Rookies Shine In Chicago

Good morning Chicago fans! Hope you enjoyed your weekend watching the Masters. Or taking naps while the Masters was on TV…Or watching any other sporting event instead. That was definitely my choice!

Either way, don’t let Monday sneak up on you like Andre Drummond did on Torrey Craig:

TROPHY TRACKER

1-❌-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-🏆

Results:

L - Blues 5, Blackhawks 2

This one was over instantaneously when the Blues scored 4 goals on their first 4 shots of the game.

• Luke Richardson pulled Petr Mrazek after he allowed 3 goals on 3 shots, and Arvid Soderblom gave up a goal on the first shot he faced

  • Richardson was NOT happy after the game - he said nobody was ready to play and it was completely unacceptable

• Landon Slaggert scored his first NHL goal on a breakaway in the 3rd period! 🚨

L - Predators 5, Blackhawks 1

Ethan Del Mastro’s NHL debut and Connor Murphy’s return from injury were overshadowed by the overpowering Predators’ attack as the Hawks got blown out for the 3rd straight game.

• Filip Forsberg had a hat trick and 7 shots on goal for the Predators

• Del Mastro recorded 18:35 of ice time, and the Hawks outshot the Predators when he was on the ice for 5v5

L - Hurricanes 4, Blackhawks 2

Frank Nazar scored a goal in his NHL debut and lit up the UC in the Hawks’ last home game of the season, but the Hurricanes escaped with the win late in the 3rd period.

• Nazar’s goal gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead after the 1st period despite being outshot 10-2

• Hurricanes outshot the Hawks 34-16 and converted on 2 of 3 power plays

Week Record: 0-3-0

Season Record: 23-52-5

Star of the Week: The Rooks

Nobody really stands out when there are 3 straight blowouts and only 5 goals scored in the week. So we spotlight the rookies, since we’re all looking towards the future for hope anyways:

Landon Slaggert, Ethan Del Mastro, and Frank Nazar

Play of the Week: Frank Nazar 1st NHL Goal

News & Notes:

• Prized prospect Frank Nazar (2022 1st round pick - #13 overall) signed a 3-year entry-level contract ($950,000 cap hit)

  • Nazar is leaving Michigan early following his recently completed sophomore season

  • Can’t wait to see him and Bedard play together 🔥

• Connor Murphy was activated from injured reserve

  • He hadn’t played since January 13th due to a groin injury called Osteitis pubis

• D Ethan Del Mastro was called up to the Blackhawks to play in a couple games and get a taste of the NHL before being sent back down for the end of Rockford’s season

• D Wyatt Kaiser was sent down to the AHL to participate in the playoffs - the whole organization praised Kaiser’s last stint at the NHL level

• Martin Misiak (2023 2nd round), Paul Ludwinski (2022 2nd round), and Nick Lardis (2023 3rd round) are also joining the Rockford IceHogs

• The radio voices of the Blackhawks, Troy Murray and John Wiedeman, signed 3-year contract extensions as the Blackhawks will continue their partnership with WGN Radio. 📻

  • This is great news for Hawks fans! Other teams have switched to a simulcast where the TV broadcast is aired over the radio, and the future of radio has been a volatile subject lately.

• Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic will play for Team USA in the World Championships in May

• Rem Pitlick officially did not play 30 games with the Blackhawks this year, so the conditional draft pick that was traded to the Penguins (2026 7th-round pick) earlier this season will not actually be moved.

• Every Shift Episode 6 was released on YouTube with an inside look at the college prospects and the young players’ development at the NHL level

• 2 games remain in the season, and the Hawks will officially have the 2nd best odds to land the #1 draft pick

TROPHY TRACKER

❌-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-🏆

Results:

L - Knicks 128, Bulls 117

Jalen Brunson (45 points) and the Knicks dominated as the Bulls’ disappointing slide to the inevitable Play-In Tournament continued.

• Alex Caruso and Javonte Green were in the starting lineup as Ayo Dosunmu missed the game due to injury, Andre Drummond left the game with a severe ankle injury

• Torrey Craig attempted an alley-oop to himself in the 2nd quarter and…Drummond thought the pass was for him. The embarrassing play ended in a turnover and a Billy Donovan timeout to set the team straight.

W - Bulls 127, Pistons 105

The Bulls took care of the 13-win Pistons to clinch home court advantage in the 9-10 Play-In matchup with the Hawks.

• DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points in the 3rd quarter on his way to a 39 point effort

• Nikola Vucevic had a strong night (27p/11r), Alex Caruso had 10 assists, and Adama Sanogo got 11 minutes of playing time in Drummond’s absence

• Bulls scored 36 points off 20 Pistons turnovers

W - Bulls 129, Wizards 127

Most of the starters sat out for rest after clinching the #9 seed, and the new version of the Baby Bulls put on a show in Washington.

