The Chicago Cubs will be looking to exceed expectations this year by building on the good while fixing the bad. The Chicago Cubs are going to experience some ups and downs in 2021. The areas of concern have been ever-growing since Theo Epstein left the building. When Epstein was here, it was always “In Theo […]

Chicago Cubs: The good, bad, and ugly heading into Opening Day – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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The National Women’s Soccer League is two weeks from the start of its second Challenge Cup Tournament. The 21 games begin April 9 and conclude with the championship on May 8.

Here’s a guide as the Red Stars look to improve upon last season’s second-place finish:

USWNT Players absent

The Red Stars will kick off the Challenge Cup without three of their biggest stars and leaders.

Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, midfielder/defender Julie Ertz and defender Tierna Davidson are three of the 23 players selected by Vlatko Andonovski for friendlies against fifth-ranked Sweden and third-ranked France on April 10 and 13.

Naeher’s absence exposes the Red Stars’ lack of depth at goalkeeper for the moment. Emily Boyd still is recovering from a knee injury she sustained while playing overseas in Denmark and isn’t expected to return until the regular season. Cassie Miller will be the backup goalkeeper, but Boyd said she’s focused on earning that position back before the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Sarah Gorden and Casey Krueger will be anchors on the backline with the absence of Davidson and Ertz. The Red Stars also will be without defender Bianca St. Georges to start the Cup as she continues her recovery after tearing her meniscus in January. That provides opportunities for young defenders, such as Zoey Goralski and Kayla Sharples.

Andonovski said that the Olympic roster will be set by the middle of June, and evaluation will continue while players are with their NWSL teams. It’s safe to assume that the Red Stars will lose at least three players to the USWNT for the Olympics.

Key Matchups

The Cup opener against the Houston Dash, a rematch of last year’s Challenge Cup final, is the first key matchup and the only one the Red Stars are focused on now.

The Dash will be without midfielder Kristie Mewis, one of the 17 NWSL players on Andonovski’s 23-player roster. The Dash boast a dangerous attack, and without Ertz, Davidson and Naeher, the Red Stars will rely on their depth and the seamless transition of other players into those key defensive roles.

The Red Stars will be playing in the West Division, so they follow their opener with games against the Portland Thorns on April 15, Kansas City on April 20 and OL Reign on April 27.

The top two teams from each division advance to the final, so there is little room for error. There’s also the potential for a rematch of the 2019 NWSL Championship between the Red Stars and the North Carolina Courage on May 8 in the Challenge Cup Final.

Players to Watch

The Red Stars’ depth is the team’s greatest asset this year.

“It’s crazy because I don’t think our starting 11 will ever look the same,” defender Arin Wright said.

After sitting out nearly the entire 2020 season aside from one match in the Fall Series, Wright is excited to return. Her return is coming at the right time as her veteran experience will provide value when the team potentially loses three defenders from its lineup for the Olympics. Davidson and Ertz are two Red Stars who Andonovski has called into camp consistently, but he also mentioned Krueger is still in the mix for the 18-player roster.

The midfield is a crowded place for the Red Stars this season, so keeping an eye on the middle third would be wise. Veteran midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo said this is the most competitive preseason she has been in her seven seasons with the team, and the competition is welcomed.

“Our team is so strong,” DiBernardo said. “You might not get called one day to start, but you might be the most important player coming off the bench. We have to be open to having different roles.”

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During the 1987 Chicago teachers strike, high school football games were being canceled left and right. Classes? Oh, yeah, those, too. But no football was outrageous! So we donned our jerseys, took to the streets and protested outside City Hall while William Bennett, Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan, glared into any TV camera he could find and called the city’s public schools the worst in America.

All of which is to say I wouldn’t understand the mechanics of Ken Pomeroy’s renowned “Pythagorean expectation”-based college basketball ratings if you spotted me a slide rule, a scientific calculator and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses held together by strips of masking tape.

