Saturday, December 17, 2022

EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLIC

St. Viator at Joliet Catholic, 2:30

METRO SUBURBAN – BLUE

Aurora Christian at Timothy Christian, 7:30

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Antioch at Grayslake Central, 5:30

Grant at Grayslake North, 7:00

Lakes at Wauconda, 4:30

NON CONFERENCE

Alden-Hebron at Ashton-Franklin Center, 2:30

Chicago Christian at Eisenhower, 2:30

DePaul at Evergreen Park, 12:00

Dixon at Woodstock North, 1:30

Downers Grove North at Downers Grove South, 6:

Earlville at Mendota, 1:30

Englewood STEM at St. Laurence, 3:00

Fasman Yeshiva at CPSA, 7:30

Fenton at Addison Trail, 4:30

Fremd at Warren, 4:00

Glenbrook South at Jacksonville, 3:30

Hansberry at Aurora Central, 1:00

Highland Park at Prospect, 7:00

Hillcrest at Bloomington, 6:30

Hinsdale Central at Bartlett, 2:30

Hinsdale South at Burlington Central, 12:30

Jacobs at Boylan, 2:00

Johnsburg at Kaneland, 6:00

Lake Zurich at Hersey, 3:00

Libertyville at Willowbrook, 2:30

Lockport at Waubonsie Valley, 7:00

Maine East at Glenbrook North, 3:30

Maine West at Conant, 5:30

Marist at Naperville North, 5:00

Marmion at IMSA, 1:00

Mather at Leyden, 2:30

Neuqua Valley at Rockford Lutheran, 6:00

Niles North at Taft, 4:30

Northridge at Notre Dame, 5:00

Oak Park-River Forest at Lake Forest, 4:30

Palatine at Hampshire, 4:00

Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Manteno, 2:30

Perspectives-MSA at Chicago Military, 5:00

Plainfield Central at Bradley-Bourbonnais, 3:00

Plainfield North at Sycamore, 3:00

Ridgeview at Gardner-So. Wilmington, 2:15

Rochelle at Princeton, 6:30

Schaumburg at Walther Christian, 6:00

St. Edward at Elgin, 1:00

Stevenson at Carmel. 7:00

Washington (IL) at Streator, 5:30

Westinghouse at Auburn, 6:00

BENTONVILLE (AR)

Young vs. Little Rock Christian (AR), 12:00

Simeon vs. Moravian Prep (NC), 3:00

BRADLEY TECH (WI)

Von Steuben vs. Tremper, (WI), 10:30

Legal Prep vs. Carmen (WI), 12:00

CRETE-MONEE

Intrinsic-Downtown vs. Richards, 12:00

Maine South vs. Southland, 1:30

Thornton Fr. South vs. Thornwood, 3:00

Oak Forest vs. Crete-Monee, 4:30

EUREKA COLLEGE

Marquette vs. Deer Creek-Mackinaw, 12:00

Eureka vs. Prairie Central, 1:30

Teutopolis vs. East Peoria, 3:00

Yorkville Christian vs. St. Thomas More, 6:00

El Paso-Gridley vs. Peoria Christian, 7:30

HILL SCHOOL (PA)

Lake Forest Academy vs. TBA

LOS ANGELES WASHINGTON (CA)

Prosser vs. Los Angeles Washington (CA)

MADISON TECHINCAL COLLEGE (WI)

Joliet West vs. Neenah (WI), 5:15

MISSOURI, UNVERSITY OF (MO)

Kankakee vs. Pembroke Hill (MO), 2:00a

TRITON

Lindblom vs. Latin, 11:00

Farragut vs. Rich, 12:15

West Aurora vs. Lane, 1:30

Bolingbrook vs. 21st Century (IN), 2:45

Hyde Park vs. Romeoville, 4:00

Curie vs. Oswego East, 5:30

Kenwood vs. St. Mary (MI), 7:00

Proviso East vs. Perspectives-Lead, 8:30

FORRESTON

Pecatonica vs. Aquin, 3:00

Eastland vs. Dakota, 4:30

Lena-Winslow vs. Milledgeville, 6:00

Winnebgo vs. Polo, 7:30

Newman vs. Pearl City, 6:00

Oregon vs. Forreston, 7:30

River Ridge vs. Stockton, 3:00

Byron vs. Orangeville, 4:30

SCOTTSDALE SAGUARO (AZ)

New Trier vs. Verrado (AZ), 4:30

WATSEKA

9th Place Semi-Final, 11:00

9th Place Semi-Final, 12:30

5th Place Semi-Final, 2:00

5th Place Semi-Final, 3:30

Semi-Final, 5:00

Semi-Final, 6:30

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Midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri was the lone member of the Fire to compete in this World Cup (for Switzerland), making his fourth appearance in the world’s biggest tournament. Four years from now, the event is returning to North America and expanding to a record 48 teams.

