3 ways Chicago Bears fans view Justin FieldsTodd Welteron January 10, 2023 at 4:58 pm Read More »
MIAMI — The Miami Marlins and right-hander Johnny Cueto have agreed on a deal that guarantees him $8.5 million for 2023, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
That includes a $2.5 million buyout if the Marlins do not exercise a club option for 2024, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract won’t be signed until a physical is completed.
If the option is picked up, the total contract would be $16.5 million, the person said. The New York Post first reported the agreement between Cueto and the Marlins.
The move, for now, would appear to create even more of a logjam in the Marlins’ rotation. NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara leads that group, with Pablo Lopez, Trevor Rogers, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and Jes?s Luzardo all coming off a year when they made at least 14 starts.
Cueto, who turns 37 in February, was 8-10 with a 3.35 ERA for the White Sox in 2022. He logged 1581/3 innings, his most since throwing 2192/3 innings for San Francisco in 2016, the second of his two All-Star years.
Cueto also was an All-Star for Cincinnati in 2014, when he won a career-best 20 games.
In 15 seasons, he has gone 143-107 with a 3.44 ERA, having pitched for the Reds, San Francisco Giants, White Sox and Kansas City Royals. He went 1-0 in the World Series with the Royals in 2015, helping them beat the New York Mets in five games.
Former White Sox pitcher Johnny Cueto agrees to deal with Marlins Read More »
Aside from Kahleah Copper, far left, the majority of Chicago’s key returners — from left, Emma Meesseman, Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley — are free agents. Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
The 2023 WNBA free agency period is expected to be nothing short of seismic, with new head coaches and general managers settling into their roles, franchises’ championship windows dwindling and several blockbuster names facing big decisions this offseason.
Most notably, Breanna Stewart, Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike and Courtney Vandersloot are among the elite free agents, with Stewart’s choice arguably the most important domino to fall. All of their decisions will undoubtedly impact the league’s landscape. The WNBA’s most recent collective bargaining agreement, adopted in 2020, made possible meaningful movement in free agency, and it’s likely we will see that take on a whole other level this winter.
Brittney Griner is also a free agent, but after returning from Russia, where she was detained for 10 months, the All-Star has indicated she wants to play again for the Phoenix Mercury, where she has spent her entire WNBA career.
How championship contenders — former title winners or organizations that might be a few players away from reaching that level — proceed will be of the utmost interest, while other franchises will enter rebuilds. How teams like the Minnesota Lynx, Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles Sparks and Indiana Fever — the latter two of which have new head coaches — operate over the next few weeks might not put them in the title race this year but could mark the necessary building blocks for future success.
Qualifying offers and core player designations will be delivered Jan. 11-20, while player negotiations begin on Jan. 21. Contracts may be signed Feb. 1.
Before then, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, Alexa Philippou and M.A. Voepel provide their predictions, analysis and insights into what to expect over the next few weeks.
Philippou: The Chicago Sky. They were close to back-to-back Finals appearances before being upset by the Sun in the semifinals. Now, the majority of their core players (setting aside Kahleah Copper) are free agents. Will Candace Parker — who said in November she intends to play this season — return to Chicago? Will Courtney Vandersloot be lured away? What’s to come from Allie Quigley, Emma Meesseman and Azura Stevens? If the team looks mostly like it did in 2021 and 2022, then it’ll be in championship contention once more. But that’s definitely not a certainty.
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Voepel: The Dream are in a building, not maintaining, stage, so this free agency period is just one step of that process. Still, the Dream have a lot of cap space, an engaged ownership and the desire to bring in a high-profile signing or two. It’s probably not realistic to think of the Dream aiming for a 2023 championship, but what happens now could have an impact on their title hopes in future seasons.
Pelton: The Sparks. It’s a new era in L.A. with Karen Bryant as GM and Curt Miller as head coach, and the Sparks have enough cap room to re-sign Nneka Ogwumike and add another max free agent. Could that player be Parker returning to L.A.? I’m sure the league took note of Bryant saying on the record last week that the Sparks would be interested in bringing her back.
Voepel: There are so many dominoes that could fall that it’s hard to pin down one team that has the most riding on this round of free agency. After two or three of the biggest free agents sign, this will be clearer. But for the time being, it might be the Sky. They had a chance to return to the WNBA Finals last season after winning it all in 2021, and it got away. Now, can they keep the core together or do they become a really different team?
