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Axios
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Harry Teinowitz, beloved Chicago sports radio host, dies at 64
Harry Teinowitz, one of Chicago's best-known sports talk-radio hosts, has died at the age of 64 from complications with a liver transplant he received in 2023. Zoom in: Teinowitz began his career as an actor and stand-up comedian, before pairing up with fellow comedian Spike Manton to host "Spike & Harry" weekday afternoons on ESPN 1000. Teinowitz hosted several programs over his decades-long career, including the top-rated shows "McNeil, Jurko and Harry" and "Mac, Jurko and Harry" on ESPN 1000 in the 2000s. As an actor, he had small roles in Chicago films like "Risky Business," "Return to Me" and "Up the Academy." What they're saying:"Harry lived to make people laugh and to make people happy," Manton told the Tribune. "There was just never a night he wasn't watching at least two different games." Zoom out: Teinowitz made headlines for his run-ins both on and off the mic. He was suspended a few times for fights with co-host Dan McNeil, but it was his high-profile drunk driving arrest in 2011 that led him to rehab and ultimately ended his relationship with ESPN in 2013. In 2021, he took those experiences and turned them into a stage play called " When Harry Met Rehab." The play ran off-Broadway last fall.
Chicago Tribune
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Harry Teinowitz, sports talk radio host who wrote play on sobriety after DUI arrest, dies at 64
Harry Teinowitz was a well-known figure on Chicago's sports talk-radio airwaves in the 1990s and early 2000s, at one point co-hosting a top-rated sports show on WMVP-AM ESPN 1000. A comedian by background, Teinowitz later turned a personal setback in the early 2010s — a drunken-driving arrest and a stint in rehab — into a stage comedy, 'When Harry Met Rehab' that was loosely based on his life experiences. 'Harry lived to make people laugh and to make people happy,' said his longtime collaborator, Spike Manton, who also noted Teinowitz's love for sports. 'There was just never a night he wasn't watching at least two different games.' Teinowitz, 64, died of complications from a liver transplant July 15 at his home, said his brother, Danny. He was an Evanston resident. Teinowitz was the son of Philip Teinowitz, who owned four horses that raced in the Kentucky Derby, and Lois Teinowitz. Raised in Glencoe, Teinowitz graduated from New Trier East High School and attended the University of Kansas for one year. Interested in acting, Teinowitz got a part playing a pyromaniac bed-wetter in the 1980 comedy film 'Up the Academy,' which was shot in Salina, Kansas. He transferred to Columbia College Chicago, where he earned a bachelor's degree. Teinowitz dabbled in acting and had small role playing a teen at a party in the 1983 film 'Risky Business' starring Tom Cruise, which was shot on the North Shore, before pursuing a career as a stand-up comedian. Teinowitz was a regular at comedy clubs all over the city and suburbs in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, he and Manton started 'Funny Money,' an annual comedy benefit for the Greater Chicago Council of the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse. 'I was very impressed with the charity, and I had a real sense of giving something back to the community,' Teinowitz told the Tribune in 1993. In the mid-1990s, Teinowitz and Manton began co-hosting a sports comedy radio show on Saturday nights on WMVP-AM. The pair developed something of a cult following, and got to know many athletes. In March 1996, the duo were promoted to host middays on WMVP. That show lasted just nine weeks before the station changed formats. Teinowitz performed some fill-in work on WMVP — including taking part in a 1997 interview that Steve Cochran held with O.J. Simpson, in which he asked the disgraced former football star his first pick in a fantasy football draft — and in late 1997 co-hosted an hourlong fantasy football show on WMVP. Teinowitz also briefly co-hosted an evening program on WCKG-FM with Pete McMurray. Returning to WMVP in October 1998 amid a relaunch of the sports-talk format, Teinowitz signed a deal to co-host afternoon drive with Manton. The following year, the pair shifted to evenings, and they also picked up a weekend morning fantasy football show, starting in 2000. He also did some work for the ESPN network. Teinowitz returned briefly to his acting roots in 2000, with a role in 'Return to Me,' a popular film shot in Chicago. In 2001, Teinowitz began his longest and best-known run on the airwaves, co-hosting an afternoon drive-time show on WMVP with veteran radio personality Dan McNeil and former NFL lineman John Jurkovic. The show's mouthful of a name? 