Here are a handful of Fire players from 2022 who could be representing their countries in the 2026 World Cup.

Gabriel Slonina

Slonina is viewed as the future U.S. starting goalkeeper, and the U.S. men’s national team getting him to commit to its program over Poland’s was a sign that Slonina sees himself the same way. But that doesn’t mean Slonina will even be on the team in four years. Chelsea, which acquired him this past summer, must develop him properly, and he needs to be one of the top three goalies among himself, 2022 starter Matt Turner, Ethan Horvath, Zack Steffen, Roman Celentano and perhaps Sean Johnson. That goalkeeping depth also means the Fire’s Chris Brady probably would have to wait until 2030 at the earliest.

Jhon Duran

Once coach Ezra Hendrickson unleashed him, Duran, a winger, showed why his signing was such a coup for the Fire and why European giants are reportedly after his signature. Duran already debuted for the Colombian national team this fall. If he sharpens his game to match his athleticism, he figures to have a strong chance to play in 2026 if his country returns to the World Cup after missing out on Qatar.

Brian Gutierrez

Gutierrez’s stock continues to rise after a strong 2022, both for the Fire and the U.S. Under-20 team. Outside of Shaqiri, he’s the Fire’s most technically gifted player and has plenty of room to grow over the next four years. The U.S. midfield is crowded, and to get looks with the senior team, Gutierrez must translate his potential into production, whether it’s with the Fire or a club in Europe.

Jairo Torres

Just 22 now, Torres should be coming into his prime in four years. Mexico, which crashed out of this World Cup in the group stage, will be under immense pressure to do much better in 2026, when El Tri will be one of the home teams. Torres, a winger, will have to raise his game considerably from what he showed with the Fire this year to make that roster. But there’s still time.

Chris Mueller

Two years ago, Mueller looked like he was on the verge of becoming a strong contender for a spot with the USMNT. But a quiet 2021 in Orlando and then an ill-fated move to Scottish side Hibernian derailed him. He’ll be 29 in four years, but his path is complicated by the U.S. strength on the wings.

Xherdan Shaqiri

Shaqiri will turn 35 in October 2026, and it’s hard to see him remaining in the Swiss picture into his mid-30s or continuing to play internationally for that long. Then again, Shaqiri always produces for Switzerland, and his deft skill and set-piece ability could age gracefully enough for him to stay in contention if he wants.

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When veteran Yan Gomes joined the Cubs, catching coach Craig Driver started working with him on a one-knee-down stance. It wasn’t foreign to Gomes, but he’d always favored a more traditional setup.

“Maybe you can teach old dogs new tricks,” Gomes said.

Catching was in the headlines this week, thanks to some big free-agent signings — Christian Vazquez with the Twins, Mike Zunino with the Guardians and Omar Narvaez with the Mets — and a blockbuster three-team trade that saw Sean Murphy join the Braves and William Contreras join the Brewers.

Although much of Cubs fans’ offseason angst has been focused on free-agent shortstop Dansby Swanson, all the movement in the catching market isn’t helping the anxiety. The Cubs need catching depth after the departure of Willson Contreras.

Their priorities in that search reflect a shift in the industry.

“It’s a two-way position,” team president Jed Hoyer said last month at the general manager meetings in Las Vegas. “You obviously want guys that can hit, but it’s a run-prevention position.”

With that shift toward defense and game-calling, catching on one knee has risen in popularity.

One-knee stances aren’t new — Tony Pena, a five-time All-Star in the ’80s, famously caught out of a kickstand stance. Critics of the stance call it lazy and wring their hands over the potential for passed balls. But J.T. Realmuto’s success with the stance with the Marlins and Phillies while displaying his agility has helped popularize it in recent years.

“I think you’re going to be hard-pressed to get people that aren’t believing now to believe at all, [but] the statistics [show] that there’s at least value for certain players,” Driver said.

He doesn’t mandate one-knee stances, letting each catcher feel out what’s most comfortable. But Driver has seen a range of advantages from a stance that naturally brings a player closer to the ground and changes his sight lines.

“What we’ve found as an industry is that some guys benefit from a blocking standpoint, some benefit from a throwing standpoint, and a lot of guys benefit from a receiving standpoint,” Driver said.