Pelton: Since I’ve been writing about their offseason for six months, I have to say the Seattle Storm. We haven’t seen Seattle plan for a future without Sue Bird since she was drafted in 2002, and there’s no point guard on the roster with Briann January also retiring. Starting small forward and restricted free agent Gabby Williams is the player most likely to be affected this season by the WNBA’s new prioritization rule. Add in Stewart’s free agency and the Storm must have multiple contingency plans.
Skylar Diggins-Smith, who appeared to have a disconnect with Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard this past season, missed the final two regular-season games due to personal reasons as Phoenix tried to lock up a playoff berth. Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
Philippou: I agree with Voepel and Pelton, but setting aside the Storm and Sky, the Mercury might have the most pivotal free agency and offseason more broadly. Re-signing Griner appears to be in the cards, but is there a way to revamp a team that appeared to be bogged down by personality clashes (between players, between coaches and players) this past season? What’s Skylar Diggins-Smith‘s future in Phoenix? The so-called superteam the Mercury formed in last year’s free agency didn’t pan out, but with Diana Taurasi in the twilight of her career and a Finals appearance coming just two years ago, are the Mercury still able to build a team capable of competing for a championship?
Pelton: Look away first, Storm fans. I think Stewart is headed to the New York Liberty. We’ve seen something similar with Chelsea Gray, who took a meeting with the Las Vegas Aces in 2020 before re-signing on a one-year deal, much as Stewart did after meeting with the Liberty last offseason. Gray went on to join the Aces a year later, and my bet is Stewart will follow the same path.
Has Breanna Stewart played her final game in a Storm jersey? Will she and Sabrina Ionescu be teammates this coming season in New York? Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Voepel: Stewart is in a different situation at this point in her career than Storm legend Sue Bird was at the same age. When Bird was 28, WNBA free agency was very stagnant, and far fewer top players moved around. Also, Bird wasn’t married with a child at that age like Stewart is, so that could factor into the decision.
Bird, later in her career, did consider going to her native New York to play, but ultimately her heart couldn’t leave the Storm. Fellow New Yorker Stewart also seems strongly attached to the Storm, who picked her No. 1 in the draft 14 years after taking Bird in that spot.
But because free agency and her life are different, Stewart might make a different choice. Having grown up in Syracuse, and with her wife, Marta, being from Spain, Stewart might see the Big Apple as a good spot for the rest of her WNBA career. Plus, there’s the lure of trying to get the Liberty their first WNBA title, and the chance to play with a dynamic young guard like Sabrina Ionescu. It all might be too much for Stewart to resist.
Philippou: I feel like someone here has to give Seattle fans an inkling of hope Stewart stays with the Storm. Insider’s Meredith Cash tweeted the upcoming Stewie 1 Reintroduce sneakers are supposed to “[evoke] the geological formations found at Washington State’s stunning Mount Rainier,” according to Puma. If Seattle folks want to read into things, they might want to take this design as an indication Stewart will be returning to Seattle.
Pelton: To some extent, this is a matter of perspective on current player ability vs. career legacy. Since she’s second in my projections for free agents in 2023, I’m going to say Brionna Jones, who can’t currently re-sign with the Connecticut Sun for the max salary because of the team’s cap issues.
Connecticut’s Brionna Jones — in the midst of her prime at 27 years old — ranks No. 2 in Kevin Pelton’s list of the best free agents for 2023. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Philippou: Realistically, I think Jones is gone. Otherwise, I’m super intrigued to see what happens with Vandersloot. The Chicago Sun-Times’ Annie Costabile reported Vandersloot took meetings with the Sky, Storm and Lynx during free agency last year. Obviously the Storm connection has been well-documented (Vandersloot is from Washington and went to Gonzaga), but the idea of her teaming up with Cheryl Reeve is also fascinating. As Costabile indicated, Vandersloot’s decision figures to, in large part, depend on what happens with Stewart and Parker, and so maybe she’ll return to Chicago after all.