But even I am capable of grasping this: Loyola got jobbed.

Of the top eight KenPom teams heading into the NCAA Tournament, four were deemed No. 1 seeds by the selection committee, three were No. 2 seeds and the eighth was — wait, what? — a No. 8 seed. Yes, the Ramblers. If you believe in KenPom at all (and to be clear, I’m not smart enough to know if I do), you can clearly see that something here is amiss.

I didn’t think much about the Ramblers’ seeding when the bracket first came out. I was too excited about a potential second-round matchup against top-seeded Illinois. I wanted my two hours of college basketball fan bliss. I even wrote that the Ramblers and their supporters should let the disrespect roll right off their backs and just enjoy the moment.

But now that Georgia Tech and the Illini have been left in crumpled heaps, I’m seeing it: I was wrong. And that’s just one of 10 things I know as we get ready for Saturday’s Loyola-Oregon State tilt in the Sweet 16.

2. The hardest part for the Ramblers is over. As poorly as Illinois played in a 71-58 loss, it’s still unquestionably better than Oregon State, Syracuse and Houston, the other teams left in the Midwest Region.

That’s not to say getting all the way to another Final Four should happen. There are no “shoulds” at this point in the season. Everybody still alive is playing too well. Besides, we’re still on Planet Earth, and any Loyola “W” in the tournament is still a huge deal in and of itself.

3. In a sense, the hardest part for the Ramblers has been over since a week before the season was scheduled to start. That’s when “the whole team,” as coach Porter Moser put it, came down with COVID-19, leading to a three-week pause. But there would be no derailing this team.

Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images

4. Senior center Cameron Krutwig is a tremendous player and an absolute delight, but his teammates still aren’t getting nearly enough attention. Lucas Williamson, Aher Uguak and Keith Clemons are the best defensive trio in the tournament.

As Illini coach Brad Underwood put it last weekend, “We tried everything in the bag.”

Until there was nothing left but lint.

5. ESPN’s Jay Bilas likened Illinois’ strangely passive defense against Krutwig to electing not to send a pass rush at Tom Brady. So Krutwig and Brady are basically equals now, in case you were wondering.

6. For the second straight game, the Ramblers will face an all-major-conference lead guard and a 7-footer in the middle. Not that the Beavers’ Ethan Thompson and Roman Silva are as good as Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn — they aren’t — but that kind of one-two punch is always a lot to contend with.

7. His name is Tom Hitcho. He’s the longtime Loyola associate athletic director who pushes Sister Jean’s chair, sits with her during games and fist-bumps her after victories. And it’s high time America fell in love with him, too.

No, not really.

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

8. No one ever chased the dream more than Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle did as a player. He played professionally in Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Italy and Greece, made three stops in the old Continental Basketball Association and even logged time in the former International Basketball League.

As a coach, the 55-year-old took Montana to the Big Dance three times and, now, the Beavers twice. His wife and three kids all played big-time college ball, too. What a basketball story his life has been.

9. Some betting numbers: Oregon State is +700 to reach the Final Four, Syracuse is +500, Loyola is +170 and Houston is +115.

In case you were thinking of the Ramblers as the favorites now to come out of the Midwest, the answer is nope.

10. “It’s more than the wins. It’s the journey of spending time with a great group.”

Those were Moser’s words after the Final Four loss to Michigan in 2018. They’re as true as ever now. Win or lose Saturday and beyond, all the current Ramblers will come to this realization.

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PORTLAND, Maine — Bill Griffin waited more than a year for this moment: Newly vaccinated, he embraced his 3-year-old granddaughter for the first time since the pandemic began.

“She came running right over. I picked her up and gave her a hug. It was amazing,” the 70-year-old said after the reunion last weekend.

Spring has arrived with sunshine and warmer weather, and many older adults who have been vaccinated, like Griffin, are emerging from COVID-19-imposed hibernation.

