CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Maybe it will happen in Orlando. Maybe it will have to wait until next week during a four-game home stand.

Heck, maybe it happens at lunch on Friday afternoon.

DeMar DeRozan wasn’t quite sure when it will happen, only that it will. It has to.

“We haven’t been as consistent as we’ve wanted to be, but it could take what we eat at lunch to change everything,” DeRozan said. “That’s just how I view it, and I try and give that same mindset and energy to everyone on the team.”

Seemingly no one is hearing it.

In a season of rock-bottom loss after rock-bottom loss, the Bulls followed up blowing a 21-point lead to Indiana and losing, by going into Charlotte on Thursday, and blowing a 10-point third-quarter lead in the eventual 111-96 loss to a Hornets team that had just five home wins.

“We come out good, looking like we have the right mentality the first half, and then second half everything goes to sh-t, so as leaders we’ve got to do better, I’ve got to do better,” guard Zach LaVine said. “It’s not going to change until each one of us individually comes together and says, ‘Enough.’ It’s not like we’re not trying, but it’s obviously not enough.”

No, it’s not.

And the reasons why are simple as far as Billy Donovan was concerned, with the coach pointing towards too much fouling, rebounds and turnovers. The latest culprit was the turnovers, and more specifically, untimely ones.

The changing of the momentum came in the third quarter, and of course seemed very familiar for the Bulls (22-26). Like they have in many of their meltdowns, it was the third quarter that did the Bulls in, or at least erased what was a very solid two-and-a-half quarters of work.

After an Ayo Dosunmu pull-up jumper with 5:52 left in the third stanza, the lead was 10. Not for long. A Dosunmu turnover, a missed shot by DeRozan, and an errant pass by Nikola Vucevic, and just like that the game was tied.

Then it was a dog fight the rest of the way out, and only one dog was biting, as Charlotte (14-36) outscored the visiting team 34-17 in the fourth.

Not that either team shot the lights out, but the Bulls going 4-for-26 from three-point range just wasn’t going to get it done.

Bigger picture was the Bulls have just six more games left before the NBA trade deadline, and with executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas setting the bar at a second-round playoff series back in the fall, it would seem this roster as constructed is not headed in that direction.

That’s why Donovan was asked if he felt a move needed to be made to shake up this roster.

“I believe it’s in there, and we have to figure out as coaches and players how to pull it out of each other,” Donovan said. “I’m not at a point where I can say this just can’t work. There’s too much substance of good guys that want to do the right things and care.

“We just have to be desperate. I don’t know of any other way to say it. We can’t just line-up and play, and everything is going to work itself out, and we’re going to wait for the fourth quarter and close this thing out.”

Not this season. And not when Nikola Vucevic, DeRozan, and LaVine combine to go a minus-72 in plus/minus.

What say you on the trade topic, Zach?

“Whoever is on the team, I ride with ’em,” LaVine said. “I’m not the person in the front office making the decision.

“I believe in myself and I believe in the team, whoever is on the team.”

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CALGARY, Alberta — With Jonathan Toews a late scratch due to illness Thursday against the Flames, Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson shuffled all four forward lines in warmups.

And then all four lines scored in a 5-1 Hawks win.

Jason Dickinson moved up to first-line center and deposited a beautiful goal on a nearly-between-his-legs shot. Max Domi moved down to Toews’ second-line center role and earned an assist on Taylor Raddysh’s goal.

Third-line wing Sam Lafferty extended his red-hot stretch with a two-on-one tap-in. And Boris Katchouk, making his first appearance since Jan. 3, scored for the fourth line — a goal on which recent call-up Luke Philp earned his first NHL point. Defenseman Connor Murphy also hit an empty net.

The Hawks’ January winning surge, written off for dead after the past two losses, apparently might not be quite done yet.

Chasing Kane

Patrick Kane tallied one assist and two shots on goalThursday.

That latter category has been scrutinized lately because he went consecutive games last weekend (against the Blues and Kings) with zero shots for just the second time in his career.

“[We’ve been] chasing the puck a lot and not [having] much puck possession,” Kane said Thursday. “When we do get it, we can do a better job of hanging onto it.”

