The Illinois High School Association released the state playoff brackets on Friday afternoon. Most teams were on the bus heading to a game or already in the gym preparing to play.

It can be hard to stay focused on the task at hand when the road to the state championship has finally been revealed. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t faze No. 2 Benet, which knocked off No. 19 Marist 60-53 on Friday in Chicago.

The Redwings (27-1, 15-0 East Suburban Catholic) are the only top-level team in the area that hasn’t had a letdown this season. Even after knocking off Kenwood in late January, Benet remained locked in and didn’t suffer an upset.

“We made sure not to get inflated heads,” Redwings point guard Brayden Fagbemi said. “We stayed level-headed and used the momentum from that game to ride as far as we could. It’s important to keep getting better every day. Just because we beat Kenwood it doesn’t mean we are the best team in the state.”

Marist (23-6, 12-3) never let Benet build a big lead. The RedHawks led early and the game was tied when Benet closed the third quarter with a 9-2 run.

“They are really tough to guard,” Redwings coach Gene Heidkamp said. “They run great stuff and have five scoring options on the floor. We had to grind it out and come up with some stops down the stretch.”

The RedHawks have beaten some good teams this season, but they rely on several very talented young players and have repeatedly come up just short against the area’s best teams.

“We are out there with a lot of 14 year olds and it just comes down to a shot or two that we can’t get to pull out the win,” Marist coach Brian Hynes said. “I just want the kids to get that feeling that we are getting over the hump.”

Niko Abusara led Benet with 13 points and eight rebounds and Fagbemi scored 14 points. Junior Parker Sulaver provided a big lift in the first half and finished with 10 points for the Redwings.

“The guys have done a good job of focusing on what’s in front of them,” Heidkamp said. “We are not going to overpower anybody with our size and athleticism. We have to play every time we step out on the floor.”

Senior Justin Lang scored 15 for Marist and freshman Adoni Vassilakis added 14. Sophomore Marquis Vance was ferocious in the post, finishing with eight points and 10 rebounds.

The future is bright for the young RedHawks, who picked up the No. 4 seed in the St. Rita sectional.

Benet is the top seed in the Bartlett sectional. The Redwings would be the favorite in every game all the way to the Class 4A state championship in Champaign.

“We have a pretty good idea of what we have to do,” Heidkamp said. “You have to go in to the playoffs playing your best basketball. We’ve done a pretty good job so far but there’s so much left to do.”

Watch the final minute of Benet at Marist:

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Friday, February 10, 2023

BIG NORTHERN

Dixon at Rockford Christian, 7:00

Genoa-Kingston at Rock Falls, 7:00

Stillman Valley at Byron, 7:00

Winnebago at Rockford Lutheran, 7:00

CATHOLIC LEAGUE – BLUE

DePaul at Brother Rice, 7:00

Leo at Fenwick, 7:00

Loyola at St. Rita, 7:00

Mount Carmel at St. Ignatius, 7:00

CATHOLIC LEAGUE – WHITE

Marmion at Providence, 7:00

Providence-St. Mel at De La Salle, 7:00

St. Laurence at Montini, 7:00

CENTRAL SUBURBAN – NORTH

Maine East at Deerfield, 7:00

Maine West at Vernon Hills, 7:00

Niles North at Highland Park, 7:00

CENTRAL SUBURBAN – SOUTH

Glenbrook North at New Trier, 7:00

Maine South at Glenbrook South, 7:00

DU KANE

Geneva at Wheaton North, 7:15

Glenbard North at St. Charles North, 7:00

St. Charles East at Batavia, 7:00

Wheaton-Warr. South at Lake Park, 7:00

DU PAGE VALLEY

DeKalb at Naperville Central, 7:00

Metea Valley at Naperville North, 7:00

Neuqua Valley at Waubonsie Valley, 7:00

EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLIC

Benet at Marist, 7:00

Carmel at St. Patrick, 7:00

Joliet Catholic at St. Viator, 7:00

Marian Catholic at Notre Dame, 7:00

FOX VALLEY

Cary-Grove at Prairie Ridge, 7:30

Crystal Lake South at Burlington Central, 7:30

Hampshire at Jacobs, 7:30

Huntley at Crystal Lake Central, 7:30

McHenry at Dundee-Crown, 7:30

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Coal City at Reed-Custer, 6:45

