chicagotribune--2020-03-08--Blackhawks brawl with Blues in a 2-0 loss after Adam Boqvist gets flattened by an elbow to the head

Blackhawks brawl with Blues in a 2-0 loss after Adam Boqvist gets flattened by an elbow to the head and is treated for a possible concussion

“ You want him to be smart , ” Colliton said .
“ You want him to pick his spots @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s an NHLer and he ’ s a valuable player is because he @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s physical and he sticks up for his teammates and he brings that @ @ @ @ @ s why he ’ s in the league .

One would have thought the Blackhawks reached the nadir of their misfortunes this season with Friday’s loss to the last-place Red Wings, but their troubles got worse Sunday night in a 2-0 loss to the Blues.
Let’s count ‘em up, shall we?
Advertisement
• Adam Boqvist sustained a concussion — a blow to a team already hurting for defensemen.
• Drake Caggiula got in a fight to defend Boqvist but hurt his wrist.
Advertisement
• The power play (remember that bugaboo?) failed on four tries.
• And for the first time in their I-55 rivalry, the Blues swept the Hawks, taking all four games in the season series.
“I thought we competed pretty hard,” Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. “Had our chances. Obviously, would have loved to get one on the power play. Ultimately the chances they got, we turned the puck over and they were able to capitalize on it and we put ourselves in tough situations.”
Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s loss.
1. Was the hit on Adam Boqvist intentional? Whatever the case, his loss hurts in several ways.
Oskar Sundqvist and Adam Boqvist crashed into the boards while chasing the puck. Boqvist’s stick went under Sundqvist’s legs, and as Sundqvist jumped — with his back to Boqvist — he hit Boqvist in the head with his elbow and forearm. The collision set off a brawl along the boards.
Sundqvist was charged with a major penalty, but it was reduced to a two-minute minor after a review. Boqvist was placed in the concussion protocol.
The NHL on Monday fined Sundqvist $5,000 for roughing, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 14 Blackhawks defenseman Adam Boqvist lies on the ice after being hit by Blues center Oskar Sundqvist during the second period. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton called the hit “unnecessary.”
Advertisement
“There’s nothing wrong with finishing your check, but there was no reason, no reason for the contact to his head,” Colliton said. “It was totally unrelated to the play.
“It was late. He was trying to get him. So he did. And we end up losing an important player for us for the rest of the game. Puts extra stress on our defense who have played a lot, especially the top guys.
“And we end up with a two-minute power play. Doesn’t seem on the right level if you ask me.”
For Hawks defenseman Connor Murphy, that play made getting swept by the Blues even more bitter.
“It’s a team we don’t like very much to play against,” he said. “The hits they had on Boqi there and that scrum, it’s frustrating when you have young players and things escalate like that. You wanted to be able to rub it in as much as you can; that’s the best way to get back at teams for doing things like that. We didn’t do that, and it definitely hurts against a division team for sure.”
Like Colliton, Murphy questioned Sundqvist being issued only a minor penalty.
Advertisement
“I was surprised just because of the blood (Boqvist) had and everything,” Murphy said. “But obviously the ref saw it … they get a better look at it than we do. We just see the initial play, so I can’t be the one to be too judgmental on that.”
Boqvist’s injury comes at a time when the rookie was showing great progress. He has received a lot of praise recently for his puck movement and was improving defensively, but the loss of his natural playmaking ability is what really hurts.
Already down defensemen Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan, the Hawks have been without promising rookie Lucas Carlsson, who has been in the concussion protocol since last week.
On Friday, the Hawks recalled Dennis Gilbert from Rockford on an emergency basis.
Advertisement
2. With his concussion history, should Drake Caggiula be fighting?
After Oskar Sundqvist elbowed Adam Boqvist, fighting ensued, and Drake Caggiula punched Vince Dunn several times before the bigger Dunn eventually got several off of his own.
After officials broke up the fight, Caggiula heard cheers from the United Center crowd, and teammates sang his praises.
“He’s like an Andrew Shaw,” Connor Murphy said. “He brings a lot of heart to our team and a passion. That’s something the fans appreciate as much as we do.
“A guy that’s willing to throw his health on the line for the team knowing when we need it most and that he’s never going to back down to anyone, no matter what size he is. He’s fearless and we’re lucky to have him.”
Earlier this season, Caggiula talked about contemplating retirement after sustaining two concussions less than a year apart.
“I’ve had that conversation with my girlfriend, my family, my agent, myself,” Caggiula said in December. “Right now I’m not at that point. At least I don’t think I am. But it is something that you think about and you want to make sure you’re protecting yourself short term and long term and protecting your family short term and long term.”
Advertisement
Alex DeBrincat called Caggiula a “team-first guy.”
“It’s tough when you’ve had those problems and you’re still willing to put your body on the line.,” DeBrincat said.
Caggiula suffered a hand injury in the fight, coach Jeremy Colliton said after the game.
3. It’s time to give up those playoff hopes, right?
With the loss, the Hawks were six points out of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with four teams ahead of them. Playoffstatus.com gave them a 3% chance of earning a wild-card berth.
Advertisement
“You have a big chunk of games left and you’re going to try to win as many of them as you can,” Connor Murphy said. “You don’t really try to do math too much. You just want to win your next games.
“It sucks. Losing sucks, especially having a couple in a row.”
Coach Jeremy Colliton wouldn’t concede that focus should shift from winning to development.
“No, we approach it the same way,” he said. “We’re here to win. We’ve been developing guys all year, we’ve been playing guys in big situations all year, young players, and that won’t change either.
“But part of what we’re doing is we want to have winning habits and we’re going to fight to the end.”
Here is more coverage from Sunday’s game:
The Blackhawks lost 2-0 to the Blues on Sunday night at the United Center, the first time in franchise history the Hawks have been swept by their Central Division rivals.
Advertisement
At least the Hawks showed some fight — literally.
A scrum broke out after Blues center Oskar Sundqvist elbowed Adam Boqvist in the head and Boqvist lay face down on the ice. Drake Caggiula traded punches with Vince Dunn, who’s listed as 2 inches taller and 27 pounds heavier, before officials broke it up.
Coach Jeremy Colliton said after the game that Boqvist was placed in concussion protocol and Caggiula suffered a wrist injury.
“It’s an unnecessary hit,” Colliton said. "There’s nothing wrong with finishing your check, but there was no reason, no reason for the contact to his head.
“It was totally unrelated to the play. It was late. He was trying to get him, so he did. And we end up losing an important player for us for the rest of the game.”
Alex DeBrincat said he didn’t see the hit on Boqvist until later on the video board.
Advertisement
“He got a penalty for it, and Boqi’s (lying) on the ice,” DeBrincat said. “Figured it was dirty. ... I don’t know if he really meant to do it, but (he) hits him in the head and you’ve got to be aware of your surroundings.”
After Caggiula’s fight, he threw his arms up as he left the ice and the United Center crowd cheered with appreciation. But it can’t be a scenario the Hawks want to see.
Caggiula had two concussions less than a year apart and talked in December about discussing retirement with his family and agent.
“You want him to be smart,” Colliton said. “You want him to pick his spots. Part of the reason he’s an NHLer and he’s a valuable player is because he plays on the edge and he’s physical and he sticks up for his teammates and he brings that energy, and that’s why he’s in the league.
“Having said that, you hold your breath when he’s in that situation.”
Boqvist had just returned to the ice Sunday after missing Friday’s game against the Red Wings with a wrist injury.
Advertisement
The Hawks have had trouble keeping defensemen healthy, and they have enough problems elsewhere on the ice.
They couldn’t cash in on any of four power plays over the first two periods.
Chicago Tribune Sports Weekdays A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
Corey Crawford made 21 saves but couldn’t stop Robert Bortuzzo‘s sharp-angle, top-shelf shot from the bottom of the left circle on an assist from Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz.
Alex Pietrangelo followed with a third-period goal that started with a Schenn takeaway in the Hawksdefensive zone.
Colliton pulled the goalie with about three minutes to play.
As for getting swept by the rival Blues in the four-game season series, Jonathan Toews said: “The last two games on the road, we had leads in the third period. Unfortunately we found ways to give those leads up. But we were in those games.”
Advertisement
DeBrincat focused on those missed opportunities on the road as well.
“Two of the games in St. Louis, we were up for most of the game (and) we blew the lead. Tonight’s a hard battle,” he said. "Honestly, it could have gone either way if we get a bounce here or there.
“But it sucks. Obviously we want to get wins. It’s never good getting swept in a season series. We have to come back harder and keep at it.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-08--14-year-old and 16-year-old in custody after firing shots at Chicago officers, police say

Officers responded to a call of a person with a gun at 7:15 p.m. in the 800 block of North @ @ @ @ @ Austin neighborhood , according to preliminary information from police .
When police arrived , a @ @ @ @ @ boy began running into an alley and fired shots at the officers , authorities said @

A 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were taken into custody after firing shots at Chicago police officers Sunday night on the West Side, according to police.
Officers responded to a call of a person with a gun at 7:15 p.m. in the 800 block of North Waller Avenue in the South Austin neighborhood, according to preliminary information from police. When police arrived, a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy began running into an alley and fired shots at the officers, authorities said.
Advertisement
The officers did not return fire and were not injured, police said. The two teenagers were taken into custody and charges are pending.
Two weapons were recovered, police said. It was not immediately known what kind of weapons were recovered or how many shots were fired at the officers.
Advertisement
Check back for updates.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-03-08--Big Ten Tournament seeding is set: Illinois is No. 4 and will open with a quarterfinal Friday vs. Io

Big Ten Tournament seeding is set: Illinois is No. 4 and will open with a quarterfinal Friday vs. Iowa, Minnesota or Northwestern

The Illini earned the No .
4 seed — and a double bye into the quarterfinals — with Sunday ’ @ @ @ @ @ play in Friday ’ s second quarterfinal at about 1:30 p.m. against the winner of @ @ @ @ @ between No .
5 Iowa and the Minnesota-Northwestern winner .

