Astros vs. Angels Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Saturday, September 21, 2024

The Chicago Cubs have, this offseason, added as many as four long-time, mostly-well-travelled veterans to their bullpen group: Ryan Pressly, Caleb Thielbar, Ryan Brasier, and Colin Rea. Each was brought in to address a relatively specific need (Pressly and Brasier to help at the back end, Thielbar as the primary lefty, and Rea to be a swing man), but I appreciated a comment from Craig Counsell on another kind of...

The next possible MLB All-Star Game that could be hosted at Wrigley Field comes in the summer of 2027, which is obviously still a ways away, but we know that the determination of venue is going to come much sooner than that. At last check, the Cubs expressed some optimism that they could in fact get that 2027 game, but Commissioner Rob Manfred declined to enhance that optimism in his...

Yesterday, the Chicago Cubs signed free agent 1B/DH Justin Turner to a one-year, $6M deal with $2.5M in bonus incentives (per Patrick Mooney). The move may have marked the end of a fairly busy — if underwhelming (relative to our expectations) — offseason that included the additions of Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly, Ryan Brasier, Matthew Boyd, Carson Kelly, and Colin Rea, among others. But today, I'm here to say that...

Something I suspected would be the case, but is nice to see confirmed by Jordan Bastian: in addition to a 26-man roster, the Cubs will be able to bring five additional players to Japan as something of a taxi squad. That means, for the two exhibition games the Cubs will play, they can use up to 31 players - very handy to protect pitcher arms. Then, for the regular season...

Tom Ricketts is not the only NL Central owner getting put on blast by the media these days. Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio is on the receiving end this time, with each of The Athletic and USA Today sending him up for the Brewers' almost entirely inactive offseason. Now, both articles make sure they note how consistently good the Brewers have been for the last 20 years, which corresponds with...

Believe it or not, Spring Training games start TOMORROW for the Cubs (and Dodgers). If you have the Tokyo Series, you get the bonus of kicking everything off early, which is nice for fans who are eager to just get some baseball underway. Even fake baseball. I am very ready. With any 40-year-old player, you have to be realistic about how much a guy can contribute. So, with the Justin...

Shōta Imanaga, Chicago Cubs Opening Day starter. In Japan. Against the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the other bump. Man, that is so cool. I cannot wait for March 18. Imanaga had himself previously suggested it would happen, and the Cubs made it official today: “It makes total sense to have Shota going game 1 … worldwide fan interest is gonna be off the charts.”Jed Hoyer...

Maybe it's reasonable for a major sports team with a beloved fan base to seek to "break even." Maybe all the properties and businesses that surround the Cubs - but aren't technically Cubs revenue - aren't cash cows. Maybe the Cubs really were maxed out last year before signing Cody Bellinger, and thus lost money on the season. Maybe the massive appreciation in the value of the Cubs asset doesn't...

Today, the Chicago Cubs announced their minor league coaching staffs for the 2025 season. Most managers are returning, with only Yovanny Cuevas, formerly a coach in the system, taking over a new post at Myrtle Beach. The full release from the Cubs, and the full staff for each affiliate: The Chicago Cubs today announced their minor league managers and coaching staffs for the 2025 season. A detailed list of each...

Yesterday, FanGraphs released their 2025 Top-100 Prospect Rankings, and that list ... did not love the Chicago Cubs. Although the organization did score four prospects among the top 100, including a particularly high ranking for Matt Shaw (#13 overall), each of Moises Ballesteros, Owen Caissie, and James Triantos was conspicuously missing. But today, a comeback of sorts. Ranking Cubs Prospects - Owen Caissie Gets Some Love FanGraphs contributor and ZiPS...

In case you missed it, there is a new report that Kansas City Chiefs stud offensive lineman Trey Smith will *NOT* be given the Franchise Tag. So unless Smith and the Chiefs iron out an extension deal between now and the start of free agency, the Pro Bowl right guard will hit the market. This is excellent timing for a team like the Chicago Bears. Because not only does the...

The latest update on the NFL salary cap is good news for teams that are ready to spend some dough. You know ... teams like the Chicago Bears. ESPN's Dan Graziano shares a memo that was sent out by the league announcing to teams that the 2025 NFL salary cap would land somewhere between $277.5 million and $281.5 million: This is from the memo the league sent to teams today,...

Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears are off to a fantastic start to their offseason after landing Ben Johnson as their next head coach and watching Johnson assemble an impressive coaching staff. Now it's on to the transactional phase of the offseason, and Poles and Co. will have to address some big questions if Chicago is going to be a competitor next season in a tough NFC North division. Here...

