Northwest Herald from Woodstock, Illinois • Page 17

PRO FOOTBALL AND OUTDOORS Northwest HeraldNWHerald.com Monday, August 9, 2010 Page 5B BEARS NOTES Capron native Markshausen signs with Bears Bears' Day 10 I've never been here before. "When I was walking out here, seeing all the people that came to support the team, it was amazing. I kind of got a feeling, like 'All right, this is Play of the day: Safety Craig Steltz continued to impress coaches with a great practice Sunday that included two interceptions in a three-play span. Steltz's first interception was his best. On a Caleb Hanie pass that was intended for fullback Eddie Williams along the right sideline, Steltz sprinted to his left and picked off the ball before planting both feet inbounds.

Quote of the day: "Our D-line has been getting rushes all camp long. You've got to be able to break on the ball. We have trust in our front four that they're going to get a tremendous rush for us, and we're just breaking." Steltz, after his two-interception performance Sunday Injury update: A dozen players sat out Sunday with various maladies. Devin Hester (groin) continued to fight soreness, Smith said. Other veterans who sat out included safety Danieal Manning, wide receiver Earl Bennett, defensive end Mark Anderson and safety Josh Bullocks.

player, but I like the way he's played the pass. It was good to see him back out there tonight." Good day: Bears wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias has been buried on the team's depth chart for the better part of 16 months, but he earned some attention Sunday. Iglesias made several impressive catches, including one in which he leaped in the right corner of the end zone and outmuscled rookie cor-nerback Cornelius Brown for a touchdown. "We keep telling players, 'Keep working hard, and eventually you're going to get a chance to prove what you can Smith said. "Juaquin, coming back from an injury, showed up tonight.

That's what you look for." they saw that I'm still good to go, so they brought me in." With a story like that, could a movie deal be in the works? "No," Markshausen said with a laugh. "Not yet." Major lift: Rookie safety Major Wright returned to practice Sunday for the first time since Aug. 2, when he injured his groin while trying to reverse direction on a pass play. Wright opened practice with the second-team defense but eventually found himself on the first team, playing alongside veteran Chris Harris during 11-on-ll drills. "I like his energy," Bears coach Lovie Smith said.

"I like his ability to make plays on the ball. "We figured he would be a pretty good run-support ByTOMMUSICK tmusicknwherald.com BOURBONNAIS Zeke Markshausen grew up cheering for the Bears. Now he is one of them. Markshausen, who grew up in Capron just across the McHenry County line, signed a contract with the Bears on Sunday after the team released fourth quarterback Mike Teel. The former North Boone and Northwestern wide receiver wore No.

84 and participated in receiving drills alongside teammates such as Johnny Knox, Devin Aro-mashodu and Rashied Davis. "I don't think it's set in yet," Markshausen said with a wide smile after practice. "This is amazing. I've always heard about this place, but the NFL. This is "It's a dream come true, and I'm just going to 1 try to take ad Zeke Markshausen vantage ot it.

The 23-year-old with a me chanical engineering degree has taken advantage of his opportunities so far. As a walk-on at Northwestern, Markshausen had one reception in his first three seasons. In Markshausen's final season, he emerged with 91 receptions for 858 yards and "They liked me and they had good things to say," Markshausen said. "They just didn't have a spot for me at the time. We just kept in contact me and my agent.

I've been working out and HALL OF FAME GAME: COWBOYS 16, BENGALS 7 Cowboys grab easy win three touchdowns. Only one player in school history caught more passes in a single season. The Bears invited Markshausen to their rookie mini-camp during the summer. the opening step, small as it was, toward becoming the first team to play in a Super Bowl in its home stadium. That goal will take months before it can be achieved, of course, and the most memorable item this weekend for them will remain Smith's entry into the Hall of Fame.

"Having Emmitt inducted into the Hall of Fame is special," All-Pro linebacker De-Marcus Ware said. "For us now playing for the Cowboys, it does make it extra special." Most of the regulars worked short shifts. At least the Cowboys' starters looked sharp during their minimal stints. Bottled up py affair. Clearly, none of the aura of the NFL's career leaders in rushing and receiving rubbed off.

