Kap & J. Hood

8/14 7 AM: Hard Knocks Life or Lite?

Hour 1: The 2nd installment of Hard Knocks with the Chicago Bears aired yesterday to mixed reviews. Some say it's "Hard Knocks Lite" super clean and not showing any drama. The guys give a recap on the episode. The White Sox and Cubs both took L's, is professional baseball finally done in Chicago?

Duration:: 45m
Broadcast on:: 14 Aug 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

(crunching) - Chicago. This is your morning routine. - Listen to respect my name. - Cap and G hood. - That's right, that's right, we're bad, uh-uh. - Watch the show on Twitch. Follow ESPN 1000 Chicago. - Stream the show on the ESPN Chicago app. - And on Instagram. - 100.3 HD2, and on ESPN 1000 Chicago. Now, no, no, no. David Kaplan and Jonathan Hood. - Good morning, everyone. - Bring 'em out, bring 'em out. - Woo! - Bring 'em out, bring 'em out, bring 'em out. Bring 'em out, bring 'em out, bring 'em out. Bring 'em out, bring 'em out, bring 'em out. Bring 'em out, bring 'em out, bring 'em out. Woo! Woo! - Woo! - Woo! - Welcome in to the Cap and G hood morning show. On ESPN 1000 and we're streaming on the ESPN Chicago app. With David Kaplan and Jonathan Hood with you, we've got Che. We've got J Moore, we've got you for a three hour ride on this Waddle Wednesday with open phone line for you. Three, one, two, three, two, three, seven, seven, six is our telephone number. We've got a lot to cover here on this Wednesday edition of the Cap and J Hood morning show. But first, we have got to talk about what we saw last night on HBO Max, the hard knocks for the Chicago Bears. - Like the hard knock, high, hard knock, hard knock. - The hard knock, live powered by combat energy, efficiency program, partnering with your business to save money and energy, and also our friends at Dr. Pepper. So, Cap, we saw the second installment of hard knock Chicago Bears. Interesting. - Super interesting. I got home from coaching my 10 year old team and sat down, my wife said, "I'm gonna stay up. "I wanna watch this with you." And I didn't think it was as compelling as the first episode, a little too much of the Buffalo game, it's a preseason game, too long at the museum of ice cream downtown, super cool. But then some of the interactions I loved, Caleb, in the quarterback room with the guys and saying that he wants to play in the Olympics and flag football in four years. Super, super cool interaction there. The Ian Wheeler story, this backup running back with two TDs yesterday, has already been accepted to med school, and so I just wanna play football for as long as I can, and then I'm going to med school to be a psychiatrist. And that is a long journey, 'cause my daughter-in-law's just finishing her residency, and that is, I know what that grind is like, my brother's a doctor, my nephew's a doctor, my sister-in-law's a doctor. Pretty freakin' cool, but to watch him and the coach gettin' after it. Get your pads lower! Yeah, it was super cool, man, super cool. Coach is sayin', run through him. Right. When his back was turned, he's tellin' the other teammates, run through him. And then he did, he showed him, and he got tackled in the backfield, broke the tackle, gone, you hear? I don't know, it was DJ Morgan. That boy's fast! It was awesome! So I enjoyed some parts of it, but I got it, 'cause I have cable, like you do. Yes. The youngs, like Shay, it wasn't there when they wanted to watch at eight o'clock for streaming. Mm-hmm. Get cables, Shay, quit bein' a cord cutter. Yeah, it wasn't, this is not the pause stop. It's not the pause this time, it's the youngs. The youngs. Yes, the youngs had a problem, not the olds. So Shay, you had a problem, of course, eight o'clock. You know, Michelle's like, what time is it again? Eight o'clock. All right, I'll be there, shut down the laptop, let's go, let's watch. Of course, she's interested in it because of some of the things, like the Austin Reed story, that running back you just talked about, because she's rooting for them. Yeah, see, it's something for everybody on that show, but in particular, she likes those stories, but Shay, you were delayed in watching it, correct? Everybody who wanted to watch on Max, my entire Twitter timeline, Courtney Cronin, was delayed in watching it. I feel like 90% of the hard knocks audience is pickin' this up on Max. They didn't put it up, put it until 9.15. Mm-hmm. And hour and 15 minutes late, at like 8.28, the Max Twitter account put out. Gonna be delayed on Max, it'll be up soon. 45 minutes later, the thing finally goes up. - Yeah, it was total 75 minute delayed, then as you said, when they finally dropped a message, it was 45 minutes, but yeah, I thought it was very, very, not as good as week one, but very, very interesting. - Let me tell you what I've seen here for the first two episodes, Cap. This year's hard knocks could be shown on syndicated TV. Like when this series is over, you could sell this over to the CW or ABC Disney. That's how clean it is. That's how clean it is, because we've seen other hard knocks. The hard-nosed coach, gettin' after the players, you know, cussin' their ass out in practice, or in the film room, all that kind of thing, right? This thing, Cap, could be right there on the shelf. Hey, if you wanna put this on your network, you can, 'cause that's how clean it is. I mean, it's supposed to be maybe not R, but