Four years have passed since Adbert Alzolay was ranked as the Cubs’ second top prospect by Baseball America, and only a season-ending right lat strain prevented him from making his major league debut in June of 2018.

That was a start of an array of injuries and inconsistencies that have given Alzolay, 27, a greater appreciation for getting an opportunity — albeit as a reliever — before the 2022 season ends.

“We have a lot of good guys with good arms coming into the big leagues, but they’re also thinking about me,” Alzolay said Friday before Marcus Stroman pitched 5 2/3 no-hit innings before settling for a 2-1 victory over the Rockies. “That’s a good point. I really think about it every time I work out and pitch. That’s one thing I always have on my mind.”

Since Alzolay made his major-league debut on June 20, 2019, when he struck out five and allowed one run in five innings to earn the win over the Mets, 22 pitchers have made their major-league debuts with the Cubs.

Two of those pitchers — Brandon Hughes and Manuel Rodriguez — pitched the final two innings to secure the win.

Alzolay is expected to be activated this weekend and understands the Cubs want to take a look at other potential starters, such as Heyden Wesneski, who will start Saturday in place of left-hander Wade Miley, whose start was moved to Monday at Miami.

“We’re building something,” said Alzolay, who made 21 starts in 2021 but allowed 20 of his 25 home runs to left-handed hitters and posted a 4.58 ERA in 29 games. “We’re trying to win.

“For me, if my role is best out of the bullpen or being a long guy, a guy who can throw in the eighth or close a game, I feel I have the weapons to do that. I feel this is better for the team and the manager.”

Alzolay was ready to earn a spot in the rotation until re-injuring his lat muscle in a bullpen session days before the start of spring training.

“Just one pitch and I felt it,” Alzolay said. “I knew something it that was going to take a little bit [of time].”

Alzolay posted a 6.75 ERA in four rehab starts with Triple-A Iowa but struck out 12 in 9 1/3 innings. He believes the latest rehab allowed him to strength all parts of his body as well as his mind.

“I always say if you practice in your mind and keep repeating, then that goes straight to your body because the mind tells the body to do,” Alzolay said. “I feel being able to keep that mindset, keep processing those thoughts, I sometimes I will close my eyes and imagine I’m on a big league mound and go through the motions on my mind.”

Until Ryan McMahon ended Stroman’s no-hit bid with a home run to center field, it looked like Stroman would receive a prize similar to the bottom of Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades champagne Jon Lester gave Alzolay after his first major league win.

Stroman, who earned his first major league win at Wrigley in 10 career games at Wrigley, praised the defense of shortstop Christopher Morel for keeping his no-hitter alive.

And Jared Young, making his first major league start, picked two low throwsat first prior to McMahon’s homer and hit a double for his first major league hit in the eighth.

“A surreal day,” said Young, who had 15 family members and friends celebrating his hit.

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The Bears have spent a decade drafting edge rushers — long, lean and fast — to try to make their defense Aaron Rodgers-proof.

Shea McClellin–who stood 6-3, 250 pounds and was a first-round pick in 2012– didn’t stick, though he broke the Packers quarterback’s collarbone in a 2013 win at Lambeau Field.The 6-5, 240-pound Leonard Floyd, another first-round selection, dominated his rival. When the Bears cut him after four years, 7 1/2 of his 18 1/2 career sacks had come against the Packers.

Rookie Dominique Robinson shares their NBA shooting guard build — he’s 6-4, 249 pounds — but not their pedigree. He’s a fifth-round pick who enrolled at Miami (Ohio) as a quarterback, switched to wide receiver after a few days of his first training camp and then to defensive end starting with the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

The Bears might have struck gold — or at least another edge rusher to chase the elusive future Hall of Famer around the field. During the preseason, it felt like they were sitting on a secret.

“We thought that Dominique was a pretty good player,” defensive coordinator Alan Williams said. “And we were just waiting for the actual real ballgame rather than preseason to see how he was going to function. And he did well.”

