Chicago Sports

The Chicago White Sox are off to a sluggish start in the 2022 season. Their 10-13 record has them behind the Minnesota Twins early on in the AL Central and coming off a poor month of April, Chicago needs to pick it up in May.

The biggest reason this team struggled to win ballgames in April is the offense.  The White Sox are ranked 26th in the league in runs scored with 75 compared to the league-leading Los Angeles Angels at 102. The team is only slugging .350 which currently ranks 20th in MLB.

On top of a struggling offense, injuries have been a big issue this season again.  Eloy Jimenez will be out until about late June, Luis Robert and Giolito have both missed time as well.  Fortunately, the team has some key pieces returning to the team very soon.

The biggest key, will be the return of third baseman Yoan Moncada.  The starting third basemen for the White Sox has been on IL with an oblique injury since late in spring training.

Moncada is currently in Triple A Charlotte on a rehab assignment.  He has hit a home and a couple singles in 3 games with the Knights.  There is not any official word on when Moncada is returning to the big league roster, but it seems likely it can happen later this week to early next week.

Another huge struggle for the White Sox this year has been shaky defense.  The White Sox have 21 errors in 22 games played this season.  Moncada should be a big help defensively when he returns, which will lead to less errors in the infield.  This is a no brainer, Moncada is mostly known for his defensive prowess these days.  Nonetheless, Moncada should be a big boost to the White Sox offense for various reasons.

Moncada is a switch hitter, which will really benefit the White Sox when facing right handed starting pitchers to have another lefty in the lineup.  The team has struggled immensely to produce runs against right handed pitchers, Moncada should help change that.

The White Sox offense also has trouble working walks and being patient at the plate.  This is something Moncada does very well.  In 2021, Moncada drew 84 walks, which is the most walks he’s ever had in his career.  He batted .263 last season with an OBP of .375.  Getting runners on base is something the White Sox desperately need more of this season, and Moncada is likely to do just that.

It is not known where Manager Tony La Russa plans to slot him in the lineup once he returns, but the best bet would be at the top of the lineup once he gets settled in, simply because he gets on base and it would lead to more runs being scored for the team.

In other news, reliever Joe Kelly is also down in Triple A doing a rehab assignment of his own and he should also be joining the White Sox fairy soon.  Andrew Vaughn who injured his wrist after getting hit by a pitch against the Angels, is also expected to return soon after x-rays thankfully came back negative on his wrist.

Make sure to check out our WHITE SOX forum for the latest on the team.

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A student at Oak Park and River Forest High School has been charged after police say he was found with a gun on school grounds Tuesday.

The 18-year-old was arrested outside the school at 201 N. Scoville Ave. and was charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, Oak Park police said in a statement.

Village spokesman Erik Jacobsen said police “received a report Tuesday that a person intended to bring a gun to Oak Park and River Forest High School. The individual was stopped on school grounds before entering the building at around 12:30 p.m. and a weapon was recovered.”

School principal Lynda J. Parker told parents in an email that “everyone is safe, and school operations were not interrupted.”

She urged parents to “please emphasize to your children the importance of telling a school official if they believe there is a weapon at school.”

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If the Bears’ recently concluded draft tells us anything, it’s that everyone involved has a very convenient out.

Fans have criticized new general manager Ryan Poles for not giving quarterback Justin Fields enough help, but if the Bears struggle in 2022, Poles can say, “Did you notice how empty my predecessor left the cupboard? I mean, it’s a freaking echo chamber in there! There are holes on both sides of the ball that need filling.”

Fields can say, “There’s no one to block for me, no one to catch my passes and no one I really want to get to know because they’ll all be gone next year … right? RIGHT?”

New offensive coordinator Luke Getsy can say, “These guys were so messed up by Matt Nagy’s bizarre offense that it has been next to impossible to teach them my attack, which is incredible, by the way. Also, Poles didn’t give me any players, and if I know what’s good for me, I’ll blame that on former GM Ryan Pace.”

New coach Matt Eberflus can say, “Remember the H.I.T.S. principle I unveiled at my introductory press conference, the one I want our players to follow? Hustle, Intensity, Takeaways and (playing) Smart? I’m changing it to reflect my feelings on our first two picks in the draft, a cornerback and a safety: Help In The Secondary? When we need offensive linemen and wide receivers? Are you bleepin’ kidding me?”

