fortunate, however, that the referee did not see the ball

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Fans were fed up and so was the teams matriarch.The Chicago Bears made sweeping changes on Monday, firing general manager Phil Emery and coach Marc Trestman after missing the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years.Trestman is out after going 13-19 in two seasons while Emery lasted just three years. The Bears went 5-11 in a mostly miserable season, never challenging for the NFC North lead after the first few weeks as quarterback Jay Cutler and the rest of the offence struggled mightily.We expect excellence, chairman George McCaskey said.What they got was something different, and even McCaskeys mother, Virginia McCaskey, had enough.Shes (ticked) off, George McCaskey said after about a 10-second pause when asked about his mother. I cant think of a 91-year-old woman that that description would apply to, but in this case, I cant think of a more accurate description. Shes been on this Earth for eight of the Bears nine championships, and she wants more. She feels that its been too long since the last one, and that dissatisfaction is shared by her children, her grandchildren and her-great grandchildren. Shes fed up with mediocrity. She feels that she and Bears fans everywhere deserve better.It was clear as the season wore on, with fan unrest growing, that change was coming. The question was how far up the ladder it would go.The Bears also fired offensive co-ordinator Aaron Kromer. Defensive co-ordinator Mel Tucker is still officially under contract, although he is expected to be let go given the way the Bears struggled under him the past two seasons.The Bears hired former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi as a consultant to help with the search for a general manager and coach.But ultimately, it will be McCaskey and President and CEO Ted Phillips making the call.This job was an opportunity of a lifetime, Emery said in a brief session with reporters. My only regret is that we didnt win enough games for that opportunity to continue.Emery did not take questions from reporters.Trestman, in a statement issued through the team, thanked the McCaskey family for the opportunity to coach the Bears.McCaskey said he is happy with the current chain of command, which has the coach reporting to the GM and the GM to the president. He said the McCaskey family has complete faith in Phillips but did not rule out the possibility of removing him from the football side of the operation.Phillips said there is no timeline for the hires but did say the Bears would move with a sense of urgency. Accorsi has already provided a list of GM candidates. The Bears did not rule out hiring a coach first.The new GM and coach have a big decision to make with quarterback Jay Cutler. He tied Philip Rivers for the league lead with 18 interceptions after signing a $126 million, seven-year contract at the end of last season.The deal, which guaranteed $54 million, would make him difficult if not impossible to trade. Cutting him is also a possibility.Phillips said that will be up to the new GM and coach. But McCaskey insisted he does not regret giving Cutler that huge deal.That was a decision that Phil made with our approval, he said.Phillips said he does not expect any players to meet with potential coaching candidates as Cutler did during the last search.The house cleaning was certainly not what the Bears envisioned with a prolific offence returning intact and a rebuilt defence in tow. But little went right for Chicago this season.There were distractions throughout the year, whether it was linebacker Lance Briggs being allowed to miss practice to open a restaurant in California the week of the opener, Kromer admitting he was the NFL Networks source behind a critical report of Cutler late in the season or Cutler getting benched in favour Jimmy Clausen late in the season.Trestman surprised some by allowing star receiver Brandon Marshall to fly to New York on a weekly basis to record Showtimes Inside the NFL. Marshall, who is open about his struggles with borderline personality disorder, had an off year and at one point gave a rambling news conference over past allegations of domestic abuse. He also challenged a Detroit fan on Twitter to a boxing match for charity, and reporters standing in the hallway overheard him screaming in the locker room after a loss to Miami at Soldier Field in October that raised all sorts of questions about where the team was headed.We didnt have a successful year as players. So the coaches didnt have a successful year, tight end Martellus Bennett said. I think everybody has their hand in the pot. And the gumbo doesnt taste that great when everybodys hand is in the pot.As for Emery, the decision to replace Lovie Smith with Trestman — who at times seemed overmatched in his first NFL head coaching job after winning two titles with the CFLs Montreal Alouettes — backfired. The fact that the man he passed over for the job, Bruce Arians, led Arizona to the playoffs made it even worse.Giving Cutler a big contract after last season when the franchise player tag was an option is looking like another mistake. Emery did have success rebuilding the offensive line before the 2013 season.But the makeover he gave the defence, bringing in Jared Allen among others, last off-season did not pay off. The Bears allowed 442 points, the second most in franchise history behind a team-record 478 last season. They joined the 1923 Rochester Jeffersons as the only teams to give up 50 or more in back-to-back games.Emery also had a spotty draft record.Something has to change, veteran cornerback Tim Jennings said. Im not surprised by it. I mean, hopefully it will be a good one this time._____Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Clay Matthews Womens Jersey . JOHNS, N. Cory Littleton Jersey . "Im proud of him," Jones said in an interview from Sacramento, site of the UFCs weekend televised card. "I think hes listening to his body and hes doing what makes him happy and thats what life is about ultimately. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-tyler-higbee-rams-jersey/ . - The RBC Canadian Open will return to Glen Abbey Golf Club next year, marking the 27th time that the national open championship will be played at the Oakville, Ont. Clay Matthews Jersey . The agreement comes a little more than one week after the video game manufacturer agreed to a $40 million settlement in a similar but separate case, bringing the total payout planned for athletes to $60 million, said Steve Berman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, and the NCAA. Joe Namath Jersey .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot. BARCELONA, Spain -- Diego Costa sparked Atletico Madrids exhilarating 2-1 comeback at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, while Lionel Messi converted a late penalty to keep Barcelona one point behind the Spanish league leaders with a contentious 1-0 win at Espanyol. Cristiano Ronaldo scored as well before Gareth Bale netted a brace as Real Madrid routed Rayo Vallecano 5-0 at home, breaking a rare two-game losing streak and keeping their team within three points of the pacesetters. A tireless Diego Costa cancelled out Iker Muniains opener before Koke "Jorge" Resurreccion followed with a 55th-minute header to keep Atletico on course in its search for its first league title since 1996. Messi made sure Barcelona stayed right behind Atletico with seven games left by slotting in a spot kick in the 77th when Espanyol defender Javi Lopez handled in the area. Ronaldo leads the league with 28 goals through 31 games. Diego Costa is next with 25, trailed by Messi with 23. Barcelona hosts Atletico on Tuesday in the Champions League quarterfinals, a preview of their meeting in the last round of the Spanish league season. Diego Costa was a nightmare for Bilbaos defence, and could have had at least one more goal given the number of opportunities he fought hard to create. He did help leave Bilbao with 10 men by earning a second yellow card for Aymeric Laporte in the 86th. "Diego Costa is huge for us," said Koke. "We have seen that from the start of the season and I only hope he keeps it up. We knew that we were visiting a tough ground and the game was like we expected. Diego (Costa) had space to roam and we found him. Then we turned it around." Muniain took advantage of a rare defensive lapse by Atletico to hit six minutes in when he chased down a pass touched on by Aritz Aduriz and used one touch to lob the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Atleticos answer came in the 22nd when Koke intercepted Ander Iturraspes ill-advised pass and left Diego Costa alone to beat goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz. After Diego Costa almost struck again seconds after the restart, Koke pplayed Filipe Luis wide and ran forward to nod his returned cross into the net to momentarily silence the raucous San Mames crowd.dddddddddddd Diego Simeones side still needed Courtois one-handed stretch to swat away Adurizs header with 10 minutes to play. Simeone called his teams game the "best of the season." "We are aware of the great match we played," said Simone. "We went straight at recovering the ball and exploiting the space up front for Diego (Costa). We didnt waste time despite falling behind. We always knew how we wanted to play." Bilbao was left in fourth place and in control of the last Champions League spot with a six-point advantage over Sevilla after it lost 1-0 at Celta Vigo from Manuel "Nolito" Agudos 87th-minute penalty. Espanyols physical style kept Messi and the crosstown visitors in check until Lopez was whistled, allowing Messi to score the spot kick for his eighth goal in his last four games and save Barcelona from a costly draw. Barcelona was fortunate, however, that the referee did not see the ball hit Lopez after Dani Alves cross first ricocheted off Neymars arm, as television replays appeared to show. "Derbies are always tough, and this was a tense game with lots of interruptions, fouls and controversy," Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets said. "Three weeks ago we were in a difficult situation. Now we are in a privileged one and control our fate. I hope it stays like that until the last game against Atletico." Espanyol played the last seven minutes and injury time with 10 men after goalkeeper Kiko Casilla used his hands outside the box. Lopez had to take over goalkeeping duties with Espanyols three substitutes already made and played admirably, making two saves. Ronaldo and Bale were the main attractions in an otherwise dreary, rainy, and lopsided match at the Santiago Bernabeu. Ronaldo opened from Bales pass in the 15th before setting up Dani Carvajal in the 55th. Bale scored twice on the break in the 68th and 70th. Substitute Alvaro Morata curled in Madrids fifth in the 78th. ' ' '