"The Two Ricks: Unfiltered" is a bit different this week without co-host Rick Morrissey, so Rick Telander is joined by a pair of the Sun-Times' best for an episode covering a wide variety of topics. Blackhawks beat writer Mark Lazerus and high school sports reporter Michael O'Brien know their areas as well as anyone, and also provide insight on some current events hitting the sports world.

Topics discussed on the show include the NFL's recently announced policy on national anthem protests, the Vegas Golden Knights' run to the Stanley Cup Final, Chicago prep star Kezo Brown's decision to join LaVar Ball's pro league, and the future of Chicago State athletics amid turbulent times.

Is Vegas' success good for the hockey world? Will other athletes follow Brown's path to the Junior Basketball Association, and should they? How much should fans care about what happens to Chicago State?

Telander, Lazerus and O'Brien team up for an exciting, unique episode of "The Two Ricks: Unfiltered," presented by Sun-Times Media Productions, that you'll definitely want to tune into.

EPISODE 13

00:50 – The NFL's new national anthem policy

05:55 – Is the Golden Knights' run a good thing for hockey?

12:48 – How is hockey emerging at the high school level?

20:30 – Simeon's Kezo Brown joins LaVar Ball's Junior Basketball Association

36:15 – What's going on at Chicago State?

This week’s The Two Ricks: Unfiltered turns to the basketball world with Bulls beat writer Joe Cowley joining the show to discuss the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery results and what they mean for the franchise. The struggles of Yu Darvish and the Supreme Court’s sports gambling decision are also discussed at the beginning of the episode.

How upset should the Bulls be about falling to No. 7? Does that mean the tanking effort was a failure? Who should they target?

Cowley brings a ton of insight on the nature of the draft, the challenges of identifying star prospects and the balancing act of trying to win versus tanking to land a better draft pick. The Bulls’ plan may not have gone perfectly over the past year, but to Cowley, it’s difficult to blame the team for its handling of the situation.

Hear all of that in a new episode of The Two Ricks: Unfiltered, produced by Sun-Times Media Productions.

00:20 – What’s the deal with Yu Darvish?

05:40 – Legal sports gambling’s potential impact

12:50 – NBA Draft Lottery reaction

14:40 – GUEST: Joe Cowley, Sun-Times basketball writer

26:50 – NBA Draft Lottery and sports gambling wrap-up

Sports fans across Chicago will be watching the Cubs-White Sox series this weekend, so Sun-Times columnists Rick Morrissey and Rick Telander go live from Wrigley Field before the opener with a pair of guests to discuss the past, present and future of Chicago baseball.

Do Cubs fans really hate the White Sox as much as White Sox fans hate the Cubs? And when will the Sox' rebuilding plan progress to the point that this rivalry features two good teams again? Sun-Times writer Steve Greenberg offers some optimism while pointing out that the animosity might be a bit of a one-way street at this point.

Gordon Wittenmyer, Cubs beat reporter, also sits down with Morrissey to discuss the Cubs' interest in Machado, which is definitely real, and whether Addison Russell could be the centerpiece of a trade package. Wittenmeyer reported earlier this week that the Cubs plan to talk to the Orioles in the coming weeks, but there's risk in acquiring a superstar rental who's stated his plans to pursue free agency.

Hear all that and more in a special episode of "The Two Ricks: Unfiltered," recorded live at Wrigley Field.

This week’s episode of the “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered” brings Sun-Times sports columnists Rick Telander and Rick Morrissey together to weigh in on the state of sports writing and the recent Sammy Sosa interview in which he discussed the possibility of mending his relationship with the Cubs.

Sosa might be an important part of memories for a lot of fans, but to Morrissey, bringing back the former slugger would beg the question of what he’s done to deserve such treatment.

“There are a load of people out there who believe Sammy should be forgiven, should be welcomed back with open arms, and be honored at Wrigley Field. And I have no doubt that he’ll be cheered. My question is, what are we cheering?”

NBC Sports Chicago multi-platform director Mike Allardyce also joined Telander and Morrissey to offer insight into the changing sports media business and how young writers can make it in 2018. What does the rise of blogs and decline in access mean for aspiring journalists?