Bears chairman George McCaskey can say, “I’m busy on the new stadium right now, but if you leave your name and phone number, I’ll get back to you at the next press conference, tentatively scheduled for February, 2026.”

We know that everybody is going to say the right things during what figures to be another difficult season for the Bears — all those things about not being satisfied with the on-field performance but that it’s a process, that the organizational structure is in place and that, as painful as life is now, it’s going to be that much more joyful when the winning ensues. Behind all those words will be the lovely excuse of, “What did you expect after what the previous regime left us?”

Mostly, it will be one, big shrug: What’s a franchise to do?

No matter what happens to the Bears this season, you can count on it not being good for Nagy, who was fired as head coach after a 6-11 2021. If the Bears somehow win in 2022, he’ll look bad. If Fields improves, Nagy will be the guy who held him back. If Getsy’s offense is creative and takes advantage of Fields’ athleticism, Nagy will be considered even more of a tactical failure than he already is.

And if the Bears lose a lot and Fields struggles a lot, it will be because Nagy did such a number on the kid that it will take years to deprogram him.

So the former coach can’t win. It’s not entirely fair, but given the choice between blaming the newcomer or blaming his fired predecessor, rabid fans are always going to choose the idiot who was sent away. They’re going to choose hope, even trace amounts of hope.

The immediate fear is not that Fields will turn into another Mitch Trubisky but rather that it will take several years to find out if he’s any good. There’s a decent chance that, because the offensive talent is so thin, 2022 will be another lost year for him, the way 2021 was. This won’t be a concern to the true believers, the ones who are sure that Fields is not just going to be great but already is great except to those with poor eyesight and obvious character flaws.

If Fields has the same numbers he had last season (seven touchdown passes, 10 interceptions, 73.2 passer rating), those true believers will fear not. Despite the uncomfortable evidence in front of them, they’ll be able to hold to the idea that good times are indeed ahead, provided Poles finds Fields some help. If he can’t, the McCaskeys will wait another five years to ask why not.

This will be the season of built-in free passes, spoken and unspoken. When will those involved have to take responsibility for the problems on the field. The 2023 season? Are we really not supposed to criticize Fields this season if he flounders again? When does it stop being someone else’s fault?

Somewhere, Nagy is wondering when it will stop being his fault. If the current temperature in Chicago is any indication, the answer is never.

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The spring portion of the grassroots basketball season turned to the annual Run ‘N Slam event this past weekend in Fort Wayne, Ind., where several Illinois club basketball programs played.

Here is a City/Suburban Hoops Report Three-Pointer solely dedicated to the under-the-radar team and players that stole the show.

No. 1

While the Run ‘N Slam isn’t quite as loaded or heralded as it once was, it’s still an opportunity for so many different teams from geographical areas to come together and compete.

That includes many programs from different shoe-sponsored leagues that typically don’t face one another.

There were teams from both the Under Armour Association and Nike’s EYBL, which included perennial Illinois AAU powerhouses Meanstreets, Mac Irvin Fire and the Illinois Wolves. The top college prospects in the state fill those rosters.

But it was an Illinois program without a shoe deal or big-named prospects that outshined the more heavily hyped teams and players.

Full Package Athletics, which is based in the northern suburbs, reached the Run ‘N Slam title game. Along the way Full Package took down a team from the EYBL circuit (Indy Heat), Adidas circuit (Reach Legends) and the Under Armour sponsored Illinois Wolves in the semifinals before falling in the Platinum Division championship game.

In the title game, Full Package fell 70-67 to the Midwest Basketball club, which is led by Indiana (Gabe Cupps) and Kentucky (Reed Sheppard) commitments.

In addition, another Illinois team without a shoe deal, Young & Reckless, captured the Gold Division championship on Sunday.

Full Package may or may not have a player who ends up playing Division I basketball. There are two or three on the cusp of grabbing more recruiting attention at that level. But it’s a team loaded with accomplished and impactful high school basketball players from this past season. They play hard, they play together and they will play college basketball at some level.

The headliners are familiar names to only the avid high school basketball fan.

New Trier shooter Jake Fiegen was instrumental in helping the Trevians to a 30-win season and sectional title game appearance. He displayed his shooting prowess throughout the weekend.

