Chicago Sports

The Cubs called up a pair of rookie pitchers to the roster for their doubleheader against the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Before the first game, they selected Javier Assad from Triple-A Iowa to make his major-league debut as the Cubs’ Game 1 starter and added Nicholas Padilla as the 27th man. To make room on the roster, the Cubs optioned reliever Kervin Castro to Triple-A and transferred outfielder Jason Heyward from the 10-day IL to the 60-day.

Assad held the Cardinals scoreless for four-plus innings. The 25-year-old recorded his first major-league strikeout against Cardinals superstar Albert Pujols. Assad also showed resolve with traffic on the bases. In the third inning, Assad walked back-to-back hitters, on eight straight balls, but worked out of the bases-loaded jam.

Padilla, 25, started the season in Single-A South Bend, but he quickly climbed the ladder, arriving in Triple-A in late July and posting a 1.69 ERA since then.

“Been hearing his name for a little while now,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “Somebody throwing strikes, the numbers are really good. I think it’s time to reward some of those guys. when you get an opportunity, that are performing and seeing what they can do with this level.”

Ross greeted both Tuesday morning. Assad was getting ready for his start, locked into his pregame routine. But Padilla had a little more time to take in the new environment.

Ross said when he congratulated Padilla, “he just lit up.”

Ross continued: “That authentic, ‘what is going on in my life’ when you get called to the big-leagues and how awesome those moments are [warm] your heart.”

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Two days after defensive coordinator Alan Williams said he couldn’t say for sure whether he could trust any of his cornerbacks, Jaylon Johnson defended his play–and his playing time.

Williams said Sunday was that he couldn’t make such a declaration because none of his cornerbacks, by design, had played a full game in the Bears’ new defense yet. He hinted that Johnson was the obvious choice as the one he trusted the most.

Johnson played 16 snaps in the preseason opener and, in a sign that the Bears have few concerns about him, six Thursday against the Seahawks.

Johnson sounded confused at first when told of Williams’ comments.

“There ain’t nothing I can do about the number of snaps I get,” Johnson said. “I feel like there haven’t been times where I had an opportunity and I didn’t show up. So I mean, maybe I’m not even having enough snaps to even prove that? I dunno.”

He playfully said he’d look into it.

“I gotta figure out what he doesn’t trust me with and figure out a way to gain that trust,” he said, drawing laughter. “I don’t know too much about that. That’s news to me.”

Montgomery a maybe

David Montgomery wants to play in the preseason finale against the Browns, and Eberflus wouldn’t rule it out.

“We’ll see where he is,” he said. “If he’s working and he feels good, then we’ll reassess later in the week. But we feel good about where he is right now.”

Montgomery has yet to play a preseason game because of an undisclosed injury, though Eberflus said the Bears were knew they needed to “be smart” about him getting hit unnecessarily at the start of a long season.

Sunday, Montgomery said he finds value in exhibition games.

“Just getting hit and just actually getting tackled, seeing different looks, kind of getting the pace of the game. It’s completely different from practice,” he said. “So just being able to get live looks and get hit is really the main thing for me.”

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The Chicago Bears aren’t impressing bettors

The Chicago Bears’ odds to win the Super Bowl weren’t great to start the 2022 offseason. The team offloaded a bunch of elite talent as the franchise reloads with a new general manager and head coach. As the preseason comes to a close, bettors are losing even more favor with the Bears.

Justin Fields faces an uphill battle in his second NFL season with no elite help at the Bears’ skilled or offensive linemen positions. Injuries have continued to decimate the team during training camp. Vegas is taking notice.

The Bears are now +10000 to win the Super Bowl this season, according to Action Network. The team’s odds fell considerably from where they opened.

The Chicago Bears’ preseason performance wasn’t enough

Bettors must not be impressed with the results coming from the Bears’ first two preseason games. The Bears have won both contests, but the starters haven’t dominated the first team units of the Kansas City Chiefs or Seattle Seahawks.

