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Game Post 4/3on April 3, 2021 at 5:43 pm

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Game Post 4/3

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Sistas Actress Crystal Hayslett Shares Delicious Easter Recipeon April 3, 2021 at 5:49 pm

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Sistas Actress Crystal Hayslett Shares Delicious Easter Recipe

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White Sox’ Yermin Mercedes’ historic 5-for-5 night begged a question: ‘Is this real?’Daryl Van Schouwenon April 3, 2021 at 5:01 pm

Yermin Mercedes of the White Sox reacts after his RBI double against the Los Angeles Angels during the ninth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 02, 2021 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) | Getty

If you’re Yermin Mercedes, and you have 10 years of professional baseball toil in your cleats, it’s hard to find the words.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — If you’re Yermin Mercedes, and you have 10 years of professional baseball toil in your cleats, it’s hard to find the words.

So it was for the 28-year-old who, somewhat surprisingly despite a proven ability to hit a baseball, made the White Sox Opening Day roster and got his first major league start in the second game of the season Friday night at Angel Stadium.

Mercedes, the designated hitter batting eighth against left-hander Andrew Heaney, singled his first time up. The 5-11, 245-pounder pointed to the sky and was handed the ball, a souvenir for life, from Angels first baseman and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.

“Congratulations, take the ball. There’s many more coming,” Pujols said, not knowing the second, third, fourth and fifth would also come that night in a 12-8 Sox victory, their first of the season.

By the end of his historic evening, Mercedes would have four singles and a double and four RBI in a perfect 5-for-5 effort that set him in a class by himself.

The only other player besides Mercedes in the modern era to have five hits in first career start was Washington’s Cecil Travis against Cleveland on May 17, 1933, and Travis needed seven at-bats. So Mercedes is the first in modern history — Fred Clarke also did it for the Louisville Colonels in 1894. Not bad for someone who entered with one other at-bat, against the Royals last season

“Historic,” manager Tony La Russa said. “Most of it was outstanding pieces of hitting, deep in the count.”

Mercedes had three hits with two strikes. Not bad for a Rule 5 draftee who had bounced around in rugged independent leagues trying to find his way. There were times he actually thought about quitting, he said Friday.

“I mean, it’s too hard,” Mercedes said after the game, searching for words. “I just want to cry every time when I see I’m in the majors right now. I want to cry because it’s been a long time, a long time. I pass every [test]. I got a big history. Just looking around I’m so like, ‘Is this real? I’m here.’

“I don’t know what to say right now. I’m just so happy.”

Signed by the Nationals in 2011 and acquired by the Sox from the Orioles in the minor league phase of the 2017 Rule 5 draft, the Dominican-born Mercedes is a career .302 hitter in the minor leagues. He hit 23 homers between Class AA Birmingham and AAA Charlotte in 2019. Defensive deficiencies kept him out of the majors, but he showed some improvements during spring training, and has been quick throwing from home to second.

With Eloy Jimenez out, there’s room in the Sox lineup for some pop. Mercedes doesn’t figure to be an everyday player, but he might have forced his way into a second straight start Saturday night.

“It’s a shame he’s not playing tomorrow,” La Russa said, laughing. “I told Tim [Anderson], ‘You tell him he’s not playing tomorrow.’ He said, ‘No, you better play him.’ I said ‘yes I will.’ ’’

“I don’t know [if I’m playing],” Mercedes said. “When Tony puts the lineup tomorrow, I just need to come to the field and be ready if I’m playing. Today is passed. Tomorrow is another day. Everyday is another day. Don’t focus on ‘Oh, I had five hits today’ or ‘Oh, I’m happy.’ No, today is passed. Yeah I had fun, I’m excited, but if I’m playing tomorrow, I just keep trying to do the same thing, do the best I can do on the plate. Keep working hard.”