• Center Adama Sanogo (22 points, 20 rebounds) came off the bench and was the second rookie with a 20-20 game this season (Victor Wembanyama was first) 💪

• Javonte Green was the leading scorer (24p/7r)

• Major free-agent acquisitions Jevon Carter (20p/12a) and Torrey Craig (11p/15r) also had double-doubles

L - Knicks 120, Bulls 119 (OT)

The Knicks clinched the #2 seed in the East in a meaningless game #82 for the Bulls.

• This was the Bulls’ 11th overtime game this season ⌚ the healthy starters all played big minutes to stay in rhythm before the Play-In Tournament

• DeMar scored 30 points but missed a potential go-ahead shot with 2.8 seconds left, Vooch scored 29, Coby scored 26

• Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 40 points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds

Week Record: 2-2

Season Record: 39-43 (FINAL RECORD)

Star of the Week: DeMar DeRozan

Jalen Brunson made a case for himself despite not even being on the Bulls…

DeMar averaged 34.3 ppg in the 3 games he played this week with a 53.8% shooting percentage from 3 👀

Play of the Week: Henri Drell Block

News & Notes:

• Billy Donovan was ALL over the rumor mill as a potential candidate for Kentucky’s head coaching job after John Calipari left for Arkansas

  • Donovan was an assistant at Kentucky from 1989-1994

  • Kentucky ended up hiring BYU’s Mark Pope as their next head coach

• DeMar DeRozan continues to be 100% clear when talking to the media - he wants to remain a Bull after this season

• Coby White broke the record for 3-pointers made in a single season for the Bulls (204 by Zach LaVine in 2022-2023)

• Old friend Nate Robinson shared more updates regarding his health 🙏

  • He is barely getting by on dialysis to treat his kidneys, and he needs a kidney transplant soon in order to extend his life. He was vulnerable and shared impressive perspective with Jake Nisse here in the Daily Mail.

TROPHY TRACKER

1-2-3-4-5-❌-7-8-9-🏆

Results:

L - Padres 9, Cubs 8

This was an epic collapse coming off of the exciting series win against the Dodgers. An 8-0 lead quickly turned into a 9-8 deficit as the bullpen fell apart.

• Javier Assad had a good start (5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), but Jose Cuas relieved him and quickly gave up 4 runs on 13 pitches. The Padres scored 7 runs in that 6th inning and took the lead in the 8th on a 2-run HR from Fernando Tatis Jr.

• Cubs had won 43 straight games when scoring 8+ runs (per Chris Kamka on Twitter), and the 8-run comeback tied the largest in Padres history

• 8 different Cubs batters recorded a hit on the night, and they chased old friend Yu Darvish from the game after 3.0 IP

W - Cubs 5, Padres 1

The Cubs put their disastrous letdown behind them with a huge bounceback win in Ben Brown’s first MLB start.

• Christopher Morel added to his electric start to the season with a grand slam in the 5th inning ⚡

• Brown pitched a confident game (4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), and the bullpen was much more solid (1 ER in 4.1 IP)

• Seiya Suzuki had 3 more hits and Yan Gomes homered

L - Padres 10, Cubs 2

Kyle Hendricks vs. old friend Dylan Cease ended as poorly as we could have imagined. The Cubs bats were finally slowed as the Padres took the series.

• Hendricks was clobbered for 7 ER over 5.0 IP, and Cease threw 6 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts

• Michael Busch hit a 2-run HR, but the offense was limited to only 3 hits 😲

L - Mariners 4, Cubs 2

The offense sputtered for the 2nd straight game as Bryce Miller shut down the Cubs in the series opener in Seattle.

• Jordan Wicks struggled (4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K), but Drew Smyly and Keegan Thompson each pitched 2 shutout innings out of the pen to keep the Cubs close

• Stop me if you’ve heard this before…Michael Busch hit a HR, but the offense was limited to only 4 hits 😐

W - Cubs 4, Mariners 1

A parade of solo homers and another strong outing from Shōta Imanaga were enough to grab a low-scoring win.

• Imanaga gave up 1 unearned run in 5.1 IP but extended his 0 earned run streak to 3 games / 15.1 IP to start his MLB career 😎

• Suzuki, Busch (3rd straight game!), and Miguel Amaya all hit home runs

W - Cubs 3, Mariners 2

The Cubs won the rubber match in Seattle in yet another pitchers’ duel.

