Despite the cold temperatures, it has been a hot week in Chicago sports.
In the football world, the Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions 34-22. Chicago was lead by quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who threw three touchdowns. The defense also played a huge part in the victory, intercepting the ball twice and sacking Detroit quarterback Matt Stafford six times.
The Bears improved to 6-3 on the year, which puts them at 1st place in the NFC North. The Bears play the Minnesota Vikings next Monday night at Soldier Field.
In the baseball world, the Chicago White Sox may be on the verge of signing one of the greatest baseball players today. The White Sox met with Bryce Harper this week for a meeting. Harper is seen as one of the best players in the league today, so the White Sox signing him would immediately make them a team to watch.
In the college football world, the Northwestern Wildcats beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 14-10 on Saturday. With the victory, the Wildcats improved to 6-4 on the year.
The Wildcats also clinched the Big 10 West Championship and will play either Ohio State or Michigan in the Big 10 Championship game on December 1st. Northwestern plays Minnesota next Saturday.
In the basketball world, the Chicago Bulls played three times this week. On Monday, the Bulls beat the New York Knicks 116-115 in a double overtime thriller. The Bulls then travelled to New Orleans to play the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. Chicago lost the game 98-107 despite a 20-point, 13-rebound performance from Jabari Parker.
The Bulls looked to regroup on Saturday when they played the Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center. They won the game 99-98 after Jabari Parker blocked a potential game winning shot from Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton. The Bulls are now 4-9 this year.
In the hockey world, the Chicago Blackhawks twice this week. Before the puck dropped in any of their games, the Blackhawks shocked the hockey world by their firing head coach, Joel Quenneville. Quenneville was head coach for nearly ten years and lead the Blackhawks to the playoffs in nine of those years. Quenneville won three Stanley Cups for the Blackhawks, with the most recent one coming in 2015.
Quenneville was replaced by Jeremy Colliton, who was the head coach of the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. The Blackhawks played their first game under Colliton on Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Chicago lost that game 3-4.
The Blackhawks looked to rebound on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers, but lost 0-4. Chicago is now 6-8-3 on the year.
This week was not a very good week for the start of the Colliton era. The Blackhawks need to turn things around and turn them around fast.
It has been another crazy week in Chicago sports. With head coaches being fired, big names potentially coming to town, and the continued success of the Bears, Chicago looks to be heading towards a very interesting winter.
Chris Leonchik
Sports Editor