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Forte, Hester to retire as members of Bears

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Former Chicago Bears greats Matt Forte and Devin Hester will both sign a one-day ceremonial contract on Monday, April 23 in order to retire as members of the organization, the team announced Wednesday.

Forte and Hester each spent their first eight NFL seasons with the Bears.

The greatest return man in league history, Hester, who Chicago drafted in the second round (57th overall) of the 2006 NFL draft, played for the Bears from 2006 to 2013 where he was named First-Team All-Pro three times.

Devin Hester, who holds the NFL record with 20 return touchdowns, also amassed over 3,300 yards and 16 touchdowns as a receiver. Scott Kane/USA TODAY Sports

Hester, who was voted to four career Pro Bowls, had a team-record five return touchdowns for the Bears as a rookie, and took back the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI against the Indianapolis Colts 92 yards for a touchdown.

The University of Miami product also set franchise highs in punt returns (264), punt return touchdowns (13), single-season punt return touchdowns (four), kickoff returns (222), kickoff return yards (5,504) and single-game kickoff return touchdowns (two).

Hester added 255 receptions for 3,311 yards and 16 touchdowns as a wide receiver.

Hester, who also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks, holds the NFL record with 20 return touchdowns.

He announced his retirement from the NFL on Dec. 12, 2017.

Selected by the Bears in the second-round of the 2008 NFL draft out of Tulane, Forte is the second-most productive running back in Chicago history with 8,602 rushing yards and 4,116 receiving yards.

At the time of his departure from the Bears following the 2015 season, Forte had led the NFL in yards from scrimmage since 2008.

Forte ranks second, behind only Hall of Famer Walter Payton, on the Bears’ all-time lists for rushing yards, yards from scrimmage (12,718), receptions (487) and 100-yard games (24). He’s third in total touchdowns (64) and sixth in receiving yards. Forte also set a single-season NFL record with 102 receptions as a running back in 2014.

Forte played his final two NFL seasons for the New York Jets.

Soccer

Real Madrid's Ramos faces potential semi-final ban

Real Madrid centre-back Sergio Ramos could be banned for the Champions League semi-final first leg after the suspended Spaniard was spotted pitch-side during the latter stages of Wednesday’s tense victory over Juventus.

Ramos was suspended for the quarter-final decider at the Santiago Bernabeu for yellow-card accumulation. He broke UEFA rules by leaving the stands before approaching Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri on the touchline amid a frenzied period in the match that saw Real awarded a penalty and Gianluigi Buffon sent off.

UEFA regulations concerning misconduct by players and officials stipulate that players cannot take part in a match for which they are deemed ineligible, according to Sky Sports.

Related: Ronaldo’s injury-time penalty cancels out Juventus’ inspired comeback

Ramos’ standing for the semi-final first leg depends on referee Michael Oliver’s match report, and whether or not the English official mentions the incident. If Oliver did note Ramos’ actions, the Spaniard could be suspended.

Oliver’s report is due Thursday.

As Sky Sports notes, there is precedent for a one-match ban for similar circumstances. During the 2014 Champions League final, suspended Xabi Alonso hurdled a barrier to celebrate Gareth Bale’s match-winner. Alonso was subsequently banned for the first European fixture of the following campaign.

NFL

Garrett: Releasing Dez a 'challenging situation'

FRISCO, Texas — Speaking for the first time since the release of Dez Bryant last Friday, Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the move was made with careful consideration of a number of factors, from the wide receiver’s production to his cost.

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Bryant went three straight seasons without 1,000 yards and was set to count $16.5 million against the cap in 2018. After much internal deliberation, Garrett said the decision was made to part ways with the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown catches.

“Dez Bryant has been a great player for this franchise during his time here,” Garrett said Tuesday at the Albertsons Companies All-Star Gala in which Pat and Emmitt Smith were presented a Lifetime Achievement Award for their charity work. “Certainly a playmaker, a difference-maker. A guy that we all love. Love him as a player, as a person and that will never change.

“It’s a challenging situation. A lot of different factors go into these kinds of decisions and again the guidepost for all of this is: What’s in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys? And that’s why we made this decision. Wish Dez nothing but the best going forward. He’s a special guy. I love him. I will always love him and the impact that he’s made on this franchise has been significant.”

In an interview with NFL Network after his release, Bryant referred to “Garrett guys” and players who wear the “C,” as captains, as playing a part in the team’s decision. Dak Prescott, Jason Witten and Sean Lee were three of the Cowboys’ six captains in 2017.

“For me, I mean being a quarterback, being a captain, I take the blame,” Prescott said. “I take all the blame. When you lose, things like this happen. So Dez knows how I feel. We’ve shared messages and he knows my stance on everything so I wish him well.”

Bryant and Witten became close over the years, especially since Bryant moved into the same neighborhood as the Pro Bowl tight end. Witten said last Friday “was an emotional day for all of us,” but defended the captains.

“I don’t know what all that’s about,” Witten said. “I know when you go through these processes there’s a lot of things that probably go into it. I know I enjoyed my time with Dez and I think that I appreciated everything that we were able to do. Certainly invested a lot in him and he has helped me become a better player, too. So I appreciate that time together. Look, being a captain is a huge honor for me and the other guys and I know what those guys’ character is all about. There’s really nothing there.”

Lee said the Cowboys’ locker room is as close as any he has been a part of since coming in with Bryant in 2010.

“All I know is that I loved playing with him, and like anything any type of breakup can be tough,” Lee said. “But I know he’s going to be dominant and play the way he can. We can’t get into that (talk). We’ve got to move forward.”

Bryant has let it be known that he would like to play against the Cowboys once — if not twice — in 2018.

“Oh, it would be torture to play against a guy like that, who plays hard like he does, who makes all those plays,” Lee said. “As a linebacker I always felt like it was tackling a running back (with) how hard he ran, how tough he was. So that would be extremely tough for us.”

Soccer

Champions League semi-final draw: Real Madrid faces yet another league leader

The Champions League semi-final draw took place Friday in Nyon, Switzerland and revealed a pair of enticing encounters in the penultimate round of the continental competition.

Real Madrid’s path to competing for a third consecutive Champions League title is far from easy after being drawn with Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich.

The clubs, who have won a combined 17 Champions League titles between them, will extend their record for the most common fixture in the competition when they meet for the 25th and 26th time in a European competition.

Bayern Munich will be the third consecutive league leader Real Madrid will face in the knockout round after progressing past Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.

Meanwhile, after bouncing Manchester City out of the Champions League, Liverpool managed to avoid the only two teams left in the tournament with a richer history in the competition and was drawn with a tricky Roma team that produced an even bigger upset in the quarter-finals by knocking out Barcelona.

The clash will be a reunion of sorts for Mohamed Salah, who spent the last two seasons at Roma before moving to Anfield last summer and evolving into an elite attacker for Liverpool.

Dates for the semi-final fixtures haven’t been announced.

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Soccer