'McNeil, Jurko and Harry.' The trio's time in the spotlight was marred by a variety of disputes, with McNeil drawing a suspension from the station in 2002 after a heated off-air exchange that involved McNeil shoving Teinowitz, and a two-day suspension for all three after a heated on-air discussion between McNeil and Teinowitz over Teinowitz's credibility. Despite the rancor — the Tribune's Ed Sherman called McNeil 'the cynical radio man' and Teinowitz 'the hopeful fan' — the show was successful, edging ahead of rival WSCR-AM in the ratings later in 2002 and performing well against competitors for the rest of their run together. 'I'm very laid back,' Teinowitz told the Tribune in 2005. 'Mac's very high-strung. I admire that he wants the show to be successful, and I admire the time and energy he puts into it. But I'm not crazy about his bedside manner. To that he would say, 'Get over it.'' Teinowitz and McNeil continued to spar from time to time, with an ugly on-air exchange in 2006 over Teinowitz asking for help to get his car parked devolving into an uglier off-air scene and another suspension. Teinowitz remained at WMVP after McNeil exited the station in 2009. He continued in his role supplying one-liners and a seemingly unrealistic amounts of optimism for Chicago sports teams. 'That's the outlook he had on life as well, even to his detriment,' Manton said. 'He didn't know how to hold a grudge. He was a hopeful fan, period.' In 2011, Skokie police caught Teinowitz driving with a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit. Teinowitz apologized on the air at the start of the next show he appeared on, and soon afterward he entered a rehabilitation program voluntarily. He returned to the airwaves about six weeks later. In 2013, WMVP parted ways with Teinowitz. The following year, he reunited with Manton to co-host an afternoon-drive show on the short-lived low-power radio station WGWG-LP 87.7 FM The Game. After The Game folded, Teinowitz was a fill-in host on WGN-AM for sports talk shows and non-sports shows. He worked frequently with Bill Leff, and also co-hosted WGN's weekend sports show, 'The Beat.' 'For somebody who grew up listening to Harry, to get to work with him was an honor, and what I learned quickly was that however big Harry's personality was, his heart was bigger,' said Mark Carman, a co-host. 'He was incredibly supportive to numerous people, myself included, who were trying to make their way in the business.' In 2021, the Greenhouse Theater Center in Lincoln Park staged 'When Harry Met Rehab,' a comedy about sobriety Teinowitz co-wrote with Manton. Loosely based on Teinowitz's life, the play starred Dan Butler of 'Frasier' fame and Melissa Gilbert, who starred as Laura Ingalls Wilder on 'Little House on the Prairie.' 'The macho persona of the Chicago sports guy does not, of course, easily admit error nor vulnerability. It took some guts for Teinowitz to tell his story without any excuses,' Tribune theater critic Chris Jones wrote in December 2021. 'When Harry Met Rehab' was staged in an off-Broadway theater in New York City last fall, under the title 'Another Shot.' In recent years, Teinowitz had suffered heart and liver problems. He received a liver transplant in 2023. A marriage to Wendy Teinowitz ended in divorce. Other survivors include a sister, Nancy; another brother, Billy; and two children, Lucy and Reggie. A funeral service is set for 1 p.m. Monday at Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd., Wilmette, followed by a reception at Maggiano's Little Italy, 4999 Old Orchard Shopping Center, Skokie.