“What I see with blogs and with a lot of writing – I see a lot of good writing out there, believe me – but what I don’t see are a lot of people who want to do anything,” Telander said, emphasizing the importance of on-the-ground reporting in an age where that’s increasingly rare.

The good news is that sports is still one of the best arenas for writings to challenge themselves linguistically. “Sports writing lends itself to the possibility of great writing because there are clear winners, clear losers, there’s heroes, there’s villains,” Morrissey said.

Check out all of that and more in the latest episode of "The Two Ricks: Unfiltered," presented by Sun-Times Media Productions.

00:00 – Introduction

00:55 – Sammy Sosa and the Cubs

10:04 – The state of sports writing

21:05 – GUEST: Mike Allardyce, NBC Sports Chicago

37:35 – Wrapping up

With the busiest part of the NFL offseason out of the way, Colin Kaepernick still doesn’t have a job. The former 49ers quarterback hasn’t shied away from his public activism against racial inequality and police brutality, and teams have avoided offering him jobs as a result.

Rick Morrissey thinks there’s something commendable in Kaepernick’s willingness to stand up for what he believes in, and recently wrote a column praising him for his conviction. In the latest episode of “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered,” Morrissey is joined by co-host Rick Telander to reflect on Kaepernick’s stance and what it says that he can’t find an NFL gig.

“In my mind, what’s gotten lost a little bit, is what it meant for him,” Morrissey said of Kaepernick. “What it’s done to him. How it’s hurt him. And what effect it’s had on his life. And in my mind, no matter what you think about what he’s done, that’s an incredibly brave act.”

Kaepernick hasn’t received an NFL offer since parting ways with the 49ers in the spring of 2017, but he’s continued being a prominent activist supporting progressive movements. Amnesty International recently awarded him its Ambassador of Conscience Award for his work in the community.

However, NFL teams have felt the pushback of Kaepernick’s activism from fans and even President Trump, which has led to difficult decisions. “Why would I ever want to do this to myself?” Morrissey said owners might be asking of signing Kaepernick to be a backup.

But given the level of talent out there -- “Have you looked at some of the guys that are backup and third-string quarterbacks? – Kaepernick’s situation remains one of the most tricky in sports. Morrissey and Telander break it down in Episode 9 of “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered,” presented by Sun-Times Media Productions. 

(1:55): Morrissey’s Kaepernick column

(11:50): What is Kaepernick’s argument?

(15:16): Kapernick’s game isn’t the problem

(23:06): NFL owners’ main concern: The Brand

(25:35): The Trump factor

(34:42): Has anything we’ve written changed anyone’s mind?

Back in February of 2017, the Sun-Times' Rick Telander wrote the series "A Season Under The Gun," a powerful look behind the scenes at the Orr High School basketball team and the challenges facing its players in a community struggling with poverty and violence. 

The five-part series, which recently won Telander one of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Awards for excellence in journalism, helped to shine a light on the experiencing facing these athletes in a west-side neighborhood.

In a bite-sized bonus episode of "The Two Ricks: Unfiltered," Telander sits with co-host Rick Morrissey to reflect on what it was like writing such an important story and the effect that his work had on the community. 

Orr has gone on to win back-to-back Illinois Class 2A state championships in 2017 and 2018. Most of the players have gone on to college or prep schools. And the creation of the Net Gain charity program has raised thousands of dollars for the community. "This really opened to possibilities about what I can become," Telander says Chase Adams, a guard at Orr, told him during an event.

Get more inside one of the Sun-Times' most important stories of 2017 with this 18-minute bonus episode of "The Two Ricks: Unfiltered," brought to you by Sun-Times Media Productions.

When Javy Baez tossed his bat in the air following a pop-up against the Pirates, he broke one of baseball’s unwritten rules. The sin led to a bit of controversy between the two teams, and don’t be surprised if some animosity still brews under the surface next time they play.

But in baseball, it’s far from the first time that a violation of the manners of the game has led to problems. Unwritten rules are part of what make the sport unique. And in order to better understand why that is, Sun-Times columnists Rick Morrissey and Rick Telander focused this week’s episode of "The Two Ricks: Unfiltered" on the unspoken agreements intertwined throughout the game.

