Chicago Sports

Two Blackhawks fans held a large Czech flag up to the glass behind the net during warmups Tuesday, showing appreciation for Dominik Kubalik before what might’ve been his final home game at the United Center.

Despite all of the attention on the eventual 2-1 shootout loss potentially being Marc-Andre Fleury’s Chicago sendoff, Kubalik and Calvin de Haan realistically have much higher odds of being gone by Monday’s trade deadline.

The Hawks are making progress on a Kubalik trade, a source said Wednesday, with the Ducks and Oilers — two teams long linked to the 26-year-old wing — still the frontrunners.

If that deal materializes, it would mark a frustrating, unsatisfying end to Kubalik’s once-promising Hawks tenure.

He has endured an awful season. His once-elite shooting ability, which caught the Hawks’ eye during his 2018-19 MVP season in Switzerland and earned him his first NHL contract in 2019-20, has faded significantly.

At even strength, Kubalik has attempted 13.0 shots per 60 minutes, down from 15.2 and 15.4 his first two seasons. Only 52.4% of those have been recorded as scoring chances, down from 63.7% and 57.9% his first two seasons. And he has hit the net on just 56.0% of those attempts, down from 58.5% and 63.4% his first two seasons.

On the power play, his trends admittedly do look a lot better, but they’re not leading to an uptick in production there.

The end result is Kubalik has scored just 11 goals in 61 games this season (0.18 goals per game) after ripping 30 goals in 68 games as a rookie (0.44 per game) — en route to a third-place finish in Calder Trophy voting — and adding 17 goals in 56 games (0.30 per game) last year. In his last 18 games, he has scored just once.

“It’s obviously hard to expect that,” Kubalik said on March 8. “You always want to be better; you always want more. Even when you score two goals, you’re thinking about a hat trick.

“If you don’t score, you’re thinking about putting some shots on and creating something for yourself or your teammates. Find a different way, that’s what I’m trying to do. This season, I had stretches where I had a lot of shots and I didn’t score, then I had less shots and I scored. It’s just what it is. Even if I’m not producing, I’ve got to do something to help the team win.”

Interim coach Derek King has held several lengthy one-on-one video review sessions with Kubalik this season to try to rejuvenate him, and he recently lauded Kubalik for being “confident enough where he can just come in, sit down and talk.”

Indeed, Kubalik has presented himself throughout his 2.5-year Hawks tenure as exceptionally honest, accountable and forthright, and he has become an equally popular teammate behind closed doors. He has helped the Hawks create a prospect pipeline from his hometown of Plzen, Czech Republic, and helped acclimated the likes of Philipp Kurashev and countryman Jakub Galvas into the locker room.

He’s unquestionably a talented player, too. His off-the-charts surge on Jonathan Toews’ wing in January 2020 won’t be forgotten for a while, as it demonstrated all the best parts of his game: a knack for finding scoring areas, underrated upper-body strength used to create space to shoot and, of course, a bullet of a shot.

Selling him off at the 2022 deadline at his lowest value in years probably wasn’t what Hawks management at the time envisioned in his future.

That’s not to say it’s unwise. Management has changed since then, and as a somewhat expensive pending restricted free agent, Kubalik doesn’t fit the rebuild too well. But it’d be a shame to see it his tenure end like this.

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The Bears released veteran linebacker Danny Trevathan and officially announced five previously reported transactions, as the NFL’s free agency signing period opened Wednesday: they signed defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, guard/center Lucas Patrick and linebacker Nicholas Morrow; traded linebacker Khalil Mack to the Chargers; and released running back Tarik Cohen.

Cutting Trevathan was an anticipated move after the 31-year old veteran missed 12 games because of a knee injury and went on injured reserve on Nov. 19 — prematurely ending his sixth season with the Bears.

Trevathan, along with Akiem Hicks, was a key part of the Bears’ defensive resurgence under coordinator Vic Fangio when he signed a four-year, $28-million contract as a free agent in 2016 after four seasons with the Broncos.

Trevathan, the leading tackler on the Broncos’ 2015 Super Bowl championship team, was as good if not better than advertised. He emerged as a productive player and a team leader as the Bears improved from 24th to ninth to first in the NFL in scoring defense in his first three seasons.

