CHICAGO—With a plethora of sports teams available to Chicagoans, it's feasible that your early morning cough was a bit exaggerated, all in the name of cheering on your beloved [insert sports team here].  We’re not here to judge. Chicago is a sports city, after all. But new data from Betway.com ranks Illinois as the sixth state most likely to call out sick for sports.   Fans attend an NFL football game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski) SEE ALSO | Ce-LOU-brating Chicagoland's finest: Lo ..read more

HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Carlos Coronel had three saves and recorded his first shutout of the season to help the short-handed New York Red Bulls play the Chicago Fire to a 0-0 tie Saturday night. Andres Reyes was shown a red card (asterisk)violent conduct) in the 42nd minute and the Red Bulls played a man down the rest of the way ..read more

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Nacho Gil scored late in the first half and the New England Revolution tied the Chicago Fire 1-1 on a rainy Saturday to end a MLS season-opening four-game winless streak. Chicago Fire goalkeeper Spencer Richey blocked Carles Gil’s left-footed shot, but Nacho Gil was in front of the goal and headed the ball down and into the net in the fourth-minute of first-half stoppage time. Richey saved shots from Tomás Chancalay and Ian Harkes in the 86th and 87th minute. Richey finished with three saves ..read more

CHICAGO (AP) — Kellyn Acosta scored from beyond midfield at the 99th minute on a misplayed ball by the keeper and Chicago Fire FC completed a stunning 4-3 comeback win over CF Montreal for its first win of the season on Saturday. With a strong wind off Lake Michigan, Acosta, a recent free agent pickup, lofted the ball following a Montreal clear. Jonathan Sirois ran to cover but came in too far under it and his desperate attempt to haul it in bounced off his outstretched hands and rolled into the goal ..read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Mohamed Farsi's goal off a rebound led the defending-champion Columbus Crew to a thrilling 2-1 win over Chicago on Saturday night and extended the Fire's woes in central Ohio. Farsi scored in the 10th minute of stoppage time after Chicago keeper Chris Brady came up with a left-footed save off an attempt by Diego Rossi. Fabian Herbers' right-footed shot from the middle of the box at the 72nd minute leveled the score at 1-all. It was Chicago's first goal in Columbus in five years. Maren Haile-Selassie tapped a short pass to Herbers who converted the goal, which stood up on ..read more

CHICAGO (AP) — Miles Robinson scored the game-winning goal and FC Cincinnati never trailed in its 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday night for its first win of the young MLS season. Robinson gave FC Cincinnati a 2-1 advantage when he took Luciano Acosta’s corner kick and punched it in with a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right at 68 minutes. FC Cincinnati (1-0-1) led 1-0 when Aaron Boupendza punched in a left-footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right at 39 minutes. The goal followed teammate Acosta's miss of his left-footed shot from the right sid ..read more

CHICAGO — One of the biggest regular season matches in club history could be without the star attraction - and Chicago Fire FC is quite aware of that. With Inter Miami CF's Lionel Messi dealing with an unspecified leg injury that's left his status for Wednesday's match at Soldier Field up in the air, the club has released a statement about how they plan to make good for fans if the superstar doesn't play. Regardless of whether Messi plays or not, the Fire are offering a $250 credit towards memberships (season tickets) for the 2024 season at Soldier Field or a $50 account credit to buyers of si ..read more

CHICAGO — Thanks to an injury, there is now a question as to whether the world's greatest soccer player will indeed take the pitch at Soldier Field Wednesday night. An injury could force Lionel Messi to sit out that match against Chicago Fire FC. It's very possible that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner for world player of the year and 2022 World Cup champion for Argentina could be on the bench for Inter Miami CF in one of the most anticipated matches in Fire history. Messi is dealing with a leg injury that forced him to miss the MLS club's last three games and four of his last five. On Satur ..read more

CHICAGO - If they want to go to the postseason in another year filled with ups and downs, they'd best have a playoff mindset now. That's because Chicago Fire FC has seven matches between Saturday and October 21, and every point matters in their quest to end a six-year playoff drought. This is especially true as the club is in the midst of a losing streak where they've dropped in the Eastern Conference standings. "Every game we play is a playoff game," said manager Frank Klopas of his team. We can't hide from that. You can't sugarcoat that. The players see the standings. They know where we are ..read more

CHICAGO — The biggest story in Major League Soccer in 2023 concerns the greatest player in the world joining its Miami franchise, and he's going to make a stop in Chicago. Lionel Messi's appearance at Soldier Field on Wednesday, October 4 with Inter Miami CF has already created plenty of buzz - and ticket sales - for Chicago Fire FC. "You probably could not have scripted his arrival any better, right," said Fire president of business operations David Baldwin of Messi. "He's scored in most of the games, he's had some game-winning assists. It's been really exciting for the league as a whole." E ..read more