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The Simpsons Reveals First Look at New Disney+ Christmas SpecialLOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani is keeping elite company. The Japanese superstar caps 2024 by winning The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the third time, tying him with basketball great Michael Jordan. He trails only four-time winners Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and LeBron James. "I'm very honored," Ohtani said through translator Matt Hidaka in an exclusive interview with the AP. "Obviously all the hard work has paid off. Maybe next year, I'll get the award again." In balloting by 74 sports journalists from the AP and its members, Ohtani received 48 votes. He previously won the award in 2023 and 2021, when he was with the Angels. "Growing up in Japan, I did follow Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods," he said. "I would see their accolades and how they were successful in the United States." The AP honor has been given out since 1931. Golfer Babe Didrikson won six times, the most by a man or woman. Swimmer Léon Marchand of France, who won four gold medals at the Paris Olympics, was second with 10 votes in balloting announced Monday. Golfer Scottie Scheffler, whose victories this year included the Masters and an Olympic gold medal, was third with nine. The AP Female Athlete of the Year will be announced Tuesday. Moving from the beleaguered Los Angeles Angels to the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani won his third Most Valuable Player award and first in the National League, led his new team to its eighth World Series championship and created Major League Baseball's 50/50 club by hitting 54 home runs and stealing 59 bases. Ohtani signed a then-record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December 2023. Already a two-way superstar, he embellished his reputation even further despite not pitching all season while he rehabilitated from a second major right elbow surgery he had in September 2023. Ohtani went wild on offense, making every at-bat a must-see moment. The 6-foot-4 designated hitter batted a career-high .310 while easily surpassing his previous career highs in home runs and stolen bases. In September, he reached the previously unheard of 50/50 mark in a performance for the ages. Against the Miami Marlins in Florida, Ohtani went 6 for 6 with three homers, 10 RBIs, two stolen bases and 17 total bases. "It wouldn't shock me if he went 60/60 and 20 wins a year from now," Brad Ausmus, who managed the Angels in 2019 during Ohtani's second season in Anaheim, said recently. "This guy is the greatest athlete to ever play the sport of baseball and there's not a close second." Ohtani said he knew the Dodgers' franchise record for most homers in a season was 49. His previous best was 46, set in 2021. "I kind of wanted to get over that bar," he said. "I was pleasantly surprised I was able to pass that record." Ohtani carried the Dodgers offensively during the regular season, and he stayed healthy until Game 2 of the World Series. He injured his left shoulder trying to steal second base against the New York Yankees and finished the Series playing hurt. He underwent surgery a few days after the Dodgers celebrated their championship in early November. "I don't have full range of motion yet, but it feels a lot better," he told the AP. "There's no pain. There's obviously still a little bit of tightness, but slowly but surely it's getting better." Ohtani recently received an updated rehab schedule, and he's focused on the near-term. "It's the small steps that I think are very important to get me to the ultimate goal, which is to just get back healthy," he said. Ohtani is also throwing in the 70 mph range, which is typical for pitchers early in the offseason. "I'm going to continue to ramp up slowly," he said. The Dodgers' rotation for next season is in flux, and Ohtani is waiting to see how it shakes out. "We may go with a five-man rotation with a bullpen (game), which is what we did a lot during this season or we may have a six-man rotation," he said. "But it's all about balancing out when we can get rest and recuperate. We'll see where that takes us along the playoff chase. I've got to obviously pace myself, but again that situation will guide us to how we get there." The Dodgers open the 2025 season in Japan, where Ohtani is even more closely watched. "My personal goal is to be fully healthy by the time the opening games do start," he said. "To be able to pitch and hit would be great, but