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The Chicago Cubs have made a series of roster moves for the September 1 deadline.

According to the MLB, the changes include:

Right hand pitcher Adrian Sampson and left hand pitcher Justin Steele reinstated from the restricted listSubstitute right hand pitcher Jeremiah Estrada returned to Triple-A Iowa then selected from IowaInfielder David Bote recalled from IowaSubstitute left hand pitcher returned to IowaLeft hand pitcher Wade Miley transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Sampson, 30, has a 3.97 ERA in 14 games for the Cubs this season. Over two campaigns with Chicago, he has posted a 3.56 Era with a 2-6 record, 25 walks, and 78 strikeouts over 24 games.

Steele, 27, has a 3.18 ERA over 24 starts for Chicago in 2022. He has the second-lowest ERA in the majors since July 22, with a 0.98 ERA. He was selected by Chicago during the fifth round of the 2014 draft out of George County High School in Lucedale, Mississippi, and has had 185 strikeouts over 44 games since making his major league debut with the Cubs last season.

Estrada, 23, made his major league debut on August 30 in Toronto. He has a 1.30 ERA, 20 walks, and 78 strikeouts out of 34 games. He was selected by the cubs in 2017 out of Palm Desert, California, and has 9 saves in 52 major league games.

Bote, 29, has played in 20 games for Iowa since August 4, and has a .224 batting average. He began this season on the 60-day injured list while recovering from surgery on his left shoulder, but was brought back onto the active roster on June 24. Since then, he has had one home run and three runs batted in over 21 games. He made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2018, and since then he has a total of 42 doubles, 5 triples, 33 home runs, and 141 runs batted in over 364 games.

Little, 26, made his major league debut with Steele on August 30 in Toronto. Little was the Cubs’ first-round selection in the 2017 draft, and is 10-19 with a 4.61 ERA and 4 saves over 95 minor league games.

Miley, 35, was placed on the 15-day injured list on June 11 due to a left shoulder injury. He has made five rehab starts since July 29, and has made four starts for Chicago this season.

The Sept. 1 deadline allowed teams to expand their rosters to 28 players, with a pitcher limit at 14. At the moment, the Cubs are at the maximum amount of pitcher, with Estrada factoring in as the 14th pitcher. 

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The Chicago Bulls treated fans to an engaging time over the Labor Weekend at the debut edition of the Bulls Fest. 

Chicago’s iconic street festival culture was on display at the just concluded Bulls Fest over the Labor Day Weekend as fans of Chicago Bulls were treated to fun activities including 3v3 basketball tournament, dunk contest, live music, art exhibitions, kid-friendly activities, as well as food and drinks.

The 2-day event, which was free to attendees, offered a new opportunity to build engagement and excitement as the Bulls get ready for the start of the 2022-2023 regular season.

Chicago Bulls Legends, Ben Gordon (2005 Sixth Man of the Year Awardee) and Randy Brown shared enthusiastically from their wealth of experience by coaching some young hoopers regarding the concept and of the game.

Fans stayed organized for the Meet and Greet session with Sophomore, Ayo Dosunmu and Rookie, Dalen Terry, as it was a very long and patient queue.

The event’s headline artiste, Chicago’s own G-Herbo closed out the entertainment line-up of the day with lyrical and rhythmic dexterity. Benny the Bull, the Luvabulls and local favorites, The Chosen Few DJ’s, Sixteen Candles and The Trippin’ Billies were part of the line-up.

In all, the Chicago Bulls organization nailed it, as the concept is worth building upon in the coming years. The 3v3 tourney was well coordinated and caught the attention of spectators. Combine that with the different stations and clinics on hand to try by all and sundry, made the festival a welcome development.

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NEW YORK — The Major League Baseball Players Association asked management Tuesday to voluntarily accept the union as the bargaining agent for minor leaguers.

Bruce Meyer, the union’s deputy executive director, sent a letter to MLB Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem that claimed a majority of minor leaguers had signed authorization cards.

The MLBPA, which reached its first collective bargaining agreement for major leaguers in 1968, launched the minor league unionization drive on Aug. 28. Players with minor league contracts, who earn as little as $400 weekly during the six-month season, would become their own bargaining unit within the MLBPA.

