Bears trying to track down $100K in equipment that was stolen

Oct 28, 2018; Chicago, IL, USA; The Chicago Bears logo is seen prior to a game against the New York Jets at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

A terrible week for the Chicago Bears has somehow gotten worse.

According to a report from ABC 7 Chicago, the Bears are trying to track down an estimated $100,000 worth of equipment that was stolen from Soldier Field earlier this week. The equipment, which included utility vehicles and lawn mowers, was taken from a parking structure at the stadium at some point overnight on Wednesday.

Bears staff said the thieves tore down a security fence, which allowed them to drive the vehicles out of the garage.

The robbery took place on the same week that Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams announced his resignation. There have since been reports that Williams decided to step down after his house was raided by the FBI.

The Bears also generated some football-related negative headlines. Justin Fields made some comments on Wednesday that were interpreted as the quarterback blaming Chicago’s coaching staff for his struggles. A video also went viral that appeared to show star wide receiver DJ Moore expressing frustration with his role.

It goes without saying that Chicago could use a win on Sunday. That win would have to come on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bears are 12.5-point underdogs, which is the largest spread in the NFL for Week 3.

Bengals add new QB to practice squad after losing Will Grier

The Cincinnati Bengals have added a new quarterback to their practice squad amid some depth concerns at the position.

The Bengals on Friday signed Reid Sinnett to their practice squad.

Cincinnati had signed Sinnett when Joe Burrow injured his calf muscle in training camp, but they cut the former XFL quarterback and did not immediately sign him to their practice squad. A few weeks later, they are bringing him back.

The Bengals are trying to figure out their depth at quarterback.

Burrow in Week 2 tweaked the calf muscle that caused him to miss time in training camp. The Bengals are unsure if Burrow will be available for their Monday night game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3. On Thursday, they also lost practice squad quarterback Will Grier, who was signed to the New England Patriots’ roster.

Cincinnati currently has Jake Browning behind Burrow on their depth chart, and now Sinnett as their QB3 on the practice squad. If Burrow cannot play in Week 3, Cincinnati would likely need to add Sinnett to the active roster, otherwise their only backup to Browning might be running back Joe Mixon.

Aaron Rodgers close to rejoining Jets for off-field work

Aug 19, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) during warmups for the Jets game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Rodgers may be ready to contribute to the New York Jets, even after suffering an Achilles tear in Week 1.

Jets coach Robert Saleh revealed Friday that he is hopeful Rodgers will be back at the team’s facilities next week. While Rodgers obviously will not be able to play, he could help quarterback Zach Wilson out with game preparation.

Rodgers being around the team while injured cannot be a bad thing. There were reports that he was still helping Wilson even in the aftermath of his injury, and Wilson has openly admitted to trying to mimic Rodgers as much as possible.

Rodgers has an incredibly ambitious goal when it comes to recovering from his surgery. Being around the team would presumably help with that, too.

A’s mocked over their retirement gift to Miguel Cabrera

Mar 30, 2022; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) looks on from the dugout in the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during spring training at BayCare Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland A’s are being mocked over the retirement gift they gave to Miguel Cabrera because it’s a symbol of their cheapness and carelessness.

Cabrera plans to retire after the season, so teams have been giving the future Hall of Famer nice send-off gifts upon his last visit to their stadium.

The Detroit Tigers are in Oakland for a four-game series with the A’s in what will be Cabrera’s last time at the Oakland Coliseum. Prior to Thursday night’s game between the teams, the A’s presented Cabrera with a bottle of red wine.

Yes, that’s an $80 bottle of Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 2020.

Teams often give thoughtful gifts to legends of the game who are retiring — ones that typically have tie-ins to the area where the team is from. The Los Angeles Dodgers gave Cabrera a “Hollywood star.” The Angels gave him a surfboard. The A’s, which are located not too far from the wine vineyards in Napa Valley, gave him wine.

As many others pointed out, not only was the gift cheap, uncreative and plain, but it also was thoughtless. Cabrera has battled alcohol issues and had a DUI arrest in 2011.

