It’s not a new rumor to say the Chicago Cubs are interested in Japanese ace Tatsuya Imai. They have been connected in multiple reports , and the fit is otherwise quite obvious. You have a Japanese star (Cubs are strong in that area, though have two Japanese players hitting free agency after next season) coming over at age 27 (Cubs, like everyone, prefer pitcher youth if possible), who cannot be attached to draft pick compensation, and you have a club with a need in the front half of their rota...
On Monday afternoon the Blackhawks assigned defenseman Sam Rinzel and forward Landon Slaggert to the Rockford IceHogs.
The Blackhawks did not call anyone up.
The move leaves the Blackhawks with six defensemen on their NHL roster, which means they’ll go back to skating 12 forwards. Which, with Slaggert going to Rockford, also means Sam Lafferty will draw into the lineup until Nick Foligno returns from injury.
Reset time
I advocated for Slaggert to go to Rockford earlier ...
Following a dreadful pair of games over the weekend, the Blackhawks made a couple of roster moves that have seemed increasingly likely over the last few weeks.
On Monday, the Blackhawks announced that Landon Slaggert and Sam Rinzel have both been sent to the Rockford IceHogs.
The Blackhawks have sent Sam Rinzel and Landon Slaggert down to Rockford. Slaggert was expected. Rinzel wasn't. But this does feel like the right time for a confidence reset for him. — Ben Pope (@BenPopeCS...
When it comes to any Cubs relief rumors this offseason — like the one we’re about to discuss involving free agent closer Robert Suarez — two caveats apply:
(1) Historically speaking, the Chicago Cubs have come across as borderline allergic to multi-year, big-money deals for free agent relievers, electing instead to build their bullpens on the cheap using internal pitchers, one-year signings, and/or “project/reclamation” arms. And to be fair, it’s mostly worked out for them. However … thin...
The Bears fall 28-21 in Green Bay, and the crew has plenty to say about it on the Bleacher Nation Bears Podcast, presented by Obvious Shirts .
Hosts Patrick Flowers, Matt Rooney, and Luis Medina open the show by airing out their thoughts and frustrations after a tough divisional loss that slipped away late. Despite the setback, the playoff picture still looks surprisingly strong — The Athletic’s simulator gives the Bears a 70% chance to make the postseason —...
The San Francisco 49ers had a bye week this week, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t action in the NFC playoff standings. The 49ers moved up one spot to No. 6 after the Chicago Bears dropped from No. 1 to No. 7 due to their loss to the Green Bay Packers. They’re still third in […]
Shedeur Sanders is finally getting the keys to the castle in Cleveland.
It might be just for the final four games of the 2025 NFL season. But if Sanders is going to be the long-term answer for the Browns, it will be because of how his journey began down the stretch of his rookie season. Here is the announcement from Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski, who shares the news that Shedeur Sanders has been named Cleveland’s starting for the rest of the season:
Shedeur Sanders will start at ...
As the Washington Nationals continue to reorganize under new baseball president Paul Toboni, we’re increasingly seeing evidence that the team will genuinely consider trading lefty MacKenzie Gore this offseason. Now or at the 2026 Trade Deadline seems likely either way, and since no one knows what might happen to the first part of the 2027 season – the last year Gore would be under control – it’s possible Gore has significantly more value right now than he will in July. Plus, if the Nationals w...
The Cubs have just 31 players currently on the 40-man roster. Thus, it seems quite likely that they will select someone in the Rule 5 Draft, which comes up on Wednesday. That’s especially true given the fact that they have made Rule 5 selections in past years when they didn’t really have room, or a […]
The Mets have reportedly made their first move of the Winter Meetings, signing reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to a minor league deal Tuesday morning, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon. A lanky right-hander with an over-the-top delivery, Edwards Jr. began his big league career with the Cubs, winning a World Series ring as a 24-year-old […]
The NFL is the ultimate week-to-week league. Things change in an instant. For the San Francisco 49ers, the bye week was kind as the team moved into the sixth seed with the Bears’ loss to the Packers. Possible reinforcements are on the way for the 49ers (no, not Brandon Aiyuk), and the team is in […]
Frank Nazar is on the struggle bus right now for the Chicago Blackhawks. He hasn’t scored a goal since Oct. 28 — a stretch of 17 games. And some fans have extrapolated from his goal scoring woes that he isn’t playing well in other areas of the game.
Since he returned from the injury he suffered in Calgary, Nazar has nine assists in 12 games; he has assists in eight of the 12 games. He’s put 23 shots on net over that span, but none of them have found the back of the net.
