Associated Press

KIEV, Ucrania (AP) — Una delegación ucraniana llegó el sábado a Estados Unidos para mantener conversaciones sobre una iniciativa diplomática encabezada por la Casa Blanca para poner fin a la guerra de casi cuatro años, mientras Rusia volvió a atacar la red eléctrica de Ucrania, cortando la electricidad y la calefacción mientras los termómetros en el país marcan valores negativos.

Kyrylo Budanov, jefe de gabinete del presidente ucraniano, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, dijo que llegó a Estados Unidos para discutir “los detalles del acuerdo de paz”.

En un mensaje en la aplicación de mensajería Telegram, Budanov señaló que —junto con los negociadores Rustem Umerov y Davyd Arakhamia— se reunirá con el enviado de Washington, Steve Witkoff; el yerno del presidente Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, y el secretario del Ejército de Estados Unidos, Dan Driscoll.

Zelenskyy afirmó el viernes que la delegación intentaría ultimar con los funcionarios estadounidenses los documentos para una propuesta de acuerdo de paz relacionados con las garantías de seguridad tras el conflicto y la recuperación económica.

Si aprueban las propuestas, Estados Unidos y Ucrania podrían firmar los documentos la próxima semana en el Foro Económico Mundial en Davos, Suiza, dijo Zelenskyy en una conferencia de prensa en Kiev con el presidente de República Checa, Petr Pavel.

Trump tiene previsto viajar a Davos, según los organizadores.

Todavía sería necesario consultar al Kremlin sobre las propuestas.

Mientras, Rusia atacó infraestructura energética ucraniana en las provincias de Kiev y Odesa durante la madrugada del sábado, reportó el Ministerio de Energía. Más de 20 localidades de la región capitalina quedaron sin electricidad tras el operativo, indicó el ministerio en su canal oficial de Telegram.

Desde el inicio de la guerra, las tropas de Moscú han golpeado la red eléctrica de enemiga, especialmente en invierno. Su objetivo es debilitar la voluntad ucraniana de resistir en una estrategia que los funcionarios de Kiev denominan “convertir el invierno en un arma”.

El nuevo ministro de Energía ucraniano, Denys Shmyhal, dijo el viernes que Rusia lanzó 612 ataques a objetivos energéticos durante el año pasado. Los bombardeos se han intensificado en los últimos meses, mientras las temperaturas nocturnas caen a -18º Celsius (0º Fahrenheit).

Ucrania ha adoptado medidas de emergencia, como la flexibilización temporal de las restricciones del toque de queda para permitir que las población acuda a los centros de calefacción públicos establecidos por el gobierno cuando lo necesiten, apuntó Shmyhal. Los hospitales, las escuelas y otras infraestructuras críticas siguen siendo la máxima prioridad para el suministro de electricidad y calefacción, agregó el ministro.

Las autoridades han ordenado a las empresas estatales de energía Ukrzaliznytsia, Naftogaz y Ukroboronprom que compren urgentemente electricidad importada para cubrir al menos el 50% de su propio consumo, según Shmyhal.

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

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/17/delegacin-ucraniana-llega-a-eeuu-para-conversaciones-de-paz-mientras-rusia-ataca-sitios-energticos/ 

Whether it was squaring off against the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs or Milwaukee Brewers, outfielder Jarred Kelenic always enjoyed returning to places close to home.

“I grew up in that area, until I was 18, and I was in Chicago quite a bit, whether it was playing or visiting just with my family,” said Kelenic, a native of Waukesha, Wis., during a videoconference call Wednesday. “The cool part of being in that city is thinking of those memories and just it being a place that I’ve had so much history with — not only just baseball but off-the-field stuff too.

“Chicago is my favorite city that I have ever played in. So, to be able to potentially call that home, I’m looking forward to that.”

Kelenic is aiming for an extended stay in the upcoming season after agreeing to a minor-league deal with the Sox on Dec. 31. He’ll be a nonroster invitee to the team’s major-league spring training camp.

A first-round pick by the New York Mets in 2018, Kelenic has a career .211/.282/.376 slash line with 63 doubles, 49 home runs, 156 RBIs and 130 walks during parts of five seasons with the Seattle Mariners (2021-23) and Atlanta Braves (2024-25).

Kelenic played in a career-high 131 games for the Braves in 2024. He spent the bulk of 2025 at Triple-A Gwinnett (95 games), and also hit .167 with two home runs and two RBIs in 24 games with the Braves.

“I’m still working to be as consistent as I possibly can,” Kelenic said. “I think consistency is the name of the game. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs and I’m just trying to learn from those and attack them and grow as a baseball and as a teammate.”

Kelenic, 26, could become a contributor for a club that wanted to target outfield depth, particularly on corners, during the offseason. In November, the Sox acquired outfielder Everson Pereira as part of a trade that sent pitchers Yoendrys Gómez and Steven Wilson to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The team’s offseason checklist also included addressing starting and relief pitching, along with adding a left-handed-hitting infielder. The biggest splash took place in December when they signed two-time Nippon Professional Baseball Japanese Central League Most Valuable Player Munetaka Murakami to a two-year, $34 million deal.