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White Sox’ Yermin Mercedes’ historic 5-for-5 night begged a question: ‘Is this real?’Daryl Van Schouwenon April 3, 2021 at 5:01 pm Read More »

How the Super 25 fared in Week 3on April 3, 2021 at 4:39 pm

1. Loyola (3-0)

Won 28-7 at No. 9 Brother Rice

2. Lincoln-Way East (3-0)

Won 41-0 vs. Lincoln-Way Central

3. Marist (2-0) 7

Saturday at No. 8 Mount Carmel

4. Batavia (2-0)

Won 42-0 vs. Geneva

5. Glenbard West (2-0)

DNP

6. St. Rita (2-1)

Won 33-28 vs. Providence

7. Naperville Central (2-0) 10

Saturday at Naperville North

8. Mount Carmel (1-1) 2

Saturday vs. No. 3 Marist

9. Brother Rice (1-2)

Lost 28-7 vs. No. 1 Loyola

10. Warren (3-0)

Won 55-0 at Waukegan

11. Nazareth (2-0)

Won 41-0 at De La Salle

12. Maine South (2-0) 13

Saturday vs. Glenbrook North

13. Prairie Ridge (2-1)

Lost 14-13 OT at Crystal Lake Central

14. Hinsdale Central (2-0) 15

Saturday vs. York

15. Wheaton Warrenville South (2-0) 16

Saturday at Wheaton North

16. Joliet Catholic (3-0)

Won 21-7 vs. St. Ignatius

17. Oswego (3-0)

Win 46-0 vs. West Aurora

18. Cary-Grove (1-0)

DNP

19. Fremd (2-1)

Lost 26-24 at Palatine

20. Huntley (3-0)

Won 53-8 at McHenry

21. Barrington (3-0)

Won 35-13 at Conant

22. Neuqua Valley (1-0)

DNP

23. Simeon (1-0) NR

Saturday vs. Perspectives

24. Hillcrest (3-0)

Won 72-0 at Tinley Park

25. DeKalb (1-0) 25

Saturday at Waubonsie Valley

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Less of Lauri Markkanen this season has been more for the Bullson April 3, 2021 at 2:49 pm

The career path of Lauri Markkanen continues to become stranger and stranger.

Need more evidence of that?

Throw on the tape from the loss in Utah on Friday night, and then strain your eyes trying to find him impact the game in a winning fashion.

In just his second game as a bench player, as well as now getting some work at the small forward spot when coach Billy Donovan goes with his land of giants lineup, the 7-footer played 23 minutes, took five shots, grabbed two rebounds, handed out one assist, and finished with five points.

Reminder: This is a guy that averaged almost 19 and nine his second year in the league, and a guy opposing teams had to gameplan for.

Now, he’s just that – a guy. The NBA has a bunch of those.

And a guy that far too often plays more like a hostage than a volunteer.

That’s why when the season comes to an end, the writing on the wall screams so will Markkanen’s time as a Bull. At this point it should.

The Bulls are just better when there’s less of Markkanen on the floor. In the 20 games he’s missed this season, all the Bulls have done in his absence is go 11-9. When he plays they are 8-19.

Take it a step further, Markkanen is more effective in the 20-29 minutes per game range than he is when he’s 30-minutes plus. His defensive rating is higher in less minutes, his usage rate, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage also go up. Less of Markkanen is more.

The only question for executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas is how does the Markkanen exit go down? Is he a sign-and-trade or do the Bulls simply let the market bid for the restricted free agent and he walks out the door for nothing in return?

Maybe a change of scenery will do Markkanen good.

It’s hard to say.

Whether the Jim Boylen experience simply sucked the passion to play out of him or he’s still stuck on the fact that he and the Bulls couldn’t get in the same ballpark for an extension in December, the No. 7 overall pick from the 2017 draft that was expected to be a foundation piece in the Jimmy Butler trade-and-rebuild is long gone.

And with no real explanation.

Think about it: It was only a few seasons ago Markkanen was being talked about in “unicorn status.” A big that could stretch out opposing defenses in the same category of a Kristaps Porzingis and a Nikola Jokic. Now it feels like the former front office simply covered up the stripes of a zebra with paint and glued a horn on its head.

So what’s left for Donovan to try and do with Markkanen this season? Find something to ignite him in the minutes he does get coming off the bench.

That’s why the experiment at the small forward spot is now happening.