the situation will kind of guide itself." Each time Ohtani comes to the plate or steps on the mound, there's great pressure and expectation for him to perform spectacular feats. "I just go out there and try to stay within myself," he said. "I can only control what I can control and that's where you trust your teammates. The guys behind me, you trust they're going to make the plays for you. I don't really try to overthink it." Ohtani generated big bucks for the Dodgers off the field, too. Fans traveled from Japan in droves to see him play around the U.S. At Dodger Stadium, they paid extra for tours of baseball's third-oldest venue narrated by Japanese-speaking guides and to be on the field during pre-game batting practice. A majority of the fans bought Ohtani-branded merchandise, especially his No. 17 jersey. Ohtani's presence also helped the Dodgers land a bevy of new Japanese sponsors. Because Ohtani prefers to speak Japanese and use an interpreter with the media, he is shrouded in a bit of mystique. Asked before his first postgame series if he was nervous, he dropped a one-word answer in English: "Nope," which drew laughter. Japanese-born Dodgers manager Dave Roberts observed Ohtani's behind-the-scenes interactions with his teammates, coaches and staff, and came away impressed. "I really do believe that as good of a ballplayer as he is, he's a much better person. He's very kind, considerate, he cares," Roberts told the AP. "I'm just proud of any fame or glory or award that he receives because he just does it in such a respectful and humble way." Ohtani relishes his privacy and rarely shares details about himself off the field. That's why his February announcement via Instagram that he had wed Mamiko Tanaka, a former basketball player, stunned his new teammates and the rest of the world. The following month, after the Dodgers arrived in South Korea to open the season, he was enveloped in scandal when his longtime interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the Dodgers after being accused of using millions of dollars of Ohtani's money to place bets with an illegal bookmaker. His new teammates rallied around Ohtani, who was found to have no part in the wrongdoing, and publicly it didn't seem to affect him even if he was privately distressed by it. By June, the uproar had subsided. Mizuhara pleaded guilty to federal bank and tax fraud charges and admitted to stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani. The public got a glimpse of Ohtani's softer side in August, when his dog Decoy delivered a first pitch to his owner on their shared bobblehead night. The Nederlandse Kooikerhondje exchanged an endearing high-five with Ohtani at the plate. As a result, Decoy became a celebrity in his own right, with his breed (pronounced COY-ker-HUND-che) making the list of the most mispronounced words of 2024. He and Ohtani were mentioned during the telecast of last month's National Dog Show, where the small Spaniel-type breed was among the competitors. "The number of the breed has kind of dwindled, so by him gaining a little bit of popularity hopefully that brings up the number of his breed," Ohtani said. "I do feel like we were able to, in a small way, contribute to the popularity of the dog and I'm sure Decoy himself would be happy about that." Ohtani will be looking to top himself next year while eyeing a repeat World Series title. "It's almost like right now you can lock in the Most Valuable Player in the National League award because no one has that ability or talent," Roberts said. "I'm just excited to see what '25 has for Shohei Ohtani."fishing lure 。

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Two houses have been damaged after "suspicious devices" were thrown at them in Ballymoney. Police said two loud explosions were reported in Carnany Drive in the town shortly after 02:00 GMT on Saturday. "Officers attended and discovered the remnants of two suspicious devices which had been thrown at two properties and exploded, causing significant damage," police said. "This security alert was in a busy residential area and could have caused serious injury or even worse." Police said enquiries into the attacks are continuing. DUP Councillor John McAuley said there was shock in the community after the attacks. He said there had been concerns expressed by residents over the last number of months about an increase in anti-social behaviour in the area. "Myself and my party colleagues, we're going to be looking for meetings with various agencies, including the police, to see what can be done," he said.

