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Five-time Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will return to the Jets Sunday to play the Bears at Soldier Field. Fitzpatrick played six snaps in Week 1 before hurting his groin. The Dolphins dealt him to the Jets this offseason and the Jets gave him a three-year, $40 million deal. They hoped he'd be able to turn around their interception-less streak, which has reached 20 games and dates to the last game of the 2024 season.The Bears put left tackle Braxton Jones on injured reserve with a knee injury Saturday. On Sunday, they made the following players inactive: quarterback Caleb Williams, safety Cam Lewis, defensive end Jamree Kromah, tackle Ozzy Trapilo, defensive tackle Jayden Laving and defensive tackle James Lynch. Lynch had played 40% of the Bears' defensive snaps this year.The Bears had ruled out Williams and considered Lewis doubtful. Trapilo is still rehabbing a torn patellar tendon.Former Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright, who hasn't played a defensive snap for the Jets this year, is a healthy scratch. He led the NFL in takeaways last year.

This will be the 48th Chicago marathon that Henry Kozlowski runs in his high school gym shorts.The cotton shorts, issued by Lane Technical High School, as it was then named, in 1966, or possibly 1967, come out of the closet once a year."They're a little snug, not as comfy as they were when I was in high school, but they still work," said Kozlowski, 76, who hopes to finish 50 marathons before hanging them up for good."They'll wear out the same time I do," he said. "Maybe I'll have them bronzed." Henry Kozlowski featured as part of the chess team in Lane Tech’s 1966 year book Provided by the Lane Tech Alumni Association He's one of two runners who have finished every Chicago marathon since the race started in 1977. Randy Burt, 78, a retired corporate healthcare executive from Antioch, is the other.George Mueller, 78, a retired dentist who lives in the Loop, was part of the group, too, until last year, when, due to a heart issue, he ran only the first three miles of the race."We were a trio. But now Henry and Randy are the dynamic duo. I told them, 'You have to figure out who's Batman and who's Robin,'" Mueller said. Henry Kozlowski running the 2013 Chicago marathon.Provided by MarathonFoto Mueller, with a laugh, was quick to weigh in on his pal's gym shorts: "You can't un-see it once you see him in these shorts. It just doesn't go away. It's vivid in my mind right now."On a recent sunny day, Kozlowski posed for a photograph near his home in Wilmette but declined to model his shorts."I don't do catwalks or runways," he declared.He instead slipped them over his head like a beret."You’ve got to have a sense of humor in this life, otherwise you're screwed," he said.Kozlowski's best time came in 1981 when he finished in 3 hours and 50 minutes.He hopes to complete this year's race in under eight hours."It will be a very slow run. Kind of a controlled stagger, really," he said.Kozlowski, a retired computer systems analyst, will be the first to tell you, he doesn't even really like running. But the benefits are indisputable."It's kind of a pain in the butt, but the main thing is its a way every year to motivate myself and not become a couch potato," he said.Why his high school gym shorts?"They’re just the shorts I had. I wore them," he said.They're not sentimental. He got out of gym class his junior and senior year by volunteering to life guard at the school's swimming pool.A lot of his gymnasium memories are from school dances and decorating the gym for dances because he was on the social committee."I enjoyed asking girls to dance, especially the wall flowers, the girls no one asked to dance who were sitting there looking glum," he said. "I couldn't understand the guys standing around not asking them to dance. It's like, 'Why did you guys come to this dance?'"Kozlowski graduated from Lane Tech in 1969, two years before the all-boys school went co-ed.Right! Back to the shorts ... the answer is yes, he washes them after each use.

