Bear Down, Chicago Bears...

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Jul 29, 2004 2:55PM

Chicagoist prefers hearing "Bear Down" as the first words of the Chicago Bears' fight song, not a panicked shout on the practice field. But that's what happened within the first hour of the first practice on Wednesday, as All Pro middle linebacker Brian Urlacher went down with an injury.

Initially diagnosed as a pulled hamstring, the situation does not look good. "He got a pretty good pull," Bears GM Jerry Angelo said. "We'll know more tomorrow. (I'm) not really optimistic that it's going to be something that's going to be a few days. (It will be) probably a little longer than that." An MRI today will shed more light into the extent of Urlacher's injury.

Probably not what new coach Lovie Smith wanted on his first day of training camp. The Bears' backup middle linebacker, who lined up with the first team Wednesday following Urlacher's injury, is Hunter Hillenmeyer. Whose biggest career highlight is being named one of Chicago's most eligible bachelors...