The Bears signed Trevathan to a three-year, $21.75 million contract in 2020, choosing to retain Trevathan over the younger Nick Kwiatkoski, who signed a similar contract with the Raiders in free agency.

But Trevathan, while still productive, was not the impact player he had been in 2020 — though he played in all 16 games and had 113 tackles. His demise accelerated in 2021, when he struggled with a knee injury and started the season on injured reserve. When he returned in Week 5 against the Raiders, he was ineffective in a reserve role behind Alec Ogletree. Trevathan started against the Steelers in Week 9, but was put on IR the following week.

Trevathan was cut at a cost. He will carry a $8.925 million “dead cap” charge, according to overthecap.com. If Trevathan is designated as a post-June 1 cut, the charge will be spread out over two seasons with $2.43 million in dead-cap money for 2022.

Cutting Trevathan was the latest move in new general manager Ryan Poles’ renovation of the Bears’ roster. Mack was traded to the Chargers for a 2022 second-round pick (No. 48) and 2023 sixth-round pick. The Bears also cut nose tackle Eddie Goldman and Cohen.

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The Cubs and star Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki have agreed to an $85 million, five-year deal, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person, confirming several reports, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical.

The agreement signals the Cubs hope to speed up the rebuilding process after breaking up their 2016 championship core before last season’s trade deadline.

The 27-year-old Suzuki was a five-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner over nine seasons with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Nippon Professional Baseball. He batted .317 with 38 home runs and 88 RBIs in 132 games last season and had nearly as many walks (87) as strikeouts (88). He is a career .315 hitter with 182 homers and 562 RBIs for Hiroshima.

Suzuki plays right field, a position five-time Gold Glove winner Jason Heyward has manned for the Cubs since signing a $184 million, eight-year contract before the 2016 World Series championship season.

The Cubs also have Ian Happ, Clint Frazier and Rafael Ortega in the outfield, with prized prospect Brennen Davis in the system. The advent of the designated hitter in the National League gives manager David Ross more flexibility.

The Cubs are looking to regroup after finishing fourth in the NL Central at 71-91 in 2021 and missing the playoffs for the second time in three years. They traded ace Yu Darvish to the San Diego Padres before last season, then dealt championship core players Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez once the team went into a slump after a strong start.

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When an NFL player retires to spend more time with his family, does it follow that, when he un-retires 40 days later, he does so because he doesn’t want to spend more time with his family? That taking the kids to school or sitting down for dinner at 5 p.m. is a little more domestic togetherness than he had imagined?

That would be the logical conclusion. Another conclusion would be that Tom Brady can’t let go of football or the spotlight. What kind of person decides to announce that he’s changed his mind on retirement during Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament? The kind of person who knows that millions of sports fans will be staring at TV screens when he drops his news.

A few weeks ago, tired of Aaron Rodgers’ look-at-me act, I wrote that it would be quite all right if he’d do us all a favor and get lost.Take his drama, his vaccine misdirection, his State Farm ads and his famous girlfriends, and go away. I’d invite readers to go back to that column and replace all of the Rodgers references with Brady references. If it weren’t for Brady’s seven Super Bowl rings and Rodgers’ one, they might be the same guy.

Let me stop you before you call me jealous and bitter. I’ll do it myself. I’m jealous and bitter. But it’s not what you might think. This isn’t about the Bears’ decades-long inability to find a quarterback, though I have tested positive for jealousy and bitterness about that situation many times. This isn’t about Rodgers’ new contract extension with Green Bay, a development that means the Bears likely will have to face him twice a year for the next two seasons — after they had hoped with all their hearts that he would play for another team in 2022. And this isn’t about the possibility of the Bears meeting Brady down the road. (What’s more likely: the Bears or Brady in the playoffs in 2027?)

There’s something deeper here. It’s that the Bears never seem to have a player like this, a megastar, a person who torments opposing teams and their fans for years — and maybe his own fan base once in a while.

An icon.

