O’Donnell: A happy Fourth to the Cubs, and anybody else?
FOURTH OF JULY, Fifth of July, Sixth of July — does the calendar really matter all that much in The Captive Sports City?
Pick a month, any month, and underachievement is almost automatic to be the No. 1 Windy Reality setting the prevalent jock-and-schpiel tone.
In 2025, only Craig Counsell and the Cubs salvaged the spring. No other major group is positioned to save the summer.
THE BEARS WILL OPEN CAMP with an untested head coach and disorganization coming off a 5-12 season.
Haunted Hall has produced only one meaningful football victory since the ides of October. Casper Democrats in Wyoming come close to matching that success rate.
Ryan Poles answered by making his top draft choice a tight end who grew up in rural Idaho, just outside of urban Idaho. Apparently a prime blind sider from Samoa wasn't on the board.
THE BULLS, BLACKHAWKS, SKY, White Sox and Fire?
In the parlance of the race track, tab for later — much, much later.
Against those non-flammable firecrackers, a holiday weekend sparkling of Ins and Outs:
IN — The Cubs in July — June at Wrigley came in like a chewing-gum fortune and went out like a 13-13 recall button that had even the most die-hard bluefins gnawing on their $27.99 grand slam nachos. … Then boom-zappo, a sweep of the Guardians and the Cardinals in town to continue a winnable month that ends at Milwaukee just before a die-casting trade deadline July 31.
OUT — The snarky anti-Pete Crow-Armstrong crowd — As Dr. Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, “Stick your head above the crowd and someone's bound to take a shot at it.” … Pecca's minor All-Star mistakes seem major because he is so marquee. … Plus, after he's banked some serious hundred million from MLB, who's better positioned to follow the golden brick road to Hollywood?
IN — The 1985 Bears — It's here — the 40th anniversary of that Super Bowl season. … Can as cheery a diversion as memories of The Shufflin' Crew be better timed? … The signature moment was the pleasingly pugnacious release of “The Super Bowl Shuffle” — before the playoffs. … Odds are Jim McMahon and marauders would have performed the song live in the Patriots locker room prior to SB XX.
OUT — Too much optimism about the '25 Bears — What's the most accurate measure of success for Ben Johnson's first edition? … Vegas says the over/under win total is 8½ and some very informed money is taking the under. … A 7-10 finish would be a step in the right direction. … Still, in the right-here, right-now herd thought of modern NFL fandom, NFC North supremacy can't come fast enough.
IN — A Caitlin Clark winter tour — Package her like the transformational wonder she is and book her into 16 or 18 arenas in December and January. … A shrewd promoter would be limited only by his or her imagination showcasing Clark in a traveling extravaganza that would be as much show biz as hoops biz. … Music and other performance arts would be part of the spectacle and mean girls wouldn't.
OUT — The glass vault of the WNBA — Revenues and interest are up and expansion franchises cost five times what they did two years ago. … But WNBA players get roughly 10% of all basketball-related income while their NBA brethren get 50%. … Where are power women business hammers like Mary Barra (General Motors) and Julie Sweet (Accenture) when you need them?
IN — Alex Caruso — In an eight-year NBA career, the whirling bullet-head has played for three teams and now won championship rings with two of them — the Lakers (2020) and the Thunder (2025). … Only the Bulls are missing. … Geez, what a surprise.
OUT — Fans who spend money on anything Bulls — The listless franchise doesn't have season-ticket holders, it has “enablers.” … These pastime challenged are to be reprogrammed — haven't they heard of The League of Chicago Theatres?
IN — “Weenies & Bikinis” at The Circa/Las Vegas — Not for the whole family, but owner Derek Stevens dressed up a $5,000 hot-dog eating contest on The Fourth with somethings more aesthetically pleasing than the fat chomp kings at Coney Island.
OUT — NASCAR Chicago Street Race — Strong fumes that this will be the third and final presentation of a truly knucklehead concept.
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.