Articles by Kevin Henry,Yardbarker

Sports

Magical season for Bears may include avoiding biggest adversary

How far has the "ownership" of the Bears mentality gone for Rodgers? He sent a message to Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who took over for him in Green Bay, congratulating him on "keeping the ownership in place" after Love and the Packers won in Chicago to open the 2023 season. However, this appears to be a different Bears team than the one that has been under Rodgers' control for years. After escaping with a 19-17 win in Minnesota on Sunday thanks to a game-winning field goal by Cairos Santos, the Bears enter Sunday's game against Pittsburgh with a 7-3 record. Five of those seven wins this season have come thanks to late fourth-quarter rallies, including in each of their last three games. The Bears are showing this is a different team under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, and it could be a team that could finally break free of the spell that Rodgers has cast over the franchise for years. That, however, may not happen now with Rodgers' wrist injury. And, if Rodgers doesn't play on Sunday, it's unclear when the Bears might get their next shot at the quarterback who turns 42 on Dec. 2. Of all of the tests the Bears have passed so far this season, another important milestone (at least psychologically) would have been for Chicago to down Pittsburgh with Rodgers under center and pin a loss on one of their greatest adversaries. Now, the Bears will focus on what they need to do if Rudolph is the one taking snaps as they look to continue to show there's a new attitude and confidence in the Windy City.

Technology

World Series Game 2 takeaways: Yoshinobu Yamamoto's gem propels Dodgers past Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays learned on Saturday night just how proficient the Los Angeles Dodgers can be when their pitching and hitting are clicking. Los Angeles broke open the game late with a pair of seventh-inning homers off Toronto starter Kevin Gausman on their way to a 5-1 victory, knotting the World Series at 1-1 heading back to southern California. Those long balls backed a complete game from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, dropping his postseason ERA to 1.57 in four starts over 28.2 innings. Game 3 is set for Monday night at Dodger Stadium. As pointed out by The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya, Gausman needed just 65 pitches to get through six innings and was cruising in his World Series debut. However, Ardaya tweeted that Gausman was, "still leaving some fastballs in hittable spots, but this Dodgers offense just hasn't capitalized." That changed in the seventh as Will Smith and Max Muncy each hit solo homers on Gausman's fastballs, turning the tide and snapping a streak of 17 consecutive batters by Gausman. The late push has Los Angeles breathing easier heading back to Chavez Ravine. Saturday's game was critical for the Dodgers, as teams that had opened up a 2-0 lead in the previous 57 World Series had gone on to win 80.7 percent of the time. Yoshinobu Yamamoto walks tightrope early on way to complete game The last time we saw Yamamoto, the Dodgers starter threw a complete game, limiting the Milwaukee Brewers to three hits and one run in a dominating performance in NLCS Game 2. The 27-year-old right-hander was nearly as dominant on Saturday, scattering four hits and allowing just one run in his 105-pitch masterpiece. The last time he pitched consecutive complete games was August 20 and 27, 2021, while he was pitching for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan. On his way to Saturday's complete game, he certainly showed the ability to work his way out of jams. Yamamoto allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in each of the first three innings, yet Toronto could only turn those opportunities into one run. Toronto's best chance to do significant damage against Yamamoto came in the first inning when George Springer led off with a double and Nathan Lukes followed with a single. However, Yamamoto struck out two of the next three batters, including Guerrero Jr., to keep the Jays off the board.