Results tagged “preseason”

Sure, the regular season doesn't officially open until October 2nd when the team takes on Florida in a pair of games in Helsinki. But hockey is hockey, dammit, and our Blackhawks, fresh off a fantastic run to the Western Conference Finals, are back in action tomorrow night with a preseason match-up against the Washington Capitals. It's one of only two preseason home games before the team travels overseas for a pair of warm-up games against European teams and then those season openers. Plenty of tickets are still available for the game, which faces off at the UC at 7:30 p.m. Finally, we can put the off-season drama behind us and just focus on action on the ice.

At Soldier Field on Thursday night, men in Chicago Bears uniforms beat men in Cleveland Browns uniforms 26-23 in the teams' fourth and final preseason game. Those who had any impact on this game were different from those who will likely do so once the games count as the coaching staff tried to sort out the final few roster spots and keep the starters healthy.

     

Having begged his way out of town in April, Jay Cutler returned to Denver on Sunday night as a member of the Chicago Bears, to face off against the Bears' former QB Kyle Orton and his Broncos. Fans showered Cutler with boos when he took the field, but with a 27-17 victory, he had the last word before departing the Mile High City this time. At home on the turf of Invesco Field, the Bears' QB threw for 144 yards while completing 15 of 21 passes, with a touchdown pass and no interceptions--good for a 106.1 passer rating. He closed out his half of work by leading the Bears on a 98-yard drive that gave the team a 17-3 lead at the intermission. "I knew it was going to be a hostile environment, which was good," said Cutler. "It's good preparation for us going into Green Bay the first (regular-season) game."

Even though football means the waning days of summer are upon us, we can't help but get excited to see our beloved Bears take the field once again. Especially when there is a major new addition to check out. On Saturday night, they suited up for the first time in '09 to knock pads with the Buffalo Bills and, more importantly, Jay Cutler made his Bears debut. The final score was 27-20, but, like all preseason games, it's pretty irrelevant as teams try to knock the rust off the veterans, players with the slightest of dings sit out, and new players try to make the regular season roster.

In what was supposed to be their closest thing to a dress rehearsal before the regular season begins, the Bears lost 37-30 to the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field on Thursday. Once again the team looked decent on one side of the ball and lackluster on the other. But in an unusual twist, it was the offense that performed well while the defense showed they're still not ready for the regular season.

Now halfway through their preseason schedule, the Bears still haven't answered their biggest question -- who'll start at quarterback? While Kyle Orton's performance rated slightly better than Rex Grossman's and some think he's shown enough to earn the job, neither QB looked particularly good playing behind the Bears' ragtag offensive line. We're certainly not sold on either of 'em.