The Cubs finished the first half with a .265 batting average, a .345 on-base percentage and 476 runs in 93 games. But in their 70 games in the second half, they batted .249 with a .316 on-base percentage and 285 runs, including 50 games in which they scored two runs or fewer.
After a whirlwind month, Khalil Mack needed the chance to exhale. What a September it had been. Traded to the Bears on the first day of the month, Mack followed by giving his new team and his new city an exhilarating four-week production surge. Five sacks. An interception returned for a touchdown....
Rae Carruth, the former Carolina Panthers star who was convicted in connection with the 1999 drive-by shooting death of his pregnant ex-girlfriend, will be released from a North Carolina prison Oct. 22. The shooting of Cherica Adams on Nov. 16, 1999, was shocking both in its brutality and its connection...
Cubs President Theo Epstein wasn’t ready last week to say whether the team would invest heavily in the free-agent market amid speculation the Cubs could make a push for Bryce Harper or Manny Machado. And, according to recent projections by mlbtraderumors.com, the projected salaries of their arbitration-eligible...
A June 6 visit to Wrigley Field by Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath has paid off for Cubs manager Joe Maddon. Namath, who was presented with a Cubs jersey and threw the ceremonial first pitch, has agreed to participate in Maddon’s eighth annual Hazleton (Penn.) Integration Project’s Around the...
Gio Gonzalez will start for the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. The Brewers have chosen Wade Miley to start in Game 2 on Saturday, meaning that Milwaukee will open up the NLCS with two straight lefties. Right-hander Jhoulys...
Gerry Davis, who has umpired a record 144 postseason games, will be the crew chief for the NL Championship Series. Joe West, whose 5,194 regular-season games are second to Bill Klem's 5,375, will be the AL Championship Series crew chief, the commissioner's office said Thursday. Scott Barry will...
This is the second in a series of position-by-position analyses about the Cubs entering the offseason. 1. How much insurance should the Cubs acquire for Brandon Morrow? Pedro Strop might have pitched himself into having his $6.25 million option picked up, and there was enough mutual satisfaction...
Say this for the 2018 White Sox: For a team that lost 100 games, there was remarkable consistency on the roster. Eight of the nine hitters in the opening day lineup wound up as the primary players at their position, with an 80-game PED suspension making catcher Welington Castillo the exception....
October 15, 2017 was a Sunday, and an off-day between Games 2 and 3 of the American League Championship Series, but as the rest of the Houston Astros' players and coaches bused from the airport to Yankee Stadium for a late-afternoon workout, bench coach Alex Cora, with his bosses' permission, headed...
We know Neil Funk, who is set to mark his 72nd birthday Dec. 29, will be scaling back his schedule as Bulls TV announcer this season. The Bulls have said there will be 20 Funk-free dates to fill with a rotating crew of substitutes alongside analyst Stacey King. They said the reduced workload is...
Preseason or not, Zach LaVine is turning heads with his play. After a disjointed return last season because it marked his first action since rehabbing his torn left ACL, LaVine is averaging 19.3 points in 23.3 minutes while shooting 50 percent, including 40 percent from 3-point range. LaVine also...
The Blackhawks were playing out the string last season when former Hawks defenseman Adrian Aucoin brought his kids to the United Center for a game. The family headed to the locker room afterward to see old friends, especially Duncan Keith, who had lived at the Aucoin house for a brief period early...
If it seems as if things are moving fast for Alexandre Fortin, you’re right. And you’re wrong. The speedy 21-year-old forward was called up to the Blackhawks from Rockford on Tuesday, practiced with the team Wednesday and is expected to make his NHL debut Thursday against the Wild in St. Paul,...
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany defended college basketball Thursday as an ongoing federal trial delving into corruption in recruiting has cast a shadow over the sport. “There’s no doubt that there are storm clouds of a significant magnitude,” Delany said at Big Ten media day in Rosemont. “While...
Notre Dame has emerged as a College Football Playoff contender after back-to-back blowout wins against Stanford and at Virginia Tech. ESPN, CBS Sports and USA Today project the Irish to be one of the four playoff teams. The No. 5 Irish (6-0) are keeping the hype in perspective. “We talk about it...
The temperatures crashed this week. So did the line in the Nebraska-Northwestern game. The Wildcats opened Sunday as 8½-point favorites, a massive number given Northwestern’s 0-3 home record — and the fact the road team has won the last four in the series. For the uninitiated, sports books set...
The persistent inconsistency of the Cubs’ offense in the second half of the season cost hitting coach Chili Davis his job after only one season. Davis, 58, was informed of his dismissal Thursday — nine days after the Rockies eliminated the Cubs in the National League wild-card game. The Cubs scored...
This is the fourth in a series of position-by-position analyses about the Cubs entering the offseason. 1. Does Kris Bryant stay with the Cubs? If so, at third base? Relax, folks. The Cubs, like most teams with plenty of young talent several years away from free agency, attempt to sign those players...
The Blackhawks have had success with undrafted players, hitting big on Artemi Panarin and Antti Niemi in recent years as well as Hall of Fame goalie Ed Belfour a few decades ago. This season, the Hawks have seven undrafted players: Alexandre Fortin, Dominik Kahun, David Kampf, Chris Kunitz, Brandon...
