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Jake Arrieta Says He Can Go Toe-To-Toe With Any MLB Player In A Fight

By
Aldo Soto
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Let me make one thing clear, I don’t want to see Jake Arrieta fight anyone as long as he’s with the Chicago Cubs. He could get hurt, other players could get hurt and the Cubs need Arrieta to be good and not hurt and or suspended to be good this season. That being said, there are certainly a few players that I’d like to see Arrieta go toe-to-toe with in a fight. I only started to think about possible opponents in a fight for Arrieta after his comments about the Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland brawl from Monday.

Arrieta was on the Bernstein and Goff Show on 670 The Score on Tuesday and really to no one’s surprise he loved seeing the brawl between the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants after Harper charged the mound.

The discussion continued and the Cubs pitcher said he would definitely fight a player if he charged the mound. Not only that, but there was a lot of talk about Buster Posey not getting involved after Harper went after Strickland, but Arrieta also said he wouldn’t want Willson Contreras or Miguel Montero to get involved either at least for the first 10-15 seconds.

Jake Arrieta wants to kick someone’s ass if he gets charged.

And you know what? If it’s a 1-on-1 fight as these incidents never really are, but if it was and Arrieta does get into a fight I want it to be against Ryan Braun.

There’s no one else in the NL Central more annoying than Braun. He’s a Cubs killer, especially at Wrigley Field, he has a punchable face and he just has this smug aura about himself. Arrieta vs. Braun. Let’s go. Gotta see it.

Again, I don’t want it to happen, but if we ever get to see Arrieta in a fight that’s number one on my list. Another opponent? Sean Rodriguez.

You know what? I want Arrieta toe-to-toe against every single member of the 2015 Pittsburgh Pirates. Just go through them one by one.

Say what you will about hating the St. Louis Cardinals, but those 2015 Pirates were more hated. However, speaking of the Cardinals, yes I want to see Arrieta vs. Yadier Molina.

And just for fun, to see if Arrieta can really go toe-to-toe against anyone in MLB, how about him against 6-foot-7, Aaron Judge.

Bears Fans Can Buy Jay Cutler & Kristin Cavallari’s Lake Forest Mansion

By
Matt Peck
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bears fans buy jay cutler kristin cavallari lake forest mansion

Good news, Bears fans. Jay Cutler & Kristin Cavallari’s Lake Forest mansion is now on the market. If you’ve got a cool $4.75 million, the 11,000 square-foot home on 1.5 lakefront acres could be yours!

The Cutlers bought the house in 2014 for $4.25 million. The three floors feature 8.5 baths, 7 bedrooms, a wine cellar, a Bulls-themed basketball court and home theater. There’s also a private beach entrance to Lake Michigan from the backyard.

Cutler’s career with the Bears ended earlier this year when the team released him from his contract. At age 34, the gunslinger hung up his cleats in exchange for a microphone. Jay will begin his post-playing life as an NFL color commentator for Fox Sports. In fact, his first broadcast will be the third preseason Bears game on August 27th.

Cutler and wife Kristin, who now designs her own line of fashion accessories, recently moved their family to Nashville, Tennessee. Jay excelled as Vanderbuilt’s quarterback in his college years and he is still very popular in the area. That, along with the desire to enjoy family life in peace, are supposedly the reasons for the move.

As for Bears fans, well they weren’t always that welcoming to Cutler. He took large portions of blame for the team’s failures over the eight seasons he spent in navy and orange. Jay deserved some of it, sure. But not as much as he took from Bears fans who were missing the forest for the trees.

Whether you were a Cutler hater or Cutler defender, his old mansion could be yours. Haters with money to burn (pun intended) might revel in the opportunity to torch the place, exorcising the demons of a quarterback they feel wronged them personally in some unforgivable way. (Note: we’re not recommending that any of our readers commit arson. We just know how deeply Bears fans care.) Cutler defenders might want to buy the place and turn one of the many rooms into a Cutler shrine; maybe watch tapes from his greatest performances in the comfy in-home theater.

