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3 things we learned: Salukis outraced by Jackrabbits on the groundon March 21, 2021 at 3:33 am

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3 things we learned: Salukis outraced by Jackrabbits on the ground

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3 things we learned: Salukis outraced by Jackrabbits on the groundon March 21, 2021 at 3:33 am Read More »

Chicago Week in Beer, March 22-25on March 21, 2021 at 4:15 am

The Beeronaut

Chicago Week in Beer, March 22-25

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Chicago Week in Beer, March 22-25on March 21, 2021 at 4:15 am Read More »

8 shot, 1 fatally in Chicago so far this weekendSun-Times Wireon March 20, 2021 at 10:14 pm

At least four people were shot, one fatally in Chicago since 5 p.m. March 19, 2021.
At least eight people have been shot, one fatally, in Chicago since 5 p.m. March 19, 2021. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times file photo

A man was killed in a shooting Friday in the 3100 block of West Lake Street.

A man was killed and seven others have been wounded in shootings across Chicago so far this weekend, including a 10-year-old boy who was shot Friday in East Garfield Park on the West Side.

The boy was sitting in a vehicle with two other people when someone walked up and fired shots at them about 6:50 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Lake Street, Chicago police said.

A man, 24, was struck in the side and pronounced dead on the scene, police said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified him as Marquel Robinson of East Garfield Park.

The boy was shot in the leg, while a 25-year-old woman was struck in the thigh and ankle, police said. Both were taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition.

Saturday morning, a 17-year-old boy was shot and seriously wounded by a person who then stole his vehicle in Austin.

The teen was sitting in his vehicle about 2:55 a.m. in the 5400 block of West Race Avenue when a person shot him and took his vehicle, Chicago police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and leg and was transported to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood in serious condition.

In other nonfatal attacks, a man was shot Saturday afternoon in Austin on the West Side.

The man, 31, was standing near an alley about 4:30 p.m. when someone in a black vehicle fired shots at him in the 4900 block of West Fulton Street, Chicago police said. The man was struck in both legs and taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition.

Two men were wounded in a shooting earlier Saturday afternoon in Douglas on the South Side.

About 3:05 p.m., the men, 27 and 31, were in the 3400 block of South Prairie Avenue when they heard shots and felt a pain, Chicago police said.

The 27-year-old was struck in the back and torso, and was brought to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said. The 31-year-old was struck in the neck and taken to the same hospital in good condition.

Hours earlier, a man was grazed in a shooting in Avalon Park on the South Side.

He was on the sidewalk about 1:16 p.m. in the 8000 block of South Woodlawn Avenue when someone opened fire, Chicago police said. A bullet grazed the 38-year-old in the elbow, and he was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition.

Forty people were shot, 5 fatally, last weekend in Chicago.

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8 shot, 1 fatally in Chicago so far this weekendSun-Times Wireon March 20, 2021 at 10:14 pm Read More »

Three takeaways from Cubs’ spring training with two weeks until Opening DayRussell Dorseyon March 20, 2021 at 11:29 pm

John Antonoff/Chicago Sun-Times

While some Cubs’ storylines will fade as the spring winds down, others will affect the team even after the regular season begins.

MESA, Ariz. – The Cubs are beginning to fine-tune with two weeks before heading back to Chicago and there’s been no shortage of things that have stood out this spring. While some will fade as the spring winds down, others will affect the team when the regular season begins.

Here are three takeaways from Cubs camp with two weeks until Opening Day.

The lineup is stacked, but has to produce

The Cubs need their offensive stars to be stars and after many of the team’s offensive standouts struggled last season, this season becomes magnified with Kris Bryant, Javy Baez and Anthony Rizzo set to become free agents at season’s end.

While their impending free agency adds a level of pressure, the lineup still has an opportunity to be one of the best in baseball. The Cubs lineup is deep and it hasn’t been uncommon to see Javy Baez, Joc Pederson or even Willson Contreras hitting as low as sixth in the batting order this spring. Each of whom are capable of anchoring a big-league lineup.

“We got people here, trust me,” Baez said. “We got the talent, we got the pitching, we got the hitting, we got everything.”

Having a lineup depth like that is a luxury most clubs don’t have, and while pitching has helped carry the Cubs over the last few seasons, the Cubs not only expect their lineup to return to form, they need it to.

While the 60-game season can be attributed to some of the Cubs’ offensive struggles, their performance against velocity or late-season struggles have plagued them prior to the shortened season. If the Cubs hope to contend in the National League Central, their offensive core will have to step up in a big way.

“I think this is a really talented offensive group,” president Jed Hoyer said. “We’ve struggled in certain aspects of the game that we have to improve on. … I think when you look at the names in the lineup, I think it’s a really good lineup. I think we have to do a better job as a collective of putting that together and scoring runs.”

