Post ContentRead More

Illinois running back Chase Brown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Charlotte Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, in Champaign, Ill. Illinois won 24-14. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) ORG XMIT: ILCA114 | Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Brown rushed for 257 yards and two touchdowns, the fourth-best single-game rushing performance in Illinois history

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Chase Brown rushed for 257 yards and two touchdowns and Illinois beat Charlotte 24-14 on Saturday.

It stands as the fourth best single-game rushing performance in Illinois history. His 80-yard scoring run as time expired in the third quarter was the longest run of the year for Illinois (2-4). The last Illini to rush for more than 200 yards in a game was Reggie Corbin, who ran for 213 yards against Minnesota in 2018.

“You really saw the skill set Chase Brown has,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. “He’s something.”

Brandon Peters was 10 of 19 passing for 78 yards and one touchdown for the Illini. Josh McCray rushed 16 times for 64 yards. Daniel Barker caught one pass for 10 yards and a touchdown.

“For Brandon, I think we can say it was a step forward for him,” Bielema said. “Overall, it was a step forward for the whole team. But we have to play Big Ten football and we’re not there yet.”

Chris Reynolds was 17 of 23 passing for 191 yards and two touchdowns for Charlotte (3-2).

Calvin Camp rushed seven times for 29 yards for the 49ers. Victor Tucker caught five passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, and Grant DuBose caught four passes for 70 yards. Elijah Spencer caught two passes for 34 yards and a touchdown.

“I’m disappointed,” Charlotte coach Will Healy said. “Call me crazy, but I fully expected to win the game when we came in today. I believe we had plenty of opportunities to do it, and we didn’t get it done.”

POWER RUNNING

Illinois outgained Charlotte on the ground 336 yards to 72.

Bielema was known for nurturing a hard-nosed running attack during his successful tenure at Wisconsin, and Saturday’s game was the first indication of that at Illinois.

“I mean, we have some things to clean up,” Bielema said. “But overall, I thought it was encouraging.”

Illinois’ two touchdowns in the second half both were on Brown runs, a 32-yard score midway through the third quarter and his 80-yard scamper as time expired in the third quarter.

AIR ATTACK

Illinois scored first on a 29-yard James McCourt field goal midway through the first quarter after a 17-play opening drive for the Illini. Charlotte answered with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Reynolds to Tucker with 1:31 left in the first quarter.

Illinois scored late in the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Peters to Barker to make the score 10-7 Illinois.

Charlotte then drove 66 yards on 6 plays and scored on a 22-yard pass from Reynolds to Spencer to lead 14-10 at the half.

Coming into the game, Reynolds had thrown for nine touchdowns, 16th most in the nation.

“We have a long season ahead of us,” Reynolds said. “You can’t let something like this hurt you for the rest of the year. We have a lot of opportunities in front of us.”

HE SAID IT

Coach Bielema: “I told the guys in the locker room to enjoy the moment, hug your mom and all that stuff, and then let’s get busy because we have to win some Big Ten games now.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Illinois needed a win after a fairly disastrous start to the season. And while it was against a program that didn’t even play football before 2013, Bielema will take it.

Charlotte played with poise against its first ever Big Ten opponent and coach Healy has to be proud of his squad for its balanced play .

UP NEXT

Charlotte: At FIU on Friday night.

Illinois: Hosts conference rival Wisconsin on Oct. 9.

Read More

Dylan Strome learned to juggle this summer to improve his faceoff skills. | AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

Strome learned to juggle this summer in hopes of improving his faceoff abilities, but might need that skill to handle his volatile playing time, too.

Dylan Strome learned how to juggle this summer.

That new skill was intended to improve his faceoff abilities. But he might end up needing it to handle his volatile role on the Blackhawks this year, too.

Strome has been a near-complete afterthought in training camp so far, at best stuck in a fourth-line grinder role that doesn’t fit his offensive mindset and at worst relegated to the AHL-bound ground.