With Illinois’ 78-76 victory against Iowa on Sunday night putting the 2019-20 Big Ten men’s basketball regular season in the books, the seeding is set for this week’s conference tournament in Indianapolis.
The Illini earned the No. 4 seed — and a double bye into the quarterfinals — with Sunday’s victory. They will play in Friday’s second quarterfinal at about 1:30 p.m. against the winner of Thursday’s second-round game between No. 5 Iowa and the Minnesota-Northwestern winner.
Advertisement
Northwestern is the No. 13 seed and will play in the first game of the tournament at 5 p.m. Wednesday against No. 12 Minnesota.
Wisconsin, Maryland and Michigan State were regular-season Big Ten co-champions at 14-6, with the Badgers earning the tournament’s No. 1 seed via tiebreaker.
Advertisement
Here’s the full schedule of games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Wednesday
All games on BTN
No. 12 Minnesota (14-16) vs. No. 13 Northwestern (8-22), 5 p.m.
No. 11 Indiana (19-12) vs. No. 14 Nebraska (7-24), 8:30
Thursday
All games on BTN
No. 8 Rutgers (20-11) vs. No. 9 Michigan (19-12), 11 a.m.
No. 5 Iowa (20-11) vs. 12-13 winner, 1:30 p.m.
No. 7 Ohio State (21-10) vs. No. 10 Purdue (16-15), 5:30
Advertisement
No. 6 Penn State (21-10) vs. 11-14 winner, 8
Friday
Chicago Tribune Sports Weekdays A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
All games on BTN
No. 1 Wisconsin (21-10) vs. 8-9 winner, 11 a.m.
No. 4 Illinois (21-10) vs. 5-12/13 winner, 1:30 p.m.
No. 2 Michigan State (22-9) vs. 7-10 winner, 5:30
No. 3 Maryland (24-7) vs. 5-11/14 winner, 8
Advertisement
Saturday
Semifinals, noon and 2:30 p.m., CBS-2
Sunday
Championship, 2:30 p.m., CBS-2


chicagotribune--2020-03-08--3 takeaways from White Sox spring training, including a sharp outing for Reynaldo Lopez

“ We relied on the fastball when we needed it .
We introduced different looks in order to get away @ @ @ @ @ the plate , and he kept working .
Hopefully we build off of it .
@ @ @ @ @ about it .
He ’ s coming along .
( Dylan ) Cease is coming @ @ @ @ @ two are going to be huge for us .
”

PEORIA, Ariz. — Cheslor Cuthbert hit two home runs in the White Sox’s 6-0 victory against the Padres in a split-squad game Sunday at Peoria Stadium.
Cuthbert hit a solo homer to left off starter Chris Paddack in the second and a two-run homer to left-center in the third, again off Paddack.
Advertisement
Yermin Mercedes hit a two-run homer in the seventh against Emilio Pagan. It’s the catcher’s third home run this spring.
Here are three takeaways from Sunday.
Advertisement
1. Reynaldo Lopez was locked in.
Reynaldo Lopez threw a fastball past a swinging Manny Machado for the first strike in the first. Lopez then went to an off-speed pitch, and Machado swung and missed for strike two. Machado fouled off the next pitch before Lopez got him to swing and miss on a slider for a strikeout.
Lopez was locked in, allowing five hits in 4⅓ scoreless innings. He struck out five in his second outing of the spring.
“(Sunday) was a good one and (I’m) just focused for the season, trying to chip away and clean up the things we have to clean up in order to get ready for the season,” Lopez said through an interpreter.
Lopez used faster and slower versions of his slider. He credited catcher Yasmani Grandal for developing the plan. Grandal didn’t want to dive too deep into those specifics but said overall he thought Lopez was “great.”
That'll play in Peoria. pic.twitter.com/KleZgxyLVX — Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) March 8, 2020
“We did a good job of pounding the strike zone, getting weak contact," Grandal said. "That’s pretty much what you want. We want to get weak contact, get early outs, so we can get deeper into games.
“We relied on the fastball when we needed it. We introduced different looks in order to get away with a missed fastball over the plate, and he kept working. Hopefully we build off of it. Hopefully he feels pretty good about it. He’s coming along. (Dylan) Cease is coming along as well. Those two are going to be huge for us.”
Lopez allowed one run on three hits with three walks in his first start Tuesday against the Athletics. He felt that he built off that outing Sunday.
“My first start I was a little anxious, and that was why I was a little quick with my mechanics, a little off,” he said. "I watched the video and realized I was too quick, and I worked on that (Sunday). I was in my natural rhythm, and when I’m my natural rhythm, I’m able to command my pitches, my mechanics are better, slower and I’m in control of everything.”
Advertisement
2. Yasmani Grandal’s calf ‘feels great.’
Yasmani Grandal went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run, driving in Nomar Mazara with a double to left-center off Paddack in the third, in his second Cactus League game. His first was Friday against the Cubs in Mesa.
He also participated in a B-game Wednesday against the Reds in which he doubled in his first at-bat since he returned from a mild left calf strain.
Things you love to see:@YazmanianDVL08 ripping RBI doubles. pic.twitter.com/ZReWEEztWP — Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) March 8, 2020
Grandal said Sunday that the calf “feels great.”
“I felt way better going from home to second than the first time I did it during the B-game,” Grandal said. “Other than that, feet seem like they’re starting to get underneath me. It might have been the new cleats I wore. Just felt like they were slightly lighter.”
Grandal caught five innings.
Advertisement
3. Gio Gonzalez’s first Cactus League outing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Lucas Giolito and Gio Gonzalez are among the Sox pitchers scheduled to appear Wednesday against the Rockies at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale. It will be Gonzalez’s first outing of the spring. The left-hander is recovering from shoulder soreness.
Sox manager Rick Renteria said Gonzalez is “doing well."
“He threw a sideline (Sunday) and looked fine,” Renteria said. “Everybody is continuing to work and progress.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-08--Fire burns Northwest Side residential building

The cause of a fire that burned a second-floor unit of a residential building Sunday afternoon on the Northwest Side @ @ @ @ @ to the Chicago Fire Department .

The cause of a fire that burned a second-floor unit of a residential building Sunday afternoon on the Northwest Side is under investigation, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
Firefighters received a call about 5:20 p.m. Sunday to a building at 7050 W. Belmont Ave. in the Schorsch Village neighborhood, said Deputy District Chief Curtis Hudson. The building was occupied, but no injuries were reported.
Advertisement
The fire was put out around 6 p.m., Hudson said. It wasn’t immediately known if any residents were displaced due to the fire.
pfry@chicagotribune.com
Advertisement
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-03-08--4 takeaways from Cubs spring training, including Steven Souza Jr. getting his legs under him and Jos

4 takeaways from Cubs spring training, including Steven Souza Jr. getting his legs under him and Jose Quintana adding depth to his curveball

The Cubs adjusted their lineup before the game , dropping Souza from sixth to ninth .
He came to the @ @ @ @ @ runners at first and second with one out and failed to put the ball in @ @ @ @ @ .

MESA, Ariz. — Here are four takeaways from Cubs spring training Sunday.
1. Steven Souza Jr. showed his legs are fine.
A blister on outfielder Steven Souza Jr.’s left palm limited him to bunting during his one at-bat against the Diamondbacks.
Advertisement
But Souza wanted to get his legs in shape, so he played four innings in center field in the split-squad game.
Souza, who missed all of 2019 because of torn ligaments in his left knee, barely missed a diving catch on a ball hit by Jake Lamb in the fourth.
Advertisement
The Cubs adjusted their lineup before the game, dropping Souza from sixth to ninth. He came to the plate in the second with runners at first and second with one out and failed to put the ball in play in three bunt attempts.
2. Jose Quintana is getting a grip on his curve.
A laborious first inning limited Jose Quintana to two innings against the Diamondbacks, but he credited a greater emphasis on throwing an overhand curve with helping limit the damage.
“I’m trying to get (the break) straight down (rather) than side to side,” Quintana said. “I try to throw it similar to a fastball with the same direction.”
Chicago Tribune Sports Weekdays A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
Quintana struck out Starling Marte on a 77 mph curve to start the first and induced Jon Jay to ground into a fielder’s choice on a breaking pitch with the bases loaded to end the inning.
Closer Craig Kimbrel struck out David Peralta on a 96 mph fastball, but Jake Lamb pulled a 94 mph Kimbrel pitch down the right-field line for a two-run home run in the third. Kimbrel struck out two but allowed hits to the other three batters he faced.
3. Brad Wieck will be re-examined Monday.
Reliever Brad Wieck said he will visit a cardiologist to make sure his recovery remains smooth in hopes of accelerating his rehab.
“We’re just building up arm strength again,” said Wieck, who underwent a cardiac ablation Feb. 24 after being diagnosed with an abnormal heartbeat. “Right now I’m throwing from 105 feet.”
Reliever Brandon Morrow said he’s able to continue throwing despite a mild calf tear that will prevent him from running for at least another week.
Advertisement
4. What a relief for Dillon Maples and Danny Hultzen.
Dillon Maples, one of the hardest throwers in the organization whose progress has been stunted by wildness, pitched a perfect sixth inning. Maples struck out two, including Jake Lamb on an 89 mph slider to end the inning.
Hultzen allowed one hit but struck out Andy Young in his exhibition debut. The Cubs are handling Hultzen carefully because he has undergone two major surgeries on his left shoulder. The biggest test will be whether he can pitch on consecutive days.


