Typically, this is one of the best times of the year to binge on sports. At least, that’s what I think I remember. Am I the only one whose mind has glazed over like a holiday ham during the last month?
Alas, there are no live baseball games to take in. No NBA or NHL playoffs, not that either would’ve happened in Chicago even in a delightfully crisis-free 2020. No golf, soccer, tennis, etc.
But there is — thank heavens — binge-watching. And guess what? The streaming-service gods have given us a host of shows to watch about Chicago sports.
Ten I wholeheartedly recommend:
1. “Tiger King”
White Sox slugger Jose Abreu, known by teammates as “Pito Exotic,” terrorizes a cratering baseball team from Detroit during a six-year period, hitting .346 with 20 home runs and 75 RBI. Life at Comerica Park has never looked so bleak.
2. “Ozark”
A financial adviser moves his family to Ozark Avenue, a remote side street on the far Northwest Side of Chicago, and begins laundering money for a ruthless broadcasting company that has started a Cubs television network.
3. “Schitt’s Creek”
Kyle Schwarber is in a major slump without a paddle. Will he find his mojo at the plate again before he goes the way of former Cubs flameouts Brian Schlitter, Nate Schierholtz and Calvin Schiraldi?
4. “The Outsider”
Arturas Karnisovas wasn’t born yesterday, but can he solve the heinous crimes committed by John Paxson and Gar Forman? One thing is certain: Not even a lifetime in basketball could have fully prepared Karnisovas for this.
5. “Love Is Blind”
Over the course of dozens of games, Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy continue to lavish Mitch Trubisky with praise despite never having seen the No. 2 overall pick in 2017 resemble an NFL quarterback with their own eyes.
6. “BoJack Horseman”
Set in the early 1990s, world-famous multisport athlete and Sox outfielder Bo Jackson dons the silks and gives the Kentucky Derby a try as a 6-1, 230-pound jockey. Let’s just say it doesn’t end well for the No. 8 horse.
7. “Clone Wars”
To their fans’ deepening frustration and horror, the Blackhawks wage a years-long losing battle to re-create a team with players such as Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Artemi Panarin. How much more can stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews take?
8. “Fleabag”
Not the freshest, best-groomed group to begin with, the Cubs media try to make it through another season in the Wrigley Field press box, which hasn’t been updated (or given a good cleaning) since somewhere right around the dawn of time.
9. “Money Heist”
Fresh off a fifth consecutive campaign at the bottom of the Big East, DePaul basketball coach Dave Leitao convinces his comically inept bosses to give him a multiyear contract extension through the 2023-24 season.
10. “Better Call Saul”
A shady criminal lawyer from Cicero gets the call he soon will wish he never took. It’s from the Bears, who are offering him a chance to compete for the role of starting kicker.