The A’s can’t move out of Oakland soon enough. And they could really use a do-over on their gift to Cabrera.

ESPN’s Bart Scott faces backlash for comment about Trevon Diggs’ injury

Bart Scott on Friday made a lighthearted comment about Dallas Cowboys star Trevon Diggs suffering a season-ending injury, and the former NFL linebacker faced some serious backlash over the remark.

Diggs tore his ACL during practice on Thursday and will miss the remainder of the season. During his appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” Friday, Scott described the injury as a “major, major blow” to the Cowboys. Scott then made a reference to how Stephen A. Smith — a proud Cowboys hater — has said in the past that “something bad always happens” to the Cowboys if you wait long enough.

Smith and analyst Ryan Clark immediately let Scott know that they did not agree with what he said.

Smith loves trolling the Cowboys for being choke artists. When he says something bad always happens to them, he means something like a costly turnover or missed field goal. Scott was trying to play off of Smith’s hatred for the Cowboys and their fans, but it was not a good idea to bring it up when discussing a serious injury.

Of course, Scott is the same analyst who once suggested his former team would try to deliberately injure an opposing quarterback. This is not the first time he has used questionable judgment on the air.

Report reveals Warriors’ stance on signing Dwight Howard

Jan 15, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) arrives at Toyota Center before a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors brought in Dwight Howard for a visit this week, but it does not sound like they have immediate plans to sign the former All-Star.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Friday that the Warriors are not expected to sign Howard or any other veteran center ahead of training camp, which begins next month. Golden State prefers to have flexibility to sign a big man either later in training camp or possibly during the regular season.

Charania adds that Howard could now meet with other teams in the coming weeks.

Howard met with the Warriors over a two-day period. A report this week claimed the team’s veteran players were in favor of signing Howard, who also had plans to work out with Draymond Green and Chris Paul. Green expressed frustration over that report leaking.

It is still possible that Howard will sign with the Warriors at a later date.

Howard, 37, signed with the Taoyuan Leopards of Taiwan’s T1 League last year and is still under contract with the team. While the competition obviously is a lot weaker than the NBA, Howard wasted no time putting up some incredible stats with his new team.

Howard was also still fairly productive during his last NBA season when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021-22. He averaged 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds while playing just 16.2 minutes per game.

Tyreek Hill issues warning to Micah Parsons

The Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins do not face one another until Christmas Day, but Micah Parsons and Tyreek Hill are already counting down the days.

Parsons and Hill have had a budding rivalry for a while now, and the Cowboys pass-rusher fanned the flames a bit more recently. After he had a dominant performance in a Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Chargers with 11 catches, 215 yards and 2 touchdowns, Hill said it might be more appropriate to call him a “lion” rather than using his “cheetah” nickname.

Parsons, who calls himself “The Lion,” did not appreciate Hill trying to steal his nickname. Parsons said on his podcast this week that Hill should “stick to the cheetah.” The two-time Pro Bowler said Hill is more like a “cub.”

As Parsons predicted, Hill fired back. On the latest episode of his “It Needed to Be Said” podcast, Hill issued a warning for Parsons. The star receiver said he is going to “blindside” Parsons on Christmas Day.

“When we play you December 25, on Christmas Day, I have a present for you, my boy,” Hill said. “I know you seen my little clip, the way I was blocking the D-end. I’m big like that. I’m off the edge like that. So, you better watch your back, because I’m gonna blindside you. I’m gonna show you that game who the real lion is. Like I said, baby, I’m the cheetah and the lion. I’m the real hybrid on the field, baby.”

Hill was likely referring to the clip that went viral of him sealing the edge for Raheem Mostert during Miami’s win over the New England Patriots on Sunday night.

It seems unlikely that Hill would win a strength battle against Parsons, but let’s not forget what happened when the two squared off in a Pro Bowl Skills event last season. Hill could be out for revenge.

NFL offers baffling explanation for not ejecting Trent Williams over punch

San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Trent Williams managed to avoid an ejection on Thursday night after he punched an opponent, and the NFL’s explanation for allowing him to remain in the game was a bit puzzling.

