What’s New

The Chicago Blackhawks have had some good goaltenders during their run of dominance in the 2010s. With Corey Crawford as the main guy, the backup situation has been mostly good for them. One of them sticks out above the rest.

Scott Darling was the local kid that grew up a Blackhawks fan that realized his dream of playing for the hometown team. He played for the Hawks from 2014-2017 and was a very nice backup.

His role included a run in the playoffs where he relieved Corey Crawford until the time was right to put him back in. It was that same season that Darling’s name got put on the Stanley Cup with the rest of his 2014-15 teammates.

After the 2016-17 season ended, however, Darling made his way to the Carolina Hurricanes where he was expected t be the new franchise goalie. Everyone thought that he was ready to take that next step into a starter role but he clearly wasn’t.

He only lasted there for two years before finding himself out of the NHL. After a few years of playing in other leagues around the world, he finally stopped playing. Since then, he has pursued other things away from hockey. Stand-up comedy is one of the most notable endeavors.

Scott Darling is coming back to the Chicago Blackhawks organization in 2022-23.

Now, he is taking that entertainment phase to the next level. On Monday, it came out that Darling will be a new member of the pre and postgame team on NBC Sports Chicago. He will join Pat Boyle, Colby Cohen, and Caley Chelios on the set to preview/break down games all year long.

This isn’t going to be a great year for the team in terms of wins and losses but there are plenty of reasons to tune in. A guy like Darling will be perfect for breaking down why they are doing what they are doing.

As they try to develop a lot of young talent, it should be fun to watch throughout the year. They have a clear goal in mind and that is to rebuild the right way. There might be some painful moments along the way which is why it will be nice to have a guy like Darling to listen to.

Darling deserves this opportunity. He battled to get to where he was in the NHL and now it is good to see him succeeding in his post-playing days. He is the perfect person to be one of the faces of the team and it will be fun hearing what he has to say all year long.

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The Chicago Blackhawks are going to be one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League this season. They have Patrick Kane and Seth Jones at the top of the roster with the potential of Jonathan Toews to have a good year.

Outside of that, the players are either mid or worse. It is one of the worst rosters in the league that could only be getting worse. If they trade any of the previously mentioned three players, they would become even worse.

Good players that were there last year like Alex DeBrincat, Kirby Dach, Dominik Kubalik, and Marc-Andre Fleury have all been sent away to different teams. Now, the idea is that they are tanking so that they can be in a position to have a really high draft pick in 2023.

The team would never admit that is what they are doing but it becomes more and more obvious as time goes on. They aren’t using prospects like Lukas Reichel or Arvid Soderblom because they don’t want them to ruin their development playing for this really bad team.

You also don’t want them to get hot and help the team win games that they have no business winning. There is a generational talent in the draft that they can get if they play their cards right and have a little bit of luck.

The Chicago Blackhawks made a waiver claim that helps them with their tanking.

Chicago made a waiver claim on Monday that might help them and their tanking. They claimed defenseman Jarred Tinordi. He is a former first-round pick (2010) by the Montreal Canadiens that never really panned out.

You might remember him as a part of the trade that got John Scott out of Arizona in an attempt to get him out of the All-Star Game (he ended up going anyway). In total, Tinordi has played in 109 NHL games where he has scored two goals and 11 assists for 13 points.

It is clear that the Hawks will use him as he will help them tank. In the NHL, he might be able to help some of the younger kids that are down in the AHL as the team doesn’t want to promote them before they are ready. Developing these young defensemen is much more important.

Having Tinordi as a healthy option to skate for some minutes will help them get through the season. If he can do that for even a few games, it will be a worthy waiver claim for the Hawks. It is going to be a hard year but there is potential for a very nice reward.

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With one preseason game to go, the Chicago Bulls are 2-1 in exhibition play and have looked like an Eastern Conference contender once again.

Even without Lonzo Ball, the Bulls have found ways to score, defend and ultimately win. Putting together a deep roster while filling in some needed areas over the offseason should have the Bulls in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

One of those offseason additions came to Chicago to fill a big need down low: Andre Drummond.

Drummond was brought on because the Bulls were bullied on the offensive glass time-in and time-out last year. As one of the league’s premier offensive rebounders for the past several years, Drummond’s arrival meant the Bulls should shore up that area immediately. However, one area the Bulls did not anticipate Drummond contributing in was shooting.

In the Chicago Bulls’ third preseason game against the Toronto Raptors, Andre Drummond showed off a new trick.

After a decade in the NBA and being a career 13 percent three-point shooter, Drummond pulled up and knocked down all three of his attempts from distance against Toronto. In just 15 minutes on the floor, Drummond came down with nine rebounds and a trio of threes to give him nine points as well.

In the Bulls’ first two preseason games against the New Orleans Pelicans and Denver Nuggets, Drummond attempted zero field goals from beyond the arc. So, no one would have anticipated him pulling the trigger even once against the Raptors.

Heck, Drummond has only attempted double-digit threes, in a season, on five occasions throughout his career.

