Still Gotta Come Through Chicago
I'm a Bears fan, not a fan of the Bears
Good morning Chicagoans! Grab your coffee and let’s get to it — we’ve got a lot to talk about regarding all five teams today.
If you missed last week’s newsletter, make sure to read that here. It featured a breakdown of the Bears awful year-end press conference and a lot more.
Also, make sure to tell your friends and family to subscribe to this newsletter if they are fans too. I’d really appreciate that.
Let’s get to the weekend. But before that, drop in the comments (comment button at end of letter) and let us know your thoughts — on anything.
Let’s get to it.
Chicago Sports Confessionals
Forgive me Still Gotta Come Through Chicagoans, for I have sinned.
Mere days after I wrote to you in last week’s newsletter about the Bears season-ending wreckage, I was lured back into caring — for the first time. I was like a degenerate with massive credit card debt that had sworn to correct their spending habits, only to begin online shopping minutes later.
I saw that the legendary defensive coordinator Wade Phillips unretired and was looking for a job. Chuck Pagano had retired and Phillips has led dominant defenses almost everywhere that he’s been. So I began online shopping, avoiding the credit card debt that is a metaphor for my wilting allegiance to the dumpster fire that is the Chicago Bears.
In real time, I caught myself.
It happens to the best of us. And it happened again to me later in the week, as I dove into the numbers on who the Bears could cut heading into the 2021 season to save money on the cap.
I deserve to be punished — especially because I found myself playing GM, thinking about some possibilities that excited me as I went through the Bears cap sheet.
It was a pathetic impulse at first, but it lasted too long to be considered anything but a relapse. I am addicted to that shit hole franchise, and George McCaskey, Ted Phillips, Ryan Pace, and Matt Nagy are all laughing at me from their offices in Halas Hall.
But then I started to consider what it meant to be a Bears fan. Can I be a Bears fan, but not a fan of the Bears?
Stay with me here. I have gone to games when the Bears were god awful and taken my shirt off in the stands in sub-freezing weather. I have screamed at the television with my friends during games we knew we would not win. I will always be a Bears fan, that much is true. It is in my blood. I am a part of the 4th phase, and many people — shoutout Donald Trump — are saying that I am actually a leader of the 4th phase.
I am just not a fan of the Bears. I am not a fan of McCaskey, I hate Ted Phillips, I don’t like Ryan Pace, and I despise Matt Nagy. They are the Bears, and I am not a fan of them.
But you’re goddamn mistaken if you think I’m going to let them take my fandom from me.
It all came back up when I was walking out of the gym. (You heard that right. Gym. Tan. Laundry? No. Work for a living at my computer from 8-5. Gym. Bears cap sheets and late-night tweets about Bulls game.)
I saw a woman saunter in with her boyfriend. Any couple that works out at the gym together I already hate, because the guy is probably an overprotective ass hole who won’t let his girlfriend go to the gym by herself and wants her only looking at him flexing in the mirror after sets, among other reasons.
But the woman had a Packers sweatshirt on and a Chicago flag knit hat to go with it. What in God’s name is that bullshit?
We all know the Packers fan from Chicago. By the time they start explaining why they’re a Packers fan (one time my parents drove to Wisconsin and fell in love yada yada), you’re already asleep, but somehow even more angry at them.
You cannot wear a Chicago flag anywhere while simultaneously donning a Packers sweatshirt. I don’t care how shitty the Bears are or how much we hate everything ownership does with the team. You will not catch me wearing a Packers jersey for a day in my life.
Packers fans from Chicago sell themselves out immediately as non-SGCTC. They run at the first glimpse of adversity. I don’t really like people from Cleveland, but I appreciate Browns fans. They sucked more than anyone over the last few decades, but their fans remained loyal, pissed off, and miserable throughout — as one should.
I don’t care if the Germans have the most advanced military in the world and all we’ve got is bow and arrows. If you think I’m joining the other side because we didn’t bolster our army preparing for the Nazis to come to town, you’re sorely mistaken.
Packers fans from Chicago opt out of character building in life. They skip steps. If the Bears ever do win in my lifetime, it will feel one million times better than it will for someone who cheered for the Packers because they had Aaron Rodgers or Brett Favre.
It’s why this traitorous, disingenuous cornball will be banned from this newsletter for life. And it’s why he knows that a championship with the Lakers will never mean as much as even a Finals berth would have with the Pelicans.
Is this the person you want to be? Look at how disgusting that Lakers backdrop looks with those Packers colors. He should’ve just worn a Yankee hat to fill out the outfit.