this is not even PG-13, what we're seeing right here. The Bears did not wanna do this. They did not wanna do this. We heard George McCasky just recently. It's not something we wanted to do, but we decided to do it. Like, he didn't wanna do it either, even today. But here's what's happened, Cap. The Chicago Bears have taken all the film that hard knocks has done, all the hard work that HBO and NFL films has put together, and they went through it, and they're like, you know what, let's tell positive stories. And that's exactly what it is, because if you don't know the Chicago Bears, if you're not into it like Cap and I and the rest of Chicago, and you just kinda helicoptering in on what's going on, you would think, oh man, harmonious, there's no problems there. Everyone's happy, everyone's got their back. When you notice that reality, think about where you work. Does everybody have your back? Where do you work? There might be some people that you don't like, but you weren't with them anyway. And I think that with the Chicago Bears, I'm not saying that there's knives in the back. What I'm saying is, is that the Bears have painted a nice picture of like, you know what, we're moving forward, and we got some stories to tell. That's what's happened. This is as clean of a hard knocks, as I've seen in the series of hard knocks. - Yeah, so far through two episodes. - That's what they're painting. - No question. - Yeah. - But I will tell you this, I think Ebert Flus is coming off great here. I told you, I've spent time with some of the players. Away from Hallis Hall. I was with two guys the other day. Okay, there's no camera on, there's no mic. Ebert Flus, they're like, love playing for that dude. He holds us accountable. Guys really respond to him. I know you guys in the media were blasting away at him. We love that dude. And I thought he's come off really well in the first two episodes of hard knocks. Really well. Paul's is absolutely in charge. The way he commands the room and they got all the scouts in there and he's talking whatever it is he's talking about. Really, really liked all of that. But the interesting perspective was, so my wife Mindy, I call her Nancy Negative. I get all excited the other day about Kit. Relaxed, they scored 13 points. Mike Hunt, he was in there for one quarter. Settled down, but she's always tempered the expectation. She stayed up last night. I'm watching the show with her. And she said, I can't believe I'm gonna say this 'cause she always thinks I'm way too optimistic. Way too. She said, there's something special about that team. She said, I don't ever say this. There's a vibe in that room and a vibe that's coming across from the key guys. She said, I'm telling you that I haven't seen a Chicago team in a long time have a vibe like that. She said, I think they're gonna have a really, really good season if they're healthy. I think NFL films and HBO hard knocks would probably prefer to be in Seattle with the fights all over the place. I think they'd like to film that. No, not when they saw the ratings. Highest rated show in five years. Yeah, you missed it. What I'm saying is is that you want drama, that's what it's for. Oh, the drama. If you want the swinging of the helmet on people, that's what you want. Right, if you want the drama, that's where you go. But highest rated hard knocks in five years is episode one from the Chicago Bears. So super cool, man. Super cool. Yup. It's the hard knock. Light. Yeah, it's hard not light. It's not hard knock lights. (laughing) All right, that's what it is. I'm not just gonna be seriously. And by the way, it's not a complaint for me. I'm just telling you that compared to the other ones I watch every year, the Bears are saying, we're gonna show you the story of Ian Wheeler. We're gonna show you the story of Austin Reed and his parents again. We're gonna show you that the team is harmonious and everyone is together. Hey, if that equals a division championship or a playoff berth and things seem to work well, it's great. I like that Caleb Williams is a big part of this because you're learning even more about his personality, more so than the clips you see on social media or when he's at the podium, that he has been able to fit in to this team very quickly. And again, you're a rookie. Sometimes you have to be quiet and just watch. No, he's right in there. And the sideline demeanor he had with his teammates explaining to a Dunezay what he wanted for that touchdown, that possible touchdown in the corner. Just really good. Really good inside, I thought. Yeah, they saw Mrs. Dunezay there with Austin Reed's parents. And then the whole DJ Moore thing, going to the ice cream museum. I didn't even know we had an ice cream museum, but where is it? Not everybody in NBC Tower. It is. In that area, yeah. Oh, nice. So that was cool. Now I want to see. Well, side bar man approach on the ice cream. Brought to you by Aiken Law. Three went through six million for the great Howard Aiken. Summit ball. Who in the ass asked for hot dog flavored ice cream? Well, wait, was the ice cream hot dog flavored or just like a hot dog? No, it was hot. It was hot dog flavored. Hot dog bun hot dog flavored with relish and mustard on it. And he didn't want to say it was nasty. But you can see the look on DJ Moore's face. That thing, you know that was gross. Yeah, just like no thanks. And cut. Let's