Por KYLE HIGHTOWER

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts, EE.UU. (AP) — Drake Maye lanzó tres pases de touchdown, Marcus Jones devolvió una de las cuatro intercepciones de C.J. Stroud para anotar y los Patriots de Nueva Inglaterra derrotaron 28-16 a los Texans de Houston el domingo para avanzar al juego de campeonato de la Conferencia Americana por primera vez en siete años.

En la primera temporada de Mike Vrabel como entrenador, los Patriots (16-3) se enfrentarán a los Broncos (15-3) en Denver el próximo domingo, con el ganador avanzando al Super Bowl.

Los Patriots harán su 16ta aparición en el juego de campeonato de conferencia y la primera desde su camino hacia su sexto título de Super Bowl bajo Bill Belichick en la temporada 2018. Nueva Inglaterra ha ganado sus últimos nueve juegos de la ronda divisional.

Maye terminó 16 de 27 para 179 yardas, pero tuvo una intercepción y perdió el balón cuatro veces, perdiendo dos en condiciones frías en las que nevó y llovió durante todo el juego. Uno de los balones sueltos de Maye preparó el primer touchdown de Houston.

“Simplemente orgulloso de los muchachos”, dijo Maye. “Lucharon contra los elementos. Esto es Nueva Inglaterra. Esto es lo que estamos tratando de abrazar y queremos abrazar toda la temporada. Mérito a nuestra defensa, jugaron un gran partido. Tenemos que proteger mejor el balón, pero hicimos suficientes jugadas para ganar”.

Carlton Davis III tuvo dos intercepciones para Nueva Inglaterra. Craig Woodson añadió una intercepción y una recuperación de balón suelto.

“Ellos lo dan todo cada semana”, dijo Maye sobre su defensa. “Es divertido de ver. Y podríamos ayudarlos un poco más, pero simplemente orgulloso de los muchachos. Disfruten este, y estamos de vuelta en la carretera”.

Los ocho balones perdidos combinados — Woody Marks también perdió uno para Houston — fueron los más en un juego de playoffs desde 2015 cuando los Cardinals y Panthers se combinaron para ocho en el juego de campeonato de la Conferencia Nacional.

Los Texans (13-6) han perdido en la ronda divisional en tres temporadas consecutivas bajo el entrenador DeMeco Ryans. La franquicia ahora tiene un récord de 0-7 en esta ronda.

Stroud terminó 20 de 47 con un pase de touchdown. Todas sus intercepciones ocurrieron en la primera mitad, convirtiéndose en el primer jugador con cinco o más intercepciones y cinco o más balones sueltos en una sola postemporada. Will Anderson forzó dos balones sueltos para los Texans.

Con una ventaja de 21-16 en el cuarto período, los Patriots ampliaron su ventaja a 27-16 cuando Kayshon Boutte superó a Derek Stingley Jr. y atrapó un pase con una mano en la esquina de la zona de anotación para un touchdown.

Los Texans tenían el balón con 5:48 por jugar, pero despejaron en cuarta y 18 en su propia 21 con 4:18 restantes.

La siguiente serie de Nueva Inglaterra llevó el reloj a menos de dos minutos. Pero los Texans perdieron el balón en downs cuando el pase de cuarta oportunidad de Stroud a Xavier Hutchinson fue desviado por Robert Spillane.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/18/maye-lanza-tres-pases-de-td-stroud-sufre-cuatro-intercepciones-y-patriots-ganan-28-16-a-texans/ 

Catch-Up Contributions: Maximizing Your Savings If You’re Over 50 In 2026 And Beyond

Tyler Durden
Sun, 01/18/2026 – 18:40

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/catch-contributions-maximizing-your-savings-if-youre-over-50-2026-and-beyond 

Photos from the Chicago Bears’ divisional-round playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field on Jan. 18, 2026.