The only other instance was in December 2010, but it really shouldn’t count. He was injured 23 seconds into the first game, and the second game came three weeks later.

He has been talking about needing to get more possession since November, but he hasn’t been able to resolve the problem. That has been reflected in his production: he entered Thursday on pace to finish with 56 points in 77 games this season, down from 92 points last year.

It might actually be unresolvable, considering the way this Hawks team is constructed. He has no choice but to keep trying to do so, though, and he did play well Thursday — he easily could’ve had two or three points.

‘It has been not a great year, production-wise. It’s disappointing, for sure,” he said. “You get used to playing with certain guys [in] a certain style for two, three, four years. All of a sudden, it’s different. It’s not like it’s any worse or better; it’s just different.

“You have to learn…how to go to the right areas, be in the right spot for your teammates. I know it has been over half the season, but some games it clicks, some games it’s been a little bit different.”

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Chicago State University announced Thursday that an exploratory committee will study the impact of potentially adding a Division 1 football program to the school.

The committee is a combination of advisory and working group members, business leaders and includes former Chicago Bears Otis Wilson and Tom Thayer as well as current NBA official James Capers, CSU said in a statement.

Findings are expected to be shared with CSU President Zaldwaynaka Scott by the end of the 2023 spring semester. If the recommendation is approved, football and other programs could start as soon as the fall of 2025, the school said.

The committee will also look at adding more women’s sports teams to the existing roster.

“The potential to bring a Division I football program here to CSU and increase the number of women’s sports offerings is not only an exciting step forward for the current and future student body, but for the entire surrounding community,” said Monique Carroll, CSU’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. “The time is now to usher in the next era of Chicago State Athletics, and we could not be more grateful for the exploratory committee to help us take these critical steps forward in evolving our programming.”

Chicago State teams currently compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – DeMar DeRozan would enjoy seeing the No. 2 jersey walk through the door and for teammate Lonzo Ball (left knee) to declare he’s ready to return.

DeRozan’s just not counting on it or even waiting for it.

The same can be said about Javonte Green (right knee), Goran Dragic (illness), and any player that could possibly be added by the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

In DeRozan’s world it’s out of sight, out of mind.

“That’s exactly been my mindset my entire career, before I was in the NBA, everything,” DeRozan said on Thursday. “That’s been my whole approach to life. That’s what makes things so much more difficult, when you carry that type of weight on you. Whatever cards you’re dealt with, let’s figure it out. I’m going to figure it out the best way I can.

“With limited resources, I’ve seen the greatest things created. That’s just my mindset when it comes to everything, so I don’t really get caught up in waiting on Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) to walk through that door to help us. I don’t even think like that. You can be waiting forever for something like that.”

That also explains why DeRozan doesn’t get caught up in deadline talk or trade rumors. The veteran forward believes in riding with the guys that are available to play that given night.

That’s another reason why DeRozan isn’t the type to go to his front office and ask about trade possibilities or even what executive vice president of basketball Arturas Karnisovas might be thinking about roster changes.

According to DeRozan, he’s never done that since arriving in the NBA.

He’s also sold on the idea that the “Big Three” of himself, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic have been finding a groove the last month, and didn’t see any reason to break that up.

“We still feel like we can get a lot better,” DeRozan said. “Just getting more comfortable at both ends and leading these guys. Coach [Billy Donovan] always said it, always challenged us every single day that it starts with us [three]. We’ve been taking on that challenge every single day whether it’s practice or film. And we try to carry that over to the game.”

Stars aligning

DeRozan and LaVine will have to wait until Feb. 2 to see if they are once again All-Star Game bound, because that’s when the reserves will be announced.

The starters were named before the Bulls played the Hornets, and there were very few surprises.

Giannis Antetokounmpo headlined the Eastern Conference and was named captain, joined by Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving and Donovan Mitchell.

LeBron James will once again captain the Western Conference, joined by Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson and Nikola Jokic.

The starters were chosen by fans, active players, and a panel of select media members, while the reserves will be selected by the 30 NBA head coaches.

