Chicago Sports

The Bulls have 23 regular-season games left.

And guard Zach LaVine made no bones about it: Every player in the rotation will be important, but a lot of it still falls on the shoulders of DeMar DeRozan.

Not just on the court, where DeRozan has emerged as a top five MVP candidate, but maybe more importantly off the court.

“I’m glad to have another guy that’s been in these situations, these big-time games, where we haven’t been in that before,” LaVine said, when discussing the DeRozan influence. “You know he’s been to the Eastern Conference finals a couple of times, and been in big moments. His calmness is something that’s always been impressive to me.”

A calmness that will be needed.

Of those 23 remaining games, 18 of them will come against teams currently sitting in at least a spot for the play-in game or higher. The hope is the Bulls could be fully healthy by the third week of March, which could leave them about 12 games to get reacquainted before it becomes win the series or go home.

Considering some of the other health issues teams with contending hopes are going through, the Bulls might actually be in a good situation. That’s why on the Concern Scale for the playoffs — with 10 being the biggest concern — the Bulls are at a solid four.

They do need a lot to go right for Alex Caruso (wrist surgery), Lonzo Ball (knee surgery) and Patrick Williams (wrist surgery) to all fully recover and be back in a rhythm, but the three of them have had no setbacks yet, so there’s no reason to believe they won’t be ready.

How the other Eastern Conference contending teams rate on the Concern Scale:

Miami Heat

Concern Scale: 2 — Markieff Morris is still dealing with the bad neck, while guard Victor Oladipo (knee) was finally playing five-on-five with the G-League team, and could be back in the next few weeks. After dealing with some early-season injuries, Miami could be getting as healthy as any team in the league.

They haven’t really needed Morris since he felt the wrath of Nikola Jokic, and Oladipo hasn’t been ready to play all season, so both are actually luxuries for the postseason.

Philadelphia 76ers

Concern Scale: 2 — With Ben Simmons now a Brooklyn problem, all eyes shift to James Harden and his trick hamstring. “The Beard” made it pretty clear over the All-Star Weekend that the Harden-Joel Embiid debut would be coming right out of the break, Friday at Minnesota.

As long as Harden’s left hamstring holds up, the new-look 76ers will have 24 games to figure each other out.

Milwaukee Bucks

Concern Scale: 5 — Brook Lopez’s back surgery has taken a huge piece from the defending champions, but there remains optimism that he will be returning at some point. That’s a big if. There’s a reason Milwaukee acquired Serge Ibaka at the deadline, because there was enough of a concern with Lopez that they knew they needed another big to throw at Embiid and Miami’s Bam Adebayo.

Pat Connaughton had surgery on a hand fracture and was projected to be back in mid-March. Another role player, but also an important one.

Brooklyn Nets

Concern Scale: 9 — The Kevin Durant knee injury was on the mend coming out of the break, and while the timetable is vague, it did sound like it would be sooner than later. That will immediately change Brooklyn’s fortunes.

But there is still the mask mandate in New York that sidelines Kyrie Irving for home games, as well as the mental health concerns hovering over Simmons. Both Irving and Simmons have a history of disappearing in key playoff moments — whether it was injury or seemingly being disinterested in being a factor — so those reputations can only be changed through action.

Joe Harris’ ankle injury could need a second procedure, so don’t count on him returning.

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U.S. women soccer players reached a landmark agreement with the sport’s American governing body to end a six-year legal battle over equal pay, a deal in which they are promised $24 million plus bonuses that match those of the men.

The U.S. Soccer Federation and the women announced a deal Tuesday that will have players split $22 million, about one-third of what they had sought in damages. The USSF also agreed to establish a fund with $2 million to benefit the players in their post-soccer careers and charitable efforts aimed at growing the sport for women.

The USSF committed to providing an equal rate of pay for the women’s and men’s national teams — including World Cup bonuses — subject to collective bargaining agreements with the unions that separately represent the women and men.

“For our generation, knowing that we’re going to leave the game in an exponentially better place than when we found it is everything,” 36-year-old midfielder Megan Rapinoe said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “That’s what it’s all about because, to be honest, there is no justice in all of this if we don’t make sure it never happens again.”

The settlement was a victory for the players, who sparked fans to chant “Equal Pay!” when they won their second straight title in France in 2019. And it was a success for USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone, a former player who became head of the federation in March 2020.

