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“Vea is as old-school as they come,” the scout said. “He is so powerful, upper body and lower body tied together, that he can create a push almost consistently with a bull rush. He can overpower linemen at the point of attack. That allows him to get that interior push up the field, and then they can loop and stunt off him as well. One of the greatest things about him, and you wouldn’t expect it because of his body type, but in the Super Bowl against Kansas City, they lined him up as a five technique and even a seven outside the edge. They use him in so many different ways, and it really plays to their pass rush, and their pass rush is so important because they are really hurting in the secondary right now. They don’t have their top guys out there. They’re bringing practice squad guys up and bringing guys in off the street and they’re doing things try to manage the situation.
“I think our guys are excited,” Donovan said the day before the home opener. “It’s great to have fans back in. It was a totally different experience, being in the bubble in Orlando (in 2020) and last year for us, we went to some places that were 30 or 50% full, but for the most part it was pretty much empty. And our place, outside of the last couple of home games, we had nobody there.
The franchise is coming off one of the most successful seasons in its history, making the NBA Finals with stars Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton before losing in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Suns have made the Finals three times — in 1976, 1993 and 2021 — but never have won a championship.
Fields has had good and bad moments while completing 53 of 99 passes for 632 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, and that’s OK for a first-year player who came into an offense that had troubles long before the Bears drafted him. Bears coaches this week praised Fields’ growth in his second- and third-level progressions, his increased communication with his teammates and his improved play speed. They also like how he accepts criticism and learns from his mistakes, which have included taking 18 sacks for 163 yards lost, some at key moments in the loss to the Packers. Fields has been honest about his play, saying this week he needs to be better at stacking positive plays and not making bad plays worse. Bumps along the way are to be expected, and for now, it’s about measuring the weekly progress.
The Dodgers’ Chris Taylor is congratulated after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning against the Braves in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series on Thursday in Los Angeles. Taylor hit three home runs in the Dodgers’ 11-2 victory. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
Early in the second, Brandon Hagel had a two-on-one going with Patrick Kane, but Kane fired high. Before the game, the Hawks paid tribute to Kane’s 1,000th career game (set on the road March 9 against the Dallas Stars), and Jonathan Toews presented him with a silver stick.
“He took the long way to where he is today. … It’s a lot like the life of a rock star, starting off with small dive bars, hoping someone’s going to hear them, someone’s going to like them, someone’s going to play them on the radio. It’s very similar to Kevin’s journey in hockey.”
Said Lazor: “You hope that everything you face, even if it’s unusual or even if it’s coming series to series in different ways, falls into the rules we first put in during training camp. … Communicate, be on the same page. As we’ve faced this (defensive) scheme with veteran quarterbacks, it’s really been the same thing.
“It’s basically a foundation,” he said. “Looking back at it, the Lord gave me a tight-knit family who made great decisions who I love and care (about), so it makes the situation easier for me. I try not to get too high or too low. (Wednesday) we played good, I played good, but there’s always room for improvement. … Keep stacking days, and that’s how you knock out all the outside noise.”
No. 6 Michigan (6-0, 3-0), which hosts Northwestern (3-3, 1-2), has beaten the Wildcats 33 of 37 times since 1966. The Wolverines have won 11 of the last 12 meetings, their only loss coming at the Big House in 2008. Four of the last five have been decided by one score, including two that went to overtime.