Here are a few photos of the Cutler/Cavallari mansion:

To see more photos of Cutler’s Lake Forest mansion, click here.

Bitching About The 2017 MLB All-Star Voting Is Stupid

By
Aldo Soto
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Quick question, does anyone actually care about All-Star Games? Were you on the edge of your seat during the riveting 20-13 AFC win in the Pro Bowl? No, no you weren’t. You don’t remember who the MVP for the 2016 MLB All-Star Game was either. I get it, in previous years, especially if the team you root for was projected to be in the playoffs, you don’t want bums out there costing your team home field advantage in the World Series.

Guess what, that shit doesn’t matter anymore. Maybe you forgot, or just didn’t know, but the All-Star Game no longer determines home field for the World Series.

Here’s the thing, of course when you have fans voting for All-Star Game rosters it’s going to end up being a popularity contest. It’s like the people who complained about David Ross being in the finals of Dancing With The Stars. No shit, he wasn’t a good dancer, but that’s what you get when you factor in voting from obviously bias people. Same thing for ASG voting.

Oh, the Chicago Cubs have a whole bunch of players being voted into the All-Star Game even though they’re not deserving? No fucking shit. The team just won the World Series and has been plastered all over the country after already being one of the most popular teams in not just MLB but American sports. Of course fans are voting in Cubs players who haven’t been good. Have you ever seen previous All-Star teams? It always happens, but again, who gives a shit.

You’re going to be mad because you don’t get to see your favorite player who’s better than someone else play in the All-Star Game? You have 162 games to watch him. You’re mad because player A doesn’t get to face player B? Guess what, American League teams play National League teams all the time now.

As a fan, you don’t need an All-Star Game selection to justify a player you like as being good. You have all the numbers and stats imaginable at your fingertips to know who’s bad and who’s good. All-Star Games are just popularity contests. And now, it’s back to what it should have stayed as, a meaningless exhibition game that gives players four days off from games that matter.

But we’re going to see it every time the voting results come out. Fans will complain and it’ll be stupid. A complete waste of breath. The Cubs have three guys leading the fan vote for their position in Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Jason Heyward.

Is it hilarious that Kyle Schwarber is only about 41,000 votes away from Heyward for the third starting outfielder spot? Yes, yes it is. Who cares. It’s a meaningless All-Star Game. You weren’t going to watch anyway.

Victor Cruz Already Impressed By One of His New Teammates

By
Erik Lambert
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victor cruz bears

Critics are skeptical of just how productive the Victor Cruz Bears marriage is going to be. There’s no question the 30-year old wide receiver comes in with a huge chip on his shoulder. He played his first full season since 2013 last year. To him it felt like he was regaining his old mojo. However the New York Giants didn’t commit to getting him the ball more often. This despite being fairly productive through the first half of the year.

He even went so far as to strongly hint the team intentionally froze him out of the offense. That’s impossible to prove. What is clear is he came to Chicago with two goals in mind. One was to show everybody he could still play and to help the Bears win. He that perfectly clear during his first meeting with the press at OTA practices.

His expectations are for the team to use him primarily in the slot, where he feels most comfortable. That would mean he fills the role vacated by the often-injured Eddie Royal. That means in order for him to be effective, he’ll need the guys on the outside to produce. Cruz didn’t waste time showering some early praise on one of his new receiving mates in particular.

First Victor Cruz Bears impression involved Cameron Meredith shout out

It’s no secret that Cruz would gravitate to Cameron Meredith. They share so much in common right off the bat. Both are receivers and both are former undrafted free agents. They had to take the hard way into the NFL in order to make a name for themselves. Meredith is still in the process of doing that. After just one practice Cruz came away impressed with the 24-year old.