Starting rotation has a chance to succeed

There was no bigger question coming into spring training than the Cubs’ rotation and who was going to pitch behind ace Kyle Hendricks. The additions of Zach Davies, Jake Arrieta and Trevor Williams answered the “who” portion of that question.

But with Arrieta and Williams coming off of their own struggles with the Phillies and Pirates, and Alec Mills and Adbert Alzolay having limited bodies of work, there were still concerns about the group’s effectiveness.

Spring results can always be challenging to gauge, but the Cubs’ rotation has pitched well during camp and while the regular season will tell the story, the initial results have been positive. Davies has yet to allow a run this spring, Williams has sub-2.00 ERA and Arrieta has gotten better in each of his outings.

There’s little room for error with some depth concerns behind the Cubs’ starters and health is still a concern coming off the shortened season. But if the Cubs vaunted pitching infrastructure gets consistency out of this group, they’re showing they can have success.

“I don’t want to underestimate the pitching corps,” manager David Ross said. “I think we’ve got some sneaky good pitchers that may not be on the radar. But there’s definitely a willingness to be great from that group.”

Shelby Miller making a push

Shelby Miller has probably had the best camp of any pitcher in Cubs camp and the 30-year-old right-hander is not only turning heads, but is forcing his way into the team’s plans for 2021. Miller, who’s in camp as a non-roster invitee, has pitched well in various roles this spring.

Despite the competition for the team’s fifth starter with Mills and Alzolay, Miller may have done enough to carve out a role as the Cubs’ swingman out of the pen.

Miller has a 1.13 ERA in five games this spring with three walks and 10 strikeouts. He’s also allowed just one earned run in eight innings pitched. While not being on the 40-man roster could make the roster math tricky, Miller has done enough to earn serious consideration for the Opening Day roster.

“It’s hard to predict that opportunity, but who knows?,” Miller said. “I’m just trying to control what I can control at this point this spring and that’s just taking care of what I can do. As long as we’re going out there and competing and getting guys out, who knows what the possibility is?”

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Three takeaways from Cubs’ spring training with two weeks until Opening DayRussell Dorseyon March 20, 2021 at 11:29 pm Read More »

Antonio Torres leads Naperville Central past Waubonsie ValleyMike Clarkon March 21, 2021 at 12:22 am

Naperville Central’s Antonio Torres (3) breaks free for a touchdown against Waubonsie Valley.
Naperville Central’s Antonio Torres (3) breaks free for a touchdown against Waubonsie Valley. | Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

Antonio Torres is going to be pretty busy for the next couple months, so maybe it made sense for him to take the second half off on Saturday.

Antonio Torres is going to be pretty busy for the next couple months, so maybe it made sense for him to take the second half off on Saturday.

The junior running back made his Naperville Central debut after transferring from Waubonsie Valley — coincidentally against his old team — and put up some big numbers before halftime.

Torres caught a 55-yard scoring pass on Central’s first play from scrimmage and added two more touchdowns in the No. 10 Redhawks’ 47-0 DuPage Valley win at home.

He also scored on runs of 29 and 60 yards, finishing with nine carries for 111 yards and two catches for 66 more.

“It was a little weird,” Torres said of playing Waubonsie. “It’s my old school. I had a lot of love over there. But you know, when it comes down to it, you’ve got to handle this and take the ‘W.’”

Torres made the all-conference team as a sophomore, and Naperville Central coach Mike Stine sees a lot higher ceiling than that for the 5-10, 180-pounder.

“I told some college recruiters a couple weeks ago … I don’t want to curse the kid, but he has some similarities to Justin Jackson,” Stine said. “Those are big shoes to fill, but Antonio is special.”

Jackson starred at Glenbard North and Northwestern before moving on to the NFL, where he’s played the past three seasons for the Chargers.

Torres isn’t just turning heads on the football field. He’s also a returning state placer in wrestling after taking fifth in Class 3A at 170 pounds. He won’t get a chance to win another medal, because wrestling won’t have a postseason this school year.

But that hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for his other sport, which will start before the football season ends.

“I’m prepared,” Torres said. “I wrestle sometimes on Sundays … just to make sure I’m in wrestling shape when it comes time so I can go out and perform like I usually do.”

Torres wasn’t the only Redhawk with a long scoring play Saturday. Junior receiver Reggie Fleurima, who committed to Northwestern earlier in the week, had a 63-yard TD reception.

Yet another playmaker for Naperville Central is senior receiver Keon Green. He had five catches for 68 yards and a TD in his first game since breaking an ankle in last year’s regular-season finale against DeKalb.

It makes for plenty of options for junior quarterback Owen Prucha, who was 12-of-15 passing for 252 yards and three TDs in his varsity debut.

“I was really anxious, I’m not gonna lie,” Prucha said. “I had a lot of nerves leading up to this. Once everything got going — you saw the score — everything worked out.

