For the first time in franchise history, the Chicago Cubs thew what is known as a “combined no-hitter”. Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, and Craig Kimbrel all went out there and didn’t give up a single hit. As a unit, they allowed eight walks so it wasn’t a perfect game (or even close to […]
The White Sox get out of the Steel City with a split. The team now returns home to Chicago and a full capacity park. The Sox are in first place but have questions that need to be answered. Josh from On Tap Sports Net stops by to discuss possible trades, when to panic, and where this roster can take the club.
Take a swing at this test of your Cubs and White Sox home-run knowledge
Welcome back to another edition of the Sun-Times Chicago Baseball Quiz. I am your quizmaster, Bill Chuck. Other than stats, there will be no Statcast figures, so you must guess how long each homer went all on your own.
Are you ready for the Chicago Nine?
Get set to flip your bat!
1. Who hit his first big-league homer against the Cubs?
a. Henry Aaron
b. Yoan Moncada
c. Nolan Arenado
d. Paul Konerko
2. Only one Chicago player ever has had a game with a homer and a Platinum Sombrero (five strikeouts). Who was he?
a. Ron Kittle
b. Sammy Sosa
c. Dave Kingman
d. Alex Avila
3. The Cubs’ first night game at Wrigley was a 6-4 victory against the Mets on August 9, 1988. Who hit the first night homer?
a. Rafael Palmeiro
b. Lenny Dykstra
c. Keith Hernandez
d. Ryne Sandberg
4. Sox hurler Eddie Lopat allowed five homers to the Tigers on April 23, 1947. Only one other White Sox pitcher gave up five homers in a game. Who was he?
a. Reynaldo Lopez
b. James Shields
c. Carlos Rodon
d. Jose Quintana
5. Who is the only Cub to hit three home runs in an Opening Day game?
a. Tuffy Rhodes
b. Javy Baez
c. Corey Patterson
d. Ernie Banks
6. Which of these players hit the most pinch-hit homers for the Sox?
a. Harold Baines
b. Smoky Burgess
c. Jerry Hairston
d. Carlton Fisk
7. In 2020, only one member of the Sox hit an extra-inning walk-off homer. Who was it?
a. Jose Abreu
b. Luis Robert
c. Eloy Jimenez
d. Edwin Encarnacion
8. In the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry, no Cub hit more homers against the Cardinals than Ernie Banks. Three of these Cubs have only one career home run against St. Louis. Who doesn’t?
a. Tommy La Stella
b. Lenny Randle
c. Lou Brock
d. Bill Madlock
9. Frank Thomas hit 521 homers. Which of the following pitchers did “The Big Hurt” hit the most homers against?
a. Kenny Rogers
b. David Wells
c. Tim Wakefield
d. Mike Mussina
QUIZ ANSWERS
1. Yoan Moncada’s first homer was off Jake Arrieta on July 26, 2017.
2. On June 9, 2000, Sammy Sosa of the Cubs had that contrasting game against the Sox.
3. Lenny Dykstra homered off Mike Bielecki in the 5th inning.
4. Reynaldo Lopez was bombarded by the Blue Jays on July 27, 2018.
5. Tuffy Rhodes vs. the Mets on April 4, 1994.
6. Jerry Hairston hit eight, the others five each.
7. On August 30, Luis Robert slammed a three-run game winner in the 10th against the Royals.
8. Lou Brock hit five before he was traded to the Cardinals.
9. Thomas went deep nine times off fellow Hall of Famer, Mike Mussina.
Patrick Nyarko has been hired as an assistant coach for the Fire’s U-19 team. | Getty
A forward with the club for eight seasons, Nyarko was on the team that came within a penalty shootout of making the MLS Cup in 2009 and knows what the Fire can be.
Patrick Nyarko knows what the Fire can be.