In Sunday’s season opener, he had 1 1/2 sacks and a quarterback hurry on only 15 pass-rush downs. He stuffed the run at the line of scrimmage twice on 13 rushing attempts, per Pro Football Focus, and finished with seven tackles.

“I never even think twice about him being a receiver,” defensive line coach Travis Smith said. “He’s a D-end to me. He’s a rush man to me.”

At first, though, he wanted to be a running back. His dad thought he ran like Eric Dickerson, but Robinson idolized LaDainian Tomlinson. Because he played on a youth team called the Cowboys, Emmitt Smith. His Instagram account still features Smith’s No. 22.

He was too tall for the position, though, and switched to quarterback in high school in Canton, Ohio, not far from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That landed him a scholarship with the RedHawks — and a quick switch to receiver when a few wideouts had to miss his first camp because of academic issues.

Nothing, though, could prepare Robinson for moving to edge rusher in 2020. He’d played safety as a kid, but this was different.

“It happens a lot quicker [at defensive line], which is fine,” he said. “You gotta think a little bit, but, mostly, you gotta go.”

Miami (Ohio) played only three games in 2020 because of the coronavirus, during which he worked on his pass-rush moves while going to school remotely from Canton. He had 4 1/2 sacks in 12 games at defensive end as a senior. The Bears saw a flexible player who, despite being raw, could dip his body coming around the edge.

The Bears have been impressed with his willingness to play the run and how intently he focuses on the small details of the position.

“It’s important to him,” Smith said. “He cares about it. It’s not just, ‘I’m going to go out there and let my athletic ability take over.'”

Coaches have been cautious not to hype Robinson up this week. There are 28 snaps worth of a scouting report on him now –“OK, who’s 91?” Smith imagined Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry saying — and a full year in front of them.

“These rookies will find out that as you get going here, it’s a long season,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “It’s a lot longer than college.”

There’s a role for Robinson as a rusher, though– and, perhaps, as the latest Bears attempt to chase down Rodgers.

“It’s going to be fun,” Robinson said.

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Huge tests await Big Ten squads as they battle Power 5 foes

Week 3 of the college football season proves to be massive for a number of teams, and the Big Ten is at the forefront of the landscape. Although a few teams have one conference game under their belt, this Saturday will be the final week before we get into the real meat of the schedule with a large number of conference matchups starting next week.

The story lines are picking up in our beloved conference, from Nebraska’s firing of Scott Frost, to Iowa’s putrid offense, making it a great time to be alive if you’re a Big Ten homer like myself. There are still a few games that aren’t worth diving deep into, so as always we’ll keep those short and sweet, but the rest of the action is certainly something to look forward to.

2022 Big Ten Record: 5-3-1

Western Kentucky at Indiana (-6.5): O/U 61.5 (11:00am CST)

We’ll get ourselves warmed up with this one before we jump into the bigger games on Saturday’s slate. While there will almost certainly be a million other games to watch in the early window, both in the Big Ten and around CFB in general, this could prove to be a close matchup that might be worthy of a screen down the stretch here.

It’s still tough to gauge WKU heading into this game, as they’ve handled FCS’ Austin Peay and an ugly Hawaii team with relative ease. New QB Austin Reed has looked good to this point, and I actually expect him to have a really nice game against this Indiana secondary.

The Hoosiers are 2-0, but it’s not a secret that many believe they should not have beaten Illinois, and really did not impress against the Idaho Vandals last week. Offensively, Indiana has looked fine at times, but the issue that I have with them is that they have serious trouble finishing drives. They just don’t have any red zone threats, and in a game that could turn into a shootout quickly, it could prove to bite them in the you know what.

I actually have Western Kentucky covering this game, and give them a reasonable chance to pull off this upset. Give me the Hilltopers and the points!

RMags’ Pick: Western Kentucky +6.5

UConn at Michigan (-47.5): O/U 60 (11:00am CST)

We’ll get this one out of the way quickly. UConn truly has no chance of competing in this game, however with Michigan hosting a high powered Maryland team next week, it is reasonable to think that the Wolverines could be on cruise control in the second half. I expect them to put on a huge performance in the first half, however you’ve got a pretty tough number of -30.5 1H if you want the Wolverines.

