[bears9]

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Robbie Gould will be honored at the 20th Annual Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards Feb. 11 at the Hilton Chicago. The event is presented by Four Seasons Heating & Air Conditioning and benefits the March of Dimes.

Awards will be presented to top athletes from Chicago’s professional teams who have made considerable contributions on the field and in the community. In addition to the Bears kicker, Ted Lilly (Cubs), Jim Thome (White Sox), Joe Smith (Bulls) and Chad Barrett (Fire) also will be honored.

Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz will be on hand for a tribute to his late father, William W. Wirtz, and former Cubs all-star and 1987 National League MVP Andre Dawson will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.

In addition, the Farmer’s Insurance Inspirational Athlete award will be presented to Erika Jackson, a 17-year-old three-sport Special Olympics athlete with Down syndrome whose determination landed her a spot on Hinsdale South High School’s junior varsity swim team.

Gould will be honored after converting 31 of 36 field goal attempts (86.1 percent) in 2007. Having connected on 32 of 36 tries (88.9) in 2006, he is the first kicker in Bears history and just the ninth in NFL annals to make at least 30 field goals in back-to-back seasons.

With a career success rate of 84.8 percent, Gould is the most accurate field goal kicker in Bears history and the third most accurate among active NFL kickers with at least 50 attempts behind the Chargers’ Nate Kaeding (86.7) and the Bengals’ Shayne Graham (85.4).

Off the field in 2007, Gould supported Little City Foundation, greeted members of the military at the USO Center at O’Hare Airport, hosted a holiday shopping spree for children from Chicago Housing Authority developments and participated in the Bears’ school outreach program.

Gould to receive award at March of Dimes benefit - Chicago Bears