LaVine and DeRozan both made the All-Star Game last season, when it was played in Cleveland.

Speaking of …

The Bulls were still short-handed, but help was on the way.

According to Donovan, back-up point guard Goran Dragic (illness) was able to practice in Chicago on Thursday, and was expected to fly to Orlando to meet the team.

As far as Green, he was on this trip and even passing the ball to teammates in shooting drills during the shootaround. However, he was still a week or two away from getting on a bike and testing the mobility of the knee.

Donovan said they would have a better feel of his return once Green can clear that obstacle.

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Carlos Harris is only a junior, but he’s one of the city’s most seasoned varsity basketball players. He’s the guy that Curie coach Mike Oliver wants with the ball in his hands when the game is on the line.

Harris demonstrated why twice in the final seconds of No. 15 Curie’s 50-48 upset of top-ranked Simeon on Thursday.

The host Condors had the ball with the game tied and 20 seconds on the clock. Harris found himself wide open in the paint with 12 seconds left. There was no one within three feet of him. Somehow, he resisted the urge to shoot the ball and Oliver called a timeout.

“It was too soon,” Harris said. “I knew we were going to call a timeout when it got closer to ten seconds so I had to wait.”

The decision paid off handsomely. After the timeout, Harris drove the lane and drained the game-winning floater with just a bit fewer than two seconds left to play. There was no time for Simeon (20-2, 7-2 Red-South/Central) to recover.

“I was kind of nervous to take that shot,” Harris said. “But I was also confident. That was a big game and I want to be a leader for this team, so I had to take that shot.”

Harris finished with 11 points and six rebounds. He was just 4-for-15 shooting.

“I missed a lot of shots, definitely,” Harris said. “But I had to keep being aggressive.”

Curie (16-9, 6-2) led by four at halftime. Simeon built a lead by the fourth quarter. A free throw by Wes Rubin but the Wolverines ahead 46-42 with 2:32 left.

The big momentum swing came a minute later. Curie senior Jeremy Harrington Jr. blocked Miles Rubin in the post and kept the rebound. On the next possession Harrington hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 46 and the fans in the Condors’ recently redone gym went wild.

Harrington, 6-5, and senior Chikosi Ofoma, 6-7, both give up several inches to Simeon’s 6-10 Rubin twins.

“They are much taller than us, so we have to be physical with them,” Harrington said. “We have to play rough and make the refs call the fouls. They foul us, we foul them and just play basketball.”

Harrington had eight points and 10 rebounds and Ofoma scored seven for Curie. Senior guard Shawn Brown added 11 points.

Curie lost four games last week. It was a difficult stretch for the Condors, who had several players suspended after a fight ended their game against Proviso East prematurely.

“It makes me feel good that the kids know how to deal with adversity,” Oliver said. “Basketball is supposed to be the outlet for them. We had to put that in the past.”

Simeon turned the ball over 20 times and was out rebounded 32-25.

“Just too many turnovers and they were mainly unforced,” Simeon coach Robert Smith said. “It wasn’t due to pressure or anything. We’re just trying to make home run plays instead of keeping it simple.”

Curie was clearly razor focused in the pregame. The Condors sat on the bench for a solid ten minutes. There was no talking. They just stared straight ahead while Simeon finished warmups.

“We were locked in,” Harris said. “Usually, we are playing around too much. Not today. We wanted this win because people had been doubting us. But we are coming to win the city.”

Kenwood beat Phillips 71-44 on Thursday to win the Red-South/Central and grab a No. 1 seed in the city tournament, which starts next week.

“I’m not too concerned,” Smith said. “This wasn’t for a championship, and we were going to finish second in the conference regardless. I’m not mad. We just have to clean up some things.”

Watch the final minute of Simeon at Curie:

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Supporters of a new plan to subsidize a proposed Arlington Heights stadium for the Chicago Bears are drawing up a play that is so far missing a quarterback in Springfield.

In fact, most of its backers are still in the huddle.

No legislation has been filed, and no sponsors have been named for the measure that would create a new class of tax incentive called a PILOT. That stands for payment in lieu of taxes.