“I think Lauri’s been fine,” Donovan said of the small sample size Markkanen has shown at the three. “I think one of the things with all the cutting and moving that I think Lauri’s very effective at, we’ve tried to put him in some pin-downs, we’ve tried to run him off screens and do some of those things. He’s done a nice job with that.

“The difference for him right now is he’s dealing with guys probably who are much more nimble and quicker on their feet and they’re more comfortable chasing off screens than maybe it was when he was at the four spot.”

At least Donovan’s trying.

It would be nice if Markkanen would consistently try and meet his coach halfway.

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9 people shot overnight in Chicagoon April 3, 2021 at 3:05 pm

Nine people have been wounded in shootings across Chicago so far this weekend.

In the weekend’s latest attack, a person was shot Saturday morning on the Kennedy Expressway in Avondale on the North Side.

The person was shot about 6:35 a.m. as he drove south on Interstate 90 near Belmont Avenue, Illinois State Police said. He was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening.

A 25-year-old man was critically hurt in a shooting over an hour earlier in Cragin on the Northwest Side.

About 5:15 a.m., the man was in the 5000 block of West Deming Place when someone fired shots, Chicago police said. He was struck in the abdomen and taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital in critical condition.

Earlier Saturday morning, a 29-year-old man was wounded in a shooting in the Loop.

The man was a passenger in a vehicle about 3:30 a.m. on Lower Wacker Drive when he heard shots and felt pain, Chicago police said. He was shot in the knee and taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

Hours before that, a man was shot at a gas station in Ashburn on the Southwest Side.

The 25-year-old was attempting to pump gas at a gas station about 1:20 a.m. in the 7700 block of South Kedzie Avenue when people inside a green-colored SUV shouted gang slogans and fired shots, Chicago police said. He was shot in the hand and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition was stabilized.

A man was critically wounded in a shooting Friday night in Roseland on the Far South Side.

The shooting happened about 10:05 p.m. in the 10400 block of South Corliss Avenue, according to Chicago police. The 29-year-old man brought himself to Roseland Hospital with a gunshot wound to the shoulder, where he was listed in critical condition.

In the weekend’s earliest reported shooting, a man was seriously hurt in a shooting Friday night in Austin on the West Side.

The 54-year-old was standing near a home about 7:45 p.m. in the 1700 block of North Mason Avenue when he heard shots and felt pain, Chicago police said.

He was struck in the leg and taken to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, police said. He was listed in serious condition.

Three other people have been wounded in citywide shootings since 5 p.m. Friday.

Thirty-six people were shot, 4 fatally, last weekend in Chicago.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

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Cubs will try to forget that first one; For fans, it will lingeron April 3, 2021 at 12:36 pm

Cubs Den

Cubs will try to forget that first one; For fans, it will linger

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Cubs will try to forget that first one; For fans, it will lingeron April 3, 2021 at 12:36 pm Read More »

We’ve made it to the Final Four: Who gets to the championship game?on April 3, 2021 at 3:41 pm

I’ve Got The Hippy Shakes

We’ve made it to the Final Four: Who gets to the championship game?

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We’ve made it to the Final Four: Who gets to the championship game?on April 3, 2021 at 3:41 pm Read More »

Notes after the Chicago Bulls suffered another tough loss to the Utah Jazzon April 3, 2021 at 2:00 pm

(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

The Chicago Bulls extended their six-game losing streak on Friday night after losing to the Utah Jazz on the road, 113-106.

