A man who was wounded in a shooting Wednesday in Chicago Lawn died from his injuries the next day.

The 41-year-old was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital at 5:22 p.m. Thursday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His name has not been released.

About 4:22 p.m. Wednesday, the man was near a backyard in the 6000 block of South Artesian Avenue when someone approached and fired shots, striking him in the head, Chicago police said.

He was taken to Stroger in critical condition at the time, police said.

No arrest has been reported.

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

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For the first time since Feb. 13, the Blackhawks have a player on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.

Rookie forward Brandon Hagel was placed on the list Friday, one day after playing and scoring a goal in the Hawks’ 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes.

Placement on the COVID-19 list doesn’t necessarily mean Hagel tested positive, however. Contract tracing, unconfirmed results and rule violations can also land a player on the list.

The Hawks held practice Friday with the rest of the team present.

This is the team’s first direct brush with the pandemic since late January through the first half of February, when Alex DeBrincat, Adam Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin, Ryan Carpenter and Lucas Wallmark all spent time on the list. Boqvist, Carpenter and Wallmark experienced bouts of the virus with mild symptoms while DeBrincat and Beaudin never actually tested positive.

COVID-19 cases have rapidly declined over the past two months around the NHL but have begun to tick up again lately. The Canucks are currently experiencing an outbreak, with eight players reportedly testing positive Friday.

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Chicago Cubs: Three young players to follow this year by John-Mark Mallory

During the 2020 season, the Chicago Cubs had an expression for each day in which Yu Darvish was the starting pitcher for that day’s game. “Today is win day”. That is because, for the most part, that is the day the Cubs knew they had a great chance to win given the success Darvish had last season.

Darvish is no longer with the team and that means that “Win Day” responsibilities were transferred to Kyle Hendricks. Hendricks was on the mound for the Cubs on Opening Day against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday and the Cubs lost.

Sure, there are the necessary caveats in terms of the meaning of Opening Day. Those caveats being “It is only one game”; “Don’t look at records until after Memorial Day”; and, “By the end of the season, no one will remember who won on Opening Day”.

All those caveats are true to a certain extent. Like for example, the World Series defending Los Angeles Dodgers losing to the Colorado Rockies can be chalked up to only being Opening Day and the Dodgers having a World Series hangover. At the end of the day, the Dodgers are still going to be among the top teams in the National League.

When it comes to the Cubs and their Opening Day performance? Those caveats can not be applied.

Reason being is that the performance that the Chicago Cubs had on Thursday was the same performance that the Cubs have had for the past three seasons. Their offense looked broken as they struggled to get on base let alone even put the ball in play. The bullpen struggled with throwing strikes.

More from Chicago Cubs

• Chicago Cubs: Three young players to follow this year
• Chicago Cubs: Tough way to begin a season with question marks
• Chicago Cubs: Opening Day of “The Last Dance Part II”
• Chicago Cubs: 3 bold predictions for the 2021 season
• Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo might be gone after 2021

What bailed the Cubs out during the World Series season of 2016 and 2017 was that their offense had the timely “big hit”. In fact, the Cubs’ offense was dependent on having the “big hit” and that is the reason they were successful and had extended Post-Season runs.

Starting with the 2018 season, the Cubs offense no longer was able to secure the “big hit”. Coupling that with the factor that the Cubs don’t really have high-on base hitters, it is very clear why the Cubs’ offense has struggled. It is something that former Cubs’ President Theo Epstein and current Cubs’ President have Jed Hoyer. It is something that both Hoyer and Epstein have vowed to fix.

However, the Cubs have had four free agent position player Major League contract signings since the 2018 season. Those signings were Daniel Descalso prior to the 2019 season; and, Joc Pederson, Austin Romine and Tony Wolters prior to this season. Descalso was injured for most of his two-year stint with the Cubs. Pederson profiles as a power hitter. Romine and Wolters are backup catchers. So essentially, the Cubs have done nothing to fix their offense.

Though, the Cubs offense will be forced to change after this season. Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, and Kris Bryant are all projected free agents. It seems like a near certainty that at least one of those three will not be back with the Cubs after this season. But until then, the offense will remain broken.

Related Story: Chicago Cubs suffer tough Opening Day loss

Caveats aside, all that Opening Day proofed was that the Chicago Cubs are a broken team that needs to rebuild.

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The jam-packed shortened season that recently wrapped up provided just enough time to get a glimpse of several surprise teams. The appreciation continues here with a look at the most pleasant surprises and overlooked teams of this truncated season.