Thursday, Oct. 8RED NORTHMuchin vs. Curie at Rockne, 7RED SOUTHJohnson vs. Corliss at Eckersall, 3:45South Shore at Dyett, 3:45RED SOUTHWESTAg. Science at Goode, 3:45Perspectives at Brooks, 5:30RED WESTMarshall vs. Clark at Rockne, 4:15WHITE CENTRALOrr vs. Collins at Hanson, 4:15WHITE NORTHForeman vs. Von Steuben at Winnemac, 3:45Noble Academy at Clemente, 4:15Schurz vs. Lake View at Lane, 7:30WHITE SOUTHLongwood at Julian, 5WHITE WESTPhoenix vs. Kennedy at Hanson, 7:30BLUE SOUTHEnglewood at Back of the Yards, 4:15Friday, Oct. 9RED NORTHMather vs. Prosser at Hanson, 7:30Urban Prep vs. Westinghouse at Rockne, 7:30RED SHIELDLincoln Park at Lane, 7:30RED SOUTHComer at Vocational, 3:45RED WESTUIC Prep at North Lawndale, 4:15WHITE SOUTHCarver vs. Bowen at Stagg Stadium, 3:45WHITE WESTRauner vs. Hubbard at Rockne, 4:15Speer at Solorio, 7:15BLUE NORTHMarine at Chicago Academy, 3:45Uplift vs. Noble Street at Winnemac, 3:45CSL SOUTHEvanston at Maine South, 7:30Glenbrook South at New Trier, 7CHICAGOLAND CHRISTIANAurora Christian at Wheaton Academy, 7Chicago Christian at Christ The King, 7Hope Academy at Bishop McNamara, 7Marian Central at St. Edward, 7:30CHICAGOLAND PRAIRIEDwight at Ottawa Marquette, 7DUKANEBatavia at St. Charles East, 7Lake Park at Wheaton-Warrenville South, 7St. Charles North at Glenbard North, 7Wheaton North at Geneva, 7DUPAGE VALLEYMetea Valley at DeKalb, 7Naperville North at Neuqua Valley, 7Waubonsie Valley at Naperville Central, 7FOX VALLEYBurlington Central at Huntley, 7Cary-Grove at Crystal Lake South, 7Hampshire at McHenry, 7Jacobs at Dundee-Crown, 7Prairie Ridge at Crystal Lake Central, 7INTERSTATE EIGHTKaneland at Ottawa, 7Morris at LaSalle-Peru, 7Sycamore at Rochelle, 7KISHWAUKEE RIVERHarvard at Johnsburg, 7Marengo at Sandwich, 7Plano at Woodstock, 7Richmond-Burton at Woodstock North, 7MSL EASTElk Grove at Wheeling, 7:30Prospect at Buffalo Grove, 7:30Rolling Meadows at Hersey, 7MSL WESTBarrington at Fremd, 7:30Hoffman Estates at Palatine, 7:30Schaumburg at Conant, 7:30NORTH SUBURBANLake Forest at Stevenson, 7:30Lake Zurich at Libertyville, 7:30Mundelein at Zion-Benton, 7Waukegan at Warren, 7NORTHERN LAKE COUNTYAntioch at North Chicago, 7Grant at Wauconda, 7Grayslake Central at Grayslake North, 7Round Lake at Lakes, 7SOUTH SUBURBAN BLUELemont at Bremen, 7Oak Forest at TF North, 7Tinley Park at Hillcrest, 6SOUTH SUBURBAN REDEisenhower at Oak Lawn, 7Evergreen Park at Argo, 7Richards at Shepard, 7SOUTHLANDKankakee at Crete-Monee, 6Rich at Thornridge, 6SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE EASTJoliet West at Plainfield East, 7Plainfield South at Plainfield Central, 7Romeoville at Joliet Central, 6:30SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE WESTMinooka at Oswego, 7Oswego East at Yorkville, 7Plainfield North at Bolingbrook, 7SOUTHWEST SUBURBANHomewood-Flossmoor at Bradley-Bourbonnais, 7:30Lincoln-Way Central at Lincoln-Way West, 7Lincoln-Way East at Lockport, 6:15Stagg at Sandburg, 7:30UPSTATE EIGHT EASTElmwood Park at Fenton, 7Glenbard East at Riverside-Brookfield, 7West Chicago at Ridgewood, 7UPSTATE EIGHT WESTEast Aurora at Streamwood, 7Larkin at Bartlett, 7South Elgin at Elgin, 7VERMILION VALLEYBismarck-Henning at Momence, 7WEST SUBURBAN GOLDDowners Grove South at Leyden, 7Hinsdale South at Morton, 7:30Proviso East at Willowbrook, 7:30WEST SUBURBAN SILVERLyons at Downers Grove North, 7:30Proviso West at Hinsdale Central, 7:30NONCONFERENCEAndrew at St. Joseph-Ogden, 7:30Aurora Central at Burlington Catholic, Wis., 7Benet at St. Rita, 7:30Brother Rice at DePaul Prep, 7Danville at Thornton, 6De La Salle at Carmel, 7:30Farmington at Seneca, 7Glenbard South at West Aurora, 7Leo at St. Ignatius, 7Loyola at IC Catholic, 7:30Maine East at Glenbrook North, 7Maine West at Niles West, 7Marian Catholic at Providence, 7Marist at St. Laurence, 7:30Marmion at Montini, 7:30Mount Carmel at Joliet Catholic, 7:30Niles North at Highland Park, 6:30Notre Dame at St. Francis, 7:30Oak Park-River Forest at Addison Trail, 6Reavis at TF South, 6St. Patrick at Nazareth, 7:30St. Viator at Fenwick, 7Vernon Hills at Deerfield, 7Saturday, Oct. 10RED SHIELDKenwood vs. Bulls Prep at Rockne, 1:30Young vs. Amundsen at Winnemac, noonRED