👋 Good morning!

Keeping up with the NBA and NHL playoffs has me thinking about one thing: I miss meaningful games at the United Center.

The wins were unbelievable, but the losses were still memorable.

I remember being in the building in 2014 for Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against the LA Kings. Yep, that’s the one where Jeff Carter was blatantly offside for a goal before replay review was brought into the game.

Sometimes I’ll shut my eyes and see Alec Martinez (Blackhawks Legend) ending the Blackhawks’ season with that nightmarish deflected, fluttering puck flipping over Corey Crawford’s shoulder in slow motion.

I’ll never forget it. And I’d take that over scraping the bottom of the barrel for a fourth straight season in a heartbeat. However, I would prefer what happened the years before and after.

– Patrick Norton

Can Bears afford not to add Nick Chubb?

It makes sense that the Bears might be interested in adding to a running backs room that looks similar to how it did last season. But does it make sense to bring in ex-Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb?

• Ken Carman (no relation to Mark), of Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan, said during his show on Monday: “Are we ready to say goodbye to Nick Chubb? I heard he is kind of getting close to another team. It happens to be in the NFC North.”
   

• Chubb, 29, has spent the first seven years of his professional career with the Browns, but played in only 10 games over the last two seasons after requiring two separate surgeries to repair his knee.
   
  It was the second time Chubb suffered a gruesome injury to his left knee, missing a season while in college back in 2015 with a torn ACL, MCL and LCL.
   

• Adding a veteran would add to an already crowded running backs room that includes veterans D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, and Travis Homer, plus rookie seventh-rounder Kyle Monangai out of Rutgers.

So, what does Chubb actually add? Depth?

The Bears’ rushing attack was far from solid last season, and arguably the greatest indicator of that was needing Doug Kramer in the backfield to lead the way in goal-to-go situations.

Successful play calling, quality run blocking, and having a bruiser: you need at least two of these to punch it in within five yards on the ground.

What happens if you’re without all three? Whatever that sequence was last year against the Colts in Week 3. You remember it, right? Goal-line stop after goal-line stop, capped off by a 12-yard loss on a pitch to Swift on fourth-and-1.

In hindsight, it’s a hilarious moment to revisit. At the time, it was still one of the first cracks in the foundation that showed that maybe Jaxon Smith-Njigba was onto something about Shane Waldron when the wide receiver joined our show on Radio Row from the Super Bowl a few months prior.

So, again, what does Chubb add? I don’t think he substantially improves anything that the Bears’ backfield currently is or isn’t doing.

And with two major knee surgeries (is that Chubb or Greg Braggs Jr?), plus the fact that he’s nearing 30 years old, when the average career length for an NFL running back is the lowest of any position, I worry that his best ability—availability—is something any prospective team can’t count on right now.

As for what makes this iteration of Bears football different than what we saw against the Colts last year, an offseason focused on hiring the right staff and bringing in significantly stronger run-blockers hypothetically checks two boxes necessary to succeed in goal-to-go…without Doug Kramer.

All in all, it would depend on the term, but I think the Bears can sit out the Nick Chubb sweepstakes.

GO DEEPER: Adam Hoge, Mark Carman & Greg Braggs Jr. discussed the possibility of bringing in Chubb on Tuesday’s CHGO Bears podcast.

Quick Hits

A spectator who fell onto the warning track at PNC Park on Wednesday night during the seventh inning was transported to the hospital in critical condition, according to Pittsburgh’s official public safety X account.

At this time, no further updates have been provided.

Roster Updates from Wednesday:

Selected to MLB: RHP Chris Flexen
Optioned to Triple-A: LHP Tom Cosgrove
Transferred to 60-day IL: RHP Javier Assad

Roster Updates from Wednesday:

Activated off IL: LHP Fraser Ellard
Optioned to Triple-A: LHP Tyler Gilbert

Fired: The Stars have parted ways with second-year head coach Lorne Donaldson after a 1-5-0 start to the season. Donaldson led the Stars to the playoffs in his first season at the helm despite a 10-14-2 record. Masaki Hemmi will serve as the club’s interim head coach.

PCA MVP SZN?

Today!

⚾️ Cubs @ Pirates
11:35 on Marquee

📺 CHGO Bears
12:00 on YouTube

⚾️ White Sox vs. Brewers
1:10 on CHSN

📺 CHGO Blackhawks
2:00 on YouTube

📺 CHGO White Sox
POSTGAME on YouTube

📺 CHGO Bulls
4:00 on YouTube

📺 CHGO Cubs Related
8:00 on CHGO Cubs YT

Talk to you tomorrow!