The Hope Index: Rating the chances Chicago’s pro teams can contend for a title
The Daily Herald’s third annual Hope Index offers more hope that our hometown heroes will soon contend for a championship. Except for those teams where we’re offering less hope.
Truth be told, we’re a little more confused than in previous editions of the Hope Index. Some teams seem to be going the right direction, others the wrong way, and some, well, it’s really hard to tell what they’re doing.
Chicago major-league pro teams are listed from best to worst, with the best score being a 10 and the worst a 0. If we offend you by refusing to offer negative numbers, we apologize profusely. As we say in Chicago, wait till next year.
1. Bears
Hope Index: 8
Last year: 6
We had the Bears in the top slot two years ago and regretted it. But last year was so much fun, how could we not rate the Monsters of the Racetrack/Slag Pile No. 1?
Ben Johnson. Caleb Williams. Luther Burden. D’Andre Swift. That Bears offense offers a great deal to be confident about (and isn’t that strange to say). The Bears defense, particularly the line, offers uncertainty. So we’re not giving the Bears a perfect 10, but we don’t think they’re going to regress.
At least we hope they don’t.
2. Cubs
Hope Index: 7
Last year: 7
The Cubs were No. 1 last year, and for a while this spring it seemed they might stay there. The first 10-game winning streak was inspiring, the second downright dreamy. But then their May Swoon — it doesn’t rhyme, we know, we’ll work on it — struck, and we don’t know what to think about this team.
Is the recent swoon the way the rest of the season will go, or will they recover and once again be a team that finds a way to win games they shouldn’t? How many more pitcher injuries will the Cubs have to withstand? Will they ever hit again?
Sorry, we don’t have the answers. But we still have hope. For now.
3. Blackhawks
Hope Index: 5
Last year: 4
It seems strange to be so optimistic about a team that had the second-worst record in the NHL this winter and hasn’t sniffed the Stanley Cup playoffs since the first Trump Administration, and then only because the NHL expanded the field for the COVID-19 pandemic.
But let’s face it, somebody had to be in the No. 3 slot, and eventually all these high draft picks will produce some winning hockey. Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, Roman Kantserov, Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar, Wyatt Kaiser, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel. We have hope these are the names that will one day become Blackhawks legends.
But that day still seems a few years away, so we’ll moderate that hope for now.
4. Fire
Hope Index: 4
Last year: 1
Fire fans might be amazed to see the team ranked so high, and with good reason. This former Fire beat writer has beat up on the club in print for a few years now. The Fire seemed destined for a Cubs-like MLS Cup drought.
But credit to owner Joe Mansueto, he made some mistakes early in his ownership but has done well to correct them. The Fire has a new training facility, and Mansueto is building the team a soccer-specific stadium without — gasp! — going begging to the state legislature or threatening to move the team somewhere with a better view of steel mills.
Mansueto also hired MLS veteran Gregg Berhalter, and at the World Cup break Berhalter has the Fire in fourth place in the Eastern Conference a season after taking the team back to the playoffs. The Fire even won a playoff game. If that doesn’t give you hope, nothing will.
5. White Sox
Hope Index: 3
Last year: 0
Wow, this feels weird, admitting to a little bit of hope in the White Sox after two seasons with more than 100 losses each. But like the Blackhawks, the kids are injecting new hope — not the Star Wars kind — into this franchise. Davis Martin, Noah Schultz, Sam Antonacci, Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery might be the names that made Sox fans forget the likes of Paul Konerko and Scott Podsednik. Maybe. It’s still just barely June, and there’s a long way to go. But this is a .500 team in a mediocre division.
Strange things can happen. It’s almost enough to give us just a little glimmer of hope. Enjoy it.
6. Chicago Sky
Hope Index: 3
Last year: 4
This is a confusing franchise. The Sky is 3-4 early in this season, so we can’t write them off completely, but trading yet another star — Angel Reese — and loading up on 30-somethings isn’t inspiring. The loss to an ACL injury of Rickea Jackson doesn’t help.
Maybe if the Sky had gotten some players from the 2025 draft we’d feel better. But Hailey Van Lith was let go and Ajsa Sivka never came, opting to play college basketball at Kentucky instead. Second-rounders Maddie Westbeld and Aicha Coulibaly remain in Chicago but as developmental players.
7. Chicago Stars
Hope Index: 1
Last year: 1
Mallory Swanson just recently returned to the field after missing last season while pregnant. That’s good. And Alyssa Naeher is a proven goalkeeper, though one who was born in the 1980s.
Beyond that there’s not much, which explains why 11 games into the season the Stars are 15th in a 16-team league.
On the bright side they haven’t made a coaching change yet this season, so there’s that, but they did fire general manager Richard Feuz this week. And playing this season at Northwestern University’s lakefront stadium offers cool breezes and nice views. But none of that offers much hope that this club will soon contend for a championship.
8. Chicago Bulls
Hope Index: 0
Last year: 3
When even the top basketball executive admits at his introductory news conference that the team is in rebuilding mode, there’s not much hope. So it wasn’t a hard choice to have the Bulls bringing up the rear of this list.
There is some good news, however. Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley and their atrocious decisions are gone, and Bryson Graham seems smart, energetic and has a good reputation around the league. The Bulls haven’t ruined him yet.
Plus the Bulls should get a very talented player in this summer’s NBA draft, having lucked into the No. 4 pick in the lottery, plus Portland’s spot at No. 15.
So maybe we’re too hard on the Bulls. We sure hope we’re wrong about them.
Sports Editor Orrin Schwarz can be reached at oschwarz@dailyherald.com