Cone replaced Carlos Cordeiro, who quit after the federation made a legal filing that claimed women had less physical ability and responsibility than male counterparts.

“This is just one step towards rebuilding the relationship with the women’s team. I think this is a great accomplishment and I’m excited about the future and working together with them,” Cone said. “Now we can shift the focus to other things, most importantly, growing the game at all levels and increasing opportunities for girls and women.”

U.S. women have won four World Cups since the program’s start in 1985, while the men haven’t reached a semifinal since 1930.

Five American stars led by Alex Morgan and Rapinoe began the challenge with a complaint to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April 2016. Women sued three years later, seeking damages under the federal Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The sides settled the working conditions portion in December 2020, dealing with issues such as charter flights, accommodations and playing surfaces. They were scheduled to argue on March 7 before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an attempt to reinstate the equal pay portion thrown out by a U.S. District Court.

“The settlement announced today is an important step in righting the many wrongs of the past,” the union for the women’s team said in a statement.

While a labor contract remains to be reached and ratified to replace the deal that expires March 31, the settlement was an enormous step.

“It’s so gratifying to feel like we can start to mend a relationship with U.S. Soccer that has been severed for so many years because of the discrimination that we faced,” said Morgan, a 32-year-old forward. “To finally get to this moment feels like we can almost sigh a breath of relief.”

Players were able to set aside the legal distractions to continue on-field success.

“The additional hours and stress and outside pressures and discriminations we face, I mean sometimes you think why the hell was I born a female?” Morgan said. “And then sometimes you think how incredible is it to be able to fight for something that you actually believe in and stand alongside these women. … There was something more than stepping on the field and wanting to be a starter or wanting to score goals or wanting to win or wanting to have the glory.”

The $22 million will be split into individual amounts proposed by the players, subject to the District Court’s approval.

Cone said the federation’s method of equalizing World Cup bonuses is yet to be determined. The federation has until now based bonuses on payments from FIFA, which earmarked $400 million for the 2018 men’s tournament, including $38 million to champion France, and $30 million for the 2019 women’s tournament, including $4 million to the champion U.S.

American men have been playing under the terms of a CBA that expired in December 2018.

Rapinoe was critical of both Cordeiro and his predecessor, Sunil Gulati, who headed the USSF from 2006-18. Cordeiro is seeking to regain the job from Cone when the USSF National Council meets on March 5 to vote on a four-year term.

“The thing that Cindy did was acknowledge the wrongdoing and apologize for the wrongdoing,” Rapinoe said. “It was well within Sunil’s ability to not discriminate and to pay us fairly and equally. It was well within Carlos’ ability to do that, and they made choices not to. … I think Cindy has shown a lot of strength in that, and I think the other two, frankly, just showed a ton of weakness and showed really their true colors in allowing this to happen for so long.”

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A Chicago firefighter was injured early Tuesday at a fire at a vacant apartment complex in Albany Park on the Northwest Side.

Fire crews responded to a building in the 3300 block of West Cullom Aveune around 3:30 a.m., Chicago police said. The fire was struck out about 30 minutes later.

A firefighter was taken to Swedish Covenant Hospital with leg pain, according to fire officials.

An investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing.

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Rubble was still burning from an extra-alarm fire in Albany Park early Monday when questions arose about the landlord of an apartment building that was gutted along with a popular brewery and a martial arts gym.

Even though fire officials on the scene could not say where the fire started or how, attention focused on Gary Carlson, who has a history of code violations at the dozens of properties he owns in the area.

Public records show he was under city orders to fix electrical problems at the building in the 4300 block of North Richmond Street. Displaced residents complained about trash and rowdy neighbors. A state legislator said he had a “bad feeling” about the building.

But the landlord told the Sun-Times he is being falsely accused. Carlson claimed a witness saw the brewery, Twisted Hippo, burning before the fire spread across an alley to all four floors of his apartment building.

“It’s all about a landlord being guilty until they prove themselves innocent, right?” Carlson said. “As a landlord in the city of Chicago, guilty until you prove yourself innocent instead of the opposite way around. Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

An extra-alarm fire destroyed an apartment building and heavily damaged Twisted Hippo Brewery and Ultimate Ninjas.Anthony Vazquez | Chicago Sun-Times

Carlson said he got a message from the daughter of a tenant saying “she saw the Hippo, Hippo whatever it is, burning. And then the fire spread to my building, not the other way around. That’s it.”

