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Pete Alonso hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning after Adam Ottavino worked out of a tricky jam, helping the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Saturday in the opener of a day-night doubleheader at Wrigley Field.The Cubs lost their eighth in a row.AdvertisementAlonso, who also drove in the Mets’ first run in the fourth, came up with runners on the corners and no outs in the 11th. He lofted a medium flyball to right against Mychal Givens (5-1), and Luis Guillorme scored the go-ahead run.Mets seconds baseman Luis Guillorme slides home safely as the throw gets away from Cubs catcher Willson Contreras in the 11th inning of Game 1 of a doubleheader Saturday at Wrigley Field. It was the winning run in the Mets’ 2-1 win. (Chase Agnello-Dean / Getty Images)All-Star closer Edwin Díaz then got three outs for his 20th save for the NL East leaders.AdvertisementThe Cubs had five hits, one more than the Mets. The Cubs had a chance to close it out in the 10th, but Ottavino (4-2) retired three in a row after pinch runner Nelson Velázquez stole third.“A lot of it depends on where the balls are hit, so it’s not all up to you,” Ottavino said. “But you’ve got to try to attack and do your best with it, and I was lucky to get out of there.”Patrick Wisdom struck out swinging and P.J. Higgins looked at a called third strike. Rookie Christopher Morel then hit a grounder to third, and Eduardo Escobar made a scrambling stop and a one-hop throw that a stretching J.D. Davis backhanded at first.Mets first baseman J.D. Davis stretches for a throw as the Cubs’ Christopher Morel slides headfirst for the third out in the 10th inning of Game 1 of a doubleheader Saturday at Wrigley Field. The Mets won 2-1 in 11 innings. (Chase Agnello-Dean / Getty Images)Davis entered the game when Dominic Smith rolled his right ankle while scrambling back to second as the automatic runner in the 10th.“It was just one of those days where we didn’t score that many runs but played great defense and the pitching did their job,” Davis said.The Mets got another solid performance by Taijuan Walker, who pitched six innings of four-hit ball. The right-hander is 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his last seven starts.“I finally feel like I’ve been able to put everything together,” Walker said.Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman pitched 4 ⅓ innings of one-hit ball in his second start since coming off the injured list. He had been sidelined by right shoulder inflammation.AdvertisementStroman played for the Mets in 2019 and 2021 before signing with the Cubs in December. He brushed off the significance of facing his former team.“It’s the same mentality, mind frame for me going into each and every game,” he said.Cubs manager David Ross was ejected by umpire Ramon De Jesus after the second inning. Each side had issues with De Jesus’ strike zone at various points.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.Ross also was ejected from the series opener. Friday afternoon’s game was postponed by rain, leading to the doubleheader.“There were two balls to Higgy that were balls, and I was just saying, ‘Hey, that should have been 2-0,’ ” Ross said. “He threw me out. I didn’t cuss or didn’t say anything derogatory. I don’t know if it was a carryover from the other day, getting ejected.”The Mets jumped in front on Alonso’s double in the fourth, a liner into the gap in right-center that drove in Francisco Lindor from first. Alonso’s 15th double this season gave him 75 RBIs, snapping a tie with David Wright for the franchise record before the All-Star break.AdvertisementThe Cubs got their only run in the bottom half. Nico Hoerner reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and scored when Frank Schwindel beat a shift with a bouncer into center for an RBI single.The Cubs brought up left-hander Steven Brault from Triple-A Iowa. Right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. was sent down, and right-hander Matt Swarmer was designated for assignment.Brault, 30, signed a minor-league contract in March. He missed the first three months of the season with a left triceps strain.Right-hander Anderson Espinoza served as the 27th man for the Cubs for the doubleheader, and right-hander Yoan López was the 27th man for the Mets.

