Sluggish for most of the afternoon, the Bears found their rhythm in time to make Marc Trestman a winner in his debut.Jay Cutler passed to Brandon Marshall for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping the Bears rally for a 24-21 victory over the sloppy Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and giving Trestman a victory in his first game as an NFL head coach.It wasn’t quite the display the Bears were looking for after making some big changes in the offseason. But they made the most of a handful of big plays by Cutler and repeated mistakes by the Bengals.

“There were a lot of question marks,” Cutler said. “How were we going to do on offense? Are the plays going to work? Are we going to be able to block them? Am I going to complete balls? So to go out there, it wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t perfect, we didn’t think it was going to be. We made plays when we had to make plays.”

Cutler threw for 242 yards behind a line with four new starters. Marshall had eight grabs for 104 yards, and the offense pulled it out after struggling most of the way.The Bengals led by 11 in the third quarter and were up 21-17 early in the fourth when Tim Jennings jarred the ball from Mohamed Sanu following a reception and made the recovery.The Bears took over at its 19 and got an 8-yard run from Matt Forte on fourth-and-inches at the Bengals 27 to keep the drive going. Cutler then found Marshall in the front corner of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown with 7:58 remaining.The Bears made big changes in the offseason, parting with star linebacker Brian Urlacher and hiring Trestman to replace the fired Lovie Smith with the idea that he could spark the offense and lead them to the playoffs after missing out five of the past six years.Clearly, there’s work to do. The offense seemed stuck most of the afternoon but came through in the end, with Cutler completing 21 of 33 passes. He also had two touchdowns to go with an interception.Charles Tillman matched a career high with two interceptions, giving him 35 overall for the Bears. And Robbie Gould set a franchise record with a 58-yard field goal at the end of the first half following some questionable clock management by Cincinnati.

“I think it tested us and our backbone because it didn’t go the way we wanted it to go, certainly, in the first half,” said Trestman, who coached the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes the past five seasons. “But the guys hung in there together, at halftime pulled themselves together and the team went out and played every play and were able to come out on top.”

Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton threw for 282 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. A.J. Green had 162 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including a 45-yarder. But it was a disappointing opener for a team coming off back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 1981 and 1982.

“They didn’t stop us one time,” Green said. “They didn’t really stop us on offense. We were doing whatever we wanted. The biggest thing we had was turnovers.”

Up 14-10 at the half, the Bengals started the third quarter with an 80-yard scoring drive.Tillman got called for interference on a deep pass to Green that put the ball on the 1, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis plowed in from the 5 after being hit with a 4-yard loss, making it 21-10. But the Bears responded with an 80-yard drive that ended with Forte running it in from the 1 to get them back within four.Vontaze Burfict intercepted Cutler near midfield early in the fourth quarter, taking a shot to the right knee from Kyle Adams.Cincinnati took over at the Bears 40, but Sanu’s fumble at the 17 led to a big swing.And Marshall couldn’t believe he was one on one with Reggie Nelson on the go-ahead touchdown.

“I didn’t understand it. You know?” Marshall said. “Fourth quarter, put a safety on me one on one? You can only ask for that and dream about that.”

The Bengals would have had one last chance to win or tie it, but Rey Maualuga committed a personal foul away from the play when Cincinnati stopped Michael Bush after a short gain on third-and-6 at the Cincinnati 45 with a little over a minute left.The unnecessary roughness penalty that kept the drive going and allowed Cutler to take a knee twice, ending the game.

NOTES—Burfict said his knee was bruised…..Green hurt a finger at one point, but Lewis said he’s fine…..Bengals LT Andrew Whitworth, recovering from offseason surgery on his left knee, was inactive….Gould held the previous Bears record with a 57-yard field goal against Denver on Dec. 11, 2011….Trestman joined Hall of Famer George Halas (1920), Neill Armstrong (1978) and Dick Jauron (1999) as the only coaches to win their Bears debut.

