Jeff Vorva

6 days ago | southwestregionalpublishing.com | Jeff Vorva

So close. The Chicago Hounds’ dreams of making it to the Major League Rugby championship game were dashed on June 21 at they lost to the two-time defending champion New England Free Jacks 21-20 in the Eastern Conference final at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, Mass. The Hounds led 17-0 in the second half, but the Free Jacks made the biggest rally in MLR playoff history to pull off the win.

1 week ago | chicagotribune.com | Jeff Vorva

Ian Happ is a solid home run hitter, having belted more than 20 four times in his first eight seasons with the Chicago Cubs, including twice hitting 25. So, when the calendar turned to June and he had just three to his name in 2025, the switch-hitting left fielder was concerned. “You’re sitting there with three homers and it’s definitely frustrating,” Happ, 30, said. “You want to do more and help more. But I’ve done this long enough that it’s going to show up at some point.”It has shown up in June.

1 week ago | chicagotribune.com | Jeff Vorva

Before the Chicago Cubs outslugged the Seattle Mariners 10-7 on Saturday, manager Craig Counsell delivered positive news about left-handed starter Shota Imanaga. But it opened the door to some questions as to who will be the odd man out of the rotation once he is back. Counsell said Imanaga, on the injured list since May 5 with a left hamstring strain, will return and pitch in St. Louis next week. The Cubs open a four-game series against the Cardinals on Monday.

1 week ago | chicagotribune.com | Jeff Vorva

Homewood’s Amy Crump wore a blue T-shirt with a humorous message on the front. It said, “I don’t mind straight people as long as they act gay in public.”For the record, Crump is not gay and has been married for 38 years. However, she does have three gay children and that’s one of the reasons she has attended all three of the Homewood-Flossmoor Pride Fests, including this year’s version, which took place Friday at Irwin Park in Homewood.

1 week ago | chicagotribune.com | Jeff Vorva

Richton Park’s Destiny Watson is a person who likes to look ahead. Watson, 27, is the founder and CEO of You Matter 2 and one of the goals is to make the future better for youths in the Southland with programs and initiatives. But on Thursday morning, she had a chance to look back both figuratively and literally. You Matter 2 is the group that does the heavy lifting for the Juneteenth celebration in Flossmoor.