Chicago Bears Moving to Indiana

This isn't really news. They tried to move to Arlington Heights (the Land Beyond O'Hare), and still stay in Illinois, but that crashed and burned. Chicago Bears move forward with Hammond stadium after Illinois fumble

The Chicago Bears have officially made up their minds to leave the land of Lincoln for Hammond, Indiana, after local lawmakers failed to pass a bill incentivizing the team to stay.

Hammond, Indiana, is 25 miles south, and a bit east, of the Loop in Chicago.

Hat tip to Benny Johnson and his video The Chicago Bears are Officially MOVING to THIS Red State...

The Bears Are Leaving Chicago

From George Shay at The Chicago Contrarian we get a story of the Democrats turning on their own. UnBearable

The Democratic governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, not so affectionately known as Fatso, is laying the blame for the Chicago Bears moving to Indiana, something they have not officially decided to do, on Chicago's mayor, Brendan Johnson.

You know things are going badly for a mayor when even the governor from his own party publicly humiliates him. That is exactly what happened when JB Pritzker openly criticized Brandon Johnson for having “no plan” to keep the Chicago Bears in Chicago. Coming from a Republican, that would have been ordinary politics. Coming from the Democratic governor of Illinois, it was devastating.

The Bears aren't considering this move in a vacuum.

The sad reality is Chicago has lost a great deal in just three short years under Brandon Johnson. We lost ShotSpotter, despite the fact many police officers believed it helped save lives by locating gunfire quickly. We have lost businesses, investment, conventions, taxpayers, and confidence in public safety. We have lost far too many young people to gun violence, and we have lost police officers both literally and figuratively as morale within law enforcement continues to erode.

Click thru for more details.

As for The Bears, we get this from the AP: Bears reiterate Chicago stadium options are ‘exhausted,’ focused on suburban Illinois and Indiana

The Bears reiterated Thursday they plan to leave Chicago as they continue to look at building a stadium in suburban Illinois or Hammond, Indiana.

The state is trying to do some things to keep them in Illinois, so Pritzker could maybe do something there.

The Bears haven't said why they are leaving Chicago, but the tax and crime situation is why other people are leaving. They have said that want a moderen, enclosed stadium. If you have ever been in Chicago in January, you would understand.

Of Course There Was a Riot in ‘Killadelphia’

From The Other McCain we get a story that doesn't surprise me at all. A Celebration in ‘Killadelphia’

Celebration or riot? Killadelphia or Philadelphia? "A rose by any other name ..." A bunch of people they don't know, and will never meet won a sportsball competition. Or something.

Dana Pico of First Street Journal is where I first heard the term Killadelphia, but I don't know where it was first used.

First we start with the story of an 18-year-old Temple University student who died "tragically."

The adverb “tragically” is doing a lot of work in that sentence, but rather than digress on that topic — the intersection where FAFO meets the Darwin Awards — permit me to note the location of Sunday night’s “celebration” (by which I mean, riot) in Philadelphia.

Trump didn't get much of the vote in the area surrounding Penn Square, but then no one expected him to do well in a deep blue city.

There is more. Click through for more details on the "tragic" death, to various things that unify the people of Pennsylvania's 3rd District.

The Other McCain reminds us that this was an unofficial "celebration." The official parade is today. It is going on as I type this. I'm sure it will be better organized.

The NFL and Chess

Those are two things most people probably don't associate, but that isn't really fair. A lot of people play chess, at least casually, and these guys are certainly competitive. From Chess-dot-com: BlitzChamps III May 22, 2024: Reid Emerges As NFL's Top Chess Player

So the NFL and the world of Chess got together to raise some money for charity, with a chess tournament among NFL players.

Kansas City Chiefs' safety Justin Reid was crowned the winner of BlitzChamps III after sweeping Cardinals' quarterback Kyler Murray 2-0 in the Grand Final of an eight-player double-elimination bracket on Wednesday. Outplaying BlitzChamps I winner Chidobe Awuzie en route to the title, Reid showed that the NFL is taking their chess up a notch.

For his victory, Reid won $30,000 for his charity of choice, JReid Indeed, and put on a tactical masterclass for fans tuning into the event. BlitzChamps III was broadcast live from the NFL studio which was turned Chess.com green for the day.

Kyler Murray got $20,000 for his charity of choice, since he came in 2nd, Mac Hollins got $15,000 for coming in 3rd, etc. Click thru for the list of players.

Chess and the NFL

Two things that I don't usually associate, but apparently there is a push among NFL players, who are also chess players, to encourage kids to take up chess. Chidobe Awuzie Shares His Game Plan: Bengals Star Hosts Chess Workshop For Kids.

Chidobe Awuzie, the Cincinnati Bengals cornerback and all round good guy, is working with Chess.com and Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati to host a special chess workshop for kids this holiday season.

The 28-year-old professional football player and avid chess fan will be showing his game plan to children at St. Boniface School in Ohio along with FM James Canty III and IM Kassa Korley from Chess.com.

Chess.com started this push last year with BlitzChamps, and Blitz tournament amoung a group of NFL players. Chidobe Awuzie won last year, and came in 2nd this year to Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill.

Click thru for details.

NFL's Insane COVID Policy

And a bikini model. Gosh, How Can I Get Readers to Pay Attention to the NFL’s COVID-19 Policy?

Some of my readers may complain that it’s unfair to use a bikini model to call attention to this problem, but it has long been my belief that there is no such thing as an “unfair advantage” in life.

Go ahead and click thru.

“Millionaire Athlete Lives Matter”

The Other McCain has the latest insanity. More Proof America Is Racist?

Professional sports teams derive most of their revenue from TV contracts. If fewer people are watching sports on TV, that’s less revenue for the teams, and ultimately the players will be paid less. Because 69% of NFL players are black, guess who will suffer the most?

Count me among the apparent large number of people who did not watch the NFL. Since my sister canceled Thanksgiving, I also didn't spend the day watching football in November. So I saw zero professional football this year.

When was the last time the game was any good. 31 to 9 does not make for edge-of-your-seat excitment. It has been a long time since the ads were good. (Oatly anyone?) So what is the point?