If MLB does not voluntarily accept the union, signed cards from 30% of the 5,000 to 6,500 minor leaguers in the bargaining unit would allow the union to file a petition to the National Labor Relations Board asking for a union authorization election. A majority vote in an election would authorize union representation.

“Minor league players have made it unmistakably clear they want the MLBPA to represent them and are ready to begin collective bargaining in order to positively affect the upcoming season,” MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said in a statement.

The union did not say what percentage of minor leaguers had signed authorization cards.

MLB did not immediately comment on the letter.

Players with major league contracts average more than $4 million and have a $700,000 minimum salary while in the big leagues. Their minimum is $57,200 while on option to the minor leagues, with a first major league contract and $114,100 if a second or later big league contract.

MLB raised weekly minimum salaries for minor leaguers in 2021 to $400 at rookie and short-season levels, $500 at Class A, $600 at Double-A and $700 at Triple-A. For players on option, the minimum is $57,200 per season for a first big league contract and $114,100 for later big league contracts.

In addition, MLB this year began requiring teams to provide housing for most minor leaguers.

Major League Baseball and lawyers for minor leaguers agreed this year to a $185 million settlement of an eight-year-old federal lawsuit alleging violations of minimum wage laws, a deal that may be finalized next year. An early estimate is that perhaps 23,000 players could share roughly $120 million with an average payment of $5,000 to $5,500, and their lawyers will split $55.5 million.

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This is a huge ask for the Bears, but here goes: Any chance Justin Fields can start all 17 games this season?

The Bears’ 2022 rebuilding season is all about modest expectations, and the potential franchise quarterback going an entire season without getting injured or benched actually is setting the bar pretty low.

Over the last 10 years, more than half the starting quarterbacks in the NFL have started every game each season (16.8 — including starters who sit out the final week of the regular season before the playoffs).

Obviously, Fields has to show some development in Luke Getsy’s offense, but first things first. The Bears have not had a quarterback start every game of a season since Jay Cutler in 2009.

Cutler actually was a durable quarterback whose toughness was a strength. He played in 15 of 16 games four times with the Bears. But even some of those single-game absences were symptoms of bigger issues — like getting sacked nine times and concussed in the first half against the Giants in 2010; or getting benched by Marc Trestman in Week 15 as Halas Hall dysfunction was exposed in 2014.

With the Bears, there’s always something, which is why Fields playing every game would be a nice indicator that general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus will not only produce success, but success that has a longer shelf life than Marc Trestman’s 8-6 start in 2013 or Matt Nagy’s 12-4 playoff season in 2018.

From Fields on down, the Bears can give Poles a better chance by staying relatively healthy. By this point of Ryan Pace’s rookie year, wide receiver Kevin White –his first-round draft pick (seventh overall) — already was all but out for the season with a mysterious shin injury..

Poles retained trainer Andre Tucker, but has revamped the Bears’ health-maintenance staff — hiring a director of high performance (Brent Salazar), a director of sports nutrition (Blair Hitchcock) and a sports science expert (Al Lamb).

That proactive approach could be tested quickly. Eberflus is a staunch believer in tough, physical, high-tempo practices that build mental and physical toughness. It’s not quite like the knock-down, drag-out practices of the Ditka era, but the thinking is the same –if you practice hard, you’ll play hard.

That’s an old-school style that has benefits. But as Tom Thibodeau found out with the Bulls a decade ago, while that mental toughness can take a team to another level, there’s also a price to pay. That’s what makes Poles’ job even tougher than it looks. After hiring all the trainers, strength-and-conditioning coaches, nutritionists, physical therapists and sports scientists, you still have to keep your fingers crossed.

2. And that goes double for the offensive line. The Bears’ line has been in flux since Eberflus was hired and it’s still uncertain whether Lucas Patrick will play center or guard against the 49ers on Sunday at Soldier Field.

After all the mixing and matching during the offseason and training camp, continuity is vital to the offensive line. The last time the Bears started the same five lineman for all 16 games was in 2013. Not coincidentally, the Bears finished second in the NFL in scoring that season.

