A familiar sight for Bears fans, as this was the eleventh game of the season to be decided by one score. It was only fitting that this would be true for the finale as well. 

Only this time, the game wasn’t in the hands of Chicago; it was in Detroit’s. Their kicker, Jake Bates, lined up in the green Soldier Field grass for a 42-yarder with two seconds left that would give his team the win. 

Bears fans hollered out, doing anything they could to throw him off his game. The snap was good. The hold was good. And the kick sailed through the uprights.

Bates didn’t even need to watch it go. He knew he got the Lions a closeout win and sent the Bears tumbling into the postseason by a score of 19-16.

THE STAKES

Despite being a matchup between two solid teams in the final week of the regular season, there wasn’t a whole lot on the line in terms of the playoffs. 

The Detroit Lions were already eliminated from playoff contention following their horrific performance against the Minnesota Vikings in a 23-10 Christmas Day loss. That being said, a Dan Campbell-coached unit always lays it all on the line and plays spoiler against a divisional opponent, especially to secure a winning record for the year.

And while many teams rested their starters in the final week, Detroit didn’t. Chicago didn’t either. The Bears were playing the same Lions squad that molly-whopped them back in Week 2, 52-21, and they were eager to show the world that they were a different team now. 

Head Coach Ben Johnson, former Lions Offensive Coordinator, stated after the game that his mindset was, “Some teams, they rest their starters. We don’t. We play football.”

Chicago Bears guard Joe Thuney (62) and center Drew Dalman (52) run onto the field before the game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois (David Banks / Imagn-Images).

FIRST HALF

This game began the same way the first one did, as Detroit marched the ball down the field with ease and bent Chicago’s defense to its will. This time, though, Chicago didn’t break and held Detroit to field goals on each of their first two drives. 

The Bears’ offense was a different story, however. The team struggled to do anything with the football, opening the door for the Lions to finally break through with quarterback Jared Goff throwing a touchdown pass to running back Jahmyr Gibbs to make it a 13-0 ballgame. 

That touchdown slap was finally enough to get Chicago’s offensive machine to run a little bit, but it ultimately sputtered on a failed fourth-down attempt deep in Detroit territory. 

Fortunately for the Bears, Bates’ field goal just before halftime hooked left, keeping the deficit at thirteen. 

At this point, Jared Goff had carved up Chicago’s secondary and served them for dinner as he had over 200 yards at halftime, while Bears quarterback Caleb Williams failed to cook anything with his measly 45 yards. 

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) readies to throw against the Chicago Bears in the game on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois (Matt Marton / Imagn-Images).

SECOND HALF

The kitchen disaster escalated as Williams threw an interception in the second half. At the same time, Goff let his offense simmer, controlling the clock and putting Bates in position to kick another field goal, bringing the score to 16-0 entering the fourth quarter. 

In a game meant to be a final statement just before the playoffs, the Chicago Bears were laying an egg bigger than Humpty Dumpty. 

But then, something funny happened. As soon as the final quarter began, the Bears seemed to transform into an entirely new football team. 

Williams fired a laser into the endzone for receiver Jahdae Walker, who made the catch for Chicago’s first points. Running back Kyle Monangai followed that up with a tough run on the two-point conversion to make it a one-score game. 

Next drive, same story. The Bears went down the field with ease, and tight end Colston Loveland stayed in bounds for the team’s second score. 

Fellow tight end Cole Kmet hung on through a big hit on the two-point conversion, and just like that, the scoreboard read sixteen all.

Where had this Bears team been all game long? The world may never know. The Cardiac Bears work in mysterious ways. 

Their magic appeared to continue to help them as Goff threw an ill-advised pass that safety Jaquan Brisker knocked up into the air and ended up in the hands of safety Kevin Byard III for a pick.

This was it. Chicago had the ball with all three timeouts at their own 26 with 2:11 remaining. This was the time when Williams would lead his team to yet another come-from-behind victory and storm into the playoffs ready to take on the world. 

But they didn’t. Williams threw an errant pass that resulted in an intentional grounding call, and the Bears punted the football back to Detroit. 