I hate that girl who wore that dumb outfit before doing squats in front of her boyfriend while he holds her hips and she compliments his tricep definition as he flexes in the mirror. And I hate Anthony Davis.
And I hate Ted Phillips and Matt Nagy. But I’d rather be spitting at Nagy and Phillips from their corner than cheering from the opposite one.
The same goes for everything else Chicago. If you can’t handle the winter and want to be in California drinking lattes all year, I don’t want to see you on the lakefront once summer comes around. You put in the work and deal with the misery to eat the fruit that it bears later on.
Granted, it’s different this year. The snow never hits the same in Chicago after the holidays, but it really doesn’t hit the same when there’s no bars open. When the lifeblood of Chicago is shut down, the snow really does lose its luster.
When it lights up the night as you’re walking to the next bar past midnight, it reminds you why it’s actually a pretty cool thing. When you’re walking to Walgreens to get deodorant — and it’s the only time you’ve been outside all day — it kind of sucks. All you return home with then is deodorant and wet clothes, and not a buzz and a story to tell.
But, hey, maybe things are looking up. Cubs legend Fergie Jenkins got vaccinated this week. And my roommate — snake that he is — got vaccinated this week. Guy didn’t even think to bring me along.
Now I’m left as the only roommate without COVID-19 immunity in my apartment. And I kind of wish I had it, so I could get the stench out of my nose that is Chicago sports right now.
The Not-So-Lovable Losers
The Chicago Cubs have gone from the sole holder of the award for most competent franchise in Chicago, and one of the best organizations in the MLB, to a budget-trimming, bullshit organization like the rest of them.
I didn’t expect Jon Lester to be a Cub in 2021. But after he signed a 1 year, $5 million deal with Nationals, and reports around his free agency surfaced, I’ve become incensed that he will not be.
Both David Kaplan and Gordon Wittenmeyer have reported that Jon Lester desperately wanted to end his career with the Cubs. The Cubs were not willing to give him the $5 million — or less — that it would have taken.
The most important free agency signing in Chicago sports history will now likely go into the hall of fame with a Red Sox hat on, and not a Cubs hat, because of our management. The same management that has — again — turned Wrigleyville into their own Disney World and claimed they had plenty of money over the years to put back on the field.
They bamboozled us into paying extra for a Cubs television channel and then have penny-pinched ever since — while Marquee has offered nothing besides the actual Cubs games.
Lester didn’t make sense as a starter on a team that was still trying to win a World Series. But on one that was ridding themselves of one of the best pitchers in baseball for teenagers? There, he makes a lot of sense.
Especially because the Cubs are lacking surefire starting pitchers on their roster as of right now.
Why not bring Lester — who helped fans and local Chicago establishments this year by picking up all tabs for Miller Lite drinkers in the city over a weekend — back for a last hoorah in a non-competitive year?
It’s the least the Cubs could have done. I’ve said this time and time again about Chicago sports franchises. It’s not that the Cubs needed Lester for competitive reasons. It’s that it builds good will with former players, future players, and most importantly — the fans.
Bringing Jonny Lester back for one more year on a deal that would not even show up on the year-end expense report for the Ricketts is as no-brainer of a move as it gets.
If they’re not willing to do that, and they’re not willing to hold onto Yu Darvish — or even Kyle Schwarber — what are we doing here?
Get rid of Willson Contreras, who is one of the best catchers in the entire league. Get rid of Kris Bryant and Javy Baez. What’s it to them if this year is all about saving money?
Right now, the baseball plan is unclear. The only plan in place seems to be budget cuts.
Frankly, it’s all embarrassing. And the Ricketts should be ashamed of themselves.
How Jerry Reinsdorf has surpassed both the Ricketts and the McCaskeys on the Chicago owner rankings over the last year is beyond me.
Of the notable departures this offseason are Darvish, Schwarber, Lester, Caratini, Quintana, and Chatwood. Some of them make sense, and some of them don’t.
What really gets me is that I, a Cubs fan, believed that the Cubs would never truly be entering rebuilding mode again for a long time under new ownership. Now that there was money that would be spent year in and year out, I was dumb enough to assume the Cubs would be competing for the division for the foreseeable future — even after they missed the playoffs in 2019.
Changes need to be made, sure. But the Cubs have not put their hat in the ring on any major free agents. While teams like the Blue Jays, who had to play in an entire different city this year thanks to COVID-19, spend major money on guys like George Springer, the Cubs are crying poverty and ridding themselves of a winning roster.
The Cubs could still be somewhat competitive this year, who knows. All I know is that it won’t be on purpose.