Lemont twins Mantas and Rokas Castillo helped fuel an improbable state tournament run this past March. The feisty, competitive guards led Lemont to a Class 3A super-sectional appearance where it fell to Simeon.

Benet’s Niko Abusara and the Rolling Meadows trio of 6-7 Mark Nikolich-Wilson, 6-4 Foster Ogbonna and 6-7 Tsvet Sotirov are four other key players for a Full Package team that went 5-1 over the weekend.

No. 2

The breakout player in Fort Wayne this past weekend was Mark Nikolich-Wilson of Rolling Meadows. He was outstanding in leading his Full Package team to a title.

Nikolich-Wilson was a productive player for the Mustangs all season as part of a solid supporting cast to star Cameron Christie. As a junior he averaged 12 points and nine rebounds a game while showcasing an arsenal of all-around basketball skill.

The stout 6-7 Nikolich-Wilson is as skilled of a big man as you will find, capable of burying a three, handling the ball in the open floor and using nifty footwork, craftiness and touch around the basket. He plays physical while also using high basketball I.Q. and an understanding of the game that is of great value for any team he plays for.

Plus, he’s worked his tail off over the past year to improve his body, conditioning and craft.

Nikolich-Wilson, who will be a difference-maker next season for one of the best teams in the state, has clearly established himself as a scholarship-type prospect. Division II programs should be heavily invested.

No. 3

When watching Benet this past season, from an evaluator’s perspective, junior Niko Abusara screamed potential. The upside in Abusara was undeniable with his length, lively body and bounce off the floor.

He put together a solid junior season for the Redwings, earning all-conference recognition in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. But expect a breakout senior campaign this winter as Abusara has grown to 6-4 and is showcasing not only more athleticism but more confidence as well.

Abusara impressed in Fort Wayne during Full Package’s run, including showing an evolving perimeter shot andhighlight reel plays in getting to the basket.

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As if picking up from the strong start from Dylan Cease, the Chicago White Sox allowed only one run in their second win in a row. Facing the rival Chicago Cubs, the White Sox jumped ahead early and held on to win the game 3-1.

The win to open the series further highlighted the pitching staff. Cease has been one of the elite pitchers in baseball and the seven scoreless innings against the Angels with 11 strikeouts is impressive but not shocking. The recent game, however, showcased the entire pitching staff of the White Sox and how it could help carry the team this season even if the offense struggles.

Kopech’s start

Michael Kopech has started the season with a unique return to the rotation. On an innings count, Kopech has given the White Sox strong starts but in a limited role. In five starts, he has yet to allow more than two runs in each outing but at the same time, hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning.

The start against the Cubs was no exception. Kopech pitched four scoreless innings with five strikeouts. However, it was how the pitcher dominated on the mound, notably how Kopech used and controlled his secondary pitches that stood out.

Kopech’s pitch breakdown vs. the Cubs (83 pitches): 54 fastballs. 15 sliders. 13 curveballs. One changeup. 

Kopech is a primary fastball thrower, and he threw the pitch in the high heat range of 97 miles per hour seven times. However, the recent start saw an increase in his secondary pitches. Moreover, the slider continued to hit the lower part of the strike zone and dip out of the zone and is becoming a reliable option for the righthander. While the fastball and curveball were all over the place, the slider gave Kopech the ability to limit the Cubs lineup.

It was another strong night for Kopech who once again stepped up in his start. While he could have provided more innings, the reaction to him leaving the game is exactly what the fans want to see. It was a sign that Kopech knows he can provide more innings and is frustrated he got pulled as a result. However, the team knows they’ll have a pitcher that by midseason can lead the pitching staff and become the elite pitcher the White Sox hoped he’d become when they acquired him from the Boston Red Sox in the Chris Sale trade.

The White Sox are already seeing Cease become an elite starter in the rotation. The first five starts of the season have similarly shown the ceiling of Kopech. The recent start, however, showcased his ability to dominate on the mound and the gradual improvement that is seen with each passing start. While Kopech has shown he can provide more innings, the White Sox once again would need to rely on their bullpen to help preserve a victory for the team.

White Sox bullpen stepping up

The White Sox bullpen was well-rested. After all, only Kendall Graveman and Liam Hendriks needed to pitch an inning each in the 3-0 victory on Monday. With the rest, the bullpen was able to close out the game and give the team five reliable innings with the three-run lead.