SOUTHWESTLindblom vs. Hyde Park at Eckersall, 3:45RED STARKing vs. Morgan Park at Lane, 11 a.m.Payton vs. Phillips at Eckersall, 12:30Taft vs. Simeon at Stagg Stadium, noonRED WESTCrane vs. Sullivan at Winnemac, 3:30WHITE CENTRALSenn vs. Chicago Richards at Lane, 3:30WHITE SOUTHWoodlawn vs. Bogan at Rockne, 5BLUE NORTHSteinmetz vs. Pritzker at Hanson, noonBLUE SOUTHFenger vs. Hansberry at Rockne, 10 a.m.BLUE WESTKelly vs. Gage Park at Stagg Stadium, 3:30Little Village vs. DRW at Hanson, 3:30SOUTHLANDThornwood at Bloom, 11 a.m.WEST SUBURBAN SILVERYork at Glenbard West, 1:30NONCONFERENCESt. Bede at Walther Christian, 1

At times, they sounded like the two newest members of a Chicago tourism bureau.‘‘The more that we have been here, the more the love for the city continues to grow,’’ Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham said as he sat next to coach Tiago Splitter last week. ‘‘These fans are unbelievable. Walking around the city, I’m getting a little love.’’The two offered a message of excitement for the city and the job ahead.‘‘I said this prior, and I’m going to say this again: I love to work with this guy [Graham]; we’re on the same page,’’ Splitter said. ‘‘We’re building something very solid in the city of Chicago.’’It was a real feel-good moment, but it didn’t stay that way.After all, when Graham was hired to take over the front office from Arturas Karnisovas, he did so knowing the Bulls haven’t won a playoff series since 2015 and, even worse, have become irrelevant in the Eastern Conference.When Graham hired Splitter to be his coach, he did so knowing he would need a person in his corner who had a similar vision but also would challenge him in the decision-making process.So while the two initially sang the praises of the city and the franchise, they brought it back to the reality of the current situation. All the rah-rah about the fans and what they are owed is cute noise, but at some point very soon — like, in a few weeks — the games have to be played. That’s when executive and coach can start being judged.‘‘I hope it stays that way before they start throwing stuff at me,’’ Graham joked about the initial love he has received on the streets. ‘‘We are rebuilding; I know I’ve said that. We’re at the ground floor, laying the foundation for this organization and what it’s going to look like moving forward.‘‘Although I say that, I get excited because we get to build this and we get to do it together. Just because the word ‘rebuild’ is out there doesn’t mean this can’t be fun, can’t be exciting. [We] understand what this team is going to look like and what we’re working toward moving forward.’’That will be the fine line Graham and Splitter will have to walk: patience versus a natural competitiveness to accelerate the rebuild.Karnisovas couldn’t do it. Once he traded for Nikola Vucevic in the second year of his tenure, he was all in on diving into the swimming pool. That meant mortgaging draft assets for veterans such as Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan. It wasn’t a bad gamble, but Karnisovas didn’t have an exit strategy when it went bad.Graham knows the pitfalls and is as competitive as they come, admitting that he will have to be reminded of the brick-by-brick philosophy he must adhere to.‘‘Yes, that’s going to be a constant fight and is going to be something that me and Tiago [and] the rest of the staff have to be committed to: not mortgaging the future for short-term gains,’’ Graham said. ‘‘I’m going to be leaning on Tiago like Tiago is going to be leaning on me because, yes, you want to expedite this process, but at the end of the day there is some internal development [needed] from some of these young guys. And for us to really, really take that push forward, they’re going to have to impact winning and start moving the needle night in and night out. And with young players, it just takes some time.‘‘I will do my best to be patient because, just like every fan in the city of Chicago . . . we want to win, and I want everyone to know that very clearly. We want to win and we want to win a championship, and it’s going to take discipline and patience.’’All of which will be tested sooner than later.

