@mattclapp.bsky.social is back on Holy Cow to discuss a strong start to the season for the Cubs. Kyle Tucker and PCA on fire early and how will the pitching staff handle the loss of Justin Steele? And unlikely contributions from Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea. soundcloud.com/sean-holland...

The Bears might have a good offensive line and I truly don't know how to live in that reality.

“Agents and teams are hitting us up like, ‘What are you guys doing?’ Because they follow this stuff just as much as we do. So when X goes down, they’re operating without a net here. They have no idea where to find all this stuff.” - Mike Garafolo

The new look Bears OL is taking shape: LT: Braxton Jones LG: Joe Thuney C: Drew Dalman RG: Jonah Jackson RT: Darnell Wright On paper, already much better than last season.

Drew Dalman to Chicago has felt like a lock for weeks now. I know folks have mixed opinions on him but I do like that, after last year’s disaster class, they gave Williams a veteran center. The Ben Johnson era begins with a major investment in the new IOL—Thuney-Dalman-Jackson.

THIS. IS. MARCH. 🏀🧅🧅🧅🧅🧅🧅🧅🧅🔥🔥🔥

The ABS Challenge System is in place for spring training, and the Cubs took advantage of it in the first inning vs the Dodgers. ⚾️ #MLB

The full Fresno State Bulldongs experience

There will never be another Rickey Henderson- both as a player and as a personality. Truly one of a kind.

I ranked the Super Bowl title contenders ahead of Week 16. #NFL

This is also what I love about Kyle Tucker... to go with being fourth among MLB hitters in SLG in 2024, he was tied for third in BB/K rate (thanks to a 16.5 BB%, 15.9 K%). With his profile, basically think a prime Rizzo, with more athleticism and power/offensive ceiling.

The Cubs immediately went from +155 to +115 on DraftKings to win the NL Central after the Kyle Tucker trade.

Kirk Herbstreit explains how great Peyton Manning was at selling the play-action at quarterback. Al Michaels: "Peyton's been selling everything since then too." 🏈🎙️ #NFL

I ranked the Super Bowl title contenders at the moment. #NFL

Here's your opportunity to grade the top college football announcing teams for 2024 (our poll is open until 10 p.m. ET tonight). 🏈📺🎙️🗳️

"Everybody's gonna have their eye on Ben Johnson... And I think he might have some interest in that job. We'll see if they can convince him to come to Chicago..." - Adam Schefter

Just such an enormous moment on the franchise timeline that the Chicago Bears actually fired a head coach in-season. (Even if they were perhaps bullied into it)

The Dodgers are in their own stratosphere. It's going to stay that way for a long while (with the Mets and Yankees perhaps trying to threaten it). That is what it is. What's unacceptable for the Cubs is to not tower over the rest of the NL Central, at least.

Fox viewers in Lexington, KY (Fox 56 News; WDKY) are being treated to high school basketball instead of the Indiana-Ohio State game. 📺😵‍💫

I'd imagine that both Jordan Romano and Kyle Finnegan will be on the Cubs' radar. Veterans with a lot of high-leverage experience.

FYI...

Another Cubs move today: C Matt Thaiss acquired from Angels in exchange for a cash consideration. Was DFA'd by LA after Travis d'Arnaud and INF Kevin Newman free-agent adds. Thais (out of options) also has past experience at 1B/3B, hits lefty. To clear a spot, Cubs DFA RHP Trey Wingenter.

Agreed here. Big jump in LOB 2023 to 24, big drop in HR/FB. Living in the 5th-7th inning last two seasons. But also two straight seasons being elite in limiting hard contact and getting chases out of the zone.

Morgan is a solid add. I'd ignore the 1.93 ERA when projecting him for next year, but he's a quality veteran that gives the Cubs more reliability in the middle and high-leverage innings. It was important to add an arm or two like that with all of the youth involved.

Morgan is interesting, more traditional splits last year after bigger reverse trends previously. Good FB/SL/CH mix. A lot of folks will wish Wisdom good riddance, but he supplied some needed power. www.cubsinsider.com/2024/11/20/c...

Updating on the fly with additional Morgan trade thoughts: www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2024/11...

I'd especially expect the Cubs to make an effort to keep Alzolay around. A year removed from being a top-20 reliever in baseball. I still think there are good years to come for him in the majors. Davis' situation has just been so unfortunate for years now.

Wrote about some fantasy football waiver wire options for Week 12. #NFL

Lee Seung-hoon 1st pitch vs. Pete Crow-Armstrong's inside-the-park hr.

Playing not to lose is efficient when the opposing coach is also playing not to lose. In the modern NFL though, many of the coaches are playing to win. Not the Bears though.

Matt coming in from the top rope

Caleb Williams dropping one in to Cole Kmet

Posting this throw here b/c it's so pretty and I can't stop watching it

A damn good coach is going to look at Caleb Williams, and Rome Odunze, and the picks, and the cap space, and call his agent and say “Get me that Bears job.” The owners just have to do the right thing and let it happen. That’s what makes me nervous.

Another blown fourth-quarter lead from Matt Eberflus’ Chicago #Bears. Packers players were surprised at his latest late-game decisions and I wrote about it here at WCG: www.windycitygridiron.com/2024/11/17/2...

"Mahomes retreats to the 25, steps up, desperation time... AND IT'S INTERCEPTED! THE BILLS ARE GOING TO HAND THE CHIEFS LOSS NUMBER ONE!" - Jim Nantz on the CBS call for the Bills' game-sealing play vs the Chiefs. 🏈🎙️ #NFL

Matt Eberflus can't even win at the style of football he dreams about.

Yep... he led the Bears on game-winning drives each game (two times in the Washington game, really), and nonsense prevented the wins.

Back to frequent check-ins with the old friend.

One "positive" note: it's clear that Shane Waldron was a problem.

Caleb won the game and his teammates let him down.

I got a video upload to work.

Not getting video uploads to work on here, which could be a big deal for the work accounts in particular. Anybody have the specifics on what is allowed there etc? Tried a longer clip (like 2+ minutes) that didn't work, but the same happened for a 16-second clip too.

Really proud of the work that @benaxelrod.bsky.social and @brendonkleen.bsky.social have put into making The Play-By-Play. I'm biased but I think its a worthy addition to any sports media fan's podcast queue.

You'll find all of our accounts and contributors here.

Matt Shaw.

My thoughts on 10 players the Cubs should target this offseason.