All Chicago Sports Blog Posts
Chicago Bulls 2026 Summer League Preview: Roster and Schedule Breakdown
The Chicago Bulls enter the 2026 NBA Summer League with one of their most exciting young groups in recent memory. Headlined by two first-round picks from the 2026 NBA Draft — No. 4 overall selection Caleb Wilson (North Carolina) and No. 15 overall pick Dailyn Swain (Texas) — plus second-year forward Noa Essengue (Germany), the…
Chicago Blackhawks: 2026 NHL Draft Class Breakdown
The 2026 NHL Draft weekend was eventful for the Chicago Blackhawks. GM Kyle Davidson traded the No. 4 overall pick (plus the 45th pick and Louis Crevier) to Buffalo for NHL defenseman Bowen Byram and forward Jordan Greenway. This move brought immediate help to the blue line while shifting focus to Day 2 for high-ceiling…
Chicago Bulls: 2026 NBA Draft Preview
After a rough 31-51 season that led to major front-office changes (led by Bryson Graham) and a coaching shift to Tiago Splitter, the Bulls are officially in rebuild mode and the 2026 NBA Draft gives them a massive opportunity to take steps in the right direction. Draft Picks No. 4 overall (own) No. 15 overall…
Chicago Bulls Hire Tiago Splitter as New Head Coach: A Fresh Start for Chicago
The Chicago Bulls have officially named Tiago Splitter as the 25th head coach in franchise history. The move, announced earlier this week, marks an intriguing pivot for a team in transition following Billy Donovan’s departure in April. The Backdrop: Change in Chicago After six seasons under Billy Donovan, the Bulls parted ways with the veteran…
Calder Cup Finals Preview: Chicago Wolves vs. Toronto Marlies
The 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs culminate in a best-of-seven showdown between the Western Conference champion Chicago Wolves and the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Marlies. The series opens Friday, June 12 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, with Games 1 and 2 in Chicago before heading to Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto for Games 3, 4, and…
Western Conference Finals Preview: Chicago Wolves vs. Colorado Eagles
The 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs reach the conference finals stage, and the Chicago Wolves are back in familiar territory. The Central Division champions (as the No. 2 seed) will face the Pacific Division champion Colorado Eagles in a best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series. The series begins Thursday May 28th in Loveland, Colorado, with Games 1…
Chicago Bears 2026 Schedule Breakdown: Primetime Spotlights, Tough SOS and Holiday Showdowns Await the Bears
The NFL dropped the full 2026 regular-season schedule and Bears fans, buckle up. After an exhilarating 2025 campaign that saw Chicago win the NFC North and return to the playoffs, the 2026 slate is loaded with national TV exposure, brutal road tests, and classic rivalry games. The Bears will play 17 games (Week 10 bye),…
Central Division Finals Preview: Chicago Wolves vs. Grand Rapids Griffins
The 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs are heating up, and the Central Division Finals deliver a matchup between two of the division’s best: the second-seeded Chicago Wolves and the top-seeded Grand Rapids Griffins. This best-of-five series begins Thursday, May 14 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, with Games 1 and 2 on the road for…
Chicago Bears 2026 NFL Draft Recap: Speed, Secondary, and Offensive Depth Headline a Solid Class
The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles delivered a seven-player class that prioritizes athleticism, secondary upgrades, and long-term offensive line stability while leaning heavily into Ben Johnson’s scheme. The Bears entered the draft with needs at safety, center, and depth across the board after some key free-agency departures.…
Chicago Bears 2026 NFL Draft Preview: Picks, Needs, and Smart Targets
The Chicago Bears head into the 2026 NFL Draft riding high after a transformative 2025 season. Under new head coach Ben Johnson, they went 11-6, captured their first NFC North title since 2018, won a Wild Card playoff game for the first time in 15 years, and pushed the Rams to overtime in the Divisional…
2026 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs Central Division Semifinals Preview: Chicago Wolves vs. Texas Stars
The Chicago Wolves (2nd in Central, 36-21-8-7, 87 points) and Texas Stars (3rd in Central, 37-29-4-2, 80 points) will meet in a best-of-five series for the right to advance in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Wolves locked in the No. 2 seed, while the Stars are the No. 3 seed. Texas will host Games…
March Madness Final Four Preview: Illinois vs UConn
Date: Saturday, April 4th Time: 5:09 PM CT Watch: TBS / truTV Location: Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, IN) The Illinois Fighting Illini have punched their ticket to the Final Four for the first time since 2005, capping a dominant South Region run with a gritty 71-59 Elite Eight victory over Big Ten rival Iowa. Now,…