News from training camp hasn’t been great with the number of injuries the team has sustained. The Bears were already lacking NFL starting talent all over the roster before camp started. The moves general manager Ryan Poles has made so far this offseason and in the weeks leading up to the start of the season aren’t impressing bettors either.

(If the drop has been this precipitous, maybe Poles has made the team worse off this season?)

Many Bears fans are willing to make the jump that because former general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy are gone the team will automatically be better this season. It appears as if the nerds in Vegas aren’t taking that bait.

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Bears coach Matt Eberflus plans to play his starters in the preseason finale against the Browns on Saturday. That includes the preseason debut of linebacker Roquan Smith and what figures to be the most extended action of the preseason for quarterback Justin Fields.

Fields played three possessions in the opener against the Chiefs and one last week against the Seahawks. Eberflus said the plan against the Browns is for him to play the entire first half.

Over his four series in the preseason, Fields has completed 9 of 14 passes for 87 yards. The Bears punted on his three possessions against the Chiefs and got a field goal in Seattle.

Eberflus said starters will play “up to” halftime Saturday, with select veterans likely to exit well before that. He was noncommittal on running back David Montgomery, who hasn’t played this preseason.

Smith was on the sidelines for the first two games amid his contract standoff with the team. He returned to practice Saturday and is progressively expanding his workload.

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The NCAA women’s basketball title game will be broadcast this season on ABC for the first time.

The championship game, which usually airs in prime time, will be played at 3 p.m. Eastern on April 2. The women’s Final Four is in Dallas this year.

“Scheduling the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship on ABC has been a goal for quite some time in our ongoing efforts to maximize the exposure of women’s sports in collaboration with the NCAA,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN’S president for programming and original content. “Women’s NCAA Championships continue to generate strong audiences across the ABC/ESPN networks and this move represents yet another unique opportunity to showcase this marquee event and the student-athletes who are competing for a national championship.”

ESPN said that it would look at moving the game back to prime time in the future but currently has commitments to entertainment shows the night of the game.

Last season’s championship game, in which South Carolina beat UConn, was the most viewed women’s title game in nearly two decades, drawing 4.85 million viewers. The national semifinals averaged 2.7 million viewers, up 21% year over year, and was the most viewed semifinals in a decade. The full tournament averaged 634,000 viewers, up 16% from the previous year’s coverage.

ESPN has aired NCAA women’s tournament games on ABC for the past two seasons but not the title game.

“It’s a benchmark announcement for women’s basketball in being able to showcase the national championship game in Dallas for an expanded audience on ABC for the first time in 2023,” said Beth Goetz, chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and athletic director at Ball State. “We are grateful to ABC/ESPN for the partnership in the continued growth of the game and championship.”

The NCAA Tournament expanded to 68 games last season and this season will have its regionals in two sites, with eight teams playing in Greenville, South Carolina, and the other eight in Seattle. The tournament will follow this format through 2027.

The Division II and Division III championship games also will take place in Dallas on the same weekend as the Division I Final Four. It’s the first time that the three championships have been played in the same city since 2016.

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Several programs in the city have come for Mount Carmel’s crown over the past few years, but the Caravan remains the king of Chicago high school football. Mount Carmel has won 13 state championships.

The controversial pivot from legendary coach Frank Lenti to Jordan Lynch in 2018 refreshed the program and the construction of an on-campus football stadium has helped take things to another level.

Mount Carmel was 11-2 in Lynch’s first season and won the Class 7A title with a perfect 14-0 record in 2019. A repeat bid was impossible due to COVID.

Last season was a rebuilding year. But how many teams beat St. Rita, Marist and Batavia while reloading?

Lynch has 18 starters back from that squad that went 8-4 and lost to Brother Rice in the quarterfinals of the Class 7A state playoffs.

Most importantly, he has Blainey Dowling back at quarterback.

