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View In Browser January 3, 2019 chicagotribune.com Inside Slant ADVERTISEMENT And now, the payoff Wednesday, Jan 2 There's a good reason 1990s R&B hit "Return of the Mack" (probably) has been stuck in Bears fans' heads for four months. Khalil Mack has helped rocket the team from 5-11 disaster to 12-4 Super Bowl hopeful. Dan Wiederer details the star linebacker's journey month by month, all as a playoff game against the Eagles looms Sunday. Ahead of that showdown, Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson praised Mitch Trubisky, part of our weekly report on the Bears quarterback. Pederson's even more familiar with Bears coach Matt Nagy: The two were colleagues in Philadelphia and even had ice cream together. On a less tasty note, kicker Cody Parkey's idea of cold comfort these days is continuing to practice at Soldier Field. Meanwhile, safety Eddie Jackson didn't practice at all Wednesday, though the entire receiving corps did, as did offensive lineman Kyle Long. That should take care of most of your Bears questions, and Brad Biggs has the rest covered in his weekly mailbag. Last but not least, here's what the numbers say about the Bears-Eagles matchup. Read More » Yes, it was that bad Coach Jim Boylen has spent a good deal of time lately answering questions about the Bulls' sputtering offense. As a not-so-fun twist Wednesday, it was the defense that failed spectacularly in a blowout loss to the Magic at the United Center. Read More » ADVERTISEMENT Will it even matter? Sure, the Blackhawks have played better of late, but do they have any shot at the playoffs? Jimmy Greenfield has five questions the team must answer to have success in 2019. Read More » Think warm thoughts If you can't wait for baseball season to start, sadly you're still going to have to wait. But while you're doing so, you can match your calendar to Paul Sullivan's, which circles crucial dates for the Cubs and White Sox. Read More » ADVERTISEMENT Can't start better than 1-0 Loyola, the defending Missouri Valley Conference champion, throttled Indiana State to open league play Wednesday. Northwestern and DePaul, however, would just as soon forget what happened last night. Read More » Chicago's Big Ten bench coach The Cubs have a new bench coach: Mark Loretta, a two-time All-Star second baseman who starred at Northwestern. He must really want the job to be lured away from San Diego's fantastic weather. Read More » advertisement Unsubscribe   |   Newsletters   |   Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Service Copyright © 2019 | Chicago Tribune | 160 N. Stetson Ave., Third Floor, Chicago, IL 60601 ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this email because you are following the Inside Slant newsletter.