One of the area’s most underrated art treasures is the Lubeznik Center for the Arts (101 W. Second, Michigan City, Indiana), which is free and open…

Seven months before she must face voters for reelection as Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot has nearly $2.6 million in her campaign funds — more than any…

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Cheers from every corner of the Old Course that belonged to Tiger Woods for two days at St. Andrews switched over to Rory McIlroy in the British Open, and he certainly did his part to give fans what they came to see Saturday.McIlroy holed a bunker shot for eagle on the 10th hole that he described as part skill and part luck, but it was pure magic. He showed discipline to know when to aim away from the flag and to take bogey when he was stuck between a wall and a road behind the 17th green.AdvertisementMcIlroy now shares the stage at the home of golf with Viktor Hovland, the emerging Norwegian star who was every bit as good in making birdies and avoiding the blunders that cost so many other potential contenders.Both made birdie on the final hole for a 6-under 66. No one else was closer than four shots. They have the same score at 16-under 200, though the support is one-sided.Advertisement“They’re chanting his name out there. I think he’s definitely a crowd favorite,” Masters champion Scottie Scheffler said. “How can you not root for Rory?”Rory McIlroy watches his shot from the fourth fairway during the third round of the British Open on Saturday in St. Andrews, Scotland. McIlroy shot a 6-under 66 and shares the lead with Viktor Hovland at 16 under. (Peter Morrison/AP)McIlroy is one round away from ending eight long years without a major. He wants to stay in his world without ignoring the support raining down on him.“I think it’s appreciating the moment as well and appreciating the fact that it’s unbelievably cool to have a chance to win the Open at St Andrews,” McIlroy said. “It’s what dreams are made of. And I’m going to try to make a dream come true tomorrow.”Hovland, with six victories worldwide in his four years since leaving Oklahoma State as a U.S. Amateur champion, could appreciate the support for McIlroy and all he has done. He played mistake-free and sounded as though he were up for the task.“I’m going against one of the best players in the world and I’m certainly not going to hold back, because he’s certainly not,” Hovland said.It wasn’t a two-man race, even if it felt that way as the Old Course emptied and bagpipes began to skirl at the end of the day.Cameron Smith, who started with a two-shot lead, took double bogey on the 13th hole when he tried a bold play with his feet in a pot bunker. Cameron Young went over the 16th green and then back down the other side for a double bogey on the 16th hole.They were four shots behind, still in the game. Two-time major champion Dustin Johnson, the best candidate from the Saudi-funded LIV Golf league to claim this major, putted across the green and into a bunker for one of three bogeys on the back nine. He fell six shots back.AdvertisementMcIlroy and Hovland had no such trouble.Viktor Hovland holds his golf ball after putting on the 16th green during the third round of the British Open on Saturday in St. Andrews, Scotland. (Peter Morrison/AP)Hovland holed a pair of 40-foot putts on his way to four straight birdies on the front nine to seize the lead. McIlroy finally caught him by holing out from a pot bunker some 80 feet away for eagle on the 10th hole, setting off a roar that could be heard all the way back at the Royal & Ancient clubhouse.McIlroy only a day earlier tipped his cap to Woods as he started his second round and Woods was on his way to missing the cut, crossing the Swilcan Bridge for what might have been last time. The R&A set the tee times that way so they would pass each other.Woods stands alone in driving the sport, though McIlroy is the most popular worldwide, and it sounded like that — on the first tee when McIlroy was introduced, for every birdie and when he took the lead for the first time with a birdie on the 14th.“I love that I’ve got so much support,” McIlroy said. “But at the same time, I need to keep in my own little world and try to play a good round of golf. Hopefully that’s enough.”His lone mistake was coming out of the left rough and over the 17th green, across the road and near the stone wall. He played a safe pitch onto the green and two-putted for bogey.AdvertisementHovland, bogey-free for the round, showed off some magic of his own on the 17th by putting off the dirt path just short of the road, up the hill to about 5 feet for a par.“I’ve never been in a bigger spot in my career,” Hovland said. He sounded up to the task, and the popular Norwegian also saw — and heard — what he will be up against Sunday.“I get a couple in there,” he said of the cheers so heavily slanted toward McIlroy. “I’m probably an underdog, but I don’t mind that at all. Hopefully, we can push ourselves tomorrow.”Smith missed a short birdie chance on the 18th and had a 73. His biggest mistake was not getting the ball back in play on the 13th, instead trying to advance the ball and getting into tough spots. He also three-putted from 30 feet to start his round and made just two birdies.Cameron Smith looks at his ball after putting on the 15th hole during the third round of the British Open on Saturday in St. Andrews, Scotland. (Gerald Herbert/AP)Young, the PGA Tour rookie who finished one shot out of a playoff at the PGA Championship two months ago, had a 71.Cameron Young plays out of the rough on the 15th fairway during the third round of the British Open on Saturday in St. Andrews, Scotland. (Gerald Herbert/AP)Scheffler was lurking after a 69. He missed a 10-foot birdie chance on the 16th and then three-putted the 17th for a bogey. Scheffler, who finished one shot behind in the U.S. Open, had a 69 and was five back along with Si Woo Kim (67).AdvertisementJohnson also was within three shots until a bogey on the 13th and another on the par-5 14th, where his long eagle putt raced up a hill, across the green and into a pot bunker. Instead of birdie, he had to scramble for bogey. He dropped two more shots coming in for a 71 and was six behind.McIlroy last won a major in 2014 at the PGA Championship at Valhalla. He would love nothing more than to win at the home of golf, on the Old Course where Jack Nicklaus once said a player’s career would not be complete without winning a claret jug at St. Andrews.“Every part of my game has felt good this week,” McIlroy said. “I just need to keep it going for one more day.”

