The Chiefs bested the 49ers on Sunday evening, winning Super Bowl 58 and achieving their third victory in the past five seasons, but that's not all that happened this weekend. That's just where we begin on this brief overview of five sports updates you should know heading into your Monday.
Here are five (mostly) Chicago sports updates from the weekend.
Kansas City wins Super Bowl in overtime -- and Jimmi Garoppolo predicted it
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OK so we're kicking things off with a non-Chicago headline, but no sports recap would be complete without noting what happened on Sunday.
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid became the first back-to-back Super Bowl champions in 19 years.
With pop star Taylor Swift watching boyfriend Kelce from a suite, the Chiefs captured their third title in five years, a run that puts them among the league's greatest franchises.
And just to throw in a little Chicago-area connection here, it appears even Jimmy Garoppolo predicted the final results.
News
Garoppolo made his pick for the 49ers' Super Bowl LVIII matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium and his answer surprised many.
The former 49ers quarterback, in speaking to reporters on Friday at Super Bowl Radio Row, predicted Kansas City would defeat San Francisco in a shoot-out at the Raiders quarterback's home stadium. (h/t SB Nation's Kyle Posey)
Garoppolo spent six-plus seasons with the 49ers after a midseason trade from the New England Patriots in 2017, leading San Francisco to a Super Bowl LIV appearance against the Chiefs four years ago.
The 49ers carried a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter of that game before suffering a heartbreaking loss after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed a ferocious comeback to seal Garoppolo and the 49ers' fate.
MORE: Jimmy Garoppolo picks Chiefs over former team 49ers to win Super Bowl LVIII
Commanders unlikely to trade for No. 1 pick
NFL Insider Adam Schefter has a sobering update for Bears fans who are hoping the Washington Commanders are going to send a treasure trove of draft capital to Chicago to move up one spot to No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“They’re not inclined to give up whatever it’s going to take to get up to No. 1 for the exact reason that Carolina did go up last year,” Schefter said on ESPN on Sunday.
Part of the reason Schefter believes the Commanders won’t make a move is because of how much the Panthers struggled after sending DJ Moore to the Bears as part of the deal to acquire the No. 1 overall pick last season. The Panthers are in a tough spot with no first-round pick this year, too. Another reason why Schefter believes the Commanders stay at No. 2 is because of their backup options at QB.
“They see what it’s like, and they see the three quarterbacks at the top of the draft,” Schefter said. “We all agree that Caleb Williams is regarded as the elite prospect, but if you’re Washington you’re going to have your choice of two of the other three quarterbacks: Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. So they’re happy to sit where they are.”
MORE: Why Adam Schefter would be ‘surprised if Commanders trade for No. 1 overall pick
Haunting Cody Bellinger prediction
Days go by, and Cody Bellinger is still a free agent.
It's well-documented, at this point, by several reports, that the Cubs are interested in Bellinger. But they're not fully interested in the price. And since they're not going big with Bellinger, ESPN's Jeff Passan projects other teams might need him more and, therefore, might be willing to pay that price.
"This is just me trying to read tea leaves," Passan said on ESPN 1000. "I just feel like the Toronto Blue Jays need Cody Bellinger more than the Cubs do. There's been a lot of consternation up in Toronto, especially after the way the [Shohei] Ohtani situation played out. It was just a spectacular miss. And pursuing Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they weren't even close.
"And they've made a couple of moves this offseason, but it's certainly not the kinds of moves that are gonna take you from a team that's on the cusp of playoff contention to one that's handly going to be in. The need is more acute in Toronto than it is with the Cubs."
MORE: MLB insider makes haunting prediction about Cody Bellinger's landing spot
Bulls buyout market
The Chicago Bulls have an open roster spot and sit roughly $1.7 million underneath the NBA luxury tax threshold.
They also experienced success adding Chicago product Patrick Beverley off the buyout market last season. The gritty guard helped the Bulls close with a 14-9 record to earn a play-in spot.
Could the Bulls pursue the buyout market again?
"I think they’re definitely exploring that," coach Billy Donovan said of management. "I think in those buyout markets, my guess would be that there’d be conversations by Artūras Karnišovas and Marc (Eversley) with representation of those players of what they’re thinking.
"And generally, if there’s someone who has an interest or they feel like it would be a good fit, they’ll bring me in and we’d probably get on the phone with the player. But as of right now, nothing has moved forward in terms of any plans. Now they’re not opposed to bringing somebody in. But I think they’re certainly going to talk to representation and see where things are at with certain players."
MORE: Bulls ‘open' to adding off buyout market again this season
Gov. Pritzker talks White Sox stadium
With new renderings showing a picturesque future home of the Chicago White Sox in the city's "The 78" capturing attention from across the world, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker recently weighed in on the potential new stadium.
Initially reported exclusively from WGN's Tahman Bradley, the conceptual renderings are from the firm Related Midwest. The firm also released a "Project Impact" plan, which lays out expected benefits for the city of Chicago.
On Friday, Pritzker noted that he thought the renderings were beautiful while adding that his administration will soon have official talks regarding the new stadium plans.
The governor also expressed skepticism, noting that the state needs "to be careful with public dollars" while asking aloud what kind of benefit the stadium would bring to the state.
MORE: Gov. Pritzker praises White Sox stadium renderings, casts doubt on use of public funds