St. Petersburg backs a new $1.3B ballpark for the Rays. Now it's up to Pinellas CountyIreland keeper hits the target as he takes on a darts challenge. Caoimhín Kelleher made his darting debut on the Sky Sports Youtube channel Caoimhín Kelleher has established himself as one of the stand-out performers in the Premier League this season and now he has confirmed he has a flair for another sport. Ireland’s No.1 Kelleher has turned in a series of impressive performances for Liverpool after stepping in for the injured Alisson Becker, with his penalty save from Kylian Mbappe last Wednesday paving the way for a 2-0 win for Arne Slot’s team. Now Kelleher has stepped out of his comfort zone between the sticks and tried his hand at darts as he took on Sky Sports reporter Kyle Walker. Sky are preparing to broadcast the 2025 World Darts Championship that gets underway in the middle of December and they gave Kelleher a chance to show if he could compete with Luke Humphries, Luke Littler and the rest of the game’s star names. While Kelleher will not be swapping goalkeeper gloves for ‘the arrows’ any time soon, he showed his talents by firing in a treble 20 on his first visit to the board and backed that up with a treble 19 on his third visit. He then won the leg with a less than conventional double double finish, as he inadvertently hit double six when he was aiming at double ten and he sealed his win with a double four on his first attempt. Kelleher rated his darts skills as a seven out of ten before he displayed his skills, but he admitted he needed a ‘bit more practice’ to get his darts game up to standard. You can check out how the Cork stopper got on below: We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.Graeme McDowell is still waiting to secure his place on the LIV Golf roster for 2025. His future depends on a decision from his Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka. McDowell spent the 2024 season playing alongside Koepka at Smash, having been recruited into the franchise a year ago to join Talor Gooch and Jason Kokrak. Despite showing promising form throughout the season, the Portrush native ended up in the Open Zone, leaving him as a free agent. It was widely anticipated within LIV's inner circle that Koepka would recall the former US Open champion for the upcoming year. However, sources have confirmed to Mirror Sport that the Smash setup has not yet formally offered McDowell a way back in. READ NEXT: Magilton offers thoughts on Rooney arrival as Larne embark on new era READ NEXT: Conor Bradley labelled 'best player in the world' after stunning display against Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid McDowell has until the first event of the LIV season on February 6 to secure his future. But there's no doubt both Smash and McDowell will want things settled well before that date. McDowell and Koepka seemed to have built a strong bond during their time playing together, reports the Irish Mirror . The duo teamed up to create the Smash Racing syndicate, which has seen them become owners of Cheltenham Festival hopeful Givemefive. McDowell is also a friend of his captain's caddie Ricky Elliott, with both hailing from the Portrush area in Northern Ireland. Koepka has previously thrown a lifeline to McDowell, having signed his teammate last November after his initial two-year LIV contract expired. The 45 year old confirmed to National Club Golfer that this deal ended at the close of the 2024 season, once again leaving his playing future uncertain. For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, visit The Mirror US. After departing Cleeks GC, where he spent his first two seasons on the breakaway circuit, McDowell joined the Smash franchise. If he fails to secure an agreement with his current team for 2025, a return to the Cleeks could provide him a path back onto the LIV roster. Martin Kaymer's team are scouting for a new player following the relegation of Kalle Samooja in September. Other franchises also seeking a new name include Fireballs GC, led by McDowell's former Ryder Cup teammate Sergio Garcia, as well as Jon Rahm's Legion XIII. Of course, if he can't find his way back onto the Smash roster, or any of the other 12 teams, McDowell would be left without a LIV spot. Last week, it was revealed that nine LIV members had taken DP World Tour membership for 2025, with both Garcia and Rahm included. However, McDowell's name was conspicuously absent, suggesting he may be banking on DP World Tour starts if no agreement with LIV is reached following his PGA Tour ban. The DP World Tour has since confirmed to Mirror Sport that McDowell did not make contact about a return before the recent application deadline. Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox

Last year was the hottest on record, oceans boiled, glaciers melted at alarming rates, and it left scientists scrambling to understand exactly why. They know the extraordinary heat was fuelled by a number of factors, predominantly planet-heating pollution from burning fossil fuels and the natural climate pattern El Niño. But those alone did not explain the unusually rapid temperature rise. Now a new study  published Thursday in the journal Science says it has identified the missing part of the puzzle: clouds. To be more specific, the rapid surge in warming was supercharged by a dearth of low-lying clouds over the oceans, according to the research — findings which may have alarming implications for future warming. In simple terms, fewer bright, low clouds mean the planet “has darkened,” allowing it to absorb more sunlight, said Helge Goessling, a report author and climate physicist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany. This phenomenon is called “albedo” and refers to the ability of surfaces to reflect the sun’s energy back into space. The Earth’s albedo has been declining since the 1970s, according to the report, due in part to the melting of light-colored snow and sea ice, exposing darker land and water which absorb more of the sun’s energy, heating up the planet. Low clouds also feed into this effect as they reflect away sunlight. The scientists scoured NASA satellite data, weather data and climate models and found the decline in low clouds reduced the planet’s albedo to record lows last year. Areas including parts of the North Atlantic Ocean experienced a particularly significant fall, the study found. Last year fits into a decade-long decline of low cloud cover, Goessling told CNN. What the study can’t yet explain for certain is why this is happening. “This is such a complex beast and so hard to disentangle,” Goessling said. He believes it is likely the result of a combination of factors. The first is a reduction in shipping pollution due to regulations aimed at reducing the industry’s harmful sulfur emissions. While this has been a win for human health, this type of pollution was also helping cool the planet by brightening clouds. Natural climate variabilities, including changing ocean patterns, may also have contributed. But Goessling points to a third, more alarming factor: global warming itself. Low-level clouds tend to thrive in a cool and moist lower atmosphere. As the planet’s surface heats up, this can cause them to thin or dissipate entirely, setting up a complicated feedback loop where low clouds are disappearing because of global warming, and their disappearance then drives further warming. If this is happening, future warming projections may be underestimated and “we should expect rather intense warming in the future,” Goessling said. Mark Zalinka, an atmospheric scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who was not involved in the study, said “the fact that clouds play a key role in the story makes sense, as they essentially act as Earth’s sunscreen.” Small changes in cloud cover can “drastically change Earth’s albedo,” he told CNN. Tapio Schneider, a climate scientist at the California Institute of Technology, said the worrying implication of the research is if global warming is responsible for a substantial amount of cloud cover change, “we may see stronger global warming than previously predicted.” Clouds may seem simple, even mundane, but they are endlessly complex and scientists remain far from unraveling how they behave. They are “one of the biggest headaches” in climate science, Goessling said. But figuring out how clouds will respond to global warming is key, Zalkina said. “It literally determines how much future warming is in store.”COLUMBUS, Ohio — Will Howard passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another, TreVeyon Henderson ran for a score and No. 2 Ohio State beat previously undefeated No. 5 Indiana 38-15 on Saturday. All Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten, CFP No. 2) has to do now is beat Michigan at home next Saturday and it will earn a return to the Big Ten championship game for the first time since 2020 and get a rematch with No. 1 Oregon. The Ducks beat Ohio State 32-31 in a wild one back on Oct. 12. The Hoosiers (10-1, 7-1, No. 5 CFP) had their best chance to beat the Buckeyes for the first time since 1988 but were hurt by special teams mistakes and disrupted by an Ohio State defense that sacked quarterback Kurtis Rourke five times. “In life, all good things come to an end,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. Late in the first half, Indiana punter James Evans fumbled a snap and was buried at his own 7-yardline with the Buckeyes taking over. That turned quickly into a 4-yard TD run by Henderson that gave the Buckeyes a 14-7 lead. Early in the second half, Caleb Downs fielded an Evans punt at the Ohio State 21, raced down the right sideline, cut to the middle and outran the coverage for a TD that put the Buckeyes up 21-7. It was the first time a Buckeye returned a punt for a touchdown since 2014. Howard finished 22 for 26 for 201 yards. Emeka Egbuka had seven catches for 80 yards and a TD. “Our guys just played with a chip today, and that’s the way you got to play the game of