A Chicago police officer has died in an apparent suicide, the second in as many days and the third this month, officials said Saturday afternoon. The…

WASHINGTON — Washington Nationals star outfielder Juan Soto expressed irritation Saturday hours after a report he turned down a record contract with the rebuilding club.The Athletic, citing unidentified sources, reported Soto turned down a $440 million, 15-year contract offer to remain with the Nationals that would have been the most lucrative in baseball history. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout signed a 12-year, $426.5 million deal in 2019.AdvertisementThe Nationals said last month that they would not trade the 23-year-old Soto. But speculation about Soto getting dealt was sure to swell after this report of him turning down a long-term deal.Soto is a two-time All-Star who finished second in National League Most Valuable Player voting last season. He will not be a free agent until after the 2024 season.Advertisement“It feels really bad to see stuff going out like that because I’m a guy who, my side, keeps everything quiet and try to keep it to them and me,” Soto said before the Nationals played Atlanta. “They just make the decision and do what they need to do.”Soto referred questions about his contract to his agent, Scott Boras.Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, left, looks on as manager Dave Martinez presents right fielder Juan Soto with the Silver Slugger trophy before opening day on April 7 in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)Soto was a key piece of Washington’s championship team in 2019 and turned 21 during the World Series. He won the NL batting title in 2020, led the league on on-base percentage in 2020 and 2021 en route to Silver Slugger awards in both seasons.He is hitting .249 with 19 homers and 42 RBIs this season and will play in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Soto has reached base in a career-high 24 consecutive games entering Saturday.The last-place Nationals began the day at a major league-worst 30-62, a whopping 27 games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets. Washington was 14 1/2 games back of the fourth-place Miami Marlins.“He’s young,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “I’m sure when things like that come out that are personal, it bothers people. I’m sure it bothers him a lot. But like I said, he’s got to understand that this is part of the game, right? We’ve all been through it at some point in time. But he’s got to go out there and remember why he’s here, and that’s to help us win games and I know he’ll do that.”Soto is the most high-profile player left on a team that embarked on a rebuild last year. The Lerner family, which owns the Nationals, is also exploring the possibility of selling the team.Since last year’s trade deadline, when Washington dealt Max Scherzer, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and others, the Nationals are 48-104.Advertisement“I get the taste of winning, so I want to win every year,” Soto said. “I don’t want to keep losing. I hate losing. It is what it is. At the end of the day, we just have to go through it, because as they told me, we all have to go through those moments to win a championship. For me, I think I’m going through mine. I’m just going to keep positive and keep seeing things forward.”Martinez, Soto’s manager since he reached the majors as a 19-year-old in 2018, said he planned to tell Soto to continue being himself.“He tells me all the time that he loves the game of baseball and that’s what he plays for,” Martinez said. “Go out there and just play and have fun and don’t worry about what’s going to happen. I mean, at the end of the day, you’re going to get what you deserve, we all know that. And for me, I hope it’s here.”

