GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO FANS

What a weekend in Chicago! The Crosstown Classic is always a blast no matter what side you’re on. I thought the young White Sox pitching staff had a chance to make a name for themselves, but the Cubs stomped them out. This was my reaction watching the Cubs in that series:

CHICAGO CUBS

W - Cubs 5, Marlins 2

Dansby Dad Strength!

• Dansby Swanson was 2-for-4 with a 2-R HR

• Colin Rea had a nice bounceback start (6.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 K)

• Drew Pomeranz got the save in light of Ryan Pressly’s struggles! He still has a 0.00 ERA in 10 appearances this season

W - Cubs 5, Marlins 4

Wrigley Walk-Off Magic!

• Justin Turner hit a walk-off 2-R double to cap off a 3 run 9th inning comeback against Cubs legend Jesus Tinoco (4.0 IP in 2024)

• Ben Brown continues to look good (5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 K)

• Moises Ballesteros made his MLB debut at DH and had a quiet 0-for-4 night

L - Marlins 3, Cubs 1

Another sweep swept under the rug

• Jameson Taillon still has the HR bug. He gave up 3 solo HRs in this game and has given up a total of 7 solo HRs in his last 2 starts 🤢

• Seiya Suzuki’s solo HR was the Cubs’ only offense as they had 5 hits and 2 walks

W - Cubs 13, White Sox 3

Whacky, windy, Friday W

• Interference calls, gusty winds, and Will Venable moving his infield in with runners on 2nd and 3rd early in the game made it a strange Crosstown Classic opener

• PCA went 4-for-5 with 1 HR and 6 RBI - the most RBI by a Cubs leadoff hitter since 1976

• Cade Horton made his first MLB start (5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER), Ballesteros swung out of his shoe on his 1st MLB RBI and later recorded his first MLB hit

W - Cubs 7, White Sox 3

Boyd over Burke

• Matthew Boyd mowed through the Sox (6 IP, 3 ER, 8 K)

• Cubs walked 11 times and stole 6 bases! A TON of traffic all game

• Dansby went 2-for-3 with a HR

W - Cubs 6, White Sox 2

It finally happened! A Sunday Sweep!

• The Sunday blues are finally gone as the Cubs finished the sweep 🧹

• Seiya shined as the temporary LF with a bullet throw to home plate in the 1st

• 4 Cubs had 2 hits each, including Vidal Brujan

Star of the Week ⭐ Pete Crow-Armstrong

11-for-24 (.458 AVG), 2 triples, 2 HRs, 10 RBI

Play of the Week 🎥 Justin Turner walk-off double

Signed RHP Kenta Maeda to a minor league contract. He was recently released by the Detroit Tigers after allowing 7 ER in 8 innings of work this season.

Gage Workman was DFA’d by the White Sox. 2 Chicago DFA’s for one player, and it’s only May!

Called up Moises Ballesteros from AAA, placed Ian Happ on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain, optioned Gavin Hollowell to AAA

PCA is ON FIRE. He is:

• The first Cubs player in history to have 12 HRs, 30 RBI, and 10 SB in their first 45 games of a season

• The first player in MLB history to have 12 HRs, 11 doubles, 2 triples, and 14 SB in their first 46 games of a season

• On pace for 41 HR and 48 SB this season

• 1st in the National League in WAR

• On pace for a 9.8 fWAR season (there have only been 4 9.0+ fWAR seasons in Cubs history)

✍ Right before PCA’s 6 RBI day, I wrote about the center field position and why PCA will be the face of the franchise:

The Cubs are 8-0 in series openers at Wrigley Field this season AND 8-0 in their last 8 games vs. the White Sox

SCHEDULE 📅 M/T/W/F/SAT/SUN

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

Schedule Release!

Here are the Bears’ 2025 opponents and my WAY too early W/L predictions:

Week 1: Vikings (L)

Week 2: @ Lions (L)

Week 3: Cowboys (W)

Week 4: @ Raiders (W)

Week 5: BYE

Week 6: @ Commanders (W)

Week 7: Saints (W)

Week 8: @ Ravens (L)

Week 9: @ Bengals (L)

Week 10: Giants (W)

Week 11: @ Vikings (W)

Week 12: Steelers (W)

Week 13: @ Eagles (L)

Week 14: @ Packers (L)

Week 15: Browns (W)

Week 16: Packers (W)

Week 17: @ 49ers (L)

Week 18: Lions (W)

Looks like a mid-May prediction of 10-7!