It would allow the Bears to pay to Arlington Heights a negotiated sum for the property taxes on the 326-acre site of the old Arlington International Racecourse. The amount presumably would be less than what the team would be liable for as it pursues its stadium and other buildings that would add to the property’s value.

“As we have said publicly, property tax certainty is necessary for the Arlington Park project to move forward. We continue to do our due diligence on how that can be accomplished,” the Bears said in a statement.

In a summary of the proposal, the team said 35 other states have a similar tax incentive to attract major developments, leaving Illinois at a disadvantage. The Bears’ proposal would apply the PILOT incentive only for projects with more than a $500 million capital investment. A stadium alone in Arlington Heights is estimated to cost at least $2.5 billion.

A key issue with the Bears’ proposal is whether Arlington Heights-area schools would be involved in negotiating any payments. Any development that would add families to the area would increase school enrollment — and by extension the need for funding, now largely supplied through property taxes.

A draft of the legislation said a municipality and private developer can mutually terminate the incentive at any time, but the developer must agree to stay at the property for at least 20 years.

The Bears have enlisted consultants, one of the state’s leading business groups and a road builders’ association to promote the legislation.

The idea was floated in Springfield weeks ago, including in a meeting with high-level Democratic staffers that included at least one representative of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office. But the plan was initially met with a resounding no, a source with knowledge of the meeting told the Sun-Times.

But now, supporters of the incentive, including the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, are trying to round up support — using the argument that without state support for the Bears, the team could pack up and leave.

“I think it needs to happen by the end of this session. If not, you’re going to start to have other states make their cases on why the Chicago Bears should be the St. Louis Bears,” said Todd Maisch, president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. “That’s just the reality of the world. And people may not like it, but everybody wants the Chicago Bears to remain the Chicago Bears. It can get a little messy. But I think we’re going to reach a positive balance.”

Maisch also fought back the characterization that it is a “Bears bailout,” which is how many view any subsidies for a team that took in $520 million in revenue in 2021, according to Forbes.

“I would reject the notion it’s a bailout. There’s competition across state and industries.Let’s recognize that there’s a competition for investments across the nation, whether it be light manufacturing, transportation or whether it be sports teams,” Maisch said.

In September, the Bears laid out the groundwork to seek some sort of public subsidy for a massive, mixed-use stadium development they are exploring on the Arlington Heights site. The team said it wouldn’t seek public funding for stadium construction, but would ask for “additional funding and assistance” for a broader, mixed-use development it called one of the largest in Illinois history.

Pritzker has said he does not support public financing of the stadium.

And in the waning days of the Illinois General Assembly’s lame duck session, legislators passed the Invest in Illinois Act, which includes the following language: “the Department [of Commerce and Economic Opportunity] shall not award economic incentives to a professional sports organization that moves its operation from one location in the State to another location in the State.”

That was in reference to discretionary funds being used for closing costs. That bill has yet to make it to the governor’s desk.

State Rep. Mark Walker, D-Arlington Heights, said he has reviewed the latest proposal — and has a lot of questions, including how the Board of Appeals and Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi would feel about freezing such a large assessment for 20 years.

“I wouldn’t call it a subsidy. It really is much more of paying fewer taxes. I think the plan is interesting. I think it’s new. We don’t do this in the state.

“The difficulty I have is that it requires the municipalities to negotiate on behalf of the school districts, and I’m not so sure the school district shouldn’t have more power on what happens with the tax money that should go to them that they do this in this plan,” Walker said. “I’m not sure yet. That’s a shortcoming.”

Walker also called it an “interesting proposition for the state to move companies here,” but not necessarily for companies who are just seeking to relocate to other parts of the state.

Walker said he hasn’t been asked to sponsor the bill.

“I could be considered a sponsor. Would I choose to sponsor is a whole different question. I think it’s out of the wind. They’re trying to see who would be best.”

State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, told the Sun-Times the proposal deserves “careful review” before it’s considered. Canty is also on the Arlington Park Village Board.

“Like any commitment of taxpayer dollars, the proposed subsidy plan for a new Chicago Bears’ stadium deserves careful review before we decide whether to proceed,” Canty said in an email to the Sun-Times.