MINNEAPOLIS — Mike Shirley is fascinated to see how the Major League Baseball draft plays out.“In all my years of doing this when you get outside of pick eight or nine, I think you have no idea what’s going to happen,” the Chicago White Sox director of amateur scouting said Friday during a Zoom interview. “In my history, I don’t think we’ve ever had to work on so many players who possibly could be there at 26.”AdvertisementThat’s when the Sox are slotted for the first round of the draft, which begins Sunday.Will the Sox be aiming to fill a need, or are they targeting the best available player at that spot?Advertisement“Without question it’s a combination,” Shirley said. “Something I think every major-league team in every room is trying to figure out (is) the pitching landscape, most importantly, and then you have to weigh those position players against that. At the end of the day, the preference may be a pitcher, but that doesn’t mean if the right position player is available that we will not walk down that road.”The strength of this year’s draft, according to Shirley, is the college position player.“At the top especially,” Shirley said. “The position player as a whole, even if you look at your board like you’re building a board nonstop, there are a lot of position players that we really like in this draft.“It’s a light pitching draft as a whole, and I think we’re all trying to figure out what the pitching looks like.”Shirley is in his third season in his role after being promoted in September 2019. Before that, he was the team’s assistant scouting director after serving as a cross checker from 2010-2018. He was a full-time area scout in the Midwest from 2004-09 after joining the Sox as a part-time area scout before the 2000 season.Two years ago, the Sox selected pitcher Garrett Crochet at No. 11. Crochet joined the major-league team that September and was a valuable reliever last season. He’s out this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in spring training.White Sox reliever Garrett Crochet delivers to the Red Sox on Sept. 12, 2021, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)Last year, the Sox drafted shortstop Colson Montgomery with the 22nd pick. Montgomery entered Friday with a 48-game on-base streak. He had reached safely in all 16 games with Class A Winston-Salem after being promoted from Class A Kannapolis on June 24.“Crochet is an extreme talent,” Shirley said. “We’re so happy with what Garrett is going to provide to us, what he’s provided, what he’ll continue to provide. (2020 second-round pick) Jared Kelley has significant upside and will be a good starter for us. He’s starting to figure his process out.Advertisement“I really believe in Colson. And a lot of people thought we were taking a risk with Colson, but to know the person, the ability, the projection, I think he showed us, at least to myself, what Colson was. I feel the group did a great job understanding Colson. We worked very hard to comprehend Colson. And I do think we got it right at this point. A lot of things can change, but Colson is doing some special things down there. I think that’s who he is.”White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery warms up during a minor-league spring training workout on March 10 in Phoenix. (Ross D. Franklin / AP)The Sox are going through the possibilities for Sunday.“We just left the room and (have had) the nonstop navigation of what it might look like, who may be there, the availability of some players you don’t expect,” Shirley said. “For example, (it’s a) lighter pitching draft, what if there’s a run on the pitchers? A position player you didn’t think was going to be there, what if he’s available?“There’s so many scenarios being worked on.”Eloy Jiménez was not in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game as he recovers from tightness in his right leg.“I feel better now than (Thursday),” Jiménez said before Friday’s game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. “The same soreness (that led to a pause of his rehab assignment while with Triple-A Charlotte). But now I’m going to heal faster because I feel way better in my second day. I’m already swinging. And when it happened at first (in Charlotte), I couldn’t even swing the first day or the second day. And (Friday), I’m feeling way better.”AdvertisementManager Tony La Russa said it’s unlikely Jiménez will play this weekend.“I don’t see it,” La Russa said. “You get on base, you have to run. I watched him hit in the cages. I don’t think you can push it. Unless he’s pinch hitting, you never know. Bases loaded with two outs.”Catcher Yasmani Grandal (lower back spasms) is 8-for-17 with a home run, four RBIs and nine walks in six rehab games between Double-A Birmingham and Charlotte.“He’s taking his at-bats,” La Russa said. “He’s starting to catch some. I don’t know if they’ve given him a target date to come back, but him playing is a good sign.”