The 25-year-old Murakami, who will play first base, hit 246 home runs during eight seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows — including 56 in 2022.

Newly acquired White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami walks onto the field during a news conference Dec. 22, 2025, at Rate Field. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

The Sox also looked to Japan in terms of pitching, finalizing a two-year, $12 million contract with left-hander Anthony Kay on Dec. 9. Kay, 30, spent last season with the Yokohama BayStars. He has five seasons of big-league experience with the Toronto Blue Jays (2019-22), Cubs (2023) and Mets (2023).

The White Sox added two pitchers who spent portions of 2025 with the Boston Red Sox, trading for Chris Murphy in November and signing Sean Newcomb to a one-year deal in December. They also made two selections in the Rule 5 draft, picking up right-handers Jedixson Paez from the Red Sox organization and Alexander Alberto from the Rays organization.

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In general, manager Will Venable said the moves have been “very thoughtful.”

“No. 1, these guys are guys that are young, physical, athletic guys,” Venable said during a videoconference call last week. “I don’t think any manager is going to have a problem with that. That you continue to add those types of bodies is great. But they also have a ton of upside.

“Even someone like Anthony Kay who had his stint here (in the majors), goes over (to Japan), I think there’s upside there that we can tap into. (Newcomb), obviously Mune, these guys, there’s some real upside. It will be our job to create an environment and support them with everything we can to help them be at their best. But for me I think the thing that really sticks out is you’ve got guys that have really high ceilings, and that’s exciting.”

Spring training is less than a month away, with pitchers and catchers slated to report to camp Feb. 10. It will be interesting to watch how the pitching shakes out, along with which players join the likes of Luis Robert Jr. — whose $20 million club option was picked up in November — and Andrew Benintendi in the outfield.

“I’m looking forward to going out there and proving the player that I can be,” Kelenic said. “I’m looking forward to playing with another group of guys. I’ve been traded a couple of times. One of the cool things is you get to meet a whole different group of players and build so many more friendships. That’s definitely an exciting thing for me.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know the guys, getting to know the organization and doing everything I can to help the team win.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/17/chicago-white-sox-offseason-jarred-kelenic/ 

The explosive growth of women’s sports has been a well-documented phenomenon over the last four years.

But when Chicago hosts the 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend in July, Kara Bachman — the executive director of the Chicago Sports Commission — wants the city’s investors and businesses to do more than just cheer from the sidelines.

“Do a little more,” Bachman said Friday during a launch event in Fulton Market. “Put your money where your mouth is.”

The league’s All-Star festivities will return to Chicago for the second time from July 23-25, with the game scheduled for Saturday, July 25 at the United Center. Those dates are more than six months away — but planning already has begun for a cornerstone of the WNBA calendar.

The latest step of that process took place Friday in a launch event headlined by Gov. JB Pritzker, mayor Brandon Johnson and part-owner Dwyane Wade as the Sky and the city made their pitch to local investors and business leaders to take part in the weekend.

According to a report by Front Office Sports, Chicago was the only city to bid for hosting the 2026 All-Star weekend. The reticence from other teams? Hosting duties are split between the host team and the league, making the weekend an expensive affair as the standard for logistics such as hotels, parties and activations rise meteorically with the sport as a whole.

Sky co-owner and operating chair Nadia Rawlinson spearheaded the pitch for Chicago to land the event. She said the Sky are embracing the responsibility as an opportunity to highlight Chicago as a whole. While some features — a welcoming event, sponsor activations featuring star players, an invite-only party organized in collaboration with the players union — will be familiar from past iterations, Friday’s launch outlined a series of plans and initiatives to expand the event’s footprint.

This includes a series of VIP roundtable dinners in the months leading up to the event and an innovation summit to highlight and support advancements in women’s sports. During All-Star weekend, Rawlinson said the Sky will host a radio row to highlight prominent sports and business shows. The Sky also plan to partner with the city for a series of community initiatives around the weekend, including a project to add the WNBA 3-point line to basketball courts at every public park in Chicago.

Throughout the weekend, Rawlinson emphasized that the Sky and the WNBA will seek to highlight the diversity of the league’s fanbase.

“The WNBA is (a place) where everyone can find their person,” Rawlinson said. “They can find connection. This is a place where typically people who don’t have a natural community can find community. This is our chance to highlight that.”

Chicago hosted the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game at Wintrust Arena — home of the Sky. For the first time in franchise history, the team last season played two regular-season games at the United Center. The home of the NBA’s Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks has nearly double the capacity of Wintrust’s 10,380.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/17/chicago-wnba-all-star-weekend/ 

The NCAA transfer portal is a godsend for new coaches. Forget three-, four- and five-year builds. Having roughly 3,000 players looking for fresh landing spots creates long days, sleepless nights and more film study than any NFL rookie quarterback.

Those who navigate it best — like Arizona State, Indiana, Ole Miss and Texas Tech in recent years — have a chance to advance to the College Football Playoff in short order.

College football transfer portal tracker: DB Xavier Scott will return to Illinois for the 2026 season

Here’s a look at how 12 of the 17 Power Four programs with new coaches — those in the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12 and Southeastern conferences — have fared in the portal, which officially closed Friday ( rankings compiled by 247 Sports).