not show that. Why would I want that? Dairy plus hot dog or something like it. It's got to be one or the other. It's ice cream by itself or hot dog by itself. So I used to manage a hot dog stand. Big Herms. Skokie. I want to try the hot dog. I haven't had like a super dog or a Michaels hot dog in a long time. I would like to go there just to try that. OK. Because like a true Chicago dog with mustard, onion, tomato, pickle, relish, little celery salt. I want to see what the ice cream is like. I really do. I think we should do it as a show. I think the four of us should go over to the ice cream museum and get the ice cream flavored or hot dog flavored ice cream. Yeah, man. And that's two Americas there. I'm not doing that. That's ridiculous. I mean, I mean, honest to God, man, you know, there's a-- there is a separation of church and state. Or in this case, the separation of ice cream and hot dog cap. Come on now. Both at the same time. If I eat that, I will have the same reaction as DJ Moore's daughter. Exactly. So I told you, I bought the Ninja Creamy, and I'm making these ice creams. I wonder, after that's Diane from ABC, she's the one that's been helping me with the recipes. So if I took a cooked hot dog, put it in with the yogurt and the almond milk and all that, and mix it all up, froze it, and then turned it into ice cream through the Ninja Creamy. I wonder how that would be. I think you should try it. No, I'm not going to mess with my machine. I'll just-- I'll just go over to the ice cream museum. I got to look it up. I'm going to go do that. Absolutely. Help me in. If it's a show outing, I'm in. At least I'm willing to. It sounds like hood is out. Sounds like hood's not interested at all. Just go and try it. I'm not doing that. I'll go there because I haven't been inside before, but I'm not doing that. That's ridiculous. It's really-- it's not even the hot dog flavoring of the ice cream that bothers me. It's the relish and mustard on ice cream, where I really got a little schemed out. I'm good. DJ Moore's daughter told me all I need to know. If she didn't like it, I definitely won't. That'll be all. Seriously. And by the way, you know you got it big when you can just take over the place. I'm sure there might have been customers outside. Like, yeah, let's just film this. So it's like, because I'm sure there's a lot of people in tourists that go through there. DJ Moore and his family can just have the whole lay of the land. Right. They can just land into all the candy and all that stuff. Pretty good. Super cool. Yeah, I like the bounce house. What do they call those things? Like the pit with all the-- All pit? Yeah. All pit. Which they say is just a bastion of germs. So please, DJ, stay healthy and the family. But yeah, you're right. They cleared it out. So yeah. All right, come on in. You know it also is cool. Amen. Jalen Johnson will have the biggest chip on his shoulder in the National Football League. They went-- they rolled back to the time where Jalen Johnson was pissed that he was not chosen top 100 player among his peers. Yeah, a couple of weeks ago. Brother. Jalen Johnson against Kean Allen. I'd pay money to see that, just because we saw some of it in practice last week. But Allen's like, I can't even-- I can't even get a catch against him. And he's crazy. Kean Allen's a six-time pro-boy. Yeah. It was really, really cool. I mean, it's amazing. It's a place to jail, and what did you learn about him going against him? I haven't had a catch on him. I know something always goes wrong. I'm going to get him, though, tomorrow, one and one. Ladies, let's-- [MUSIC PLAYING] Next. [MUSIC PLAYING] [GROANING] Fuck out. We will be out. Ain't y'all part, though. There you go. That's nice. There you go. By the way, Jay, go. Right? It cannot push me way down here, bro. Oh, yeah. Here, let's see if that's in there. Right. [MUSIC PLAYING] Right. [MUSIC PLAYING] Right. Oh, my goodness. [LAUGHING] Right. [MUSIC PLAYING] Right. [MUSIC PLAYING] That's a pick. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] I ain't gonna lie, too. That's probably been my luckiest pick ever. I landed over here. I thought I was-- [MUSIC PLAYING] Oh, my-- [MUSIC PLAYING] Oh, he got it. [MUSIC PLAYING] [LAUGHING] [MUSIC PLAYING] Super cool. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] But what do they say about players? The true, really, franchise pieces are the guys that get paid and played better. They compete harder. They work. They don't go, I ain't got my money. I'm good. No, like he's-- he finds it like I'm not comparing to Michael Jordan, but Michael always would find some way to say somebody slighted him, even if he had to make it up, like Le Bradford Smith. Yes. Le Bradford should be like, I never said that. But he said-- I took it personally. I took it personally. I never said that. Well, I took it personally, and he got 55 on him. And Jalen Johnson, oh, I'm not in the top 100. They didn't-- I thought they were going to show the curse part when he goes, that's bullshit. And they didn't. They sanitized it. But he's ticked. He's on a mission, man. Yeah. This is an interesting hard knocks cap. I can't wait for this to be on some of the religious channels. Right. [LAUGHTER] Yes. The 700 Club, followed by hard knock Chicago Bears. Right here, on Jubilee. Like he just said, they sanitized. He said it in the presser. What are we