Chicago Sports

Brennen Davis, Chicago Cubs’ prized outfielder, rejoins the Iowa Cubs after a long period on the injured list.

Outfielder Brennen Davis is one of the highest-ranked Cubs players, coming in as the second-best prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline.

Davis returned to Triple-A Iowa and made his presence felt right away with a home run:

Brennen Davis underwent back surgery in early June due to a lower back injury which caused him to struggle at the start of the season. However, he is expected to be removed from the injured list for the upcoming Tuesday game against the Columbus Clippers.

Davis was a second-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2018, and he is considered to be one of the best young talents in the roster. Last season, he made the national scene by making a series of home runs in the All-Star Futures Game, and he also earned MVP honors for that game. He was then promoted to Triple-A for the first time. He entered this season as the top prospect, and the 15th best player for national baseball.

Despite his impressive rankings, Davis has still had his share of struggles. While dealing with his bad back, Davis struggled in 22 games with Iowa and had a .195 batting average with 31 strikeouts over 77 at-bats. But with more than a month left in the minor league season, Davis will definitely get enough at-bats to prepare for the 2023 season.

The Iowa Cubs have four other players that are listed in MLB Pipeline’s top 30 organizational rankings, which include Alexander Canario (No. 9), Hayden Wesneski (No. 12), Caleb Kilian (No. 14), and Matt Mervis (No. 21).

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Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have been at the forefront of trade rumors.

Jonathan Toews was drafted in 2006, 3rd overall,  in the first round, who had a bright future ahead of him. The next year, Patrick Kane was picked 1st overall, in the first round in 2007.

As the years progressed, so did both their respective careers, that has molded into an international all-star champions list, which will represent the City of Chicago for years to come.,

Prior to the Stanley Cup year, during the 2008/2009 season, both Patrick Kane and the current Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews were starting to produce and develop that chemistry. Which would indeed result in many notable championship wins in their respective careers to date.

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews – Chicago Bears (Never)

The #Blackhawks stars played on the field during #DaBears October 5, 2015 game vs. the Oakland Raiders, during which the 2015 Stanley Cup Champion team was honored. pic.twitter.com/8SIsSvfrTk

— Legends In The Wrong Uniforms (@WrongUnis) August 24, 2022

Along with a beautiful skating ability from both on-ice that complimented Marian Hossa’s game as the veteran on the first-line, playing as that experienced winger on the championship team in the 2009/2010 season.

Their games had evolved at such elite levels, for Jonathan Toews, it is his leadership qualities and take charge attitude. With a command of the game on-ice that took his game to another level of play that was genuinely complimented by Patrick Kane’s style of gameplay.

For Patrick Kane, it was his deciphering sniper ability on-ice to produce points consistently, and wreak havoc on-ice against opposing teams. Where he got the grit and heavy fore checking ability from his counterpart Jonathan Toews.

Possessing quite talent was in fact inspiring for many children who aspire to play hockey, especially in the Chicago area, but all around North America. And now, the world overall to say the least.

The Blackhawks’ organization had won three championship’s under the belt’s of the captivating duo, who for in one’s opinion, are a staple to the City of Chicago as representatives of the game of hockey.

The trade rumor’s and the attitude may not be there as of now from either the player’s, or the media. Even the fans are weighing in on the topic heavily and have a mixed opinion in regard to the subject.

To lose two monumental player’s, especially in the history books of the Blackhawks organization and the City of Chicago itself, would be a sad day in sports.

Both of these gentlemen have played their careers here in Chicago since it began, and in one’s opinion, as a hockey fan would like to see them respectfully retire in Chicago.

The amount of love and dedication both men have put forth into the team, and the years spent mean a lot to the fans and to watch them go would be outright devasting to say the least.

The Blackhawks’ team is rebuilding at the moment and now would be the time for both leader’s to take the team forward in that stage prior to them making any career changes for the better.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane mean so much to the organization and fans, it would not make sense for them to leave in a unfashionable way, which would genuinely impact the outcome in one’s opinion.

To think Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane would want a trade, and not want to be part of a rebuild, would take away from their credibility as player’s, and the character they have built in this city.

Keeping them here would mean a lot and mainly help the prospects maintain there confidence level intact that would not be deterred by the news of the two being traded or signing elsewhere.