The Chicago Bears take the field to face the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) takes the field to face the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong stays warm on the field before the Chicago Bears face the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson greets his players before facing the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Fans prepare before the Chicago Bears face the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Darrell B., left, and Anitra Smith dance and sing as they tailgate outside of Soldier Field before the Chicago Bears play the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional playoff game on Jan. 18, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Ridvan Alka, left, laughs as he tailgates outside with friends outside of Soldier Field before the Chicago Bears play the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional playoff game on Jan. 18, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
A fan carries a Rams colored trashcan outside as fans tailgate outside of Soldier Field before the Chicago Bears play the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional playoff game on Jan. 18, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
A Bears fan dances outside outside of Soldier Field before the Chicago Bears play the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional playoff game on Jan. 18, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Fans arrive before the Chicago Bears face the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Fans take pictures with an “It’s Chicago” sign before the Chicago Bears face the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams fans arrive Jan. 18, 2026, before an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Fans arrive before the Chicago Bears face the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) prepares to face the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Team President Kevin Warren watches warmups before before the Chicago Bears face the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/18/photos-chicago-bears-los-angeles-rams-playoffs/ 

CHAMPAGNE, Ill. — Berry Wallace scored a career-high 29 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, and No. 25 Illinois held off a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Northwestern 74-71 on Sunday.

Illinois took the lead for good with 2 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter and led 58-51 heading to the fourth. Although the Illini remained in front, the Wildcats cut it to one on a 3-pointer by Xamiya Walton with seven minutes to go and again on a layup by Casey Harter with 2:15 remaining.

At that point, Wallace scored in the paint for a 73-70 lead, then Tayla Thomas hit one free throw to get Northwestern within 73-71. Both teams came up empty on their next two possessions before Cearah Parchment made a free throw for a 74-71 lead with nine seconds left. Northwestern’s Caroline Lau missed a potential tying 3-pointer with one second left.

Parchment had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth double-double of her freshman season. Aaliyah Guyton had 13 points for the Illini (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten).

Grace Sullivan scored 21 points, Walton had 19, Harter had 13 and Lau had 12 for Northwestern (8-11, 2-6). The rest of the Wildcats managed six points — all by Thomas.

There were four ties and seven lead changes in the first half. Illinois scored the last 12 points of the second quarter to erase a five-point deficit and the Illini led 40-33 at halftime.

Illinois outscored the Wildcats 11-2 in a 3 1/2-minute stretch of the third quarter, building a 58-43 lead. Three-pointers by Harter and Walton helped Northwestern get within 58-51 heading to the fourth.

There were only 13 turnovers in the game, five by Northwestern and eight by Illinois.

Illinois has won seven straight in the series after losing the previous 14.

Up next

Illinois: The Illini play Saturday at No. 24 Nebraska.

Northwestern: The Wildcats host No. 3 UCLA next Sunday.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/18/illinois-northwestern-basketball-berry-wallace/ 

Wilbur Wood, who became a Chicago White Sox legend thanks to his rubber-armed durability and a baffling knuckleball, died Saturday in Burlington, Mass., the New York Times reported. He was 84.

Wood’s wife, Janet, confirmed his death to the Times.

Wood pitched 17 seasons in the major leagues, the final 12 with the White Sox, and was a three-time American League All-Star. He finished his career with a 164-156 record, 114 complete games, 24 shutouts and 57 saves.

All three of his All-Star selections came in a four-year span (1971-74) with the Sox in which he won 20-plus games every season and twice led the majors in innings pitched. From 1971-75, he made an incredible 224 starts (44.8 per year).

Born on Oct. 22, 1941, in Cambridge, Mass., Wood pitched his Belmont High School team to back-to-back state championships in 1959 and 1960.

“He was a real hot-shot pitcher,” remembered Roland Hemond, the former Sox executive who then was a minor-league director for the Milwaukee Braves. “I first met Wilbur in 1960 when our scout Jeff Jones sent him to Milwaukee for a tryout right after he had graduated from high school. He was a fuzzy-faced, chubby little guy who didn’t throw very hard. I watched him throw batting practice but I couldn’t get very excited about him.

“After his workout I brought him up to the press room in County Stadium with my wife, and we fed him hot dogs. We did discover he had a good appetite. He was such a likable little guy, it was tough to tell him he didn’t throw hard enough and we weren’t interested.”

