All Chicago Sports Blog Posts
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.…
Meet the Newest Blackhawks: Introducing the Future of Hockey in Chicago!
The expectations for the Blackhawks and this year’s draft skyrocketed when they won the NHL Draft Lottery, AKA the Connor Bedard Sweepstakes, back on May 8th. In this post, I’ll not only discuss Bedard’s potential impact on the Blackhawks, but also shed light on the other talented individuals who joined the Blackhawks’ organization. Here’s a…
Chicago Bears 2023 NFL Draft: Needs, Prospects, and Strategy
The Bears showed promise at the beginning of last season. They had a 3-0 preseason and won two of their first three regular season games. The Bears then lost three straight close ones to the Giants, Vikings and Commanders. Followed by a 33-14 beat down of the Patriots on Monday Night in what was a…
NCAA Second Round Preview: Northwestern vs UCLA
Tip Off: 7:40 PM CT Venue: Golden One Center – Sacramento, CA Both of these teams rely on top 20 defenses (UCLA – 1st, NW- 18th) and like to play a slower tempo. In order to stick around, Northwestern is going to have to be able score against that top-ranked defense. The Wildcats does generate…
NCAA Tournament Preview: Illinois vs Arkansas
Illinois gets set to compete in their 3rd straight NCAA Tournament on Thursday against Arkansas. The Razorbacks come into the Tournament off back-to-back Elite Eight runs. Tip Off: Thursday March 16th, 2023 – 3:30 PM CT Venue: Wells Fargo Center – Des Moines, IA Let’s get into the matchup: Both of these teams had really…
NCAA Tournament Preview: Northwestern vs Boise State
Northwestern will play in their 2nd NCAA Tournament in school history on Thursday. They’ll meet the Boise State Broncos, who make their second straight Tournament appearance. Tip Off: March 16, 2023 – 6:35 PM CT Venue: Golden One Center – Sacramento, CA Let’s get into the matchup: The makeup of these teams is pretty similar.…
Illinois Basketball Season Preview
The Illini were co-Big Ten Champions last year and made another NCAA Tournament Appearance. They beat Chattanooga is a tightly contested first round game and then fell to Houston in the round of 32. But now Kofi is gone, along with nine other players from last year’s team. The Illini have reloaded through the transfer…
Northwestern Season Preview
Northwestern enters this year without a NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017. That was their only one in program history and since that season the Wildcats have gone just 26-71 in Big Ten play. Last season was absolutely filled with close losses. Only four of their 16 losses were by double digits. Those losses were at…
DePaul Season Preview
DePaul finished last season 15-16 and 6-14 in Big East play. That 6-14 record tied them for 9th place with Butler. It was the first time in the last six seasons the Blue Demons did not finish last in the Big East. There were definitely a few glimmers of hope in head coach Tony Stubblefield’s…
Loyola Chicago Season Preview
A new season and a new conference for the Ramblers as they begin their first season as a member of the Atlantic-10 conference. Loyola finished their final season in the Missouri Valley with a conference tournament championship and a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Ramblers then lost in the first-round game to Ohio State…
UIC Basketball Season Preview
After 21 seasons in the Horizon League, UIC moves to the Missouri Valley Conference this season. With the departure of Loyola Chicago to the Atlantic 10, UIC takes their spot as the Chicago-based team in The Valley. The move will be a step up in competition and can hopefully push UIC to take another step…
Chicago Bulls Season Preview
The Bulls finished the 2021-22 season at 46-36 and made it back to the postseason for the first time since 2016-17. They lost the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, but it was a positive step forward that was a lot of fun for Bulls Nation. The Glaring Question The Bulls were 39-21 through their…
Chicago Blackhawks Season Preview
The Playoff hopes from the 2021-2022 season didn’t last very long. The Blackhawks went winless in their first nine games, resulting in the firing of head coach Jeremy Colliton. The Hawks then traded Marc-Andre Fleury, Brandon Hagel and Ryan Carpenter at the trade deadline. They went on to finish the season with a 28-42-12 record.…
Chicago Bears Season Preview
The Bears open up the 2022 season on Sunday when they host the San Francisco 49ers at 12 PM CT at Soldier Field. With new GM Ryan Poles and new head coach Matt Eberflus, the Bears will look to go in a different direction than previous seasons. Many predictions for this season aren’t very optimistic…
Illinois Football Preview: What to Know
Last season was the first for Bret Bielema as head coach at Illinois. The Illini finished the year 5-7, but there were plenty of positives in Bielema’s first year. After a 1-4 start, Illinois finished the year 4-3 in their last seven games including some big road wins at #7 Penn State and Minnesota. Offense…
What to Know: Northwestern Football Preview
