Fields stirs media firestorm
Social media went into a frenzy and rumors swirled when it was discovered Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields unfollowed the team on Instagram.
But he has an explanation.
NFL media and fans noticed Fields wasn’t following his team on the social media website on Monday, further speculating his time in Chicago is over as the organization considers keeping Fields as quarterback or selecting Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Fields appeared on “The St. Brown Brothers” podcast with Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and Bears teammate Equanimeous St. Brown, and the siblings asked him why he no longer follows Chicago. Fields said there isn’t much to it.
“Why do people take social media so serious?” Fields said. “I still mess with the Bears. I’m just trying to take a little break. I unfollowed the Bears and the NFL bro. I’m not just trying to have football on my timeline.”
Fields compared it to “messing” with a girl but not following her on social media. When Amon-Ra St. Brown suggested that it means Fields “messes” with the Bears more now, the quarterback said it’s not like that.
“It’s something that I don’t want to spend my time on. I’m about to go on vacation,” he said.
Fields has a fifth-year contract option after 2024 that could be picked up, meaning drafting Williams would likely result in Fields being traded.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Not long ago the Wisconsin women’s basketball team had lost 18 of 19 to Minnesota.
Tuesday the Badgers flipped the script on their border rival for the second straight season, scoring a 67-56 victory at Williams Arena to give them their second straight regular-season sweep of the Golden Gophers.
Sophomore forward Serah Williams extended her double-doubles streak to 12 games with 30 points and 15 rebounds. The team also got doublefigure scoring from sophomore guard Sania Copeland, who went 3 for 6 from three-point range and finished with 12 points, her highest total in 14 games. Freshman guard D’Yanis Jimenez finished with 10 points, her first double-digit scoring performance in six contests.
The victory raised the Badgers’ overall record to 13-12, their highest win total since they went 15-18 (4-14 Big Ten) in 2018-19. In the Big Ten, UW improved to 6-9. That equals last season’s win total, which was the best for the program in the Big Ten since 2010-11.
NBA
The Milwaukee Bucks filled one of their open two-way contract spots by signing Ryan Rollins on Wednesday.
Teams are allowed to have three two-way contracts, and players can play for the NBA team and its affiliated G League team (Wisconsin Herd). Rollins joins TyTy Washington Jr. as a two-way player in Milwaukee.
The Herd has only three games left, however. The Bucks have 26 regular-season games remaining.
Rollins, 21, was a second-round pick of the Atlanta Hawks out of the University of Toledo in 2022 but was immediately traded to the Golden State Warriors. He played about five minutes per game in 12 appearances for the Warriors that year, shooting 33.3% from behind the three-point line.
He was then traded to Washington in July. He played in 10 games this season, seeing about seven minutes per game before being waived Jan. 8.
MLB
Eric Hosmer announced his retirement from baseball Wednesday following a 13-year career that included winning four Gold Gloves and helping lead Kansas City to victory in the 2015 World Series.
Hosmer, 34, was released by the Chicago Cubs on May 25 after hitting .234 with two home runs in 31 games. The first baseman decided not to pursue any other playing opportunities.
“You have to be 110% committed and doing what is necessary both physically and mentally to play at the major league level and I reached a point where I wasn’t there anymore,” Hosmer said.
Kansas City selected Hosmer third in the 2008 amateur draft, and he made his major league debut three years later. He spent seven seasons with the Royals before signing an eight-year, $144 million contract with San Diego before the 2018 season.
Hosmer played five seasons for the Padres before being traded to Boston in 2022, then finishing up with the Cubs last year. He had a .276 career batting average and 198 home runs.
From Journal Sentinel staff and wire reports.