Briggs and the team agreed to a one year extension today that will keep the All-Pro a Bear until 2014. Or until another outside linebacker gets paid money and Briggs starts saying he's a Bear until he isn't a Bear again. more ›

Lovie Smith thinks we should "think about the (Bears) 1-0 record going into 2012." Lovie can shove that 1-0 record where the sun doesn't shine. more ›

Linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, running back Matt Forte, cornerback Charles Tillman and special teams standout Corey Graham were selected to the team. more ›

What a difference a week makes. more ›

Lance Briggs' six-year, $36 million contract he signed three years ago looks like a bargain compared to the contracts of younger, less proven linebackers. But he wants to keep up with them in salary. more ›

Holiday gifts are still coming the Bears way, courtesy of their division rivals in Minnesota. The Vikings upset Philadelphia 24-14 last night, guaranteeing the Bears the second seed in the NFC and a first-round playoff bye. The Bears still have a chance at the top seed in the conference, but they're going to have to rely on losses Sunday to Atlanta and New Orleans. The defensing champion Saints face a tough challenge against Tampa Bay, but the Falcons match up against doormat Carolina. more ›

Briggs Status Uncertain: Lance BRigg's right ankle injury that sustained against Carolina kept him out of practice for a second straight game, leading to speculation as to if he'll play against the Seahawks Sunday. Head coach Lovie Smith said that Briggs usually heals late in the week, but didn't say if backup linebacker Brian Iwuh would start in place of Briggs. The linebacker play of Briggs, Urlacher and Pisa Tinaisamoa has been one of the main reasons the Bears have jumped to a 4-1 start. more ›

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The third preseason game, which most teams view as the dress rehearsal for the regular season, was supposed to be a statement game for the Bears. If Saturday night's 14-9 loss to the Arizona Cardinals was their statement, Bears fans are in for another disappointing season. Shortcomings that plagued the first two exhibition games reared their ugly heads on Saturday in all phases of the Bears' play. more ›

• An arbitrator ruled in favor of the City today in their battle with the Chicago Police Union over raises; "rank-and-file" officers will receive a 10 percent increase over five years.
• A Lake Forest man claims he's recovered a chunk of the meteorite responsible for that giant fireball over the Midwest on Wednesday night.
• A congrats to Katie Washington of Gary, Indiana who has become Notre Dame's first African-American valedictorian.

In spite of their being right in the thick of the playoff picture in the waning weeks of the regular season, the Bears are not considered a star studded team according to the fans. The NFL announced the Pro Bowl selections today, and only linebacker Lance Briggs was chosen to represent the Bears. more ›

Coming off last week's ugly loss in Green Bay, the Bears were looking for an opportunity to move forward in their quest to outlast their rivals and win the NFC North. Working in the Bears favor more than anything, perhaps, is their remaining schedule -- starting with Sunday's match-up against the St. Louis Rams. The Bears took care of business and headed north of .500 with a definitive 27-3 victory. more ›

Is that a drug deal caught on Google Maps? [Gawker] more ›

Chicagoist hopes that IDOT has placed their orders for reinforced guard rails and extra sign posts because Lance Briggs will be remaining with the Bears after signing a 6-year, $36 million deal over the weekend. more ›

There are few words we come across - at least within the local sports pages - that concern us more than "Brian Urlacher" and "neck surgery" in the same sentence. Yet that's what greeted us in bold print in Friday's papers. Following a routine post-season physical, a problem in Urlacher's lower neck that affected the curve of his cervical spine required "minor" surgery to correct. Tribune columnist Rick Morrissey wondered, "[I]s there such a thing as a routine surgery for someone whose job revolves around catapulting himself head first into running backs and quarterbacks?" more ›

Too bad Brian Urlacher's monster game on Monday night came too late in the season for it to impact Pro Bowl voting by coaches and players. While he won the fans' vote, the Bears' middle linebacker was not selected to February's Pro Bowl for only the second time in his career — and the first in which he played the whole year. more ›

Lance Briggs's baby mama Brittini Tribbett says he only provides $250 per week in child support. more ›