censoring it for? See, this is what-- but you know, good on the Bears. They want to make sure that this was family friendly. It's on HBO. I know. People used to call this Skinamax. I know, but it's rated TVMA. Why are we sanitizing it? Why is this TVPG? Christmas with the Browns, followed by hard knocks Chicago Bears. On the lives of one to grow on. On Hallmark. That's what it is, man. Nice and clean. From 8 to 80, you can watch a cap without being offended. Seriously, that's what-- this is what it's become. And by the way, that's where the Bears-- the Bears want to control it, right? Teams can control it. Well, there you have it. That's what George wants. I want something in which Virginia can watch it without any problems. Mom, sit down. This is great. Here's the young man Wheeler. He's pretty good. Smart kid. Going to med school. Good Sunday. How about that, mom? Watch this. Da-da-da-da! No. Is there any sweat-- no, mom. No, it's clean. Nice and clean. The way you like it. It's the way it is, man. 3-1-2-3-3-2-E-S-P-A-3-2-3-7-7-6 is our phone number. Cap and I are talking to you about hard knocks. The second installment for the Chicago Bears that you watch, what did you think? As we continue to talk about, don't forget, still to come. Some thoughts about the Cubs and the Guardians last night as well on Cap and Jhood. This is Roma Dunezay. You're listening to Cap and Jhood on the new home of the Chicago Bears, ESPN Chicago. And it's a Cap and Jhood Morning show on the ESPN 1,000 and streaming on the ESPN Chicago app. As we talk about hard knocks, the second installment that took place yesterday, the second episode. As they take a look at the Chicago Bears, the insides, and now just speaking of, Kiss Kiss Chris Brown and T-Pain. Roma Dunezay, just like all the rookies, have to be able to sing or do something. He did that yesterday right in front of the team and was pretty good. ♪ That Kiss Kiss in a mind she fantasized ♪ ♪ About getting with me, they hate on me ♪ ♪ They want to diss this 'cause your mind is so fine ♪ ♪ I think it's kimby, I'm a country boy from Tappahannock ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, it's where I reside ♪ ♪ I'm sorry, you understand I see this ♪ ♪ And then the hangin' of me, something like a bandit ♪ ♪ Like, like, a bandit bandit ♪ ♪ And if you let me know, never have I get it ♪ ♪ By the seats, you never see me ♪ ♪ So gettin' shotty, we're poppin' like damn it in my dolls ♪ ♪ So I want you on ♪ - Right? (audience cheering) - That was fantastic. Roman Tudes A killed it. He wasn't shy like Caleb in the first episode. Here's what, with John Legend. He stepped right in there, man. Felt it. - He did. - He got the crowd goin'. - He did. I like when he goes siding bonus before taxes, 15 million. - That's right. Gotta add that now. - That was awesome. - So we're talkin' about hard knocks for each one. As I mentioned, Cap, I thought, again, interesting, but also it's not just for you and I and a lot of our audience that are just die-hard football fans and wants to know the dirt. What's the dirt? They wouldn't know that, no, no. You're getting stories. Austin Reed, again. - Don't even make the team. - But he's got a lot of time here, right? Same thing with Stuart, that's good. - Right, you wanted them to spill the tea, is what the cool kids say. - Some do, some do. Like, it was really goin', it looks harmonious and that's what the Bears want you to know. At least that's all they're gonna tell ya. - Yeah, the vibe looks, I told ya. My wife said, "Ah, you know me, I'm pretty much a cynic." It looks very harmonious. The vibe around that team looks great. I told ya, Eber Flus comes off great. - 3-1-2-3-3-2-3-7-7-6 is our phone number. Iran is in Roselle on Cap and J-hood. Iran. - Hey, great show, guys. - Thanks, buddy. - We have time to call our first time listener. - Thanks. - Right? - Love it. - Right? - Ryan posed when he first hired at Eber Flus. - Yep. - We were all like, questioning it. He was like, "It's my man, that's my man." Maybe he was right. - We're gonna find out he's better win football games. That's the key. - Yeah, but you know what I mean? I was the same way when he said Eber Flus is this guy. But maybe he saw something we didn't. You know, maybe this is the coach of the future. - We're gonna find out he may have the last laugh. I could just tell you I said this before. The players away from the mic that I have been spending some time with on some other projects. These guys are all telling me, dude, you have no idea how much he galvanizes our room, how much we like playing for him. - Right. - Right. - So we'll see. - Right. - Right. - Gotta win. - Right. - Right. - Right. - Right. - Right. - Right. - Right. - Thanks, Eber Flus, thanks, guys. - Right. - Thanks, man. Appreciate you. - Thank you. - First time listener, a long time caller. Isn't that what he said? - Right. - Love it. (laughing) - Suck up. So maybe, just maybe, the NFC North has opened up a little bit more for the Chicago Bears. Our projection, by the way, if you're, 'cause we know we have new listeners and new viewers coming in all the time because the Bears are not just a local story, but it's a national story. Be on hard knocks. They're on the get up and all these talk shows. It's a topic at least once a day, sometimes twice a day by the Chicago Bears. But our projection is that the Bears are gonna make