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Chicago Tribune
40 minutes ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Former Chicago Cubs first-round pick Cam Smith hits 3-run homer, Cade Horton struggles in 7-4 loss to Houston Astros
HOUSTON — Nearly one year ago, Cam Smith continued the Chicago Cubs' recent tradition of drafting first-round picks out of college with the potential for a quick rise through the minor-league system. Smith even acknowledged that the night he was selected, stating his goal was to get to the majors as fast as he could. A key piece of the offseason trade to Houston for Kyle Tucker, Smith made history by making the Astros' opening day roster at 22 years old after playing only 32 minor-league games, including just five at Double A. Smith, batting fourth Friday, delivered a big swing for the Astros in the Cubs' 7-4 loss, connecting for a three-run home run off rookie Cade Horton as the decisive blow in the fourth inning. Smith insisted before Friday's opener in the first meeting between the two teams since the trade that he was going to be playing the same game. When questioned about wanting to make the Cubs regret trading him, though, he couldn't fully suppress a grin hours before facing his old organization. 'Honestly, I hope that my game speaks for itself,' said Smith, who had two hits and two walks Friday. 'I'm not going to force anything, but I'll tell you what, I will have a good time. I'll greet everybody from the Cubs because obviously that was who drafted me. No bad blood, though. 'It's no secret that everybody's going to be watching this series specifically. It's going to be a fun one. Honestly, this is the kind of baseball we live for, so I look forward to it.' Acquiring a slugger of Tucker's caliber has paid off for the Cubs, who reached the midpoint of the season in first place. The long-term impact of the trade, with the inclusion of Smith in the deal, brought risk because of his immense upside. After struggling the first month of the season (.213 average and .306 on-base percentage), Smith has gotten on track and is hitting .306 and owns a .376 OBP in his last 45 games. 'At the lower levels you don't fail as big as you do at this stage,' Smith said. 'So learning how to deal with that failure, it's inevitable.' Horton experienced the toughest night of his young big-league career in Friday's loss. The Astros torched him for eight hits and seven runs in four innings. A lack of feel for his stuff contributed to four walks and a pair of three-run home runs. The Cubs (48-34) chipped away enough at the 7-0 lead over the final five innings to force Houston to bring in closer Josh Hader, who got Ian Happ to line out with a runner on second and Tucker on deck. Nico Hoerner hit his second home run of the season, both within the last four games, and Matt Shaw drove in three runs on two doubles. When Smith slugged his no-doubt home run in the fourth, Horton didn't even bother to turn to watch the baseball's flight. 'I thought we had a good game plan going into it, just never really caught my footing,' Horton said. 'Let up too many walks. Had a guy 0-2, just a recipe for disaster. I got my ass kicked today. … It was the first time (in the majors) I felt like I wasn't able to slow the game down, and I let my emotions get the best of me today. I've got to learn from it and move on.' Manager Craig Counsell told Horton that Friday's environment at Daikin Park in front of 49,451 fans and an electric atmosphere was a good example of what the playoffs will feel like, just turned up a couple of notches. The 23-year-old appreciated Counsell's message. 'That experience right there will help me be better in October,' Horton said. 'I'd rather get my ass kicked tonight than go out in October and get my ass kicked there.'
