It's a wonder there were even sports in 2020
The top story in sports in 2020, Chicago or otherwise, is that there were sports, period.
Despite the pandemic and apocalyptic predictions that the pro leagues would harm their own players and cause others to die, the NBA and NHL pulled off fabulous bubble finishes to their season, while baseball played a third of a season and a full postseason, and the NFL has made it through the regular season.
It has not been without monumental challenges, and the financial impact will be felt for the next five years at least, but sports were played and sports were finished.
With so many millions desperate for distraction, this was a very good thing.
Theo Epstein
Theo Epstein walked off the stage late in 2020 and handed the reins to Jed Hoyer, having given the Cubs and their fans precisely what he promised when he arrived.
Epstein delivered the franchise its first championship in 108 years, cementing his legacy and earning the title of best executive in Chicago sports history.
If he never runs another baseball team, he is already a guaranteed Hall of Famer.
John McDonough
One of the biggest shocks of 2020 was John McDonough getting fired by the Blackhawks.
McDonough demanded excellence and he got it, with three Stanley Cups on his resume.
If Rocky Wirtz hadn't hired McDonough, McDonough would not have been there to bring in Scotty Bowman, who brought in Joel Quenneville.
Say what you want about McDonough, but he took a 1950s operation, brought it into modern times and gave the fans the best decade of hockey in team history.
Kim Ng
In November, former White Sox intern Kim Ng, working in baseball since 1990, made sports history when the Miami Marlins named her their general manager, the first female general manager in Major League Baseball history.
Tony La Russa
In a stunning move, the White Sox hired Tony La Russa to replaced fired manager Rick Renteria.
The move would have made sense two decades or so ago, but the 76-year-old La Russa was obviously deemed worthy to guide an up-and-coming team by his close friend Jerry Reinsdorf, the Sox's chairman.
Already in an uproar, White Sox fans soured on the hire even more when La Russa's second DUI charge became public. He wound up pleading guilty to reckless driving.
"I brought this on myself," the Hall of Famer said. "I know it. I feel deep remorse and regret over what I did."
Sox drought ends
Even though they collapsed late in the season shortened by COVID-19, the Sox made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
They lost to Oakland in the opening round, but the White Sox are loaded with talent and positioned to make a deeper run in 2021 and beyond.
"It's just the start of something that could be great," shortstop Tim Anderson said. "Guys got a taste of it, and I think it's just going to make them more hungry to get back there."
Jose Abreu
After leading the American League in RBI for the second straight year and also ranking first in hits, slugging percentage, total bases and extra-base hits, Jose Abreu became the first White Sox to win MVP honors since Frank Thomas in 1994.
"This is just the reward, the payback, for all the effort, all the work I've been putting in day in and day out," Abreu said through a translator.
The first baseman had himself quite a series vs. the Cubs in late August, hitting 6 home runs in three games. He also tied a major league record with homers in four straight at-bats at Wrigley Field.
Cubs rebuilding?
It was not a big surprise when the Cubs let starters Jon Lester, Tyler Chatwood and Jose Quintana exit as free agents, or even when they non-tendered Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora Jr.
Trading Yu Darvish Tuesday to save $56 million, however, was a clear sign the Cubs are clearing payroll and launching a rebuild new baseball president Jed Hoyer says is not going to be a total teardown.
"We have really good players, championship players on our roster, so it's a different calculus," Hoyer said after getting veteran starter Zach Davies and four prospects from the Padres for Darvish and catcher Victor Caratini. "I'm not going to turn to the same playbook we ran in 2011 and '12. I think that would be foolish. That book's been copied so many times, it doesn't work anymore. What we need to do is make moves with one eye on the future, but we also have a really competitive team."
David Ross
In his first year as manager, David Ross led the Cubs to a first-place finish in the NL Central during a short season chocked full of challenges.
The roster is very likely to see many more significant departures in the days ahead, but the Cubs aren't going to be looking to make a change at manager anytime soon,
"If I could go back, I probably would be a little less patient and push some ideas I had, talk a little more baseball," said Ross, who finished third in Manager of the Year voting. "I just wish I would have brought some stuff to guys a little bit earlier that I saw, but I tried to be patient and trust in their adjustment abilities."
Goodbye, Schwarber
In desperate need of starting pitchers, there appears to be a slim chance Jon Lester returns to the Cubs if the price is right.
Left fielder Kyle Schwarber is much less likely to be back after being non-tendered, but his big bat will always be remembered.
"We all love Kyle and what he's done here for the Cubs and would welcome him back with open arms," manager David Ross said.
Patrick Kane
The year got off to a memorable start when Patrick Kane became the 90th player in NHL history and the fourth Blackhawks player to reach 1,000 career points. The superstar winger reached the milestone Jan. 19 by assisting on a Brandon Saad goal during a 5-2 win over Winnipeg at the United Center.
What really stands, though, is the mob scene that followed on the ice. A parade of Hawks - led by Jonathan Toews - jumped over the boards and raced to engulf Kane.
"I'll never forget that moment and I told the team that after," Kane said. "Just kind of looking at everyone's face and everyone's excitement was a cool moment."
