Plus, Brandon Hagel leaves COVID-19 protocol after positive test determined to be false, and faceoff woes continue to plague the Hawks.

Vinnie Hinostroza clearly wasn’t part of Joel Quenneville’s plans for the Panthers the rest of this season, considering how eagerly they dumped him in Friday’s trade.

But the Blackhawks see Hinostroza as someone who can play a significant role.

“I feel confident that he can contribute,” Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton said Saturday. “We need more of those guys, so [I’m] happy that he’s going to get an opportunity. We’ll see what happens.”

If anyone knows how to maximize Hinostroza’s strengths, it’s probably Colliton.

The two are familiar with each other from the 2017-18 AHL season, when Colliton took over as the Rockford IceHogs’ coach and Hinostroza was sent there after Hawks training camp.

Under Colliton’s watch, Hinostroza dominated the minor leagues to the tune of 22 points in his first 23 games. That earned him an early December call-up and he hasn’t been back to the AHL since.

Any more time in Florida and he likely would’ve ended up back in the minors, though, so Colliton expects him to be “hungry for the opportunity” with the Hawks. He’s driving the 20 hours to Chicago, rather than flying, in order to reduce his required quarantine time.

Colliton also insisted Hinostroza’s addition wouldn’t cost a young player like Philipp Kurashev a roster spot or block a prospect’s route to the NHL.

“It won’t block anyone,” he said. “Ultimately, the guys earn what they get. They’re going to get an opportunity to show what they deserve. But you want to have quality surrounding your young players that play.”

Hagel had false positive

Brandon Hagel was placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list Friday because of a false positive, Colliton said.

After several negative tests in the past 24 hours, Hagel was removed from the list Saturday. He played in the Hawks’ 3-0 loss to the Predators, although Colliton said he “had had to jump through quite a few hoops to get” to Nashville since he wasn’t allowed on the team flight Friday.

That news is certainly a relief for the Hawks — especially in light of the disastrous ongoing outbreak with the Canucks that has so far reportedly infected 14 players and three coaches, some severely.

Faceoff woes continue

The Hawks squandered a crucial one minute, 55 seconds of a five-on-three power play Saturday in part because Kirby Dach lost all three faceoffs during it, giving the Preds three easy clears.

It turns out that has been happening all year. The Hawks entered the day 30th in the NHL in power-play faceoff percentage at 46.6% — just slightly better than their 28th-place ranking in overall faceoff percentage.

David Kampf and Carl Soderberg are the Hawks’ only centers above 48% — much less 50% — on draws this year.

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Jared Butler scored 17 points to lead five Baylor players in double figures, and the Bears roared to a 78-59 victory over the Cougars in the Final Four.

INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly two decades ago, Scott Drew decided to leave his comfort zone at tiny Valparaiso for the scandal-plagued basketball program at Baylor, explaining to his father that there was nowhere for the Bears to go but up.

Now, they’re one win away from the top.

Led by Jared Butler and the rest of their brilliant backcourt, a defense that refused to give Houston an inch, and a coach intent on making the most of his first trip to the Final Four, the Bears roared to a 78-59 victory Saturday night in their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals in 71 long years.

“Every day you’re grinding, and you don’t really look back. You’re pressing forward,” Drew said, “but I’m so blessed to have these unbelievable players that bought into what we like to do with the program.”

Or, as Butler put it: “This is what we came to Baylor to do.”

Butler scored all 17 of his points in the first half, but just about everyone from Baylor (27-2) got in on the act, with five players scoring in double figures. They doubled up Houston after 10 minutes, built a 45-20 lead by halftime and coasted the rest of the way in the first Final Four showdown between schools from the Lonestar State.

They’ll face Gonzaga, the overall No. 1 seed, or upstart UCLA on Monday night for their first national championship.

“That was one of my goals, to leave a legacy at Baylor,” Butler said. “And you have to win national championships. You have to win. You have to be a great program, be about great things, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Marcus Sasser had 20 points for the cold-shooting Cougars (28-4), whose dream path to their first Final Four since 1984 — they faced teams seeded 15th, 10th, 11th and 12th along the way — ended with a whimper against a team focused squarely on this night since the moment last year’s tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.

For Drew, the wait had been even longer.

He took over a program 18 years ago embroiled in arguably the biggest controversy in the history of the sport: the graphic shooting death of player Patrick Dennehy, his teammate Devon Dotson pleading guilty to his murder, attempts by then-coach Dave Bliss to cover it all up, and NCAA sanctions that lasted well into Drew’s own tenure.