I’m just sad Lester is gone. When he kicked off the 2015 season as Wrigley was being rebuilt (remember the bleachers were closed?), I had one of those awesome moments as a sports fan when I couldn’t get over the fact that this guy was actually on my team.
I had the same thing with Khalil Mack in the Green Bay opener three years later.
His tenure perfectly aligns with the rise and fall of the Cubs over the last six years. This stat is also insane — and shows how much of a model of consistency he was during his entire career.
When you sign a pitcher to a long-term deal on the wrong side of 30, you’re likely hoping for good years on the front end and then some tougher ones at the end. That’s what happened with Lester to some extent, but his performance with the Cubs throughout his contract was just about as good as it gets for a behemoth deal like that.
My favorite memory of him, strangely, came in a loss. His performance in that Wild Card game against the Rockies was unforgettable.
There’s nothing better than a guy that adds this much color and fire to a sport that people claim is boring.
We’ll miss you Jonny.
Lester is off to the Nationals, and Theo Epstein is off to a new path with the MLB as a consultant regarding on-field matters. I think this is the best possible landing spot for Theo right now, as some of the comments he’s made about baseball recently have been spot on.
Analytics have done a lot of good in sports — but they’ve undeniably made baseball less exciting. Right now, the game is walks, strike outs, and homers more than it ever has been.
In the end, the sport is still meant for entertainment — and Theo recognizes that. I wonder what input he’ll provide to the league office to help improve the game moving forward. But I have full confidence that it’ll pay dividends.
In other Cubs news, Jared Porter — the undisputed creepiest dude alive — has been fired by the New York Mets. He had held the role of GM until ESPN dropped a bombshell report this week that he had harassed a foreign reporter via texts.
At one point, he sent 62! straight texts to this woman with no answer. He also sent pictures of his “bulge” and also unsolicited pictures of his — as ESPN called it — “naked penis.” I think we would have gotten the idea without the adjective.
Anyhow, this is relevant because Porter actually worked in scouting for the Cubs when he began harassing this poor woman.
For now, however, it seems as if the Cubs had no idea. Let’s hope not.
White Sox Stand Pat
On the other side of town, White Sox GM Rick Hahn has said that if the team in place now is the team that they have in spring training, he’ll be okay with it. That became even more evident as top free agents were gobbled up this week by other teams.
Only a few remain, and it seems highly unlikely that the Sox will be big players in the Trevor Bauer market. Jose Quintana seemed more their speed, and he just signed with the Angels.
If they do stand pat, the Sox roster is good enough that they should be the clear favorites to come out of the AL Central.
Speaking of analytics, the Sox also recently hired a new analytics coordinator, Shelley Duncan. Duncan is a former player and is the first person to ever hold that job title for the White Sox.
The Sox have been branded as anti-analytics, or at least old school, in the past. That could be true, but Duncan does not believe so. I’m sure Ricky Renteria didn’t help either.
Duncan will not be the man crunching numbers. His role is quite interesting, actually. He essentially will be taking in all the information from the other analytical staffers and breaking it down for the players so they’re more digestible, and thus, useful.
Having the best analytics in the world won’t matter if you don’t have the coaches and players on board with the cause. Hiring someone like Duncan is promising because it provides a conduit between the players, coaches, and the numbers themselves.
The Bulls Are Here to Stay
Being excited for Bulls games is the best gift that 2021 has given me thus far and by far the best thing that’s happened in Chicago sports in recent months.
The Bulls now have six wins (6-8), and all of those wins have come in games in which they were underdogs. That is a statistical anomaly, but more so, it’s a testament to Billy Donovan and how much better this team has gotten in a weird season, over a short span of time.
(The Bulls are the best team against the spread as an underdog in the entire league this year at 10-3.)
Donovan is emerging as one of the two best coaches that the Bulls have had since Phil Jackson. It’s not saying much, but what does say a lot is that this team — with virtually the exact same roster — is so much easier to watch than they were last year.
I enjoy these players so much more than I used to. It’s about the Jimmys and Joes in the end, yes, but if you don’t think coaching matters in the NBA, you haven’t watched the Bulls progression.
Not only have the Bulls won a respectable amount of games, but they should have won a lot more. We’ve talked about the Warriors “loss,” a game that the NBA admitted the Bulls should have won due to reffing mishaps at the end of the game.
On Friday, the Bulls held a commanding lead during the entire game against the Thunder and then blew a 16-point advantage in the final minutes. It’s the kind of game that happens when you’re a team full of young players, but it’s also the type of game that happens when you have Zach LaVine.