“[Dowling] is a winner,” Lynch said. “The stadium is named after his uncle. He knows what this place is about. There is no better competitor.”

Dowling (6-1, 200 pounds) has added 25 pounds since last season, which should make a significant difference when he’s running the ball.

“If you look at the film from Week 1 last year and then look at Week 11 or 12 you see the difference,” Lynch said. “He made gains every week. And he really protected the football.”

Junior Darrion Dupree (5-11, 195 pounds) is the breakout talent on offense. He should be one of the state’s best running backs.

“The thing that makes Dupree so special is you can’t tell if he has 16 offers or zero,” Lynch said. “He’s working harder now than he ever has.”

Mount Carmel has added another major talent in the backfield. Junior Alonzo Manning, a standout at Marist last season, has transferred in.

“He’s a stud,” Dowling said. “He started off slow here. You could tell he still had that Marist in him. We got that out of him real quick. He’s going to be really important for us.”

Manning isn’t the only significant addition to a team that already returned 18 starters. Senior Nolan O’Brien is back after missing last season with an injury.

“He’s ready,” Dowling said. “He’s a South Side guy that has been working hard for this. He’s one of the freak athletes on this team. I’m excited to see him play.”

For the first time, every player in the program came to Mount Carmel to play for Lynch.

“Your first group is always a special group,” Lynch said. “These are the guys that we brought in and we’ve watched them from freshman year all the way until now. They took tremendous strides.”

Lynch expects safety Owen Schickel to be the vocal leader of a defense that includes linemen Danny Novickas, an Ohio recruit, and Asher Tomaszewski, a Kansas State recruit.

The Caravan hosts rival St. Rita to open the season. It’s the 100th meeting between the schools and is expected to be the first step towards a possible state championship.

“That’s how it is here every year,” Dowling said. “But especially this year.”

Mount Carmel schedule

Aug. 26 vs. St. RitaSept. 2 vs. Phillips at GatelySept. 9 at Notre DameSept. 16 vs. MaristSept. 23 vs. St. IgnatiusSept. 30 at Brother RiceOct. 7 at St. LaurenceOct. 14 vs. St. ViatorOct. 22 at Loyola

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Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch had a point to make, one thing he wanted to say before fielding all the other questions about his preseason No. 1 team.

“We’ve been known as a talented team,” Lynch said. “I want to be known as a tough team and I think that’s what we have here.”

The Caravan pulled off a tremendous late win against Batavia last season in the Class 7A state playoffs but fell short at the end in a handful of other games. Lynch hopes the added experience and toughness turns that around this season.

His star offensive threat, junior running back Darrion Dupree, has set the tone in the off-season.

“He worked so hard,” Lynch said. “You wouldn’t think an athlete as impressive as he is could get more explosive, but he did. He’s got great hands and he understands the offense. He’s every coach’s dream.”

1. Mount Carmel

All the pieces are in place for the Caravan to make a run at a 14th state championship. Quarterback Blainey Dowling is bigger and stronger and the defensive line should create havoc behind Asher Tomaszewski (Ohio) and Danny Novickas (Ohio). Read more on Mount Carmel.

2. Lincoln-Way East

Linebacker Jake Scianna leads a rock-solid defense and receiver Jayden Cook is poised for a breakout season. The Griffins return 16 starters and the sky is the limit if the quarterback spot is solid. Read more on Lincoln-Way East.

3. Loyola

The offense is ready to go behind Jake Stearney (Colgate) and an experienced group of receivers. Ramblers coach John Holecek will have to rebuild the defense behind defensive lineman Brooks Bahr (Michigan) but that’s his specialty. Read more on Loyola.

4. Batavia

It all starts with linebackers Tyler Jansey (Wisconsin) and Jack Sadowsky (Iowa State). Quarterback Ryan Boe should be much improved and has huge targets all over the offense. Read more on Batavia.

