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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is the franchise’s latest dream trader

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I used to be born and raised on the South Side of Chicago and was a Chicago Bears fan until I used to be 18. Everything modified after I was 19. Not only did I resign the Bears, I renounced the fandom altogether and decided to grow to be a hired sports journalist with no emotional ties.

More on this later.

However, my younger brother Girard kept his faith and stays a loyal fan of Chicago sports teams, especially the Chicago Bears. He is a die-hard fan, and like many Bears fans, my brother has been over the moon since April 25, when the Bears signed quarterback Caleb Williams, a player some call the messiah. Fans are highly hopeful that 22-year-old Williams will lead the team from frustration to stardom.

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“I feel like this is a new time for the Bears,” my brother told me on Sunday morning from his home in Germany, where he has lived and worked since 1989 as an opera singer. “I think there are a lot of positive things happening for the Bears.”

Girard and I actually have been talking about the Bears for a really very long time. Every Monday during the season, my brother laments lost leads, late-game losses, and surprising victories. For the past two seasons, talk has focused on Justin Fields, the recently departed quarterback who was drafted by the previous Bears regime in 2021. In March, after months of speculation, the Bears traded Fields to Pittsburgh, where he’ll compete with Russell Wilson for the starting title work.

My brother believes Fields is in a significantly better situation in Pittsburgh, and Williams – due to changes in the Bears front office and training staff – is in a significantly better situation in Chicago than Fields in 2021.

He emphasized that in 2017 the so-called brain trust Bears passed on quarterback Patrick Mahomes to draft Mitchell Trubisky.

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“If Mahomes had come to Chicago back then instead of Trubisky, I don’t think we would have ever heard of Mahomes,” he said.

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields will play in the first half of the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on January 7 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

My brother, ever the optimist, believed in Fields. I used to be an agnostic, but I did throw some shade at the young quarterback because I enjoyed watching a Bears fan’s frustration after yet one more quarterback failure. “Justin Fields is playing on a much better team in Pittsburgh now than when he came to Chicago, and Caleb Williams will be in a much better situation than Fields,” he said.

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It is true that the Bears have not had a terrific quarterback since Sid Luckman, who played for the Bears from 1939-1950 and led the team to 4 NFL titles from 1940-1946. Since then, there was a parade of quarterbacks, some higher than others, although only two have led the Bears to the Super Bowl.

In 1985, the Bears won the championship under Jim McMahon, who wasn’t stiff, but handed it over to Walter Payton, one in every of the best running backs in NFL history. Those 1985 Bears also had what some say was the best defense in NFL history.

“Jay Cutler was the last talented Bears quarterback,” Girard said. Cutler played for the Bears from 2009-2016. He leads the franchise in passing yards, passing yards, touchdowns, attempts and completions, but has no championships. Not close.

“He had a really good set of receivers,” Girard jogged my memory. “He’s the last successful Bear quarterback.”

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Rex Grossman was the starting quarterback when the Bears reached the Super Bowl in the 2006 season and lost to the Indianapolis Colts. The game was notable since it was the first time two Black coaches – Tony Dungy of the Colts and Lovie Smith of the Bears – faced one another in the Super Bowl.

Grossman barely talks about the Bears’ great quarterbacks.

“McMahon had charisma, swagger and several division titles,” my brother said. – He may not have been a terrific quarterback, but he did his job.

My brother believes McMahon was the last Bears quarterback “to have the mystique and aura of winning.”

That is, until Williams.

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams answers an issue during his introductory news conference at Halas Hall on April 26 in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Williams involves the party with credentials and glitter. He is a Heisman Trophy winner and an NIL-era quarterback who decides the fate of the team himself. At least it does for now. Williams spoke to the media at the NFL game but didn’t practice, work out or take part in the dog-and-pony show for the 32 NFL teams.

“I’m not being romantic and I’m not picking the Bears for the Super Bowl, but I just think it’s a good situation,” Girard said.

Beyond Williams, there is a deeper story about fandom and attachment. There is a spirit of hope that enables fans like my brother to make an emotional investment of their teams.

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I withdrew from investing, but there was a time after I cared about it.

I used to be 13 years old on December 29, 1963, when the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants to win the NFL championship. This was a much-needed healing tonic for the Rhoden family. My mother died of breast cancer in August 1963. Her death ripped an enormous hole in our family and left my father a 44-year-old widower with a 15-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son (me) and my 7-year-old little brother.

The Bears’ 1963 championship was a welcome distraction.

Girard doesn’t remember much about the Bears’ championship – he celebrated his eighth birthday five days earlier. He would must wait, wait and wait. And wait until he did, never losing faith.

