The Cubs Convention came and went and Praz got to rub elbows with famous Cubs. The guys talk about the weekend, try to make sense of Tom Ricketts financial theories and tell you why you shouldn't be mad at the Dodgers, especially since the Cubs could do all of that if they actually wanted to. They discuss Matt Shaw's readiness at third, Nico's totally real injury and why it's a good thing baseball players wear hats. Then, they discuss the Bears' hiring of Ben Johnson and why comparing it to Matt Nagy or Matt Eberflus (or any of that Matts, really) is lazy and dumb. All that and more.

The Cubs Convention is looming, Kyle Tucker has a new (short) contract, and is Alex Bregman on the way? The Bears are talking in person to Mike "The Beav" McCarthy and is Tom Brady tampering with Ben Johnson? Bob Uecker's gone. And the Sun-Times has its list of the 20 best and five worst (only five?) sports media folks in Chicago. Tom Loxas joins Andy to discuss all of this and more.

The Bears have whittled their list of coaching candidates down to a cool 15, and Tom Loxas drops by to give his thoughts on who they should hire. Mike Vrabel has already done his interview and Ben Johnson is up this weekend, what the hell are the other 13 guys there for? The guys look at some of the intriguing candidates farther down the list, and wonder why the hell some of the other guys are even on it. They do a proof of life check on Marv Levy, take a look back at the Lovie firing and what's happened since and what, if anything could be learned from Tuesday's troika of press conferences. Plus, a theory about why the Cubs might be better positioned to sign Roki Sasaki than the Dodgers. All that, and more.

The Cubs are bringing Sammy Sosa back so it's time for the podcast to bring back it's favorite guest, Jon Greenberg to make fun of them for the tortured reunion, whether they have any intention of keeping Kyle Tucker and to get everybody's convention plans made. They also talk about how the Bears are actually worse without The Flus, and much more.

The Ricketts bullied Sammy Sosa into apologizing for something, though he wouldn't say what it was, and they're all proud of themselves for some reason. Tom Loxas is on hand to discuss it, talk about the trade/giveaway of Cody Bellinger to the Yankees, and what comes next. Andy has a better idea of how to fix third than he did on the last podcast and they head over to Obvious Shirts to shop for Sammy merch, including one of the most embarrassing items that place has ever sold. All that, and more.

You have to give little Jed Hoyer credit, the Cubs needed a big trade and he actually pulled one off. Oleg and Praz are on hand to discuss the Kyle Tucker trade, make fun of a weird sound from the press conference, discuss the Cubs giving away Cody Bellinger, signing Carson Kelly and the end of the fabulous Matt Tice or These or wharever his name is, era. All that, and more. 

The Cubs are trying to trade for Astros star Kyle Tucker and Tom Loxas joins the podcast as the guys try to figure out why Seiya would need to be in that deal. And, if the Cubs aren't hell bent on keeping Tucker beyond 2025, does it even make the Cubs better if they trade Seiya to the Astros and Cody Bellinger to anywhere? They also discuss why this is exactly the kind of move the Cubs need to make, what prospects might be involved and how Houston has had the hots for Isaac Paredes for a while. They also wonder if the Bears awful performance in San Francisco puts Ryan Poles' job in jeopardy and includes clues on who the new head coach might end up being. All that and more.

The offseason is a good time to remember when the Cubs used to actually spend money on free agents...and to realize just how bad they've been at it. The Remember This Crap gang assembles to wax nostalgic on the worst free agent signings in team history. You'll be shocked to know that they sat out the first several years of free agency and then when they did finally deign to try it they were bad. The list includes guys who ended up in prison, guys who disgraced their family name, guys who seemed like good dudes but couldn't play, guys who used to be good, guys who were never good, guys who killed the Cubs both as an opponent and a teammate and much, much more. 

The Bears fired their overmatched head coach and are already thinking about which dud to hire next, while the Cubs are just hoping somebody will take Cody Bellinger's cash off their hands. Tom Loxas is here to discuss the coaching change, the candidates for the real job and whether Kevin Warren's involvement is good, bad or hilarious. We also preview the winter meetings, talk about the Cubs chances to get Garrett Crochet, and need reassurance that a Nico Hoerner trade won't result in Jed just bringing back Nick Madrigal since nobody else will sign him. All that and more.

T/he Bears finally mercy fired The Flus and Kevin Warren wants you all to know that Ryan Poles is totally going to make the decision on the new head coach (sure he is). But first we need to listen to the Jeff Joniak call of the final 38 seconds of Matt Eberflus' head coaching career (it's just as amazing as you'd expect). Then it's time to break down how the firing went down, how the press conference was handled and to meet the new guy, Thomas Brown, the first interim coach in Bears history. He's an impressive guy. And no, he should not become the real coach. All that, and more.