Nothing like some late-night breaking news to get the blood pumpin’.

Just before I closed my laptop for the night, the White Sox threw a mighty wrench into my plans for an early bedtime.

In case you missed it, the White Sox sent Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets for INF Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley.

Robert, who debuted with the Sox back in 2020, had been the focus of the club’s trade rumors for nearly two years.

Acuña, 23, played 95 games for the Mets last year and is the younger brother of Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. Pauley, 22, was the Mets’ 12th-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

I had a whole intro about “good, better, best” ready to go, too. I guess that’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

– Patrick Norton

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, right? Well, this one is worth several million dollars.

I touched on it briefly yesterday morning, but after sleeping on it and after relistening to Caleb Williams’ end-of-the-year press conference, I really can’t shake the importance of this image.

It’s a beacon of hope for not just an entire city but for generations of fans.

And the significance of it happening on the night Jonathan Toews received a three-minute-long raucous ovation and curtain call matters too.

This town is begging for its next batch of heroes. They think they’ve found them with Williams, Connor Bedard and Pete Crow-Armstrong. And all three got a first-hand look at how this place treats the legends who bring them championships.

Williams hasn’t even done that yet and is getting that treatment. Fans are drinking matcha, others are using wired headphones again and some are even painting their nails to be like Williams.

It’s a rare accomplishment in Chicago without a ring or any hardware. And to the quarterback’s credit, that honor isn’t lost on him.

Williams said Monday: “That was part of the reason why I said I can do it here. To bring life, to bring joy, to bring excitement to being a Chicago Bears fan, to be able to cheer for us. I do take pride in it. It's really cool, honestly, to be able to have those small things like that. Just being able to have the city behind you. You lose that game, you're walking out of the game and the fans stand up and cheer and roar in a tough moment. It goes a long way.”

But the awe and buzz around Williams goes beyond just those in the stands. Players around Chicago feel it too.

Williams and Crow-Armstrong had a chance to hang around in the Blackhawks’ locker room after Monday’s game.

That’s where the Sun-Times’ Ben Pope provided an incredible anecdote.

As the superstars were exiting the locker room, Oliver Moore shouted, “Bye, Caleb!” before saying quietly, “Pretty cool to get to say that.”

Oliver Moore, a guy who’s played 46 games in the National Hockey League and is becoming an integral piece to the Blackhawks’ puzzle, starstruck by Caleb Williams.

And Bulls fans shouldn’t feel left out. Crow-Armstrong and Williams sat on the floor at the United Center for last night’s beatdown on the Clippers, too.

Bulls 138, Clippers 110: That’s how you take care of business.

Trailing by five after the first quarter, the Bulls outscored the Clippers 45-19 in the second frame to take a 21-point lead into the half. The Clippers made things interesting early in the second half but never regained the lead before the Bulls pulled away in the fourth quarter.

How’d they do it? It helps to go 25-for-47 from beyond the arc. Coby White led the way with 27 points, including six three-pointers. Matas Buzelis (21 points), Kevin Huerter (14 points) and Ayo Dosumnu (18 points) each tacked on four threes, while Tre Jones picked up another double-double with 15 points and 10 assists.

The Bulls got some good news before the game, too. Josh Giddey, who’s missed the last 11 games with a hamstring strain, is expected to return to the Bulls’ lineup on Thursday against the Timberwolves.

Welcome…Maybe? Boston College offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Will Lawing is headed back to the NFL and reportedly joining the Bears’ coaching staff in a currently unknown capacity.

Lawing, a teammate of Ben Johnson’s at North Carolina, has coached at the NFL level before, previously spending three years as a defensive quality control coach, then two years as an offensive line assistant before becoming the tight ends coach for the Houston Texans.

He also coached the New England Patriots’ tight ends in 2023 before heading to Boston College.

Jim Dray, one of the few holdovers from the Matt Eberflus era, coached the Bears’ tight ends in 2025.

Looking Ahead: The Bears signed 14 players to futures contracts on Tuesday.

Elected: Congratulations to Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones, who were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.

Jones, who spent 12 seasons with the Atlanta Braves, played 107 games for the White Sox in 2010, where he put together a surprisingly decent season. In 328 plate appearances, Jones hit 19 home runs and drove in 48 runs while slashing .230/.341/.486. He also cranked his 400th career home run on July 11, 2010.

Where does Jones rank in the hierarchy of relatively good ballplayers who spent a season or two with the Sox in the twilight of their careers?

Ken Griffey Jr. is the clear No. 1 for me. But Jimmy Rollins, Manny Ramirez and Jose Canseco all have a place on that list.

Hey — I don’t actually disagree with Braggs’ take here, but I do want to point out that his concerted effort to not overhype the Bears resulted in him picking the Bears to win in 17 of their 19 games this year.

And for what it’s worth, the Bears finished 1-1 in games he picked against them.

📺 CHGO Bears
1:00 on YouTube

📺 CHGO Cubs
2:00 on YouTube

📺 CHGO Blackhawks
3:00 on YouTube

🐻 Hoge & Jahns
3:00 on YouTube

📺 CHGO White Sox
4:30 on YouTube

📺 CHGO Bulls
4:30 on YouTube

Something on your mind? Rate this issue and leave a comment, question or topic to discuss!

– P.N.