South Side Sports Roundup August 14, 2025

For the first time in what feels like eons, competent baseball is being played on the South Side of Chicago. The Pale Hose burst out of the gate after last month’s All-Star Game with one of their most successful stretches in years, scoring more than six runs per game en route to ten wins in fourteen contests after the break. 

Despite coming back down to earth in subsequent weeks, the flash of good baseball strikes fans as particularly promising, as it was primarily driven by rookie hitters who are poised to play a major role in the team’s future. Rookie shortstop Colson Montgomery burst onto the scene following his July debut. He slugged eight home runs in his first twenty-six games, challenging a nearly century-old team record held jointly by former MVP José Abreu and Depression-era first baseman Zeke Bonura. Rookie catchers Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero were also instrumental in the team’s hot streak, and nondescript utilityman Lenyn Sosa has come out of nowhere to amass a .345 batting average and four home runs since the break, with both marks ranking second on the team.

Having covered the White Sox for years, current CHGO host and analyst Sean Anderson has been around for just about all of the too-few ups and many downs in recent Sox memory. Now, he thinks the tide is finally starting to turn. “It felt like they were doing the right things at the plate [earlier in the season], but didn’t have the talent to execute,” Anderson told the Weekly. That’s rapidly changing, he said. “The optimism was growing with every [Chase] Meidroth multi-hit game or during [Miguel] Vargas’s hot streak. Colson’s streak has just been jet fuel.”

In other news, the MLB trade deadline came and went, with the Sox making a series of minor moves to bolster their roster for future seasons. The team took advantage of pitcher Adrian Houser’s improbable run of dominance after being signed off the street in mid-May, flipping him to Tampa Bay for three minor leaguers including infielder Curtis Mead, who figures to get an extended opportunity on the Sox’ roster this season. However, GM Chris Getz drew heavy scrutiny for his failure to trade erstwhile All-Star Luis Robert Jr., whose lackluster play this season has led to questions about his future with the team.

The Sox will finish the month at home, hosting the Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, and New York Yankees from August 22-31.

Fans of the Chicago Bulls somehow endured even more heartbreak during last month’s draft lottery, when the team narrowly missed a miraculous rise to the number one overall pick. They instead earned at the number twelve spot after losing a coin toss to the Dallas Mavericks, who finished with an identical record to the Bulls, and were subsequently awarded the eleven seedin the lottery ranking. That spot then became the improbable lottery winner, putting Dallas in a position to acquire consensus top pick Cooper Flagg, widely considered the best US-born prospect in over a decade. 

Instead of Flagg, the Bulls used their pick on forward Noa Essengue, an eighteen-year-old native of France who spent last season playing in the German Bundesliga. The pick received mixed reviews due to the expectation that Essengue will require a substantial amount of development, and is unlikely to significantly contribute to the team for several more seasons. 

Another highly anticipated season is underway for the Bears, who opened their preseason on Sunday with a 24-24 tie against the Miami Dolphins. Quarterback Caleb Williams remained on the sidelines, ceding QB snaps to fan favorite Tyson Bagent (13-19, 103 YDS, TD, INT) and twelve-year veteran Case Keenum (8-10, 80 YDS, 2 TD), who are locked in a tight battle for the team’s backup QB job. Bagent has held the role for the past two seasons, but is facing stiff competition from the thirty-seven-year-old Keenum, whose football acumen and veteran leadership may make him a better fit alongside the immensely talented but inexperienced Williams. 

A number of other position battles are underway as the regular season approaches. Recent comments from longtime Bears reporter Adam Hoge suggested that rookie second-round pick Ozzie Trapilo has the lead on incumbent Braxton Jones and 2024 second-round pick Kiran Amegadjie for the starting job at left tackle, while the team’s first official depth chart release indicated neither Colston Loveland nor veteran Cole Kmet having a leg up on the other as the team’s leading tight end.

Fans are cautiously optimistic about this year’s squad, though recent disappointments have them hedging their bets. Lifelong fan and South Sider Nate Smith isn’t letting himself get too excited, but still thinks improvements are in store. “I think they have a high ceiling if they stay healthy and things fall into place,” Smith told the Weekly. “If I had to make a prediction, I could see them being a 9-8 fringe playoff team that will have some growing pains and hopefully overcome them.”

We are now just weeks away from new coach Ben Johnson’s regular season debut on Monday, September 8, when the Bears will take on the Vikings on national television. The Detroit Lions remain the overwhelming favorite to win the NFC North, but a playoff spot is well within reach in a conference that lacks clear-cut contenders beyond Detroit and defending champion Philadelphia.