Happy Friday Chicago!
I want to begin by bidding farewell to the legendary meteorologist Tom Skilling.
I haven’t watched WGN — or any news program, for that matter — since I had the option not to, but I liked knowing that fine, nerdy man was educating Chicago viewers still on a daily basis.
Once, I was invited to give a guest broadcast on WGN as a 7- or 8-year old. Long story short, I met Skilling, and he was just a wonderful man.
I do partly miss a more monolithic media world, where everyone in Chicago was watching Tom Skilling in the morning and every mother in the country was listening to “Delilah” at night.
I heard Delilah’s voice recently for the first time in years, and I started levitating above my own body. Just found out she has been divorced three times, which either means she’s wildly fit or unfit for her love advice role, though I’m not quite sure which.
Skilling will slowly disappear from the Chicago citizen’s conscience, and I’m not sure anyone will fill his shoes given the way news viewership is going. It’s a new day, for better or worse.
And, still, we are asking potential Bears if they like “Michael Jordan, deep dish pizza, and Walter Payton.”
Does the entire country view us as fat slobs clinging onto the ‘80s and ‘90s? Can we update the arsenal a little bit? It may be half-true, but we don’t need to let people know that.
Maybe we should ask draft prospects if they like new restaurants with really unfunny lit-up slogans — which girls can take pictures in front of — that close five years after opening? Or, if they like the permanent smell of weed on their train cars? At least those things are 2020s-based.
I’d even take Derrick Rose, the great lakes, and Chief Keef at this point. Let them know there’s been millions of people operating a society here over the last 30 years.
I recognize this is a bit ironic coming from a guy that named his newsletter after a quote given in 1998, but we’ve got to put one foot in front of the other here.
If we’re going to cling to anything from the past, let’s cling to nicknames like “City of Big Shoulders.” That’s fucking badass, man. I’m flexing in the window just thinking about being a big boy in the City of Big Shoulders.
I want Caleb Williams to know that if he comes to my city, and dares to step next to me as we’re waiting for a walk signal to cross the street, I will dominate him. There’s no chance he puts a foot out into that street before I do. I got eyes on the lights, and superior knowledge on each intersection. You won’t outwork me on the sidewalk or the crosswalk.
Liking Michael Jordan is a plus, but I want to know if Caleb Willams is ready to get crime alerts from suburbanites on incidents that took place within a 5-mile radius of where he lives, while he was sleeping.
I want to know if he has the balls to stay up a little too late watching DeMar DeRozan rim out on a late-game, ill-advised fadeaway jumper, and then still get up in the morning and attack a work day with vigor.
I want to know if he loves dogs enough to have to step over them at bars, while those dogs’ owners get shitfaced and act as if their dog specifically is God’s gift to the earth, and not the sixth mid-sized Golden Doodle he’s seen that day.
I want to know if he’s ready to bitch about the city to everyone that lives here, and then turn around to vehemently defend it against anyone that lives elsewhere.
That’s what I want to know. I got nothing on deep dish pizza. It’s good, I don’t eat it that much. Chicago hot dogs are awesome, but I don’t mind if there’s ketchup on there. Whoop-dee-doo.
I believe in certain principles, but they’ve become more loose as I’ve aged. I only listen to R. Kelly songs that he’s featured on, alright?
I’m a “name on the front” fan through and through. I never bet against Chicago-based teams (pat me on the back).
But if Patrick Kane — who gifted the city a decade of its best years since the turn of the century — scores a game-winning goal to beat a dreadful Blackhawks team in his return to the United Center (and yells Showtime! after he does it), you can bet your ass I’m applauding that. If that makes me a “bad fan,” well, you’re an idiot.
It’s March. Cue the music!
Let’s get into it.
It’s done. Cody Bellinger is a Cub, and for a deal that I cannot totally wrap my head around. The humming and hawing from the Cubs camp, I thought, meant that they didn’t want to give out a $200 million deal.
Well, they didn’t even get to $100 million, even if the deal is only a short-term one. A 3-year deal worth $80 million, it’s basically a one-year deal. Because, if all goes as planned — and Bellinger plays well — he’ll be able to opt out. He can opt out after each year if he so chooses.