With Gomes, Contreras and P.J. Higgins, Driver worked with a full spectrum of experience and skills last season. Gomes went from using a one-knee stance about 40% of the time, he estimated, to dropping a knee 95% of the time with no runners on and fewer than two strikes.

“It relaxes us a little bit more,” Gomes said, “and helps us use our hands a little bit better, catching the lower pitches a little bit better.”

With runners on and in two-strike counts, he tends to prefer a traditional secondary stance, from which he feels more comfortable throwing to a base or blocking a chase pitch.

For Contreras, the main benefit was managing his health. In general, he pointed out, catching on one knee relieves the stress on a catcher’s back. He also used the stance to take pressure off the sprained ankle he played on for the last two months of the season.

Higgins was a little more stubborn, as he put it, about dropping a knee. He converted to catching in 2016 and was just feeling comfortable and proud of his play when Driver floated the idea of a one-knee stance a couple of years ago. Now, he’s a believer, using a one-knee stance with no runners on.

There isn’t enough major-league data available on Higgins to say whether the numbers support his feeling. But Gomes’ framing numbers at the bottom of the strike zone improved from a 44% strike rate in 2021 to 49.9% this past season, according to Statcast.

“I don’t think there is a 100% right way,” said Gomes, who’s poised to take on a bigger role next season. “But there’s definitely benefits that you can take from both sides.”

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Ozzie Guillen interviewed for the White Sox manager’s job for the second time in his life. This time, he did not get it.

He was disappointed to see a candidate with no major-league playing or managerial experience chosen before him, and he believes the decision was made before he sat down to talk with the Sox about the job. Those things don’t sit well with the man who managed the 2005 Sox to a World Series after an award-winning career at shortstop on the South Side.

But Guillen is not bitter. He’s not angry. At age 58, an upcoming Christmas gathering at his home in Homer Glen with his wife of 39 years, his sons, daughters-in-law and three grandchildren including the latest addition — son Oney’s newborn — make everything OK, Guillen says. In the words of a reassuring Christmas song, all is well.

“Of course I wanted it,” Guillen told the Sun-Times this week. “But no bad feelings.

“Was I hurt? Yes. And of course I was disappointed. But I’m fine. I’m very much at peace. I love what I do.”

And so life goes on as is for Guillen, doing his thing as an entertaining TV analyst before and after Sox games and going home to his family.

“This is the best job next to playing,” Guillen said. “I spend a lot of time with my grandkids, a lot of time with my wife and I can still be in the game.

“But to be back on the field managing again, I don’t think that is in my repertoire.”

Replacing Tony La Russa may have been Guillen’s last shot. Since getting fired by the Marlins after one tumultuous season in 2012, Guillen has interviewed for jobs, most recently with the Padres last year and with the Sox in October. But if he interviews again, he says it will be for seriously interested parties only.

“I say, ‘You call me to tell me how many years you want and how much and go from there,’ ” Guillen said. “That’s it. If they want me. If they don’t, I’m fine doing what I do.”

For the Sox job, which went to Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol, Guillen interviewed with general manager Rick Hahn, assistant GMs Chris Getz and Jeremy Haber and director of baseball operations Daniel Zien. It was the first time he talked to Hahn “in years,” Guillen said. And while it was widely known Hahn’s first preference would be someone outside the Sox family, especially after La Russa was anything but Hahn’s top choice two years ago, it’s also known Hahn was more open to Guillen returning than some would think.

But Grifol was decided on before Guillen’s interview, Guillen believes.

“I think maybe I was being used,” Guillen said. “I ain’t stupid.

“To finish second to a guy who was never in the big leagues, there’s so many things I hate. Why interview if they know who the manager was? They interview when they know who was the guy. I’m not stupid.”

Guillen said he prepared himself for a yes-or-no answer. Having a supportive wife, his family nearby and a job waiting for him would soften the blow of a “no.”

Guillen’s sons, Ozzie Jr. and Oney and their families, live in a nearby suburb. They “do everything” together, Ozzie said. Son Ozney, who lives in Miami, will join them all for Christmas.

“Having those little ones around is the best thing,” Guillen said.

And so Guillen, who’s playing and managing career warrants consideration for having his No. 13 retired, will do what he does very well: Comment on the Sox with no holds barred on pregame and postgame shows on the Sox’ flagship TV station. Alongside Chuck Garfien and sometimes Frank Thomas, Guillen speaks his mind in the entertaining style that made him one of the most engrossing, amusing — and successful — Sox managers ever.

“[Grifol] has a tough job. I hope he does well, because I will speak truth and facts,” Guillen said.

Guillen says his TV job will be easier if the team plays better.

