Chicago Sports

Other than Patrick Kane, most of the Blackhawks’ high-value assets have already been sold off to ignite the rebuild.

General manager Kyle Davidson has essentially converted Brandon Hagel into two first-round picks, Marc-Andre Fleury into a second-round pick, Alex DeBrincat into first-, second- and third-round picks and Kirby Dach into first- and third-round picks.

But now those guys are gone, and Kane is expected to soon follow, at least some time before next summer. Once that blockbuster goes down, Davidson will need to find a way to keep accumulating picks (and prospects) without being able to dangle star players in return.

The under-the-radar, late-night deal he made Friday–swapping depth defenseman Riley Stillman for depth forward Jason Dickinson and receiving a 2024 second-round pick from the Canucks in the process–exemplifies how he can do it.

Salary-cap space is more valuable than ever in the NHL right now, with 27 of the league’s 32 teams within $5 million of the $82.5 million upper limit (per Capfriendly) and 16 teams actually exceeding it with long-term injured reserve gymnastics. Fitting in new players, be it voluntarily via trade acquisitions or necessarily due to injuries, will be a real challenge for half the league this season.

The Hawks, meanwhile, are one of only five teams with substantial space. They have roughly $7.1 million available, a number exceeded by only the Red Wings ($8.2 million), Ducks ($15.7 million), Coyotes ($19.5 million) and Sabres ($20.4 million).

And come next season, after Kane and Jonathan Toews’ contracts come off the books and Duncan Keith’s early-retirement recapture penalty decreases, the Hawks will have even more space. They currently have only $39.9 million in committed salary for 2023-24, second-lowest in the league (only the Ducks, at $39.8 million, have less).

The Canucks are in far worse shape, financial flexibility-wise. They’re currently exceeding the cap by $700,000 with Micheal Ferland on LTIR. They have $67.6 million in salary committed for next season–including nine players making over $4.7 million–and will need to fit in notable new contracts for Bo Horvat and Nils Hoglander.

That tight outlook evidently made Canucks GM Patrik Allvin willing to surrender a decent pick to save a relatively meager $1.3 million, the difference in cap hits between Stillman ($1.35 million) and Dickinson ($2.65 million). The Hawks now own two first-, two second- and two third-round selections in each of the next two drafts.

Allvin won’t be the only GM in that boat this season, and his fellow sailors are the men Davidson will need to call on a weekly basis.

Furthermore, few current Hawks will still be in Chicago when the franchise starts trying to contend again. Some are mere placeholders, employed to fill out the team for a year or two of non-contention. Others are investments, players the Hawks would like to see succeed so they can be traded later. A decent number are leftovers from ex-GM Stan Bowman’s era, and Davidson has shown a refreshing lack of loyalty to Bowman’s failed experiments.

In any case, most are the equivalent of deck chairs that the Hawks can freely move around in whatever way most benefits the rebuild.

Stillman and Dickinson both fall in that deck-chair category. Stillman is a capable defensive third-pairing defenseman, and he’s only 24, but he wasn’t going to be a long-term building block. There are many dozens of other defensemen just like him around the NHL, including a few now competing for his job (Alec Regula, Isaak Phillips and Filip Roos).

Dickinson, similarly, is a capable 27-year-old, defense-focused, bottom-six forward, but realistically it’s unlikely he remains with the Hawks past the expiration of his contract in 2024.

More clever trades involving guys like them should be able to keep the Hawks’ stream of asset accumulation flowing steadily. Davidson set an encouraging precedent Friday.

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Prospect Brennen Davis of the Cubs anticipates the upcoming season after fully recovering from back surgery.

Despite of using 64 players throughout their 88-loss campaign, the Cubs did not make Brennen Davis their top prospect this season. Together, 25 rookies played in more than 700 games for the Cubs this season, with 17 players making their major-league debut. There is no doubt that the Cubs will include  Brennen Davis on their 40-man roster next month after he had a stellar final month of the last campaign at Triple-A Iowa. A prospect orientation program at Wrigley Field served as the call-up in September.

In Mesa’s 12-5 defeat, Brennen Davis registered just one hit, but it was a huge one. In the third inning of his debut AFL game, Chicago’s second-ranked prospect drove a two-run home run off the second pitch of the at-bat to center field. The 22-year-old, who only played in 53 regular-season games this year due to a back ailment, is hoping to gain some momentum with a solid AFL campaign.

Per MLB Pipeline, next up could be making his first big-league Opening Day roster. There certainly could be that opportunity for the Cubs’ No. 2 prospect with playing time potentially available in center field at first glance.