The Chicago Cubs find themselves in an unfamiliar position.For the first time in seven years, they own a top-10 pick in the MLB draft. The No. 7 selection Sunday marks their highest since 2014, when the Cubs chose Kyle Schwarber at No. 4. The pick became part of a three-draft stretch that also produced All-Stars in Kris Bryant and Ian Happ.AdvertisementThe future success of the Cubs rebuild needs them to hit on their top draft picks and develop the type of internal pipeline perennial postseason contenders rely on. Vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz does not expect the organization’s overhaul to affect their draft approach over the 20 rounds from Sunday through Tuesday.“I think at this point, given the time it takes for most of the players we’re drafting to matriculate to the big leagues, I don’t think we can try to time a window like that,” Kantrovitz said this week. “If you start to get into that, then you might end up missing the best player available on the board. It’s such an imprecise science as it is. It’s not really a concern for us.Advertisement“If it ends up being a toolsier high school player who we draft that requires a little bit more time, we have the infrastructure to handle it. And if it ends up being a college player that is projected to get there a little quicker, we’ll be equally happy.”Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz talks with the media before a game against the Orioles on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)It’s still too early to fully evaluate the Cubs’ last five draft classes, but early results portend a mixed bag of production and potential.Right-hander Alex Lange (No. 30, 2017) has a 3.23 ERA over the last two seasons for the Detroit Tigers after the Cubs traded him in 2019 for Nick Castellanos. Left-hander Brendon Little (No. 30, 2017) owns a 5.53 ERA in 19 appearances at Triple-A Iowa. Nico Hoerner (No. 24, 2018) is a budding star who has thrived in his transition to shortstop and providing the contact-hitter profile the Cubs lineup has needed. Right-hander Ryan Jensen (No. 27, 2019) has struggled with his command while posting a 5.05 ERA in 11 starts at Double-A Tennessee. A serious hip injury that required surgery muddles the future of shortstop Ed Howard (No. 16, 2020). Left-hander Jordan Wicks (No. 21, 2021) was just promoted to Double A, according to Friday’s minor-league transaction log, after making 16 starts at High-A South Bend, with whom he recorded a 3.65 ERA and 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 16 starts.The 2022 amateur draft is expected to see high school position players taken among the top picks. The Cubs have the 10th-highest bonus pool ($10,092,700) for the first 10 rounds while the No. 7 pick has a slot value of $5,708,000. Teams can spend up to 5% above their pool and pay a tax on the overage but do not lose a future draft pick if they remain below that threshold. It’s a strategy the Cubs have utilized every year since the bonus-pool system was implemented in 2012.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.Among the players the Cubs could target with their first pick: third baseman Cam Collier (Chipola, Fla., JC), shortstop Termarr Johnson (Mays, Ga., High School), outfielder Elijah Green (IMG Academy), shortstop Zach Neto (Campbell), shortstop Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) and corner infielder Jacob Berry (LSU).South Florida outfielder Cam Collier runs onto the field during a game against Central Florida on April 1, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP)The MLB draft typically was held in early June. The league pushed it back until mid-July for the first time last year to coincide with All-Star Game festivities, which hasn’t been well-received by some front-office personnel as the trade deadline looms. One benefit, however, to the extra month of draft preparation is the increase of data available to teams. College summer leagues remain ongoing, and the Cubs have scouts at games providing the organization additional information.“Historically, that was never the case,” Kantrovitz said. “The draft was in early June and the summer leagues and all the high school showcases, that would happen after the draft and there’d be a few days of catching your breath and then you’d hit the ground running for next year’s scouting evaluations. But we’re still getting data up until the very last minute. That’s a pretty big difference from prior years.”Owning the No. 7 pick didn’t change the Cubs’ scouting and evaluation strategy for the first half of the spring. The goal, Kantrovitz said, was to cast a wide net and ensure they thoroughly evaluated every player because of the uncertainty that exists during the spring collegiate and high school seasons.Advertisement“Whether it’s players that might get injured or whether signability changes or whether a player might decide to go to college at the last minute, we don’t want to confine ourselves and then be surprised,” Kantrovitz said. “So it’s better to cast a wider net than not. But certainly, for the second half of the spring, we’ve started to really zero in on who that top seven might be.”[ [Don’t miss] Ian Happ is having the best season of his career. Here’s how the Chicago Cubs OF developed into an All-Star. ][ [Don’t miss] Chicago’s U.S. attorney sues Cubs, alleging disability law violations in Wrigley Field renovations ]In his third season leading the Cubs’ draft, Kantrovitz has a better understanding of each scout’s individual style.“Everybody looks at players differently,” Kantrovitz said. “Some scouts are more conservative than others, some are more aggressive. Some scouts might be better at evaluating pitchers than hitters. That’s something that only comes with time. You can read scouts’ prior reports, but until you really work with them and travel with them, you don’t really get a feel for how you can best interpret their evaluations.”