This city is the home of the great Toews and Kaner, and would never let them leave without putting up a fight!

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The Chicago Bears are taking on a project offensive lineman

The Chicago Bears are trying to make moves to improve their offensive line before the start of the season. Wednesday morning, the Bears claimed Alex Leatherwood off waivers. It appears there wasn’t much competition for the 2021 first-round pick.

Leatherwood struggled in his rookie season. He was credited with giving up eight sacks in 2021. The Bears will have to be patient with Leathwood as he’ll need to work on fundamentals he hasn’t corrected since joining the league. That could be why other teams weren’t as interested in taking a chance on the former Alabama Crimson Tide product.

Ian Rapoport tweeted out a list of waiver requests. The Bears were the only team to put a claim on Leatherwood.

Bears need to hope Leatherwood is worth the money

It’s concerning the Bears are the only team that thinks he’s worth the extra cash to claim off of waivers. The Bears shouldn’t waste cap space by overcooking the board. As a former offensive lineman, General manager Ryan Poles should be able to gauge Leatherwoods’ potential.

If Leatherwood becomes a starter for the Chicago Bears, it will be easy to forget Poles overpaid for Leatherwood. But that’s a bet the other 31 teams weren’t willing to make.

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TORONTO – Catcher Willson Contreras was out of the Cubs’ lineup on Wednesday, after leaving the game Tuesday with soreness in his left ankle/foot. He had a limp as he was walking around before the game.

“The main thing is just listening to him,” manager David Ross said. “He wants to be out there. I don’t think the trainers feel like it’s anything that’s at risk. But you also take into consideration, moving on this turf is sometimes a little bit harder on the joints, and especially we have some ailment that might pop up.”

Contreras said he hoped the off day Thursday would help him rest the ankle. From there, the Cubs will gauge his readiness day to day. If Contreras needs more time out, the Cubs have two back-ups on the roster: Yan Gomes and P.J. Higgins.

“We’re going to look out for him, and his career and long-term health,” Ross said, “but also, he’s a baseball player who likes to play baseball. So, I’ll try to balance as best I can with conversations.”

Running bothers Contreras’ injury – which he’s felt to varying degrees since rolling his ankle in the Field of Dreams game three weeks ago – the most. He’s been catching with a knee down to ease the pressure on his left side.

“But at some point, you have to just take it easy,” he said, “and don’t hurt the team, don’t hurt yourself, and do what’s best for the team.”

Rotation shuffle

Off days on either side of the Cubs’ series at St. Louis this weekend have given them the flexibility to shuffle their rotation. Adrian Sampson, Drew Smyly and Marcus Stroman are scheduled to start against the Cardinals in that order.

Justin Steele’s next start moves to Tuesday, when the Cubs return to Wrigley Field to face the Reds. That will give Steele 10 days between starts, after leaving his last start with back tightness and landing on the restricted list for the Cubs’ series in Toronto. The Cubs are monitoring Steele’s workload as the season winds down.

“The guys that have had [fewer] innings this year,” Ross said, “we’ve pushed them up to St. Louis.”

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The White Sox carried on for a second day without Tony La Russa after their manager flew to Arizona for more medical tests after an evaluation Wednesday morning.

La Russa is scheduled over the coming days to undergo additional testing, reportedly heart related, by his personal physicians at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

“His absence from the club will be indefinite pending the results of these evaluations,” the Sox said in a statement.

Beyond that, there was no further information shared by the Sox. General manager Rick Hahn declined to discuss La Russa before more is known about the manager’s health.

Bench coach Miguel Cairo, who managed the Sox’ 9-7 loss to the Royals Tuesday in La Russa’s absence, communicated with La Russa on his phone about Wednesday’s lineup.

“I’m going to be calling him whenever I can, I’m going to text or call and see how he’s doing,” Cairo said while doing the manager’s pregame meeting with media in the Sox dugout before Wednesday’s game against the Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field. “But he will be back.”

That remains to be seen. But La Russa, 77, was the same as always, Cairo said.

“He’s always been the same,” Cairo said. “He was fine Tuesday. We talked. Everything, he was feeling fine. But, his doctor is in Arizona. They have all the info about his medical and we will know later in the week what is goingon.”