“It’s hard for me when they play terrible because I’m getting paid to say what I see,” he said.

“Are they going to be better? There are a lot of question marks.

“They’re looking for a right fielder, a second baseman. You can sign anybody just to have someone, but to take it to the next level it’s going to cost money or players. And the way baseball is right now, with money spent left and right, up and down, I don’t know how they are economic-wise to sign people. But the first things are, stay healthy and play the game right.”

If they don’t do the latter, Guillen will let them hear it.

“Nobody knows this ballclub better than me,” he said. “If I say something about the club during the season, the media, front office, fans will say [he’s saying this] because he’s not the manager. No. If they play bad I will say what I feel. Just facts and truth. I don’t care about feelings, I only care about how my wife and grandkids feel about me.”

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I spend a lot of time looking at baseball stats. I have ever since I was a little kid, when I would read the backs of baseball cards. I love the quirks, coincidences and moments of symmetry that can be found. Regular quiz readers know how much I love when the answer to a question is “The same.” I fit the description of the great baseball columnist and sportswriter Arthur Daley, who wrote, “A baseball fan has the digestive apparatus of a billy goat. He can, and does, devour any set of statistics with an insatiable appetite and then nuzzles hungrily for more.”

But more interesting to me are the people and events associated with the numbers. Pat Hughes said, “I try not to kill a broadcast with too many stats. [Late Tigers Hall of Famer] Ernie Harwell told me one time, when you use a statistic, try to tell a story with it.” Following that wisdom, each week in the quiz, I try to cram as many backstories as I can into my Q&A (thank you, Tracey) so that you can remember the numbers and share them with friends and family. That’s today’s backstory. Now, have fun and learn a lot.

1. Congratulations to Cubs announcer Pat Hughes, who has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the Hall of Fame. Hughes, who has called Cubs games since 1996, joins Jack Brickhouse (1983) and Harry Caray (1989) as Cubs announcers to win the award. In Hughes’ illustrious career, he has called many great events, including which of the following?

a. Eight no-hitters.

b. The 25-inning White Sox-Brewers game in 1984.

c. Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game in 1998.

d. All of the above.

2. The White Sox hit 149 homers last season, the same as which other team?

a. Rockies

b. Marlins

c. Red Sox

d. Padres

3. Yankees superstar Aaron Judge certainly should thank Chicago for its role in his huge new contract. In 23 games against the White Sox, Judge has hit .382 with 10 homers and 26 RBI. In six games against the Cubs, he has hit .346 with two homers and four RBI. Here are five players who at one point played in Chicago. Did they finish their careers with more or less than Judge’s current 220 -homers?

a. Joe Pepitone, who briefly played for the Cubs.

b. Johnny Callison, who played for the Cubs and the White Sox.

c. Todd Frazier, who played 1?/2 seasons with the White Sox.

d. Benito Santiago, who played one season with the Cubs.

e. Nomar Garciaparra, who briefly played for the Cubs.

4. Jacob deGrom landed a huge contract to pitch for the Rangers, but no thanks to the Cubs. DeGrom has a lifetime 2.52 ERA, but a 3.26 ERA against the Cubs. DeGrom went 2-4 in 11 starts against the Cubs, and the Mets were 3-8 in those games. He did strike out 80 Cubs in 66.1 innings. Which Cub do you think struck out the most against deGrom?

a. Javy Baez

b. Kris Bryant

c. Kyle Schwarber

d. Anthony Rizzo

5. Greg L., a self-described duffer, wrote to me and reminded me about the pitcher Bill Faul, one of baseball’s more interesting characters. Faul pitched in the majors in 1962-66, spending 1965-66 with the Cubs. He then went back to the minors and returned to the majors in 1970 for seven games with the -Giants. Which of these items about Faul are true?

a. He used self-hypnosis to pitch while in a trance.

b. He ate live frogs to give his fastball “more hop.”

c. The Cubs turned three triple plays behind him in one season.

d. They are all true.

