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Chicago Bears: 5 under-the-radar players you should know for training camp by Ryan Heckman

The Chicago Cubs are reeling. Quite frankly, they are really in a tailspin right now.

After once leading the NL Central a month and a half ago or so, the Cubs are now tied for the league’s worst record over their last 10 games. What once looked like a promising season now appears to have been a mirage as reality sets in.

The MLB trade deadline is just 17 days away now, and the Cubs are selling — without a doubt. There is no chance Chicago buys now, and Jed Hoyer knows it.

“You know, life comes at you fast,” Hoyer says. “Eleven days ago, this is not where we were mentally. Obviously, 11 games certainly changes a lot of things.” (The Score)

It feels like a lifetime ago the Cubs were considering buying at the deadline. But, in actuality, it was only days. Now, the team faces a crossroads with the core that helped win a World Series a few seasons ago. One of those key core pieces who could leave? Let’s just say fans would be distraught.

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo may end up in another uniform sooner or later.

At the end of this season, Anthony Rizzo will be a free agent. So, he may end up leaving Chicago regardless. The big question right now is, do the Cubs attempt to trade him prior to this year’s deadline?

One team that’s been rumored as a landing spot for Rizzo this month is the team who originally drafted him, the Boston Red Sox. As the Red Sox continue their strong 2021 campaign, one more bat and an excellent fielder could make all the difference in the world.

The Red Sox will be buyers, but will they want Rizzo? If so, how much would Rizzo cost?

If you ask MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, Rizzo might not return exactly what the Cubs would want in a deal. Therefore, it’s easy to see a world where Chicago keeps Rizzo for the remainder of the season. In fact, Heyman believes Rizzo could stick around long-term, even.

“Rizzo, I still don’t believe that they’ll trade him,” Heyman said. “I think that he’s a Cub. We shall see. Maybe he doesn’t mind at this point the way the Cubs are doing, if he wants to try to win this year. Maybe he’ll be OK with it. But I just feel like they’re going to keep Rizzo long term. We shall see, no guarantees here.” (WBBM)

Well, now that we’re all confused, the only thing left to do is wait.

It would be a dark reality that sets in if the Cubs were to deal Rizzo, along with guys like Kris Bryant or Javier Baez. Most of us already know that Craig Kimbrel is as good as dealt, but one or more of the Cubs’ “big three” could be on their way out as well.

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The Cubs would be doing themselves a favor keeping Rizzo around for the next rebuild, as he’s become such a leader in the clubhouse. But, if the Ricketts do not wish to spend long-term (even if it is the team’s unquestioned leader), a world without Rizzo in Chicago is not too far fetched to imagine.

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Izzy Reidy specializes in the kind of intimate indie rock where you can hear the sound of fingertips squeaking along guitar strings. They launched their band, Izzy True, while living in upstate New York, but these days Reidy lives in Chicago and plays with drummer Sam Goldstein and multi-instrumentalist Curtis Oren. Izzy True’s new third album, Our Beautiful Baby World (Don Giovanni), melds homespun rock and relaxed country swagger; on “Angel Band,” Oren dispenses a spry walking bass line that boosts Reidy’s intensifying vocals toward the song’s fiery, calamitous closing notes. As a front person, Reidy balances stage-ready poise with down-to-earth informality, exuding a quiet grace that amplifies their incandescent whispers. Our Beautiful Baby World conjures an inviting sense of comfort while sending out lightning bolts at just the right moments–and each shock makes it clear that this is a band to see in the flesh. v

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A 3-year-old boy was grazed while riding in a car in Lawndale on the West Side Monday afternoon.

A 24-year-old woman was driving the car in the 3700 block of West 16th Street when someone fired shots about 3:55 p.m., Chicago police said.

A bullet grazed the boy in the lower back, police said. The woman drove to Loretto Hospital where the boy was in good condition.

No arrests have been made.

