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Eloy Jiménez’s rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte got off to a less than ideal start when the outfielder exited Saturday’s game in Durham, N.C., with right leg soreness.He left after singling to right field in the second inning.Advertisement“He did feel a tug in one of his swings, not running,” Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa said Sunday. “So after a couple at-bats, they backed him out. I talked to (head athletic trainer James) Kruk. It’s not perfect, it’s not what you would hope, but it still doesn’t change the expectation that he’s healing and on his way. Just have to be careful with him.”Jiménez has been out since April 23 when he suffered an injury that required surgery to repair a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee.AdvertisementHe went 1-for-2 before leaving Saturday’s game. La Russa said it was described to him as “part of the healing.”“He’s just not completely 100% yet,” La Russa said of Jiménez, who is now day to day. “He knows what he feels, and we have to rely on it.”White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn walks back to the team’s complex after his morning workout at Camelback Ranch on March 17, 2022. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)Sox pitcher Lance Lynn has joined Jiménez with the Knights and is the scheduled starter Sunday night against Durham.Lynn is working his way back from right knee surgery to repair a torn tendon. He is eligible to be reinstated from the injured list June 6.Back at Guaranteed Rate Field, Sox third baseman Yoán Moncada was not in the starting lineup for a third consecutive game. General manager Rick Hahn said Moncada, who last played May 25, was “dealing with a quad.” “It’s not an IL situation but something we want to nip in the bud sooner than later before it becomes something large,” Hahn said Saturday.La Russa said, “Our expectation is — and we’re hopeful — that he would be able to play Tuesday (at Toronto). But he doesn’t feel right yet, so it may not be Tuesday.”Luis Robert singles in the fifth inning against the Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 2, 2022. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)Center fielder Luis Robert might be back by then. He has been on the COVID-19 related injured list since Tuesday.Advertisement“He was much improved today,” La Russa said. “And if we get the go ahead, it’s likely that he would be OK to make the trip to Toronto with us. He’s made that much of an improvement. And he feels a lot better, a little tired when he does some work. It would be good to see him.“He has done some work so hopefully we get the green light and he can work out here (Monday morning) before we take off.”

A stampede of frightened and panicked fans capped Saturday night boxing at Barclays Center.Not long after crowd favorite Gervonta Davis knocked out Rolly Romero with a left counter, a rumor of gunshots sent exiting spectators into a frenzied dash from the concourse back inside the arena. An NYPD detective told ESPN that 10 people were sent to the hospital with minor injuries as a result of the melee, but he believed the rumor that a gun had been fired — which was echoed by spectators and members of Barclays Center staff at the time — was a false alarm.AdvertisementHundreds spilled back into the arena, running through the largely empty stands. Others, like tennis star Naomi Osaka, were apparently shuttled into a closed room.“I was just in the Barclays center and suddenly I heard shouting and saw people running, then we were being yelled at that there was an active shooter and we had to huddle in a room and close the doors,” Osaka tweeted, “I was so f–king petrified.”AdvertisementConfusion added to the chaos. In the hallways of the event level by the TV trucks, an arena employee was telling people to stay put until he received an update on his walkie talkie.[ Loud noise sparks shooting scare at NYC Barclays Center boxing match, 10 hurt in panic ]Two cops then sprinted around the corner. Arena announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. told his Showtime colleague Jim Gray, “the quicker we get out of here, the better.”Tensions were building inside Barclays Center before the chaotic exit. A fight in the stands occurred in the first round of the main event between Davis and Romero. Another fan fight erupted after Davis won. The sold out crowd of nearly 19,000, which included Madonna and Michael Strahan, set the record for the highest-grossing boxing event in Barclays Center history.They saw Davis retain his lightweight championship with a sixth-round spectacular knockout, sending Romero headfirst into the ropes. Romero got up but was dazed and the referee waved off the bout.“The crazy thing is that I didn’t even throw (my knockout left hand counter) that hard,” Davis said. “He just ran into it.”

