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Despite Zach LaVine’s Desire To Play Again This Year, He Should Sit

By
Matthew Milakovich
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zach lavine

Well, folks, the 2017-18 season is now coming to an end, and it seems the season’s end for Zach LaVine may be even sooner.

Speaking to the media today ahead of the Bulls upcoming matchup Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets, LaVine spoke on his latest two-game absence and hinted at the possibility that he may miss twelve more.

LaVine, who practiced in at least the non-contact portions Tuesday, seems to be lobbying to play at least one more game, however, how that benefits the team, or him for the matter, is anyone’s guess.

“I think it might be collective,” LaVine said, “I hope it is at least.”

That’s because regardless of the Bulls not so hush hush tanking aspirations and a seemingly lost season, LaVine still wants to play.

“If he feels good, we want him back,” Hoiberg said. “If there is any concern at all, we’ll take the cautious approach and continue with the plan as it is.”

In addition, Hoiberg declared Kris Dunn out, and Dunn wore a walking boot to protect turf toe in his right big toe. He did not participate in practice.

It appears Dunn, the other key trade piece received by the Bulls for Jimmy Butler, will also be sitting out the rest of the 2017-18 season in order to protect the future of a team in the midst of a promising rebuild.

In a season filled with plenty of ups and downs, let’s face it– there were mostly downs with the possibility of plenty of “ups” in the coming years with a two-time slam dunk champion leading the way. But getting down to brass tax we should all call a spade a spade. This team is and needs to tank. LaVine should save his legs for next year and focus on the future as the Bulls continue to drop to the depths of the NBA cellar.

Zach LaVine 2017-18 In A Nutshell

LaVine has averaged 16.7 points in 27.3 minutes on 38.3 percent shooting over 24 games.

“I’ve had parts where I’ve been frustrated and I’ve had parts where I’ve been happy with my play and the team’s play,” LaVine said. “I didn’t have any expectations really coming into it. I was excited to get back on the court. It’s been good overall just from the standpoint of playing and getting my rhythm back, getting with the team.”

Hoiberg obviously acknowledged LaVine’s inconsistency since returning from a torn ACL suffered during the 2016-17 campaign, while also praising the spark LaVine provided an often times lost and overwhelmed young Bulls squad.

“He has shown a lot to us as far as on the practice floor,” Hoiberg said. “There have been some ups and downs in the games. I don’t think there’s any denying that. But you have to see the overall package with the athleticism and the ability to shoot with range.

“I know he’s looking forward to a summer to hopefully get that rhythm back. And we are as well.”

Could Kris Dunn’s Season Be Over?

By
Patrick Mooney
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The Bulls point guard of the future suffered a toe injury the other night during the Bulls’ win in Memphis, forcing him to miss the team’s St. Patrick’s Day contest as well as last night’s wonderfully wretched tank loss in New York.

Dunn’s sprained toe seemed to be a day-to-day situation, but according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Tribune, the sprained toe is more than just a made up #tankseason injury.

The Bulls have just 12 games remaining this season, and if Dunn is in a walking boot he’s at least a week away from game action, probably closer to 10 days. The Bulls play 6 games in the next 10 days.

The Bulls are sitting at 24-46, which is the 8th worst record in the league. That’s 1.5 games ahead of the Nets, who the Bulls play twice in the final six games. Keep in mind the Nets don’t have their 1st round pick, so they don’t have an incentive to intentionally lose. The Mavericks and Kings are only two games behind the Bulls.

With seven games left against playoff teams, two more against a bad but still superior Detroit team, two against Brooklyn and one against the tanking Magic, The Bulls could still sink into the bottom 5.

From the Bulls perspective, what is the upside of bringing back Kris Dunn?

Cons:

  • He injures his toe even worse and pushes back his offseason program as a result.
  • He leads the Bulls to an extra win or two, keeping them 8th worst in the standings instead of 5th or 6th.
  • He comes back and plays poorly over the final few games, adding unnecessary fuel to the Dunn and Lavine don’t fit together fire.