It was less than 45 minutes after the Bears’ 48-10 throttling of the Buccaneers and yet somehow Tarik Cohen’s usually sharp recall was short-circuiting. The Bears running back had been asked to detail his touchdown catch — a 9-yarder from Mitch Trubisky in the second quarter. But alas, Cohen was...
Saying he declined to address reporters late Wednesday because he “just wasn’t prepared to answer questions” about his demotion, Bulls forward Jabari Parker answered almost all of them before practice Thursday. It’s the one he didn’t answer that seemed the most telling. Asked if, after two left...
The Bears return to action Sunday after a week off, hoping to make it four straight victories. They visit a Dolphins team that has lost two in a row after starting 3-0. Our team of Bears writers weigh in on four timely topics.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Jimmy Butler contrives to publicly rip young teammates. After demanding a trade over the summer but not getting it, Butler showed up Wednesday for his first Timberwolves practice and proceeded to rip everybody on and off the court from coach and basketball President...
Think back to the first day of class in college, all you well-hydrated go-getters whose alarm clock actually worked. When the professor would distribute the syllabus — whether it was Econ 101, Spanish Lit or Advanced Cell Biology — it would almost be overwhelming to see the entire course laid out...
Say this for the 2018 White Sox: For a team that lost 100 games, there was remarkable consistency on the roster. Eight of the nine hitters in the opening day lineup wound up as the primary players at their position, with an 80-game PED suspension making catcher Welington Castillo the exception....
Remind us never to complain about one-word-answer "athlete speak" in post-game interviews ever, ever again. After undefeated East View High School rallied to beat Vandegrift 42-41 in Austin, Texas, on Friday, TWC News Austin reporter Lauren Mickler landed an "awesome" interview with enthusiastic...
Notre Dame has emerged as a College Football Playoff contender after back-to-back blowout wins against Stanford and at Virginia Tech. ESPN, CBS Sports and USA Today project the Irish to be one of the four playoff teams. The No. 5 Irish (6-0) are keeping the hype in perspective. “We talk about it...
We know Neil Funk, who is set to mark his 72nd birthday Dec. 29, will be scaling back his schedule as Bulls TV announcer this season. The Bulls have said there will be 20 Funk-free dates to fill with a rotating crew of substitutes alongside analyst Stacey King. They said the reduced workload is...
This is the third in a series of position-by-position analyses about the Cubs entering the offseason. 1. How does Willson Contreras fix his power woes? Contreras’ premature excitement over his long drive that resulted in only a double against the Reds on Sept. 16 exemplified the frustration over...
It’s October and there are still 78 games to play. Doesn’t matter. This one is going to leave a bruise. “It hurt,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. The Hawks blew a 2-0 first period lead and a 3-2 lead in the third period before the Wild beat them 4-3 in overtime Thursday night at the Xcel...
Barry Anderson is officially the Bulls' manager of entertainment. But his actual duties are performed anonymously as Benny the Bull. Until June 30. In a post on his Facebook page Friday, Anderson wrote that he's stepping down as the popular mascot on June 30. "After 12 incredible years, it's come...
After a whirlwind month, Khalil Mack needed the chance to exhale. What a September it had been. Traded to the Bears on the first day of the month, Mack followed by giving his new team and his new city an exhilarating four-week production surge. Five sacks. An interception returned for a touchdown....
As a young junior-college coach for eight seasons in Dodge City, Kan., and Daytona Beach, Fla., Brad Underwood had to learn how to handle young rosters year after year. At that level of college basketball, it’s an annual roster full of freshmen. “You learn to adapt when you’re a junior-college...
Brad Biggs answers your Bears questions weekly. Who is for real in the NFC North? Injuries are keeping the Packers down, the Vikings’ running game is MIA and their defense is uneven and the Lions are, well … the Lions. Can the Bears pull this off if Mitch Trubisky is just mediocre and doesn’t turn...
It was a typical father-son chat, even if there’s nothing typical about the father or the son. The dad is Damien Anderson, the original “D.A.” He rushed for 2,063 yards as a Northwestern All-American in 2000, finishing fifth in Heisman Trophy voting — between LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Vick....
The Blackhawks were playing out the string last season when former Hawks defenseman Adrian Aucoin brought his kids to the United Center for a game. The family headed to the locker room afterward to see old friends, especially Duncan Keith, who had lived at the Aucoin house for a brief period early...
Gerry Davis, who has umpired a record 144 postseason games, will be the crew chief for the NL Championship Series. Joe West, whose 5,194 regular-season games are second to Bill Klem's 5,375, will be the AL Championship Series crew chief, the commissioner's office said Thursday. Scott Barry will...
While most of the attention rightfully goes to the runners, some praise should be reserved for the Chicago Marathon's unsung heroes: People who made clever signs.
The match made in sports marketing heaven has been a marriage like any other, for better or for worse. Most prominent among the rough spots were the reports that Nike used sweatshops in Indonesia. In 1996, human-rights and labor advocates demanded that Nike improve pay and conditions for its workers....
Spencer Mahoney's goal was always to play affiliated baseball, but little did he know the route he would take to get there. The former Valparaiso starting shortstop didn't take the mound once during his four-year collegiate career. But pitching has been his ticket to a professional contract with...
Gene Pingatore tried to escape the throng of students, fans and former players so he could to talk to his team. It was one battle the boys basketball coach with the most wins in Illinois history would lose. St. Joseph's coach earned his 1,000th career victory Saturday, when the Chargers defeated...