Last season, the Bulls struggled to find their range from three, especially after Ball went out. That’s one area this team needed to improve, aside from on the offensive glass. Who knew they could be getting both tackled in one signing, and from a guy who has never, ever been known as a shooter?

If Drummond has truly developed an outside shot, it’s going to present many more problems for the opposition when defending this Bulls second unit. Normally, Drummond is a guy who ends up finding himself down low after sometimes even bringing the ball up off a defensive rebound. But, eventually, he’ll find himself down low.

Now, he’s found a bit of comfort on the perimeter. Oh, boy. This season could be an entertaining one, at the very least.

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Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky riffs on the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty, and interviews politicians, activists, journalists and other political know-it-alls. Presented by the Chicago Reader, the show is available by 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at chicagoreader.com/joravsky—or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t miss Oh, What a Week!–the Friday feature in which Ben & producer Dennis (aka, Dr. D.) review the week’s top stories. Also, bonus interviews drop on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. 

Chicago Reader podcasts are recorded on Shure microphones. Learn more at Shure.com.

Chicago Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky discusses the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty on The Ben Joravsky Show.

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Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky riffs on the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty, and interviews politicians, activists, journalists and other political know-it-alls. Presented by the Chicago Reader, the show is available by 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at chicagoreader.com/joravsky—or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t miss Oh, What a Week!–the Friday feature in which Ben & producer Dennis (aka, Dr. D.) review the week’s top stories. Also, bonus interviews drop on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. 

Chicago Reader podcasts are recorded on Shure microphones. Learn more at Shure.com.

Chicago Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky discusses the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty on The Ben Joravsky Show.

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Week 5 started out as bad as it possibly could have for the Chicago Bears.

Going down 21-3 in a hurry and looking like it was only going to get worse, the Bears had their backs up against a wall. However, second-year quarterback Justin Fields wasn’t about to let that happen.

Having one of his best and most-improved games as a pro, Fields helped lead the Bears back to take the lead late in the game. But, a fumble by wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette on the Bears’ final drive put an end to any hopes of a victory.

It is the play everyone will be talking about all week long, and some even want Smith-Marsette to be cut. Yet, Fields took the high road when asked about the game-altering fumble.

Justin Fields showed tremendous class when speaking on his teammate, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, and the Chicago Bears’ loss to Minnesota.

When asked about the play that changed the outcome of the game, Fields had this to say:

“Yeah, it’s tough. But I know Ihmir. I know he’s feeling down right now. So, our job is to pick him up. And he’s a great player. Me, personally, I know what he can do on the field. He’s young… second year. He’s just got to learn from that mistake; keep going. But he can be one hell of a player in this league for sure.”

Now, on one hand, not many fans could argue with the Bears if they chose to cut Smith-Marsette. Within context, that play was about as selfish as a player could have made it. Smith-Marsette should have gone out of bounds, as he even admitted to after the game.

Instead, he chose to not only take more time off the clock but risk it all — and he lost.

But, on the other hand, it sure is a positive to see such leadership from Fields’ perspective. There are quarterbacks in this league who may not have taken the same approach when asked about a play like this one. Veteran quarterbacks like, say, Aaron Rodgers, might have chose a short-winded answer out of frustration.

That’s not Fields, though. Despite Smith-Marsette being a late addition to this Bears roster as training camp and preseason came to a close, Fields treated him as though he’s been here all along.

Leadership and integrity count for something in this league, and the Bears have that in their starting quarterback.

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The Chicago Cubs had a strong finish to the 2022 Major League Baseball season. Their schedule was very weak which allowed them to go into the offseason with some confidence.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t even close to enough as they finished 19.0 games out of first place with a 74-88 record. They finished in third behind the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers. St. Louis won the division at 93-69 but the Brewers missed out at 86-76.

Unfortunately, the division as a whole is going to come out of 2022 with zero playoff wins. As mentioned before, the Brewers missed out entirely and the St. Louis Cardinals were swept by the team that took the last Wild Card spot from them in the Philadelphia Phillies.

In the first game, the Cardinals were winning going into the 9th inning but they couldn’t close it down. A day later, Philly carried that momentum into game two and won the game and the series. After just two games, St. Louis is done. They played a whole two more games than the Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs could start to see the division fall in their favor again in 2023.

This is a bad look for the division. It is unclear who is going to come out on top in 2023 because there is going to be some turnover. After the Cardinals went out the way that they did, there could be a few changes coming.

For one, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina are done. They both announced their retirement before the season began before having great years on this great team. Unfortunately, they are now done. The next time we see them will be in the Hall of Fame.

After missing the postseason this year, you can bet that the Brewers plan on making some changes as well. The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates are likely going to be terrible again which means that the Cubs can compete in the division if the right moves are made.

The fact that the NL Central had no postseason wins should be both disgusting and good for the teams not named the Cardinals. It is clear that the division was weak and it is only going to be weaker. However, as mentioned before, the door is opening for the Cubs again.

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