March Madness Elite Eight Preview: Illinois vs Iowa
Date: Saturday, March 28th Time: 5:09 PM CT Watch: TBS / truTV Location: Toyota Center (Houston, TX) The Illinois Fighting Illini have punched their ticket to the Elite Eight after a gritty Sweet 16 victory over No. 2 seed Houston, clamping down defensively in a 65-55 win. Now, Brad Underwood’s squad faces a familiar Big…
March Madness Preview: Illinois vs Houston
Date: Thursday, March 26th Time: 9:05 PM CT Watch: TBS / truTV Location: Toyota Center (Houston, TX) The Illini advance to the Sweet 16 after a dominant run, including a convincing 76-55 win over VCU in the Round of 32. Now they face a formidable No. 2 seed Houston Cougars team in Houston. Houston, coached…
March Madness Preview: Illinois vs VCU
Date: Saturday, March 21stTime: 6:50 PM CTWatch: CBSLocation: Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville, SC) The Illini move on to the second round where they’ll face a dangerous and well-balanced VCU team out of the Atlantic 10. This is a clear step up in competition — the Rams are 17-1 in their last 18 and come…
March Madness Preview: Illinois vs Penn
Date: Thursday, March 19th Time: 8:25 PM CT Watch: TNT Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville, SC) The Illini will open up their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament against a familiar foe on the sideline. Illinois will face off with former Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery and the Penn Quakers. The Quakers punched their ticket dramatically by…
Chicago Bulls 2024 Summer League: Roster Breakdown
Summer League is here! Let’s take a look at the Bulls’ schedule and roster for this year in Las Vegas! Bulls Summer League Schedule Date Time (CT) Opponent Place TV 7/13 3:30 PM Bucks Cox Pavilion NBA TV/ESPN+ 7/14 9:00 PM Warriors Thomas & Mack ESPN2 7/16 5:30 PM Pistons Thomas & Mack NBA TV/ESPN+…
Chicago Blackhawks Draft Breakdown: 2024 Prospects Analysis
The Chicago Blackhawks have made significant strides in the 2024 NHL Draft, selecting eight promising young players who are poised to help shape the future of the franchise. With three first round picks, the Blackhawks’ draft picks bring a blend of skill, speed, and potential to the team. In this blog post, we’ll delve into…
Newest Chicago Bull: Matas Buzelis Scouting Analysis
The Bulls took Hinsdale, Illinois native Matas Buzelis with the 11th overall pick in the 2024 draft. Originally thought to be a top ten pick, Buzelis fell to the Bulls on draft day. Buzelis played for G-League Ignite last year. If you’re not aware, the Ignite went 2-32 last season, causing the NBA to dissolve…
Chicago Bears 2024 NFL Draft: Needs, Prospects, and Strategy
After an absolute fleecing of the Carolina Panthers, the Chicago Bears hold the 1st overall pick for the 2nd straight year. Last year, the Bears traded the Panthers the 1st overall pick that they used to select QB Bryce Young. In return, the Bears received veteran, All-Pro WR D.J Moore and a ton of draft…
Chicago Bears Free Agency Grade Report: D’Andre Swift RB
General Manager Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears got off to a quick start when free agency opened up in March. The offense has been consistently at the bottom half of the rankings for the past several seasons. Poles went to work to address the offensive side of the ball, signing dynamic free agent veteran running…
Playoff Play-in Series Preview: Chicago Bulls vs Atlanta Hawks
Tip Off: Wednesday, April 17th, 2024 – 8:30 PM CT Venue: United Center TV: ESPN The Bulls host the Atlanta Hawks in the 9-10 game of the NBA play-in series on Wednesday night. Chicago won two of the three games between these two in the regular season. The Hawks play fast but they’re ranked 27th…
White Sox – Down on the Farm: Bryan Ramos
Player: Bryan Ramos Position: 3rd-Base Height: 6’2 Weight: 2225 Age: 22 Bats/Throws: R/R Current Level: AA MLB.com Rank: 4th in White Sox System Fangraphs Rank: 3rd in White Sox System Acquired: Signed in July 2018 for $300,000 Hometown: Havana, Cuba The White Sox signed Bryan Ramos during the international signing period in July 2018 for $300,000 out of Cuba. He was heralded as a big-time hitter before…
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Matchup: Illinois vs Connecticut
Tip Off: Saturday March 30th, 2024 – 5:09 PM CT Venue: TD Garden – Boston, MA Illinois took down 2-seed Iowa State on Thursday night to advance to the Elite Eight. The Illini will take on reigning national champion Connecticut. Illinois dropped from 1st to 2nd in offensive efficiency after the win over Iowa State…
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen Matchup: Illinois vs Iowa State