1. LSU: Lane Kiffin

The Tigers won the Kiffin sweepstakes and promised to spend big to rebuild their roster. They landed Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, arguably the most coveted portal QB, along with 27 others in the top-rated class.

Intriguing addition: WR Eugene “Tre” Wilson, who flashed at Florida when healthy.

3. Ole Miss: Pete Golding

With RB Kewan Lacy returning, Golding added several plug-and-play starters from fellow SEC schools, including LSU OT Carius Curne, Auburn CB Jay Crawford and Florida DT Michai Boireau.

Intriguing addition: WR Darrell Gill Jr., a 6-foot-3 junior who had 506 yards and five TDs at Syracuse in 2025.

4. Penn State: Matt Campbell

Campbell raided his former roster at Iowa State, bringing nearly two dozen Cyclones with him to Happy Valley. The familiar faces include QB Rocco Becht, TE Benjamin Brahmer and WR Chase Sowell.

Intriguing addition: UCLA DT Siale Taupaki, who is beginning his eighth collegiate season after following assistant coaches D’Anton Lynn and Ikaika Malloe to Penn State.

5. Oklahoma State: Eric Morris

No one added more transfers than Morris, who has nearly 50 newcomers on his roster. Fifteen of them followed Morris from North Texas, including QB Drew Mestemaker, RB Caleb Hawkins and WR Wyatt Young.

Intriguing addition: WR Justin Bowick, a 6-foot-4 senior who had five TDs last season at Illinois and is attending his fourth college in as many years.

8. Kentucky: Will Stein

Stein started the Wildcats’ facelift by beefing up their offensive line, adding Tennessee LT Lance Heard, Baylor C Coleton Price and Ohio State G Tegra Tshabola. The trio should provide immediate protection for former Notre Dame QB Kenny Minchey.

Intriguing addition: LB Elijah Barnes, who played just four games as a freshman at Texas last season while learning from standout Anthony Hill Jr.

12. Virginia Tech: James Franklin

Franklin brought nearly a dozen players with him from Penn State, including TE Luke Reynolds, QB Ethan Grunkemeyer, LB Keon Wylie and DE Mylachi Williams. They should help create a strong foundation.

Intriguing addition: WR Que’Sean Brown, who caught 105 passes for 1,291 yards and seven TDs in two years at Duke.

14. Auburn: Alex Golesh

Losing WRs Cam Coleman (Texas) and Eric Singleton (Florida) surely stings, but bringing USF’s Byrum Brown to the Plains along with Golesh should make a difference for a program desperate for better QB play.

Intriguing addition: RB Bryson Washington, who carried 154 times for 788 yards and six TDs at Baylor in 2025. He should give the Tigers a formidable 1-2 punch alongside Jeremiah Cobb.

15. Cal: Tosh Lupoi

Lupoi has always been known for his recruiting prowess, so getting Ohio WR Chase Hendricks, Rutgers WR Ian Strong, Washington RB Adam Mohammed, New Mexico TE Dorian Thomas and Oregon S Kingston Lopa to Berkeley is a solid start.

Intriguing addition: Florida International OT Mykeal Rabess, a 6-foot-8, 320-pound project, could help protect promising QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.

20. Michigan: Kyle Whittingham

Whittingham plucked a handful of guys from Utah, including TE JJ Buchanan, CB Smith Snowden, DE John Henry Daley and DL Jonah Leaea. They should help stabilize the program.

Intriguing addition: RB Taylor Tatum, who averaged nearly 5 yards a carry as a freshman at Oklahoma in 2024. He might help offset the departure of Justice Haynes.

23. Florida: Jon Sumrall

Sumrall’s biggest recruiting win was getting five key guys to stay in Gainesville: RB Jadan Baugh, LB Myles Graham, DE Jayden Woods, and WRs Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson. Notable newcomers include Georgia Tech QB Aaron Philo and Auburn WR Eric Singleton Jr.

Intriguing addition: Emmanuel Oyebadejo, a 6-foot-7, 295-pound edge rusher who had 6 ½ tackles for loss and two forced fumbles at Jacksonville State in 2025. He played basketball until age 18.

25. Arkansas: Ryan Silverfield

Silverfield took a big swing in Fayetteville, with an SEC-leading 33 transfers. Louisiana Lafayette OT Bryant Williams, North Carolina LB Khmori House and Tulane CB Jahiem Johnson top the list.

Intriguing addition: Terence Roberson Jr., a 6-foot-6, 295-pound OL who played at Division II Ouachita Baptist.

28. UCLA: Bob Chesney

Chesney’s overhaul includes 10 guys following him from James Madison. The best of the group: DE Sahir West, who had 14 tackles for loss in 2025. Oklahoma LB Sammy Omosigho and Florida WR Aidan Mizell headline the others.

Intriguing addition: S Tao Johnson, a three-year starter at Utah.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/17/college-football-portal-winners/ 

LOS ANGELES — When Jared Verse begins to elaborate on the methodology of sacking Caleb Williams, it’s quickly obvious the Los Angeles Rams star edge rusher has been thinking about this monumental task quite a bit.