Since then, the Bears’ longest streak of starting the same five linemen is seven games — in 2018, when they finished 12th in offensive points scored. They’ve changed offensive line lineups 50 times in the last eight seasons –not good.

3. Poles’ 53-man roster for Week 1 will include just 19 of the 77 players he inherited from Pace — a massive housecleaning, especially for a team that technically has been in the playoffs two of the previous four seasons. The other new GMs aren’t even close — the Giants (Joe Schoen) have 25 holdovers, the Raiders (Dave Ziegler) have 27 and the Vikings (Kwesi Adofo-Mensah) have 31.

4. When Pace was hired in 2015, his 53-man roster for Week 1 included 31 players he inherited from Phil Emery. That was considered a housecleaning at the time, but Poles already is ahead of Pace in that regard.

In 2015 under John Fox, the Bears’ top offensive players were quarterback Jay Cutler, running back Matt Forte, wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and tight end Martellus Bennett. All of them would be gone by the start of the 2017 season.

Poles already has building blocks in those spots — Fields, running back David Montgomery, wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet. All but Montgomery are certain to be in for the long haul if they produce in Getsy’s offense.

5. That the McCaskeys are celebrating Ted Phillips’ accomplishments while Bears fans are celebrating his retirement is a perfect snapshot of the Bears organization in the McCaskey era.

Phillips was the ultimate loyal soldier who got things done off the field — like the Soldier Field reconstruction in 2002-03. But the legacy of George Halas is about football, not franchise valuation and the Bears’ record in Phillips’ 23 seasons as team president is unflattering — six playoff appearances (tied for 22nd in the NFL in that span), three playoff victories (tied for 25th) and seven winning seasons (tied for 23rd).

Phillips pointed to the Jerry Angelo era as his biggest success and indeed it was — playoff appearances in 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2010. But that relatively modest highlight is yet another example of the low bar at Halas Hall in the McCaskey era. Let’s put it this way: The Bears’ best six-year run in the post-Ditka era (three playoff appearances) is the Packers’ worst six-year run in the same span.

6. With that said, there is optimism that Poles can succeed where previous GMs have failed — and timing could play a big part of it. When Pace was hired in 2015, Aaron Rodgers was 31. Now he’s 38.

Don’t discount that as a factor. Most of the Bears’ success in the last 60 years has coincided with a Packers downturn — from the 1963 championship when Paul Hornung was suspended for gambling to the post-Lombardi funk lasting into the mid-1980s to Brett Favre’s worst seasons in 2005 and 2006. Timing is everything.

7. Fun Fact: Braxton Jones, a fifth-round draft pick, will be the first rookie to start at offensive tackle since Troy Auzenne, a second-round pick in 1992. Auzenne started all 16 games as a rookie, but was injured in 1993 and quickly faded. Jones has responded to every challenge so far. If he responds to the next one, the Bears might be in business.

8. It’s not likely to be a part of the Bears’ unveiling of conceptual plans for the Arlington Heights site Thursday at Hersey High School, but the ambitious project is a great opportunity to give Chicago something it is missing — a Chicago Sports Hall of Fame Museum.

There actually is a Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, but few people know about it and it literally doesn’t even have a home — it’s currently virtual, which is a shameful in a great sports city.

Chicago deserves a world-class museum celebrating the city’s sports history. And George McCaskey, the biggest Chicago sports fan among the city’s professional team owners, is the right guy in the right place at the right time to get behind this project. He’s a Chicagoan. He’s a sports fan. He has an appreciation for history. He has the cachet and connections as an owner. And he’s about to get the land.

9. Josh McCown Ex-Bears Player of the Week: Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky was named a team captain Monday and was named the starter for the season opener against the Bengals, coach Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday. He immediately was installed as the favorite (3-1) to be the first starting quarterback benched this season, via SportsBetting.ag. We’ll see about that.

10. Bear-ometer: 6-11 –vs. 49ers (L); at Packers (L); vs. Texans (W); at NY Giants (L); at Vikings (L); vs. Commanders (W); at Patriots (L); at Cowboys (L); vs. Dolphins (L); vs. Lions (W); at Falcons (W); at NY Jets (W); vs. Packers (L); vs. Eagles (L); vs. Bills (L); at Lions (L); vs. Vikings (W).