Wood could throw a knuckleball as a teenager, but he relied primarily on a more traditional repertoire of fastballs and curveballs. Even though his stuff was far from spectacular, the Boston Red Sox took a chance on the local kid and signed him to a minor-league contract.

“I picked up the knuckleball sort of by accident from my father when I was in junior high,” Wood explained. “He threw a hell of a palm ball in a semipro league in the Boston area. The palm ball, like the knuckleball, doesn’t rotate. I figured it must be a good pitch because Dad was making more money as a semipro than he was as a food broker.

“But I couldn’t throw the palm ball because my hand was too small. I just kept trying to throw a ball that wouldn’t spin. It turned out to be the knuckler. I never knew a damn thing about it — what kept it from rotating or how to control it — so I never used it. I wanted to stay around long enough to at least get a cup of coffee in the big leagues. I couldn’t afford to fool around with it.”

Wood made his major-league debut in 1961 with the Red Sox at 19. He earned brief promotions to Boston in each season through 1964 before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, for whom he spent the 1965 season as a mediocre relief pitcher. He was demoted to Columbus the next season and traded to the White Sox on Oct. 12, 1966.

“I was lucky because when I came to the Sox, Hoyt Wilhelm was still with them — probably the greatest knuckleball pitcher of all,” Wood said. “He told me if I was going to throw the knuckleball, I should junk the rest of my pitches. I wasn’t doing any good with them anyway, so I took his advice. I had nothing to lose.”

The Sox mainly used Wood out of the bullpen at first, though he did make occasional starts. He had a breakout season in 1968, when he appeared in 88 games — most in the major leagues — and posted a 1.87 ERA. He led the AL in appearances in 1969 and 1970, regularly working multiple innings.

White Sox pitcher Wilbur Wood shows his knuckleball grip on April 26, 1972, at Comiskey Park. (Ray Gora/Chicago Tribune)

In 1971, the Sox made him a starter and his career took off. He went 22-13 with a 1.91 ERA and 210 strikeouts, then followed that with a league-high 24 wins in 1972 and 24 more to lead the majors in 1973 (when he also lost 20).

He went 20-19 in 1974, reaching the coveted 20-win plateau for the fourth straight season. Wood twice led the majors in innings pitched (376 2/3 in 1972 and 359 1/3 in 1973) and threw 300-plus innings four years in a row.

In Wood’s era, most teams went with a four-man rotation, giving pitchers a minimum of three days’ rest between assignments. By the 1990s, the standard had changed to a five-man rotation and four days’ rest.

But in 1972, Wood started 25 games on only two days’ rest, winning 12 and permitting fewer than two earned runs per game.

“(Pitching coach Johnny) Sain convinced Wilbur he could do it,” said the late Chuck Tanner, who managed Wood with the Sox. “When Sain was pitching for the Boston Braves, he once pitched nine complete games in 25 days. He asked Wilbur if he would like to try it. We felt it took less effort to throw a knuckleball exclusively.

“We came up with the theory that the more you throw the knuckleball, the better it gets. And a starting pitcher will throw a lot more pitches than a reliever.”

In May 1973, a game against Cleveland had to be suspended after 16 innings because of a curfew rule. When the game resumed the next day, Wood took the mound for the Sox and worked five innings, picking up the victory thanks to a walk-off homer by Dick Allen in the 21st off Ed Farmer, the future Sox broadcaster.

Wood then started the regularly scheduled game that followed, throwing a four-hit shutout.

Later that season, Wood started both games of a scheduled doubleheader against the Yankees in New York, the first pitcher to so since 1918. It was a bit of a fluke, however; Wood was knocked out of the opener in the first inning, giving up six runs and failing to record an out. After such light duty, he was available to start the second game but didn’t fare much better, giving up seven runs in four-plus innings. He was the losing pitcher in both games.

White Sox pitcher Wilbur Wood is congratulated by manager Chuck Tanner after beating the Yankees for his 22nd victory Aug. 23, 1972, at Comiskey Park. (Ray Gora/Chicago Tribune)

Wood’s success and durability made him a star, but “you’d never know it either by his actions or the way he looks,” Tanner told the Tribune in 1973.

Tanner described Wood’s appearance in the early ‘70s.