A forward with the club for eight seasons, Nyarko was on the team that came within a penalty shootout of making the MLS Cup in 2009, when Toyota Park was jammed with more than 20,000 rowdy fans for the Eastern Conference final. Since then, the Fire have slipped as one of American soccer’s top clubs, and Nyarko is eager to help them get back to that point — or beyond.
“It would mean a lot to be part of that process,” Nyarko told the Sun-Times. “That’s what the standard is for the club, and everybody that’s working here — on the field, off the field, front office — needs to understand that’s the standard they need to hold themselves to to help or contribute.”
On Monday, Nyarko joined the Fire as an assistant coach for the club’s U-19 team. He will assist head coach Ludovic Taillandier in the development of the players.
Beyond that, Nyarko can remind the youngsters of what the Fire once were and hope to be again: a consistent contender that routinely fields star players.
That’s something Nyarko saw firsthand when he was establishing himself with the Fire and building a relationship with the fans. Those fans, who have been put through so much, embraced Monday’s announcement.
“It’s overwhelming, but then again, but I know what Fire fans embody,” Nyarko said. “This fan base has been really loyal to the club through the ups and downs in my career and even up to this point. They always have and will be there to help to support the team.”
Supporting the Fire hasn’t been easy since 2009.
One reason is that many of the figures who made the team what it once was, aside from assistant coach Frank Klopas, haven’t been around a lot. A number of them are leading other clubs to the upper reaches of the league, while the Fire have struggled to find success or goodwill from their fans.
Under owner Joe Mansueto, there have been signs of that changing.
DaMarcus Beasley attended the April 17 home opener, while former executive Peter Wilt and star defender C.J. Brown were recognized on the Soldier Field video boards during the May 8 loss to the Union.
Nyarko’s hire is another move in that direction. He said it helps to bring back former pieces of the franchise because they embody what the Fire are and know what it takes to represent the club.
“I hope it’s trending that way and more and more guys get the opportunity to come back to the club and contribute their experiences and their knowledge of the game to help establish and cement this club as one of the top clubs, be it on and off the field, in MLS,” Nyarko said. “We know where we need to be, and we know what this club is in the history of MLS, and the goal is to get there and stay there like it used to be.”
Chicago police work the scene where four people were shot in the 7000 block of South Indiana Ave, in the Park Manor neighborhood, Saturday, June 26, 2021. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times, Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
A 25-year-old was found early Saturday in the 2600 block of West Thomas Street with a gunshot wound to the torso.
A person was killed, and 24 others wounded in citywide gun violence since Friday night.
In the weekend’s only reported homicide, a man was fatally shot early Saturday in Humboldt Park on the Northwest Side.
The 25-year-old was found about 4:35 a.m. in the 2600 block of West Thomas Street with a gunshot wound to the torso, Chicago police said.
He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. He hasn’t been identified.
In nonfatal attacks, a woman was shot Friday in Austin on the West Side.
She was walking about 9:10 p.m. in the 200 block of South Cicero Avenue when someone opened fire, striking her in the leg, police said. The 56-year-old was taken to Stroger Hospital, where her condition was stabilized.
Another woman was wounded in a shooting late Friday in Bridgeport on the South Side.
The 28-year-old was traveling in a vehicle as a passenger about 11:25 p.m. in the 2800 block of South Wallace Avenue when three males who were standing outside fired shots at the vehicle, police said.
A bullet struck her in the elbow, and she was taken to Mercy Hospital in good condition, police said.
Minutes later, four people were hurt, two critically, in a shooting in Park Manor on the South Side.
Two women, both 28, and two men, both 31, were standing outside about 11:50 p.m. when a person drove past in a red moped and fired shots in the 7000 block of South Indiana Avenue, police said.
One woman was shot three times on the body and was taken in critical condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said. The other was struck in the thigh and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where her condition was stable.
One man was also critically hurt with a gunshot wound to the head, police said. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said. The other man was shot in the thigh and taken to the same hospital, where his condition was stable.
At least 15 others were wounded in shootings across Chicago since 5 p.m. Friday.
