Courtesy of the Wolves

The Wolves last played in Rosemont on March 8, 2020, and much has happened to the franchise since.

Saturday night’s date with the Rockford IceHogs isn’t just the Wolves’ season opener, it will be their first game at Allstate Arena in 587 days.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented fans from attending, the Wolves played their home games during an abbreviated 2021 season at Triphahn Community Center & Ice Arena in Hoffman Estates. Now the Wolves are back home and eager to skate in front of supporters instead of mostly empty bleachers and fan cutouts at their practice facility.

While Triphahn is a nice venue and serves the Wolves well, it’s not meant to host regular-season games in one of the top hockey leagues in the world. The lack of fans added to the unusual feeling, and defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald is looking forward to a more normal setting.

“It will mean a lot to us as players, finally playing in front of fans because last year we were just at a practice rink,” said Fitzgerald, who skated in 30 games for the Wolves last season. “Usually, we get to feed off the crowd a little bit here and there, so it will be definitely awesome to see everybody back in those seats and cheering us on.”

During what he called an “interesting” year, Fitzgerald said it was a little tougher to get the energy going for every game last season, and that the Wolves tried to feed off each other and create their own boosts instead of relying on fans. Apparently that worked, as the Wolves were 12-3-0-1 at Triphahn.

“We got into a rhythm for sure,” Fitzgerald said.

Now back in Rosemont, Fitzgerald and the Wolves will have to find their rhythm in a home arena the current players haven’t called home.

A lot can happen in almost 600 days, and plenty has since the Wolves beat the IceHogs 3-2 on March 8, 2020. Over the ensuing period, the Wolves switched affiliations, going from the Golden Knights to the Hurricanes. Coach Rocky Thompson was replaced by Ryan Warsofsky, and the roster completely turned over.

For Warsofsky, Saturday night will be his first game at Allstate Arena since June 8, 2019, when he was an assistant for the Charlotte Checkers who beat the Wolves in Game 5 of the Calder Cup Finals to win the AHL championship.

“We’re all excited, from the coaching staff to the players to the support staff to the front office, everyone’s excited,” said Warsofsky, who’s entering his second season with the Wolves. “It’s been a lot of work to get back in front of our fans and I’m excited to get behind the bench and in front of the fans and hopefully put a good product on the ice, a winning product.”

Beyond their home rink, the Wolves’ upcoming campaign should be more normal in other ways.

In addition to Carolina, the Wolves also served as Nashville’s affiliate after Milwaukee chose to sit out last season, but the Admirals are back this time around. The Calder Cup playoffs, which haven’t been contested since 2019, will return in 2022.

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Bobby Shuttleworth reacts during a game earlier this season in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | AP Photos

The Fire have decided to get the young Slonina playing time as the season ends, relegating Shuttleworth to the bench.

Fire goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth was disappointed when then-coach Raphael Wicky told him his playing time would be slashed so Gabriel Slonina could see more action. But he also remembered how veteran Matt Reis approached a similar situation when Shuttleworth was a young goalie with the Revolution, and how much the late-season playing time with out-of-contention New England teams prepared him for future matches.

“The same thing was done for me, so I wasn’t going to have a bad attitude about it and say that I didn’t think that this was right and all that,” Shuttleworth told the Sun-Times. “At the end of the day, this is professional sports and these guys have a plan and that’s what they decided to do. It was done for me, so I kind of understood. Although I wasn’t happy about it, I understood where it was coming from.”

With their playoff chances fading, the Fire decided before the Sept. 19 match at Montreal that Slonina would get the bulk of the playing time in net. And even though Wicky has since been dismissed, it appears the plan is intact.

Shuttleworth, of course, is not a reason the Fire are heading for their fourth straight season out of the playoffs. With four shutouts, he’s been one of their steadiest performers.

He’s also played a role in Slonina’s development. When the switch was made, Shuttleworth told Slonina “whatever he needs from me at any point, I’m here for him, whatever he needs.”

Clearly, Slonina appreciates Shuttleworth’s presence and example.

“Bobby is such a good mentor for me, his discipline and consistency,” Slonina said. “I just learned so much from him in terms of what it takes to be a professional goalkeeper, because no matter what, he was so consistent and disciplined and getting in the gym and recovering. I think I’ve learned so much from him and that’s part of why I’m performing.”

Reis did the same for Shuttleworth, who said the former New England goalie was always willing and open to help. Since that was given to Shuttleworth at a pivotal point in his development, he’s been there to assist younger goalies like Slonina.