5. Bolingbrook

Two talented transfers, running back Joshua Robinson and receiver Kaleb Miller, join a talented offense led by receiver I’Marion Stewart. Expectations are high for senior quarterback Jayden Lawrence. Safety Damon Walters (Northwestern) leads a dynamic defense. Depth could be an issue. Read more on Bolingbrook.

6. St. Rita

A large, experienced line will create space for junior running backs Ethan Middleton and DJ Stewart. Quarterback will be a question mark early but the defense is strong with lineman Pat Farrell (Illinois) and the Kinsbury brothers, Matt and Joe, at linebacker. Read more on St. Rita.

7. Glenbard West

It’s the largest offensive line in coach Chad Hetlet’s 16 years, which is eye-opening. Running back Joey Pope and quarterback Korey Tai will be the beneficiaries. Five starters are back on defense. Read more on Glenbard West.

8. Prairie Ridge

Fullback Nathan Greetham leads a group with six starters back on offense and five on defense. The Wolves should be the best team in the Fox Valley, which makes them instant Class 6A state title contenders. Read more on Prairie Ridge.

9. Warren

There’s excitement around quarterback Adam Behrens’ return to football and the Blue Devils traditionally have one of the state’s most aggressive, dominant defenses. Defensive back Jailen Duffie (North Dakota State) leads this season’s edition. Read more on Warren.

10. Kankakee

Senior Jyaire Hill is one of the state’s top talents. The Kays return 12 starters from a team that lost in the Class 5A title game. Running back Tony Phillips, a transfer from McNamara, is a signficant addition. Read more on Kankakee.

11. Neuqua Valley: Seventeen starters return, including quarterback Mark Mennecke and athlete Grant Larkin (North Dakota State).

12. Marist: Expect a strong defense led by defensive back John Nestor (Iowa) and senior lineman Jamel Howard. Senior Dermot Smyth is stepping up as starting quarterback.

13. Maine South: The Hawks don’t have a marquee player, but coach Dave Inserra has built one of the state’s most dependable programs. Quarterback Ryan Leyden gained valuable experience last season.

14. Naperville North: Quarterback Aidan Gray (Northwestern) and junior safety/wide receiver Luke Williams are two of the area’s top talents.

15. Crete-Monee: Josh Franklin (Western Michigan) is a highlight reel. The senior quarterback/receiver/running back may be the area’s most unstoppable offensive force. Senior receiver Lynell Billups-Williams (Miami, Ohio) is another breakout threat.

16. St. Ignatius: Workhorse running back Vinny Rugai is a difference maker and junior lineman Justin Scott is one of the top recruits in the country. Expectations are high after the Wolfpack shocked everyone by beating Mount Carmel last season.

17. Glenbard North: The Panthers flew under the radar last season until the playoffs. A load of talent returns on offense, including quarterback Justin Bland and receivers Johnnie Robertson and Zamari Robinson.

18. Prospect: Northwestern recruit Frank Covey IV is one of the area’s most intriguing talents, equally effective at quarterback and receiver. Safety Jack Berman (Navy) will lead the defense.

19. Willowbrook: Twelve starters return for the Trojans, which have won five consecutive West Suburban Gold titles.

20. Lockport: Only two starters return for the defending Class 8A state champs, but coach George Czart has built a program ready to reload.

21. Cary-Grove: Linebacker/fullback Colin Desmet is one of a few returners for the Class 6A state champions, but the Trojans are a proven power.

22. Joliet Catholic: Northwestern recruit Anthony Birsa, an offensive lineman, leads an inexperienced but talented young Hilltoppers squad.

23. Hinsdale Central: Experience returns on defense and the Red Devils have two quality quarterbacks, Ben Monahan and Billy Cernugel.

24. Jacobs: One of last season’s surprise teams returns a lot, including quarterback Max Brenner and highly-recruited junior tight end Grant Stec.

