Chicago Sports

BILLINGS, Mont. — Jim Riggleman was hired Wednesday as manager of the Billings Mustangs of the independent Pioneer League.

The 69-year-old takes over for Joe Kruzel, who left to become a minor league coordinator with the Los Angeles Angels. Riggleman has a 726-904 record as manager of San Diego (1992-94), the Cubs (1995-99), Seattle (2008), Washington (2009-11), and Cincinnati (2015-18).

He also managed the Reds’ Triple-A Louisville farm team (2013-14) and has been a coach for St. Louis (first base 1989-90), Cleveland (third base 2000), the Los Angeles Dodgers (bench coach 2001-04), Seattle (bench coach 2008), and Washington (bench coach 2009).

Billings is scheduled to open its season on May 25 at the Missoula Paddleheads.

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More than 100 million TV viewers are expected to take in Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Bengals and the Rams. This is noteworthy because 100 million of anything is noteworthy and because the matchup isn’t one anybody other than a Bengals fan would have dreamed up.

Underdog Cincinnati has star quarterback Joe Burrow, star receiver Ja’Marr Chase and a bunch of guys who play with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. The Rams are the splashier team with more big-name players. But there’s a nagging thought that quarterback Matthew Stafford will suddenly remember that he’s a Lion at heart, not a lionheart, and that because the team is from LA and the game is in LA, fans will want to beat traffic more than they’ll want to beat the Bengals. None of this is good for team morale.

The massive number of people drawn to the Super Bowl is another reminder of the power of the NFL and football. It got me thinking: Why is the sport such a lure for Americans, why aren’t other sports nearly as popular and who on earth came up with Olympic biathlon, a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting? The temptation is to say it started with a Finn in pursuit of a reindeer, but thank goodness I managed to resist that urge.

The Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics are going on at the same time. We get this every four years, and it’s hard not to compare and contrast. We Americans are snobbish about our spectator sports, especially football, baseball and basketball. Many of us look down on other games as something lesser. But who decided that shooting a round ball through a hoop was more entertaining than sledding down an icy course? What did the first people to see a basketball game say? Probably not, I didn’t know you had hops like that, Levi! Probably, Take the peach basket off that pole and get back to milking the cows, Jebediah. Yet here we are, all LeBron all the time.

Some people are born with the ability to hit a baseball, and our society rewards that ability with applause and money. But why that sport and not, say, competitive canoeing? Don’t tell me it’s because baseball is so exciting. What if typing the name “McCaskey” on a laptop were beyond the ability of 99.9% of the population? Answer: I’d be a billionaire.

It all seems so random.

Americans worship football and regard football players as modern-day gladiators. The sport seems to answer a need in us for hard hitting, as long as someone other than us is being hit. Rugby players giggle at the sight of NFL players in uniform. Real men don’t wear pads, they say. Yet rugby can’t touch football in this country in terms of popularity. Strange.

Some of us would say basketball played at a high level is the epitome of athleticism, a perfect combination of running and jumping, finesse and strength. Soccer fans would beg to differ.

I can make fun of luge all I want, but how arbitrary is my teasing? How much more ridiculous a sport is luge than golf? Who decided that hitting a tiny, dimpled ball a long way was cause for adoration?

We — I — snicker at figure skaters’ outfits but how strange are hockey uniforms when you really look at them? Are those short pants or long shorts? What about baseball managers wearing uniforms? Who thought that was a good idea?

Some Olympic sports look like the result of a very long night of drinking. Who in their right mind thinks the sport of skeleton – sledding headfirst at 80 mph – makes perfect sense? How about the half pipe? Bobsled? Ski jumpers are absolutely insane, and I wonder why I can’t watch them more than every four years, the same way I wonder why I get stuffing only at Thanksgiving.

Why are some sports captivating to me but not to most other people? Why isn’t snowball fighting an Olympic sport? Wheelbarrow ice racing? So many questions. And a big “I don’t know” for all of them.

Certain sports take root. Others don’t. Certain sports are big in one region and not another. In Afghanistan, the nation sport is buzkashi, in which horsemen try to grab a decapitated goat and put it in the opponent’s goal. Yet there doesn’t appear to be a big interest in Central Asia in watching the Rams’ Aaron Donald try to take off Burrow’s head.