Gun to my head, if I was forced to take anything it would be Michigan -10.5 in the first quarter and hope for a couple of quick scores. I’ll pass for now.

RMags’ Pick: Pass

Oklahoma (-11) at Nebraska: O/U 66.5 (11:00am CST)

The story in this game is very apparent to everyone involved. This Cornhuskers team, most glaringly on defense has been an utter disaster. At this point in the season the expectation was for a 3-0 start, with little to no hiccups involved. That clearly has not been the case, and Scott Frost, rightfully so, has been relieved of his duties.

To be honest, I truly do not know if we will get an inspired performance from Nebraska, as many teams across all levels of sport tend to have a fire lit under them following a move like this. On the other hand, it may take a miracle to fix the defensive issues that this team has faced. I’m going to grab the popcorn for this one and pass, but this Huskers team knows how to keep games close, and I really don’t think that had anything to do with Scott Frost.

I’ll predict a 35-27 win for Oklahoma, but would not be shocked at all if we’re looking at an absolute beatdown from the Sooners.

RMags’ Pick: Pass

Purdue at Syracuse (-1.5): O/U 60 (11:00am CST)

This Big Ten-ACC game is one of the bigger games on Saturday’s slate, and could drive the public perception for both of these teams over the next month. For those that are in my age range, you may be shocked to see a Syracuse team that has been a punching bag for the better part of two decades, favored over a Purdue team that has shown some serious success in the passing game.

From my view, it does appear that the bias for this game may depend on where you reside. Those in ACC country believe in this Syracuse team, while those in our neck of the woods in Big Ten country have some belief in the Boilermakers.

I do think this will be a very close contest, but I trust the passing success of Purdue to prove to be the difference. Syracuse through two games has shown some serious ability to neutralize the passing game, but I think this Boilermaker team’s attack might be at a higher level them some are giving them credit for.

The Orange handled Louisville and Malik Cunningham with relative ease to open the season, picking him off twice in a 31-7 victory, but Aidan O’Connell proves to protect the ball at a higher level and should find more success than Louisville did in that game.

Purdue certainly feels like they should be 2-0, as they caught some rough breaks in that week one loss to Penn State, but the passing offense showed what it can do against a tough defense. The connection of O’Connell to Charlie Jones, his new favorite target, proved efficient again last week, albeit to FCS opponent Indiana State. Jones caught nine passes for 133, including three of O’Connell’s four TD passes in the 56-0 victory. Of course, the degree of difficulty was significantly lower, but the point stands that the connection in week one against Penn State was no fluke.

I’m putting my foot down and will say that Purdue shows out in this game and grabs some momentum heading into next week’s contest with Minnesota. Give me the Boilermakers 35-31, but I’m happy to take the points over the moneyline provided you have a reasonable price difference.

RMags’ Pick: Purdue +1.5

Southern Illinois at Northwestern (-12.5): O/U 53.5 (11:00am CST)

This in-state matchup stands as the only Big Ten-FCS game on Saturday’s slate, and following a disappointing loss to Duke last week, you would expect Northwestern to bounce back against the Salukis. SIU has not gotten off to the start they’d like to in 2022, losing to both Incarnate Word, and SE Missouri State, not exactly a murderer’s row.

I won’t be getting involved into this one, but I’ll go ahead and predict a 35-17 game in favor of Northwestern. I like the Wildcat offense to have some success, and could absolutely see Southern find the end zone a couple of times.

RMags’ Pick: Pass

Rutgers (-17.5) at Temple: O/U 44 (1:00pm CST)

I don’t have the strongest thoughts on this one out in Philly this weekend, but I will say some of the numbers here a little interesting. Rutgers at 2-0 is rightfully heavily favored in this game, but looking back to last year you’ll see a final score of 61-14 in Rutger’s favor. Given the spread and just as importantly the game total in this game, the oddsmakers are telling you to not expect the same outcome.

