After a wild season-opener, Caleb Williams and the Bears have the Chicago area making Super Bowl plans.
The city’s hoping new Blackhawks captain Connor Bedard will be handed the Stanley Cup one day.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is on the verge of a 40-40 season, with his Cubs still eyeing a World Series win.
And that’s this week.
It might just be that new era in Chicago sports.
Crow-Armstrong started Tuesday just three stolen bases away from doing something that’s only been done six times previously in baseball history. He’s the MVP favorite in the regular season’s closing days, with his eyes squarely on what the Cubs can do once the lights get brighter in October.
You know, the same month when Williams will be slinging it on Sundays and Bedard’s Blackhawks will be in the opening days of their new campaign.
If you’re a sports fan, this is one of the best times of the year.
If you’re a Chicago sports fan these days, maybe even more so.
“We love this part of the year,” Crow-Armstrong said after Monday’s win over the Braves. “Not every city gets to look forward to all four major sports in such a small window like we get to here.
“We pay a lot of attention. I’m staying in here as long as possible pregame while Sunday football is going on.”
Crow-Armstrong is coming at Bears season a little differently than most of the city’s football fans.
He’s friends with Williams, and the quarterback showed up to a Cubs game last month with Bulls stars Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson, supporting Crow-Armstrong and watching him homer from behind the Cubs’ dugout.
Crow-Armstrong has shown up on the sidelines at Soldier Field, too, and the pair’s friendship — they took in a Blackhawks game earlier this year — only draws more attention to what the city’s two biggest sports stars and their contemporaries are capable of.
“It still kind of is trippy, but it’s cool that people appreciate us being friends,” Crow-Armstrong said. “We’ve definitely talked about what we want to build here together. But that all stems from a genuine appreciation of each other’s abilities and craft and how we make stuff happen.
“It’s agreed upon by all of us that we want to give people something to look forward to.”
Miller out of time
The Cubs are shutting down righty reliever Shelby Miller, who was working back from elbow surgery and was speculated as someone who could help the bullpen.
But Miller won’t be making an 11th-hour return to the majors this year, even after impressing the Cubs with his relatively speedy recovery; he was signed to a two-year deal without much expectation that he’d pitch this season.
Miller, a 13-year major league vet who posted a 2.74 ERA with the Diamondbacks and Brewers last season, had a 7.59 ERA in 13 minor league rehab appearances.
“At this point, the risk outweighs what reward there would be from keeping him going and pushing him to pitch in this environment,” manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday. “It’s just a risk that we agreed together not to take.
“We’ve got a healthy player, we’ve got a player ready for spring training going into next season, and we’re excited about that.
“He’s in a good spot. But he’s in a spot that you’re at after you’ve worked your butt off to get there. It’s time to stop and just give him a break.”
Rained out
A Tuesday rainout prevented shortstop Dansby Swanson from beginning his minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs were hoping Swanson would play in a couple games and return to the big league team Friday.