From shopping in person or going to the gym to bigger milestones like visiting family, the people who were once most at risk from COVID-19 are beginning to move forward with getting their lives on track. Nearly 45% of Americans who are 65 and older are now fully vaccinated.

Visiting grandchildren is a top priority for many older adults. In Arizona, Gailen Krug has yet to hold her first grandchild, who was born a month into the pandemic in Minneapolis. Now fully vaccinated, Krug is making plans to travel for her granddaughter’s first birthday in April.

“I can’t wait,” said Krug, whose only interactions with the girl have been over Zoom and FaceTime. “It’s very strange to not have her in my life yet.”

The excitement she feels, however, is tempered with sadness. Her daughter-in-law’s mother, who she had been looking forward to sharing grandma duties with, died of COVID-19 just hours after the baby’s birth. She contracted it at a nursing home.

Isolated by the pandemic, older adults were hard hit by loneliness caused by restrictions intended to keep people safe. Many of them sat out summer reunions, canceled vacation plans and missed family holiday gatherings in November and December.

In states with older populations, like Maine, Arizona and Florida, health officials worried about the emotional and physical toll of loneliness, posing an additional health concern on top of the virus.

But that’s changing, and more older people are reappearing in public after they were among the first group to get vaccinated.

Those who are fully vaccinated are ready to get out of Dodge without worrying they were endangering themselves amid a pandemic that has claimed more than 540,000 lives in the United States.

“Now there’s an extra level of confidence. I am feeling good about moving forward,” said Ken Hughes, a 79-year-old Florida resident who is flying with his wife for a pandemic-delayed annual trip to Arizona in April.

Plenty of older adults are eager to hop on a jet to travel. Others are looking forward to the simpler things like eating at a restaurant, going to a movie theater or playing bingo.

Sally Adams, 74, was among several older people who showed up for “parking lot bingo” in Glendale, Arizona. She felt safe because she’d been vaccinated and because she was in her car at the first bingo event in more than year.

Once she fulfills the time to reach peak immunity, she plans to indulge in little things like eating out. Both her and her husband, who is also vaccinated, have only done takeout. Now, they feel like it will be OK to even eat indoors — as long as it’s not crowded.

“We’ll probably go in and take the farthest table from other people just to be on the safe side,” she said.

Indeed, many older adults are taking a cautious approach, especially when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to ease recommendations for travel.

Frequent traveler Cindy Charest was so excited about the prospect of jetting away for the first time in more than a year that she posted an airplane emoji with a photo of her being vaccinated on social media.

But she’s taking a wait-and-see attitude after the CDC recommended against nonessential air travel, for now.

“I think I got prematurely excited about it,” said Charest, 65, of Westbrook, Maine. But she’s ready to jump when the time comes. She’s watching for changing guidance.

Others are also cautious.

“We’re still in the thick of it,” said Claudette Greene, 68, of Portland, Maine. “We’ve made a lot of progress but we’re not done with this.”

Kathy Bubar said she and her husband are completely vaccinated but are in no hurry to push things. The 73-year-old Portland resident is planning to wait until fall before planning any major travel. She hopes to go on a safari in December.

“My goal in all of this is to not be the last person to die from COVID. I’m willing to be patient and take as long as it takes,” she said.

The Griffins were also cautious before they were reunited with their granddaughter.

Bill Griffin, of Waterboro, didn’t dare have close contact with family members until after being vaccinated because he has lung disease, heart disease, kidney disease and high blood pressure, all factors that pushed him into a high-risk category for COVID-19.

“Everybody wants to live for the moment, but the moment could have been very deadly. We listened to the scientists,” he said.

Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami and Terry Tang in Phoenix contributed to this report.

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One of the most common complaints from major-league players about the unusual 2020 season was the way it disrupted their timing. It had the same effect on fantasy baseball owners.

