👋 Good morning!
Anybody see Willson Contreras’ tantrum in St. Louis last night?
The ex-Cub absolutely lost his mind on the home plate umpire after arguing against a strike call.
He bumped the ump, threw a bat — which hit a Cardinals staffer — and heaved a bucket of bubblegum onto the field before finally disappearing into the clubhouse.
The kicker? The pitch was pretty clearly in the strike zone.
Enjoy the suspension, pal.
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Running Scared
Somebody else’s trash could be the Bears’ next treasure. With rosters needing to be cut to 53 before 3 p.m. CDT today, some potential options are popping up on the waiver wire.
Let’s take a look at some claim candidates, including a possible surprise cut on the table in the running backs room.
First, some context: After waiving Ian Wheeler and releasing Royce Freeman on Monday, the Bears have two healthy running backs currently on the roster: D’Andre Swift and Brittain Brown.
Kyle Monangai, Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer are all banged up and were absent from Monday’s drill-heavy practice.
OC Declan Doyle said Monday: “We're depleted a little bit in that area.”
An Option Emerges: The New Orleans Saints released veteran back Cam Akers on Monday morning. Akers, a 2020 second-round pick, signed with the Saints this past offseason after spending 2024 with the Texans and Vikings.
Akers’ career has been a bit underwhelming and hampered by injuries, but he’s a decent pass-catching option out of the backfield. At 5-foot-10, he could make sense as an addition, even in the short term, if the Bears aren’t confident in Johnson or Monangai to be available by Week 1.
I also mentioned on yesterday’s CHGO Bears show that I wouldn’t be shocked if the Bears opted to keep Brown over Homer when putting together the 53-man roster today. Brown’s got clear value in pass-protection, and he is a capable special teams contributor.
The best ability is availability in some spots right now, and Homer isn’t currently available.
How about another tackle? If Ben Johnson wants a familiar face in the building, perhaps the Bears take a swing at swing tackle Dan Skipper, who was released by the Lions on Monday.
The left tackle competition is still technically undecided, though Braxton Jones appears to have a firm grasp on the role. But behind Jones and Darnell Wright is a hodgepodge of developmental pieces.
Skipper isn’t perfect, but he’s versatile, capable of lining up at tackle or guard. Over the last three seasons with Johnson in Detroit, Skipper started six games at left tackle, five games at left guard, and saw the field quite a bit on special teams.
Ozzy Trapilo’s roster spot is safe. I think Theo Benedet should survive cuts, too. Kiran Amegadjie? Maybe not so much. And if the Bears do elect to roster five tackles, maybe the more versatile Skipper sneaks aboard over last year’s third-round pick.
I don’t know that we’ll see many surprises before the 3 p.m. cutdown, but the process is far from over this afternoon.
Keep an eye on the linebacker spot for the Bears, too. Amen Ogbongbemiga was not present at yesterday’s practice.
Lastly, the Bears also waived QB Austin Reed on Monday. That shouldn’t come as a shock, but I also would be somewhat surprised if Reed didn’t find his way back onto the practice squad later this week.
Though Detroit also cut backup QB Hendon Hooker yesterday, so maybe Johnson wants to explore that avenue for the PSQ.
RETURN TO FORM: Shane Smith’s recent upward trend culminated in the best start of the rookie starter’s young career on Monday night.
Smith, the White Sox’s lone All-Star this season, tossed seven near-perfect innings in the series opener against the Kansas City Royals, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three.
It’s the first time Smith has completed seven innings in an outing this season, and it’s the first time since July 6 that Smith’s ERA has dipped back below 4.00.
On offense, Edgar Quero, Lenyn Sosa and Curtis Mead each picked up RBI doubles in the first inning, and Korey Lee and Brooks Baldwin clubbed back-to-back homers in the fourth.
Don’t look now: the Sox need to finish the season 15-16 to avoid 100 losses. What once felt impossible might be somewhat reasonable.
White Sox 7, Royals 0
#3 TO THE RAFTERS: Candace Parker played just 73 games with the Sky between the regular season and playoffs in the twilight of her career — hardly long enough to make any sort of lasting impact on an organization, or at least one worthy of a jersey retirement.
If there’s any exception, it’s probably Parker, who brought her championship pedigree and a winning culture to Chicago at a time the Sky needed a star.
Banner deserved. Parker received 1st-Team All-WNBA honors in 2021, averaging 13.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. In the championship clincher, she scored 16 and pulled in 13 boards.
Winner.
As for the Sky’s performance against the Aces last night…
Ariel Atkins scored 30 of the Sky’s 74 points. Not enough. And now, eliminated from playoff contention.
Aces 79, Sky 74
2-0 on the night
@CHGO_Sports headed back to the @KeeperOfTheKup championship game 🏆 🥎
— #Mario Tirabassi (#@Mario_Tirabassi)
2:16 AM • Aug 26, 2025
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