👋 Good morning!
We should expect more from national baseball broadcasts.
Just last night, ESPN’s Karl Ravech referred to Cubs 1B Michael Busch as “Matthew” at least five times throughout Wednesday Night Baseball.
The overall production itself was sloppy, but nothing was quite as grating as Ravech’s frequent faux pas.
ESPN’s baseball broadcasts were once an institution, with Jon Miller providing premier play-by-play.
What we watched last night was a shell of what we once grew to love. What a genuine shame.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
September is Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Month!
CHGO and ALLCITY are proud to support their mission, and we’re raising money all month long.
You can donate — or even learn more about becoming a Big — at bbbs.org/allcity
A Major Award? It Looks Like A Lamp!
His progress in Ben Johnson’s offense was already apparent. And now it’s been deemed award-worthy.
The NFL named Caleb Williams the NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday morning.
Williams was the only QB in the league to throw four touchdowns in Week 3. It was the second four-TD performance of his career — the first came in Week 6 last season against the Jaguars in London.
Williams on the award: “Cool. That’s it. … It's Wednesday now, and it's time to move on and focus on the Raiders.”
Ben Johnson on Williams: “He came in today completely unfazed by it. I tried to recognize him in front of the group and he wasn’t having it. Very stoic. He’s already on to the next game. He knows he needs to have an even better performance here this week to give us the best chance to win.”
Johnson added: “I think what I’m most impressed at with him and his process is the next day he really locks everything in from the day before. We don’t have to go back and revisit it again. He’s a quick study in that regard, and because of that, we can load up the game plan more each week.”
Quick Facts:
The Bears are responsible for the first three NFC Offensive Player of the Week award winners of the season.
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy won it for his fourth-quarter comeback performance in Week 1.
Lions QB Jared Goff won it in Week 2 for his five-TD barrage.
Williams is the first Bears QB to be named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week since Justin Fields ran for 178 yards against the Dolphins in Week 9, 2022.
He’s the first Bears player to receive the honor since WR DJ Moore won it for his monstrous Week 5 performance back in 2023 against the Commanders, when he hauled in eight passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
INSIDER ANALYSIS: Adam Hoge on Williams’ massive Week 3
PRACTICE REPORT: Linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring), nickel back Kyler Gordon (hamstring) and offensive tackle Darnell Wright (elbow) did not participate in the Bears’ first practice of Week 4.
Wright left Sunday’s win against the Cowboys briefly after sustaining an injury to his right arm but returned in the second half.
Theo Benedet practiced with the first-team offense in Wright’s place.
Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (knee) and tight end Colston Loveland (hip) also did not practice on Wednesday.
It’s official — the Bears are the **most valuable** franchise in the NFL.
The league reportedly approved the sale of 2.35 percent of the Bears to “existing owners” in a deal that values the team at $8.9 billion.
Why the asterisks? While the valuation from the NFL is a league record, teams like the Cowboys, who haven’t recently sold stakes, have unofficial valuations far surpassing the Bears.
According to CNBC’s annual valuation projections, the Bears are the seventh-most valuable team in the league behind:
Dallas Cowboys ($12.5B)
Los Angeles Rams ($10.7B)
New York Giants ($10.5B)
Las Vegas Raiders ($9.3B)
New England Patriots ($9.3B)
New York Jets ($9.1B)
TOURNIQUET APPLIED: The Cubs’ magic number to clinch home-field advantage in the NL Wild Card round is down to two. All it took was a 10-run explosion from the offense.
Matt Shaw picked up three hits, including his 13th home run of the season, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki came through with RBI doubles in the second inning, and Michael Busch hit his team-leading 31st homer.
Matthew Boyd allowed only two runs in 5.1 innings pitched in what was almost certainly his final appearance of the regular season.
Despite a rocky stretch to end the regular season, Boyd finishes the year with a 3.21 ERA and 154 strikeouts. Not too shabby.
Cubs 10, Mets 3
INJURY UPDATES:
Cade Horton, who exited Tuesday night’s game early with back tightness, received an MRI on Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury. Manager Craig Counsell said the staff planned to go over the results with team doctors after last night’s win.
Kyle Tucker could return to the Cubs’ lineup on Friday for the final series of the season vs. St. Louis.
Daniel Palencia was activated from the 15-day IL. Jordan Wicks was optioned back to Triple-A Iowa to make room on the 28-man roster.
NOT SO FAST: Kyle Hendricks told reporters that he hasn’t yet reached a decision on his future. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported earlier in the week that Hendricks had told family and friends that he planned to retire.
ERRORS & OMISSIONS: I referred to the ABS challenge system as the “Automatic Ball-Strike” system in yesterday’s newsletter. It is the Automated Ball-Strike system.
MR. 100: At one point, avoiding 100 losses seemed likely for the White Sox. Two weeks ago, the Sox were the hottest team in baseball with a 9-2 record in their previous 11 games. In their 11 games since that stretch, the Sox are 1-10.
Lenyn Sosa’s sacrifice fly in the second inning was all the White Sox could scratch across the plate in an otherwise forgettable outing. Yankees OF Aaron Judge hit home runs No. 50 and No. 51 on the year.
Judge joined Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa as the only other players in history to hit at least 50 home runs in four seasons.
On the other hand, the White Sox reached 100 losses for the seventh time in franchise history. The other instances? 1932, 1948, 1970, 2018, 2023 and 2024.
Yep, for a franchise that’s existed for 125 years, four of their seven worst seasons ever have taken place in the last decade.
Yankees 8, White Sox 1
🤔
New stadium renderings? 👀
manica.global/page/new-chica…
— #CHGO Bears (#@CHGO_Bears)
1:53 AM • Sep 25, 2025
As my pal Brendan Sugrue from The Bears Wire pointed out, the stadium rendering looks exactly like what the Bears released as part of their lakefront vision last year, just with a smaller section of glass at the end of the building.
Why less glass? I’d imagine it has something to do with there being no Chicago skyline to put on display in Arlington Heights.
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