football,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. Indiana scored on its first possession of the game and its last, both short runs by Ty Son Lawson, who paced the Hoosiers with 79 rushing yards. Rourke was 8 for 18 for 68 yards. “We had communication errors, pass (protection), every time we dropped back to pass, something bad happened," Cignetti said. Indiana's 151 total yards was its lowest of the season. And it was the most points surrendered by the Hoosier's defense. The takeaway Indiana: Its special season was blemished by the Buckeyes, who beat the Hoosiers for the 30th straight time. Indiana was eyeing its first conference crown since sharing one with two other teams in 1967. That won't happen now. “Ohio State deserved to win,” Cignetti said. “They had those (third quarter scores), and we just couldn’t respond.” Ohio State: Didn't waste the opportunities presented by the Hoosiers when they got sloppy. The Buckeyes led 14-7 at the break and took control in the second half. An offensive line patched together because of multiple injuries performed surprisingly well. “We know what was at stake," Day said. “We don't win this game, and we have no chance to go to Indianapolis and play in the Big Ten championship. And that's real. We've had that approach for the last few weeks now, more than that.” Poll implications Some voters were obviously unsure of Indiana because it hadn't played a nationally ranked team before Ohio State. After this one, the Hoosiers will drop. All about Will Howard made history by completing 80% of his passes for the sixth time this season. No other Ohio State quarterback has done that. He completed his first 14 passes in a row and finished with a 85% completion rate. “I think Buckeye nation is now seeing, after 11 games, that this guy is a winner, he's tough, he cares about his teammates, he's a leader,” Day said. Up next Indiana hosts Purdue in the regular-season finale next Saturday. Ohio State hosts rival Michigan on Saturday.Thriving in the Sixth Wave of innovation

By George, we've done it! I can happily assure you that there will be only one more Monday after this in 2024. After all our long hours researching the ongoing Monday plague, we've finally figured out a cure. Of course, we're not quite done yet — which is why we have these 15 hilarious internet fails from last week to help get us through: 1. At least she took the conversation seriously. I talk to my daughter about how yes “fat” is a normal descriptive word but could hurt people’s feelings & it’s best not to comment anything about anyone’s body. So I’m in the kitchen & hear her go “no we can’t move the couch close to the wall bc mommy’s butt is.... very serious.” 2. "We're the three best friends that anybody could have." not the third wheel necklace pic.twitter.com/dqO9gYLtaQ 3. Oh no. Not this again . 5 straight wins! How ‘bout them Oilers pic.twitter.com/N0M5KTK3Xn 4. Actually, this sounds more fun than looking at lights. Went on a lovely drive to admire all the Christmas lights, and my preschooler spent the whole time telling me which houses he thinks could survive a tornado blast 5. Hallmark, get this into production immediately. Cat’s in the Cradle, Christmas version pic.twitter.com/ztZWZe2vyc 6. He's gonna be all shook up. My kid came home from school yesterday and told me his class is supposed to dress up as Elvis for morning assembly. I told him I think he means elves. He disagreed. I can’t wait to hear how his day went when ‘The King’ returns home. 7. This pretty much sums up the internet in general. Thanks, Apple Intelligence pic.twitter.com/Q7ea5F560e 8. OK! Please don't, though! im crying i complimented my waitress’s tattoo and she said thank u honey i wish i could rip off my dress and show u the rest 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 9. You'll get miles of walking in once you go on that factory tour. Fairly certain i’m beating out the grandparents from Charlie and the Chocolate factory with these numbers pic.twitter.com/MZM2S2FS0J 10. What, no raise? just had my year end review and they've decided they're gonna put me down 11. I'm not sure this constitutes a meal. I put an uncooked tortilla in a cooked one earlier it was gooddddd pic.twitter.com/Sz0ryMgMmd 12. Surprise, a cat burglar! every day I have to watch her try and steal my lozenges pic.twitter.com/NWVNNJxab8 13. But I deserve the gifts, right? My problem with Christmas shopping is that I keep seeing things that I like... for me. 14. Santa is, uh...busy. “I asked Santa for a real duck.” — My child, trying to break me 3 days before Christmas 15. And finally, sometimes, you just need to get off your feet for a few minutes. Got so drunk we took an uber 5ft for $20 last night pic.twitter.com/ofnMpjAlIL If you enjoyed these laughs, go follow the creators! And for more fails, check out our most recent posts: 17 Hilarious Internet Fails From Last Week That Will Make You Laugh So Hard You'll Form Abs 13 Hilarious Internet Fails From Last Week That'll Make You Laugh So Hard You Can Consider It A Workout 15 Hilarious Internet Fails From Last Week That Made Me Laugh So Hard I Cried A Little Bit