Peotone at Manteno, 7:00

Streator at Herscher, 7:00

Wilmington at Lisle, 6:45

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL

Morgan Park Academy at North Shore, 4:30

Northridge at Latin, 6:00

INTERSTATE EIGHT

Kaneland at Sycamore, 7:00

LaSalle-Peru at Ottawa, 7:00

Plano at Morris, 7:00

Rochelle at Sandwich, 7:00

KISHWAUKEE RIVER

Harvard at Richmond-Burton, 7:15

Johnsburg at Woodstock North, 7:00

Marengo at Woodstock, 7:00

LITTLE TEN

Hinckley-Big Rock at Newark, 7:00

Indian Creek at LaMoille, 5:30

Leland at IMSA, 5:30

Serena at Hiawatha, 7:00

Somonauk at Earlville, 7:00

METRO SUBURBAN – BLUE

Aurora Christian at Chicago Christian, 7:00

Timothy Christian at Riverside-Brookfield, 7:00

Wheaton Academy at IC Catholic, 7:30

METRO SUBURBAN – RED

Elmwood Park at Aurora Central, 7:30

Ridgewood at McNamara, 7:30

St. Edward at Westmont, 7:30

MID-SUBURBAN – EAST

Prospect at Hersey, 6:00

Rolling Meadows at Elk Grove, 7:30

Wheeling at Buffalo Grove, 7:30

MID-SUBURBAN – WEST

Barrington at Hoffman Estates, 7:30

Fremd at Palatine, 7:30

NIC – 10

Freeport at Boylan, 7:15

Guilford at Belvidere North, 7:30

Harlem at Rockford East, 7:30

Hononegah at Belvidere, 7:00

Jefferson at Auburn, 7:30

NORTH SUBURBAN

Mundelein at Lake Forest, 7:00

Stevenson at Libertyville, 7:00

Warren at Zion-Benton, 7:00

Waukegan at Lake Zurich, 7:00

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Antioch at Wauconda, 7:00

Lakes at Grayslake North, 7:00

North Chicago at Grayslake Central, 7:00

Round Lake at Grant, 7:00

SOUTH SUBURBAN – BLUE

Bremen at Lemont, 7:00

SOUTH SUBURBAN – RED

Evergreen Park at Shepard, 6:30

Richards at Argo, 7:00

SOUTH SUBURBAN – CROSSOVER

Eisenhower at Thornton Fr. South, 7:00

Oak Lawn at Tinley Park, 6:30

Reavis at Oak Forest, 6:30

SOUTHLAND

Bloom at Rich, 6:30

Thornwood at Thornton, 6:30

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE – EAST

Plainfield East at Plainfield South, 6:30

Romeoville at Plainfield Central, 6:30

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE – WEST

Oswego East at Oswego, 6:30

Plainfield North at West Aurora, 6:30

Yorkville at Minooka, 6:30

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN – BLUE

Homewood-Flossmoor at Lincoln-Way East, 6:30

Lockport at Bolingbrook, 7:00

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN – RED

Lincoln-Way Central at Stagg, 6:00

Lincoln-Way West at Bradley-Bourbonnais, 7:00

TRI-COUNTY

Dwight at Seneca, 7:00

Henry-Senachwine at Putnam County, 7:00

Marquette at Woodland, 7:00

Midland at Lowpoint-Washburn, 7:30

UPSTATE EIGHT

Bartlett at Larkin, 7:00

East Aurora at South Elgin, 7:00

Elgin at Glenbard East, 7:00

Fenton at West Chicago, 7:00

Streamwood at Glenbard South, 7:00

WEST SUBURBAN – GOLD

Downers Grove South at Leyden, 7:30

Morton at Addison Trail, 7:30

Willowbrook at Proviso East, 6:00

WEST SUBURBAN – SILVER

Downers Grove North at Glenbard West, 7:30

Hinsdale Central at Proviso West, 6:00

Oak Park-River Forest at Lyons, 6:30

NON CONFERENCE

Alcott at Little Village, 5:00

Brooks at Urban Prep-Bronzeville, 6:30

Clemente at North Lawndale, 5:00

Comer at Kennedy, 7:00

Douglass at Raby, 6:00

Hancock at Kennedy, 7:00

Intrinsic-Belmont at Mather, 6:30

Islamic Foundation at Muchin, 7:00

ITW-Speer at Sullivan, 5:00

Legal Prep at South Shore, 5:00

Northtown at Niles West. 7:00

Orr at Schurz, 5:00

Roanoke-Benson at Flanagan-Cornell, 7:00

Southland at Andrew, 6:30

Unity Christian at Universal, 6:00

LAKE SHORE ATHLETIC TOURNAMENT

Championship

Intrinsic-Downtown vs. Christian Heritage, 6:30

NORTHEASTERN ATHLETIC TOURNAMENT

at Schaumburg Christian

Christian Life vs. Mooseheart, 5:30

South Beloit vs. Schaumburg Christian, 5:30

Alden-Hebron vs. Westminster Christian, 7:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS – BLUE

at DePaul McGrath-Phillips

Championship

Manley vs. Carver, 5:00

RIVER VALLEY TOURNAMENT

Illinois Lutheran at Donovan, 7:00

Gardner-So. Wilmington at Momence, 7:00

Grant Park at Beecher, 7:00

St. Anne at Clifton Central, 7:00

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Russell Westbrook to the Chicago Bulls is starting to pick up momentum…

The Chicago Bulls stayed put at the 2023 NBA trade deadline, being one of two teams not to make a trade this season. Instead, Bulls brass believes this team has enough to make a run and opted not to ‘blow it up’ and trade pieces away.

