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The Chicago Bears are returning to the postseason for the second time in three seasons since Matt Nagy took over as head coach. While the Bears were in control of their playoff destiny — win in Week 17 and they’re in — they needed a little help along the way.While Chicago would make the playoffs with a win over the Green Bay Packers, they could also get in with an Arizona Cardinals loss to the Los Angeles Rams.Ultimately, Chicago lost 35-16 to the Packers, but the Rams defeated the Cardinals 18-7, which helped stamp the Bears’ ticket to the postseason.Twitter had plenty to say about Chicago’s return to the playoffs — and after their poor performance against Green Bay, there’s a mixture of surprising optimism, pessimism and realism heading into a wild-card match-up against the No. 2 seed New Orleans Saints.The Bears are the only team that can make you feel upset after 2 playoff appearances in 3 years 😭This franchise man lol— DaWindyCity Productions (@DawindycityP) January 4, 2021Bears Blackhawks 🤝 Qualifying for expanded playoff formats in a pandemic— Second City Hockey (@2ndCityHockey) January 4, 2021Bears lost 6 straight and still make the playoffs. If that’s not enough silver lining…

The Tennessee Titans are finally AFC South champions after toppling the Houston Texans in Week 17, 41-38, thanks to a last-second field goal by rookie kicker Sam Sloman.We say “finally AFC South champions” because the Titans haven’t accomplished that feat since all the way back in 2008.With the win and division title under their belt, Tennessee will draw the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round next weekend.Ironically enough, it was the Ravens who knocked the Titans out of the playoffs the last time they won a division title. Tennessee has gotten the better of Baltimore in each of the last two meetings between these franchises, including a playoff victory last season.Winning the AFC South wasn’t the only thing the Titans accomplished in this game, though. Derrick Henry became the eighth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, and A.J. Brown secured his second straight 1,000-yard season.Here’s a look at how Twitter reacted to Tennessee’s clutch victory over Houston.Holding teams to field goals like the Titans have done with the Texans is the key to winning games in the playoffs. They’re not stopping anybody. But if they can find a way bow up in the…

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Greg Evans January 2, 2021 Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian. (photo credit: Disney) The Star Wars love continues on Twitter today, with tweets from Ming-Na Wen and Mark Hamill. As a fan, it has been great seeing the energy and passion coming from these actors on Twitter. Hamill, a few days ago tweeted about how grateful he was to Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni on the Luke Skywalker Cameo in the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian. Then Hamill tweets how he is just overwhelmed from all the fan reactions to Luke’s return! Then today he replied to Ming-Na Wen’s tweet on how inspirational & impactful Hamill was in her life! “So this happened & I’m literally speechless, other than to say: the pleasure was all mine @MingNa! Much love Mar-camel, @themandalorian #YoureNotSoBadYourself“Source: Mark Hamill It is great seeing all this energy and love coming back to Star Wars! Especially from Mark Hamill. Fans from all over the galaxy are hoping to see him return to conventions. Also, it is amazing seeing the impact he has had on fellow Star Wars actors like Ming-Na Wen! I hope we see them meet again in the future! You can tell us your…

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY Published 10:44 p.m. ET Jan. 1, 2021 | Updated 10:56 p.m. ET Jan. 1, 2021CLOSE TikTok users have created a viral 'Ratatouille' musical within the social media community with creatives making their own songs, choreography, merchandise, playbills and more. Even Disney and Pixar have caught on and chimed in. (Dec. 1) AP EntertainmentIn a time where COVID's kept Broadway dark for months (and staying that way well into 2020), “Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical” arrived Friday as a virtual, viral oddity for those needing a musical-theater fix, yet it was Wayne Brady, sporting a pink nose and makeup whiskers, who stole the show on social media.The crowdsourced "Ratatousical" is a collaboration of original songs, lyrics and ideas from fans - including Emily Jacobsen, who wrote the original “Remy the Ratatouille” song for TikTok - as well as out-of-work theater performers to adapt the 2007 Pixar animated movie into a two-act show.The show featured Titus Burgess as Remy, the rat with dreams of becoming a Parisian chef; Adam Lambert as Remy's brother Emile; Ashley Park ("Emily in Paris") as human chef Colette; and even some "Cats" jokes and dancers in Mickey Mouse ears amid the Broadway-at-home atmosphere.‘Ratatouille’: Virtual TikTok musical rings in 2021 with…