Last season was really disappointing for Northwestern. A 3-9 record and only 1-8 in Big Ten play. Their only win came against Rutgers on October 16th. From that point, the Wildcats finished 0-6 and were outscored 205-68 over those final six games! For a team that historically hangs their hat on defense, they didn’t have…
Cubs- Down on the Farm: Owen Caissie
Player: Owen Caissie Position: Outfielder Height: 6’4 Weight: 215 Age: 20 Bats/Throws: L/R Current Level: A+ South Bend MLB.com Rank: 10th in Cubs System Fangraphs Rank: 3rd in Cubs System Acquired: Trade from San Diego Padres along with Zach Davies, Reginald Preciado, Yeison Santana and Ismael Mena for Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini Hometown: Burlington, Ontario, Canada The Padres selected Caissie 45th overall in the 2020 Draft. But Caissie…
White Sox- Down On The Farm: Caleb Freeman
Player: Caleb Freeman Position: Right-Handed Pitcher Height: 6’1 Weight: 195 Age: 24 Bats/Throws: R/R Current Level: AA-Birmingham MLB.com Rank: 20th in White Sox System Drafted: 15th Round, 2019 MLB Draft Hometown: Abilene, Texas Caleb Freeman struggled in his three seasons at Texas Tech: posting a 6.48 ERA over those years. However, the White Sox liked his live arm and made him an above slot offer for $150,000 in the…
White Sox 1st Half Analysis
The All-Star Break is upon us. The Sox will open up the second half Friday when they host the Cleveland Guardians. Below we see the White Sox win percentage throughout the season: The Sox had a rocky start when they lost eight in a row from April 17th to April 26th and fell to 6-10.…
Cubs 1st Half Analysis
We’ve reached the All-Star Break, so it’s a good time to take a minute to stop and look at where the Cubs are at. Below we see the Cubs win percentage throughout the season: Obviously, the Cubs have not had a good year. They dropped 14 of 17 games from April 19th to May 8th…
Meet the New Blackhawks Draft Class
The Blackhawks made some noise on Day 1 of the NHL; trading away both Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach. By doing so, management made it very clear we’re not planning to contend in the near future. But we also picked up four picks in the 2022 draft (7th, 13th, 39th and 66th overall) in addition…
Who to watch during Bulls 2022 Summer League
The Bulls Summer League Schedule will feature the Mavericks, Knicks, Raptors, Hornets and then a 5th team with a similar win/loss record determined after the first four games. Date Time Opponent Venue TV 7/8 3 PM Dallas Mavericks Thomas & Mack ESPNU 7/10 4 PM New York Knicks Cox Pavilion ESPN2 7/12 4 PM Toronto…
Dalen Terry: Meet the Newest Chicago Bull
Player: Dalen Terry Height: 6’7 Year: Sophomore College: Arizona Hometown: Phoenix, AZ Pick: 1st Round, 18th Overall by the Chicago Bulls It was a bit of mystery who the Bulls would take at #18 in this year’s NBA Draft and they decided to go with Arizona wing Dalen Terry. Terry is a super-efficient and athletic…
Cubs- Down On The Farm: Ben Leeper
Player: Ben Leeper Position: Right-Handed Pitcher Height: 6’0 Weight: 195 Age: 24 Bats/Throws: R/R Current Level: AAA Iowa MLB.com Rank: 27th in Cubs System Fangraphs Rank: 18th in Cubs System Acquired: Signed as an Undrafted Free Agent in 2020 Hometown: Southlake, Texas College: Oklahoma State Ben Leeper dealt with a ton of injuries early on while at Oklahoma State, including two Tommy John surgeries. He was healthy his senior year…
AHL Playoffs Matchup Analysis: Chicago Wolves vs Springfield Thunderbirds
The Chicago Wolves continue this incredible season all the way to the Calder Cup Finals! They beat Rockford, Milwaukee and now Stockton to reach the finals. They’ll meet the Springfield Thunderbirds in the Finals. Springfield beat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Charlotte and Laval to get here. The Thunderbirds finished second in the Atlantic Division in the regular season…
White Sox- Down On The Farm: Jose Rodriguez
Player: Jose Rodriguez Position: Shortstop Height: 5’11 Weight: 175 Age: 21 Bats/Throws: R/R Current Level: AA-Birmingham MLB.com Rank: 3rd in White Sox System Signed: 2017-18 International Signing Period Hometown: Valverde, Dominican Republic The White Sox signed Jose Rodriguez back in the 2017-18 international signing period for just $50,000 out of the Dominican Republic, so to be this high on prospect list is already a good return on that investment.…
AHL Playoff Matchup Analysis: Chicago Wolves vs Stockton Heat
The Wolves have had little trouble thus far in the AHL Playoffs. They swept the Rockford Icehogs 3-0 then beat the Milwaukee Admirals 3-1. The Central Division Champs will now faceoff with the Stockton Heat for the Western Conference Finals. The Heat will be the Wolves’ toughest matchup yet. Chicago may have the best record…
Cubs- Down On The Farm: Caleb Kilian
Player: Caleb Kilian Position: Right-Handed Pitcher Height: 6’4 Weight: 180 Age: 24 Bats/Throws: R/R Current Level: AAA Iowa MLB.com Rank: 5th in Cubs System Acquired: July 30, 2021 in trade from San Francisco Giants for Kris Bryant Hometown: Anaheim, CA College: Texas Tech Kilian was drafted in the 8th round, 236th overall in 2019 by the San Francisco Giants. The Giants dealt Kilian to the Cubs along with…
AHL Playoff Matchup Analysis: Chicago Wolves vs Milwaukee Admirals
