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🏈 Good morning to everybody however particularly to …

THE CHICAGO BEARS

Whereas everybody was tuned into convention tournaments across the nation on Thursday night time, the Bears rudely determined to steal the highlight by persevering with to revamp their roster. Chicago acquired star huge receiver Keenan Allen from the Chargers in alternate for a fourth-round decide.

The Bears have had a busy offseason already, and so they simply added one other weapon for whoever their subsequent quarterback is perhaps. Allen has established himself as probably the most prolific huge receivers within the NFL, placing up large numbers into his early-30s. He is averaged 97.5 receptions and 1,130 receiving yards during the last seven seasons. Over that span, solely Davante Adams has extra receptions and simply 5 receivers have extra yards.

This deal earned the Bears an “A-” from our personal Josh Edwards, who likes that the group is loading up on firepower for a rookie quarterback.

• Edwards: “Allen is just not going to be part of the long-term plans, however so typically groups don’t sufficient to assist their rookie quarterback. It cannot be mentioned that Chicago is just not making that effort below the idea that it’s taking Caleb Williams No. 1 total. The Bears unite D.J. Moore with Allen, however the acquisition doesn’t preclude them from taking a pass-catcher within the top-10 total.”

Now the Bears simply must make their subsequent quarterback official after they make the No. 1 total decide within the 2024 NFL Draft in slightly below six weeks.

👍 Honorable mentions

🏀 And never such a superb morning for …

BUBBLE LOSERS

Like all good “Trailer Park Boys” plot, this time of 12 months is all about bubbles, and a few NCAA Event hopefuls had theirs busted in convention event video games on Thursday. Whereas a number of bubble groups are nonetheless alive within the battle for March Insanity spots, a handful of others had been much less lucky.

• Going into Thursday, Wake Forest was certainly one of CBS Sports activities bracketologist Jerry Palm’s “Subsequent 4 Out,” and the Demon Deacons did not assist their case with a 12-point loss to Pitt.
• Villanova survived what initially appeared like a buzzer-beater on the finish of regulation, however suffered a devastating OT loss to Marquette anyway.
• Seton Corridor and St. John’s, two of Palm’s “Final 4 In,” went head-to-head within the Huge East tourney. Rick Pitino’s Crimson Storm wound up thumping the Pirates, 91-72.
• Kansas State entered its Huge 12 Event matchup vs. Iowa State as a member of Palm’s “First 4 Out.” The Wildcats exited with a 19-point loss and dampened hopes of reaching the dance.
• In a “double bubble” conflict that includes Ohio State and Iowa within the Huge Ten Event, the higher-seeded Hawkeyes laid an egg in a 90-78 loss.
• In Sin Metropolis, Utah and Colorado performed one other “double bubble” recreation, and the Utes shot 32.8% from three-point vary en path to a 14-point loss.

After all, the information wasn’t dangerous for each bubble group.

• Texas A&M scored a badly wanted win over Ole Miss, 80-71, within the SEC Event.
• After a poor end to the common season, Michigan State received again on observe with a 77-67 win over Minnesota within the Huge Ten tourney.
• NC State saved its hopes of stealing a bid alive by upsetting Duke by a rating of 74-69 within the ACC Event.
• Within the Pac-12 tourney, Oregon did the identical factor by hanging on to beat UCLA, 68-66.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 Chiefs get a deep ball receiver for Patrick Mahomes

The Chiefs have not had a big-time playmaker at huge receiver since they traded Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins, however that hasn’t bothered them an excessive amount of. Kansas Metropolis has gained back-to-back Tremendous Bowls with a quite underwhelming huge receiver room. If it ain’t broke, do not repair it, proper? … Mistaken.

Simply minutes after the Bears swung the commerce for Allen, the Chiefs signed former Ravens and Cardinals huge receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to a one-year contract price as much as $11 million. The No. 25 total decide within the 2019 NFL Draft, Brown has the potential to be a star in Kansas Metropolis’s offense.

