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'Seeing Caleb Williams up close is impressive': 1-on-1 with Bret Bielema | Chicago Sports Tonight
It's Illini night at Wrigley Field and Tina Nguyen goes 1-on-1 with head football coach Bret Beliema. They preview the Illini's upcoming season and the team's expectations heading into 2026. Bielema, who grew up as a Bears fan, also talks about attending Bears practice last week and what it was like to watch Caleb Williams in person.
Tear the calendar page from May to June. The Chicago Cubs are entering June with a winning record, but sit in fourth place to start the month.
They dropped their first game of the month to the Athletics 2-1. They'll enter June 3 with a 32-29 overall record and a 18-12 record at Wrigley Field.
Here are three observations on the Chicago Cubs as they move from May to June.
Reinforcements are coming
The Cubs' rotation was mired in an injury rut for most of May.
Edward Cabrera and Matthew Boyd went on the injured list. This was on top of the setback Justin Steele suffered and the elbow surgery Cade Horton had that will keep him out for all of 2026 and most of 2027.
But, it's going to get better.
Counsell said that Boyd and Cabrera are on track to make their returns soon.
"We need healthy bodies back and absolutely signs right now," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said on Tuesday. "Everything is pointing to them returning in the near term."
Those two returning to the rotation is a massive boon for a team that needs good news.
Signs of offensive life are inconsistent - but they're there.
Before the Cubs' May 31 loss to St. Louis, the Cubs averaged seven runs per game and went 3-1. That lone loss was a 6-5 loss to the Cardinals.
On May 31, St. Louis beat the Cubs' 5-1. On Tuesday, the Cubs started the game with three hits and a run scored across their first seven batters of the game against the Athletics.
After that, the A's settled in and scored two runs to take a 2-1 lead. The A's got 20 of Cubs' final 22 hitters out; Cubs got the A's last 14 hitters to go down in order.
The Cubs got Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong on base to start the bottom of the ninth, but Alex Bregman, Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ went down in order to end the game to lose 2-1.
It's not great to struggle, especially with the lineup the Cubs have. Those offensive players burned bright when the team had its two 10-game winning streaks earlier this year.
The glass-half-empty view is the Cubs' offense isn't good enough to where it needs to be.
The glass-half-full view is at least the team's offense is better than it was in the 10-game losing streak.
The schedule lightens
The Cubs' first two months of the season have had ups to pair with the downs. Namely, the two 10-game winning streaks compared to a dismal 10-game losing streak.
After that 10-game skid, the Cubs fell from first-place in the NL Central to fourth. That's where the Cubs start in the NL Central as June begins. But, there's a chance to improve.
In the Cubs' 60 games this season prior to Tuesday, 48 of those games have come against teams with records above .500. They are 26-22 in those games.
That changes significantly. In the Cubs' next 22 games, they'll play against teams that are currently below .500 overall in 2026.
No MLB player will tell you they look forward to playing teams with sub-.500 records. They're all major league players for a reason.
But, it's chance to build some momentum for a ball club that could use it.