“It can be a weird one because if you’re playing, this is a person that’s competitively coming for your position on the team,” Shuttleworth said. “But also, at the same time, this is something that was afforded to me and I think it’s important as a goalkeeper unit to kind of help provide information.”

Calling Slonina a “sponge” because of how much he wants to soak up information, Shuttleworth said he was the same way early in his career. That’s one of the ways Slonina has stood out to Shuttleworth, who noted his young teammate is “incredibly mature” for his age.

Like others, Shuttleworth has noticed Slonina doesn’t carry himself like a 17-year-old, and is already doing things the way older professionals do.

“I think he, as a 17-year-old kid, it’s very impressive to see how much farther along he is and how mature he is at such an early age,” Shuttleworth said. “It’s quite impressive.”

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These Chicago Bulls will, indeed, be different. After all of the offseason moves and the building of hype surrounding this new roster, it looks as though Billy Donovan has himself a ball club. The Bulls finished off an undefeated preseason Friday night with a win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and the team’s big three took […] Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine captures hearts after undefeated preseason – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

Jimmy Vaccaro is the South Point’s vice president for sports marketing. | Rob Miech/Sun-Times

Bet on it: Sports betting Hall of Famer has had a full life, including a guest spot on ‘The Simpsons’

LAS VEGAS — Long before learning last month of his imminent induction into the Sports Betting Hall of Fame, before legalized sports wagering started its national sprawl in 2018, Jimmy Vaccaro became mainstream.

In 1995, as the Mirage sportsbook director, he appeared — as his three-dimensional human self — on the popular animated series “The Simpsons.”

Who shot Mr. Burns?

“Everyone thinks Homer and Smithers are sure things, but I’m looking for suspects that pay big,” Vaccaro said on the show. “I’m spreading my money over several long shots.”

Vaccaro installed barkeep Moe at 8-1 odds, Bart’s pal Milhouse at 80-1. Krusty the Clown was the 3-1 favorite. Over Vaccaro’s shoulder, the Mirage listed the characters and their odds on its huge tote board.

Alas, 70-1 shot little Maggie, angered that Burns tried stealing candy from a baby (her), did the deed.

Months later, when Vaccaro drove to Our Lady of Las Vegas School to retrieve young daughter JonLyn, he learned of his newfound fame.

“She says, ‘You were on ‘The Simpsons’ last night!’ I didn’t know,” says Vaccaro, now the South Point’s vice president for sports marketing. “She goes, ‘Yeah, everyone at school was talking about it!’ I just said, OK.”

THE THRILL OF THE HUNT

In the Pittsburgh suburb of Trafford, Jimmy acquired the nickname “Chunce” from an Italian grocer, when he was 7 or 8, during daily jaunts to fetch a soda pop.

That’s how all of Jimmy’s friends know him, what older brother Sonny has been calling his 76-year-old sibling — pronouncing it CHUN-see — nearly all his life.

Sonny, the former sneaker maven, laughed when he saw a recent social-media photo of South Point owner Michael Gaughan, sportsbook director Chris Andrews, longtime bookmaker Art Manteris, and others.

Among the sports coats, dress shirts and pressed slacks was Jimmy, in his usual long-sleeve white South Point T-shirt, jeans and dark sneakers.

Unassuming. Comfortable. Relaxed.

“That’s the beauty of it,” laughs Sonny, from his home near Palm Springs, California, of Jimmy landing in a Hall of Fame. “You can’t physically visualize it. A million-to-one shot. Chunce has been the outsider from the beginning.”

Jimmy took to numbers and gambling early, especially Barbut, a dice game believed to have originated in Greece around 450 BC.

The Shooter wins if he rolls a 3-3, 5-5, 6-6 or 6-5. He loses on 1-1, 2-2, 4-4 or 1-2. The Fader sets odds before every roll. Bets are made on or against the Shooter.

In the early 1970s, Jimmy, and pals AJ and Anthony, hit a big Barbut payday, then nailed the lottery-like numbers — three random figures determined by horse races or the stock market — the next day.

“The greatest!” says Sonny. “Like hitting a bases-loaded homer in the bottom of the ninth.”

Sonny recalls Jimmy backing pool-hustling pal Mike, from Youngstown, Ohio, like George C. Scott handled Paul Newman in “The Hustler.”

“He liked the backwoods pool rooms, the thrill of the hunt,” says Sonny. “That’s Chunce.”