Voepel: Hindsight is often intriguing with drafts. How much would Chicago or the Dallas Wings, who took Alaina Coates and Evelyn Akhator second and third in the 2017 draft, like a redo to take Brionna Jones? She ended up going No. 8 to Connecticut and has blossomed into a coveted free agent. As Kevin and Alexa said, Jones seems the most certain to move. We keep coming back to the Stewart-Parker-Vandersloot questions.
But what about Tina Charles? The 2012 MVP turned 34 in December but still has elite skills. What does she want at this point in her career? If she doesn’t stay in Seattle, where she finished last season, what teams see her fitting in? Does her in-season exit from Phoenix last year make other teams wary?
Pelton: If we’re talking most wins compared to 2022, the answer could be Los Angeles. But if Stewart really goes to New York, the Liberty will take the biggest leap in terms of title contention.
Philippou: Pelton took my predictions, so let’s highlight another team. General manager Dan Padover and the Atlanta Dream — who have a ton of cap space and return Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard — will make some meaningful additions in free agency, which, paired with the 2023 No. 3 overall pick, will have them comfortably back in the playoff race by the fall.
Voepel: When Parker left the Sparks for the Sky in 2021, it was the biggest free agency move in WNBA history. If Stewart leaves the Storm for the Liberty, it will be even bigger because she is in the prime of her career at 28. If Stewart stays put, the Sparks might well be the team that moves forward in 2023 the most based on free agency.
Pelton: The Phoenix Mercury will trade Skylar Diggins-Smith.
Philippou: The Sun, entering a new era after Stephanie White took over as head coach and Darius Taylor as GM, will look more different than expected come May. President Jen Rizzotti discussed needing to improve the team’s 3-point shooting specifically, so there might be some big changes in the backcourt, ones that could have ramifications on the frontcourt as well. As already indicated, the Sun can’t afford to pay Brionna Jones the regular maximum salary as it currently stands.
Voepel: The Dream, who traded to move up and get the No. 1 pick last year, will consider trading the No. 3 pick this year.
In December, Olivia Wallace launched an email newsletter for her Chicago indie-rock band, Sick Day. The first message included info about upcoming shows, photos from home-recording sessions, and a crudely drawn cartoon about self-doubt, awkwardness, and creating art in an economy that’s built to make it unsustainable. The newsletter’s simple design and casual language have a refreshing, down-to-earth intimacy that social media apps seem only able to simulate, despite their promises of hyperconnection. It’s earnest in the way that indie-rock zines were in ages past, and so is Wallace’s band. Sick Day evoke the scruffy homemade eccentricity of many of the great 80s K Records acts, but Wallace and her bandmates treat the familiar style of that bygone era as a suggestion, not as a template—and that lets them break new ground, even on turf that’s been claimed many times over. On Sick Day’s self-released debut album, September’s Love Is a State of Mind, they play shambolic, sometimes stripped-down songs with a youthful giddiness that makes their most well-worn sentiments about romantic longing and blossoming crushes feel new. They sound so easygoing that it’s easy to forget how skilled and sharp they are as musicians; on the taut “Take a Little Bit of Love From Me,” by the time Wallace’s bouncing multitracked vocals deliver the hook, Sick Day have already made their case as one of the city’s next great emerging indie acts.
Sick Day Grace Bloom headlines; Reggie Pearl and Sick Day open. Thu 1/12, 8 PM, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, free, 21+
Chicago’s Sick Day make the scrappy indie rock of the pre-Internet era feel new again Read More »
The episodic partnership of reeds player Ken Vandermark and drummer Tim Daisy is an ongoing study in ceaseless change. Since Daisy joined the Vandermark 5 at the end of 2001, the two of them have played together in a variety of settings, using different methods to arrive at different sounds. Their output has included the Vandermark 5’s tightly charted, rock-tinged jazz; Made to Break’s electronics-infused experiments with shuffled structures; and the all-acoustic, intricately contrapuntal ensemble music on the 2017 album Triptych, which the two men made with clarinetist Michael Thieke. Between 2007 and 2011 they worked steadily as a duo, creating totally improvised music typified by the 2011 performances on the download-only 2020 release Consequent Duos: Series 2a. On that recording, they use their deep knowledge of each other’s playing to fuel lengthy, open-ended investigations of bluesy grooves, slowly changing textures, and lightning-quick geometric reconfigurations. This concert is the first time Vandermark and Daisy have played as a duo since summer 2011. It’s also the first date of a brief midwestern tour, and it initiates another new phase in their collaboration: for the first time, both musicians have prepared compositions, with the hope that a new method will yield new ideas.