And now, they could be in the market for a veteran point guard.

With Lonzo Ball likely not returning this season, the Bulls are looking at the buyout market to add a veteran point guard to come in and run the offense. There aren’t a lot of options but one player that is being connected to them is Russell Westbrook.

After being traded from Los Angeles to Utah in a three-team deal, Westbrook is expected to be bought out and can sign with any team. If he does hit the buyout market, NBA analyst Adrian Wojnarowski mentions the Bulls as a team to keep an eye on:

“If he gets out into the buyout market, there is significant interest in Westbrook,” said Woj, via Real GM. “I think one team you got to watch and I think will be a frontrunner are the Chicago Bulls. Billy Donovan certainly coached Westbrook in Oklahoma City. If you go further down his bench, Mo Cheeks, Josh Longstaff… There is a staff of former OKC assistants who all had good relationships and worked well with Westbrook with the Bulls. And you could see how he fits just bringing some energy and fire to that team’s bench.”

Westbrook and Billy Donovan have a past going back to Oklahoma City, so it does make sense.

Is Russell Westbrook the best option for the Chicago Bulls?

Add in that we’ve seen this team already with Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White, Goran Dragic and Alex Caruso at the guard position, and the Bulls may look at Westbrook as the other option to at least try.

After-all, it might not be that bad?

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PHOENIX — Aaron Rodgers is about to spend four full days in a dark room while he contemplates his future. From a football standpoint, though, he might never emerge into the light.

Upon reflection — and maybe hallucination — Rodgers could choose to return to a Packers team with whom he’s frustrated. He could retire or meet an even worse fate — having to play for the Jets.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has replaced him as the NFL’s shining light. When he won the NFL MVP on Thursday night– his second in only five seasons as a starter — he became one of seven players ever to claim more than one trophy. Only 27, Mahomes has a decade or more to chase down Peyton Manning’s record of five. Or Rodgers’ four.

“There’s so many greats that have won that award,” Rodgers said this week. “To be part of that history is amazing.”

The passing of passing prowess from the 39-year-old Rodgers to Mahomes presents a different kind of torture for Bears fans. Rodgers was a twice-yearly reminder that he owned the Bears. His dominance was as steady as it was painful — Rodgers won the MVP in 2011, 2014, 2020 and 2021. He went 25-5 against the teams, turning the best rivalry in the NFL to not much of one.

The Bears don’t have to face Mahomes twice each season. But when the world gets to see him on the biggest stage, Bears fans are left to wonder what-if.

Again.

Mahomes’ otherworldly career is a reminder that the Bears could have had him.

Mahomes said this week that he thought he was the Bears’ first choice at quarterback during the 2017 draft — but that he was told general manager Ryan Pace likely wouldn’t pick one. Instead, Pace traded up for quarterback Mitch Trubisky, whom the Bears let walk after four years.

The newly retired Tom Brady wasn’t picked until the sixth round of the 2000 draft. The entire NFL should share the pain — everyone passed on the Greatest Of All Time, over and over again, until the Patriots took a chance on him. With Mahomes, though, the Bears are in rarer company — one of nine who could have had the quarterback without trading up. Most of those teams didn’t need a quarterback. The Bears did.

The Chiefs loved Mahomes during the predraft process. Matt Nagy, then the Chiefs’ coordinator, gave Mahomes advance notice of what head coach Andy Reid would quiz him about the next day. Nagy wanted him to ace the test.

The Chiefs traded up to take Mahomes 10th. That number stuck with Mahomes — in 2019, he counted to 10 on his fingers after scoring against the Bears.

His career has been, and will remain, one of the great what-ifs in Chicago sports — like Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan, but in reverse. But if we were a Bear, would Mahomes be nearly as successful? Or would he have been Trubisky?

The quarterback himself credited his success to the place he landed.

“I understand how lucky I am to be in this organization with this coach and these players around me — and coach Reid,” he said. “If I didn’t come to the Chiefs I don’t think I’d be in this spot. He got the best out of me.

“I had to sit for an entire season. He never had any doubts of who I was going to become. He kept getting me better and better as the season went.”

He hasn’t stopped.