The Bears won the Super Bowl in 1985. Girard lived in San Francisco, doing what singers do, working on his craft and waiting for a break. By 1985, I had long since fallen off the fan train.

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I bounced back for good in the tumultuous yr of 1968. The assassination of activist Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights protest, the Black Power movement, and the Vietnam War made sports fandom appear to be an opiate, a distraction. Deeper evaluation by journalists revealed that many skilled and college sports teams were guilty of racism. In 1968, Gale Sayers, the Bears’ great young running back, blew out his knee. Athletes were pieces of meat, treated like cattle by team owners who had an iron fist over the players. This is a degree that one in every of my favorite players, center fielder Curt Flood, made when he accepted MLB’s reserve clause.

Who had time to grow to be a fan?

Now I root for issues and individuals. I care about Bears general manager Ryan Poles succeeding because I’m old-fashioned enough to imagine that when one black man does well, the community advantages. Poles is a former player whose job is to make the Bears competitive.

As fans, Girard and Chicago Bears Nation encourage Poles because they need the Bears to be relevant and competitive. “My hope is not just for Caleb Williams, but also for the general manager and what he has been able to accomplish,” Girard said.

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Caleb Williams is shown on screen during a Soldier Field viewing party as the Chicago Bears select the quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in the April 25 NFL draft.

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

As a hired sports author, I used to be only excited by the stories I wrote, the individuals who read them, the athletes and the issues I wrote about – no loyalty to the team. The downside to being a hired sports author is that sometimes I do not appreciate how much the people we call fans care. My brother is very concerned about this. “When I was a kid, when the Bears lost, I just had a bad day,” he said. “It doesn’t happen anymore, but I just love rooting for them and I enjoy the struggles they went through – constantly losing to Green Bay.”

In 1989, he moved permanently to Germany, starting his opera profession. His devotion to the Bears has never waned and has only grown stronger.

“Being a Chicago Bears fan has strengthened my connection to the place I grew up in,” he said. “It’s something you can keep alive at least once a week during football season.”

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After a Super Bowl appearance in 2007, the Bears made the playoffs once in 11 years. Bears fans like my brother have had one disappointment after one other with a string of quarterbacks, some good, others higher than adequate: Kyle Orton, Cutler. The Bears traded for Trubisky in 2017 and chosen Fields in 2021.

Bears fans know this story all too well. I mention it in moments of wonder, only to ask why it is going to be different this time.

“We learned a number of things from Justin Fields. We learned that you could’t herald a brand new man and expect him to be the messiah,” Girard said. “You have to have a really solid foundation. We don’t expect him to do it alone.”

Fans of the movement in hope. They work this manner: when it rains, they see the sun, when it is sunny, they see the monsoon.

Now the Bears are telling fans they finally have their guy. Williams is the franchise’s newest dream salesperson. He can be the one to steer frustrated Bears fans to the promised land. Williams is the best potential point guard they’ve drafted in franchise history.

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I remind my brother that the Bears have finished in the bottom half of the NFL in scoring in 25 of the last 31 seasons. Girard jogs my memory that last season, the Poles received winger DJ Moore from the Carolina Panthers, who in March exchanged for Pro Bowl winger Keenan Allen. On April 25, the Bears took over Washington winger Rome Odunze with the ninth pick in the draft.

The only thing I can say to my brother is what I at all times say: “Keep the faith.”

He at all times does it.

William C. Rhoden, former award-winning sports columnist for The New York Times and writer of Forty Million Dollar Slaves, is Andscape’s lead author.

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After breaking the Caitlin Clark record for most points scored by 2 seasons, Juju Watkins did not have time to call

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With the start of the Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament, NCAA March Madness women’s basketball starts next week, Juju Watkins from the USC Trojans was busy. So busy, in reality she was unable to make a veteran of the star in her offer suggestions before tournaments.

Coach of the USC Trojan, Lindsay Gottlieb, revealed A recent podcast performance This College basketball star modified the star of WNBA, Caitlin Clark, proposed “Help (Watkins) moving.”

Speaking of Clark’s offer, a 19-year-old second-year student said People magazine That, although Clark’s support “means a lot”, she has not yet drawn up.

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“I haven’t arrived yet,” said the Trojan USC guard, adding: “I mean that I have this support, it means a lot.”

However, that is not a shade or disrespect. A rising university basketball star, which has just been possible to transform history (*2*)exceeding Clark in most points gained in the first two seasons of his profession in CollegeHe really focused on the game. He also balances school, life and a few quite large brands NikeIN Nyx cosmeticsAND Deodorant.