At least some of Saturday's other inductees the ones who played defense, Dick LeBeau, John Randle and Rickey Jackson could appreciate the lack of scoring and the takeaways. Dallas picked off three passes and recovered a fumble; Cincinnati also recovered a fumble. Nobody could be impressed by the slew of penalties, 16 overall, 12 by Cincinnati for 90 yards. Then again, it was the preseason opener. The Cowboys hope this is I did the past couple of years, I want to just erase it and start over fresh' Devin Hester has struggled on special teams after shattering NFL records in his first two seasons.

Hester will serve as the Bears' No. 1 punt returner this season, but teammates Johnny Knox and Danieal Manning likely will receive the bulk of the work on kickoff returns. Season Punt Returns Yards Average TD 2006 47 600 12.8 3 2007 42 651 15.5 4 2008 32 198 6.2 0 2009 24 187 7.8 0 Career 145 1,636 11.3 7 Season Kickoff Returns Yards Average TD 2006 20 528 26.4 2 2007 43 934 21.7 2 2008 31 679 21.9 0 2009 7 156 22.3 0 Career 101 2,297 22.7 4 offs last season, compared with 20 returns as a rookie and 43 returns in 2007. Hester said he was eager to regain his prior success on special teams. "Whatever I did the past couple years," he said, "I want to just erase it and start over fresh." For Hester, that means scoring.

"That's my whole mentality," Hester said. "Every time I touch the ball on a punt return, I'm thinking of scoring. If you're a returner and you're back there, and you're thinking of getting 10 yards and then settling with that, then you don't need to be back there." At 27 years old, Hester has more than enough time to make history. Hester needs three kick return touchdowns (punt or kickoff) to surpass the NFL record of Brian Mitchell, whose 13 return touchdowns By BARRY WILNER The Associated Press CANTON, Ohio Terrell Owens chatted amiably with his former Cowboys teammates. Chad Ochocinco wore gold shoes for his few plays.

Otherwise, the Cincinnati Bengals barely were noticeable Sunday night as Dallas won, 16-7, in the Hall of Fame game. In a game that might have made Class of 2010 inductees Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice wince, the offenses generally sputtered and there were eight sacks. Neither team could get going with the ball in a slop BEARS Continued from page IB The two-time Pro Bowl selection set an NFL record with 12 special-teams touchdowns in his first two years (seven punts, four kickoffs and a missed field goal). He broke his own record for kick return touchdowns in a season with six in 2007, when he scored on four punts and two kickoffs. Since then, Hester's average return yardage has plummeted along with his scoring totals.

On punts, Hester averaged 6.9 yards a return with no touchdowns in the past two seasons after he averaged 14.1 yards a return with seven touchdowns in his first two campaigns. On kickoffs, Hester gave way to teammates Johnny Knox and Danieal Manning. He returned seven kick- I just got back from the annual family trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Although fishing takes a back seat to other activities on this yearly vacation, I was able to get a good amount of fishing in. I was able to spend some quality time in the boat with my daughter, Michelle, eldest son, Steve, and had the pleasure of being accompanied by Mrs.

Sarley for a couple of fishing sessions. She did well for her first time fishing in decades and, of course, caught the biggest fish when we were together. Maybe it's time for me to dust off the golf clubs. In the boat, I did a lot of experimenting with different types and brands of fishing supplies, and I was able to make a few observations. Remember that all information is not scientific, just merely anecdotal.

I used a number of brands of the 4-inch, stick-type worms for wacky rigging and found Yum's Dingers to be my bait of choice. They provided excellent action, yet still held Hester: Whatever Fishing AP photo Yet Hester insisted that he could excel as the Bears' goto receiver and have enough strength in his legs to shine as a punt returner. Hester worked out with ex-St. Louis Rams receiver Isaac Bruce this summer in South Florida. "This year, I feel like I'm in the best shape I've ever been in," Hester said.

"I honestly can say that. I've been training hard all offseason and preparing myself because I knew the situation that we were getting ourselves into as receivers. "I really worked hard, and it's starting to show. I feel it." Toub sees what Hester feels. "I see a guy that's focused," Toub said.

"I see a guy that catches punts early. He's hitting it north and south. He wants to get the record. I know that. Deep down, he wants that." provides good smallie action on tubes and cranks.

Don't forget that fish move in to shallow water to feed after it gets dark. Delavan pike are taking the biggest suckers you can put in front of them in about 25 feet. Try dragging a rig containing a big juicy crawler in the same areas and you just might find a couple of Delavan's healthy but under-fished walleyes. Lake Michigan Here's a fishing report from Captain Bob Rossa from Migrator Charters (www.alakemichigancharter. com): "Salmon fishing has been fair this past week on Lake Michigan.