This is about the decades-long absence of a true Bears superstar. Brian Urlacher? A great player. A Hall of Famer. But not iconic, unless iconic means having your face on a phalanx of interstate billboards promoting a hair restoration company. No, you have to go back to Walter Payton and Mike Ditka to find a Bear player or coach who could make a non-sports fan stop in his tracks in any street in America.

I don’t want to do too much self-analysis here, lest I discover that, deep down, I’m actually an emotionally needy orphan boy from Luxembourg. But when I complain about Rodgers and Brady and their need for attention, endorsements and affirmation, maybe I’m feeling an emptiness for our city. We deserve much better than what we’ve gotten from the Bears. We also deserve a player big enough for a stage as big as Chicago.

There was speculation that Brady had considered signing with the Bears before he signed with the Buccaneers two years ago. I don’t know if it’s true. What is true is that the Bears rarely land the big prize. Or when they do — acquiring Khalil Mack — it doesn’t work out.

The true believers among you, the ones who can’t quit the Bears, say Justin Fields will become the icon I seek. They say he’ll be the star quarterback the franchise hasn’t had since Sid Luckman and the iconic player it hasn’t had since Sweetness. But they’re dealing in aspiration, not reality. Very little from Fields’ rookie season backs up their hope. Here’s the thing, though: you never know. And not knowing is intoxicating. The McCaskeys count on it.

I’m not going to apologize for asking if Brady un-retired after he realized there was too much home life involved. I’m not going to apologize for being up in his business. He’s been trying to sell me products for years, and I don’t recall asking for them. Fair’s fair.

Packers fans were divided on whether they wanted Rodgers back in Green Bay. Many were tired of his self-absorption. But I’m guessing most of them are more than pleased that his quarterbacking talents will again benefit the Packers.

Sick of Brady and Rodgers? Me, too. But I’d put up with all kinds of nonsense in return for an icon.

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MESA, ARIZ. — The Cubs continued to add much-needed depth to their pitching staff Wednesday. They’ve agreed to a major-league deal with lefty Steven Brault, a Sun-Times source confirmed.

Brault, 29, has spent his whole big-league career with the Pirates, amassing a 4.77 ERA. Before adding Brault, the Cubs carried just four left-handed pitchers on their 40-man roster. Brault has one option year remaining.

The Cubs were already short on pitching depth before learning that right-hander Adbert Alzoaly (lat strain) would start the season on the injured list. Brault, who has started about half the games he’s played in his career, could give the Cubs another starting option if needed, or serve as a multi-inning reliever.

“Our biggest focus, candidly, has been pitching and pitching depth,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said earlier this week.

Since the Major League Baseball lockout ended last week, the Cubs have also signed reliever Jesse Chavez to a minor-league deal with a spring training invitation and agreed to a one-year deal with reliever Chris Martin.

Brault’s addition was overshadowed Wednesday morning by reports that Japanese star Seiya Suzuki had agreed to a five-year, $85 million contract with the Cubs.

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The Cubs and star Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki have agreed to an $85 million, five-year deal, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person, confirming several reports, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical.

The agreement signals the Cubs hope to speed up the rebuilding process after breaking up their 2016 championship core before last season’s trade deadline.

The 27-year-old Suzuki was a five-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner over nine seasons with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Nippon Professional Baseball. He batted .317 with 38 home runs and 88 RBIs in 132 games last season and had nearly as many walks (87) as strikeouts (88). He is a career .315 hitter with 182 homers and 562 RBIs for Hiroshima.

Suzuki plays right field, a position five-time Gold Glove winner Jason Heyward has manned for the Cubs since signing a $184 million, eight-year contract before the 2016 World Series championship season.

The Cubs also have Ian Happ, Clint Frazier and Rafael Ortega in the outfield, with prized prospect Brennen Davis in the system. The advent of the designated hitter in the National League gives manager David Ross more flexibility.

The Cubs are looking to regroup after finishing fourth in the NL Central at 71-91 in 2021 and missing the playoffs for the second time in three years. They traded ace Yu Darvish to the San Diego Padres before last season, then dealt championship core players Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez once the team went into a slump after a strong start.

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Consider it a coup for ESPN.