chicagotribune--2020-03-08--Review: ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ is now in Chicago with Maria Dizzia — a play that manage

Review: ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ is now in Chicago with Maria Dizzia — a play that manages to make this document come alive

Right now , it seems to me , there are two reasons still to head out to the theater , @ @ @ @ @ the local authorities deem it safe and you take good care of yourself .
One @ @ @ @ @ the news , to participate in what one hopes is a new spirit of American @ @ @ @ @ a global existential crisis .
The other is to partake of a work of real @ @ @ @ @ art that can help us articulate the next way forward for this riven country , @ @ @ @ @ means for someone else , even if that way may not be our own .

Rosdely Ciprian (who alternates with other performers) and Maria Dizzia in the national tour of "What the Constitution Means to Me," in Chicago at the Broadway Playhouse. (Joan Marcus photo)
Right now, it seems to me, there are two reasons still to head out to the theater, at least as long as the local authorities deem it safe and you take good care of yourself. One is to laugh and escape the news, to participate in what one hopes is a new spirit of American unity in the face of a global existential crisis. The other is to partake of a work of real substance — a piece of art that can help us articulate the next way forward for this riven country, or better understand what progress means for someone else, even if that way may not be our own.
Heidi Schreck’s “What the Constitution Means to Me,” which arrived in Chicago this weekend at the intimate Broadway Playhouse on a short national tour starring the phenomenal actress Maria Dizzia (“Orange is the New Black”), is a show in the latter category, although it helps you catch a glimpse of the first one, too.
Advertisement
At a minimum, this most personal of shows, which I first reviewed on Broadway a very long year ago, will likely teach you (or yours) more than you currently know about the Constitution of the United States of America, its pluses and minuses, its tortured clauses and revelatory amendments, its paradoxical history of fragility and its remarkable staying power. You’ll even leave with your own copy, as handed out by an usher.
And if you’re thinking, as would Mel Brooks’ Max Bialystock, that a show about the history and application of the Constitution is a show that closes Sunday, you are missing the shrewd use of first person in the title of a piece of work actually designed to personalize not just the rules by which we agree to live, but the possibilities for happiness enshrined therein.
Advertisement
Schreck’s autobiographical show is about one woman’s journey from an enthusiastic and articulate teen debater who saw the Constitution mostly as a source of scholarship money from American Legion contests (a single actor, Mike Iveson from Broadway, represents those gentlemen) to an adult, self-aware woman. By the end of the night, she has come to see that the actions (or inactions) and the protections (or lack thereof) of this document greatly impacted not just her own life but of the others in her family, as formed for good or ill during the early, hardscrabble days of the Pacific Northwest.
Especially the women, many of whom the Constitution had failed.
This was a particularly telling bit of theater to see within hours of the final female presidential candidate in the 2020 election dropping out of the race.
In essence here, you watch Schreck’s transformation, delivered with much wit and metadramatic self-deprecation, from a kind of cheery performing kid who knows what boxes to check and how to please her sponsors, to a feminist, critical thinker who sees everything in its context.
Context is key here: Schreck is arguing that who the framers were, and the nature of their prejudices, is indivisible from what they wrote, whom they chose to protect and whom they did not. “Constitution" is not the kind of show with which the late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia would have agreed (although, given his love of debate, I think he would still liked it). It is, at its core, an argument against any originalist interpretation of the great document and a cry for a fresh interpretation, at the very least, if not additional amendments or a whole new Constitution altogether.
That debate — abolish or retain — comes at the end of the night, when Dizzia is joined by a whip-smart teen debater (on Friday, it was Jocelyn Shek), arguing the propositions. No disrespect to Jocelyn, who is terrific, but I wish the show had worked with a couple of Chicago teens, given that the show is here for a while. That kind of localization is, I think, important. It would not have been that hard.
But I also have to eat some previous words.
In that aforementioned Broadway review, I said that I would never want to see this show without Schreck, being as its meanderingly personal storytelling was so inherent to the piece. Dizzia, who frankly is a better actress even than Schreck, at least in terms of channelling rich emotion and creating empathy, convinced me otherwise on Friday. And the slight remove her presence creates does not hurt the show. In many ways, it universalizes the personal. Always a great thing in the theater of any time.
Advertisement
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “What the Constitution Means to Me” (4 stars)
When: Through April 12
Where: Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut St.
Running time: 2 hours
Advertisement
Tickets: $30-$105 at 800-775-2000 and www.broadwayinchicago.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--NBA and MLB are the latest to limit locker-room access, citing the coronavirus threat. Sports media

NBA and MLB are the latest to limit locker-room access, citing the coronavirus threat. Sports media associations push back, concerned this may become the new normal.

These are legitimate concerns - especially if this a side route to a permanent exclusion .
But please take a @ @ @ @ @ already at the “ I wonder if any fans will be admitted to games ” @ @ @ @ @ we may be at the “ I wonder if they ’ ll be playing these @ @ @ @ @ : //t.co/yfWwCa8MSl

The NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer issued a joint statement Monday announcing they will close locker rooms and clubhouses to nonessential team personnel and journalists in response to the spread of the new coronavirus.
“After consultation with infectious disease and public health experts, and given the issues that can be associated with close contact in pre- and postgame settings, all team locker rooms and clubhouses will be open only to players and essential employees of teams and team facilities until further notice,” the statement said. “Media access will be maintained in designated locations outside of the locker room and clubhouse setting.”
Advertisement
The four leagues said their “temporary changes” will begin Tuesday for practices and games, although some NHL teams began limiting locker-room access last weekend.
APSE issues joint statement with six writers organizations on coronavirus/media access https://t.co/t7zTVftV7D — APSE (@APSE_sportmedia) March 9, 2020
The announcement came just hours after leaders of associations representing the nation’s sports editors and sports writers issued their own statement. The media groups expressed concern that curbs on access could become the new normal, affecting how sports is covered.
Advertisement
While acknowledging “the developing international outbreak of coronavirus and the need to contain it,” the media groups’ statement urged “open communication with the leagues as, together, we deal with this serious health matter.”
“We understand precautions may be necessary in the name of public health,” the sports media organizations said. “We are intent on working with the leagues, teams and schools we cover to maintain safe work environments.
“We also must ensure the locker-room access — which we have negotiated over decades — to players, coaches and staff is not unnecessarily limited in either the short or long term.”
North American sports organizations, including the NCAA, are examining the most responsible way to conduct business under quickly changing conditions.
Contingency plans are being formulated concerning not only media, but also potentially staging competition in empty venues or with a limited number of fans in attendance to slow the spread of the virus. Outright cancellations cannot be ruled out in worst-case scenarios.
Overseas, with more than 110,000 coronavirus cases and more than 3,800 deaths, sports has been as disrupted as other aspects of everyday life.
Italy, for example, is instituting strict travel restrictions and has canceled all sports until at least April 3. Japan has announced the start of its pro baseball season will be delayed.
Start of Japanese pro baseball season postponed https://t.co/SlXw9IEkNl — NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) March 9, 2020
In the United States, the BNP Paribas tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif., has been canceled, the largest event to be canceled or postponed because of the epidemic.
Advertisement
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday reported there have been at least 21 U.S. coronavirus deaths and more than 500 U.S. cases in 34 states and the District of Columbia.
Media organizations are among the businesses limiting what is deemed nonessential travel.
The Chicago Tribune last week reported that concerns about the new coronavirus will keep the Big Ten Network from sending its studio show personnel to Indianapolis for this week’s men’s basketball tournament. BTN, however, still plans to send a full crew for its game coverage.
These are legitimate concerns - especially if this a side route to a permanent exclusion. But please take a step back. We are already at the “I wonder if any fans will be admitted to games” stage. By next week we may be at the “I wonder if they’ll be playing these games” stage. https://t.co/yfWwCa8MSl — Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) March 7, 2020
The joint media groups’ statement was signed by the Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan, who is president of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, as well as the heads of the Associated Press Sports Editors, Pro Football Writers of America, North American Soccer Reporters, United States Basketball Writers Association, Professional Basketball Writers Association and Professional Hockey Writers Association.
The BBWAA released the following statement Monday night in response to the four leagues’ joint statement:
“The Baseball Writers’ Association of America supports any policy that will assure a safe and healthy work environment, and understand that all health is paramount, especially in this time of heightened concern throughout the globe due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Our goal is to provide fans with stories about their favorite players and teams, and clubhouse access is essential for our jobs, just as maintaining fan interest is essential to baseball’s business.
Advertisement
“The decision by Major League Baseball to join other leagues in closing the clubhouse to media is disappointing, even as a ‘temporary step,’ and we desire to work with MLB and MLBPA to discuss solutions beneficial to the players and media alike, until we can return to the access that allows us to chronicle the game and humanize its performers like no other sport.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Rivers launches first Illinois sports book amid market turmoil and coronavirus fears: ‘We’ll get thr

Rivers launches first Illinois sports book amid market turmoil and coronavirus fears: ‘We’ll get through this virus’

Illinois became the 15th state to have live sports betting .
The state is projecting sports betting to generate between @ @ @ @ @ 680 million per year in adjusted gross wagering receipts — revenue after winnings are paid @ @ @ @ @ published in September .
At the enacted tax rate of 15 % , that would @ @ @ @ @ revenues of between $ 58 million and $ 102 million .