Brennen Davis has a demonstrated ability and athleticism to make up for the missed time and advance significantly in his growth. He was a sophomore at Basha High School in Arizona and participated on the JV baseball team partly because basketball was his primary emphasis at the time. He went from being a second-round draft pick in 2018 to being named the organization’s minor league player of the year in 2019, the MVP of last year’s All-Star Futures Game, and Keith Law’s No. 28 prospect in the whole sport entering into this season in just 167 professional games.

“It’s hard because you have expectations for yourself,” Davis said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about a career, not a year. And I’m happy. I was really happy watching all my friends get opportunities this year, and I wish I was there with them. But I’m sure I will be in the future.”

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T

here haven’t been many positives to come out of the Fire season, but one was apparent during their 3-2 win Saturday at FC Cincinnati.

Jhon Duran, 18, scored twice and Brian Gutierrez, 19, added a goal and two assists. The two teenagers’ development has a been bright spot for the Fire, whose finale is Sunday in Bridgeview against the New England Revolution.

Neither are finished products — Duran needs to hone his immense physical gifts and get better with his right foot, and Gutierrez must get stronger on the ball and see plays faster — but both showed their promise this year, and Saturday was another example of their growth.

“I’ve said this from the beginning, they both have very, very high ceilings,” coach Ezra Hendrickson said.

Whether Duran’s development continues with the Fire or elsewhere in 2023 is another question.

Reportedly, Duran is on the radar of English giants Liverpool and Chelsea. Both teams have American ownership and Chelsea already has bought Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, so neither club should have negative views of MLS talent.

Duran, who has made it clear he sees himself eventually jumping to Europe, could follow Slonina to the Premier League or another prestigious circuit on the other side of the Atlantic. Hendrickson, who wasn’t shocked by the reported interest, hopes Duran is still with the Fire next year after carrying the team’s goal-scoring in 2022.

“He’s here, he’s our player,” Hendrickson said, “but I can see why teams are very interested.”

Already coveted when the Fire signed him in 2021, Duran did nothing to hurt his stock this year, earning his first two appearances for the Colombian national team. Entering Sunday, Duran has eight goals and three assists over 1,274 minutes and has noticeably improved as the season wore on. He bought into the team concept, became more disciplined and mature and overtook veteran Kacper Przybylko for the starting striker spot.

Over the last four Fire games, Duran has five goals.

“It’s just putting in the work,” Duran said through a translator. “The hard work of the team also helps me but mostly it’s wanting to do the right things and to keep working hard so that you can keep doing the right things. And also, it’s listening to people around you. There are people that are very important around you who are always trying to help you, so you have to listen to them as well.”

There wasn’t the same hype around Gutierrez when he signed as a homegrown player in 2020, but his trajectory is also encouraging. In his third MLS season, Gutierrez has two goals and seven assists and was given a new contract that runs through 2026 with a 2027 team option.

He also has put himself in consideration to be a full-time member of the first 11 in 2023 after starting 19 times this year in the midfield. His production has added to his confidence, which should be beneficial next spring when Gutierrez faces higher expectations.

“It makes me play free,” Gutierrez said. “It tells me that I can do it.”

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This particular Saturday afternoon in September had all the makings of a high school gridiron classic.

The clouds eased across a sun-soaked blue sky, with a light breeze wafting the distinct smell of a freshly cut football field. As the players and coaches did their pregame walk-throughs, bees lingered a little too close, holding on to their final days before the remaining warmth of summer departs, taking them with it. Kids ran through the open field next to the bleachers while the adults grabbed their seats.

Noticeably missing from the Westinghouse football field was the sound of helmets and shoulder pads colliding and the notion that football is a sport reserved for men.

On the field, soft helmets covered the heads of the Westinghouse and Young girls’ flag football teams, and yellow flags hung from their belts to their knees.

“This isn’t just for fun,” Westinghouse junior quarterback LaMonica Bryant said. “It’s a serious sport.”

Chicago Public Schools launched the first girls’ flag football league in Illinois in 2021 with 22 teams participating in its inaugural season. This year participation has extended to the suburbs and more than doubled with 50 CPS teams, eight teams in the Rockford league and six in the Western Suburban Conference. As a whole, there are over 1,200 girls participating in high school flag football this year.

The goal for all of them is to become an IHSA varsity sport with arguably the biggest hurdle being participation. To take a sport from emerging to varsity-level, leagues need to have 10% of IHSA member high schools participating, which equates to about 80 schools. The IHSA Board also considers other factors like officiating, facilities and support from participating schools’ athletic directors.