Sox players didn’t know what was going on Tuesday when the team announced about an hour before the game that La Russa, at the discretion of his doctors who had put him through recent testing, wouldn’t manage.

“I found out on Twitter,” outfielder Andrew Vaughn said Wednesday. “I saw that the White Sox posted something and I was like ‘Oh my goodness. This is crazy.’ And then we had to just go play.”

“Kind of the same thing,” outfielder Gavin Sheets said. “You know we didn’t really know what was going on. Obviously it was a last minute thing. I found out over social media as well. There was some chatter in the clubhouse of what was going on, but yeah, just praying for him.”

La Russa, the oldest manager in the majors, seemed fine when he talked to media and was on the field for early work before Tuesday’s announcement. Cairo said there was no medical episode before the game.

“No. He just got news from his doctor,” Cairo said. “It was the best for him to relax and be calm and do the test today.

“He was ready for the game. Believe me, he’s always ready.”

There is one month left in La Russa’s second regular season after he was hired by chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to return to managing, and the Sox were three games below .500 and six games out of first place in the American League Central in one of the team’s most disappointing seasons in recent memory.

It has been a stressful season for La Russa, who has one year remaining on his contract and has heard fans call for his firing.

“As of right now, today, I’m manager,” Cairo said. “So, when he comes back he’s going to take over. But right now, he’s got to go to Arizona and do his tests and we’ll see what happens.”

“I didn’t talk to him about his health,” right-hander Kendall Graveman said, “but Tony was Tony. Tony showed up every day and went to work, even at his age, and he worked hard, he worked really hard. It meant a lot to me as a player that he would show up every day and put in his best effort and really get after it every day.”

“It’s unbelievably tough,” Vaughn said. “We don’t really have much information on what’s going on. I know he’s going to AZ to get it checked out. I hope everything’s OK. It’s kinda scary.”

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Every rookie is an unknown until he plays real games, but Jaquan Brisker always seems to have a smile beginning to curl when he’s asked about what he’s going to show everyone when the season starts. It’s like he knows he’s got something really good and can’t wait to unveil it.

Brisker gave a preview of his dynamic, thunderous brand of safety in his lone preseason game — he snuffed out a Chiefs’ drive single-handedly with two hard hits and a pass breakup that he nearly intercepted — and now he’s ready for his big premiere.

“I just want to show that what you’ve seen and heard… it’s consistent,” he said. “Just come in, just show people who Jaquan Brisker really is.

“Just a balanced safety who can play up high or down below. A lot of people say I’m this or that; I’m not. I’m versatile. I’ve always been like that and I will be like that here.”

Brisker was back at practice Wednesday for the first time since having surgery on his right thumb after hurting it against the Chiefs on Aug. 13 and wore a “Takeaway King” shirt afterward to leave no doubt about his plans.

Penn State coaches gave him that shirt when he played there, and he said he wore it as a message to teammates and the rest of the league.

“I’ll be a takeaway king [in] the NFL, too,” he said.

Brisker still isn’t sure exactly how he suffered the thumb injury and was surprised that it required surgery. He didn’t expect to miss a single practice at the time, but the trainers told him otherwise.

He wore a small brace Wednesday, but said it won’t be a factor whatsoever when the Bears open against the 49ers on Sept. 11. He said he hasn’t had any issues tackling or catching and will be “120%” ready by then.

In his mind, he was ready months ago. When the Bears wrapped up offseason practices in June, he felt he had the playbook down and was eager to start hitting.

He was overeager, it turns out. Brisker wanted to bulk up in order to make his mark more emphatically against NFL-sized players, so he worked his way from 203 to 215 pounds. It didn’t feel right, and he’s back down to 205 now and still feeling plenty powerful.

“If I was 190, I would deliver the hits,” he said.

Brisker’s multifaceted game was at the forefront of what compelled the Bears to draft him out of Penn State in the second round at No. 48 overall, but his ability to play up in the box pairs particularly well with veteran safety Eddie Jackson and his penchant roving the deep secondary. If it plays out the way the Bears envision it, they’ll be perfect partners.

“I’m excited for that, man … just to see what he’s capable of doing and just to see the type of dog he has in him,” Jackson said. “He’s afeistyguy, man. He wants to hit every play. To have a guy like that is exciting.”

