Villanova vs. Providence Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats and Best Bets – Friday, January 17, 2025

As expected, the Chicago Cubs today announced their non-roster invites to big league Spring Training. The full list is below, with the reminder that these are the NON-40-MAN players who are coming to big league camp. So if you're wondering where someone obvious is, pretty good bet they're on the 40-man, so, yes, they'll be there. You know the minor league deal veterans already, but there are a host of...

There's not a whole lot doing yet today on the Alex Bregman front, but there are a few updates to share, at least. First, from Bruce Levine, who says the Cubs are still working at it and seems to imply that some members of the organization might be trying to convince other members of the organization that a certain level of deal is worth it or not: Cubs remain in...

The Athletic did a thing where they picked an available free a gent for each of the 30 MLB teams, and although I want to underscore that there's no "rumor" here, I did find the selection for the Cubs to be sufficiently interesting to merit a discussion. Particularly after going through the entire collection of bullpen options for the Cubs yesterday and noting how few of them throw lefty. Which...

The many, many pre-2025 Chicago Cubs top-X-number-of-prospects lists have dropped the last couple weeks - MLB Pipeline is the only major one we're still waiting on - and if you haven't seen all or any of them, I thought I'd round them up here. I also have some thoughts. Baseball America dropped its full slate of top-30s for each organization: https://bsky.app/profile/baseballamerica.com/post/3lh22jl2hct2v No huge surprises on the list for the Cubs,...

I feel like a genius and an idiot: for *YEARS* I have loved peanut butter sauce as an ice cream topping, but you can't get it everywhere, and there's basically no good take-home variety. So I get it when I can get it, and otherwise am just sad. BUT THEN LAST NIGHT I WAS LIKE DUH I CAN MAKE MY OWN AT HOME! I've got this powdered peanut butter protein,...

A few Alex Bregman bits to chew on as you settle down for the night ... Jon Heyman tonight writes that although Bregman is receiving "creative short-term offers," he and Scott Boras are still looking for six+ years. That tracks with Bob Nightengale's reporting earlier today. Heyman adds that the Astros actually have come up some amount from their offer from earlier in the offseason (reportedly six years and $156...

The Chicago Cubs, ostensibly still in the market for a free-agent third baseman, will watch one option fall off the board tonight. Former White Sox third baseman - and offseason Cubs target - Yoan Moncada is reportedly signing a modest deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Yoan Moncada to the Angels Ken Rosenthal reports the deal on X as a one-year, $5 million contract. https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1887654549227512106 Moncada, still just 29, is...

Given the Ryan Brasier trade potentially capping off the Chicago Cubs' bullpen moves for the offseason, and given how much movement there has been in that group this offseason, I thought it worth a reset just to see where the Cubs stand. How many arms do they have available now for the bullpen group? How many can be moved up and down? Who is fighting for a roster spot? You...

Based on some scattered quotes from ownership — as well as where Jed Hoyer's front office wound up last season — our initial expectation for the Cubs 2025 payroll was right around the first tier of the luxury tax threshold (up to $241M this year). But then, around mid-winter, those expectations changed. Supported by their cost-saving activity in free agency and especially trade, some new reporting/speculating led us to believe that...

It has felt for a few days like maybe there was a thaw coming in the Alex Bregman/Scott Boras demands for a maximum-length deal in order to finally put pen to paper in free agency, but maybe that was just a vibes check that was based on nothing at all. Because, according to Bob Nightengale, nothing has changed: https://bsky.app/profile/bnightengale.bsky.social/post/3lhjifjffys2d Although we don't know exactly where the other involved parties are...

I am coming around to the idea of Ashton Jeanty lining up next to Caleb Williams in the Chicago Bears backfield. Don't get it twisted. I know the Bears have needs in the trenches on both sides of the line of scrimmage. But if General Manager Ryan Poles can plug those holes in March when free agency opens its doors, then it could open things up for the team to...

The nightmare that was the 2024 Chicago Bears season is over. Before the transactional period starts and the roster changes begin, we will recap the seasons of most of the 53-man roster. Next up: We're looking at the 2024 season of quarterback Caleb Williams. Caleb Williams' 2024 Snapshot Caleb Williams' rookie season is in the books, featuring no shortage of peaks and valleys. Williams' rookie numbers weren't just the best...