For a sport like girls’ flag football, there’s an expectation that officials could be pulled from the 11-player game. But in Illinois, there’s already a need for more football officials which could prove to be a hindrance for this emerging sport down the road.

Currently, girls’ flag football is a sanctioned varsity sport in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia and Nevada. In New York, California and Arizona, similar to Illinois, it still is considered an emerging sport because the state has not yet sanctioned the sport.

Nike provided $100,000 to support the CPS league and the Bears, through Bears Care, provided another $140,000 for necessary equipment like soft helmets, cleats and belts. It costs about $2,500 per school to start a girls’ flag football team.

CPS senior manager of elementary sports Juliana Zavala has been working with the Bears and NFL Flag since 2020 to help get the sport off the ground in Illinois. They were intentional about the league beginning first in Chicago with the goal of building the sport on accessibility and inclusivity.

Zavala expects to hit the 10% required mark for varsity consideration by 2023 and hopes that girls’ flag football will be an IHSA varsity sport by the fall of 2024. By comparison, the IHSA was licensing officials in lacrosse in 2005 before it officially became a varsity sport. In 2009 the IHSA had different athletic groups make a case for the sport to become a varsity sport in Illinois. That same year the IHSA Board determined it would establish lacrosse as a varsity sport when the state had 65 boys’ teams and 40 girls’ teams.

That didn’t happen until 2017-18. So while girls’ flag football has participation on its side, there are other factors that contribute to it becoming a varsity sport.

Beyond their financial contribution, the Bears’ role in the success of girls’ flag football in Illinois includes hosting a coaches clinic and jamboree which took place in August. Halas Hall also will host the state championship on October 29. Playoffs for the CPS league began this week. On Nov. 19, Halas Hall will host a college combine for all interested players that will feature NAIA schools offering scholarships and junior colleges interested in establishing girls’ flag football as a sport.

Westinghouse and Young, both completing their inaugural season, had matching records (5-1) coming into their final regular-season game last Saturday. On each sideline, teammates could be heard whispering how good the opponent was.

In the opening minutes of the game, Young quarterback Sonali Angus put the Dolphins up early with a 10-yard touchdown pass. On the next drive, Bryant led her team downfield for their own.

Bryant was a force on the field all game, finishing with two rushing touchdowns and connecting with receiver Nina Israel for two touchdowns passing en route to a 33-28 win.

The three-sport athlete who is part of the basketball and track-and-field teams has a list of colleges she is interested in on the notes app on her phone. She said each school listed is based on her academics and her times in track and field. When considering where she’ll attend college, Bryant is focused on which school will best serve her.

Bryant said she isn’t considering flag football as a means of attaining an athletic scholarship. She’s just focused on the joy it brings her.

But the point is that flag football is available as an opportunity for girls in Illinois. It’s up to them whether or not they want to participate and exactly how far they want to take it.

“Football runs in my family,” Bryant said. “It’s just another sport that brings peace to me.”

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One Chicago baseball team won 81 games. The other won 74. Naturally, the team with more wins earns the higher grade for its performance in 2022.

Right?

Of course not.

In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter, we asked voters to grade the 81-81 White Sox and the 74-88 Cubs. Seemingly, “F” must stand for “five-hundred record.” The underachieving Sox — not the low-expectation Cubs — got hammered with failing marks.

“Who is giving them anything but an F?” @crhode1 asked.

Add an F “for the fans who really thought this was a World Series team,” @Robovinnie23 wrote.

The Cubs, on the other hand, skated by without a whole lot of criticism.

“The Cubs had a successful second half,” @newenhuyse offered. “Many nice surprises. Big props to [manager] David Ross.”

“I give the Cubs credit,” @ShawnaP79 commented. “They played much harder than my Sox.”

Finally, we asked voters which of these powerhouse teams — the Astros, Yankees, Braves and Dodgers — has the best shot to win the World Series. On to the polls:

Poll No. 1: All things considered, give the White Sox (81-81) a grade for 2022.

Upshot: The Sox didn’t hit the long ball as expected, didn’t play good defense, didn’t get strong seasons from a couple of key members of the rotation, screwed up too often on the bases, brought inconsistent energy to the ballpark and were terrible — and we mean terrible — at Guaranteed Rate Field. Other than that, everything was wonderful.

Poll No. 2: All things considered, give the Cubs (74-88) a grade for 2022.

Upshot: It’s hard to blame the players for a losing record when half of them could stroll the streets of Wrigleyville without being stopped for an autograph or a photo or even recognized. The outmanned Cubs hung in there, played a lot of close games and showed a decent amount of promise in regard to this rebuild. Then again, it’s all in the wording, isn’t it? A grade for ownership or the front office probably would have been less generous.