With things seemingly back on track, it’s time to identify each team’s most intriguing players for 2021.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

White Sox: 3B Yoan Moncada. Write off last year’s poor numbers (.225/.320/.385, zero stolen-base attempts) due to COVID-19 fatigue that never went away.

Orioles: 1B-OF Trey Mancini. He’s cancer-free a year after having a malignant tumor removed from his colon. Now, can he come close to repeating his 35 homers and 97 RBI from 2019?

Red Sox: SP Nathan Eovaldi. We know he throws hard (average fastball 97.8 mph, third highest among starters in 2020), and his strikeout rate has risen in each of the last three seasons.

Indians: SP Triston McKenzie. The entire rotation is fascinating, but McKenzie, 23, skipped Class AAA altogether and posted a 42/9 K/BB ratio in 33 1/3 innings.

Tigers: SP Tarik Skubal. Casey Mize and Matt Manning were more heralded, but the lefty Skubal (37 Ks in 32 IP) could crack the rotation first.

Astros: DH Yordan Alvarez. A 23-year-old with bad knees is pretty scary, but that dominant 2019 rookie season is more than enough to dream on — not to mention the Astros want him to play some first base this season.

Royals: SS Adalberto Mondesi. One of the few genuine stolen-base threats in the game. Just a small uptick in on-base percentage (it was .294 last season) could turn his stat line into one that wins leagues.

Angels: 1B Jared Walsh. Shohei Ohtani is always intriguing (especially after showing flashes of brilliance at the plate AND on the mound this spring), but Walsh’s .970 OPS and dramatic reduction in strikeouts last season could lead to him nudging Albert Pujols aside.

Twins: OF Alex Kirilloff. After spending all of 2019 at Class AA, Kirilloff, 23, made his MLB debut during last year’s playoffs. The 2016 first-round pick was sent down this week (service-time ploy?) but is expected to return this season.

Yankees: SPs Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon. They combined for a total of one inning pitched in 2020, but if the shoulder (Kluber) and elbow (Taillon) issues are behind them, they both have ace upside.

Athletics: 3B Matt Chapman. Despite a September shutdown and hip surgery, Chapman still slugged a career-best .535. He looks fully recovered this spring, spurring hopes of a possible 40-homer season.

Mariners: 2B Ty France. Once you see his 2019 stat line at Class AAA El Paso (.399, 27 homers in 296 at-bats), you can’t forget it. After a midseason trade to the Mariners, he’s in line to get regular MLB at-bats for the first time at age 26.

Rays: OF Randy Arozarena. He can’t be as good as the guy who hit a record 10 home runs in last year’s playoffs, can he? Conceding a hit in batting average, his power and speed aren’t going away.

Rangers: OF Leody Taveras. The Rangers want him in the leadoff spot, but he’ll need to improve on last season’s .308 OBP. A great late source of stolen bases.

Blue Jays: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. After he dropped a reported 40 pounds this offseason, expectations are once again skyrocketing. Is this the year he ups his launch angle a few more degrees and takes his game to a new level?

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cubs: SS Javy Baez. The two-time All-Star admitted to a lack of focus in the shortened season but says he’s back on track. There’s nowhere to go but up from a .203/.238/.360 slash line.

Diamondbacks: OF-C Daulton Varsho. He was optioned to Class AAA Reno this week, but the allure of someone with 20-steal capability and catcher eligibility can be hard to resist.

Braves: SP Ian Anderson. The 22-year-old righty was outstanding in his six-start MLB debut (1.95 ERA, 11.4 K/9) and even better in the playoffs (two earned runs in 18 1/3 innings).

Reds: SP Tyler Mahle. Lost in the excitement over Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray was Mahle’s quietly impressive season. He had one of the lowest barrel rates of any starting pitcher (3.5%) and struck out 11.3 batters per nine innings.

Rockies: 1B C.J. Cron. A knee injury limited him to 13 games, four homers and a .190 average last season, but the possibility of full-time at-bats in Colorado gives Cron plenty of preseason helium.