In the elements, Reynaldo Lopez forced a grounder to Jose Abreu, who turned the 3-6 double play. Lopez then quickly struck out the Cubs’ first-year phenom Seiya Suzuki on a 2-2 slider to end the inning with only nine pitches thrown.

Jose Ruiz struggled in his one inning allowing one run on two hits. However, Ruiz went to the off-speed pitches to strike out the side, with the changeup and curveball getting him out of trouble. After getting out of the jam, the White Sox were in full control. Aaron Bummer only needed 11 pitches to get through the seventh, Matt Foster only needed 11 pitches to get through the eighth, Hendriks in 10 pitches earned his sixth save of the season. Based on the postgame interview, Hendriks as well as the rest of the bullpen was looking to get out of Wrigley in a hurry.

When the bullpen is clicking it looks effortless. Moreover, it’s hard to even notice the bullpen as they quickly retire the opposing lineups and seal the victories, as they often did last season. This year’s bullpen has struggled at times but once again, has proven to be a prominent part of the White Sox.

White Sox will rely on pitching looking ahead

The White Sox lineup struggled in April, scoring only 3.28 runs per game and in back-to-back wins, the lineup only scored three runs. The batting order is continuing to struggle in the cold Chicago weather and without Eloy Jimenez, requiring the pitching staff once again to step up.

The next game will see Lucas Giolito make his third start of the season. After a strong start against the Minnesota Twins, where he pitched four innings with one run allowed and nine strikeouts, the White Sox will need another big start. Moreover, Giolito is hopefully going to provide the team with more innings as he returns to form as one of baseball’s best starting pitchers.

The first few weeks of the season have been rough for the White Sox. Batting orders have struggled to find runs and the White Sox have been no exception, with the weather, the ball, and other exterior condition hurting the offense. However, the teams that make the playoffs are the ones that are scheme-proof. The teams that win in all types of conditions and all types of ballgames are the ones that make it to October. Early on, the White Sox have proven they can win on the mound with great pitching.

Make sure to check out our WHITE SOX forum for the latest on the team.

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Michael Kopech will be missed when the White Sox reel him in and sit him down as they manage his workload during his first planned full season of starting.

Big picture, as in the entirety of the 2022 season assuming October will exist for the Sox, as well as Kopech’s career, it’s probably for the best. Kopech pitched 69 1/3 innings when he went 4-3 with a 3.50 ERA in 40 relief appearances and four starts in 2021, and his career high for innings is 141 between Triple-A Charlotte and the Sox. And that was four seasons ago.

So there will be no exhausting the 26-year-old right-hander now. There was none of that on an awfully chilly, damp night at Wrigley Field. After throwing four-plus scoreless innings in a 3-1 victory against the Cubs, Kopech was lifted by manager Tony La Russa in favor of Reynaldo Lopez with a pitch count of 83. A 30-pitch third inning was mostly to blame on Kopech’s otherwise clean outing: No runs, four hits, four strikeouts, two walks.

Kopech lowered his ERA to a Bob Gibson-like ERA of 1.17. In his last nine starts dating to April 18 of last season, he’s 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA. How exactly the Sox manage Kopech’s innings remains to be seen. But it will happen. Right now, he’s at a modest 23.

“The plan is, you look to indicators,” manager Tony La Russa said before the game. “Innings is one indicator, it could be the number of pitches he’s thrown, the number of stressful innings. The last couple of games he’s had his delivery together and that’s less stressful.”

Whether that translates into skipped starts, double-digit days of rest between starts or some combination thereof, the Sox aren’t saying. Let’s just say 200 innings is out of the question and 140 feels more like it.

“Unless you’ve got a crystal ball, man, we just know we’re going to be careful with him,” La Russa said, “and in doubt, rather pitch somebody else than lose a pitcher.”

For all of the Sox’ early season woes — third baseman Jake Burger committed their major league leading 22nd error Tuesday, the offense has disappointed and injuries have weighed heavily — the right-handed trio of Dylan Cease, Kopech and Lucas Giolito has stood as a pillar of the starting rotation, with Lance Lynn expected to complement them when he returns from knee surgery at the end of the month.