If Brisker was that amped up during the seemingly endless run of training camp practices, imagine how he’ll be in the opener after “being inside all cooped up” to rehab the injury. It promises to be an explosive debut.

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In his second full offseason as the Bears’ general manager in 2003, Jerry Angelo put his biggest imprint on the franchise when 12 rookies and 14 first-year players were on the 53-man roster for the season opener.

It included two first-round draft picks — quarterback Rex Grossman and defensive end Michael Haynes. But also two later picks who would end up starting by Week 5 — cornerback Charles Tillman (second round) and linebacker Lance Briggs (third round). Plus an intriguing fourth-round pick in defensive tackle Ian Scott and two promising fifth-round receivers in Justin Gage and Bobby Wade.

All in all, 11 of the team’s 12 draft picks made the Week 1 roster, plus one undrafted free agent, safety Cameron Worrell. Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer, cut by the Packers, was put on the practice squad.

Predictably, the Bears struggled in Dick Jauron’s fifth season. Playing their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, they started 1-4 and 3-7 before rallying to finish 7-9. Jauron was fired after the season, replaced by Lovie Smith.

As it turned out, quality trumped quantity in that massive rookie class, but overall it made a big impact: Five players started in Super XLI three years later –Grossman, Tillman, Briggs, Scott and Hillenmeyer. Three others played in the game — Worrell, safety Todd Johnson and tight end Gabe Reid, a December pick-up.

That’s the last time the Bears were as rookie-heavy as they are today. After cutting guard Zachary Thomas but adding three undrafted rookies off waivers — cornerback Josh Blackwell (Eagles), defensive end Kingsley Jonathan (Bills) and linebacker Sterling Weatherford (Colts), the Bears have 15 rookies on their 53-man roster — three times as many as they had in Week 1 last season.

The list includes nine of the Bears’ 11 draft picks –headed by three likely Week 1 starters: cornerback Kyler Gordon (second round), safety Jaquan Brisker (second round) and left tackle Braxton Jones (fifth round). Plus wide receiver/kick returner Velus Jones (third round) and punter Trent Gill.

But it also includes defensive end Dominique Robinson (fifth round), running back Trestan Ebner (sixth), guard Ja’Tyre Carter (seventh) and safety Elijah Hicks (seventh). And three of their own undrafted free agents: linebacker Jack Sanborn, cornerback Jaylon Jones and fullback Jake Tonges.

There’s still some dust to settle. But general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus have made it clear that inexperience is not a detriment to them. In fact, it might be a benefit.

Playing rookies has often been tricky in the NFL. Sometimes there’s just too much at stake to watch a player take one step back in September in order to take two steps forward in December — or the following year. But Eberflus favors that idea.

“You can understand why a coach [is skittish about playing rookies],” Eberflus said. “He’s a little bit gun-shy, wants to play with the more experienced guy because [that player] knows what he’s doing.

“But to me, if you have the right guys in there and they’re young, you have to play ’em — because the experience they get in that first season, it’s invaluable. They’re gonna learn so much ball by playing rather than sitting on the sideline. And if they’re good enough athletically, you’ve just got to put them out there and they’ll figure it out eventually.”

That is generally much easier said than done. But this is what change at Halas Hall is all about — Poles’ ability to find young players and Eberflus’ ability to develop them. It’s that way with every new regime, of course. But Eberflus embraces the challenging of developing rookies with such enthusiasm, it can breathe hope into a hard-bitten skeptic. In August, anyway.

“You’ve just got to coach ’em up and coach them through the ups and downs of it. And keep their confidence up,” Eberflus said. “But I believe in that, because you build a faster, stronger football team when you do that.”

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Bears’ defense gets a boost from Jaquan Brisker Wednesday

The Chicago Bears received much-needed help from Jaquan Brisker Wednesday. Their rookie safety sustained a thumb injury in the Bears’ preseason Week One victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He had surgery to repair his thumb, and reports were hopeful the Bears would see Brisker for Week One of the season.

Brisker returned to practice Wednesday. The Penn State product is projected to start against the San Francisco 49ers for the Week One opener. Brisker told the media he expects to play and thinks he will be much better by game time.

This is good news for the Bears and Brisker. The Bears drafted Brisker in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft and have high hopes for him. Before the injury, Brisker was having himself a great training camp. He forced his own three and out during his rookie preseason debut.

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