grazing a 22-year-old woman in the head, Chicago police said. The person then shot at another car, wounding two 19-year-olds, authorities said.

One of the men was shot in the head and leg, and was in serious condition, police said. The other man was shot in the shoulder, officials said.

All three were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, and the woman and other man were both listed in good condition, police said.

No one was in custody.

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Exciting nights have been rare for the Blackhawks this season. Complete performances have been even more rare.

But for their lone Saturday home game of the season, the Hawks delivered both, beating the Ducks 3-0 in a fast-paced, high-quality game to earn their fourth consecutive victory.

”That’s probably one of the best games we’ve played for 60 minutes,” interim coach Derek King said. ”We had hiccups and all that, but we stayed composed and got the job done.”

The Hawks’ largest home crowd since Nov. 26 — a rowdy bunch of 18,469 fans — kept the atmosphere buzzing, and the team fed off that energy. They peppered Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal, who was making only his third career appearance, with 18 high-danger scoring chances, a season high.

Brandon Hagel broke a 0-0 deadlock halfway through the second period — concluding a wild sequence that began with goal-line clears by defensemen Jakub Galvas and Riley Stillman — before fellow wings Patrick Kane and Dominik Kubalik added insurance goals in the third.

”If we focus defensively, we can be pretty good in transition, get some . . . odd-man rushes and opportunities off the rush that way,” Kane said. ”Hopefully we’re trying to turn the corner here and become a really good team.”

On the other end of the rink, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury — making his 909th career appearance — was just as busy, facing 19 high-danger chances and 37 shots on goal. But he turned all of them away for his third shutout of the season.

That the Hawks have put together this streak despite five players being in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols — four of them key contributors — makes it even more impressive.

”We’re doing the right things,” Stillman said. ”We’re coming in the right direction. The guys believe in ourselves. We believe in one another. After that [Coyotes] game, something clicked for us, and we have to keep this momentum going.”

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Alfonzo McKinnie would not have been Billy Donovan’s first choice to play the starting four a few weeks ago.

Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White weren’t the ideal starting backcourt for a first-place team.

Newly-signed Malcolm Hill wasn’t supposed to be a rotation player.

And yet Donovan was embracing it all on Saturday.

“I don’t like to see any of these guys sit out or I don’t like to see any of these guys deal with Covid, so when I say this I say this from a competitive standpoint: I like when stuff like this happens,” the Bulls coach insisted of his undermanned team. “Because to me you find out what you’re all about and where your mettle is. You want to be able to walk off that court and know that you competed at a level and controlled the things that you can control.

“For me as a coach to dwell on the fact that we have guys out, I’m hopeful this will make us better. It will harden us, it will make us mentally and physically tougher, and I think that for any team that really, really wants to win, I think you have to deal with suffering. How you deal with the suffering is really critical. Do you pout, do you feel sorry for yourself, do you not get up off the mat, do you not fight?”

Fight the Bulls did, coming up just short in the 114-112 loss to the Celtics.

The team left for Boston Friday night knowing they would be without Zach LaVine (left knee) on this current two-game road trip, and then Donovan woke up on Saturday to find out that he would also be without Lonzo Ball.

“He’s got soreness in his knee joint right now,” Donovan said of Ball. “He’s dealt with that over a period of time.”

That meant his starting backcourt was out, to go along with the fact that his starting four was still a game of musical chairs.

An easy night even for the underachieving Celtics, right?

Dosunmu and White had different ideas, as the two combined for 40 points, including Dosunmu’s first career 20-point game – he finished with 21 and 10 assists.

It didn’t hurt that the Bulls (27-14) did have two All-Stars still up and running, as Nikola Vucevic had one of his better performances of the season on a night his team needed it (27 points), and DeMar DeRozan was solid, despite a 7-for-20 shooting night.

Both veterans would get a chance to play hero late.

Boston cut the lead to two with 1:06 left, and after a lost possession, Robert Williams III drew the foul with 31 seconds left and made both. DeRozan missed the go-ahead basket, and Vucevic drew the loose-ball foul to put Williams back at the line.

He again made both, giving the Bulls the chance with 9.7 seconds left.

Vucevic had a wide-open three to win it, and then DeRozan had a chance to tie it with the offensive rebound, but both missed.

What was impressive as far as Donovan was concerned, however, was despite being under-sized and out-talented on paper, the defense that had seemingly disappeared the last month returned to its scrappy self.