LaVine has been better this year at facilitating and trying on the defensive end. Those have been two major steps for him. Offensively, he’s having a career year. His assist and rebounding numbers are up and he’s a top scorer in the league.
But my biggest gripe with LaVine over the years— by far — has been his end-of-game awareness. He has pissed away so many Bulls wins by playing hero ball at the finish.
Granted, he’s often one of the main reasons the game is close to begin with. But if he doesn’t stop taking awful shots and making terrible decisions in clutch situations, the Bulls will continue to lose close games at the finish.
He faltered in the Thunder game. He did the same in the Kings game two weeks back (another game the Bulls should have won). He did so against the Lakers and Clippers as well. It’s impressive enough that the Bulls are going down to the wire with the Western Conference’s two best teams — but it’s frustrating as all hell that their downfall has been a recurring problem that has hurt them ever since LaVine got traded to Chicago.
These games matter, especially for us fans who bet the over on the season win total (we’re on track, by the way.)
The problem with LaVine is that he’s likely not a no.1 option on a good or great team, but he thinks he is. And being a no.1 option, LaVine thinks, means that you have to take contested or ill-advised shots towards the end of close games.
That thinking needs to be fixed, and if it’s not, I still am on board for trading LaVine for a reasonably good package while his powers are at their highest. It may hurt the Bulls in the short-term, but in the long-term, it could be for the best.
LaVine is a good player, but don’t be fooled by the Instagram and Twitter posts from the people that don’t watch the games. They call me the BK King because I have a Burger King 15 feet from my apartment and visit that spot for Oreo shakes quite often. I call LaVine the BR (Bleacher Report) King. Neither are that flattering of nicknames.
Either way, Donovan has turned the Bulls into a respectable team in a matter of weeks.
The Bulls are 4th in the NBA in points per game. And frankly, that’s without a ton of talent. Last year, they were 27th.
The defense is bad right now — but is making strides. The Bulls win over the Mavericks on Sunday yielded one of the worst performances for Dallas on the season offensively, albeit with a few players missing.
Donovan’s scheme is different than Boylen’s, so it will take some getting used to. If the Bulls can continue on the path they are on offensively, and just get to the middle of the pack defensively, they will undoubtedly be a top-10 team in the Eastern Conference and subsequently in the play-in tournament at the end of the year.
They’ve also done this without a true point guard or facilitator. Tomas Satoransky has been out with COVID-19 and is about to return. Once he does, that will be another boost to the Bulls offense.
Chandler Hutchinson’s return should also give the Bulls a modest boost on the defensive end and another option off the bench.
The Bulls bench — and specifically the vets — have been fantastic. Thaddeus Young looks like the player he was brought in to be when the Bulls signed him last year. He’s been a fantastic facilitator and competitor off the Bulls bench. So has Garret Temple, who has ended up being a great signing by AK-47 (Arturas Karnisovas) this offseason.
I have enormous hopes for this team’s future. But what’s more exciting than that is we don’t have to wait to enjoy Bulls basketball down the road. The improvement is already here.
Spirits are so high at the United Center that Denzel Valentine did the Jordan Shrug after hitting a three Monday, bringing his point total to 8.
The Hornets are next up tomorrow — and the Bulls are probably going to be an underdog again. Just how we like it. Let’s go.
The Blackhawks are Bad
The Blackhawks got their first point against the Florida Panthers the other day. They still lost in OT.
Minus a Kane highlight, the Hawks have looked hopeless. Ideally they can turn it around like the Bulls did early on, but I doubt that’s coming. They don’t have a good goalie option and that seems to be important.
Simply put, they’re bad. And it’s sad.
Party Like It’s ‘85?
The Bears only had to wait a few days to get embarrassed again, despite being out of the playoffs. That play that the Bears ran, the one that ended in Javon Wims dropping the ball in the end zone?
Yeah, the Saints ran that play on Sunday… and scored a touchdown on it. Basically, all you have to do is take any good idea the Bears ever have and transfer it to a competent organization. Suddenly, it works.
Quick reminder:
The Bears have reportedly interviewed linebacker legend Mike Singletary for their defensive coordinator vacancy.
Now, I’m all in for Bears legends. But isn’t that kind of how we got here — holding onto the past? The Bears will probably be bad moving forward, so I wouldn’t hate the move, just because I’ve watched enough Singletary highlights in my day to be tricked into excitement.
But Singletary hasn’t exactly had a great coaching career. He was fired after less two seasons with the 49ers, where he was the head coach. There was good and bad there, but it seemed like once his HOO-RAH allure ran out, the team’s performance faltered.
I doubt Singletary would be bringing anything innovative to the table. He’s been past over for a lot of jobs in the league since his 49ers stint, which says something.
