Free Republic

NFL legend Dick Butkus has reportedly died on Thursday at the age of 80. Emergency crews arrived at Butkus’ home in Malibu around 12.51pm, where he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A special city committee is poised to recommend putting a dome over Soldier Field to keep the Chicago Bears from bolting to Arlington Heights, according to a published report Mayor Lori Lightfoot would only say was “premature” to publicly discuss. Lightfoot’s special committee, the Museum Campus Working Group, is prepared to release a report that suggests a dome could keep the Bears in Chicago, according to Greg Hinz of Crain’s. Capping the lakefront stadium could cost up to $1.5 billion, Crain’s reported, citing sources. A draft of the report, which could be released Thursday, says the dome “almost certainly” will...

Gale Sayers, one of the most electric NFL players of the 1960s and early 1970s, has died. He was 77 years old. The Pro Football Hall of Famer was a brilliant running back and returner who spent only seven years in the league, all with the Chicago Bears, from 1965 to 1971. “The NFL family lost a true friend today with the passing of Gale Sayers,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Gale was one of the finest men in NFL history and one of the game's most exciting players. Gale was an electrifying and elusive runner who...

Last January, Case Keenum threw 20 incompletions, threw two picks, and threw away what felt like a Super Bowl in the cold of the NFC championship game in Philadelphia. The Minnesota Vikings saw their quarterback get outdueled by Eagles backup Nick Foles, dashing the dream of hosting the Super Bowl. Afterward, the franchise focused on a single thing – get a quarterback, just about any quarterback, at just about any price. All the other pieces were there, they believed. So they went out and got Kirk Cousins, for $84 million over three years, convincing him to come to Minnesota because...

It was a rough Thursday night all around for the Chicago Bears -- they lost 35-14 to the Green Bay Packers while simultaneously getting trolled by Butterfinger on Twitter. The night's roasting started early when the candy brand took to Twitter to weigh in on the Bears' slippery fingers when quarterback Mike Glennon had a snap bounce off his knee for a fumble that the Packers recovered. The Bears, obviously offended by the ironic tweet, responded with a predictable joke. While it's tough to reconcile two bad losses in one night, at least the Bears can take solace in knowing...

Former Bears coach Mike Ditka is a very conservative human being. There is no debating this. So it wouldn't be surprising to see him come down on the opposite side of Colin Kaepernick when it comes to the 49ers quarterback's protest against the national anthem and the American flag. But Ditka's got a pretty aggressive message for Kap, one he delivered while interviewing with CBS Sports Radio affiliate 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, saying he can "get the hell out" of America if he doesn't "like our flag." "I think it's a problem...anybody who disrespects this country and the flag,"...

Bears legend and NFL Hall of Fame coach Mike Ditka weighed in on the Rams players who took to the field with the “Hands up, don’t shoot!” gesture as a Ferguson protest before Sunday’s game, and he isn’t a fan. “Da Coach” said it was “a shame” how events have unfolded since a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, decided not to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson for the Aug. 9 killing of Michael Brown.“I understand what the Rams’ take on this was. I’m embarrassed for the players more than anything. They want to take a political stand on this? Well,...

A new series on The Discovery Channel will show why bear hunting is more than just a sport. Filmed on Alaska's Kodiak Island, Kodiak will not only give viewers a glimpse into a world where bear hunting is a way of life, but it will also demonstrate the biological and scientific rationale behind controlling the population of "the largest land carnivore on the planet: the Kodiak brown bear," according to a Discovery Channel press release. The series "chronicles the lives of the Mays, the Hollands, and the Cusacks," who are "three multi-generational families risking it all to make a living"...

According to the complaint, Hurd, 26, whose base salary was $685,000 this year, met with a confidential informant and federal agent at Morton’s The Steakhouse in Rosemont, Illinois, on Wednesday. There, the complaint says, he told the pair that he and another person were running 4 kilograms of cocaine into the Chicago area each week, but his supplier couldn’t keep up. He then allegedly worked out a deal to receive 5 to 10 kilograms of coke (at $25,000 apiece) and half a ton of marijuana (at $450 a pound) per week. For the math-challenged, that’s a minimum of $575,000 worth...