Though they certainly are not a good football team, Temple has raised the floor on what they will be on a weekly basis, and don’t appear to be a total embarrassment compared to last season. Having said that, if you look through their two week resume in 2022, you’ll find them at 1-1 with a 30-0 loss to Duke, a team that you might consider in a similar stratosphere as this Rutgers team.

The Scarlet Knights aren’t going to be flying up anyone’s radar in the national picture or even in the Big Ten picture for that matter, but I do like the way Greg Schiano has them trending, and provided they aren’t athletically or physically outmatched, their defense has looked trustworthy.

I won’t go in deep with this one, but I’ll give a lean towards a similar outcome as that Temple-Duke game, and say Rutgers holds this team to single digits.

RMags’ Pick: Lean Temple TT Under 13.5

Penn State (-3) at Auburn: O/U 47.5 (2:30pm CST)

Following a 2-0 start, the Nittany Lions have cracked the Top 25 rankings ahead of this Big Ten-SEC bout, and could further secure that positioning with a win right here. The perception for this game like others on today’s slate may be skewed regionally, and in this game you can bet that the majority of the country may lean towards the SEC bias, particularly with a home SEC squad.

IF and it’s a big IF you can trust or can stomach the Sean Clifford experience, you should be interested in Penn State on Saturday. Despite what we saw against Purdue in the passing game, this Nittany Lion defense will have a great deal of success in 2022 given the right matchup within any given week. Unlike that matchup, Auburn will lean on the ground game, as it already seems apparent that the passing game led by QB TJ Finley may not be the most efficient use of their personnel. In my opinion that really favors Penn State’s defense.

If you can get a PSU defense that shouldn’t be too worried about TJ Finley throwing the ball, and is able to zero in on stopping the rushing attack, I really believe the Nittany Lions should have an edge on the road Saturday.

Last year saw a 28-20 victory for Penn State in their home building, and Sean Clifford was fantastic, completing 28/32 including 280 yards. I’m not sure we should be expecting that level of success on Saturday, but following a nice tune-up win last week against Ohio, I think this Penn State team is poised for another solid victory.

RMags’ Pick: Penn State -3

Colorado at Minnesota (-27.5): O/U 46.5 (2:30pm CST)

If you’ve been following the deeper areas of Power 5 football, you probably are aware of how ugly this Colorado team looks this year. They enter this game 0-2 with 38-13 and 41-10 final scores against TCU and Air Force. This team is flat out less athletic and less skilled than just about any other Power 5 football team right now, and they truly do not stand a chance against Minnesota.

The Gophers to this point have flown under the radar at 2-0 with blowout wins over lowly New Mexico State, and a 62-10 win over FCS Western Illinois. The jury is still out on how good this team can be, but there are plenty of reasons to be excited about 2022 if you are a Minnesota fan.

These two teams met last year around this time of year in Colorado, with the Golden Gophers dominating 30-0. The spread and total might lead you to expect a fairly similar output, but with Minnesota heading to East Lansing to face Michigan State in their Big Ten opener, you might expect them to be in cruise control for the second half. I’ll lean towards a first half massacre, causing some interest in Minnesota 1H -17.

RMags’ Pick: Lean Minnesota 1H -17

New Mexico State at Wisconsin (-37): O/U 46 (2:30pm CST)

I really don’t have much to say about this game, other than I expect a Wisconsin team coming off an unexpected loss, to have a scary good defensive game against this NMSU team. I struggled to find any team totals on the marekt, but I don’t expect New Mexico State to score more than a field goal. If you have the ability go ahead and bet on this Wisconsin D. The Badgers full game unders are 6-1 in their last seven following a loss, but it’s tough to predict what the offensive output will be in this one.

RMags’ Pick: Pass

Toledo at Ohio State (-32): O/U 62 (6:00pm CST)

My thoughts on Ohio State being far and away the best team in this conference have not changed, however, you might be surprised at my opinion on this game. I fully expect the Buckeyes to cruise to a win in this contest with their offense, much like last week looking far better than their week one performance against Notre Dame. With Big Ten play looming though, I will not be shocked if OSU coasts and rests players in the second half.

