2012 Chicago Bears Season
The Chicago Bears season was the franchise's 93rd season in the National Football League, as well as the ninth and final under head coach Lovie Smith. The team played at Soldier Field for the tenth season since its reconstruction in 2001. The Bears entered the 2012 season looking to improve on their 8–8 record in 2011. They acquired wide receiver Brandon Marshall from the Miami Dolphins, who had played with Bears Quarterback, Jay Cutler with the Denver Broncos from 2006–2008. The Bears were expected to be a wild card team by ten ESPN experts, and four NFL.com analysts predicted that the team would finish second in the NFC North. By the season's midpoint, the Bears had proven to be among the league's elite teams, having a record of 7–1 in their first 8 games, something they had not accomplished since their 2006 Super Bowl season, along with a scoring differential of +120, which led the league. The team trailed the San Francisco 49ers in scoring defense with 15 points per ga ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lovie Smith
Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 to 2016, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and from 2016 to 2020 as the head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, as the defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams in 2001 and as head coach for the Bears in 2006. Early life Smith was raised in Big Sandy, Texas and won three straight state titles as a star linebacker. He was named after his great aunt, Lavana. Playing career High school During Smith's high school career at Big Sandy, he earned all-state honors for three years as a defensive end and linebacker. His team won three consecutive state championships from 1973 to 1975, including a 0–0 tie in 1974 versus G. A. Moore's Celina. In 1975, Big Sandy had one of the most dominant seasons in high school football history, as the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Chicago Bears Season
The 2011 Chicago Bears season was the franchise's 92nd overall season in the National Football League (NFL), and the 8th under head coach Lovie Smith. The Bears, defending NFC North Division champions, attempted a return to the playoffs after falling in the NFC Championship Game to their arch-rival Green Bay Packers. The club was scheduled to partake in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game but due to the lockout, the game was cancelled. The Bears traveled to Wembley Stadium in London to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL International Series and played the Green Bay Packers on Christmas Day evening in the only scheduled game on that day. Despite starting the season with a 7-3 record, the Bears went 1-5 the rest of the way, finishing the season with an 8–8 record and not qualifying for the playoffs. The season would begin somewhat of a lengthy playoff drought for the organization, as they would not return to the playoffs again until 2018. Offseason After the 2010 se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion team, the team began play the following year. They are named after the Vikings of medieval Scandinavia, reflecting the prominent Scandinavian American culture of Minnesota. The team plays its home games at U.S. Bank Stadium in the Downtown East section of Minneapolis. The Vikings have an all-time overall record of , the highest regular season and combined winning percentage among NFL franchises who have not won a Super Bowl, in addition the most playoff runs, division titles, and (tied with the Buffalo Bills) Super Bowl appearances. They also have the most conference championship appearances of non-winning Super Bowl teams, with them being one of three (along with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams) to appear in a c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit. The franchise was founded in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans, and joined the NFL on July 12, 1930. Amid financial struggles, the franchise was relocated to Detroit in 1934. The team were also renamed the Lions in reference to the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise, the Tigers. The Lions won four NFL Championship Games between 1935 and 1957, all prior to the Super Bowl era. Since the 1957 championship, the franchise has won only a single playoff game during the 1991 season and holds the league's longest postseason win drought. While they share the distinction of never appearing in a Super Bowl with the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars, they are the only ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pro Football Hall Of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coaches, officials, franchise owners, and front-office personnel, almost all of whom made their primary contributions to the game in the National Football League (NFL). As of the Class of 2022, there are a total of 362 members of the Hall of Fame. Between four and eight new inductees are normally enshrined every year. For the 2020 class, a 20-person group consisting of five modern-era players and an additional 15 members, known as the "Centennial Slate", were elected to the Hall of Fame to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NFL. The Chicago Bears have the most inductees, with 30 (36, including players with minor portion of their career with team). History The city of Canton successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall of Fame built ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1961 San Diego Chargers Season