“He never shaves and he wears that baggy long underwear that’s cut off at the knees and one of those oversized sweatshirts that hangs over his belly, and his hair is getting thin and he always has a big cigar in his mouth,” Tanner said. “Well, one day he was tromping around like that and it happened to be the day his front tooth fell out.

“I had two friends from New Castle, Pa., my hometown, visiting me. They were walking through the clubhouse and I was introducing them to everybody and Wilbur came by. I said, ‘And this is Wilbur Wood.’ Well, they shook hands and just kept on walking like it was nothing. I stopped and asked, ‘What did it feel like to shake hands with the best left-handed pitcher in baseball?’

“’You mean that was Wilbur Wood?’ they asked. ‘We thought he was the janitor or the clubhouse man.’”

Wood’s last season with the Sox was 1978. He struggled in the second half and they shopped him around, hoping a contender might want him for a pennant drive. But Wood vetoed at least two possible trades when teams wouldn’t guarantee they would sign him for the following season. He finished the year with the Sox, posting a 10-10 record and a 5.20 ERA.

The Sox had seen enough and allowed Wood to become a free agent. The Cubs and Athletics showed some interest in the spring of 1979, but neither team would meet his salary demands.

“There’s nothing to say, I guess, except that I’ve had it,” Wood said. “This is it for me. I guess I have no choice but to retire.”

Even in the ‘70s, Wood was a throwback to an earlier era, relying on a gimmick pitch that wasn’t very common then and is now virtually obsolete. He also pitched whenever he was needed, for as long as he was needed. In his day, no one talked about pitch counts and no one dared to call a five-inning effort a “quality start.”

“When I see guys come out after five or six innings and hear someone say, ‘He had a hell of a game and gave it all he had,’ I get a little tired of that,” Wood told the Tribune’s David Haugh in 2005. “When I played, pitchers who went five and six innings were afraid of getting cut at the end of the year.”

Joe Knowles is a former Chicago Tribune sports editor.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/18/wilbur-wood-chicago-white-sox-obit/ 

Por SUMAN NAISHADHAM y JOSEPH WILSON

MADRID (AP) — Un tren de alta velocidad descarriló en el sur de España el domingo, saltando a la vía en dirección opuesta e impactando con un tren que viajaba en sentido contrario en un choque que dejó al menos 10 muertos, informaron las autoridades.

El tren nocturno entre Málaga y Madrid se salió de las vías y chocó con un tren que viajaba de Madrid hacia Huelva, otra ciudad del sur de España, según el operador ferroviario español Adif.

Dos funcionarios de la Guardia Civil confirmaron el número de muertos a The Associated Press por teléfono y mensaje de texto. Hablaron bajo condición de anonimato de acuerdo con las normas policiales.

Los servicios de emergencia en Andalucía, la provincia donde ocurrió el choque, reportaron 25 personas con heridas graves.

La jefa regional de Protección Civil, María Belén Moya Rojas, dijo a Canal Sur que el choque ocurrió en una zona de difícil acceso.

Los lugareños estaban llevando mantas y agua al lugar para ayudar a las víctimas, detalló.

La presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen, dijo en una publicación en X que estaba siguiendo “las terribles noticias” desde Córdoba.

“Mi más sentido pésame a las familias y seres queridos de las víctimas del accidente ferroviario y al pueblo español”, escribió en español. “Deseo una rápida y completa recuperación a los heridos”.

ADIF informó que los servicios de trenes entre Madrid y ciudades en Andalucía no funcionarán el lunes.

___

Joseph Wilson contribuyó a este despacho desde Barcelona, España.

___

Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/18/al-menos-10-muertos-en-choque-de-trenes-de-alta-velocidad-tras-descarrilamiento-en-sur-de-espaa/ 

Two-time All-Star reliever Ryan Pressly has retired after a 13-year career in which he collected 117 saves and helped the Houston Astros win the 2022 World Series.

“It’s bittersweet, but what a ride it’s been,” Pressly said in a statement announcing his retirement.

The right-hander was traded by the Astros to the Chicago Cubs in January 2025. He pitched 41 1/3 innings in relief for the Cubs, striking out 28 with a 4.35 ERA. He was released by the Cubs on Aug. 1.