The 24-year-old forward opened camp last week alongside Ryan Carpenter and Jujhar Khaira, and that turned out to be the peak of his placement. His linemates during various practices since have included Brett Connolly, Alex Nylander and Cam Morrison. He’ll skate with Connolly and Adam Gaudette in Saturday’s game against the Blues in Kansas City.

Coach Jeremy Colliton has been coy throughout camp about exactly why Strome has been so neglected.

“We want to have possession in the offensive zone, we want to be a harder team to play against without the puck, so if he can help us there, it’ll help [his] cause to be in the lineup,” Colliton said when pushed Saturday.

Strome certainly feels the difference. After his preseason debut Friday, during which he played 15:05, he mentioned he started his last two camps placed on a line “right away” with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat — an almost comical contrast to his partners this fall.

But he’s optimistic he can eventually force his way out of Colliton’s doghouse.

“I’m just staying positive,” he said. “You never know what can happen during the season. A lot happens; it’s a long season. So [I want to] come in, be positive, be happy around the rink, happy to be here, happy to see the fans.”

The Hawks’ Strome dilemma dates back to the final month of last season, when Strome was a healthy scratch for four of the last 10 games — including a particularly contentious April night in Nashville, when Strome took warmups but was then scratched without warning. Colliton later explained it was because Wyatt Kalynuk was a game-time decision, but Strome admitted it “pissed me off a lot.”

Still, Strome has proven he can be a productive playmaker when surrounded with talent and allowed to play center, his natural position. He’s only two years removed from his 51-points-in-58-games Hawks debut and his scoring rate over the past three seasons — 2.51 points per 60 minutes — ranked fifth on the team, behind only Kane, DeBrincat, Dominik Kubalik and Jonathan Toews.

It seemed like his opportunity might come in a different city in 2021-22, with the Hawks aggressively exploring all trade options this offseason and Strome clearly falling out of Colliton’s favor. But while a trade could conceivably still come, he has no choice for now but to try to recapture the magic in Chicago.

“Carrying the puck with speed is one thing I need to do better,” Strome said. “Sometimes I just get it and just throw it away when I know I can make plays. And I should be making plays, so I’m going to continue to work on that. Hopefully it translates to more ‘O’-zone time.”

Faceoffs are another thing. His faceoff winning percentage settled at 47.0% last season and 47.1% for his career. His struggles in that regard have contributed to his role reduction.

As a left-hand shot but a right-hand-dominant person, Strome realized he needed to strengthen and quicken his left hand, which sits lower on his stick during faceoffs and thus has more leverage. The solution was the aforementioned juggling — “literally, three balls and juggling,” he said, doing the motion subconsciously.

“If there’s one thing I can do to help myself play center, be in the opening night lineup, it’s faceoffs,” he added bluntly.

His early results, faceoffs-wise, are encouraging: he won seven of nine draws Friday. But time will tell if that alone will be enough.

Read More

A man was killed in a shooting Oct. 1, 2021, in Englewood. | Adobe Stock Photo

The incident happened Friday in the 6900 block of South Peoria Street, officials said.

A man was fatally shot Friday in Englewood on the South Side.

Felipe Pineda, 24, was in his vehicle about 12:43 p.m. in the 6900 block of South Peoria Street when he got into an argument with someone who fired shots at him, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Pineda was struck in the temple and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:28 p.m., officials said.

No arrests have been reported. Area One detectives are investigating.

Read More

Kenwood’s Davonte Johnson (4) runs with the football in the first half against Morgan Park’s McKinley Dunigan (44). | Quinn Harris/For the Sun-Times

Davonte Johnson had 19 carries for 158 yards and one touchdown. He had a few highlight reel runs but also managed to get the tough short yards.

Injuries can create opportunities. That’s exactly what happened for Kenwood junior Davonte Johnson.

There are more than a dozen players in the Public League with college scholarship offers. Plenty of them were playing in the Kenwood vs. Morgan Park game on Saturday at Lane.

