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Two years ago, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin quietly co-founded a consulting firm with a top city aide, who’s also a lifelong friend, and two men from…

The calendar has caught up with the thermometer — summer has arrived in Chicago.That’s right, spring is over — according to meteorologists. Though the summer solstice…

There are many important business items on the agenda for Commissioner Greg Sankey, conference coaches, athletic directors and Paul Finebaum to discuss at the Southeastern Conference spring meetings, which started Tuesday in a swanky hotel on the sugary white beaches of Destin in Florida’s Panhandle.Such as:Advertisement• Counting their money.• Having Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher settle their differences like true southern gentlemen — with a Civil War reenactment of the Battle at Chancellorsville. (Jimbo to Sankey: “Commissioner, can I be Robert E. Lee this time? He always gets to be Robert E. Lee!”)Advertisement• Discussing the SEC’s future scheduling model once Texas and Oklahoma join the league in the next couple of years.• Trying to come to some common sense solutions on how to regulate the transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness.• Counting more of their money.• And the most important piece of business of all: Setting the wheels in motion so that the SEC can officially become the only conference in college football that matters.Of course, we know the SEC is already unofficially the only conference in college football that matters, but University of Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin said something last week in a story published by Pete Thamel, ESPN’s respected college football insider, that raised eyebrows throughout intercollegiate athletics.“We have an incredibly strong league, one that will be even stronger once Oklahoma and Texas join,” Stricklin told Thamel. “The focus should be on how we as a league use that strength to further position the SEC as we face new realities. Commissioner Sankey has encouraged our athletic directors to think creatively, and an SEC-only playoff is a different idea that we should absolutely consider an option.”Added Sankey: “As we think as a conference. … it’s vitally important we think about the range of possibilities.”You’re probably thinking to yourself: “An SEC-only playoff? That’s insanity! That’s the height of SEC arrogance! A playoff would never work without Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, USC, Penn State, Oregon, etc.”AdvertisementPardon my French, but … Au contraire mon frère.A potential eight-team, SEC-only playoff wouldn’t be as appealing, but it would certainly work and we’d watch it and here’s the best part of all: The SEC gets to keep all the money for itself.“You have to have SEC involvement for something to be legitimate,” Stricklin told reporters from the Orlando Sentinel and Gainesville Sun a few days ago. “The SEC has taken up a majority or certainly it’s taken up more playoff spots than any other conference. We’ve proven you could have a national championship with two SEC teams. Our league is strong and my guess is it is getting stronger. In a perfect world, I think it [a playoff] would be a national approach, but there’s got to be agreement and everyone has to be on the same page. I don’t think we should hold our league back in the name of a national approach, if a national approach is not achievable.”Allow me to translate what Stricklin is saying:“Memo to the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12: You need the SEC more than the SEC needs you. You either get on board the expanded playoff train or you’re going get flattened by SEC’s unstoppable locomotive.”It’s no secret that Sankey, the godfather of college football, is still livid about the way College Football Playoff expansion talks collapsed a few months ago after he and others spent two years working on a carefully crafted plan for a 12-team playoff.AdvertisementSEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was not happy when other conference commissioners voted down his plan for an expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff. (Butch Dill/AP)The plan was quashed by conference commissioners from the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC who got their feelings hurt when the SEC pulled off a monumental coup last summer by adding Texas and Oklahoma into its already formidable lineup of teams. Of course, all three of those other leagues would have added Texas and Oklahoma, too, if only given the opportunity, but they threw a hissy fit because Sankey and the SEC actually pulled it off. In response to the SEC’s expansion, the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC formed “The Alliance” and spitefully trashed the 12-team playoff plan Sankey worked so hard to construct.So now Sankey and Stricklin are at least floating the idea of turning the Power 5 into the SEC and its four little bubbas. Just the mere mention of the SEC exploring the idea of its own playoff is just another way for league officials to flex their muscles and tell the rest of college football that SEC stands for “Superior in Everything Conference.”Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.The SEC has won 12 of the last 16 national championships with five programs (Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Florida and LSU) winning titles during that span. The other four Power 5 leagues have had three programs (Clemson, FSU and Ohio State) win the remaining four national titles.In addition, the SEC has the most passionate fans (the largest average attendance in college football for 23 straight years), the best players (the most overall NFL Draft picks for 16 straight years) and the most money (10 of the 20 biggest revenue-producers in college athletics come from the SEC).[ Get used to SEC dominance: It’s only going to get stronger ]Obviously, for the overall health of college football, we would all love to see an all-inclusive, all-encompassing expanded college football playoff.However, if the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 are going to continue to whine and pout and block playoff expansion then they need to face the consequences and recognize the reality.AdvertisementAnd the reality is this:An eight-team playoff with only SEC teams is a lot more appealing than a four-team playoff without any SEC teams.Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on Twitter @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and HD 101.1-2

DESTIN — During a recent visit to Disney World, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz found himself caught between two people who didn’t get their way.In this case, 2-year-old Parker and 4-year-old Ella Drinkwitz wanted their own cotton candy.Advertisement[ NIL king Jimbo Fisher should embrace what Nick Saban said | Commentary ]“My wife was like, ‘You’re an idiot. You don’t bring back one bag of cotton candy, you bring two bags of cotton candy,’” Drinkwitz recalled.At Tuesday’s SEC Meetings, Drinkwitz was pulled into a more high-profile public spat between Alabama coach Nick Saban and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher over the sticky subject of name, image and likeness.AdvertisementSaban’s and Fisher’s recent dustup over NIL’s role in recruiting was a hot topic coaches did their best to deflect or diffuse.“When tensions are high and uncertainty is at a high, people’s emotions are strong,” Drinkwitz told reporters at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Resort. “I think that’s what happened. We’re all competitive. We’re talking about two of the greats in the game. They’re both successful and have opinions on how things should operate.“It probably shouldn’t have occurred publicly and it’s probably unfortunate that it did. But it’s a real issue and we have to find real solutions.”Alabama head coach Nick Saban, left, and Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, right, shake hands prior the Aggies’ 41-38 upset win in 2021. (Sam Craft/AP)How to best navigate and legislate NIL was front of mind for SEC administrators and football and basketball coaches at the league’s first in-person spring meetings since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Saban and Fisher were thick as thieves during their last junket to Destin. In less than a year since its July 1 inception, NIL legislation has changed much about college football, including the relationship of two men who won the 2003 national title at LSU during their five seasons together (2000-04).[ Gators coach Billy Napier on NIL bidding wars: ‘We don’t operate that way’  ]Saban downplayed any tension with Fisher.“I have no problem with Jimbo at all,” the 70-year-old Crimson Tide coach said.Saban reiterated he should have chosen his words more carefully when two weeks ago he called for NIL regulation of compensating recruits while singling out Texas A&M. The Aggies signed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class while Alabama’s class was No. 2.Advertisement“I didn’t really say that anybody did anything wrong,” Saban said. “I should have never mentioned any individual institutions.”At left, Alabama head coach Nick Saban yells from the sideline. At right, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher reacts to an official’s call. The two mens are now at odds over Saban’s comments directed at Fisher regarding NIL legislation. (AP)Fisher, who approaches his fifth season at Texas A&M, did not plan to address reporters Tuesday. He was scheduled to serve as chairman of the coaches group with Saban, the other 12 SEC coaches and several administrators met for several hours Tuesday and several more Wednesday.Fisher and Saban were seated four spots away from each other and out of direct eye line.They put Jimbo between all the SEC officials so they have a buffer to keep him from going after Nick Saban. Everyone but Texas A&M is in alphabetical order. pic.twitter.com/LWvNmu9N6V— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 31, 2022