Brother Rice (13-1)

No one saw this team coming.

With just two starters returning from a year ago — 6-7 Luke Moustakas and guard Garrett Greene — the Crusaders were a surprise in claiming a share of a Chicago Catholic League title. That included victories over Loyola, St. Rita, St. Ignatius and a buzzer-beating win over Fenwick.

Coach Bobby Frasor’s team played with precision and chemistry, an oddity in this year of shorter preparation time, pauses and fewer practices.

The sudden impact from sophomore Ahmad Henderson was significant. The 5-9 point guard blossomed this season, averaging 13.5 points, four rebounds and two assists a game while showcasing big-shot ability.

DeKalb (18-1)

DeKalb’s impressive win total snuck up on basketball fans as the season played out.

Senior Trenton Kyler, the DuPage Valley Conference MVP, was the veteran guard the Barbs knew they could lean on. But the junior trio of Lane McVicar, Tyler Westberg and Martez Jackson helped elevate DeKalb to a level not quite expected.

In particular, McVicar, a transfer from South Elgin, provided a huge boost. The 6-5 versatile wing averaged 13 points a game.

New Trier (13-2)

While all the talk centered around Evanston and Glenbrook South in the Central Suburban League South, it was New Trier that snuck up and grabbed a share of the title with the two favorites.

There weren’t big names and the nucleus is young and only going to get better, but the Trevians impressed by splitting two games with both Evanston and Glenbrook South.

Coach Scott Fricke will return three double-figure scorers in 6-7 junior Jackson Munro (14 ppg), 6-1 junior guard Josh Kirkpatrick and sophomore guard Jake Fiegen (11 ppg).

Corliss (11-3)

Anyway you look at this season for Corliss, it was a success, thanks in large part to the arrival of two transfers: senior wings Jeffrey Oakley (from Perspectives) and J Caleb Slawinski (from St. Joseph).

And that’s even after finishing second in the state in Class 2A two years ago and being two wins away from returning to the State Finals last season before COVID-19 shut everything down.

There were the 11 wins, including a victory over Clark, a ranked and much-more-talked-about team. But even the losses stand out. That’s because two of the three defeats were two-point losses while holding its own against highly-ranked Curie (69-62 loss) and Kenwood (76-74 loss).

Brooks (7-4)

Yet another Red-South/Central team that opened eyes in the shortened season. Brooks finished among the top four in arguably the state’s toughest league, thanks in large part to the monster season Chaz Harvey put together. He averaged 19.8 points a game, including 22.5 points a game in league action.

Downers Grove North (13-2)

With the talent and experience coach Jim Thomas returned from last season, the success shouldn’t have been a huge surprise. Nonetheless, there wasn’t a whole lot of talk about Downers North heading into the season.

A senior-dominated Downers North grabbed a share of the West Suburban Silver Conference behind 6-6 Jack Mielke. Plus, the Trojans capped off the season with a huge win over previously unbeaten and heavily hyped Glenbard West in the final week of the season.

Wheaton Warrenville South (16-2)

Was there a team that won 16 games more quietly than coach Mike Healy’s Tigers?

Behind hard-nosed senior guard Parker Brown and under-the-radar junior Tyler Fawcett, Wheaton South easily ran away with a DuKane Conference title with a 13-1 mark.

Bartlett (12-4)

Senior guard George Betevis filled a stat sheet and the emergence three underclassmen who all averaged in double figures: 7-1 junior Conrad Luczynski, junior shooting guard Ian Smith and freshman guard Kelton McEwen. The end result was an Upstate Eight Conference championship, including a UEC tournament title.

Luczysnki was dominant at times with 15.3 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and nearly four blocks a game, while McEwen emerged as one of the more productive freshmen in the Chicago area with 12.5 points a game and shot 40% from the three-point line.

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Last year was not exactly a banner one for the bridal business. Kate Reavey, owner of the event space and decoration rental company Chicago Vintage Weddings, planned just eight celebrations, compared with the usual 30. “I was going out of my mind,” Reavey says, “and everyone in the wedding industry is feeling so down.” Yet while walking her dog along Damen Avenue in the fall, she saw all those “For Rent” signs not as a dark cloud but as an opportunity for evolution. She leased a 2,000-square-foot space and within a month opened Capucine, a modern-day general store with a vaguely French-castle vibe. Shoppers can grab locally made Katherine Anne Confections truffles, Foggy Dog sustainable pet toys, or Capucine-branded candles, as well as jewelry by Pilsen-based Mashallah. They’ll also find antique furniture and an assortment of frilly cake stands, brass candlesticks, and vintage flatware, some plucked from Reavey’s event planning warehouse, that they can combine to create their own dream tablescape. “Opening a boutique was very much an impulse, but it felt like injecting a ray of sunshine,” Reavey says. “It’s something to do, it makes people happy, and it’s a way to provide income for my vendors.” And of giving back, too: Five percent of the profits go to a different nonprofit each season. 1804 N. Damen Ave.