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The Cubs put lefty Justin Steele on the 15-day injured list with a low back strain and called up right-hander Hayden Wesneski, who is eyeing his major-league debut.

Steele was originally scheduled to start Tuesday, to open a three-game series against the Reds. Instead, veteran lefty Wade Miley is set to return from the 60-day IL (left shoulder strain) to start against his former team.

Steele left his last start, on Aug. 26 at Milwaukee, with low back tightness. He then was placed on the restricted list for the Cubs’ series in Toronto due to Canada’s COVID-10 vaccine requirements for entry. He remained in Chicago receiving treatment and preparing for his next start. The IL move is retroactive to Friday.

Wesneski, who the Cubs acquired from the Yankees for reliever Scott Effross on the eve of this year’s trade deadline, has traditionally been a starter. But in his last outing with Triple-A Iowa, he threw five scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

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RHP Hayden Wesneski was called up to the show by the Chicago Cubs.

On Tuesday morning, the Chicago Cubs made a series of roster moves. One of them included Hayden Wesneski getting promoted to the big leagues. Unfortunately, Justin Steele was moved to the 15-day IL in another move.

The Cubs acquired Wesneski at this season’s trade deadline. The team’s most recent prospect list placed the starting pitcher as the 12th-ranked prospect in their system. Wesneski was traded for reliever Scott Effross. Effross was in the midst of a breakout season with the Chicago Cubs.

Hayden Wesneski is a right-handed pitcher who spent most of this season with the New York Yankees AAA affiliate. This season Wesneski has posted a 3.92 ERA and an impressive 1.16 WHIP. With the Iowa Cubs, we’ve got a chance to see him work out of the bullpen.

It will be fun to watch Wesneski’s big league journey unfold. He’ll likely be competing for a spot in the Cubs’ rotation next season. The future of the Cubs rotation is a little difficult to predict as of now. Caleb Kilian and Hayden Wesneski are two prospects that have the best chance to crack that rotation.

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With the recruitment of the Class of 2023 slow to develop, the summer months were pivotal for so many seniors-to-be.

But some younger players made noise and headlines and certainly grabbed the attention of college coaches going forward.

Here are five headline players in the younger classes who made arguably the biggest impression during the live periods this summer.

Cole Certa, Bloomington Central Catholic (Class of 2024)

There may not be a better shooter in the state of Illinois.

Yes, Certa is the reigning state three-point champ — he was the IHSA’s King of the Hill three-point showdown in Champaign this past March — but he’s more than just a competition winner. Certa can fill it up when it matters, doing it in June with his high school team and again in July with the Illinois Wolves.

As a sophomore this past year, Certa poured in 19.9 points a game while chipping in 6.9 rebounds a game. He also drained 105 three-pointers on the season.

More importantly, he’s grown from 6-1 to 6-4 and has added to his game, improving his ball skills on the perimeter and showing a comfort level playing on the ball.

There were a few young players in the state who made a bigger impression over the past two months, which is why he’s added offers from Bradley, Toledo, Drake, Loyola, Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Eastern Michigan. The mid-major programs on Certa right now can only hope he remains one for another year and doesn’t garner high-major interest.

Chris Riddle, Kenwood (Class of 2024)

A physical specimen in the junior class, Riddle will wow observers with his combination of strength, athleticism and bruising scoring ability. Throw in some fast-improving shooting and Riddle turned heads all summer.

Riddle left Chicago and spent his sophomore year at Compass Prep in Arizona. But he’s returned to Kenwood for his junior year.

“For him to return to Chicago and for fans to watch him is big for the city,” Kenwood coach Mike Irvin said. “Here is a kid who could have gone and played anywhere and he chose to do it here in his hometown.”

Riddle provides some remarkable highlight plays, whether it’s overpowering defenders on drives to the basket, finishing at the rim where defenders bounce off of him or knocking down a perimeter jumper.

“When it’s all said and done, Chris Riddle will be a top 30 player in the country,” Irvin said. “Everything is there for him. He’s athletic, powerful, shoots the three. His game is only growing. He just needs to put it all together.”