Her team may not overcome his rivals, Ucla Bruins, in the conference tournament of the Great Ten, but Trojans can be expected No. 1 grain In the upcoming tournament it begins on Wednesday, March 19, and so they were even preferred to win.

Watkins told people how much a “big fan” is from Clark. From her opinion, Clark “kills him” during his first season in WNBA, playing in Indiana Fever.

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“I am always proud and cheer her,” she added.

“She is simply a super drug person, and for her it means a lot,” says about Clark’s offer. “But I haven’t arrived yet.”

Watkins added that despite the indisputable fact that she is prepared to break much more NCAA records, her band “definitely the first and everything else after”.

5 things you should know about Junior Bridgeman - a former NBA player who changed a billionaire businessman - who died at the age of 71

(Tagstotransate) Entertainment

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“CROSE You Cross The Line”: Lebron James breaks silence on what “stumbled” during an explosive confrontation with Stephen A. Smith

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Stephen A. Smith addressed viral spat with LeBron James after fans said he was shook by the NBA player

Lebron James will not be a fan of Stephen A. Smith’s narrative was associated with a hot confrontation. The attacker Los Angeles Lakers Angryn approached the host “First Take” during the duel with New York Knicks from March 6.

As the fans observed, the Olympian explained to the Sport commentator that he didn’t want his son, Brony James, 40 years old, mentioned in NBA Smith’s breakdowns.

Before Tipoff within the Lakers-Celtics match on March 9, the basketball icon and co-host of “NBA on ESPN” Richard Jefferson briefly discussed the viral incident. The video from the banter appeared on the web, abandoning insight into what James thinks about his description of the moment.

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Stephen A. Smith turned to the viral mat with Lebron James after the fans said he shook him with the fiery defense of Brony James by the NBA player. (Photo Stephen A. Smith / Instagram; Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Stephen A. Smith turned to the viral mat with Lebron James after the fans said he shook him with the fiery defense of Brony James by the NBA player. (Photo Stephen A. Smith / Instagram; Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

Audio in a stuffed material suggests that Jefferson asked his former teammate a couple of test. James will be heard: “This is the only thing I stumble … I don’t give AF – K” and “When he says how” I’m begging you as a father: “I can’t.”

Smith offered a summary of the meeting within the episode “First Take” from March 7, in addition to in “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on YouTube.

In the latter he said: “He was not a basketball player talking to me last night. It was dad. He turned to me as a father. It wasn’t a basketball player for me. “

The same fondness for what he made available on his television program. He also critically released the league star for making his son to criticize to serve the dream of playing in the identical team as his son before retiring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NNU2HQHEQS

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Brony was developed by Lakers in 2024 after one season on the University of Southern California. Smith is one in every of the numerous critics who think that the 20-year-old will not be yet equipped with the flexibility to realize success within the NBA.

However, due to James’ recent contribution, the fans expressed a brand new range of response.

According to 1 Tweter“When you rate a man as a father, you crossed the line. That is why Lebron approached him. “On YouTubeWhere you can even find the sound of James and Jefferson, someone suggested that the Master’s 4 -time behavior only intensified Brony’s control.

“It’s like a football dad, who exposes himself to his son. But his son is 22 years old !! He thinks he helps – but he must let his son stand alone, “wrote one viewer.

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The third commentator entered: “Lebron always with a drama, his ego sneaks out of control, thinks that he makes him a great dad, please retire to have peace of mind.”

James has been within the league for 22 years and has not announced his retirement plans, despite the fact that he was the oldest player on the pitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjoz-vtwgiw

(Tagstranslat) Brony James (T) Lebron James (T) Stephen A. Smith

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Even when Rhyne Howard plays unmatched, Florida Gators still feels the influence of WNBA star

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When Atlanta Dream Player Rhyne Howard He was a second -year student at Bradley Central High School in Tennessee, a basketball coach of the girl Jason Reuter, once confronted Howard because of a poor game. Later, Howard’s mother, Rhvonja Avery, told Reuter that she was not hard enough for her daughter and threatened to withdraw her from the program.

“She said it with a giggle, but deep down I believe that she meant,” said Reuter. “You usually get the opposite:” You’re too hard for my daughter. ” I had a mother with a strong will who wanted me to push her daughter. “

Dream selected Howard with the first alternative in 2022 WNBA Draft. However, her mother’s witness presses her success, inspired Howard to proceed coaching. From October 2023In the period outside of Women’s basketball team from the University of Floridaby which her mother played in 1987–1991. However, this season Howard takes a break from the program to play in an unmatched, skilled women’s basketball league 3 out of 3, which began in January. Howard Winyl basketball club in unmatched semi -finals on Sunday.