Two weeks ago, Fisher railed against his former boss following his comments, calling Saban a “narcissist,” and claiming, “we’re done.”Fisher said he refused to answer Saban’s phone calls, a reaction Georgia coach Kirby Smart found unremarkable Tuesday. Smart worked with Saban at LSU in 2004, with the Miami Dolphins in 2006 and then at Alabama from 2007-2015.Yet, Smart said he rarely chit-chats with Saban or other coaches he worked with.Advertisement“They don’t call. I don’t call them,” Smart said. “It’s not commonplace for guys to be reaching out and be friendly when you’re competing on the field, and we’re constantly competing for prospects day in and day out. So, it’s not super unusual to me.”Even so, the Saban-Fisher showdown fueled plenty of offseason conversation. A public and highly personal exchange between two national title-winning coaches also highlighted the lack of transparency and direction with NIL.“There’s a ton of gray area relative to what you can do, what you can’t do,” Florida first-year coach Billy Napier said. “Until we have some formal guidelines and parameters to operate by, we’ve got problems on our hands.”Florida football coach Billy Napier speaks to reporters April 27 at Full Sail University in Winter Park before a Gators speaking engagement. (Stephen M. Dowell/AP)Having spent four seasons (2011, 2013-15) at Alabama coaching with Saban, Napier steered clear of the kerfuffle with Fisher.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“We’ll let those two gentlemen handle that,” Napier said. “Both are very accomplished. Both are competitive. Both have conviction about who they are and what they do.“It’s one of the reasons they’ve had success.”AdvertisementSouth Carolina’s Shane Beamer, the son of Hall of Fame coach Frank Beamer and former Steve Spurrier assistant, has been exposed to alpha males all his life.The Gamecocks’ second-year coach said his first in-person gathering with his SEC coaching brethren in February featured plenty of posturing. It just wasn’t public.“We were in there all day and there were some intense conversations,” Beamer said. “We certainly all have our opinions and strong-minded and want what’s best for our teams and our universities. We were all professional that day.“I have no doubt we will be this time.”This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Edgar Thompson at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osgators.

Dear Amy: My spouse and I recently went to Egypt and Greece. Three days before we were to return home, we conducted COVID-19 self-tests, because he had some sniffles.He tested positive. I did not. We were faced with a choice, either I rebook quickly and return home the next day (in case I should also become positive in the following day or so), or I stay and risk getting infected.AdvertisementOutside of the sniffles, he had no symptoms.We also have a dog who had already been boarded for 15 days and if we both had to stay in Greece it would have likely added five to 10 days to him being stuck in a kennel.AdvertisementWe decided that I should return home, which I did.He only stayed a few more days, and returned home as soon as he tested negative.Now, I am getting grief: “You deserted me in Greece!”Should I have stayed?– Accused of DesertionDear Accused: This question brings up an important topic that all traveling families should discuss and consider before they leave home: “What should we do if COVID hits one or more of us while we’re away?”I hope that you and your spouse will go a little easy on yourselves; the fact that you are bringing this topic into other households through your question might help others to arrive at their own workable strategy.Understanding that self-tests are fallible, you decided to lessen your possible exposure by leaving quickly.AdvertisementYou state: “We decided that I should return home.” If that is true, then your spouse agreed that you should depart the region, rather than both of you being stuck there for an indeterminate period of time.If he gives you “grief” about this by repeating his claim, you should take him seriously and ask him, “Do you truly feel I deserted you?”He may have been surprised by his own anxieties surfacing after you had left, and if so – you should encourage him to talk about it.After talking earnestly about this, you should then ask him if he considers the matter settled. If not, talk some more.If he does accept the way this challenging situation was handled by both of you – then ask him to frame this not as a “desertion,” but a “decision.”Dear Amy: I’m engaged to a wonderful guy – he’s kind, smart, and my best friend. I truly