CHICAGO (WLS) - Former Chicago Bears defensive tackle Dan Hampton says he will not be joining his fellow teammates when they visit the White House next month. Hampton, a member of the Bears 1985 Super Bowl championship team, made the comments on Chicago's Mully and Hanley radio show Monday. "It's my personal choice," the four-time Pro Bowler said. "I don't choose to go." Hampton said he was bothered that the invitation did not include players' wives and children and added, "Secondly, I’m not a fan of the guy in the White House, and third, it was 25 years ago. Let...

Some game, huh? Outdoor football returns to Minnesota! (even though it was a blowout loss). Oh, and give Brett Favre a hand for trying. (clap clap clap)

...With a record of 2-11, the silver-and-Honolulu blue are firmly entrenched at No. 32 on any power poll in this spiral arm of the galaxy. Entrenched, that is, until another loss drops them behind Ohio State, Florida and the Hamburg Sea Devils. Think it can't get worse? Hey, this is the Lions. NFL schedule makers saw fit to arrange the endgame Kitty Cats' so, so long season likewise: at the Green Bay Packers where the Lions haven't won since a guy named Brett Favre took over there (that's right, 1992); against the Chicago Bears in a game which figures to...

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration will retain a Bush-era rule for polar bears, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday, in a move that angered activists who noted the rule limits what can be done to protect the species from global warming. The administration had faced a weekend deadline to decide whether it should allow government agencies to cite the federal Endangered Species Act, which protects the bear, to impose limits on greenhouse gases from power plants, factories and automobiles even if the emissions occur thousands of miles from where the polar bear lives. "We must do all we can to...

Newly-acquired Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is known for holding a grudge, and he still seems to be holding one against Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner stemming from an old recruiting dispute, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun-Times. Citing people close to Cutler and a Denver Post column, some fences may need to be mended between Cutler and Turner now that they’re going to work together. As a high school senior in southern Indiana, Cutler accepted a scholarship to Illinois where Turner was the head coach at the time. Cutler committed without visiting campus, though, and when he...

Mike Ditka has been a lot of things in life, including that man that could have possibly beaten then Illinois state senator Barack Obama when he ran for U.S. Senate in 2004. Instead Ditka chose not to run because of business obligations, Alan Keyes did the honors and we all know how that turned out. The Pittsburgh native, Republican, and accomplished former NFL player, television commentator, and coach is now being ‘drafted’ once again to run to fill the seat vacated by Obama. A seat that remains open despite Gov. Blagojevich’s perfectly legal (yet tainted) appointment of former Illinois attorney...

Sarah Palin embarked on a Pennsylvania bus tour Friday, kicking things off with a rally featuring Mike Ditka, a.k.a. da coach, pledging his support for da GOP ticket. The former Chicago Bears coach was born in Pennsylvania and gave the crowd of a few thousand a pep talk just four days before Election Day. “Thing I know about Pennsylvania, you’re great people, you’re hardworking people-no nonsense people, and that’s what this is all about,” Ditka said.

Bears' Benson charged with boating while intoxicated, resisting arrest ESPN.com news services Updated: May 4, 2008, 4:00 PM ET AUSTIN, Texas -- Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson failed a sobriety test while operating a 30-foot boat, then resisted arrest before being hit with pepper spray and dragged ashore by officers. Benson faces charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest after the incident Saturday night on Lake Travis, Travis County Sheriff's Department spokesman Roger Wade said. Both charges are misdemeanors. Benson was released from jail early Sunday on a $14,500 bond. A call to Benson's agent was not immediately...

NFL WEEK SIX LIVE THREAD October 14 1:00PM ET - CBS @ @ @ @ 1:00PM ET - FOX @ @ @ @ 4:05PM ET - FOX @ 4:15PM ET - CBS @ @ 8:15PM ET - NBC @ October 15 8:30PM ET - ESPN @ BYE

NFL WEEK FIVE LIVE THREAD October 7 1:00PM ET - CBS @ @ @ @ 1:00PM ET - FOX @ @ @ @ @ 4:05PM ET - FOX @ 4:15PM ET - CBS @ @ 8:15PM ET - NBC @ October 8 8:30PM ET - ESPN @ BYE

NFL WEEK TWO LIVE THREAD September 16 1:00PM ET - FOX @ @ @ @ 1:00PM ET - CBS @ @ @ @ 4:05PM ET - FOX @ @ @ 4:15PM ET - CBS @ @ @ 8:15PM ET - NBC @ September 17 8:30PM ET - ESPN @