                   

                   

ANN ARBOR—hen it was over, Michigan took one last swipe at Notre Dame before the Fighting Irish said goodbye to the Big House — at least for a while. Devin Gardner, wearing No. 98 to honor Michigan great Tom Harmon, threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead the 17th-ranked Wolverines to a 41-30 victory against the 14th-ranked Fighting Irish. Soon after Gardner took the final snap, the “Chicken Dance” blared over the stadium sound system, and the Michigan fans who made up most of the NCAA-record crowd of 115,109 celebrated. Michigan coach Brady Hoke said Notre Dame was “chickening out” of the series four months ago, drawing laughs at a luncheon. The Irish opted out of their contract with the Wolverines and made next year’s game in South Bend, Ind., the last guaranteed matchup in a series that dates to 1887 and cancelling three previously scheduled games. Hoke insisted he didn’t tell his team that Irish coach Brian Kelly kicked off the week by saying the series was “a big regional game” even though it features teams with the top winning percentages in college football. Hoke would acknowledge, though, that he and his players were pretty fired up to face the Irish.

“There’s certain games that you get very excited about,” Hoke said.

Michigan has won four straight at home against the Irish. That winning streak will stand for a while because the two storied programs won’t play at the Big House again anytime soon. Biggest house Gardner wears No. 98.

“It’s an amazing feeling to wear that number,” Gardner said. “I knew about all the great things that he did on the field, but there are all the other things he did. He played two years of basketball, he fought for his country and he was a great human being. It’s an honor to know that his family felt I deserved to wear that jersey.”

The Wolverines (2-0) had a pair of 14-point leads, but the Fighting Irish (1-1) refused to be routed. Notre Dame pulled within a TD early in the fourth quarter when Tuitt made a diving interception in the end zone — a few snaps after the Irish turned the ball over on downs — on a pass Gardner was trying to throw away to avoid a safety.

“I made a horrible decision,” Gardner said. “But the defense gave me a place to stand. They told me they believed in me and I finished it.”

Kyle Brindza made a 40-yard field goal with 9:15 left to pull Notre Dame within four points.The Irish were called for pass interference twice — once on a questionable call when Bennett Jackson intercepted Gardner’s pass deep in Notre Dame territory — on the ensuing drive and Gardner later took advantage by accounting for a fifth TD. Tommy Rees threw a second interception with 1:29 left.

“We came up just short on some key plays,” Kelly said.

Michigan’s Jeremy Gallon had career highs with three TDs and 184 yards receiving.

“I can’t even imagine having a game like this,” he said. “My teammates made this happen, not me.”

Fitzgerald Toussaint gave the Wolverines just enough of a running game, gaining 71 yards on 22 carries and he also turned a short pass into a 31-yard catch on the final scoring drive. Rees was 29 of 51 for 314 yards with two TDs and two interceptions — both to Blake Countess. The first pick helped Michigan take a 27-13 lead at halftime.

“I’d like to have that one throw right before the half back,” Kelly said.

That was one of many passes Rees lamented.

“I take accountability for some of those throws and missed opportunities,” Rees said.

TJ Jones had nine receptions for 94 yards and a TD. Amir Carlisle ran for 64 yards on 12 attempts for the Irish. The attendance record beat the one set two years ago when the Wolverines beat Notre Dame 35-31 — a game with three lead changes in the final 1:12 — that captivated 114,804 at Michigan Stadium.