He added that the brewery “had the highly flammable materials in there. I don’t blame anybody. But why are they blaming me?”

The co-owner of the brewery could not be reached about Carlson’s comments. But she told reporters at the scene earlier in the day that tanks of carbon dioxide and nitrogen were inside the building and may have exploded in the fire.

Fire officials said Monday night the fire appeared to have started under one of two stair sets that were in between the commercial and the apartment building.

Fire crews were called around 3:45 a.m. and the alarm was quickly raised to a 3-11 as the fire burned through the apartment building, the brewery and Ultimate Ninjas next door, officials said.

Fire officials said all the residents were able to escape their apartments but a 60-year-old man was taken in serious condition to Swedish Covenant Hospital with smoke inhalation.

The owner of the brewery, Marilee Rutherford, said someone in the neighborhood alerted her to the fire.

“It’s hard to see everything you worked for go up in flames, but I’m just glad my staff and everyone is OK,” she told reporters. “That’s all I’m focused on.”

Twisted Hippo opened in January of 2019 at a site where three other breweries had opened and quickly closed. Rutherford said looking at the charred remains was “a little unreal. It’s hard. It’s going to be hard, but we are lucky to have had it, and we will see how we move forward.”

By the afternoon, an online fundraising effort had collected more than $64,000 to cover Rutherford’s costs from the fire.

Carlson said he was told the city may order his building torn down, though to him it looked like it was “perfectly salvageable.”

He said he was thankful that nobody was hurt and sorry that families were suddenly left homeless. Carlson insisted that he always responded to any issues tenants and neighbors brought to his attention.

“There is absolutely no appreciation factor for landlords,” he said. We’re all money-grubbing ass—– to put off all their maintenance, take the money and run. And nothing can be the further from the truth. “

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The sun hadn’t risen yet when Marilee Rutherford walked up to a row of television cameras Monday, what was left of her Albany Park brewery still burning behind her.

“It’s a little unreal,” said Rutherford, who opened Twisted Hippo on Montrose Avenue a little over three years ago with her husband. “It’s…It’s hard. It’s going to be hard, but we are lucky to have had it and we will see how we move forward.”

An extra-alarm fire apparently started in an apartment building in the 4300 block of North Richmond Street around 3:45 a.m. and spread to the brewery and a gym for children called the Ultimate Ninjas in the 2900 block of West Montrose Ave., according to fire officials.

The apartment building was gutted and the back of the brewery and gym were reduced to rubble. One injury was reported, a 60-year-old man who was taken in serious condition to Swedish Covenant Hospital.

An extra-alarm fire destroyed an apartment building and heavily damaged Twisted Hippo Brewery and Ultimate Ninjas.Anthony Vazquez | Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago fire officials said the second and third floors of the apartment building were engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, but all of the residents were able to escape.

The cause of the fire was unknown but it appeared to have started in the apartment building.

Rutherford said someone in the neighborhood alerted them to the fire. She said explosions reported by neighborhoods were likely from tanks used by the brewery.

Twisted Hippo opened in January of 2019 at a site where three other breweries had opened and quickly closed. At the time, Rutherford said she was aware of the failed ventures but added, “I also know the neighborhood is hungry for something wonderful here.”

Early Monday, Rutherford said it was “hard to see everything you worked for go up in flames, but I’m just glad my staff and everyone is okay. That’s all I’m focused on.”

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The sun hadn’t risen yet when Marilee Rutherford walked up to a row of television cameras Monday, what was left of her Albany Park brewery still burning behind her.

“It’s a little unreal,” said Rutherford, who opened Twisted Hippo on Montrose Avenue a little over three years ago with her husband. “It’s…It’s hard. It’s going to be hard, but we are lucky to have had it and we will see how we move forward.”

An extra-alarm fire apparently started in an apartment building in the 4300 block of North Richmond Street around 3:45 a.m. and spread to the brewery and a gym for children called the Ultimate Ninjas in the 2900 block of West Montrose Ave., according to fire officials.

The apartment building was gutted and the back of the brewery and gym were reduced to rubble. One injury was reported, a 60-year-old man who was taken in serious condition to Swedish Covenant Hospital.

