Kevin Fishbain

Just players

I'm catching up on podcasts, and if you're missing Doc Emrick's voice in your life (and aren't we all?), you'll very much enjoy this. I've heard some of these stories over long lunches at The Palace Grill, but they don't get old. Not when Doc is telling them.

The NFL announced a salary cap of $301.2 million for 2026

YouTube video by Breaking In With Kevin Fishbain Episode 47: J.A. Adande, Hall-of-Fame journalist; director of sports journalism at Northwestern

Podcast for your weekend … the @jadande.bsky.social origin story

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“We spent a long time talking about my path. It’s not relevant to people today. They’re not gonna work 12 years at newspapers. … But they don’t have the obstacles to getting their work out there, to making a name for themselves.”

Career advice from @jadande.bsky.social

NFLPA HC report card results:

A+ — Sean McVay, Dan Quinn
A — Ben Johnson, Dan Campbell, Andy Reid, Kevin O’Connell, Mike Vrabel, Aaron Glenn, Nick Sirianni, Mike Tomlin, Mike Macdonald
A- — Sean McDermott, Dave Canales, Zac Taylor, Brian Schottenheimer, DeMeco Ryans, Shane Steichen, Liam Coen…

Thursday's combine winners:

Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio St
Arvell Reese, Freak, Ohio St
David Bailey, Edge, TTech
Caleb Banks, DT, Florida
Lee Hunter, DT, TTech
Zane Durant, DT, Penn St
Dani Dennis-Sutton, Edge, Penn St
Jacob Rodriguez, LB, TTech
Malachi Lawrence, Edge, UCF
Kaleb Elarms-Orr, LB, TCU

The Bears are building. But where, and with whom, remains unanswered Between the stadium question and the Bears' sudden contender status, building is the operative word for the franchise at the NFL combine.

From Jon Greenberg on the other site: “After some debate, Illinois House Bill 910, aka the megaprojects bill, was passed by the finance committee by a 13-7 vote and next goes to the floor for a vote.”

Jon has been on top of the legislative updates. Here’s his column today

Would the Chicago Bears trade QB Tyson Bagent? Backup QB getting some attention GM Ryan Poles said teams have called about Bagent, but trading the backup quarterback would be a tough decision.

Would the Bears trade Tyson Bagent? Would another team be interested in parting ways with draft capital to bring him in as a starter?

It's a talking point here in Indianapolis. Story from the combine

Bears grant LB Edmunds permission to seek trade The Chicago Bears have given linebacker Tremaine Edmunds permission to seek a trade, a league source confirmed. The Chicago Tribune first reported the news.Edmunds is entering the last year of his con...

Quick post on the Bears giving LB Tremaine Edmund’s permission to seek a trade www.nytimes.com/athletic/liv...

Links to download/listen...

Apple podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

Spotify open.spotify.com/episode/3VMZ...

Overcast overcast.fm/+ABOeBGFtK9Q

Pocket casts pca.st/episode/bc50...

YouTube video by Breaking In With Kevin Fishbain Episode 47: J.A. Adande, Hall-of-Fame journalist; director of sports journalism at Northwestern

"Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain" episode 47

Guest: @jadande.bsky.social

J.A. Adande's origin story begins with watching the Magic Johnson Lakers. Hear how he got his start in sports journalism, the impact of Magic Johnson, and what it was like covering Michael Jordan at his first job

How Bears GM Ryan Poles navigates roster construction with salary-cap constraints It’s the win-now versus build-for-the-long-haul tug of war that every GM in every sport has to consider.

Bears GM Ryan Poles: "We have to be very conscious of how we put this team together, but we want to win championships now. We want to be able to have that flexibility to continue to win down the road.”

Story from Indianapolis on the offseason of trying to do both

DJ Moore’s future with the Chicago Bears remains uncertain (Gift Article) From Moore's potential departure to the Bears' needs at left tackle, Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles have a lot to sort through.

Colleague @danwiederer.bsky.social with Bears takeaways from the combine (DJ Moore, the Cunningham comp pick situation, left tackle, and more)

Bears head coach Ben Johnson's got jokes. He opened a session with the Chicago media with, "OK, let's start with this. I know what everyone's thinking: Does Caleb have NBA aspirations? And the answer is no," Johnson said. "I think football is his calling. Did you see the 3-point contest?"

Asked about the left tackle spot, Bears GM Ryan Poles went through a variety options the team will consider this offseason, and he did add, “We want to keep Darnell and Jonah together on the right side.”

Also said Joe Thuney moving there was more to help in a pinch, but he’ll stay at left guard.

Ryan Poles said Bears have gotten calls on backup QB Tyson Bagent, something they projected based on the draft and free agency when it comes to the position.

Interesting to hear him be open about how to balance the possibility of moving Tyson with his much he’s valued in Chicago.

Bears GM Ryan Poles said they have had conversations with the league about the comp picks. No timeline on any kind of resolution.

New Falcons GM Ian Cunningham sounded surprised the Bears didn’t get compensatory picks based on the league rule about minority hires, but said he hasn’t dived into the wording.

“I wouldn’t be sitting here without them giving me that job and helping me grow.”

Chicago Bears pre-combine mailbag: How likely is a DJ Moore trade? It'll be rumor central in Indianapolis this week. Will the Bears move DJ Moore? Will they make a splash in free agency?

Hello from Indianapolis. Here’s a Bears mailbag to start your combine week

INDIANAPOLIS —

After Indiana gambit, Bears signal progress in Illinois After praising Indiana’s stadium push, the Chicago Bears say talks are progressing in Illinois as both states face key legislative deadlines.

Bears president/CEO Kevin Warren to Danny Ecker at Crain’s: “We continue to work with Illinois’ leadership and appreciate the progress being made.”

USA to face Canada for Olympic gold after overpowering Slovakia in men’s hockey For the third time since the NHL began participating in the Olympics in 1998, the U.S. and Canada will meet for the ultimate prize.

It's U.S.-Canada for gold.

And the Americans are peaking at the right time.

Fully updated takeaways from tonight's semifinal win, from me and @russohockey.bsky.social:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

Podcast for your Olympic hockey weekend, the Doc Emrick origin story...

Apple podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

Spotify
open.spotify.com/episode/0Nbn...

Overcast overcast.fm/+ABOeBFtd5L8

Pocket casts pca.st/episode/44cc...

YouTube youtu.be/Nkduck5iDzI?...

NEWS: NBC says the United States-Canada gold medal game was the most-watched women’s hockey game on record.

The game averaged 5.3 million viewers on USA Network and Peacock. The game’s audience peaked at 7.7 million viewers in overtime (3:45-4 p.m. ET).

YouTube video by Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast Kevin Fishbain, Senior Writer The Athletic - Chicago Bears

www.youtube.com/watch?v=THvE...

Career advice from the legend Doc Emrick on this week’s podcast

Alysa Liu’s defining Olympic night and a shine that bucks her sport’s expectations Liu's gold medal, a first for an American woman in figure skating since 2002, challenges the sport's conventions about rigidity.

marcus thompson keeps demolishing the cool-ass athlete from oakland beat — this one featuring a perfectly placed "hella" in the kicker www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

Are the Bears really Indiana-bound or will they follow the money to Arlington Heights? The team will go wherever there's a new stadium surrounded by a “mixed-use development," but Arlington Heights makes most financial sense.

Jon Greenberg (still not on here) believes the Bears ultimately will build their stadium in Arlington Heights. His column