We’re back.
Sports, we mean.
And “This You Gotta See.” For four months, the sports world lay mostly dormant and so, too, did this column looking ahead to the week of games and other events. It’s good to be back. It’s great to have baseball, hockey and basketball — even Bears training camp — to talk about, nerd out about and enjoy again.
Wouldn’t it be nice if it lasts a while?
There’s so much going on. Both the Cubs and the White Sox have hit the road for the first time this season. The Blackhawks will be back on the ice for real, too. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews never could grow decent playoff beards even during the Hawks’ runs to Stanley Cup glory, but we’ll take whatever scruff they can give us in however much time they remain alive in the NHL’s different-looking postseason.
The Bears are wiping away the cobwebs at Halas Hall. Will Mitch Trubisky wipe away Nick Foles, or vice versa? Or, worse, neither? The Sky are back in business. And how could we forget the Bulls? Come to think of it, forget the Bulls.
But don’t forget about the NBA — it’s back this week, too, from inside a big ol’ bubble in Orlando, Fla. One presumes the Bucks and Lakers, to name two, still know a thing or two about outscoring an opponent. Watching games in empty arenas will be a little weird, but no weirder than watching games in empty ballparks.
Besides, what isn’t a little weird these days?
Hey, we’re back. Here’s what’s happening:
MON 27
Cubs at Reds (5:40 p.m., Marquee): Wade Miley — one of those totally annoying soft-tossing lefties who has given the Cubs trouble — makes his Cincinnati debut. And speaking of soft-tossing lefties, isn’t that pretty much what Jon Lester is now? Lester’s days as an Opening Day starter are behind him, but it wouldn’t be annoying at all if he lumbered to the mound and behaved like one.
White Sox at Indians (6:10 p.m., NBCSCH): Look, we can’t guarantee the Sox will either score, or give up, 10 or more runs, but that seems to be the way this whole deal is going. Ricky’s boys don’t quit, but will they at least consider locating their fastballs, throwing some leather around and complementing their obvious home-run prowess with all those other things that help teams win?
TUE 28
Bears training camp begins: Are you ready for some coronavirus testing and conditioning drills!? Sadly, fans can’t attend the goings-on at camp, which is in Lake Forest for the first time since 1983. Will ex-Bear Spice Adams at least hike up his shorts to mid-chest level and simulate the drills on Twitter?
White Sox at Indians (6:10 p.m., NBCSCH): Carlos Rodon takes the bump in his first regular-season game since September 2018, and that alone is a wonderful thing. But are we crazy, or did Rodon used to be pretty good? Maybe the lefty will be the hidden key to the Sox’ season.
WED 29
Blackhawks vs. Blues (5:30 p.m., NBCSCH+): Before the defending Stanley Cup champs get to play their fancy-pants round-robin games to determine their fancy-pants playoff seed, they have to go slumming with an exhibition match against their downtrodden rivals at Edmonton’s Rogers Place.
Cubs at Reds (5:40 p.m., Marquee): Kyle Hendricks vs. Sonny Gray? OK, we’ll bite. Hendricks was as good as ever on Opening Day, tossing a three-hit shutout, but would it kill him to take his ace act on the road this season?
THU 30
Jazz vs. Pelicans (5:30 p.m., TNT): It’s beyond poetic that Utah big man Rudy Gobert, the athlete who pretty much ushered in the entire sports shutdown — not that the whole mess wouldn’t have happened without him — is in the NBA’s first game since March. Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson will still get vastly more camera time, of course.
Clippers vs. Lakers (8 p.m., TNT): Staples Center East — otherwise known as The Arena in Orlando — can’t handle all the excitement this matchup brings. Will Lakers superstar LeBron James be sharp? Will Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard sit this one out in the name of load management? Come on, we kid.
FRI 31
White Sox at Royals (7:05 p.m., NBCSCH): Far be it from us to suggest that Tim Anderson hit a bomb and then heave his bat 84 feet into the sky to reignite the flames of discord between these teams, but … fine, that’s what we’re suggesting.
Bucks vs. Celtics (5:30 p.m., ESPN): Two Eastern Conference powers go at it at HP Field House in Orlando. We have no dog in this hunt, but we are kind of miffed at Bucks forward/Greek god Giannis Antetokounmpo for complaining as practices restarted that he was fat and out of shape. What the heck does that make the rest of us?
SAT 1
Blackhawks at Oilers, Game 1 (2 p.m., Ch. 5): It begins. Five games, if necessary, of … who knows? All that happened before hockey’s shutdown is irrelevant now. Kane, Toews and Duncan Keith are certainly well rested. Chances are, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are still pretty good. Do the Hawks have a goalie?
Sky vs. Mystics (5 p.m., The U Too): Welcome, first-time viewers, to the IMG Academy in Brandenton, Fla. The Mystics won it all last season, but not having Elena Delle Donne in the mix sure makes them look different.
SUN 2
Pirates at Cubs (1:20 p.m., Marquee): Everybody agrees the NL Central is wide open this season. In related news, everybody agrees the Pirates have nothing to do with the previous sentence. Even 60-game sprints need doormats.