For years, the network struggled to find the right combination and chemistry in its “Monday Night Football” booth, especially after Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden departed.

On Monday, after weeks of speculation, ESPN made it official: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have been hired by the network and will be the new voices of “Monday Night Football,” ending the pair’s two-decade run at Fox.

“The opportunity to be a voice on Monday Night Football, adding to its legacy and being a part of the future of the NFL on ESPN, has me motivated and reflective,” Aikman said Wednesday in a release.

Buck and Aikman, the three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, are close friends and have been broadcast partners since 2002. Together, they have called six Super Bowls.

Aikman’s contract with Fox expired recently, and he was rumored to be joining Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” team. In late February, however, the New York Post reported that he would be joining ESPN to serve as MNF’s color commentator.

On Friday, the Post reported that Fox allowed Buck to negotiate with ESPN. A deal came together shortly thereafter, and the duo remained intact. Buck’s deal is apparently five years and worth $60 million-$75 million, per the Post, while Aikman’s is five years and $90 million.

Buck, in a video posted to social media Monday, said he is “beyond excited” to join ESPN.

“It’s going to be an absolute blast,” Buck, 52, said.

Buck, who had been at Fox since 1994, recalled spending Monday nights as a kid in the CBS Radio MNF broadcast booth, where his father Jack Buck was behind the microphone.

ESPN’s number of games in 2022 will increase from 20 to 22. Buck and Aikman are expected to call 18 of those.

“When you have the opportunity to bring in the iconic, longest-running NFL broadcasting duo, you take it, especially at a time when we are on the cusp of a new era in our expanding relationship with the NFL,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. “The NFL continues to ascend, and we now have more games than ever before, providing additional opportunities for Joe, Troy and our deep roster of commentators.”

When Tirico left for NBC after the 2015 season, Sean McDonough partnered with Gruden for two seasons. Gruden was hired by the then-Oakland Raiders after 2017. That ushered in the ill-fated three-man booth of Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten and Booger McFarland, which was pared down to just Tessitore and a no-longer-roving McFarland in 2019.

The trio of Steve Levy, Louis Riddick, and Brian Griese lasted two years.

Lisa Salters has been the broadcast’s sideline reporter since 2021 and is expected to remain in that role.

Read more at usatoday.com

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American Blues Theater on Wednesday revealed plans for a new, permanent home on Chicago’s North Side.

The theater company is finalizing the purchase of a 17,965-square-foot space at 5627 N. Lincoln Avenue, part of the new Lincoln Avenue North Arts District. The site will become the first permanent home for the critically acclaimed theater company, which has for years leased space and/or staged productions at various Chicago venues including Victory Gardens Theater, Stage 773 and the Greenhouse Theater Center.

Funding for the $6.5 million project will come through the theater’s new “Our First Home” capital campaign, which includes $6 million for the building purchase and construction within the existing footprint, and a $500,000 building reserve fund. To date, $2.9 million has been raised from individual donors. Groundbreaking has been scheduled for this summer, with an official opening slated for November 2023 featuring a production of the company’s holiday classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!”

The new complex, designed by John Morris of Morris Architects Planners on the site of a former Mobil gas station, Dollar General store and Walgreens, will include a box office and bar/concessions area, two theaters–a 148-seat proscenium and 40-seat flexible studio–as well as administrative offices, production spaces for scenery, props and costumes, and a small parking lot to supplement the ample street parking.

“This historic move to a permanent home is over 35 years in the making. After decades of leasing, including the beloved space on Byron Avenue, American Blues Theater will control its own artistic and financial destiny for the first time,” said Gwendolyn Whiteside, the company’s artistic director. “Our exceptional ensemble has dreamed of a dedicated home to expand our programming, education initiatives, and community partnerships. We understand all too well the limitations of being an itinerant company, and–with very few true subsidized venues in Chicago–we’re also excited to create an affordable rental space for other theater companies on their respective journeys.”

American Blues Theater, founded in 1985, boasts more than 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards/nominations and 40 Black Theater Alliance Awards.

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From the start, Xherdan Shaqiri didn’t seem to fit in Lyon. Six months later, he left for Chicago, and the early returns in MLS are encouraging.Read More