Another year, another clever schedule release video by the Bears

Stadium News: Reportedly focusing on the Arlington Heights property as they have made significant progress towards making the development a reality

Signed another undrafted free agent: DB Jeremiah Walker

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

OFFSEASON

Year 💯

• The Chicago Blackhawks became a franchise on May 16, 1926 - this past Friday was the start of their 100th year - so the team will be celebrating their Centennial throughout the upcoming season

• Announced a new Blackhawks Hall of Fame 🎖 2 players will be voted in each year by fans, alumni, and media (1 player from before 2000, 1 player from after 2000). Players with retired jerseys will automatically be inducted!

Coaching Search

• Momentum building towards the Blackhawks hiring Jeff Blashill who is currently an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning

• Only 4 teams remain without a head coach (Blackhawks, Bruins, Kraken, Penguins)

Seth Jones redemption arc! The Toronto Maple Leafs lost in Game 7 vs. the Florida Panthers, so the Blackhawks will be selecting 25th with the Maple Leafs’ 1st round pick. Bring on 3 and 25! Seth Jones had his best game of the season for the Panthers, so…Kyle Davidson essentially made an operating table trade just to help their draft situation 😎

World Championships

• Frank Nazar is DOMINATING: T/2nd in points with 9 (4g/5a)

• Lukas Reichel had an undisclosed minor injury and should recover quickly

• Teuvo Teravainen had SIX assists in a single game in Finland’s 9-1 win over Slovenia

CHICAGO BULLS

OFFSEASON

Pick #12 in the NBA Draft!

• Bulls stayed at the #12 spot in the lottery

• The Dallas Mavericks, who traded away Luka Doncic for pennies, got rewarded by winning the lottery with only 1.8% odds from the 11th spot

• You may remember there was a tiebreaker for the 11th and 12th best odds that was determined a few weeks ago. The Mavericks won the random drawing vs. the Bulls to move to 11th, and now they get the chance to select top prospect Cooper Flagg.

• Another coin flip nightmare for the Bulls who also missed out on #1 overall pick Magic Johnson in 1979

• Good thing the Bulls traded for their OWN Top 10 protected 1st round pick back in the Zach LaVine trade. Otherwise, they would have just kept their pick and drafted #12…like they are now…

As soon as the Bulls/Mavericks tie was announced, I knew what would happen:

The 🐐 Michael Jordan was announced as a “special contributor” for NBC’s coverage of the NBA

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Kevin Korchinski

As the Rockford IceHogs’ season came to a close, Korchinski spoke on the state of the organization. He thinks the future is bright and believes in the young core of guys he has played with over the last couple seasons.

He specifically mentions feeling pride when teammates get the call up to the NHL. With a lot of moving parts and development occurring at different rates for everyone, having that sense of unity and selflessness is impressive.

MILD TAKE

Beating up on the White Sox = Cubs improvement

One series isn’t enough for season-long conclusions, even if the series is as energized as the Crosstown Classic.

With that said, the most emphatic part of this iteration was the Cubs offense. After vanishing for months at a time over the past 2 seasons, seeing a bounceback from a minor slump is very encouraging.

Last year, the Cubs squeaked by the White Sox 4 times. 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, and 3-1.

It took an 8th inning 1-run comeback, a Mike Tauchman walk-off HR, holding on by 1 after nearly blowing a 7-0 lead, and breaking a tie in the 8th inning. They BARELY hung on against the worst baseball team in history. A 121-loss team.

The Cubs offense finished 27th in MLB in May 2024 with a .647 OPS and 20th in June 2024 with a .682 OPS. This May, they are 12th with a .734 OPS. After a bump in the road, their slugging, aggressive baserunning, and clutch hitting are evident again. This Cubs offense can actually produce throughout the entirety of a season.

The White Sox aren’t a great measuring stick, but their pitchers are actually respectable. Shane Smith (2.05 ERA) and company have been a bright spot in an otherwise pointless season.

Dominating 3 games against their crosstown rival is a sign to Cubs fans that this team is different. No Heart Attack Hector moments this time around…

HITTING THE LINKS

ESPN - Book: Caleb Williams sought way around going to Chicago Bears (ESPN)

Adam Jahns - Defining short- and long-term expectations for the Bears’ top 4 draft picks (The Athletic)

Patrick Mooney - Why Craig Counsell’s blunt ‘worst-case scenario’ sold Colin Rea on signing with Cubs (The Athletic)

Chicago Tribune - Chicago Bears shifting their stadium focus to Arlington Heights (Chicago Tribune)

Scott Powers - What we learned about Blackhawks prospects during the Rockford IceHogs’ playoffs (The Athletic)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

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Thanks for reading! Have a great week, and make sure to console all the White Sox fans in your life.