Sports

From our columnists
Opening Day is here. Let the playoff expectations begin.
‘‘The good Lord wants the Cubs to win,’’ Harry Caray assured WGN viewers. But apparently, the good Lord was a Southern Californian.
Illinois or Iowa State? Purdue or Gonzaga? We’ve got your winners right here, pal.
When a popular broadcaster is replaced, it’s usually because he retired or died. On Thursday, that popular broadcaster will be working in the same ballpark as his replacement.
Nothing says ego, entitlement and status like a furious diatribe from a coach at a news conference about a piece of unseen journalism. And nothing guarantees more viewers of the alleged upcoming story.
When Underwood says this Illini team might be his favorite of all he has coached, it’s a real mouthful — old-fashioned relationship-building being a relic as a concept.
MLB
The league has launched its own gambling probe into the superstar and his former interpreter.
Chicagoans allowed facts, situation and reality to take a back seat to our feelings about the local NFL team — something that typically unites people one way or the other.
If everything goes according to plan, the presumptive No. 1 overall draft pick will make Justin Fields a distant memory.
As 2024’s March Madness gets underway, columnist Gene Lyons reminisces over watching previous NCAA men’s college basketball tournaments and his love for watching them in a 2021 classic column.
The sixth-round pick the Bears received in the Fields trade was the final verdict on his ability.
Maybe Fields will develop with the Steelers and become a franchise star. It’s more likely he’ll be an updated Mitch Trubisky.
I’m going with Zach Edey and the Boilermakers to win the Big Ten’s first men’s basketball title since 2000. Here’s my entire bracket.
Only nine teams in the last 41 years of Division I women’s basketball have capped perfect seasons with a title. Six of those belong to UConn. This year, South Carolina (32-0) will attempt to become the 10th.
The 68-team field will be revealed at 7 p.m. Sunday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN, and the stars and storylines go well beyond Caitlin Clark
Uecker has been synonymous with Milwaukee baseball for over half a century.
The Bears have spent months studying the draft. They’ll spend the next one plotting what could happen.
Only two days after an embarrassing loss to lowly Washington, the Bulls put on a defensive clinic against Indiana.
The Chicago native has been silent due to advice from his legal counsel, which the Illini basketball player sought after being charged with rape in Kansas.
This year, to continue making history, the Illini will have to get past No. 2-seeded Iowa State.
Caruso is averaging career highs in points and three-point attempts.
A hike from 15% to 35% of sportsbook revenue is a slam dunk to generate an extra $200 million for the cash-strapped state, according to the Illinois governor. But major gambling corporations say it will block growth in a market that has ballooned into one of the nation’s biggest.
Counsell opens his first season as Cubs manager Thursday against the Rangers.
More than half of roster will make White Sox debuts.
Though marquee names like Dylan Cease and Tim Anderson are no longer with the team, Yoán Moncada and Eloy Jiménez are among a few familiar faces returning as manager Pedro Grifol prepares for his second season at the helm.
Crochet makes his first major league start against the Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday.
The network will air the Cubs-Rangers season opener exclusively, with the “Sunday Night Baseball” crew of Karl Ravech, analysts David Cone and Eduardo Perez and reporter Buster Olney on the call.
Entering the NCAA Tournament at the end of his freshman season at Minnesota, Moore has increased his production, improved his communication and diversified the ways he takes advantage of his world-class skating ability.
“Who doesn’t want a hot dog at 10 a.m.?” White Sox outfielder Gavin Sheets told reporters Wednesday.
There’s not much to hope on in the tradition of smelt netting in Chicago going into the opener Monday night.
The Hawks focused hard on producing a strong first period Tuesday, and their efforts paid off. They translated a 2-0 lead at the first intermission into an eventual 3-1 victory.
Opening weekend will unveil Garrett Crochet, Michael Soroka and Erick Fedde as the revamped rotation’s ‘‘big three.’’
Proposed referendum on November ballot could face opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson, but he “should want what the people of Chicago want,” Pat Quinn said.