Guests and media crowd into the sports book at the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines on March 9, 2020. Rivers Casino opened the state's first legal sport book just before the state’s 10 casinos were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
As Rivers Casino in Des Plaines took the first legal sports bet in Illinois Monday, the point spread grabbing most of the headlines was on Wall Street, where the stock market suffered its worst one-day loss since the Great Recession.
The BetRivers Sportsbook launched ahead of the potentially lucrative March Madness basketball tournament, but with growing fears over the coronavirus outbreak roiling the economy, the timing may be less than auspicious.
Advertisement
“We’ll get through this virus,” said Neil Bluhm, the Chicago real estate developer whose Rush Street Gaming built and operates Rivers Casino. “The market may go down, but ultimately it’s going to go up.”
Casino executives, gaming board officials and politicians were on hand to watch former Chicago Blackhawks star Eddie Olcyzk place the first sports bet Monday morning. But the elephant in the room was the spreading coronavirus outbreak, which triggered a stock mark selloff and could tamp down business as BetRivers gears up for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament tipoff March 17.
Advertisement
Bluhm acknowledged the virus and the economic volatility could impact the sports book. But he said when Rivers Casino was granted the state’s 10th casino license in 2008, the nation was mired in the Great Recession — an even more foreboding economic environment.
“When we were awarded this license, things were a lot worse,” Bluhm said. “At the end of 2008, we were inches away from being in a depression.”
By the time Rivers opened in 2011, the economy had recovered and the casino quickly became the top grossing gambling facility in Illinois. Bluhm said he remains “very optimistic” about the future for BetRivers and sports betting in Illinois.
The Illinois Sports Wagering Act, passed last year as part of a broader gambling expansion bill, allows the state’s 10 casinos, three horse tracks and seven of the largest sports venues to acquire a sports gaming license. Rivers was the first of six casino applicants to open its sports book, but several are imminent.
Argosy Casino Alton near St. Louis announced Monday it is planning to open its sports book on March 16 — one day ahead of the first March Madness games, though it still needs approval from the Illinois Gaming Board.
“We expect to have a soft opening prior to then,” said Michael Barker, a spokesman for the Argosy Casino Alton.
The Argosy sports book will be inside a converted and expanded casino sports bar, with 40 big-screen TVs, four teller windows and 14 sports betting kiosks.
Penn National Gaming operates the Argosy Casino Alton, as well as the Hollywood Casinos in Joliet and Aurora, which are also launching sports books. Jeff Morris, a Penn National Gaming spokesman, said Monday there will be more information “soon” on the suburban Chicago sports book openings.
Advertisement
Illinois became the 15th state to have live sports betting. The state is projecting sports betting to generate between $384 million and $680 million per year in adjusted gross wagering receipts — revenue after winnings are paid, according to a report published in September. At the enacted tax rate of 15%, that would result in annual state tax revenues of between $58 million and $102 million.
Both Rivers and the Argosy are taking steps to assuage concerns over the coronavirus in preparation for their inaugural March Madness sports bettors.
At Rivers, there is a sign at the entrance with advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Inside the casino, crews are working to sanitize everything from the slot machines to the sports betting kiosks, according to Rivers spokesman Patrick Skarr.
“There are cleaning personnel on duty around the clock, cleaning the equipment and surfaces,” Skarr said Monday. “We have alcohol-based sanitizing stations throughout the facility for our team members and guests.”
Bluhm said Monday Illinois sports bettors who have been wagering illegally now have a platform that is “highly regulated” and “honest." He pointed to the launch of online betting at Rivers later this year as a significant opportunity to bring sports betting to a wider audience.
While the Rivers bricks-and-mortar sports book is opening in a challenging environment, Bluhm said he is confident it will ultimately prove successful. But as to the coronavirus, the 82-year-old is not taking it lightly.
Advertisement
“This is an unusual virus,” Bluhm said. “It isn’t that lethal, except for older people. That’s why I’m shaking hands with my elbow.”
rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Chicago man identified as victim of fatal shooting in Barrington Hills Airbnb rental: Police

A neighbor who did not wish to be identified said she first saw a rental sign outside the house about @ @ @ @ @ said she does not know who owns the property .

Police guard a residence in the 300 block of Old Sutton Road in Barrington Hills on March 9, 2020, where 28-year-old Chicago man Sean Patton was shot and killed days before. (Kaitlin Edquist / Pioneer Press)
The man who died following a weekend shooting at a Barrington Hills house rented out on Airbnb has been identified as a 28-year-old man from Chicago.
In a news release Monday, the Barrington Hills Police Department identified the man as Sean Patton Jr.
Advertisement
According to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, his death was a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds.
Police would not say Monday whether any suspects have been identified or any arrests were made. It was not immediately clear who owns the home.
Advertisement
According to the release, Barrington Hills police responded to a call in the 300 block of Old Sutton Road around 3:20 a.m. Saturday, when they discovered Patton there, dead.
“The preliminary investigation indicates there was a large party being held at the home by individuals from outside of Barrington Hills who had rented the property on a short-term basis,” police said in the release.
Yellow police tape stretched across the otherwise green foliage surrounding the house Monday. Few people drove by, but those who did craned their necks to see the exterior scene. Police were posted outside and guarded the residence.
Police are outside a residence in the 300 block of Old Sutton Road in Barrington Hills on March 9, 2020, where 28-year-old Chicago man Sean Patton was shot and killed days before. (Kaitlin Edquist / Pioneer Press)
A neighbor who did not wish to be identified said she first saw a rental sign outside the house about a month ago. She said she does not know who owns the property.
Advertisement
On the night of the shooting, she said she returned home around 7 p.m. and saw a few cars outside the house, and she woke up around 3:30 a.m., shortly after police arrived.
Police said the shooting was an isolated incident and there is no current threat to the public’s safety.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, village officials called the incident “highly disturbing” and reminded residents to report suspicious activity and request help from police when needed.
The Cook County Major Case Assistance Team is also assisting in the ongoing investigation, according to the release.
Advertisement
Airbnb issued a statement Sunday saying the company has been in touch with investigators, that it is outraged by the “criminal violence,” and that house parties with open invitations are banned — a decision made by the company in December 2019.
“This covers any event that the organizer opens up to anyone who wants to attend, such as gatherings advertised on social media,” the company’s policy states. “Hosts who attempt to circumvent this ban and allow guests to throw large parties will be subject to consequences.”
It is unknown whether this incident violated the policy.
[Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story stated that, according to the village attorney Mary Dickson, short-term rentals are prohibited in Barrington Hills by village code. Barrington Hills code does not explicitly ban short-term home rentals.}
kedquist@chicagotribune.com
Twitter: @kaitlinedquist


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Restaurant Week encourages new dining-out ventures

“ We love the promotion because it ’ s a great way to show Arlington Heights as a dining destination @ @ @ @ @ of number , but the diversity of venues we have , ” said Michael Mertes @ @ @ @ @ the village of Arlington Heights .
“ Our downtown has become a dining destination in @ @ @ @ @ hoping this year ’ s Restaurant Week will further enable outreach to our community to @ @ @ @ @ in terms of our community ’ s culinary offerings .
”

