Chicago Sports

Because of the abridged spring training, pitchers are being held back and seeing their workloads limited.

But what about the hitters?

“For our group, I thought we got off to a great start,” Cubs manager Ross said. “Usually, the pitchers are ahead, I think you would say most spring trainings and then you get to the back end of spring training, the hitters start to catch up. I thought we started off, offensively, great.”

Indeed, the Cubs offense did get off to a hot start, scoring 19 runs in the first three games of the year. Yet over their four-game losing streak entering Saturday, the Cubs scored just 12 times, including five over the first two matchups of this series with Pittsburgh.

Cubs hitters had also struggled during the homestand. Catcher Willson Contreras was at 1 for 13, second baseman Nick Madrigal was hitting .188, first baseman Frank Schwindel checked in at .167, and right fielder Seiya Suzuki averaged .214.

Keegan stats
Reliever Keegan Thompson’s four scoreless innings Friday marked his fourth straight outing to start the year without allowing a run to score. Per Cubs historian Ed Hartig, Thompson is the fifth Cubs pitcher with four scoreless relief appearances of at least eight outs in a month since 1893, with the most recent being Mike Proly in August 1982.

“Keegan’s been extremely valuable,” Ross said. “Can’t overstate how well he’s pitched and how good he’s looked and how valuable that arm has been for us.”

Speed it up?
According to an ESPN report, minor-league games using a pitch clock are 20 minutes shorter. Those games utilize a 14-second clock with the bases empty, and 18 seconds with runners on.

Ross didn’t want to give an opinion on those clocks because he hasn’t experienced them personally, but wouldn’t be surprised if they come to the majors sooner or later.

“Guys will adjust,” Ross said. “We don’t like change a lot, as players, but then they’ll adjust to whatever is put in front of them.”

Feeling better
Outfielder Clint Frazier had his appendectomy, and Ross said Frazier texted him to say he was “ready to rake already.” Ross continued that Frazier seems to be doing well and that the Cubs hoped to have an update on his recovery in the next few days.

Pitcher Wade Miley (left elbow inflammation) had been scheduled to throw a bullpen Friday, but that was punted to Saturday because of the wonky weather situation that forced the Cubs’ 4-2 loss to be pushed back to a 7:05 p.m. first pitch.

Bear down
New Bears coach Matt Eberflus threw out a ceremonial first pitch before the game. Per the Bears, Eberflus was prepared for his appearance by former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood.

Last Saturday, Eberflus’ boss Ryan Poles did the honor at a White Sox game.

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Charles Barkley once said, “If you were to swap the people in Cleveland and Milwaukee, it would be the same dreary-ass city.”

Sheesh, what did Cleveland ever do to him?

Let’s tell it like it is, Bulls fans. Milwaukee? It looks like Chicago coughed up a lung. During severe-weather alerts, residents are encouraged to seek immediate shelter in the nearest pothole. When somebody there says, “I’m in a really bad place right now,” he isn’t referring to his mental state.

If we know one thing about Milwaukee, it’s that there’s essentially nothing anybody needs to know about Milwaukee. The city is so stuck in its ways, Old Milwaukee is still the newest thing about it.

And, man, do the people there ever like to yammer on with dull stories and inane small talk. Or as we outsiders call it, ” ‘Waukee talkie.”

What do you say whenever you’re anyplace but Wisconsin and meet somebody from Milwaukee?

“Hey, I would’ve left, too.”

And Bucks fans, wow. How do you define irony? It’s a bunch of knuckleheads standing around the “Deer District” wearing “Fear the Deer” T-shirts as they talk about getting together again after basketball season and blowing a bunch of unsuspecting deer’s brains out.

A spoiled brat isn’t what a Bucks fan calls a child with a bad attitude. It’s something he covers with extra sauerkraut and eats anyway. Yeah, I know, that joke was the wurst.

Look, I’m trying over here. To do what, exactly? To stoke the flames of a pure, unadulterated, angry basketball rivalry between that city (one I happen to really like, truth be told) and ours.

It probably isn’t working.

There’s a better way for this to become a proper rivalry, of course, and that’s for the Bulls to knock the defending NBA champs out of these playoffs. To steal their hoops superiority and snuff out any big ideas about a Giannis Antetokounmpo-fueled dynasty. If the Bucks make it through to Round 2, nothing changes. But if the Bulls win? The pot gets stirred.

