Bears Make Statement In Free Agency With Trenches Overhaul

Good morning Chicago fans! I hope your March hasn’t been madness quite yet and you’re enjoying some warmer weather. There must be madness at Halas Hall as the Bears completed an interior offensive line makeover in record time. They Drew up a pretty good plan:

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CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

L - Avalanche 3, Blackhawks 0

Artyom Levshunov’s debut spoiled by a goalie night

• Scott Wedgewood handed the Hawks their first shutout of the SEASON with a handful of highlight reel saves on high danger chances

• Levshunov looked like he belonged! He played 20:55, had 6 shot attempts, blocked 2 shots, and was consistently involved in the action

• The new-look Hawks played one of their best games (SOG: Avs 21-20) and looked really poised against an elite team

L - Sharks 4, Blackhawks 2

Lifeless showing in the Tankathon matchup

• Brutal 1st period effort led to an early 2-0 Sharks lead

• Connor Bedard was given a mystery 10-minute misconduct penalty with 10 minutes left in the game after he got mauled in the offensive zone 🙄

L - Canucks 6, Blackhawks 2

Night to forget AGAIN in Bedard’s hometown

• Arvid Soderblom allowed 6 goals on ONLY 15 shots as the Hawks somehow outshot the Canucks 19-15 despite looking outmatched all night long

• Bedard received his 2nd consecutive 10-minute misconduct penalty after a scrum at the end of the game

• Levshunov recorded his 1st career NHL point with an assist on a Wyatt Kaiser goal

Star of the Week ⭐ Wyatt Kaiser

1 goal, 1 assist, 19+ TOI/G as he gains confidence at the NHL level

Play of the Week 🎥 Wyatt Kaiser goal

Activated Jason Dickinson from IR

Bedard’s first 10-minute penalty received the legendary video breakdown treatment by Jomboy Media. Watch here.

SCHEDULE 📅 T/TH/SAT/SUN

CHICAGO BULLS

W - Bulls 121, Pacers 103

3rd straight win as Josh Giddey takes over!

• Giddey (29p/10r) scored 21 points in the 1st half to give the Bulls a big 19-point halftime lead but sprained his ankle in the 4th quarter

• Nikola Vucevic (11p/11r) and Patrick Williams (2p) returned from injury and came off the bench

W - Bulls 116, Nets 110

4th quarter surge leads to 4th straight win!

• Bulls looked lost without Giddey or Lonzo Ball quarterbacking the offense and were down 10 points heading into the 4th

• Tre Jones (18p/6a/7r), Kevin Huerter (18p/9r), and Zach Collins (9p/8r) were all trusted to close the game and made huge plays on both ends of the court!

L - Rockets 117, Bulls 114

Big men outmatched on the glass

• Bulls were outrebounded 54-36 as multiple late offensive rebounds for the Rockets helped them hold the lead

• Billy Donovan tried mixing and matching with 2 centers on the floor at a time

• Fred VanVleet scored 18 points in the Rockets’ 38 point 2nd quarter to get them back into the game

Star of the Week ⭐ Coby White

27.6p/4a/7r per game this week

Play of the Week 🎥 Julian Phillips block

The 6 championship banners hanging at the United Center were damaged from the pyrotechnics at a Disturbed concert. They were removed and will be down for the rest of the season as they get fixed.

Coby White has scored 20+ points in 8 straight games

Lonzo Ball’s wrist injury has not improved, and he has no timeline for a return

SCHEDULE 📅 M/W/TH/SAT

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

Free Agency

Signed C Drew Dalman to a 3-year, $42M contract with $28M guaranteed

• Ben Johnson spoke about the importance of an established center to form a tandem with Caleb Williams and run the offense. They struck immediately and landed the #1 center on the market!

• Dalman is athletic, smart, and highly regarded by teammates. His run blocking ability has graded out really well in his career!