The team totals for this game stand at 47.5 for Ohio State, a number that I think is pretty spot on, and on the flip side sits at 14.5 for Toledo. In the majority of these games involving mid-major teams against Power 5 teams, the 13.5 team totals are posted to entice you to bet the over, with that team often falling short. In this case, you have a 14.5 number that with all of the expectations of Ohio State, will cause the general public to flock to the under.

As I and my co-host talked about Friday morning in our weekly Big Ten Preview show, Toledo could have some offensive success during this game, especially if the Buckeyes let their foot off of the gas in the second half. I’ll predict a 48-20 final, and will be sweating the Toledo over.

RMags’ Pick: Toledo Team Total Over 14.5

Michigan State at Washington (-3.5): O/U 57 (6:30pm CST)

This game is as interesting as any on this Big Ten slate, but for me has been the toughest to predict. Much like I spoke of the SEC bias in the Penn State-Auburn game, there will certainly be Big Ten bias over the PAC-12 in this one, and despite Michigan State getting the majority of bets and money, Sparty is still a 3.5 point underdog. My heart is telling me that Washington is overvalued, but my gambling senses tell me something is fishy, and we could see an inspired performance from Washington.

Despite a tough season last year, the Huskies have shown signs of improvement behind former Indiana QB, Michael Penix Jr. Penix led the Hoosiers to a very successful year in 2020, only to come crashing back to earth in 2021 with a slow start followed by an injury that forced him to miss significant time.

The home environment for Washington should be a nice challenge for the Spartans, as the Huskies have a strong fan base that always shows up when any amount of hype surrounds this team. I’m grabbing the popcorn for this one, and hoping that my heart proves to be smarter than my gambling senses, but either way proceed with caution here.

RMags’ Pick: Pass

Nevada at Iowa (-24): O/U 39.5 (6:30pm CST)

I’m sure I don’t have to go far in depth regarding how bad this Iowa offense has been, and I know many are shocked to see these numbers given the eye test of the Hawkeyes. Of course I incorrectly predicted a better showing and a win against Iowa State last week, but ultimately was met with a similarly ugly showing.

To understand why Iowa is favored by this much, you need to understand that this Nevada team and their defense is very bad, and should be out matched in terms of speed and athleticism. While they are 2-1 on the season, they have posted wins over a very bad New Mexico State team, and more recently squandered a 55-41 loss to the aforementioned Incarnate Word Cardinals of the FCS.

While I was wrong about the betting indicators last week for Iowa, the same type of indicators can be said this week. With everyone in the CFB world completely aware of how ugly it has been for this offense, the oddsmakers have put a gigantic number on the board to entice you over to Nevada.

I expect a significantly better showing this time around, and at minimum, we should see a very successful ground attack from the Hawkeyes combined with another stout defensive performance. I’ll pass but, I’ll predict a 32-6 win for Iowa.

RMags’ Pick: Pass

SMU at Maryland (-3): O/U 73 (6:30pm CST)

To close things out, we head to Maryland for another solid matchup featuring one out of only two games on the entire college football slate with a game total north of 70. I’ll be kicking my feet up for this one, and won’t risk much with this game, because both offenses should see a great deal of success. The story on either defense, however, is still to be seen.

My gut tells me to lean towards SMU here, but there really isn’t any outcome that would shock me. If you love playing overs in games like this, by all means have at it. If you love playing unders when game totals soar to these heights, take your swing.

For me, this is another in a long list on Saturday that could give us a clearer idea of what these two teams will look like on a game to game basis moving forward. Maryland has chance over the next few weeks to finally garner some respect in the Big Ten with games against Michigan, MSU and Purdue, and with a win against SMU could grab the necessary momentum to grab a win or two across that stretch. I’ll pass, but will definitely be watching.