The Wolves completely dominated the Rockford Icehogs in Round 1. A 3-0 series sweep and winning every game by at least three goal (6-2, 4-1, 4-1). They outshot Rockford 38-20, 49-16 and 40-30 in those three games. Milwaukee on the other hand went all five games in their series with the Manitoba Moose. The Admirals…
AHL Playoff Matchup Analysis: Chicago Wolves vs Rockford Icehogs
The Wolves-Icehogs matchups have always been a tough one for me to pick a side for. The Wolves are Chicago’s team and I’ve been to many more of their games, but Rockford is the other Illinois team, and affiliated with the Blackhawks. That being said, I’ll really just look to enjoy this series and root…
Breaking Down the Bears 2022 Draft Class
The Bears didn’t have a first-round pick, but the new front office did a great job with what they had. They effectively turned three picks into seven later on in the draft. First, the Bears traded the 150th pick for picks 166 and 207. Then took that 166th pick and traded it for picks 174…
3 Areas The Bulls Must Address This Summer
The Bulls finished the regular season at 46-36 and made the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. They surpassed preseason expectations (win total predictions were set at 40), despite constant injuries plaguing the team. The Bulls caught the attention of the city and the league when they went 39-21 through the first 60…
Why Everyone Is So Excited About RJ Melendez
Freshman guard RJ Melendez has been steadily getting more and more time over the past few weeks and on Sunday we saw a breakout performance against Northwestern. He reached double figures for the first time in his career with 14 points in just 17 minutes. Melendez added in six rebounds, two steals and a block…
Northwestern Basketball Team Preview
What a weird year 2020-21 was for Northwestern. They lost by just 1 point to Pittsburgh early, but then beat Michigan State, Indiana and Ohio State to improve to 7-1 and jump to #19 in the AP Poll. Yep, these Wildcats were ranked at one point last year. But they then lost 13 in a…
Illinois Basketball Team Preview
Illinois reached new heights last year despite being knocked out by Loyola-Chicago in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They finished the year 24-7, won the Big Ten Tournament and earned a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament (their first appearance in the Big Dance since 2013). This years team loses a few pieces…
DePaul Basketball Team Preview
Tony Stubblefield begins his first season at DePaul. He takes over a program that has a 5-28 Big East record over the past two seasons and that lost seven guys from last year’s rotation. Given that, the Blue Demons are projected to finish last in the Big East again, but I’ll be more interested in…
Loyola-Chicago Team Preview
There’s two big elephant’s room going into the season for Loyola this year, so let’s address them up front. Porter Moser is gone, he took the head coaching job at Oklahoma and assistant coach Drew Valentine steps in as the new head coach. The other is that Cameron Krutwig is gone and you’re not going…
Illinois-Chicago Basketball Team Preview
We definitely can’t jump to any conclusions after Luke Yaklich’s first year at UIC, especially in what was a weird COVID year that had to hurt first year coaches everywhere. Excuses aside, the first year growth wasn’t there and it’s time for a do-over this year. Yaklich is known for his defense and for whatever…
Northwestern Football Preview: What To Know Before Week 1
Northwestern comes off a 7-2 year that saw the Wildcats win the Big Ten West for the 2nd time in the last three years and beat Auburn 35-19 in the Citrus Bowl. The defense carried the team at times last year and Peyton Ramsey helped the passing game a lot. But Pat Fitzgerald will always…
Illinois Football Preview: What to Know Before Week 1
It was another rough year for Illinois in 2020 as they finished with a 2-6 record in what was a Big Ten only season because of Covid-19. Lovie Smith is out as head coach and Bret Bielema is in. Bielema saw tremendous success as a head coach at Wisconsin from 2006-2012 before leaving Camp Randall…
White Sox- Down On The Farm: Andrew Dalquist
Player: Andrew Dalquist Position: Right-Handed Pitcher Height: 6’1 Weight: 175 Age: 20 Bats/Throws: R/R Current Level: A- Kannapolis MLB.com Rank: 5th in White Sox System Drafted: 2019 (3rd Round, 81st Overall by CHW) Hometown: Redondo Beach, CA The White Sox spent $2 million to sign Dalquist after drafting him in the 3rd round of 2019 to get him to sign with the Sox and forgo his commitment to…
What To Expect From The Bulls Summer League Roster?
The Chicago Bulls Summer League roster doesn’t have a whole lot of NBA experience, but with a 2020 draft pick coming over from Europe, a former high school and college slam dunk champion and the first looks at this year’s pick Ayo Dosunmu, there’s definitely some intrigue this summer. Let’s take a look at this…
Ayo Dosunmu Is Coming Home To Chicago
The Bulls definitely didn’t expect Ayo Dosunmu to be around for their only pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. At 38th overall, the Morgan Park grad could be a steal for the Bulls. Dosunmu was a first-team all-American and winner of the Bob Cousy award: given to the nation’s top point guard. Dosunmu averaged 20.1…