Johnson is not one of them, but he was the dazzling, dominant force in the Broncos’ 21-8 win against the Mustangs.

Johnson stepped into a starting role after Taylen Goodwin was injured in Week 2 against Hillcrest.

“I think sitting made him appreciate the game a little more,” Kenwood coach Sinque Turner said. “He came out and erupted. That’s what we expected out of him. He’s a very talented young man. He seized the moment when he got his opportunity.”

Johnson had 19 carries for 158 yards and one touchdown. He had a few highlight reel runs but also managed to get the tough short yards.

“I came in and did my job,” Johnson. “I felt great out there. This win means a lot. They were talking a lot on the internet and we had to show them we were the best.”

Johnson’s 14-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter opened the scoring.

Morgan Park responded immediately with a 34-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Warren to Marcel Williams to take an 8-6 lead. But that was the last time the Mustangs would score.

“The problem is Sinque and I are too close,” Morgan Park coach Chris James said. “He knew what I wanted to do. He had a great game plan for who we are on offense. But we left plays on the field. They are a tough, up and coming CPS team just like us.”

Kenwood (6-0, 3-0 Illini Red Bird) limited Tysean Griffin, the Mustangs’ sophomore speedster, to just one breakout play, a 49-yard run in the third quarter. Griffin had eight carries for 58 yards.

“We just tried to keep the ball away from him,” Turner said. “We didn’t kick the ball to him and tried to control the clock offensively.”

Morgan Park quarterback Aaron Warren was 3-for-10 passing for 46 yards with one touchdown. His arm strength and athleticism are apparent, but he couldn’t find the one big play to turn the tide.

“He just has to stay consistent with the coaching,” James said. “He will. He’ll be fine. He’s an athlete playing quarterback.”

Johnson wasn’t the only unknown to have a breakout game for Kenwood. Sophomore defensive end Marquise Lightfoot played a major role in shutting down Morgan Park’s offense.

“He’s very athletic, very disciplined and very coachable,” Turner said. “I love his relentlessness to the ball. He has an unlimited motor. The kid is going to be a top player in the state by the time he’s finished.”

Kenwood quarterback Lou Henson connected with Kahlil Tate on a 51-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to provide the final margin.

The Broncos face Curie next week and finish the regular season against Simeon. Turner expects the Broncos to be a factor in the Class 6A state playoffs.

” I know there are juggernaut teams in Class 6A, some real good teams,” Turner said. “But we will be very competitive in the state playoffs.

Morgan Park (3-2, 2-0) has dropped two in a row after losing to Taft last week. Next up is arch rival Simeon.

“You put Simeon up on the board and everything else is wiped away,” James said.

Read More

At least 12 people have been wounded in citywide shootings so far this weekend. | Sun-Times file photo

A 16-year-old boy was critically wounded in a shooting in Lake View early Saturday morning.

At least 12 people have been shot across Chicago since Friday evening, including a 16-year-old boy who was critically wounded in Lake View.

About 3:20 a.m. Saturday, the teen was in the 2900 block of North Halsted Street when he was shot in the back, Chicago police said.

He walked into Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition, police said.

On Friday, two other teen boys were wounded in a shooting in Austin on the West Side.

They were walking about 5 p.m. in the 300 block of North Pine Avenue when someone opened fire, police said. A 17-year-old boy was struck in the right foot, and a 16-year-old boy was struck in the right shoulder, police said.

The 17-year-old was taken to Loretto Hospital and the younger boy was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. They were both in good condition.

At least nine others have been wounded in citywide shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

Last weekend, 10 people were killed and 58 others wounded in incident of gun violence across the city.

Read More

La Russa congratulates Tim Anderson after a Sox win. | Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

It’s OK to admit it if you didn’t see this coming.

He was just a glorified cheerleader and a lucky-to-be-there one at that.

Tony La Russa said so himself.