Goff redeemed himself with a big completion to receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to put the Lions in field goal range, one of eleven catches that he hauled in for 139 yards. 

Bates lined up his kick, planted his foot in the dirt, and ended Chicago’s hopes of a vengeful comeback. 

He was understandably pumped up and celebrated with all his teammates. On the other side of the coin, the Bears’ sideline looked the same way it did for most of the game. Dejected. 

Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates (39) celebrates with his teammates after hitting the game-winning field goal against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois (David Banks / Imagn-Images).

Players timidly kept their hands in their pockets, let their heads hang low with drooping towels over their heads, and trudged to midfield to shake hands with their opponents. 

That’s exactly what the two head coaches did, too. Johnson and Campbell met each other halfway, shook hands, exchanged a few words, and went on their way. 

For Campbell, it was a bittersweet end to a disappointing season. For Johnson, a bump in the road whose effects he will hopefully mitigate in the coming weeks. 

THE FUTURE

Luckily for Chicago, thanks to Philadelphia’s 24-17 loss to Washington, they are still the No. 2 seed in the NFC and will take on their hated Packers on Saturday night in Soldier Field. 

These two teams have already met twice this season, splitting the series. Both games were filled with excitement and came down to the wire; the third contest is likely to be more of the same. 

It’s almost like a broken record, but this is Chicago’s biggest game in a long while. Their last playoff showdown against the Packers was in 2010, when Green Bay beat the Bears in Soldier Field en route to a Super Bowl win. 

It’ll be a tough road for Chicago to make that happen, given their inconsistent play and the sheer strength of the rest of the bracket, but in a weird season such as this one, NBA Legend Kevin Garnett’s famous quote rings true: “Anything’s possible!”

The post Stumbling to the Finish: Bears Rally Comes Up Short Against Lions 19-16 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Recently, I had noticed that James had not dropped an album since late June. As it turned out, this was no mere coincidence. He suffered a severe car crash in January that resulted in a broken vertebrae in his neck and multiple fractures in his legs. Even though this injury would keep most artists out of the studio, Boldy decided to push through his injuries and deliver his latest album, Penalty of Leadership. Entirely produced by Nicholas Craven, this project serves as a sequel to the previous LP they collaborated on titled Fair Exchange No Robbery. 

Image via Throw Up Magazine

Penalty of Leadership marks an improvement from both Craven and James. Craven’s production feels more spacious, emotional, and dynamic compared to the repetitive sample loops from Fair Exchange. However, the most noticeable change is in James’ lyricism. The recovery process from the car crash has not only tested his mental fortitude, but seemingly breathed new life into his lyricism. Up to this point, James was known for semi-autobiographical, but heavily exaggerated drug dealing stories.

This album marks a change in this formula as James opens up on the challenging rehab process following his brutal car crash. He also speaks on the current state of affairs for his family on tracks such as “Brand New Chanel Kicks” and “No Pun Intended.” James even flexes that he didn’t “graduate from high school, but [his] daughter got straight As” on the track with a similar name.

Boldy James’ new sense of vulnerability and sincerity since the car crash has added a new aspect to his music, and shows that there is a flawed man behind his cold deadpan delivery. It’s something not often seen from the rapper. The sparse sonic palette provided by Nicholas Craven truly allows James’ heart to shine front and center 

Official Maurice Crawford Score: 7.4/10 

The post Boldy James Embraces Vulnerability with “Penalty of Leadership” appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Halo will be performing twice in Iowa City, her first act being on Thursday night at the Yacht Club starting at 10:30 PM.  She’ll be performing her tracks live, which will make for an exhilarating experience seeing how Halo transitions from the studio where she does the bulk of her work to the stage.        

On Friday night, she’ll get to showcase her music as its intended as the songs will be pre-recorded on a DJ set list. This performance begins at 11 PM in the Yacht Club.

Halo’s journey is an interesting one.  She grew up in Michigan, a state full of musical history as it introduced the world to Motown in the 1960’s and brought back rock n’ roll in the early 2000’s with the garage rock of the White Stripes.  

