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Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Good morning, Chicago.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league needs to re-evaluate its approach to minority hiring after an offseason coaching cycle that saw only one of 10 head coaching jobs go to a minority and none to Black candidates.

“We need to continue to make progress,” Goodell said Monday. “I believe that and I believe diversity is good for us. … I think we have become a more diverse league across every platform, including coaching. But we still have more work to do.”

The NFL will have only three Black head coaches next season. There were 10 head coaching openings this year and none was filled by a Black coach. Robert Saleh, who is of Lebanese descent, was the only minority to get a head coaching job when the Tennessee Titans hired him.

This was just the fifth time since the start of the Rooney Rule in 2003 that no Black head coaches were hired during an offseason coaching cycle. The only other time it happened in a year with more than five changes came in 2013, when there were eight openings.

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Column: Chicago White Sox drop the ball in latest snub of Frank Thomas — and the divorce might be permanent

The Chicago White Sox committed an unforced error in snubbing franchise legend Frank Thomas in a social media post for Black History Month. This time the divorce might be unfixable.

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Chicago basketball report: No Bulls All-Stars for 3rd straight year — and a viral play from Illinois’ last win

The Chicago Bulls will go another season without an All-Star. And the Illinois men and women have another big week after ranked road wins.

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Illinois jumps to No. 5 in the new AP Top 25, as the Big Ten has 4 of the top 10 spots

Illinois’ four-spot climb to No. 5 was the highest of the week in the AP Top 25. The Illini (19-3, 10-1 Big Ten) have won 11 straight games.

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Chicago Blackhawks cruise to 6-3 win to snap a 5-game skid in final home game before NHL’s Olympic freeze

In a matchup between Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini, the Chicago Blackhawks put up an offensive onslaught and beat the San Jose Sharks 6-3.

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Speedskater Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca picked as US flagbearers for Winter Olympics

Speedskater Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca have been chosen as the U.S. flagbearers for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.

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Figure skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek — a Park Ridge native who represents Canada — out of Olympic team event

Former world pairs champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada have withdrawn from the figure skating team event at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

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NFL’s Next Gen Stats — completing its 10th season — has changed how the game is watched and played

The Next Gen Stats era of the NFL has transformed the way fans consume the game, how teams make decisions and how the league makes its rules.