Jim O'Donnell: If only the trade of Fields would mean enormous futuristic changes at Hollow Hall

IMAGINE THAT SUDDENLY HOVERING over Halas Hall was a merciful associate pro football god.

Kind of like a bigger Babbitt than Roger Goodell, only with civic empathy and even more supernatural authority.

A deity specifically assigned to straighten out the NFL muck in Chicago.

One that hopefully would have a sweeping announcement before today's kickoff vs. the visiting Las Vegas Raiders (Fox, noon).

The divine being would tell all that Justin Fields has been traded. Even if the return is only a fourth-round draft pick, that shared nightmare between zagging young QB, meandering organization and perpetually frustrated fan base would be over.

The footnoted departures of president Kevin Warren, general manager Ryan Poles, head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive poseur Luke Getsy would also be on the list.

With a completely insincere, "Thanks for the memories."

BUT TOPPING IT ALL would be a supreme decree for the rages:

The NFL franchise assigned to the McCaskey family is being relocated to (pick one): San Antonio, Toronto, Orlando or even the new Elon Musk-Jetsons-Amazon high-concept urban-a-rama of Xopolis.

To replace it in Chicago will be a new NFL showbiz concern. One completely cleansed of burdensome past myths and legacies, habitual operational stumbles and the charismatic wit of George McCaskey.

The team name, colors, record books and fight song stay.

All else goes - including the pathetic, dead-on-arrival radio deal with audio boneyard ESPN-AM (1000).

UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S JUST another flashing vision of bliss - with the exception of the possible trade of Fields.

His stock may never be this high again and it's not all that high right now. His last two complete games - against Denver and Washington - were the longest sustained forward progress of his pro career. The NFL trade deadline is two games away, on Oct. 31.

The unproven Poles showed no hesitation in blowing up a promising rebuild last fall with the deadline dashing of Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn.

With Smith and Quinn, the Bears were 3-4 and coming off a Halloween-bulb 33-14 win at New England.

After the two were dealt, the result was an 0-10 free fall that carried into this season.

THE BEARS ARE 2½-POINT UNDERDOGS against the Raiders. According to updated weekly odds, they may actually be favored in three of their remaining 10 games after this afternoon - vs. the Panthers, the Cardinals and the Falcons.

Those projections suggest a 4-13 finish. That'd be an uptick of one victory over last season's 3-14. At that rate the Munchkins will be a 9-8 juggernaut in 2028, when Tyson Bagent and family could be a weekly suite item with one of Miley Cyrus' country kinfolk.

Bagent may prove to be the new main riddler at QB beginning with Las Vegas. All he has to overcome is Maxx Crosby, a Bears offensive line more confusing than the selection process for a new Speaker of the U.S. House and Getsy's balky Speak & Spell offense.

IT'D BE SO MUCH MORE ENCOURAGING for Bears fans if only an act of a merciful associate god would turn the team's Hollow Hall into a more productive field of barley.

Maybe some day, new ownership could even build a fresh, alluring suburban football palace there in well-organized, mature manner.

Then burnt-orange believers would finally have the long-dormant pleasure of looking forward to steady Sundays cheering on a McCaskey-free field of gold.

ONE WEEK AGO - on an NFL Sunday - a world-record 55,646 fans gave women's basketball an unprecedented Mars landing by turning out to watch Caitlin Clark, coach Lisa Bluder and Iowa top Doug Bruno, Maeve McErlane and DePaul in a landmark event titled "The Crossover at Kinnick."

Wednesday night, some petulant members of the New York Liberty declined to come out for media interviews after losing the deciding game of the WNBA Finals to the Las Vegas Aces.

The Pro Basketball Writers Association, quite rightfully, filed a protest. That's a healthy tangent of any diversity, equity and inclusion. All growth-deflating snits are to be treated equally.

The league fined the Liberty $25,000. Players Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Laney were tagged with $2,000 sanctions.

THE NY THREESOME HAD a showcase moment to effect a most challenging balancing act - graciousness in defeat and public reaction, however disappointed, for the greater good.

As Bruno told The Daily Herald Saturday after the noble trek of his Blue Demons to Iowa City: "The question predates Title IX. Which comes first - exposure, coverage or attendance? How do you get exposure if you're not covered, and with the diminished media resources of today, how do news organizations justify coverage without people watching and caring about women's basketball and the people who play it?"

Clark, Bluder, Bruno, McErlane and all at Kinnick pushed their game 55,646 steps forward.

The media myopia of Ionescu, Jones and Laney pulled it six tread marks back.

Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Thursday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.