The Bears have their bye week this weekend, which means a weekend off for Lovie Smith's players. We imagine Kyle Orton will end up in some embarrassing photos taken in some college-town bar. We suspect that Brian Urlacher will stay home to rest his aching back... unless some starlet want to hang with him in Vegas. And perhaps Lance Briggs will use the free time to finally test drive some new rides. It also means... more ›

Bears linebacker Lance Briggs finally spoke with the media yesterday, after being compelled to do so by the NFL. Since training camp began in late July, his three-minute statement to the press after wrecking his Lamborghini was the only time he’d talked. While forced to talk with reporters, he didn't settle for canned cliches or vague statements -- there was real news contained in his words. We all remember, during the off-season, when Briggs felt... more ›

We have an idea for how to end unemployment in this town forever. Just introduce everyone to Todd Stroger. He's still a big fan of hooking his pals up with jobs, like Patty Young, girlfriend of Stroger buddy Commissioner William Beavers. Once the Sun Times started sniffing around, Young left her spot in the county purchasing department. Are Illinois's state tests too easy? Depends who you ask. Lance Briggs pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor... more ›

Things are not looking very good for the Bears. With Sunday's 37-27 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Bears showed their weaknesses on both sides of the ball. The first game of the Brian Griese era was no more successful than the Bears under Rex Grossman. Supposedly the safe game manager, Griese threw three interceptions — two while the Bears were in the "red zone." The other one was returned 64 yards for a touchdown.... more ›

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom... more ›

First person to name the song those lyrics in the headline came from gets a no-prize. Own some of Billy Corgan. Really. It's not a good idea to e-mail a Playboy playmate via Myspace, especially when said playmate is dating the Bears' Adam Archuleta, you're from Aurora, and type in bold threatening capital letters. Some Wisconsinites have a unique take on the designated driver. What did you do on your summer vacation? (via) Give... more ›

It's been barely more than 24 hours since Lance Briggs' brand new $450,000 Lamborghini was found wrapped around a pole on the side of the Edens Expressway. In that time, we have learned that he was in fact driving the car at the time of the accident, and as a result on Monday was charged with leaving the scene of an accident -- a misdemeanor-- and ticketed for failure to immediately notify police of a... more ›

In a story earily similar to one involving a Ferrari on a California road last year, police found an abandoned, crashed exotic car on the Edens Expressway around 3:15am Monday morning. more ›

For those of us whose baseball teams is hopelessly out of the playoff hunt, today is the day we've been waiting for since June -- the opening of Bears open training camp! Players arrived at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais yesterday ahead of today's first practice. The Bears enter camp as reigning NFC Champs, and with the expectations of winning the Super Bowl this season. Can they overcome the fate of the past five... more ›

Remember when Bears linebacker Lance Briggs threatened to hold out — at least for the first ten games — because he took exception with the Bears tagging him with their "franchise" tag? Briggs was upset that the team's move prevented him from signing a long-term contract elsewhere after he and the Bears were unable to agree on long-term deal. Never mind that the franchise tag also guaranteed he'd make $7.2 million in 2007. Unable to... more ›

With the Bears opening training camp on Friday, it's time to dust off the blue and orange, refresh our memories of last year's Super Bowl XLI appearance, and then start figuring out what to fret about come Week One. The Tribune points out their five areas of concern, while the Sun-Times gives us their ten things to watch for. 1. At the top of both lists is the quarterback situation. Can Rex Grossman be the... more ›

Faced with declining revenues, the Tribune plans on placing advertisements on the bottom of its front page. Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons isn't the only person charged with running a dog-fighting ring. So is 29-year-old South Holland resident Kevin Taylor. Like he needs the money: Oprah's throwing a fundraiser for Barack Obama at her California estate. Chicago Public Schools chief Arne Duncan makes his case for money from Springfield. Oak Park supports same-sex... more ›

The NFL held its annual draft this past weekend, and the Bears attempted to fill the holes on their roster in the hopes of building a team that can return to the Super Bowl next season. On Friday, we outlined what we felt were the biggest needs for the Bears. How'd they do in filling those areas? In the first round, with the 31st overall pick, the Bears filled their need for a tight end... more ›