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Week 1 is supposed to be a time for celebration.
Instead, we found out yesterday that full-length commercials are coming to the RedZone Channel this year.
Pack it up, folks — the party’s over. Gone are the days of “seven hours of commercial-free football” starting at noon.
It was fun while it lasted.
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Rookie of the Year?
Corporate needs you to find the difference between this picture and this picture…
They’re the same picture.
Cade Horton did it again last night, tossing five no-hit innings before being pulled due to a team-imposed pitch count.
Horton walked Braves first baseman Matt Olson in the second at-bat of the game but retired the next 14 batters before being replaced by Ben Brown to begin the sixth inning. Horton threw 75 pitches.
Striking out six, Horton lowered his rookie ERA to 2.78. More impressively, he’s allowed just four earned runs over 47 innings in nine starts since the All-Star break. That’s a 0.77 ERA since the middle of July.
For reference, Jake Arrieta’s 0.75 ERA after the 2015 All-Star break is the best among qualified pitchers since Major League Baseball introduced the All-Star Game in 1933. And in Arrieta’s first nine starts post-break, the former Cy Young winner sported a 1.03 ERA.
But despite Horton’s success — and the Cubs’ desperate need for wins to remain relevant in the NL Central race — the club is sticking by its plan to limit the rookie’s usage.
Craig Counsell said Wednesday night: “It’s what we’re doing. That’s how we’re going to move forward with this. That innings number could get pretty high, so we’re going to make sure that he is properly taken care of and that’s not going to change.”
Horton said he made a joking attempt to remain in the game but added: “I know at the end of the day, it’s not going to happen, and that’s all right. I feel like I’d much rather be healthy for the postseason than go out there for the sixth or seventh in early September.”
Unfortunately for the Cubs, Horton’s early departure and the offense’s inability to provide run support doomed their efforts in the series finale against the subpar Braves.
Ben Brown was charged with two runs after Drew Pomeranz surrendered a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning. Pomeranz allowed another run in the inning and Taylor Rogers allowed a solo homer in the eighth inning.
Ian Happ, Willi Castro, Reese McGuire and Matt Shaw provided the Cubs’ four hits on Wednesday — all singles. However, Nico Hoerner, Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki combined to go 0-for-11 atop the batting order, each striking out once.
Here’s the thing: Keeping Horton’s arm fresh is the right move. He’s never thrown this many innings in a season and has dealt with arm injuries in the past, including the shoulder issue that ended his 2024 minor league season early.
But it’s a tough look for Counsell after his decision to bring in Brown in a one-run game resulted in a blown lead. Those unfortunate backfires hurt more in the waning moments of a divisional race — especially on the wrong side of it.
Braves 5, Cubs 1
MORE: Luke Stuckmeyer, Justin Roman & Joey Christopoulos on Cade Horton’s Rookie of the Year campaign
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
INJURY UPDATES: Cornerback Jaylon Johnson and running back Kyle Monangai returned to the practice field on Wednesday. That was Johnson’s first time on the practice field all preseason after suffering a “freak” groin injury just before training camp.
Because the team doesn’t play until Monday night, they’re not required to release an injury report until today (usually Wednesday). However, the team is off today, so the injury report you see this afternoon will be an estimation.
This means we won’t have any real indication as to whether or not Johnson will be available for Week 1 until at least Friday — more likely Saturday.
COMEBACK! Nothing like a good old-fashioned ninth-inning comeback.
Brooks Baldwin’s two-out run-scoring single brought the White Sox within one run, and Michael A. Taylor, with the Sox down to their last strike, doubled home Andrew Benintendi and Baldwin to give the Sox the lead.
Jordan Leasure picked up the save despite allowing a double and a walk.
The Sox need to finish 11-11 (or better) to avoid 100 losses this season.
If the Sox can pull off the sweep tonight, it’ll be their first against an AL Central opponent since completing a three-game sweep over the Tigers on June 4, 2023.
It would be their first four-game sweep against a divisional foe since September 3-6, 2020 (!!) against the Royals.
White Sox 4, Twins 3
TROUBLE IN PARADISE: Angel Reese is making headlines after an exclusive interview with the Tribune was published in which she seemingly gave her team an ultimatum to surround her with better players this upcoming offseason.
Reese told the Tribune: “I’m not settling for the same shit we did this year. We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. … I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me.”
Reese said after Wednesday’s win: “I’m frustrated with myself right now, I think the language was taken out of context, I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates.”
The issue? Reese’s comments aren’t taken out of context or misconstrued.
It’s okay to be frustrated while on a losing team, but it’s not okay to publicly blast your teammates — even if there’s an attempt to backtrack after the fact.
The desire for improvement is reasonable enough. The way in which Reese went about expressing that desire was not.
And unfortunately, it stole the headlines from the Sky’s largest margin of victory of the season last night.
Sky 88, Sun 64
This is…weird.
....Nope
(📸 @NHLJets)
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7:30 PM • Sep 2, 2025
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