Dodgers: SP Julio Urias. Earning four postseason wins, then a save in the World Series clincher should give the 24-year-old lefty (and fantasy managers) tons of confidence. The skills are there, and finally a rotation spot is too.

Marlins: SP Sixto Sanchez. Armed with a fastball that can touch 100 mph, Sanchez, 22, burst on the scene last August with no Class AAA experience and more than held his own. The Marlins will handle him carefully though, so beware of an innings cap.

Brewers: 2B Keston Hiura. For someone who’s hit all the way through the minors and in 2019 as a rookie, he can’t be as bad as last season’s .212/.297/.410 slash line.

Mets: 1B-OF Dominic Smith. The universal DH helped fuel his huge breakout season (.316/.377/.616). Can the Mets find a way to keep him in the lineup every day?

Phillies: 3B Alec Bohm. It seems unreasonable to expect a repeat of his .338 average and .400 OBP as a rookie. But hitting second between Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper sure will help.

Pirates: 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes. Exploded out of the gate in his one-month MLB debut with five homers and a .376 average. But can he succeed with limited talent around him?

Padres: SP Dinelson Lamet. After a fabulous regular season (2.09 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 12.1 K/9), Lamet didn’t pitch in the playoffs due to an elbow injury that was dangerously close to being catastrophic. He’s the ultimate boom-or-bust candidate.

Giants: C Buster Posey. The former NL MVP last hit above .285 with double-digit homers in 2017. Can he still be a productive catcher at age 33 after opting out last season?

Cardinals: OF Dylan Carlson. The Dexter Fowler trade eliminated his primary obstacle to playing time. Now, the top prospect’s power and speed can shine.

Nationals: SP Stephen Strasburg. Nerve issues in his pitching hand ended his 2020 season after only five innings. A rare discounted star if he’s back to full health.

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LAS VEGAS — Of a select group of professional handicappers tapped to dissect today’s Loyola-Oregon State hoops game, Matt Youmans connected a centenarian nun to legendary rockers.

“Loyola is a well-coached team that’s a combination of Led Zeppelin and Sister Jean — old and wise, but ready to rock and roll,” says the Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN) senior writer-broadcaster, who once covered Chicago teams for The Times of Northwest Indiana.

“Underdogs are barking in this tournament, and Oregon State plus seven is probably the sharper way to play this. In the end, it’s ‘Ramble On.’ Loyola wins in a close one.”

A quintet consensus is dialed in on the Beavers (19-12) at about plus 6.5 points against the Ramblers (26-4) in a Midwest Regional semifinal in Indianapolis.

The Ramblers don’t cover but they survive and advance to play the Syracuse-Houston victor in the Elite Eight.

A common theme is that Oregon State has been the most impressive team from the most impressive conference, the Pac-12, and that it’ll test Loyola.

The 12th-seeded Beavers defeated both No. 5 seed Tennessee and No. 4 seed Oklahoma State as underdogs. In fact, they have covered 12 of their last 13 games, just one of those as a favorite.

Kelly Stewart took the 6.5, sprinkling some on the Oregon State moneyline of +235 — to win 2.35 times her investment.

“I know a lot of people who think this is the end of the road for the Beavers, who have been underdogs in every game since Feb. 1,” Stewart said. “But the Pac-12 has proven it deserves some respect.”

Oregon, UCLA and USC are the other Pac-12 squads still alive in the NCAA Tournament, while the Big East, Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences all have two teams remaining.

Youmans nabbed Oregon State and seven points, and Ron Boyles and Conner Streeter, who rave about Loyola coach Porter Moser, also lean that way. Tom Barton favors under the 125.5 total.

“Because that Loyola defense is still underrated,” said the Long Island punter and nationally syndicated SportsGarten talk-show host.