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“Watching how my mother does a lot of victims for me and always tries to do what is best for me, even if it meant to take up another work (and) of seeing the strength that she could keep, caring for me, I had someone to look at,” said Howard.

Florida ended 16-16 Generally in the first season of Howard with the program. Although this yr he’s outside the band, Howard is still watching every game and stays involved with players through SMS and telephone, updating their time in an unparalleled time when they tell her about their lives in Gainesville, Florida.

Howard wants to present Florid’s players a greater understanding of what it’s good to get to WNBA. She remembered that in her stay at the University of Kentucky (2018-2022)Some of her trainers had the previous WNBA experience, and Howard wanted to reveal the collegiate players to the current league dynamics through her lens. According to Washington PostEight other lively WNBA players played a job in the university program in the 2023-2024 season.

Coach in Florida Kelly Rae Finley She believes that her team uses an lively WNBA player at their disposal.

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“This is a huge and unique opportunity for our sports students to share experiences and learn from someone who does what many aspires to,” said Finley.

One of the players Howard poured into the other guard in Florida Throne Renenols. Reynolds began the whole game as a primary -year student in 2023, on average seven points per match. This season there was a five -star recruit has a mean of 10.5 points per match. Her assists also increased, growing from 32 last yr to 72 this yr.

Reynolds attributes Howard to her unevenness in its numbers this season. Howard often worked with Reynolds during training, when Howard was with the team in the 2023-24 season. They each focused on developing Reynolds’s hill by practicing the foundations of shots and watching the movie to construct a mental understanding of Reynolds basketball.

She also learned from Howard’s ethics. Reynolds watched Howard as she practiced, a note about how she trained and various ways she shot.

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She said Howard never hesitated to criticize Reynolds. Howard always reminded Reynolds to make her confidence throughout the first yr, and believes that it helped her in the second season.

Reynolds said that she and Howard talked on the phone about twice a month this season. During the connections, Howard told Reynolds that she is proud of her too well coping with the season, and Reynolds thinks that her experience with Howard helps her closer to WNBA.

“Having a coach Rye on staff shows me what you need to get to a higher level, both on the pitch and outside,” said Reynolds. “The ability to observe her work and how to wear is significant when it comes to my goals. My game has definitely improved thanks to her instructions and support. ”

Florida Center Ra Shaya Kyle He said that Howard’s experience in the WNBA and South -Eastern conference (SEC) and as a trainer he helped her improve her skills.

“Coach Rhy also helped me understand what you need to succeed at the highest level,” said Kyle. “Her advice was very valuable in shaping the way of thinking for the challenges I can face.”

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Howard’s advice is just not limited to Lady Gators. Her teammates in incomparably, where it’s going to cause you 20.5 points per match In the case of a vinyl basketball club, she also used her instructions.

When the vinyl guard Rae Burrell She faced the player training during the session at the starting of this season, Howard, recognizing his teammate’s opponent, he rhetorically asked Burrell: “Do you know who you are?” remind her of her value.

“I always have confidence in me,” Burrell said. “He likes you to challenge you a bit and tell you a bit of a mess to shoot you, but you know that he comes from the place where you want to be better. He says many tips: “You must have raised something otherwise you had a ride.” He will always tell me or another teammate. “

Vinyl trainer Teresa Weatherspoon believes that Howard’s coaching experience contributes to her openness.

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“Rhyne is very attentive, vigilant and aware of the situation on the floor, and she says,” said Weatherspoon. “He uses a voice and coaching causes you to use your voice a little more because you are trying to put many players on success.”

Howard was not at all times voice. Reuter said that Howard led an example more in highschool, but when she said, her words transferred the importance. Although Reuter believes that Howard has grow to be greater over time, he thinks that making decisions has at all times been her strength.

“It is cerebral when it comes to thinking in advance,” said Reuter. “If you have to make 100 decisions in the basketball game, he will make the right decisions 99 at 100 times and I think that this attribute is to be a trainer.”

Howard, 24 years old, doesn’t plan to coach long -term, but believes that her closeness at the age of Lady Gators makes it easier for players to attach along with her.

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“Only because I am so young, they have the opportunity to talk to me a bit when we practice and we always want to go with me back,” said Howard. “I say:” Ok, I understand what you might be doing. ”

“This is a well -known aspect of what I am capable of (on the pitch), but the ability to have this friendly banter and their comfortable to do it with me and still have good relationships, know that I am still their trainer, but we can also have a little fun.”

Joshua Heron is an independent sports journalist dedicated to the humanization of athletes by telling stories. He was born in New York, but he considers himself an actual “Yaad Man” because of his Jamaican education. If you get to know him well enough, “Wah Gwan” will probably grow to be part of your vocabulary.

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