Sports Saturday

College basketball transfer portal chock full of area players

Once again, dozens of players with local ties are moving on from their previous college stops in search of a better or different opportunity.

By Joe Henricksen

Bulls

Could Bulls guard Zach LaVine's return hinder Coby White's progress?

White took on a huge jump in minutes this season, catapulting himself into second place for Most Improved Player. But if the Bulls can’t move off the LaVine max contract, will White continue to exceed his current ceiling?

By Joe Cowley

Bears

Polling Place: Best night ever? How you voted on Bears' drafting of Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze

Sports Saturday

Bet on it: Handicapper John Murges isn’t letting Parkinson’s keep him down

Chicago Fire

While Fire honor past, their present needs work

Diamond DeShields, Lexie Brown and Azurá Stevens dance after a parade and as they head to a rally at Pritzker Pavilion to celebrate the Chicago Sky’s WNBA Championship title.

Chicago Sky and WNBA

Diamond DeShields' homecoming with the Sky comes with a sweet sense of 'relief'

High School Baseball

Lane senior pitcher Amaan Khan among few prep players invited to MLB draft league this summer

“It’s a huge steppingstone to get seen this early in front of the MLB scouts,” Khan said. “That would be a great opportunity to showcase my skills at that level against some of the best competition.”

By Mike Clark

Outdoors

Chicago outdoors: From pileated woodpeckers to eastern milksnakes

Photos of pileated woodpeckers in the Palos area and an eastern milksnake found at Lemont Quarries are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

By Dale Bowman

Bears

'Why duck?' New Bears QB Caleb Williams elevates expectations rather than tempering them

In every possible way, Williams feels like a breath of fresh air for a franchise that desperately needs it. This is a different type of quarterback and a compelling personality.

By Jason Lieser

Bears

Ryan Poles on Bears' QB history: 'Those days are over'

Even Caleb Williams was asking Poles why the Bears have had such a hard time developing a quality quarterback. But the Bears’ GM has responded by not only getting Williams, but a solid supporting cast that should put him in a position to succeed.

By Mark Potash

White Sox

Morale? Not a problem, White Sox GM Chris Getz says as worst season ever continues

So the Sox have that going for them, which is, you know, something.

By Steve Greenberg

Bears

Once grounded, Bears WR Rome Odunze ready to soar with Caleb Williams

Months before Rome Odunze ever shared an airplane ride with new Bears teammate Caleb Williams, he was forced into a two-day road trip.

By Patrick Finley

Outdoors

Reaching into the art of Matt Mullady's outdoors experiences

Matt Mullady is known as a Kankakee River expert and former guide, but he has a very important artistic side, too.

By Dale Bowman

Chicago Sky and WNBA

Sky operating chairman/co-owner Nadia Rawlinson confident in team's direction: 'This is our era'

Rawlinson hopes to make an announcement regarding the team’s plans for an individual practice facility before the 2024 season begins.

By Annie Costabile

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White Sox

Bettors knew White Sox would be bad, but they’re worse than expected

Bet on it: Don’t expect Pedro Grifol’s team, which is on pace to challenge the 2003 Tigers for the most losses in a season, to be favored much this year.

By Rob Miech

Sports Saturday

Solid FX doc 'Broken Horses' offers answers on why the animals keep dying young

Evidence points to doping by unscrupulous trainers and owners.

By Richard Roeper

Outdoors

Chicago outdoors: Turkey and shed story along with record youth turkey harvest

Teri family finding a shed antler and bagging a turkey during the second weekend of youth turkey season and a record turkey harvest during Illinois’ youth spring turkey seasons are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

By Dale Bowman

Bulls

A long offseason begins as Bulls fall to Heat in final play-in game

The Heat jumped on the Bulls midway through the first quarter and never let go the rest of the night. With this Bulls roster falling short yet again, there’s some serious soul-searching to do, starting with free agent DeMar DeRozan.

By Joe Cowley

Bulls

Bulls coach Billy Donovan sees plenty of room for a healthy Lonzo Ball

Ball hasn’t played since the 2021-22 season. Since that time, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu have emerged as legit scorers. Has the guard room gotten too crowded? Donovan doesn’t think so.

By Joe Cowley

Cubs

Polling Place: Is it time for the Cubs to pull Kyle Hendricks from the rotation?

Other poll questions: Do you wish Tim Anderson were still with the White Sox? And how sure are you that Caleb Williams is the best QB in next week’s NFL Draft?

By Steve Greenberg

Blackhawks

Analyzing most encouraging, discouraging aspects of Blackhawks’ 2023-24 season

From Connor Bedard to Lukas Reichel, from Alex Vlasic to Arvid Soderblom, from leadership to coaching, the Hawks’ just-finished season was full of good and bad signs for the future.

By Ben Pope

A boatload of people, including two children in life vests, enjoy an outing with Chicago No Limits Fishing on a boat last.

Outdoors

This Chicago fishing group opens the outdoors for people with disabilities

Chicago No Limits Fishing provides boating and fishing experiences around downtown on Lake Michigan and the Chicago River.

By Dale Bowman

White Sox

Tim Anderson on his rise and fall with the White Sox and trying to 'get back to the player I used to be'

Anderson talked smack, flipped bats and became the coolest thing about a Sox team seemingly headed for great things. Then it all went “poof.” In town with the Marlins, he discussed it on Thursday.

By Steve Greenberg

Bears

QB decision is Bears GM Ryan Poles' moment of truth

After a teardown and promising first steps of the rebuild, Poles’ future still hinges on getting the quarterback right. It’s a daunting task, but with the No. 1 pick and recently acquired playmakers, Poles has opportunities to develop a franchise QB that his predecessors didn’t have.

By Mark Potash

Bears

Mock draft: Bears go for USC QB Caleb Williams first, but who's next?

Sitting at Nos. 1 and 9, Bears general manager Ryan Poles has a huge opportunity next week.

By Jason Lieser

Sports Saturday

Sportsbooks expecting boon from increased soccer action this summer

With the pandemic bumping Euro 2020 to 2021 and the funkiness of Qatar 2022 shifting the World Cup to December, Vegas shops will welcome the sport’s return to normalcy.

By Rob Miech