Fall is slowly rolling around and with it comes the beginning of the seasons for Chicago’s football, basketball, and hockey teams. This past week, we saw the release of the Bulls preseason schedule, which means we’re that much closer to Bulls basketball. Plus, the Bears waived Elliot Fry this week, leaving the team with one kicker left. For more on that and everything Chicago sports, here is your weekly update.
Football – Just One Kicker Remains
The Bears kicking battle ended this week when the team waived Elliot Fry on Sunday. This leaves the team with Eddy Pineiro, the last kicker on the team’s roster. The kicking battle between the two was close throughout the offseason. In the Bears second preseason game, Pineiro made both of his attempts from 41 and 27 yards, while Fry missed from 47. The team has narrowed it down to one kicker, but coach Matt Nagy claims that the search is far from over. Pineiro commented on the situation saying, “the way I look at it, I feel like I haven’t won the competition. Everything’s still open. Who knows if they bring somebody else in? But it does give me a confidence boost, like OK, I have a shot to be the guy and prove to the coaches that I can be the guy that they want me to be.” While it’s unlikely the team brings someone in this late to challenge Pineiro, it doesn’t mean they won’t. This change will give Pineiro more opportunities over the final two preseason games to prove himself to the team. With the additional practice and reps he’ll see, we sure hope he’s ready once the regular season rolls around.
The Bears will play their third preseason game on Saturday against the Colts. They will close out their preseason next week at home against the Titans.
Upcoming schedule: Preseason Week 3 @ IND – 8/24, Preseason Week 4 vs TEN – 8/29
Basketball – The Bulls Preseason Schedule Announced
The NBA (finally) announced the preseason schedule for the upcoming 2019-2020 season. The Bulls will play in five games against the Bucks, Pelicans, Pacers, Raptors, and Hawks. The Bulls home game against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 9th will be nationally televised on ESPN. The game will feature the Pelicans’ Zion Williamson and their new core against our rising Bulls squad. We haven’t seen Bulls basketball since the summer league in July. It will be exciting to get a look at the team before the much anticipated regular season begins.
Upcoming schedule: 1st Preseason Game – 10/7 vs MIL
Baseball – The Cubbies Winning Streak
The Cubs are on a hot streak this week winning their last 5 games after going on a four-game losing streak last week. The Cubs swept the Giants to start the week will look to keep up their momentum into the weekend when they host the Nationals. On Wednesday, the team shut down right-handed reliever Brandon Morrow. Morrow has been dealing with an elbow issue that hasn’t gone away. He hasn’t seen any playing time since before the 2018 All-Star break. The team signed Morrow to a two-year deal for $21 million, and will likely part ways with him after the season ends. With the team activating Steve Cishek on Tuesday, the bullpen rotation featuring Strop, Cishek, Kintzler, and Kimbrel looks to be healthy as we head into September.
The Chicago White Sox are sitting at about .500 this past week. After losing their road series against the Angels last weekend, the team bounced back to take the series in Minnesota. As far as standout performances for the week go, All-Star right-hander Lucas Giolito threw a 3-hit shutout game against the Twins to close out the series Wednesday night. There is no injury news for the team this week, which is always a plus for this young team looking to finish their 2019 season strong as they head into the future. The White Sox will continue their home series against the Texas Rangers into the weekend after they won 6-1 on Thursday night. The team will have a rematch with the Twins to start next week at home.
Upcoming schedules: CHC vs WSH – 8/23-8/25, @ NY – 8/27-8/29 | CWS vs TEX – 8/23-8/25, vs MIN – 8/27-8/29
Hockey – Patiently Awaiting Training Camp
We inch closer and closer to the start of the Chicago Blackhawks season each day. As far as recent team news goes, the Traverse City Prospect Tournament will be held in September before training camp. The Blackhawks will return to the tournament this year with their new prospects and will give our young players a chance to earn a spot on the roster. The team won this tournament back in 2017 and will look to release their roster for it soon.
Upcoming Schedule: 1st Preseason Game – September 6th
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Featured Image Credit: Chicago Bulls Instagram