“You just have to keep rushing,” Verse said. “You have to keep running. Honestly, once you get your hands around him, if you can’t fully grab him, aim for his arm. He’s a throwing quarterback. Obviously, that’s all quarterbacks, but you have to aim for his arm. Just try to mess his throw up a little bit. It can’t just be like you’re getting him off the spot. He’s one of those quarterbacks … even if they’re off the spot, they’re still liable to make any type of play.”

Williams’ clutch playmaking has driven the Bears (12-6) to the NFC North title and home-field advantage in their divisional round visit from the Rams (13-5) on Sunday (5:30 p.m., Fox-32). The Rams’ success in containing the former USC star will be a determining factor in this matchup — particularly in the fourth quarter, when two quarterbacks known for late comebacks seem likely to be trading big plays in the Chicago cold.

5 things to watch for in the Chicago Bears-Los Angeles Rams playoff game — plus our predictions

Limiting Williams is an 11-man job, but a big chunk of that responsibility falls on Verse and his fellow Pro Bowl edge rusher, Byron Young. The duo combined for 19½ of the Rams’ 47 sacks during the regular season, but both will be challenged at Soldier Field by a profoundly elusive quarterback and his much-improved offensive line.

Verse has plenty of ideas about how to do it, but he also knows the smartest plans against Williams sometimes just don’t work.

“When you get to him, you have to wrap him up,” Verse said. “It’s not like (you can) lunge or jump at him. He’s very athletic and he’s very nimble. He’s able to get away from anything you bring to him. You have to keep (moving) your feet under you when you wrap him up. You can’t lunge at him. We’ve watched all the tape, watched games from their last playoff game to the first game of their season. He’s been doing it all season long. It’s impossible to say he won’t get away from one of us, but we all have to keep pursuing it and be able to make that tackle.”

Verse still remembers his frustration when the Rams visited the Bears in Week 4 of last season. Verse managed to sack Williams twice in a three-play span of the second quarter, only for both to be nullified by defensive penalties.

The Rams sacked Williams three times that day, but he still led the Bears to a victory. Williams was sacked 68 times as a rookie, but that number plummeted to just 24 this season, and the Packers got him down only once last week while he led the Bears’ dramatic comeback victory in the wild-card round.

Rams coach Sean McVay has been struck by Williams’ growth while watching film this week.

“It’s one thing where you see him play in time and in rhythm with good accuracy and anticipation,” McVay said. “But then some of those second-reaction plays where he’s getting flushed to his right or getting flushed to his left and guys understand how to be able to work with him, those are the ones that are really scary. He’s playing at a high clip.”

Rams linebackers Jared Verse (8) and Byron Young celebrate a tackle against the Eagles on Sept. 21, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Terrance Williams/AP)

This challenge is particularly significant for the Rams because their pass rush is the main strength of their defense, which has faded down the stretch this season. The Rams have allowed at least 27 points to every opponent other than the woebegone Arizona Cardinals since Thanksgiving, with the unit’s effectiveness declining in most defensive metrics.

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The Rams blitzed less than nearly every other team in the NFL, just 18.1% of the time in the regular season. They rely on their edge rushers and interior rushers to get home often enough to help their secondary, which has been largely unimpressive all season.

Williams’ skill set is a potential nightmare for the Rams, and they know it. Verse and his teammates are still confident they can contain him enough to keep the Rams competitive.

“He’s a Heisman winner for a reason,” said Verse, who was drafted 18 picks after Williams in 2024. “He was the No. 1 pick, and I have a lot of respect for him.”

Notes

Right guard Kevin Dotson (sprained ankle) will return from his three-game absence, McVay confirmed Friday. The news is a big boost for the Rams running game, which could be vital if the frigid weather limits both teams’ passing attacks. … Backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is questionable with back pain, but McVay expects him to be available. Stetson Bennett IV, the Rams third-string QB, has yet to throw an NFL pass.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/17/la-rams-jared-verse-chicago-bears-playoffs/ 

Naturally, coach Ben Johnson’s fingerprints are all over the 2025 Chicago Bears. That apparently even includes the halftime show.

On Sunday, Johnson’s high school buddy and college roommate will be the halftime entertainment at Soldier Field. That would be country music star Chase Rice.

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Johnson and Rice both grew up in Ashville, N.C., and played football at A.C. Reynolds High School. Johnson was the quarterback on the school’s 2002 state championship team.

They both went on to play football at North Carolina. Rice was a linebacker for the Tar Heels, while Johnson was a walk-on quarterback. The two have remained friends in the years since, even as their careers have taken them on different paths.

CBS cast Rice on the reality TV show “Survivor” in a season that aired in 2010. That same year, Rice released his debut country album, which kickstarted a music career that led to multiple No. 1 country hits and a half dozen headlining tours.

Johnson, meanwhile, pursued a career in coaching beginning with a job as a graduate assistant at Boston College in 2009. He moved to the Miami Dolphins as an assistant in 2012, where he met future Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Johnson took a job with the Lions in 2019 and worked his way up to offensive coordinator prior to landing the Bears head coaching gig last year.

Now Rice will be playing halftime as his buddy coaches in the biggest Bears game in 15 years. The Bears and the Los Angeles Rams will kick off at 5:30 p.m. Sunday from Soldier Field with a trip to the NFC championship on the line.