6. James A. suggested a question about 1951, one of the great years in baseball history. Bobby Thomson’s homer to win the pennant for the Giants immediately comes to mind. Mickey Mantle’s debut was certainly memorable. That season, the White Sox finished fourth, and the Cubs finished eighth (out of eight teams). To give you some perspective on how long ago this was, tell me: Which of the following was the top holiday gift for kids in 1951?

a. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head

b. Colorforms

c. Scrabble

d. Silly Putty

7. Barbara S. asked me to consider April 12, 1969, when Joey Heatherton (daughter of “The Merry Mailman”) married Dallas Cowboys receiver Lance Rentzel. On that date, the White Sox lost to the Seattle Pilots 5-1 in Sick’s Stadium. The Pilots are no more. What team did they become?

a. Texas Rangers

b. Minnesota Twins

c. Seattle Mariners

d. Milwaukee Brewers

8. It feels like we spent a lot of time saying goodbye to Willson Contreras. When the Cardinals come to Wrigley on May 8-10, I hope that those in attendance show Contreras their appreciation for his days as a Cub. Now put these former Cubs catchers in order of the number of homers they hit:

a. Willson Contreras

b. Gabby Hartnett

c. Jody Davis

d. Randy Hundley

9. Here’s our musical question of the week: In 1972, the No. 1 song on the Billboard 100 was “Me and Mrs. Jones” (you know, “We got a thing going on”). It was sung by an artist whose name combines two of the first or last names from the following list of players who played for Chicago in 1972. Who was that singer?

a. Billy Williams

b. Dick Allen

c. Pat Kelly

d. Paul Popovich

UNABASHED PLUG: Don’t forget, “In Scoring Position,” published by Triumph Books, is a great holiday gift for the baseball fan in your life.

ANSWERS

1. Pat called all of those games. I tried to trick you with the 25-inning game, which was the longest in American League history. After spending 1983 with the Twins, he was with the Brewers from 1984 to ’95.

2. The White Sox and Rockies ranked 22nd in homers hit last season.

3. Joe Pepitone hit 219 homers, Johnny Callison 226, Todd Frazier 218, Benito Santiago 217 and Nomar Garciaparra 229.

4. Javy Baez went 3-15 against Jacob deGrom, striking out nine times, the most of any Cub. Anthony Rizzo whiffed only three times and hit .429 (9-for-21).

5. Yes, they are all true. In 1965, on July 14, July 25 and Oct. 3, the Cubs pulled off triple plays, all with Faul on the hill. You’ll have to take my word for the other two.

6. Two art students liked to experiment with art but wanted to avoid the high cost of paint. In 1951, they turned their attention to a relatively new medium: colorful vinyl. Soon enough, they had created Colorforms, which could cling to smooth surfaces and be reused countless times. That year, a box cost 25 cents.

7. The Seattle Pilots were one of four expansion franchises that first played in 1969 and are best known for being the subject of Jim Bouton’s brilliant book “Ball Four.” The next spring, the Pilots were bankrupt and sold. They moved for the 1970 season and became the Milwaukee Brewers.

8. Gabby hit 231 homers, Jody 122, Willson 117 and Randy 80. BTW: Gabby was born Charles Leo Hartnett on Dec. 20, 1900, and was the eldest of 14 children. In view of his awkward shyness, teammates and the press dubbed him “Gabby.”

9. Take Billy Williams and combine him with Paul Popovich, and you have Billy Paul, who had changed his name from Paul Williams to avoid confusion with artists such as songwriter Paul Williams and saxophonist Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams.

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Let’s begin on a heartwarming note: I hate the College Football Playoff.

Always have, from Day 1. Oh, it was fun and exciting to be there as Ohio State upset Alabama, then beat the daylights out of Oregon eight seasons ago in the playoff’s much-ballyhooed debut. But it also seemed wrong, a bit twisted and decidedly unromantic.

Because, from the 2014 season on, pretty much everything that had made college football so appealing — and so different from the NFL — has been subsumed by the playoff. The best traditional rivalry games, which had always been grand events unto themselves, have become much smaller within the playoff context; if they aren’t essentially play-in games, they’re widely regarded as irrelevant. Even conference championships are truly big deals only when tickets to the playoff are punched.

We didn’t use to obsess over the national championship. Some powerhouse or another would win it, a great achievement to be celebrated, but a handful of other teams and fan bases would experience a season every bit as wonderful because of how much certain other things — the Rose Bowl, for example — mattered.

When Wisconsin, my alma mater, emerged from the wilderness in 1993, made it all the way to the Rose Bowl and actually won it, it is absolutely impossible anybody had a better fall and early winter than the Badgers and their fans, more than 70,000 of whom went wild as UCLA was beaten on its home field. It was as momentous as any championship, yet those Badgers had lost a game and tied another and would end the season ranked sixth. In 2022, they’d have been an afterthought.

Northwestern supporters can relate in regard to the 1995 season. Illinois supporters have 2001 and 2007. One suspects falling short of the national title never even occurred to a single one of them. In 2011, Baylor went from absolutely nothing to something incredible, a 10-game winner with a Heisman Trophy quarterback, Robert Griffin III. Those Bears lost three games that season, but to those cheering, they might as well have been the ’85 Chicago Bears.