New York Times
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Former radio host Harry Teinowitz, a Chicago original and ‘man of the people,' dies at 64
In his heyday on sports radio, Harry Teinowitz was at his happiest when he was pitching ideas in show meetings. He just loved to be heard. 'He just had a million ideas and he always wanted to be funny,' his old co-host Carmen DeFalco said. 'He was always thinking of silly, creative, goofy things to do and he believed in all of them. He always committed to the bit. If it flopped, he didn't care. He just wanted to try.' Advertisement On the air Wednesday, another former co-host on ESPN 1000 John Jurkovic smiled as he remembered one of Teinowitz's catchphrases: 'Why don't we try it?' That phrase epitomized Teinowitz, a forever stand-up comic who was always working a room. 'He truly was a big 'idea man,'' DeFalco said. 'He thought every idea was great and funny.' DeFalco and Jurkovic smiled as they eulogized their friend on the radio Wednesday after Teinowitz passed away at 64. He was found unresponsive at his home on Tuesday morning, his younger brother Danny Teinowitz said. .@carmendefalco and @Jurko64 remember their great friend and our teammate Harry Teinowitz. Watch- Listen- — ESPN Chicago (@ESPN1000) July 16, 2025 Teinowitz was an actor, comedian, sports media personality and most recently, a playwright whose greatest fame locally came as one of the three co-hosts on ESPN 1000's hit 'Mac, Jurko & Harry' show, also known as 'The Afternoon Saloon.' He hosted the massively popular drive-time radio show with Dan McNeil and Jurkovic from 2001 through 2009 and then with DeFalco and Jurkovic from 2009-13. Teinowitz's unyielding sense of humor and encyclopedic knowledge of Chicago sports made him an essential member of those shows. His humanity made him relatable. At restaurants and bars across Chicago, he was the life of the party. From radio advertisers to North Side bartenders, he knew everyone's name. He was a bon vivant and a friend to all, but that came at a cost. Teinowitz's late-night carousing was a punchline for many years on the radio show, but his life changed forever in 2011 when he was pulled over in Skokie and arrested for a DUI. He was suspended by the ESPN-owned radio station and went to rehab, returning to host 'Carmen, Jurko and Harry' for two more years. He was let go by the station in March 2013. Advertisement He later hosted for WGN Radio's short-lived sports station, among other jobs, but never reached the level of success he had at AM 1000. Along with his former radio partner Spike Manton, Teinowitz wrote a play about getting sober called 'When Harry Met Rehab.' It opened in Chicago in December 2021 and had a run in New York City in the fall of 2024. When we talked in 2021 before a performance of his play, a contrite Teinowitz reflected about how a tow-truck driver who called the cops on him in 2011 actually saved his life. 'You know, I went to bed that night, thinking that tow-truck driver was probably the biggest (jerk) in the world,' Teinowitz said. 'And now I look back on it, and I think if it weren't for him, I never go to rehab. And never figure out what I figured out. And I'm dead by now.' Health Update:A year ago today @DineeMD spent 10 1/2 hours saving my life by switching livers for me while no one was looking. My friends & family were unbelievable through 7 failed attempts to get a Liver. You guys have been awesome too. But it's the NURSES I can't thank enough. — Harry Teinowitz (@HeyTweetHarry) June 25, 2024 Teinowitz had been in poor health for years and had heart valve surgery and a liver transplant in 2023. 'He was on a clock,' McNeil said in a phone conversation. 'He's been on a clock for several years.' Two days before he passed, former ESPN Chicago reporter Nick Friedell texted Teinowitz from The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J., because Teinowitz was a diehard Bruce Springsteen fan. Other friends, like WGN's Dave Eanet, saw him over the weekend. But when McNeil talked to Teinowitz on Sunday and said they should've gotten together for the 2005 White Sox reunion, he thought Teinowitz was unusually curt. It worried him. 'He said, 'The last thought on my mind lately has been the '05 White Sox,'' McNeil said. 'That's not Harry. Harry was still gung-ho about every (Chicago team).' Advertisement He is survived by his children, Lucy and Reggie; two brothers, Danny and Billy; and a sister, Nancy. 