Golden Brunch cafe, in Arlington Heights, is among the 45 restaurants participating in Restaurant Week. The event run March 6-15, 2020, and includes eateries from eight nearby towns, including Arlington Heights, Schaumburg and Elk Grove Village. - Original Credit: Meet Chicago Northwest (Meet Chicago Northwest / HANDOUT)
Dozens of restaurants, particularly in Arlington Heights, are offering prix-fixe tasting menus for diners to explore culinary options during Restuarant Week.
Advertisement
The special dining event runs through Sunday.
Sponsored by Meet Chicago Northwest, the annual Restaurant Week in eight northwest communities, from Schaumburg to Rolling Meadows to Elk Grove Village, features 45 restaurants with a pre-set lunch and/or dinner menu with at least three courses, according to Dave Parulo, president of Meet Chicago Northwest.
Advertisement
The 10-day restaurant showcase is themed “Let’s Not Cook,” encouraging a visit to a local eatery.
“The idea is to promote our restaurants to residents and people in the region to visit restaurants they haven’t experienced yet during a slower time of year,” Parulo said. “What I like about Restaurant Week is it encourages people to try out different restaurants, that’s the most fun of it. You get to find a new favorite, go out and explore.”
Francesca's Tavola, in Arlington Heights, is among the 45 restaurants participating in Restaurant Week. The event run March 6-15, 2020, and includes eateries from eight nearby towns, including Arlington Heights, Schaumburg and Elk Grove Village. - Original Credit: Meet Chicago Northwest (Meet Chicago Northwest / HANDOUT)
Seven Arlington Heights restaurants are participating this year: Hey Nonny, Palm Court, Passero, Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant, Birch River Grill, Francesca’s Tavola and Golden Brunch Café.
“We love the promotion because it’s a great way to show Arlington Heights as a dining destination, not in the terms of number, but the diversity of venues we have,” said Michael Mertes, business development coordinator for the village of Arlington Heights. “Our downtown has become a dining destination in the Chicago region and were hoping this year’s Restaurant Week will further enable outreach to our community to show people what we have in terms of our community’s culinary offerings.”
Garrett Supples is general manager of Hey Nonny, a bistro and live music venue in downtown Arlington Heights that opened in October 2018. He describes the venue as a classic American bistro with a menu including steaks, hamburgers, pork chops, airline chicken, local cheese and charcuterie boards, calamari and chicken wings.
Hey Nonny’s Restaurant Week menu features a choice of a starter, entrée and dessert from a selection of avocado salad, a sweet potato bisque soup to salmon vesuvio and baked gnocchi for $25. The menu is offered after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
“For me, Restaurant Week is your time to shine,” said Supples. “Customers can see the food and service so you can gain them as a customer.”
Passero, in downtown Arlington Heights, is featuring a special menu during Restaurant Week. The event, which runs March 6-15, 2020, includes 45 participating restaurants from eight nearby towns, including Arlington Heights, Schaumburg and Elk Grove Village. - Original Credit: Elizabeth Owens-Schiele (Elizabeth Owens-Schiele / HANDOUT)
Palm Court, 1912 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, has been in business for more than 40 years and often participates in the promotion.
Advertisement
“Restaurant Week helps display our dishes, beautiful dishes in a retro environment, that’s our restaurant,” said owner George Theodossopoulos. “It brings in new guests so they can try our cuisine, it’s a value, three-course meal, soup, salad, entrée and vegetables.”
General manager Ric Rose said the restaurant has a very loyal following.
“We’re one of the few and last supper clubs around,” Rose said. “We’re very much a retro décor with a big beautiful lounge with live entertainment Tuesday through Saturday, and we just introduced a new happy hour.”
Palm Court is known locally for its steaks, chops, chicken piccata, crispy Long Island duck to veal Oscar, lobster and prime rib, he said.
Its Restaurant Week menu includes lunch with a choice of soup or salad, apple brandy pork chop, prime rib sandwich, macadamia nut halibut, chicken cordon bleu plus a warm bread pudding with a bourbon sauce or a Ghirardelli chocolate mousse for $24.
Hey Nonny, an American bistro and live music venue in downtown Arlington Heights, is participating in restaurant week. The event, which runs March 6-15, 2020, includes 45 participating restaurants from eight nearby towns, including Arlington Heights, Schaumburg and Elk Grove Village. (Elizabeth Owens-Schiele / Pioneer Press)
For dinner, Rose said they added a classic wedge or French onion soup, with a choice of entrée including two, four-ounce tenderloin medallions, a pan-seared sea bass with a cream sauce to a seafood etouffee with jumbo shrimp in a cajun brown gravy, to a sautéed chicken dijonnaise with a bread pudding dessert for $36.
Advertisement
“I want to be able to capture a couple of items on our normal menus, and show what we offer,” Rose said. “It’s a good time to come in and try a place they normally wouldn’t, and hopefully, we can capture that guest so they will be returning customers.
“Restaurant Week is great for the community,” Rose said, “a great way to bring in guests, try different things, bring in returning guests, too.”
A complete listing of restaurants participating in Meet Chicago Northwest is available online at https://chicagonorthwest.com/restaurant-week/
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Coby White will make his 1st career start for the Bulls on Tuesday night vs. the Cavaliers: ‘He’s ea

Coby White will make his 1st career start for the Bulls on Tuesday night vs. the Cavaliers: ‘He’s earned it’

White ’ s play has been inconsistent and he admitted to fatigue in December , so Boylen did not want @ @ @ @ @ an increased role once he finally started to play better .
Besides , Boylen had @ @ @ @ @ since the start of February to more than 30 per game , among the most @ @ @ @

Bulls rookie guard Coby White will make his first career start Tuesday night at the United Center against the Cavaliers, his ascension into a more prominent role coming amid the best stretch of his young NBA career.
In the last eight games, White has been the team’s most consistent and productive player, averaging 26.9 points, 4.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds. His shooting percentages have increased to 48.8% from the field and 44.6% from 3-point range during that span, and he’s attempting about three free throws per game while making 92.3%.
Advertisement
And the Bulls have been thrilled with his steps forward as a playmaker and a defender.
“He’s earned it,” coach Jim Boylen said of the starting nod.
Advertisement
White will join the lineup in place of Tomas Satoransky, who had been the only Bull to start every game this season. White is the only other player to appear in all 64 games, but he came off the bench in each of them.
His presence should provide a spark to the starting lineup, especially considering Zach LaVine is set to miss his fifth consecutive game with a left quadriceps strain.
“Coach talked to me about it and he wants me to approach it the same way I’ve been approaching the game,” White said. “Doing my job, getting everybody involved and still finding my ways to score.”
Boylen initially resisted moving White, 20, into a new role, even when he started showing signs of a breakout.
White’s play has been inconsistent and he admitted to fatigue in December, so Boylen did not want to overload the rookie with an increased role once he finally started to play better. Besides, Boylen had increased White’s minutes since the start of February to more than 30 per game, among the most on the team.
Chicago Tribune Sports Weekdays A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
But White’s performance has become too good to ignore, and he shows no signs of slowing down. He was named Eastern Conference rookie of the month in February and has scored at least 20 points seven times during this eight-game stretch. He had surpassed the 20-point mark only five times in the previous 56 games.
“This is the next stage in his development,” Boylen said. “He’s earned this opportunity. He’s grown into this opportunity. And we’ll take it a game at a time and we’ll coach him the same way we’ve been coaching him. I’m excited for him.”
Boylen said he didn’t receive any pressure from the front office to make the change and had been considering elevating White into the lineup for some time. Boylen’s tune began to change last week from outright dismissal of the idea of White starting to hinting that it was “probably coming.”
Advertisement
After seeing the strides White has made on defense as well as scoring, Boylen was ready to make the switch.
“I feel like I came a long way both on the ball and off the ball,” White said. “I’ve learned a lot. I’ve gotten better at it over the course of the season, and I’m going to continue to keep getting better and continue to keep grinding on defense.”
Bulls fans have been clamoring for weeks for White to start, with the team’s broadcasters even getting involved in the push. White has maintained all along that getting a chance to start was never a priority this season, but now that the opportunity is in front of him, he’s excited to show what he can do from the start of the game.
“I honestly didn’t think I would be starting,” White said. “Coach never put the idea out there. We never really talked about it, so I was comfortable without starting. You know, I’m excited to start, but I was also comfortable not starting.”


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Study finds that fatal car crashes spike during the week after the clock springs forward for dayligh

Study finds that fatal car crashes spike during the week after the clock springs forward for daylight savings

“ An hour may not seem like a significant amount of time , but even small changes in our sleeping @ @ @ @ @ feel and , potentially , our reaction time while on the road , '' said @ @ @ @ @ for Farmers Insurance Group .
The insurance company also has found an increase in crashes @ @ @ @ @ with the week before the spring time change .

Fatal car crashes in the U.S. spike by 6% during the workweek following the daylight saving time change, resulting in about 28 additional deaths every year, according to a study.
The risk increases the farther west a person lives in a time zone and is worse in the morning, said the study by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, which analyzed more than 700,000 fatal crashes reported from 1996 to 2017 .
Advertisement
The increase in crashes could be related to driver sleepiness, as the time shift means that people have to wake up an hour earlier than they’re used to, the study said. It did not find that daylight saving time reduced afternoon rush-hour crashes due to better lighting.
“An hour may not seem like a significant amount of time, but even small changes in our sleeping habits can impact how we feel and, potentially, our reaction time while on the road," said Trevor Chapman , a spokesman for Farmers Insurance Group. The insurance company also has found an increase in crashes in the week after compared with the week before the spring time change.
Advertisement
The findings come as several states, including Oregon, California, Florida and Washington, consider doing away with the switch entirely, and a growing body of research shows increases in heart attacks, strokes, workplace injuries and other problems in the days following the “spring forward” change, when clocks are set ahead one hour.
The University of Colorado study, published Jan. 30 in the journal Current Biology, noted that in 2007, the increase in crashes moved from April to March, when the Energy Policy Act extended daylight saving time to begin on the second Sunday of March instead of the first Sunday in April.
Changes in crash patterns also occur after the “fall back” time change, with a decline in morning crashes and a spike in the evening, when darkness comes sooner, the study found. There was no overall change in crashes during the “fall back” week, the study found.
In total, over the 22 years studied, about 627 people died in fatal crashes associated with the spring time shift, the study found.
Last year, state Sen. Andy Manar, a Democrat from Bunker Hill in Southern Illinois, proposed that the state permanently operate on daylight saving time. The legislation passed the Senate last fall, but fizzled in the House.
Advertisement
If time changes are abolished, it would be better to go to standard time permanently, said Celine Vettel, assistant professor of integrative physiology and senior author of the University of Colorado study. That’s because research has shown that it’s better for sleep, the body clock and overall health to have more morning light and less evening light, Vettel said.
The United States briefly adopted daylight saving time during the World Wars I and II, as a way to save energy, but the issue was otherwise left to local and state governments for several decades. The Uniform Time Act was signed into law in 1966, and the biannual clock adjustment now occurs across the United States.
mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Testing phase of ‘Door Service’ recycling in Buffalo Grove shows program is a success: Village offic