couldn’t ask for a better partner! We’re planning to get married next spring.AdvertisementMy mother disapproves, and it is breaking my heart.She says he’s a great man, but she doesn’t approve of our relationship. She always had a certain idea of what kind of man I’d end up with, and he doesn’t fit her mold. I know there’s no changing her mind.She and I recently had a heart-to-heart talk and she asked if I was still planning on going through with marrying him. I asked her if she’d be at the wedding. She said that if I’m marrying him, she’s not sure.Amy, I want my mom to be there more than anything. She’s the only one who raised me, and I love her.Thankfully, her answer isn’t a direct no, but I’m so worried.I’m trying to not focus too much on her choice right now, but I’m very worried and upset. How can I prepare myself for the worst?Advertisement– Dejected DaughterDear Dejected: Now that you and your mother have discussed this, and she has made her views clear, you should not bring it up again.You and your guy should continue with your plans and trust her to make up her mind in her own way and time.Respect her, love her, and listen to her. But unless she raises legitimate issues regarding your marriage, don’t let her control you. The more you worry about her choice, the tighter her control.“He doesn’t fit my mold” is not a legitimate reason to oppose a marriage.She may be struggling to let you go; this is not something you can necessarily help her with.AdvertisementAsk AmyDailyNo-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning. For a limited time, sign up for the Ask Amy newsletter and get the book “Ask Amy: Essential Wisdom from America’s Favorite Advice Columnist” for $5.Dear Amy: The question from “Concerned Mother” worried me. Her daughter abruptly quit her job and moved back home.You focused on the fact that she isn’t working. It seems obvious to me that this woman is depressed!– ConcernedDear Concerned: Yes, it is possible that this young-adult is depressed. In my response, I wrote: “Does she need counseling? Help her to find it.”Got a question for Amy? Enter it here and we’ll send it to her.Sign up here to receive the Ask Amy newsletter to get advice e-mailed to your inbox every morning, and for a limited time — get the book “Ask Amy: Essential Wisdom from America’s Favorite Advice Columnist” for $5.Advertisement©2021 Amy Dickinson.

TORONTO — Alejandro Kirk hit a pair of two-run home runs in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, which extended the Blue Jays’ streak to six games.Kevin Gausman (5-3) pitched five innings to win his second straight start, getting five strikeouts while allowing three runs, six hits and one walk. The right-hander has won four of his last six outings.AdvertisementKirk connected in the second for his second homer of the season, then went deep again with a two-out drive in the fifth, the third multi-homer game of his career.Both came off White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito (3-2), who allowed season highs of six runs and eight hits in 4⅔ innings and raised his ERA from 2.63 to 3.61.AdvertisementGiolito hadn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of his seven prior starts this season, but it was the third time he has given up at least two home runs.The Blue Jays are 15-7 in one-run games, the best record in the majors, and have won four consecutive one-run decisions.Andrew Vaughn homered and had four hits and two RBIs for the White Sox, who began a stretch without All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson. He is expected to miss at least three weeks after straining his right groin in Sunday’s win over the Cubs.Trevor Richards allowed two runs without retiring any of the four batters he faced in the sixth, but Adam Cimber, Yimi Garcia and Julian Merryweather each worked one scoreless inning and Jordan Romano finished for his AL-leading 16th save in 18 chances.Danny Mendick and Vaughn had RBI hits off Gausman in the fifth as the Sox took a 3-2 lead, but the Blue Jays scored four in the bottom half on Kirk’s second homer and a two-run double by Teoscar Hernández that fell beyond the reach of diving center fielder Adam Engel.Four straight Sox batters reached against Richards to begin the sixth as Reese McGuire’s second double of the game drove in a run to make it 6-5.OF Luis Robert was activated off the COVID-19 IL. … Anderson’s IL stint is retroactive to Monday. … OF AJ Pollock sat because of a non-COVID illness. … 3B Yoán Moncada (quadriceps) did not start for the fourth straight game. … OF Eloy Jiménez (right hamstring) missed his second straight game at Triple-A Charlotte. Jiménez left Saturday’s game because of soreness in his leg.White Sox RHP Michael Kopech (1-1, 1.29) will face Blue Jays LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (2-0, 5.48) on Wednesday night. Ryu went 0-2 with a 9.31 ERA in two 2021 starts against the Sox.