A VEGAS FIXTURE

Jimmy visited Vegas frequently, moving here permanently in January 1975. He ran Gaughan’s book at the Royal Inn, then the Barbary Coast, where a greenhorn Manteris once found his till $1,100 short.

Vaccaro gave Art the cash. Manteris would open the SuperBook at the Hilton (now Westgate) and oversee the many Station Casinos books. He was inducted into the Sports Betting Hall, a Euro-based virtual entity, in 2019.

Manteris retired in May.

“I said, ‘Here, take the [bleepin’] money. See you tomorrow.’ It was a big deal,” says Jimmy. “Art is a straight-arrow guy. He might not have continued [in the business], he felt so bad.”

Jimmy helped design and operate Steve Wynn’s book at the Mirage, where he’d take billionaire Carl Icahn’s $2.4-million Super Bowl bet. Icahn won $300,000.

He set the first NFL season-wins total when a female patron dumped $30,500 on the counter and asked about Dallas’s figure. Such a proposition didn’t exist in Vegas. Jimmy set a low number. She bet Over. The house won.

The only autograph he ever sought was from Bears legend Gale Sayers.

“Couldn’t help it. He was sitting right over there,” says Jimmy, pointing toward the South Point deli. “An honor. I told him, ‘If you don’t get hurt . . .’ He was so good. He injured that knee and everything went south.”

Today, Jimmy straightens the daily-sheets counter, cleans after messy patrons. During one of my visits, he okayed a $50,000 World Series bet from a scruffy kid toting a backpack.

The notorious Stardust bookmaker Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal invited Jimmy to talk shop, twice, over lunch at the Riviera. He resisted asking the mob-linked figure why he spoke so softly — Jimmy just leaned in closer.

“I was in awe that he asked me, so it felt good.”

As good as receiving those monthly $600 checks, which arrived for years, from Homer Simpson.

When a new company took over the cartoon’s network, it offered Jimmy a one-time opt-out fee of $6,000 or the no-guarantee continuation of the monthly royalties. He says, “I signed for the 6,000 as fast as I could.”

When the producers appeared with cameras and lights, they found Vaccaro in his typical long-sleeve T-shirt. They hustled to a men’s store in the Mirage, returning with a light-colored sports coat and pink dress shirt.

Jimmy buttoned the shirt to his neck.

Action!

Afterward?

“I gave both to someone in the sportsbook.”

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Dylan Cease #84 of the Chicago White Sox pitches in the first inning during game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros at Guaranteed Rate Field on October 10, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. | Stacy Revere/Getty Images

the Sox bow out of the playoffs, closing the book on this season in Chicago, and on these quizzes

It’s a wrap as the Chicago baseball season sadly has come to an end. Some of you may know that former Rangers, Mets, and Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is credited with inventing the wrap at his Stamford, Connecticut, restaurant in 1980. Keep that in mind in case I ask that question next season. I have loved being the quizmaster this season and I want to thank my boss Chris De Luca for letting me bring it to you each week. He’s the best and so is his team of outstanding editors who fact-check and save you from my embarrassing errors. Speaking of the best, my thanks to Akiko Spencer and the other designers who make this little quiz look so good each week. Finally, and most importantly, thanks to all of you for reading and playing each week, I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Good luck on the final Chicago Nine of the season.

1. In April, the White Sox hit .265. Which of the following statements is true?

a. The Sox led the majors in batting

b. The Sox were second to the Astros in the AL in batting

c. Tim Anderson led the Sox, batting .415

d. Nick Madrigal hit .315

2. In May, the Cubs had an ERA of 2.52. Which of the following statements is not true?

a. The Cubs led the majors in ERA.