the playoffs this year from where they were with three wins to seven wins to the playoffs. Maybe it's open up a little bit more now that the Vikings are gonna be down a quarterback with their youngster, JJ McCarthy. He's gonna need surgery with his knee. - Yeah, he's gonna need meniscus surgery and until they get in there, they don't know if it's a six, eight week injury or a season ender. Remember, Derek Rose had to have the meniscus completely repaired and it cost him a year. And the surgeries obviously advanced in the 15 years since Derek got hurt or 12 years, whatever it was. But they still are saying, if you go in and have to fully repair the meniscus, he will be done for the season. If you can just clean it up. They use a machine that just shaves it down. Then he will be four, six, eight weeks somewhere in that range. We're gonna find out. I actually think, again, minor surgery is something that happens to you, not me. But I think it's a blessing in disguise that they will be able to settle the expectations. I know he had a good first game, let him almost have like a red shirt. So we'll see. - Yeah, I think that, I believe that our conventional wisdom before this injury was, Sam Darnell becomes the starter and a foster McCarthy along until maybe in the middle or the back end of the season or even the entire season. But the point is though is that without McCarthy, it's a Sam Darnell show. And then after that, it's Nick Mullins. So if the offense falters for the Vikings, they really don't have a strong backup plan, McCarthy would still be a rookie, but again, he's a winner. If nothing else, he's a winner. The NFL is different from college, but the point is though is that you don't, now you can't rely on McCarthy. One thing to note though, is that when we talk to Albert Breyer, and we should probably talk to him about this again before the season starts about the Vikings, he was very optimistic about the Vikings. Tell him about their personnel. - Well, 'cause they're really good on both sides of the ball up front. Offensive lines, really good with Darasau and Brad, they're loaded up there, and they're loaded on the defensive line. Even though they lost Daniel Hunter, they were able to bring in two replacements on their defensive line. - He's optimistic about the Vikings, despite what's happening at the quarterback position. But with it now being JJ, probably he's gonna be lost for significant time. We'll see how that shakes out. My analytics, I did a deep analytical dive at the division. - Oh, did you? - Yeah. - Okay. - 'Cause I got the Bears winning the division. - Okay, you just gonna drop that in, huh, you just? - Yeah, as I put together all the analytics in a proprietary program that I created. - What's it called? - It's called the Lions have injuries. I hate the Packers and the Vikings are banged up. - Have you on the lie, by the way, in Lions? - Go ahead. - Correct. We're winning the division. Let's go. - Wow. I put that on the board, Kaplan, right now on market. August 14th, David Kaplan projects. Bears will win the division. - Market, put it down, let's go. Let's freakin' go. Lions have lost, Jamir Gibbs, two of their starting defensive backs. - Again, an injury can happen like that. All of us are day to day. Let's get it done. - All right, now the mush has said that. Seven and nine for the Bears. 3-1-2-3-3-2-E-S-P-N, 3-3-2-6. No, I mean, I mean, if you put it out there, is this similar to the Sox win the World Series in year two of Larissa? I mean, again, chasing greatness. Maybe you should just give all of that, chasing greatness gear to Africa. Why don't you just send out the whole box, the hats, everything else? Because that's not the slogan anymore for you. If Caleb Williams is gonna throw for 4,000 yards in a million touchdowns, and the Bears are gonna win the division, you're not chasing anything, you're already there. - No, Super Bowl is greatness. I don't see the Bears winning the Super Bowl. - I'm not. - Have to take it on 'em. - No, no. - 'Cause it's cool, but. - No, no, no, no. You don't even want to chase, clearly. - Oh no, I want the journey. - That ain't the journey? - Yes. - No, it's not. The games have to be played. You are chasing greatness, and greatness doesn't come until you win a Super Bowl. And then when you win one, you want to be like the Chiefs and win multiple. You want to go, that's our guy right there for the next decade, and he's Patrick Mahomes like. - You have forgotten what it is like to chase greatness. It is a staircase effect. Let me give you an example off the top of my head. Oh, Michael Jordan, let's start there. It's a staircase effect. He had to go through Milwaukee first, then Cleveland, then be able to get past the Pistons, and then beat an old Laker team, and then be able to win the championship. But there was years where he had to go through the Celtics, the big game he had the Garden. It's, again, a staircase effect to be able to get to where you want to be. You're skipping steps. - Oh, I'm not because Mitch Trubisky and the Bears in '18, they got where, whoa, 12 and four elite defense, Mitch actually played reasonably well, not great, but reasonably well, like, wow. And we know that the chase for greatness stopped right there. They went eight and eight the next two years, and Negi had a bad year after that. Get out, you're gone, and it's been a train wreck ever