But money talks, a playoff is made-for-TV gold and this sea change — which has led to a 12-team playoff, up from four, beginning in 2024 — was inevitable. So, too, were the inconsequential protestations from those like me who were disappointed to see so many of the richest traditions, and the pomp and pageantry of ordinary Saturdays, fade. Nobody cares, right? It’s OK. Understood and away we go.

My hope is a 12-team playoff will do more than just make schools in the power conferences obscenely wealthy, that it also will bring big-time meaning — in other words, playoff implications — to many more games throughout the season. And more avenues to the playoff might level the playing field somewhat in recruiting, so that the same handful of schools led by Alabama and Georgia don’t own all the cachet. These things, the expanded playoff should do, so I see the tripling of the field as a step in a worthwhile direction.

On the other hand, given how many semifinal blowouts we’ve seen over the first eight renditions of the four-team playoff, how many of the 12 teams will have even a whisper of a chance at winning it all?

Potentially an even larger issue: Is there any reason to believe playoff teams won’t be undercut by star-player opt-outs? Take, for example, this year’s No. 6 Tennessee and No. 7 Clemson squads, which will meet in the Orange Bowl. Under the framework of the expanded playoff, Clemson — a conference champion — would be seeded third, with a first-round bye, and Tennessee would be seeded eighth. Each team has hugely important players opting out of the Orange Bowl. Would Tigers defensive stars Myles Murphy and Trenton Simpson make the same business decisions entering a playoff? Would Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman, the Vols’ best receivers, be any more willing to risk pre-draft injury facing as many as three playoff games?

Alabama, Penn State and Utah would be playoff teams in 2024. As it is, the Sugar Bowl-bound Crimson Tide’s best players — high-first-round locks Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. — spent weeks considering the opt-out route before finally making it known Friday that they intend to play. We know the Nittany Lions’ best player, Joey Porter Jr., has opted out of the Rose Bowl against Utah. Ditto for the Utes’ leading rusher, Tavion Thomas, and their leading receiver, Dalton Kincaid, not to mention All-America defender Clark Phillips III.

The level of postseason competition already is dropping dramatically. Why would that stop? Players are making money moves, too, from before the day they set foot on campus. As they should, if they can. I don’t blame them one bit.

I just used to like college football better.

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Just . . . be competitive, baby?

The rebuilding Bears are 3-10 with six consecutive losses. They’ve allowed an NFL-high 33.5 points a game during the skid, with a league-low four sacks and a league-low three takeaways. Not good.

So it’s probably not a great time to face the best team in the NFL. The Eagles are 12-1 with everything you want in a contender — an MVP-caliber quarterback, balance, depth, an offensive line that doesn’t miss a game. The Eagles lead the league in scoring and are seventh in points allowed. They lead the league in fewest turnovers and most takeaways.

And get this: The nine-game disparity between the Bears’ and Eagles’ won-loss records is the greatest in Bears franchise history. The last time the Eagles were this good when the Bears were this bad was in 2017, when they met in Week 12 at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles were 9-1. The Bears were 3-7. The spread was Eagles by 14.

And the result was as telling as it was predictable: Eagles 31, Bears 3 in a game that was every bit as bad as the score indicates. The Bears were down 24-0 at halftime. Mitch Trubisky had a 38.3 passer rating. You think the Bears have a nondescript group of receivers now? Trubisky’s top targets on that day were Dontrelle Inman, Tre McBride, Kendall Wright, Daniel Brown and Jordan Howard.

That actually was one of the better bad Bears teams of the post-Ditka era. The Bears finished 5-11, but a year later, after Matt Nagy replaced John Fox, the Bears went 12-4 and won the NFC North. But this bad Bears team with a worse record is arguably better — without Vic Fangio’s blossoming defense, but with Justin Fields at quarterback. That makes all the difference.

So there’s much more to gain against the Eagles — whether or not the Bears have a strong finish, they can still make a statement with a credible performance.

“You are what your record says you are — I believe that,” tight end Cole Kmet said. ”We’re a 3-10 football team right now. But I look back on this year, there’s only been three games we were out of it the whole game — the first Green Bay game [27-10], the Jets [31-10 without Fields] and Dallas [49-29]. Besides that, two or three plays, and you’re talking six or seven more wins.

“It’s frustrating when you say you’re close, but really it is. I didn’t feel like that last year. There were a lot of games last year we really weren’t in. We’re in a lot of these games and competing hard and putting a lot of good stuff on tape. We’re young, finishing this thing out — a sack here, a fumble recovery, and it’s a lot different. So you’ve got to keep that perspective, as well. I think next year it’s pretty exciting stuff, for sure.”