But La Russa was being too modest, which, gosh, he must have realized. At first blush, it even might come off a tad disingenuous the way he addressed — after the White Sox’ 3-0 victory in early June against the Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field — his own role in passing John McGraw for second all-time among major-league managers with career victory No. 2,764:

“There really wasn’t anything except cheerleading. It’s a tribute, I think, to good fortune.”

As if being a four-time Manager of the Year with six World Series appearances — three ending in championships — doesn’t speak to the individual excellence required for such prosperity. As if his No. 10 immortalized on the outfield fence at Busch Stadium in St. Louis is merely for show. Oh, yeah, and the Hall of Fame thing: As if being the only active manager with a plaque in Cooperstown is just the answer to a trivia question.

“This man is the best manager in the game’s history,” says former World Series-winning Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen, who played for La Russa with the Sox in 1985 and — until the latter man was fired midseason — 1986. “And people are still talking [expletive] about him?”

That talk came — from Day 1 — with his second go-round with the Sox, who hired him at 76 last October. What was chairman Jerry Reinsdorf thinking? Maybe it was wrong to eighty-six La Russa in ’86, but to bring him back half a lifetime later?

“Tony La Russa Is Wrong for the White Sox, and for the Modern MLB,” The Ringer declared in a headline.

“Despite HOF Credentials, Tony La Russa Is a Baffling Hire for Young White Sox,” Bleacher Report posited in another.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweeted that the hiring “ruffled feathers” in the Sox organization and that “a number of employees have concerns about his ability to connect with younger players” — concerns Guillen says he heard expressed directly.

And then came reports of a second DUI the Sox knew about when they hired La Russa, which exacerbated criticisms from various corners in regard to his on- and off-field compasses. It didn’t help his Q-rating when his unawareness of an extra-inning rule contributed to an early Sox loss or when a flap involving popular hitter Yermin Mercedes unfolded days later.

“To say he hasn’t made any mistakes, No. 1, that would be dumb,” Sox broadcaster Steve Stone says. “He also would readily admit that he’s made some mistakes. . . .

“But when you bring in a Hall of Fame manager, he doesn’t forget how to manage.”

Witness: a division title despite a parade of injuries to key position players and pitchers. A team of special young talents mixed with stalwart veterans that plays hard, has fun and clearly fits together. And an electrified buzz on the South Side about what’s to come during the next month-plus — in no small part because of an old manager who is proving a hell of a lot of people wrong as he seemingly gets more popular all the time.

“I’m just so happy for him,” says Walt Jocketty, La Russa’s general manager for 11 seasons with the Cardinals, who took in the game Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

In their Cardinals days, La Russa would get upset about this or that and tell his boss, “Don’t worry — you want me upset.” A chip on the shoulder was a helpful thing. La Russa won’t say it to just anyone, but you can believe he has one now.

“That’s what this [Sox job] did for him,” Jocketty says. “All those things that were said? Additional motivation.”

Still, La Russa isn’t a man who wants to talk about himself. Just try to do a cover story on him at playoff time. Or any other time, really.

“The players deserve 100% of the focus and attention,” La Russa says. “Making it about myself is the last thing I’ll do.”

If that’s disingenuous, La Russa at least deserves credit for sticking to the bit.

“That’s the way he’s always been,” Jocketty says. “He never wants it about him. He wants it about the players, about the coaching staff. But he’s the guy who brings it all together.”

La Russa will turn 77 on Monday, three days before Game 1 of the American League Division Series — for the Sox, likely in Houston — and 38 years, 17 days since the 1983 Sox clinched a division title. For La Russa, that almost literally was half a lifetime ago.

“I’ve never seen a club where the manager used 25 guys and used them within their role as well as Tony has,” veteran catcher Carlton Fisk said in a champagne-soaked home clubhouse at Comiskey Park that night.

“He wears No. 10,” GM Roland Hemond said of his kid skipper, “and he’s a 10 in every respect.”