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted out a series of upbeat posts on Friday about how America is full of “swagger” since he’s been top diplomat, furthering speculation he’s eyeing a run for president in 2024.“We’re so much safer today than four years ago,” secretary Pompeo began. “Over the coming days, I’m going to lay out the mission set, the huge wins, personal stories, and a lot more. Just me, Mike.”He went on to tweet out a serious of posts about how the State Department is full of “swagger” — using a made up definition of the term — returning to his attempt in 2018 to rebrand the agency as the Department of Swagger. The accompanying photos were more or less about just Mike as well.Political observers argued Mr Pompeo was violating norms by using his official government account to put out campaign-style communications. The Independent would like to keep you informed about offers, events and updates by email, please tick the box if you would like to be contactedRead our full mailing list consent terms hereLindy Li, who worked with the Biden campaign, accused Mr Pompeo of "using his role & official social media to soft-launch…

Badgers fans take to Twitter to weigh in on Wisconsin's rout of Minnesota Golden Gophers Here's what fans were saying after the Badgers bounced back from their first conference loss in resounding fashion: Inside job #Badners needed to work ball more into the post and get buckets around the rim. Mission accomplished. They also played good D, especially Reuters. — TamiraMadsen (@tamiramadsen) December 31, 2020 Wise beyond his years Rob Hernandez= GENIUS — Russ O'Leary (@russoleary) December 31, 2020 Ringing in the new year! Same to you, Jon! — Jim Polzin (@JimPolzinWSJ) December 31, 2020 Dressed for success They started the game well and that’s what they gotta do to not put themselves in a hole. The bad start against Maryland hurt them and we can see here what a good start to a game can do. Also 3-0 in the Jerseys if I’m not mistaken 😆 — Robert Soltero (@RobSoltero) December 31, 2020 Matching the energy A very good effort all around. But I'd like to feel that we can win when the other team is playing their best. Like Maryland did. And Marquette. If Potter plays like that every game we'll be unbeatable. — Melmore Gardens (@GardensMelmore) January…

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Yu Darvish found out things move fast when San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller is wheeling and dealing. The right-hander didn’t think he’d be traded away by the Chicago Cubs but was caught up in Preller’s vortex. Within the span of about 24 hours this week, the Padres obtained left-hander Blake Snell in a big deal with Tampa Bay, finalized a $28 million, four-year deal with South Korean slugger Kim Ha-seong, a deal that could be worth $34 million over five seasons if a a mutual option is excised and contains $1 million annually in performance bonuses. San Diego then obtained Darvish in another blockbuster deal. Darvish found out about it on social media.“When I woke up that morning I saw the Snell trade go down and I thought nothing’s going to happen,” Darvish said through an interpreter during a videoconference Thursday. “I wasn’t expecting the Padres to make another move but I was receiving phone calls within the hour and I found out on Twitter, yeah.“I wasn’t expecting to be traded and obviously this happened in one single day so I was pretty shocked. Not in a bad way,” Darvish said.After running out of…

The jokes were flying on Wednesday Dec 30, 2020 at 11:05 pm ET1 min read USATSI Since suffering a mouth laceration during the Clippers' Christmas game against the Denver Nuggets, Kawhi Leonard has been out of commission for his team, not suiting up for the last two games. That all changed on Wednesday when he returned to the court against the Portland Trail Blazers.The injury Leonard suffered required eight stitches and wasn't fully healed when he returned to the court, which meant he had to wear a face guard to protect his mouth area from getting hit. But when images of the Clippers star in the mask began to surface, people started noticing that it was a bit oddly shaped.Of course, many NBA fans will associate the face mask that players tend to break out with Rip Hamilton, the former Pistons star who started regularly wearing one after breaking his nose twice in one season, and doctors telling him he'd need to wear one to avoid requiring reconstructive surgery. So with the familiarity of that mask, which other players have worn since Hamilton donned his in the early aughts, the difference with Leonard's is rather stark.  In many cases that…

Kyle Trask, Florida Gators. (Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports) Kyle Trask is making everyone who voted him for the Heisman Trophy regret doing so.It took less than 15 minutes for Florida Gators quarterback Kyle Trask to remove all doubt that in no way, shape or form he should win the 2020 Heisman Trophy.Trask was the favorite to win the award for most of the season, as his brilliant passing helped the Gators capture their first SEC East crown since 2016. However, he threw three absolutely horrendous picks in the first quarter vs. the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl Classic. As expected, Twitter decided to eat him alive for being this inherently reckless with the football.Kyle Trask threw only five interceptions in his first 11 games of 2020Even though he is without his top four receiving targets in this New Year’s Six bowl due to opt-outs, that is no excuse for Trask to be turning the football over this prolifically.Kyle Trask just threw his 3rd interception of the first quarter. Dude, just call it a night. It's okay.— Patrick Schmidt (@PatrickASchmidt) December 31, 2020Kyle Trask and Sam Hartman did not have very good days today. Woof.— Nicole Auerbach 😷…