When he takes the field against the Eagles on Sunday, Mahomes will become the youngest quarterback to start three Super Bowls. When Brady did it, he was 39 days older.

Mahomes did it this year without the league’s leading receiver. The Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins last offseason, leaving their quarterback to prove his greatness all over again.

“His talent level goes far beyond his ability to instinctually go out there,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said. “He’s playing a step ahead, moreso this year than any other year we’ve played, knowing the pieces were a little bit different in terms of the weapons he has.

“And the scrutiny — everyone was looking to see how he was going to take his game to the next level. He’s got three of four moves already in his pocket, depending on what the defense does. That’s what’s going to make him the greatest to ever go down.”

His talent is unmistakable, but Reid is perhaps the greatest offensive head coach of all time. Where did Mahomes’ skillset end and his development begin? The Bears never got a chance to find out.

“You’ve got Pat Mahomes as a quarterback,” Reid said, “That’s a special thing.”

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The Chicago Cubs have reportedly added right-handed reliever, Michael Fulmer.

The Chicago Cubs have made plenty of transactions this offseason. Roster moves have slowed down quite a bit as teams are beginning to ramp up for the 2023 season. Pitchers and catchers officially report to spring training on February 13th. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs will have another pitcher joining them in Arizona.

On Friday afternoon, Ken Rosenthal reported that Michael Fulmer is signing with the Cubs, pending a physical.

While many expected the Cubs to prioritize adding a left-handed reliever, Fulmer is still a satisfying addition. Michael Fulmer posted a 3.39 ERA in 67 appearances with the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins last season. The former Rookie of the Year and 1x All-Star will likely bump a reliever or a second baseman off the 40-man roster.

Michael Fulmer joins the Cubs just in time for spring training. The Chicago Cubs play their first spring training game on February 25th against the San Francisco Giants. With so many new faces, fans should have a lot to look forward to. There are sure to be plenty of storylines out of Cubs camp this spring.

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The Chicago Bears are moving closer to the purchase of the Arlington Heights property

There are a lot of story lines surrounding the Chicago Bears’ franchise in the 2023 offseason, headlined by having the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft and a lot of cap space to work in free agency. But a story that shouldn’t be forgotten is the franchise’s pursuit of the Arlington Heights racetrack property.

The franchise has pushed for the property that was home to the Arlington racetrack and are hoping to build a brand new state of the art stadium on the land. The goal is to close by the end of quarter one in 2023 and on Friday a new report suggests that the process is starting to speed up.

David Kaplan is reporting that Arlington Park/Churchill Downs employees are being told they must have all of their possessions off of the property by close on Tuesday. Here is what Kaplan said:

“Folks, I confirmed this morning that Arlington Park/Churchill Downs employees, Churchill Downs is the parent company that currently owns the property that Arlington Park sits on, are being told that they must have all of their possessions off of property grounds by end of business on Tuesday. Because after that date, they will no longer have access to Arlington Park.”

Kaplan also reported that multiple sources with Arlington Park are saying the process will move forward more quickly than expected.

That’s great news for the Chicago Bears as they want to move forward with this purchase and get the process sped up. The franchise recently hired Kevin Warren to replace Ted Phillips as the new CEO/President of the franchise and he has experience with stadium development going back to his time with the Minnesota Vikings.

This is a significant development for the Chicago Bears franchise that will continued to be monitored in the coming days and weeks.

Watch the video below:

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Less than a week before pitchers and catchers report for spring training, the Cubs are adding to their bullpen.

The Cubs and free agent right-hander Michael Fulmer agreed to a contract, sources confirmed. The terms of the deal, which is pending a physical, were not immediately clear.

His addition gives the Cubs another option at the back end of the bullpen, an area left thin by trades at last year’s deadline.

“That’s just an area you never feel totally comfortable no matter what, just given the volatility of it,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said last month at Cubs Convention. “Are we looking to add guys? Yes. But I do feel comfortable that we’re getting more and more arms; I think we have a lot of guys that can fill that role.”

Fulmer, 29, found success early in his career as a starter, winning American League Rookie of the Year in 2016 and becoming an All-Star the next year. But those accolades were tainted by injury, including a series of elbow operations.

In 2021, Fulmer’s first season as a reliever, he posted a career-best 2.97 ERA and 14 saves with the Tigers. Last season, which he split between Detroit and Minnesota, Fulmer regressed some, as his walk rate rose to 10.1%. Still, he entered free agency this winter among the higher rated non-closer relievers on the market.

The Cubs have gotten by without signing a bonafide closer in recent years, instead helping veterans bounce back into more prominent roles. During the club’s rebuild, it traded those veteran relievers on short-term contracts midseason for young players and prospects.

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