An extra-alarm fire destroyed an apartment building and heavily damaged Twisted Hippo Brewery and Ultimate Ninjas.Anthony Vazquez | Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago fire officials said the second and third floors of the apartment building were engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, but all of the residents were able to escape.

The cause of the fire was unknown but it appeared to have started in the apartment building.

Rutherford said someone in the neighborhood alerted them to the fire. She said explosions reported by neighborhoods were likely from tanks used by the brewery.

Twisted Hippo opened in January of 2019 at a site where three other breweries had opened and quickly closed. At the time, Rutherford said she was aware of the failed ventures but added, “I also know the neighborhood is hungry for something wonderful here.”

Early Monday, Rutherford said it was “hard to see everything you worked for go up in flames, but I’m just glad my staff and everyone is okay. That’s all I’m focused on.”

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The Fire formally introduced Zherdan Shaqiri at a Monday news conference. The most high-profile player the Fire have signed since Bastian Schweinsteiger in 2017, Shaqiri reiterated what he previously told the Sun-Times about his desire to win in Chicago and stressed he should be ready for Saturday’s season opener at Inter Miami.

Shaqiri, even if he does have the biggest name recognition and salary, isn’t the only acquisition who could help the Fire collect victories this year after an active and productive winter.

Outside of Shaqiri, sporting director Georg Heitz and the Fire have brought in three other impactful players this offseason to help a team in desperate need of difference-makers. Defender Rafael Czichos is expected to provide steadiness and veteran leadership, striker Kacper Przybylko will be counted on to convert Shaqiri passes into goals, and attacker Jairo Torres’ role will be to add speed from the wing once he arrives May 1.

Coach Ezra Hendrickson said it’s “exciting times” for the Fire after the offseason they’ve had, but wants to see the work translate to success on the field.

“But we are doing what we can, and that started by getting the right players, the players we felt could fit the organization and what we’re looking for,” Hendrickson said. “Now we just have to make sure that we put the right team on the pitch and we play some good [soccer] and win some games, because that’s what it’s all about.”

Heitz’s first two years did not bring many wins or memorable soccer. But instead of trying to tweak the 2020-21 core and chase a bad bet, Heitz allowed nine players to leave right after last season and subsequently moved underwhelming designated player Ignacio Aliseda to Swiss partner club FC Lugano. Heitz also seemed to change his philosophy to look for older players, and in Przybylko’s case, somebody who’s performed in MLS.

By getting a dependable but non-designated player striker like Przybylko, Heitz opened up more flexibility that allowed the Fire to grab both Shaqiri and Torres to bolster an attack that was one of the league’s worst in 2021. And in Shaqiri, Czichos and Przybylko, he targeted experienced players who have enjoyed success before.

On Monday, Heitz bluntly said the Fire “lacked winners,” a shortcoming he worked to address before the season kicks off.

“We wanted to bring a couple of really highly skilled players, and also with mentality,” Heitz said. “We need more confidence on the field, and we are really looking forward to seeing Xherdan, but also the other new players and the players who are still here to perform in the upcoming weeks.”

At times this offseason, it felt like the Fire would be stuck again, provoking more angst among an already-anxious fan base. The signings of Shaqiri and Torres came relatively late, and Heitz quipped the Fire didn’t wait on purpose to make their biggest moves.

The timing of the deals won’t matter much if they pan out, a lesson from Heitz’s first build two years ago when he admittedly tried to do too much too quickly.

“I think in the end you have to sign the right players that we felt, or we feel at the moment, that we have signed the right players,” Heitz said. “On the other hand, no one has ever won a trophy for just signing players. In the end, we have to also bring the results and play well. It was well thought through what we made, and which doesn’t necessarily mean that automatically you will be successful. But we are pretty confident that we made the right choices.”

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The sun hadn’t risen yet when Marilee Rutherford walked up to a row of television cameras Monday, what was left of her Albany Park brewery still burning behind her.

“It’s a little unreal,” said Rutherford, who opened Twisted Hippo on Montrose Avenue a little over three years ago with her husband. “It’s…It’s hard. It’s going to be hard, but we are lucky to have had it and we will see how we move forward.”

An extra-alarm fire apparently started in an apartment building in the 4300 block of North Richmond Street around 3:45 a.m. and spread to the brewery and a gym for children called the Ultimate Ninjas in the 2900 block of West Montrose Ave., according to fire officials.