There is a shallow morning bite in 40 to 75 feet of water. Glow spoons are still the best bait. During the day, there is a very good bite for steelhead and coho salmon out in 240 to 300 feet of water. The deep bite is still in the top 60 feet of the water column. Perch fishing has been good in 8 to 20 feet, with minnows being the best bait.

-Steve Sarley observations, experiments up option on kickoff returns, where Knox and Manning have received the bulk of the work. Bears special teams coach Dave Toub laughed when he heard about Hester's score-or-else mentality. Toub would welcome more scoring, although it isn't his only gauge of success. "I don't give him a minus if he doesn't score a touchdown," Toub said. "What we tell our guys is that we try to get a first down.

We try to get 10 yards. Last year, we averaged, at the end of the season, 8.5 yards as a team. That's well below where we should be." Hester's decline on special teams has mirrored his greater role in the Bears' receiving game. This season, the 5-foot-ll, 190-pound receiver will have more plays to memorize and tougher routes to run in Mike Martz's track-meet offense. OUTDOORS NOTES Fishing report Northern Illinois Here's a fishing report from Dave Kranz from Dave's Bait Tackle and Taxidermy in Crystal Lake: "Hot August days can be some of hardest days to fish.

Here are some tips to increase your chances. Fish during the low light times if you can. If you have to fish during the hot and sunny times of the day, shaded areas such as docks, overhanging trees or weed pockets will be your best bet. Areas that have current also break the light up and might have more oxygen." Call 815-455-2040 for fishing reports. Southern Wisconsin -Geneva bass seem to be deep, but things seem to be changing on a daily basis.

With the extended warmth and humidity, this would be a great time to get out for a night fishing trip. Night fishing produces some of the year's biggest walleyes on the flats using long, minnow-shaped lures. Night FY 0NTHE ft- OUTDOORS Steve I Sarley Olivet Nazarene University, Hester consistently has arrived early to the practice fields for extra work on fielding punts. He has stood by as a back and results pains to keep a log of all of the fishing they do. They include things such as lake name, tackle, wind and sun conditions, air and water temperatures and so forth.

I am compiling a list of all of the tackle and gear that I own, by category. I'll be able to pack for trips more efficiently with a written list in front of me. It always will keep me from doing things like forgetting to pack a net, like I just did, too. Lastly, it's a toss-up between the U.P. and Door County for having the best weather in the Midwest: 75-de-grees with light winds during the days, dropping to a perfect sleeping 55-degrees at night.

That's heaven on Earth to me! Northwest Herald outdoors columnist Ste ve Sarley's radio show, "The Outdoors Experience, "airs live at 5 a.m. Sundays on AM-560. Sarley also runs a website for outdoors enthusiasts, OExperience.com. He can be reached by e-mail at sarfish-ingyahoo. com.

are most of all time. As a punt returner, Hester is four touchdowns shy of breaking Eric Metcalf's all-time record of 10. During training camp at and thicknesses of line is the back-to-back uniknot. It is easy to find diagrams on Google. It is not as easy to tie the know itself.

It takes practice. Fishing with plastic frogs over slop or matted weeds is still one of my favorite ways to fish. I don't believe that one brand of frog is better than any other. Just make sure you use a frog that is natural in color. Speaking of color, I am now more inclined to look at color in two categories and "dark," more so than anything more definite.

I found no difference in the catch rate when using dark brown, dark green or purple. My catch rate definitely dropped or disappeared when using white, tan or light green colored plastics. Please note that I am talking generalities and things change from lake to lake. I'm not saying that white doesn't work at all. I am just citing the difference between light and dark colors.

Many fishermen take up well to plenty of hits. I sincerely believe that red hooks will outperform hooks of other colors. I don't know why; I have just developed confidence in them. Daiiichi is my brand of choice. They are exceptionally sharp.

I really like using Standout brand hooks for dropshot-ting. These are substantially easier to tie on correctly than standard hooks. The Standout hooks mount on your line twice and hold the hook and bait out perfectly horizontal every time, the way that it is supposed to be presented. When using plastics for dropshotting or wacky rigging, I will guarantee you will catch more fish if you tie a 5-foot leader of fluorocarbon line on the superline that your reel is spooled with. The only knot that works to connect these two types.