Last summer, Johnson attended Rice’s show at The Salt Shed. In December, Rice was at Soldier Field as a fan for a game against the Cleveland Browns.

That concert at The Salt Shed in June may have sparked Johnson’s “good, better, best” phenomenon because Rice and his band do the chant before they go on stage at every concert. The chant dates back to their days playing high school ball at A.C. Reynolds. Johnson first did it with his team a few months later, and it has since taken Chicago by storm.

So while Johnson will be busy giving his team a pep talk at halftime — and Bears fans hope they’re not trying to rally their way out of another big halftime deficit — his friend will be keeping the fans entertained while they wait for the second half.

A framed photo at their alma mater, A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C. on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025 shows linebacker Chase Rice, now a country music singer, who was a teammate of Bears coach Ben Johnson when they were roommates at North Carolina. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/17/chicago-bears-chase-rice-halftime-show/ 

When Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson faces off against Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams in Sunday’s NFC divisional-round playoff game at Soldier Field, at least one legendary offensive mind will be digesting the chess match of X’s and O’s from home.

“Oh, yeah, sure, I’ll watch it,” Tom Moore told the Tribune.

The 87-year-old retired this month after 62 years in coaching, having last served as a senior offensive consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. Along the way, Moore won four Super Bowl rings with three teams, including the 2006 Indianapolis Colts.

5 things to watch for in the Chicago Bears-Los Angeles Rams playoff game — plus our predictions

Every Bears fan remembers those Colts: Moore was the offensive coordinator when Peyton Manning and company defeated Rex Grossman and the Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI on Feb 4, 2007.

“Way back when, when I was a little kid growing up In Iowa, you only got one game, and of course, the Bears were my team, because that’s the only game you got on Sunday,” Moore said. “I go way back to Sid Luckman. So I know the Bears and I know the Cubs.”

And he knows an offensive guru when he sees one, and he sees a couple of elite play-callers in McVay, who’s in his ninth season, and Johnson, a first-year head coach.

Both coaches have become known for their deceptive use of motion, angles and unconventional routes and personnel groupings, as well their mastery of situational play-calling.

“One of the things that really stands out to me is they have answers,” Moore said. “In other words, when they create situations with their personnel alignment, their motions, then they have an answer. They know exactly what to do to take advantage of what that situation creates, and they’re both masters at it.”

Moore elaborated: “Answers” mean that when a defense shifts into a different coverage based on a coach’s formation, that coach has a counter-move up his sleeve.

“When they (on offense) do something, and then they see how a particular team is trying to defend what they’re doing, then they know exactly what the answer is and where to go with the next part of the equation to solve that problem,” he said.

“And I think that’s the thing that really sets them apart.”

Not their first tango

Rams coach Sean McVay talks with an official during a game against the Titans on Sept. 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (John Amis/AP)

The Sunday evening duel at Soldier Field won’t be the first time Johnson will have matched wits with McVay in the playoffs, though Johnson was the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator in previous meetings.

During the 2023 postseason, the Lions beat the Rams 24-23 in the wild-card round on Jan. 14, 2024, at Ford Field. Despite the loss, the Rams outgained the Lions 425-334.

They met again in the 2024 season opener on Sept. 8 at Ford Field, with the Lions prevailing again, 26-20. The offenses were more evenly matched, with a slight edge to the Rams, 387 yards to 363.

Now, the Bears and Rams haven’t met in the playoffs since the legendary ’85 Bears trounced the Rams 24-0 in the conference championship game Jan. 12, 1986, en route to winning the franchise’s only Super Bowl championship.

Flashback: When the Chicago Bears played the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship game 40 years ago

To get to Sunday’s playoff reunion, both teams had to pull off some offensive theatrics in the wild-card round.

The Bears erased a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit by outscoring the Green Bay Packers 25-6 in the final frame to beat their archrival 31-27.

The Rams narrowly averted an upset against the Carolina Panthers, with quarterback Matthew Stafford’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson with 43 seconds left giving them a 34-31 victory.

The Bears put up the most total yards (445) — and most passing yards (352) — in the wild-card round, while the Rams produced the third most (411).

However, the Rams were the juggernaut in the regular season. They finished as the league’s top offense (394.6 yards per game) and averaged the most points (30.5). The Bears ranked sixth in offense (369.5) and ninth in points (25.9).

Here’s how McVay’s Rams offense and Johnson’s offenses (including Johnson’s stint as Lions offense coordinator) ranked in the last four regular seasons.

2025: Rams total offense (1), points (1); Bear total offense (6), points (9)
2024: Rams total offense (15), points (20); Lions total offense (2), points (1)
2023: Rams total offense (7), points (8); Lions total offense (3), points (5)
2022: Rams total offense (32), points (27); Lions total offense (4), points (5)

Once upon a time …

Bears coach Ben Johnson stands along the sideline during a game against the Lions on Jan. 4, 2026, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Johnson calls his offensive philosophy a “mutt,” borrowing from a variety of influences, both directly and indirectly.

“There’s stuff all over the place,” Johnson said last month while name-checking Bill Lazor, Chip Kelly and Mike Martz, a former Rams head coach and Bears offensive coordinator.