  1. Zach LaVine made a return to the starting lineup after missing Wednesday’s game to nurse a recent ankle injury. Coby White returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games for a neck injury.
  2. The starting lineup ended up Tomas Satoransky, LaVine, Patrick Williams, Thaddeus Young, and Nikola Vucevic. This is the best-case scenario starting lineup with a healthy balance of offense and defense.
  3. The second rotation — Daniel Theis, Lauri Markkanen, and Coby White — was also ideal for offensive purposes (Markkanen and White) paired with excellent rim protection (Theis).
  4. Head coach Billy Donovan played just four guys off the bench for the second straight game. No Al-Farouq Aminu, Troy Brown Jr., Ryan Arcidiacono, nor Javonte Green.
  5. Young scored a season-high 25 points on the night, adding seven rebounds and three assists. Moreover, Young added a heavy post-up game to the Bulls’ offense and dominated the Jazz’ frontcourt in the paint. Something the Bulls should continue, especially to get to the charity stripe more often (18.6 free throw attempts per game; 29th in the NBA).
  6. LaVine played well in his first game back from injury. He recorded 23 points, five rebounds, and three assists, shooting just under 50 percent from the field. More importantly, his gait on the court did not look inhibited, as he avoided limping as he did two games ago.
  7. Transition Offense. The Bulls’ transition offense was in full swing as they caused four more turnovers than their own in this one. They scored 12 fast break points compared to the Jazz’s three points. Kudos to them for protecting the ball with just seven turnovers against the NBA’s fifth-best defense.
  8. The Bulls struggled from three. The Bulls made just seven of their 28 three-point attempts against the Jazz, for an underwhelming 25 percent from distance.
  9. In contrast to the last point, the Bulls dominated the paint. They scored 68 of their 106 points (64 percent) in the paint — even with Rudy Gobert protecting the rim. A hopeful return of foul line attempts was noted by Billy Donovan in his post-game press conference.
  10. Markkanen and White struggled off the bench. They combined for nine points, shooting 4/11 together from the field in 47 combined minutes. The Bulls need more from these two guys. As former starters, they should be dominating other team’s second rotations.
  11. Bojan Bogdanovic was hot early on, and Donovan made a solid decision early to switch LaVine off of him and place Williams onto him. This caused him to slow down a bit, but Bogdanovic still shot 8/15 from the field and put up 18 points.
  12. The pick-and-roll defense failed yet again. Donovan Mitchell, Jordan Clarkson, and Gobert took great advantage of the drop coverage, scoring 26, 19, and 18, respectively.
  13. The Bulls’ defense kept the third-best offense in the NBA to a respectable 113 points. The Jazz shot right on their average of 46.8 percent from the field. The only takeaway comes from the 27 opportunities the Bulls gave them at the free-throw line, as the Jazz put in 26 of them.
  14. Keep an eye out for Donovan’s after-timeout (ATO) plays. He drew up two successful near the end of the game for wide-open threes from LaVine and Vucevic. While LaVine wasn’t able to capitalize on his, they were able to free themselves against a defense that holds their opponents to shooting 34.6 percent from downtown (fourth in the NBA).
  15. LaVine looked visibly frustrated at the end of the game. With seconds left in the fourth quarter, there was a miscommunication that caused a failed trap play on Mike Conley. LaVine immediately started yelling at his supporting cast in frustration. Hopefully, LaVine’s frustration is contagious to the rest of the squad to end their losing streak.

The Bulls hung tough with the best team in the Western Conference, losing by just seven points. However, the six-game losing streak still survives. The ice is thinning at the Bulls’ 10th spot in the Eastern Conference, as they lead by just one game over the Toronto Raptors, who won by 53 points over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.

Next: Here’s what the Chicago Bulls need to break their five-game losing streak

The Bulls’ schedule will not get any easier for them, as they will take on the Brooklyn Nets at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. CST.

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Area entrepreneurs Luke Pergande and Ian Epstein corner secondary betting market with PropSwapon April 3, 2021 at 1:00 pm

LAS VEGAS — The ticket cost $50, but its potential value was $250,000. Four more Loyola victories, and it would be cashable. Someone offered its owner $10,000 for it — a guaranteed return of 200 times the investment.

What would you do?

A PropSwap client wanted $15,000 last Saturday morning, so no deal. Three hours later, that ticket became worthless when the Ramblers lost to Oregon State.

I hope, PropSwap co-founder Ian Epstein texted Sunday, he put something on the Beavers’ moneyline.

For Chicago natives Epstein and Luke Pergande, who created PropSwap as a hedging alternative, that was a unique slip of paper.

”One of the craziest tickets I’ve ever seen,” says Epstein, who a few days earlier had met that client at the Mirage, where he had made the 5,000-1

wager in November.

With such exorbitant odds and such a potential payoff, Epstein needed the sportsbook to verify the ticket, which it did. But $5,000 would separate the parties.