EVANSTON—Trevor Siemian threw for 259 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, Kain Colter passed for a touchdown and ran for one, and No. 19 Northwestern pounded Syracuse 48-27 on Saturday.Tony Jones added a personal-best 185 yards receiving and a 47-yard TD, and the Wildcats (2-0) racked up 581 yards in all. They also intercepted Syracuse’s Drew Allen four times on the way to an easy victory. How easy? They scored the game’s first 20 points and led 34-7 at the half after collecting 387 yards, with their quarterbacks picking apart Syracuse (0-2). They each completed 11 of 12 passes in the first half, and Colter seemed to be fine after suffering a concussion early in last week’s victory at California.He was 15 of 18 for 116 yards and ran for 87 yards. Siemian, who carried the load at quarterback last week, was 15 of 19, and Northwestern looked every bit like a team bent on showing it can beat the best of the Big Ten.The Wildcats have high expectations coming off a 10-win season and their first bowl victory in more than six decades. And with games against Western Michigan and Maine, they have a good chance to go to 4-0 before meeting Ohio State in the conference opener.Syracuse, coming off a tight loss to Penn State, never had a chance in this one.The Orange remained winless under new coach Scott Shafer and received another shaky outing from Allen. The Oklahoma transfer was 27 of 41 with 279 yards, and the Orange will now try to pick themselves up against Wagner and Tulane before beginning Atlantic Coast Conference play against Clemson. Siemian had 181 yards and threw for two touchdowns in the first half. Colter was about as good, passing for 96 and a TD while running for 67 and a score.He led the Wildcats on a four-play, 75-yard scoring drive to start the game, finishing it with an 8-yard pass to Treyvon Green. Jeff Budzien made it 10-0 with a 32-yard field goal with just over three minutes left in the quarter, and NU struck again just over two minutes into the second, with Siemian hitting a wide open Dan Vitale on the right side for a 20-yard TD.That made it 17-0, and the Wildcats continued to pile it on.Traveon Henry intercepted Allen near midfield on Syracuse’s next drive while falling into the Northwestern sideline, and Siemian followed with a 43-yard pass to Tony Jones over the middle to set up another field goal. Syracuse finally scored when Jerome Smith plowed in from the 3 with 6:29 left to make it 20-7, but Northwestern answered with a 75-yard TD drive.Colter scrambled 33 yards on a third down to keep it going and finished the possession with a 16-yard run, sticking the ball into the end zone as he got hit at the goal line by Brandon Reddish to bump the lead to 27-7 with 2:38 remaining. Chi Chi Ariguzo then intercepted Allen with about a minute left, leading to a 5-yard strike from Siemian to Christian Jones in the right corner of the end zone with two seconds left for a 27-point halftime lead.

CHAMPAIGN—Nathan Scheelhaase passed for 312 yards and four touchdowns to lead Illinois to a surprise 45-17 win Saturday over Cincinnati.The Illini (2-0) went up 21-0 in the second quarter and survived a Bearcat rally to stay undefeated.For the Bearcats (1-1) the loss was made worse by quarterback Munchie Legaux’s injury. He left in the fourth quarter on a cart with what appeared to be a serious leg injury. Details were not immediately available. Scheelhaase threw to 11 different receivers. The biggest catch was Steve Hull’s 22-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. It capped a 99-yard drive and put Illinois up 28-10.That drive was set up by Legaux’s fumble on a fourth-down play at the Illinois goal line. It was first ruled a touchdown but a review revealed Legaux fumbled after a hard hit by Earnest Thomas.Legaux was 17-31 for 237 yards and a touchdown.

The Illini face Washington next Saturday at Soldier Field.

The Blackhawks have been busy signing players to extensions recently, including Corey Crawford and Niklas Hjalmarsson just this past week. They can’t do it yet with superstars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, but they will when they can.
While it really doesn’t come as a surprise given their immense talent level, GM Stan Bowman has zero intention of letting either way get away from the Hawks. Ever. That’s what he told the team’s website when talking about their contracts running out in the near future.
“Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will be here forever,” said Bowman, the Blackhawks’ Vice President/General Manager. “I can’t predict what the salary cap will be in the near future, but I can tell you that Jonathan and Patrick will be on this team. Those two players put the Blackhawks back on the map, they’re up in a couple years, and whatever the numbers are, we’ll figure out the details. The notion that the money we’re spending now will affect our ability to keep Jonathan and Kane … it’s a non-issue. They will be here no matter what.”
You get that guys? Forever!
Needless to say, you can expect that when it comes time for new contracts in two years for each, they will get max deals most likely in terms of length with some big bucks attached to it and Bowman will do what it takes to ensure that happens.
It doesn’t seem like a bold thing to say now but what happens in 10 years or so if the production starts to dip and things just aren’t going as well? Sorry, they’re all but bonded for life. It’s a marriage. Although I suppose all marriages can end with a divorce that you don’t see coming in the moments of wedded bliss, but Bowman is committed until (career) death do them part.
Right now each player has two years remaining on their deals with equal cap hits of $6.3 million annually. It won’t be easy to keep them both on the roster and fit everybody else in as the Blackhawks have a high payroll for years to come but it’s going to happen.
Toews, the captain, was selected third overall in the 2006 draft while Kane went No. 1 overall in 2007. They’ve been major parts of the Blackhawks’ two Stanley Cup runs in the past four years and still figure to have long careers ahead of them, all to be spent in Chicago.
*Blackhawks Brian Bickell and Brandon Saad will join Hawks Owner Rocky Wirtz, President John McDonough and VP Jay Blunk in Evanston Satrurday at the Northwestern-Syracuse Football Game to be honored.