The NHL contractual environment in which the Blackhawks are now operating has never before looked like it does now.Salaries for superstars are skyrocketing, as are the long-term salary-cap projections. The cap is now projected to jump to $127.5 million in 2028-29, marking a 53% increase in just five years (since 2023-24).General managers have responded with an increasing willingness to make sizable commitments — in terms of both term and salary — to unproven young players, just to get them locked in at semi-reasonable cap hits and avoid the extreme boom scenarios. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman has termed this 2026-27 season as "Year 1 AC — After Carlsson," referring to Ducks forward Leo Carlsson's whopping offer sheet this summer that ignited this salary boom. It's clever, and true.Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has certainly changed his ways dramatically since the bombshell, if the $43.2 million contract he just gave defenseman Tristan Luneau (boasting all of 14 games of NHL experience) is any indication.And Hawks GM Kyle Davidson has been awed by the speed of change as much as anyone. He shared some fairly unfiltered thoughts about it Tuesday in Las Vegas."The Leo Carlsson contract certainly felt like a little bit of — or a lot of — a land shift," Davidson said. "We didn’t see that coming. You hear rumblings, but you hear rumblings every year on stuff like that. It changed things, and you have to crank the dial a little bit and figure out what this new world means — and try to stay ahead of it, to some extent."It’s just the nature of it. These things happen, and you have to react. You can’t be stuck in the past in many respects because you’ll be...left behind. I think we did alter our thinking a little bit and got some contracts in. "But I think it’s a constant adjustment. The pendulum seems to have swung. I don’t know if that will swing back or if it'll keep pushing out. It remains to be seen."In Oliver Moore's case, the Hawks decided it worthwhile to act quickly. Despite having seen just 60 NHL games of the speedy forward, they signed him to a five-year contract with a $4.25 million cap hit before this season began. If Moore busts, he'll be overpaid. But if he breaks out for, say, 50 points this season, he would have been much more expensive to sign as a restricted free agent next summer."Sometimes you get into conversations and there’s traction and it just culminates in a deal," Davidson said. "A lot of times, it doesn’t and you kick the can down the road. This one did. It’s a combination of us really believing in the player and...he loves being a Blackhawk. He wanted to commit."That's one pending 2027 RFA down and four notable ones left for the Hawks. Forward Ryan Greene and defensemen Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel and Wyatt Kaiser all fall in that bucket, too.If unsigned by July 1, Kaiser will have arbitration rights coming off his second contract, but the other three — coming off their entry-level deals — will not.Davidson said he has "had some soft conversations the last little while" with those players, adding he's "always open to doing something."That's only if the price is right, though. And it makes sense why the Hawks might not feel as much urgency to get pen to paper in those situations.Greene, while a smart and reliable player, doesn't seem likely to boom into a major point producer, which caps his realistic salary potential. The same could be said of Kaiser.On the other hand, Levshunov and Rinzel certainly have high upside and genuine boom potential, but they've been extremely inconsistent in the NHL so far. The Hawks might want to be more careful accumulating data on them before doing anything audacious. Related Blackhawks get cost certainty on Oliver Moore’s new five-year contract