“While I am excited at the prospect of bringing new economic development opportunities to our community, we have to clearly evaluate potential returns on our expenditure, and if it is the state’s place to get involved in this project.”

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Throughout his time in this city, David Montgomery has been the ideal Chicago Bears running back.

David Montgomery has received more attention in recent weeks than any other upcoming Bears free agent. He should be re-signed by the Bears. Pay whatever it takes to get Saquon Barkley here? Or would it be better to avoid the free agency position and proceed with Khalil Herbert and a new rookie?

The amount of money Montgomery would demand in negotiations with Ryan Poles has been discussed among all the hype. However, Montgomery advised followers to tune out the buzz on Thursday.

The shit people pull out of there ass, next time you talk to “ David Montgomery” let me know 😂😂😂🤦🏾‍️ https://t.co/1p1aWdCOsm

— David Montgomery (@MontgomerDavid) January 26, 2023

According to Alex Shapiro “By all accounts, David Montgomery wants to re-sign with the Bears, and the team wants to re-sign him. But Roquan Smith’s situation from the previous season was the same, and the parties were unable to come to an understanding. Since Montgomery and Herbert are the only other running backs with contracts until 2023, the team will need to look elsewhere to bolster its running back room”.

Among all of the Bears’ running backs in 2022, Montgomery proved to be the team’s best pass blocker and pass receiver. He was also the go-to player in tight yardage situations or the low red zone.

Montgomery has amassed 3,609 yards on 915 carries and 26 rushing touchdowns over his four seasons with the Bears. In addition, he has four touchdowns and 155 catches for 1,240 receiving yards.

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A lawsuit filed by a Chicago woman accuses the maker of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky of deceiving consumers by selling miniature bottles that look identical to the popular spirit but don’t actually contain any whisky.

The suit was filed this month by Anna Marquez in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois and names Sazerac Co. as the defendant.

The subject of the lawsuit are 50 milliliter bottles of Fireball Cinnamon that contain a malt beverage with a lower alcohol content than the whisky version and are sold for 99 cents in gas stations and convenience stores.

The lawsuit claims the smaller bottles look exactly like those that do contain whisky and “appear identical but for the word “Whisky” on the front label, which most purchasers seeking alcohol will not even detect.”

Both bottles have a red cap and feature a yellow label with a red dragon-like figure on the front.

The label on Fireball Cinnamon describes the drink as a “Malt Beverage with Natural Whisky & Other Flavors,” which “misleads consumers into believing it is or contains distilled spirits,” when in reality it only contains the flavor of whisky, the suit states.

“Expecting those small bottles labeled ‘Fireball Cinnamon’ to contain whisky was an easy mistake to make, and one intended by the manufacturer,” the suit states. “As a result of the false and misleading representations, the Product is sold at a premium price, $0.99 for 50 mL.”

Sazerac says its Fireball Cinnamon product was made to capture “the essence of the Fireball Whisky taste experience consumers love.”

The company offers some guidance on how to tell the difference between the two products on its website: “any package with Fireball ‘Cinnamon Whisky’ on the front label is our whisky-based product. Any product with Fireball ‘Cinnamon’ on the front label, without ‘Whisky’, is either our malt-based or wine-based product.”

The suit states the plaintiff expected the smaller bottles to contain whisky, and she ended up paying more for the beverage than she would have had she known the “representations and omissions were false and misleading, or would not have purchased it.”

The suit is seeking more than $5 million.

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CALGARY, Alberta — The Blackhawks have experienced more offensive success transitioning through the neutral zone this season against teams with high-pressure structures than against teams with more passive structures.

It makes sense. The Hawks lack talent and chemistry, meaning they have a difficult time connecting enough passes to break down a well-organized trap. But the Hawks do employ some speedy forwards, so if given some space to skate, they can win races to get the puck over the blue line.

That contrast has been on vivid display recently. Last week against the Flyers’ aggressive 2-1-2 neutral-zone defense, the Hawks produced one of their best performances of the year.

But against the Kings’ tricky 1-3-1 formation on Sunday and the Canucks’ conservative 1-1-3 formation on Tuesday, the Hawks were thoroughly shut down.