The buzz on Meredith has increased steadily since the end of last season. To the shock of many he had 66 catches for 888 yards and four touchdowns in 2016. This despite having to work with three different quarterbacks. He’s continued to work without pause all offseason to improve his game. Thus far he has stuck out in every practice in a positive manner. That’s welcome news given the many questions surrounding the receiving corps.

Alshon Jeffery is gone. Kevin White is an unknown due to his injury issues. Incredible as it sounds, Meredith is the most reliable receiver they have at the moment. If he could take the next step into legitimate #1 target status, that would be a huge boon for the entire offense. Never mind the possibility of Cruz regaining some of his old form.

Lot of ifs in that equation, but it is still an exciting development either way.

White Sox Fans Create Hilarious Petition To Wear Throwback Jerseys Chris Sale Cut Up Last Season

By
Sean Sears
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Chris Sale is arguable one of the most talented pitchers to ever play on the South-Side, but while he is widely known for his excellent fastball and breaking pitches, he became infamous in Chicago sports history on June 23rd of 2016.

Sale, who was reportedly frustrated with the clubs lack of direction, decided he did not want he or his club wearing the 1976 throwback jerseys. So he went into the team locker room and slashed and tore the uniforms with a pair of scissors.

Just a quick refresher.

Well, it seems that a group of White Sox fans are trying to get their White Sox to wear those same throwback uni’s today against Chris Sale and the Red Sox. The petition, started originally by the White Sox Twitter account Sox On 35th, has already received close to 500 signatures. While no word from the White Sox on what uniforms they are expected to wear, but I think it’s safe to assume it won’t be anything from 1976.

Expect a fun, emotional, game at Guaranteed Rate Park as the former ace in Sale, and current ace in Jose Quintana battle tonight…and hopefully everyone’s uniforms stay intact.

Here’s Proof Cre’Von LeBlanc Is Ready To Breakout Next Season

By
Erik Lambert
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chicago bears

It’s clearer than ever that GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox are banking on the continued development of their roster. The lack of heavy spending in free agency proved that much. Along with their primary focus around finding a quarterback in the draft. No doubt they hope certain young players start developing into front line starters. Of course Leonard Floyd, Jordan Howard and Cody Whitehair being the big names. So here’s a question. Why aren’t people believing more in a Cre’Von LeBlanc breakout?

Remember him? A plucky, undersized rookie corner the Bears discovered during joint practice with the New England Patriots. They grabbed him off waivers after he was cut and he quickly became a starter for them in the secondary. It wasn’t planned. Injuries played a part in it. However, so did his own play. LeBlanc was far from perfect but he played at a level unaccustomed to undrafted free agents his size.

It was a potential signal that he could be an overlooked piece of the puzzle that the Bears are building on defense.

Cre’Von LeBlanc breakout hype should be real

Keep in mind the young corner is only 22-years old. He’s still pretty young by NFL standards and came to the pros via Florida Atlantic university. That’s a significant jump in competition level and play speed. That he was able to make 44 tackles, deflect 10 passes and intercept two others in 13 games is fairly impressive under those circumstances. To say nothing of the fact he wasn’t added to the Bears roster until September of last year, right before the regular season started.

Who knows what might happen when he’s given a full offseason of preparation. Pro Football Focus is among those who believe big things. They were quite taken with his performance in 2016, rating him highly among his peers. Particularly rookies.

“LeBlanc also produced as a pass-rusher in limited usage. On 15 pass-rushing snaps, he produced seven total pressures, which led all corners in pass-rushing productivity. His success wasn’t just limited to the slot, as LeBlanc’s passer rating against of 82.7 was 32nd out of 119 eligible cornerbacks, and second among rookie corners.”

It’s rather amazing that people criticized him for playing poorly given the situation he was dropped into. With proper context he performed far above the level he should’ve as a 5’10” rookie cornerback. Given him time to work and more help on defense with new arrivals like Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper? There’s no telling how much more effective he can be and will be.