Pros:

  • N/A

Kris Dunn’s season was, overall, undoubtedly a success given the struggles he had under Tom Thibedeau in his rookie season. There is still plenty of room for growth, but the stretch run of this season is not the time to push him.

White Sox Unveil Flashy Uniform Combinations For 2018

By
Emmet McClain
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With the 2018 season just NINE DAYS AWAY, teams across the MLB have been sharing some special uniform combinations for important dates this summer. Among those dates are July 4th, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day weekend, and April 15th-the day baseball honors Jackie Robinson.

The White Sox released their versions of these uniforms yesterday, and I must say they really went all out this year.

 

 

 

Part of baseball tradition is for teams to have some fun and wear alternate uniforms like these throughout the season. When the White Sox don these special uniform variants, it is sure to bring an extra spark to the ballpark.

 

The Cubs 2018 Holiday Uniforms Are Bringing Serious Heat

By
Gus
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The Cubs unveiled their 2018 holiday uniform collection yesterday and as always, they are ridiculously awesome. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll never get sick of seeing the team’s good ol’ pinstripes but there’s something about a limited edition uniform that just does it for me.

The five-part collection includes special jerseys the team will wear on Jackie Robinson Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day weekend and Independence Day weekend. The best part about this collection is that the MLB will donate its licensed uniform royalties to charitable initiatives for each of the holiday games.

Since the MLB began this cool tradition, I’ve always been biased to the Fourth of July uniforms that the Cubs wear because who WOULDN’T want to see the stars and stripes incorporated into your favorite team’s uniform?! Although seeing the Cubs incorporate pink into their traditional red and blue uniforms is a pretty cool thing as well and let’s face it, moms are pretty much the best people on Earth.

The jerseys will be available soon on MLBshop.com.

Allen Robinson Is Aggressively Recruiting Ex-Teammate To Chicago

By
Erik Lambert
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allen hurns

One thing Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace has proven good at is scoring big in “late” free agency. That is to say, following the initial wave a couple weeks down the line. This is when surprises tend to happen, most notably regarding veteran talent being released late. In 2016 they pulled it off with guard Josh Sitton, signing him to a deal after Green Bay cut him. He ended up going to a Pro Bowl. Now the Bears may be in a position to do it again, this time with Allen Hurns.

The wide receiver is the latest to be cut loose by the Jacksonville Jaguars just two years removed from going over 1,000 yards in 2015. It’s like the Jags’ transition to a more run-oriented offense didn’t see him as much of a fit. Combined with a somewhat bloated contract and injury issues, his release felt like it was inevitable.

The question moving forward is where will Hurns land? He’s almost certain to garner lots of attention, but are the Bears one of the teams that could make a play for him? He’s still just 26-years old. At least one member of the team thinks this is something GM Ryan Pace has to consider.

Allen Robinson wastes no time recruiting Allen Hurns to Chicago

Anybody who may not know already should keep in mind that new Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson is buddies with Hurns. They forged a strong friendship coming up in the Jaguars system and did serious damage in 2015. Ever since leaving Jacksonville Robinson made it clear he’d love a chance to reunite. Upon hearing the news of Hurns’ release, he got aggressive on Twitter, though he later deleted it.

This is an interesting situation for the Bears. Hurns is a talented receiver, no question. The issue at hand is do they really need to make a play for him. After signing Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, along with the return of Cameron Meredith they seem relatively set at the position. Then again there’s no such thing as too many weapons for a young quarterback. A foursome of Robinson, Hurns, Gabriel, and Meredith could be potentially devastating.

It comes down to whether Pace is willing to spend more money at that position. Other teams are almost certain to be interested. I was told the Baltimore Ravens are already planning an aggressive pitch to him, but the Bears may have the inside track given they employ Hurns’ buddy already.