Ken Vandermark & Tim Daisy Duo Thu 1/12, 8:30 PM, Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey #208, $15, all ages
In December, Olivia Wallace launched an email newsletter for her Chicago indie-rock band, Sick Day. The first message included info about upcoming shows, photos from home-recording sessions, and a crudely drawn cartoon about self-doubt, awkwardness, and creating art in an economy that’s built to make it unsustainable. The newsletter’s simple design and casual language have a refreshing, down-to-earth intimacy that social media apps seem only able to simulate, despite their promises of hyperconnection. It’s earnest in the way that indie-rock zines were in ages past, and so is Wallace’s band. Sick Day evoke the scruffy homemade eccentricity of many of the great 80s K Records acts, but Wallace and her bandmates treat the familiar style of that bygone era as a suggestion, not as a template—and that lets them break new ground, even on turf that’s been claimed many times over. On Sick Day’s self-released debut album, September’s Love Is a State of Mind, they play shambolic, sometimes stripped-down songs with a youthful giddiness that makes their most well-worn sentiments about romantic longing and blossoming crushes feel new. They sound so easygoing that it’s easy to forget how skilled and sharp they are as musicians; on the taut “Take a Little Bit of Love From Me,” by the time Wallace’s bouncing multitracked vocals deliver the hook, Sick Day have already made their case as one of the city’s next great emerging indie acts.
Sick Day Grace Bloom headlines; Reggie Pearl and Sick Day open. Thu 1/12, 8 PM, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, free, 21+
The episodic partnership of reeds player Ken Vandermark and drummer Tim Daisy is an ongoing study in ceaseless change. Since Daisy joined the Vandermark 5 at the end of 2001, the two of them have played together in a variety of settings, using different methods to arrive at different sounds. Their output has included the Vandermark 5’s tightly charted, rock-tinged jazz; Made to Break’s electronics-infused experiments with shuffled structures; and the all-acoustic, intricately contrapuntal ensemble music on the 2017 album Triptych, which the two men made with clarinetist Michael Thieke. Between 2007 and 2011 they worked steadily as a duo, creating totally improvised music typified by the 2011 performances on the download-only 2020 release Consequent Duos: Series 2a. On that recording, they use their deep knowledge of each other’s playing to fuel lengthy, open-ended investigations of bluesy grooves, slowly changing textures, and lightning-quick geometric reconfigurations. This concert is the first time Vandermark and Daisy have played as a duo since summer 2011. It’s also the first date of a brief midwestern tour, and it initiates another new phase in their collaboration: for the first time, both musicians have prepared compositions, with the hope that a new method will yield new ideas.
Ken Vandermark & Tim Daisy Duo Thu 1/12, 8:30 PM, Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey #208, $15, all ages
Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek grew up idolizing former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech. He proudly wore Cech’s blue-and-white jersey all around his hometown of Ostrava, Czechia.
So young Mrazek probably would have been shocked and starstruck if he knew what he’d be doing on Jan. 9, 2023.
What he was doing Monday was attempting to convert soccer penalty kicks against Cech — then futilely trying to save Cech’s kicks — at the Chicago Fire’s practice facility while a handful of Hawks teammates watched and, later, joined in. He converted two of five, a respectable effort. He saved zero of five.
“[I was] not bad,” Mrazek said, grinning. “I hit the crossbar there. The thing is, I think [Cech] read almost every single ball from everyone. When he reads that, it’s lucky to get in.”
On Tuesday, the two countrymen planned to switch sports — and thus drastically flip their hierarchy. After the Hawks’ team practice at Fifth Third Arena, Cech will hit the ice and take shots from NHL players in the customary post-practice games of “two puck.”
“He’s going to get a lot of work, I can tell you that,” Mrazek added. “It’s going to be a lot. He’s going to be tired.”
Cech’s younger self probably also would have been shocked and starstruck if he knew that opportunity lay in his future. Even his present-day self was nervous thinking about it.