'Harry was the best big brother I could ever imagine having,' Danny Teinowitz said. 'He was selfless, he was sweet, he was generous and very, very funny.' Teinowitz was a Chicago original. He grew up in Glencoe and graduated from Columbia College. His father, Phil Teinowitz, who died at 92 in 2019, was a prosperous real-estate developer and attorney who also invested in racehorses, such as Cryptoclearance, which finished fourth in the 1987 Kentucky Derby. Teinowitz had a love for horse racing and even wrote about it for The Athletic. They're giving away money tomorrow at iconic #churchilldowns in #KentuckyDerby151 It's supposed to pour tomorrow in Louisville. Sitting at 18 to 1 is the great, great, great, greatgrandson of Cryptoclearance, the number one mudder of his time, #Tiztastic should love the slop! 🏇🏻 — Harry Teinowitz (@HeyTweetHarry) May 2, 2025 In his acting days, he had a bit part in 'Risky Business' where he complimented Tom Cruise's character on having a party with high school students and prostitutes. 'Excellent idea, Joel,' a smiling Teinowitz said. 'Really excellent.' While he had a bigger role in the 1980 comedy 'Up The Academy,' he always lamented that he should've had Curtis Armstrong's part in 'Risky Business,' which in his mind would've led to him being a star in 'Revenge of the Nerds.' But he wound up making it in Chicago radio. He worked with Jonathon Brandmeier and Danny Bonaduce on The Loop and hosted with Manton on WMVP before his big break. The 'Mac, Jurko and Harry' show launched on May 3, 2001, with great hopes and no guarantees. But it became a hit. These three large men filled a small studio with humor, tension and $400 lunches catered by local restaurants. Advertisement McNeil was the acerbic sports radio veteran, while Jurkovic was the colorful recently retired NFL player. Teinowitz was the everyman, a fan of all teams, even both the Cubs and White Sox. His privileged upbringing and cockeyed optimism made him a target for his co-hosts, but to people who worked at the station, he was always warm and engaging. Got the call today that my good friend Harry Teinowitz passed away, & my heart just sank. He believed in me before I believed in myself. Always lifting me up, always in my corner. Harry was the kind of friend everyone hopes to have in their life. 🙏🏽 — Jarrett Payton (@paytonsun) July 16, 2025 He also knew his sports. He memorized jersey numbers, he knew dates and anniversaries. His 'Harry's almanac' segments were a staple of his shows. He became friends with athletes like Steve Trachsel and Kelly Wunsch. 'Harry's Chicago sports acumen was aces,' McNeil said. 'Harry was an absolute necessity,' Jurkovic said on the air Wednesday. 'You had to have him to make that thing work. Without him, it wouldn't not have worked to the level that worked.' While Teinowitz courted laughs, the on-air tension between Teinowitz and McNeil was one of the reasons for the original Afternoon Saloon show's success. 'I think the main reason people listened is they wanted to hear when Mac and I were going to kill each other,' Teinowitz told me years ago. The two argued on and off the air and even shoved each other in the studio once, leading to joint suspensions. At the 2005 World Series, they yelled at each other so loud in the radio booth that the players noticed. But Teinowitz and McNeil became closer in recent years, talking regularly and meeting for meals. McNeil said he thought Teinowitz had been feeling better about his life. Advertisement 'I'm hanging on to the idea that he became 'Happy Harry' again for about 18 months,' McNeil said. Danny Teinowitz said his brother was still working on different projects, including a movie screenplay. 'He had done so much, but he had so much left to do,' he said. Teinowitz's funeral is scheduled for Monday in Wilmette, and friends and family will gather at a local restaurant to celebrate his life. You can bet everyone will be laughing about something Teinowitz said or did, doing impressions of him and retelling his old bits. It will be his kind of party. 'He was a man of the people,' McNeil said. 'He loved life in Chicago, and he loved sports fans. We should do a toast to Harry Teinowitz one day every year for people who celebrate what's good in our city. That's his legacy.' (Top photo, from left, of John Jurkovic, Dan McNeil and Harry Teinowitz: Courtesy of ESPN 1000)
New York Times
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Who won the 2025 ‘Dollars and sense' Chicago sports media survey?