Hailing from Ann Arbor, MI, Halo learned how to play instruments such as the piano, guitar, and violin.  From there at age, 19 Halo began composing music on her own. She drew inspiration from Detroit dance parties she attended, her experience in jazz ensembles, and her time as a free-form DJ at the University of Michigan’s radio station WCBN.

Halo’s musical taste is also influenced by classical theory and the writing of acclaimed science fiction writer Phillip K. Dick who’s known for themes of altered states of consciousness and authoritative governments.  Halo’s latest album, Dust, sounds like a sheet of music straight out of a science fiction film.  

Once Halo established herself as a young composer, she decided to put her work out for public consumption by releasing several EP’s from 2006 to 2009, but really got the ball rolling with her 2010 EP, King Felix, which was released by the New York experimental pop label, Hippos in Tanks.  

Coincidence that the Hippos in Tanks label itself was heavily influenced by Dick’s 1981 novel VALIS?  I think not.  

After working for the record label, Halo was able to collaborate with more musicians similar to her taste, and in doing so recorded an electronica album with four other musicians titled FRKWYS 7.

Halo learned from peers in the New York avant pop music scene, and as a result, she released her breakthrough album for a different, more prestigious label in London, Hyperdub, titled Quarantine.  

Her first album for Hyperdub garnered critical success with the Wire naming it the No. 1 album of 2012, saying “Halo’s confidence with melody and her deftly written and direct, often harshly vulnerable vocal lines raised Quarantine above the vague techno-dystopian mood that permeated much of 2012’s electronic music.”

After the success Halo took her talent and focus to Berlin hoping to take in the city’s rich musical history as an inspiration for future music.  This isn’t the first time a critically acclaimed musician moved from the States to Berlin, as David Bowie ventured to West Berlin in 1976 and there the rock star ignited a paradigm shift on his style by exploring electronic and ambient music; Halo was looking to do the same.

From there, Halo went on to collaborate with more artists, many being musicians outside of her bubble of electronic pop.  She then recorded two more albums with Hyperdub, her latest being the moody, disorienting Halo released in 2017.  

The post Mission Creek Festival Promo: Laurel Halo @ The Yacht Club appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Remember when the horror movie scene was a barren, frightfully not frightening hellscape of slasher sequels and monster movies so B-grade that they wouldn’t even cut it as celebrities in a VH1 reality show? Me neither. I wasn’t allowed to watch scary movies when I was a kid.

Thankfully the horror film genre has seen a significant uptick in the last few years. Aficionados will tell you that there is no revolution happening as the indie horror scene has been pumping out original work for years. But when studio films reach that point, something amazing is going on.

Don’t Breathe, the latest in a slew of studio horror films that have garnered critical praise in recent years, keeps the nightmares rolling with a taut and tense home invasion story where the invaders are the ones at the end of the knife. The film is succinct in establishing its characters, giving us just enough information to actually invest ourselves in their actions.

A trio of bandits, Alex, Rocky, and Money, are eking out a living performing small time robberies in various homes throughout Detroit. Alex, the straight arrow, uses his dad’s security company connections to pick and choose the easiest houses and establishes a set of rules to keep the robbers safe.

While Alex is more tied to Detroit through his father, Money and Rocky seek to move away and establish a new life outside of the grimy wasteland that is Detroit’s urban center. In order to make that move, some of Alex’s rules will need to be broken.

Money hears about an old, blind war veteran that lives in a decent house in an abandoned suburb of the city and who happens to be sitting on a pile of three hundred thousand dollars.

What first seems to be an easy score turns out to be a gritty and disturbing journey into the abyss. The setting works perfectly with the heroes’ predicament, turning Detroits’ seemingly undisturbed urban jungle into a war zone where there is no where to run, much less hide. To say more of the plot would do a tremendous disservice to Fede Alvarez‘s film. It is superb in its pacing, in that it hardly lets up about twenty minutes into the film.

