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Garza happy to be heading home

Bears center Roberto Garza will never forget the first time he met a professional athlete.

Garza had just graduated from Rio Hondo High School in southern Texas when he got a chance to chat with Cowboys star Tony Casillas. The two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle had won two Super Bowl rings with Dallas, and at the time was one of the few Hispanic players in the NFL.

“I was a huge Cowboys fan,” said Garza, whose parents had emigrated to Rio Hondo from Mexico shortly before he was born. “Knowing who he was and with a [Hispanic] last name like Casillas, he was someone I looked up to, and getting a chance to meet him was awesome.

“I remember telling him I was going to [the University of Texas A&M at] Kingsville and my dream was to someday play in the NFL. He said, ‘Work hard and give everything you’ve got.’”

Now a 12-year NFL veteran, Garza is excited about returning home to face the Cowboys Monday night in Dallas.

“It’s great,” Garza said. “I have 75 people coming to the game. It’s always fun to play in your home state against a team you grew up rooting for.”

Players pleased officials will return

Like the rest of the football world, Bears players are happy that the NFL’s regular officials will be back on the field this weekend after agreeing to a new labor deal with the league late Wednesday.

“Getting those guys back, I think it’s just going to clean up the game,” said quarterback Jay Cutler. “Games are going to move along. The indecision is going to go away, which I think is the biggest thing you’ve seen across the league is just the indecisiveness.”

“It’s good to have those guys out there,” added center Roberto Garza. “They know what’s going on. They are up to speed with the game and the way things are called and as quick as everything happens now. So they will have that taken care of.”

While receiver Brandon Marshall is pleased that the regular officials are returning, he sympathizes with the replacements and the slew of criticism they’ve taken.

“I’m just happy it’s over,” Marshall said. “We get some of those guys back that we’re familiar with and hopefully the game is a little cleaner.

“But when I look at it I have a lot of compassion for those [replacement] refs. When you take those guys and throw them in the fire so quickly, everyone’s dogging them and that’s tough, man. So I’m glad that it’s over, but at the same time those guys did the best that they can do and I appreciate that.”

Bears games to be broadcast in Spanish

The Bears and WLEY-FM “La Ley” on Tuesday announced a new radio partnership that will bring Bears football games to Chicago’s Hispanic radio listeners.

Beginning this season, WLEY-FM “La Ley” will broadcast all Bears games on 107.9 FM in Spanish with the on-air team of Jose Luis Marquez “El Pitufo” and Liz Liz “La Dama del Deporte.”

“We’re really excited about the opportunity to bring the Bears closer to the Hispanic fans that we have,” said team president and CEO Ted Phillips.

“We know there are a lot of Hispanic fans. To us, this is the first step in what we hope will be a longer and deeper relationship so that we can get involved more in the Hispanic communities and provide more touch points for our fans so they can get closer to the team and the station.”

The Bears are the 14th NFL team to offer broadcasts of their games in Spanish, joining the Cardinals, Panthers, Cowboys, Broncos, Texans, Jaguars, Chiefs, Dolphins, Vikings, Raiders, Eagles, Chargers and 49ers.

“It’s a great opportunity for the Chicago Bears and ‘La Ley’ to reach out to the community and our great fan base that loves the Chicago Bears,” said center Roberto Garza, whose family emigrated from Mexico to Rio Hondo, Texas, about a year before he was born.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to be able to reach out into that community and expand on what they know about football and expand on their passion and loyalty to the Chicago Bears.”