Poll No. 3: Which 1 or 2 seed in the MLB playoffs has the best shot to win the World Series?

Upshot: @JBIRD1268 sees a Braves repeat coming, but the National League’s top-seeded Dodgers received far more support among voters. Given their embarrassment of riches, it’s no surprise. How about the puny number of votes for the Yankees? There was a time early on when they were the betting favorite to win the whole thing. Here, they’re not getting much respect at all.

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LAS VEGAS — How can a plan executed so well, securing the best of the college football lines at a 70-plus-percent clip with Circa’s opening numbers, flop so miserably, eviscerate profits and create a deficit?

Mailman Phil contemplated just that as he settled into a diner booth, 30 feet from an adjacent mom-and-pop sportsbook on the Vegas periphery.

South Alabama’s 20-17 game has gone final. He had the Jaguars -4 at Louisiana. It bled to -9 during the week. He felt safe.

“It’s a strange game,” Phil said last Saturday. “It can really drain you, with all the work you put into it. But it’s what I enjoy doing, so I will continue.”

Mailman Phil is all of us, Jane or Joe Six-Pack, just trying to solve the riddle of the lines, to make all the sweat and toil worthwhile. To cash a few tickets.

He is average, with an exception. Every Sunday morning, he jousts with professionals lying in wait, preparing to pounce on the Circa Sports app as it releases oddsman Matt Metcalf’s lines for the ensuing weekend.

Many of those pros maximize wagers, at five grand per side, two per total. Mailman Phil fires at far-lesser figures, on two or three top plays. The rest of his action is smaller.

The money, though, is insignificant. It’s about pride. Beating the book. On Sunday, Sept. 25, he bet into Circa’s menu with 20 wagers, his most initial positions this season. They had steadily increased with success.

He had liked how South Alabama quarterback Carter Bradley had played in a 32-31 defeat to UCLA two weeks earlier.

“But I was on the right side” with USA against the Ragin’ Cajuns. “That’s all you can ask.”

Mailman Phil emptied his backpack to find he had left his phone at home.

“Godfrey Daniel!”

LINE DOESN’T CARE

I first met Phil more than 30 years ago in Manhattan Beach, California. I covered UCLA football and hoops. He delivered the mail to the ocean-view pad.

We’d chat about sports. He hooked me into his huge college football confidence pool, 10 games a week against the line, 1-10 weighted points. We’d discuss games and betting strategies at the bar he tended on weekend nights.

I landed in Vegas, to where he’d eventually retire. With his pension and wise investments, money doesn’t worry 72-year-old Mailman Phil. Line movements, however, are a different beast.

When he gets the better of so many of those numbers, he expects to profit. He’d retreat to this establishment to update his figures and watch Arizona State-USC. Decent grub, many flat-screens, stellar background music.

Looking Glass serenaded about Brandy’s braided chain, made of the finest silver from the north of Spain, as more scores become final.

“Godfrey Daniel!” he barked again. It’s better than swearing, he confides.

He grabbed a notebook.

“I don’t even want to look inside. I’m afraid. Afraid!”

Thirteen months of profits that had amounted to more than $1,000 had been sliced to around $600 the previous week. By midnight Saturday, Mailman Phil was $600 in the red.

“I was beating the line, but the line said, ‘We don’t care!’ I’ll get one or two of these a season. Hey, you just don’t know. That’s part of the appeal of the game, why the ball is shaped funny.”

BEST MEDICINE

Veteran bettor Paul Stone, who helms an exclusive handicapping service and prizes closing-line edges, empathizes with the Mailman. Betting into Circa’s opening lines, Stone confirmed, will produce a dud or two a season.

“It’s important to understand there is variance in betting sports, and college football is certainly at, or near, the top of that list,” Stone said.

“Some bettors get bent out of shape when they have value, and lose. But that’s part of the game, if you’re routinely getting the best of the number.”

Handicapper Brad Powers tweeted Sunday that a clairvoyant who bet an opening line knowing it would move at least three points by closing time would be 112-61-2 (65%), up 44.9 units.

Hence, much of the Mailman’s losses last week were among those 61 defeats.

Pure. Bad. Luck.

He could have tried middling Louisiana +9 — Stone would have, at half the cost of a USA -4 bet, since 6 and 7 were crossed.

