Spring Training Miscellany: Cubs Win the Opener, Fans in the Stands, Game Highlights

As discussed this morning, even if the Chicago Cubs aren't going to make any more major offseason additions to the roster, you didn't get the sense from the front office press conference, or from Craig Counsell's, that the Cubs are ruling out additional bullpen or bench moves. To that end, Justin Turner is reportedly a possibility: https://bsky.app/profile/ken-rosenthal.bsky.social/post/3lhubjjk5ec2w Two things on that, broadly speaking: 1.) The Cubs have had reported interest...

Ah, here we go. You can't act like it's not just the normal course of things. This is par for the course, unhappy-making though it may be. When Spring Training opens, two things can happen with respect to pitcher injuries: (1) we find out that a guy was feeling something a few weeks ago and isn't throwing yet, and/or (2) a guy starts stepping up his throwing progression and feels...

With Spring Training here, Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell met with the media to discuss the start of his second year at the helm of the team. I've embedded the full press conference below, and just watched while taking notes. Things Counsell said, paraphrased: Ready and eager to get started, and glad to be the first organization to get started. Feels like the team is in a good place to...

Stray ballpark note from Ken Rosenthal in his latest, perhaps yielding a grateful Red Sox org: "One potential negative for Bregman if he chooses the Cubs or Detroit Tigers: Chicago’s Wrigley Field has been the third-most difficult park for right-handed hitters the past three seasons and Detroit’s Comerica Park the eighth-most difficult, according to Statcast. Boston’s Fenway Park has been fourth-best for right-handed hitters, Toronto’s Rogers Centre seventh-best, Houston’s Daikin...

After the release of their top-30 Chicago Cubs prospects going into the 2025 season (discussed last week here), Baseball America went a little deeper on each org, adding another 10 prospects to know in the Cubs' system. I loved this read in large part because BA threw out a number of pitchers who aren't discussed all that often, and whom the Cubs could really use having a breakout this year...

Yesterday at The Athletic, Patrick Mooney wrote: "For the Cubs to sign (Alex) Bregman, he would probably have to lower his expectations from a six- or seven-year deal to a shorter-term contract structure with opt-out clauses." And privately, I can tell you that I've heard something similar. From what I gather, the Cubs' role in the Alex Bregman sweepstakes is almost exclusively as an alternative to the contract structure he's...

Not that I'm in the business of giving props to the Milwaukee Brewers, but I had to nod in their direction for the very good decision to honor Bob Uecker all season with a patch on their uniform. The long-time baseball man, broadcaster, and entertainer passed away last month, and the Brewers already stand ready to honor him. I respect it. And it looks good, too: For Ueck 💙 pic.twitter.com/gvyQSAriwx—...

Good luck getting Cubs President Jed Hoyer or Cubs GM Carter Hawkins to firmly commit to anything about the roster at a press conference. But I understand that the questions have to be asked, and the information in response, however thin, has to be shared. Having watched the full spring kick-off press conference with Hoyer and Hawkins (embedded below), here are the quick notes on anything transaction related: The Cubs...

That game confirmed that the biggest sports moment of the day was Cubs pitchers and catchers reporting. We knew it from the jump. Speaking of the game, owing to its timing, I must confess that I was not able to cover the spring opener press conferences from the front office and from Craig Counsell like I normally would (why would you schedule those for immediately before the Super Bowl?!), but...

Super Bowl prediction: nachos and ice cream and stiff-arming kids that demand my attention. Spring Training officially begins today, with Cubs pitchers and catchers reporting to Mesa, Arizona. Of course, the majority of them have been in Mesa working already for a long time, but we have to set the "official" line somewhere. So we set it today, and we say welcome to the 2025 Cubs season. Among the catchers...

If you watched Super Bowl LIX and wondered what it would take for Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears to reach the mountaintop, know you are not alone. The day after the Super Bowl always puts me in a reflective headspace. I think about what the Bears did well, explore options for improving their roster, consider what dead weight could be cut from the team, and more. Paths to improvement...

The NFL’s “legal tampering” period opens one month from today. And with it, the beginning of the league's transactional period. But before we get to that point, let's assess where the Chicago Bears are heading into the new league year. Chicago Bears salary cap update The Bears are $62,968,403 under the cap, according to OverTheCap.com. That represents the sixth-most space among NFL teams. Only the Los Angeles Chargers ($63.409M), Arizona Cardinals ($71.333M), Washington Commanders...

This time yesterday, the only thing standing in the way of history for the Kansas City Chiefs was 60 minutes of football. By the end of the evening, it turned out that a brick wall in the form of the Philadelphia Eagles was waiting for Kansas City. The concern level wasn't very high when it was 10-0 Philadelphia. After all, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes found themselves in a familiar...