I loved playing kickball in gym as a kid. I can’t tell you why it isn’t a mainstream sport. It should be. There’s no reason why performance-enhancing drugs couldn’t gain a foothold or why analytics couldn’t alter the game beyond recognition. A guy can dream.

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More than 100 million TV viewers are expected to take in Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Bengals and the Rams. This is noteworthy because 100 million of anything is noteworthy and because the matchup isn’t one anybody other than a Bengals fan would have dreamed up.

Underdog Cincinnati has star quarterback Joe Burrow, star receiver Ja’Marr Chase and a bunch of guys who play with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. The Rams are the splashier team with more big-name players. But there’s a nagging thought that quarterback Matthew Stafford will suddenly remember that he’s a Lion at heart, not a lionheart, and that because the team is from LA and the game is in LA, fans will want to beat traffic more than they’ll want to beat the Bengals. None of this is good for team morale.

The massive number of people drawn to the Super Bowl is another reminder of the power of the NFL and football. It got me thinking: Why is the sport such a lure for Americans, why aren’t other sports nearly as popular and who on earth came up with Olympic biathlon, a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting? The temptation is to say it started with a Finn in pursuit of a reindeer, but thank goodness I managed to resist that urge.

The Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics are going on at the same time. We get this every four years, and it’s hard not to compare and contrast. We Americans are snobbish about our spectator sports, especially football, baseball and basketball. Many of us look down on other games as something lesser. But who decided that shooting a round ball through a hoop was more entertaining than sledding down an icy course? What did the first people to see a basketball game say? Probably not, I didn’t know you had hops like that, Levi! Probably, Take the peach basket off that pole and get back to milking the cows, Jebediah. Yet here we are, all LeBron all the time.

Some people are born with the ability to hit a baseball, and our society rewards that ability with applause and money. But why that sport and not, say, competitive canoeing? Don’t tell me it’s because baseball is so exciting. What if typing the name “McCaskey” on a laptop were beyond the ability of 99.9% of the population? Answer: I’d be a billionaire.

It all seems so random.

Americans worship football and regard football players as modern-day gladiators. The sport seems to answer a need in us for hard hitting, as long as someone other than us is being hit. Rugby players giggle at the sight of NFL players in uniform. Real men don’t wear pads, they say. Yet rugby can’t touch football in this country in terms of popularity. Strange.

Some of us would say basketball played at a high level is the epitome of athleticism, a perfect combination of running and jumping, finesse and strength. Soccer fans would beg to differ.

I can make fun of luge all I want, but how arbitrary is my teasing? How much more ridiculous a sport is luge than golf? Who decided that hitting a tiny, dimpled ball a long way was cause for adoration?

We — I — snicker at figure skaters’ outfits but how strange are hockey uniforms when you really look at them? Are those short pants or long shorts? What about baseball managers wearing uniforms? Who thought that was a good idea?

Some Olympic sports look like the result of a very long night of drinking. Who in their right mind thinks the sport of skeleton – sledding headfirst at 80 mph – makes perfect sense? How about the half pipe? Bobsled? Ski jumpers are absolutely insane, and I wonder why I can’t watch them more than every four years, the same way I wonder why I get stuffing only at Thanksgiving.

Why are some sports captivating to me but not to most other people? Why isn’t snowball fighting an Olympic sport? Wheelbarrow ice racing? So many questions. And a big “I don’t know” for all of them.

Certain sports take root. Others don’t. Certain sports are big in one region and not another. In Afghanistan, the nation sport is buzkashi, in which horsemen try to grab a decapitated goat and put it in the opponent’s goal. Yet there doesn’t appear to be a big interest in Central Asia in watching the Rams’ Aaron Donald try to take off Burrow’s head.

I loved playing kickball in gym as a kid. I can’t tell you why it isn’t a mainstream sport. It should be. There’s no reason why performance-enhancing drugs couldn’t gain a foothold or why analytics couldn’t alter the game beyond recognition. A guy can dream.