25. Lemont: Fifteen starters, including QB Payton Salomon, are back from a squad that lost in the Class 6A state quarterfinals to East St. Louis. Defensive back Noah Taylor (North Dakota State) and offensive linemen Jacek Blaszynski (Indiana State) are difference makers.

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5 players are included in the Chicago Bears’ roster trimming

The Chicago Bears are trimming their roster down from 85 players to 80, in order to comply with the NFL rules. Rosters around the NFL need to down to 80 by 3 p.m. CT on August 23. The team announced five moves ahead of Tuesday’s practice:

1.) WR Dazz Newsome

Dazz Newsome was among those competing for a roster spot behind Darnell Mooney. Newsome has had some solid plays in the season, but a combination of mistakes and dropped passes means that he lost his shot at a roster spot.

2.) OT Julien Davenport

Offensive tackle Davenport’s contract has been terminated, who signed on to the team early in the offseason. Before the Bears, Davenport played with the Texans (2017-18), Dolphins (2019-20), and the Colts (2021).

3.) FB Jake Bargas

After wide receiver David Moore was placed on injured reserve, the Bears signed on fullback Jake Bargas. This addition is speculated to have been a result of fullback Khari Blasingame being sidelined due to an arm injury in the second preseason game.

4.) DT LaCale London

Defensive tackle London has also been waived. London signed onto the team as an undrafted player back in 2020. Last season he only appeared in one game, and unfortunately wasn’t able to standout in the competitive defensive line group.

5.) CB BoPete Keyes

Cornerback Keyes also only appeared in one game, but he was competing for a roster spot among a tight cornerbacks group. Ultimately, other players, such as Lamar Jackson and Jaylon Jones, stood out over Keyes.

These cuts bring down the roster from 85 to 80. The next cut down deadline is at 3 p.m. CT on August 31, where the Chicago Bears will have to cut the roster down even further from 80 to 53 players. This means that current players still have a chance to play their way on or off the roster. 

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Chicago Cubs pitcher, Kyle Hendricks, will not be returning in the last bit of the 2022 season.

According to ESPN, right-handed pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Kyle Hendricks, will not be returning for the rest of the 2022 season due to a slight tear in his pitching shoulder but is hopeful that he will be at full strength for the start of the next season.

Hendrick has been out since early July dealing with his shoulder injury that started back in May. It was initially thought he would only be out 4-6 weeks since the MRI indicated tendinitis, but more tests, after the inflammation subsided, showed a tear. Hendricks is staying very positive about the situation stating,

“With the long term in mind, and seeing where we’re at this season, I have to step back and see what’s best for myself, I’ll be able to attack a full offseason throwing program. That’s where my focus is now. Very unfortunate, obviously.”

Kyle Hendricks has one more year left on his four-year deal and will be reporting to the Cubs’ spring facility in Arizona. He is wanting to start pitching before the end of the regular season. The pitcher has indicated that it was an accumulation of work that lead to his injury not just one pitch. This injury won’t stop or slow down Hendrick as he is quoted saying,

“I want to pitch as long as I can, this is what I do. I love it. I’m never going to stop loving it.”

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A new festival comes into full bloom this weekend in Chicago. Sacred Rose, held Aug. 26-28 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, promises to be a “choose your own” musical adventure with dedicated stages for fans of jam bands, Americana, psych rock and other experimental styles.

The lineup includes Phil Lesh & Friends, Khruangbin, The War on Drugs, Umphrey’s McGee, STS9, Goose and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, and Margo Price will also be the artist-at-large appearing in surprise sets throughout the weekend. (Black Pumas were slated to appear as well but recently canceled all tour dates.)

Sacred Rose was the brainchild of Chicago-based festival and event producer Collectiv Presents after witnessing a shift in the audience engagement for North Coast, its perennial Labor Day weekend festival. Though North Coast also started in 2010 as a hippie playground combining funk, America, jam and electronic, it has changed in recent years to focus fully on EDM, which left a big opening for Sacred Rose to fill.

