🎬HIGHLIGHTS

1. Zach Lavine is out for the year!

2. Bears fill out the offensive staff

3. Bulls need to be active at the Trade Deadline

💎THE FRANCHISES

In-Season

🏒Chicago Blackhawks

TROPHY TRACKER

1-❌-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-🏆

⭐⭐ ALL STAR BREAK - NO GAMES ⭐⭐

The Blackhawks spent the break at the bottom of the NHL standings at 14-34-2 (30 points).

As difficult as it is to see your team at the bottom of the league, this year was never going to be great. After the constant injuries and losing their best scorer in Connor Bedard, things could only go south. They’re hard to watch, but at this point, it’s pretty easy to cheer for better lottery odds and wait for the better players to get healthy.

They currently have the best odds to land the #1 pick for the second straight year! All eyes on Macklin Celebrini, who is projected to be the top pick in June.

The Blackhawks were nice enough to deliver the fans some content during the break.

Every Shift Episode 4 is on YouTube:

Some of my favorite moments:

• Goaltending coach Jimmy Waite working on technique with the goalies - I want to check out those superhero goggles 🕶

• Luke Richardson has eaten the same breakfast every day since 1989 😮

• Shoutout to Frankie Tomaselli, Parking Supervisor, who has only missed SEVEN games working for the Blackhawks for the last FIFTY years

• The team bonded at the Buffalo hotel during the snowstorm

The Connor Bedard & Victor Wembanyama crossover video between recent #1 picks is also available on YouTube:

Some of the best parts of their conversation:

• Wemby was 9 when he was Bedard’s height (5’10”) 😂

• Bedard chose to wear #98 because nobody in the NHL had it at the time, and he wanted to make a name for himself

• Very cool opportunity for two young guys to talk about their similar experiences. They got to discuss their upbringing and dreams of being in the pros, the whole pre-draft process and lottery, and how they are transitioning as pros now.

News & Notes:

1. Former Blackhawk Corey Perry has threatened to file a grievance against the Blackhawks for unfairly terminating his contract. We’ll watch if this transpires, but worst-case scenario would be the NHLPA siding with Perry and settling with the Blackhawks for a certain $ value.

2. Connor Bedard, although he had to miss the All Star Game due to injury, got to attend the festivities in Toronto and be on the ice as a guest passer during the Skills Competition

🏀Chicago Bulls

TROPHY TRACKER

❌-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-🏆

L - Raptors 118, Bulls 107

The young guys played great basketball in the first half, but long scoring droughts and turnovers downed the Bulls in the second half against a Raptors team missing Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl, and RJ Barrett.

• Ayo had his 8th straight game in double figures (21p)

• Dalen Terry left the game with an ankle injury

W - Bulls 117, Hornets 110

Coby White STARRED in his home state to lead the Bulls to a win! Coby put up 35p/7r/9a after being disappointed with his 13 point outing against the Raptors.

• Vooch had 22p/12r, Ayo had another efficient outing with 16p/6a on 7-10 shooting

• Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 30 points and 15 rebounds

L - Kings 123, Bulls 115

After the Zach Lavine news broke, the Bulls came out flat at home as the Kings’ offense took off.

• The Bulls rallied to within 4 but couldn’t finish off the comeback after being down 30. Caruso had a costly foul on an inbound play with 27 seconds remaining, 5 seconds left on the shot clock, Bulls down by 3.

• De’Aaron Fox with a huge night for the Kings (41p/5s)

• Coby 26 points, Vooch and DeMar 24 points each

Week Record: 1-2

Season Record: 23-27

Star of the Week: Coby White

There’s no escaping Coby White: lead guard, vocal leader, minutes warrior.

Coby continues to get praise from me every week, and he deserves it. He puts up the numbers (24.6 ppg this week despite an off night against the Raptors).

Coby also leads the entire NBA in minutes at 1800 (DeMar is a close second at 1793). It’s crazy to think a guy who was a fringe 6th-8th man in the lineup has catapulted into one of the most reliable players in the league. Billy Donovan clearly trusts him and has leaned on him through the rough stretch of injuries on the team.

Play of the Week: Coby White emphatic dunk

News & Notes:

1. Zach Lavine elected for surgery to fix his nagging foot injury that was reaggravated when he sprained his ankle against the Raptors a couple weeks ago. He will miss 4-6 months, and this all but silences the reported Bulls/Pistons trade discussions involving Lavine.