Luke Richardson watched the conclusion of his first development camp as Chicago Blackhawks coach Friday at Fifth Third Arena.Now he can take a breath. Sort of.Advertisement“It’s been lots of going for me in the last few weeks,” said Richardson, whom the team formally introduced June 29. “This is great. This is what we live for, hockey. It was great to see the young players putting in a great effort this week.”He added it’s great to “get here and start meeting staff in the organization and diving right into the hockey feel.”AdvertisementBlackhawks coach Luke Richardson calls Sam Rinzel “a real good steal in the draft for us.”He said Kevin Korchinski had a good camp, too, and wants him to look at tape of Duncan Keith. pic.twitter.com/fvW1h0DYHf— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) July 15, 2022

After a week of drills, Hawks draft picks, prospects and other invited players put what they learned at camp on display during a scrimmage.It was tied 3-3 after two periods after Landon Slaggert took a high stick and Victor Stjernborg scored a penalty shot against Mitchell Weeks to knot it up for Team White.But Team Red prevailed on winger Joseph Serpa’s 3-on-3 goal, his second marker of the day.Filip Roos and Slaggert also scored for Team Red. Aidan Thompson and Nils Juntorp added goals for Team White.It’s unlikely any of the camp participants, outside of defenseman Alex Vlasic, makes Richardson’s opening night roster, but that doesn’t mean they failed to make an impression.“It was a lot of players to look at,” Richardson said, “but a young player like (25th overall draft pick Sam) Rinzel, he looks like a tall, lanky kind of guy off the ice, but when he gets on the ice he really has great footwork and speed and skating. He’s got lots to work on as a young defenseman, as everybody does, but that’s just something that you can recognize and I think that was a real good steal in the draft for us.”Richardson pivoted to the draft’s seventh overall pick, defenseman Kevin Korchinski.“Kevin had a great camp here, too, as our first pick and he’s a guy that can move the puck, have a good gap, good sticks,” Richardson said. “Not to compare him or anything, but a Duncan Keith, if he can try and emulate his game to that level, that’s someone that if he has a chance to look at some footage of him, that would be really helpful because he’s going to be a guy that moves the puck and can add to the offense,. He’s such a good skater and mobility and a good stick.”AdvertisementHere are three things we learned from camp.General manager Kyle Davidson described his recent conversations with Kane and Toews as “healthy.”It remains to be seen how the two would characterize those discussions given that they’ve been dead set against dismantling the team. But Davidson has done precisely that, sacrificing Alex DeBrincat, Kirby Dach and Brandon Hagel for draft picks and prospects.Richardson said he talked with the pair of locker room leaders, though luckily for him they’re all still in the get-to-know-you phase.“I had a good talk with them this week, both just passing by in the gym but also a sit-down kind of a meet-and-greet in a private office, just so we can just sit and relax and talk,” he said. “We’re not diving into anything too deep yet.“I just wanted to let them know who I am, what I’m about and listen to them on what they’re thinking and feeling over the last week, lots of changes and stuff like that. You know what? They seemed good to go and really excited about having an open communication.Advertisement“But also they’re driven, they said they’re driven to get their game and the team’s game on course to where we can have some success as much as possible this year.”ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 13Forward Dominic James practices during Chicago Blackhawks prospect development camp at Fifth Third Arena, July 14, 2022. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)On Thursday, assistant coach Kevin Dean explained the merits of zone defense. It’s an ideology Richardson shares.“It’s lots of times there’s lots of communication and reads out there,” Richardson said, “but overall zone defense is going to be way more structured than man-on-man where you’re flying all over the place.“I think a real good structured hard defensive zone, where you stay in your zones, you’re passing off players,” is preferred, especially with younger players, Richardson said. “But the whole thing is when it’s your time to kill a play and get the puck back, we’ve got to be really strong at that.”Asked about offense, Richardson kept it general.“The offense is going to come from if we can play fast defense,” he said. “If we can have our forwards have that mindset it’s going to help our (defensemen) have a better gap and stay out of the D-zone and transition better in the neutral zone to have more offense and lead to more offense.Advertisement“We want to give some room for creativity to players like Patrick (Kane) — obviously one of the best in the league for years — but there’s areas and times in the games for that. … We’ve got to take risk out of it.”Richardson doesn’t have much history with many of the Blackhawks, but he knows free-agent acquisition Max Domi from their time together in Montreal.Both joined the Canadiens in 2018 (in Domi’s case, via a trade from the Arizona Coyotes) and were together for two seasons before the Columbus Blue Jackets traded for Domi’s rights on Oct. 6, 2020.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.With DeBrincat traded to Ottawa, Domi is one of the candidates expected to help fill the loss of a 40-goal scorer.“Max has got some great speed and good vision and sees the ice well,” Richardson said. “I definitely want him to bring that speed here.”AdvertisementDomi, whom Richardson described as “almost too unselfish,” had nine goals and 23 assists in 53 games for Columbus. After a March trade, Domi finished out the season with the Carolina Hurricanes and notched three goals and three assists in 14 playoff games.“Sometimes you’ve got to shoot that puck to make people honor you so then that opens up other people to make those plays,” Richardson said. “That’s something that we’ll talk about.”The Hawks also signed Andreas Athanasiou, who’ll also be counted on for offense.“I think free agency definitely helped,” Richardson said. “Adding some speed up front is really huge.”