Tip Off: Thursday March 28th, 2024 – 9:09 PM CT Venue: TD Garden – Boston, MA After beating Duquesne 89-63 in the second round, the Fighting Illini have now reached their first Sweet Sixteen since 2005. Illinois now ranks first in KenPom in offensive efficiency. Iowa State ranks number one in defensive efficiency which makes…
NCAA Tournament Matchup: Northwestern vs Connecticut
Tip Off: 6:45 PM Venue: Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY After an OT win over Florida Atlantic in the first round, Northwestern will get the defending national champions and number 1 overall seed UConn in the second round. The Huskies beat Stetson in their first-round matchup. UConn ranks 1st in offensive efficiency and 12th in…
NCAA Tournament Matchup: Illinois vs Duquesne
Tip Off: Saturday March 23rd, 2024 – 7:40 PM CT – TNT Venue: CHI Health Center Omaha – Omaha, NE The Fighting Illini are headed to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to take on 11-seeded Duquesne after the Dukes upset BYU in the first round. The storyline for the Dukes is their head…
NCAA Tournament Matchup: Northwestern vs Florida Atlantic
Tip Off: 11:15 AM Venue: Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY The NCAA Tournament committee did the Wildcats no favors in their potential path to the Sweet Sixteen. The Cats will have to beat two teams from last year’s Final Four in Florida Atlantic and UConn in order to advance to Northwestern’s first Sweet Sixteen in…
NCAA Tournament Preview: Illinois vs Morehead State
Tip Off: Thursday March 21st, 2024 – 2:10 PM CT – truTV Venue: CHI Health Center Omaha – Omaha, NE The Fighting Illini come off a Big Ten Tournament Championship over Wisconsin on Sunday. They’ll have the least amount of rest of any team from Conference Tournament to the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.…
Cubs – Down on the Farm: Michael Busch
Player: Michael Busch Position: 1st-Base Height: 6’1 Weight: 210 Age: 26 Bats/Throws: L/R Current Level: MLB MLB.com Rank: 3rd in Cubs System Acquired: In trade with Los Angeles Dodgers with Yency Almonte for Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope on January 11th, 2024 Hometown: Inver Grove Heights, MN College: North Carolina The Cubs acquired Michael Busch in January in a really interesting trade with the Dodgers. Busch is a…
Beyond the Roster: White Sox Spring Training Non-Roster Invitees
Spring Training is upon us! Time to get familiar with the names we’ll see on the field in Arizona. Non-roster invitees in spring training are players who are invited to participate in the major league camp, but are not on the team’s 40-man roster. The Sox will have a mix of prospects, veterans and minor…
Beyond the Roster: Cubs’ Spring Training Invitees Looking to Make an Impact
Spring Training is almost here so it’s a great time to get familiar with the names we’ll see on the field in Arizona. Non-roster invitees in spring training are players who are invited to participate in the major league camp but are not on the team’s 40-man roster. These players get a chance to practice…
White Sox- Down On The Farm: Jake Eder
Player: Jake Eder Position: Left-Handed Pitcher Height: 6’4 Weight: 215 Age: 25 Bats/Throws: L/L Current Level: AA-Birmingham MLB.com Rank: 5th in White Sox System Drafted: 4th Round, 2020 by Miami Marlins Acquired: Traded from MIA on 8/1/23 for Jake Burger Hometown: Boynton Beach, FL College: Vanderbilt The White Sox acquired Jake Eder at last season’s trade deadline in exchange for Jake Burger. Eder was a 4th round pick out of Vanderbilt…
DePaul’s Quest for a Big East Win: Can We Get One?
The DePaul Blue Demons are currently navigating one of the worst seasons ever seen by a power conference team, holding a disappointing 3-20 overall record and an 0-12 mark in the Big East. The recent firing of head coach Tony Stubblefield and the appointment of Matt Brady as interim head coach signal potential for significant…
Cubs- Down On The Farm: Cade Horton
Player: Cade Horton Position: Right-Handed Pitcher Height: 6’1 Weight: 211 Age: 22 Bats/Throws: R/R Current Level: AA Tennessee MLB.com Rank: 2nd in Cubs System Fangraphs Rank: 7th in Cubs System (2023) Drafted: 1st Round, 7th overall, 2022 Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK College: Oklahoma Ever since the Cubs drafted Cade Horton 7th overall in the 2022 draft, there’s been a ton of excitement about him throughout the organization. It’s pretty incredible…
Northwestern Basketball Season Preview
What a season we got from the Wildcats last year. Preseason picked to finish 13th in the Big Ten but ended up with an NCAA Tournament win and 68-63 loss to 2 seed UCLA in the second round. The Wildcats lose an unbelievable defender in Chase Audige, they also lose Robbie Beran, Julian Roper and…
Illinois Basketball Season Preview
Last year’s team had a ton of skill but never seemed to mesh. In fact, they may have peaked in November and December with neutral site wins over UCLA and Texas. From an outside perspective it never seemed like they were a true team. With Skyy Clark, Jayden Epps, RJ Melendez and Matthew Mayer gone,…