Hanesbrands Inc. stock underperforms Thursday when compared to competitors despite daily gainsJoin Alliance Entertainment’s Exclusive Live Investor Webinar and Q&A Session on December 10VICTORIA — British Columbia Premier David Eby says his fellow premiers and the federal government have hatched a game plan to fight U.S. tariffs, with conservative premiers lobbying Republican counterparts, left-leaning provincial leaders courting the Democrats, and Ottawa focusing on president-elect Donald Trump. The premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talked about using their political diversity and connections to thwart the prospect of Trump's proposed 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, Eby said Thursday in a year-end interview. He said it was discussed that conservative premiers Danielle Smith in Alberta, Doug Ford in Ontario and Nova Scotia's Tim Houston are well-placed to lobby Republican governors and business leaders. Eby said as a New Democrat he will likely have more in common with Democrat governors and business leaders from the West Coast states. "I can easily have conversations with governors and businesses down the West Coast of the U.S., where we have close relationships and our politics are very similar," he said. "Premier Smith can have conversations with Republican governors. That would be more challenging for me, and (she) would have more connections potentially with the Trump administration than an NDP administration in B.C. would." He said a meeting last week between the premiers and Trudeau discussed Canada's diversity of representation, and how it could bring leverage and advantages in tariff talks. "It's interesting, there was a lot of talk about what unity means in terms of Canada's response to the tariffs," he said. "There's obviously a diversity of views around the Council of the Federation table of all the premiers. Certainly, mine is not the same as Premier Smith's or Premier Ford's or Premier Houston's, and that diversity of views is actually potentially a significant strength for us as we enter into these discussions." Eby also said he was prepared to appear on American's right-leaning Fox News TV network, as did premiers Ford and Smith. "Anything that I can do to support the national effort to protect the families in Canada from the impact of tariffs and also families in the U.S. from those unjustified tariffs," he said. "Absolutely, if I thought it was helpful." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024. Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press

With their time dwindling down as a full-time, four-car NASCAR Cup Series team, Stewart-Haas Racing teamed up with Texas A&M University for a pair of sponsorship agreements at the end of the 2024 campaign. Now-former SHR wheelmen Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry rocked some Aggies-inspired schemes at Las Vegas and Phoenix, respectively. Now, it’s been revealed how much Texas A&M spent on the entire ordeal — $160,000, according to Sportico via Jayski’s , via a contract obtained via open records requests. “Texas A&M University agreed to spend $160,000 to be the primary sponsor of Stewart-Haas cars at two NASCAR races, a marketing partnership that the school called ‘novel’ during its original announcement,” Jayski’s reported . “The contract, a copy of which Sportico obtained via open records requests, was signed by both sides in early October. For a final cost of no more than $160,000, Stewart-Haas agreed to race twice with Texas A&M-branded liveries, plus a handful of other marketing, promotional and ticket deliverables. “Chase Briscoe raced his No. 14 car with a maroon Texas A&M wrap in Las Vegas on Oct. 20, and his teammate Josh Berry drove his No. 4 car with a maroon and camouflage wrap at Phoenix.” According to Jayski’s , Texas A&M also received some extra benefits aside from the branding on SHR’s cars and their drivers, as the team reportedly agreed to provide the university with a handful of other benefits, according to the contract, that included a minimum of four “Texas A&M-specific” social media posts during race weekends, and a promise to tag the school’s socials in all race-related posts. Additionally, Texas A&M also received access to 20 complimentary “VIP full-access credentials” to each race, per Jayski’s . Since the news was made public, some have theorized that the number seemed to be a little light for full sponsorship during multiple races on two different cars, akin to a going-out-of-business sale. The aforementioned Briscoe seemed to confirm that notion via Reddit: “Because it is,” he responded , regarding the number being low. Regardless, Texas A&M University got some extra exposure in some areas of the country where they otherwise wouldn’t have, and Stewart-Haas Racing filled some open sponsorship slots before they closed their doors as a full-time Cup Series team. We’ll see if the Aggies return to a car in the future, but they may never get a deal that sweet again in the NASCAR Cup Series. This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