“We play our best in the neutral [zone] when we don’t come back and set it up,” Patrick Kane said. “If we have forwards demanding the puck and getting speed — and they’re onside — our best option is to utilize that when [our opponent is] not set up and ready.”

Against the Flyers, Hawks coach Luke Richardson’s game plan worked to perfection. The plan involved one forward “posting up” in stationary position in the middle of the neutral zone while the other two forwards swung to the outside to build up speed.

The Hawks were consistently able — especially in the second period that night — to enter the zone cleanly on breakouts and regroups when their defensemen passed to the post-up guy, who tipped it over to one of the swinging wingers.

It worked for every line, too. At one point, the sequence went from Jake McCabe to Jason Dickinson to Andreas Athanasiou. The following shift, Ian Mitchell, MacKenzie Entwistle and Colin Blackwell executed it.

“[It] created a lot of offense for us,” Richardson said.

Against the Kings and Canucks, however, the Hawks committed turnovers on a fair number of their carry-in attempts and were therefore forced to dump the puck in more often.

Considering the Hawks are the NHL’s worst team at retrieving dump-ins, per All Three Zones, that proved rarely fruitful.

“We just had a lot of trouble [against L.A.], and it was [due to a] lack of energy and skating,” Richardson said. “[In Vancouver], it was just a lack of execution, whether it be getting it out of our zone cleanly or handling the puck in the neutral zone. We went offside a few times.

“You have to get even more simple when things aren’t going 100% perfectly. You’ve got to be one-touching out of your zone, one-touching in the neutral zone and playing [it] behind the other team. Tonight, we wanted to connect tape-to-tape, and it just wasn’t going tape-to-tape.”

There were a few bright spots against the Canucks. Sam Lafferty’s soft goal followed a legitimately good zone entry. Seth Jones’ ‘D’-to-‘D’ pass to McCabe caught the Canucks favoring the right side, giving Lafferty an easy carry-in on the left.

Minutes later, Jack Johnson tracked down a cleared puck and made a sooner-than-expected pass up to Kane just outside the blue line. The Canucks scrambled to get their three players back to “line up like a wall,” Richardson said, and Kane was able to find Dickinson cutting behind the wall for a scoring chance.

“Even [against] the teams that do trap up, if we can play a little faster [while] they’re trying to change somebody or set up their system, [that can help],” Richardson said.

Kane mentioned that creating an isolated two-on-one advantage against an outside defender in a 1-3-1 trap can also be an effective way to break it down.

But he believes the Hawks have struggled to attack bunkered-in neutral-zone defenses dating back to their 2017 playoff series against the Predators. And this year’s talent-lacking team hasn’t broken that pattern.

Numbers behind the story

Overall this season, the Hawks have carried the puck across the attacking blue line — rather than dumped it in — on just 43.4% of their offensive-zone entry attempts, per All Three Zones. That’s the second-lowest rate in the league.

That’s not inherently a bad thing if it’s intentional. The Hurricanes have the league’s lowest carry-in rate at 42.1%, for example, but lead the league by a mile in both forechecking pressures and recovered dump-ins. But for the Hawks, with their league-worst recovered dump-in rate, it’s suboptimal.

Four Hawks forwards have individual carry-in rates above the league average, per All Three Zones: Sam Lafferty (51.2%), Kane (56.8%), Athanasiou (65.8%) and Max Domi (70.0%). Athanasiou and Domi actually fall well within the league’s upper quartile in that regard.

On the other end of the spectrum, Reese Johnson carries the puck on just 23.1% of his attempts — which puts him bottom-20 league-wide — and Taylor Raddysh isn’t much higher at 26.9%. But Johnson and Raddysh unsurprisingly lead the team in recovered dump-ins, with now-injured Jujhar Khaira being the only other Hawk above league average in that regard.

Lafferty has been particularly effective in the neutral zone recently. In the Hawks’ win against the Blues (in between the Flyers and Kings matchups), he was almost singlehandedly responsible for their successful zone entries, especially early on. That ability could make him an attractive trade-deadline target for a contender.

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