North Carolina Courage forward Kristen Hamilton (23) and Red Stars defender Sarah Gorden battle for the ball as Red Stars defender Casey Krueger (6) closes in during the second half of an NWSL soccer match on June 5 at SeatGeek Stadium. | Shafkat Anowar/AP
Rory Dames said Tuesday’s game against OL Reign was an opportunity to give players a runout in a game setting to see where they are at ahead of the Olympic break
The Red Stars are closing out another challenging stretch, playing three games in eight days, including one on the road. It’s the second time this season that the Red Stars have faced such a tough grind.
Coach Rory Dames said what’s confusing to him is why his team already has played seven games while other teams only have played five.
Scheduling isn’t necessarily being used as an excuse by the Red Stars (2-3-2), but there’s no doubting the impact.
“You have a home game on Saturday, another the next Saturday, and a game across the country on Tuesday,” Dames said. “So you pick your poison on which one you want to go after. We obviously held players out so we have them for Saturday.”
Dames said the game Tuesday against OL Reign was more of an opportunity to give players a runout in a game setting to see where they are ahead of the Olympic break, which isn’t a break for the NWSL.
The starting 11 against OL Reign looked a lot different than it has all season.
Alyssa Mautz, who played on June 5 for the first time since tearing her ACL last year, got her first start since 2019. Nikki Stanton played her first 90-minute game since leaving the Red Stars in 2020 to play overseas. Bianca St. Georges got her first start for the Red Stars this season after suffering a knee injury at training camp with the Canadian National Team.
St. Georges was not selected for the Canadian National Team’s Olympic roster.
Against OL Reign, the Red Stars got behind early, giving up a goal in the first minute. Sofia Huerta assisted the second goal of the night in the 18th minute, a cross headed in by Bethany Balcer.
OL Reign controlled 63.2% of the possession time and gave up just one shot on goal.
“Bianca and Tatumn [Milazzo] need minutes and need games,” Dames said. “So is Sofia as influential if Arin [Wright] or Casey [Krueger] are in? I don’t know.”
The Red Stars had three players — Alyssa Naeher, Tierna Davidson and Julie Ertz —selected to the U.S. Women’s National Team Olympic roster. Krueger was selected as an alternate.
The Olympic team will begin training camp at the end of the month ahead of the Send-Off Series against Mexico on July 1 and 5 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut.
Head coach Vlatko Andonovski said he did not see any risk in selecting Ertz to the Olympic roster given her lack of playing time. Ertz suffered a right knee MCL sprain in the Red Stars’ season-opening 5-0 loss to the Portland Thorns.
Andonovski said Ertz’s rehab is progressing well and he expects her to get minutes on the field in closed-door games in Japan. He’s hoping to increase her minutes by the group stage.
Krueger’s selection as an alternate came after she worked herself back into USWNT form following the COVID-19 pandemic and a couple of minor injuries last year that left her sidelined. She missed a few national-team camps in the fall and winter but a replacement invite to the SheBelieves Cup put her back on Andonovski’s radar.
“We know how good she can be,” Andonovski said. “We know her potential. We know she knows the system well. Looking at all the games she’s played in the NWSL has earned her a spot on our team.”
The Red Stars host Racing Louisville (2-3-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.
Four people were shot June 26, 2021, after getting into an argument in West Rogers Park. | Sun-Times file photo
About 5:30 a.m., the group was in the 6100 block of North McCormick Boulevard, when they got into an argument with a man who pulled out a gun and began firing shots.
Four people were shot Sunday morning after getting into an argument in West Rogers Park on the North Side.
About 5:30 a.m., the group was in the 6100 block of North McCormick Boulevard, when they got into an argument with a man who pulled out a gun and began firing shots, Chicago police said.
A 35-year-old man was struck in the chest and leg, and taken to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition, police said. A 25-year-old man was struck in the stomach and took himself to Evanston Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
Two men, between the ages of 20 and 25, were both stuck in the right leg, and went to Swedish Covenant Hospital where their conditions were stabilized, police said.