The biggest hurdle in the Bears' potential pursuit of top free-agent guard Trey Smith has been reportedly cleared. This morning, Chiefs reporter Nate Taylor wrote for The Athletic that Kansas City is not expected to place the franchise tag or transition tag on the 25-year-old star guard, which means it's significantly more likely that we will hit free agency. If he does hit the market, Smith will not only be...

If you are wondering why the Chicago Bears haven't made it officially official with Ben Johnson's coaching staff, just know that you are not alone. But if it makes you feel any better, there *IS* a perfectly acceptable reason why Chicago's football team hasn't dropped an official coaching roster post yet. The Tribune's Brad Biggs offers updates as the staff continues to come together: #Bears have yet to release complete...

It's Day 45 of the Chicago Bears offseason. Is Gary Fencik the best player in franchise history to wear No. 45? Most definitely. Here is a rundown of every player who has worn the number with the Bears since the team's inception, via Pro Football Reference. Three weeks from today, NFL free agency opens its doors for players to sign contracts and make the verbal agreements that were put together...

When the Bears and Cowboys square off this year, Dallas star defensive end Micah Parsons will do so under the direction of a familiar face to Chicago's fans. In case you missed it, Dallas hired Matt Eberflus as its new defensive coordinator in January. Before his move to the Cowboys, where he will join Brian Schottenheimer's staff, Eberflus was last seen on Thanksgiving roaming the sidelines at Ford Field in...

The Chicago Bears' cap situation looks healthy going into the 2025 offseason. And yet, I cannot stop thinking about how much more room under the cap the Bears can create with some nifty maneuvers from this front office. 2025 CHICAGO BEARS OFFSEASON PREVIEW: Cap Space, Team Needs, More Bears General Manager Ryan Poles and his team enter the offseason with $62,968,403 worth of wiggle room under the projected 2025 NFL...

Tuesday marks the first day teams can start giving Franchise and Transition Tags. And when it comes to the Chicago Bears, there is much to monitor when it comes to tag situations — even if the team does not have an obvious tag candidate. What is the Franchise Tag? If you'll recall, quarterback Caleb Williams reportedly wanted a no Franchise Tag commitment from the Bears as part of his rookie deal....

It's Day 44 of the Chicago Bears offseason. You know your friendship is strong when you look at the temperatures outside ... in Chicago ... in February ... and still pull up to the function. Happy Tag Day! Today is the first day NFL teams can begin handing out Franchise or Transition Tags for eligible players. The Bears don't have an obvious tag candidate, but we'll dive into that later...

The Chicago Bulls have moved on from Adama Sanogo, according to NBA Insider Chris Haynes. On a two-way contract for the last two seasons, a recent knee injury that will reportedly sideline Sanogo for four weeks has seemingly played a part in the decision. The sophomore big man had appeared in four games for the Bulls this season and 22 games for the Windy City Bulls in the G League,...

On Wednesday afternoon, Lonzo Ball addressed reporters for the first time since agreeing to a contract extension with the Chicago Bulls. The news broke less than 24 hours before the NBA's Feb. 6 trade deadline. All things considered, the decision caught many off guard, as Ball had reportedly garnered his fair share of mid-season suitors. The Bulls were only days removed from trading away Zach LaVine, which felt like the...

One more day until the Chicago Bulls begin an epic and historic 28-game win streak that clinches a Top 6 seed and earns Matas Buzelis Rookie of the Year honors! © Matt Marton-Imagn Images In all seriousness, I do think the first-year forward could make the ROY race interesting over these final two months. While it's probably too far-fetched to say he will take home the trophy, even entering the...

While the NBA's All-Star Weekend was largely a flop, Chicago Bulls fans were given something to be excited about. Rookie Matas Buzelis was invited to compete in two of the league's biggest events. Initially in town for the iconic Slam Dunk Contest, the 20-year-old received a call to also fill in for the injured Yves Missi in the annual Rising Stars competition. While his squad failed to advance past the...

Matas Buzelis left the Chicago Bulls with no choice. As has become an unfortunate trend inside the organization, the Bulls were seemingly delaying the inevitable for the first half of the 2024-25 regular season. Trading away two of their top win-now talents in the offseason and adding a high-upside 19-year-old with the No. 11 overall pick in the draft, they had every reason to fully embrace a youth movement. What...

A piece of relationship advice: Find someone who loves you as much as Arturas Karnisovas loves guards. Despite moving on from their best backcourt player at this deadline, the Chicago Bulls will remain stuffed at the guard position for the foreseeable future. Lonzo Ball, Josh Giddey, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Tre Jones, Jevon Carter, and Talen Horton-Tucker make up nearly half of the roster! At least five of those players...