There were a couple of sparks of offense on a miserable night to hit. Tim Anderson tied Andrew Vaughn for the team lead with his fourth homer, an opposite field liner into the right field bleachers against Keegan Thompson to give the Sox a 3-0 lead in the third inning. In the second, Jose Abreu reached on third baseman Patrick Wisdom’s error, advanced to third on Adam Engel’s double and scored on Jake Burger’s dribbling infield single. Catcher Reese McGuire’s squeeze bunt then scored Engel.

Thompson hit Harrison in the back leading off the fifth, and then clipped Anderson on the arm with his next pitch. Words were exchanged between Anderson and Thompson, but “my bad” and “you good” kept the peace.

A single by Yasmani Grandal loaded the bases with one out, but Abreu, batting .215, swung at the first pitch and rapped into a double play.

Nico Hoerner’s RBI double against Jose Ruiz cut the Sox lead to 3-1, but Aaron Bummer, Matt Foster and Liam Hendriks (sixth save) each pitched a perfect inning to nail down the win as the Sox improved to 10-13.

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Before Cubs side-armer Scott Effross transferred the experience of his debut season into a strong April, proved his comfort in a range of relief situations or made his first career start Tuesday against the White Sox, he offered his help to team rep Ian Happ during collective-bargaining negotiations.

”I’ve always been kind of interested in the business of baseball and like the front-office work,” Effross told the Sun-Times. ”It’s something that’s always intrigued me, as far as what that kind of life is like.”

Effross wasn’t sure what his official Major League Baseball Players Association title was — ”I was kind of just thrown into it and didn’t really get knighted or anything into the reps” — but ”alternate team rep” sounded about right. When Happ mentioned he could use some help, given that the veteran group who had taken care of union business no longer was on the team, Effross embraced the opportunity.

The pairing made sense from a communication standpoint. With Effross having played with many of the Cubs’ homegrown players and the younger guys on the roster and Happ more familiar with the more established players, they had the 40-man roster covered.

As the owners imposed a lockout and the work stoppage neared 100 days, communication became all the more important.

”Part of it is who he is as a person, just being a really good human, and he’s intelligent,” Happ said of why Effross was ready to take on that kind of leadership role early in his career. ”So I think both of those things were first and foremost. I think he’s really easy to talk to and communicate with, to make guys comfortable to come to him with any issues they might have had. And his path through the system.”

Effross hasn’t had a traditional path to the big leagues. He was drafted in 2015, the same year as Happ. In 2019, he was part of the way through his fifth season in the minors and dropped his arm slot down from 35 degrees to zero.

”In hindsight, I’m incredibly thankful for almost a second chance to continue to pitch,” Effross said. ”So once I decided that we’re going to do it, [I] kind of went both feet in and tried not to look back.”

It worked. The Cubs called up Effross after the trade deadline last season, and he posted a 3.68 ERA in 14 outings.

”Last year, I got thrown into a lot of different scenarios at the end of the season, which I was really happy about,” Effross said this spring. ”So not only was I able to get my feet wet, but also get my feet wet in close ballgames, back-to-backs, everything. So just having that learning experience I feel like set me up pretty well for at least my mindset this year.”

He has allowed only two earned runs in 11 appearances so far in 2022. In the Cubs’ 3-1 loss to the White Sox, he started in place of Drew Smyly (bereavement list) and allowed two unearned runs and two hits in 1 1/3 innings.

”Until you prove that you feel like you belong — and you have to prove it to yourself — it doesn’t matter what a coach may say, what front-office personnel may say,” manager David Ross said. ”To go out there and have results is a powerful thing. And I think that’s where he’s at right now.”

Effross already had established some of that ease and comfort in the offseason, sitting in on union calls with Happ and helping to poll his teammates on collective-bargaining issues. A lot of his introduction to the union’s inner workings was a thrown-into-the-deep-end kind of learning experience.

”I wanted to learn enough to where if guys had questions, I was able to help answer them,” Effross said. ”Especially guys who maybe didn’t feel comfortable speaking up too loud.”

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In response to back-to-back hit batters on a rain-swept night at Wrigley Field, White Sox manager Tony La Russa and leadoff hitter Tim Anderson made their feelings know. Cubs pitcher Keegan Thompson patted his chest in apology and called for a new rosin bag.

That about summed up the state of a cold and sloppy game between the Chicago rivals on Tuesday, as the White Sox beat the Cubs 3-1.