But as the Bulls and Bucks returned to Chicago for Games 3 and 4 of their best-of-seven first-round series, it didn’t sound like Games 1 and 2 had done anything to stir up any sort of nastiness between them. No lingering bad blood after what the Bucks’ Grayson Allen did to the Bulls’ Alex Caruso months back. No sweet stench of danger in the air after Bulls reserve Tristan Thompson bloodied the eye of Bucks super sub Bobby Portis.

Instead, we got something tame from Allen: “I know if there’s some red in the crowd, someone’s in there booing.”

And something lame from Portis: “Having the proper respect for everybody that you play throughout the season and in the playoffs is big.”

Things might be a lot more entertaining if they’d loosen their screws a bit. For sure, it would be a lot better than watching the Bucks calmly demolish the Bulls by 30 points again as they did Friday for a 2-1 series advantage.

Remember how Joakim Noah used to trash Cleveland? Or how Noah and the Bulls just palpably resented LeBron James and the Heat? That sort of welcome biliousness hasn’t entered the building yet in 2022.

Take Antetokounmpo’s comments the other day about Caruso: “Great defender, plays hard, gives everything he has, extremely smart, plays to win, helps his team any way possible, does the little things. That’s what makes him special.”

Isn’t that a flagrant foul for excessive niceness?

The Bulls have been no less gracious and complimentary. These teams should be more at odds with each other, but they aren’t — not yet — and it might be because there’s essentially no postseason hoops history whatsoever between these franchises and cities. The Bucks and Bulls have all too rarely even been average or better at the same time.

How many times did Michael Jordan’s Bulls beat the Bucks en route to a title in the 1990s, for example? Zero. It was as if Vin Baker, Ray Allen, Johnny Newman et al. weren’t even on the map. The Tom Thibodeau-coached Bulls met the Bucks in the playoffs only once, in 2015 — when Antetokounmpo was still just a baby — and dispatched of them in the first round with relative ease.

A Bulls series win over the champs not only would raise the intensity between teams and cities heading into next season, but it might lift the excitement at the United Center to a level it hasn’t seen since Derrick Rose went down with that terrible knee injury in 2012. Bucks guard Jrue Holiday and Bulls center Nikola Vucevic were youngsters on the eighth-seeded 76ers team that instantly benefitted against the East No. 1 Bulls.

“You could feel the energy just taken out of the UC,” Vucevic said.

Since then, Bulls fans have been more guarded, more cynical, and who could blame them? They haven’t had as promising a squad as that 2011-12 crew to rally around. And they definitely haven’t had a natural enemy.

Milwaukee? You couldn’t make the place up if you tried, and you damn sure wouldn’t want to.

Sorry, just trying to do my part.

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During the 63rd minute of the Fire’s game Saturday against the Galaxy, striker Kacper Przybylko was sprung by a pass from midfielder Gaston Gimenez. With winger Stanislav Ivanov to his left and only Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond to beat, Przybylko tried to go around the goalie but was unable to get off a shot or a pass before Bond claimed the ball and ended the threat.

That moment in the 0-0 tie was a microcosm of the Fire’s offensive woes, which have gotten worse without midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri. They aren’t creating many chances and aren’t converting when they are.

”We’re happy that we kept the clean sheet again,” captain Rafael Czichos said after the game. ”But we have to work on our game [on] offense.”

Entering their game Saturday at Minnesota United, the Fire have been shut out five times, including the last two with Shaqiri out with a calf injury, plus the game April 2 during which he went down. While they’ve established themselves as perhaps the best defensive team in Major League Soccer by allowing a league-low two goals, their MLS-worst five goals have prevented them from converting that stinginess into victories.

Beyond the scarcity of goals, the Fire (2-1-4, 10 points) aren’t doing much to trouble opponents. According to FBref, the game against the Galaxy — in which they registered 0.4 expected goals — was the sixth time the Fire have come in under two in the stat that measures the quality of chances and the likelihood they’ll produce a goal. And in the two full games Shaqiri has missed, the Fire have generated 0.8 expected goals combined.

”It’s about patience and just making sure that the guys continue to believe in themselves, believe in the people that we have here currently, the people who are on the pitch, because we have what it takes to score some goals,” coach Ezra Hendrickson said Saturday. ”It’s just a matter of doing that and just being a little bit more clinical, having a little bit more quality in the final third. But that will come. That’s an easy fix.”

How well the fixes work remains to be seen. And the issues go beyond the absence of Shaqiri, whose four full matches saw the Fire average only 1.4 expected goals.