• The pitching staff was strong again: Javier Assad gave up 2 ER in 5.2 IP, and the bullpen combined for 3.1 IP of shutout baseball

• Adbert Alzolay converted his 2nd save in as many days and closed out the victory with a pickoff of Julio Rodriguez at 1st base

• Michael Busch homered in his 4th straight game 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Week Record: 3-3

Season Record: 9-6

Star of the Week: Michael Busch

Easy choice here. 4 homers in 4 games. The only Cubs rookie to accomplish that feat since 1901 😮

Play of the Week: Christopher Morel Grand Slam

News & Notes:

• Jose Cuas was sent down to AAA, Keegan Thompson was called up to the Cubs

• A Cubs scout was in Japan to watch starting pitcher Roki Sasaki, a 22-year old with amazing stats in his 4-year career. Bleacher Nation had a helpful article here.

• Ever wondered why Cubs players chose the number on their back? Marquee Sports Network interviewed basically the entire roster here to get the all-important answers.

  • I appreciate Shōta’s and Seiya’s tribute to fellow players! Meanwhile, the amount of guys who had to choose a random number from a list is astounding.

• Cubs scored 8+ runs in 6 of their first 10 games of the season - the second time in their HISTORY. The first was in 1901 (via Chris Kamka on Twitter).

• Another All Access video dropped on YouTube covering Opening Day 🎬 Here are my favorite moments:

  • Cubs legends come together at Wrigley Field

  • The players laugh in the dugout about Luke Little (6’ 8”) and Nick Madrigal (5’ 8”) lining up next to each other for introductions

• Maddie Lee wrote a very interesting article in the Sun-Times on Ian Happ and his dedication to vision training to help improve his hitting

• Traded minor league catcher Joe Hudson to the Mets

  • Return has not yet been announced

• Reportedly signed veteran SP Julio Teheran who was recently designated for assignment by the Mets

• How about this whacky stat?

TROPHY TRACKER

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News & Notes:

• Draft prospects WR Xavier Worthy, OT JC Latham, DE Laiatu Latu, and others visited the Bears last week at Halas Hall

• Former Bear WR Equanimeous St. Brown signed with the Saints

  • I expect the Bears to add more veterans and/or draft a rookie WR to add to their depth

  • I’ll miss those Monday arguments after games when the Bears ran the ball 75% of the time, but EQ was inactive, even though all he does is blocks 🤷‍♂️

• A new episode of 1920 Football Drive was released looking at the Bears’ offseason moves

• Montez Sweat was on the Green Light Podcast with Chris Long

  • He was surprised how good the Bears’ defense was when he got traded

  • He was embarrassed when Washington’s team name switched to the Commanders 😂

• The NFL Draft is 1.5 weeks away, and there is zero conversation about the #1 pick. It has been a certain consensus that the Bears will select Caleb Williams. Speculation continues regarding their #9 pick.

Alex Vlasic

If you protect Connor Bedard, you’re automatically a Good One.

Bedard is Chicago’s present and future, and nobody is allowed to touch him.

Vlasic stepped in to fight Tyler Tucker right after Tucker hit Bedard near the boards. This team continues to have each other’s backs even in the midst of a challenging season.

Michael Busch was the right choice for first base.

Ok ok, there may be recency bias here. I mean, the guy is raking right now.

And I understand it isn’t much of a take when there are 147 games left in the season and a billion different outcomes for every first baseman in the league the rest of the way.

The Cubs accumulated -1.7 WAR out of their collection of first basemen last season (Eric Hosmer, Trey Mancini, Matt Mervis, Jared Young, and more). This was one of the biggest positional needs of the offseason.

Jed Hoyer had plenty of options and ended up making a surprising move. I know we all had our preferred plans:

Pete Alonso would have been a rental OR a big-money extension candidate for a bat-first 30-year old first baseman. Rhys Hoskins would have been an expensive power hitter who has dealt with major injuries. Relying on guys in the system would have been a giant risk.

Enter Michael Busch. The acquisition nobody saw coming from Jed.

Left-handed power hitter in a righty-heavy lineup. 30+ HR potential. Dependable (it seems) in the field. Young player with team control for 6 years. Disciplined approach at the plate. High OBP. Still developing.

This may have been a genius move by Jed. Of course, Busch’s current stats of .327 BA, 1.087 OPS, 5 HR look amazing. But his long-term place in this Cubs lineup could be a massive addition for the future outlook of the team.

Thanks for reading as we wade through a busy time in the sports calendar! As always, feel free to reply to any email and let me know your thoughts. Be sure to tune in Wednesday night for the Bulls/Hawks Play-In game. For the right to play another Play-In game. For the right to play the Celtics in a 7 game series 😨