The Hope Index: Rating (again) the chances Chicago pro sports teams can soon make a title bid
We debuted our Hope Index a year ago with the idea of gauging the chances our hometown professional sports teams might soon contend for a championship.
Not win a championship, mind you. Contend. You know, make the playoffs, be more than a little competitive.
Like they say at the lottery — the state lottery, not the draft lottery — you can’t win if you don’t play.
In the year since, none of Chicago’s pro teams has shown much interest in contending for a championship. Heck, only the Bulls came close to making the playoffs in the past 12 months, and when they pulled within sight of the playoffs, they reacted like they were allergic.
Absence makes the heart grow weaker?
Here it is for Year 2, the Hope Index. We list our pro teams, in order, from best to worst — with 10 being an absolute certainty and 0 being a near abandonment of faith — by how much hope we have that they will soon contend for a championship.
Cubs
Hope Index: 7
Last year: 7
This team seems loaded with “ifs.”
You know, as in if the Cubs can find a bullpen, if they can find a third baseman, if they can replace Justin Steele, if they can avoid their all-too-common June Swoon.
If not, they’ll whiff on the playoffs again. If they do, maybe they can hang with the Dodgers, Phillies and Padres in the playoffs.
It’s barely May, but so far, so good. The Cubs are 19-13 and in first place entering Friday’s game at Milwaukee. Hope springs eternal.
Bears
Hope Index: 6
Last year: 8
We were most hopeful last year for the Bears, and they punished us for it. That 10-game losing streak and 5-12 record was agonizing. Even that season-ending win over the Packers could boost spirits only so much.
So what do we do this year? Do we reward the Bears for hiring new coach Ben Johnson — whom most analysts believe is a champion waiting for his chance to win — and returning quarterback Caleb Williams, who arrived with more hype than Don King ever could produce.
Or do we learn our lesson, remind ourselves they’re still the Bears, and give them a lower number?
Despite a seemingly strong NFL draft, we’re taking the Bears down two notches. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice … doggone it, just win some games already.
Blackhawks
Hope Index: 4
Last year: 4
Are we guilty of too much optimism? Maybe, but there is a plethora of young talent here. Put some talented, team-oriented veterans around them to show the kids how to win and this might be a group that can make the playoffs.
Then in a couple of years, with time for the youngsters to grow, this team could be poised for great things.
All this losing has to lead to something good eventually, doesn’t it? We sure hope so.
Sky
Hope Index: 4
Last year: 4
The Sky draft last year was a good one, bringing in frontcourt players Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, who add personality to the team as well as rebounding and scoring.
This year the Sky drafted another personable player in the first round, going with guard Hailey Van Lith at No. 11. They also brought back guard Courtney Vandersloot, who ran their WNBA championship squad a couple of years back.
The Sky is about to start the WNBA season, and it could still use some 3-point shooting, and the young players could use some time to grow into the league. But like the Blackhawks’, this youth movement holds promise.
Bulls
Hope Index: 3
Last year: 2
The Bulls get a small bump because they finished the regular season well and they revamped the roster with good young players like Josh Giddey and rookie Matas Buzelis added to Coby White.
Then they showed in the play-in game that there still is a lot of work to do. They need someone who will defend a little bit and add some grit, and they need to strike it big in the draft somehow.
That’s very hard to do when you’re in NBA purgatory, not good enough for the playoffs, not bad enough to get a high draft pick without a whole lot of help from the lottery — the draft lottery — gods.
And why did they gave Patrick Williams that big contract?
Fire
Hope Index: 1
Last year: 0
A new coach who knows how MLS works, a new training facility … and maybe a new stadium on an architect’s drawing boards somewhere? Is the Fire finally figuring out how to make good decisions?
Not so fast. Considering the Fire’s consistent record of losing over the past 15 seasons — two playoff berths, 1 playoff goal, 0 playoff wins — we’ll wait for owner Joe Mansueto, coach Gregg Berhalter and the Fire to prove us wrong. So far this season it’s been more of the same with the 11th-place Fire (3-4-3) on a five-game winless streak.
One thing we will give Mansueto credit for is saying he’s willing to build a new stadium without using public funds. He stands out in Chicago for that reason, though there are no stadium plans publicly released. Now if only his team could stand out by getting into the playoffs.
Stars
Hope Index: 1
Last year: 4
Are we losing hope? Yes, a little bit, but a lot of that has to do with the absence of superstar forward Mallory Swanson. She has yet to play this season for unknown reasons.
National team mainstay Alyssa Naeher still runs the Stars’, um, universe, so that’s a positive, but she is 37 years old. Goalkeepers tend to have a longer shelf life than field players, but even they have limits.
Beyond that, there’s not a whole lot of talent on this roster, which explains the 1-5-0 record and current location at the bottom of the NWSL table. The former Red Stars not only have lost their color, they’ve lost their direction.
White Sox
Hope Index: 0
Last year: 0
We have 121 reasons to repeat last year’s zero. Some jaded readers might ask why we didn’t go negative, as in -1. If anyone team deserves it, it’s the record-setting Sox.
We’re sticking with zero as the lowest we’ll go, even for a team that’s following the worst season in modern Major League Baseball history with a roster that’s arguably worse. So far the White Sox are 8-23 and merely the second-worst team in MLB, thanks to Colorado (6-25).
See, they’re already better than last year.
You gotta have hope.
Daily Herald Sports Editor Orrin Schwarz can be reached at oschwarz@dailyherald.com.