The Bears will make changes in the offseason, but not the kind of changes they had last year. So the last four games of this season — against the Super Bowl-contending Eagles, Bills and Vikings and the surging Lions — are the first four of the 2023 season. They matter. Even if the Bears don’t win.

“I’m excited about where this can progress to,” Kmet said. “I’m looking forward to being here next year and the things we can do next year. We all know where we’re at with these final four games. There’s no playoff hopes. But you know where this team can progress to, and we just want to keep building that and keep working at it every week.”

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KEY MATCHUP

The Eagles’ defensive front is the best in the league, with an NFL-high 49 sacks. Balance is what makes them so difficult to contain — the Eagles have five players with six or more sacks (nobody on the Bears’ current front seven has more than two).

Linebacker Haason Reddick leads the Eagles with 10 sacks. Edge rusher Brandon Graham has 8.5, including three last week against the Giants. Inside or out — from tackles Fletcher Cox (6.0) and Javon Hargrave (8.0) to Graham and Josh Sweat (7.5), the Eagles can attack you from every angle.

That’ll be a challenge for a Bears pass protection unit that has not had continuity all season — left tackle Braxton Jones is the only offensive lineman to start every game. The Bears have improved recently — Justin Fields was not sacked against the Packers in Week 13. But they’ve struggled with stunts and games and blitzes all season, and the Eagles make you pay for any mistake.

TRENDING

With quarterback Justin Fields leading all NFL quarterbacks with 905 rushing yards (7.1 average) and eight touchdowns, the Bears’ offense has two strengths in a formative season — the Bears lead the NFL in rushing (189.2 yards per game) and they are sixth in third-down conversions (45.1%).

They almost certainly will have to be good in both categories to pull off an upset here. The Eagles are 18th in rushing defense, 24th in yards per carry. They are ninth in third-down conversion defense (37.6%).

PLAYER TO WATCH

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, the leading candidate for the league MVP award, has been on a season-long roll with productive, risk-averse efficiency and is the prototypical run/pass quarterback threat the Bears are trying to develop Justin Fields into.

Hurts leads the NFL with a 108.2 passer rating (68% completions, 22 touchdowns, three interceptions) and also has rushed for 686 yards and 10 touchdowns on 139 attempts — and has not missed a snap because of injury. The Eagles are 17-2 in his last 19 starts.

X-FACTOR

Turnovers are a key to almost any big upset in the NFL and the Bears have a huge challenge to win that battle against the Eagles.

The Bears have just three takeaways in their six-game losing streak (two on defense) to drop from a tie for fifth in the NFL after Week 7 to a tie for 15th.

The Eagles lead the NFL in fewest giveaways (10), most takeaways (24) and turnover differential (plus-14). But they aren’t infallible. The Commanders, who like the Bears have 15 takeaways this season, had four against the Eagles, with a plus-2 differential in a 32-21 upset in Week 10 at Lincoln Financial Field — the Eagles’ only loss this season.

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It’s not all bad and boring as the Bears trudge through a lost season that could end with their worst record since 1969.

In fact, Sunday brings something rarely seen in Chicago over the last several decades: a must-watch quarterback showdown.

Justin Fields, whose rise has pumped electricity into an otherwise listless season, leads all NFL quarterbacks with 905 rushing yards. Two spots behind him is his upcoming foe, the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, at 686.

Even with the Eagles as overwhelming favorites, holding a clear edge in nearly every aspect, every snap of this game is can’t-miss. Fields and Hurts have the potential for fireworks every time they touch the ball.

There was mutual respect between the two this week as they prepared to face each other for the first time since getting some snaps off the bench in the 2018 SEC title game, when Hurts played for Alabama and Fields for Georgia. Hurts credited Fields as “a definite threat,” and Fields said he always has admired Hurts as a player and person.

“Just the way he carries himself,” Fields said. “Me and him are similar in our humility, and he’s a great leader, great person on and off the field.

“Being in Philly, that’s a city where they have passionate fans as well, so just . . . the stuff he had to go through in Years 1 and 2 where some people didn’t believe in him. He just stayed down, believed in himself, and that’s really all you have to do. . . . And you see what happened.”

Hurts is one step further down the path than Fields. The Eagles drafted him in the second round out of Oklahoma in 2020 and started him in four games that season as Carson Wentz’s backup. He showed promise, but not greatness, last season, then took a giant stride this year. He leads the NFL in passer rating (108.4) and interception percentage (just 0.8% of his passes have been picked) and is top-10 in virtually everything else. He’s an incredible runner, too.

