GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO FANS

It was a strange week as the NHL and NBA are down to 2 teams apiece. Should-have-been Bull Tyrese Haliburton continues to hit game-winners, and Seth Jones and the Panthers are facing off with Corey Perry and Stan Bowman’s Oilers.

Even Javy Baez’s Tigers won the weekend series against the Cubs 😢

CHICAGO CUBS

W - Cubs 8, Nationals 3

Busch rakes against former Cubs

• Michael Busch stayed hot, going 3-for-4 with 1 HR and 3 RBI

• Former Cubs Trevor Williams (4.1 IP, 5 ER) and Andrew Chafin (0.0 IP, 2 ER) struggled against the deep Cubs lineup

• Cade Horton (5.1 IP, 3 ER) earned another win to move to 3-0!

L - Nationals 2, Cubs 0

Boyd vs. Gore Battle

• Cubs were shutout for the first time since May 4th as MacKenzie Gore looked like an ace (7.0 IP, 3 H, 7 K)

• Matthew Boyd retired the first 16 batters of the game on his way to an excellent but unrewarded start (7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)

• Cubs first 3 batters of the game recorded hits, and they stranded the bases loaded…then didn’t get another hit until the 9th inning

W - Cubs 7, Nationals 1

Another Happy series win!

• Ian Happ (3-for-6, HR, 4 RBI) slugged his way to his 500th career RBI

• Every Cubs starter got a hit as the team collected 15 total hits

• Cubs pitching staff somehow only struck out 1 hitter and walked 1 hitter in the entire game. Drew Pomeranz was the opener for Colin Rea who tiptoed through 5+ scoreless innings

L - Tigers 3, Cubs 1

Beat at their own game…and the best pitcher in baseball

• Tarik Skubal (barely) outpitched Ben Brown in a playoff-like atmosphere

• An awkward send by 3B coach Quintin Berry resulted in PCA being thrown out trying to dive back into third and killed a potential big inning

• Tigers outfielders made 2 leaping grabs at the wall to rob the Cubs of extra base hits

W - Cubs 6, Tigers 1

Home Run Derby: Detroit

• Cubs hit 5 homers (Seiya x2, PCA, Busch, Shaw) and only had 2 singles otherwise

• Jameson Taillon is still on fire (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER)

• Reese McGuire picked off a runner at 1B to end the game! Shades of David Ross!

L - Tigers 4, Cubs 0

Motown Shutout

• Jack Flaherty (6.0 IP, 2 H, 9 K) and the Tigers pitching staff owned the Cubs yet again to take the series win

• Nico Hoerner and Craig Counsell were unfairly ejected after Nico voiced a reasonable disagreement on a strike 3 call

• Cubs only had 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 12 times

Star of the Week ⭐ Michael Busch

7-for-19 (.368 AVG), 2 HR, 5 RBI

Play of the Week 🎥 Dansby Swanson center field catch

Signed RHP Jake Woodford to a minor-league contract

Activated RHP Tyson Miller from the IL and DFA’d him

PCA and Bobby Bonds (1973) are the only players in MLB history to tally 15 SB, 15 HR, and 20 SB in the first 60 games of a season. He also became the 4th fastest player in MLB history to get to 15 HR and 20 SB (60 games - ahead of him are Eric Davis, Ken Williams, and Bobby Bonds).

Cubs already have 5 players with 10+ HR! (Seiya, PCA, Tucker, Dansby, Busch)

SCHEDULE 📅 7 DAYS OF BASEBALL!

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

Mandatory minicamp was Tuesday-Thursday!

• TJ Edwards, Kyler Gordon, and Luther Burden are dealing with minor soft-tissue injuries

• Jaquan Brisker opened up about his long battle with a concussion last season. He was diagnosed with a vestibular concussion and had to do exercises to re-train his brain to handle side-to-side movements. Week after week, he expected to feel normal and return to the football field. Thankfully, he is fully healed and ready to go 💪

• Thursday was audition day for special skills…QBs and OL were catching passes, WRs were throwing, and Darnell Wright got vertical for a 1-handed snag

• Ben Johnson was asked about minicamp standouts: Dom Robinson, Ruben Hyppolite, Kyle Monangai, Joel Wilson

• Last OTAs are next week - mainly for younger players

• Players will get a month off before training camp in July

Another team announced real plans to build a stadium before the Bears actually made a decision…the Chicago Fire will construct a soccer stadium in the 78th neighborhood that will open in 2028.

