Chicago teams championship outlooks in a nutshell

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I thought I'd take this time to give an overview of the Chicago sports scene. I'll do it from the prospective of where they are in relation to a possible championship. Each team will be given a projection of when their championship window is, or will be.

Cubs: After winning their first championship in 108 years, the Cubs are still in position to strike for a few more seasons. The Cubs window was generally thought to be about seven years from 2016 onward. Actually, 2016 really was the Cubs best opportunity because of the quality of their starting rotation. While young Cubs position players should progress, the Cubs will have to shed some promising young players for pitchers going forward. The Cubs should have more money to work with when their TV money expands, but a couple of bad contracts could make challenging while staying under the salary cap problematic.

While Jason Heyward's contract is an albatross around the Cubs neck, Giancarlo Stanton is available in a trade now and Bryce Harper is a free agent after the 2018. It's hard to see the Cubs as a player in those markets with Heyward in tow. The Cubs future will depend on how well young position players progress and how well the front office does in the free agent and trade markets. While the Cubs future looks good, it's not quite as bright as it was a couple of years ago.

Championship Outlook: The opportunity for one or more championships should be open for the next five seasons.

White Sox: The White Sox have been extremely aggressive in their rebuild and it should start paying dividends soon. Sox gm, Rick Hahn, has turned a few stars, Chris Sale, Adam Eaton and Jose Quintana into a boatload of high ceiling prospects. Yoan Moncada has already shown promise on the big league level, as have starters Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Carson Fulmer. Packaging Todd Frazier, Dave Robertson and Tommy Kahnle netted some more good to middling prospects. More of these prospects could make their way into the Sox big league team as early as 2018. How fast the Sox progress will depend in large part on how well the Giolito, Lopez, Fulmer and Michael Kopech progress. The Sox should be a lot of fun to watch as early as 2018..

Championship Outlook: The Sox window will probably be open in 2020, but they could surprise as early as 2019. The Sox have finally changed their approach to building a team and it's refreshing.

Bears: While I don't doubt the McCaskey family's desire to field a championship team, their ability to choose a good architect for that project has been woefully lacking. Current gm, Ryan Pace, has made a couple of steps forward, but his overall record at his job is spotty. Mitch Trubisky is the key to the Bears future and it looks like he'll be worthy of building a team around. Head coach, John Fox, has got to go and figures to be shown the gate after this season. Hopefully the combination of a good young quarterback and a good defense will be enough to lure a decent head coach to take the job.

Championship Outlook: Another good draft class and a some good free agent signings this offseason should make the Bears competitive as soon as next season. The Bears should be a playoff contender as soon as 2019. I really don't have confidence that they'll be serious Super Bowl contenders in the foreseeable future. To win a Super Bowl in the next few seasons they'll have to catch lightning in a bottle with an excellent draft class or two.

Blackhawks: While the Hawks core is getting old they're not completely over the hill. In addition, the Hawks are starting to regenerate their non-core personnel. Alex DeBrincat and Brandon Saad, and Nick Schmaltz are useful players up front, but finding some help on the blue line is imperative.

Championship Outlook The window looks to be closing. Corey Crawford 's health is the biggest question mark going forward.  If he comes back at 100% the Blackhawks have a shot at the playoffs in 2019.  Otherwise, it could be another long winter. The Hawks do have some players on the rise, but I'm afraid the decline of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith figures to more than offset that. Of course, I thought that before the Hawks last Cup win in 2015.

Bulls: How the Gar/Pax axis continues to run the Bulls is beyond me. The Bulls championship teams with Michael Jordan are becoming a distant memory. Having said that, Lauri Markkanen looks like a star in the making. Kris Dunn might end up being a decent player and Zach Levine will be back soon. That represents a better haul for Jimmy Butler than I originally thought. If the Bulls score with a decent draft pick in the upcoming draft that might not be rancid next season. Unfortunately I don't think Gar/Pax has the capacity to get the Bulls over the top and ownership doesn't seem to care.

Championship Outlook: Check the Weather Channel. When you see Hades has frozen over, the Bulls will have a chance at another championship. While this franchise does have six championships, that's based primarily on the Portland Trailblazers drafting Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan. The Bulls dynasty was based, primarily on one of the biggest gaffe in NBA draft history.

So, there's a quick look at the championship outlook for Chicago's pro teams. What do you think?