Williams hit New York Giants defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson with a closed fist to the facemask just before halftime of San Francisco’s 30-12 win. The scuffle began when Robinson engaged with Niners offensive lineman Aaron Banks on a kneeldown play. Both Banks and Williams responded by shoving Robinson.

Robinson then cocked his hand back like he was going to swing at Williams. He instead gave Williams an open-hand tap in the chinstrap area. That’s when Williams hit Robinson with the closed-fist punch.

Williams and Robinson were both flagged for unnecessary roughness, so the fouls offset. Another angle of the incident clearly showed that Williams threw a closed-fist punch, which typically triggers an automatic ejection.

After the game, pool reporter Matt Barrows asked NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson about the decision to let Williams remain in the game. Anderson said the officiating crew reviewed the play and “didn’t see anything that rose to the level of flagrant.”

“We couldn’t confirm that 100 percent from the standpoint of was it truly a closed fist with a strike,” Anderson said, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. “We just couldn’t determine that.”

When pressed further about the video that showed Williams used a closed fist, Anderson admitted that there are “a whole lot of camera angles” available in primetime games but that the officials did not feel any showed a flagrant act.

There are really only two possible explanations. The first is that the officiating crew somehow did not see the angle of the play that clearly showed Williams punching Robinson with a closed fist, because the other angles were not nearly as conclusive. The other explanation, which the NFL is less likely to admit to, is that officials felt Robinson was the instigator because he hit Williams in the face first. Because of that, officials may have decided matching penalties were more appropriate.

The Williams incident was the second time in less than a week that the NFL has had to provide an explanation for why a player was not ejected.

New ASU coach goes full Herm Edwards in rant to media

Sep 9, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham unleashed an entertaining rant this week that sounded like it came straight from his predecessor’s playbook.

Dillingham spoke with reporters on Wednesday about the challenge the Sun Devils will face when they host No. 5 USC on Saturday night. He delivered a speech that sounded like his own version of Herm Edwards’ famous “you play to win the game” tirade.

“If you don’t expect to win every game, you’ve got a problem,” Dillingham said. “I don’t care if I’m playing Michael Jordan in basketball. I’m not playing to lose, otherwise why would I play? I’m not just gonna play because it’s fun. No, what’s fun is competing to win. So you’re playing to win, that’s it.”

Dillingham, 33, is the youngest head coach in FBS. Arizona State hired him last year after Edwards was fired three games into the season. The Sun Devils finished 3-9 last year, which was their worst record since 1994.

Arizona State is hoping for better results under Dillingham, but they are 1-2 and coming off an embarrassing 29-0 loss to Fresno State. Dillingham probably does not want to be compared to Edwards, but that rant sounded all too familiar.

Tommy Pham had tough quote on Mets’ infielders

Anyone associated with the New York Mets has likely experienced some level of frustration this season, but it sounds like Tommy Pham was was fed up long before the team traded him.

A recent report in The Athletic revealed that Pham had dinner with a few of his then-teammates back in early June to discuss what the Mets had to do to turn things around. Pham expressed to shortstop Francisco Lindor that he felt players on the team simply needed to work harder. The veteran also said he wanted to start implementing more than one batting-practice group so he could use some time to work on live reads in the outfield.

Pham was complaining to Lindor, not about him. Pham respected how Lindor held himself accountable every day during an abysmal 7-19 month of June. In a new story from The Athletic, Tim Britton and Will Sammon shared more details about the conversation between Pham and Lindor. Pham revealed one strong remark he made to Lindor.

“Out of all the teams I played on, this is the least-hardest working group of position players I’ve ever played with,” Pham says he told his former teammate.

Pham felt that the group of players at the restaurant, which also included infielder Eduardo Escobar and catcher Francisco Alvarez, was receptive to his feedback. Lindor even told The Athletic that after Pham was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Lindor thanked the 35-year-old for “teaching me how to work hard again.”

There were rumblings after Pham was traded that he had become a clubhouse problem with the Mets. Owner Steve Cohen went out of his way to dismiss that narrative. Pham is known for being an intense player, so the losing probably bothered him more than many of his teammates.