The Sox embraced the elements to score their first two runs in the second inning. Jose Abreu reached first base on an error when Cubs third baseman Patrick Wisdom sailed a throw across the diamond. Then, Adam Engle moved Abreu to third base on a double. Jake Burger brought him home on a swinging-bunt single.

Reese McGuire followed that up with a sacrifice bunt — his on purpose — to give the South Siders a two-run lead.

The next inning, Anderson bested the wind and rain with a solo homer to add insurance.

The Cubs’ only run came on Nico Hoerner’s RBI double in the sixth inning.

White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech threw four shutout innings. For the Cubs, it was a bullpen day, after they placed lefty Drew Smyly on the bereavement list Tuesday. Side-armer Scott Effross serves as the opener and allowed two runs, both unearned, in 1 1/3 innings. Thompson replaced him and allowed one run, on Anderson’s homer, in 3 2/3 innings.

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All around Wrigley Field on Tuesday, the White Sox and Cubs sharing a ballpark for the opener of a two-game interleague series, it was cold, dreary, foreboding and miserable.

And then there was the weather.

They say misery loves company, and a pair of teams sitting at four games below .500 less than a month into the season went hand-in-glove with the gray, gloomy skies and the frigid dampness that pressed down like a half-defrosted hotdog bun.

We want to be excited about the Sox and/or Cubs, but so far neither team is good enough. We want it to feel like baseball season, but so far, well, you don’t need anybody to tell you about the alleged springtime in Chicago.

And many of us surely would love for the Sox-Cubs rivalry (or do you prefer to call it the Cubs-Sox rivalry?) to be all it could be again, or at least more than it is now. All is pretty quiet on the rivalry front these days, which tends to be the case when only one team is in win-now mode. Factor in a dearth of star players on the Cubs side, a long list of prominent Sox injuries and an absence of live-wire personalities (Michael Barrett, A.J. Pierzynski, Carlos Zambrano, Ozzie Guillen), and what you have here is a failure to exhilarate.

It was different, wasn’t it — almost a perfect storm — when Guillen was the skipper in one dugout and Dusty Baker or Lou Piniella in the other, when there were serious playoff hopes both South and North and the sense of rivalry (with games counting in the standings starting in 1997) was fresher and more vivid. Guillen still says it felt like the World Series when he managed against the Cubs, a sentiment that undoubtedly goes beyond where most Sox-Cubs combatants of any mini-era or decade would go.

The rivalry has probably never been that big a deal to players, and why would it be? The games aren’t even division games. It’s not like the Sox and Cubs are forced to look at one another’s mugs 19 times a year.

“I really don’t think so,” said Cubs second baseman Nick Madrigal, who has experienced these series from both sides. “I know it’s a crosstown rivalry … [but] I really don’t think this game means anything more than any other game.”

Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito enjoys seeing the Cubs, not so much because of what games are like inside the lines as what sometimes happens beyond the walls and in the stands. Incessant banter between fans. Loud arguments. Of course, fights. The players get a kick out of all that, sure, but does it breathe fire into their play?

“I wouldn’t necessarily say so,” Giolito said. “I think that the atmosphere adds just enough. For us, we play in different divisions so we get to just kind of enjoy everything about this series.”

It’s no wonder that Cubs manager David Ross referred to it as a “semi-rivalry,” or that Sox skipper Tony La Russa described the Cubs as a “natural rival and competition, but no different than any other of the 162 we’re going to play.”

Then again, a night such as Tuesday’s could cloud a person’s judgment. Baseball fans enjoy baseball weather, not swordfishing, ice-fishing or Iditarod weather. When Sox shortstop Tim Anderson homered in the third inning, just to pick a moment, the Sox fans in the house rose to their feet before immediately appearing to ask themselves, “What the hell were we thinking?” and disappearing back inside their rain ponchos. There’s no such thing as stealing Mother Nature’s thunder.

But into each life, some rain must fall. Into each rivalry, too. The Crosstown Throwdown, or whatever we’re calling it these days, will do a better job of living up to its billing when the skies are blue, the sun is out and — especially — when the teams are both built to be dangerous. That’s when it gets good. World Series good? Of course not. Maybe someday we’ll get to learn what that’s actually like, a rivalry redefined forever.

But Tuesday? This game, these teams, this meteorological mess? It was a good night to take a rain check.

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