The Chicago Cubs’ process to creating another World Series contender requires again overhauling the major-league roster.There is nothing disputable about the statement. Whether this is called a rebuild depends on the perspective. Don’t expect any Cubs personnel to refer to the organization’s current undertaking as such, but, ultimately, it’s semantics. The Cubs clearly have major work to do to compete for a division title — or even a postseason appearance.AdvertisementTaking a long-view lens while trying to compete in the short term requires balance, and sometimes that means sacrificing one for the other. Their offseason transactions reflected this approach with a mix of short-term deals, particularly the multitude of one-year contracts for pitchers, and those of Marcus Stroman and Seiya Suzuki. And when the trade deadline arrives in about two months, team President Jed Hoyer will be forced to weigh how his moves affect the Cubs’ long-term approach.“You’re forced oftentimes to decide is this a move I want to make right now that is going to have a negative impact on our future, and when those have come up, I feel like I’ve leaned strongly toward the future,” Hoyer said Saturday before the Cubs’ 5-1 win against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. “And I feel strongly about that.”AdvertisementCubs fans want — and deserve — transparency with how the franchise intends to turn around its shortcomings and leverage what should be considerable financial resources to supplement player development. Hoyer has been through this before as Theo Epstein’s right-hand man when they joined the organization before the 2012 season.Cubs President Jed Hoyer talks with reporters on April 7, 2022, at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)“Obviously if people don’t feel like we’re being as transparent, then I think I have to own that and I should think about our messaging,” Hoyer said. “How you guys (the media) choose to label that, that’s your decision.”Hoyer circled back on the topic during his 25-minute conversation Saturday.“I think there’s a desire for transparency, which I totally understand,” Hoyer said. “If I’m not doing a good job of that, then I need to work on how I explain things. But at the same time I also don’t think it’s my job, or it’d be foolish to sit here and tell everyone exactly how much money we’re going spend, who we want to sign and what our exact timeline is. That’d be giving us a competitive disadvantage because no one else is doing that either.”The Cubs organization is in a much better spot now than when it initiated its rebuild 10 years ago. A strong infrastructure is in place, especially on the pitching side, while the farm system isn’t in complete shambles, especially after the influx of young talent the last two years.It’s important to remember that when Epstein and Co. embarked on their rebuild, creating sustained success was a reoccurring mantra. Those painful 2012-14 seasons when they averaged 95 losses weren’t supposed to happen again. Building a strong foundation was supposed to yield a franchise that reloaded every few years. The Cubs made clear they did not want to repeat their rebuilding efforts again anytime soon. The big-picture messaging and long-term view they have taken on is challenging after producing five playoff appearances and six winning seasons in the last seven years.ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 32Cubs GM Jed Hoyer, with his glove, walks out to the field for a workout at Wrigley Field on July 6, 2020. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)Unfortunately, this is where Hoyer and the organization find themselves. But none of the Cubs’ attempts to turn things around matters if they don’t learn from what went wrong the first time. It all comes back to a failure to create sustained success.Hoyer acknowledged the previous regime’s shortcomings.Advertisement“I mean, I don’t think any person would deny when we built it the first time obviously the goal was to be able to sustain that success,” Hoyer said. “And ultimately what we achieved was, it burned incredibly bright, but it was probably for a shorter amount of time than we had hoped.“So we are in a period where we are actively thinking about our future again. We’ve built something really special once. I have no doubt we’re going to build it again.”Looking back on their six-plus years of a contending window, Hoyer believes the Cubs were aggressive in trading prospects and spending money. And as prospects reached the majors, the organization didn’t do a good enough job of developing the next wave behind the Kris Bryants, Javier Báezes and Kyle Schwarbers: “That hurt us.”Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.Those shortcomings helped pave the way for last season’s trade-deadline sell-off. The Cubs got into a no-win position by not extending any of the core World Series players or trading them before they reached their final season of team control. The only way out was hitting reset. The foundation of success started and stopped with the group that won the 2016 title, a blueprint the Cubs must avoid this go-around.“We held on to a group players until really the very end — replenishing along the way is something that other teams have done, candidly, better than we did it,” Hoyer said. “To be willing to make some trades earlier, to replenish. I mean, young players are the lifeblood of a championship team, and we got to a place where we didn’t have that.“We didn’t make any of those moves several years earlier in order to continue that cycle.”AdvertisementHoyer doesn’t regret giving the championship group one last shot in 2021 to try to run it back to the postseason. And once one-third of the opening-day roster was traded in July, the call-ups served as a glaring reminder of the organization’s developmental struggles.The Cubs must nail this rebuild and develop and execute a strategy in which they aren’t repeating this approach every six years.“I think you have the ability to look back on what we accomplished in that run and be really proud of what we accomplished but also look back and say, ’OK, what are the things we should do differently, what are the things we didn’t do as well,’ ” Hoyer said. “I am incredibly self-critical about those things, and we didn’t get it perfect.“I have no doubt we’re going to build something really special and I’ll do it with a knowledge of the things we did really well but also some of the things that we could have done better.”

Cubs center fielder Christopher Morell, right, shortstop Nico Hoerner (2) and second baseman Andrelton Simmonscelebrate a 5-1 victory against the White Sox on May 28, 2022, at Guaranteed Rate Field. Hoerner went 3-for-4 and Siimmons and Morel each had a hit. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

Johnny Cueto didn’t allow a run in his first two starts with the Chicago White Sox.The Cubs got to him early Saturday with two runs in the first and didn’t look back, beating the Sox 5-1 in the City Series in front of a sellout crowd of 37,820 at Guaranteed Rate Field.AdvertisementBoth first-inning runs came with two outs.Patrick Wisdom’s bloop landed just out of the reach of Sox first baseman José Abreu in a shallow right field for an RBI double. Wisdom scored on a Frank Schwindel single.AdvertisementNico Hoerner led off the second with a single, moved to third on a single by Rafael Ortega and scored when Andrelton Simmons grounded out to shortstop Tim Anderson.The Sox tried to cut into the deficit in the bottom of the second when Yasmani Grandal attempted to score from second Jake Burger’s single to right. Ortega threw him out at the plate to end the inning.Burger took matters into his own hands in the fifth with a solo home run to left, making it 3-1.Adam Engel smoked a one-hopper that Simmons, the Cubs shortstop, couldn’t handle and turned it into a double. But Keegan Thompson got Anderson to ground out to third, and Josh Harrison to fly out to right to minimize the damage.Thompson (5-0) allowed one run on five hits with four strikeouts and a walk while matching a career high with five innings in his third start of the season.Wisdom and Schwindel helped the Cubs add runs in the seventh. Batting with the bases loaded, Wisdom hit a grounder deep in the hole between second and short. Anderson made a nice backhanded stop and threw to second for a force. Wisdom beat Harrison’s throw to first and a run scored.Schwindel followed with an RBI single to right, stretching the lead to 5-1 and ending Cueto’s outing.Cueto (0-1) — who entered Saturday with 12 consecutive scoreless innings since the Sox purchased his contract from Triple-A Charlotte on May 16 — allowed five runs on nine hits with two strikeouts and three walks in 6⅔ innings.AdvertisementWhite Sox starting pitcher Johnny Cueto delivers against the Cubs on Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)The Sox came up empty in another scoring chance in the seventh. Burger and Engel had back-to-back singles with one out. But Rowan Wick got Anderson to ground into a double play.The Sox went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring positon and fell one game under .500 at 22-23.