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The partnership between Fire owner Joe Mansueto and sporting director Georg Heitz has gotten off to a slow start. In two seasons, the Fire have averaged exactly one point per game and fielded forgettable teams with no star power and ability to attract new supporters.

That’s changed.

On Wednesday, the Fire formally announced the signing of attacker Xherdan Shaqiri to a designated player contract that runs through the 2024 season. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but it’s believed the Fire paid French club Olympique Lyonnais around $7.5 million for the 30-year-old who has won Champions League titles with Bayern Munich and Liverpool. Shaqiri, who owns 100 appearances for the Swiss national team, is also expected to become one of the highest-paid players in MLS.

The money the Fire are spending, however, could be worth it.

On the field, the Fire had a glaring need for a proven attacker. Shaqiri qualifies, and should provide goals and dependable service for striker Kacper Przybylko, while taking some of the burden off Gaston Gimenez, Jhon Duran and Stanislav Ivanov.

Perhaps more importantly, snagging Shaqiri and bringing in his name recognition is a statement of intent by the Fire, not to mention a use of Mansueto’s considerable funds. The signing is the biggest by the team since German legend Bastian Schweinsteiger came from Manchester United in 2017, and has energized a fan base needing something to get excited about.

And with the Fire still on the hunt for a primary shirt sponsor, being able to use Shaqiri as a selling point won’t hurt, either. Well-known for his exploits in top European leagues and major international competitions, Shaqiri has 2.6 million followers on Instagram and 1.1 million on Twitter.

Even with Shaqiri, the Fire roster still isn’t complete and they aren’t guaranteed to be a winner in an always-improving league. They still have one designated player spot available and need more attacking depth before the Feb. 26 opener at Inter Miami. But Heitz, who was at Swiss club FC Basel the same time as Shaqiri, has reversed two of the narratives around his Fire tenure this offseason by acquiring Przybylko (ignoring MLS talent) and now Shaqiri (not signing big-name players with drawing power).

The Fire could’ve gone numerous directions with their biggest designated player signing of the offseason. They needed a proven performer, but also somebody who would get people interested in the franchise again.

Shaqiri checks those boxes.

This story will be updated.

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Please send scores and corrections to [email protected].