• With this signing, the Bears officially found 3 Pro Bowl players to swap out ALL 3 of their interior line spots in a matter of a WEEK. This is how you build the trenches 🔥 Best trio since ____? Olin, Garza, and Tait in 2006-2008?

Signed DE Dayo Odeyingbo to a 3-year, $48M contract with $32M guaranteed

• This could turn out to be a steal if Dayo reaches his potential, but paying players for their projected production makes me skeptical. He had 5/8/3 sacks in each of his last 3 seasons.

• At 6’6” with impressive reach, Dayo seems to fit the prototype for an edge rusher in Dennis Allen’s defenses. He can play inside and outside and can fill a similar role to DeMarcus Walker from the last couple years. His upside, however, is MUCH higher.

• I’m glad they added a D-Lineman, and I believe his versatility opens up the possibility of drafting a starting end who is a true outside pass rusher

Signed DT Grady Jarrett to a 3-year, $43.5M contract with $28.5M guaranteed

• This was the unexpected splash! The Falcons decided to release a franchise cornerstone, and the Bears picked up the phone right when they heard the news.

• I didn’t anticipate a significant DT signing with Gervon Dexter and Andrew Billings already in place as starters, but this is an excellent move. Defensive line rotations need as many productive players as possible, and the Bears’ depth was thin behind those two.

• Jarrett is a 2nd Team All-Pro, 2-time Pro Bowler, 2-time Walter Payton Man of the Year, and the ultimate leader. He was the heart and soul of the Falcons organization and will make a massive impact in Chicago, on and off the field.

Signed WR Olamide Zaccheaus to a 1-year contract

• There’s WR3! Zaccheaus had a solid year with the Washington Commanders in 2024 with 45 receptions for 506 yards and 3 TDs

• He fills two holes on the Bears roster- he lined up in the slot for the majority of his 2024 snaps AND has experience on punt returns

• Zaccheaus went to high school with D’Andre Swift in Philadelphia! Make that 3 Philly boys on the offense (with DJ Moore, too)

Re-signed S Tarvarius Moore to a 1-year contract

• Another special teams ace for Richard Hightower!

Re-signed LS Scott Daly to a 1-year contract

• Bears opted to not re-sign the longest tenured Bear, Patrick Scales, who was on the team since 2015 😮

Re-signed TE Stephen Carlson

• Carlson missed the entire 2024 season with a broken collarbone

The best part of free agency may be watching former Bears sign elsewhere. Proof of a leveled up roster! Coleman Shelton, Darrell Taylor, Larry Borom, Velus Jones Jr., Jacob Martin, Jake Curhan, James Daniels, and Khalil Herbert all found new homes.

Justin Fields signed with the New York Jets 🙄 glad I’m not a Jets fan sitting through a Sam Darnold, Zach Wilson, old Aaron Rodgers, and now Justin Fields QB carousel

Jack Sanborn followed Matt Eberflus to the Dallas Cowboys on a 1-year deal

Bears received 0 compensatory draft picks, which are assigned based on free agent arrivals and departures. Might just be my favorite day of the year! 0 for the Bears every single time.

Jonah Jackson, who was acquired by trade last week, was given a 1-year contract extension to lock him up with the Bears through 2027

Kyle Gordon received the 2024 Ed Block Courage Award

CHICAGO CUBS

OFFSEASON

Opening Day is tomorrow vs. the Dodgers!!!

• Tuesday @ 5:10am CT: Shota Imanaga vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto

• Wednesday @ 5:10am CT: Justin Steele vs. Roki Sasaki

• Matt Shaw is on the roster! He also switched to jersey #6

• Mookie Betts will not play for the Dodgers due to illness

• 2 games in Japan, then back to the states for more Spring Training before Domestic Opening Day on March 27th

Season Prediction: 88-74, Win NL Central

Mid-March feels way too early to make a season prediction, but I have to give out a record before the official season begins to make it credible.

My 90-win 2024 prediction fell flat and scared me into extreme caution.