Latest Updates Prove Ryan Pace Is a Black Belt With the Salary Cap

By
Erik Lambert
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ryan pace

To be fair, Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace had loads of money to spend in 2018 at over $60 million. Then again he’s the one responsible for such a robust total right? His hard work to clear bloated contracts off the books since 2015 set the team up for this spending spree that has the entire football community in Chicago buzzing. Some people are concerned he may have overdone it, but evaluations say otherwise.

Pace has said in the past that he’d prefer to avoid spending too much in free agency. It can be a losing proposition to rely too much on that avenue of talent acquisition. He wants to build the Bears through the draft. It’s not a bad philosophy. The problem is a GM doesn’t have near the time to build his team as predecessors did 20-30 years ago. Most don’t get much longer than three years.

Pace is entering his fourth with the previous three all being losing seasons. Thus far the Bears ownership has stayed patient, but that won’t last. He had to start making a greater effort to win football games. It begins with putting all that money he’s guarded so carefully to good use. Early results show he does indeed know how to spend, but not without his usual sense of long-term responsibility.

Pace made a flurry of quality signings without breaking the bank

The greatest challenge of free agency is finding a way to be active and gaining quality talent without ruining the chances of doing more of the same down the road. Pace hasn’t always hit on some of his signings but he at least keeps that vital key in mind. This time around, at least on paper, it looks like he absolutely nailed it. We’ll start with the big fish.

Allen Robinson is highest cap hit but 86th highest in NFL

As of now, the two biggest contracts the Bears handed out this year were to cornerback Kyle Fuller and wide receiver Allen Robinson. Each will make an average of $14 million per years, making them the eighth and ninth highest salaries signed in 2018 free agency. That may sound like a lot but this is where Pace’s creativity comes in.

Thanks to some shrewd negotiating the highest cap hit on the Bears roster this year is Robinson with $11.062 million. That may sound like a lot until you realize it’s currently the 86th highest cap hit among all teams this season. Nobody else on the payroll is even close with Akiem Hicks commanding $9 million. As for Fuller, thanks to the deal he accepted from Green Bay, his deal was backloaded so his cap hit this year was only $6.5 million.

No other free agent cap hit goes higher than $7.5 million

After that, things pretty much settle down. The next closest free agent on the payroll is the retained Prince Amukamara who hauled in $9 million per year on a three-year deal. His cap hit sits at a tolerable $7.5 million this season. According to overthecap.com, the Bears team cap space sits somewhere in the vicinity of $32.81 million. It should be noted that the deal for wide receiver Taylor Gabriel, valued at $6.5 million per year, has not been released yet.

Still, for the Bears to sign or bring back 12 free agents thus far and still sit well above $20 million in salary cap space? That’s a tremendous job. The upcoming draft class will likely not cost any more than $5 million dollars for this season. In other words, the Bears have just enough room to make one more big move if they wished. This isn’t even noting that the contract for linebacker Jerrell Freeman remains on the books. When that finally goes, it will net them another $3.46 million.

There is still a lot of talent on the open market. If Pace is feeling lucky, he might throw caution to the wind and strike one more time. Either way, no one can say he didn’t do his job this year trying to make the Bears a better football team.

A Somewhat Surprising Development From Cubs Spring Training

By
Aldo Soto
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Joe Maddon
www.classicalite.com

The Chicago Cubs might have a surprising name on their 25-man roster to start the regular season.

According to Carrie Muskat, the team is debating whether to have eight pitchers in the bullpen, or an extra bat off the bench. If they opt for the extra position player, the last spot on the roster could go to the veteran backup outfielder Peter Bourjos.

Just as a quick recap of what the Opening Day roster will look like, here are the locks for the 25-man roster.