No arrests have been made as Area Five detectives investigate.
Very few fans and media pundits could have predicted the Chicago Cubs‘ success thus far this season. As June is nearly complete, the Cubs find themselves in a tight battle with the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in their division despite having recently gone up against some of the premier teams on the west coast (San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Dodgers).
The Chicago Cubs need to see a stretch of winning to keep their season alive.
While the Brewers have benefitted from playing over a month’s worth of games against cupcake teams below .500, the Cubs have managed to hover above water in their toughest month of the season. It hasn’t looked pretty at times but the Cubs are driven to make the front office and naysayers think twice about giving up on the rest of the season once the July trade deadline rolls around.
In reality, a lot can happen over the next few weeks before Jed Hoyer and his staff has to decide whether to be buyers or sellers. The Cubs can get on a roll as their schedule starts to ease up again, validating the belief that they are playoff contenders at the very least. On the other hand, it’s possible that the wheels can fall off the bandwagon, depending on how the Cubs perform against the Dodgers and Brewers over the coming days.
One thing that has separated this Cubs’ team from recent years has been their resiliency. Any time the Cubs have gone through a rough patch, they seem to rattle off a string of wins shortly after. Maybe it’s because expectations prior to the season were much lower than normal given that the front office seemed to signal with their actions that they were willing to rebuild rather than try to contend.
The front office’s lack of faith in the Cubs’ roster may be inadvertently created an additional chip on everyone’s shoulder to go out and prove all doubters wrong. So far it has worked better than anyone could have anticipated. The Cubs have been getting contributions from so many unexpected callups. Their bullpen has also been the glue to this team, which in years past was often considered to be a glaring weakness.
While the Cubs are continuing to defy the odds placed upon them on paper, it can turn sideways in a blink of an eye if they go through another rough stretch against the Dodgers and Brewers. Hopefully, that’s not the case but with a deadline fast approaching, now is not the time for an unpleasant slump.
Hailey O’Malley still enjoys the discoveries of the natural world, such as this western painted turtle in northern Wisconsin. | Provided by Ken “Husker” O’Malley
The joy of a painted turtle, a question on a Downstate fish hatchery, a swing in Wisconsin’s ruffed grouse, and a question on southern Lake Michigan charters are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors.
Notes come from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
WILD OF THE WEEK
Ken “Husker” O’Malley proudly emailed this photo of his daughter with a western painted turtle from a northern Wisconsin trip. “Even at 21, my daughter Hailey still loves to explore just as much as when she was little,” he emailed. “Memories that never get old.”
That’s living right.
WOTW, the celebration of wild stories and photos around Chicago outdoors, runs most weeks in the special two-page outdoors section in the Sun-Times Sports Saturday. To make submissions, email [email protected] or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).
WILD TIMES
ILLINOIS PERMITS
Wednesday, June 30: Final day, applications for firearm and muzzleloader deer permits, second lottery
FISH GATHERING
Wednesday, June 30: Guide Doug Ide on Geneva Lake muskies, Walleyes Unlimited, Gurnee American Legion, 7 p.m., walleyesunlimitedusa.org
DALE’S MAILBAG
“Do you know of any perch fishing charters off shore, seems like salmon and trout only?” Jeff Kantor
A: Because perch fishing in southern Lake Michigan is so variable, very few do perch charters. The one captain I know focused on it is Capt. Douglas Stremplewski of Doug’s Charter Service–(219) 218-3357—out of Indiana. Some other captains will do it if requested.
BIG NUMBER
-6: Percentage of decline in the roadside ruffed grouse surveys by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (no surveys done in 2020). “Ruffed grouse typically follow a ten-year population cycle with cyclic highs occurring in years that end in 9, 0 or 1. It is likely that during this cycle, the grouse population peaked in 2019 or 2020 and it is likely that abundance will begin to decrease in the coming years as we enter the `down phase’ of the cycle.” Complete survey results are available on the Wisconsin DNR website here.