Aaron Rodgers signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers 👀 Week 1 will be Rodgers vs. his former Jets team with Justin Fields, Week 12 will be in Chicago vs. the Bears. His ownership of the Bears will definitely be over after that game!

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

OFFSEASON

NHL Combine 🏒

• Kyle Davidson explained that the Hawks did not take ANY prospects out to dinner, which seems to be a common practice among the rest of NHL teams. They didn’t believe it would provide extra insight after meeting with the prospects at the combine.

• Davidson said they view Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar as long-term centers 👏 I was unsure what the Hawks thought about their outlook at the center position, so this provides clarity. It seems like the 3rd overall pick will definitely slot in as a Top-6 winger.

• Mitch Marner to the Hawks in free agency barely has any steam. He may not be the right fit for the young core, so they aren’t expected to hand him a massive contract.

• Hawks have reportedly looked into trading up to #1 or #2 to draft Michael Misa…YES PLEASE

I wrote about Bedard and Nazar leading the Hawks into their next era of playoff contention. They are actually set up well to take on the Kane and Toews roles from the last dynasty! Read here:

Announced an expansion of Fifth Third Arena - it will serve as the new home of the USHL’s Chicago Steel

Rights to 4 recent draft picks expired, and they have the option to sign anywhere: Alex Pharand (2023 4th round), Marcel Marcel (2023 5th round), Milton Oscarson (2023 6th round) and Victor Stjernborg (2021 4th round)

Former assistant coach Kevin Dean already found a new job as an assistant with the Vancouver Canucks

Ilya Mikheyev received ONE 5th-place vote for the Selke Trophy

CHICAGO BULLS

OFFSEASON

Jerry Reinsdorf officially announced a succession plan that will allow Justin Ishbia to eventually acquire controlling interest in the White Sox…now we need the same news for the Bulls!

Former coach Tom Thibodeau was fired by the New York Knicks after taking them to the Eastern Conference Finals…history must be repeating itself. Time for the Knicks to spiral into a decade-long rebuild!

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Anders Sorensen

Accepting a job to work under your replacement requires a ton of humility.

Even though the Blackhawks opted to hire someone from outside the organization instead of removing his “interim” head coach tag, Sorensen was convinced to stay. He believes in Jeff Blashill, he believes in the young core, and he wants to see winning hockey return to Chicago. Read more about his decision here:

MILD TAKE

The Bulls have to make significant trades this offseason.

With reports circulating that the Bulls would be fine with drafting a guard later this month, I considered how the roster would look with 100 guards in the rotation next season.

Who’s already under contract?

Josh Giddey, Coby White, Lonzo Ball, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, Dalen Terry, and Jevon Carter (if he picks up his player option)

Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like they intend to bring Tre Jones back. I want him to stay in Chicago! His gutsy performances after landing on the Bulls displayed the two-way effort they need on a nightly basis. But adding Jones would clog up the backcourt even more…

If they select a guard at #12, I’d already accept that player’s fate as a future 6th man unless the Bulls make it clear they’re not sold on Giddey and White being their long-term guard duo.

After years of penciling in Patrick Williams at PF even though he can’t rebound, and with one year left on Nikola Vucevic’s contract, it’s time to inject new life into the frontcourt. The Bulls need to draft a big man, and I don’t need Vooch around to mentor him. Jalen Smith and Zach Collins are great veterans to have in the locker room.

Arturas Karnisovas finally dove into the world of trades in the last calendar year after refusing to make the smallest tweak to his team for what felt like a century. I’m not confident that he will make more significant changes, but at least there is some real evidence now.

Maybe Coby or Ayo will be gone, maybe Collins or Huerter will be gone after their short stint, and maybe a contender will finally fold and exchange legitimate value for Vooch. Whatever the case, the Bulls roster desperately needs positional balance, and they have to continue this changing of the guard.

HITTING THE LINKS

Adam Jahns - Ben Johnson went through a humbling time, and it led to his meteoric NFL rise (The Athletic)

Ben Pope - Michael Peca will teach young Blackhawks forwards the 'little details' as new assistant coach (Chicago Sun-Times)

Jon Greenberg - Old friends Scott Harris, Jed Hoyer find themselves in first place again (The Athletic)

Ben Pope - Kyle Davidson breaks down Blackhawks' upcoming draft decision, NHL trade market (Chicago Sun-Times)

Patrick Mooney - Seiya Suzuki’s talents and personality are showing up in a big way for first-place Cubs (The Athletic)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

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Thanks for reading! Have a great week, and buckle up every day for some Cubs baseball!