data-mm-id=”_jjpw6bds5″>The Chicago Bears have declined their fifth-year option on Mitchell Trubkisky's contract, showing just how far the 25-year-old quarterback has fallen. Last summer, the Bears were all-in on Trubisky, sure that he was the key to their future. Roughly 10 months later, he's being pushed aside. The Bears shocked everyone during the 2017 NFL Draft when they traded up from the third pick to No. 2 and selected Trubisky out of North Carolina. In doing so, they passed on future stars Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. Instead they got Trubisky, who has been a mess. Even his 2018 season that offered so much hope was a bit of a facade. In 2018, Trubisky completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 3,223 yards, with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. But while his To…

data-mm-id=”_lz25zlh4d”>In the middle of his second season with the Brooklyn Nets, D'Angelo Russell tweeted, "Control what you can control 2019, 20, 21."“I started living by that,” Russell told The Big Lead. In the ninth game of that 2018 campaign, Russell was benched during the entire fourth quarter in a loss against the Houston Rockets. Sitting for the final period was not an uncommon occurrence for Russell that year. “I couldn’t control that,” Russell said. “I’m not going to let it break me or bring me down. You see players nowadays, younger players in the league go through that same adversity in their careers and they let it break them. I try to send that message of, 'Man, you gotta play the game, dog.'"  Russell missed 34 games due to i…

data-mm-id=”_et6mq57e4″>Though the call-ups of vaunted pitching prospects Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal garnered most of the attention — and for good reason — it's the position player the Detroit Tigers are baptizing by Major League fire who has been the most productive of the trio. Isaac Paredes, a 21-year-old third baseman, has five hits in his last six at-bats and has reached base in all but one of his last eight plate appearances. Paredes made his debut on April 17 and promptly collected a two-RBI single in his second at-bat. From the very first time he stepped in the box, it was clear he felt comfortable. His eye is impeccable and the way he takes close but not entirely hittable pitches is something one would expect for a 10-year veteran. The righthander has drawn four base…

data-mm-id=”_k5mjhvmgl”>The Miami Heat were clicking. In the opening minutes of Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Finals, Jimmy Butler and his teammates were on fire. They raced to a 23-10 lead with 5:38 remaining in the opening quarter, forcing the Los Angeles Lakers into an early timeout. The buzz was palpable as it was clear Miami could hang with the big boys from LA. Then reality set in and the Lakers looked like a championship team. That early run was the high point of a profoundly disappointing night for the Heat. Los Angeles answered that early onslaught with a 21-8 run of its own and actually led at the end of the first quarter, then 65-48 at halftime. It was barely a contest after that. The Lakers took Miami's best punch and never seemed rattled. Instead, they walked right on throug…

data-mm-id=”_3zuqo594z”>Alabama won the College Football National Championship on Monday night with a 52-24 win over Ohio State. After the game, Alabama students took to the streets and celebrated, but did so in exceptionally close quarters and most were maskless. Twitter was quick to react to the crowd, and it wasn't lost on anyone that it was happening in the middle of a global pandemic that has caused 375,000 deaths in the United States alone. Here's what the scene looked like:Alabama Crimson Tide fans flood the streets of Tuscaloosa after the team secured its 18th national title. pic.twitter.com/k9UCH8BC4m— James Benedetto (@james_benedetto) January 12, 2021 pic.twitter.com/V4BZ0f7Rv9— Allison R (@Allymae11) January 12, 2021More pics and video available pic.twitter.co…

data-mm-id=”_x032fh5td”>Building statues of former athletes can be tricky. Only the all-time greats are honored with a statue, no matter what the sport, but not every athlete has a signature stance or pose that makes building a statue easy. Michael Jordan, for example, has the Jumpman logo that is inseparable from his entire legacy as a player and thus the Chicago Bulls had an immediate and easy vision for his statue. Shaq, on the other hand, didn't really have a particular signature move and so the Lakers had to get creative with his likeness in statue form. Dirk Nowitzki is a similar case to Jordan. He is an all-time great and the best player in Dallas Mavericks history. He also has a signature pose– the one-legged fadeaway, synonymous with who he was during his career. Yet, th…