Yet somehow, the son of longtime Valpo coach Homer Drew always pictured the very scene that unfolded Saturday night: His team playing selflessly, almost effortlessly, never once feeling the pressure of college basketball’s biggest stage.

Well, there were a few things Drew probably didn’t picture.

Instead of 70,000 fans reaching to the rafters, the Bears were cheered in the lower bowl by thousands of cardboard cutouts — from the late Georgetown coach John Thompson to New Mexico State mascot Pistol Pete — due to measures against COVID-19 that have forced them to live in a bubble for the last three weeks.

The roughly 8,000 fans that were allowed through the doors, socially distanced in a vast ocean of blue seats, provided a muted soundtrack to the blowout inside the cavernous home of the Indianapolis Colts.

The only cheering? That came from those in green and gold.

The Bears controlled the game from the jump, unleashing an early 14-3 run fueled by the crisp passing, silky shooting and dastardly defense that made them unbeatable before a 23-day COVID-19 pause late in the regular season.

When the Cougars finally scored, the Bears ripped off another 16-3 run later in the first half, carving up the nation’s top 3-point field-goal defense with ruthless efficiency. By the time Davion Mitchell knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to end the first half, the Bears had a 45-20 lead that felt insurmountable.

Probably because it just about was.

Sasser did everything he could to keep Houston alive, hitting five 3-pointers and scoring 17 himself. But the rest of the Cougars were 1 of 15 from the field, including All-American guard Quentin Grimes (0 for 5) and DeJon Jarreau (1 for 7), who earned MVP honors in the Midwest Region.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose reputation for being a master tactician was stretched to the limit, tried to get the guard-heavy Cougars to forget about the 3-point line and go right to the basket in the second half.

The Cougars cut their deficit to 16 at one point, but there was no coming back on this night.

The big cushion down the stretch gave the Bears — mullet-haired Matthew Mayer, MaCio Teague and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua in their bright pink sneakers, Butler and Mitchell and the rest of their guys lounging on the bench — plenty of time to celebrate the program’s second trip to the national title game.

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Jacoby Erving waited for his moment. The Phillips senior was the fourth string running back last season. And it has been 504 days between football games for the Wildcats. That’s a lot of time for anyone, but it feels even longer to high school kid.

So when Erving finally had his chance, he took total advantage. Erving took his first touch of the game, a handoff on Phillips’ second play, all the way to the house for a 50-yard touchdown run.

The Wildcats beat Westinghouse 46-6 on Saturday at Solorio. Erving and fellow running back Jamel Britt each scored three touchdowns.

“Throughout these 500 days I’ve been working and working and working,” Erving said. “We only have four games but I’m going to show out and ball.”

Erving had seven carries for 133 yards. He scored on the 50-yard run, a three-yard run and a 20-yard run.

Erving is small, fast and shifty. Britt is a punishing, 220-pound runner. He had six carries for 55 yards. Britt caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Phillips quarterback Tyler Turner and had a seven-yard and a 12-yard touchdown run.

“When I’m back there they think I’m a speed back and I can’t run people over,” Erving said. “And when [Britt] is back there they think it’s for short yardage. But he is versatile too. He can run and bust through a whole just like me.”

Chicago Public Schools began allowing limited fans at games this week.

“We were going to come out and do our thing with or without fans but to have the people here that love us and enjoy watching us play, it is so much better,” Britt said. “It motivates us.”

Turner, a junior, was 10-for-22 for 170 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception.

“The two senior running backs really stepped up,” Phillips coach Troy McAllister said. “They’ve both waited their turn patiently and they both stood up today.”

Phillips’ backbone was its defense. The Wildcats held Westinghouse, which beat Lincoln Park 26-0 last week, to just four yards rushing and 39 yards passing.

“We try to limit every opponent we face to negative yards,” Phillips linebacker Steven Hirsch said. “This is a great accomplishment but we still have work to do.”

Hirsch, who has committed to Wisconsin-Platteville, was worried he’d show up at college with one fewer season under his belt than everyone else, so just playing on Saturday felt like a gift.

“It’s amazing,” Hirsch said. “I was scared that all my future teammates would have full 14-game seasons and I’d be on the outside looking in and it was really tough. Even just four games, it is a blessing.”

Westinghouse (1-1) scored midway through the first quarter on a 90-yard interception return by senior LaDainian Linnear.

“That was a learning experience,” Warriors coach Julius Carter said. “We are a really young team. With the spring season popping up on us we are missing a few kids. We had a good win last week and now we played one of the top teams in the state. We have to bounce back, review the film, fix our mistakes and get ready for Lane.”

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Dr. Kurt Miller was a man for all the right reasons.