But he’s far from the only reason the Eagles are the NFL’s top team at 12-1. There’s no denying Hurts’ talent, and he’s a deserving front-runner to win the MVP Award. There’s also no denying the Eagles have supplied with him everything Fields is missing. Hurts plays behind the NFL’s sturdiest offensive line and has a three-time 1,000-yard receiver in A.J. Brown, plus various other gifted skill players such as tight end Dallas Goedert and running back Miles Sanders. He also enjoys the safety net of an excellent defense.

He’s practically playing a different sport than Fields, who goes into every game knowing it’s all on him.

Fields has managed that situation well nonetheless. He rode out a rough start to show across-the-board improvement. His completion percentage, yards per pass and passer rating are all up from his rookie season and, incidentally, very close to what Hurts posted last season.

And he’s the NFL’s best runner at his position. That’s a strong combination for a second-year quarterback.

Fields is 63 yards shy of Bobby Douglass’ 1972 record for rushing by a Bears QB and 95 short of becoming the third QB in NFL history to reach 1,000, joining Lamar Jackson (2019 and 2020) and Michael Vick (2006). Hurts needs to average at least 78.5 rushing yards over his final four games to join the club.

“That would be crazy, with Michael Vick,” said Fields, who grew up in the Atlanta area and wore Vick’s cleats as a kid. “It would be awesome. And Lamar, everybody knows he’s a great quarterback, a dynamic play-maker. Having my name with those two guys would be great for sure.”

It’ll be a compelling show at Soldier Field: the upstart, record-breaking quarterback taking on, perhaps, the emerging MVP. That’s quite a thrill, regardless of how far apart the two teams are.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Every member of the Blackhawks has a slightly different analysis of what’s going wrong and a slightly different idea for how to fix it.

None of them is wrong. In reality, a hundred things are going wrong and a hundred things could be fixed. Going 3-16-4 over a 23-game span is the result of a lot of breakdowns. Trying to fix them all would be futile. Trying to fix just one would be pointless.

And so, coach Luke Richardson has emphasized one message: simplification. The Hawks focused on that starting in practice Wednesday and continuing into their losses Thursday night against the Golden Knights and Friday night against the Wild.

“We just worked on, right from faceoffs, getting out [and making] simple plays,” Richardson said Wednesday. “We have to simplify instead of trying to be more creative and fancy. If we’re not all on the same page right now, it’s going to create more offense for the other team, not us.”

Hawks players, tired of scraping for ways to escape this massive losing skid and exhausted from answering the same questions about it over and over, have bought in.

“I don’t want to say [we’re] careless with the puck, but . . . [we’re] not really making those smart plays,” forward Tyler Johnson said before re-aggravating his ankle injury Thursday. “Sometimes we try to force things. Sometimes we try too much for ‘hopers’ and think too much about offense compared to defense. I don’t know if that’s a maturity thing or what, but we’ve got to keep things a little bit simpler.”

Of course, many of the ideas involved in “simplification” — making safe passes and clears at both blue lines, dumping pucks in and forechecking, shooting whenever lanes are open and finishing checks firmly — are the same things all teams talk about constantly. The Hawks have focused for weeks on shooting more frequently and assertively. Forward MacKenzie Entwistle called the ideas “cliche.” But doing cliche things well is still better than doing anything else poorly.

“Those are [talking points] that have always been going around the room, and I’m sure go around every hockey room,” Entwistle said. “But sometimes when you’re holding onto pucks and trying to be too cute, you try to make that extra play instead of just getting it to the net. Having that shooting mentality over trying to make the perfect play all the time, that can go a long way.”

Richardson’s message extends all the way down to something as seemingly obvious as players keeping their feet moving at all times. “Moving feet” has become one of his favorite catchphrases — and there’s substance behind it. Two Knights goals Thursday occurred after Hawks players stagnated while puck-watching instead of covering opponents in open space. Johnson failed to locate Reilly Smith on the Knights’ second goal (a short-handed one), and forward Philipp Kurashev neglected to keep pace with Phil Kessel on the Knights’ third goal.

“They hustle back early, [but then] our feet stop moving and we’re staring at the puck,” Richardson said. “We have five guys’ heads looking this way. We’re not looking over our shoulders.”

In an ideal world, the Hawks would like to adopt one designed play that the Knights used often against them: sending one forward “slashing through the middle” to push opposing defensemen back and create more space for the other two forwards. Sam Lafferty’s speed to make plays like that is why he’s currently on the first line with Patrick Kane and Max Domi.

But even trying to do that might be counterproductive for the Hawks right now. The simpler, the better, it seems.

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