Essentially, Bellinger is on another “prove-it” deal, though this one comes with a $30 million salary in 2024 compared to the $12.5 million he made last year.
He gets to return to the place he wanted to return, the Cubs remain competitive this year with him, and he still has the chance at a future long-term, stacked deal — that the Cubs could give him, by the way.
Of course, in an ideal world, the Cubs are hoping that Pete Crow-Armstrong will come into his own sooner rather than later.
That would make losing Bellinger in the future sting less. But if Bellinger plays the way he did last year, I don’t care how good Crow-Armstrong is. That’s a guy you want on your team. Plus, he can play multiple positions.
Even if he’s playing first base, my thought on it is, you know he can play at a high level in the outfield. So, it’s not as if that precludes you from signing a heavier hitter and limited fielder who plays first base, especially with the advent of the NL DH.
The obvious caveat to everything is that Bellinger could be gone next year.
But, Jed Hoyer has signed two free agents this year — Shōta Imanaga and Bellinger — that were projected to get far bigger deals than they did.
I never understand why, when the Cubs are waiting to sign free agents or are reluctant to give out big contracts, people blame Hoyer. He’s working with a direction given by ownership, and he’s done a damn good job at maneuvering on that somewhat limited path.
I’m sure that Hoyer and Carter Hawkins would be signing bigger fish if they had the green light.
The fact of the matter is, any way you slice it, Hoyer has done a good job of rebuilding this team in short order — and that “good” could be upgraded to “fantastic” if the farm system ends up coming to fruition as expected.
Tom Ricketts is a frustrating figure, evidenced by my rant last week.
The difference between the Cubs, though, and every other team in the city is that the people underneath him are actually competent. There’s no Ted Phillips’ or Arturas Karnisovas’ walking around Wrigley Field on gameday, unless they bought tickets.
This lineup is no 2016. But it still sent an erotic chill down my spine.
I just hope that Happer isn’t in the no. 3 spot during a 1-32 streak in mid-July. Oh, lest we forget, he won’t be — because we also now have the best manager in the entire goddamn sport.
Two final notes:
— The Cubs also signed Garrett Cooper this past week, which gives them another average bat as insurance at first base.
— Is Scott Boras even a good agent?
A week can change a lot. I can’t wait to shake these hips to Go Cubs Go in a month after a W.
Stacey King evoked the “Only the Bulls” jingle the other night, which has unfortunately been used in an unintended form far more than its intended form since the ‘90s ended.
But it was appropriate. The Bulls played one of the worst professional basketball games I have ever seen against the Pistons Tuesday. Their 2-29 three-point shooting performance on the night (6.9%) was the worst in NBA history, if you adjust for volume. The Pistons have won nine games this year, and have beaten the Bulls twice.
Worse yet, Captain Kirk Hinrich was in attendance. They did that in front of the Bulls all-time three-point leader (this is both a fun and embarrassing fact).
On a back-to-back the next night, they beat the Cavaliers — who were 20-4 since the New Year — in overtime. The Cavs had also won 11 straight OT games in a row, which was the second-best streak ever.
It’s not just that, though. The Bulls had 74! rebounds in the game, 25 of which were on the offensive glass. For context, the best rebounding team in the NBA brings down 47 per night. You may think, well, the game went into two overtimes. But the Cavs only had 39 rebounds on the night. Andre Drummond himself had 26 of those Bulls rebounds.
That’s the Bulls, though. It’s (very) maddening and (kinda) enjoyable at the same time.
Caruso left with an injury Tuesday, he probably should have been traded for draft capital. The 76ers wanted to give up two seconds for Drummond, the Bulls passed. DeRozan could have gone somewhere, and he took another dog shit shot at the end of regulation Wednesday. Zach LaVine — remember him? — is out for the season, and could have been traded. Patrick Williams is out for the season from an injury I have to believe was brought on partly by the Bulls’ incompetence.
To maintain sanity, you have to shut out all of that. Only then will you fist pump the air when Drummond secures a put-back dunk in an otherwise meaningless game.