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
New York Islanders choose Erie defenseman Matthew Schaefer with No. 1 pick in NHL draft
LOS ANGELES — The New York Islanders selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft Friday night. High-scoring forward Michael Misa went second overall to the San Jose Sharks, and the Chicago Blackhawks took Swedish forward Anton Frondell third at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The Islanders maneuvered their way into three picks in the top 17, but they surprised nobody by using their first No. 1 selection since 2009 on the 17-year-old Schaefer. The 6-foot-2 blueliner from Hamilton, Ontario, with exceptional puck-moving ability and strong defensive skills spent the past two seasons with the Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters. Schaefer scored 22 points while playing in only 17 games last season before breaking his collarbone in December. Schaefer's acumen on both ends of the ice still propelled him to the top of nearly all draft boards. Schaefer is just the fifth defenseman picked No. 1 overall in the NHL draft since 2000, and the first since Owen Power went to Buffalo in 2021. Schaefer persevered through tragedy to reach this milestone. Schaefer's mother, Jennifer, died of cancer 16 months ago, and he also endured the recent deaths of the Otters' owner, Jim Waters, and the mother of his billet family. When Schaefer pulled on his Islanders sweater for the first time on the stage, he kissed a pink ribbon patch on the chest representing breast cancer awareness before breaking into tears. 'I appreciate you taking a chance on me,' Schaefer said in a video conference call with the Islanders' front office. 'I promise I won't disappoint, but especially I just want to say to my mom and all my family and friends, thanks for everything.' The Islanders added the patch specifically for Schaefer, along with his mother's initials. 'Seeing the ribbon on my jersey, and I saw a picture, it has J.S. on my back here,' Schaefer said. 'You can see just how high-class the organization is. It really means a lot. I wish my mom could be here today. Obviously, she's with me here in spirit. … Cancer sucks, and it's not fun. She didn't feel the best, but she was always the happiest in the family. She would do anything for us.' Schaefer got two new teammates when the Islanders used the 16th pick on Swedish forward Victor Eklund and nabbed defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson with the 17th selection. 'I finally have a new favorite NHL team': Chicago Blackhawks select Anton Frondell at No. 3 in the 2025 NHL draftBoth Pennsylvania teams also were busy in Los Angeles. The Philadelphia Flyers grabbed forward Porter Martone sixth overall before trading up for the 12th selection to get forward Jack Nesbitt, while the Pittsburgh Penguins maneuvered up and down the draft to control three picks in the top 24, swinging two trades while drafting forwards Benjamin Kindel, Bill Zonnon and William Horcoff. Misa tore up the OHL last season as the captain of the Saginaw Spirit, scoring 62 goals and 134 points in just 65 games. He joins a struggling Sharks organization that chose Will Smith fourth overall in 2023 and got center Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick a year ago. 'We just thought it was a perfect fit with what we already have here,' Sharks general manager Mike Grier said. 'Another guy to step in and be a nightmare matchup for people.' Frondell excelled as a 17-year-old forward last season with Djurgården in Sweden's second division, showing off a two-way game that allowed him to push Misa on some draft boards. At 6-2, he could provide a large complement to Connor Bedard. Frondell is the eighth Swedish player to be a top-three selection, joining elite company including Victor Hedman, Mats Sundin and the Sedin twins. Center Caleb Desnoyers went fourth to the Utah Mammoth, who moved up 10 spots in the draft lottery. The Nashville Predators chose physical forward Brady Martin with the fifth pick before trading up for the 21st selection to get Kitchener defenseman Cameron Reid. Martin skipped the draft, staying home on his family farm in Ontario. Fans of the host Los Angeles Kings inside the theater got fired up for their club to make the 24th selection — which the Kings promptly traded to Pittsburgh for the 31st and 59th selections, prompting groans from the crowd. Los Angeles eventually chose defenseman Henry Brzustewicz from the Memorial Cup champion London Knights in general manager Ken Holland's first selection for his new team. The Penguins created the majority of the surprises in the first round, first by choosing Calgary Hitmen center Kindel with the 11th pick — much higher than many prognosticators expected. Pittsburgh then traded the 12th pick, which originally belonged to the New York Rangers, to Philadelphia for the 22nd and 31st picks. The Flyers wanted the 6-foot-4 Nesbitt, a fast-rising center from the OHL's Windsor Spitfires last season. The Penguins also gave a second-round pick to the Kings and swapped first-rounders so they could move up for Horcoff — the son of NHL veteran Shawn Horcoff — with the 24th pick. The Anaheim Ducks took a chance on forward Roger McQueen with the 10th selection. The 6-foot-5 McQueen is widely thought to have enough talent to become an elite center, but the Saskatchewan native has been slowed by a back injury that scared off some teams. Two goalies were chosen in the first round for the first time since 2021 and only the third time in 13 years. Columbus grabbed Russia's Pyotr Andreyanov with the 20th pick, making him the highest-picked European goalie in four years, while San Jose added goalie Joshua Ravensbergen with the 30th selection. The Boston Bruins used the seventh overall pick on Boston College center James Hagens, the consensus top prospect for this draft a year ago. Hagens, a Long Island native coveted by many Islanders fans, slid down the board just enough to reach the Bruins, whose pick was announced by a video of Adam Sandler in character as Happy Gilmore, complete with his signature Bruins jersey. 