Przybylko’s two goals came in one game and he missed a penalty during the Fire’s shootout loss to Union Omaha in the US Open Cup, Ivanov’s impact has been minimal and hyped prospect Jhon Duran has struggled to earn minutes. Young attacker Brian Gutierrez showed flashes before he was suspended for the Galaxy game after picking up two yellow cards during the Fire’s 1-0 loss April 9 at Orlando City.

The Fire hope the attack picks up when Shaqiri returns to full fitness and reaches another level when winger Jairo Torres arrives in May. But if the offense doesn’t click then, the Fire’s strong defensive mindset will go only so far.

”Well, it’d be nice to get Shaq back on the pitch,” Hendrickson said. ”We have some reinforcements coming. Torres will be here in a couple of weeks, [so] that will also help. But I think we have the players now to be better on the attack.”

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I consider Google.com and Baseball-Reference.com two of the greatest websites ever created.

I recently Googled Liz Sheridan, the actress who played Jerry Seinfeld’s mom on ”Seinfeld.” I’m constantly learning things through obituaries and quizzes like this that I find. Ms. Sheridan died recently, and I learned that, when she was young, her childhood nickname was “Dizzy” and that she had a hot and heavy romance with the yet-to-be-discovered actor James Dean. One time, when they were traveling, they met a catcher from the Pirates. It was then that she realized that if she and Dean were to marry, she would be “Dizzy Dean,” just like the pitcher.

One more thing: If you’re Googling Cubs reliever Keegan Thompson, who recently (and oddly) was suspended, he shouldn’t be confused with Kenan Thompson of ”Saturday Night Live” or Keegan-Michael Key, who co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central’s sketch series ”Key & Peele.”

Have some fun with the quiz, and no Googling the answers.

1. Doctor, doctor, give me the news, I’ve got a bad case of pulled muscles. In the White Sox’ first week of the season, three players headed to the injured list with ouchies. One had a strained abdomen, one had a strained oblique and one had a strained hamstring. Which player had which injury?

a. AJ Pollock strained his …

b. Lucas Giolito strained his …

c. Yoan Moncada strained his …

2. Who was the last Chicago player to wear Jackie Robinson’s iconic No. 42?

a. Ron Kittle

b. Bruce Sutter

c. Glenallen Hill

d. Scott Ruffcorn

3. The Dodgers recently had their home opener. Dodger Stadium opened on April 10, 1962, and is celebrating its 60th anniversary this season. Only Boston’s Fenway Park (1912) and Chicago’s Wrigley Field (1914) are older. Entering this season, the home team was 2,757-1,989 (.581) at Dodger Stadium. Entering this season, which Chicago team had a better home record?

a. The Cubs

b. The White Sox

c. The same (within 20 wins)

4. I was thinking about how the new Chicago -favorite, Seiya Suzuki, started this season, and it got me wondering: Which Cub had the longest -hitting streak to start a season?

a. Ron Santo

b. Glenn Beckert

c. Vance Law

d. Bryan LaHair

5. Hall of Famer “Goose” Gossage pitched for both the White Sox and Cubs. He wasn’t born with the first name of “Goose.” What is his real first name?

a. Grant

b. Pigeon

c. Richard

d. August

6. One formula for success in baseball is winning games, winning series, winning weeks and winning months. In 2021, the White Sox posted a winning percentage of .500-plus in all six months of the season. It marked the first time they did that since what season?

a. 2008

b. 2005

c. 1963

d. 1959

7. The brilliant first game of the season by Clayton Kershaw got me thinking about perfect games. Felix Hernandez threw baseball’s last perfect game. In this question, you have a chance to get four correct answers (I’m a glass-half-full kind guy). Did each of these major inventions launch before or after Felix’s perfecto?

a. The iPod

b. Netflix

c. Facebook

d. The self-emptying Roomba

8. Robert Lamm, the keyboard player and singer for “Chicago,” wrote “25 or 6 to 4,” with the title referring to the time of day: either 3:35 a.m. (25 to 4) or 3:34 a.m. (26 to 4). I always viewed it as 25 or “624.” With that in mind, which is the only franchise with a team that ended a season with a winning percentage of .624?

a. Cubs

b. White Sox

c. Giants

d. Braves

9. Everybody knows that Wrigley Field is the second-oldest MLB ballpark (honestly, how many times must I repeat that?). It was one of seven parks that hosted a game on Opening Day this season. Four of them are below. List them in order from oldest to newest.

a. Kauffman Stadium

b. Chase Field

c. Angel Stadium

d. Busch Stadium

ANSWERS

1. Fortunately, the Quiz Master strained nothing coming up with this question. Here are the injured Sox: Lucas Giolito (strained abdomen), Yoan Moncada (strained oblique) and AJ Pollock (strained hamstring).