LAST WORD
“The Division of Fisheries is currently evaluating options that would allow the division to increase fish production for stocking multiple statewide programs and potentially initiating new programs over time.”
IDNR fisheries chief Mike McClelland, when asked if the Illinois Department of Natural Resources was considering buying or leasing the former Logan Hollow Fish Farm. He also noted a vendor was found to “supply sunfish to the Chicago Urban Fishing program for 2021 programs.”
Provided by a reader (name withheld)The IDNR stocked sunfish at Chicago lagoons earlier this month.
After years of trying to find some consistency in the middle since the days of Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol, the Bulls found it with Vucevic. Now it’s about adding depth to the position.
Center hasn’t been an easy position to fill since the old Bulls front office pushed out Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol years ago.
This past season alone, the list of candidates were many. Wendell Carter Jr. — under-sized for the spot — earned the starting nod, but his injuries and inconsistency led to Daniel Gafford, Lauri Markkanen, Thad Young and Luke Kornet getting auditions.
The position was unstable enough that Arturas Karnisovas, in his first year as the team’s executive vice president of basketball operations, said enough and began shopping for a big-time talent at that spot.
And big-time talent has big-time cost.
The Bulls felt it when they left Tuesday night’s draft lottery without a first-round pick — the result of a deal with the Magic at the March25 trade deadline in which they got center Nikola Vucevic for a package that included a protected first-round 2021 draft pick and another one in 2023. Had they received the No. 4 pick or better in the draft lottery, they would have kept that selection. Instead they got No. 8 and handed it to the Magic.
Vucevic thinks he was still worth it.
“I’ve said it before — this trade wasn’t just made for this year,” he said last month. “So I think it’s too early to judge it, so we’ll see. Next year will obviously show more, and then the year after that. Obviously, we don’t have five years to figure it out, but it also can’t be judged in two months, so it’s on us now to go into next year and play better, get to where we want to get.”
There are indeed places Vucevic wants to get to. The 6-11double-double machine got a taste of postseason play a few times with the Magic, but now it’s about ending the Bulls’ four-year playoff drought.
He feels confident he and guard Zach LaVine will be capable of doing that once they have an offseason and some serious practice time together.
On paper, it’s a winning formula: LaVine’s playmaking and scoring ability combined with Vucevic’s ability to pick-and-pop or pick-and-roll. Vucevic also is an uncanny passer for his size.
The 26 games Vucevic played in a Bulls uniform this spring just weren’t enough, especially when LaVine spent weeks in the league’s COVID-19 protocols during the last month of the season. But it has to click next season, and Vucevic thinks it will.
“[LaVine is] really about winning,” he said. “That’s something that was very important for me to see when I got here. And I saw it from Day 1. That’s something you want to have from one of your best players. . . . He and I are both motivated to help this franchise win. So that’s the first step you need.”
THE MEN IN THE MIDDLE WHOM THE BULLS HAVE
Nikola Vucevic and Cristiano Felicio.
WHO COULD BE ON THE MOVE
Felicio finally comes off the books after former general manager Gar Forman gave him an ugly four-year, $32 million contract in 2017.
THE DRAFT
Without a first-round pick in next month’s draft, the Bulls would have to get lucky in finding a rotation-type center in the second round with the 38th overall pick. Those centers do exist. The Bulls could kick the tires on North Carolina’s Day’Ron Sharpe or go the Euro route and gamble on Filip Petrusev (Serbia) or Ariel Hukporti (Lithuania).
FREE AGENCY
Expect the Bulls to throw resources at Daniel Theis to return as a power forward/center, but if he walks, there’s a long list of big men who could come in, get backup minutes and play at a solid level. It’s a great summer for mediocre-center shopping.
WILD CARD
The Bulls need physicality and some serious attitude. Soon-to-be free agent DeMarcus Cousins (Clippers) has had many injuries . . . but why not?
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