NFL-Themed Stat About Pope Leo XIV Is Hard To Believe
Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native and Villanova University alum, was elected as the 267th and newest leader of the Roman Catholic church. The 69-year-old, who speaks five languages and can read seven, chose the papal name Leo XIV.
Prevost is the first-ever American pope, defying the odds to earn the position.
'He's somebody that, even though he's from the West, would be very attentive to the needs of a global church,' said CNN Vatican analyst Elise Allen. 'You're talking about somebody who spent over half of his ecclesial career abroad as a missionary in Peru.'
In the aftermath of Prevost being announced as the next pontiff, a few people couldn't help but use the occasion to take a shot at the Chicago Bears and their longstanding quarterback issues.
"Chicago got a pope before it got a QB to throw for 4,000 yards in a season," tweeted Collin Whitchurch of Action Network.
Yes, that stat may seem crazy, but it is true. The Bears have been around for more than 100 years and have never had a passer reach the 4,000-yard mark.
Somehow, in all that time, Chicago has only had 13 quarterbacks throw for 3,000 yards or more in a single season, including Caleb Williams, who passed for 3,541 yards as a rookie in 2024.
Erik Kramer owns the franchise's single-season passing yardage record with 3,838 yards, set in 1995. Williams seems like a good bet to eclipse that mark and perhaps finally get the Bears over the 4,000-yard hump.
After all, Chicago didn't take the former USC star and Heisman Trophy winner No. 1 overall for him to fall into the trap of mediocrity that has ensnared pretty much every signal caller to take a snap for the Windy City franchise.
Perhaps having a pope from Chicago will help the Bears get back on track.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Baker, Emily Mayfield surprise Oklahoma Sooners walk-on WR with scholarship
Being a walk-on player in college football is a tough gig. There are no guarantees that you'll have a spot on the roster from year to year, and there are even fewer guarantees that you'll ever see the field. The Oklahoma Sooners have college football's most famous and most successful walk-on player of all-time as one of their alumni, former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield. He began as a walk-on at Texas Tech and then Oklahoma, before the Sooners put him on scholarship in 2014. On Wednesday morning, Mayfield showed some love to one of the Sooners' current walk-ons in a surprise announcement. OU's team meeting on Wednesday featured a video message from Mayfield and his wife Emily. They were handing out the first of two Baker and Emily Mayfield Foundation Walk-On Scholarships. This scholarship awards a walk-on player at OU with a $10,000 scholarship. The Mayfields shared a personalized message to walk-on wide receiver Jakeb Snyder, telling him that he had been awarded the scholarship. "We wanted to say congratulations,' Emily said. "Your hard work and mindset really stood out to us and truly spoke volumes. Staying late, running extra routes, studying film, and showing up every single day.' "As a former walk-on, I know the grind,' Baker said. "No promises, just work. That's why I'm proud to name you, Jakeb Snyder, OU receiver, Oklahoma native and first-ever recipient of the Baker and Emily Mayfield walk-on scholarship.' Snyder is entering his third season with the Sooners in 2025. He had played defensive back for each of the last two seasons before making the switch to WR this offseason. Snyder made two game appearances as a redshirt freshman in 2024, playing on special teams against Temple and Maine. Prior to walking on in Norman, Snyder helped lead the Bixby High School Spartans to three consecutive state championships. During his senior season, he led Bixby with 53 receptions for 459 yards and six touchdowns while adding 55 tackles, including three for a loss, and four interceptions on defense. Snyder chose a walk-on role at Oklahoma over a scholarship offer from Navy. The role of the walk-on player is still being defined in the NIL/transfer portal age of college football. Originally, it looked like roster limits were going to be capped at 105 total players beginning this year, before a new policy was put in place that allowed walk-ons already on the roster to be grandfathered in during the transition period. However, those roster caps will eventually be in place, limiting the number of walk-on players that teams can carry each year. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is heavily in favor of keeping more walk-ons on the team, and he told reporters in a press conference earlier this summer that some of his walk-ons practiced with no promise of a roster spot once the season started. They've now been grandfathered in, but not every walk-on across the country was that fortunate. Players like Snyder and the other walk-ons the Sooners have on their current 111-man roster decided to stick around, despite there being no guarantees, and they were rewarded with the grandfather policy. Snyder now heads into the new season on scholarship, a testament to what hard work can accomplish. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin. This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Sooners walk-on wideout surprised with scholarship by Mayfields