TORONTO — Alejandro Pozuelo scored in the 71st and 78th minutes to give Toronto FC a 3-2 comeback victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday night.Pozuelo returned after missing three games because of a lower-body injury to help Toronto (4-7-3) snap a six-game winless streak. Deandre Kerr also scored for Toronto.AdvertisementKacper Przybylko and Carlos Teran scored for the Fire (2-7-5) — both on assists from Xherdan Shaqiri.The Fire, whose winless streak reached 10 games, finished with a franchise-record 33 shots, according to their website.

The sports world responded to the tragic grade-school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in various ways this week, from Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s emotional news conference to San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler’s decision to remain in the clubhouse during the national anthem.The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays provided statistics on gun violence instead of posting batting averages and game highlights on their Twitter accounts during a game Thursday. And on Saturday, Chicago’s five most prominent professional teams — the Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Bears and Bulls — banded together with the McCormick Foundation to donate $300,000 to the Robb School Memorial Fund and the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation.AdvertisementEveryone agrees something must be done to prevent such tragedies from reoccurring. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to state the obvious — that America’s gun laws need to change to prevent an 18-year-old kid from purchasing an assault rifle and committing mass murder.The five teams, which call themselves Chicago’s Sports Alliance, should be lauded for donating money to families of the victims and to an anti-gun violence advocacy group.AdvertisementI just wish they would have taken it one step further and called for sensible gun reform, as other organizations have done.“Our focus on this gift was empathy for the victims and support for an agency that works to reduce these instances in the future, hopefully,” White Sox executive vice president Scott Reifert said. “And that decision (on delivering a message on gun laws) was left to individual organizations in the course of their giving.”Cubs vice president Julian Green said the Sports Alliance has addressed gun violence in Chicago in the past and added it “made sense to leverage the power of this organization to try to make an impact on these issues.” But neither of the spokesmen would commit to sending a message about gun reform, which could make an even bigger impact.The NBA, as usual, has led the way. Before a playoff game against the Boston Celtics last week in Miami, the Heat public-address announcer told fans: ”The Heat urges you to contact your state senators by calling 202-224-3121 to leave a message demanding their support for common sense gun laws.” And before Thursday’s Warriors-Dallas Mavericks playoff game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, an announcement was made advocating “sensible gun laws in America.”That came on the heels of Kerr’s speech Tuesday in which he rhetorically asked: “When are we going to do something? I’m so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I’m tired of the excuses. I’m tired of the moments of silence. Enough.”Kapler responded with an angry blog post stating American is “not the land of the free nor the home of the brave right now” and followed by announcing he would not stand for the anthem “until I feel better about our country.”It’s a sensitive topic, to be sure. In fact it was so sensitive Saturday that White Sox manger Tony La Russa said he would only give his reaction to Kapler’s stance if the media members on hand promised “everything I say gets reported, not anything taken out of context.”It was an unnecessary request — not to mention insulting — but we agreed nevertheless.AdvertisementLa Russa said he “respects” Kapler as a person and manager and that he was “exactly right to be concerned” about the issues confronting the country.“Where I disagree is that the flag and the anthem are not appropriate places to try to voice your objections,” La Russa continued. “I think you go to the cause of what really bothers you about the direction of the country.”La Russa called it a “mistake” by Kapler to draw attention to the anthem and flag while protesting the incident in Texas. He advised people to “understand what the veterans think when they hear the anthem or see the flag and the cost they paid and their families paid” during wars.“But it’s not the flag, and it’s not the anthem,” he said before recalling his pride in watching a documentary on the Dream Team draped in American flags after winning the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.“I thought, ‘Man, that’s what the anthem is, that’s what the flag is,’ ” he said. “And it’s all that’s right in this country, and it’s you’re right to dislike or protest all you want. … I agree with (Kapler) — there’s a lot wrong — but I would never not stand up for the anthem or salute the flag.”Several White Sox players, however, did just that in 2020 to protest the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu, Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez and Lucas Giolito, along with coaches Joe McEwing and Daryl Boston, took a knee before a game against the Minnesota Twins at Sox Park.AdvertisementWhite Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (7) takes a knee during the national anthem before a game against the Twins on July 24, 2020 ,at Guaranteed Rate. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)And, like Kapler, they were not disrespecting veterans with their stance. They were sending a message against racism and police brutality. It was a moment many of us will always remember.Cubs President Jed Hoyer, who also has known and respected Kapler for years, said he was “proud” of the manager for taking a stance. Hoyer said baseball, like other sports, could make a difference in changing society.“What the Rays and Yankees did the other night on social media was great,” he said. “The (five) Chicago teams making their donation and their statement was great. I think we’re seeing that, whether it’s MLB as a whole or individual teams or individual people, there’s definitely a place for it.“I do think sports in general have a large audience and therefore can make a difference. … It’s a good start.”Yes, it was a good start, and kudos to Chicago’s teams for helping the victims.But unless more organizations follow the path of the Heat and Warriors and advocate for sensible gun laws in this country, we’re probably right back where we started.AdvertisementDonating money is all well and good, but it’s time for everyone to take a stand.

