Sun-Times Wire.
Northwestern University officials are investigating reports that multiple students may have been drugged and sexually assaulted at a fraternity house last month in north suburban Evanston.
The university’s Sexual Harassment Prevention Office received a report Thursday that four female students “were possibly given a date-rape drug” while attending an event at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house in Evanston on Jan. 21, according to a security alert on the university’s website. Two of the students believe they were sexually assaulted.
Another student reported that she was sexually assaulted, possibly with the use of a date-rape drug, at another fraternity house on Thursday, the university said. It was not immediately clear where that incident occurred.
The Sexual Harassment Prevention Office and Northwestern University Police are investigating the incidents, according to the university. Anyone with information about them is asked to contact the university’s Title IX coordinator at TitleIXCoordinator@northwestern.edu or call university police at (847) 491-3456.
By BARRY WILNER
Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP) — They looked old and outmanned. Their star quarterback was frazzled, their stingy defense was a sieve.
So what? Tom Brady and the New England Patriots shrugged and did what they always seem to do: Win the Super Bowl.
Brady led one of the greatest comebacks in sports history highlighted by a Julian Edelman catch that was almost beyond belief. The Patriots pulled themselves out of a 25-point hole against the Atlanta Falcons to a 34-28 win for New England's fifth NFL championship. It was the first Super Bowl decided in overtime.
"There were a lot of plays that coach talks about, you never know which one is going to be the Super Bowl winner," said Brady, who earned a record fourth MVP award and a fifth Super Bowl ring, the most for a quarterback. "There were probably 30 of those plays tonight and (if) any one of those were different, the outcome could have been different."
But down 28-3 in the third quarter, Tom?
"It's hard to imagine us winning," the 39-year-old Brady said. "It took a lot of great plays and that's why you play to the end."
The Patriots scored 19 points in the final quarter, including a pair of 2-point conversions, then marched relentlessly to James White's 2-yard touchdown run in overtime after winning the coin toss. White scored three touchdowns and a 2-pointer.
"We knew we had a shot the whole game," White said. "It was an amazing comeback by our team. It's surreal right now. You couldn't write this script."
Brady guided the Patriots (17-2) through a tiring Atlanta defense for fourth-quarter touchdowns on a 6-yard pass to Danny Amendola and a 1-yard run by White, which came with 57 seconds remaining in regulation. White ran for the first 2-pointer and Amendola did the deed with a reception on the second.
Brady finished 43 for 62, the most attempts in Super Bowl history, for 466 yards, also a record, and two touchdowns.
Before the stunning rally — New England already held the biggest comeback in the final period when it turned around a 10-point deficit to beat Seattle two years ago — the Falcons (13-6) appeared poised to take their first NFL championship in 51 seasons. Having never been in such a pressurized environment, their previously staunch pass rush disappeared, they stumbled on offense and Brady tore them apart.
"There's nothing you can really say," Ryan said. "That's a tough loss, obviously very disappointing, very close to getting done what we wanted to get done."
It wasn't difficult for Patriots owner Robert Kraft as he accepted the Lombardi Trophy from Commissioner Roger Goodell, who naturally drew a flood of boos from New England fans on hand. Yes, "Deflategate" might be far behind Kraft and Brady, but it's not forgotten.
"Two years ago, we won our fourth Super Bowl down in Arizona and I told our fans that was the sweetest one of all," owner Robert Kraft said. "But a lot has transpired over the last two years and I don't think that needs any explanation.
"I want to say to our fans, our brilliant coaching staff, our amazing players who were so spectacular, this is unequivocally the sweetest."
Brady and coach Bill Belichick won their 25th postseason game, by far a record. The Falcons added to Atlanta's long history of pro sports frustration.
Belichick became the first coach with five Super Bowl crowns.
The Patriots won the coin toss for overtime, and by then it was no contest. Brady completed six passes against an overmatched Falcons secondary. A pass interference call took the ball to the 2, and White scooted to his right and barely over the goal line.
His teammates streamed off the sideline to engulf White as confetti streamed down from the NRG Stadium rafters.
The comeback included dozens of huge plays, including Ryan's fumble on a sack, Edelman's catch off of a defender's shoe and Brady's passing.
White had 14 receptions for 110 yards, but Brady hit seven different receivers.
Until the Patriots took charge with their late surge, league MVP Ryan was outplaying Brady and NRG stadium rocked with Falcons' fans chants of "A-T-L!"
In a game that started as a defensive struggle, the Falcons went sack-happy, getting two on the Patriots' second drive in what would be a scoreless opening quarter.