Last Tuesday, we got to count all the ways he was.

A champion of companion animals, Dr. Miller, 56, a much loved North Shore veterinarian with a pachyderm-sized clientele, died suddenly at his home Tuesday.

Although he had recovered from COVID-19 late last year, his sudden death was a stunner.

Well-known and loved in the community, the man known as “Dr. Kurt” was a maestro in the magisterium of dogs and cats wiggling their way through his office since setting up his own shop, the Winnetka Animal Hospital, in 2007.

“I’m still crying,” said Marilyn Wirtz, wife of Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, whose late Beagles Bernie and Queenie pose next to the Stanley Cup in a wall portrait in Dr. Miller’s office.

“He was so special,” she said. “He knew we suffered if our pets suffered. He took care of us as well as our pets.”

Truth be told, Dr. Miller also tended to my golden retrievers Marley, Querencia, Zeb, Pip and Tutu along with cats Minou II, the “Terrible Tess,” and Calvin the magnificent mouser.

“In the category of a wonderful life, he checked all the boxes,” said Francee Nachbar, an office staffer and friend for 25 years.

“When Kurt was a young vet just starting out, he once drove a sick Boxer five hours to a teaching hospital in Missouri where a doctor was capable of doing a rare procedure, stayed for three days, and drove the client back without charging a dime for his help.”

As a client, there was always an available Tootsie Roll Pop to tide you through an office visit; as a patient there was always a dog treat exit.

And if you wanted a little adventure while waiting in his office, Zola the Ball Python could be viewed nesting in a large box off a back office wall — an act of adoption kindness when the young son of a client died.

“Kurt was a diagnostician whose practice was all about compassion and respect for companion animals and their important role in people’s lives,” said his wife, Julie, whose home was shared with “Blue” the Labrador, “Hazie” the new Great Dane Christmas puppy, and the PAWS Chicago rescue cat named “Anabelle,” a special needs kitty.

“Kurt, who had been considering becoming a doctor, opted to become a veterinarian after receiving a grant to work in Liberia, West Africa, on river blindness and where he helped with the release of chimpanzees used to develop Hepatitis C vaccine,” said his wife.

“He wanted them returned to the wild instead of being used for new AIDS experimentation.”

The couple, parents of son Nolan, 26, who recently got engaged — and daughter Grace, 21, who is soon to graduate from college, recently celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary.

“Dr. Miller was genuine,” said Dr. Bruce Kramer, a member of Miller’s medical staff.

Tech vet Kayla West noted the special, private room in Miller’s office complex designed to ease the delivery of difficult news,” she said.

“While hiring me, he offered inducements like the office’s ice cream socials Wednesdays and pizza day Fridays. He also loved to cook and loved to feed us.”

“When he had to close the office for 10 days last December because of COVID, he told us not to worry because we would be paid no matter what,” she added.

“It was his way of doing things.”

Thanks for doing things your way, Kurt.

March Madness . . .

. . . mayhem style!

In 2018, Loyola University’s beloved 101-year-old chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt spun March Madness magic cheering the Ramblers men’s basketball team into their historic Final Four run.

This year, it’s 15-year-old Riverside native Sam Tomas calling what could become the March Madness sure shot!

• Translation: Tomas’ 2021 NCAA Men’s Tournament bracket is currently ranked #3 worldwide in the ESPN Men’s Tournament Challenge.
• To wit: This puts the basketball-loving teen in the top 99.9999998 percentile.
• Timeout: There are seven other people in the same slot tied for third place with Tomas.
• The twist: A life-long Michigan State University Spartans fan, Tomas’ bracket is dubbed “MSU Underdog.”
• The kicker: Once the UCLA Bruins made an improbable run to this year’s Final Four by beating Tomas’ beloved Spartans, his impressive bracket secured its #3 spot.

“The reaction has been crazy,” Tomas explained.

“I planned on Michigan State going to the Final Four, but once UCLA beat them, I just stuck with UCLA. I guess that was a good idea.”

Sneedlings . . .

Saturday birthdays: Eddie Murphy, 60; Alec Baldwin, 63; and Paris Jackson, 23. . . . Sunday birthdays: Robert Downey Jr., 56; Jill Scott, 49; and David Blaine, 48.

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Fire crews Saturday contained a wildfire to 325 acres of Indiana Dunes National Park in northwest Indiana.

The fire started Friday afternoon and had burned about 300 acres of Miller Woods at the Indiana Dunes by about 6 p.m., national park spokesman Micah Bell said.

By Saturday afternoon, the fire had been contained to 325 acres of the woods, Bell said.

No injuries or private property damage have been reported, Bell said.

