The Rundown Lite: Madrigal Gets Wings, Kepler Popped for Cattle Roids, CubsCon Attendees Announced

I’m still riding the high from IU’s beatdown of Oregon last night, and it’s taking quite a bit of restraint for me to keep from turning this into a celebration of Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers. So don’t worry, I’m not going to include a bullet on how Fernando Mendoza has thrown eight touchdowns to just five incompletions in two CFP games. Nor will I note that Mendoza has five games this season with more TDs than incompletions, something no other college QB this century has done more than twice.

And you can rest assured that I won’t crow about the Hooisers’ +473 point differential on the season being the largest in CFP history. Rather than discussing how Miami natives Mendoza and D’Angelo Ponds get to play for the natty against a team that didn’t recruit them, or how Mendoza’s father was a high school teammate of Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal, I will share some baseball nuggets.

What I will say about the Hoosiers is that their improbable run to the CFP title game is giving me very strong 2016 Cubs vibes. Their coach is a main character who’s won everywhere he’s been — Google him — and who has led a historically downtrodden program to the pinnacle of the sport in his second year at the helm. IU fans don’t know what this is like, just like Cubs fans wandering around Cleveland pinching themselves and asking if any of this was real.

I was there for Game 1 a decade ago, but I won’t be in Miami because the tickets are more than three times as expensive as they were back then. It’s kinda fitting that the Cubs will be celebrating the anniversary of that franchise-altering win at CubsCon and throughout the coming season; I just hope that isn’t what headlines 2026 for the organization.

News and Notes

• The Cubs announced which current and former players will be attending CubsCon, with one particular alum getting loads of attention online. Yes, Trevor Cahill will be there. Addison Russell will be joining him, much to the chagrin of folks who don’t have much fondness for domestic abusers. Maybe the guy has finally learned from his myriad mistakes, but it’s weird they’re just bringing Russell back when Sammy Sosa needed to make a public apology to have his 20-year exile pardoned. Alas.
• Former Cubs great Nick Madrigal hasn’t played since 2024, when he posted -0.6 fWAR over 94 plate appearances due to multiple injuries and a long time spent at Triple-A. His health played a big role in his disappointing performance on the North Side after headlining the return for Craig Kimbrel, and he never displayed anything close to the elite hit tool he was supposed to have possessed. A broken shoulder suffered while fielding a grounder during Mets spring training last year cost him the 2025 season, and now he’s getting a shot with the Angels on a minor league deal that includes an invite to spring training.
• Free agent outfielder Max Kepler has received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for epitrenbolone, a primary metabolite of the potent synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroid trenbolone. Used to increase appetite and muscle in cattle, trenbolone is a Schedule III controlled substance and is illegal for human use without a prescription. Kepler negotiated a settlement with MLB that allows him to serve his suspension even if he isn’t on an MLB roster, but he will still be ineligible for the 2026 postseason. When combined with his subpar 2025 in Philly, this PED suspension isn’t going to do him any favors when it comes to his next deal.
• The Tigers have shown interest in free agent starters Chris Bassitt and Lucas Giolito, both of whom were possible Cubs options had the Edward Cabrera trade not worked out.
• Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher walked onto the baseball team and ended up being selected by the Astros in the 13th round of the 2024 draft as an outfielder. He got permission to play one more season of college football and his rights are still held by the Astros. Dude was a dog for the Ducks.
• The Brewers reportedly want a young, MLB-ready pitcher as part of the return for Freddy Peralta, which seems to defeat the purpose of trading for him.
• According to the OOPSY projection system developed by Jordan Rosenblum of FanGraphs, Owen Caissie will finish with a 101 wRC+, Matt Shaw will be worth 2.9 fWAR, and Alex Bregman will be worth 4.0 fWAR.
• The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner looked at how Chase Utley‘s surging support for Hall of Fame induction reflects an evolution in voting. I personally believe said surge is a direct result of Mac from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia writing a letter to Utley. Those stickers really did the trick.

Trailer Time

The ‘Burbs is easily Tom Hanks’ most iconic role and Joe Dante’s best directorial effort, plus it’s one of my favorite movies of all time. My brother and I first saw it when we rented it on VHS from a store in a nearby town when we were maybe 7-9 years old. We knew nothing about it other than the image on the box of a frazzled Ray Peterson holding a garden hose and grill spatula while standing in the middle of a neighborhood street, and our intrigue only grew when we were sent home with the wrong tape.

Said tape ended up being a WWF event headlined by “The Birdman” Koko B. Ware, which we watched several times before returning it and actually getting The ‘Burbs. Now, nearly four decades after the masterpiece first became part of the zeitgeist, it’s getting a reboot in the form of a Peacock series that sees a young couple moving back to the husband’s childhood home in Hinkley Hills.

It’s not Ray’s son, Dave, as he would be about my age now. The series is also set on Ashfield Place, which is perhaps adjacent to Mayfield Place from the movie. While I remain concerned that this show is going to suffer from a mortal case of tryharditis, I’m willing to give it a shot due to my deep and abiding love for the source material. I also like Keke Palmer and haven’t lost the crush I had on Julia Duffy from her time on Newhart.

Plus, the trailer features the classic Geto Boys banger “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.”