It sure looked as if the Patriots would get on the board immediately in the second period as Brady and Edelman connected twice for 40 yards. But LeGarrette Blount's fumble turned the momentum to the Falcons, who then took their biggest lead in a Super Bowl — yeah, we know, they have been here only twice — on Freeman's 5-yard run to cap a quick 71-yard drive on which Jones came alive.
Jones showed why he is an All-Pro receiver with a tough leaping catch over the middle for 19 yards, then got open on the sideline for 23. Freeman did the rest.
Before New England could catch its breath, Ryan had the Falcons up 14-0. Using the no-huddle attack to perfection, he threw for 51 yards on a 52-yard drive, hitting Hooper with a pinpoint pass in the left side of the end zone.
Then Brady was victimized by his own poor decision, a rarity on the big stage. Atlanta was called for defensive holding three times on third downs to keep the drive alive. From the Falcons 23, under pressure Brady tried to squeeze a throw to Danny Amendola. Alford stepped in and sprinted, then glided 82 yards for the second-longest pick-6 in a Super Bowl — and Brady's first.
Shockingly, it was 21-0.
New England gathered its wits for a 52-yard drive to Stephen Gostkowski's 41-yard field goal. Still, it was 21-3 when Lady Gaga took the stage.
There was smoke hanging over the field when both teams had three-and-outs to open the third quarter. The Falcons looked in control when Ryan and Co., marched 85 yards to Coleman's 6-yard TD catch on a swing pass.
New England scored the next nine points on James White's 5-yard TD reception — the extra point was missed by Gostkowski, who later made a 33-yard field goal.
The Patriots kept coming, the Falcons kept flopping, and soon Brady and his buddies somehow had No. 5.
"Just play every play," Edelman said. "We never quit."
Sun-Times Wire
A husband and wife both died of gunshot wounds after a domestic incident Sunday in their southwest suburban Joliet home, the coroner’s office said.
Angel Morgan, 42, and her husband, 49-year-old Patrick Morgan, were both pronounced dead at 4:10 a.m. at their home in the 400 block of North Bluff Street in Joliet, according to the Will County coroner’s office.
Angel Morgan suffered multiple gunshot wounds, while Patrick Morgan died of a single gunshot wound, the coroner’s office said. Final cause and manner of death will be determined at a later date, pending the final outcome of police, autopsy and toxicological results.
The coroner’s office said the couple was involved in a domestic incident. Joliet police are investigating.
DALLAS (AP) – In a period that included goals from stars Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, a rare one from Trevor van Riemsdyk proved to be the difference.
Van Riemsdyk put in a rebound for his second goal of the season with 4:03 left, lifting Chicago over the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Saturday night. Goalie Kari Lehtonen stopped a close-range shot by Artem Anisimov, but van Riemsdyk followed to put the puck under Lehtonen and make it 4-3.
The 25-year-old van Riemsdyk has five goals in 130 career games. Rookie Gustav Forsling also scored his second of the season for the Blackhawks, who are in second place behind Minnesota in the Central Division.
"We're going to need everybody," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "Talk about everybody or anybody, not just worried about the young guys. We need everyone to be progressing at a good rate here. Our last two games, there were a lot of good things."
Van Riemsdyk's older brother, James, also had a late game-winning goal on Saturday, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 6-5.
Toews added an empty-net goal in the final second for his 10th of the season. Kane tied the game with his 17th goal just 35 seconds after Seguin put the Stars ahead 3-2 at 9:24.
Kane beat defenseman John Klingberg, skated across the goal mouth and put the puck into the right side of the net.
"We're behind and all of a sudden Kane makes an extremely amazing play with quickness and beats (Lehtonen) with a nice move and we're back in the game," Quenneville said. "Another nice finish on the winner and we'll take it. We came back in a situation where lately our thirds haven't been great."
Dallas is 0-18-2 when trailing after two periods.
"When we took the lead, I would want (the Blackhawks) to earn it," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "They didn't earn it.
"The numbers don't describe the real bad plays and the numbers don't mean anything if you make a play you don't need to make. We know Kane's on the ice. John struggled on that play."
Benn tied it 40 seconds into the third, and Radek Faksa also scored for Dallas. Lehtonen made 31 saves.
Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots for Chicago, and the Blackhawks are 4-0 against Dallas this season. Ryan Hartman (12th) and Forsling scored in the second period for the Blackhawks.
To start the second, Faksa chased down the puck low in the left faceoff circle and sent a shot from a sharp angle behind Crawford eight seconds in.