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

BIG NORTHERN

Byron at Rock Falls, 7:00

Genoa-Kingston at Dixon, 7:00

Rockford Christian at Oregon, 7:00

Rockford Lutheran at North Boone, 7:00

CATHOLIC – BLUE

DePaul at Brother Rice, 7:00

Leo at St. Rita, 7:15

Mount Carmel at Loyola, 7:00

St. Laurence at Fenwick, 7:00

CATHOLIC – WHITE

Montini at Marmion, 7:00

St. Francis de Sales at Providence, 7:00

St. Ignatius at De La Salle, 7:00

DU KANE

Geneva at St. Charles East, 7:15

Lake Park at St. Charles North, 7:15

FOX VALLEY

Burlington Central at Jacobs, 7:00

Cary-Grove at Crystal Lake South, 7:00

Crystal Lake Central at Hampshire, 7:00

Huntley at McHenry, 7:00

Prairie Ridge at Dundee-Crown, 7:00

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Streator at Manteno, 7:00

INDEPENDENT SCHOOL

Elgin Academy at University High, CNL

Francis Parker at Lake Forest Acad-Blk, 6:00

Morgan Park Academy at Northridge, 6:00

North Shore at Latin, 6:00

INTERSTATE EIGHT

LaSalle-Peru at Kaneland, 7:00

KISHWAUKEE RIVER

Marengo at Richmond-Burton, 7:00

Woodstock at Harvard, 7:00

Woodstock North at Johnsburg, 7:30

LAKE SHORE ATHLETIC

Wolcott at Lycee Francais, 6:30

LITTLE TEN

IMSA at LaMoille, 7:00

METRO SUBURBAN – BLUE

Timothy Christian at St. Francis, 7:00

Wheaton Academy at Riverside-Brookfield, 7:00

NIC – 10

Freeport at Boylan, 7:00

NORTH SUBURBAN

Libertyville at Warren, 7:00

Stevenson at Lake Zurich, 7:00

Zion-Benton at Waukegan, 5:30

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Antioch at Round Lake, 7:00

Grayslake Central at Lakes, 7:00

North Chicago at Grant, 7:00

Wauconda at Grayslake North, 7:00

SOUTH SUBURBAN – BLUE

Tinley Park at Thornton Fr. South, 7:00

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN – BLUE

Homewood-Flossmoor at Sandburg, 6:00

Lockport at Lincoln-Way East, 6:30

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN – RED

Andrew at Stagg, 6:00

Lincoln-Way Central at Bradley-Bourbonnais, 7:00

UPSTATE EIGHT

Bartlett at East Aurora, 6:30

Glenbard East at Fenton, 7:00

Larkin at Glenbard South, 7:00

South Elgin at Elgin, 7:00

Streamwood at West Chicago, 7:00

NON CONFERENCE

Argo at Leyden, 6:00

Beecher at Reed-Custer, 6:45

Bremen at Agricultural Science, TBA

Christian Life at Westlake Christian, 7:30

Clifton Central at South Newton, 7:00

Cristo Rey at Intrinsic-Downtown, 6:30

Cristo Rey-St. Martin at Lake County Baptist, 7:15

Dakota at Stillman Valley, 7:00

Dwight at Peotone, 7:00

Elk Grove at Maine West, 6:00

Gardner-So. Wilmington at Wilmington, 6:45

Glenbrook North at Prospect, 7:00

Glenbrook South at Rolling Meadows, 7:00

Hansberry at Oak Lawn, 6:30

Henry-Senachwine at DePue, 7:30

Hoffman Estates at Hersey, 7:30

Holy Trinity at Jones, 6:30

Indian Creek at Plano, 7:00

Intrinsic-Belmont at University High, 6:30

Lindblom at Marist, 7:00

Lisle at Westmont, 7:00

Longwood at Thornwood, 6:30

Maine South at Proviso West, 7:00

Marquette at Serena, 7:00

Minooka at Shepard, 6:30

Naperville Central at Oswego, 6:30

Nazareth at Plainfield North, 7:00

Neuqua Valley at Bolingbrook, 6:30

Niles West at Addison Trail, 7:00

Oswego East at Waubonsie Valley, 7:00

Palatine at Buffalo Grove, 6:30

Plainfield South at Oak Forest, 6:00

Putnam County at Fieldcrest, 7:00

Roanoke-Benson at Tri-Valley, 7:00

Rochelle Zell at Elmwood Park 7:30

St. Anne at Manteno, CNL

Streator at Seneca, CNL

Tri-Point at Cissna Park, 7:00

Westminster Christian at Hinckley-Big Rock, 7:00

Yorkville at Evergreen Park, 6:30

NOBLE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

at Mansueto

Butler vs. Muchin, 5:30

Comer vs. Noble Street, 7:00

at Rowe-Clark

UIC vs. Bulls, 5:30

Rauner vs. Johnson, 7:00

PUBLIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

Hyde Park at Young, 6:00

Orr at Kenwood, 6:00

Morgan Park at Simeon, 6:00

Curie at Clark, 6:00

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A state appeals court ruled that former Chicago Police officer Anthony Abbate can’t collect a city pension after he was convicted of battery for attacking a Northwest Side bartender in 2007.

While Abbate was off-duty when he kicked and punched Karolina Obrycka in a drunken rage, a three-judge panel found that Abbate felt his status as a cop gave him impunity to act however he wanted and that he used his connections on the force to try to avoid arrest.

The ruling issued Monday overturns a Cook County judge’s finding that Abbate was entitled to his pension because there was no clear link between his job and the assault, a beating that was captured on security video.

Abbate was convicted of aggravated battery in 2009 and sentenced to probation, and subsequently fired from CPD. A federal jury awarded Obrycka $850,000 from the city, finding that Abbate’s fellow officers tried to protect him during the investigation of the crime, and that the code of silence among officers encouraged misconduct.

Abbate filed paperwork with the pension board to collect his pension in 2018, when he turned 50. The board ruled the following year that he was disqualified from receiving benefits, but was entitled to a refund of pension contributions made during his slightly more than 12 years on the force. Abbate would have been eligible for payments of $539 per month.