GROBBER’S NFL WEEK ONE PREDICTIONS:(NOT against the spread).
——————————————————————————-
DENVER over Baltimore(Thur Night)
New England over BUFFALO
INDIANAPOLIS over Oakland
CLEVELAND over Miami
Kansas City over JACKSONVILLE
Tennessee over PITTSBURGH
Seattle over CAROLINA
NEW ORLEANS over Atlanta
ST.LOUIS over Arizona
Tampa Bay over NY JETS
NY Giants over DALLAS(Sun Night)
WASHINGTON over Philadelphia(Mon Night)
Houston over SAN DIEGO(Mon Night)

NFC NORTH GAMES
BEARS over Cincinnati
SAN FRANCISCO over Green Bay
DETROIT over Minnesota

HOME TEAMS in all CAPS.

LES

GROBBER’S NFL DIVISION STANDINGS PREDICTIONS:
———————————————————————————–
AFC EAST
N.England
Buffalo
Miami
N.Y.Jets

AFC NORTH
Cincinnati
Baltimore
Pittsburgh
Cleveland

AFC SOUTH
Houston
Indianapolis
Tennessee
Jacksonville

AFC WEST
Denver
Kansas City
San Diego
Oakland

NFC EAST
Washington
N.Y.Giants
Dallas
Philadelphia

NFC SOUTH
Atlanta
New Orleans
Carolina
Tampa Bay

NFC WEST
San Francisco
Seattle
St.Louis
Arizona

NFC NORTH
Green Bay 11-5
BEARS 10-6
Detroit 9-7
Minnesota 8-8

LES

Was all an act?

Former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, who is a Fox Sports 1 analyst, revealed his team would fake injuries to slow down high-powered offenses before he retired.

“We had a guy who was the designated dive guy,” Urlacher said via the Sun-Times.

Urlacher said a Bears coach would simulate a swimmers’ diving motion with his arms from the sideline and the player “would get hurt.”

Urlacher added that they were not coached, but faking injuries was part of their game plan. He would not name the coach in charge of calling the “fake”.

If what happens in Vegas is supposed to stay there, Urlacher is probably the last guy you want at your bachelor party.

Even though Urlacher is retired, most players still live by the locker room code, which means not talking about what happens behind closed doors. There are a lot of things that occur in locker rooms the general public does not know about, but Urlacher is like a magician revealing secrets on Fox Sports 1.

Of course, now this means the next time a Bears defender goes down when an opponent is driving, everyone watching will wonder if it is legit or staged.

Questions, A)Was Lovie Smith behind this? B)Do Urlacher’s ex teammates now consider him nothing more than a ‘rat’, and a bitter one at that,the way he and the Bears parted ways?

Just last Saturday, Northwestern was accused by Cal Coach Sonny Dykes of having players fake injuries in an attempt to slow down the Golden Bears high speed offense,

Who said the best actors are not from Chicago?

The Blackhawks announced today that they have agreed to terms with goaltender Corey Crawford on a six-year contract extension, through the end of the 2019-20 National Hockey League season.

Crawford, 28, posted a 16-7 record with one shutout, a league-best 1.84 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage in 23 post-season games while helping the Blackhawks capture the 2013 Stanley Cup Championship. He registered a 19-5-5 record with three shutouts, a 1.94 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage in 30 regular-season appearances last season with the Blackhawks, while earning his first William M. Jennings Trophy (along with Ray Emery) as the goaltender on the club allowing the fewest goals against during the 2012-13 season. Crawford ranked third in the NHL in goals-against average, fifth in save percentage, and ranked 11th in wins and shutouts during the regular season.

The Montreal, Quebec, native has earned an 83-43-19 record with eight shutouts, a 2.40 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in 152 career games with the Hawks from 2005 to 2013. Crawford was originally selected by the Blackhawks in the second round, 52nd overall, of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

BERKELEY—Collin Ellis returned two interceptions after deflected passes for touchdowns to help No. 22 Northwestern spoil Sonny Dykes’ debut as California coach with a 44-30 victory on Saturday night.Ellis had a 56-yard return in the third quarter and then put the Wildcats (0-1) in control when he took another one back 40 yards midway through the fourth to take a 10-point lead.Those were rare blemishes on an otherwise strong debut by Jared Goff, who became the first true freshman ever to start the season opener for the Golden Bears (0-1). Goff went 38 for 63 for 445 yards and two touchdowns and Cal also scored on a fake field goal on the opening drive in an entertaining start to Dykes’ tenure.Despite the win, it was a taxing opener for the Wildcats, who were ranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 2001. They lost starting quarterback Kain Colter to an upper-body injury(what the hell is this? the NHL?) after their second play from scrimmage and then saw starting cornerback Daniel Jones go down with an apparent leg injury late in the first half.A number of other players went down with more minor injuries to the dismay of the Cal fans who felt the Wildcats were trying to slow down Dykes’ no-huddle offense.Trevor Siemian, who normally splits time with Colter, went 18 for 29 for 276 yards and a touchdown in a more extensive role. Treyvon Green ran for 129 yards and two TDs.The game turned early in the fourth quarter when the Wildcats were backed up on their 10 facing third-and-3 with the game tied. Siemian connected on a 10-yard pass to Christian Jones just before being hit by a rushing McCain. Officials ruled the helmet-to-helmet contact, which led to a 15-yard penalty and an ejection under a new rule.Siemian then hit Dan Vitale on a 53-yard pass on the next play to help set up Jeff Budzien’s third field goal of the game to give the Wildcats the lead.On the next drive, Goff’s short pass went off Darius Powe’s hands and right to Ellis who raced in to make it 37-27.Goff led Cal to a field goal and had the Beats in position to tie the game when Ibraheim Campbell intercepted a deep pass at the 9 with 3:42 to go.Green iced it with his second touchdown. Goff gave Cal the lead early in the third quarter when he threw a pair of TD passes to Chris Harper in a 47-second span that included a fumbled kickoff return by Stephen Buckley in between the two touchdowns.Northwestern went back ahead when Dean Lowry deflected a pass by Goff into the hands of Ellis, who ran the interception back 56 yards for a score.The Dykes era got off to an exciting start when the Bears took the opening kickoff and drove 82 yards for a touchdown. The drive ended with a nifty fake field goal. Holder Jackson Bouza, who is also a receiver, flipped the ball back to D’Amato, who shot putted a pass back to Bouza for a 10-yard touchdown that delighted the crowd.That start was reminiscent to the way Jeff Tedford’s tenure started 11 years ago. The Bears scored on a trick play on the first play from scrimmage that day when Terrell Williams threw a 71-yard halfback option pass to David Gray against Baylor.The rest of the opening half didn’t go as well for the Bears after Colter left the game following hard hits on the first two plays. Siemian led NU to 17 straight points, including a 19-yard TD pass to Tony Jones. Cal cut the lead to 17-10 at the half when Goff calmly executed the 2-minute drill to set up D’Amato’s first of three field goals.