'I'm so excited to be back in Boston, and to have Adam Sandler make the pick, that was special,' said Hagens, who cites 'Happy Gilmore' as his favorite movie. 'I love to win, and I'm really glad that I'm in Boston.' The Seattle Kraken chose playmaking forward Jake O'Brien eighth overall. The Islanders won the lottery to pick first in a draft that is packed with talent — while missing a few staples of recent drafts. There was no prohibitive lock of a No. 1 pick in this field, unlike the past two drafts — although Schaefer clearly came out on top for most executives. The draft also lacked the centralized structure that has long been a staple of this annual exercise. The 32 teams' various executives are mostly at home, not strewn across the draft floor. The majority of the picks were taken to a video room just behind the stage to exchange televised pleasantries with their new front offices through video conferencing.
Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Bounces in the 6th inning go against the Chicago White Sox in a 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants
Chicago White Sox second baseman Lenyn Sosa was in position to field Christian Koss' bouncer back up the middle in the sixth inning on Friday. But instead of an inning-ending double play, the ball bounced off the front of the bag and skipped over Sosa's head. 'Sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way, sometimes it does,' manager Will Venable said. 'That was a tough play. Just (a) tough break. But got to work around those and just weren't able to.' That extended the inning for Patrick Bailey, whose slicer bounced by diving right fielder Ryan Noda and rolled to the wall for a tie-breaking two-run triple. 'Probably have to play that in front,' Venable said. 'Good aggressive play, you like the thought. Just as a play, you play in front and minimize the damage.' The bounces didn't go the Sox's way in a 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants in front of 27,549 in attendance for the game and the Flo Rida concert that followed at Rate Field. The Sox had plenty of chances, but finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position while dropping the opener of the three-game series. 'We go out there and compete — just men in scoring position, we couldn't drive the run in,' Sox first baseman Miguel Vargas said. 'That's something we need to be better at. 'It's very frustrating. We did a great job today at the plate. Not able to drive a couple of runs when we have bases loaded is a little tough.' The Sox displayed some aggressiveness on the bases for the game's first run. Chase Meidroth was on second base when Vargas hit a scorcher that deflected off the glove of shortstop Willy Adames — ruled an error — and rolled into left field. Meidroth initially retreated to second, but turned around and raced to third. Third-base coach Justin Jirschele waved him home and Meidroth scored ahead of the relay throw by the third baseman Koss. The Giants took advantage of Sox starter Aaron Civale's wildness to tie the score in the third. Civale walked Bailey to begin the inning. With one out, he walked Rafael Devers. Wilmer Flores followed with an RBI double. Civale allowed the one run on three hits with four strikeouts and four walks in four innings. 'Just not crisp, usually a guy that leans on his command,' Venable said. 'I don't think he had it. Kind of grinding there, did a good job of working around some walks the best he could. At the end of the day, the four innings were a pretty good grind for him.' Civale threw 80 pitches. 'Just went out there and competed,' Civale said. 'Definitely not the cleanest. I think it was 40 balls and 40 strikes, which is never something you want as a starter. But while I was out there, just did my best to compete and keep the game close.' The Sox had opportunities to reclaim the lead in the fourth and fifth innings, but came up empty. They loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but Michael A. Taylor grounded into a double play. They loaded the bases again in the fifth with one out. Kyle Teel struck out and Sosa popped out to Adames. 'We had a bunch of traffic, had the bases loaded twice with less than two outs and just didn't find any outfield grass,' Venable said. '(Giants starter Landen Roupp) does a good job of putting the ball in the ground with the sinker. We just weren't able to push them across.' Adames played a role in the decisive sixth, drawing a leadoff walk against reliever Tyler Alexander. With one out, Koss hit the bouncer that bounced off second, then skipped over Sosa's head to give the Giants runners on first and second. Bailey's two-run triple that got past Noda, who has largely played first base in the majors, put the Giants ahead 3-1. The Giants went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position. That was just enough to top the Sox. 'We did a lot of things really well tonight, obviously at the plate just got to find a way to drive a couple across,' Venable said. 'But some really good at-bats, good stuff leading up to those moments. Just got to keep grinding.'