2. Patrick Williams was diagnosed with acute bone edema in his left foot and will be reassessed in two weeks - Billy Donovan hopes he will return right after the All Star break

3. The trade deadline is a few days away (Thursday, February 8th), and all indications are that the Bulls will remain inactive. Again. I think they should collect any assets they can get at this point, but they’ll probably “see what this group can do” for the rest of the season. Does the Zach injury change their plans???

Off-Season

🏈Chicago Bears

TROPHY TRACKER

1-2-3-❌-5-6-7-8-9-🏆

News & Notes:

1. Filled out more of the offensive staff!

   ➡ Kerry Joseph - QB Coach (Previously with the Seahawks)

   ➡ Chad Morton - RB Coach (Previously with the Seahawks)

   ➡ Thomas Brown - Passing Game Coordinator (Previously with the Panthers, interviewed for the Bears OC position, had Head Coach interviews this cycle)

   ➡ Chris Beatty - WR Coach (Previously coached DJ Moore at Maryland)

   ➡ Jason Houghtaling - Assistant OL Coach (Previously with the Titans)

2. Rumors are EVERYWHERE as Bears brass attended the Senior Bowl practices this week, and the Bears were again the talk of the NFL. The currently reported consensus is they WILL draft Caleb Williams. We’ll see what we hear next week…

3. The Bears and the Arlington Heights school districts are $100M apart in property tax valuations for the Bears possible new stadium site. Check out the article here. That sounds like an impassable number to me, but maybe a compromise occurs when potential downtown building plans progress.

4. Montez Sweat (POV Footage) and Jaylon Johnson (Mic’d Up) participated in the Pro Bowl this weekend and seemed to have a blast all week!

⚾Chicago Cubs

TROPHY TRACKER

1-2-3-4-5-❌-7-8-9-🏆

News & Notes:

1. The Brewers traded away ace pitcher Corbin Burnes to the Orioles! LOVE seeing them lose their best pitcher before the season. Without Burnes or Woodruff, their rotation seems much more beatable this season.

2. Still reported as the favorite to land Cody Bellinger, but the long wait may continue.

3. Former President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein has left his position with the MLB Commissioner’s office to head back to Boston. Theo will become a part-owner of the Fenway Sports Group (Red Sox, Penguins, Liverpool, RFK Racing) and act as a senior advisor. All the best to Theo who always said he wanted to keep moving to new challenges. I can’t wait to see how he impacts the organizations in other sports specifically 👀

4. Longtime Clubhouse Manager Tom “Otis” Hellmann passed away. An outpouring of love and appreciation soon followed the news from so many people who have been a part of the Cubs organization.

   Otis was in the organization for 41 years and served as the Clubhouse Manager for 23 years. I’ll let these players speak for themselves to show how much Otis meant to everyone:

📣SAY WHAT?

😎GOOD ONE(S) ALERT

Charles Barkley and Tony Snell

I never expected Charles Barkley to be linked to Tony Snell in any capacity.

Barkley used his platform on live TV to advocate for former Bull Tony Snell.

Snell has been vocal about needing a 10th year of service in the NBA to receive premium medical benefits, which would help provide the care needed for his two sons with autism.

February 2nd was unfortunately the deadline to sign a contract for this season, and Snell did not land with an NBA team. He could potentially sign with a team next season and obtain his 10th year of service then.

Jake Fischer wrote a great article about Snell’s personal journey and new goals to care for his family here.

🔥MILD TAKE❄

The Bulls have no untouchables at the Trade Deadline.

The Trade Deadline is a few days away, and the Bulls need to make moves if there is ANY market for their players. This season is already a wash, and I don’t know what their path forward is to contention. So they need to collect assets, and they need to start now.

Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley have made it clear for two full years now that they value continuity, relationships, and competing (“competing”, also known as fighting for a play-in spot). I bet if they had the draft capital, they would try to add to the current roster and see what the team can do this year.

With very few tradeable draft picks and a bunch of players other teams don’t want, there isn’t going to be a deal available to improve their team.

They were looking to trade Zach, but he’s not going anywhere due to injury.

So I don’t expect any moves. But they need assets, and they need to clear cap space.

Keeping certain players for next year’s roster doesn’t help this team get closer to a championship. DeMar and Caruso may be their most desirable players, so go ahead and pull the trigger.

Break up this team. Don’t fear being a “bad” team when the alternative is hovering around .500 year in and year out.