The NFL moved so quickly during Super Bowl Week that Myles Garrett's trade request feels like it happened forever ago. Of course, we know it didn't happen forever ago. This week started with a bang as the Cleveland Browns star pass rusher put in a formal trade request, which shot to the top of the list of offseason storylines we are looking forward to watching unfold. But one thing we...

The biggest storyline of this NFL season is the Kansas City Chiefs' pursuit of a historic third consecutive Super Bowl victory. Even if they fall short in Super Bowl LIX, they have already made history as the first team to win two straight Super Bowls and return to a third in a row. No team has ever won three straight Super Bowl titles, though the Green Bay Packers won three...

The nightmare that was the 2024 Chicago Bears season is over. Before the transactional period starts and the roster changes begin, we will recap the seasons of most of the 53-man roster. Next up: We're looking at the 2024 season of Tremaine Edmunds. Tremaine Edmunds' 2024 Snapshot There were many things to be frustrated with during the 2024 season, and Tremaine Edmunds was often on my list. Edmunds finished the...

With the Super Bowl just a couple of days away, I polled the writers at Bleacher Nation to see who they have winning Sunday's contest, and we're leaning Kansas City, but this will no doubt be the Chiefs' tallest task during their road to a potential three-peat. Here's how the Bleacher Nation staff sees Super Bowl LIX playing out on Sunday: Luis C. Medina Eagles 24, Chiefs 23 MVP: Saquon...

Day 33 of the Chicago Bears offseason. We made it to the first Friday of February. Huzzah! I need to get my Super Bowl menu in order. And I'm sure you do, too. My friend Jim offered up the suggestion of these buffalo chicken wontons, which appear to be DELICIOUS. More condolences from around the league after Virginia McCaskey's passing: The Packers send their deepest condolences to the McCaskey and...

We're just over 48 hours from the Super Bowl on Sunday in New Orleans. Still, there's plenty to discuss around the league, including the NFL Honors results, the Pro Football Hall of Fame's newest class, the passing of Virginia McCaskey, and more in today's NFL Notes. The Football World Mourns the Passing of Virginia McCaskey Virginia Halas McCaskey, the majority owner and matriarch of the Chicago Bears, passed on Thursday...

Today, we were saddened to learn of the passing of Bears owner and team matriarch Virginia McCaskey. For more details, please read our initial report on the news. The death of Virginia Halas McCaskey means that the NFL has lost a legacy. Mrs. McCaskey had been the Chicago Bears' principal owner since 1983 when her father, George Halas, passed away. The Bears matriarch has seen the NFL evolve from an upstart...

Today, we were saddened to learn of the passing of Bears owner and team matriarch Virginia McCaskey. For more details, please read our initial report on the news. The battle for Super Bowl supremacy will be won in the trenches — and Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher Josh Sweat figures to be in the middle of the action. Chicago Bears fans — who are understandably obsessed with the idea of their favorite...

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...

The Chicago Bulls served as a generous portion of Nothing Pie during each of the last three NBA trade deadlines. This year, the slice at least had some whipped cream on top. I'm not going to go as far as saying that Arturas Karnisovas deserves credit for moving on from Zach LaVine, but it was a box that desperately needed to be checked. The problem is that making that move...

The trade deadline came and went yesterday without any additional moves by the Bulls. Obviously, they were able to deal Zach LaVine for a somewhat underwhelming return on Sunday. But hey, at least they were finally taking the leap and selling off pieces, right? Guess again! While moving on from Zach LaVine was an unfortunate but necessary decision, the handling of the rest of the roster felt like yet another...

I had a fresh bouquet ready to deliver to the Chicago Bulls' offices at the Advocate Center on Thursday afternoon. Instead, a singular tulip petal has been left at reception. Arturas Karnisovas roped everybody in when finally striking a deal for two-time All-Star Zach LaVine. Joining the De'Aaron Fox trade to San Antonio, the return left a little to be desired but still handed the Bulls some much-needed future flexibility....

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone! After a chaotic last couple of days, things quieted down a bit on the actual deadline day. However, while we didn't get the most active last few hours, this ended up being one of the wildest trade deadline seasons in recent memory. It's hard to recall as many in-season trades involving players of the magnitude that we saw shipped elsewhere this season....