Another PropSwap customer had a $50 ticket on Loyola at 1,500-1 odds, making its potential value $75,000. Before the game Saturday, he accepted $4,700 for it.

PropSwap has cornered the secondary sports-betting ticket market, aiming to

ensure profit for sellers and to provide better odds than are currently available to buyers, taking a fraction from both sides.

”This is the type of situation why we started the business,” Epstein says. ”If you’re a $50 bettor and you’ve got this great ticket, how else are you supposed to lock in $4,700?

”You don’t have the money to go bet the

Oregon State moneyline and then, if that

loses, to go bet another moneyline, then

another . . . ”

BUSY MONTH

The four-week period that encompasses the NCAA basketball tournament and the Masters golf tournament is PropSwap’s wheelhouse, a flurry of ticket and money exchanges that represents the zenith of the company’s fiscal year.

A year ago, when the coronavirus pandemic nearly shuttered the entire sports world, PropSwap took a gut punch. Fortunately, Epstein and Pergande had built it to weather certain scenarios.

For example, they are its only two full-time employees and receive modest five-figure

salaries. For two people who pumped their life savings — and then some — into PropSwap, that’s hardly profligate.

Two months earlier, they had attracted more than $2 million from a wealth of

investors. And despite the nearly four-month sports pause, PropSwap experienced record figures in bookings, revenue, new users and engagement in 2020.

A month ago, investors renewed their bullishness in the business with a further infusion of $2 million.

Sports betting is legal in 20 states and Washington, D.C., and PropSwap transacts business in 17 jurisdictions. The duo constantly excavates fertile territory, plans promotions and polishes education programs.

The 32-year-old Pergande, who went to Maine South in Park Ridge and lives in

Atlantic City, New Jersey, is exploring casino partnerships. The 31-year-old Epstein, an Evanston graduate, has new app and website designs on track to launch this summer.

”Luke and I have had this vision to keep improving,” the Las Vegas-based Epstein says. ”The people who have invested in the company see it, too.”

Part of that vision is 20 tons of metal, glass and rubber, a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) bus that is emblazoned with mammoth, in-your-face, green PropSwap signage.

For a mid-five-figure sum, the ”PropSwap Bus” began circulating around Philadelphia, which has the sixth-largest public-transit system in the country, three weeks ago and will do so through the start of the football season.

Epstein and Pergande also boosted PropSwap’s imprint in Indianapolis, Cleveland, Chicago and Las Vegas and have commissioned its first TV ads for the New England region.

”It’s pretty freakin’ cool,” Pergande says of the bus. ”We’re in a marketing puzzle, and we have to find creative ways to get the word out, to find our niche.”

Epstein has heard rumblings about potential competitors, but nothing has surfaced. He had learned of such a start-up in London.

”But, to my knowledge, their website is no longer up and running,” he says. ”Luke and I work as hard as if there are two guys in a

garage, trying to start a competitor. That’s what keeps us motivated.”

‘EVERYONE HAS 50 BUCKS’

Before PropSwap, the sole ”hedging”

option for the bearer of that $250,000 Loyola lottery-like ticket involved betting against the Ramblers, on opponents who — best-case scenario — were moneyline underdogs.

Continued Loyola victories, obviously, would require increased investment on the foe to secure a profit. That could turn into an unruly rabbit hole, which, since 2015, could be averted via PropSwap.

That is, unless a profit 200 times face value doesn’t sound so appealing. Greed is not good.

”The biggest ticket we’ve ever had,” Pergande says. ”We’ve had large tickets, but the initial bet amount was $1,500 or $2,000. The average gambler doesn’t have that much money to put on a sports bet, but everyone has 50 bucks.

”That is why [Loyola for $250,000] is my favorite ticket we’ve ever seen.”

The value of March Madness tickets on PropSwap is exceptional. One to pay $250,000 on Dustin Johnson, say, to win the Masters won’t materialize, but the number of tickets on the golf tournament will be massive.

”The volume with the Masters is incredible,” Pergande says. ”March Madness and the Masters are just perfect for PropSwap. This is it, our Super Bowl.”

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Area entrepreneurs Luke Pergande and Ian Epstein corner secondary betting market with PropSwapon April 3, 2021 at 1:00 pm Read More »