Chicago Bulls Season Preview
The Bulls finished the 2022-23 season with a 40-42 record and were knocked out by the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament. Below we see where the Bulls ranked by offensive and defensive efficiency for last season. The Bulls ranked 5th in the NBA in defensive efficiency, but also dropped to 24th in offensive efficiency.…
Loyola Chicago Basketball Season Preview
Year 3 of the Drew Valentine era. Year 2 was a big step back in terms of national rankings. The Ramblers finished 10-21 and 4-14 in their first season in the Atlantic 10. The combination of losing a lot of key players (five seniors), a new conference and a still new coach created a rough…
DePaul Season Preview: Navigating the Competitive Big East
Tony Stubblefield begins his 3rd year at the helm for the Blue Demons off a year that saw DePaul finish 10-23 (3-17). The only reason DePaul didn’t finish last in the Big East the last two seasons was that Georgetown went 0-19 and 2-18 over those years. Now Patrick Ewing is gone for the Hoyas…
UIC Basketball Season Preview
Last season represented a rude awakening to the Missouri Valley Conference for UIC. The Flames finished 4-16 in conference play (11th place out of 12 teams) and 12-20 overall in their first season in the Valley. The Flames showed flashes at times and competed but failed to close out a lot of close games. They…
Bedard Mania Takes Center Stage: Chicago Blackhawks Season Preview
The Chicago Blackhawks are gearing up for the 2023-24 NHL season, and fans can’t help but be excited after a challenging year in 2022. With last year’s record of 26-47-7 and the lowest goal tally in the league (202 goals scored), it’s clear the rebuild still had a long way to go. The energy around…
Cubs- Down On The Farm: Moises Ballesteros
Player: Moises Ballesteros Position: C/1B Height: 5’7 Weight: 195 (He’s definitely heavier the listed 195) Age: 19 Bats/Throws: L/R Current Level: A+-South Bend/AA-Tennessee MLB.com Rank: 7th in Cubs System Acquired: Signed in 2020-21 International Free Agency Hometown: Los Teques, Venezuela At just 19 years old, Ballesteros has made his way through Myrtle Beach and South Bend this season before joining Tennessee for their playoff push. He hit .274…
White Sox- Down On The Farm: Nick Nastrini
Player: Nick Nastrini Position: Right-Handed Pitcher Height: 6’3 Weight: 215 Age: 23 Bats/Throws: R/R Current Level: AAA-Charlotte MLB.com Rank: 6th in White Sox System Drafted: 4th Round, 2021 by Los Angeles Dodgers Acquired: Traded from LAD on 7/28/23 Hometown: San Jose, CA College: UCLA Nastrini was acquired as part of the return for Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly from Los Angeles at this year’s trade deadline. Since then, Nastrini…
Bears Season Preview
The Bears ended the 2022-23 season with the worst record in the NFL (3-14). They needed and major offseason and they did just that. Trading away the number 1 pick was the first step in the right direction. The Bears had a ton of weaknesses and really did well to start addressing them. Offense The…
Illinois Football Preview
How much fun was last season as an Illinois fan? Illini fans saw an 8-5 season; it was the Illini’s first winning season since 2011 (7-6) and first 8+ win season since 2007. They did finish with a 19-10 loss in the ReliaQuest Bowl to Mississippi State. But it also included wins at Wisconsin, vs…
Northwestern Football Preview
The ugly truth; you’d be hard-pressed to find a Power-5 school in a worse position than the Wildcats going into the 2023 season. There’s a clear black eye on the program after the hazing allegations and the firing of Pat Fitzgerald this summer. That on top of a team that lost their final eleven games…
Cubs- Down on the Farm: Pete Crow-Armstrong
Player: Pete Crow-Armstrong Position: Outfielder Height: 5’11 Weight: 184 Age: 21 Bats/Throws: L/L Current Level: AAA Iowa MLB.com Rank: 12th in MLB, 1st in Cubs System Fangraphs Rank: 20th in MLB, 1st in Cubs System Acquired: Trade from New York Mets for Javier Baez and Trevor Williams (July 30, 2021) High School: Harvard-Westlake, Los Angeles, CA After being drafted by the Mets 19th overall in 2020, Crow-Armstrong was traded to…
Scouting Success: Analyzing the White Sox 2023 Draft Picks
The White Sox draft includes a mix of solid college hitters and a fair number of risks. Six of their first eight picks were lefties and they only selected one high school player in the twenty rounds. There are definitely some intriguing prospects. Let’s take a look at all of the Sox picks from this…
Scouting Success: Analyzing the Chicago Cubs’ 2023 Draft Picks
The Cubs had a total of 20 picks in the 2023 draft. They seem to have split their picks between some solid contact/on-base guys and some riskier guys with big potential. Matt Shaw is the standout who is a clear big leaguer in the future, but the rest of the class has plenty of questions.…