since. The chase is still two-year sustained success where every year you're contending for championships. I just think they're gonna have a really good year. I really do. - I do too, but again, you were talking about rookies that have to be able to come through and give you everything that you thought that he could. You know, that means Caleb Williams and Roma Dunes, they're gonna be the best one, two punch in the division, and that the defense will be swarming. There's still question marks on the team. What I'm telling you, Cap, is that you should get the person who stitched out all that stuff together, the chasing greatness. Just take off the chasing 'cause you already have them being great. - No, absolutely not. I do not. I completely disagree with you. And I do not believe that he and Rome have to be the dynamic duel at the top of the division. - Oh, they don't? - No, 'cause I got DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. Rome can work his way through. He doesn't have to be the number one receiver. DJ Moore is the number one receiver. - Does Keenan Allen is the number two receiver? - Does Caleb Williams have to be the number one quarterback for that to happen in the division? - He has to play very, very good football, and I believe he can do that. - Absolutely. - Sounds like nine wins to me, very good. - You gotta be stellar to be able to get to that, what you're talking about, stellar. - To win two more games? - Sure. - It's not a very difficult national football league, don't you know? - No question every week's difficult, but I believe they can get to 11 wins. I absolutely believe that. Absolutely believe it. And that's not greatness. 11 and six is not greatness. 11 and six is, wow, significant progress. Greatness, greatness comes when you're playing in Super Bowls. That's what true greatness is. But taking a step, apps are freakin' lutely. Let's go. - That's just brutal. Because anything can happen. And what I'm expecting is definitely a step in the right direction toward the playoffs. But to win the division, take the North and never give it back. - I didn't give them, never give it back thing. Hey, they're gonna give it back next year then after then. - I don't know, I don't know what the future holds. That's why it's a chase, at least. - That's why it's sustained success. That's what it's about. It's being able to get to the playoffs. Find out what you can do there. And improve on what you have this year. This isn't a ready-made team yet. - That's the chase. Till you get to the top of the mountain and you are perennially there. - Like the Patriots, okay, that is legendary stuff. The Bulls of the 90s, that's legendary stuff. But like the Chiefs are getting to that position. They are. But I wanna be one of those teams that every year, hey man, the Bears could win it. We've not had a team, could win this Super Bowl? No, we have not had that yet. No, and we saw what happened in the 80s. The 80s, they got their one and then did they win it? How many more playoff games? Two, rest of the decade, not good. - Don't stop believing that, yep. - Never will. - So Andy Reid and the Bears will continue on here and we'll find out what happens as the season progresses right here. On cap and J-hood. - There's a lot of cheeseburgers then. - Bomb it! - Here's to Dave's headline, headline, with cap and J-hood. - Rough night, Chicago baseball, White Sox fell 4-1 to the New York Soto's. One Soto, three home runs, drove in all four. Nestor Cortez was outstanding with seven innings. A three hit shut out, baseball at nine Ks. White Sox lose to the Yankees again, 4-1 back at it again. Today, tonight here on ESPN 1000. Cubs, they faced the guy who hadn't pitched into big leagues all year long. Guess what he did? He was their daddy, he handcuffed him. Cubs lose two to one, making the final out of the game. Nico Horner getting caught off second base on a ground ball by Dan's B Swanson. Cubs lose to the Guardians one more time, a night and a day off tomorrow before they come home for the Toronto Blue Jays. - Jable! - This is cap and J-hood. They beat in the traffic commute, so you don't have to... (upbeat music) (crowd yelling) - Oh! - On ESPN Chicago. - You're listening to the cap and J-hood, I'm sorry. You're listening to the, no one's listening to you. You're listening to the cap and J-hood morning show on the ESPN 1000 and streaming on the ESPN Chicago app. Glad to have you with us here for this Waddle Wednesday and an hour from now. We talk into Tommy, about everything out of the sun on a Waddle Wednesday. We're with you until 10 o'clock, then my Greenberg comes in at 10, followed by Bleck and Yurco, and for Carmen. And then it is Waddle and Sylvie, 230 to 630. White Sox baseballs that take on the Yankees at 630, and the Bleck and Abdullah on YouTube, or on the ESPN Chicago app. So cap this morning, the White Sox are now 29 and 92. 92 losses. It's funny how baseball works, right? Couple of nights ago, you're beating the Yankees, one of the best teams in baseball. 