Sitting 41-10 and at the top of the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers are going for it. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Cavaliers have acquired De'Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks. The deal will see Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and two swaps. Hunter is in the thick of a career year, averaging 19.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game off the bench. https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1887572277761343556 Cavaliers Land De'Andre...

Despite some indications that the trade waters have settled around the United Center, the Chicago Bulls continue to come up in rumors just hours before Thursday's 2:00 p.m. CT deadline. Nikola Vucevic remains the primary focus. While the big man told reports following Chicago's loss to Minnesota that he expects to wake up in Chicago on Friday morning, he found himself linked to the Golden State Warriors again hours later....

*walks into bunker, turns on megaphone, blares air horn* UP AND AT 'EM, CADETS! MAN YOUR STATIONS, CADETS! SOUND THE ALARM! TURN ON SHAMS CHARANIA'S NOTIFICATIONS! TRADE DEADLINE DAY IS HERE! While I've done no research to back this up, I still feel confident declaring this the craziest NBA trade deadline ever. We have had multiple All-Star players on the move, headlined by a Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis trade...

Buckle up and hold onto your hats! It's deadline day, everybody! We have about five hours remaining until the NBA trade deadline at 2:00 PM central time. The biggest moves have likely come and gone with Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine, De'Aaron Fox, Brandon Ingram, Luka Doncic, and Anthony Davis all having been dealt. However, the Chicago Bulls still have Nikola Vucevic and a few more pieces to potentially ship off,...

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,...

So we'll just go ahead and get the Friday party started with the topic du jour in Chicago and beyond in the hockey world lately. Let's all criticize Connor Bedard! Over the weekend, Mark Messier hopped on ESPN and threw some shade at Bedard. He went as far as to say the Blackhawks should take ice time away from Bedard because of what Messier perceived as less-than-full effort defensively on...

The Blackhawks practiced on Thursday afternoon after their tough overtime loss to Edmonton late on Wednesday night. Not on the ice: veteran center Jason Dickinson, who suffered what appeared to be a nasty injury during the second period. Dickinson was seen leaving the United Center in a walking boot. The hope was that the severity wasn't as bad as it certainly looked when he left the ice with assistance. After...

On Thursday morning, Elliotte Friedman dropped a loaded written version of his "32 Thoughts" and there are some good Blackhawks-centric nuggets in there. Here's what got my attention: Blackhawks trade buzz I noted in my bullets this morning that there were 14 teams represented in the press box scouting the Blackhawks-Oilers game. Friedman notes a light schedule and the looming two-week break meant there was plenty of attention in Chicago...

The Blackhawks lost a hard fought game to the Oilers in overtime last night. They showed a lot of mettle, battling back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to tie the game late. But a bad penalty in overtime cost them the second point in the standings. The result of the game last night isn't much of a concern if we're honest. What is a major concern is...

We're now into February, and Blackhawks prospects continue to put up solid numbers across college hockey. There are some really good ranked matchups this weekend, with Denver and Providence both playing important conference matchups. And, Monday night, Boston University will face Boston College in a hyped Beanpot championship game. Here's this weekend's schedule for the Blackhawks' prospects in action. And, again, make sure you vote every day for one of...

The good news when a game starts at almost 9 PM local is the first period flew by and neither team scored. With a little under eight minutes left in the first period, this ridiculous sequence by Arvid Söderblom and Connor Murphy kept the game tied at zeroes. Oh my Arvid Soderblom, what a saveMurphy helps out too with a stop of his own pic.twitter.com/Wu11sUNd07— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) February 6, 2025...

Before Wednesday's game, the Blackhawks announced a few roster moves. The team formally activated veteran forward Craig Smith from IR. To make room on the roster, they needed to assign at least one player to Rockford. The Blackhawks sent both Artyom Levshunov and Colton Dach to the IceHogs. We knew Levshunov was headed back to Rockford without playing a game when he joined the Blackhawks earlier this week; the intent...

Yes, the Blackhawks are back on national television. And yes, it's against a really good team with legit championship aspirations. And yes, they're sitting a couple young guys in the press box again. But... this one's at home? And... yeah. That's all I've got. Get ready for a late night if you're attending because this is the second game of the night on TNT. Broadcast Info Puck Drop: 8:45ish PM CT...