Nineteen of the Ramblers’ last 20 foes have scored 60 points or fewer, and they allow a national-low 56.1 points. They zapped No. 1 seed Illinois 71-58 in the second round.

Loyola has only sharpened its defense, which has been stingier over its last three games than everyone left in the tournament but Baylor.

Boyles envies bettor Jim Root’s $10 ticket on Loyola to win it all, at 1,500-1 odds. That offers Root, who runs the popular and insightful Chicago-based Three-Man Weave college hoops site, valuable leveraging options.

Today, the Ramblers’ title odds range from +900 to +1400.

“Oregon State is red-hot right now,” Boyles said. “I’d take the points.”

Streeter, the professional alias of an offshore gambler, has the Beavers plus 7.5 points. He, too, envisions a slog of a game that puts a premium on an underdog getting more than a few points.

“You have to give credence to what the Pac-12 has done. Oregon State has four wins against those three [Pac-12] teams still in the Sweet 16,” Streeter said. “Loyola runs a great offense and values possessions, which are huge assets.

“They eventually just bleed people out, letting them make mistakes.”

Leaving them dazed and confused, fools in the rain.

‘SURE THING’ EVAPORATES

Late last Saturday morning, Circa Sports odds on Life Is Good to NOT win the Kentucky Derby were -450 when vigilant customers could have made guaranteed-winning bets.

Halley’s Comet comes around more frequently. “. . . an opportunity for free money,” wrote Circa director Matthew Metcalf on Twitter.

Horse Racing Nation reported that the bay colt was out of the Derby, with a left-hind leg injury, at 12:37 p.m. At 12:56, Metcalf wrote that Circa had removed Life Is Good from its menu.

Circa’s Yes/No propositions are unique in the industry. Metcalf and operations manager Jeffrey Benson have keen senses of humor, too, having placed 99-1 odds on Gretzky the Great.

Anyone reacting quickly, but coolly, could have put $450 on No, knowing it was a winner, to net $100. The typical customer limit is $1,000, which can be doubled upon request.

“So, in theory, someone could have gotten $2,000 down,” said Metcalf in a text message. Alas, he confirms that nobody made such a “No” wager within that narrow window.

A single four-figure bet wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow. A doubling request or small wave of action would have piqued Metcalf’s interest. Worst case, Circa might have lost less than $500.

Maybe it didn’t qualify for a sequel to “The Sting.” But for a little while, Vegas bettors had a sure thing.

BIGGER THAN U.S. STEEL

Expect those record national January betting figures, to which we referred last week, to increase when February and March numbers are revealed. That will likely mark eight consecutive record-setting months for legal U.S. sports wagering.

January hit $4.6 billion — Illinois contributed $581 million, fourth on the state list. February will include Super Bowl figures, March, the NCAA Tournament.

Plus, North Carolina joined the fray March 18, boosting such legal jurisdictions to 22.

Louisiana, Maryland, South Dakota and Washington state have legalized sports betting but are formulating operational guidelines. That will make 26. Seventeen additional states have bills coagulating in their legislatures.

“We’ll be bigger than U.S. Steel,” went the famous quote in “The Godfather” that might be more pertinent to sports betting.

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There’s still a lot of uncertainty around the WNBA Draft, which is scheduled for April 15.

Will it be held in person after going virtual last season because of the pandemic? Which college seniors will take advantage of the extra year of eligibility provided by the NCAA’s blanket waiver? Which ones will opt out early? What will the Wings do with their four first-round picks?

Those are just some of the questions that will be answered in the next few weeks. Here’s one version of what might happen in the first round:

1. Dallas Wings: Charli Collier

6-5 | C | Texas The Wings are a team in flux, building around Arike Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally. Collier, who declared for the draft earlier this month, is arguably the best player in this year’s class, doing most of her damage in and around the paint. She draws a lot of fouls, which complements her strong free-throw shooting.