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Chicago Blackhawks fleece Edmonton in Duncan Keith trade by Vincent Parise

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Chicago Bears (Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports)

The entire offseason has been defined by one position for the Chicago Bears. Regardless of other signings and draft picks made, it is all about the quarterback.

But, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s always about the quarterback — or lack thereof — in Chicago.

There is no question fans are most excited to see rookie Justin Fields, more than any other player, when the Bears open training camp in a few weeks. Finally, the franchise has legitimate hope when it comes to the most important position.

What about other positions, though? The Bears added several new names throughout the past few months, and a couple of key positions have gotten better. On the flip side, some positions became more of a question mark.

Aside from the big names, there are many worthy players to watch at Chicago Bears training camp.

Over the past few months, general manager Ryan Pace has done a nice job taking fliers on veteran players looking for new homes. He’s always open to the 1-year, prove-it type of contract.

This year, Pace took a gamble on a few specific free agents who come into training camp flying under the radar. If the Bears are to become a better football team as a whole, some of these players will need to step up and solidify their place on the roster.

There are five players, in particular, whom fans should look out for at camp. These guys will be out to prove they not only belong, but can make a difference within the Bears’ quest for a postseason run.

Next: 1. Jake Butt

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The writer-director Eli Roth is on a small boat where a fisherman has pulled a Mako shark from the waters. Roth tries to negotiate for the shark’s life — he’ll pay for it if they just let it go — but the fisherman uses a baseball bat (not unlike the weapon wielded by Roth’s Sgt. Donny Donowitz in “Inglorious Basterds”) to kill the shark. Roth is clearly shaken by the experience — and so are we, and not for the last time in the sometimes difficult to watch but invaluable and insightful documentary titled “Fin,” streaming globally on Discovery+.

If it’s mid-summer, that means it’s time for the annual “Shark Week” festival on Discovery and Discovery+ plus a myriad of “SharkFest” offerings on NatGeo — with some 45 hours of shark-related unscripted specials on the former and another 21 hours of fresh programming on the latter. I urge you to place “Fin” on the top of your shark-viewing list.

“Fin” writer-director-producer-star Roth is best known for horror films such as “Cabin Fever” (2003) and the “Hostel” movies (I’m a big fan of his bat-bleep crazy, Keanu Reeves-starring erotic thriller “Knock Knock”) but he describes this documentary as “the most terrifying film I’ve ever made,” and that’s no hyperbole.

With photographer Michael Muller delivering visuals that alternate between the breathtakingly beautiful and the horrifyingly brutal, Roth travels the world for an in-depth look at the vast and sometimes criminal network of fishermen, suppliers, sellers and buyers involved in the mass slaughter of sharks — all because of demand for shark fin soup and other supposedly “exotic” dishes. (Shark flesh, cartilage, skin and livers are also used to make supplements, makeup and skincare products.) We’re told some 100 million sharks are slaughtered every year, leaving a number of species threatened with extinction.

Shark finning is a horrific practice. The shark is often still alive when its fins are sliced off — and then the mutilated shark is tossed back into the water, where it will suffocate or bleed to death or be killed. The passionate and empathetic and committed-to-the-cause Roth talks to the fishermen in poor seaside villages who have almost no other way of making a living; the sometimes shady shopkeepers in Hong Kong selling all manner of shark fins; activists and oceanographers who have dedicated themselves to educating the public about sharks and saving them from mass slaughter, and a food writer and a restaurateur who talk about how shark fin soup became a symbol of wealth and status in Chinese culture, often served at weddings at other gatherings, because it was a dish favored by the imperial family.

The reality is shark fin soup is garbage soup. As “Fin” shows in graphic detail, shark fins are often piled up by the thousands in unsanitary conditions — and they’re essentially tasteless. The flavor, such as it is, comes from the broth and from additives. Myths about shark fins curing cancer or boosting sexual potency are just that: myths. (Thankfully, many in the younger generation of Chinese find shark fin soup to be out of fashion. Meanwhile, the sale of shark fins has been banned in Illinois since 2013.)

