CHGO Digest: Caleb Williams reporting for Bears rookie camp, Angel of Chicago, Cubs & White Sox Takeovers!

Happy Thursday, friends!

Baseball season is hitting its stride in Chicago, which means you can ditch the sweatshirt underneath your jersey and leave the handwarmers at home.

You can also join the CHGO Cubs and CHGO White Sox teams at our takeover events throughout the season at Guaranteed Rate Field, Wrigley Field, and on the road. The Sox guys are kicking things off on Memorial Day while the Cubs crew is hosting a Crosstown Takeover at Wrigley on June 4.

If you can’t make either, there are four other dates, check them all out here!

— Patrick Norton

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Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, Bears rookies set to begin minicamp

Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze spent time working out together during the pre-draft process. The duo even flew to the draft in Detroit together. Then the Bears paired the two as cornerstone pieces of the storied franchise’s next attempt at glory.

Pinch me — it still doesn’t feel real.

Friday marks the first opportunity Bears fans will have to see the team’s newest additions in orange and blue when rookie minicamp kicks off at Halas Hall.

• The two-day camp gives the Bears’ five-man draft class and a flock of undrafted talent a miniature head start before the entire team is likely in the building for OTAs at the end of May.
  
• It’s a fair assumption that all five of the Bears’ 2024 NFL Draft class make the 53-man roster out of training camp. However, there will be 15 UDFAs in attendance for Chicago’s rookie minicamp vying for spots on gameday rosters and practice squads.
  

🔎 GO DEEPER | Nicholas Moreano makes his early prediction of the Bears’ 53-man roster, and if any UDFAs make the cut.

📺 WATCH | Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower joins Adam Hoge on the CHGO Bears Podcast to talk all things special teams including new punter Tory Taylor.

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The Franchise Collection available now!

👕 GET A FREE SHIRT! | Become a Diehard and get your choice of any of the three shirts above … or any shirt in our CHGO Locker!

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Angel Reese talks Chicago, Met Gala at Sky media day

Angel Reese is feeling right at home in Chicago ahead of her first WNBA regular season. The Chi-Town Barbie celebrated her 22nd birthday in style, gracing the red carpet at the Met Gala on Monday night. On Tuesday night, Reese scored 13 points in 19 minutes during the Sky’s dismantling of the New York Liberty, 101-53. Reese has scored 26 points and brought in 14 rebounds in the team’s two preseason games.

• During the team’s media day festivities on Wednesday, Reese boasted about her strong ability to defend at any level: “I can guard all five positions, as you can see. I mean, I can switch on point guards and get steals. That’s just something I love to do.”
  
• Reese is just one of the Sky’s recent additions to Chicago’s rapidly expanding rolodex of young elite athletes. No. 3 overall pick Kamilla Cardoso’s preseason debut was short-lived when she exited last Friday’s preseason opener with an apparent shoulder injury. Cardoso is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
  
• Cardoso isn’t the only rookie from the 2024 draft class injured. Brynna Maxwell, the No. 13 overall selection, injured her knee and will be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks.
  

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Friends of the Parks plans to fight Bears, Chicago on lakefront stadium project

The Illinois state legislature isn’t the only influential body pushing back against the Bears’ proposed $4.7 billion stadium project on the Chicago lakefront. Friends of the Parks, the group that kept a George Lucas museum out of Chicago, is “prepared to fight for the lakefront” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

• The advocacy group didn’t lay out a plan to engage the team or city in a legal battle but hasn’t ruled out a potential lawsuit.
  
• Gin Kilgore, the organization’s acting executive director, highlighted the city’s shaky past with projects of this magnitude, saying “It is common in Chicago for promises to be broken, whether willfully or through, ‘Oops, we’ve run out of money.”
  
• It’s just another hurdle for Bears team president and CEO Kevin Warren after JB Pritzker’s office called the proposal a “non-starter” last week. For Bears fans, it’s a lot of politicking without any reward until shovels are in the ground, whether that’s somewhere in the city or Arlington Heights.
  

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Join CHGO across the pond!

The Chicago Bears are going to London in 2024, and so is CHGO! Put down a deposit today with True Fan Travel to reserve your spot with us!

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Roundup: Cubs getting healthy, White Sox starting sell-off

• Cody Bellinger returned to the Cubs on Tuesday night, smashing a line-drive home run in his first game since April 23. Michael Busch sent the rain-soaked crowd home with smiles on their faces after launching a walk-off home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth.
  

DON’T LET MICHAEL BUSCH GET HOT

pic.twitter.com/fDZyQeAwPn

— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) May 8, 2024

• Justin Steele pitched well in his return to the Cubs’ rotation on Monday, completing 4.2 innings of shutout baseball. The Cubs also expect to add Seiya Suzuki back into the mix soon. The right-fielder is on a rehab assignment in Iowa after straining his oblique three weeks ago.
  
• The White Sox sent OF Robbie Grossman to the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor league RHP Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa. It’s the first move of what’s expected to be a busy season for GM Chris Getz. Transparency has never been an issue for Getz, who warned of a full rebuild shortly earlier this year, and solidified that stance when the team dealt Dylan Cease to the Padres during spring training.
  

⚾ NEXT | White Sox vs. Guardians — Thursday, 6:40 on NBC Sports Chicago | Cubs at Pirates — Friday, 5:40 on Marquee Sports Network

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Move over, Roy Hobbs.

This clip is why we watch sports.

🎥 : @hoosiercommish

pic.twitter.com/OGfai6nqTS

— CHGO Sports (@CHGO_Sports) May 8, 2024

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More on CHGO!

• Will Gottlieb breaks down the potential paths for the Bulls’ offseason. Will the front office choose to rebuild or run it back?
  
• The CHGO Blackhawks crew debates who the Blackhawks could select with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
  

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