2. Dallas Wings: Awak Kuier

6-4 | PF | Finland The 19-year-old Finnish star is widely viewed as the second-best player in this year’s class and could be an additional interior threat for the Wings. She’s athletic and can stretch the floor.

3. Atlanta Dream: Dana Evans

5-6 | PG | Louisville The Dream have a backcourt duo of Chennedy Carter and Courtney Williams, but with Williams in the final year on her contract, they could look to draft Evans, a do-it-all guard with a big upside.

4. Indiana Fever: Arella Guirantes

5-11 | SG | Rutgers The Fever are a young team in the middle of a rebuild, and Guirantes could help move that process along. She had team highs in points (23), rebounds (six) and assists (5.2) this season and hasn’t even reached her full potential yet.

5. Dallas Wings: Rennia Davis

6-2 | SF | Tennessee Davis is a great two-way player and could be another reliable scoring option for new Wings coach Vickie Johnson. Last season, she led the Vols in points (17.3) and rebounds (8.8).

6. New York Liberty: Jasmine Walker

6-3 | PF | Alabama The stretch four has been a consistent force the last three seasons, leading the Crimson Tide to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999. Walker also broke Alabama’s single-game scoring record with a 41-point night against Clemson.

7. Dallas Wings: Chelsea Dungee

5-11 | SG | Arkansas Dungee had a 38-point performance in a win against Ole Miss and a 37-point night that helped hand UConn its only loss. If the young Wings don’t trade this pick, the All-America Third Team selection could be a good addition.

8. Sky: Aari McDonald

5-6 | PG | Arizona After adding two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker this offseason, the Sky need a backup point guard to complete their team, and McDonald could fill that void. She’s a tenacious defender with proven quickness and keen court awareness. With Courtney Vandersloot as her mentor, she could blossom.

9. Minnesota Lynx: Natasha Mack

6-4 | PF | Oklahoma State Mack is one of the best defenders in college basketball, having led the nation this past season in blocked shots with 4.1 per game. The former junior college star also averaged 20 points and 12.4 rebounds and had the second-most double-doubles in the country with 18.

10. Los Angeles Sparks: Kiana Williams

5-8 | PG | Stanford Williams has led Stanford back to the top of the Pac-12. In 28 games, she averaged 14.5 points while shooting 42% from the field and 36.9% from three-point range. She had only 39 turnovers — 30 fewer than the previous season.

11. Seattle Storm: Evina Westbrook

6-0 | PG | Connecticut The Storm have Sue Bird and Jordin Canada as options at point, but Bird is 40 and was limited to just 11 games last season due to an injury. Going for another point guard makes sense for the Storm, and Westbrook, who averaged 9.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists this past season, could be a solid option if she declares for the draft.

12. Las Vegas Aces: Didi Richards

6-1 | PG | Baylor After re-signing Liz Cambage and acquiring Chelsea Gray, the Aces are possible favorites to win it all in 2021. Richards, who’s third in the nation in assists (6.3), isn’t considered a true point guard, but her versatility could make her a valuable pick to bolster the Aces’ depth at guard.

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So about that national championship Loyola is getting ready to win …

Is it actually going to happen? Will the Ramblers have to (ahem) settle for another trip to the Final Four? Will their dream die Monday in the Elite Eight or Saturday in the Sweet 16?

That was subject No. 1 in this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter. Look, we count on you to know these things. Three-quarters of respondents answered that the Ramblers will either make it to the Final Four — but fall short of a title — or go down in the Elite Eight against the Houston-Syracuse winner.

We also asked which of the three remaining No. 1 seeds will be next to follow Illinois into the discard pile and — a big, fat question — what the heck happened to the disastrous Big Ten? Of the nine Big Ten teams that made the NCAA Tournament, only East No. 1 seed Michigan remains in it.

“Overrated league,” @StevePrimrose commented.

Sure seems like it. On to the polls:

Poll No. 1: Loyola plays Saturday against Oregon State in the Sweet 16. How much further will the Ramblers go?

