Soldier Field

If the Eagles have their way, tomorrow will be the final game in Soldier Field - as we know it. The historic home of the Chicago Bears is set to undergo a complete transformation, becoming a modern, state-of-the-art facility by the start of the 2003 season. The $587 million project, which will force the Bears to play 135 miles from Chicago at the University of Illinois in Champaign next season, could begin immediately after the Bears' season ends. That could come as soon as tomorrow, depending on the outcome of the team's NFC playoff game against the Eagles.

After nearly 30 years of negotiations, threats and foot-dragging, the Chicago Bears and city officials agreed on a $587 million renovation of Soldier Field that will add 17 acres of parkland and facilities to complement three nearby museums. The Bears will pay $200 million and the remainder of the project's costs will be covered by bonds that would be retired by the city hotel tax. "After years of false starts, we finally have a plan that works for Chicago taxpayers, children and families, the museum, the Park District, the Bears and their fans," Mayor Richard M. Daley said yesterday at a news conference to unveil the plan.

When the Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers, their blood rivals, in their September home opener on Monday Night Football, the ferocity of the battle may pale in comparison to the one that has raged since plans were announced to reconstruct historic Soldier Field. And the lingering animosity between the sides underscores the fact that incendiary issues remain. The Illinois legislation, which was approved in November 2000, was controversial in part because Soldier Field is a war memorial whose name is as sacred as the structure itself.

Buddy Ryan's psych-out job, Act II. Riding shotgun with Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman in a silver and blue touring bus, the head coach arrived here yesterday with his team amid the fanfare usually reserved for returning conquerors or reluctant rock stars. Fans jammed the corner of Grand Avenue in downtown Chicago to meet the team and the coach, who with bravado and flair has thrown down the gauntlet for today's National Football Conference playoff matchup with the Chicago Bears.

The Chicago Bears took another step toward leaving town, suspending negotiations over the city's proposed $156 million renovation of Soldier Field. Talks scheduled yesterday to discuss personal seat licenses at the aging lakefront stadium, an arrangement that would require fans to pay for the right to buy tickets, were canceled. Mayor Richard Daley's plan would not give the team enough revenue and would not provide an "NFL-caliber stadium," Bears vice president of operations Ted Phillips said.

The Chicago Bears used their home-field edge to gain the home-field advantage in the playoffs. Kevin Butler kicked a 32-yard field goal with four seconds left yesterday as the Bears beat the Detroit Lions, 13-12, and clinched their fifth straight NFC Central title. Butler had a gusting wind at his back when he made the winning kick. "We knew we might be kicking into a strong north wind in the final quarter, and that's why we decided to . . . defend the south goal after the coin flip," he said.

Lubos Kubik scored on a penalty kick in the 64th minute to give the Chicago Fire a 1-0 victory over the Dallas Burn in a Major League Soccer game last night at Soldier Field. The victory was the eighth in a row for the Fire, an expansion team coached by Bob Bradley, who last year was coach of D.C. United's MLS champion team. Chicago is solidly in second place in the West Division of MLS. Kubik is a defender who was a member of the Czechoslovakian team that scored a 5-1 victory over the United States in the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

Barcelona lived up to its reputation as the best club team in the world by beating Mexico's Club America, 2-0, Saturday at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas in the final game of the Spanish team's U.S. tour. David Villa scored on a header in the first half, and Seydou Keita added a goal in the 90th minute. The win was the first for Barcelona in three tries in the World Football Challenge, an exhibition tournament featuring top teams from the European leagues, Major League Soccer, and Mexico's first division.

The Bears' defensive backs yesterday were running through a routine drill: a few quick crossover steps along the sideline, a cut toward midfield, and a pass to intercept or knock down. But the grass field at their suburban practice facility was frozen so slick that, at one stretch, four of five players fell. Field conditions could be a problem again tomorrow, when the NFC divisional playoff between the Bears and Eagles will take place about 30 miles south of Lake Forest at Soldier Field.

With exactly 1 minute, 58 seconds left in the first half of Saturday's Eagles-Bears NFC playoff game - moments after Kevin Butler had given Chicago a 17-6 lead with a 46-yard field goal - a mysterious, white and gray haze billowed over the southeast corner of Soldier Field. "Must be a smoke bomb or something," mumbled a sideline official on the field's east side, the side closest to nearby Lake Michigan. But Chicago had little wind on this blue-sky morning of unseasonably high temperatures, and this cloud was moving too fast, spreading with ominous speed and engulfing everything in its path.

Barcelona lived up to its reputation as the best club team in the world by beating Mexico's Club America, 2-0, Saturday at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas in the final game of the Spanish team's U.S. tour. David Villa scored on a header in the first half, and Seydou Keita added a goal in the 90th minute. The win was the first for Barcelona in three tries in the World Football Challenge, an exhibition tournament featuring top teams from the European leagues, Major League Soccer, and Mexico's first division.

The U.S. bid committee hoping to stage the World Cup in 2018 or 2022 sent initial letters last week to public officials and stadium operators of 70 potential sites in 50 markets for soccer's showcase tournament. Among those contacted was Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles' interest in hosting matches is unclear, but the stadium has been used for international soccer events in the past and will host a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal doubleheader July 18. Six of the stadiums used for the 1994 tournament were contacted, including Soldier Field in Chicago; the Cotton Bowl in Dallas; the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando; the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

CHICAGO - Correll Buckhalter, valiant warrior that he is, faced the questions head-on, the way he tried to crack the Chicago Bears' line on the final, most frustrating episode of an evening defined by the Eagles' offense short-circuiting and frittering away what should have been a victory over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. "I did the best I could, the linemen did the best they could," said Buckhalter, who gained 66 yards on 16 carries, but needed 1 more. "We just came up short . . . It hurts bad. They just executed better than we did. " Four late fourth-quarter cracks at the goal line from the Bears' 4, three from the 1. No points.

The politicians persuaded the Chicago Bears not to sell the naming rights to the team's newly-rebuilt stadium. But the Bears figured out how to get the big bucks anyway. Yesterday, they sold the name of the team, or came pretty close. No longer will the old franchise, which was there at the NFL's creation, refer to itself exclusively as the Chicago Bears. From now on, whenever possible, it will be "Bears football presented by Bank One. " The bank, which is based in Chicago, paid an undisclosed amount to be the team's "presenting partner" for the next 12 years, the first such arrangement in NFL history.

When the Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers, their blood rivals, in their September home opener on Monday Night Football, the ferocity of the battle may pale in comparison to the one that has raged since plans were announced to reconstruct historic Soldier Field. And the lingering animosity between the sides underscores the fact that incendiary issues remain. The Illinois legislation, which was approved in November 2000, was controversial in part because Soldier Field is a war memorial whose name is as sacred as the structure itself.

If the Eagles have their way, tomorrow will be the final game in Soldier Field - as we know it. The historic home of the Chicago Bears is set to undergo a complete transformation, becoming a modern, state-of-the-art facility by the start of the 2003 season. The $587 million project, which will force the Bears to play 135 miles from Chicago at the University of Illinois in Champaign next season, could begin immediately after the Bears' season ends. That could come as soon as tomorrow, depending on the outcome of the team's NFC playoff game against the Eagles.

The Bears' defensive backs yesterday were running through a routine drill: a few quick crossover steps along the sideline, a cut toward midfield, and a pass to intercept or knock down. But the grass field at their suburban practice facility was frozen so slick that, at one stretch, four of five players fell. Field conditions could be a problem again tomorrow, when the NFC divisional playoff between the Bears and Eagles will take place about 30 miles south of Lake Forest at Soldier Field.

Some things just don't go away whether it's fair or not. Fred Merkle touched second base plenty of times. Jim Marshall ran the right way with other fumbles he recovered. Sean Landeta has had one of the best careers of any punter in NFL history. But once, 16 years ago, he missed a punt during a playoff game at Soldier Field. Yesterday, with the help of a bunch of reporters, he had the opportunity to relive it. Again and again. It wasn't something he much wanted to do. "Would you?"

Before this season, the last time the Eagles won the NFC East was back in 1988. That season ultimately ended in Chicago with a loss to the Bears. You might remember the game. It's as much a part of the dark side of Philadelphia sporting lore as Joe Carter's home run, Leon Stickle's blown offside call, and John Havlicek's steal. The Fog Bowl. The Eagles took the ball inside the Bears' 25-yard line nine times and inside the 11-yard line five times but failed to score a touchdown on their way to a 20-12 defeat.

Through the complex tapestry of Chicago's emotional 37-31 overtime win against the San Francisco 49ers yesterday, it was as plain as the tattoo above R. W. McQuarters' navel. At the center of the Bears cornerback's torso, the word "Life" is emblazoned with a beautifully crafted, curved arrow pointing up on one side while its twin points down on the other. "That's life," said McQuarters, dreadlocks cascading down both sides of his face, "ups, and downs. " Life was fairly rotten for the Bears and wonderful for the 49ers with 23 minutes, 18 seconds to play in regulation at Soldier Field.