Chicago Tribune
3 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
NBA approves sale of Boston Celtics for a record $6.1 billion
BOSTON — The NBA on Wednesday unanimously approved the sale of the Boston Celtics to a group led by private equity mogul Bill Chisholm, a deal that values the franchise at more than $6.1 billion — the largest ever for an American professional sports team. The league said the transaction is expected to close shortly. When it does, Chisholm will take ownership of at least 51% of the team, with full control coming by 2028 at a price that could bring the total value to $7.3 billion. The previous record for a U.S. sports franchise was the $6.05 billion paid for the NFL's Washington Commanders in 2023. The record price for an NBA team was the $4 billion mortgage firm owner Mat Ishbia paid for the Phoenix Suns in 2023. A Massachusetts native and graduate of Dartmouth College and Penn's Wharton School of business, Chisholm is the managing partner of California-based Symphony Technology Group. The new ownership group also includes Boston businessmen Rob Hale, who is a current Celtics shareholder, and Bruce Beal Jr. Wyc Grousbeck led the ownership group that bought the team in 2002 for $360 million and presided over NBA championships in 2008 and '24. The franchise's 18 NBA titles is a record. Chisholm outbid at least two other groups, one led by previous Celtics minority partner Steve Pagliuca. Pagliuca has since announced plans to but the WNBA's Connecticut Sun for $325 million and move them to Boston, but the women's league has balked at the deal.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Baker, Emily Mayfield surprise Oklahoma Sooners walk-on WR with scholarship
Being a walk-on player in college football is a tough gig. There are no guarantees that you'll have a spot on the roster from year to year, and there are even fewer guarantees that you'll ever see the field. The Oklahoma Sooners have college football's most famous and most successful walk-on player of all-time as one of their alumni, former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield. He began as a walk-on at Texas Tech and then Oklahoma, before the Sooners put him on scholarship in 2014. On Wednesday morning, Mayfield showed some love to one of the Sooners' current walk-ons in a surprise announcement. OU's team meeting on Wednesday featured a video message from Mayfield and his wife Emily. They were handing out the first of two Baker and Emily Mayfield Foundation Walk-On Scholarships. This scholarship awards a walk-on player at OU with a $10,000 scholarship. The Mayfields shared a personalized message to walk-on wide receiver Jakeb Snyder, telling him that he had been awarded the scholarship. "We wanted to say congratulations,' Emily said. "Your hard work and mindset really stood out to us and truly spoke volumes. Staying late, running extra routes, studying film, and showing up every single day.' "As a former walk-on, I know the grind,' Baker said. "No promises, just work. That's why I'm proud to name you, Jakeb Snyder, OU receiver, Oklahoma native and first-ever recipient of the Baker and Emily Mayfield walk-on scholarship.' Snyder is entering his third season with the Sooners in 2025. He had played defensive back for each of the last two seasons before making the switch to WR this offseason. Snyder made two game appearances as a redshirt freshman in 2024, playing on special teams against Temple and Maine. Prior to walking on in Norman, Snyder helped lead the Bixby High School Spartans to three consecutive state championships. During his senior season, he led Bixby with 53 receptions for 459 yards and six touchdowns while adding 55 tackles, including three for a loss, and four interceptions on defense. Snyder chose a walk-on role at Oklahoma over a scholarship offer from Navy. The role of the walk-on player is still being defined in the NIL/transfer portal age of college football. Originally, it looked like roster limits were going to be capped at 105 total players beginning this year, before a new policy was put in place that allowed walk-ons already on the roster to be grandfathered in during the transition period. However, those roster caps will eventually be in place, limiting the number of walk-on players that teams can carry each year. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is heavily in favor of keeping more walk-ons on the team, and he told reporters in a press conference earlier this summer that some of his walk-ons practiced with no promise of a roster spot once the season started. They've now been grandfathered in, but not every walk-on across the country was that fortunate. Players like Snyder and the other walk-ons the Sooners have on their current 111-man roster decided to stick around, despite there being no guarantees, and they were rewarded with the grandfather policy. Snyder now heads into the new season on scholarship, a testament to what hard work can accomplish. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