2. The Cubs have gone 2,489-2,265 (.524) at Wrigley, and the Sox have gone 2,545-2,186 (.538) in their stadia.

3. Each of the players named wore No. 42 in Chicago. The last player to wear No. 42 for the Cubs was Glenallen Hill in 1993. But the last player to wear No. 42 for the Sox was Scott Ruffcorn in 1996. Robinson played 93 games at Wrigley Field and hit .295 (99-for-336) with 22 doubles, seven triples, five homers and 43 RBI.

4. In 1988, Vance Law had hits in the Cubs’ first 16 games of the season.

5. Gossage’s real first name is Richard (his family called him Rick), and scouts referred to him as Rich. A spring-training roommate, Tom Bradley, thought he looked like a goose when he peered in for signs, and the nickname was born.

6. In 1963, the White Sox finished 94-68, in second place in the American League, 10 1/2 games behind the Yankees. There were no divisions, no wild cards — just golf.

7. On Aug. 15, 2012, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez pitched the 23rd and most recent perfect game in MLB history. The iPod launched in 2010. Netflix launched in 1997 and started streaming movies in 2007. Facebook became a primary source of misinformation for hundreds of millions of people around the globe starting in 2004. In 2018, iRobot released the Roomba i7+ — the first robotic vacuum that “frees customers from every aspect of vacuuming, from start to finish, for weeks at a time,” claimed the company’s CEO.

8. Since 1901, two teams have finished with a winning percentage of .624. Each won the National League pennant, and each lost the World Series to the Yankees: the 1951 New York Giants and the 1962 San Francisco Giants.

9. Angel Stadium (1966), Kauffman Stadium (1973), Chase Field (1998) and Busch Stadium (2006).

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Long, long ago — before the Bucks crushed the Bulls in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series — we wondered aloud which team will make it to Round 2 if Bucks star Khris Middleton is to miss the rest of the series with a knee injury.

The expectation is that Middleton will miss at least that much time after an awkward slip in Game 2. And the expectation among voters in this week’s “Polling Place” — your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter — is that the Bulls are going to take advantage of this development and advance.

“Hey, Milwaukee, your next celebration is Summerfest,” @RonaldVoigt4 commented. “Going down!”

Only a small majority, though — about 55% — picked the Bulls to upset the champs.

“A week from now, the Bulls will be making tee times,” @JohnDou62217055 wrote. “Go Bucks!”

We also had polls on White Sox sluggers and their quiet early-season bats and — you know you love him — Cubs newcomer Seiya Suzuki and his exciting potential. On to the polls:

Poll No. 1: If Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton is unable to play against the Bulls, which team will win this best-of-seven first-round series?

Upshot: One week ago, only 15.3% of voters picked the Bulls in this series. A clutch win in Game 2 and some bad luck for Middleton added up to a dramatic swing. But do the Bulls really have enough in their arsenal to offset the greatness of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo? He’s still playing, in case you didn’t know.

Poll No. 2: Which slow-starting White Sox slugger will heat up first?

Upshot: “Fernando Tatis,” @RVictory2020 cracked, because some jokes never get old. We all assume the Sox are going to have plenty of offense that season, but we’ve seen early on just how nonexistent the attack can be when this enormously talented trio isn’t powering it. Of course, Sox fans have to worry about injuries, too. It’s never too soon for that.

Poll No. 3: Pick four words to describe Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki:

Upshot: Suzuki is the arly betting favorite for National League Rookie of the Year. Oh, and he’s also the best player Willson Contreras has ever played with. Wait, what? That’s what Contreras said the other day. Let’s face it: Everyone who has been watching the Cubs has some degree of Suzuki fever. As @KurtisArndt put it: “Glove. Speed. Patience. Power. Seiya is the too-early MVP!”

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One person was injured in an extra-alarm fire early Saturday morning in Ravenswood on the North Side.

Firefighters responded to the blaze in the 5000 block of North Clark Street after 5 a.m.

A person injured in the fire was taken to Weiss Hospital in fair condition, fire officials said.

No further details were immediately available.

This is a developing story, check back for details.

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One person was injured in an extra-alarm fire early Saturday morning in Ravenswood on the North Side.

Firefighters responded to the blaze in the 5000 block of North Clark Street after 5 a.m.

A person injured in the fire was taken to Weiss Hospital in fair condition, fire officials said.

No further details were immediately available.

This is a developing story, check back for details.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Blackhawks have blown 14 straight leads.

They failed to protect leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 against the Kings on

March 24. They squandered leads of 3-0 and 4-3 against the Golden Knights on March 26. They threw away leads of 4-0 and 5-4 against the -Sabres on March 28.

They lost an early 1-0 lead against the Coyotes on April 3 and an early 2-1 lead against the Stars on April 10. They let the Sharks rally back from deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 4-2 on April 14. They let a 2-1 lead against the Predators slip away last weekend. And they squandered a 3-1 lead against the Coyotes on Wednesday.

Spelling out all 14 instances is monotonous but underscores the point: Lead protection has been all but impossible over the last month.

The Hawks did win a few of those games (they’re 3-9-2 over the entire span) but only after letting their opponents rally to force overtime. Their last regulation win came March 23 against the Ducks, the first game after the trade deadline, and even that night, they blew leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before winning 4-2.

Interim coach Derek King has certainly noticed the trend, if not the exact number of times, and has talked frequently about the Hawks’ flawed mindset when operating in front.

“When we have the lead, we don’t realize that we don’t need to score a goal every shift we get,” King said Wednesday. “[When] we have a 3-1 lead, sometimes you need a ‘live to fight another day’ kind of attitude. You don’t have to make that extra play to see if we can get some offense going. That’s where we’re making mistakes, and that’s what has been costing us.”

The meltdowns against the Golden Knights and Sabres might still be contributing to the drought. Bad memories from those two games re-enter the Hawks’ minds whenever opponents start turning up the pressure.

But that’s not the only factor. As King said late last month, the Hawks also been afflicted by arrogance and loss of focus in those moments.

“I don’t know what they’re thinking when . . . they’re sniffing blood or sniffing points and they think they’re good enough to play that way,” he said angrily after the meltdown against the Sabres. “They’re not. There’s a few guys that can turn it on and take some chances and make some things happen. But the rest of them, they need to play a certain way to survive, to play in this league on a consistent basis. And when those guys start turning pucks over and not checking and missing assignments and stuff, then we’re in trouble.”

Digging into the numbers shows just how porous the Hawks’ situation defense has been. Between Nov. 6 — when King took over — and March 23, the Hawks allowed 25.4 scoring chances (per 60 even-strength minutes) when trailing, 28.0 scoring chances when tied, 30.8 scoring chances when ahead by one goal and 33.9 scoring chances when ahead by two or more goals. In other words, the more favorable the game situation, the worse their defense performed.

That’s not entirely surprising. The phenomenon is so common league-wide that it has a name: “score effects.” But it’s particularly pronounced with the Hawks, as evidenced by their NHL ranks in each situation. They’re 11th when trailing, 16th when tied, 20th when up by one and 28th when up by two or more.

And since March 24, their defensive woes have only worsened. They’ve allowed 27.0 scoring chances when trailing (1.6 more than before), 34.1 when tied (6.1 more than before), a whopping 40.5 when up by one (9.7 more than before) and 34.9 when up by two or more (1.0 more than before). Their NHL ranks in each situation are 18th, 27th, 30th and 24th, respectively.

“Maybe we get away from our game a little bit [when leading and] try to put more up on the board,” winger Alex DeBrincat said Wednesday. “But when we have a lead, we just need to play sound defense, not turn the puck over and hopefully we can get it in their zone — and then we can start playing offense. Those plays at the blue line can really change a game, so we’ve got to work on that.”

The data support the theory that the Hawks over-prioritize offense when protecting a lead. From Nov. 6 to March 23, they generated 24.1 scoring chances themselves (per 60 even-strength minutes) when up by one, which ranked 27th in the NHL. Since March 23, they’ve generated 27.7 scoring chances when up by one, which ranks 14th.

With only four games left in the season, starting with Saturday’s against the Sharks, the embarrassing trend is hardly worth outrage. But if King is brought back as permanent coach next season, fixing it is definitely something he’ll need to emphasize.

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One day after Bears quarterback Justin Fields praised Ohio State receiver Chris Olave, his former college teammate and a likely first-round pick in next week’s draft, Bears receiver Darnell Mooney jokingly disapproved.

“It’s going to be hard for us to get him if he keeps hyping him up,” Mooney said Wednesday. “Everyone else is going to be talking about him.”