If you are already looking forward to next year, then you are in the right place. And if you already have your eyes on what is next for the Chicago Bears, then just know that I can't blame you one bit because I feel similarly. After all, anything feels possible after watching the Philadelphia Eagles de-throne the Kansas City Chiefs on Super Bowl Sunday. But if the Bears are going...

The Philadelphia Eagles are officially Super Bowl Champions! With the NFL season officially over, it's time to turn our attention to the offseason. What better way to do that than with a 2025 NFL Mock Draft? The NFL Draft order is officially set (except for the compensatory picks that will be announced later), let's get to our latest mock as the offseason is officially underway. 2025 NFL Mock Draft Mandatory...

It's Day 36 of the Chicago Bears offseason. A new Super Bowl champion was crowned on Sunday, and I have thoughts about what transpired at the Superdome in New Orleans. Super Bowl LIX was reminiscent of Super Bowl XX in many ways. Both games were played in New Orleans in the Superdome. Both games were won by NFC teams beating an AFC opponent whose string of good fortune came to...

Finally! Super Bowl Sunday is HERE! That always-harrowing bye week is over. And it is just about time to find out the answers to all of our burning questions. What song will Kendrick Lamar play first? How many Taylor Swift cutaways will FOX have in stock? And who will reign supreme between the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles? There is so much star...

The sooner Super Bowl LIX ends, the sooner we can throw ourselves fully into what figures to be another fascinating offseason for the Chicago Bears. Perhaps Sunday's showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will feature some players who are future Bears. And maybe the addition of one (or two) of these players could one day elevate Chicago's football team to Super Bowl glory. We have got a...

Death. Taxes. And Aaron Rodgers attempting to steal the spotlight because no one is talking about him. Those are life's three guarantees. I'm sorry you had to hear it from me, but I'd rather you learn about it here than somewhere else. Today is Super Bowl Sunday. It is a day in which we shouldn't be thinking about Aaron Rodgers. And yet, Aaron Rodgers news always finds a way to...

It's Day 35 of the Chicago Bears offseason. As a pretzel lover, this recipe from my friend Jim looks like a perfect Super Bowl snack — and it can be made in less than an hour! Let's start this Super Bowl set of BN Bears Bullets with another touching tribute to Virginia Halas McCaskey: https://youtu.be/N2PHv4OsEvM?si=smwpibeY84OPfXIO What a well-done job by the Bears multi-media team. The folks on that stuff deserve...

After nearly a year-long battle, the Minnesota Timberwolves will have a new owner. ESPN's Shams Charania announced on Monday afternoon that arbitrators have ruled in favor of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez in the sale of the Timberwolves franchise. The announcement comes after now-former-owner Glen Taylor attempted to halt the purchase after a multi-year-long process. Rodriguez and Lore will now have to be approved officially by the NBA's Board of...

Arturas Karnisovas may not want to admit it, but the Chicago Bulls sure look the part of a rebuilding team. Not only did they part ways with their best offensive weapon at the NBA trade deadline, but they have comfortably been one of the NBA's worst teams since mid-January. The Bulls have won only four of their 15 games since January 12, and they have held the league's third-worst net...

It's a short week for the Chicago Bulls and a weird one at that. There are just two games before the NBA All-Star break begins on Thursday, and they're both at home against the Detroit Pistons. I think it's a little bit ironic that the Pistons are coming to town after another trade deadline that probably wasn't as active as it should have been. Granted, Detroit's rebuild has taken a...

The NFL season has officially come to an (unceremonious) end, and you know what that means ... IT IS OFFICIALLY BASKETBALL SEASON, BABY! All-Star Weekend, superstars on new teams, a tight race in the West, and Matas Buzelis' historic second-half Rookie of the Year run! What more could you ask for? In all seriousness, while I think there are MANY captivating NBA storylines to follow over the next few months,...

Is Billy Donovan actually an elite tanker? Catching up with some long-time friends on Saturday night, good-guy co-worker Matt took the game off my hands. With that being the case, I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I glanced down at the gamecast to see the Bulls up 24 points and seemingly in complete control. Were the Warriors really going to start the Jimmy Butler era with an embarrassing...

I just don't have any clue what to expect from this Bulls team. I came into tonight expecting Jimmy Butler to go off and the Warriors to control the game en route to an easy win. Not exactly what we saw in this one! Well, at least in the first half. After a bit of a meh first few minutes from the Bulls, we saw a fantastic finish to the...