“You can’t control your circumstances, but you can control your response,” Donovan said. “To me sometimes, when our response is not where it needs to be that’s where I think the habits really start to go. When it gets challenging and a little more difficult, we’ve got to handle it a lot better and rely on our habits to rebound the ball. We have to lean into the challenges that come with guys maybe being in different spots, rotations being different than they would normally be, and we’ve got to lean into that competitively.”

They just couldn’t lean enough on Saturday.

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The Bears stepped up the pace of their concurrent general manager and head coach searches Saturday, with three interviews on Saturday and three more expected on Sunday.

The Bears interviewed one GM candidate Saturday — Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort; and two coaching candidates — former Colts and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell and current Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

Ossenfort is an under-the-radar candidate who joined the Titans in 2020 after spending 15 seasons with the Patriots’ personnel department, including six as director of college scouting.

Caldwell, 66, a long-time NFL quarterbacks coach, has been out of football since serving as a Dolphins consultant in 2019. He had winning records as head coach with the Colts (26-22, including a Super Bowl berth in 2009) and Lions (36-28 from 2014-17). He won a Super Bowl ring as the offensive coordinator of the Ravens in 2012.

Hackett, the son of former NFL offensive coordinator Paul Hackett, has been a coordinator with the Bills (2013-14), Jaguars (2016-18) and Packers (2019-21). While Packers coach Matt LaFleur and quarterback Aaron Rodgers are credited with much of the success of the Packers’ offense, he has play-calling experience with the Bills and Jaguars. The Jaguars went to the AFC Championship Game in 2017 with quarterback Blake Bortles playing a key role.

The Bears are expected to interview a trio of candidates with the Bills on Sunday — assistant GM Joe Schoen for the GM job, and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier for the coaching job.

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A newborn baby was found dead in a duffle bag early Saturday outside a firehouse in River North, police said.

About 5 a.m., the baby boy was found in the 1000 block of North Orleans Street and was pronounced dead at the scene, Chicago police said.

The baby was found outside a firehouse that holds a specialized unit, according to Chicago fire spokesman Larry Merritt.

Area Three detectives and the Cook County medical examiner’s office are investigating.

In Illinois, parents have up to 30 days to hand over their infant at a “Safe Haven” location if they can’t care for their child or choose not to — no questions asked.

Under state law, Safe Haven locations include hospitals and emergency care facilities, as well as police and fire stations with staff on duty.

When a newborn is left at a Safe Haven location, the child is brought to the nearest hospital, where the baby will receive a physical examination and necessary medical care. The child will eventually be released to an adoption agency.

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The start of Sam Lafferty’s Blackhawks tenure wasn’t ideal.

One day after his Jan. 5 trade from the Penguins, he arrived in Chicago and tested positive for COVID-19, leaving him stuck in a hotel room in an unfamiliar city and absent from what was supposed to be his first road trip with the Hawks.

“It was pretty crazy, a tough bounce,” he said Friday. “But luckily, it was only five days. I should be in the clear for the next 90 days or so, so [it’s] nice to get it out of the way in that sense.”

(Lafferty referenced a rule where the NHL does not resume testing players who recover from COVID until 90 days later.)

The 26-year-old forward finally made his Hawks debut Thursday against the Canadiens — although it was heavily overshadowed by Lukas Reichel’s simultaneous debut — and played a sizable 15:17 of ice time.

He’d averaged just 8:43 per game during his 10 appearances earlier this season with the Penguins, despite generating a solid 57.1% scoring-chance ratio at even strength with them. He continued that Thursday by being on the ice for five Hawks chances and just two Canadiens chances.

[The trade was] still bit of a shock to the system, but when I heard it was Chicago, I was super excited,” he said. “Just a fresh start is huge. I can come in here and hopefully carve out a role with this team. Everyone’s been really good to me so far, so I want to return the favor and play some good hockey.”

Lafferty started Thursday on the fourth line but was bumped up to the third-line center role, in between Henrik Borgstrom and surging Philipp Kurashev, on Saturday against the Ducks. He also has immediately stepped in on the penalty kill.

Interim coach Derek King views Lafferty as best-suited at center, citing his strong skating as the main reason why, and Lafferty himself also named his skating and speed as the “cornerstones” of his game.

“If I’m given an opportunity to show what I can do, I’m looking forward to that,” he added. “Hopefully we can keep it rolling here.”

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