Earlier this week, Johnson said he studied McVay’s system when he refashioned the Lions offense after a former Rams quarterback was traded to the Lions.

“My history has been, obviously, with Jared Goff,” Johnson said. “Jared started with Sean. And so there’s a lot of comfort that Jared had from his time with Sean that we looked to accentuate there in Detroit.

“So that was one of the pillars of our playbook, were some of those concepts from L.A. Also augmenting it with some of the stuff I’ve been around, (Lions) coach (Dan) Campbell has been around, and the rest of the offensive staff.

“It’s a marriage of a bunch of stuff like that. I’ve watched a ton of L.A. tape over the years — obviously when Jared was there — and that’s continued since Matthew (Stafford) has been there as well.”

Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, left, works alongside coach Dan Campbell during a game against the Bears on Nov. 28, 2024, in Detroit. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

In 2021, when Johnson was tight ends coach in Detroit, Campbell gave him more command of the passing game as offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn fell out of favor. After Johnson’s promotion the following offseason, the Detroit News wrote the summer before training camp:

“That means more of the play-action passing game, something the Rams did better than any other team during Goff’s time there. … We should see more movement around Goff as well, something Rams head coach Sean McVay emphasized earlier in Goff’s career with his creative use of presnap motion and assorted other ‘eye candy’ in the Rams offense.”

Sound familiar?

Bears coaches used play-action and presnap motion when making over the offense for second-year quarterback Caleb Williams.

Unlike with Goff, however, Johnson and his staff implemented a lot of facets that were unfamiliar to Williams. For example, Williams was a shotgun quarterback his rookie season (as well as at USC), but Johnson practically forced him to be an under-center, play-center with some self-admitted hard coaching.

“Early on he really tried to force Caleb to get out of his comfort zone,” passing game coordinator Press Taylor said. “And I couldn’t tell you how — I would imagine Caleb had less than 100 snaps under center before he got to the NFL.

“So I think that was something like, we’re going to expose him to all this and get him as good as we possibly can. If that’s something he never latched on to, we would have pivoted and gone somewhere else with it. But, that’s a credit to Caleb’s work and what he’s done and how he’s gotten himself to really be very comfortable with what we’re asking him to do in this situation.”

More similarities than differences

Rams tight end Colby Parkinson, center left, celebrates his touchdown catch with wide receiver Puka Nacua during an NFL wild-card playoff game against the Panthers on Jan. 10, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (Erik Verduzco/AP)

Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson sees Johnson and McVay as two sides of the same coin. And not guessing where the coin will land heads or tails, but whether heads is tails.

“They just give you the same look to run a different play,” Stevenson told the Tribune. “And then they give you the same look, run the same play, but it’s a different route.

“It’s just the fact that they can give you the same thing over and over and have options off it.”

Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said McVay “does a great job with formations, motions, shifts, those types of things; personnel, trying to create some mismatches.

“In the run game, (it’s) the things that they do schematically to create angles, or get to the right spots and manipulate the defense,” Allen said.

McVay noted nearly identical qualities in Johnson, whom he has studied since Johnson’s Lions days.

“The guys that do the best job are the ones that you can see there’s a true understanding of what defenses are doing and … try to manipulate a lot of the rules and the coaching points and really try to attack your front mechanics, your coverage contours, understand some of the percentages of what you’re doing situationally, and then being able to maximize his player skill sets,” McVay said.

Like Johnson, McVay has a background as a tight ends coach. He served in that position on Mike Shanahan’s Washington Redskins (now Commanders) from 2011-13. Johnson filled the same role for the Lions in 2020 and ’21.

Today, both coaches are noted for their creative use of the tight end. Moore remembers Johnson’s “utilization of tight ends was outstanding” in Detroit.

Column: With a flair for the dramatic, the Chicago Bears have busted these 10 myths. Can they keep it going?

Safety Kevin Byard III said the versatility of the Rams tight ends gives defenders more prep work.

“Ben’s kind of been doing this all year (too), but I think it’s a reason why you like to have two tight ends out there, sometimes three, because it changes our personnel as a defense,” Byard said. “You go three tight ends, you want to go big base personnel, put more linebackers to stop the run.

“And then when you have guys that can get down the field, as far as tight ends that can run routes and get open in the middle of the field, it creates mismatches.”

Johnson said it’s part of the Rams releasing players into routes from unique positions.

“They’ll insert a tight end or wide receiver through the B-gap and run them on vertical routes down the field,” he said. “So those things create challenges.”

It’s commendable when an offense can spread targets to a variety of receivers, but in Johnson’s anything-goes offense, he had tackle-eligible Theo Benedet run a post route in the third quarter of the playoff game against the Packers.

“I was a little disappointed in my (16) miles per hour,” Benedet joked. “I thought I’d get at least 17.”

Meanwhile, in the running game, 11 Bears have taken at least one rush attempt, including three receivers, backup quarterback Tyson Bagent and rookie tight end Colston Loveland.

“Love the window dressing,” Loveland said of the motions, shifts and disguises Johnson uses. “A lot of times it helps us with leverage, helps us work in double teams and everything. And for defenses, there’s a lot of moving parts — linebackers, your eyes, (there’s) just a whole lot going on. It kind of messes with your keys a little bit.”

Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle sees the general philosophies behind the Rams’ and Bears’ respective offenses.

“But at the same point in time, we like to think we can morph and we can be unique week-to-week just depending on what the defense is going to give us,” he said.

Moore also believes that Johnson and McVay each have a base offensive philosophy that he adheres to. The trick is how much can you tailor it to your personnel versus making your personnel adjust to the system.

“Because it’s still a game of people,” Moore said. “Sometimes people get tied up in systems. And you’ve got to have a system. I’m not minimizing that. But it’s taking the system and tweaking it and adjusting it to your particular individuals that you have on your team at that time.

“And I think that’s what both of them have done and done a great job of.”

One position outweighs all others

Rams coach Sean McVay, left, talks with quarterback Matthew Stafford during a game against the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Regardless of the bells and whistles, an offensive scheme is meaningless if a quarterback can’t run it effectively.

“It’s a top offense in the league,” Williams said of the Rams. “(McVay) has a top quarterback in the league. And when you got those two things, you can run a pretty well-oiled machine over there.”

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In what many consider to be a strong case for NFL Most Valuable Player, Stafford led the regular season with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns and finished 13th in completion percentage at 65%.

His QB rating (109.2) is second to the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye (113.5).

While Williams finished sixth in touchdown passes with 27, his rating ranked 18th at 90.1, and his completion percentage of 58.1% ranked 24th.

But he set a Bears record for passing yards in a season with 3,942. And he has engineered seven fourth-quarter comeback victories.

“He’s still in the learning stage,” said Moore, noting Stafford is in his 17th season. “And he’s jumped a mile high this season, from everything I’ve seen.

“He’s done a great job, and the coach has done a great job with him.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/17/chicago-bears-la-rams-ben-johnson-sean-mcvay-playoffs/ 

If Britain Bans X, How Far Will It Go To Block Free Speech?

Tyler Durden
Sat, 01/17/2026 – 07:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/if-britain-bans-x-how-far-will-it-go-block-free-speech 

Por DANIEL NIEMANN

COPENHAGUE, Dinamarca (AP) — Una delegación bipartidista del Congreso de Estados Unidos trató de tranquilizar el sábado a Dinamarca y Groenlandia sobre su apoyo, tras la amenaza del presidente Donald Trump de castigar con aranceles a los países que no respalden que Washington tome el control de la estratégica isla ártica.

El jefe de la delegación, el senador demócrata de Delaware Chris Coons, señaló que la retórica actual en torno a Groenlandia está causando preocupación en el reino danés y apuntó que quiere calmar la situación.

“Espero que el pueblo del Reino de Dinamarca no pierda su fe en el pueblo estadounidense”, afirmó Coons en Copenhague, añadiendo que Estados Unidos respeta a Dinamarca y a la OTAN “por todo lo que hemos hecho juntos”.

Coons ofreció una conferencia de prensa antes de la celebración de las manifestaciones convocadas en Copenhague y Nuuk, la capital de Groenlandia, en apoyo a la isla autónoma.

Sus declaraciones contrastan con las que emanan de la Casa Blanca. Trump ha intentado justificar sus llamados a una toma de control por parte de Estados Unidos afirmando repetidamente que China y Rusia también están interesados en el territorio, que cuenta con vastas reservas inexploradas de minerales críticos. La Casa Blanca no ha descartado tomar la isla por la fuerza.

“Actualmente, no hay amenazas de seguridad para Groenlandia”, manifestó Coons.

Trump lleva meses insistiendo en que su país debe controlar Groenlandia, un territorio semiautónomo perteneciente a Dinamarca, aliado de Washington en la OTAN, y a principios de esta semana afirmó que cualquier cosa que no sea que la isla ártica en manos de Estados Unidos sería “inaceptable”.

Durante un acto sobre asistencia sanitaria en zonas rurales en la Casa Blanca, el mandatario relató el viernes cómo había amenazado a los aliados europeos con aranceles a productos farmacéuticos.

“Puede que haga lo mismo con Groenlandia”, dijo Trump. “Puede que imponga un arancel a los países si no están de acuerdo con lo de Groenlandia, porque necesitamos Groenlandia para la seguridad nacional. Así que puede que lo haga”.

Era la primera vez que el presidente estadounidense mencionaba el uso de aranceles tratar de imponer su voluntad en este asunto.

A principios de semana, los ministros de Exteriores de Dinamarca y Groenlandia se reunieron en Washington con el vicepresidente de Estados Unidos, JD Vance, y el secretario de Estado, Marco Rubio.

El encuentro no resolvió las profundas diferencias entre ambas partes, pero se acordó establecer un grupo de trabajo, sobre cuyo propósito Dinamarca y la Casa Blanca ofrecieron más tarde comentarios públicos muy diferentes.

Los líderes europeos han insistido en que solo Dinamarca y Groenlandia deben decidir sobre cuestiones relacionadas con el territorio, y Dinamarca señaló esta semana que aumentará su su presencia militar en la isla en cooperación con sus aliados.