For all its sobering reporting and imagery, “Fin” also has moments of pure beauty, as when Roth literally swims among sharks, who greet him with mild curiosity and a benign approach. Despite the handful of stories every year about a shark attacking a human, we know the truth: We’re the predators, and they’re the prey.

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One person was killed, and eight others were wounded in shootings Monday in Chicago, including a man who was killed in a shooting in Englewood on the South Side.

Officers responded to reports of shots fired about 10:40 p.m. in the 6000 block of South Racine Avenue and found the 35-year-old with multiple gunshot wounds in the street, Chicago police said. The man was taken to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name hasn’t been released.

Two people were wounded, one critically, in South Chicago. A 35-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were walking about 9:20 p.m. in the 8400 block of South Muskegon Avenue when someone opened fire, police said. The man was struck in the neck and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition. The woman was shot in the arm and took herself to Trinity Hospital, where she was in good condition.

A 3-year-old boy was hurt in a shooting in Lawndale on the West Side. He was riding in a vehicle driven by a 24-year-old woman about 3:55 p.m. in the 3700 block of West 16th Street when someone unleashed gunfire, police said. A bullet grazed the boy in the lower back. The woman drove to Loretto Hospital, where the boy was in good condition.

A 15-year-old girl was shot and seriously wounded while riding in a car in Englewood on the South Side. The car was headed west in the 6900 block of South Halsted Street when shots were fired around 11:20 a.m., police said. The girl was hit in the upper leg and was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition. The car struck another car before coming to a stop. No one was in custody.

Four others were wounded in shootings across Chicago.

Thirteen people were killed, and thirty-three people were wounded last weekend in citywide.

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Moon Alert

After 3:30 a.m. Chicago time, there are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Virgo.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Today you want to have fun! Enjoy playful activities with kids, sports events, social outings, long lunches, mini vacations and anything to do with the arts. Romance will flourish, and this is the perfect day for a date. You might also make plans for a vacation.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

This is a lovely day to entertain at home and enjoy the company of family and friends. You might also want to explore redecorating or doing something to make your home more beautiful. Real estate negotiations will go well because people will be cooperative.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You will enjoy schmoozing with others, especially siblings, relatives and neighbors. This is a lovely day to meet new people and make new contacts. You are in such a positive mood, you will see the beauty of your daily surroundings with fresh, appreciative eyes. A fun day!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

This is an excellent day for business and commerce. Look for ways to boost your income. Explore financial negotiations, which will favor you. In fact, keep your pockets open because gifts and goodies can come your way. If shopping, you will buy beautiful things for yourself and loved ones.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

This is a powerful day for you because the moon, Venus and Mars are all in Leo. People will be attracted to you! Meanwhile, you can ask the universe for a favor because things will likely turn out your way. (You’ll charm everyone you meet!) Today you run the meeting.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Solitude in beautiful surroundings will appeal to you today. Although this is a popular time for you and you’ve been involved with younger people, today you need a breather, which is why you need a quiet place to regroup and pull your act together. Pamper yourself.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Great day to schmooze with others! You will enjoy hanging out with friends or interacting with clubs, groups and associations. Interactions with artistic people will please you. You might also be in competition with a group? Good day to share your goals for the future with someone.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

People are impressed with you, especially bosses, parents, teachers and the police. You look good to them, and you’re willing to take charge in a diplomatic way. Because you are high visibility, people are talking about you today. Fortunately, they’re saying good things.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Do something different today because you want adventure and stimulation! If you can travel, that would be perfect. If you can’t travel, go somewhere you haven’t been before. You will also love to hear new ideas and learn new things. Romance with someone “different” might begin.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

This is an excellent day to negotiate anything to do with shared property, insurance disputes and inheritances because you’ll come out smelling like a rose. People will defer to you even if there is a dispute. Meanwhile, enjoy the discovery of a new place.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Relations with close friends and partners are warm and rewarding today. Nevertheless, ideally, you must cooperate and be prepared to go more than halfway. If you do this, everything will be smooth and pleasing.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

Although this has been a playful week for you, today you’re keen to work hard and get things done. This you will do with diplomacy and charm, which is why others will help you. Nevertheless, you might have to work on behalf of someone else today.

