CHICAGO SPORTS NEWS FLASH (1/3/14): Jay Cutler Signs Seven-Year Contract with Chicago Bears

Jay Cutler has received a 7-year deal that will keep him a Chicago Bear through the 2020 season. Phil Emery, Bears General Manager, announced this Thursday, January 2. The deal, worth $126 million, has Cutler earning $18 million per year. That's more than the $17.7 million average the Detroit Lions gave to Matthew Stafford in July. Cutler has $54 million of the $126 million guaranteed. Cutler's deal is also worth the same per year as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

The Bears, after going 8-8 and missing the playoffs (despite being in a "win-and-in" situation twice), expressed their confidence in Jay bringing big wins to Chicago by signing him to this long-term deal. Emery also praised Cutler, and his bond with the quarterback, from Santa Claus, Indiana, seems to be very strong.

Other Bears News:

Chicago also re-signed cornerback Tim Jennings and guard Matt Slauson to four-year contracts as well on Thursday. They have also penned kicker Robbie Gould and fullback Tony Fiammetta. All five Bears signed on Thursday, the first Thursday of 2014, were pending free agents after the end of Chicago's season.

CHICAGO BULLS NEWS:

Noah, Bulls defeat Celtics, 94-82 on Thursday (1/2/14)

Joakim Noah's big day (one assist short of a triple-double) led Chicago to beat Boston in the United Center on Thursday. Noah finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists, but overall, a team effort was required to beat Boston.

Carlos Boozer finished with 16 points. Luol Deng had 14, Taj Gibson had 12, Mike Dunleavy had 11, and Jimmy Butler had 10. These six Bulls led the charge with double digit points.

Leading Boston was Jordan Crawford with 22 points, but the Celtics now have lost two straight contests. 

Entering the game, the Bulls were the 9th seed in the struggling Eastern Conference, and the Celtics were at the 8th seed. The Bulls victory put them to the 7th seed in the East. Boston dropped to the 9th seed. If the playoffs began today, the Celtics would be eliminated, and the Bulls would face a team arguably their arch rival, 2nd seeded Miami Heat.

The Bulls continue their home stand against the Atlanta Hawks Saturday night (1/4/14, 8 P.M. ET).

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS NEWS:

Islanders beat Blackhawks in Overtime, 3-2 on Thursday (1/2/14)

Despite goalie Corey Crawford's return to action against the New York Islanders on Thursday, the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks were unable to secure the victory over NY. 

The Islanders jumped to a 2-0 lead, but the Blackhawks answered in the second and third periods to take the game into OT. However, Islander Kyle Okposo scored 58 seconds into overtime to give New York the win. 

Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov finished with 37 saves, and Corey Crawford made 31 saves in his return.

Goal scorers that game for New York were Casey Cizikas (5th goal of season, unassisted), Thomas Vanek (14th goal of season, assisted by Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald), and of course, Okposo. Okposo scored his 16th goal of the season and was assisted by John Tavares and Andrew MacDonald.

Chicago countered with Brent Seabrook (5th goal of season, assisted by Kris Versteeg and Nick Leddy) on the Power Play and with Ben Smith, a rookie (5th goal of season, assisted by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp).

Despite the loss in OT, the 'Hawks still gained 1 point, and the defending champs are 8-1-3 in their last 12 games.

That 1 point in the NHL's Western Conference Standings is crucial. Coming into the Islanders game, the Blackhaws were tied with the Anaheim Ducks for #1 in the NHL standings, point-wise. The Ducks didn't play on Thursday, so they remain at 63 points thus far in the season. the Blackhawks, gaining their one point, also gained sole possession of #1 in the NHL standings with 64 points. However, Anaheim has played one less game than Chicago has. 

Both the Blackhawks and Ducks play tonight (Friday, 1/3/14). Chicago visits New Jersey to take on the New Jersey Devils (7 P.M. ET), and Anaheim hosts the Edmonton Oilers (10 P.M. ET).

CHICAGO CUBS NEWS:

There is currently no news for the Cubs. They continue their tear-down, rebuilding process, a long-term process begun in 2011 (via current President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein) expected to bring success to the North Siders as early as 2015. One of their many top prospects, Javier Baez, earned a promotion to play for Triple-A Iowa next season. The Cubs plan is to trade away veteran players for budding and promising prospects. These prospects will then hopefully pan out in the Major Leagues and altogether enter their primes.

No signings during the offseason have been announced extremely recently.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX NEWS:

White Sox Sign LHP Scott Downs 

The Sox announced that they have penned 37 year-old, left-handed relief pitcher Scott Downs on Thursday (1/2/14). The deal is $4 million for one year. 

Last season, Downs pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves. In 68 games, he was 4-4 with a 2.49 ERA. In 564 career appearances, Downs is 38-36. His ERA during that span is 3.48.