Add to that a run time of only 88 minutes and the film barely gives you time to catch your breath. Noteworthy sequences include a one shot take of the entire house in which many of its important contents are laid out, unknown to our invading protagonists. The camera lingers on a pegboard filled with gruesome tools, a gun carefully taped under a bed, as well as a bell and locked door that you know are important, but are not yet sure how.

The film is masterful and thrilling, with a memorable plot that contains just enough dark twists and turns to grab and hold viewers attention. A few carefully doled out laughs rounds out the experience. Do yourself a favor and watch Don’t Breathe with a crowd. The shared tension with fellow audience members makes the viewing experience that much more entertaining. If you can’t find a crowd, enjoy watching this one by yourself, in the dark. Just remember to breathe.

Watch and Talk is an alternative look at film. It is a column that discusses movies from all different genres. Films are not only reviewed, they are simply talked about. Watch and Talk looks at not only the entertainment value of movies, but also at their cultural aspects and impacts.

The post Watch and Talk: Don’t Breathe appeared first on KRUI Radio.

day of Mission Creek. They played at Gabe’s, one of my favorite venues here in Iowa City. The show got started about forty minutes after it was supposed to, so while we were waiting for Phat Kat to come on, two DJs whose names I didn’t catch entertained the crowd in the meantime. They were really fun guys that kept the fairly large crowd at that point from getting too impatient. I automatically liked them because they yelled “F**k Donald Trump” in the middle of one of their songs and the whole crowd went crazy. Another interesting thing that happened was one of the DJs even took the time to ask the girl in front of me for her number because she was freaking out so much over him. It was actually pretty cute.

Finally, Phat Kat, a small time rapper from Detroit came on stage. After a little research on the artists beforehand it did not take me long to realize that they all hail from Detroit, Michigan. I am surprised Phat Kat is not more popular than he is. He has an

old-school rap sound that is almost non-existent in today’s hip-hop community. He had a demanding presence on stage and really knew how to get the crowd going. Everyone was jamming along with him and the atmosphere in the place at this point was fantastic.

Up next was Guilty Simpson. He had a very imposing presence and a hard posture, but his rhymes were smooth and flowed with ease. “Hip hop is in the house” was the first thing he announced when he walked onto the stage, before him and Phat Kat rapped together as he closed out his set. He talked a little about how all of the artists that played last night were from Detroit and how we as the crowd were “part of hip-hop history.” Guilty Simpson made it hard for you not to watch him because his sheer size demanded your

attention. He kept the crowd rolling until the next act.

After Guilty Simpson was Black Milk, whose beats are notorious. He was even discovered by Slum Village and produced a track on their 2002 mixtape “Dirty District.” Black Milk is an excellent artist. I do understand why his beats are so famous because he had the crowd moving around the whole time during his set. I don’t think I saw one person standing still, which was a pretty

big accomplishment because the crowd was almost doubled in size by the time he came on. I couldn’t even get a decent picture of him performing because I kept getting bumped into every time I tried to take one. He kept everyone’s attention, especially mine, and he was pretty cute which helped.

Lastly, Slum Village closed down the party with their old-school, hip-hop funk sound. Pretty much everyone in the crowd was rapping along with them to every song. They definitely brought the biggest crowd. They were constantly moving all around the stage and like all the other acts, brought the party atmosphere in the room to an all-time high. It was pretty late at this point; the show went till about 2 am but I wasn’t 100% sure because my phone died after Black Milk’s set. They still kept the ball rolling and ended it on a high note leaving the crowd satisfied.

Overall this was a fantastic show. I was a little apprehensive at first because I don’t listen to much hip-hop/rap but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would definitely see any of the artists again if I got the chance.

The post Mission Creek: Kings Court Tour @ Gabes 4/9/16 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

After finishing with 99 losses in 2013, Hahn started his rebuild by acquiring one of Detroits top prospects, right fielder Avisail Garcia, and opening up some cap space by dealing Jake Peavy.

More big contracts including Alex Rios, Adam Dunn, and Paul Konerko were cleared from the books and the gears to Hahn’s plan were in motion.