Current GM Rick Hahn wasn’t as certain about how La Russa, whom he didn’t know well, would shake out — now wearing No. 22, like that matters — with the Sox. Would he be able to relate to players of all ages and personalities? Would he collaborate and communicate well with the front office? Would it be his way, all day, come what may?

“I don’t think it would’ve necessarily surprised if he had walked through the door and said, ‘This is the way I’ve always done it, I’ve had the success, I have these rings, I have the Hall of Fame career and this is how we’re going to do things,’ ” Hahn says. “Instead, he walked through the door making it clear he had these ideas about how things work, but he wanted to prove why it worked and wanted everyone to buy in to his approach.

“I think the players felt that. And I know the staff and the front office felt that.”

Ever since, La Russa has been appreciative and respectful of just how much first-rate work was done by Hahn and many others throughout a Sox rebuild that — as it turned out — teed up La Russa with an instant chance at major success. The manager has been open to input, too, more than once sitting with Hahn in social settings, scribbling out lineup ideas and asking what the GM thinks. La Russa has been generous with his time and in his determination to spread credit around.

“I realized — and this is my fault — that I didn’t expect him to be as humble or generous with sharing credit as he is,” Hahn says.

After La Russa passed McGraw, he expressed humility to the media but then, behind closed doors, went even deeper than that to all from the Sox who were gathered to mark the occasion. He thanked them. He praised players, coaches, trainers, administrators. He said he was nothing without all the people — in Chicago, St. Louis, Oakland and elsewhere — who had helped him.

“It wasn’t about him at all,” Hahn says. “Just sort of knowing him by reputation and from a distance, that would’ve surprised me a year ago, based on what I’d thought I knew about Tony La Russa. I was wrong.”

So many Sox have had come-to-Tony moments. Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson and Lucas Giolito were among those La Russa called before spring training — leaders and influential voices he wanted to make sure would understand him going in.

“We had a long conversation, and I liked that,” Giolito says. “The first thing was, ‘Hey, I’m coming into your guys’ clubhouse, and I need to earn your respect.’ It wasn’t, ‘Hey, I’m in charge, and this is what we’re going to do, A, B, C, 1, 2, 3./ I was expecting the conversation to go that way, but it wasn’t like that at all. It was a really pleasant surprise.”

Albert Pujols vouched for his former manager in a phone call with Abreu. Before an early-spring game against the Angels a few days later — Abreu out of the lineup, his start delayed because of COVID-19 — Pujols had a similar conversation with Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. It was all a very big deal.

For Yasmani Grandal, a catcher extraordinarily serious about his craft — potentially a manager, too — studying La Russa every day has been consistently revelatory.

“I’m always watching and trying to figure out the ‘why,’ ” Grandal says, “why we make certain moves, why we’re putting up a certain lineup, why a certain defensive shift, why we’re bringing this guy in. . . . Hopefully, if I’m ever in a situation like where he’s at, I’m able to make the same decisions that he’s made.”

And Guillen? He wanted the job after Rick Renteria was fired. Not getting a real crack at it made him “sad.” But after watching La Russa all season, Guillen is sold, too.

“To me, there wasn’t a better manager to hire, including myself,” he says. “The second man? Ozzie [expletive] Guillen. I don’t give a [expletive] what people think.”

Fear can be good or bad, as La Russa sees it. Good fear compels one not to miss an opportunity and end up regretful. Bad fear makes a person retreat from opportunity in order not to embarrass oneself or fall short of a commitment to do a difficult job to the best of one’s ability. For older folks trying to figure out how to spend their time meaningfully, bad fear can be a slippery slope.

No, coming back after not managing since 2011 wasn’t without fear for La Russa.

“But if I’d have said no because I was fearful of letting somebody down, of not being successful here, I would rather have learned that by trying than by wondering and regretting it later,” he says. “That’s good fear.”