I wanted to go over 90 wins. I’m hopeful this can be a really good year. Why?

They added a superstar in Kyle Tucker. They revamped the entire bullpen and have a veteran closer option in Ryan Pressly. The bench is brand new. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Miguel Amaya could have big years and solidify the entire lineup as a threat from 1 to 9. Matthew Boyd is an upgrade over Kyle Hendricks in the rotation. Matt Shaw is an everyday player, Craig Counsell has another year of familiarity, Dansby Swanson is healthy, and the wind at Wrigley Field might play nice.

On the other hand, I watched similar iterations of this team win 83 games twice in a row. The offense goes stagnant for an entire month. The pitching depth is available but not always effective. Bullpen implosions are the norm. Strange endings, unlucky bounces, and unimaginable ways to lose are unfortunately a part of Cubs baseball right now.

So, I settle in at 88. The Brewers will probably win 87, and I don’t think anyone should take them lightly. That 10-game gap Craig Counsell talked so much about hasn’t vanished until it’s actually overcome.

It’s time for October baseball at Wrigley Field again, and I can’t wait.

Tucker and PCA will carry them through the ups and downs and claim the division crown. I’m extremely high on PCA this season and as the face of the franchise in the future!

Cubs won their Spring Breakout game featuring their top prospects 8-3 vs. the Angels

• Cade Horton struck out 3 in 2 IP, and Kevin Alcantara hit a 2-R HR

Played 2 exhibition games in Japan vs. the Hanshin Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants

Travis Jankowski opted out of his contract with the Cubs and went across town to sign a minor-league contract with the White Sox

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Kyle Davidson

The Blackhawks GM underwent another surgery for his lifelong heart condition.

We got an inside look (in the latest Every Shift video) at the medical process while he took care of young kids and ran an entire hockey operations department.

It turns out he was already negotiating the Seth Jones trade when he had surgery. He can do it all!

MILD TAKE

Tre Jones should be on the Bulls next year.

The newcomer is a free agent after the season and is staring into the cluster of guards on the Bulls roster.

Lonzo Ball just got paid, Coby/Ayo/Terry/Carter/Huerter are all under contract for next season, and Jones may have been a throw-in for AK to get the Zach LaVine trade across the finish line. We have only seen him in 14 games in Chicago, but he needs to stick around.

Jones has been impressive as a facilitating point guard and shows effort on the defensive end. He’s averaging 10.2p/3.9a per game. His performance in clutch time has been unmatched. Billy Donovan consistently talks about his “it” factor and believes he is a winning player.

In reality, the Bulls roster next season doesn’t matter. They still have no path to a championship, and all of their young players will be stuck on a middling team even if they develop well together. Whether they keep Jones or not won’t change their fortunes.

However, the organization needs the right kind of players to set the tone moving forward. Jones plays hard, contributes to winning basketball, and has a high basketball IQ like Lonzo. Give him more responsibilities next season, and hopefully the squad rallies around him.

HITTING THE LINKS

Mark Lazerus - Jonathan Toews is serious about his NHL comeback attempt (The Athletic)

Gabby Hajduk - Contract extension 'a dream come true' for Josh Blackwell (chicagobears.com)

Ben Pope - Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini's friendship will become rivalry in Blackhawks-Sharks matchups (Chicago Sun-Times)

Josh Kendall - Why the Falcons released Grady Jarrett and how it will affect the locker room (The Athletic)

Patrick Mooney - Brad Keller part of Cubs’ push to never stop looking for the next pitching edge (The Athletic)

Mark Lazerus - Nathan MacKinnon on Connor Bedard’s stagnant production: ‘I’d have killed for that when I was 19’ (The Athletic)

Chicago Cubs - Jon Lester’s Game-Winning Bunt | The Breakdown (YouTube)

Chicago Blackhawks - Every Shift Season 3 Episode 5 (YouTube)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

Thanks for reading! Have a great week! Baseball season and the NCAA Tournament are here. Can’t beat this, right?