Mailman Phil passed. He gambled. McCartney crooned about the jailer man and sailor Sam as he surveyed the damage, with Louisville -11, LSU -6, Georgia -26/

A saving grace was a mistake; betting Northwestern multiple times, getting 28, 27.5 and 25.5 points, in its 17-7 defeat at Penn State.

He believes USC’s gaudy turnover rate is unsustainable, that its poor rush defense will cost it Oct. 15 at Utah.

A Baker Mayfield ad aired on a screen. The Mailman said the quarterback should quit football to focus full-time on comedy. “He makes me laugh.”

Mailman Phil can laugh at himself. He jumped back into the fray Sunday morning, halving wagers on Oregon -10 (at Arizona), Ohio State -24 (at Michigan State) and Kansas State in a pick’em at Iowa State.

There are five other top plays. A dozen more cost a pittance. Over the speakers, Mick mentioned Mr. Jimmy.

“The work involved is mind-boggling,” Mailman Phil said as he rubs his eyes. “You’re doing it right, but it doesn’t mean you’ll win. This isn’t for everyone.”

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The Bears have yet to feel the absence of top cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who missed the last two gamesagainst the Texans and Giants with a quadriceps injury. But neither of those teams have the firepower of the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.

Jefferson has 28 receptions for 393 yards (14.2 average) and two touchdowns this season, with two 100-yard games — nine receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers and 10 receptions for 147 yards against the Saints, including a clutch 39-yard play with 1:24 left that led to the winning field goal.

Johnson isn’t expected to play after not practicing all week, so defending Jefferson will be the biggest test yet for the cornerback lineup of rookie Kyler Gordon, Kindle Vildor and Jaylon Jones.

It’s a formidable task but not an impossible one. Last year, the Bears faced Jefferson at Soldier Field without their entire starting secondary. But against fill-in cornerbacks Vildor, Thomas Graham and Marquis Christian, Jefferson was held to four catches for 47 yards and a touchdown in a 17-9 Bears victory. With Johnson back in the season finale, Jefferson had five receptions for 107 yards and a 45-yard touchdown in a 31-17 Vikings win at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Trending

The Bears are last in rushing defense (183.3 yards per game) after allowing 262 yards against the Giants last week. That’s a continuation of a drop from first in 2018 to ninth, 15th and 23rd the last three seasons.

The Vikings’ Dalvin Cook has been one of the best running backs in the NFL the last three seasons (93.9 yards per game, with long runs of 75, 70 and 66 yards). He’s off to a relatively slow start: 63-279, one touchdown and a long run of 16 yards. But he’s always a threat to break a long one.

Player to watch

Bears quarterback Justin Fields made baby steps of progress against the Giants last week with completions of 56 and 18 yards to Darnell Mooney and a 23-yard pass to tight end Trevon Wesco.

The Vikings have allowed 263.5 passing yards per game — seventh most in the NFL through four games, including 333 against the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, 277 against the Lions’ Jared Goff and 236 against the Saints’ Andy Dalton (Andy Dalton!).

X-factor

The Vikings will be playing a week after traveling to London, where they beat the Saints 28-25. The NFL offers teams a bye week to recover, and most take it. But with it being so early, the Vikings declined and instead will have their bye in Week 7.

The Bears are coming off their first real disappointment under coach Matt Eberflus — a loss to a short-handed, beatable Giants team. How they respond in an NFC North road game could be an indicator of how much of a rebuilding season this actually is.

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It’s frequently said that the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. But the opposite is true once we reach the postseason. It will take 11 victories for the two teams in each league who receive first-round byes and 13 for those taking part in the wild-card round to win the World Series. I work all baseball season with a marathon mindset, then suddenly my internal clock speeds up dramatically. Unfortunately, the same is not true for my metabolism, which is why I never could consider running a marathon. To be honest, I find driving 26 miles exhausting. I can’t imagine what it would be like to spend that amount of time running. I don’t know what I would think about during the run, other than questions for you. Well, while I never will find out, I’ll be quite content posing my questions to you in this forum. Have fun and don’t get any blisters.

