Chicago Sports Exchange: Bears Draft "Fields" Praise Among Underwhelming Landscape
With celebrated picks, Pace and Nagy turn into unlikely heroes
Raise your hand if you anticipated Ryan Pace coming to the rescue of Chicago sports fans last week?
With the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawk’s seasons all but fizzled out, more questions than answers surrounding the Fire and Red Stars, and the Cubs and White Sox trading wins and losses seemingly every game, Pace’s draft maneuvers were essentially the only thing fans could feel good about over the past seven days.
Quite a turn of events, huh?
BUY — Bears Flip Script With ‘21 Draft Class
The temperature of Ryan Pace’s seat may feel a few degrees cooler today than it did a week ago.
The Bears’ much-maligned general manager assembled a 2021 NFL Draft class that most experts deemed excellent and most fans (the rest of you know who you are) felt obliged to get behind.
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and Oklahoma State offensive tackle Teven Jenkins, both of whom Pace traded up to nab, headlined the group of seven new Bears. But offensive tackle Larry Borom, running back Khalil Herbert, wide receiver Dazz Newsome, cornerback Thomas Graham Jr., and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga each add much-needed value, too.
While George McCaskey gave nothing but evidence to the contrary this off-season, Pace sure swung like a guy who knows his job is on the line.
With his first- and fourth-round picks in next year’s draft sent elsewhere, Pace needs Matt Nagy and the rest of the Bears’ coaching staff to turn potential into production if his seat is ever going to finish cooling off.
SELL — Bulls Running Low On Time, Players During Homestretch
And then there were eight.
As in the number of contests the Bulls have left to wrestle a play-in tournament berth away from Washington, who has a three-game edge.
If the mathematics alone don’t illustrate a rapidly shrinking margin for error, their extenuating circumstances do.
Zach LaVine, who has been in the league’s health and safety protocols since April 15, cleared quarantine but is doubtful for tonight’s game against Eastern Conference frontrunner Philadelphia. Troy Brown Jr. (ankle) hasn’t played since April 19 and remains out. Nikola Vučević is questionable after missing his first game as a Bull Saturday due to hip adductor tightness.
After tonight the Bulls (26-38) have four of the conference’s top-eight teams (including two games against Brooklyn) left on their schedule.
The road that lies ahead for the Wizards (29-35), meanwhile, isn’t easy either. They’ll play both Indiana and Atlanta twice, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Toronto (who moved ahead of the Bulls for 11th place in the East Sunday), and Cleveland before all’s said and done.
The problem—or silver lining, depending on your viewpoint—is the 32% chance Tankathon gives the Bulls of landing a top-four pick in this summer’s draft is greater than the team’s odds of advancing to the postseason.
For Bulls fans, things are about to get either more depressing or wildly entertaining.
SELL — Blackhawks Inching Closer To Stage Left
All that stands between the Blackhawks and where many thought their season was headed before it even started is one more regulation loss or a regulation victory from Nashville.
To be fair, the Hawks (22-23-6) have shown themselves to be much more formidable than what would be expected of a team that’s been without several key players for various amounts of time.
But there’s only so much mettle that could’ve offset those absences. Nowhere has that been more evident than in the Hawks’ 4-15-5 record against three of the Central Division’s best (Tampa Bay, Florida and the Predators).
A three-game series against top-seeded Carolina (34-10-7), whom the Hawks have a 2-2-1 record against, starts tonight. With five games left in the season, eight points separate the Hawks from the fourth and final playoff spot.
“We want to play just as hard these last five games as we would if our season was on the line,” head coach Jeremy Colliton told reporters. “That’s got to be the standard of competitiveness and doing whatever it takes to win.”
HOLD — Slow Burn Continues For Fire
It’s been awhile since the Fire have enjoyed the taste of victory.
To be exact, a 2-0 loss to New York Saturday pushed their involuntary fast to nine matches dating back to last season.
It’s a disappointing start to a season into which the Fire (0-2-1) brought hopes of ending a three-year playoff drought. They have accumulated just one of a possible nine points through three matches.
“It’s just not good enough,” head coach Raphael Wicky said after the match. “It’s just not good enough to make these mistakes every single game and we have to fix that.
“Otherwise you will never be rewarded and that’s obviously a frustration today because we want to reward ourselves for what we do. But that’s the frustration.”
The Fire host the Philadelphia Union (0-2-1) Saturday.
HOLD — Red Stars Go Winless In Challenge Cup, Optimism Not Lost
They don’t have a single win to show for it, but the National Women’s Soccer League’s Challenge Cup wasn’t a total loss for the Red Stars.
And considering Mallory Pugh (who scored her first goal as a Red Star in a 3-2 loss to OL Reign Tuesday) didn’t take the field until the second match of the tournament and Tierna Davidson, Julie Ertz and Alyssa Naeher the third because of national team duties, there’s reason to believe this team can be better than its 0-2-2 showing.
That belief is grounded in head coach Rory Dames having the full complement of his roster at his disposal; something he has yet to enjoy and will have to again work around in July when the Summer Olympics begin in Tokyo.
The Red Stars open the regular season against Portland May 16. The Thorns, who square off against Gotham FC in the Challenge Cup final Saturday, beat the Red Stars 1-0 April 15.
Drew Stevens is a Senior Writer for WARR Media, he lives and works in Chicago