Testing phase of ‘Door Service’ recycling in Buffalo Grove shows program is a success: Village officials

“ The numbers tell the story , ” Ottenheimer said at the March 2 Village Board meeting .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ would be a viable program , and it ’ s exceeded my expectations .
It @ @ @ @ @ for the village .
I also think it ’ s a good thing for the @ @ @ @ @ people didn ’ t have this At Your Door Service , would they maybe pitch @ @ @ @ @ they aren ’ t supposed to be ?
”

Buffalo Grove officials called the village’s pilot “At Your Door Service” recycling program a great success, but one village leader suggested a minor tweak moving forward.
More than 1,300 residents used the At Your Door Service – which allows them to dispose of hazardous and hard-to-recycle materials through the village’s waste hauler – in 2019 from May to December, Community Development Director Chris Stilling said.
Advertisement
“We’re very pleased to see that,” Stilling said. “That results in about 120,000 pounds of material sent for recycling. A little over 90 percent was eligible for recycling. The big items were TVs, paint and other chemicals.”
Trustee Lester Ottenheimer said he is very pleased with the program and a bit surprised by its success.
Advertisement
“The numbers tell the story,” Ottenheimer said at the March 2 Village Board meeting. “I had questions of whether this would be a viable program, and it’s exceeded my expectations. It’s a good thing for the village. I also think it’s a good thing for the environment. I wonder if people didn’t have this At Your Door Service, would they maybe pitch their TVs somewhere else that they aren’t supposed to be?”
Village President Beverly Sussman said she was also pleased with the results.
“Our residents are making good use of the program,” Sussman said. “That’s outstanding.”
Trustee Joanne Johnson said she is among the 1,336 residents who used the program. Johnson got rid of at least 15 gallons of old paint, a TV and a computer, she said.
To improve the program, Johnson said she has one suggestion for Waste Management, the company providing the service.
She said he online registration form is far more specific than the actual printed packet that is mailed to residents. As a result, users may think they are not able to recycle as many items when they see the online form, she said.
“You feel like you can only have those items on the (online) list, but when you get the packet (in the mail), there is a vast array of things you can actually put into the packet,” Johnson said. “The mail packet is much more detailed.”
Johnson asked village staff to reach out to Waste Management to better match the information available in the online and mailed packets.
Advertisement
“I experienced that and was happily surprised that I could add more stuff,” she said. “I’ve heard that from a couple people in the community as well. Other than that, it is fabulous to clean out all this stuff.”
Of more than 230 residents who returned comment cards to Waste Management to evaluate the program, more than 90% said the program was excellent or very good, Stilling said.
“All but one said they want to see it continue,” he said. The program is available through Waste Management under the village’s current contract, which expires in April 2022, Stilling said.
“We will continue to regulate and monitor the program,” he said. “Then we can evaluate it and see if we want to continue it or modify it.”
Phil Rockrohr is a freelancer.


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Watch live: Gov. Pritzker and health officials discuss coronavirus cases in Illinois

Four more Illinois residents have tested positive for the coronavirus , bring the total number of cases to 11 , @ @ @ @ @ officials said at a news conference at the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop @ @ @ @ @ issued a disaster proclamation “ to unlock additional federal resources and help the state prepare @ @ @ @ @ spread . ''
No deaths have been reported in Illinois .
Read the latest here @

This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as marketing, personalization, and analytics. By remaining on this website, you indicate your consent.


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Northwestern adds QB Peyton Ramsey, a graduate transfer from Indiana

“ Sometimes the road to realizing your dreams can take you in a different direction than you expected , ” @ @ @ @ @ posted on his Twitter account .
“ With that being said , I would like @ @ @ @ @ continue my playing career at Northwestern University .
I am grateful to Coach Fitz ( @ @ @ @ @ entire staff for this opportunity .
I can ’ t wait to get started .
@

Northwestern has another quarterback joining the competition to revive a passing game that was the nation’s worst in 2019.
Peyton Ramsey, who played in 32 games for Indiana with 23 starts over the last three seasons, announced Monday on Twitter that he is transferring to Northwestern. As a graduate transfer, Ramsey will be eligible to play this fall. He has one season of eligibility remaining.
Advertisement
Beyond excited for the next chapter. Time to get to work @NUFBFamily pic.twitter.com/1eVW6etnqE — Peyton Ramsey (@P_Rams12) March 9, 2020
“Sometimes the road to realizing your dreams can take you in a different direction than you expected,” Ramsey said in a statement posted on his Twitter account. “With that being said, I would like to announce my decision to continue my playing career at Northwestern University. I am grateful to Coach Fitz (Pat Fitzgerald) and his entire staff for this opportunity. I can’t wait to get started.”
Ramsey started four games for the Hoosiers as a redshirt freshman in 2017 and all 12 games in 2018. He lost his starting job to Michael Penix Jr. before last season but started the last seven games after Penix was injured.
Advertisement
Indiana went 4-3 in those games, with a seven-point loss at Penn State and a one-point loss to Tennessee in the Gator Bowl, to finish the season 8-5 — its highest win total since 1993.
For his career, Ramsey has completed 66.5% of his passes (633 of 952) for 6,581 yards with 42 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. The Cincinnati native is also a running threat with 832 career rushing yards on 300 attempts and 14 touchdowns.
The Wildcats last year started Hunter Johnson, Aidan Smith and Andrew Marty at quarterback. Their team passing efficiency rating was 84.53 — last in the 130-team Football Bowl Subdivision and more than 15 points lower than No. 129 Old Dominion.
NU quarterbacks combined to throw 15 interceptions and only six touchdown passes as the Wildcats went 3-9, their worst season in Fitzgerald’s 14 years as head coach.
Predicted #Northwestern QB depth chart: 1) Ramsey; 2) TJ Green (or redshirt & get a 7th season); 3) Andrew Marty (NU’s Tebow 💪🏼 ); 4) Hunter J (hang in there for 2021); 5) new kid from Cali; 6) dude who started during brutal losing streak — Teddy Greenstein (@TeddyGreenstein) March 9, 2020
Fitzgerald fired longtime offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mick McCall the day after the season ended and replaced him with former Boston College offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian.
Johnson, Smith and Marty all return, as does TJ Green, whom the NCAA granted a sixth season of eligibility after he suffered a season-ending foot injury in the season opener.
But it became clear in recent weeks that Fitzgerald and Bajakian wanted to add to the quarterbacks room as both Ramsey and USC graduate transfer Jack Sears visited Evanston.


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Sheriffs sue to block Illinois Trust Act, which prevents them from holding immigrant prisoners witho

Sheriffs sue to block Illinois Trust Act, which prevents them from holding immigrant prisoners without a federal warrant

Most of the conflict between the Trust Act and federal law revolves around the use of “ detainers , ” @ @ @ @ @ to keep custody of a person for up to 48 hours to give federal officials @ @ @ @ @ her immigration status .
The individual may then be released or turned over to federal @ @