They already are. That’s the bad news for the Bears, who don’t have a first-round pick Thursday. The good news: Because they’re looking to draft a receiver, it might not matter. The contracts of current NFL star receivers are getting bigger, which figures to push their college contemporaries up the draft board this year. But recent history shows that great receivers — the best ones, in fact — are found on Day 2 of the draft, not Day 1.

Of the 15 receivers with the most yards since 2019, only five were picked in Round 1. Three — Davante Adams, DK Metcalf and A.J. Brown — were drafted in the second round. Five, including the Rams’ Cooper Kupp, the Super Bowl MVP in February, were third-round picks.

“The evidence is out there for all the hits in the second and third and even beyond,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said.

The Bears have three picks on Day 2 — Nos. 39 and 48 overall in the second round and No. 71 in the third. They’re one of eight teams without a scheduled first-round pick, but that’s not a death sentence. Here’s a look at the Bears’ three biggest needs and how they can find valuable players:

Wide receiver

They’ll be gone before the Bears pick: Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson, Alabama’s Jameson Williams, USC’s Drake London, Ohio State’s Chris Olave, Arkansas’ Treylon Burks and Penn State’s Jahan Dotson.

They’ll likely be available in Round 2: Georgia’s George Pickens, Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore, North Dakota State’s Christian Watson, Alabama’s John Metchie III and South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert.

We’re intrigued by: Pickens and Metchie. Mooney identified Pickens, who missed the first 11 games of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, as someone he has noticed on film. Metchie tore his ACL during last season’s Southeastern Conference title game. Because of their injuries, both players will come at a discount, relative to their pedigree and skill level.

Jeremiah said Pickens needs to be more consistent. He had higher praise for Metchie.

“If you were saying, ‘OK, who’s the closest thing to Jarvis Landry?’ I think John Metchie would probably be that guy,” he said.

The Bears can take inspiration from: The 2019 draft class, in which Deebo Samuel, Brown and Metcalf were selected 36th, 51st and 64th, respectively.

The last time: In the last 10 years, the Bears have drafted two receivers in the second round: Alshon Jeffery, who was a Pro Bowl player, and Anthony Miller, who was not.

Offensive tackle

They’ll be gone before the Bears pick: Alabama’s Evan Neal, N.C. State’s Ikem Ekwonu, Mississippi State’s Charles Cross and Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning.

They’ll likely be available in Round 2: Central Michigan’s Bernhard Raimann, Tulsa’s Tyler Smith, Minnesota’s Donald Faalele, Washington State’s Abraham Lucas and Ohio State’s Nicholas Petit-Frere.

We’re intrigued by: Two tackles with unusual backgrounds. Raimann was born in Austria, played one season of high school football and switched from tight end as a junior at Central Michigan.

Faalele is from Melbourne, Australia, and played one season of high school ball. At 6-8, 384 pounds, he’s big enough to be a comic book villain.The Bears’ focus on mobile, athletic linemen probably precludes him from being on their wish list. Smith, who turned 21 this month, is a better fit.

The Bears can take inspiration from: The fact it can’t get worse. They drafted Teven Jenkins at No. 39 last year — the same spot where they’ll draft Friday. He had back surgery, played 14% of the snaps and didn’t cement himself at either tackle spot.

The last time: Before drafting Jenkins and Larry Borom in 2021, Ryan Pace had selected only two tackles as Bears general manager. Tayo Fabuluje and Arlington Hambright combined for just 84 career offensive snaps.

Cornerback

They’ll be gone before the Bears pick: Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner, Washington’s Trent McDuffie and LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr.

They’ll likely be available in Round 2:Clemson’s Andrew Booth Jr., Washington’s Kyler Gordon, Florida’s Kaiir Elam, Nebraska’s Cam Taylor-Britt and Auburn’s Roger McCreary.

We’re intrigued by: Unsure. Bears coach Matt Eberflus gave a tepid endorsement of the cornerback unit during rookie minicamp, but the Bears need to find a starter opposite Jaylon Johnson. Booth didn’t do combine drills because of a quadriceps injury and later had sports hernia surgery, which could drop him to the second round. Clemson’s zone tendencies fit well with the cover-2 scheme that Eberflus runs.

The Bears can take inspiration from: The Cowboys drafting cornerback Trevon Diggs at No. 51 two years ago. He led the NFL with 11 interceptions last year, earning first-team All-Pro honors.

The last time: One of the Bears’ best recent hits came when they chose a cornerback in Round 2. Johnson went 50th in 2020.

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