b. The Dodgers had a lower ERA

c. The Cubs’ bullpen led the majors in ERA

d. Jake Arrieta had a 6.23 ERA in May

3. In June, the Cubs blasted 40 homers. Who hit the most?

a. Anthony Rizzo c. Wilson Contreras

b. Javy Baez d. Patrick Wisdom

4. In July, the White Sox led the majors with 96 extra-base hits. Who led the White Sox?

a. Jose Abreu c. Tim Anderson

b. Yoan Moncada d. Andrew Vaughn

5. In August, The White Sox went 16-12. Liam Hendriks and which starting pitcher led the Sox with four wins?

a. Lucas Giolito c. Lance Lynn

b. Dylan Cease d. Dallas Keuchel

6. In September, Frank Schwindel and Ian Happ led the Cubs with seven homers. Who led the Sox?

a. Gavin Sheets c. Luis Robert

b. Yasmani Grandal d. Jose Abreu

7. This season, which Chicago slugger hit the most homers at home?

a. Yasmani Grandal c. Javy Baez

b. Jose Abreu d. Willson Contreras

8. This season, which Chicago pitcher had the most wins at home?

a. Lance Lynn c. Carlos Rodon

b. Kyle Hendricks d. Codi Heuer

9. Who had more ejections in the 2021 season?

a. David Ross c. They had the same

b. Tony La Russa

QUIZ ANSWERS

1. In April the Sox led the majors in batting and Yermin Mercedes hit .415. 2. The Dodgers’ ERA in May was 3.09, everything else is true. 3. Patrick Wisdom had eight homers; the others had five each. 4. While all four had double-figure extra-base hits, Tim Anderson’s 13 were the most. 5. Dylan Cease went 4-0. 6. Luis Robert hit six homers.

7. Jose Abreu hit 18 homers; the others had 14 each. 8. Lance Lynn had seven wins; the others had six each (including Heuer who had three for the Sox and then three for the Cubs). 9. David Ross had four, to up his managerial total to five. Tony La Russa had three, to up his managerial total to 91.

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” — Rogers Hornsby

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Outside linebacker Khalil Mack (52, sacking Derek Carr last week) has five of the Bears’ NFL-leading 18 sacks through five games this season — not including a sack on a two-point conversion against the Raiders. | David Becker/AP Photos

The first-year defensive coordinator has added some inventive wrinkles that already have put some of the bite back in the Bears’ defense. They’ll need every bit of it against Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.

Safety Tashaun Gipson’s sack of Derek Carr last week wasn’t the biggest play in the Bears’ 20-9 win over the Raiders in Las Vegas, but it wasn’t insignificant.

On a first-and-10 with the Bears leading 17-9 with 2:45 left in the fourth quarter, the Raiders were looking for a big downfield play, but Gipson blitzed, fended off a block by running back Josh Jacobs and tackled Carr for a two-yard loss.

The blitz call by defensive coordinator Sean Desai led to not only Gipson’s first career sack but also the first sack by a Bears defensive back since 2018, when safety Deon Bush sacked the Lions’ Matthew Stafford on the final play of the first half at Ford Field. (Safety Eddie Jackson was credited with a sack in 2019 against the Cowboys, but that was for being the closest defensive player to quarterback Dak Prescott when he ran out of bounds for a loss.)

“First career sack out of 10 years — that’s crazy,” Gipson said. “That let you know my [previous] defensive coordinators didn’t appreciate my pass-rush ability. Sean [does]. That’s why I told you, Sean’s my guy.”

Indeed, Bears defensive players are loving Desai even more than when he first was promoted to replace Chuck Pagano after last season — and new wrinkles like safety blitzes are one reason why. The previous week against the Lions, backup safety DeAndre Houston-Carson’s blitz created a hole for linebacker Khalil Mack to sack Jared Goff for a six-yard loss to force a punt.

Desai pulled the same stunt against the Bengals when he put outside linebackers Robert Quinn and Mack on the same side, with Mack’s pressure creating space for Quinn to sack Joe Burrow.

Desai’s new twists might be the best thing the Bears have going for them against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday. In his 14th season as a starter, Rodgers is a step ahead of every coordinator in the league, and especially in the NFC North. The best chance to minimize that advantage is to throw something at him he hasn’t seen before — and even then, it had better work, because he learns quickly.

It takes a lot of coaching brain power to contain Rodgers. The last time the Bears beat the Packers — 24-17 at Soldier Field in 2018 — they had Vic Fangio, Brandon Staley and Desai on their defensive staff. Against Pagano’s defense last year, the Packers scored 41 points at Lambeau Field and 35 at Soldier Field, with Rodgers throwing four touchdowns without an interception in each game.

Even Fangio struggled to contain Rodgers. The three-time NFL MVP threw 14 touchdown passes to two interceptions in seven games against Fangio’s Bears defenses. After his promotion, Desai pushed back slightly against the notion he’s strictly a Fangio disciple and indicated he has his own ideas. And he acknowledged there are “some things” he’ll do against Rodgers that other coordinators he worked for have not — with some reservation.

“It wouldn’t have been something like, ‘Hey, man, I think this and I’m not gonna share it with anybody,’ ” Desai said about ideas he had to combat Rodgers. “At the end of the day, it’s still 11-on-11 football, and no matter what you do, it’s about impacting guys in different ways. Obviously, he’s a primary guy you’ve got to impact with disguise, rush, coverage. . . . You’ve got to respond to the running backs and [receiver] Davante Adams and other skill guys they’ve got.