Upshot: As you can see, respondents give Oregon State about as good a chance of beating the Ramblers as the typical Bears quarterback has of outperforming Aaron Rodgers. You see how easy it is to turn on a dime and rip the Bears’ QB play? Anyway, sure, the whole Final Four thing sounds like a fine plan. Who doesn’t want another week of deep-dive stories about Cameron Krutwig’s mustache?

Poll No. 2: Which remaining No. 1 seed will be the next to fall?

Upshot: Next up for Michigan is always-dangerous Florida State, the kind of opponent that can junk up a game but also out-athlete you. Clearly, respondents have little faith in the Wolverines. Baylor should be able to handle injury-depleted Villanova, and Gonzaga has what appears to be a relatively easy “W” against Creighton. Wait, did we just jinx the Zags?

Poll No. 3: A Big Ten team still hasn’t won the tournament since Michigan State in 2000. What’s the deal?

Upshot: “How can you leave out ‘they beat each other up too much’?” @chi_ab asked. That was kind of tied into the “caveman” option. Then again, isn’t the idea that Big Ten teams are spent by tournament time because of how hard they are on one another throughout the season just plain a lame excuse? It’s not like opponents in other conferences are having picnics and sing-alongs out there.

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Chicago White Sox: Three replacements options for Eloy Jimenez by Jordan Campbell

The chances of the Chicago Bears taking a quarterback in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft took a significant hit on Friday as the San Francisco 49ers completed a trade with the Miami Dolphins in order to move up to the third overall selection in the draft.

With the 49ers now holding the third overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, the expectation is the first three selections will involve one of the top five quarterback prospects.

After the Bears signed veteran free agent Andy Dalton to a one-year, $10 million contract, the expectation was that the Bears likely would not be selecting a quarterback in the first round. The issue with that is that there is a significant drop in the 2021 NFL Draft quarterback draft talent after Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Josh Fields, Trey Lance, and Mac Jones.

That is not ideal for the Bears as it is likely that Bears’ general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy likely want to find a long-term solution at the quarterback position this off-season if they have any hope of saving their jobs.

If Pace and Nagy do not want to hang the security of their jobs on a mid-round quarterback selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, is it possible that they would trade for one?

No, the Bears will not be trading for Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson.

Instead, could the Bears pull off a trade for New York Jets’ starting quarterback Sam Darnold?

Source: Jets are open to trading Sam Darnold without getting back a first-round pick.

— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaSports) March 26, 2021

This is not the first time that the Bears would be linked to Darnold this off-season. Darnold was rumored to be a potential Bears’ target earlier this off-season but early reports had the Jets seeking at least one first-round pick.

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The question becomes what is the Jets’ true asking price for Darnold. The Jets are expected to take a quarterback with the second overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft and that would seemingly make Darnold expendable. Would that mean that the Bears would potentially be able to acquire Darnold for a third round selection and one of the compensatory sixth round picks that they were awarded? If so, that is a trade that Pace would at least have to entertain.

Darnold has yet to live up to his potential since being selected third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. Darnold has a career passer rating of 78.6 to go along with 45 touchdowns against 39 interceptions. While Darnold certainly can not be billed as a bust yet, acquiring the former USC product would be a risk.

A risk that Pace may be forced into taking given his inability to resolve the quarterback position since taking over as general manager of the team. The idea for the Bears acquiring Darnold would be to have him take the year and learn Nagy’s system while Dalton remains the team’s starting quarterback. The issue is that acquiring Darnold would almost certainly mean that the Bears would pick up his fifth-year option for 2022 that comes along with a $18.5 million cap hit.

Next: The Chicago Bears are incompetent

The Chicago Bears’ chances of selecting a quarterback in the first round 2021 NFL Draft may be slim but that does not mean that Pace won’t find a young quarterback like Darnold to sell as the solution.

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