The 1961 San Diego Chargers season was the team's second in the American Football League. Following a move from Los Angeles, it was the Chargers' first season in San Diego, where the team remained until returning to Los Angeles in 2017. The Chargers won their first eleven games and clinched the Western Division by mid-November. They lost form in December, with only one victory in their final three regular season games, and finished at 12–2, six games ahead of runner-up Dallas. Like the previous season, the Chargers' season ended with a loss to the Houston Oilers in the AFL championship game, this time 10–3 at Balboa Stadium in San Diego. San Diego's defense had a historic campaign, setting AFL/NFL records for most total takeaways (66), most interceptions (49), and most interceptions returned for touchdowns (9). All three of these records still stand . Defensive backs Charlie McNeil, Bob Zeman, and Dick Harris were the biggest contributors to the interceptions record, w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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CNN Sports Illustrated
CNN/Sports Illustrated (CNN/SI) was a 24-hour sports news network. It was created by Time Warner, merging together its CNN and ''Sports Illustrated'' brands and related resources. It was launched on December 12, 1996. Other news networks like ESPNews, provided 30-minute blocks of news and highlights in a similar fashion to CNN Headline News at the time, but CNN/SI was live daily from 7am to 2am. Their purpose was to provide the most comprehensive sports news service on television, bringing in-depth sports news from around the world, and integrating the Internet and television. Closure CNN/SI's closure had been attributed to competition with other all-sports news networks which started around the same time, such as ESPNews and Fox Sports Net's '' National Sports Report''. Though CNN/SI aired exclusive content, such as the tape of Indiana University player Neil Reed appearing to be choked by former coach Bob Knight, the channel reached only 20 million homes, not adequate enough ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NRG Stadium. The Texans were founded in 1999, and were owned by Bob McNair until his death in 2018; following McNair's death, the majority ownership of the team went to his wife, Janice. The team replaced the city's previous NFL franchise, the Houston Oilers, who played from 1960 to 1996 before moving to Nashville and eventually becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Texans began play as an expansion team in , making them the youngest franchise currently competing in the NFL. While the Texans mainly struggled in the 2000s, their fortunes would take a turn for the better in the 2010s when they first found success in the 2011 season, winning their first division championship and clinching their first playoff berth. The Texans have gone on to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2022, the Patriots are the ninth Forbes list of the most valuable sports teams, most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994. Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, the team was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) before joining the NFL in 1970 through the AFL–NFL merger. The Patriots played their home games at various stadiums throughout Boston until the franchise relocation of professional sports teams, moved to Foxborough in 1971. As part of the move, the team changed its name to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play their home games at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, located southeast of San Francisco. The team is named after the prospectors who arrived in Northern California in the 1849 Gold Rush. The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), and joined the NFL in 1949 when the leagues merged. The 49ers were the first major league professional sports franchise based in San Francisco, and are the 10th oldest franchise in the NFL. The team began play at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco before moving to Candlestick Park in 1971, and then to Levi's Stadium in 2014. Since 1988, the 49ers have been headquartered in Santa Clara. The 49ers won ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2006 Chicago Bears Season
The 2006 season was the Chicago Bears' 87th in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved on their 11–5 record from 2005 and finished with a 13–3 record; the best in the NFC. The Bears retained their NFC North divisional title, and won the NFC Championship against the New Orleans Saints, on January 21, 2007. The Bears played the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI, where they lost 29–17. They finished the 2006 NFL season tied for second in points scored, and third in points allowed. Due to the NFL's scheduling formula the Bears played 6 intra-division games, posting a record of 5–1. Because of rotating cycle scheduling, the Bears matched up against all four teams in the AFC East (going 2–2) and NFC West (going 4–0). In the remaining games, the Bears played the NFC's other reigning division winners, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants, posting a record of 2–0. During the entire season, the Bears played 10 games at home, 8 games on the road ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The company was founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen along with his son Scott Rasmussen and Ed Eagan. ESPN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located in Bristol, Connecticut. The network also operates offices and auxiliary studios in Miami, New York City, Las Vegas, Seattle, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. James Pitaro currently serves as chairman of ESPN, a position he has held since March 5, 2018, following the resignation of John Skipper on December 18, 2017. While ESPN is one of the most successful sports networks, there has been criticism of ESPN. This includes accusations of biased coverage, conflict of interest, and controversies with individual broadcasters and analysts. , ESPN reaches approximately 76 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |