👋 Good morning!
What’s better than watching a ball game with your friends on Sunday?
Add in a few drinks, delicious bar food and some great entertainment, and baby, you’ve got a CHGO Watch Party at Joe’s on Weed St. going.
It’s not every day you have a chance to watch a Bears game with Lance Briggs, Jerry Azumah, Corey Wootton and, of course, me.
That’s right — you can ridicule me for my game predictions in person instead of in the comment section.
We’ll see you Sunday. Doors open at 10:30 a.m.
🏈🍺 WATCH PARTY 🍺🏈
Join Us For:
• CHGO Bears Pre & Post Shows
• Bears at Ravens (noon)
• Brick By Brick w/ Briggs & Azumah
Where: Joe’s on Weed St.
When: October 26th at 10:30 a.m.
Diehards Get 20% Off
More Info HERE
Be Prepared.
The Bears are in an awkward spot ahead of a Week 8 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. They’ll either face three-time All-Pro and two-time MVP Lamar Jackson...or Cooper Rush.
Hope For The Best, Expect The Worst: Jackson, who missed the Ravens’ last two games due to a hamstring strain, was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday. The expectation was that Jackson would return after their Week 7 bye, but that’s at least in doubt.
However, the Bears can’t afford to be caught off guard in the event Jackson is healthy enough to give it a go on Sunday.
Ben Johnson on Jackson: “We’ll approach it that he’s starting for them. That’s our starting point.”
Kevin Byard on Jackson: “We're going to prepare for Lamar. He's been in this league long enough where I'm pretty sure he doesn't need as much practice time as some guys. But I hope that he plays, just because of the simple fact that you want to be able to go up against guys like him. … If he doesn't play, then we'll adjust accordingly, but right now we're gonna plan for Lamar.”
Hello, Old Friend: Despite missing the last two games with a hamstring injury, it looks like ex-Bears linebacker Roquan Smith will be available on Sunday — his first time facing the Bears since they traded him three years ago.
Since leaving the Bears, Smith has been named a first-team All-Pro twice.
Johnson on Smith: “He is fast. I think that’s what stands out. He diagnoses quickly: See ball, get ball, sideline to sideline. … It seems like he’s been an All-Pro now for, what, five years in a row? I think some outstanding number like that, so he is playing at a super high level and I know they’ll welcome him back on that defense. He’s going to help them out.”
The Homefront: The Bears’ Wednesday injury report wasn’t exactly inspiring either.
Running backs Roschon Johnson (back) and D’Andre Swift (groin) did not participate, along with tight end Cole Kmet (back), receiver DJ Moore (hip) and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (shoulder).
Additionally, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, offensive tackle Braxton Jones, place kicker Cairo Santos and cornerback Nahshon Wright (hip) were all limited.
Kmet and Stevenson exited Sunday’s win over the Saints early in the second half. Wright also briefly left the game after colliding with safety Kevin Byard but returned a drive later.
Here’s the deal — whether it’s Jackson or not on Sunday, the Bears simply can’t afford to underestimate the Ravens, regardless of their 1-5 record.
After all, we’re talking about a team that lost a heartbreaker to the Bills in the divisional round last year and lost in the AFC Championship the year before.
And in case you didn’t notice, the Ravens actually opened as 6.5-point favorites…
Bulls 115, Pistons 111: Breathe. That looked like just about every Bulls game over the past two seasons. The Bulls led by as much as 23 in the second quarter — and then, with 2:54 left in regulation, the ballgame was tied.
But the Bulls didn’t completely crumble. Matas Buzelis jammed an alley-oop courtesy of Tre Jones, Nikola Vucevic buried a short floater and Josh Giddey scored the Bulls’ final four points from the free-throw line to finally shut the door on the Pistons’ comeback.
Plenty to clean up, including the 17 turnovers, but you can’t go 82-0 without starting 1-0. Best record in the league, woohoo!
Going For Gold: Charles “Peanut” Tillman, Olin Kreutz, Ruben Brown and Greg Olsen are among 52 official candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Tillman played for the Bears for 12 seasons, where he forced 42 fumbles and became a staple of the league known for his “Peanut Punch”.
Kreutz, a third-round pick in 1998, played 13 seasons of his 14-year career with the Bears, making six Pro Bowl appearances and one All-Pro team.
Brown finished his career with the Bears and was their starting left guard in Super Bowl XLI.
Olsen was the Bears’ first-round selection in 2007 but was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2011 for a third-round pick. Thanks for that one, Mike Martz.
Chicago 3, Orlando City 1: For the first time in 16 years, the Fire have won a postseason match.
After a scoreless first half, things really picked up quickly for the Fire out of the break, dominating Orlando City while building a three-goal cushion. Brian Gutiérrez opened the scoring in the 48th minute, and Hugo Cuypers added some insurance in the 56th and 67th.
Great pacing, great match and a great result.
The Fire head to Philadelphia for Game 1 of a best-of-three first round against the top-seeded Union this Sunday. They’ll be back home in Bridgeview for Game 2 the following Saturday (November 1st).
Silver Snub: When I think of vaunted power threats, I definitely think of 2B Nico Hoerner, who didn’t hit his first home run of the season until June 24th.
Hoerner is one of three Cubs finalists for an NL Silver Slugger award, joining Pete Crow-Armstrong for centerfield and Kyle Tucker for right field.
Surprisingly, Michael Busch, who led the Cubs in home runs this past season (34), is not among the finalists at first base. Odd.
📺 CHGO Bears
1:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Cubs
2:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Fire
4:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bulls
4:30 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
Pregame at 5:15 on YouTube
🏒 Blackhawks at Lightning
5:45 on ESPN+ & Hulu
🐻 Brick x Brick
6:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
Postgame on YouTube
📺 CHGO Cubs Related
8:00 on YouTube
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