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The AP Top 25 Is Crazy, Craig Counsell Still Has Me Questioning the Cubs

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  After a little hiatus, I’m back with Season 3, Episode 16 of The Shawn Mackey Show — and I’m coming back with a new studio, a slightly less chaotic background, the old whiteboard, and plenty of opinions. The studio may look a little different, but the show is still me. That’s what I want people to understand about this podcast. I’m not trying to be somebody else. I’m bringing the same sports opinions, stories, rants and nonsense that got this whole thing started. I grew up in Chicago, and sports have always been a huge part of my life. I grew up listening to Chicago sports radio and guys like Mike North, and I always loved the idea that somebody could take their personality, their opinions and their life experiences and turn them into a show. That’s part of why I started this podcast in the first place. It originally had the name Chronicles of a Dumbass , because I wanted to tell stories about the dumb things I did growing up. Eventually, my family got tired of hearing me compla...
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Why I'm Still Not Sold on Craig Counsell as the Cubs' Manager

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  I know I'm probably going to take some heat for this one, but I've got to say it: I'm still not sold on Craig Counsell as the manager of the Chicago Cubs. I've never been a big fan of Counsell, and the more I look at his time with the Cubs, the more questions I have. I'm not saying he's a terrible manager. I'm not saying the Cubs can't win a World Series with him. What I'm saying is that I'm not ready to automatically put Craig Counsell in the conversation with the greatest managers in baseball. My biggest issue is that I feel like sometimes we put too much faith in the numbers and not enough in what we're actually seeing on the field. When Counsell took over the Cubs, his first season looked remarkably similar to David Ross' final season. Both teams finished 83-79 and second in the NL Central . The statistical similarities between those teams are hard for me to ignore. If Craig Counsell is supposed to be this great manager, then why di...
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Chicago Bears Training Camp Is Here, and There's Already Plenty to Talk About

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  Training camp is officially underway, and after waiting months for football to return, it finally feels like Bears season again. In this episode of The Shawn Mackey Show , I wrapped up my breakdown of the Chicago Bears' 2026 draft class, talked about everything happening at training camp, and even celebrated another strong week for the Chicago Cubs. Before diving into football, I couldn't ignore what the Cubs have been doing. They put together an impressive road trip by winning series against both the Pirates and Cardinals before returning home to take down the Yankees. I even made the trip to St. Louis, where I caught the extra-inning win and visited one of the city's incredible science museums. It turned into a great family experience filled with STEM exhibits, interactive displays, and plenty of baseball memories. Then it was time to finish evaluating the Bears' rookie class. I broke down cornerback Malik Muhammad , whose speed, length, and versatility could all...
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Why I'm More Excited About the Chicago Bears Than I Have Been in Years

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  There are moments as a sports fan when you can feel something changing, and that's exactly where I'm at with the Chicago Bears. On this episode of The Shawn Mackey Show , I kicked things off with a quick Cubs update before diving headfirst into what has me genuinely excited—the Bears are finally beginning to look like a team with a long-term plan. Training camp is almost here, and for me, football season has officially started. I spent this episode breaking down several of the Bears' draft selections and explaining why I think Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson may finally be building something special. At first, some of these draft picks left me scratching my head, but the more I studied them, the more everything started fitting together. One player I'm especially excited about is Dillon Thieneman. His football instincts remind me why I fell in love with the game in the first place. I even shared a few stories from my own playing days and how instincts—not necessarily sp...
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Will MLB Owners and Players Find Common Ground? Plus... Is It Time for Me to Focus on Football?

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  There are some topics that keep me up at night as a sports fan, and right now nothing is bigger than the possibility of a Major League Baseball lockout after this season. The more I've researched what both the owners and the players are asking for, the more convinced I am that this battle is far from over. In my last episode, I broke down what the owners want. This time, I wanted to look at things from the players' perspective because understanding both sides is the only way to see where this could eventually end up. The players are pushing for higher minimum salaries, earlier access to free agency, increased luxury tax thresholds, and penalties for ownership groups that refuse to invest in their teams. From where I sit, I actually understand many of their arguments. Professional athletes have a limited window to maximize their careers, and I don't blame them for wanting to earn as much as they possibly can while they have the opportunity. At the same time, I can't he...
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Did Major League Baseball Create Its Own Financial Disaster?

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  This week on The Shawn Mackey Show , Robert "Soup" Campbell and I tackled one of the biggest stories facing baseball today—and honestly, it has me more concerned than ever about the future of the game. The more I researched Major League Baseball's labor situation, the more convinced I became that the owners have nobody to blame but themselves. For decades they handed out massive contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and now they're acting surprised that the system isn't sustainable. We looked back at how Kevin Brown became baseball's first $100 million player before the floodgates opened. Since then, more than 150 players have crossed that milestone, and today we're seeing contracts that would have seemed impossible just twenty years ago. The biggest problem isn't necessarily paying superstars. Elite talent deserves elite money. The real issue is that average players are now receiving superstar contracts, leaving teams locked into deals th...
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Who Ruined the Cubs? My Breaking Point with the Chicago Cubs

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  As a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, I never thought I'd reach the point where I would seriously question my commitment to this team. I've been following the Cubs for 53 years, through the highs, the lows, the heartbreaks, and the unforgettable 2016 World Series championship. But after watching this team stumble through another frustrating season, I find myself asking a difficult question: Where do the Cubs go from here? The Cubs entered June needing to prove they could recover from a brutal 10-game losing streak. While they've shown flashes of life offensively and have managed a respectable month so far, the inconsistency remains impossible to ignore. One night they score 16 runs and look unstoppable. The next night they blow a 5-0 lead and lose a game they should have won comfortably. The biggest issue isn't just one player, one manager, or one bad stretch of baseball. It's an organizational problem that starts on the field and extends all the way to ownership. Craig...
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