“Being on the ice with the best players in the world is something you don’t always have a chance to do,” Cech said. “[I’m excited to] see how quick and how strong and how good they are. Hopefully I’ll have a good experience.”
Ben Pope/Sun-Times
Of course, there’s a backstory to all of this. The idea of Mrazek and Cech uniting in Chicago, as well as the idea of Cech playing ice hockey at all, makes much more sense when it is provided.
The two of them met about 10 years ago, when Mrazek’s pro career was just beginning with the Red Wings while Cech was cementing his legacy as one of the best goalies in Premier League history. It turned out they were both represented by the same agency.
It also turned out they loved each other’s sports. Cech was skating during his free time with a local semi-pro hockey team in England, dreaming of a late-career change that he has since made a reality. He may be a soccer superstar, but he calls hockey his passion. He actually grew up idolizing Dominik Hasek, whom he now wears No. 39 to honor.
And Mrazek, as mentioned, is a diehard Chelsea fan. It became an annual tradition for Cech to host Mrazek in London every August.
“Having that connection…was incredible,” Mrazek said. “Even when he wasn’t playing, he would still take care of us. We would go to Arsenal and Chelsea games, or we would travel with Chelsea somewhere close around London.”
The two of them long ago first discussed Cech returning the favor and visiting Mrazek in North America, but the Premier League and NHL schedules — which both start in the fall and end in the spring — never lined up properly. But they finally made it happen this year, bringing Cech to Chicago for the first time since 2006 (when Chelsea played an exhibition game against the MLS All-Stars in Bridgeview).
Cech attended the Hawks’ overtime win over the Flames on Sunday — a “great game,” he said — and will stick around for the Hawks-Avalanche matchup Thursday.
And now, the backstory explaining why this year worked for his visit. As crazy as it sounds, Cech resigned this past summer from a position in Chelsea’s front office to focus full-time on his hockey career — at age 40.
He previously played part-time for the Guildford Phoenix, an English fourth-division team. This year, he signed with the Chelmsford Chieftains, a third-division team, and has gone 3-1-0 with a .907 save percentage in five appearances. He also practices occasionally with the Guildford Flames, who are currently the first-place team in England’s top league (the EIHL).
“I’m a bit older, so I don’t play back-to-back games,” Cech said with a laugh. “But otherwise, I’m happy. As long as I feel fit and feel like I contribute and I enjoy it and my body enjoys it, then I carry on.”
The positioning aspect of hockey goaltending — determining the correct depth and angle in any given moment — is surprisingly comparable to soccer goalkeeping, he insisted. The playing surface, however, is obviously not.
“The big challenge is skating, because you need to get the technique,” he said. “Once you’re on the ice, the slides and the recovery, that’s something you have to really work on. There’s no other way around it.
“[And in] one-on-one situations, you deal with them completely differently in ice hockey than in soccer. But the speed of the reaction and reading the game is pretty similar.”
Mrazek has helped his training. He often sends videos of himself — some self-recorded on a GoPro camera set up in his garage — for feedback and tips. The fact Mrazek catches with his left hand and Cech with his right complicates things slightly, but Mrazek has still taught him to keep his glove further out and use it more aggressively, in particular.
Cech repaid Mrazek for his consulting time by referring him this fall to a New Jersey-based chiropractor, who ultimately aided Mrazek’s recovery from his recurring groin injuries.
And come Monday, Cech and Mrazek were all smiles and laughs as they filmed silly videos with the Hawks’ marketing staff and kicked the ball around with Hawks teammates.
The whole arrangement was somewhat surreal. Cech explaining how to handle the pressure of World Cup-level PK shootouts to Mrazek, Seth Jones and Max Domi almost sounds like a Mad Lib. So does Cech comparing late-arriving Jonathan Toews to Chelsea star midfielder Jorginho. But both things actually happened.
Jones and Jason Dickinson even demonstrated some soccer prowess, in case they ever consider Cech-esque career changes. Mrazek, meanwhile, would probably be best-served sticking to hockey — but at least he has a friendship with one of soccer’s all-time greats to brag about.
“It’s cool to see that we’ve become this close and that we have a chance to do this,” Mrazek said.
Petr Mrazek’s friendship with Petr Cech leads to surreal Blackhawks sports crossover Read More »