“It’s a good feeling to be able to trust all your receivers and your (running) back.”

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Antonio Torres leads Naperville Central past Waubonsie ValleyMike Clarkon March 21, 2021 at 12:22 am Read More »

Blackhawks avoided fighting back against Lightning aggressions at Jeremy Colliton’s requestBen Popeon March 21, 2021 at 12:41 am

The Lightning were aggressive with the Blackhawks this series, but the Hawks avoided fighting back. | AP Photos

The Lightning — still upset over Connor Murphy’s hit on Erik Cernak on March 7 — constantly tried to goad the Blackhawks into fights this series. Colliton told the Hawks not to engage. “We don’t want our top guys sitting for five minutes,” the coach said.

The Blackhawks and Lightning developed an odd rivalry this March.

After Connor Murphy’s match penalty for hitting Erik Cernak on March 7 — the third of five meetings between the teams in a 16-day span — the Lightning were ready for the rivalry to explode during this now-concluded series.

On both Thursday and Saturday, the Bolts constantly harassed the Blackhawks — focusing particularly on Murphy — after whistles, hoping to instigate a fight or skirmish. On Saturday, that after-the-whistle aggression spilled into normal play at times, including one moment when Alex Killorn clotheslined Adam Boqvist with a blindside glove to the face.

But at coach Jeremy Colliton’s request, the Hawks refused to engage or fight back.

“We don’t want our top guys sitting for five minutes, unless there’s a specific reason,” Colliton said after the Hawks’ 4-1 loss Saturday.

“When you play the same team multiple times, it’s going to get chippy, and you hope you give as much as you take. Play hard, play between the whistles, be hard to play against — that’s what we’re going to do.”

It initially seemed likely the growing tension between the two teams would erupt Saturday.

During his pregame press conference, Colliton detailed why he believed Murphy’s hit on Cernak was legal, then passionately denounced the Lightning’s tactics to try to goad Murphy into fighting Thursday.

“It just doesn’t make any sense to me,” he said. “They’ve got some guys who play a hard game, a physical game. If [Lightning defenseman Victor] Hedman finishes a hard check on Murph, I don’t think they’re going to love if we’ve got guys chasing him around the ice or expecting that he should take a five-minute [major] or risk breaking his hand on someone’s head.”

He said he’d specifically instructed Murphy not to fight.

“Murph has no problem answering the bell,” Colliton said. “He probably would love to. But we’ve asked him not to, because he’s too important to our team. We need him on the ice… He’s a hard player, he’s a physical player, and that’s part of what he brings. I don’t think he should have to be warding off challengers for the whole game.”

Yet while the Lightning’s aggressive behavior continued undeterred once the puck dropped, Colliton’s message to his team — avoid unnecessary penalties, even if it means not standing your ground — remained the same, too.

And so the Hawks followed that instruction. Nikita Zadorov didn’t deliver any big hits. Murphy never entertained the Bolts’ solicitations. Not even minor-league scrapper Reese Johnson, inserted into the lineup for just his fifth NHL game, made any noise.

Only Alex DeBrincat went to the penalty box for any sort of retaliation. He and Yanni Gourde were both given cross-checking minors for a relatively tame pre-faceoff duel in the second period.

“The ref thought it was a good idea to put us both in the box,” DeBrincat said later. “I didn’t really think they were going to call a penalty, but I guess better sit two minutes than five for fighting.”

True to Colliton’s fears, the Lightning then scored during four-on-four play with DeBrincat sidelined.

The Hawks and Lightning will face each other only once more this regular season, and not until April 27 in Chicago. By then, the two teams’ behaviors this month may well be forgotten.

But Colliton’s strategy to keep his players out of the penalty box could prove relevant against other opponents before then.

Asked Saturday what kind of situation would justify in his mind a fighting major, he offered only a brief answer: “You know it when you see it.”

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Blackhawks avoided fighting back against Lightning aggressions at Jeremy Colliton’s requestBen Popeon March 21, 2021 at 12:41 am Read More »

Ohio man to serve over 15 years in prison for suburban truck stop shootingSun-Times Wireon March 21, 2021 at 1:07 am

An Ohio man was sentenced to over 15 years in prison March 18, 2021, for a suburban truck stop shooting.
An Ohio man was sentenced to over 15 years in prison March 18, 2021, for a suburban truck stop shooting. | Adobe Stock Photo

William Lutz, 59, fired shots at another truck driver whom he believed was blocking the road on June 8, 2019, at a truck stop in Hampshire, according to the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.

An Ohio man was sentenced to 15 and a half years in prison Thursday for a road rage shooting in June 2019 at a truck stop in the far northwest suburb of Hampshire.

William Lutz, 59, fired shots at another truck driver whom he believed was blocking the road on June 8, 2019, at a truck stop off U.S. Route 20, according to the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.