Pressly, 37, recorded six saves and allowed only one unearned run over 11 innings during Houston’s 2022 postseason run. He compiled two saves and gave up just that one unearned run over 5 2/3 innings in the Astros’ 4-2 World Series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

He went 37-39 with a 3.33 ERA to go along with his 117 career saves with the Minnesota Twins (2013-18), Astros (2018-24) and Cubs (2025). He made 667 career appearances — all in relief — and struck out 721 batters in 691 1/3 innings.

Pressly made All-Star teams with Houston in 2019 and 2021.

He was 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA and 14 saves in 47 career postseason appearances.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/18/chicago-cubs-pitcher-ryan-pressly-retirement/ 

Several hundred people gathered at New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church in Grand Crossing on Sunday morning for a worship ceremony in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., highlighting the intersection of faith and social justice movements.

The service was part of a weekend of events commemorating the minister and civil rights activist put on by Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a Chicago civil rights organization. A voter registration table sat in the lobby of the church, allowing attendees to check their registration or sign up to vote.

After a nearly 30-person choir welcomed attendees with an upbeat rendition of “We Shall Overcome,” the Rev. Stephen Thurston II — New Covenant’s pastor and a great-grandson of its founder — began his sermon. He told the Tribune that his sermon aimed to use the lessons of the Bible and King’s life to give listeners the skills they need to “pick up the baton.”

“It should be the religious space that calls the marginalized back to focus, back to the center of conversations,” Thurston said, adding that the Black church has always been at the center of social justice movements.

At the beginning of his sermon, Thurston highlighted the South Side church’s connection to King. Thurston said his grandfather, John Lee Thurston — a former pastor at New Covenant — was a friend of King’s and one of the few Chicago pastors to allow King to preach in his church.

Thurston brought his aunt (and John Lee Thurston’s daughter) Constance Thurston Buckner up to the stage to speak about her experience being raised by a civil rights activist and growing up alongside King’s children.

“If I had one truth that everyone should understand, it’s that the same strength, conviction and the faith in God Dr. King had that sustained him will also sustain us,” Buckner said in a Q&A with her nephew. “No matter what we have to face in the future. No matter what we have to face right now.”

The Rev. Stephen Thurston II speaks with attendees during an interfaith worship service in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church in in Chicago on Jan. 18, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Much of Thurston’s sermon centered on the 1968 sanitation workers strike in Memphis, Tennessee. Over 1,000 sanitation workers went on strike after two workers were crushed by a malfunctioning garbage truck — a tragic incident in a history of city neglect of Black workers. The workers demanded better safety standards, wages and union recognition.

Through Bible verses and the example of the strike, Thurston called upon the congregation to “take direct action in order to make some change” through danger and difficulty. Listeners replied with claps and exclamations of eager agreement.

“God didn’t promise that every threat would vanish,” Thurston said to the ceremony’s attendees. “God promised that every threat would be subjected to reconfiguration.”

Thurston said King “reached across aisles” to people of other faiths and backgrounds. In that spirit, Thurston said, he invited Tariq El-Amin, imam of the Masjid Al-Taqwa mosque, to lead a prayer.

Thurston and El-Amin both stressed the importance of members of different faith traditions coming together to help one another.

“There is no space where there is oppression in one space and peace in another,” El-Amin said to the Tribune. “Our promotion of peace obligates us to address injustice, inequality, oppression, whoever it is.”

A handful of elected officials attended the event, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, both Democrats who spoke during the event about the importance of speaking out against today’s injustices.

“Please, don’t get weary,” Kelly said. “Don’t go in your house and shut the door. We need every voice. It’s so important.”

Deborah Williams, a member of New Covenant for 49 years, said Sunday’s sermon was timely. She resonated with Duckworth and Kelly’s speeches, she said.

Williams said she’s saddened by what she views as democracy being “dismantled” by President Donald Trump’s administration, but she agrees with the course of action presented in the sermon.

“Sometimes I cry, but I’m not going to give up because we’ve got to step out on faith and know that we can make it,” she said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/18/worship-ceremony-honors-mlk/