12 to two next night, can hit the baseball, and you lose four to one. On the other side of town is the Cubs, and we talked about this yesterday. You talked about the importance of this series. Like, hey, you lost a tough one a couple of nights ago, but you got to win tonight. And tonight was last night, and the Cubs lose two to one. You have all the offense you need, and then you do that against someone who hasn't been around for a while. Oil can boy, very difficult yesterday's contest, but Oil can has always been very solid. Long time Red Sox, but couldn't get past Dennis Oil can boy yesterday. - It was actually Matthew Boyd. - Oil cans retired. - What's that? - Oil can boy pitched back in the 80s. - What are you saying? - He pitched in the 80s. He's retired. - You don't know. - It's Matthew Boyd, who was terrible for the Tiger last year. That's the only team he'd ever pitched for. The Guardian picks him up. He's been scuffling around, trying to make it back to the big leagues. - Guardians. - They've used nine different starters, like in the last month. So Matthew Boyd takes them on and looks like Cy freaking young against my team. - I know him. - Yeah, you covered him. - Yeah. - I know. - Tell us about Cy. - It was a nice man. Matthew Boyd was just handcuffing the Cubs. It was ridiculous that you can't hit that guy. You got okay starting pitching last night from Assad, and then Drew Smiley is facing Noel. He's in 84 at bats. The guy's got nine home runs. Like he's a power guy. He keeps trying to bust him in with a breaking ball down and in. The guy keeps falling it off. I guess I should throw one down the middle and see what he does with it. Yeah, and he hit it out of Cleveland. Yeah, I mean, as soon as he threw the pitch, I saw it coming in like, "Oh God, bam!" There's a ball hammered deep left way out of here. (crowd cheering) Big Christmas and a one horse open slave rounding the bases after an absolute missile of the home run. And the Guardians take the lead two to one. - Piss missile, yes. - Yes, it was absolutely murdered. And you know I'm no Drew Smiley fam. He may be a great guy, but as a pitcher, he's as mediocre as they come. And to throw that pitch, like what is in your mind? This guy hit two home runs the night before. And now you're gonna throw that because he keeps spoiling what you're throwing. Come on, man. - Cap, he's 35 at the end. You know that. I understand what you're saying, but you know like, 'cause the other day, yesterday we're talking about the choices for a council in that bullpen. He's one of them. - That bullpen over the last six weeks is the best in baseball. - But I mean, big spot though. - But in that situation, when you keep trying to bring it down and in, down and in, down and in, then he goes down and away. You cannot give in to the hitter and hang one there. You just can't do it. - I agree. - I don't care if you'll walk him. You cannot let him get his arms extended and just take that thing deep into the Cleveland night, man. That thing was murdered, murdered. - Let's talk about fundamentals, Cap. Because earlier in the season, when Wavin' Willie Harris was just trying to force in runs, trying to do what he could to just force runs in because it comes when I hit in the baseball, he just waving anybody, anybody around. And you're getting nailed at third, nailed at the plate. Yesterday was inexcusable at the end of that game, the way that ended. - So they have Niko Horner up against a manual, Klase, he of the 0.65 ERA now, it's 0.64. Klase is in his fourth consecutive game he's closing, which is almost malpractice what you do to a guy's arm. But they got to win ball games. He said he could go, good for him, gutty performance. And Niko Horner gets a hit. Infield roller that Ramirez can't make the play on, you got to man it first. Now he steals second. - Yeah, which is a miracle, by the way. We should put a pin on that. At the miracle, you even got a base hit against Klase. - Correct. - 'Cause he's unbelievable. - Unbelievable. - So now you got to man it second after the stolen base. And here's Dansby Swanson. And he hits a ground ball back of third. Not an exceptionally tough play, but Dansby runs pretty well. Got a chance to beat it out, maybe. And there's Niko Horner off on the crack of the bat. You got to read that. And they go, oh, I'm not gonna tell you to make that long throw across where I could throw it away. This guy's straight too far. Gotcha, see you later ball game over. Come on Niko, you're smarter than that man. You cannot make the last out of the game trying to scamper from second to third. You cannot do it. - No excuses, can't do that. - You can get a little fake. You cannot. Gotta read that better. - Not in that spot. Ball game over, thanks for coming. - What we always talk about from Little League on about trying to be the first or third out of third. - No ever making. - Oh, Jesus. That's the kick in the balls, the way that ended right there. - Brutal. - And Shay just to be able to get just anything against Class A to get a base runner in that spot. It's pretty strong. - Are they dead again, the Cubs? - No. Do you see what their schedule is? The next four weeks after today, they don't play a team of the winning record. They have a very strong chance that they could make a run and at least get themselves in the mid 80s and wins. They could. - Yet they're also playing the worst version of Cleveland that has been playing some awful baseball lately. - All I know is Cleveland's-- - 71 and 49, that's a quality team, man. - It is. - It's just that they're not healthy. They aren't who they were to start the season. - They came in having won two in a row. Cleveland is 71 and 49. They're really good, really good. - Speaking of