“In the early days of North Coast, it was a multi-genre festival, but over the course of time, as that fanbase grew older, the Venn Diagram of these music genres [we offered] started to shift outward and the common space in the middle started to shrink,” explains Collectiv Presents co-founder Michael Berg. By 2019, Collectiv Presents had shifted North Coast to an all-electronic format. But, says Berg, “From that point, we started thinking of how we can service this other part of our community being the jam band/indie rock/psych rock/Americana/funk side of things that all had a presence at North Coast and were a big part of our ecosystem, too.”

Thus, Sacred Rose was born — the name a combination of the Grateful Dead’s iconic art and imagery and Berg’s late grandfather Bert Rose, once a professional piano player in Chicago that turned him onto music at a young age.

Developing two niche events, Berg says, has paid off. With other events, “People might see a lineup poster with less names that they know and may start to see less and less value. By redefining it, now we are giving people more of what they want.” Berg also adds that not since the one-year Dave Matthews Band Caravan in 2011 has there been a jam band event of this scale in the area. “We feel like this is checking a box that hasn’t been checked for the Chicagoland area.”

Held one week before the Sept. 2-4 North Coast weekend at the same venue allows the team to purposefully use the space over two weekends with special build-outs that capitalize on a true festival experience. In addition to copious art installations, there will be chill areas like the Rainbow Lounge with colorful hammock seating, and the Collectiv Presents team will be turning SeatGeek Stadium’s sports dome into a “laser dome” with lighting and DJ sets akin to a Pink Floyd laser light show, Berg says.

Food options will also be plenty including vegetarian and vegan options. Vendors will include locals like Harold’s Chicken and Lou Malnati’s as well as Island Noodles and the very fitting Cosmic Charlie’s Grateful Grill. As of publication, VIP tickets are close to selling out and General Admission tickets are still available.

Here’s a look at five of the acts not to miss this weekend:

St. Paul & The Broken Bones

One of the best in the modern neo-soul movement, this eight-piece ensemble from Birmingham, Alabama is nothing short of a spiritual orchestra. Led by charismatic singer Paul Janeway (a mix of Cee Lo Green, Al Green and Otis Redding) and a horn section, 90 minutes with them will make you a believer. (8:15 p.m. Friday, The Dreamfield Stage)

Phil Lesh & Friends

It wouldn’t be right to have an inaugural year of a jam band fest without one member of the Grateful Dead. Sacred Rose tapped renowned bassist Phil Lesh, though he’s not coming alone. The “friends” part includes Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline, among others, with fans now dubbing the once-in-a-lifetime set “Philco.” (sets at 9 and 10:45 p.m. Friday, The Canopy Stage)

Kitchen Dwellers

The event also has a few off-the-cuff surprises too like this bluegrass-folk-rock fusion act who are inspired, as they say, by “American West wanderlust.” Having frequently worked with Leftover Salmon’s Andy Thorn, they’re fully vetted for this event. (2:15 p.m. Sunday, The Dreamfield Stage)

Hiatus Kaiyote

Jazz, funk and experimental R&B all combine in beautiful harmony with this Grammy-nominated Australian quartet who have fans in Erykah Badu, Questlove and Drake (who featured enigmatic singer Nai Palm on his album “Scorpion”). Hiatus Kaiyote’s latest release, “Mood Valiant” is the band’s triumphant return after Palm recovered from breast cancer, with songs inspired by the journey. (5:15 p.m. Sunday, The Vega Stage)

Kamasi Washington

The Los Angeles jazz savant is turning the genre on its head with big energy and a playful attitude in regards to arrangements and collaborations — the most recent being a cover of “My Friend Of Misery” for Metallica’s “Blacklist” charity/anniversary album. Washington’s calculated takes on the saxophone are a real mood setter to wrap things up. (7:15 p.m. Sunday, The Vega Stage)

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