Sheriff Mike Downey appears at the Kankakee County Jail in Kankakee on Oct. 8, 2019. He's one of four sheriffs who filed a lawsuit seeking to stop enforcement of the Illinois Trust Act. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Four sheriffs Monday filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop enforcement of the Illinois Trust Act, which restricts law enforcement from coordinating with federal officials regarding the custody of undocumented immigrants.
The act prohibits local law enforcement from detaining people based on their immigration status without a court-ordered warrant. The act makes it illegal to detain a prisoner based only on a request or “detainer” order from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency that handles deportation of immigrants who are in the country illegally.
Advertisement
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of McHenry County Sheriff Bill Prim, Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey, Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle and Stephenson County Sheriff David Snyders. It names Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul as defendant.
McHenry County Sheriff Bill Prim appears at a news conference in Rockford in 2019. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle speaks to the press near a home involved in an overnight fire in 2017, in Dixon. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The sheriffs stated in a news release that the Trust Act has exposed them and their offices to litigation over the years, as three of the four have been sued for alleged violations of the Act.
Advertisement
The suit asserts that the federal government alone has broad authority “to regulate matters pertaining to immigration and the status of aliens.” States may not obstruct enforcement of federal law, as the suit maintains the Trust Act does.
Most of the conflict between the Trust Act and federal law revolves around the use of “detainers,” which require local law enforcement to keep custody of a person for up to 48 hours to give federal officials time to check his or her immigration status. The individual may then be released or turned over to federal custody.
The ban on detainers, the suit states, unconstitutionally blocks federal law enforcement. The suit seeks temporary and permanent injunctions against enforcement of the law.
The law does not infringe on federal law enforcement, in the view of Fred Taso, senior policy council for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Instead, he said, the act restricts local law enforcement from honoring requests to hold prisoners without a declaration by a court that there is probable cause to believe they committed a crime.
Federal courts have held that incarcerating prisoners based on ICE detainer requests without probable cause is a violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable seizure, Tsao said.
In that sense, Tsao said, “The Trust Act sets a clear standard for local law enforcement to guard against violations of the Constitution.”
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the sheriffs in Ogle and Stephenson counties, alleging violations of the act, ACLU spokesman Ed Yohnka said. The McHenry sheriff also was sued based on allegations that he’d violated the Trust Act by illegally detaining a prisoner based on his immigration status, but that suit was dropped.
The new lawsuit comes about two weeks after the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association and Republican lawmakers raised alarms about a change in policy by which the state no longer detains convicted felons who are “undocumented immigrants” once they’ve served their sentences.
Advertisement
Previously, those convicted of felonies who had a federal immigration detainer were transferred to a detention center in Kankakee, under a contract with ICE.
In 2019, 223 people were transferred, including some convicted of sexual offenses involving minors, murder or attempted murder, Kankakee Sheriff Downey said. It wasn’t clear how many were deported.
The change “raises the stakes for a dangerous or violent altercation to occur in our communities,” Downey said.
Gov J.B. Pritzker will “pause” state Department of Corrections interactions with ICE, the governor’s spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said at the time.
“The governor has made it abundantly clear that Illinois will be a firewall against the president’s attacks on immigrant communities,” she said.
The debate comes at a time when immigration law enforcement has become a particularly charged subject. Republican President Donald Trump has pushed for stronger enforcement, while criticizing Democratic-controlled “sanctuary” cities and states, where local laws limit cooperation with federal officials.
Advertisement
The attorney general’s spokesperson Annie Thompson issued this statement in response to the suit: “The TRUST Act reflects the values of Illinois residents and serves to build relationships between law enforcement agencies and immigrant communities instead of spreading fear based on immigration status. The Attorney General’s office maintains that the TRUST Act is constitutional.”
rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Review: ‘Her Honor Jane Byrne’ at Lookingglass Theatre isn’t the story of a mayor, but the people of

Review: ‘Her Honor Jane Byrne’ at Lookingglass Theatre isn’t the story of a mayor, but the people of Cabrini-Green

It ’ s just that , structurally , Brooks has written a history play and stuck herself as her own @ @ @ @ @ whom she really sees as incapable of making any meaningful change , just a cypher @ @ @ @ @ or Guildenstern than a Henry V. And I don ’ t know if this was @ @ @ @ @ s family or something like that , but there is a certain diffidence at the @ @ @ @ @ The Byrne character never confronts these issues directly .
And thus the best moments of @ @ @ @ @ is off the stage , or just sitting listening to people whom the playwright has @ @ @ @ @ And that brings up the issue of why not center this show on , say @ @ @ @ @ , people who walk the walk on the concrete on a daily basis and who @ @ @ @ @ more interesting .
Our empathy flows to everyone except the title character .

J. Nicole Brooks, the immensely talented creator of “Her Honor Jane Byrne” at the Lookingglass Theatre, didn’t really want to write about the former mayor of Chicago, and she certainly didn’t want to imply that Jane Byrne’s spur-of-the-moment decision to briefly move into an apartment at the crime-saturated Cabrini-Green housing project in 1981 was anything other than a misguided, shoot-from-the-hip gesture from a well-meaning but deeply frustrated public servant.
What Brooks really wanted to do, it feels, is to write about Cabrini-Green itself: the systemic racism that led to its creation, the resilience of its residents, the courage of activists like the late Marion Stamps, and the abiding need for modern-day Chicago and its leaders still to reckon with its decision to warehouse at least 14,000 of its most vulnerable citizens, unofficially a lot more, in a community where the city could not guarantee their safety or even provide the most basic of services. Go out and get a job, its young people were told, only for them to become trapped in elevators that never worked, not figuratively and not literally, either.
Advertisement
That is a play worth writing, especially resonant and powerful for those of us who were living here before the bulldozers. At one point in “Her Honor Jane Byrne,” which opened on Michigan Avenue on Saturday night in a multi-sensory world forged by the designers Yu Shibagaki, Christine A. Binder, Mieka Van Der Ploeg, Christopher M. LaPorte, Rasean Davonte Johnson and the composer Michael Huey, we hear Chicago police officers blithely discuss their strategy of “containment," a word that hits you like a thunderbolt in this virus-ravaged moment and that references what was basically official police policy in 1981, meaning ensure that no trouble escapes the boundaries of Halsted or North Avenue, but do nothing to control life (and death) within the hot zone itself.
That is what we all did, for shame, and this new work of theater makes those consequences painfully clear.
Advertisement
And when such semi-fictional denizens of Cabrini as Black Che (Robert Cornelius), Stamps (TaRon Patton), the girl known as Tiger (Nicole Michelle Haskins) and the boy known as Kid (Willie “Mudlife Roc” Round), walk, run or bike across the Lookingglass stage, this show explodes with poetic life. Brooks has crafted some gorgeous scenes, especially involving Tiger’s wrenching efforts to do exactly what the city was telling her to do without providing the necessary tools, and when Black Che, played with relish by Cornelius, tells a reporter from another world (Tracy Walsh) what really goes on in this place with the million-dollar views and the snipers behind the windows.
As such, this world premiere is, at times, a deeply moving portrait of systemic failure and human resilience. On our doorsteps.
It just does not need Jane Byrne in its title, and certainly not any expectation that the work offers many insights into the actions of city’s first female mayor. For that to really work, Byrne would have to change or morph in some ways during the evening. But that’s not what happens here. As the mayor, the highly disciplined Christine Mary Dunford sets her features into the kind of static mask that reminded me of performers playing the hated Margaret Thatcher in the British socialist dramas of the 1990s, striding around the stage as if determined to stay the course and focus on the details. There they remain throughout. Unyielding. The Jane Byrne you see in the final scene of this show is exactly like the character you see at the beginning.
Tellingly, Brooks doesn’t even include a scene where the mayor moves in to her apartment, which you might expect to be near the start of this play. That’s not how Brooks sees the history: Byrne, she says, was a mere blip on the radar of Cabrini-Green.
This is not to say that Brooks is mean to the mayor’s memory; she just sees her as a consequence of her milieu, a Gold Coast white liberal who might have tried more than most, maybe even for the best reasons, but still was unable to make even a dent into Cabrini’s problems — even displacing residents for her personal bit of political theater and thus making life worse, at least for them. There are nods to the sexual discrimination Byrne faced and even to the history of Irish tenements on the same land as Cabrini. But in no way is this a disinterested or even two-sided history; it’s a political indictment.
Christine Mary Dunford, Thomas J. Cox and Josh Odor in "Her Honor Jane Byrne" at Lookingglass Theatre. (Liz Lauren photo)
The men around Byrne — her husband, Jay McMullen (Frank Nall), the Alderman Fred Roti (Thomas J. Cox) and various CHA bureaucrats and press agents — come off as either mobbed-up or idiotic or both. Cox has played a lot of weasels in Chicago theater of late, and this show certainly adds to his collection.
The record, of course, offers plenty of evidence for Brooks’ charges. Plenty. Byrne and the cameras were gone in weeks and the problems remained.
It’s just that, structurally, Brooks has written a history play and stuck herself as her own director with a central protagonist whom she really sees as incapable of making any meaningful change, just a cypher really, more a Rosencrantz or Guildenstern than a Henry V. And I don’t know if this was deference to the mayor’s family or something like that, but there is a certain diffidence at the heart of the play. The Byrne character never confronts these issues directly. And thus the best moments of the show are when Byrne is off the stage, or just sitting listening to people whom the playwright has given more moral authority. And that brings up the issue of why not center this show on, say, Black Che or Stamps, people who walk the walk on the concrete on a daily basis and who here come off as far more interesting. Our empathy flows to everyone except the title character.
Advertisement
At Saturday’s opening, this deeply ambitious show didn’t feel fully ready — lines weren’t all there and some of the transitions to the more utopian, fanciful scenes, often involving interpretive dance, needed far more time to gel. Those sequences are not the strength of the piece.
Its heart (unfinished) lies in its admiration for the people on the ground and its determination to tell their story with eloquence and understanding in as much of its complexity as a night of theater on Michigan Avenue possibly can muster. You could see the beginning of a movie here, or a cable drama series with multiple protagonists and storylines. You could imagine Brooks carrying on with this project and coming to see that she barely needs Byrne at all. Just Cabrini and what it means.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “Her Honor Jane Byrne” (3 stars)
When: Through April 12
Advertisement
Where: Lookingglass Theatre Company, 821 N. Michigan Ave.
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Tickets: $45-$85 at 312-337-0665 or www.lookingglasstheatre.org


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--Revolution Brewing becomes Illinois’ top-selling craft brewery, besting Blue Moon and Goose Island

According to IRI , Revolution ’ s sales were down about $ 288,000 in Illinois in 2019 .
By comparison @ @ @ @ @ $ 1.4 million , Leinenkugel was down $ 3.3 million and Goose Island was down @ @ @ @ @ drops allowed Revolution to vault from the state ’ s fourth-biggest craft beer brand in @ @ @ @ @ in 2019 .

