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Ben Johnson is prepared to lose staffers to promotions elsewhere.Wednesday, two Bears position coaches took steps toward that end.Running backs coach Eric Bieniemy took the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator job reuniting with head coach Andy Reid and taking the place of former Bears head coach Matt Nagy, who is interviewing for head coaching and coordinator jobs elsewhere.Defensive backs coach Al Harris interviewed for the rival Packers defensive coordinator job Wednesday. Harris played cornerback in Green Bay from 2003-09, going to two Pro Bowls during his stint there. Packers coordinator Jeff Hafley was named the Dolphins' head coach this week.Under Bieniemy, the Bears finished third in the league in rushing. Under Harris, they led the NFL in interceptions.Wednesday, Johnson said that a few NFL teams had put in coaching interview request slips for members of his staff. He called his employees a “five-star staff,” saying it was rare for head coaches to find the right mix in Year 1 the way he did.Johnson said he encourages his staffers to seek promotions — but also values coaches who want to be in Chicago.“I see future head coaches on this staff,” he said. “I see future coordinators. I see these young coaches being future position coaches. I see that across the board. So, when you have success and you win games, normally that's what happens. …“And I'm all for it, man. I want these guys to continue to ascend, anything I can do to help them out. I think they all know I'm more than willing to do that.” 

Former Men at Work frontman, who was born in Scotland and emigrated to Australia, tells anti-immigration protestors, ‘Go write you own song, leave mine alone’Get our weekend culture and lifestyle emailFormer Men at Work frontman Colin Hay has disavowed the use of the band’s 80s anthem Down Under by Australian anti-immigration protesters, saying the song “does not belong to those who attempt to sow xenophobia”.In a post to his Facebook and Instagram accounts, the singer-songwriter singled out anti-immigration group March for Australia, who have organised marches around the country on 26 January under the slogan “Our national identity will not be erased”.Sign up for our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

NBC 5 fired sports anchor Mike Berman on Wednesday amid a reshaping of its sports department, the Sun-Times has learned. Berman, who grew up in Northbrook, had been with NBC Chicago since 2016. He declined to comment.The Sun-Times reported Monday that longtime Fox 32 sports anchor Lou Canellis was close to a deal with NBC 5. That deal is done, and he’s expected to start next week. But his arrival and Berman’s departure are not related.Canellis will fill the role held by former NBC 5 lead sports anchor Leila Rahimi, who left in 2024. The station now has an opening for a weekend sports anchor. Jeff Blanzy and Kacy Standohar have shared sports-anchor duties on a per-diem basis. Related Longtime Fox 32 Chicago sportscaster Lou Canellis close to deal with NBC 5 NBC 5 is gearing up for a big year of sports on a national level. “Sunday Night Basketball” begins Feb. 1, the Olympics begin later that week and “Sunday Night Baseball” will move to NBC this summer. NBC 5 has the chance to take advantage of those events as lead-ins to its newscasts and “Sports Sunday,” which Canellis figures to host.Though NBC 5 doesn’t have the amount of regular local sports that Fox 32 and Fox Chicago+ have with the Bears, Wolves and others, it has delivered postgame coverage of the Bears’ games it airs and is looking to reshape its local sports coverage as its national network increases its sports portfolio.NBC 5 drew big ratings for the Rams-Bears divisional playoff game Sunday night. Unofficially, the broadcast drew a 34.7 household rating from Nielsen — by far the highest-rated local Bears broadcast of the season — which is about 1.27 million households in the Chicago market. More ratings information is expected Thursday.

These are the key developments from day 1,428 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

IFG says proposed plans, which will slash the number of jury trials, will produce ‘marginal gains’ of less than 2% time savedDavid Lammy’s plans to introduce judge-only criminal trials in England and Wales will save less than 2% of time in crown courts, the Institute for Government (IFG) has said.In a report that casts doubt on the ability of the changes, which will slash the number of jury trials to achieve their goal of wiping out the courts’ backlog, the thinktank described the gains from judge-only trials as “marginal”. Continue reading...