“Our biggest point of emphasis is that we’ve got to be technique- and fundamentally sound in this game and make sure we’re running to the football the way we want to run to the football.”

Against Rodgers, it probably will take more than just playing good football. It’ll be up to Desai to come up with something extra.

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Packers wide receiver Davante Adams (making a difficult catch against Bears cornerback Prince Amukamara in 2018) had 11 receptions for 206 yards and a touchdown against the Bengals last week | Nam Y. Huh/AP Photos

The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers-to-Davante Adams connection is one of the toughest to stop in the NFL. Bears second-year cornerback Jaylon Johnson, though, also has play-making ability.

Key matchup

There probably isn’t a wide receiver in the league who is as tethered mentally to his quarterback as Davante Adams is to Aaron Rodgers. Especially in tough moments — third downs, in the red zone, whenever the Packers need a big play — Adams finds a way to get open, and Rodgers finds a way to get him the ball, whether he’s open or not.

“You look at the combos across the league in NFL history of quarterbacks and wide receivers that just have a connection and kind of have a sixth sense of knowing where they’re at,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “When you have that, and teams know you have that, it’s still tough to stop because they’re both elite at what they do. You’re not always going to stop them, but you’ve got to try to slow ’em down — that’s the biggest thing we need to do.”

It figures to be a huge challenge for Bears second-year cornerback Jaylon Johnson but not an impossible one. Johnson is a rising star whose six pass breakups are tied for fourth in the NFL. And he learns well, so while he might get burned, he also is a candidate to come up with a big play himself.

Trending

In two games with Bill Lazor calling offensive plays, the Bears have averaged 165.5 rushing yards — with David Montgomery and Damien Williams combining for 161 against the Lions and Williams and rookie Khalil Herbert combining for 139 against the Raiders with Montgomery out.

But now Williams also is likely out after being put on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which leaves Herbert and possibly fourth-year undrafted running back Ryan Nall to carry the load.

Player to watch

Like any young quarterback, Bears rookie Justin Fields admires Rodgers.

“I just like how he’s always in rhythm when he plays the game,” Fields said. “That’s a piece of his game that I try to emulate.”

Fields doesn’t have to be Rodgers on Sunday, but he likely will have to take his game to another level against a Packers defense without pass rusher Za’Darius Smith and cornerback Jaire Alexander to give the Bears a chance at the upset. He could make a difference with his legs, but with Lazor making the calls, Fields has only four rushes for 15 yards.

X-factor

It’s the Packers. It’s Rodgers. And a big game for the Bears at home, with a chance to tie Green Bay for the NFC North lead.

“The timing of this matchup is very perfect,” safety Tashaun Gipson said. “I think we’re hitting our stride, they’re playing good football, so it’s going to be good-on-good. We’re excited about this. You can’t be in this building and not feel the sense of this rivalry.”

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A 16-year-old was among six wounded in citywide shootings Friday. | Sun-Times file

The teen was critically wounded Friday night in Humboldt Park.

A 16-year-old boy was among six wounded in shootings in Chicago Friday.

The teen boy was sitting inside a vehicle about 7:40 p.m. in the 700 block of North Hamlin Avenue when someone opened fire, Chicago police said. He was struck in the face and was taken to Humboldt Park Health Hospital in critical condition, police said.
About an hour earlier, a 21-year-old was inside a vehicle in the 5300 block of West Palmer Street when he was struck by gunfire, police said. He was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was in in serious condition, police said.

Four others were wounded in citywide shootings Friday.

A 16-year-old girl was among two people killed, and six other people were wounded in shootings in Chicago Thursday.

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A man was fatally shot Saturday morning on the Far South Side. | Sun-Times file photo

The 29-year-old was leaving a gas station about 1:50 a.m. in the 10000 block of South Michigan Avenue when he was struck in the head and back by gunfire, Chicago police said.

A man was fatally shot leaving a gas station Saturday morning in Roseland on the Far South Side.

The 29-year-old was leaving a gas station about 1:50 a.m. in the 10000 block of South Michigan Avenue when he was struck in the head and back by gunfire, Chicago police said.

He was pronounced dead a t the scene, police said. His name hasn’t been released yet.

No one was in custody.

Twenty-one people have been killed in Roseland so far this year, one less than the community had all of last year, according to Sun-Times data.

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