White Sox designated hitter Yermin Mercedes (73) points to the fans while running the bases after homering in the first inning of the home opener against the Kansas City Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 8, 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Sports
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Alex Rodriguez and a business partner have an agreement to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx
by staffby staffTaylor, who put the teams on the market last year, said Rodriguez and Lore first approached him a week ago. The pair traveled to meet Taylor and his wife at their winter home in Naples, Fla. In a phone interview with The Associated Press, Taylor said he told all interested parties throughout the sale process that keeping the franchises in town was a prerequisite for purchase.
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Chicago Blackhawks charge back from disastrous start to pull out a 4-3 road win over the Columbus Blue Jackets and remain in the thick of playoff push
by staffby staffOnly 1:03 into the game Saturday, Michael Del Zotto fired a long-range shot that lipped out of Kevin Lankinen’s glove and into the net. Two minutes and 10 seconds later, perpetual Hawks tormentor Cam Atkinson tipped in a goal Jack Roslovic sent cross ice from the wall.
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Zach Davies can’t get out of the 2nd inning of the Chicago Cubs’ 8-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates — the worst start of his 7-year career
by staffby staffDavies uncharacteristically walked three Pirates in the second, compounding his problems. He had a chance to get out of the inning with only two runs across but couldn’t get the final out. He forced Pirates starter Mitch Keller to hit into a fielder’s choice for the second out; however, the next four batters reached base, driving in five more runs.
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Hideki Matsuyama leads the Masters by 4 shots as he aims to become the first Japanese man to win a major
by staffby staffIn a stunning turnaround after storms doused the course Saturday at the Masters, Matsuyama had four birdies, an eagle and a superb par at the end of a 7-under 65, turning a three-shot deficit into a four-shot lead as he tries to become the first Japanese player to win a men’s major.
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US women’s national team sees its 16-match win streak — but not its 38-game unbeaten run — snapped in a 1-1 draw with Sweden. ‘This is exactly what we need,’ Megan Rapinoe says.
by staffby staff“I think that this is — I wouldn’t say one of the best things to happen to us, but something that is very good for us,” coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “In fact, that’s why we came here. We came here to play good teams, we came to Europe to play opponents to get exposed to the different tactics, high-level tactics, organized teams, to try to overcome all of that.”
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Column: Tony La Russa’s bullpen management — once dubbed the ‘La Russaization’ of baseball — takes center stage with the Chicago White Sox’s loaded corps of relievers
by staffby staffHigh salaries and risk of injuries are the main reasons, no doubt. And having a boatload of power arms in the bullpen at your disposal is another. The Sox have seven relievers whose fastball averaged between 95 and 98 mph in the first week of 2021: Codi Heuer (98.2 mph), Michael Kopech (97.0), Garrett Crochet (96.7), Hendriks (96.3), Jose Ruiz (95.9), Aaron Bummer (95.8) and Foster (94.9). You’d imagine those numbers will tick up once their arms are built up and the weather gets warmer.
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The Cubs have largely avoided COVID-19 issues. They were the only team last season not to have a player test positive, beginning with the initial intake testing in July. The Cubs had a minor-league player test positive toward the end of spring training this year, but nobody was deemed a close contact.
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NWSL Challenge Cup: Chicago Red Stars play to a scoreless draw against the Houston Dash, and the Portland Thorns pick up a 2-1 win vs. Kansas City
by staffby staff“I would say from a performance standpoint, we got into the areas of the field we wanted to get in. I think the decision making in those areas, certainly, will need to be better. We missed a few extra passes, we didn’t cover the right areas in the box in some services. But for the first time playing a proper NWSL opponent, we’ll take it and move forward with it.”
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Zach LaVine scores a career-high 50 points, but the Chicago Bulls let a 13-point halftime lead slip away in a 120-108 loss to the Atlanta Hawks
by staffby staffLaVine, the first Bulls player to score 30 in the first half since Michael Jordan had as many on Feb. 24, 1997, against the Portland Trail Blazers, had another crowning achievement this season. He began the game as one of three players to average 25 points while shooting 50% from the field, 40% on 3s and 85% on free throws.