Calvin Robbins, Kenwood (Class of 2024)

Robbins is arguably the most intoxicating athlete in the junior class. He explodes at the rim, finishing with powerful, head-turning dunks.

The 6-4 Robbins may be stuck between positions right now, but he’s still in the early stages of his development as a player. And he’s already a big-time finisher who will possess a college-ready body and athleticism when he heads off to the next level in two years.

Plus, Robbins is a terrific student academically who brings positive intangibles.

“Every coach that comes up to talk with me absolutely loves him,” Irvin said. “The excitement he brings with his athleticism and explosiveness is something we haven’t seen around here in a long time. He’s working on that jump shot, and when he gets that going? Forget it.”

Jeremiah Fears, Joliet West (Class of 2025)

When the summer began, the City/Suburban Hoops Report forecasted Fears to be the breakout underclassman performer of the summer. He was all of that as he dazzled both with his high school team and on the AAU circuit while playing up two grade levels.

The 6-0 point guard, who is the younger brother of Michigan State recruit Jeremy Fears, Jr., is already a bonafide high-major prospect. He will be at or near the top of the class going forward. He’s just that talented.

“I think the biggest thing to speak to is he’s become his own family member,” Joliet West coach Jeremy Kreiger said. “Throughout his upbringing, he’s been known as Jeremy’s little brother. Now he’s known as Jeremiah Fears.”

Kreiger says the younger Fears has created his own identity — and he has with some advanced scoring punch and perimeter shooting.

“He’s become what you would call a combo point guard of today — the Steph Currys, the Damian Lillards, the guys who can get you 30 and shoot with range while creating shots for other people,” Kreiger said.

Now it’s about taking the next step, which his coach fully expects his sophomore to do. He wants his young star to grow as a floor general and vocal leader.

“If he can add that to his game I don’t think there is any doubt he can become the five-star, Blue Blood kid he’s being projected to be right now,” Kreiger said.

Phoenix Gill, St. Ignatius (Class of 2025)

The sophomore guard was a bit of an anomaly in that he didn’t play varsity basketball as a freshman yet was still among the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s top 10 prospects in the class throughout the year. That was due to the enormous upside he possessed and a clear trajectory that screamed the upside was real.

After playing minimal time in seven games at the varsity level this past season, he didn’t disappoint this past summer. The 6-1 guard has made massive strides and will be an impactful player this season as a sophomore.

“He is light years ahead of where he was a year ago when he first came into our program,” St. Ignatius coach Matt Monroe said. “You can talk about every facet of his game — his shooting, his playmaking ability, defense, passing. … He’s improved in every area of the game.”

Gill, the son of former NBA player and Illini great Kendall Gill, is now starting to make a name of his own with his feel in the backcourt and commitment to getting better.

“His skill level and understanding of the game really stands out,” Monroe added. “He picks up offensive and defensive concepts very quickly. He’s grown tremendously as a player and most of it has to do with his work ethic. He’s always trying to get better and improve as a player.”

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How will this upcoming season look like for Coby White?

As the 2022-23 season slates to begin on October 18th, there is a lot of uncertainty in the air for one of 2019’s former lottery draft pick. As the 7th overall pick that year, Chicago Bulls guard Coby White is set to enter his 4th year into the NBA and this will be his most pivotal season so far. This upcoming season is the last year of Coby’s rookie contract of 4 years / $24,131,515 and as of now the Bulls have yet to sign him to a extension.

With an already crowded backcourt consisting of All-Stars and newly acquainted free agent acquisitions, will Coby be able to show Chicago he is apart of they’re long term future?

Coming out of the University Of North Carolina, Coby White was considered to one of the best scoring guards in the draft class. During his lone year with the Tar Heels he was able to finish the season with averages of 16.4 points and 4.1assist per game earning himself All-ACC honors.

Chicago had high hopes selecting Coby 7th overall, and during his rookie season he showed flashes on what he is capable of. During an exhibition against the New York Knicks White set a Bulls franchise record for most three pointers made in a quarter by a rookie with seven.Overall his rookie season ended on a high note finishing the year averaging 13.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and earning a spot on the NBA’s All-Rookie second team.