If Your Birthday Is Today

Chef/humanitarian Jose Andres (1969) shares your birthday. You are hard-working, disciplined, focused and have a strong sense of duty. And yet, you can be rebellious. You also have an oddball sense of humor. This year you are the truth seeker. You want to understand the wisdom, which is why you will welcome more solitude and quiet time into your life. This is definitely a year of learning and teaching.

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Officers responded to reports of shots fired about 10:40 p.m. in the 6000 block of South Racine Avenue and found the 35-year-old with multiple gunshot wounds in the street, police said.

By

Sun-Times Wire

Jul 12, 2021, 11:41pm CDT

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DENVER — Pack a suitcase and go. Like, immediately.

That’s all any major leaguer who is traded in-season can do. That’s all Kris Bryant will get to do if he’s dealt by the Cubs before the July 30 trade deadline. And that won’t sit well with a sentimental superstar who deserves, if nothing else, time for proper goodbyes.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about that,” he said. “I’ve thought about it just because of the rumors that are out there.”

Rumors? They’re more than rumors. The below-.500 Cubs have some heavy-hitter pending free agents in their lineup, and Bryant, 29, is the biggest name in the bunch. He sat in full uniform Monday at a media event on a promenade across the street from Coors Field and faced hardly any questions about the fourth All-Star Game appearance he’ll make Tuesday. Instead, he baked in 90-degree heat and addressed the end that likely is coming.

Chances are, during those 45 minutes, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer spoke with at least one potential trade partner about the former MVP. That’s just cold, hard reality.

“I don’t know what will happen,” Bryant said. “If it does happen, whatever team I do go to is going to get a guy that’s going to go out there and give it all he’s got, play wherever they need me to play, be a good person and good teammate and [just] play baseball. That’s all I can do.”

What he won’t be able to do is meet such a weighty moment with fitting goodbyes to teammates, to fans, to Wrigley Field, to Chicago — the place where he says he “grew up.”

“I look at pictures from 2015 to now and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m such a different person,’ ” he said. “And I’m proud of the person I’ve become wearing this uniform.”

The person he has always been isn’t the pack-up-and-scram type. The abruptness of an in-season trade just isn’t his speed or style. Goodbye? That might be the biggest, hardest word of them all. So why wait?

Bryant isn’t.

“Whenever my time is done playing for the Cubs, whether I retire here or not, I certainly hope to go out with just representing who I am, just a good person, and with class, keeping my head high,” he said. “And realizing whether it’s one World Series or four or five more, whatever we did here was special. When I’m done playing this game, I can look back on however long I spent in this uniform and be very proud of it.”

When Bryant was a rookie in 2015 and making a splash so big he’d win Rookie of the Year, veterans would tell him things would only get easier from there. And they did in 2016, when he was MVP and the Cubs busted all their ghosts. Bryant was arguably even better in 2017, but we would all agree his ascent as a hitter hasn’t continued in the time since.

What ramped up instead was criticism — mostly by fans of the team — of his physical toughness, his mental toughness, his performance in the clutch. Nobody picks nits quite like spoiled fans on social media.

“It really doesn’t get easier,” he said. “Because you have a good year, you have a couple of good years, then there’s expectations. You win a World Series, then there’s more expectations and you keep [trying to] climb that mountaintop. And it’s not going to get easier. You just find better ways to handle the expectations, and I think that’s where I’m at.”

The Bryant of a few years back was stung by criticism and had a hard time getting un-stung. By the end of the abbreviated 2020 campaign — a miserable one for Bryant — he was done with all that. As he famously put it after the playoff loss to the Marlins, “I don’t give a [expletive].”

If being hurt by criticism is at one end of the scale and not giving a blank is at the other, Bryant figures he isn’t even on the scale anymore.

“I’m just at a different point of life where I feel I’m a little more mature and things don’t get to me as much,” he said.