The truck driver was grazed by a bullet that flew through his door, and Lutz was found shortly after parked at the nearby intersection of Route 47 and Interstate 90, where he apparently tried to commit suicide by consuming 30 pills, the state’s attorney’s office said.

Lutz was ordered held on $750,000 bail, and later pleaded guilty to the charge of armed violence, prosecutors said.

He will receive credit for the 649 days he has already served in the Kane County jail.

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Ohio man to serve over 15 years in prison for suburban truck stop shootingSun-Times Wireon March 21, 2021 at 1:07 am Read More »

3 things we learned: Western offense sputters in loss at ISUon March 21, 2021 at 1:29 am

Prairie State Pigskin

3 things we learned: Western offense sputters in loss at ISU

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3 things we learned: Western offense sputters in loss at ISUon March 21, 2021 at 1:29 am Read More »

3 things we learned: Running game, defense spark Illinois State’s first spring victoryon March 20, 2021 at 11:57 pm

Prairie State Pigskin

3 things we learned: Running game, defense spark Illinois State’s first spring victory

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3 things we learned: Running game, defense spark Illinois State’s first spring victoryon March 20, 2021 at 11:57 pm Read More »

Chicago Bears: How Kenny Golladay’s contract impacts Allen Robinsonon March 20, 2021 at 9:49 pm

(Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

Kenny Golladay‘s new contract should be embarrassing to the Chicago Bears for failing to give their star receiver, Allen Robinson, more money than him.

Golladay has reached an agreement with the New York Giants on a four-year, $72 million deal with $40 million guaranteed.

The former receiver for the Detroit Lions was offered between $11-$12 million with the Bears for one year but passed on the offer to take a longer, richer contract with the Giants.

What does this contract mean for star Bears receiver Allen Robinson?

Robinson just signed his franchise tag last Thursday, locking himself in for $18 million this season with the Chicago Bears. Should he be insulted by Golladay’s payday? Absolutely.

Golladay has had one pro-bowl season in 2019, which was his only healthy season in his four total years in the NFL. That season, Golladay caught 65 passes for 1,190 yards, and a league-tying 11 touchdown catches.

Last season, Golladay was injured for most of the season — playing just five total games. He caught 20 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns.

In one game last season, Tyreek Hill caught 13 balls for 269 yards and three touchdowns, doing most of the work Golladay did in a season in one game versus the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And guess what? Hill makes $18 million per year too.

Golladay in his four seasons with the Lions has played 47 of 64 possible games in the NFL. He has recorded 183 receptions for 3,068 yards and 21 total touchdowns — half of them coming in the 2019 season.

Robinson, on the other hand, has been super successful in his career, and recent years. In his career, Robinson has really only missed one season in 2017 with an ACL tear. He has racked up 457 catches, nearly 6,000 receiving yards, and 39 total touchdowns in his seven-year career in the NFL. He has been elected to just as many pro-bowls as Golladay in his career too, with just one.

Last season, Robinson caught 102 passes for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns. Outside of touchdowns, that’s more in each category than Golladay’s best season. Remember, Robinson has never had a Matthew Stafford caliber quarterback as Golladay had in his first four seasons. He has dealt with Blake Bortles, Mitchell Trubisky, and Nick Foles throwing to him.

Let’s compare the two receivers’ best seasons: Golladay in 2019, and Robinson in 2015. Robinson has more receptions, yards, touchdowns, first downs, and yards per target. Golladay had a much better catch rate, only because Robinson had 32 more targets than him.

No offense to Golladay, he’s a great receiver and a major threat in the NFL. He’s simply not as good as Robinson though.

Now how do you think Robinson should feel?

Golladay just came off of his rookie contract and was handed a four-year deal for $72 million after having just one truly successful season. After Robinson similarly had one truly successful season in 2015 and one mildly successful season the following season, Robinson made just $14 million per year over three years with the Bears, and never received an extension.

Bears fans still don’t know what’s to come of Robinson’s future in the NFL. He unexpectedly signed his franchise tag, for either one of two options. Robinson could have suspected the wide receiver market has been undervalued the offseason (Corey Davis $9 million, JuJu Smith-Schuster takes $8 million pay cut). Or, the Bears have secretly told Robinson they plan to trade him, forcing him to sign the franchise tag.

Next: Chicago Bears: Desmond Trufant replaces Kyle Fuller on defense

Golladay’s contract value is certainly misleading because the Giants offered him too much money, but you get the idea. Robinson is one of the best receivers in the NFL and is leaps and bounds ahead of Golladay in his career and the present day. He deserves more money and a team that better values him, which isn’t the Bears.

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Chicago Bears: How Kenny Golladay’s contract impacts Allen Robinsonon March 20, 2021 at 9:49 pm Read More »