“No hay casi ningún aliado mejor para Estados Unidos que Dinamarca”, afirmó Coons. “Si hacemos cosas que hagan que los daneses cuestionen si podemos ser considerados un aliado de la OTAN, ¿por qué otro país querría ser nuestro aliado o creería en nuestras declaraciones?”.

___

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

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/17/delegacin-del-congreso-de-eeuu-busca-tranquilizar-a-dinamarca-y-groenlandia-tras-amenazas-de-trump/ 

In the whole of Shakespeare’s canon, it’s hard to think of a better candidate for a sci-fi adaptation than “The Tempest,” the Bard’s late-career tale of a vengeful magician and his daughter, stranded on a remote island with strange inhabitants. Swap the male sorcerer for a powerful female engineer and the island for an inhospitable planet, and voilà, you have the recipe for the latest world premiere by Otherworld Theatre, Chicago’s only theater company dedicated to science fiction and fantasy.

“Prospera” is adapted and directed by Tiffany Keane Schaefer, Otherworld’s founding artistic director and the creative force behind the company’s recent hit, “Twihard! A Twilight Musical Parody.” Unlike that comedic piece of unabashed fan service, “Prospera” strikes a more serious tone; there’s some humor baked into the script, but at its core, the play is an earnest effort at a high-concept Shakespeare retelling.

Though the idea is compelling, the execution is shaky. The script is overburdened with exposition, yet the world-building left me confused about key points, and the uneven character development made it difficult to feel invested. The acting is a mixed bag as well, with a few stronger performances standing out from the rest.

Schaefer’s production design (set, props, costumes and sound) works within the constraints of a storefront budget to capture the dilapidated state of Halcrya-3, the planet where Prospera (Stacey Lind) lives in exile with her daughter, Miri (Izzi King). Their wrecked spaceship, named Tempest, wouldn’t look out of place in the grungier episodes of mid-2000s “Doctor Who,” while Mike McShane’s lighting design draws on a genre-appropriate palette of electric blues and greens.

As we learn through flashbacks, Prospera hails from the nation of Roma Prime, where she previously served as the admiral of a flotilla that houses its citizens, who are seeking a replacement for their dying planet. When her ambitious research into wormhole technology falls afoul of Roma Prime’s other leaders — a downfall largely instigated by her brother and second in command, Andarin (Jacob Watson) — Prospera is convicted by a tribunal and loses her wife, Sybil (Janice Rumschlag), in an attempted escape, only making it out with their infant daughter.

Twenty years later on Halcrya-3, Miri has grown into a curious, intelligent young woman who loves Prospera but dreams of independence from her mother’s control. The family’s two sole companions also long for freedom: Ariel (Rumschlag), an artificial intelligence that Prospera has crafted in the image of her late wife, and Kai-Lune (Blake Marion Hood), a member of the planet’s native race, the Sycoraxians. When Andarin unwittingly flies too close to Halcrya-3 on a diplomatic mission, Prospera orchestrates a storm in order to ground his ship and enact her revenge. From here, the story proceeds through a series of scheming manipulations, quirky flirtations and deadly confrontations.

While the broad arc of “The Tempest” will be familiar to many theatergoers, this version packs in so much world-building and backstory that the pacing often drags. Plus, character motivations tend to be hazy, especially in the case of Prospera. However, the script does include a few poetic gems that sound straight out of a sci-fi novel, such as the young officer Dax (Hayden Lane-Davies) describing his chaotic yet beautiful home flotilla as “a riot of primates refusing to die.”

In a romantic subplot between Dax and Miri, Lane-Davies shares most of his scenes with King, who gives one of the more convincing and entertaining performances of the entire cast. Having never met another human besides her mother, Miri makes flustered, endearing attempts to interact with her new acquaintance, whom she finds quite handsome. As she and Dax awkwardly flirt, Ariel’s robotic voice narrates the biological symptoms of their “primitive mating subroutine,” much to Miri’s consternation.

Janice Rumschlag, Hayden Lane-Davis, Blake Hood, Sydney Ginter, P-Jay Adams and Izzi King in “Prospera” by Otherworld Theatre at Theater Wit. (Erin Bonham)

Other noteworthy performances include Watson as Andarin, who makes a smarmy antagonist, and Sydney Ginter, doing double duty as young Prospera and Rashida, Andarin’s contact from the wealthy nation of Tunis. Though she only has one brief scene, the gold-clad Rashida gives off a delightfully suave menace, punctuated by the clacking of her wickedly sharp finger extensions. Hood also does a fine job as Kai-Lune, who represents an extraterrestrial take on Caliban, with an emphasis on the power dynamics inherent in resource-oriented colonialism.

Despite these enjoyable side characters, a major missing piece is a dynamic arc for the title role. The source material’s themes of justice and forgiveness are present in Otherworld’s version, but the resolution feels abrupt and the ending goes off in an odd direction. For a play titled “Prospera,” there should be a bit more, well, Prospera.

Emily McClanathan is a freelance critic.

Review: “Prospera” (2 stars)

When: Through Feb. 8

Where: Otherworld Theatre Company at Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont Ave

Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Tickets: $30 at theaterwit.org

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/17/review-otherworld-theatre-prospera/