Chicago Bears

What's that phrase National Football League officials use after they've checked out a play that's been challenged? Oh, yeah: "after further review." Well, after further review, I've found I still have some Colts-fan DNA lingering in my body. No disrespect to my beloved Ravens, but I find myself ready to whoop it up for the Indy Colts (or the Baltimore Colts Playing in Indianapolis, as I fondly call them) when they face the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl tomorrow. I just can't watch the guys in that Colt blue and those horseshoe helmets and root against them and for -- the Bears?

Good morning -- Chicago Bears -- You declined a welcome home event. Did you worry Rex Grossman might fall off the stage?

Harry Swayne's calling has always been the same: lead others to daylight. He did it as a hole-carving offensive tackle for the Ravens' Super Bowl champions in the 2000 season. He does it now as team chaplain for the Chicago Bears. Once, the playbook was his Bible. Now, it's the other way around. For five years, Swayne, 42, has counseled Bears players and coaches on personal matters. He tackles marital concerns and anger management issues and sometimes offers financial advice. "There are guys [in pro football]

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins have to avoid a trap today, and it has nothing to do with their opponent, the Chicago Bears.After suffering their second loss of the season last week against Dallas, the Redskins (4-2) have a locker room in disarray, with closed-door meetings and "Fingergate," an internal investigation into how punter Matt Turk broke his left middle finger.So the major question is not whether the Redskins can stop the Bears' running game today in Landover, but whether they can block out all the controversy.

CHICAGO -- Ideally, the Ravens wanted to be above .500 or at least at that level at this point in the season.But with two games remaining, the Ravens (5-9) face the Chicago Bears (3-11) today at Soldier Field with only their pride and draft position at stake.If all had gone according to plan, the Ravens would be in playoff contention, with the Bears and the Detroit Lions left on the schedule.Now, it's a matter of which team might quit first."The one thing I'm confident of is that this team won't quit on the season," said Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda.

The Ravens unveiled their 1998 team last night, and it was a successful coming-out party as Baltimore defeated the Chicago Bears, 19-14, in the preseason opener and first game played at the team's new $220 million stadium before a sellout crowd of 65,938.Forget about the score and that it was just the Chicago Bears. The Ravens' strategy for the season is plain, yet simple, and finally was put on public display last night.The Ravens put the game away with 8:49 left to play when quarterback Eric Zeier threw a short hitch pass to rookie receiver Patrick Johnson, who then made a quick move on cornerback Clyde Johnson and turned the pass into a 19-yard touchdown that put the Ravens ahead, 19-7.

CHICAGO -- A lot of the Ravens tap-danced around the issue because it's the ultimate insult to a professional athlete, but the Q-word was close to leaking out of a lot of players' mouths.The Chicago Bears (4-11) routed the Ravens, 24-3, yesterday before 40,853 at Soldier Field, but the 26,091 fans who didn't show up for Beanie Babies Day weren't the only no-shows. The Ravens' defense didn't report in the first half, when Chicago scored 24 unanswered points, and the two Pro Bowl players on defense didn't make a difference as James Allen looked like Walter Payton in rushing for 163 yards in his first start.

Astros: Jack Howell was sent to a hospital for X-rays after colliding with Vladimir Guerrero on a play at first.Cardinals: Mark McGwire has 407 home runs, tied for 24th place with Duke Snider. McGwire's upper-deck shot was the first at Veterans Stadium this year. ... McGwire's 45 multihomer games put him 10th place all-time. Ron Gant led off, the first time he's done that since 1996.Cubs: Third baseman Kevin Orie did not play because of back spasms. Jim McMahon, who quarterbacked the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl championship in 1985, led the seventh-inning stretch.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Freed finally from the bondage of the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers have embraced their hard-earned status as darlings of the NFL with an uncommon fervor.Right from the start of training camp, strong safety LeRoy Butler said that a perfect 19-0 season not only was possible but also was the goal this season.Without much prodding, two-time MVP quarterback Brett Favre conceded he can easily envision a new dynasty in history-laden Green Bay.And in yet another corner under the Packers' big top, defensive end Reggie White lent his ministerial approval to these proceedings.

Every handicapper should be permitted one minute of madness during the NFL season. So I'll plead guilty, in advance, to having little more than a hunch as the primary reason for selecting the Chicago Bears, 11 1/2 -point underdogs, to cover Sunday at Soldier Field against the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.The Bears are 0-6, at the bottom of the NFC Central. They've been blown out by Detroit and New England, faded badly in the second half at Dallas, lost by 14 at Green Bay, and disgraced coach Dave Wannstedt by losing to former coach Mike Ditka's New Orleans team last Sunday night in Chicago.