This Cinderella story continues, but don’t search for the glass slippers.Hardly.AdvertisementKatelyn Serafin is all about the spikes, whether she’s firing away in the circle or swinging away in the batter’s box. And she’s doing both quite well lately.“She’s a gamer,” West Aurora coach Randy Hayslett said of his sophomore pitcher. “I don’t know how else to say it. She’s surpassing our expectations.Advertisement“If I had known this a month ago, she’d have a whole lot more innings than she’s had. Obviously, this is the lineup we’re going with the rest of the way.”West Aurora’s Katelyn Serafin (14) has reason to smile after hitting a two-out RBI double against the host Foxes in a Class 4A Yorkville Sectional semifinal on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)Serafin was good to go Tuesday afternoon, winning a 3-2 duel against ace Madi Reeves and the top-seeded host Foxes in the Class 4A Yorkville Sectional semifinals.On top of that, Serafin’s two-out double sparked the winning rally for sixth-seeded West Aurora (17-14), which advances to the 4:30 p.m. Friday championship game.It will be the first appearance in the sectional final since 2017 and only the third since 2001 for the Blackhawks, who will meet the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Naperville North and Neuqua Valley.“I know we were a little bit of an underdog, but the advantage is, we had faced her twice,” Hayslett said of Reeves. “We knew the speed, where she was going.“She’s still tougher than anything, but we were well-prepared and felt confident coming in.”Serafin and Reeves matched up May 11. Reeves left with a 1-0 lead after throwing a no-hitter through five innings. Serafin earned a 3-1 win after a late rally.“It gave me a lot of confidence because I beat them,” she said.AdvertisementLast week, Serafin followed that up with a three-hitter in an 8-1 victory over Oswego for the regional title.Yorkville’s Madi Reeves (2) points to a pop-up against West Aurora during a Class 4A Yorkville Sectional semifinal on Tuesday, May 31, 2022.on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)Serafin (6-3) gave up unearned runs in the second inning Tuesday on Katlyn Schraeder’s sacrifice fly and in the seventh on an outfield error. But Serafin stranded the tying and winning runs by inducing a pop-up to her for the second out and capped the win with a runner’s interference call going against Yorkville (28-6) on a grounder to Riley Mont at shortstop.“I kept it together,” Serafin said of the tense seventh inning. “I just took my usual walk to the back of the mound, took a deep breath and thought about the next pitch.”Reeves (18-4) struck out six batters the first time through West Aurora’s order but only two the second time, finishing with 11.Senior center fielder Callie Meinel, who had two of the six hits off Reeves, said West Aurora had to adjust.Advertisement“We thought the first pitch might be the best pitch we’d get, so you have to go up there being aggressive,” Meinel said. “But you also have to keep your head down. “It’s about pitch selection, and a lot of people are chasing her riseball because it looks good coming in and then they can’t catch it.”West Aurora’s Riley Mont (12) slides safely into third base with an RBI triple against the host Foxes in a Class 4A Yorkville Sectional semifinal on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)West Aurora’s offense did all its damage with two outs in the fifth.Ionicca Rivera had a single and Serafin, who hit a home run and double against Oswego, lined a double down the left field line to score Rivera. Mia Malczyk’s single up the middle scored Serafin, while Mont followed with an RBI triple on a blast to right-center.“It was an adrenaline rush,” said Serafin, who did not remember jumping up and down on the base after hitting the double.Advertisement“I couldn’t even hear myself screaming in the dugout,” Meinel said.Serafin ended up with only two strikeouts, but she retired eight batters on infield pop-ups.“She’s not overpowering, but she hits her spots,” Hayslett said of Serafin. “She moves it in and out and a little bit up and down.”Yorkville coach Jory Regnier said her team couldn’t come up with the big hit, struggling to make solid contact.“They came out and had a big inning and that’s all they needed,” Regnier said of West Aurora.