1. On June 21 of this season, the White Sox beat the Jays 7-6 in 12 innings. On July 3, the Cubs lost to the Red Sox 4-2 in 11 innings. These were each team’s longest games of the season. In terms of time, which marathon game took longer?

a. White Sox-Jays

b. Cubs-Red Sox

c. The same

2. Aaron Judge’s race to 62 home runs was a dash, while Albert Pujols’ journey to 700 homers was a marathon. Pujols became the fourth player to hit 700 homers. Who was the oldest when reaching the mark?

a. Albert Pujols

b. Babe Ruth

c. Barry Bonds

d. Hank Aaron

3. Speaking about going for a run, who scored more runs?

a. Babe Ruth

b. Hank Aaron

c. The same

4. In the modern era (since 1900), five Chicago players have scored 1,300 or more runs. Please put them in order.They all had between 1,305 and 1,327.

a. Ryne Sandberg

b. Ernie Banks

c. Billy Williams

d. Frank Thomas

e. Luke Appling

5. Speaking of marathons, on May 8, 1984, at Comiskey Park, the White Sox beat the Brewers 7-6 in a game that took 25 innings and 8 hours, 6 minutes. Which Hall of Famer was the winning pitcher in that game?

a. Steve Carlton

b. Tom Seaver

c. Hoyt Wilhelm

6. The marathon distance is 26.2 miles (26.2187575, to be exact). We are not that precise when it comes to home-run length. Take, for example, the game of May 17, 1979, in which the Phillies edged the Cubs 23-22 in 10 innings. Needless to say, the wind was blowing out that day. By the time the Cubs came to bat in the bottom of the fifth, the Phillies had their largest lead at 21-9. Their shortstop, Larry Bowa, commented: ”When we got up by 12, I figured we could win if we could hold them under two touchdowns and could block a couple of extra points.” One player hit a homer estimated at 530 feet, the longest at (and out of) Wrigley. Who hit that prodigious blast?

a. Mike Schmidt

b. Dave Kingman

c. Bob Boone

d. Bill Buckner

7. A stolen base is definitely a dash. The White Sox’ record for most steals in a game is four, achieved by eight players. Only one did it more than once. Who was he? Give yourself extra credit if you know how many times he did it.

a. Lena Blackburne

b. Scott Podsednik

c. Lou Frazier

d. Oris Hockett

8. The baseball season is indeed an exhausting 162-game marathon. In 1965, two Cubs played not 162 games, not 163 games, but 164 games. Who were those two marathon men?

a. Ernie Banks

b. Ron Santo

c. Glenn Beckert

d. Billy Williams

e. Don Kessinger

9. OK, a home run is a marathon and a steal is a dash. Only one player in Cubs history hit two homers and stole two bases in the same game. Who was he?

a. Patrick Wisdom

b. Corey Patterson

c. Jason Heyward

d. Moises Alou

Good luck to all the marathoners.I’ll see you all next week.

ANSWERS

1. The White Sox game took 4 hours, 23 minutes and the Cubs game took 4:25.

2. At 42, King Albert was the oldest. Babe Ruth was the youngest at 39 years, 156 days.

3. They each scored 2,174 runs. Rickey Henderson is the all-time leader with 2,295.

4. Frank Thomas (1,327), Luke Appling (1,319), Ryne Sandberg (1,316), Billy Williams (1,306), Ernie Banks (1,305).

5. Tom Seaver won 311 career games, 310 as a starter. This was his one victory in relief, pitching one inning.

6. Each of those players homered, but it was Dave Kingman who hit three homers, including one that headed straight toward a stoop on Waveland Avenue.

7. Scott Podsednik did it four times in 2005-06.

8. Ron Santo and Billy Williams. Ernie Banks played in ”only” 163. Maury Wills, the great base-stealer who recently died, played in 165 games for the 1962 Dodgers.

9. Jason Heyward did it on April 6, 2019. And the Cubs beat the Brewers 14-8.

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The Pacific is volatile, the Metropolitan is unpredictable and the Atlantic is stacked, but no division features as massive a gap between its best and worst teams as the Central.

On one end of the spectrum sit the Avalanche, fresh off one of the most dominant Stanley Cup runs in recent history, and the Wild, a burgeoning title contender in their own right.

At the other end sit the Coyotes, long the NHL’s most well-known punching bag, and the Blackhawks, a team constructed to land the No. 1 overall draft pick next summer. The gap in talent, depth and just about everything else is enormous — almost comparable to the NHL-versus-AHL divide.

It’s an interesting time to be in the Western Conference, which clearly has become the inferior half of the league — aside from the Avalanche — in the last few years. Entering the season, one can make a convincing argument that five of the top seven teams in the NHL reside in the East.

But every season packs some surprises, and 2022-23 likely will be no different. Here are the Sun-Times’ projected standings for every division:

CENTRAL DIVISION

1. Avalanche: As is typical for Cup winners, the ensuing offseason salary-cap crunch cost the Avalanche several key contributors: Nazem Kadri, Darcy Kuemper and Andre Burakovsky. Evan Rodrigues and new starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev aren’t equal replacements, but the Avalanche still have so many elite players that there’s no reason to worry.

