Unsere Gaeste - Ecke » Obviously, he’s been a big part of our lineup

ROSEMONT http://www.carolinapanthersteamonline.com/christian-miller-jersey , Ill. (AP) — To Hall of Fame defensive end Richard Dent, the Chicago Bears sure have the look of a champion.Dent sees striking similarities between the current team and the 1985 shufflin’ crew that brought home the founding NFL franchise’s lone Super Bowl championship. That team dominated like no other, and the current group still has some climbing to do to reach the same level.“To me, this team looks just like us in ’84, ’85,” he said. “We really started to jell, to be the best that we can be. We beat one another, and when you beat one another Jordan Scarlett Jersey , no one else can beat you but yourself. That’s what drove us to be the best that we can be.”How high the Bears can go remains to be seen. But in Chicago, optimism is soaring.The Monsters of the Midway re-emerged last season, winning the NFC North at 12-4 in coach Matt Nagy’s first season and making the playoffs for the first time since 2010. The defense, led by All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack, ranked among the best in the NFL.The Bears thought they were in position to make a run, only to have the season end on former kicker Cody Parkey’s double-doink miss off the upright and crossbar in a wild-card loss to Philadelphia at Soldier Field.As the Bears celebrate their 100th anniversary this weekend, the past and present are colliding.Six Hall of Famers and 230 former and current players and coaches were on hand for the opening ceremony on Friday. The festivities continued Saturday with panel discussions featuring past and current Bears.Hall of Famers Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary and Mike Ditka shared stories ranging from their interactions with George Halas to championship seasons and what propelled them.Butkus recalled the seeds for becoming one of the most feared tacklers ever to put on a helmet and pads taking root as a high school running back at Chicago Vocational High School.“I was just going more by what bothered me as a running back in high school Greedy Williams Jersey ,” he said.Singletary recalled his first team meeting with Halas.“You were looking at history,” he said. “You were looking at somebody of competence. You were looking at the guy who basically started the whole league.”The Bears naturally are shining a bright light this weekend on a past that includes nine championships. They have 28 Hall of Fame busts on display as well as the Super Bowl XX Lombardi Trophy.It’s been a long wait for another one. But the jump the Bears made last year under Nagy no doubt energized their fan base as well as their alumni.Can these Bears win it all?“Don’t know,” Singletary said. “Do they have the players? Yes. Do they have the talent? Yes. Maturity is going to be the thing that has to be there. Hopefully, they can do that.”Dent sees similarities to where the Bears were entering the 1985 season. Like the current group, they were coming off a brutal playoff loss — 23-0 to San Francisco the previous year in the NFC championship game.That team had one of the most dominant defenses ever assembled with Dan Hampton, Singletary and Dent leading the way. Last season, Chicago had three All-Pros on defense with safety Eddie Jackson and cornerback Kyle Fuller selected along with Mack. Defensive end Akiem Hicks also made the Pro Bowl.Dent said Mack will have to add “another wrinkle” to his game after five seasons because “there’s a lot of film out there” on him and “father time’s gonna catch up.” But he also has plenty of help, with Hicks and linebacker Roquan Smith creating havoc and Jackson and Fuller anchoring the secondary.“You can’t double everybody http://www.ravensfootballauthentics.com/justice-hill-jersey-authentic ,” Dent said. “That’s just like us.”
The Chicago White Sox snapped an eight-game losing streak with a victory Friday night over the Oakland Athletics.

Now, the White Sox will try to start building momentum in a positive direction.

Chicago (25-50) will go for back-to-back wins when it hosts Oakland (39-37) on Saturday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox and A’s are coming off a doubleheader split and have two games left in the four-game series on Chicago’s South Side.

The matchup will represent a personal milestone for White Sox right-hander Dylan Covey (3-2, 2.90 ERA), who will face the A’s for the first time in his career. The A’s drafted him in 2013 in the fourth round, but Chicago selected him in the Rule 5 draft before the start of last season.

Covey endured a turbulent 2017 campaign but has performed much better this time around. The 26-year-old went five straight starts without a defeat before falling short in his most recent outing Monday against the Cleveland Indians. He gave up four earned runs on six hits over six innings in that 6-2 defeat.

This will be Covey’s 20th start in the big leagues. He is 3-9 with a 5.95 ERA in his career.

“On the outside looking in, I would say he’s on a path that leads us to believe he’s turning a corner and getting to where you feel comfortable with all of his approaches, when he’s attacking hitters, and that’s going to be able to have this become a sustainable activity for him Ben Powers Jersey ,” Chicago manager Rick Renteria said to the Chicago Sun-Times. “The stuff is good. It’s always going to be, for all pitchers, trusting the stuff and commanding strikes.”

For Oakland, right-hander Daniel Mengden (6-6, 4.06 ERA) is set to make his 16th start of the season. The Houston Astros drafted Mengden in the fourth round in 2014, and he was traded to Oakland the next season as part of a package for veteran left-hander Scott Kazmir.

Kazmir has not pitched in the big leagues since 2016, but Mengden appears to have a bright future at age 25. He has struggled recently, however http://www.ravensfootballauthentics.com/iman-marshall-jersey-authentic , allowing 16 earned runs in his past 14 1/3 innings for a 10.05 ERA during that span. He has given up eight home runs in that time.

In his only career appearance against the White Sox earlier this season, Mengden allowed only one run and six hits in eight innings. He walked one and struck out six while picking up the win in Oakland’s 8-1 victory.

A’s outfielder Matt Joyce could remain in the lineup one day after he was activated from the 10-day disabled list with a lumbar strain. He hit .196 with seven home runs and 13 RBIs before the injury, and he went 0-for-2 in his return Friday night.

“Obviously, he’s been a big part of our lineup,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said to mlb.com. “Maybe not the year he envisioned up to this point, but we feel like he’s swung the bat a lot better than his numbers would suggest. He had a couple of hits the last couple of games, and he’s healthy again.”

The White Sox are 13-25 at home. The A’s are 19-17 on the road.