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CHICAGO — The first-place Cubs opened a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners in a game that was the backdrop for a franchise icon’s return.

Sammy Sosa made his way back to Wrigley Field on a Friday when the Cubs’ bullpen had a rare bad day in a 9-4 loss. Chicago (45-30) fell to 11-2 in home series openers with the defeat.

Here are three takeaways from the loss to Seattle (38-36):

Sammy’s home

The talk of Friday was the return of the former Cubs slugger, who made his first trip back to the Friendly Confines since 2004.

Sosa met with Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts upon his arrival, toured the clubhouse and met players, including star outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

“He’s doing fantastic,” Sosa said in a media availability during the game. “He’s swinging the ball very well.”

The slugger was honored during the daily “Legends of the Game” segment at Wrigley Field, and received a rousing ovation from the 40,787 fans in attendance. Sosa joined the radio and television broadcasts before speaking to local media.

Sosa was the talk of the day. Cubs manager Craig Counsell fielded pregame questions related to Sosa for about seven minutes, before briefly providing injury updates on Shota Imanaga and Porter Hodge (they’re pitching for Iowa on Friday), Miguel Amaya (he’s begun throwing and hitting in Arizona) and Javier Assad (he’s still throwing bullpens in Arizona).

[WATCH: Sammy Sosa joins Cubs Postgame Live!]

It’s rare that this strong Cubs team takes a back seat for anyone this season. Sosa made Friday an exception.

Bullpen’s rare off-outing

The Cubs’ bullpen had been so good for long that it felt due for an inevitable bad day.

It happened Friday — and to two of their hotter arms.

Ryan Pressly – who had 16 consecutive scoreless appearances before Friday – allowed a two-run homer to Mitch Garver in the sixth inning. The veteran had hit a low point on May 6, allowing nine runs (eight earned) in a tough extra-innings loss to the San Francisco Giants. Since then, however, he had thrown 15 scoreless innings, allowing only one unearned run with three walks and 14 strikeouts.

Pressly’s command had improved, and he begun to touch 95 mph with his four-seam fastball again. On Friday, though, he allowed a walk and the homer, spoiling his scoreless run and allowing Seattle to tie the score.

Left-hander Caleb Thielbar had been on an even better run – and it was snapped by an AL MVP candidate in catcher Cal Raleigh. Thielbar had gone 17 consecutive outings without allowing a run, and that streak was broken by Raleigh’s two-run blast — his second of the game and 29th of the season.

Thielbar had started the season slow – he allowed four runs in his first seven outings (5.2 innings) for a 6.35 ERA — but he locked it down and developed into a key member of Counsell’s reliever corps.

It was unrealistic to expect both Pressly, Thielbar or even left-hander Drew Pomeranz (who has yet to allow an earned run in his first 21 outings) or right-hander Chris Flexen to never give up an earned run again. The nature of relief pitchers means they’ll give up some runs — and they’ll hurt — but it’s more about how they will bounce back from this outing.

Boyd’s fast hands

Matthew Boyd had his shortest outing at Wrigley as a Cub, as the left-hander pitched just five innings of two-run ball, but he still had a memorable moment.

Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford hit a 104.7-mph liner back to Boyd on the final pitch of his outing, and the pitcher caught the ball for the final out — on a play more instinctual than skill-based.

It came at a price, however, as Boyd was forced out of the game with a shoulder bruise.

Boyd allowed two hits and two walks with six strikeouts on 76 pitches. He’s been so crucial for the Cubs this season, with a 2.84 ERA this season in 85.2 innings across 15 starts.

The Cubs’ rotation has dealt with injuries to their co-aces — Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele — but been buoyed by Boyd and Jameson Taillon’s performances in their absence.

Local CBS affiliate KPIX ran a story on June 18 about Piedmont’s work with renowned landscape designer Walter Hood to build a memorial honoring Sidney and Irene Dearing in the city. The city shared the conceptual design for the project, “The Dearing Portal”, on June 17.

“We are committed to being a different community today, and being a different community means facing difficult topics,” said Bayon-Moore. “It means confronting difficult chapters in our history. It means having a difficult conversation to be able to move forward.