Nikola Vucevic dominated the headlines well before Zach LaVine was sent to the Sacramento Kings. If you asked many of those who either watch or follow the Chicago Bulls closely, they would have likely had the big man No. 1 on their "most likely to get traded" list. While LaVine had put together a similarly strong offensive season, Vucevic was producing the best shooting display of his career and doing...

I glanced at the clock as I glided into my parking spot – 6:55 p.m. CT. When I first called to place my pizza order, I was worried I wouldn't be back in time. Sure, we live in an era where you can pause and rewind live television, but why wouldn't you prefer to watch a historic star-studded event in real-time? I snatched the bacon and pineapple pizza (don't judge)...

The Chicago Bulls have three days to scarf down junk food and not stretch a single muscle in their body. The race to the bottom starts on Thursday! To be clear, the Bulls' chances of finishing with Top-5 lottery odds are extremely slim. Washington, New Orleans, Utah, Charlotte, and Toronto have all but locked up that area of the draft board. However, the sixth and seventh spots remain up for...

I remember sitting in my parent's basement in 2011 when Blake Griffin watched a Kia roll onto the hardwood in Los Angeles. The suspense was perfectly built to both his and the broadcast's credit. Ominous music blared through Staples Center speakers as Griffin watched the car move into position with a motivated stare. Baron Davis popped his head out of the sunroof to let us know we were moments away....

Hey, Blackhawks fans! We have a little actual Blackhawks hockey to talk about on this fine, crisp, chilly Wednesday morning. The Blackhawks practiced in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon as they get back from their break during the 4 Nations Face-Off. It was a pretty tough practice to get back into the grind. They'll be back on the ice today and Friday before heading to Columbus for their game on Saturday...

So we're getting what we all want: the US and Canada are going to run it back on Thursday night with the 4 Nations Face-Off championship on the line. Canada put the hammer down yesterday for about 56 minutes and then Jordan Binnington happened and Finland got to within 4-3 before an empty net goal closed the books. The result of that game meant the second game of the day...

Earlier this week I wrote about how the 2020 NHL Draft class is intriguing as we look ahead to the Blackhawks' future. The Blackhawks last few draft classes under the previous regime left the cupboard with some pieces to build with, which is good for the rebuild. But the 2019 NHL Draft has not worked out nearly as well as most NHL teams would have hoped. That isn't unique to...

Over the years as I consider the Blackhawks' top prospects and we converse about various rankings that come out, I like to occasionally consolidate lists that come out for the sake of comparing. Different analysts and writers have varying opinions of how they view the Blackhawks pipeline. At this stage in the Blackhawks' rebuild, this feels like an even more important time to consider how folks view the overall depth...

Let's start the party on this beautiful Monday morning with the eyeballs that were on the incredible USA-Canada game at the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday night. Richard Deitsch at The Athletic gave us the numbers and some perspective on a huge night for hockey. ESPN said on Sunday that the United States’ 3-1 win over Canada on a rock ’em sock ’em Saturday night in Montreal averaged 4.4 million...

Only 12 times in the history of the OHL (OMJHL) has a player scored 70 goals in the season. Among the names to reach that number: Wayne Gretzky, John Tavares, Doug Gilmour and Eric Lindros. With his league-leading 56th goal on Sunday afternoon, Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis in on pace to join that remarkable list. I spoke with Lardis recently about his journey this season, one in which he has...

It's been a while since the Blackhawks played in emotionally charged, meaningful hockey. It had been a decade since the US and Canada faced each other in an international best-on-best tournament. The good people at Disney opted to put the 4 Nations Face-Off on ABC in prime time last night, and lemme tell you the viewing audience got their money's worthy. With all due respect to the hot garbage the...

I would absolutely love to have a whole lot of exciting, earth-shattering Blackhawks content for you on a Saturday morning but... they haven't played in a full week. However, tonight we get the big one: USA vs Canada in Montreal with the top spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off on the line. It's on ABC and ESPN+ and the puck drops shortly after 7 PM CT. I can't wait! Now...

The United States blew the doors off of Finland last night in the 4 Nations Face-Off, scoring six unanswered goals -- four of which came in the third period. Brady and Matthew Tkachuk led the way with two goals each; Matthew was named the game's No. 1 star. For Blackhawks fans, Teuvo Teräväinen was minus-one and skated only 10:34. His line with Erik Haula and Joel Armia didn't get on...

Since the NHL is taking a couple weeks off in the middle of February for the 4 Nations Face-Off, why not take advantage of no Blackhawks games to chase and update our full two-round 2025 mock draft! With the calendar flipping to 2025, we're getting an increasing number of draft rankings and projections from folks who spend a great deal of time digging into take and profiles. Lots of things...