Arrrgghh!

With a triple-layer cake of anxiety foisted upon us by a panicked political party interested only in its survival, a lingering pandemic and the onset of undeniable climate change, I, like the Chicago sports fans around me, am somehow able to locate still more sources of angst.

Yes, the long-expected sell-off of the Cub's Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez came to pass and was as emotionally-grueling as expected. It slammed the door on any holdover hope that something, anything might still happen.

But to be absolutely and perhaps even cruelly honest, this squad had only regressed since their 2016 championship. The succeeding years have seen some of the weirdest baseball in franchise history. One year they couldn't hit. In another they couldn't win on the road. There were multiple late-season fades.

Two desultory wild-card appearances served to twist the knife of their newfound futility.

Granted, owner Tom Ricketts wasn't exactly pro-active when it came to tweaking the roster and adding the bits and pieces necessary to sustain success. But in the end, I'm reminded of the time Branch Rickey infamously told Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Ralph Kiner when the latter approached Rickey for a raise: “Mr. Kiner, we can finish last without you.”

Whatever the reason, these Cubs weren't getting better. And as awful as it was to see the core of the team that finally—finally!—won a World Series ripped away, it was time.

With the ascent of the crosstown White Sox, Cub fans can further salt their wounds by endlessly rehashing the Jose Quintana for Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez trade.

At the time, Quintana was a pretty fair pitcher for some mostly undistinguished south side clubs, regularly posting mid-three ERAs and several WARS of five. Cease and Jimenez were prospects. Guys with who-knows-for-sure potential. Question marks.

Fast forward four years.

Quintana was mostly inconsistent with the Cubs and never came close to replicating the years he enjoyed with the White Sox.

Now in his third season, Cease is having a decent year. But it's nowhere near those Quintana had. Jimenez, also in his third year, has enjoyed some early success but has proven to be injury-prone. He also struggles in left field and is resistant to the idea of being a DH.

Cub fans? This ain't Lou Brock and Ernie Broglio. Relax.

Turning the tables, Sox fans can gnash their teeth about the continued rash of injuries, the oft-debated managing prowess of Tony LaRussa and the reasons they struggle to beat teams above .500.

From an outsider's point of view, LaRussa's managerial ability is a no-brainer. With that ever-longer list of position players being felled by injury, the fact he's been able to consistently plug-in worthy replacements and keep the Sox afloat speaks volumes.

Those injuries could be a massive distraction and the perfect excuse for not being in first-place, but that hasn't happened. Case closed.

Young teams need to learn how to win. And the Sox, with the exception of Jose Abreu and a couple of their starting pitchers, are a young team. I'm reminded of the 1988/89 Chicago Bulls, who went 0 – 5 versus the emerging Cleveland Cavaliers that season.

Naturally, their first-round playoff opponent was noneother than Cleveland. And you know what happened? The storied ascent of the Jordan-era dynasty began with that series when MJ hit a last-second jumper in game five to clinch it.

And speaking of the Bulls, it's nice to see some action after so much inaction. Especially after waiting and waiting and waiting for a core of Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Coby White and Wendell Carter, Jr. to gel, overseen by a couple of hapless coaches.

New GM Marc Eversley has been aggressive in moving on from the talent GarPax assembled, most notably landing center Nikola Vucevic from Orlando in exchange for the injury-prone and under-performing Carter and guard Lonzo Ball in a sign and trade.

That acquisition cost Tomas Satoransky, a hard-nosed guard who provided the team's most consistent play at the point. It was tough to see him go. But to get something...

A little more angst-y is the sign and trade for DeMar DeRozan. No questions about the player or his abilities. He's the real deal. He can play. My concerns revolve around his compatibility with LaVine and Vucevic, and at 32 years-old, is an $85million-dollar, four-year deal really a good idea?

And is it wise to give away still more first-round picks? I'm thinking not. I mean, are we witnessing the reincarnation of George Allen here or what? I'm grateful the previous regime is gone, but too much of anything is generally a bad thing.

I'm hoping very, very hard that Eversley and vice-president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas are looking before they're leaping.

Finally, what discussion of sports-related anxiety would be complete without a mention of the Chicago Bears?

The team continues to struggle against the expectations it created in 2018. Hamstrung by an NCAA Division 3 offense, it was obvious to everyone the Bears needed a bona-fide NFL quarterback. Some NFL-worthy wide receivers and offensive linemen wouldn't hurt, either.

Well, the Bears got a quarterback. Two, in fact. But the other holes remain unfilled.

Over the past ten drafts, the Bears have used nearly a fifth (5 of 24) of their first, second and third round picks on offensive linemen. 2013 first-rounder Kyle Long was a stud, but recurring injuries decimated his career after just three and-a-half seasons.

2016 second-rounder Cody Whitehair is a keeper, even having been named to a Pro Bowl.

After that, the waters muddy. They did spend second-round picks on Teven Jenkins in April and James Daniels in 2018, but Daniels went down for the season five games into 2020 and is currently unable to practice because of a quad injury. Jenkins has yet to attend a practice because of a back condition.

2015 third-round pick Hroniss Grasu (I don't know how to say it, either) is a reserve for the 49ers.

The rest of the line is a motley collection of free-agents, walk-ons and stragglers.

And of that estimable crew, nearly a dozen have suffered injuries or are in COVID protocols, leaving the Bears barely able to field a line for practice. And with actual NFL-quality quarterbacks to protect, it doesn't take a great deal of imagination to envision the already creaky o-line giving way to a critical QB injury.

At the very least this cripples a camp that was to have been dedicated to revitalizing the Bears' tepid offense.

Maybe some things just aren't meant to be.