The apartment building was gutted and the back of the brewery and gym were reduced to rubble. One injury was reported, a 60-year-old man who was taken in serious condition to Swedish Covenant Hospital.

An extra-alarm fire destroyed an apartment building and heavily damaged Twisted Hippo Brewery and Ultimate Ninjas.Anthony Vazquez | Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago fire officials said the second and third floors of the apartment building were engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, but all of the residents were able to escape.

The cause of the fire was unknown but it appeared to have started in the apartment building.

Rutherford said someone in the neighborhood alerted them to the fire. She said explosions reported by neighborhoods were likely from tanks used by the brewery.

Twisted Hippo opened in January of 2019 at a site where three other breweries had opened and quickly closed. At the time, Rutherford said she was aware of the failed ventures but added, “I also know the neighborhood is hungry for something wonderful here.”

Early Monday, Rutherford said it was “hard to see everything you worked for go up in flames, but I’m just glad my staff and everyone is okay. That’s all I’m focused on.”

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The Blackhawks’ immorality house-cleaning has justifiably swept legendary former player-turned-ambassador Bobby Hull out the door, too.

Hull and the Hawks mutually parted ways earlier this season, the team announced Monday, although it’s not hard to decipher the impetus for that decision.

“We’re redefining the role of team ambassador — which unfortunately comes on the heels of losing two very special members of that family,” the Hawks said in a statement. “When it comes to Bobby specifically, we jointly agreed earlier this season that he will retire from any official team role.”

Stan Mikita’s death in 2018, Tony Esposito’s death in 2021 and Hull’s departure now in 2022 leaves just Chris Chelios and Denis Savard as the Hawks’ two remaining ambassadors at the moment.

Hull’s history of horrible off-ice behavior — including rampant allegations of domestic abuse and racism — have overshadowed his impressive on-ice legacy for decades, making his continued ambassadorship a black eye for the organization.

Hull was named an ambassador in 2008 well after those allegations had surfaced, though, suggesting — until now — the Hawks didn’t care about them.

But with CEO Danny Wirtz and business president Jaime Faulkner bringing fresh perspectives and a new culture of accountability to the Hawks, seeking to advance the franchise’s workplace and operations into current times in the wake of the Kyle Beach sexual assault scandal, removing Hull was a no-brainer.

It’s a very wise, if long overdue, decision.

Hull was convicted in 1987 of assaulting a police officer who intervened in an argument between Hull and his then-wife Deborah. A 2002 ESPN mini-documentary included his previous wife, Joanne, recounting a fight in which Hull beat her in the head with a steel-heeled shoe and then held her off a balcony in Hawaii.

Hull’s daughter Michelle, who became a defense lawyer for female abuse victims, also detailed Hull’s history of alcoholism in that ESPN documentary.

Meanwhile, a Russian publication in 1997 infamously quoted Hull saying that “Hitler had some good ideas,” claiming that the Black population was growing too fast and supporting genetic breeding. Hull denied the comments and sued the publication at the time.

Those controversies have retroactively cast a dark shadow over Hull’s prolific playing career, which earned his lasting nickname of “The Golden Jet.”

The two-time MVP, three-time Art Ross Trophy winner and seven-time league-leading goal-scorer spent the first two-thirds of his lengthy career with the Hawks before jumping to the World Hockey Association with the Jets and Whalers. Hull scored 1,153 points in 1,036 NHL games for the Hawks between 1957 and 1972, then another 638 points in 411 WHA games before retiring in 1980.

His statue still stands, alongside Mikita’s, outside the United Center on Madison Street, and that’s probably not going anywhere anytime soon — although the old Hawks statue across the street that was vandalized by anti-Native American mascot protestors in 2020 has seemingly been permanently removed.

But Hull will presumably no longer appear in the flesh at Hawks promotional events and such, as he previously did at annual summer Hawks Conventions and Winter Classic games.

As the Hawks begin the long process of repairing their image in the Chicago sports community, this small move represents an encouraging step in the right direction.

Note: The Hawks sent down forwards Brett Connolly and Josiah Slavin to Rockford on Saturday and Monday, respectively. Top prospect Lukas Reichel will stay up for this week of NHL practice but will likely be sent down before the Hawks’ next game Friday against the Devils.

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