In a satellite photo shared by the national park, smoke from the wildfire could be seen extending about 80 miles north onto Lake Michigan.

The area around Miller Woods is closed as fire crews work to put out the blaze, Bell said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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Chicago police leaders have issued an “officer safety alert” to cops saying the department’s narcotics unit learned that factions of the Latin Kings in the Ogden patrol district on the Southwest Side “were instructed by ranking members to shoot at unmarked Chicago police vehicles.”

The alert sent out Thursday said factions of the gang planned to retaliate following the fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo at about 2 a.m. March 29 in an alley in the 2400 block of South Sawyer.

According to the alert, Latin Kings members were likely to shoot at a passing unmarked Chicago police vehicle and flee. It didn’t specify why the Kings would be retaliating. The police department’s News Affairs office declined to comment.

The warning covered a large portion of Little Village — between 23^rd and 28^th streets and between Lawndale Avenue on the west and Whipple Street on the east.

Police officials previously said that on the morning of the shooting, officers responded to reports of gunfire and found Adam and a man in an alley to the west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue.

An officer chased Adam — who police said was armed — and then shot him in the chest behind Farragut Career Academy High School. Police shared a photo of a gun allegedly recovered at the scene.

It wasn’t until two days later that the boy’s mother was notified of his death — and three days later until authorities revealed publicly that he was just 13.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates all city police shootings, said Friday it would show the “troubling video footage” of the encounter to the Toledo family before releasing it to the public.

Contributing: Sam Kelly

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Two people were cut during a fight on a Red Line train Saturday at the Sheridan stop on the North Side.

A man and woman got into an altercation just before 11 a.m. on a train at the Sheridan stop, 3940 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago police said.

At least one of them had a knife, and both of them were cut during the course of the fight, police said.

The woman, 27, was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in good condition with a cut on her wrist, Chicago fire officials said.

The cut appeared to be self-inflicted and the woman was undergoing a mental evaluation, fire officials said.

The man, whose exact age was unknown, showed up later at nearby Thorek Memorial Hospital, police said. His condition was not immediately known.

CTA Red Line trains bypassed the Sheridan stop for over two hours as police investigated, but normal service resumed about 1:20 p.m., the transit authority said.

An investigation is ongoing, police said.

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Bonnie’s EYE On…!

• About Bonnie’s Eye on Entertainment

MOMENT OF TRUTH – Who Really Killed James Jordan

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By bdeshong,
today at 12:06 pm

In 1993, the whole world was shocked and saddened to hear that the father of NBA star Michael Jordan was shot and killed in Robeson County, North Carolina.

The news reported that Mr. Jordan was on his way back to Chicago from a funeral, got sleepy and pulled to the side of the road to get some rest before continuing. He was killed during a robbery and his body was tossed over a bridge to be found later in a river tangled in a tree.  Two teenagers, Larry Demery and Daniel Green, were arrested, tried, and convicted.  One as an accompanist and one as the actual shooter. Case closed… Or is it?

The docu-series Moment of Truth, which premiered on IMDb TV on April 2^nd, is a five-part series that gives us a step-by-step view of events using actual news, police, trial, and interview footage.

Viewing the series is an emotional rollercoaster and very graphic. Through each of the five parts I took on a different role and opinion. Part One I was a bystander watching what I already thought I knew. I stepped in the role of the Jury by segment three. By segment five I was physically taking notes and I had so many questions.

Directors Matthew Perniciaro and Clay Johnson did a great job in presenting the facts as they were given.  There are not any literal licenses. We are shown the actual pictures and videos, we hear the never-before-released police interviews and trial footage. We see the interviews with Daniel Green and Larry Demery. We learn about the corruption of the Robeson County police chief and department, and we get to know the man Daniel Green, the person convicted of firing the shot that killed James Jordan.

The series includes on-camera interviews with Green and his lawyer, Christine Mumma, executive director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence. Green’s post-conviction efforts have involved years of appeals and multiple, detailed motions that recently culminated with a North Carolina Superior Court judge denying Green an opportunity to present his evidence of innocence. That decision is currently being appealed.

I spoke with Executive Producer of Moment of Truth Shelly Leslie. You can hear that interview here https://www.mixcloud.com/bonnieseye/a-conversation-with-shelly-leslie-executive-producer-moment-of-truth-and-art-chatdaddy-sims/

All episodes of Moment of Truth premiered on Friday, April 2 exclusively on IMDb TV, Amazon’s premium free streaming service.

I give MOMENT OF TRUTH 5 Winks of the EYE

Until next time, keep your EYE to the sky! [email protected]

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