'Dollars and sense' is a column about Chicago sports media and business. It had been three years since we did a Chicago sports media survey and the voters were ready. More than double the number of respondents turned up at the polls than in 2022 (5,191 in total, though most questions received around 4,500 votes). Advertisement I asked a lot of questions so let's go straight to the results. (You can click here for the full list.) No surprise here. 670 The Score won again, beating ESPN 1000, 68.4 percent to 31.6 (4,371 votes). That's down a little from 2022, when 670 The Score won 71.3-28.7. I got some complaints about too many Score questions, but the station makes a lot of changes, so I'm interested in what the audience thinks. 'Yes, regularly' is the winner here with 41.3 percent. After that comes 'Yes, sometimes' (34.7), 'No, but I used to' at 20.9 percent, and 'No, I hate everything about it' at 3.1 percent. So, 76 percent of respondents listen to sports radio, which makes all these questions newsworthy, I suppose. The winner is ESPN 1000's mainstay 'Waddle & Silvy' at 28.1 percent. Marc Silverman is probably renting a villa in Tuscany right now, so he won't see this, but he and Tom Waddle have been doing this show together since 2007 and it remains fun and interesting. Second place is the new pairing of longtime Score hosts Laurence Holmes and Matt Spiegel at 26.6 percent, followed by the Score's long-running morning show of Mike Mulligan and David Haugh (who replaced Brian Hanley in 2018) at 21.7 percent. Last time I did this in 2022, the new show 'Bernstein & Holmes' beat out 'Waddle & Silvy.' No surprise here, it's two in a row for Laurence Holmes, who also won this vote in 2022. Holmes had 20.8 percent of the vote, beating out ESPN's 1000 morning show host David Kaplan (16 percent), who also has a separate YouTube channel for his REKAP Network. Kaplan, of course, has built an audience over the decades hosting on WGN radio and NBC Sports Chicago. Advertisement Third place goes to Holmes' partner Matt Spiegel (13 percent), followed by Waddle (12) and Mulligan (8.4). Did I need to do two Bernstein questions? Probably not. But I was curious what people thought now that the smoke has cleared from his firing, which stemmed from a Twitter meltdown about fishing ethics. You might not like him, but he was on the air for 30 consecutive years for a reason. When I first did this survey in 2019, Bernstein won best host, and in 2022, he finished second by 0.7 percent to his then-partner Holmes. But this time around, 56.9 percent said they don't miss him on the air, while 31.4 percent said they did and 11.6 percent said they did 'when something big happens.' As for a future podcast, one possible avenue for him, 64.8 percent said they wouldn't listen, 32 percent said they would and 3.1 percent said they'd 'hate-listen.' I think Bernstein and The Score benefited each other, and I'm not sure how powerful his voice would be elsewhere. The station certainly misses his opinions and his encyclopedic knowledge of Chicago sports. I almost added a second question asking if anyone was watching his FS1 show 'Breakfast Ball.' And boy, would that be newsy right now. NEWS: Joy Taylor out at Fox Sports as FS1 cancels three shows, including her's, Craig Carton's & Emmanuel Acho's, The Athletic has — Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) July 14, 2025 On Monday, The Athletic's Andrew Marchand reported that 'Breakfast Ball' was one of three FS1 shows that were canceled before football season starts. Parkins left Chicago last summer to move to New York City for a starring role on the sports talk show. The show didn't last a year, but from what I'm hearing, Parkins should get on another show there as he has a multi-year deal with Fox Sports. Advertisement This was a close vote, as 48.5 percent voted that they didn't miss Parkins at The Score, while 45.8 percent said they did and another 5.7 said they did 'when something big happens.' This is where I say, 'Who ya crapping?' to some voters. Because 53.8 percent say it's worse and 56.5 percent say they're less likely to listen. How many of you said you don't miss Bernstein or Parkins, but The Score is worse without them? I think famed fictional TV executive Rogers Meyers Jr. said it best: More than a third of you think The Score is the same as it was a year ago (35.3 percent) and that your listening hasn't changed (34.3). Only 10.9 percent said it's better than it was a year ago, and 9.1 percent said you're more likely to listen. 