Cubs Swept Back To The States In The Tokyo Series

Good morning Chicago fans! I’m exhausted from seeing family this weekend, 5am regular season baseball games, AND March Madness. It was a great week to be a sports fan. Sports fandom makes you a part of something bigger than yourself, but the global impact of sports is really mind blowing. The Tokyo Series was a sight to see!

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CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

L - Kraken 6, Blackhawks 2

Another youth hockey-like disaster

• The team looked lost as the Kraken scored 4 2nd period goals. Nobody seemed to know their assignment or what decision to make with the puck.

• Tyler Bertuzzi (last goal Jan. 20th) and Connor Bedard (3 points in 8 March games) both surprisingly scored a goal!

• A Nick Foligno goal to make it 3-1 was not awarded due to an early whistle. There was confusion on whether it was a challengeable play or not 🤷‍♂️

L - Kings 3, Blackhawks 1

Another sleeper against an LA team

• 2 Kings goals in 59 seconds gave them an early lead while the Hawks sleepwalked through the 1st period

• Bedard scored on the power play, and it was the Hawks’ only conversion in 4 opportunities

L - Blues 4, Blackhawks 1

Pat Maroon honored in 7th straight loss

• St. Louis showed a video tribute and made the hometown hero Maroon the first star of the game ⭐ must have earned it from his 3rd period fight!

• The first Blues goal was an unbelievable mid-air tip drill between 3 players. Watch it here.

W - Blackhawks 7, Flyers 4

Touchdown snaps scoring slump with Ben Johnson in attendance

• 6 different Hawks scored goals. Ryan Donato scored 2 goals to increase his team-high total to 25

• Spencer Knight struggled and let in too many soft goals

• Hawks had scored 8 total goals in their SIX previous games combined

Star of the Week ⭐ Tyler Bertuzzi

2 goals, 4 assists (6 points) as he is officially out of his slump

Play of the Week 🎥 Connor Bedard goal

Pat Maroon is retiring after this season

• Big Rig is hanging up the skates after a 14 year NHL career

• 3-time Stanley Cup Champion in 2019, 2020, and 2021

• Played in 840 NHL games and has 320 points with only 11 games left

• Maroon was a 6th round pick, didn’t even play for the team (Flyers) that drafted him, and then found a home in Anaheim in the 2013-2014 season

• His impact on the Blackhawks has been tangible since he arrived. He was signed as an enforcer, but he became a mentor. He invited Lukas Reichel to his family’s Christmas celebration, he’s a leader for all the young guys on the team, and he drove a solid 4th line for most of the season.

Allowed 6+ goals in consecutive games for the first time since 2021

Colton Dach is day-to-day with a left elbow injury

Prospect Sam Rinzel was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year! 🥇

Prospect Sacha Boisvert was named the NCHC Player of the Year! 🥇

Connor Bedard and Sidney Crosby are the only NHL players since 1990 to accumulate 40 goals and 70 assists as a teenager

SCHEDULE 📅 W/F/SUN

CHICAGO BULLS

W - Bulls 111, Jazz 97

First team to 100 wins!

• Ugly shooting night in Utah: Nikola Vucevic started the game 0-9 from the field, both teams combined to shoot 23/87 (26.4%) from 3PT

• Tre Jones recorded his first Bulls double-double (18p/12a) as every Bulls starter scored in double figures

L - Suns 127, Bulls 121

The Devin Booker show spoils Josh Giddey’s return

• Booker scored 41 points on 6/12 3PT with 33 of his points coming in the 2nd half

• Bulls allowed 23 points off of 13 turnovers and sent the Suns to the free throw line 20 times

• Giddey (22p/7a/7r) impressed in his return from injury as 3 Bulls scored 20+ points (Vucevic, Coby White)

W - Bulls 128, Kings 116

Coby White takes over the crossover event

• In their revenge games, DeMar DeRozan became the 27th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points, Zach LaVine didn’t score a point until 10 minutes left in the game, and Kevin Huerter put up 25 points

• Coby willed the Bulls to come back from a 19-point deficit and scored 31 of his 35 points in the 2nd half

• Bulls shot 52.3%/42.9%/88.5% from the field

W - Bulls 146, Lakers 115

Bulls with their best Globetrotters impersonation in blowout

• What a dominant showing! Giddey had the first 15p/17a/10r/8s in NBA HISTORY and fell just short of the quadruple-double, Matas Buzelis scored 31 points in his first 30+ point NBA game, and Coby stayed hot with 36 points

• Bulls shot a season high 58.3% from the field

• LeBron returned from a 2 week injury and only scored 17 points in 31 minutes

Star of the Week ⭐ Coby White

30.2p/4a per game this week

Play of the Week 🎥 Matas Buzelis drive and dunk against Luka

Tre Jones sprained his left foot and will be re-evaluated in 2 weeks

Coby White was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for March 9-15!

Coby has 12 straight 20+ point games!!!

Derrick Rose will throw the first pitch at White Sox Opening Day March 27th!

Bulls have surprisingly jumped up to the 9th seed in the Eastern Conference and are only 2 games back of the 8th seed Orlando Magic 👀 AK must be pumped about the upcoming Play-In Tournament!!!

SCHEDULE 📅 M/TH/SAT

CHICAGO CUBS

L - Dodgers 4, Cubs 1

New season, same story

• Cubs started the 2025 season with 3 hits. Ian Happ’s single to start the 3rd inning was their last hit in the game!