Cleveland, here's a word now from Joe Kim Noah. - I never heard anybody say I'm going to Cleveland on vacation. - So there you have it. - Correct. What's so special about Cleveland? - Yes. - So what's so special about them? They beat the Cubs two in a row. You have to real last team, man. - That's a real last team. - But you know what, Cap, beside the schedule, you have to handle your own. You had enough runs to score two nights ago and then you laid down last night. - Correct. - That can't, if you're a real team, Cap, no matter who's on the schedule, you got to compete and win. The Cubs have been playing good baseballs of late. - Yeah. - You run into this Cleveland team. Again, maybe they can pick it up, but again, it's on the Cubs. It's on the Cubs to be able to put this together. bullpen's better, offense is starting to get it straight, but again, the consistency. You want to be hot, you want to be a real contender? Gotta keep it going. Then see what happens. 'Cause they dug their own hole. - You are correct. - You are 100% correct. You've got to play better baseball. You cannot have Matthew Boyd. - That's his uncle. - That's it. - Oh, wow. - Yes. - All right. - They cannot score one freakin' run. - One. - That's embarrassing. - Shire no shot at eight o'clock on Cap and J-hood. (upbeat music) - Cap and J-hood are back. - Oh, Cap, J-hood is big fan, man. ♪ Cap and J-hood ♪ ♪ Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop ♪ ♪ Watch out, fellas ♪ ♪ On Chicago's home for sports ♪ ♪ ESPN, Chicago ♪ (upbeat music) - Dan, you've been liking the hills on the Cap and J-hood Morning Show. Good morning, Dave. - Good morning, fellas. - Good morning. - Good show. Love you. - Thank you. - Appreciate you. - Hey, Cap, yo. - I'm the biggest Cubs fan as well, but at some point, you got to have reality at that end. You're sitting there tuning a horn that's saying that the Cubs got to schedule the rest of the way. You're playing nine winning teams, but you got to remember that the Cubs are, yeah, well, the Cubs are nine winning teams. - I don't disagree with you, but they were going into the Cleveland series. They were 20 and 12, their last 32. They're playing better baseball. That is without question. And I think they can go out and beat some of these less than teams. Maybe they won't, but I do think that they have underachieved. - Okay, so what happens if they go out and even play 500 ball against these nine winning teams? Where does that leave the Cubs? - Well, they have to play better than 500 ball. - 100%. - They have them playing 500 ball. - But I just told you they were 20 and 12, their last 32. Not again, not a whole season, decent sample size. They have to take care of business when they play. The Pirates are singing like a rock. They're dead last. I mean, they are just tanking. - They're one of the worst teams out of the all-star break, the Pittsburgh Pirates. But Dave, I understand your point. - It's fair. - What's reality, Dave, and I like to talk about in reality, the Cubs are five games behind the wild card. You got to leapfrog teams like Cincinnati and St. Louis and the Giants and the Mets, the Braves. I mean, again, they'll be a tall task. I don't think it's possible. And I'm the guy that thought that they'd make the playoffs this year. But again, they come up short when it comes to their bullpen. And not enough offense for them to be a real playoff team. So Dave, you're right. It's going to be very difficult. - But they do have a chance, Dave. A chance to play the Pirates and the Blue Jays and the Marlins. They have a chance. We'll see what they do with it. - Yeah. - Sorry, Dave, we're pretty vocal. He's the lead belief. - By the way, do you know the White Sox game last night? Did you see who closed it for the Yankees? - I just was so enamored with Cortez and Juan Soto. - No, who was it? - Jay, did you see who the closer was for the Yankees last night, Jay Bower? - Who was it? - Kirk Cousins cousin. Jake Cousins. That is Kirk Cousins cousin. Jake Cousins closed it down. I didn't know Kirk Cousins had a cousin in the big leagues. - That's super cool. - That's a cousin. - Yeah, but I didn't know he had one that was closing for the Yankees. - Super cool. - Is it? - Yeah. - Okay. - Jake Cousins, and I think he's a local kid. Jonathan Bruss just sent me a message, he said he's from Wheaton Academy, first save of his big league career in his cousin is Kirk Cousins. - Grew up in Park Ridge. - I think that's super cool. - It's Cousins Cousins. - Cousins Cousins, hmm. There you go. So, super cool. - Super cool. - What's up, Cuz? What's up, Cuz? - You know what that means, hoodie. - No, what does it mean? - Because do you have an end for this bit? - Bitch, just for me. Big spot in the playoffs for the Yankees. - Yeah. - That's a loss. (laughing) - You're just a bad guy. You're just a bad guy. - That's how you do it. - Thank you, Shay. - You did that at night. - And you're telling me him and Kirk are related? (laughing) - He says the ineptitude and the postseason runs in the family. That's what he just sold you. - He's just a bad guy. (laughing) - Cap, you know what's next. - That would be a little chunk that will be on our- - Oh my god. - Podcast, fall, shot or no shot. - That's right. - Hopefully, we'll have more than a little chunk. Hopefully, that's coming up in two minutes on Kappa J. - Everything I see at this place.