CHICAGO — It took 32 seconds of national embarrassment for George McCaskey, Kevin Warren and Ryan Poles to finally concede what everyone else already knew. And even when the Chicago Bears brain trust decided they no longer could justify keeping Matt Eberflus as head coach of their team, they still waited until he conducted one more news conference — telling us everything was fine and he was preparing for next week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers — before they actually pulled the trigger. Remember, this is an operation worth an estimated $6.4 billion, not a local hardware business trying to decide whether a store clerk should be let go for putting the wingnuts and screws in the wrong aisle. Fittingly, the Bears were the Bears until the last drop. “It’s been a normal operation,” Eberflus said Friday morning on a Zoom call with reporters before being Zoomed out of the NFL. The sad part is the Bears truly believe they are a normal operation when it’s quite obvious they’re the laughingstock of football. Who else would let Eberflus continue to fail time and time again after he repeatedly proved he wasn’t fit for the job. His .304 winning percentage was third-worst in Bears history, ahead of only John Fox (.292) and Abe Gibron (.274). And at least Abe had Melody to help take our minds off all the losing. (Google it, kids.) Eberflus’ days had been numbered since the Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders. The 19-3 loss to the lowly New England Patriots on Nov. 10, in which he and his team were booed off the field, would’ve been a perfect time to say sayonara. The Bears had eight games remaining to try to salvage the season, and at 4-5 there was still some hope it could be done. But, no, the McCaskeys don’t fire head coaches in season, we’ve been told a thousand times. Instead they got rid of the sacrificial goat, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who was replaced by Thomas Brown. Fans would have to suffer through three more brutal endings before George McCaskey finally got it into his head that this marriage was not going to work. The Thanksgiving Day clock blunder will be remembered as the fatal blow, of course, because we all watched in a collective stupor as the clock ticked down and Caleb Williams kept barking out signals, seemingly oblivious to the fact the game was about to end. Even your Aunt Martha, who doesn’t know a football from a drumstick, was yelling: “What is he doing, for crying out loud?” It made for an unforgettable Thanksgiving, with everyone in the living room calling for Eberflus’ head. Then came the “everything is fine” news conference Friday morning that made it appear as though the Bears were actually trying to gaslight their fans. I’m not sure what made McCaskey agree to change the long-standing policy — whether it was Jimmy Johnson’s rant or a tweet by The Wieners Circle — but whoever it was should get a medal of valor for saving the city from a mass mental breakdown. We all saw this coming, except perhaps the Three Amigos: McCaskey, Warren and Poles. That still doesn’t make it any more palatable. The Thanksgiving hangover firing bookends the most famous “hiring” in Bears history, when Mike McCaskey told the media Dave McGinnis would be the head coach before actually informing McGinnis, thus losing both the coach and the rest of his own dwindling credibility. That embarrassing moment would be the lowlight of Mike McCaskey’s career, just as this will be remembered as George’s unshining moment. How will Eberflus be remembered? Was he a poor man’s Pedro Grifol or a poorer man’s Jim Boylen? Until Thursday’s debacle, perhaps the moment that best epitomized the Eberflus era was, during a lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in October 2023, when he threw the red challenge flag after the Bears scored a meaningless touchdown late in the game. He meant to throw it before the play, but Eberflus was never one to react quickly to any situation. And because there wasn’t any video replay of the actual touchdown, it was no harm, no foul. What comes next for Bears fans is the hard part. Do they trust these executives to hire the right replacement? Almost as much as they trust Mayor Brandon Johnson to manage the city budget. The easiest solution is to throw money at Bill Belichick and see if he bites. If Williams is truly a game-changing quarterback then it makes sense to give the keys to the guy who coached the greatest quarterback of his generation. But making sense is not really the Bears’ thing, so expect them to go for someone they don’t have to give any real power to and will be blander than their last five coaches combined. Someone disposable by 2027. It’s just normal operating procedure at Halas Hall. ©2024 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Tens of thousands of Spaniards protest housing crunch and high rents in Barcelona