Nathan MacKinnon (now locked up through 2031), Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen are three of the best forwards in the league, Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen are two of the best defensive forwards in the league and defenseman Cale Makar might be the best player in the league, period. Few, if any, teams can stack up to that.

2. Wild: They broke through into the NHL’s upper echelon last season, finishing second in the West with 113 points, and a very similar team returns in 2022-23.

Kirill Kaprizov is now an established superstar, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno are annual Selke Trophy candidates, youngsters Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi are ready to explode, the defense is well-rounded through all six members and ageless Marc-Andre Fleury remains a solid starting goalie. Their sole problem is the Avalanche being in the same division.

3. Stars: A coaching change from Rick Bowness to Pete DeBoer likely will result in a more offensive mindset for the Stars. Considering how impenetrably good young goalie Jake Oettinger looks as though he’ll be moving forward, that’s probably a smart decision.

Up front, the key will be finding production from players beyond the top line, which — featuring Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski — pretty much carried the whole team last season. On defense, Miro Heiskanen will need to carry a bigger load now that John Klingberg is with the Ducks.

4. Blues (wild card): Nine forwards hitting the 20-goal mark for the 2021-22 Blues was a remarkable accomplishment, reflecting what arguably is their league-best offensive depth. Eight of them are back in 2022-23, and top prospect Jake Neighbours potentially could take David Perron’s place.

The Blues’ weaker aspects are on defense, where Colton Parayko, Torey Krug and Justin Faulk are all more like second- than first-pair guys, and in goal, where now-departed Ville Husso largely carried Jordan Binnington last season.

5. Jets: Bowness is now with the Jets, and he arrived with a bang, stripping Blake Wheeler of his captaincy with two years left on his contract.

That controversial decision reflects built-up frustration in the organization over the fact that the core — forwards Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois, defenseman Josh Morrissey and goalie Connor Hellebuyck — has yet to deliver much notable team success. After a disappointing 89-point finish last season, this season feels like a tipping point in the Jets’ long-term direction.

6. Predators: The Predators have managed to be an above-average, annoying-to-play-against team every season for years, no matter which players come and go.

After a tumultuous 2021 offseason made no difference, the team hardly changed at all this summer, with Nino Niederreiter being the lone notable addition. Elite defenseman Roman Josi and elite goalie Jusse Saros are cornerstones, but the forward group leaves a lot to be desired and might be in line for some negative regression after greatly outperforming expectations last season. Might the Predators finally encounter some inconsistency this season?

7. Coyotes: Between the Coyotes and Hawks, the team that finishes seventh in the Central this season might be one of the worst teams in NHL history not to be the worst in its own division.

The Coyotes are bringing back roughly the same awful lineup they fielded last season — a lineup headlined, in a generous use of the word, by Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller and now without Phil Kessel.

8. Blackhawks: If Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews remain on the team for the entire season, out-tanking the Coyotes might be a challenge. But make no mistake: The surrounding cast is bleak. Scoring goals might prove to be difficult for this roster.

Where the Hawks’ new goaltending tandem of Petr Mrazek and Alex Stalock falls on the spectrum of respectable to atrocious also will make a big difference in the battle for last place.

PACIFIC DIVISION (playoff teams in bold)

Seven Pacific teams conceivably could make the playoffs, but none are slam dunks. Whether the Golden Knights can reverse their downward trajectory is the most intriguing question in the division, an the upstart Ducks and Bruce Boudreau-revived Canucks are fun Cinderella candidates. The two Alberta teams clearly pack the most star power, however.

1. Oilers

2. Flames

3. Ducks

4. Canucks

5. Golden Knights

6. Kings

7. Kraken

8. Sharks

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

The Hurricanes look like the runaway favorites, but they’ve yet to prove they can translate their recent regular-season dominance into the playoffs. How the Capitals’, Penguins’ and Islanders’ aging cores fare compared to one another will be interesting, as will Johnny Gaudreau’s impact (or lack thereof) on the Blue Jackets.

1. Hurricanes

2. Rangers

3. Capitals

4. Penguins

5. Devils

6. Blue Jackets

7. Islanders

8. Flyers

ATLANTIC DIVISION

With Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux on board, the Senators are the most improved team this season. But they’ll have to challenge a loaded group of contenders. Five of the NHL’s top 11 teams might play in the Atlantic. Surely the Maple Leafs, who have perhaps the best on-paper roster of the bunch, will make a postseason run one of these years, right?

1. Maple Leafs

2. Lightning

3. Panthers

4. Bruins

5. Senators

6. Red Wings

7. Sabres

8. Canadiens

CONFERENCE FINALS

West: Avalanche defeat Flames.

