This week in sports—February 23

The spring semester is in full swing and the sporting news returns once again. Baseball is right around the corner and Elmhurst basketball is officially underway. Pitchers and catchers reported on Feb. 17, and position players reported on Feb. 22, and exhibition games will start on Feb. 28. The Chicago Bears have taken center stage in the NFL headlines with the rumors of Deshaun Watson and Carson Wentz. The NBA is having an All-Star game on March 7, in Atlanta, Ga. despite negative feedback from players. The NHL has been a mess due to COVID-19. The Blackhawks also continue to quietly slide into a playoff spot. 

MLB 

“Play Ball” Baseball returns for spring training workouts

The second week of February has come and gone and that means one thing: Baseball is back. Pitchers and catchers reported to their club’s respective spring training facility on Feb. 17, with most players arriving earlier than that. The White Sox start their spring training exhibition games on Feb. 28, against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Chicago Cubs begin their spring training games on March 1, against the San Diego Padres. 

Both the Cubs and the White Sox will have familiar faces returning for them this season. Adam Eaton is back with the White Sox on a one-year deal to fill their hole in right field. Eaton spent three seasons with the Sox from 2014 to 2016 and was part of a trade with the Washington Nationals that brought now ace, Lucas Giolito, to the Sox. 

The Cubs will be reuniting with their former ace, Jake Arrieta, and reliever Pedro Strop. Arrieta was arguably the best pitcher in Cubs history from 2014 to 2016, and was the main reason the Cubs won the World Series. Now 34 years old, Arrieta is not the same as he was and will be filling the fourth or fifth spot in the Cubs’ five-man rotation. Strop will be rejoining the Cubs on a minor league deal. Strop spent six seasons from 2013 to 2019 with the Cubs as a top reliever before spending a year in Cincinnati last season. 

“MLB The Show” has a new second home

Sony and Microsoft have come to an agreement to produce Sony’s premier baseball game, “MLB the Show 21” for Xbox. This is the first time in the franchise’s history that it will be available for Xbox after being exclusively for PlayStation. In the last 10 years, Microsoft has only had two MLB licensed games available for Xbox: “MLB 2k” and “RBI Baseball.” The most successful game for Xbox was the “MLB 2k” franchise that ran from 2005 to 2013. “RBI Baseball” is currently the only active franchise on Xbox, but has received poor reviews for every edition that has been released. “MLB the Show 21” is the most in-depth and advanced baseball game on the market, and will be the biggest baseball video game in Microsoft’s history.

Since “MLB the Show'' debuted in 2006, Sony has kept the game exclusive to PlayStation users and had refused the idea of going cross platform with other consoles. Sony did not want Microsoft or other console creators to profit off their game. 

Pre-orders are currently available online with a variety of different editions of “MLB the Show 21.” The most basic standard edition features rising star Fernando Tatis Jr. on the cover. The Standard edition comes with the game and 5,000 stubs, and costs $59.99 for pre-order. The most expensive edition of MLB the show is the Jackie Robinson Deluxe version with Jackie Robinson as the cover at $99.99. This edition comes with many perks like 4-day early access, 25,000 stubs that can be used in-game, created player outfits, and two diamond player choices for their diamond dynasty game mode. “MLB The Show 21” is set to release on April 20. 

NFL

Superstar Searching; Bears in QB trouble

Now that the Super Bowl is long gone, the Bears have begun their search for a new starting quarterback after deciding not to re-sign Mitch Trubisky. The Bears’ name has been linked to quarterbacks like Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, and Carson Wentz. With Carson Wentz now gone to Indianapolis, the Bears are stuck with only two options, Wilson and Watson. Watson made his decision to leave Houston a month back, but will cost the Bears an enormous amount in return for him. This trade would likely require the Bears to send a player like Khalil Mack or Roquan Smith to Houston, followed by a fistful of draft picks that they cannot afford to give up. 

Russell Wilson’s name has surfaced in recent weeks after former Bears wide receiver, Brandon Marshall, claimed on a TV show that Wilson is “beyond frustrated” in Seattle. Wilson, who is without question a top-ten quarterback in the NFL, will likely cost around the same as Watson. 

The Bears currently have backup quarterback, Nick Foles, as the only quarterback under contract until next season. The team drafts twentieth in five of the seven rounds at the 2021 NFL draft. 

NHL

COVID-19 wreaking havoc on the NHL

The NHL set an example along with the NBA for other sports leagues with handling the impact of COVID-19. Throughout their 24-team bubble tournament back in July, they conducted over 30,000 tests and all of them came back negative. The 2020-21 season is just over a month in and the situation has completely changed. 

The NHL has already postponed over fifteen games due to the COVID-19 and has had teams like the Minnesota Wild and the Buffalo Sabres pause their season for two weeks to quarantine. The Dallas Stars were forced to pause the beginning of their season after nearly their entire roster tested positive for COVID-19. The NHL has been forced to initiate new changes in order to combat COVID-19. Teams have been instructed to remove the glass paneling behind the bench to allow airflow and install air filters behind the bench. 

The team standings throughout the league are widely scattered because of the amount of games canceled. Teams unaffected by COVID-19 have been able to play 18 games, but teams that have been hit hardest have only been able to play 12 or 13 games. At the beginning of the month, the NHL was forced to reschedule twenty-five of its games due to the impact this outbreak has caused. It is uncertain whether the NHL will pause its season, or if more protocol will be enforced. 

Here come the Blackhawks

While many teams have been impacted by the COVID-19, the Blackhawks have taken advantage of such a unique situation. Despite missing a handful of key players, the Blackawks are currently in a playoff spot and are a top-five team in the league. Young guns like Philipp Kurashev, Pius Suter, and Brandon Hagel have brought the offense for Chicago who was predicted to finish toward the bottom of the central division. Patrick Kane is having another all-star season, currently sitting in the top 3, only points behind Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.

After losing Corey Crawford and not signing another bonafide starter to replace him in the offseason, the Blackhawks were in deep trouble between the pipes. The goaltending situation has been resolved with the play of Kevin Lankinen and Malcolm Subban. Lankinen leads all rookies in votes for the Calder trophy. Since his first start with the Blackhawks, he has allowed four goals or more only three times. 

Duncan Keith has been logging up valuable minutes on a thin defense and has provided veteran leadership for guys like Nikita Zadorov and rookie Ian Mitchell. The power play is the best it has been in over five years and players are starting to trust head coach Jeremy Colliton more. 

The Blackhawks are still missing their captain Jonathan Toews, defenseman Connor Murphy, forwards Alex Nylander and Kirby Dach, and defenseman Brent Seabrook who has been on LTIR since 2019. For many, the lack of depth was seen as a serious issue, but the young players and new additions have helped contribute and have provided a cushion to soften the blow of being without their key guys. 

NBA 

All-Star controversy in the NBA

The NBA All-Star game is fast approaching, set to take place on March 7. Many players including LeBron James, have voiced their frustration over the league’s decision to have an All-Star game, despite COVID-19. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo also voiced his displeasure of the idea of having an All-Star game. James, among others, mentioned the little time they have with their families already and the fact that no fans would be in attendance. 

CCIW 

Welcome back Bluejays

With Gov. Pritzker’s announcement in January, stating winter sports could begin playing under COVID-19 guidelines, Bluejay basketball is back. The Elmhurst Bluejays have played the lowest number of games in the conference so far due to postponements, but still hold a top spot in the standings. Their next games are against Augustana College on Feb. 23, and against Carthage College on both Feb. 25, and 28.