Catcher

Willson Contreras – backup catcher

Infield

Anthony Rizzo – Javier Baez – Ben Zobrist – Addison Russell – Kris Bryant – Tommy La Stella

Outfield

Jason Heyward – Ian Happ, Albert Almora Jr. – Kyle Schwarber

Starting rotation

Jon Lester – Kyle Hendricks – Yu Darvish – Jose Quintana – Tyler Chatwood

Bullpen

Mike Montgomery – Brian Duensing – Justin Wilson – Pedro Strop – Steve Cishek – Carl Edwards Jr. – Brandon Morrow

Joe Maddon has already said he doesn’t like young players being wasted on the bench and for that reason I think Chris Gimenez will break camp as the backup catcher.

Pedro Strop is obviously a lock for the bullpen, but that may depend on if he’s ready to go in 10 days. Strop was held back this spring training because of a calf issue, but he finally faced live hitting on Monday in Mesa.

Strop is hoping to be good to go and is scheduled to pitch in a Cactus League game later this week.

However, the reason the Cubs may be thinking about seven instead of eight relievers might just be in case Strop isn’t ready for Opening Day. So, whoever you thought was replacing Justin Grimm could end up being the man replacing Strop to begin the year.

There’s Eddie Butler, who doesn’t have any options left, Randy Rosario, Anthony Bass and Justin Hancock, as possible options for the final reliever spot.

Now, although it’s being discussed I just don’t see Maddon going away from having another bullpen arm. It’s what the Cubs have done for the last few years under Maddon and with players like Happ, Bryant, Baez and Zobrist, is there really a need to have another position player instead of another arm? Especially early in the season, when pitchers may not go deeper in games and the bullpen could be used to get through more innings.

But again, the Cubs could have their hand forced if Strop isn’t deemed ready enough to start the season in the bullpen, as he’s barely started to face live hitters this week. Or who knows, maybe Strop goes on the DL and the Cubs choose two of the four relievers mentioned above.

As for the extra position player, Bourjos can give Maddon yet another outfielder and pinch running option, but if you go off spring training numbers, and we all know those are extremely reliable to base your judgement off of, Ryan Court deserves some love. Court has a slash line of .395/.477/.789, with four home runs in 38 at bats in spring training.

So, although almost every roster spot is locked up, with a little more than a week left before Opening Day, there’s still some intrigue left from the Cubs down in spring training.

New Bears Kicker Plans to Shamelessly Copy Former Great

By
Erik Lambert
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Kicking in Chicago is hard. People talk about guys like Morton Anderson but can they be called legitimate kickers since they did the bulk of their damage in perfect conditions, mostly inside a dome. There is no such luxury in this town. The temperature fluctuates, the field can be slippery and the wind is utterly impossible to predict coming off that lake. New Bears kicker Cody Parkey seems to have a keen understanding of this.

Then again he should. He’s used to kicking outdoors and in adverse weather conditions. The first part of his NFL career was spent in Philadelphia with those wet falls and snowy winters. Then he headed off to Miami in the heat and the unpredictable rains of hurricane season. Suffice to say the challenge of Chicago was one that didn’t phase him like it might other kickers.

He also has a bit of inspiration. Parkey knows the Bears are a team built around history, and few kickers made more history in this town than Robbie Gould. All the validation people need of that was seeing how many fans were cheering for him to making the winning kick last season against the Bears for San Francisco.

Gould set the standard, and Parkey plans to follow his example.

New Bears kick Cody Parkey also hopes to be “Good as Gould”

“He was an incredible kicker here,” Parkey said last week after signing a four-year, $15 million deal with $9 million in guarantees. “It shows you that it’s clearly possible to be a great kicker here. I’m up for the challenge, and I’m up to go out there and do my best.”

Parkey comes in with some accomplishments of his own. He was a Pro Bowler during his rookie season in 2014. Last year he went an impressive 21-of-23 for the Miami Dolphins. He can kick for accuracy and is reasonable from a distance. This has a chance to become a huge signing for the Bears provided he’s able to stay healthy.