• Shota Imanaga battled uncharacteristic control issues (4 BB in 4 IP) but pitched his way out of trouble (4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER)

• Ben Brown entered the game in the 5th inning and immediately gave up 3 runs, partially due to a Jon Berti error

L - Dodgers 6, Cubs 3

Series sweep for the loaded Dodgers

• Roki Sasaki was wild (5 BB) but fooled Cubs hitters often in his 3 inning MLB debut

• Justin Steele allowed 5 ER, including 2 HR, in just 4 innings

• Shohei Ohtani was gifted a solo HR in the 5th inning on what looked like an OBVIOUS fan interference

Star of the Week ⭐ Jon Berti

3-for-6, 0.2 fWAR already accumulated through 2 games

Play of the Week 🎥 Matt Shaw diving stop

26-man roster for the Tokyo Series can be viewed here. The roster formation included the following moves:

• Added Matt Shaw to the 40-man roster

• DFA’d Keegan Thompson

• Placed Javier Assad on the 15-day IL

• Optioned Daniel Palencia to AAA

After the Tokyo Series, optioned Eli Morgan and Jordan Wicks to AAA and placed Tyson Miller on the IL with a left hip impingement

Matt Shaw was the youngest Cub (23) to make his MLB debut on Opening Day since Gary Scott in 1991

Cubs lineup for the Tokyo Series was:

Happ/Seiya/Tucker/Busch/Shaw/Swanson/PCA/catcher/Berti

And they had 4 runs on 11 hits in the 2 games…

• WHY was Matt Shaw batting 5th??? I expected Craig Counsell to match his PCA plan from last season and place Shaw at 9th while he figures out the big leagues. He might be a more talented, pure hitter than the others behind him, but he needs to see these pitchers for a while. There is no guarantee he will immediately produce. Move him down!

• Kyle Tucker needs to hit 2nd. He’s their best hitter and needs the most at-bats. Seiya is also very good, but he strikes out at a higher rate and doesn’t get on base as often. Let Tucker get on base so Seiya can drive him in.

• I hope Nico Hoerner bats 7th when he returns and the 5-9 spots are Swanson/PCA/Nico/catcher/Shaw. Nico would be in a good spot to make contact and drive in PCA who will automatically be standing on 2nd every time he gets on base. Plus, PCA deserves a few extra opportunities.

Steele, Taillon, and Shota will start in that order in the upcoming series against Arizona

SCHEDULE 📅 TH/F/SAT/SUN

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

Free Agency:

Signed WR/KR Devin Duvernay to a 1-year contract

• Former All-Pro and Pro Bowl returner when he was with the Ravens

Re-signed RB Travis Homer to a 1-year, $2M contract

• ANOTHER special teams ace back in the mix!

Re-signed C Doug Kramer to a 1-year contract

• The Hinsdale Central crew stays together in Chicago! Kiran Amegadjie, Matas Buzelis, and Kramer are all alumni

• No more fullback snaps, right???

Former Bears continue to sign with other teams: Teven Jenkins, Jaylon Jones, Lucas Patrick

The NFL Draft is 1 month away!!! April 24-26

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Pat Maroon

After announcing his retirement, Maroon was emotional in every interview. He was grateful for his NHL experiences, excited for the young players on the Blackhawks, and appreciative of his family.

He confirmed what we all knew: that he plays hard from whistle to whistle. He gave everything to the game, and now he gets to leave on his own terms.

Read more about St. Louis’ response to the news and his family’s reactions:

MILD TAKE

Blackhawks games mattered most of the year - now only losses do.

This could have been looked at as another “tank” season. Lose as much as possible, only look forward to the prospects, and make sure they land another top draft pick.

Instead, Kyle Davidson added veterans last offseason and hoped they would take a step in the standings.

That plan did NOT work. Instead of gaining unity as a team and developing together as a foundation for the future, there was only ever chaos. There was a coaching change, trades, injuries, prospect call-ups, and a crazy line blender.

In a true tank, nothing really matters. The front office sets up the team for failure, and whatever bumps occur along the way typically land you at the bottom of the league. But in a “progress” year like this, whether it goes well or not, results matter. Tendencies matter. Culture building matters.

Games mattered all season until now. In each phase of the season, wins would have been nice to see:

1) Veterans needed to settle in, and the standard of play needed to increase

2) New coach bump injected some energy and a change in play style

3) Seth Jones left, Spencer Knight arrived, and young guys kept getting promoted

Every temporary boost has now ended. The teenagers can play really well to end the season, and they still may lose every game. At this point, growing as a team and developing under an interim coach is unrealistic.

The only attainable goal for the next 11 games is to be in the best possible position to draft another core player. The Blackhawks could use another superstar forward.

HITTING THE LINKS

Jesse Rogers - MLB 2025: Inside the rise to stardom of Cubs' Kyle Tucker (ESPN)

Sam Smith - Zach LaVine ahead of Bulls-Kings game: "Chicago's always going to be a special place in my heart." (bulls.com)

Scott Powers - Blackhawks owner Danny Wirtz Q&A: On CHSN, rebuild, Seth Jones trade and more (The Athletic)

Gabby Hajduk - Mini Monsters in Madrid: Postcards with Tremaine Edmunds | March 20 (chicagobears.com)

Chandler Rome - Cam Smith is turning heads in Astros camp: ‘The next 60-homer guy’ (The Athletic)

Ben Pope - Blackhawks' Frank Nazar drawing plenty of penalties while Connor Bedard struggles to do the same (Chicago Sun-Times)

Chicago Cubs - All Access | 2025 Spring Training (YouTube)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

Thanks for reading! As always, reply to this email with any feedback. Have a great week, and enjoy baseball at normal times!