East: Maple Leafs defeat Rangers.

STANLEY CUP FINAL

Maple Leafs defeat Avalanche.

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Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore had been covering Justin Jefferson one-on-one for most of Sunday’s game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Jefferson, the Vikings’ star receiver, begged head coach Kevin O’Connell to call a deep pass.

“I was telling KO the whole game: ‘We should throw it up and give me a chance to make a play,'” he said after the game.

With 1:37 to play, it was time.

Tied and with the ball at their own 33, the Vikings split Jefferson left. Quarterback Kirk Cousins caught the shotgun snap, took three steps and lofted a pass to Jefferson, who pulled away from Lattimore with the ball in the air. He caught it and was tripped up after a 39-yard gain.

The Saints ran three times and kicked a field goal with about 30 seconds left to take the lead for good, winning 28-25. Jefferson — who had been double- and triple-teamed at times this season — was the reason why.

Sunday, the Bears will see first-hand, for the first time this season, the new truism of the modern NFL. The best teams have a star receiver. Everyone else is looking to find one.

The Bears are firmly in the latter category. No one has spent less on receivers this year than their $4.6 million.

It’s the Golden Age of wide receivers. The Bears are stuck in the Iron Age.And they won’t be able to buy their way out of it via free agency this offseason.

Bears quarterback Justin Fields’ performance thus far this season has been disturbing. He threw two touchdown passes in Week 1 and none since. His 58.7 passer rating ranks 32nd in a league with 32 teams. His 471 passing yards ranks No. 32, too — one spot behind the 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo, who has started half as many games.

There are ample reasons to be concerned about whether Fields sees his open receivers quickly –and, when he does, whether he has the confidence to deliver the ball on time.

Darnell Mooney, the Bears’ nominal No. 1 receiver, has eight catches for 121 yards this year — stats eclipsed by Jefferson in Week 1 alone, and then again in Week 4. Mooney caught 94 yards worth of passes in Week 4, but that was no reflection of any great gains by the offense. No other Bears receiver caught a single ball.

Compare that to the Vikings’ operation with Jefferson, whose 147 receiving yards Sunday marked the 16th time in his 37-game career he’s reached triple digits. He’s just the third player to record that many in his first three seasons, trailing only Randy Moss and Odell Beckham.

This year, Jefferson ranks fifth in receptions (28), targets (42) and receiving yards per game (98.3). Only two NFL players who don’t play quarterback have a better than 100:1 chance to win MVP: Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp, the Rams starreceiver, and Jefferson.

There have never been so many good receivers — outside of Halas Hall.

“Just because I think the college game the way it is, I think everybody’s been playing receiver at a young age,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. “They come up playing receiver. You’re sitting there and you’re a guy that’s in grade school and, ‘Hey, do you wanna play receiver or defensive back?’ Which one would you choose?

“But those guys are getting drafted high now. It’s a premium position, for sure. And it’s an impactful position.”

Thirteen receivers were drafted in the first two rounds this year, tying a record set in 2020. The Bears have drafted one receiver in the first two rounds in the past seven years: Anthony Miller, who flopped.

Deebo Samuel is the only above-average receiver the Bears have faced this season, and he’s more of a hybrid running back than a deep threat. Jefferson has averaged 33.3 yards per route on pass plays of 20 yards or more, the eighth-best mark in the league. Samuel averages half as much.

Jefferson will be eligible for a contract extension this offseason and could eclipse the $140 million given the Raiders’ Davante Adams in March. The wide receiver market exploded during the offseason –Adams, Kupp, Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown, Stefon Diggs, Christian Kirk and D.K. Metcalf have all signed deals that put them in the top 12 richest contracts at the position.

That leaves few available impact receivers in a free-agent class that includes the Packers’ Allen Lazard, the Patriots’ Nelson Agholor and the Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Even though the Bears will have money — a league-high $105.3 million in salary cap space, per Spotrac –those are dangerous free-agent waters in which to swim. Just ask the Rams, who signed former Bears receiver Allen Robinson, a good-but-not-elite free agent, for $46.5 million this offseason.In four games this season, he has nine catches for 95 yards.

Drafting a receiver will be the Bears’ best path to find one, then — with one major caveat. If Fields doesn’t show steady improvement — and he hasn’t yet — the Bears might have to use their high first-round pick on a quarterback, not someone to catch his passes.

The Bears have another 13 games to figure that out, though. They’ll spend the first of them watching Jefferson — and wondering how they can get one of their own.

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