Replacing somebody like Gould was always going to be a challenge for the Bears. Some argue cutting him in the first place was a mistake. Either way, this team needs consistency from the kicker if they’re going to start putting up more points. Parkey is the latest and probably most qualified name they’ve signed. The fact he’s acknowledging Gould for the great he was is a good sign he knows the expectations.

Mitch Trubisky Predicted to Make Carson Wentz-like Jump

By
Erik Lambert
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mitch trubisky

The Chicago Bears had one goal above all others in mind when the 2018 off-season began. That’s do anything and everything in their power to surround Mitch Trubisky with the most quarterback-friendly system they possibly can. GM Ryan Pace made it clear a year ago when he traded up for him in the draft that he was aiming to change the culture at that position.

After all, Chicago has often been the forgotten swampy marshlands of quarterback play for decades. When Jim McMahon, who never had 3,000 yards passing or started a full season as a pro is the best you produced in the Super Bowl era, that’s a problem. Perhaps the biggest failure for them though was failing to put a stable system around Jay Cutler.

First, it was constantly replacing offensive coordinators and then it was head coaches and GMs. He may not have been a superstar but it’s fair to argue Cutler might’ve done better had they actually been able to execute a plan to build around him. That’s a mistake that Pace aims to avoid, and people around the league are taking notice of his hard work.

Top expert sees Mitch Trubisky poised for huge 2018 breakout

The two big surprises of 2017 were the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles. L.A. went 10-6, making the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and were led by Jared Goff. The Eagles exploded to a 13-3 season and won their first-ever Super Bowl, most of the heavy lifting done by their QB, Carson Wentz. Both signal callers had Pro Bowl years, a huge turnaround from their rookie seasons.

A big reason for such success was the hard work both teams put in that off-season to surround them with the right coaching and talented personnel. Bucky Brooks of NFL.com explains how Pace has basically copied their entire blueprint.

“If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Les Snead and Howie Roseman should feel the love from Ryan Pace.

Snead and Roseman respectively surrounded Jared Goff and Carson Wentz with stellar supporting casts that elevated their play, leading to Pro Bowl nods for both sophomore QBs and great team success for both organizations…

…Look at how much Goff and Wentz improved when their respective teams built entire offenses around their games. From scheme to personnel, every major move made by the Rams and Eagles during the 2017 offseason was done with the elevation of the quarterback in mind…”

Pace struck early on the coaching circuit.

He wanted a younger coach who understood top-of-the-line offensive scheming. John Fox was old and steeped in defensive tradition. It’s why he never successfully developed a young QB. Pace believed Matt Nagy, the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, and a former quarterback himself, wouldn’t have that problem.

“…From a coaching and schematic standpoint, the general manager hired an offensive-minded head coach adept at working with quarterbacks. Matt Nagy’s background as a quarterback coach, particularly with a spread disciple in Alex Smith, will serve him well tutoring a quarterback who directed a version of the spread at North Carolina…”

The biggest part of the overhaul came with personnel

Chicago had the 32nd ranked passing attack in 2017. It marks the fifth time since 2000 that the Bears have finished a season 29th or worse in the league. That should give an indication of how bad their wide receiver and tight end situations have been most of the time. In the space of a week though, Brooks believes that has drastically changed.

“…(Allen) Robinson is one of only 12 receivers with 2,000-plus receiving yards and 20-plus touchdowns over the past three seasons — and that’s despite the fact that he missed nearly the entire 2017 campaign due to a torn ACL…

…Taylor Gabriel was signed to four-year, $26 million deal to give the offense an explosive vertical threat…

…The Bears added Trey Burton as a “flex” tight end to complement Adam Shaheen. The fifth-year pro is a versatile playmaker with the size and speed to create mismatches in space…”

“…I can’t close the book on the Bears’ remarkable makeover without pointing out the most underrated acquisition of all: Chase Daniel. The veteran backup quarterback shouldn’t play a big role on the field, but his mentorship of the Bears’ QB1 is absolutely critical. After spending several years watching Drew Brees and Alex Smith prepare for games as starters, Daniel can share that knowledge and insight with the 23-year-old starter to help him take his game to the next level…”

Throw all this in with the reports that Trubisky is working like a madman both in the weight and film rooms? Everything is shaping up for him to take a giant leap this coming year. Bears fans have waited for something like this for ages. Here’s hoping their wish finally comes true.

