Bears trade Justin Fields to Steelers, clear way to take a QB such as Caleb Williams

CHICAGO >> The Chicago Bears traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night, a person informed of the deal told The Associated Press.

Chicago will receive a conditional 2025 pick, another person familiar with the details of the trade told the AP.

The move is a strong signal the Bears will draft a QB — perhaps USC’s Caleb Williams — with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the teams haven’t announced the trade. NFL Network first reported the deal.

Vermont continues its AEC mastery topping UMass Lowell to secure NCAA bid

BURLINGTON, Vt. >> Shamir Bogues scored 15 points and TJ Long scored 14 points and top-seeded Vermont beat No. 2 seed UMass Lowell 66-61 on Saturday to clinch its third straight America East title and secure a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Vermont (28-6) now has won six of the last eight AEC championships in the one-bid league. The Catamounts now have won nine consecutive AEC postseason tournament contests.

The day started with 15 No. 1 conference tournament seeds suffering defeats in their conference tourneys.

The Riverhawks (22-10) were searching for their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid in 11 seasons at the Division I level.

Aaron Deloney scored 12 points and Nick Fiorillo 11 for Vermont.

Cam Morris III scored 13 of his 17 points before intermission and grabbed 10 rebounds, Brayden O’Conner scored 14 and Ayinde Hikim 11 for the Riverhawks.

Shiffrin caps injury-marred ski season with record-extending 60th win in slalom

SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria >> For Mikaela Shiffrin, the award for the best slalom skier this season is different from the 15 crystal globes the American star won earlier in her career.

This one, for a change, doesn’t feel like the end of a season.

Shiffrin capped her campaign that was marred by a recent six-week injury layoff with her record-extending 60th win in slalom and 97th overall at the World Cup finals Saturday.

She had already locked up her record-equaling eighth slalom season title last week by winning her first race back since hurting her knee in a downhill crash Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy in January, but globes are only handed over after the last race.

Schauffele overcomes a 4-shot deficit to take the lead at The Players Championship

Xander Schauffele erased a four-shot deficit Saturday with another bogey-free round on a course where trouble is around every corner, capping off a 7-under 65 with a superb chip to save par and take a one-shot lead into the final round of The Players Championship.

U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, who had a four-shot lead at the start and stretched it to five with a birdie on the opening hole, did well to make sure the deficit wasn’t greater.

They were tied going to the island green on the par-3 17th. Clark hit it so clunky that his wedge shot came up some 15 yards short of land. But he hit the next one to 7 feet and escaped with bogey, and then saved par on the 18th for a 70.

Schauffele was at 17-under 199.