The city chose Hood to lead the conversation. His work can be viewed around the world, around the country and in the Bay Area, including the gardens at the De Young Museum, the Bow along the Embarcadero, and Panorama Park on Yerba Buena Island.

Hood said he wanted to work on the Dearing family project because it was personal.

“I’m a Black man, it is just that simple,” said Hood. “I think if we don’t tell our stories, someone else will.”

100 years after 1st Black family in Piedmont, California was driven out, memorial moves forward; by Ryan Yamamoto for CBS news, June 18, 2025

The 96th annual TCGA Amateur Championship began Friday at Ely Park Golf Course.

The open division features 44 competitors this season.

Leaderboard – After Round One

1. Justin Fiato (-1) – 70

t2. Luke Barney (E) – 71

t2. Nick Barney (E) – 71

t4. Matt Maoine (+1) – 72

t4. Luciano Giammarino (+1) – 72

6. Keith Chesk (+2) – 73

t7. RJ Juodaitis (+3) – 74

t7. Matt Congdon (+3) – 74

t9. Anthony Espino (+5) – 76

t9. Nick Chernega (+5) – 76 

To see full results from round one, click here.

Round two of the three-round event is set to start Saturday morning at Endwell Greens Golf Course. 

• Eight Fort Collins-area high school athletes are into quarterfinals for the Blue FCU Girls Athlete of the Year.
• Voting for the quarterfinal round runs through June 23. concluding on June 30.

Who was the top high school girls athlete in the Fort Collins area this school year?

You tell us.

We’re into the quarterfinal round for the Blue Federal Credit Union 2024-25 top Fort Collins-area girls athlete bracket after a competitive first round of voting.

Here are the first-round voting results:

• Lily Eisbrener, Timnath soccer (89.1%) vs. Erin Herrmann, Fossil Ridge volleyball (10.9%)
• Kate Wind, PSD lacrosse (91.3%) vs. Kiana Cumings, Windsor track (8.7%)
• Lily Wale, Fossil soccer/track/basketball/XC (71.2%) vs. Mariah Gonzalez, PSD wrestling (28.8%)
• Meela Delap, Rocky basketball/track (80.4%) vs. Reyleigh Hess, Windsor basketball/track (19.6%)
• CheyAnne Schrick, Timnath golf (50.4%) vs. Mikaela Kendall, Heritage Christian track/XC (49.6%)
• Teagan Myers, Fossil soccer (61.2%) vs. Addyson Smith (Fossil track) (38.8%)
• Ellayna Potter, PSD nordic skiing (51.5%) vs. Cody Monajjem, Wellington swimming (48.5%)
• Molli Magaña, Windsor softball (53.4%) vs. Sydney Ovesen, Fossil diving (46.6%)

This quarterfinal round of voting will run through June 23 (ending at 11:59 p.m.), and the top vote-getters in each matchup will move on to the semifinals starting June 24.The bracket will continue through the end of the month, with the winner announced June 30 at coloradoan.com/sports.Fans, you can find the ballots below to vote for your favorite players.Blue FCU Girls Athlete of the Year quarterfinal matchupsKate Wind (PSD lacrosse) vs. Lily Eisbrener (Timnath soccer/track/basketball)The resumes:Wind: Second-team 5A all-state player, scoring 61 goals with 9 assists. Also caused 39 turnovers and won over 62% of draws for the playoff-bound Stars.Eisbrener: Three-sport standout was key to Cubs’ high-level success. Led Timnath to 3A soccer runner-up finish with 17 goals, 13 assists to make first team all-state. Key contributor for Cubs’ Final 4 basketball team. Track honorable mention after 2nd place league finishes in 100 dash and 100 hurdles.Lily Wale (Fossil Ridge soccer/track/basketball/cross-country) vs. Meela Delap (Rocky Mountain basketball/track)The resumes:Wale: Four-sport standout, helped Fossil win first soccer, track state titles in a week this spring as 5A first team (soccer) and second team (track). Led SaberCats in goals and ran on two top-3 relay teams.Delap: Two-sport standout led Lobos to first playoff basketball win since 2018, averaging 12.8 points and 9 rebounds per game. Also finished top 10 at 5A state track in shot put (5th) and discus (9th) while winning Northern Conference discus title.Teagan Myers (Fossil Ridge soccer) vs. CheyAnne Schrick (Timnath golf)The resumes:Myers: Colorado’s 5A Player of the Year as elite defender/midfielder for Fossil defense that allowed just 13 goals in championship run. Scored game-winning goal in state title game on late header.Schrick: Cubs sophomore announced her arrival this season, winning the 3A girls state championship as CHSAA’s 3A Player of the Year. Schrick shot rounds of 76 and 74 (plus-6) to win the title, part of a season-long scoring average around 5-over-par per round.Ellayna Potter (PSD skiing) vs. Molli Magaña (Windsor softball)The resumes:Potter: Stars senior had program’s best-ever girls finish at state meet with runner-up spot in 5-kilometer classic race. Potter made all-state first team after an ultra-consistent season, posting nine top-5 finishes.Magaña: Helped Wizards get within a run of 4A softball title, leading Windsor with .507 average, 57 RBIs and 13 homers on offense that averaged over 9 runs/game. Named to 4A all-state first team.

Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.

With his work “gay play (NO HOMO),” a Broomfield playwright uses a satirical lens to explore the barriers to LGBTQ health care and acceptance in society.

Drake Susuras grew up in Broomfield and said his start there helped shape him into the playwright he is today.

“It was at Broomfield High School that I really was allowed to flourish,” he said. “I was given opportunities there to flourish and thrive but also was given the space to fail and try new things, which helped me be able to throw myself into anything and adapt and learn.”

Susuras performed his play “gay play (NO HOMO)” at Denver Fringe Festival this year, the annual event that focuses on a wide variety of unusual, bold and fringe performing art. With its unique premise and unflinching critique of modern queer politics, Susuras’ work fits right in.

“It follows this main character trying to get an STD test at a free clinic, and meeting all of these comical barriers to highlight what it’s like in America right now,” Susuras said. “It gets into the logistics of donating blood at a clinic and comprehensive sex education for LGBTQ individuals and flips everything on its head.”

Susuras said the character navigates those barriers as best he can but becomes the projected perception of what a gay man is supposed to be. It points a finger at the audience, asking, Susuras said, “Are you entertained now? Am I enough yet?”

Susuras said the play looks at the current political moment, using his experience to highlight the issues of marginalized groups far beyond his own identities.

“Now more than ever, queerness is inherently political,” he said. “Not just myself as a white gay man, but looking further into what a Black trans woman would experience, or the immigrants being raided by (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or the people suffering in Palestine.”

Cole Franklin is Susuras’ partner and did the costume design for the play, and said the show was a unique look into a journey that’s very personal for every member of the LGBTQ community.

“Everybody has their own coming out story, and everybody has their own grappling they have to do with being gay in society, and everybody’s experience is different,” Franklin said. “I pretty much grew up gay — I was a really gay kid and came out very early, but (Susuras) did not.”

Franklin said his partner’s experience with coming out later in life gives them two different perspectives, and with Susuras doing so much of the play himself, the work served as a reflection of his experiences.

“Theater is such a collaborative art form — there’s lots of people attached to it, unlike a painter whose work is pretty much just themselves,” Franklin said. “It’s always interesting and refreshing to see a work of theater that’s coming from one vision and one mind, and it’s a testament to his talent and education that he was able to do this by himself.”

The play was a small production, with Susuras writing, directing, producing and starring in the play. The only other actor in the show, Devon Lainie, played the nurse at the testing clinic.

“It feels like there’s a new wave of playwriting, especially with younger playwrights, of very personal works,” Lainie said. “I had a great experience with it — I thought it was really funny but it also looked hard at our society and took a deeper look at the world we’re living in today.”

Susuras said the juxtaposition of those two ideas were central to the play.

“We don’t necessarily have to stop finding the fun or humor in things, but we also have to clock in and take things seriously … marrying the serious with the comedic is something that shows up in a lot of my work,” he said. “Ultimately, if we’re not loud, if we’re not expressive, then we’ll disappear, and I don’t think we’re too far from that moment.”

Originally Published: June 20, 2025 at 12:16 PM MDT