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Authorities have released the names of two women who died in a house fire early Thursday in Clearing on the Southwest Side.

The women were identified as Judy Austin, 60, and April Tadla, 41, by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Authorities responded to the fire about 2:10 a.m. in the 5200 block of West 64th Place, Chicago police said.

A man and woman from the residence, 57 and 60, were taken to Holy Cross Hospital in serious condition, and the woman was later pronounced dead, police said. The third woman, 41, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where she was pronounced dead.

An investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing. Autopsy results haven’t been released.

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A man has been charged with murder after allegedly firing the shot that struck and killed an 11-year-old girl in March at a Far South Side gas station.

Marcus Starkey, 27, faces a count of first-degree murder in the death of 11-year-old Ny’Andrea Dyer, Chicago police said.

He also faces counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery for allegedly wounding an 18-year-old man he was targeting March 1 at the gas station in the 100 block of West 127th Street.

Starkey, of the Jeffery Manor neighborhood, was extradited from Minnesota to Chicago on Thursday, police said. He was expected to appear in Cook County court later Friday.

Before she was shot, Ny’Andrea was in the back seat of a car at a gas pump when two people outside fired shots at each other, authorities said. A stray bullet allegedly fired by Starkey struck her head, critically wounding her for weeks. She died March 22 at Comer Children’s Hospital.

The wounded 18-year-old man, shot in his groin area, returned fire but didn’t hit anyone, police said. He was charged with illegal gun possession.

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

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Chicago Bears Draft: Kyle Trask and 5 prospects to avoid by Ryan Heckman

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(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) Chicago Cubs

There was a lot of buzz about Chicago baseball this offseason, but not from the team on the north side of the city. For the Chicago Cubs, it was a time that left more questions than answers. As improbable as it seems, a rebuild may be on the horizon for the Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs frustrated fans in the offseason by shedding some top talent.

While the Chicago White Sox made more moves to bolster their already impressive roster, the Cubs were busy shedding talent. The team traded their best pitcher from last season and a Cy Young candidate in Yu Darvish. It was a shocking move.

Fans were perplexed that the Cubs would make the deal with the San Diego Padres without getting one of their top three prospects in return.

There were more embarrassments for the Cubs and their fans this offseason that didn’t involve the roster. Beloved play-by-play TV broadcaster Len Kasper is headed to the south side to cover the White Sox on the radio. It was an odd exit, to say the least.

Heyward’s flag and Rizzo’s cleats. The #Cubs welcome Chicago back to Wrigley Field: https://t.co/fSRiWeLKmt pic.twitter.com/eWwNwP7aJ6

— Brian Cassella (@briancassella) April 1, 2021

The team’s own TV station, the Marquee Network, was routinely criticized. Some speculated the network’s dress code requiring the broadcast team to wear suits and ties was a reason for some tension with Kasper. That dress requirement was dropped for this season.

I’m not sure if that’s really the reason for Kasper’s departure but it’s an odd requirement for a broadcast team in this era. There weren’t many positive stories about the Cubs this offseason. Negative stories began to pile up.

Former 2016 World Series heroes Kyle Schwarber and Jon Lester signed deals with the Washington Nationals. Before the Darvish trade, the Cubs let pitcher Jose Quintana walk away in free agency. Then there was the insulting contract extension offer to first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

It hurts to say it but there’s not much to be optimistic about as a Cubs fan this season. Despite that, there are three young up-and-coming players you can focus on this season with eyes to the future.

Next: A familiar name…

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Twenty years after the release of their self-titled debut LP, freaky supergroup Tomahawk have returned with their fifth and best album yet, Tonic Immobility. Formed in 1999 by the best of the best from the avant-punk and noise-rock scenes, Tomahawk originally consisted of Faith No More and Mr. Bungle vocalist Mike Patton, the Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison, Helmet and Battles drummer John Stanier, and Cows and Melvins bassist Kevin Rutmanis—who has since been replaced by Melvins and Bungle alum Trevor Dunn.…Read More