'Some structural damage' from wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C., mayor confirms
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.
The Bears selected Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night after deciding weeks ago to bank on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner from USC.
The Washington Commanders followed up by taking 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels from LSU and the New England Patriots took North Carolina's Drake Maye at No. 3, making it the fourth draft with quarterbacks going with the first three picks.
It matched 2021 (Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance), 1971 (Jim Plunkett, Archie Manning, Dan Pastorini) and 1999 (Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith).
At No. 8, the Atlanta Falcons made a stunning decision to choose Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. despite signing Kirk Cousins to a massive contract in free agency. Penix made it four quarterbacks in the top 10 for just the second time since 1949. It also happened in 2018 (Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen).
The Arizona Cardinals snapped the early QB trend, choosing Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth pick. The Los Angeles Chargers opened the Jim Harbaugh era by taking Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt instead of giving Justin Herbert a No. 1 wide receiver to replace Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
The New York Giants then snatched up LSU receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6. The Tennessee Titans took Alabama offensive tackle J.C. Latham with the seventh pick and the Bears selected Washington wideout Rome Odunze at No. 9.
This will be the latest a first defensive player has been drafted since 1967.
Wearing a navy suit with silver accents, Williams swiftly walked on stage and screamed "Woooo! Yeah!" before giving Roger Goodell a bear hug, careful not to squeeze too hard because the NFL commissioner had back surgery three weeks ago.
Rap icon Eminem walked on stage in a Lions sweatshirt and cap shortly after Goodell to kick off the night. The Motor City native riled up the fans before turning it over to Lions stars Jared Goff, Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson.
St. Brown led them in chanting "Jar-ed Goff!" and Johnson kept it short: "Whaddup doe?"
An estimated crowd of 150,000, many wearing their Honolulu blue Lions jerseys, filled the streets surrounding the draft theatre and turned the NFL's biggest offseason event into a giant party.
Williams is the third quarterback Chicago has selected in the first round in the past eight years. Mitch Trubisky, the No. 2 overall pick in 2017, lasted four seasons. Justin Fields, the 11th pick in 2021, was traded away for a conditional sixth-round pick after three seasons.
The 22-year-old Williams is tasked with turning the Bears into a winner after years of futility. Chicago has had just two winning seasons since its most recent playoff victory in the 2010 season.
Williams was the clear front-runner in a quarterback-rich draft that includes Daniels, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy. The Bears didn't meet with any other QBs and Williams didn't visit any other teams.
He impressed his future team over dinner with several Bears players last month, showing them he's more substance than Hollywood style.
"It was good for them to be able to go back to the (front office) and speak on how I am instead of all the stuff that everybody sees every day on me," Williams said Wednesday.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles was convinced Williams was the right choice after receiving positive feedback from the veterans.
"He came across as a really good teammate, easy to talk to, down to earth," Poles said this week. "We've talked through this process about the whole Hollywood thing. He's all ball, wants to work, wants to get better, wants to win as a team. That's the No. 1 thing for him on top of being successful. So I think the biggest thing is: Does he fit with our culture and what we're trying to do? And all signs were that he does, so that's a positive."
Williams has lofty goals. He's talked about playing 20 years for one team and chasing Tom Brady's record of seven Super Bowl titles. The Bears only have won it once following the 1985 season.
A dual-threat player with a strong arm and ability to improvise, Williams threw 93 touchdown passes and ran for 27 scores in three seasons at Oklahoma and USC.
The Bears are the only NFL franchise that hasn't had a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards or 30 touchdowns in a season. They passed up on Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud last year and traded the No. 1 pick to Carolina in a blockbuster deal only to get the top choice this year after the Panthers went 2-15.
The 23-year-old Daniels, who played three seasons at Arizona State and two at LSU, gives the Commanders a potential franchise QB after leading the nation in total offense last season with 4,946 yards. A do-it-all player, Daniels ranked fifth with 3,812 yards passing and with 40 touchdowns.
Maye is the second QB the Patriots have selected in the first round since Tom Brady left the team after the 2019 season. Mac Jones didn’t work out and now it’s Maye’s turn to be the man in a new era that starts without longtime coach Bill Belichick.
Harrison, the son of Hall of Fame receiver Marvin Harrison, caught 67 passes for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns in his final season with the Buckeyes.
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
An 'unrepentant' YouTuber has been ordered to pay $350,000 in damages as compensation for a 'relentless' campaign of defamation waged online against a business owner and his company, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled.
Chief Robert Michell says relief isn't the right word to describe his reaction as the search begins for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school he attended in northern British Columbia.
While it's unclear what these closures might mean for the 27 restaurants in Canada, Red Lobster is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. this month.
A man from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been sentenced to four years behind bars after shooting a sex worker in the back during a drug-fuelled 43rd birthday.
Nearly six dozen dogs were seized from a home Wednesday morning by the Winnipeg Humane Society. It is the largest known seizure of animals in the city’s history.
Of the $40-million Aiden Pleterski was handed over two years, documents show he invested just over one per cent and instead spent $15.9 million on "his personal lifestyle." The 25-year-old Oshawa, Ont. man was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering on Tuesday.
A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.