Cook County Judge Anna M. Loftus ruled in 2019 that the board had not established a clear link between the crime that cost Abbate his job and his status as a police officer, a ruling the appellate panel found “erroneous.”

“Looking at the totality of the evidence presented before the [pension] board, Abbate’s felony conviction for aggravated battery was related to or connected with his service as a policeman,” Appeals Court Judge Aurelia Pucinski wrote, citing evidence introduced in Abbate’s federal civil rights trial, including that Abbate assaulted two different bar patrons in separate incidents before he attacked Obrycka, and that no one contacted police.

“While he was at the bar, he announced that he was a Chicago police officer and repeatedly displayed his ‘muscles’ to the other bar patrons. After these two physical assaults, no one called the police to report Abbate’s misconduct. When he was beating Obrycka, he announced that ‘nobody tells me what to do.'”

Police who arrived at the bar after the attack left while the bar owner was downloading security video of the assault. Phone records showed Abbate called his partner 13 times in the hours after he fled the bar, and also called an officer who was related to a lieutenant in the 25th District, where the attack took place. According to testimony in the civil rights trial, days after the assault, another bartender who was friendly with Abbate delivered a threat that if Obrycka and the bar owner didn’t give Abbate the video, he would plant drugs on bar staff and have customers arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Obrycka’s lawyer, Terry Ekl, said he had been puzzled by the initial court ruling that would have granted Abatte his pension.

“The ruling of the circuit court judge is impossible to reconcile with the facts of the case,” Ekl wrote in an email to the Sun-Times. “A tremendous amount of evidence was presented in the federal civil rights case to demonstrate his use of his position as a police officer to attempt to cover-up his beating of Ms. Obrycka. The Appellate Court decision corrects the erroneous decision in the trial court to provide Abbate with a taxpayer-funded pension.”

The lawyer who handled Abatte’s appeal, Ralph Licari, did not respond to requests for comment.

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The Bears are hiring Travis Smith as their defensive line coach, NFL Network reported Tuesday.

Smith knows the Bears’ highest-profile player, Khalil Mack. He’s spent the last 10 seasons working for the Raiders, first in Oakland and then Las Vegas. Smith held various defensive positions — defensive assistant, then defensive quality control and outside linebackers — before being named the Raiders’ assistant defensive line coach in 2018.

It was in 2014 that Smith, whose responsibilities included helping out with coaching the Raiders’ linebackers, contributed to Mack’s development as a rookie. The next year, he coached both Mack and defensive end Mario Edwards, Jr., who is now a member of the Bears. Bruce Irvin, who finished the season on the Bears’ roster, also played for Smith.

Smith spent the last two years working for Raiders defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, the former Bears coordinator whom head coach Matt Eberflus considers a mentor.

Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams are close to finishing up the team’s defensive coaching staff. They brought linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi, defensive backs coach James Rowe, assistant defensive backs coach David Overstreet II with them from the Colts.

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An apartment fire in Old Irving Park that left an 88-year-old mother and her son dead early Tuesday was likely caused by smoking materials tossed in a bin, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the 3600 block of North Kedvale Avenue and found the home cluttered with items that made it difficult to search, fire department spokesperson Larry Langford said.

The mother and son were found after 2:30 a.m. on the first floor and pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

They were identified as Marian Frieri, 88, and Michael Frieri, 70, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The building had been without heat for a while and space heaters were being used in the house, Langford said. The mother and son were the only occupants of the building.

An initial investigation found that the likely cause was “careless use of smoking materials” discarded in a bin, he said.

After the fire, firefighters and Ald. James Gardiner (45th) canvassed the block to pass out smoke detectors.

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In a season gone bad for a team gone bad, a simple practice drill went bad.

“No, it’s over! It’s over!” Blackhawks interim coach Derek King shouted as players continued mucking around despite the puck having changed possession from the guys in the Black jerseys to the guys in the Red ones, or was it the other way around?

It hardly seems to matter.

“What are you doing?” King said, arms up in a plaintive shrug.

What are the Hawks doing? Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena, they shook off an All-Star break worth of rust in preparation for a road swing through Edmonton, St. Louis and Winnipeg to start the second half. Lots of games left, folks. Nobody is conceding anything.