It’s another reminder that sometimes roster holes can get filled naturally by young players maturing and becoming better. That’s the end game this team has worked towards from the start. LeBlanc is a big part of it.

Chris Sale’s Return To South Side Brings About Mixed Emotions

By
Emmet McClain
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Today’s game has the potential to be one of the bigger ones the Chicago White Sox will play this season. Chris Sale will be making his first start against his former club in Chicago. If that is not enough for you, he gets to go up against current White Sox ace Jose Quintana. While the White Sox attendance numbers are notorious for being on the lower end, this game could get close to a sellout. The atmosphere? It is sure to be electric.

Warm Welcome?

Chris Sale is one of the top pitchers in White Sox franchise history. He definitely had the best pure stuff, with his mid-90’s fastball and a slider that gives hitters nightmares. From 2010 to the end of last season, he was easily my favorite member of the White Sox to watch. Whenever I see him on ESPN making professional hitters look like little-leaguers, I die a little inside. It really is a shame the White Sox could never get back to the playoffs while he was on the team, but Rick Hahn needed to trade him for the sake of the future of the ball club. Some fans will probably boo, but for the most part, expect Sale to get a standing ovation when he takes the mound. Hell, some people might even cheer when he strikes a member of the White Sox out.

Pitcher’s Duel

Sale is currently dominating the entire MLB to the tune of a 2.34 ERA, and a ridiculous 12.45 K/9 and 3.2 WAR. Jose Quintana recently got shelled in his last outing, but had put up five phenomenal starts before that. We could have a 0-0 ballgame in the seventh inning. One interesting thing about Sale is when he gets extra amped up for a game, he tends to get knocked around. Whether he is pressing himself, or just thinking too much, he has been known to get a little wild. I for one hope the White Sox put up six runs on him. Only time will tell.

Final Thoughts

Sale/Quintana will surely be talked about all day not just in Chicago and Boston, but across all MLB media outlets. Sale will get a standing ovation from a near sellout crowd, but neither he or Quintana will leave the game with a decision. I say Sale goes 6 innings, while Quintana goes 7. They both give up just one run in a thrilling duel. Then the White Sox bullpen will be as strong as it has been all season and find a way to get the W. This is a lost season for the White Sox, but they do have a few games that will be categorized as a “Must Watch” (i.e Moncada, Lopez, Fulmer getting called up). Make sure you add Sale Vs. Quintana to that category as well.

Current & Former Bulls Make List Of World’s Most Famous Athletes

By
Matt Peck
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dwyane wade derrick rose make list worlds famous athletes

Earlier today ESPN released their latest ranking of the 100 most famous active athletes in the world. Given the global limitations of some American sports – and the global popularity of others – fans might be surprised by the inclusion of so many stars of “secondary” sports like soccer, tennis and golf. Ben Alamar, ESPN’s director of analytics, devised the formula for calculating each star’s level of fame. Among the criteria are endorsement dollars, social media followers and internet search popularity.

Bulls foil and Dwyane Wade’s former teammate LeBron James is the highest-ranked American athlete, coming in at number two. Sandwiching LeBron are soccer phenoms Cristiano Ronaldo (1) and Lionel Messi (3). Tennis great Roger Federer and golf’s Phil Mickelson round out the top five.

With the NBA’s global reach being largest among American sports, many of its biggest stars make the list. Behind LeBron and cracking the top twenty are his upcoming Finals foes Kevin Durant (8) and Stephen Curry (11). Wade comes in at 24, fourth among NBA players. He jumped nine spots from last year’s rankings. Between Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Dwyane has 26.4 million followers. (That sounds like a huge number until you compare it to Ronaldo’s 261.5 million followers.)

James Harden (28) and former Bulls star Derrick Rose (33) are the next two NBA players on the list. Despite his recent stretch of damning injuries, Rose remains extremely popular overseas. He checks in ahead of rising stars Kyrie Irving (34) and Russell Westbrook (35). But last year’s rankings show the bigger picture. Rose fell three spots from 30, while Westbrook climbed 13 spots and Irving went from being unranked in the top 100 to 34th.