Injury issues are not going away for the Chicago Cubs.Some players are moving in the right direction. Right-hander Alec Mills and left-hander Sean Newcomb made rehab appearances at Triple-A Iowa on Friday while Clint Frazier was activated from the injured list Saturday before the City Series opener against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. The outfielder missed 31 games because of an appendectomy. AdvertisementMichael Hermosillo was transferred back to the 10-day IL while left-hander Brandon Hughes, who was brought up from Triple-A as a substitute player during the Cubs’ COVID-19 issues, was returned to Iowa.Jason Heyward also rejoined the Cubs for their weekend series but is not ready to come off the IL. Heyward has been cleared for baseball activities and is ramping back up. He is on the IL without an injury distinction, which typically is COVID-related.AdvertisementHowever, the Cubs face looming IL decisions on left-hander Wade Miley and outfielder Seiya Suzuki.Miley told the Tribune he has been feeling “a little something” in his left shoulder and considers himself day to day. Miley, who was scheduled to start Sunday against the White Sox, described it as a knot in the shoulder. Right-hander Marcus Stroman (2-4, 4.71 ERA) will start in Miley’s place. Cubs starting pitcher Wade Miley delivers against the Diamondbacks in the first inning Sunday at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)The veteran said he was never able to get loose during his start Sunday at Wrigley Field, explaining how he grinded through the outing, which was more of a struggle than his quality start indicated. He was concerned initially when his arm didn’t bounce back well afterward.“I know I didn’t have a normal spring, so I’m basically four starts in,” Miley said. “That’s kind of where I feel like I am right now, in the middle of spring training. Maybe just need a couple days.”Miley played catch Saturday afternoon under the watch of pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and head trainer PJ Mainville. Miley felt better Saturday compared with when he played catch a couple of days ago.“It’s something I’ve dealt with before,” Miley said. “I don’t think it’s anything serious. I just want to get it out of there.Team President Jed Hoyer indicated Saturday some concern about Miley’s shoulder, saying “we’re working through that.”Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“You certainly hope that this is something you can get out of quickly,” Hoyer said. “But we don’t want to creep up all year.”AdvertisementSuzuki was not in the lineup Saturday because of his sprained left ring finger. Hoyer met with him after the outfielder went through pregame baseball activities and said Suzuki’s finger is still sore, swollen and stiff. The Cubs would need to make an IL decision Sunday if they want to backdate him the maximum three days.[ [Don’t miss} Seiya Suzuki: Get to know the new Chicago Cubs outfielder ]“You hate to put a guy on the IL and on Day 5 he tells you that he feels great,” Hoyer said. “But there obviously comes that moment with the backdating you want to make that decision by.”The Cubs began a stretch Saturday of playing 11 games in nine days thanks to two doubleheaders. Playing short-handed is never ideal, especially facing a game-heavy stretch. The Cubs’ 40-man situation complicates their options.“Right now, the 40-man’s a real consideration,” Hoyer said.The Cubs have only two healthy position players on the 40-man in outfielder Nelson Velázquez, who was recently promoted to Triple A for the first time, and Double-A outfielder Alexander Canario. They have limited healthy options on the pitching side, too, led by Mark Leiter Jr., Conner Menez and Hughes.“You don’t want to mess up the 40-man or lose a really good player for something that might be two or three days, so we’ve been thinking about those things a lot,” Hoyer said. “I think we will get through these doubleheaders. We’ll get through some of these short-term ILs. I think when we do that we’ll have a better chance to make some of those decisions that might affect our 40.”