DUBLIN, Ohio — Three months after declaring he was “fully committed” to the PGA Tour, Dustin Johnson is among 42 players in the field for next week’s LIV Golf Invitational, which offers $25 million in prize money that’s backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.Phil Mickelson was missing from the list that was released Tuesday night. It was his damaging remarks in February that led Johnson and other top players to say they would stay on the PGA Tour.AdvertisementThe LIV Golf Invitational is scheduled for June 9-11 at Centurion Club outside of London. The PGA Tour and European tour denied releases for players, meaning they risk punishment — possibly a loss of tour membership — by competing.Other players in the field were not a surprise. Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter had indicated they would be playing.AdvertisementAmerican players who are chasing the Saudi riches are Talor Gooch, who won his first PGA Tour event last fall at the RSM Classic, and three-time tour winner Hudson Swafford.Greg Norman’s group also went after amateurs, adding U.S. Amateur champion James Piot and David Puig, who is competing for Arizona State in the NCAA Championships this week.

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross has an important decision to make when Jason Heyward returns from the injured list.What to do with Christopher Morel?AdvertisementThe Cubs rookie has excelled since his call-up from Double-A Tennessee, setting a franchise record by reaching base in his first 14 games with a fourth-inning walk Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. Morel broke a tie with teammate Willson Contreras, who reached in the first 13 games of his career in 2016.Morel, who led off and started in center field Tuesday, has shown he can play center, second base, shortstop and third. But Nico Hoerner is the starting shortstop, Patrick Wisdom is the regular third baseman and second baseman Nick Madrigal returned from his IL stint Tuesday.AdvertisementThat leaves Morel mostly in center, which appears to be his best position, right?“He’ll define his best spot,” Ross said. “Elite center fielders are hard to find. But he’s played a darn good second base, and the one time we put him at short he did a really nice job. Versatility is a bonus in our game, and it helps with roster construction and some of the things you look at when you’re building a team.“Love him in center. Love him at second. If he’s on the field, he’s a spark for us right now, and I’ll continue to take what we can get and try to fit the most offense in the lineup.”Cubs center fielder Christopher Morel flies out during the first inning against the Brewers on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, at Wrigley Field. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)Heyward was cleared over the weekend from his COVID-19-related absence. He has been sidelined since May 17, and the Cubs haven’t given a timetable for his return as he ramps back up. He moved from right field to center this season to make way for free-agent signee Seiya Suzuki but struggled offensively with a .208 average, no home runs and four RBIs in 72 at-bats.A sprained left finger suffered during a slide in Cincinnati last week put Suzuki on the 10-day IL, so Heyward could move back to his old position in right for the time being, assuming he’s deemed ready this week. But the Cubs have made a five-year commitment to Suzuki, so a move would be temporary if it happened.[ [Don’t miss] From Division II and an adult rec league, Matt Swarmer achieves his MLB dream with the Cubs: ‘My adrenaline was pumping’ ]Ross also could move Morel around defensively, but slowing his development in center just because it’s Heyward’s spot would be risky for an organization focusing on the long term. The Cubs seemingly would like to move Heyward’s contract, but that’s easier said than done with $36.7 million remaining through 2023.They also don’t seem inclined to designate Heyward for assignment and pay the remainder of his deal in order to look toward the future.Morel is here to stay, however, no matter what happens with Heyward. The Cubs have seen enough to know they have a player fans can cling to and buy his No. 5 jersey for years to come. And unlike Kris Bryant, Javier Báez and Kyle Schwarber, Morel was called up without any hype or premature billing as a star of the future. Recall the Cubs once put a photo of Starlin Castro on a billboard next to a picture of Derek Jeter.AdvertisementCubs center fielder Christopher Morel signs autographs before playing the Brewers on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, at Wrigley Field. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)Cubs President Jed Hoyer said Saturday the “energy” Morel has provided is impossible to replicate.“He’s such a positive guy, and I do think with any team, bringing up guys like that really energizes the group,” Hoyer said. “And just the versatility. There’s development left certainly, but I don’t see that ability going away. He’s such a great athlete. He can run and play the middle of the field. The way today’s game is, that is so valuable.“I’ve always been excited about his future, but I’m even more excited watching him play those positions so easily in the big leagues.”Hoyer said “taking a long view is really important” when it comes to roster decisions, adding he would “lean strongly toward” the future when mulling those moves. If that’s the case, Morel must be in the lineup on a daily basis the rest of the way, even if it means eventually sitting Heyward and his $22 million salary when everyone is healthy.[ [Don’t miss] Analysis: Jed Hoyer and the Cubs must learn from mistakes to build the franchise’s next title contender ]Suzuki’s injury and Heyward’s delayed return buys Ross some time. But for how long?Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.The Cubs were 12 games behind the division-leading Brewers on May 31, and fans were looking for reasons to continue watching this team the next four months. The Heyward decision is no doubt difficult for Hoyer and Ross, who know that his contributions to the 2016 championship were significant and that his leadership skills in the clubhouse remain valuable.AdvertisementBut it’s also a business, as everyone always says.Hoyer continued to insist his plan should not be labeled a “rebuild,” though he also argued that “people weren’t that receptive” to the rebuild he and former Cubs President Theo Epstein executed a decade ago.Cubs outfielders Seiya Suzuki and Jason Heyward talk during batting practice on opening day at Wrigley Field on April 7, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)“I don’t remember a lot of bouquets in 2012 or ‘13,” he said. “There were a lot of people that were very skeptical about what was happening, oftentimes resentful of what was happening. So as we look backward, like, ‘Oh, wow, that led to the best run of success in Cubs history,’ I think people had a little different view. At the time, that wasn’t the case.”That’s a bit of revisionist history considering how patient Cubs fans were from 2012-14, not to mention how much national media praise Epstein received during those years for building a team almost from scratch. The core prospects — Bryant, Báez, Schwarber and Addison Russell — were covered in the minors almost as much as the Cubs themselves.But now we’re in a new era with youngsters such as Morel, Hoerner, Keegan Thompson and Justin Steele trying to make names for themselves — and more prospects on the way. Having given up on the season, Cubs fans just want to see what the kids can do.It shouldn’t be that hard for Hoyer and Ross to give them what they want.

Courtney Vandersloot scored 18 points, Candace Parker grabbed 11 rebounds and the Chicago Sky beat the short-handed Phoenix Mercury 73-70 on Tuesday night at Wintrust Arena in a WNBA Finals rematch.Mercury star Diana Taurasi was ejected with 3:43 left in the second quarter for arguing a no-call with an official. The Mercury were trailing 31-21 at the time but rallied in the third quarter by scoring 31 points and shooting 72% from the field.AdvertisementVandersloot made 1 of 2 free throws with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter for a 72-70 lead, and she knocked the ball away from Skylar Diggins-Smith on a drive at the other end. Rebekah Gardner also went 1 for 2 at the line for a three-point lead, and former Sky player Diamond DeShields didn’t hit the rim on a corner 3-pointer as time expired.Kahleah Copper added 11 points and Emma Meesseman and Gardner each scored 10 for the Sky (5-3). Parker was 2 of 9 from the field as both teams shot under 42%.AdvertisementTina Charles scored 25 points for the Mercury (2-7). Diggins-Smith had 12 points and eight assists and DeShields added 10 points and seven rebounds.The Sky jumped out to a 20-10 first-quarter lead after holding the Mercury to 4-of-20 shooting. Charles had six of the Mercury’s 10 points.