The next steps consisted of signing the 2014 AL ROY Jose Abreu and trading for prototypical leadoff man and center fielder Adam Eaton.

Expectations for the 2014 season were not high, as it was seen as just a stepping-stone for bigger things to come. Though young and exciting, the ’14 squad was also a frustrating group to watch thanks to a bullpen that was not invested in and a couple key injuries to guys like Nate Jones and Matt Lindstrom which left manager Robin Ventura with slim pickings.

Those injuries, however, forced youngsters like Jake Petricka, 26, and Zach Putnam, 27, to pick up the slack which they did… and then some. Petricka finished the year with a 2.96 ERA and 14 saves in 18 opportunities while Putnam was the proud owner of a 1.98 ERA in 54.2 IP.

Although they finished with 89 losses, the MVP caliber season from Abreu, another CY Young worthy performance from Sale, the continued progression of hurler Jose Quintana, the emergence of Conor Gillaspie at third base, the presence of a real leadoff man for the first time since Scott Podsednik in Adam Eaton, combined with an All-Star season from maybe the best SS in the AL, Alexei Ramirez, gave Hahn and the White Sox the feeling that they were closer to contending than people realized.

This confidence, along with the owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s willingness break the piggy bank, allowed the Sox to tackle some big necessities. Hahn’s shopping list was made up of a Right handed starter to slot between Sale and Quintana, a lefty power bat, left fielder, and a bullpen renovation.

Hahn wasted no time getting started, and signed 1b/DH Adam LaRoche in late November. Not only will his bat take some pressure off Abreu, the Gold-Glover will also be able to spell Abreu at first when needed.

The 35 year old batted .259 with 26 long ones, 92 driven in, and a .362 OBP in 2014 with the Nationals and will bring a nice veteran presence to the clubhouse after the retirement of Paul Konerko.

Lefty power bat? Check.

The LaRoche signing was just the beginning. Next to bolster a rotation that had two great pieces in place with Sale and Quintana but fell off from there. Hahn worked his magic once again and without giving up any major prospects acquired Jeff Samardzija. Now with a three-headed monster at the top of the rotation and the possible call up of Carlos Rodon who is said to be the best lefty drafted since David Price the Sox rotation is looking “Very nice. Very nice.”

Right-handed starter? Check.

Next was the bullpen. Disastrous in 2014, the Sox ranked last in nearly every category and blew 21 saves. So what does Rick Hahn do? He goes and brings in Zach Duke, a lefty specialist who had the best season of his career last year and then on the same night he gets Samardzija he shocks everyone and signs David Robertson.

David Robertson is the guy who was given the task of replacing the greatest closer of all-time, Mariano Rivera, in the dog-eat-dog city of New York. None of this seemed to faze Robertson as he posted a 3.08 ERA and converted 39 of his 44 save attempts.

With those two additions, the signing of Dan Jennings from Miami, the emergence of Putnam and Petricka, and the possible return to dominance of Jesse Crain, who signed with the team in January, and Nate Jones, a once depleted Pale-Hose bullpen now looks fairly deep and reliable

Bullpen help? Check.

Last was the gaping whole in left field. Another position where the Sox had been experimenting for a while. The platoon of Alejandro De Aza and Dayan Viciedo surely hadn’t been the answer a year prior as the Sox ended up DFA’ing De Aza towards the end of ’14 and Viciedo this offseason.

The aggressive moves Hahn made early had paid off and caught the attention of Melky Cabrera as he turned down a four year offer from an unannounced team to accept the White Sox three-year $42 million contract.

Left Fielder? Check.

With all those moves including the constructing of a super bench with utility man Emilio Bonifacio, defensive specialist Gordon Beckham, and a dependable backup at catcher in Geovany Soto the Sox are sitting in the catbird seat.

As Detroit’s championship window closes and after the Royals failed to make any moves of big impact this offseason, and the Indians being, well, the Indians, it’s time for the Hahn Dynasty to start conquering the Central.

The post The Hahn Dynasty appeared first on KRUI Radio.