Bulls star Jimmy Butler, whose global brand and popularity is rising steadily, did not crack the top 100 this year.

To see ESPN’s full list of the world’s 100 most famous athletes, click here.

PFF Says The Bears Have The Best Roster In NFC North

By
Erik Lambert
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pro football focus chicago bears
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 02: Theo Riddick #25 of the Detroit Lions is brought down by John Timu #53 and Jacoby Glenn #39 of the Chicago Bears during the second half of a game at Soldier Field on October 2, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

The Pro Football Focus Chicago Bears support has been surprisingly consistent over the past year. They gave top grade to GM Ryan Pace for his work in the 2016 draft and then a couple nice marks for both 2017 free agency and the draft as well. They’ve long been a website dedicated to focusing on the rosters. Not the records from prior seasons like so many do.

That might be why it was a substantial shock an NFC North breakdown by them revealed a huge nugget. As it turns out the Bears have the best overall roster grade in the entire division. That is not a practical joke. There’s a table with colors and everything. It goes position by position giving the grades and the numbers don’t lie.

Pro Football Focus Chicago Bears grade predicts big things

Needless to say the reaction to this was a mix of shock and downright indignation from many. That can’t be right. How can the worst team from last season possibly have the best overall roster? Well Warren Ludford of SB Nation broke it down so it made a little more sense.

“Perhaps the most surprising stat in comparing NFC North teams is that the Chicago Bears have the best average grade. To be honest I had to double-check that, but it’s accurate. That comes not from having the best players, but a relative lack of poor ones – notice not so much red in the Bears column. It also reflects perhaps some improvement via free agency this off-season for the Bears as well.”

In essence what he’s saying is Ryan Pace accomplished one part of his goal for this offseason. He improved the overall depth of roster. The Bears don’t have any glaring holes at any of their positions. Sure there are some that are average but no downright awful areas. What they lack is simple star power. As yet the general youth of the team hasn’t developed enough to determine where those names might come from.

One-man show?

At present the only name that falls close to this category is Jordan Howard. He was outstanding as a rookie in 2016, reaching his first Pro Bowl. Jerrell Freeman is also a highly underrated stud accord to PFF while Josh Sitton and Cody Whitehair also get high marks. Even so there is a general feeling that the team still hasn’t quite found its core. Those 4-5 guys who do the majority of the playmaking, all while elevating the performance of those around them.

A decade ago it was pretty clear. There was Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman and Olin Kreutz. In the 1980s it was Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton, Richard Dent, Walter Payton, Jay Hilgenberg and Jimbo Covert. For this latest incarnation Howard is the only young stud who stands out. Perhaps Kyle Long qualifies as well provided he gets healthy. After that it’s a hope that Whitehair and linebacker Leonard Floyd can soon join them. Followed, of course by prized top draft choice Mitch Trubisky.

Five Bears Who Might Surprise Us In 2017

By
Dhruv Koul
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cameron meredith

Training camp is still quite a bit of time away from now, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start forecasting the 2017 Chicago Bears.

After a rough 3-13 season that was over before it really even got started, Ryan Pace has made unprecedentedly bold moves this offseason to get the Bears ready for Year 3 of his regime.

Completely overhauling the quarterback room, including trading up a spot to snag Mitchell Trubisky, drafting multiple “small school” players in the draft, and adding depth to the tight end and secondary positions are all on Pace’s list of accomplishments this season.

Those accomplishments, along with better health and improvement from their rising sophomore and third year draft classes, are expected to make the Bears relevant again. Maybe not playoff contenders, but no longer a pushover, either.

Along with the usual suspects expected to lift the Bears this coming season, there are plenty of players who could be massive contributors in 2017 that have not been covered enough, either due to lowered expectations or other, overshadowing circumstances. Let’s explore:

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