Going into his sophomore season Coby needed to showcase that he could be a building block for the Bulls, but it was utterly consisted of ups and downs. Once again he showed promises of his scoring ability with a career high performance of 36 points against the Sacramento Kings. Even a couple of days later he dropped another career high but in assists with 13 against the Clippers. Nevertheless while seeing a boost in minutes played and starts per game White was only able to increase his scoring output by 2 points from his rookie season.

This minimal progression forced the Bulls to have to upgrade the following off-season by trading for Lonzo Ball, signing Alex Caruso, and drafting Ayo Dosunmu. With these additions White played majority of the season coming off the bench; he also experienced career lows with 12.7 points, 3 rebounds, 0.5 steals per game.

Going forward it’s most likely that White’s role with the Bulls is going to consist of him being a scoring punch coming of the bench; due to Lonzo Ball reclaiming the reigns of starting point guard once he returns from injury.

The question now remains what is Chicago to do with him? Coby is set to be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2023, meaning the Bulls can match any offer he receives. In the end it will be up to Coby to determine what his future will look like with the team this upcoming season.

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It’s Kickoff Time?

Whoa Bears!

Football, Yes. Foot bill? No.

Sneed has learned a petition for an ordinance rejecting any taxpayer financing of the new Bears stadium will be presented to the Arlington Heights Village Board on Tuesday.

It will precede the Chicago Bears unveiling conceptual plans for their proposed Arlington Heights stadium at a community meeting on Thursday.

Brian Costin, deputy director of the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy group, tells Sneed he plans to present an anti-corporate welfare ordinance to the Arlington Heights Village Board at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The ordinance would be aimed at preventing taxpayer-funded subsidies such as tax increment financing “from being used to lure the Chicago-based Bears to the suburbs.”

“The petition for the ordinance would then have to be considered by the Arlington Heights village board at their next meeting on Sept. 19,” added Costin, whose group is against handouts or subsidies to lure business to the community.

“If the board refuses to pass the ordinance, it could trigger an opportunity for a binding referendum at a future election if we collect signatures from 12% of registered voters in Arlington Heights,” he said.

A recent phone poll of 300 Arlington Heights voters living in the village, conducted by the national firm ARW Strategies at the request of the political advocacy group, tagged overwhelming support for a new Bears stadium; strongly rejecting any taxpayer financing of the stadium; and showing 55% in favor of the proposed Anti-Corporate Welfare Ordinance, with 30% opposed. The poll had a margin of error of 5.6 percentage points.

“We have also learned that at Tuesday’s meeting the village board will be considering a contract with a consultant to study ‘tax incentives’ and ‘public financing’ of the project at a cost of over $100K funded by a combination of funds from the Chicago Bears and the taxpayers of Arlington Heights,” added Costin.

“We plan to oppose that vigorously as well as our recent poll showed Arlington Heights residents are strongly opposed to any taxpayer financing of a Chicago Bears stadium on our collection of petitions from 1% of registered voters on our ordinance,” he said.

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said neither he nor members of the Arlington Heights Village Board would be part of the community meeting Thursday intended to field concerns and suggestions from residents of the suburb, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

But Hayes told the media in early August that he is opposed to the ordinance proposal, which he believes is not in the village’s best interest.

“We expect to get this ball rolling soon,” Hayes told the media recently.

The Arlington Heights community meeting, which will be held at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, will detail what a Bears statement called “one of the largest development projects in Illinois state history.” The stadium site will feature a “transit-oriented, mixed-use entertainment district.” The meeting will not feature specifics about a stadium design.

The Bears are in escrow for the former Arlington International Racecourse site, for which they signed a $197.2 million purchase agreement last year. President/CEO Ted Phillips said in January he anticipated closing on the land to take until the end of this year and possibly even drag into early 2023.

“Our focus for long-term development is exclusively on that property at Arlington Park,” Phillips said in January.

Stressed Costin, “Our objective is to make sure all businesses are treated equally before the law, and no one gets special treatment, such as corporate welfare programs which raises everyone’s taxes when special corporations are given exclusive benefits.”

Stay tuned for the next price punt.

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