'Spiegel & Holmes' eked out a win over 'Mully & Haugh,' 43.9 percent to 43 percent, a difference of just 38 votes. 'Rahimi & Harris' put up a respectable 13.1 percent as the new show in town. 'Waddle & Silvy' was the easy winner here at 63.8 percent, followed by 'Kap & J. Hood' at 24.3 percent and 'Carmen & Jurko' at 11.9. A few hours before writing this section, I tuned into one show while in the car and promptly heard a caller ask two ESPN 1000 hosts to estimate how many wins Matt Eberflus cost the Bears last season. Very pressing news in mid-July. But 42.1 percent of you say the stations don't talk too much Bears, while 37.3 percent say they do, and 20.6 percent responded: 'Bearsssss.' The Cubs' radio broadcast, led by the Hall of Famer Pat Hughes, deservedly won the vote this year with 37.9 percent, followed by the Bears radio team (19.4) and the Bulls' TV crew (14.5). Advertisement When I did this survey in 2022, the easy winner was the White Sox TV team of Jason Benetti and Steve Stone at 39.8 percent. A lot has changed since then. The current Sox TV team of John Schriffen and Stone came in next-to-last of TV and radio shows for the 'big five' teams at 1.5 percent. I had a nice conversation with Schriffen this season and he was aware of his struggles last season. In the games I've watched, he's been much better. But I'm not sure how well he and Stone are meshing. It turns out you do, as 38.9 percent of the respondents said they listen regularly and 34.7 percent said they do sometimes. Another 6.8 percent said they only listen to national sports podcasts and 19.7 percent aren't listening at all to podcasts. Of course, the overwhelming favorite is 'Hoge & Jahns' with 47.3 percent. The Adams Hoge and Jahns will now be doing the show under the CHGO umbrella after Jahns left Ye Olde Athletic. Second goes to Audacy's 'Take The North' podcast hosted by Dan Wiederer and Mark Grote (15.9), and third is CHGO's Bears podcast (10.7). I'll be honest, I don't listen to a lot of sports podcasts in general, and I definitely don't listen to ones about Chicago sports. I get enough Chicago sports chit-chat in my job. So I threw in a bunch that I knew and offered a write-in category for the rest. One plucky podcast took the initiative to get its name out there. The Athletic is doing a Chicago sports media survey. We are not on the favorite non-Bears podcast list so you will need to check *Other* and then type in 'Locked On Cubs.' More details on our episode tonight. Thank you for voting! Survey link: — Matt Cozzi (@matt_cozzi) July 10, 2025 And it worked. With a bunch of write-in variations, 'Locked On Cubs,' hosted by Matt Cozzi and Sam Olbur (Locked On is a chain of podcasts with local hosts), won with 23.2 percent of the vote. Second was 'North Side Territory,' which is the Cubs podcast from The Athletic's duo of Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma (11.5 percent). After that came the CHGO brand of podcasts (10.6). I feel for my friends in the TV side because the business ain't what it used to be. I will say this: Every time I'm on a show, I or my family get feedback from friends. People still watch in Chicago. But 56 percent of our respondents say they don't watch a nightly sportscast, while only 25.6 percent say they sometimes do. We still have 9.4 percent who do regularly and 9.1 percent who say their parents or grandparents watch. Advertisement With that in mind… I think the CHSN Factor/YouTube TV is at play here because 32.1 percent said they don't watch any of them. That option wasn't included in 2022. But for those who do watch, the White Sox postgame show of Chuck Garfien and Ozzie Guillen won with 23.2 percent, beating the Marquee Sports Network show hosted by Cole Wright (18.1 percent). It's clear the audience hasn't fully adapted to the new RSN reality in Chicago. For the first question, 39.4 percent said they don't get the channels, while 30.4 percent said they get both. (YouTube TV customers have to buy a la carte