In a tough 2019 for craft beer in Illinois, Revolution Brewing surpassed three competitors to become the state's top-selling craft beer brand. (E. Jason Wambsgans, Chicago Tribune)
By at least one metric, there’s been a changing of the craft beer guard in Illinois: Revolution Brewing has become the state’s top-selling brand.
In an intensely competitive market, the Logan Square brewery pushed past Blue Moon, Leinenkugel and Goose Island to become the state’s biggest-selling craft brand in 2019, according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI Worldwide.
Advertisement
IRI tracks the stores where a majority of beer industry sales happen — grocery, convenience, big box and drug stores — but not bars, liquor stores or stadiums (where, for instance, Anheuser-Busch-owned Goose Island sells plenty of beer due to sponsorship deals with the Cubs and White Sox).
Still, the development, first reported last week by Brewbound, is notable in one of the nation’s fiercest beer markets.
Advertisement
According to IRI, Revolution nudged past Blue Moon’s Illinois sales by a mere $20,000 in 2019. The brands essentially tied for Illinois dominance, both accounting for about $12.2 million in sales and 10.4 percent of Illinois’ craft beer market.
Leinenkugel did $11.9 million in sales (10.2 percent of the Illinois market) and Goose Island saw $11.5 million in sales (9.8 percent).
Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
The story, however, isn’t Revolution growing past its competitors. Amid the intense competition, Revolution managed to lose less share than its competitors.
According to IRI, Revolution’s sales were down about $288,000 in Illinois in 2019. By comparison, Blue Moon was down $1.4 million, Leinenkugel was down $3.3 million and Goose Island was down $1.7 million. Those drops allowed Revolution to vault from the state’s fourth-biggest craft beer brand in 2018 to the top spot in 2019.
Though sales were down, Revolution gained 0.7 percent market share, according to IRI. Blue Moon lost 0.1 percent market share, Leinenkugel, echoing a large national dip for the brand, lost 1.6 percent market share and Goose Island lost 0.4 percent market share.
Of those four breweries, Revolution is the only one not owned by a major beer company; Blue Moon and Leinenkugel are Molson Coors products and Goose Island was sold to Anheuser-Busch in 2011. Anheuser-Busch makes the majority of Goose Island beer in New York and Colorado, though production of smaller brands continues in Chicago.
Lagunitas, Samuel Adams, New Belgium, Bell’s, Founders and Sierra Nevada rounded out the top 10 top selling craft brands in Illinois in 2019, according to IRI. Those breweries were followed in terms of dollar sales by three local brands: Half Acre, Three Floyds and Two Brothers.
Of the top 15 brands in Illinois, the biggest growth in terms of dollar sales came from Half Acre, which saw growth of $437,000 from 2018 to 2019. Its share of the Illinois craft beer market rose 0.6 percentage points of market share, to 2.6 percent overall.
Advertisement
jbnoel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--The Brewers will be paying Christian Yelich until 2042 — when he’s 50 years old

If the buyout is owed , the $ 30 million in deferred money would be paid in 12 installments of @ @ @ @ @ 1 from 2031-42 .
If the buyout is not owed , Yelich would receive the @ @ @ @ @ installments of $ 2,333,333 each July 1 from 2031-41 and a final payment of $ @ @ @ @ @ 2042 .

Milwaukee will be paying Christian Yelich until 2042, when the All-Star outfielder is 50 years old.
Yelich's $215 million, nine-year contract with the team calls for Brewers to defer $4 million each year from his $26 million annual salary from 2022-28. The deal includes a $20 million mutual option for 2029 with a $6.5 million buyout, and $2 million of the buyout would be deferred.
Advertisement
If the buyout is owed, the $30 million in deferred money would be paid in 12 installments of $2.5 million each July 1 from 2031-42. If the buyout is not owed, Yelich would receive the $28 million in 11 installments of $2,333,333 each July 1 from 2031-41 and a final payment of $2,333,337 on July 1, 2042.
Yelich's new deal includes salaries of $12.5 million for this year and $14 million in 2021, the same as in the last two guaranteed seasons of the nearly $49.6 million, seven-year contract he signed in March 2015 with Miami. None of that money will be deferred.
Advertisement
Yelich would get $100,000 for winning the MVP award, $75,000 for finishing second in the voting and $50,000 for third. He won the 2018 NL MVP and was second in last year's balloting.
He would get $50,000 each for All-Star selection, World Series MVP, Silver Slugger, Hank Aaron Award and Comeback Player of the Year. He would get $25,000 apiece for League Championship Series MVP and Gold Glove.
As part of the agreement announced Friday, Yelich has the right not to be traded without his consent. He also gets four premium tickets for 20 mutually agreed upon regular-season games annually.
A 28-year-old outfielder, Yelich is a two-time All-Star and a one-time Gold Glove winner. He would have been eligible for free agency after the 2021 or 2022 season, depending on a team option in his previous contract.
Yelich’s contract includes the largest guarantee given by the Brewers, topping the $145.5 million for Ryan Braun from 2011-20.


chicagotribune--2020-03-09--‘It’s hard for me to think what a normal offseason is’: Cubs pitcher Danny Hultzen hopes to prove he

‘It’s hard for me to think what a normal offseason is’: Cubs pitcher Danny Hultzen hopes to prove he’s durable and find consistency

“ We ’ re not models in here , ” the 6-foot-3 , 210-pound Hultzen said .
“ We ’ @ @ @ @ @ big and strong .
I was at a certain point in my career that I @ @ @ @ @ , looking good in a uniform , was what made you good in baseball .
@ @ @ @ @ works for some guys but doesn ’ t work for other guys .

MESA, Ariz. — After missing two full seasons because of arm injuries, Cubs left-hander Danny Hultzen welcomes the next challenge in his career.
The durability of Hultzen’s left shoulder will be tested by Major League Baseball’s new rules governing the minimum batters pitchers must face and expanding the number of days they must spend on the injured list.
Advertisement
“I’m excited for that,” said Hultzen, who pitched one scoreless inning Sunday against the Diamondbacks in his exhibition debut. “Having my career mostly be as a starter, I’m used to facing a lot of guys. And pitching last year occasionally for one or two batters was an adjustment.
“I’m looking forward to that, even if it’s to come in for one batter at the end of innings. I’m used to facing more batters at a time.”
Advertisement
Hultzen, 30, eventually will need to show he can pitch on consecutive days and remain durable. Relievers now must face at least three batters or finish an inning. The minimum time pitchers must spend on the injured list was expanded from 10 to 15 days to prevent teams from manipulating the injured list.
“How he holds up is really going to be a big determination because his stuff is real,” manager David Ross said earlier this spring. “When he’s rested up and ready, he’s got some interesting stuff for righties and lefties.
“I like Danny. He’s willing to do anything for the club. He wants to put his best foot forward, and he’s been through a lot of adversity. I’m anxious to see how he plays and can contribute to our group.”
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 21 Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Hultzen didn’t pitch on consecutive days in any of his 14 appearances with Triple-A Iowa and six games with the Cubs last season. He pitched one inning for the Cubs on three occasions in September, striking out three and allowing one hit in his major-league debut against the Brewers on Sept. 8.
But Hultzen, who made his major-league debut more than eight years after the Mariners picked him second in the 2011 draft, is aiming higher this time around.
He believes he can make a long-term impact on the Cubs bullpen despite the team placing him on a deliberate program to maintain his health.
“It’s hard for me to think what a normal offseason is,” Hultzen said three weeks ago. “Every season has been different for me, whether it’s recovering from surgery or planning to pitch that year or planning to stick around.”
Hultzen missed all of 2014 after surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff. Recurring ailments in 2015-16 limited him to five minor-league games and his subsequent release from the Mariners.
Advertisement
He spent the 2017 season completing his history degree at the University of Virginia while rehabbing his shoulder and serving as an assistant coach for the baseball team. The Cubs took a flier on him in 2018.
Chicago Tribune Sports Weekdays A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
“I’ve had a lot of different offseasons and just tried to take advantage of coming into this year with what my experience last year taught me and using that to fuel what I want to do this year,” Hultzen said.
Hultzen threw 15 pitches against the Diamondbacks, with his fastball topping out at 95 mph. He bounced an 83 mph breaking pitch in the dirt to fool Andy Young for his first strikeout.
The experience he gained while training and rehabbing has helped him prepare properly for this season.
“We’re not models in here,” the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Hultzen said. “We’re not trying to get big and strong. I was at a certain point in my career that I thought being big and strong, looking good in a uniform, was what made you good in baseball. My experiences showed me that works for some guys but doesn’t work for other guys.
“Trying to squat 450 pounds really doesn’t work for me anymore. Squatting and moving properly is the way that translates back onto the field. And shifting that type of thinking has helped me over the last couple years.”
Advertisement
The Cubs took Hultzen off the 40-man roster after the 2019 season, but he was eager to re-sign with them because of his familiarity with the organization.
“The Cubs have been unbelievable to me, and the good relationships I have with all these guys is something I didn’t want to change,” Hultzen said. “There are familiar faces, which I’m very happy with. (Being) taken off the roster ... was tough, but at the end of the day, it didn’t matter for me.”