More than concerns about whether he could succeed as a 76-year-old manager, though, La Russa had an incessant itch to get back in the dugout. He felt it the last few years as he worked in the Red Sox and Angels organizations. He talked about it often with dear friend Jocketty in the months before taking the Sox job. He talked about it many times through the years with old friend Reinsdorf, too.

“It killed him to be sitting in the stands or sitting in a suite watching the game,” Reinsdorf says. “That’s why I went to Rick and [executive vice president] Kenny [Williams] and said, ‘We should go after this guy.’ “

But being an older manager — the oldest in the big leagues — is, unintendedly, at the heart of La Russa’s surge in popularity among Sox fans. Something about a grandfatherly fellow smiling at a player and hugging him just hits differently. And something about La Russa running as fast as his getaway sticks would take him to get from the dugout to a wounded player was utterly charming.

That’s what happened July 30 after Abreu was hit in the head by a pitch from the Indians’ James Karinchak, and it kind of changed everything. La Russa leapt from the dugout and sprinted toward his guy — who was, thankfully, OK — and that’s taking great liberties with both “leapt” and “sprinted.”

Memes were made of this. Someone on Twitter put the scene to the theme from “Chariots of Fire.”

“People laughed at it, but as a member of this team?” Giolito says. “For him to show that fire at his age when it comes to protecting us, when it comes to sticking up for us as players? You couldn’t ask for more from a manager. For him, at his age, to come running out with his hair on fire told everybody — players, fans, everybody — how much he cares.”

And another thing:

“Tony can laugh at that,” Hahn says. “I don’t know if many people really expected that from their perceptions of Tony La Russa. But the players have seen that side of him, and it’s served everyone real well.”

About eight years ago, La Russa met someone who turned out to be a very good friend. Swimmer Dara Torres had adopted a dog from La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation in California, and the two connected. Torres had, at 41 — eight years after her last Olympic swim and recently a new mother — won three silver medals to run her Olympic medals total to 12. She even had written a book called “Age Is Just a Number.”

After the Sox clinched the division last week in Cleveland, Torres sent La Russa a five-word text:

“Age is just a number.”

That it is. It made a man who doesn’t like to talk about himself smile.

Read More

Matt Nagy has already reached the must-win point of the season. | Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images

Is the clock ticking for the Bears coach?

Patrick Finley, Jason Lieser and Mark Potash make their picks for Sunday’s Bears-Lions game and break down what it means at Halas Hall if the Bears lose.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify, and Stitcher.

Read More

Bob Bradley was the Fire’s first coach; maybe he should be the next one, too. | Sun-Times

Whether it’s Bradley, Luchi Gonzalez or a well-regarded assistant, the next Fire coach should have MLS experience.

In theory, the chance to replace Raphael Wicky as coach of the Fire should be an attractive opportunity. The Fire play in one of North America’s biggest markets and are bankrolled by an owner with ambition and seemingly unlimited financial resources.

Yet, for a host of reasons, the Fire won’t have their pick of the litter as they try to find a new coach. For one, multiple other MLS teams need coaches. The Fire also have a poor roster that needs to be turned over again, likely precluding a chance to win big immediately.

One direction the Fire should lean is toward coaches with MLS experience. Sporting director Georg Heitz had none before joining the Fire, and Wicky’s consisted of playing in five games in 2008 with Chivas USA, a club that dissolved in 2014.

Heitz, however, was noncommittal about whether finding a coach with MLS experience is a priority.

“It could be a thing that is important for us but not necessarily because I think the game that we play is the same globally,” Heitz said. “Worldwide, it’s the same game that we play. And there are also other examples; Tata Martino, who was very successful (in Atlanta) without having MLS knowledge. But, it could be something that we want to have with the next coach.”

Indeed, it’s something the Fire should want to have. With that in mind, here’s where the Fire need to look for their next bench boss.

Bob Bradley

The optimal hire for a lot of reasons, Bradley is currently coaching Los Angeles FC but doesn’t have a contract for 2022. Bradley was the franchise’s first and most successful coach, leading the 1998 Fire to the MLS Cup/U.S. Open Cup double plus the 2000 Open Cup.