Instead, he is lightening his own load. Appreciating his accomplishments rather than beating himself up. Looking forward to his future while savoring all the Cubs moments he has left.

“At the end of the day,” he said, “if you get traded, you get traded. If you don’t, I’m with an unbelievable organization still, a city and team that has meant so much to me, so I’m in a good spot. And I’m playing baseball for a living and having a great time doing it. I’m at the All-Star Game right now for a fourth time. If you told me this when I was getting drafted — if you told me I’d make it one time — I would’ve been unbelievably proud.”

He might not have believed the end of his Cubs journey would be staring him in the face, too.

If there’s one thing he’d like everyone to know before it’s too late, what is it?

A pause. A wave of sentiment. A glance down at his jersey.

“Any time I put the pinstripes on,” he said, “it’s a huge honor for me.”

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DENVER — It should have been one of the White Sox’ big guns. Lance Lynn or Carlos Rodon would’ve fit the bill of American League All-Star starting pitcher quite well.

One supposes a pretty solid case could have been made for the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole or the Rangers’ Kyle Gibson.

But Shohei Ohtani? The Angels’ two-way rock star who’s here both as a hitter and as a pitcher — insert obligatory pause to appreciate this amazing feat — even though his numbers on the mound pale by comparison with those of the other starters on the AL roster?

As Lynn told the Sun-Times heading into the All-Star break, for AL manager Kevin Cash to give the ball to Ohtani first wouldn’t be the ”best [choice] among the players.”

”There are quite a few people who’ve had better first halves, for sure,” Lynn said.

Or, as Rodon put it Monday: ”If we’re going to go off who’s the best pitcher, I think the most deserving would be Lance, probably. And I wish it was.”

But this is where we need to pause again because both pitchers understand why the Shohei Show must go on. It’s not just that the baseball world is in awe of the first player to be selected as both a position player (designated hitter, in Ohtani’s case) and a pitcher. It’s not just Major League Baseball trying to capitalize on a player’s off-the-charts popularity. It’s that Ohtani actually needs to pull off doing it all at Coors Field — from the Home Run Derby on Monday to double duty Tuesday — and that’s no joke.

It’s a lot, and Cash — after multiple consultations with Angels manager Joe Maddon — came to the decision that he wasn’t going to ask Ohtani to do something he never had done before. Starting on the mound and taking his turns at bat in the same game, he has done. For the All-Star Game, MLB has tweaked its rules and will allow Ohtani to remain in the game at DH after he pitches.

”I felt like I threw my name in the hat to have that opportunity,” Lynn said Monday. ”But with what [Ohtani] is doing and what he’s capable of, and you look at how the game is going to flow, it would’ve been tough for him to go get loose down in the bullpen and then come out somewhere in the middle of the game.”

Exactly.

Oh, but also?

”This is what the fans want to see,” Cash said. ”Personally, it’s what I want to see.”

Yes, it might be what everyone not named Lynn, Rodon or Joe Sox Fan wants to see.

”I think it’s great for the game,” Rodon said. ”He’s a joy to watch. A great, great hitter, and it’s unbelievable that he can do it on the mound, too. . . .

”If you look at it from MLB’s aspect, it’s best that Ohtani starts now. Do I agree with it? Maybe not. I would like, obviously, my teammate to start the game, but I understand what they’re trying to do. And it’s not like he’s not still a great pitcher.”

Wait a minute, what’s with Rodon siding with Lynn’s candidacy over his own? Some of us have looked at their numbers a good dozen times and still can’t figure out who had a better first half. And only one of them — not Lynn — put a no-hitter into the mix.

To Rodon, it’s Lynn’s age — at 34, six years older than his rotation mate — that should break a tie.

”I think he’s just scared of me,” Lynn said. ”I think he just wants it to be known that he rooted for me.”

Now that’s funny.

”But, no,” Lynn said, ”we both had great first halves, and we’ve both been pulling for each other.”

This time, they’ll pull for each other from the bullpen.

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