“There are bright-colored beetles here and there in my garden that are feeding on leaves and rose flowers. I think they are Japanese beetles and I would like some suggestions on what to do to protect my plants.”— Sal Malek, EvanstonAdvertisementThe Japanese beetle (Popilia japonica) is approximately half an inch long and has a colorful, metallic green color with coppery wing covers. The beetles feed on the leaf tissue between the veins, which results in a skeletonized leaf. They are active now in Chicago gardens, but I have not seen any yet in my garden. Severely injured leaves turn brown and fall off the plant. Damage done by this insect is distinct and mostly cosmetic, though heavy damage to a plant’s foliage creates stress on the plant.The adults feed from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on warm, sunny days and are active in the garden from approximately mid-June until mid-August. You may also see some stray Japanese beetles in the garden in early September. Normally, they start feeding at the top of the plant and work downward, with a preference for plants in direct sunlight.AdvertisementJapanese beetle adults feed on more than 300 plant varieties with a preference for plants like linden, elm, rose, raspberry, grape, viburnum, zinnia and Japanese maple. They are attracted to plants that are members of the rose family.Plants that have been damaged by Japanese beetles attract more of them. A volatile odor is given off by a plant that has beetle damage, which attracts other Japanese beetles. To help reduce damage to your plants, begin monitoring your plants early and remove beetles as they appear. If you can reduce damage in the first couple of weeks, it is likely that you will have less damage overall. Hand-removal of beetles is generally effective on smaller plants.In the early morning, late afternoon and evening, disturbed beetles fold their legs and drop to the ground. Hold a container of rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) or soapy water under the beetles and poke them to get them to drop into the container. This is faster than picking them off one by one.If you are seeing large numbers of Japanese beetles and significant damage on your shrubs, you can use a pyrethrin-based insecticide to spray them. Be sure to follow all label directions and be careful to minimize killing nontarget insects.Netting can provide more complete protection for small plants, but it is not practical for large numbers of plants. The product you choose must have a fine enough mesh to exclude the beetles while maximizing light transmission. A summer-weight garden fabric used for row covers should work well as a cover. I have never used this technique, and would consider using it only for a very valuable plant.There are traps available that contain a pheromone attractive to male Japanese beetles and a floral lure attractive to female beetles. These pheromone traps are useful for detecting beetle emergence, but not recommended as a control method. Research shows that beetles are attracted from a considerable distance to areas near the traps but then switch to food plants, which can result in heavier plant damage near traps.Japanese beetle populations vary from year to year. The beetle has a one-year life cycle but spends most of its life in the soil as a grub. Females lay eggs in the lawn and other grassy areas just under the soil surface in summer. They prefer to lay eggs in turf that is well irrigated. Eggs soon hatch and young larvae begin to feed on roots of nearby grass until cold weather forces them to move deeper into the soil for the winter. As the soil temperatures warm in the spring, the grubs return to the surface to complete their life cycle.The bacterial milky spore disease, Bacillus popillae, kills Japanese beetle grubs in the soil. The dead grubs then produce bacterial spores that remain in the soil to infect future grubs. Milky spore disease is applied to the soil, but it takes two to three years before spore counts build up enough to become effective.AdvertisementTreating your lawn may reduce Japanese beetle populations some in your garden in the long term but is not a permanent solution, as they fly in from other yards.For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.