He most recently coached in The Spring League as a defensive coordinator, and before that, he led a high school team in Texas to a 1-22 record over a few years. The last time he was in the NFL, he was brought on by ‘85 Bears buddy Jeff Fisher as a defensive assistant for the 2016 Rams.
This seems like it’d be a very Bears move. In other words, a bad one. I wouldn’t hate bringing him in generally, but in that big of a position? I’m not sure.
But hey, if he’ll make Nagy piss his pants with some off-the-rails rant, I’m all for it.
Thanks for reading the newsletter again. And thanks for getting your friends to subscribe. Please keep doing so. It makes the work I put into this worth it. Enjoy your weekend and remember — no matter what — it’s STILL GOTTA COME THROUGH CHICAGO forever.
The Bears and Cubs are in the exact same spot and remarkably the Cubs are bigger idiots. The Bears are not owned by a historically wealthy family. Every clown in that family is collecting an income off of that team which is why there was never a chance Nagy or Pace were getting fired.
The Cubs on the other hand are owned by a family that is worth $5-6 Billion and they are going cheap on us.
Only think worth talking about is the Bulls. I am not a believer in the "it's about the Jimmy's and the Joe's" BS. That is a phrase started by coaches who could never crack the upper echelon. Bulls are a perfect example. Everyone said they had NO talent and now all of the sudden people are tweeting about Lavine and the rookie Williams. That is because they are playing with heart and getting better every day because they have a good coach.
I am enjoying the Bulls.
Lastly on the Jimmy's and the Joe's. I know everyone hates Jim Harbaugh but I love him. He is pure "on the edge of the spectrum" football. He took over a 5-7 Team. Took all of the talent that there and went 10-3 and went to a New Years Day Bowl. The only difference, coaching.
The end of the season presser was really something. I think we Chicago fans all pride ourselves as being loyal but these are the times that make it incredibly difficult. So many issues to address and McCaskey comes out and says “in order to have success in 2021 we have to have a good quarterback.” Thanks for that one Einstein. As much as I am a sucker for smash mouth football (solid defense with an effective run game) YOU CANT WIN IN THIS LEAGUE WITH THAT STYLE ANYMORE. Long are the days when you could say defense wins championships. Look at the QBs left Brady, Rodgers, Allen, Mahomes. These are not teams led by defense although they have some not bad defenses. The sooner the bears figure that out the sooner we can move forward. But now we are stuck in purgatory. I am not even in the mood to convince myself we will trade for deshaun watson. Why would this guy want to play for the bears. And if Allen Robinson isn’t on the bears next year, I will strongly consider opting out of the season. Their schedule is almost disrespectful. With this team they will have a large possibility of losing every single away game.
How bout those bulls??? You hit the nail on the head with describing the feeling when there’s a bulls game at night. Last time I was this invested in the team was with jimmy rondo and wade. I will still never forget the feeling when I was at lolla and the bulls just signed d wade and he was brought out on stage. We all went ballistic even though he was getting up there in age. This city just absolutely loves their bulls. I hope we get concerts again this summer. I digress. I have said it before but god damn I love Billy Donovan. Anyone who says coaching does not matter in the nba doesn’t understand basketball. The difference in this team from last year to this year is astronomical and they have a lot of the same guys. What has been most surprising to me is the bench/role players. I did not know Thadd young could have the impact he does. Garret temple is a lights out shooter right now with some big time shots for us in crunch time. Otto has even been a consistent option on the offensive end. Lauri has been looking better and better and I’ve even flipped the switch on Wendell. Onto Lavine, I know where you stand with him and I completely understand. But you really have to ask yourself where they are without him. He is the clear leader of this team and you can see that the guys on the team know that. Yes he can force some I’ll advised shots where we should look for a better option but you cannot deny he hasn’t been hitting some of those shots. I agree he is only going to take us so far but we need someone on the team being the go to guy. He has been a much better facilitator this year and getting other guys involved. He only took 8 shots against the mavs. The last 4 minutes of that Thunder game reminded me of the bulls from previous years. Awful turnovers no defense and bad decision making down the stretch in a game they should have won. How about Denzel running directly into lavine while he attempted the game tying shot. I mentioned on a previous post that Denzel was a guy who when in college I thought was going to be a star but never panned out. I do not know why he keeps getting this much playing time or why he’s on the court in crunchtime. Might’ve been because guys were out with covid but he can’t be on the court at that time. When you posted this bulls schedule for the month of January I was terrified. Now I think every game is winnable. Onto Charlotte, SEE RED