LAKE FOREST http://www.thebearslockerroom.com/authentic-aaron-lynch-jersey , Ill. (AP) — General manager Ryan Pace understands the idea that the Chicago Bears need to draft a running back.He’s just not necessarily buying it.Pace doesn’t see too many big holes on the roster with the draft starting Thursday after Chicago made a worst-to-first jump last season. The Bears don’t pick until the third round — at No. 87 — so it could be quiet for them in the early going.“I kind of know what the narrative is out there, but we feel fortunate with our roster right now,” Pace said Tuesday.“This press conference feels a little different in that there’s no pressing, huge needs. We can honestly select the best players. That’s a great spot to be in.”The Bears traded their first-round selection to Oakland in the blockbuster deal for Khalil Mack just before the start of last season. And they sent their second-rounder to New England when they traded up in last year’s draft to get receiver Anthony Miller.Pace has no regrets about those deals, particularly the trade for Mack. And when Oakland picks in Chicago’s place at No. 24?“When our pick comes up, Khalil Mack highlights will come on instantly (in the draft room), so that’s the first thing that will happen,” Pace said in jest.“But it’s still going to be a professional draft room. It’s fascinating to watch it unfold. There’ll be a lot of friends around the league. We’ll see how it all goes down.”The Bears are in a far better position than they were a year ago, after winning the NFC North at 12-4 in coach Matt Nagy’s first season. Chicago ended a run of four straight last-place finishes and made the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season.The Bears are loaded with a defense that ranked among the NFL’s best last season and are counting on an offense led by quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to make a jump in its second season in Nagy’s system. But they’re also short on trade assets, with just five picks in this year’s draft and no obvious candidates to be dealt on the roster.The Bears already traded one when they sent Jordan Howard to Philadelphia last month, opening up a spot at running back.“I think there’s probably always a story line with every draft,” Pace said. “I understand why it’s that way, but I don’t feel like we go into this draft saying, ‘Man Kevin White Jersey , we have to take this position or we’re in trouble.’ We’re in good shape.”Howard struggled to fit in a system that favors pass-catching running backs and wound up with career lows in yards rushing (935) and attempts (250) in his third season.Even so, he had more combined carries than Tarik Cohen, Mike Davis, Taquan Mizzell Sr. and Ryan Nall — the running backs currently on Chicago’s roster.But Pace insisted the Bears “feel good” about who they have.He can envision Davis playing a bigger role after carrying 112 times for 514 yards with Seattle last season. He sees two-time Pro Bowl kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson chipping in as a receiver and ball carrier after signing a two-year deal. And he dismisses the idea that the Bears could have gotten more for Howard than a conditional sixth-round pick next year.“I think there’s always a narrative out there, ‘Oh, you could get this,'” Pace said. “This is the reality. You know what I mean? We work those channels all the time. We’re doing them right now. That’s the reality of what it is. We feel good about it. We feel good moving forward. Again, we feel really good about that room and we wish Jordan the best.”The other big issue for the Bears is at kicker.Chicago released Cody Parkey in the wake of a double-doink miss off the upright and crossbar in the closing seconds of the wild-card loss to Philadelphia at Soldier Field and a “Today” show appearance a few days later that did not sit well with the team’s hierarchy.The three kickers on the roster — Redford Jones, Chris Blewitt and Elliott Fry — don’t have NFL experience. But Pace is certainly open to the idea of drafting another one.“It just depends on where you have the kicker graded,” he said. “If he’s graded at that value and we get to that place in the draft and that (name) is sticking up there that high, I think you have to explore it.” MINNEAPOLIS (AP)Picture this: Prince taking the stage at U.S. Bank Stadium in his hometown of Minneapolis for the 2018 Super Bowl to a dazzling display of purple lights, wowing the crowd at halftime with his frenzied guitar work, soulful singing and slick dance moves. Perfect marketing, a die-hard fan’s dream. But it won’t happen. Prince’s death from an accidental painkiller overdose in 2016 leaves fans to only imagine how the megastar might have topped his electrifying performance in pouring rain at the Super Bowl 11 years ago in Miami. ”People joke Gale Sayers Jersey , `Can we just have a Prince hologram?”’ said Mike Howard, spokesman for the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee. Justin Timberlake is the halftime performer for Sunday’s game. At a press conference Thursday, Timberlake said Prince was a big influence. ”In my opinion, the greatest all-around musician in popular culture,” Timberlake said. ”The time I got to spend around him, with him, talking about music . those are memories that I’ll take with me forever.” But the sights and sounds of Prince still surround the big game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. There’s the mural of Prince with a white dove in the Uptown neighborhood, his gold star outside Minneapolis’ First Avenue nightclub, or Paisley Park, his recording complex-turned-museum in Chanhassen, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Minneapolis. ”Prince is not here in being, but he’s here in spirit,” said music producer Jimmy Jam, who along with his producing partner Terry Lewis went heavy on Minnesota musical acts for Super Bowl Live http://www.thebearslockerroom.com/authentic-mike-singletary-jersey , a free, 10-day fan festival on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. Jam said he hears Prince music ”on every NFL telecast and highlight on all the networks.” Jam said Prince ”is so associated with this state and with this city that his presence is definitely felt.” Thousands packed downtown for Monday’s ”Prince Night” concert, featuring Sheila E., Morris Day and The Time, and Prince’s 1980s band The Revolution. Fans also are getting a firsthand look at Prince’s guitars, costumes, hats and shoes on loan from Paisley Park at an exhibit as part of Super Bowl Live. ”He was magic. I think that people in Minnesota didn’t realize exactly how big he was probably until after his death, because he was our hometown guy,” Jeanette Blasewitz, 66, of Eden Prairie said while checking out the displays. Sunday’s game marks the anniversary of Prince’s appearance at the 2007 Super Bowl that saw the Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears. Many called the show the best Super Bowl halftime ever. Dressed in turquoise jacket and pants with an orange shirt, Prince gave a blistering rendition of his own hits, such as ”Let’s Go Crazy,” followed by covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ”Proud Mary Womens Dick Butkus Jersey ,” Bob Dylan’s ”All Along the Watchtower” and the Foo Fighters’ ”Best of You” before finishing with ”Purple Rain” in a driving rainstorm. Morris Hayes, 55, was a keyboardist for Prince’s former band New Power Generation and was on stage that night. He remembers organizers approaching Prince before the Super Bowl with the forecast of rain and offering to pre-record his performance. Hayes said that prompted Prince’s famous response: Can you make it rain harder? ”The fact that it did rain when it did and how (Prince) did `Purple Rain’ in the rain, you can’t beat that. … It was magical, you know,” Hayes recalled. Fan Melisa Rokala, 46, of Cokato explains Prince’s appeal to Minnesota residents. ”As a Minnesotan, we love our own. And we love it when our own people love us here,” Rokala said. ”He loved Minnesota. It was always his home. And his music was groundbreaking.” She believes Prince – who once wrote a song for the Minnesota Vikings – would have been involved in a Minneapolis Super Bowl, perhaps again as the halftime performer, if he was still alive. —