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Mike Ditka comes from a Ukrainian family and grew up amongst people of various Slavic extraction in western Pennsylvania. He inevitably had friends who were Slovakian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Slovenian, or Czech. He also probably knew some Polish people, whom he and everyone else he grew up around called "Polacks." I know this because my father grew up near Cleveland, the son of a Macedonian, with friends whose parents came to the area from across Eastern Europe—many of whom attended Sunday Mass at the "Polack Church." More »
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Your morning roundup for Oct. 22, the day we realized Jack Daniel's prices are probably going to rise. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors. More »
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The '85 Chicago Bears are one of the most iconic championship teams in NFL history. Payton. The Fridge. Ditka. McMahon. Buddy Ryan and his 46 defense. That rap song. A 15-1 record in a season that ended with playoff shutouts of the Giants and Rams followed by a 46-10 drubbing of the Patriots in Super Bowl XX. More »
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Don't worry, Mark, daddy's too worried about spitting on Pearlman, or reading a book he commented on probably without reading, to pay much attention to this little legal entanglement. More »
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I'd bet all the money in my pockets against all the money in yours that Mike Ditka hasn't read Jeff Pearlman's revelatory biography of Walter Payton, which was excerpted in this week's Sports Illustrated and which has the Chicago media scurrying to find any old Bear willing to glower at a book he hasn't read either. (Quick! Someone get Maury Buford on the horn!) More »
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Your morning roundup for April 28, the day we learn that God's advice for ending a 46-day beer-only fast is with a bacon smoothie, forever and ever, Amen. More »
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Story summary: Flight from Pittsburgh takes off, has mechanical trouble, goes back to runway. Passengers told to wait in seats, but some try to de-plane anyway. Da Coach gets frustrated by their inability to listen to instructions. (H/T: Mike.) More »
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Behind the scenes post-game video, circa 1988, shows a young, spry Coach Ditka bickering with the host and generally being, well....Mike Ditka. Fascinating artifact. (Bad language, but thankfully no Mini Ditka revealed.) [Kap's Korner, via] More »
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I'd like to think that the current Mike Ditka for Governor of Illinois movement isn't just a scheme to sell T-shirts and coffee mugs, but I'm not so sure. Just look at their site. More »
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I've never been to a celebrity roast for anyone but I like to think this happens every time. Paul Hornung takes the stage and welcomes the roastee to the rostrum, roastee is wasted, knocks over his own table when standing, and then crumbles to the ground when shoved by Hornung. See Mr. Bear's finest moment after the jump. More »
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Yesterday, a group of retired athletes, along with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA wingnut Gene Upshaw, testified before Congress about the lack of sufficient benefits for former NFL players. This is a noble cause — a lot of these guys can barely walk — but one that we suspect is not helped by having Mike Ditka as its main spokesperson. More »
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Strawberries, cherries and and angel's kiss in spring ... this Ditka wine is really made from all these things ... More »
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It's time once again to ask the musical question: "Is that an extra large steel rescue pulley in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?" According to the Chicago Tribune, altitude sickness can be avoided by taking a large dose of sildenafil (better know as Viagra) with you on those strenuous mountain climbing expeditions. The drug prevents edema, say researchers, and also increases the ability to exercise at high altitudes. More »
]]> http://deadspin.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=212145&view=rss&microfeed=true Just to get you adequately prepared for a season of the NFL being back on NBC (and all that comes with it, up to and including Bob Costas), here's an old clip from Super Bowl XXVII in which Costas introduces a "Computer Bowl" matchup between analyst Mike Ditka and non other than O.J. Simpson. This was January 1993, so O.J. actually had another year of cheesy television appearances left before, well, you know, before. More »
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Somewhere deep down, Mike Ditka has to be wondering about the irony of it all. In 20 short years he's gone from Baddest Coach on the Planet to someone who actually cares about the outcome of the Arena Bowl. Sad, really. It was in 1986, of course, when Ditka led the Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX, chewing furiously on the same piece of gum for almost the entire season and swatting away any punks who tried to cross him. In 2006 he completed the circle as dottering part-owner of the Chicago Rush, which beat the Orlando Predators 69-61 in Arena Bowl XX. Said Ditka: More »
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Remember that old urban legend about there being more cases of domestic violence during the Super Bowl than any other day out of the year? (It's completely not true, by the way.) It's usually mentioned along with that other legend, also not true, that the flushing of all the toilets at halftime causes sewage systems to break down. More »
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