Hartman took a pass from Tanner Kero on the edge of the left circle and beat Lehtonen at 6:34.
With the score tied, Lehtonen stopped a breakaway by Kane at 8:08. Just 26 seconds later, Forsling fired a shot from the blue line through the slot and over a screen by Marcus Kruger, who ducked as the puck passed him.
Benn's goal was on a backhand from the left of the net.
NOTES: Faksa's goal was the fastest in the second period in Dallas' 23 seasons. The previous fastest was 13 seconds. The fastest in any period was by Joe Nieuwendyk seven seconds into a game at Detroit on Nov. 13, 1998. ... The Blackhawks had lost three of four games before Saturday. ... Dallas finished a season-high six-game homestand 2-2-2. ... Anisimov has gone 13 games without a goal. He and Marian Hossa each had two assists. Hossa has 41 points (21 goals, 20 assists) in 45 career games vs. Dallas.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Play their fourth of six straight on the road when they visit Central Division leader Minnesota on Wednesday.
Stars: Will travel to Toronto for the first leg of a two-game Canadian road trip Tuesday.
Sun-Times Wire
Police are warning residents of burglaries on the North Side in the last few weeks.
In each burglary, people have entered the home through windows or doors and stolen electronics, jewelry, cash and other items, according to the alert from Chicago Police.
The burglaries happened:
• about 3 p.m. Jan. 14 in the 5800 block of North Medina
• between 8:15 a.m. and 8:45 p.m. Jan. 26 in the 5400 block of North Mulligan
• between 4 p.m. Feb. 1 and 1 a.m. Feb. 2 in the 4800 block of North Mulligan
• between 9 a.m. and 4:37 p.m. Feb. 2 in the 5500 block of North Melvina
• between 12:30 p.m. and 1:50 p.m. Feb. 2 in the 6200 block of W. Gregory
Anyone with information should contact Area North detectives at (312) 744-8263.
Sun-Times Wire
A suspect is in custody after a bank robbery Saturday afternoon in north suburban Evanston.
The non-takeover robbery happened at 12:33 p.m. at a Chase Bank branch at 635 N. Chicago Ave., according to FBI spokesman Garrett Croon.
A suspect was taken into custody and no injuries were reported, Croon said. Further details were not immediately available.
By JORDAN GODWIN
Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP) -- James Harden had 42 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists to rally the Houston Rockets past the Chicago Bulls 121-117 in overtime Friday night.
Harden hit a step-back jumper over Paul Zipser with 36.1 seconds remaining in the extra period and was fouled. He made the free throw to give the Rockets a two-point lead they never relinquished.
After losing to Atlanta on Thursday night, the Rockets improved to 12-1 this season in the second of back-to-back games.
The Bulls played without star forward Jimmy Butler, who was nursing a bruised heel. Starting in his place, Michael Carter-Williams had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists before fouling out with two minutes remaining in overtime.
Harden hit a step-back jumper over Carter-Williams to tie the game at 108 with 27.3 seconds remaining in regulation.
On the next possession, Dwyane Wade lost his dribble when guarded by Trevor Ariza, leading to a shot-clock violation with 3.3 seconds to go. Harden tried the same move against Carter-Williams at the buzzer, but his shot fell short.
Chicago dominated the Rockets' interior defense, outscoring Houston 60-46 in the paint. Taj Gibson scored 20 points for the Bulls, and Wade had 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The Rockets built a lead that reached 17 midway through the second quarter as they opened the period on a 26-7 run, all with Harden on the bench. Chicago cut Houston's lead to 60-49 at halftime.
The Bulls started the third quarter on a run of their own, outscoring the Rockets 24-12 out of the extended halftime break and entered the fourth quarter with a two-point lead.
In a special halftime ceremony, the Rockets retired Yao Ming's No. 11 jersey with a dedication that featured Yao's family, former teammates, fellow Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo as well as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
TIP-INS
Bulls: In the fourth quarter, Zipser was elbowed in the face by Harden on a rebound and called for a foul. After a review, Harden also received a technical foul. . Zipser, Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic all scored in double figures off the bench.
Rockets: Harden scored his 10,000th point with the Rockets late in the second quarter. He passed Yao for sixth place in franchise history. Harden scored 2,795 points in his first three seasons with Oklahoma City. . Ryan Anderson's shooting woes continued as he went 0 for 7 from the field, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range. He also missed both his free throw attempts.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Visit the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, the third stop on a six-game road trip.
Rockets: Host the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night, the first of six straight games against teams with losing records.