History aside, no available coach knows the U.S. soccer and MLS landscapes as well as Bradley. He’s also a big name, and snagging Bradley would be an instant sign to beleaguered fans and the rest of the league that the Fire mean business.

If he reaches the open market, Bradley will be able to name his price. But that’s where Fire owner Joe Mansueto’s deep pockets come in. This is a perfect chance for the Fire to flex their financial muscle.

Luchi Gonzalez

Though not a huge name like Bradley, there’s an argument Gonzalez is actually a better fit for the Fire. Fired in September by FC Dallas, Gonzalez previously directed that club’s world-renowned academy. Considering his own success coaching FC Dallas (playoff berths in 2019 and 2020) and the Fire’s emphasis on youth, Gonzalez could make a seamless transition to Chicago and help the club’s youngsters grow into first-team roles.

Gonzalez also might benefit from the Fire’s willingness to spend on players compared to FC Dallas.

Pat Noonan

If the Fire can’t snag Bradley or Gonzalez, perhaps they should try to hire an assistant from one of MLS’s better clubs. One example is the Philadelphia Union’s Pat Noonan, who is working under former Fire player Jim Curtin with a franchise that has slowly and surely built a contending team.

The risk with Noonan — or any other first-timer — is not knowing how he’d work as a head coach. Maybe for the right candidate, it’s a risk worth taking.

Read More

Chicago Cubs’ Patrick Wisdom celebrates his two-run home run off St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in Chicago. | Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Take our quiz to see how closely you were paying attention to baseball from June 21 to Sept. 21

Hey, I’m not going to deny it: Fall is my favorite season. Not just because of the baseball postseason (which I will be asking you about next Saturday), but because we wake up with a slight chill in the air and go to bed with a gentle coolness from open windows. And even if it rains, I’d rather be wet from rain than wet with sweat.

But our quiz today is about the summer and how our two teams did from June 21 through Sept. 21.

So here’s your hot Chicago Nine for this week.

1. Which White Sox pitcher had the most victories this summer?

a. Carlos Rodon

b. Dylan Cease

c. Lucas Giolito

d. Liam Hendriks

2. Which Cubs batter hit the most home runs?

a. Willson Contreras

b. Frank Schwindel

c. Patrick Wisdom

d. Javy Baez

3. Which Chicago player whiffed the most?

a. Ian Happ

b. Jose Abreu

c. Patrick Wisdom

d. Yoan Moncada

4. Which White Sox pitcher recorded the most strikeouts?

a. Carlos Rodon

b. Dylan Cease

c. Liam Hendriks

d. Kyle Hendricks

5. Which extra-special Chicago player had the most extra-base hits?

a. Ian Happ

b. Jose Abreu

c. Patrick Wisdom

d. Frank Schwindel

6. The White Sox had 42 summer victories. True or false: That total was more than each of these teams.

a. Indians (soon to be Guardians)

b. Twins

c. Tigers

d. Royals

7. The Cubs had the fewest victories in the National League this summer.

a. True

b. False

8. Pick the correct answer:

a. The Cubs hit more homers than the White Sox

b. The White Sox hit more homers than the Cubs

c. The Cubs and White Sox hit the same number of homers

9. Which Chicago team had more blown saves?

a. Cubs

b. White Sox

See you next week for some postseason baseball.

QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Dylan Cease led the Sox with seven victories.

2. Patrick Wisdom went deep 18 times to lead the Cubbies.

3. Wisdom struck out 119 times to give us a summer breeze.

4. Cease led Chicago with 123 strikeouts.

5. Jose Abreu had 35 extra-base hits.

6. False. The Tigers had 44 victories.

7. True. The Cubs had 27 victories, one fewer than the Diamondbacks.

8. The Cubs and White Sox each hit 105 homers.

9. The Sox had 11 blown saves to the Cubs’ eight. V

Read More