Brian Urlacher No Longer a Chicago Bear: What Do You Think?

Should the Bears have offered more money to keep Urlacher in Chicago to finish out his career?

The Bears will open the 2013 season without Brian Urlacher running the defense. The 13-year veteran middle linebacker, arguably the most popular Chicago Bear of the last decade and a mainstay in the Bears defense, could not come to financial terms with the Chicago Bears. The Bears offered a one-year deal for $2 million. Urlacher, 34, initially asked for two years totaling $11.5 million but says he would have settled for $3 million. Wednesday, he called the Bears offer "a slap in the face." Urlacher's ubiquitous jersey could be seen on Bears fans of all ages and was among the NFL's most-sold jerseys through 2010. The eight-time Pro Bowler recorded 1,779 tackles, a Bears franchise record, and many believe he's a future Hall of Famer. In 2005…

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The Editor Speaks

Dear Dan Hampton, I Would Have Taken Your Place in D.C.

Somewhere in the intersection of sports, politics and celebrity, I could have gotten a free trip to Washington.

"Obama Honors '85 Bears," a headline that should have been tucked somewhere between the call to submit pet pictures and the list of trick-or-treating hours, has somehow been replaced with "Dan Hampton Snubs White House." For those who've been sidetracked by fluffy stories about the gunfire at a Syrian opposition leader's funeral, the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan or Alabama allowing police to throw possible illegal immigrants in jail without bond based on suspicion alone, Danimal don't wanna go to D.C. The 1985 Bears were asked if they wanted to go to the White House to be honored by President Obama because a trip planned for when they won was cancelled because of the Challenger disaster. Hampton said no. "It's my own personal…

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FACEBOOK EXCLUSIVES: Watch these Bears Fans Talk Smack

We talked to some Bears fans to get their thoughts, their predictions and, of course, their messages for Packers fans.

There is nothing quite like an old rivalry to make a great game even more exciting. Barring some kind of overtime fiasco, by the end of the day tomorrow, either the Green Bay Packers or the Chicago Bears will have won the NFC championship and will be headed to the Super Bowl. But because of the intense rivalry between teams, the championship itself is on a par with the Super Bowl, if not a greater contest. We caught up with some Bears fans in Mokena to gauge their thoughts on tomorrow's game, get their predictions and ask their opinions of those pesky Packers fans. Go to the Mokena Patch Facebook Page to watch our video.

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Bears Fans Keep Hometown Spirit Alive With Da Bus

Blue and orange bus brings diehard Mokena fans together.

Right after the Chicago Bears made it to Super Bowl XLI in 2006, Andy Griffiths, President of Lionheart Financial Ltd., and Dr. Garnet Patterson, owner of Patterson Dental Center, partnered up and bought themselves a Bears tailgating bus. Five years later, the bus can still be found at almost every Bears home game at Soldier Field. As Griffiths put it, “We are just two Mokena nutters who are massive Bears fans.” Griffiths said the inspiration to buy a tailgating bus came when the two visited Soldier Field for a game and noticed everyone else’s tailgating vehicles, which ranged from old ambulances to RVs. Griffiths said they realized they could do something like that. “My wife said 'no' to an RV, and we weren’t sure where to get an …

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Five Things You Need to Know This Week

Five Things You Need To Know This Week: Schools, Arts and the NFC Championship

Mokena Patch helps you plan your week.

The District 159 Board of Education will have a work session to discuss budget cuts Thursday at 7 p.m. at Mokena Elementary School.   On Saturday, singers Franco Martorana, Christine Steyer and Paul Geiger will perform classic arias and songs at the Mokena Community Public Library District starting at 1 p.m. Lincoln-Way East will present its winter play, Runaways, this week. It runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door. The Mokena Park District will host an indoor flea market Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.According to the park district website, vendor spaces are sold out. Mokena Patch is looking for the following: die-hard Bears fans, lone-wolf Packers fans and houses divided against themselves over the upcoming…

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Parenting Parley

Will They Play Again Next Year?

Brain injury and concussions in the NFL are getting a lot of media attention this year. Do the penalties of playing football as a kid outweigh the rewards?

After week six, the NFL fined three players for excessive hits: $75,000 to James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers and $50,000 apiece for the Patriots' Brandon Meriweather and the Falcons' Dunta Robinson. Both Robinson and the player he hit, Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, suffered concussions as a result of the hit. Bears' quarterback Jay Cutler was concussed after being sacked nine times in the first half of week four's game against the New York Giants, and linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer has been on injured reserve since the first game of the season, and might be considering retirement because of repeated concussions. The 2010 season was preceded in April by the suicide of Owen Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania junior lineman …

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