SUN 21
White Sox at Rays (12:10 p.m., NBCSCH): Other than going 1-7 and being outscored 52-26, the Sox have been absolutely crushing it on this road trip to start the second half of the season. All the same, maybe they won’t be too devastated when the 10th and final game of the trip comes to an end and the time arrives to pack their bags and get the heck back to Guaranteed Rate Field.
MON 22
Cubs at Giants (8:45 p.m., Ch. 9): Remember when the Cubs went 2-7 on the road to start the season? It turns out those were the good old days for this hapless bunch of vagabonds. For whatever reasons, the team has made a sport of being terrible away from Wrigley Field, losing 27 of its first 45 games. Game 1 of a nine-game trip would be a mighty fine time for Javy Baez, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and company to remember they’re Javy Baez, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and company.
THU 25
Bears report to Bourbonnais: Somewhere amid a sea of duffel bags, roller bags, backpacks and clunky suitcases had better be 90 professional football players. No no-shows! No holdouts! And, please, fellas, no limping into the dorms of Olivet Nazarene University!
FRI 26
Blackhawks Convention: Opening Ceremonies (5 p.m., Hilton Chicago): Who doesn’t want to hear the old war stories of 18-year-old draft pick Kirby Dach and 34-year-old coach Jeremy Colliton? OK, so not everyone has old war stories. But Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook will be on hand at the Chicago Hilton for the weekend-long festivities, as will re-newcomer Andrew Shaw and alumni Bobby Hull, Tony Esposito, Steve Larmer, Jeremy Roenick, Eric Daze — pretty much everyone who has lost a tooth while donning a Hawks sweater.
Cubs at Brewers (7:10 p.m., NBCSCH): For the first time in nearly 11 weeks, (arguably) the top two teams in the NL Central will go head-to-head. On the one hand, 11 weeks is probably too long for a hot baseball rivalry to be dormant. On the other hand: Dear God, it’s Christian Yelich.
SAT 27
Bears practice (8:15 a.m.): Boy, it sure would be nice to witness Trey Burton and Anthony Miller running around on a grass field and catching footballs. And here’s the sheer, unadulterated beauty of the situation: Bears fans can do that in this first practice of training camp that’s open to the public. Trubisky. Cohen. Mack. Hicks. A kicker or two no one has ever heard of. Ahh — the sweet, sultry stench of pigskin wafting in the Bourbonnais air. Ain’t it heavenly?