WNBA players and union leadership increased their calls for Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison on Saturday, which marked Griner’s 100th day behind bars.“Right now, on day 100 of BG’s wrongful detainment, we are calling on everyone to use their platforms, no matter the size, to bring attention to her wrongful detainment, to get (her wife) Cherelle that meeting with President Biden and to get our sister home,” the Women’s National Basketball Players Association said in a statement.AdvertisementBrittney Griner leaves a courtroom after a hearing in Khimki, just outside Moscow, on May 13. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)When Griner was detained back in February, the WNBPA and those closest to the WNBA champion and two-time gold medalist tried to keep things quiet, fearing that Griner would be treated as a political pawn.However, the U.S. State Department declared in early May that Griner was being wrongfully detained. That changed the game plan. Cherelle Griner has been campaigning to meet with Biden.Advertisement“To athletes, of any age, ability level, team, sport or country: this is OUR teammate,” the WNBPA wrote. “A member of OUR global sports community, we need to stand up and stand together to call for her release.”Several WNBA and NBA players tweeted about Griner on Saturday.A young Phoenix Mercury fan holds up a “Free Brittney Griner” sign during a WNBA game on May 6. (Darryl Webb/AP)“Brittney Griner has been illegally detained in Russia since February 17th, 2022,” wrote Kyrie Irving. “I’m urging the (White House) to prioritize Brittney’s safe return home immediately! #WeAreBG”Griner, 31, was arrested at an airport near Moscow after Russian authorities claimed she was carrying vape cartridges with hashish oil in them. She could face up to 10 years in a Russian prison.Many WNBA players compete overseas during the league’s offseason because foreign teams almost always pay better.During Griner’s detainment, U.S. negotiators successfully secured the release of another American imprisoned in Russia, ex-Marine Trevor Reed. Reed was in the second year of a nine-year prison sentence. He was exchanged for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving a 20-year federal prison sentence in Connecticut for conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the U.S.

A’ja Wilson had 22 points and 16 rebounds, Dearica Hamby added 14 and 12, and the Las Vegas beat the defending-champion Chicago Sky 83-76 on Saturday at Wintrust Arena for their sixth consecutive win.Kelsey Plum had 19 points, Chelsea Gray added 18 and Jackie Young finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two blocks for the Aces (8-1).AdvertisementGray hit three free throws to spark a 10-0 run that made it 39-29 midway through the second quarter, and the Aces led the rest of the way. They took a 51-38 lead into halftime, led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter and had a 10-point lead with 4 minutes to play.Courtney Vandersloot had 12 points and nine rebounds, Kahleah Copper also scored 12 points and Candace Parker added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Sky (4-3). Rebekah Gardner also scored 11 points and Azura Stevens added seven points and a season-high 10 rebounds.AdvertisementThe Sky missed 18 consecutive 3-point shots after Candace Parker made a 3 that pulled them within a point with a minute left in the first quarter. Vandersloot snapped the streak with a 3-pointer that trimmed the Sky’s deficit to 70-62 midway through the fourth quarter.The Sky finished shooting 34.6% (28 of 81) overall and made just 5 of 31 (16.1%) from 3-point range.