Jimmy Butler is back at the United Center! https://www.bleachernation.com/bulls/2025/02/07/jimmy-butler-debut-0207/ Game Info Golden State Warriors (25-26) at Chicago Bulls (22-30) – 7:00 p.m. CT on Chicago Sports Network (TV) and 670 The Score (Radio) Lineups Chicago Bulls Coby White Ayo Dosunmu Josh Giddey Patrick Williams Nikola Vucevic Golden State Warriors Steph Curry Buddy Hield Jimmy Butler Draymond Green Quinten Post © Jim Rassol-Imagn Images Odds Chicago comes into today’s game as a 6-point...

It only feels right that the Chicago Bulls' first game after the trade deadline will pit them against the new-look Golden State Warriors. After weeks upon weeks of rumors connecting the Western Conference squad to Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, they snubbed the Bulls in favor of their former franchise centerpiece. I'm sure most of us expected Butler to come out motivated, but kicking off this new era where it...

Chicago Bulls fans didn't get many answers at this trade deadline, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. Confronted with a seemingly confused group of local reporters on Thursday afternoon, Arturas Karnisovas was pressed about the organization's philosophy. He fielded repeated questions about their failure to accumulate additional assets and the franchise's sense of urgency to improve their lottery odds ahead of a wildly praised 2025 NBA Draft. The...

In a twist of fate that will only further irk Bulls fans, Jimmy Butler is expected to make his Warriors debut on Saturday night at the United Center. Butler, of course, was traded by the Heat to the Warriors a night before the trade deadline. He also agreed to a two-year, $121 million contract extension with Golden State shortly after the deal was announced. https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1887698672286376408 Jimmy Butler's Return A Stark...

It's bye week(s) time for the Chicago Blackhawks, so let's catch up with some of the team's prospects. I had a chance to chat with Minnesota's Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel about how they feel their seasons are going, where they've improved, winning at the World Junior Championship and more. The guys were great to chat with. I'll have more from Moore later, but wanted to start with Rinzel. When...

As we continue to focus on the Blackhawks' rebuild, it's important to recognize that there were some pieces in the cupboard before the organ-I-zation changed general managers. And one of the draft classes that's stacking up to be one of the more intriguing in the immediate future took place at one of the most awkward times in the history of the NHL. Because of the COVID pandemic, the 2020 NHL...

The Chicago Blackhawks have but one representative heading to the 4 Nations Face-Off this week. Teuvo Teräväinen will skate for Finland. So, with no Blackhawks anything happening for the next week or so outside of those games and with the Super Bowl overwhelming the sports world yesterday, let's take a moment to chat about the return of Turbo this season. A great zone entry from the Foligno line leads to...

The Blackhawks closed their pre-break schedule with another tough loss. They were really good in the first period... and then the wheels seemingly fell off in the second (again). The second period has been an issue for the Blackhawks all season, but this was like they decided to splice a period of the game tape from the Florida game into the middle of an otherwise solid performance. Connor Bedard goes...

Remember when the Blackhawks played the Blues outdoors almost six weeks ago and it didn't go very well. That game has been sitting in the minds of the guys who played in it since then. Frank Nazar mentioned payback after the game on Friday night in Chicago. And the opening 20 minutes looked like the Blackhawks had something in store for the Blues. Two goals 38 seconds apart staked the...

The Blackhawks close out their schedule before the 4 Nations Face-Off break in St. Louis -- and they'll be wearing their Winter Classic look (big fan of red on the road). Here's hoping the guys in the room feel like they owe the Blues a game because the last time they wore these jerseys against them it was the pathetic display at Wrigley Field. Broadcast Info Puck Drop: 6:00 PM CTTV...

“He’s hotter than burnt toast.” That's how Seth Jones described Ryan Donato after his first career four-point game last night. Donato has been so good all year; his work ethic is precisely what you want young players to emulate when they get to the NHL. Seeing him get the rewards in the box score for working his ass off is great. But it presents a tough decision for the Blackhawks'...

The first seven minutes of this game were melatonin on ice. But then Alex Vlasic made something happen and the Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead... which they held for a whopping 19 seconds. Thankfully, the Blackhawks got the lead back almost exactly six minutes later and held onto it until the end of the first period. The Blackhawks killed a penalty to open the second period and cashed in on...

The Blackhawks have two games -- in two days -- left before the 4 Nations Face-Off break and things got a lot harder with the loss of Jason Dickinson on Wednesday night. Both games are against struggling division rivals, so we'll see if the Hawks can put together a full 60-minute game tonight and get a win against a Predators team that's massively underwhelming after a big summer. Broadcast Info...

The Blackhawks play their final home game before the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tonight with the Nashville Predators in town. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks will have to face a team that, despite their awful record, is still offensively gifted with names like Stamkos and Forsberg out there. And the Blackhawks will have to do it without Jason Dickinson. We got some relatively encouraging news on Dickinson on Thursday,...