Wow, talk about having too much time on your hands. At 5golden rings.net, a blog by and for Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the authors conducted a count of NFL-related material being sold on eBay on a recent day and found this ranking of the top five teams: Steelers (16,567), Dallas Cowboys (10,987), New York Giants (7,633), Green Bay Packers (7,445) and Chicago Bears (7,057). Among the items: a 1976 Steelers coloring book, a Bill Parcells-style Giants sweater and a "no Jessica" T-shirt (referring to Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's distraction, Jessica Simpson)

Harry Swayne's calling has always been the same: lead others to daylight. He did it as a hole-carving offensive tackle for the Ravens' Super Bowl champions in the 2000 season. He does it now as team chaplain for the Chicago Bears. Once, the playbook was his Bible. Now, it's the other way around. For five years, Swayne, 42, has counseled Bears players and coaches on personal matters. He tackles marital concerns and anger management issues and sometimes offers financial advice. "There are guys [in pro football]

Chicago -- Tony Romo looked desperate early on, scrambling, rushing throws and doing all he could to avoid the Chicago Bears' defense. The only thing he didn't do was go away. Romo passed for 329 yards after a rough start, Anthony Henry had two interceptions for the second straight week and the Dallas Cowboys made a big statement, beating the Chicago Bears, 34-10, last night. The Cowboys showed just how serious a contender they are in the NFC during the second half, outscoring the Bears 31-7.

Good morning -- Chicago Bears -- You declined a welcome home event. Did you worry Rex Grossman might fall off the stage?

The world may be watching when the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears hook up tonight in the Super Bowl, but only because the football gods fumbled the matchup that everybody really wanted to see. OK, not everybody, but everybody who counts. Ravens fans were geared up for glory, and the rest of the country (with a couple of notable metropolitan exceptions) wanted to see the New Orleans Saints complete their unlikely march to Miami. Who would have gone home with the Lombardi Trophy? Who knows, but an Internet site called WhatIFSports.

What's that phrase National Football League officials use after they've checked out a play that's been challenged? Oh, yeah: "after further review." Well, after further review, I've found I still have some Colts-fan DNA lingering in my body. No disrespect to my beloved Ravens, but I find myself ready to whoop it up for the Indy Colts (or the Baltimore Colts Playing in Indianapolis, as I fondly call them) when they face the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl tomorrow. I just can't watch the guys in that Colt blue and those horseshoe helmets and root against them and for -- the Bears?

MIAMI -- When it comes to Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, there is no middle ground. Some consider Urlacher the next in the Bears' great legacy of linebackers. Others believe he is among the most overhyped players in the game. In his seven-year career, Urlacher has been named to the Pro Bowl six times, received the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award for 2005, and made the list of overrated players in two magazines. "It made me mad at first," Urlacher said. "I don't know where it came from.

To look at the video now, awkwardly caught between disco's twilight and hip-hop's heyday some 21 years ago, is to wonder how the idea ever took flight. Ten members of the last Chicago Bears team to play in the Super Bowl made a rap music video called the Super Bowl Shuffle, promoting their football prowess weeks before they even qualified for the championship. Rather than sample from popular songs of the day like many hip-hop recordings, the Shuffle came from, of all things, a tune linked to old minstrel show Amos 'n Andy.

Face bloodied, the battered quarterback huddled up and called the play. His teammates frowned. That pass wasn't in their playbook. The quarterback rasped out directions, broke the huddle, took the snap. With eyes nearly swollen shut, he backpedaled, double-pumped and fired a 39-yard strike to win the game as time ran out. The quarterback? John Unitas. The date? Nov. 13, 1960. No matter how Sunday's Super Bowl plays out, it would be hard-pressed to surpass the most memorable game against the Chicago Bears in Baltimore Colts history.

Like a lot of Baltimore Ravens fans, part of me would just as soon forget about this Sunday's Super Bowl. It will be hard to watch the televised game without feeling our team "coulda, shoulda" been there. Yet we have to accept that the Ravens got beat, 15-6, by the Indianapolis Colts, the team that is favored over the Chicago Bears to win this year's Super Bowl title. Maybe this weekend will be easier to swallow if we give ourselves a pity party this Sunday, fixing comfort foods that will help us through this difficult time.