Chicago Tribune
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
NFL coach Jim Harbaugh added to lawsuit about hacking allegations against former Michigan assistant
DETROIT — NFL coach Jim Harbaugh was added Friday to a lawsuit against the University of Michigan and a former assistant football coach who is accused of hacking into the computer accounts of college athletes across the U.S. to look for intimate photos. Attorneys claim Harbaugh, who was Michigan's coach, and others knew that Matt Weiss was seen viewing private information on a computer in December 2022 but still allowed him to continue working as co-offensive coordinator in a national playoff game roughly a week later. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel and other officials were also added to the lawsuit in federal court in Detroit. 'The university's delay in taking meaningful protective action until after a high-stakes game sends a clear message: Student welfare was secondary,' said Parker Stinar, who is the lead lawyer in a class-action lawsuit arising from a criminal investigation of Weiss. Messages seeking comment from Manuel and Harbaugh, who is currently the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, were not immediately returned Friday. Separately, Weiss has been charged with identity theft and unauthorized computer access from 2015 to 2023. The indictment says he got access to the social media, email and cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 college athletes, as well as more than 1,300 students or alumni from schools across the U.S., to find private images, primarily of women. He has pleaded not guilty. 'Had Harbaugh implemented basic oversight of his staff, plaintiffs and the class would have been protected against predators such as Weiss,' the updated lawsuit states. 'Instead, Weiss was a highly compensated asset that was promoted by and within the football program, from which position he was able to, and did, target female student athletes.' The lawsuit says a staff member saw Weiss viewing private information at Schembechler Hall, headquarters for the football team, around Dec. 21, 2022, and reported it before Michigan played Texas Christian University in a playoff game days later on Dec. 31. Weiss was fired a few weeks later in January 2023 during an investigation of his computer use. Earlier this year, after charges were filed, Harbaugh told reporters that he didn't know anything about Weiss' troubles until after the playoff game. He said the allegations were 'shocking.' Weiss worked for Harbaugh's brother, John, on the coaching staff of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens before joining the Michigan team in 2021. The lawsuit says Weiss' university computer had encryption software that had to be disabled by an external vendor as part of the investigation. Authorities disclosed in April that thousands of intimate photos and videos were found on his electronic devices and cloud storage accounts.
Chicago Tribune
3 hours ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
WBBM-Channel 2 weekend news anchor Suzanne Le Mignot and her husband buy Gold Coast condo for $928,500
WBBM-Channel 2 weekend morning news anchor and weekday reporter Suzanne Le Mignot and her husband, John Luce, paid $928,500 earlier this year for a two-bedroom condominium on the 14th floor of a vintage and recently converted and renovated Gold Coast building. Le Mignot has been with CBS 2 since 1995, when she joined the station as a freelance reporter. The station promoted her to a full-time basis in 1999. On the Gold Coast, Le Mignot and her husband's new 1,429-square-foot condo is in a renovated building and has lake views. The unit has two bathrooms, nine-foot ceilings, a multi-purpose den and a kitchen with all-new stainless steel Bosch appliances. The condo sold to Le Mignot in late January for its listing price. It has $1,047-a-month homeowners association dues. Real estate agent Michelle Browne, who represented the couple, declined to comment on the purchase.