subscriptions to Marquee and/or CHSN.) A whopping 84.9 percent said they are Comcast customers (the honor system is at play here) who didn't upgrade their package for CHSN, with just 5.3 percent saying they'll do it for the Bulls/Blackhawks season. That's the struggle for an RSN made up of three losing teams. I'm curious about this one because there's such a push to YouTube (or Twitch), but the numbers never seem that impressive to me. More than half of the respondents (52.7 percent) said they never watch, but I suppose the 47.3 percent who do watch regularly or occasionally give credence to the strategy. Your answers are pretty evenly split between cable subscription + streaming apps (34.7 percent), YouTube TV + streaming apps (32.9 percent) and only streaming (28.9 percent). In the 2022 survey, 48 percent said they still had a cable subscription. Hey, good news for us as 84.2 percent said they are subscribers. That's up from 81.8 percent in 2022. Advertisement Now onto the fill-in questions… In 2022, the winner was The Athletic's James Fegan, who has since moved on to the Sox Machine collective. This time around, it's The Athletic's OG baseball writer, Sahadev Sharma, who had 10.2 percent of the vote, just beating out Chicago Tribune football writer Brad Biggs (9.2 percent) and Jahns (8.8 percent). Less than 40 votes made the difference between first and third here. After that come The Athletic Bears writer Kevin Fishbain (8.2 percent) and, because I administered the survey, me (7.8 percent). As I counted and fact-checked the results, I assumed Dan 'Big Cat' Katz would win with his 1.7 million followers, but I doubted the passion of the Locked On Cubs superfans. Sam Olbur, the co-host of the podcast, might only have 6,932 followers, but he easily won this category with 9.2 percent of the vote, more than double Katz's 4.4 percent. I'm guessing Katz makes slightly more money podcasting than Olbur, so this is a win for the little guy. I finished in third at 3.8 percent. Again, I did the survey, so I suppose this is a social payment. (Photo screenshot of Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman: Courtesy of ESPN 1000)
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bears hint at rookie Ozzy Trapilo playing left tackle
The Chicago Bears prioritized the offensive line this offseason with the additions of guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson via trade and the signing of center Drew Dalman in free agency. And while the offensive line is all but set, it sounds like there's a three-man race brewing at left tackle. Bears general manager Ryan Poles made an appearance on ESPN 1000, where he discussed second-round rookie offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo and how they plan on seeing what they have in him at left tackle. The Bears know Trapilo can play right tackle, so they're going to give him reps at left tackle starting in OTAs and minicamp to see if that's a potential fit. Advertisement Trapilo started 24 games at right tackle for Boston College over the last two seasons, but he also has played left tackle. If Trapilo is a good fit at left tackle, he'll battle with three-year starter Braxton Jones and last year's third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie for the starting job opposite right tackle Darnell Wright. Jones, entering the final year of his rookie contract, suffered a fractured fibula last December, and he'll be limited to start training camp. That will give Trapilo and Amegadjie a head start when it comes to competing for a starting job at left tackle. Poles said the goal is to have the offensive line settled before training camp so they won't have to shuffle guys around. 'Whatever we settle on, especially when going into training camp, it's going to be really important to stick with that," Poles said. Advertisement Right now, left tackle is the only pressing question as the interior is set with left guard Joe Thuney, center Drew Dalman and right guard Jonah Jackson, and it doesn't sound like they plan on moving right tackle Darnell Wright. So that left tackle battle is one to watch between Jones, Trapilo and Amegadjie. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears hint at rookie Ozzy Trapilo playing left tackle