That’s the company line, anyway, and the Hawks are sticking to it.

“Believe in ourselves,” King said. “That’s the big thing, believe. Believe in it. Have some hope. Let’s be good pros and see where it goes.”

Maybe the pros know something the rest of us don’t. To an amateur-hour analyst, it seems like the season already went off a cliff, and that means there’s no going anywhere anymore. As they board flights and skate in enemy arenas, the Hawks might as well be a team of ghosts.

They have 16 wins in 46 games, the fewest by a Hawks team since the 2005-06 season. Their crowds are the puniest they’ve been since around that time, too.

Do you realize how long ago we’re talking about here? So long, top three scorers Kyle Calder, Mark Bell and Tyler Arnason — a who’s-who of “who?” compared with the core that would soon replace them — were still kicking around and cashing checks at the United Center. So long, defensemen Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith were mere wet-behind-the-ears rookies. So long, Trent Yawney was the ill-fated coach and old man Bill Wirtz had yet to hand the keys to the jalopy to son Rocky.

That’s where the Hawks were at back then. Whether they’re better off or worse off now, you’re free to debate among yourselves. The Hawks still have 11-plus weeks of games to get through — talk about staring into the abyss — so they might as well at least try to pretend there’s lots left to play for.

“The only thing you can do is work and stay optimistic and put your best foot forward each day,” defenseman Connor Murphy said.

Even when you’re 14th out of 16 teams in the Western Conference standings? Even when you’re a team that can’t put the puck in the net to save its life? Even with captain Jonathan Toews — speaking of not scoring — still out with a concussion and unable to join the team for at least the next three games? Even with an interim general manager, Kyle Davidson, and an interim coach expressing hopeful things about a future everyone around them can plainly see they might not be part of?

“I’ve been in the positions before as a player where I’ve been out [of the playoff race] earlier,” King said. “December, I’ve been out of the playoffs. And it’s just miserable. So learn from that. On the coaching side, let’s not make it miserable. Let’s still compete and win games and keep ourselves in the hunt until somebody says, ‘OK, you’re done.’ Then we’ll live with that. But right now, we’re still in the hunt and we have hope.”

If only, right? If only Toews were back to his old self. If only Kirby Dach would produce and there were no worries about Dominik Kubalik regressing. If only that godawful 1-9-2 start to the season hadn’t happened and the March 21 trade deadline were further in the distance. Maybe then, there’d be something resembling hope to reach for.

And for all that’s wrong on the ice, there’s still so much bleakness off it. There’s still the lingering stench from Rocky Wirtz’s shameful town-hall tantrum last week that proved to many he ought not be anywhere near efforts to build an organizational culture that will protect the next Kyle Beach rather than endanger him. How many more shoes will drop that threaten the Hawks’ recovery from a giant sexual-assault scandal? Additional lawsuits related to vile ex-video coach Bradley Aldrich and the Hawks’ craven cover-up reportedly are coming. And now we learn that the longtime head athletic trainer at AHL Rockford, D.J. Jones, was fired for sexual harassment.

Where’s the bottom? Is there a bottom?

Oh, and one last thing: How much longer until the Hawks are under “controversy”-sized pressure to change their name and logo to something inoffensive to Native Americans? Isn’t it inevitable? Easy answer: Yes, it is. We can talk about this now or table it for later. Either way, it’s coming.

That, you can believe.

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An apartment fire in Old Irving Park that left an 88-year-old mother and her son dead early Tuesday was likely caused by smoking materials tossed in a bin, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the 3600 block of North Kedvale Avenue and found the home cluttered with items that made it difficult to search, fire department spokesperson Larry Langford said.

The woman and the man, 70, were pronounced dead at the scene after 2:30 a.m. Their names have not been released.

The building had been without heat for a while and space heaters were being used in the house, Langford said. The mother and son were the only occupants of the building.

An initial investigation found that the likely cause was “careless use of smoking materials” discarded in a bin, he said.

After the fire, the department and Ald. James Gardiner (45th) canvassed the block to pass out smoke detectors.

Read More