Coach Q returns
Two days after Patrick Kane notched his 1,000th career point, Panthers coach Joel Quenneville faced off against the Blackhawks for the first time since he was fired. The emotional night included a tribute video that made Quenneville tear up and a lengthy postgame chat with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Dale Tallon.
"They captured some special moments in the building (with) the enthusiasm and the excitement and the noise," Quenneville said. "It was special. It was kind of like saying thank you to me, and I was thanking them."
Hawks playoffs
With 12 games remaining in the season, the last-place Blackhawks had no chance of reaching the playoffs. Until the coronavirus reared its ugly head, that is. Months later the NHL resumed and the Hawks were the last of 24 teams to qualify for a once-in-a-lifetime postseason experience.
Coach Jeremy Colliton's team shocked the Edmonton Oilers 3 games to 1 then were ousted in five games by the Vegas Golden Knights. Former teammate Robin Lehner backstopped the Knights to 3 of the 4 wins.
"They treated me really well, got a lot of friends on that team," Lehner said. "All about love for that organization."
So long, Crow
Stan Bowman's declaration that he would not be re-signing goalie Corey Crawford sent shock waves across Blackhawks Nation. For some, anyway. Crawford, a two-time Stanley Cup champ, ended up singing with New Jersey.
"Obviously I was pretty devastated to get the news about not returning to Chicago," Crawford said. "That's all I've known for my whole career. ... They just wanted to go a different way."
The move sent a clear signal that the Hawks are rebuilding - a project that will continue when training camp opens next week.
Mitch Trubisky
When Nick Foles ran on the field in the second half at Atlanta in Week 3, most Bears fans figured they'd seen the last of the Mitch Trubisky. And even if he returned, there's no way he'd be productive.
Instead, the fourth-year QB has experienced a resurgence by leading the Bears to 3 straight victories. Another win Sunday over Green Bay equals a playoff berth.
Like him or not, you have to respect how Trubisky matured as a player and a leader during a tumultuous campaign.
Northwestern
For the second time in three years, Pat Fitzgerald coached his alma mater to the Big Ten West title. The Wildcats again met Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game and led into the third quarter before the Buckeyes' ground game rallied them to yet another conference title.
Most impressively, Fitzgerald engineered a quick turnaround this fall, a 7-2 record including Friday's Citrus Bowl victory and wins over Iowa and Wisconsin, just a year after Northwestern went 1-8 in the Big Ten.
NU, Illini changes
Northwestern will have some gigantic shoes to fill in 2021 with athletic director Jim Phillips leaving to become ACC Commissioner. There are plenty of fans who wish the Big Ten would have made the same decision the ACC did.
• Illinois also made a significant change, ending the Lovie Smith era after five seasons and a 17-39 record.
New coach Bret Bielema is a proven winner with three championships at Wisconsin. He has quite a challenge trying to turn around dormant in-state recruiting and woeful on field results.
Illini basketball
It's been a long wait for Illini fans used to Lou Henson, Lon Kruger, Bill Self and early Bruce Weber teams that regularly were ranked among the nation's best while competing for Big Ten titles.
Brad Underwood brought Illinois back with a 21-10 season, missing a Big Ten championship by one game before seeing a return to the NCAA tournament derailed by the pandemic.
The Illini got a boost when Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn withdrew from the NBA draft.
Bulls' new era
In 2017 when the Bulls decided to trade Jimmy Butler to Minnesota, vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said if it doesn't work, he'd likely be out of a job. Well, that's exactly what happened. Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf finally decided to pull the plug on the GarPax Era. Paxson stayed s a consultant, but general manager Gar Forman is now helping out the Pelicans.
Arturas Karnisovas is the new head of basketball operations. He's a former Lithuania national team player who previously worked for the Denver Nuggets.
Karnisovas waited a few months before replacing head coach Jim Boylen with Billy Donovan.
The Paxson era (and the subsequent GarPax era) was successful for a long time, but took a wrong turn when the team fired coach Tom Thibodeau in 2015 after five straight playoff seasons. The lesson here is when you get rid of winners like Butler and Thibodeau, losses follow.
NBA All-Star Game
When the NBA All-Star Game was held at the United Center for the first time, it felt mostly like an excuse for sports celebrities to mingle with regular celebrities.
But they did play a competitive game, a nice change of pace. The experimental plan of playing the fourth quarter without a clock, instead ending the game when one team reached a target score, was a success.
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour defied the odds and the dire predictions by returning to play and finishing a superb golf season.
The best tournament of the year was the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields.
It played like a U.S. Open and the finish was the best of the season, with Jon Rahm taking down Dustin Johnson in a playoff. His 65-foot putt on the first extra hole was even better than Johnson's long putt that forced a playoff.
It was a spectacular finish to a spectacular tournament.
In memoriam
Dick Allen, Glenn Beckert, Lou Brock, Ken Burmeister, Jimmy Collins, Ed Farmer, Jim Frey, Bob Frisk, Lou Henson, Les Hunter, Bart Johnson, Jay Johnstone, Michael McCaskey, Jeannie Morris, Jack Rosenberg, Salty Saltwell, Gale Sayers, Tom Seaver, Jerry Sloan, Ken Snow, Claudell Washington, Ryan Wetnight.