Brown hasn’t at all times performed below the very best of circumstances in his NFL profession, however he has nonetheless managed to reel in 313 catches for 3,644 yards and 28 touchdowns in 72 video games. These circumstances will enhance tremendously with Patrick Mahomes throwing him the soccer, and CBS Sports activities’ personal Garrett Podell says that has the possibility to ingite a downfield connection.

• Podell: “Alongside the rising Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce, Mahomes now has an excellent stronger high three choices to select from in 2024 as Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and Justin Watson all took turns chipping in at various levels of success all through the season. Now, the deep ball can return to Mahomes’ and the Chiefs’ arsenal for the primary time since they traded away Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in 2022.”

At this level, the remainder of the NFL groups need to be shaking their heads. A 3-peat for the Chiefs simply received slightly extra possible.

⛳️ Three-way tie atop the leaderboard at TPC Sawgrass

After the primary day of motion at The Gamers Championship, the highest of the leaderboard is trying awfully comfortable. Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark (-7) had been the co-leaders when the primary spherical was suspended on account of darkness on Thursday night time.

McIlroy, who hasn’t fairly been himself lately, was capable of shake off his struggles and notched a record-tying 10 birdies within the first spherical. Schauffele, alternatively, has been cooking to date in 2024, and it would not appear to be he’ll be slowing down this weekend.

To his credit score, Clark closed the opening spherical very properly with three straight birdies to drag even with McIlroy and Schauffele. Clark already has one win below his belt this 12 months — at Pebble Seashore — and now he is looking one other one. To make the subsequent few days much more intriguing, two extra golfers are proper behind that main trio at 6 below by Spherical 1.

With Spherical 2 on deck Friday, the highest of The Gamers Championship leaderboard is as follows:

T-1. Xander Schauffele (-7)
T-1. Rory McIlroy (-7)
T-1. Wyndham Clark (-7)
T-4. Nick Taylor (-6)
T-4. Matt Fitzpatrick (-6)

🏀 Celtics go ballistic from 3 in clinching a playoff berth

Did somebody by chance activate NBA Jam settings in TD Backyard final night time? As soon as the Celtics caught hearth from past the arc, they by no means cooled down, and their three-point taking pictures powered them to a formidable 127-112 win over the Suns. Boston turned the NBA’s first group to clinch a playoff berth, and Joe Mazzulla — sure, the coach! — even tried to dam a follow shot of an opposing participant heading right into a timeout.

Boston was letting it fly from three-point vary, trying 50 photographs from downtown all through the sport. They wound up making a whopping 25(!) of them, and for these like me who did not ace math in highschool, that comes out to 50.0%. It was a ridiculous night time for the Celtics with the entire group draining photographs from deep.

• Al Horford was merely unconscious, making six of his 10 three-point makes an attempt.
• Each Celtics starter made no less than three photographs from past the arc.
• That is now the third time this season that the Celtics have hit 25 three-point photographs.

In keeping with SportsLine, the Celtics have the second-best odds to win the NBA title at +500. It isn’t laborious to see why after they make three-point taking pictures appear to be a recreation of Pop-A-Shot on the native watering gap.

📺 What we’re watching Friday

⛳️ The Gamers Championship: Spherical 2, 7:30 a.m. on Golf Channel
🏀 Huge Ten Event: Michigan State vs. No. 3 Purdue (M), 12 p.m. on Huge Ten Community
🏀 SEC Event: Mississippi State vs. No. 5 Tennessee (M), 1 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 SEC Event: No. 15 South Carolina vs. No. 12 Auburn (M), 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Huge East Event: St. John’s vs. No. 2 UConn (M), 5:30 p.m. on FOX
🏀 Huge Ten Event: Ohio State vs. No. 13 Illinois (M), 6:30 p.m. on Huge Ten Community
🏀 Huge 12 Event: No. 25 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Houston (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN+
🏒 Kings at Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. on NHL Community
🏀 Hawks at Jazz, 9:30 p.m. on NBA TV