🎬 HIGHLIGHTS

1. Connor Bedard is back!!!

2. Saying goodbye to Eddie Jackson and Cody Whitehair

3. DeMar DeRozan’s mental health initiatives

🏒 Chicago Blackhawks

TROPHY TRACKER

1-❌-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-🏆

Results:

L - Canucks 4, Blackhawks 2

For a team that has been playing hard and staying in games, this was definitely a clunker. A slow start led to a fairly lopsided game where the Hawks were clearly outmatched.

• Canucks outshot the Hawks 38-24, including 12-2 in the first period

• Tyler Johnson scored a power play goal on a nice team passing play, and Kevin Korchinski scored his 3rd goal of the season

• Luke Richardson was heated after the game - he was not happy with the team’s effort 😡

L - Penguins 4, Blackhawks 1

Connor Bedard pulled the Michael Jordan move - “I’m back.”

Bedard surprised everyone and returned to action a few days earlier than the 6-8 week estimate. On Monday, Luke Richardson even mentioned Bedard seeing doctors NEXT Monday and possibly returning to practices at that point. This was a sudden return!

The Blackhawks were a much bigger threat offensively but did not capitalize on many opportunities. Sidney Crosby dominated (2 goals) as the Penguins pulled away for the easy win.

• Philipp Kurashev scored the only goal - on a slick pass from Bedard

• Arvid Soderblom got his first start since January 24th in Seattle and had another tough night

W - Blackhawks 3, Senators 2

Bedard starred in a weekend matinee W! He finished with 1 goal and 1 assist (and a disallowed goal due to an offsides) as the Hawks scored with 1:52 left to break the tie.

• Extended their win streak against the Senators to 11 games 😮

• Petr Mrazek had 40 saves, Jason Dickinson scored the game winner

• Kevin Korchinski was benched in the 2nd period after a couple bad defensive reads, but Luke Richardson put him back in the game for the 3rd period and was happy with how he bounced back

Week Record: 1-2

Season Record: 15-37-3

Star of the Week: Connor Bedard

I expect this to be a trend for the next 10+ years.

Bedard came back and was instantly must-watch TV. He transforms the Blackhawks offense by himself and makes the team a threat to score every time he’s on the ice. He’s already the best player on the team and one of Chicago’s top athletes.

Play of the Week: Connor Bedard’s disallowed goal

News & Notes:

1. Lukas Reichel was sent down to the AHL on Sunday

   ➡ Reichel has struggled immensely this year, and the Hawks have avoided sending him down to avoid Reichel taking the demotion poorly

   🤔 Hopefully the opportunity to play a lot of minutes with lesser competition at Rockford boosts his confidence and brings out the talent that we saw last year at the NHL level

2. Jarred Tinordi was placed on IR with a groin strain

3. Anthony Beauvillier was back at practice and may return next week

4. I really enjoyed Mark Lazerus’ article on the Blackhawks/Penguins game last season that started a ridiculous chain effect - including the Hawks obtaining the 3rd best lottery odds and landing Bedard. Check it out here.

5. The Hawks won their first game since January 19th…

🏀 Chicago Bulls

TROPHY TRACKER

❌-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-🏆

Results:

W - Bulls 136, Hawks 126

The Bulls pulled away in clutch time in a high-scoring shootout between 2 potential Eastern Conference play-in teams.

• Ayo Dosunmu put on a show with a career-high 29 points on 12-18 shooting and draining 5-7 from 3 (he also helped limit Trae Young to 19 points, shooting only 3-14 from the field 😮)

• DeMar also had 29 points, Vooch had a 24p/11r double-double

• The Bulls only had 6 turnovers on the night but gave up a ridiculous 15 offensive rebounds to the Hawks

L - Cavaliers 108, Bulls 105

A few sloppy possessions in the last 3 minutes of the game (along with unpredictable referees) cost the Bulls a game where they led by 17 points early on.

• Coby White had an up and down end to the game: hit a game tying 3, turned the ball over on an attempted pass to Vucevic, and then missed the game tying 3 at the buzzer (still had a huge game with 32p/7r/4a)

• Nikola Vucevic struggled: 9p/8r on 4-16 shooting and 1-5 from 3

Week Record: 1-1

Season Record: 26-29

Star of the Week: Coby White

Coby’s stat line against the Hawks looks a bit light (20 points) compared to his recent norm, but he put up 10 points in the 4th quarter to carry the Bulls to a win. He scored when it mattered, and then he put up massive numbers against the Cavs later in the week.

Play of the Week: Coby White game tying 3

⭐⭐ ALL STAR BREAK ⭐⭐

The Bulls enter the break at 26-29, sitting in the 9th seed in the East.

They are off until Thursday, February 22nd.

📈 Positives in the 1st Half

• Coby White’s development into a leader, playmaker, and consistent scorer

• Alex Caruso and Andre Drummond contributing to winning basketball every single night

• Climbing out of a 5-14 record to get close to .500 at the break

📉 Negatives in the 1st Half

• Zach Lavine’s injury and lack of impact on the court

• 25th in the NBA in PPG, 21st in Offensive Rating, 20th in 3-point %

• Injuries and lack of depth - Coby White and DeMar DeRozan are #1 and #2 in the NBA in total minutes played

News & Notes:

1. GM Marc Eversley is reportedly a top candidate for the Hornets President of Basketball Operations job

2. The Bulls had no representatives for the entire All Star weekend for the first time since 1980 😢

🏈 Chicago Bears

TROPHY TRACKER

1-2-3-❌-5-6-7-8-9-🏆

News & Notes:

1. Released Eddie Jackson and Cody Whitehair

   😢 Both moves were expected - aging veterans who have not produced enough to warrant keeping their current contracts. However, both players were talented and extremely professional  through a lot of turnover and turmoil. All the best to both of them.

   🔥 Special shoutout to Eddie Jackson. His 2018 season was one for the record books - he was going to be the next Ed Reed before injuries derailed his next few seasons. His ballhawking and scoring abilities in the defensive backfield were unmatched.

   💰 Bears clear up approximately $21M in 2024 cap space

2. Jarrett Payton interviewed President Kevin Warren and discussed all of the big topics around the team this offseason. Check it out here. Warren spoke about visualizing the Bears winning the Super Bowl with the lake in the background (implying his desire, if possible, to build a stadium in the city). He also spoke glowingly of Justin Fields, which sparked the #1 pick debate even more.

3. Old friend Mitch Trubisky was released from the Steelers and will pursue other opportunities. Meanwhile, reports state that Mike Tomlin likes Justin Fields…

   🤔 If the Steelers keep acquiring former Bears quarterbacks, I have no problem saying they are no longer the standard for how NFL organizations should be run

4. Former head coach Marc Trestman was hired as a Senior Offensive Assistant Coach on Jim Harbaugh’s staff with the Chargers

5. Adam Jahns had a great article about new defensive coordinator Eric Washington - his former players all gave him high praise

⚾ Chicago Cubs

TROPHY TRACKER

1-2-3-4-5-❌-7-8-9-🏆

News & Notes:

1. Pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training on Wednesday! There is nothing in this world like seeing videos of baseball players out on a sunny field for the first time in months.

2. Jed Hoyer, Carter Hawkins, and Craig Counsell met the media in Arizona - you can watch here

   🤷‍♂️ This was possibly the most non-newsy press conference I’ve seen in a long time

   😞 No updates on Cody Bellinger or any free agent pursuits, and a lot of excitement about the young guys who will be in camp

   🙂 Quite a bit of hype for their offseason acquisitions, especially Imanaga and Neris

3. Craig Counsell announced that Christopher Morel will see a lot of time at 3B in the Spring - he wants to give Morel a steady defensive position to see how he does and to keep his bat in the lineup

4. First reports from players and coaches are GREAT in regards to Imanaga - his pitching repertoire, clubhouse presence, and professionalism

As of today, I see the Cubs lineup as:

OF: Happ/Tauchman and Canario platoon/Seiya

IF: Morel/Dansby/Nico/Busch

C: Gomes

DH/Bench: Amaya, Wisdom, Madrigal, Mastrobuoni

➡ Adding Cody Bellinger and a quality DH sure looks nice right now…

📣 SAY WHAT?

😎 GOOD ONE ALERT

DeMar DeRozan

DeMar continues to amplify the conversation on mental health.

“What I want people to know is that players are human just like everyone else. We have emotions. We break down."

Starting with a tweet in 2018, DeMar has been instrumental for numerous mental health initiatives. The NBA and NBAPA have started programs and invested resources in the last few years to help basketball players who are struggling.

Next week, DeMar will premiere a new series on YouTube called “Dinners with DeMar” where he will sit down and have real conversations with people who may seem to ‘have it all together’ from the outside. Check out the trailer here:

I have so much respect for DeMar as a player and teammate, but this brings it to a whole new level.

I’m not a professional athlete, but I’m guessing a large portion of them are struggling with mental health. With the insane pressure, fleeting success, always being on the road, the physical grind, and all that comes with the lifestyle, I can’t imagine what they go through on a daily basis.

Let’s watch these episodes as they drop. First one is on Tuesday!

If you want to hear more about DeMar and his thoughts on mental health, check out these sources:

Leila Rahimi 1-on-1 interview

USA Today Article on Dinners with DeMar

Washington Post Article on DeMar and the NBA

🔥 MILD TAKE ❄

Ryan Poles’ roster turnover has been impressive.

Ryan Poles was hired as the Bears GM in January 2022. He’s been on the job for 2 years and has done heavy lifting trying to rebuild the roster - getting younger, more athletic, and more talented.

Previous GM Ryan Pace left the Bears in a bad situation. The defense was aging, the offense barely had any weapons, and they were up against the salary cap every single year. Oh, and he threw a rookie QB named Justin Fields into the fire after drafting him in 2021.

After releasing Eddie Jackson and Cody Whitehair, no draft picks prior to 2020 are on the Bears roster. Only Cole Kmet and Jaylon Johnson (if he gets re-signed) remain from 2020 (assuming Darnell Mooney leaves in free agency), and only Teven Jenkins and Khalil Herbert remain from 2021 (assuming Poles chooses a QB in the draft and trades Justin Fields).

Poles has been effective in adding talent using all three avenues: draft, trade, and free agency. And he has kept the cap fairly clear in the future. If he chooses a QB in the upcoming draft, the cap sheet will be even more enticing over the next 5 years during the rookie’s deal.

I love how he has handled business, and his eye for talent has been clear since he started. This offseason is huge and provides so much opportunity for continuing to add to this newly shaped roster. Saying goodbye to two former captains, two veterans who have been role models as Bears, is difficult, but is another necessary step in building a consistent contender.