Do the Blackh...
MLB RUMORS — We made it to the start of the Winter Meetings. May the rumors be exciting and may the transaction be plentiful. Let’s jump right in, because it’s only Monday and there are a lot of table-setting storylines to enjoy.
Kyle Schwarber: Pirates, Reds, Timeline, More
Ken Rosenthal got the MLB Rumors started last night , with the most surprising rumor of the winter so far:
The Pittsburgh Pirates have made free-agent designated hitter Kyle Schwarber a four-year offer, ac...
The audible groan I let out when Caleb Williams’ final pass landed in the hands of Keisean Nixon (and not Bears tight end Cole Kmet) could have been heard from here to Green Bay. The Chicago Bears quarterback had played so well in the second half. Williams was playing with conviction, making quick reads and good decisions. He also displayed some stellar arm strength. And for a moment late in the fourth quarter, it looked like QB1 was going to author a new chapter in the historic Bears-Packers ...
With December football in full effect, the Chicago Bears find themselves in a spot that they haven’t been in for five years: Meaningful games. Going into the season, most Bears fans would have taken a winning record with clear improvements across the board. Sprinkle in the feeling of being “In The Hunt”, and I’m not […]
When I saw something a few days ago, I parked it in a tab because it seemed so unlikely to impact the Cubs. After all, there hadn’t been any sourced connections between the Cubs and Munetaka Murakami, and the fit was very difficult to see if Murakami wasn’t a true third baseman.
But then Bruce Levine wrote that the Cubs could in fact be considering Murakami as an option at third base, so I think there’s good reason to share that something I had parked.
It’s Kiley McDaniel’s take at E...
I didn’t catch the Bulls game last night as I was boots on the ground at Lambeau Field watching the Bears come up frustratingly short of pulling off an upset. And, well, I’m glad I didn’t. Another game down, and another ugly loss in the books for Billy Donovan’s crew.
Bulls Bullets
Yet again last night, the Bulls were plagued by turnovers. Josh Giddey and Coby White each had four, which accounted for over half of the team’s 15 giveaways. The Bulls average 15.1 turnovers per game, w...
The Cleveland Browns opened as 7.5-point underdogs on the road against the Chicago Bears ahead of their Week 15 match-up, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under on the game is 40.5. The Browns (3-10) are coming off of a 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Special teams performed poorly again, but the defense joined the […]
1914 The White Sox purchased future Hall of Fame second baseman Eddie Collins from Connie Mack and the Philadelphia A’s. The price was incredible by on 1914 standards: $50,000 went to Mack, $15,000 went to Collins as a signing bonus, and then Collins was tendered a five-year, guaranteed deal worth $75,000! AL president Ban Johnson (before there was a commissioner, […]
the playing style of failure has failed, it's time to make it work again
The Green Bay Packers are fortunate that, despite a great rushing performance from his team throughout the entire second half, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson decided instead to put Sunday’s game in Caleb Williams’ hands on the critical fourth-and-one. Now, Green Bay has two weeks to make sure that doesn’t happen to them again […]
I have no flowery intro today’s installment of BN Bears Bullets. There is too much to disect to be wordy elsewhere.
Mondays are better when the Bears win. Air is fresher and more crisp. The sun shines a little more brightly than it usually does. Coffee tastes better. Folks in the comments section are kinder to each other. I missed not having a “Good, Better, Best” post to do last night. Sigh .
WEEK 14 BEARS COVERAGE: Instant Grades | Game Recap | The Nightcap
That one stun...
Michael Soroka, we hardly knew ye.
Acquired by the Cubs at the Trade Deadline and then injured immediately thereafter, Soroka didn’t get much of a chance to make an impression on us. Still, from what I saw of the stuff, it was really easy to dream. And really easy to want to see the Cubs take a flier on bringing back such a live arm, with the flexibility to pitch out of the rotation or the bullpen.
But it’s not happening, as Soroka, who is still only 28, is signing another one-year d...
When the Chicago Bears lose to the Green Bay Packers, it always stings a little more, but yesterday’s 28-21 loss felt different. The sting was still there, and in the moment, it may have been one of the more excruciating in recent memory, but the further I get away from the final whistle, the more […]
Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma posted an article in The Athletic Sunday that began with this intriguing comment: The Chicago Cubs are targeting a higher level of the free-agent market and signaling an openness to spending for certain players, according to team and league sources briefed on the club’s deliberations. Well. I suspect many of […]