A Cubs Victory Capped My LONG Weekend In Las Vegas

By
Gus
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I made the trip to Las Vegas for the second year in a row to cover the Cubs as part of MLB’s 28th annual Big League Weekend. If you ask anyone that knows me, I’ll find ANY excuse to go to Vegas, so when I realized the Cubs played a Spring Training game there each year, it was a no-brainer to take the trip.

However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say this year’s trip had me a tad bit concerned for the following reasons:

  • The game would be played on St. Patrick’s Day which historically erases people’s concept of the proper amount of alcohol they should be consuming.
  • March Madness is in full swing and I may or may not enjoy a casino to watch the aforementioned event every now and then.
  • My trip included some of my friends who refuse to get back home before 3:00 AM every night.

So when you factor in all of the above, this trip to Vegas had the potential to be really good or really, and I mean, REALLY bad. Hell, I was just trying to survive and get back to Chicago in one piece.

I’m happy to report — I survived.

My friends and I got our day started around 9:00 AM Saturday morning with a little St. Patrick’s Day celebration at an Irish bar called Hennessey’s and just as I suspected, people were already hammered.

Hennessey’s is located on the world famous Fremont street which if you’re unaware, is pretty much a mile long strip of bars with the following: a bunch of people who look like they just consumed a fifth of Malort, live music, street magicians making shit disappear, a good amount of homeless people who have full blown conversations with themselves, and just some really odd-looking individuals. Add to that, people were out celebrating St. Patrick’s day so Fremont street was a complete shit show to say the least.

My buddies and I had a few breakfast beers at Hennessey’s and then decided to head over to another spot around 10:00 AM to grab a bite to eat before we got into the stadium. On our walk, I noticed this dude in front of us who clearly had a little too much fun celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. We watched this grown man pinball down the sidewalk much to the dismay of his girlfriend and buddy.

Mind you, this is at 10:00 AM.

I’m also not quite sure why this grown ass man has on a romper but I’ll just leave that alone. After bypassing another grown man on all fours dry-heaving, we walked over from Fremont to Cashman Field to watch the game.

I picked up my credential from the media gate and immediately went on to the field to watch the team go through their pre-game stretch routine. One person immediately caught my eye — Cubs strength coach, Tim Buss. Buss has a history of dressing in some very creative attire to keep the mood light and yesterday was no exception.

Cubs fans arrived right at 2:00 PM when the gates opened and slowly filled Cashman to capacity. The game was a sellout, which made it 22 sellouts over the last 14 years for the Cubs in Las Vegas.

At first pitch, the temperature was around 60 degrees, which to Vegas people probably feels like 20 below. Lucky for me, I got to sit in the temperature-controlled media section and enjoy free cookies and eight dollar beers.

The Cubs started Jose Quintana who absolutely dominated the Cleveland Indians. The lefty went six innings striking out eight Cleveland batters while not surrendering a run in Chicago’s 11-4 win. Offensively, the Cubs lit up Cleveland starter Ryan Merritt who only lasted three innings because he couldn’t keep the ball in the park. The Cubs blasted three home runs off Merritt, highlighted by this Addison Russell shot.

After the game, we enjoyed the the rest of the night by watching March Madness at a casino that shall remain nameless. We somehow managed to make it back home before sunrise but unfortunately I can’t share the remaining details because I refuse to break the unwritten rule of “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

The Cubs looked sharp this weekend as they prepare for their 2018 season opener March 29th in Miami. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’ve always heard Miami is a nice place to travel to cover some baseball.

 

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