Sports

From our columnists
The sixth-round pick the Bears received in the Fields trade was the final verdict on his ability.
I’m going with Zach Edey and the Boilermakers to win the Big Ten’s first men’s basketball title since 2000. Here’s my entire bracket.
Only nine teams in the last 41 years of Division I women’s basketball have capped perfect seasons with a title. Six of those belong to UConn. This year, South Carolina (32-0) will attempt to become the 10th.
The offense is humming. Terrence Shannon Jr. is going bonkers. But can the Illini finally get past the first weekend of the Big Dance, which they haven’t done since 2005?
Poles finally deals Fields, but paltry return reflects stunning disappearance of trade market
The 68-team field will be revealed at 7 p.m. Sunday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN, and the stars and storylines go well beyond Caitlin Clark
Super-conferences, player marketing deals and lawsuits are forcing the NCAA to loosen its grip on college sports and amateurism rules.
He’ll be BTN’s analyst alongside Kevin Kugler for the first two quarterfinal games of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, including Northwestern’s game against Wisconsin.
The radio analyst feels most of all for the players, who are staring at an unthinkable 0-20 record in the Big East.
Leading Iowa to a national championship is the only way the latest GOAT can end her college career.
The rookie defenseman has endured plenty of adversity this season, but Sunday provided some much-needed positive reinforcement. He scored the game-winning goal in a 5-2 win and also impressed Luke Richardson with his stout gap control.
Tauchman wants to improve his slug, but there’s more than one way to do that.
Nastrini, who has no major-league experience, tosses four scoreless innings and lowers his spring ERA to 0.82.
Notes: Jameson Taillon gave context to his back injury, and the Cubs made another round of camp cuts.
Fresh off a 34-point, nine-assist night, Dosunmu not only discussed how he’s not even close to being satisfied, but agreed with his coach that there’s still a lot of improvement to make.
Bedard doesn’t mind getting recognized on his afternoon walks around the city. Plus, Alex Vlasic is “definitely thinking” about his upcoming contract negotiations.
Shewmake was in contention for an Opening Day roster spot.
There’s a lot of love for a soon-to-be rookie who’s about three and a half years younger than Justin Fields.
Reese’s college stock soared after moving from wide receiver to defensive back.
A mysterious gnawing on a bird box in Tinley Park and Illinois’ record bobcat harvest are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors beyond.
Allison Schlegel and Ava Cook were the goal-scorers.
Fields fit the profile of a young quarterback with massive potential that a desperate team mired in the muck of NFL mediocrity could fall in love with. But in a bit of a surprising rebuke, there was little interest, as he only netted a conditional sixth-round draft pick.
Thanks to a career-high 34 points from Ayo Dosunmu, the Bulls treated the 11-win Wizards just like an 11-win team should be treated, easily winning 127-98.
It would be great for Donovan to throttle back on the minutes for some of his veteran players, especially with the NBA’s second-easiest remaining schedule, but he also knows his team doesn’t do anything easy.
They didn’t see enough to sway them from planning their future around consensus No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams.
Suzki hit two home runs in the Cubs’ game against the Royals on Saturday.
Shortly after the Bears agreed to trade Fields to the Steelers, the quarterback issued a statement on social media saying goodbye to the city of Chicago.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon’s back tightness raised the question.