👋 Good morning!
Are you sitting down? Brace yourself…
I thought Caleb Williams looked pretty solid during the first day of mandatory minicamp yesterday.
His passes had good zip, he looked more comfortable in the pocket than he did throughout OTAs, and he successfully led his receivers to the ball on a few different occasions in team drills.
He threw a couple of picks, too, but nothing stuck out that had alarm bells ringing in my head either.
All in all, especially accounting for the strong wind gusts, it was a nice start to the three-day camp for the second-year quarterback. What more can you ask for on June 4th?
You can check out my full notebook on the day here.
Fire call dibs on The 78
The Chicago Fire unveiled plans to build a new “world-class home” for the team just west of their current home, Soldier Field, on the 62-acre undeveloped plot of land in South Loop known as “The 78.”
The potential development would cost $650 million for a 22,000-seat, soccer-specific, open-air stadium. Fire owner and chairman Joe Mansueto, who acquired full control of the club in 2019, announced the stadium would be entirely privately funded. The deal still requires approval from the city of Chicago.
The White Sox, who had been considering “The 78” for a potential development of their own, still believe the location could host two major stadiums, according to a statement obtained by WGN:
“Related Midwest first approached the White Sox about building a new ballpark on a piece of property they were developing, and we continue to consider the site as an option. We believe in Related Midwest’s vision for The 78 and remain confident the riverfront location could serve as a home to both teams.”
In spite of the White Sox’s statement, the Fire released a promotional video on their social media accounts yesterday afternoon depicting Sparky, the club’s dalmatian mascot, sitting in the empty plot of The 78 as the text “WE CALL DIBS” appears on screen.
This is great news for the Fire, who’ll have their own home close to the downtown that reasonably accommodates the average MLS crowd instead of filling one-third of Soldier Field (when Lionel Messi isn’t visiting).
And what fanbase wouldn’t want an owner or ownership group like Joe Mansueto, who put up his own money to prematurely end the team’s previous stadium lease agreement, built a brand new practice facility, and is now on a quest to build a privately funded state-of-the-art stadium?
I mentioned on Monday how the Bears’ odds of breaking ground in Arlington Heights this year were severely diminished by the lack of stadium-specific legislation passing through the Illinois state assembly before the end of their 2025 session on Saturday.
Obviously, the White Sox have tried to steal some thunder in the relocation conversation over the past year, too.
Meanwhile, the Fire are diving right in (pending city approval). And maybe the Sox work out a deal at some point to split the space and build a new park on the land, but that pipe dream just seems so far down the road.
What happens in Vegas…🎰
MORE STADIUM NEWS?! Well, practice facility news to be specific. On Tuesday, the Blackhawks revealed new details for their facility’s ongoing expansion project. Most notably, the Fifth Third Arena, located two blocks east of the United Center, will house the USHL’s Chicago Steel, currently based in Geneva, Ill., beginning in 2026.
Plans also included renderings for the Blackhawks’ new “Centennial Hall,” which will serve as the team’s new hall of fame.
THIBO-D’OH! The New York Knicks announced they fired former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday afternoon. Thibodeau, 67, led the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference Finals berth since 2000 this year, finishing the regular season with a 51-31 record, which was good enough for the No. 3 seed in the East.
Thibodeau reached the playoffs in four of his five seasons at the helm in New York, advancing beyond the first round on three occasions. In the same time span, the Bulls have made the playoffs once under head coach Billy Donovan.
In fact, the Bulls haven’t advanced past the first round since the 2014-15 season — Thibodeau’s last season as head coach in Chicago.
Speaking of Donovan, the Bulls’ coach is now the third-longest-tenured coach in the NBA behind only two-time champion Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat) and four-time coaching champion Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors).
Reports of the Cubs’ offense’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Without Kyle Tucker in the lineup, as the slugger recovers after jamming his ring finger on Sunday, the Cubs’ lineup still managed eight runs on the Washington Nationals following a sluggish stretch at the plate last week.
It seemed things might be turning around for the offense on Sunday when the unit put up seven runs in the series finale against the Reds. But Tuesday’s performance was the ultimate slump buster, with the Cubs tallying three runs on sac flies, another via a base-loaded walk, and a solo home run from Michael Busch in the seventh inning to cap off the 8-3 win.
Facing the best team in baseball? No problem for Shane Smith and the White Sox. Smith picked up his first scoreless outing since May 10, tossing 5.1 IP and only allowing three hits.
Michael A. Taylor brought home four runs, including three on a homer in the sixth inning, and Miguel Vargas continued his nice stretch at the plate with a pair of hits and a walk, as the Sox took care of business against the Detroit Tigers at Rate Field, 8-1.
A nifty little bounce-back for the Sox after Monday night’s shellacking.
Cubs bullpen ranks in all of baseball since April 19th:
2.46 ERA - 1st
3.13 FIP - 2nd
2.7 fWAR - 2nd
1.04 WHIP - 1st
BA (.191) - 1st
7 HR allowed - 1st— #CHGO Cubs (#@CHGO_Cubs)
2:45 PM • Jun 3, 2025
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