“I think you have a clash here, and without actually saying it, when people say respect the game, they’re saying, 'Hey, you’re not playing the game like the generations before us,'" Morrissey said.

From baseball’s origins as a predominantly white sport played in the United States in the 19th century came a game steeped in tradition. Evolving demographics have changed the culture of the sport, but the unwritten rules remain a crucial part of the playing experience.

Where did all these rules come from? Why are they such a big deal? Which ones should go away?

Check out all of that and more in Episode 8 of “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered,” brought to you by Sun-Times Media Productions. 

(01:52): Cold weather is ruining spring baseball

(08:02): Javy Baez and the unwritten rules

(13:02): The changing culture of baseball

(20:40): Is this unwritten rule stupid?

(23:50): A means of retaliation

(29:27): Japanese baseball rituals and outliers

(38:35): Unwritten rules for fans

The NFL Draft is just two weeks away, and that means teams across the league are hammering down their plans and finalizing their boards for the big three-day event. But how do general managers and their staffs figure out which prospects will actually make it in the tough world of the NFL?

The Chicago Sun-Times’ Rick Morrissey and Rick Telander dig into the draft evaluation process and how football teams break down prospects to the smallest details in the latest episode of “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered.”

“It’s like a meat market,” Morrissey said. “Can you imagine, what if some guy came out there in a speedo or a thong? … How much do you think a guy would drop?”

Morrissey and Telander also talk with Charlie Wonderlic, the president of Wonderlic, Inc., which administers the famous test given to top NFL prospects each year. How does the Wonderlic work? And what do the results really mean? The hosts break it down with Wonderlic, whose grandfather created the original test over 80 years ago.

Check out all of that and more in Episode 7 of “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered,” brought to you by Sun-Times Media Productions. 

(3:05): Cubs home opener and Loyola detour

(6:35): The incredible obsessiveness of NFL prospect evaluation

(15:16): INTERVIEW: Charlie Wonderlic, CEO of Wonderlic, Inc.

(20:47): Can an NFL player be too smart?

(30:40): Why don’t other leagues use the Wonderlic like the NFL?

(35:30): Inside Telander’s personality

(40:28): What was the testing process like for Telander in 1971?

Spring is in the air (or so the calendar says), and that means it’s time for America to turn its attention to baseball. But for a country with an attention span that seemingly shrinks by the day, why are we still so in love with a sport that’s anything but quick?

Sun-Times columnists and co-hosts Rick Telander and Rick Morrissey dig into America’s love affair with its favorite pastime, and why so many fans still passionately follow a game rooted in another era. Sun-Times beat writer Daryl van Schouten also drops by to offer his takes on the sport’s popularity and where the White Sox are at entering their home opener.

Check out all of that and more in Episode 6 of “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered,” brought to you by Sun-Times Media Productions. 

(00:31): Introducing the topic of the week: Why doesn’t America hate baseball?

(05:51): We were told there would be no math

(13:54): Velcro gloves and juiced up balls

(22:15): Appreciating defense

(29:58): Sun-Times’ Daryl Van Schouwen joins the show

(43:53): What do we call the place where the Sox play?

(45:00): Down goes Daryl!

(49:33): Baseball fans (and sportswriters) love brews

Loyola is in the Final Four, and that means co-hosts Rick and Rick spend much of this week’s episode discussing the Ramblers and their amazing run. (Also, what it’s like awkwardly watching baseball with Bill Murray. Yes, that Bill Murray.)

How did Coach Porter Moser manage to put this team together? Can we still call them underdogs? Why doesn’t the team get rid of that Wolf mascot and bring Bo Rambler back?

The episode also covers so much more, including the history of Loyola basketball and its relationship with race dating back to the 1963 team that won the national championship.

Check out all of that and more in Episode 5 of “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered,” brought to you by Sun-Times Media Productions.  

Loyola is the gift that keeps on giving (00:36)

How this Loyola team was put together (04:47)

What if Loyola had a player with a big ego? (11:36)

Stephen A. Smith doesn’t want to see Loyola in the final (16:55)

Sister Jean talk! (23:35)

Bill Murray story time (27:55)

The history of Loyola basketball, the 1963 championship team, and race (36:40)

Where does this story rank in Chicago history? (47:44)

“Bring the hobo back” (51:46)