The Bulls haven’t been great of late, but they are still 23-17 since their 5-14 start. That pace, applied to the whole year, would put them at 47 wins — good enough to be in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference.
But, here we are. Firmly in the 9th spot. And around we go.
There are bright spots to focus on. With Pat Williams out for the season, thanks to yet another mismanaged and misleading injury (stay focused), other wings have had to step up.
Ayo Dosunmu has been wonderful this year. He always played the game the right way, but you can’t stay on an NBA court in 2024 if you can’t hit an open three.
His three-point percentage has jumped by nearly 10 points this year, from around 31% to 41%. And he’s shooting more of them, nearly 5 per game.
But his value is even more evident from an eye-test perspective. He’s making Caruso-esque plays: tipping balls on defense and keeping rebounds alive on offense. He’s a great defender.
Then there’s Julian Phillips, a rookie with negligible stat lines. He’s really shown something in his minutes, despite not having much to show for it on the stat sheet. He’s more athletic than the second-year Dalen Terry, more sure of himself, and less likely to make a play that makes you want to turn the game off. Cheers to Billy Donovan for favoring him over Terry, even if it’s against the wishes of the front office.
Finally, there’s the recently signed Turkish Onuralp Bitim, who looked the part and more in his first true NBA game Wednesday night. He had 10 points on 3-4 shooting, and actually played in overtime. He shot 43% from three for the Windy City Bulls this year, and I think he has the confidence to put up a similar mark in the league.
Moving off bright spots, another insane and fun fact here from Steph Noh.
Of course, Vucevic has not been as effective this year, as he is the worst three-point shooter in the NBA (out of those who actually take threes). Fascinating, nonetheless.
The Bulls are on ESPN tonight at 9 p.m. against the Bucks. I have no hope. But I’ll be up until midnight.
LETS GO BULLS!
In Peter King’s final column of his career, he suggested that the “wind was blowing” toward the Bears trading the first overall pick.
The next day, on the Dan Patrick Show, he said that he had zero intel and hadn’t talked to anyone.
Thanks for that Peter — good luck in retirement!
In other news, the Bears and Jaylon Johnson agreeing to a long-term deal seems like all but a lock right now. Ryan Poles said Johnson “wasn’t going anywhere” at the end of the season, reports suggested the two parties were “inching closer” to a deal, and Poles himself this week said that “conversations are going well at this time.”
Johnson deserves a deal. He played great last season. The only concern with him is injuries. He gets hurt often. And I assume that is a major part of the conversations.
It appears Poles does a really good job managing player relationships. Even when there are bitter contract disputes, the players don’t seem to lose respect for him — unless you’re Roquan Smith flying off the handle.
The salary cap will take an unprecedented leap this year, from $224.8 million to $255.4 million. That’s not good news for the Bears.
When you’re a team with a lot of cap space at the top, ready to pounce on soon-to-be free agents, everyone else having more wiggle room does not bode well for you.
Still, not everyone can keep everybody. I saw the Bears linked to defensive end A.J. Epenesa this past week, which I would love. Besides being a Hawkeye, he’s had 6.5 sacks each of the last two years. Even with the cap spike, it’ll be tough for the Bills to hang onto him.
Free agency opens up on March 13. I’m excited to see how Poles attacks this offseason, and for once, I have considerable faith in our general manager. Here’s to hoping I won’t regret that.
CBB March Madness preview next week! Thanks for reading this one. Come back next week, and bring a friend with you. Comment below.
I can't believe you ruined Delilah for me with that nasty news that she has been married three times!?! Won't listen again.
The Chicago TOP 3? I think the Italian Beef should be in there but Jordan always has a spot in my mind. Might have to be Oprah.
I cheered when Kane beat the Hawks too.
Signing Bellinger raises my Cubs excitement tenfold.
Lastly, Billy Donovan needs to answer. for how you beat New Orleans, lose to Detroit and beat Cleveland. Also, \I don't have the stats but it seems to me that in every game the Bulls start out horribly from three and shoot much better later. Should we change our warmup or preparation?