RMags’ Pick: Popcorn with extra butter

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Chicago Bears rookie will likely miss the first two weeks

Chicago Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. missed Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers with a hamstring injury. The 25-year-old rookie has been battling the injury in training camp. On Friday, the Chicago Bears injury report did not look good for Jones to play in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers.

Jones was the only Bears player on the injury report who did not participate in practice on Friday.

The Chicago Bears need help at wide receiver

The outcome of Friday’s report is frustrating for the Bears and Jones. Jones’ speed would help the Bears be more dynamic on special teams. After fumbling on his first NFL return against the Seattle Seahawks in the preseason, Jones finished with 82 scrimmage yards. 48 of those yards came on an impressive punt return.

The Bears could also use him as a speed threat at wide receiver and another pair of hands to which quarterback Justin Fields can dish the ball. The team’s wide receivers accounted for four receptions in Week 1.

Jones appears to be progressing on his rehab back to the playing field. He returned to practice as a limited participant on Wednesday.  We should see Jones on the field sooner rather than later.

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To record sound for a television commercial, you need silence –zero background noise.

But the owners of a sound studio on Goose Island say that’s exactly what their mics have been picking up ever since The Salt Shed, a new music venue on the site of the old Morton Salt facility, began hosting outdoor concerts this summer about 200 feet across the North Branch of the Chicago River from them.

“Concerts take place during the week, and afternoon sound checks make it impossible to make clean audio recordings,” said Jules Tomko, who co-owns Essanay Studio with his wife, Susan.

Retrofitting the building to keep sound out would cost $2.6 million — money Tomko doesn’t have.

“And I can’t move to another location. I don’t have the energy,” said Tomko,who has operated the business on Goose Island for 26 years.

Tomko said he doesn’t have a problem with the music venue hostingindoor concerts, which it plans to do next year, it’s just the outdoor ones that complicate things.

Jim Shearer, manager of Essanay, said the company has been able to “dodge the raindrops” thus far but won’t be able to avoid losing clients in the long term.

“The only option is they’ll have to limit the sound coming from their property,” Shearer said. “We’ve been arguing this but no one has taken us very seriously.”

Tomko has had cordial conversations with Bruce Finkelman, the managing partner with 16 on Center, the operators of the music venue, but they’ve led to no real solutions.

Finkelman shares the concert venue’s advance schedule so Essanay can book slots around the noise — but there is no way around the fact that the noise will limit their business, Tomko said.

Tomko has tried to get Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) and Finkelman at the same table to talk about the problem, but previously scheduled meetings have been postponed.

He’s hopeful that a planned get-together scheduled for Monday will finally take place.

“We’ve been waiting for this meeting for about 10 months,” Tomko said,adding that he also contacted the mayor’s office and the city’s film office, but they also have been elusive.

“We’re kind of fighting it on our own,” he said, noting that he wants to avoid litigating the matter if possible.

Burnett did not return a call seeking comment.

Finkelman said he has an open line of communication with the folks at Essanay and is sympathetic to their situation.

“We’ve been working with them since we broke ground on the site a long time ago. Our team has tried to be there as much as we can to be good neighbors and to assist as much as we can. We completely understand that whatever issues they’re experiencingand want to assist where we can,” he said.

Finkelman wasn’t sure how to solve the issue.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll continue to listen and meet with them. I am hopeful we’ll be able to figure out something.”

Three more concerts are scheduled for the outdoor venue this season.

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Bears rookie wide receiver Velus Jones is doubtful for the Packers game because of a hamstring injury. He missed practice Thursday and Friday.

Jones, a third-round pick, has been in and out since his arrival. After missing practice all last week and sitting out the season opener, he practiced partially Wednesday and was optimistic about his chances of playing against the Packers.

“I’m definitely hopeful,” he said.

The Bears have high expectations for Jones, their third-round pick this year, but he hasn’t been able to establish himself in the offense because of his hamstring. As much as he is eager to play Sunday, it sounded like he needs time to recover.

“I’m making sure it heals alltheway so that I won’t keep having these issues, just trying to stay on top of it,” Jones said. “And when I do get on top of it, trying to make sure it never comes back.”

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