Brian Sandalow

1 week ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Ben Pope |Brian Sandalow

After two consecutive years of winning lottery draws, the Blackhawks finally experienced the more likely outcome — falling in the order — during the 2025 NHL draft lottery Monday. The Hawks entered the day with a 72.4% chance of falling, and that’s exactly what happened. They wound up with the No. 3 pick while the Islanders snatched the No. 1 pick — despite just 3.5% odds of doing so entering the day.

2 weeks ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Brian Sandalow

The Chicago Stars keep looking for stability. They hope their next coaching hire will provide some to a franchise desperately searching for calm. On Wednesday, the Stars fired coach Lorne Donaldson six games into his second season. Assistant coach Masaki Hemmi is serving as the interim coach until Donaldson’s replacement is found.

2 weeks ago | mccormick.northwestern.edu | Brian Sandalow |Guillermo A. Ameer

At his introductory address during the Symposium on Translational Regenerative Engineering, Northwestern Engineering’s Guillermo Ameer made it clear what inspires his work. As Ameer spoke, letters from three people with medical questions were projected onto a screen above him. One letter was from a person seeking help for an open wound that had lingered for five months. Another was from a young father appealing for treatment for a troublesome shoulder so he could play pain-free with his kids.

2 weeks ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Brian Sandalow

Everybody got through the Sky’s first training camp practice healthy. Even the staff, though coach Tyler Marsh admitted he and his assistants were experiencing more soreness than the players. Other than maybe his own post-session tightness, everything went as planned for Marsh during his first practice leading the Sky. “I thought [practice] embodied everything that we hoped it would from a competitive standpoint,” Marsh said. “It’s kind of knocking the rust off [and] getting everybody together.

2 weeks ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Brian Sandalow

There’s one new member of the Sky who likely had no trouble Sunday figuring out the route to Deerfield’s Sachs Recreation Center for the team’s first practice of the 2025 season. “This feels very familiar,” guard Courtney Vandersloot said. “Very good to be back, very happy.”After spending two seasons with the Liberty, Vandersloot returned to the Sky as a free agent in February. She’s now with a Sky team that’s significantly different from the one she last played with in 2022.