Results tagged “dacoach”

With the Bears' season over before it started, what better way to celebrate the end of the regular football season than remembering the good years (roughly 1985 to 1988) over a glass of vino?

Mike Ditka's red-faced this weekend, and not because of overindulging on his vanity wines. A report in yesterday's USA Today showed that a charity "Da Coach" founded three years ago to help retired Hall of Fame football players whose bodies are ravaged by the violent demands of the NFL has only doled out $57,000 in assistance. Federal and state tax records indicate that $715,000 of the $1.3 million raised by the Mike Ditka Hall of...

Chicagoist was left scratching our head when we heard the rumors than an extension to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's deal was in the works. With two years remaining on his current deal and his team with the worst record in baseball, the rumors should have been that he was about to get canned. But for some reason, Sox general manager Kenny Williams decided he needed to lock Guillen up until 2012. Five more years...

Around the virtual Chicagoist "offices" we're known as "Grandpa" because we're one of the older members of the staff. We also have a penchant for telling "back in my day" stories, so sit back and strap in as we take the Chicagoist Wayback Machine on a trip to the spring of 1987. Back then, Harold Washington was re-elected as mayor and he had the votes in City Council to fully implement his agenda; Andre Dawson...

Chicagoist knows one shouldn't get Ditka angry. A former player, especially, should know better. But then, we know Dave Duerson isn't exactly one of the classiest guys. To be honest, we don't even know how he is one of six trustees overseeing retiree benefits as part of the NFLPA benefits committee. Duerson's role on the NFLPA retiree board currently pits him against Mike Ditka, who has been working lately to help disabled retirees to get...

When Ditka speaks, Chicago listens to what Da Coach has to say. Does the same go for the NFL Players Association?

We wonder whether Bill Swerski's head exploded trying to ponder the winner of this Sunday's NFC title game, pitting the Chicago Bears against the New Orleans Saints — both teams formerly coached by Da Coach Known as Ditka. Would the final be 642-637? Would it be 1-0? Or did Ditka bestow some special greatness on Da Bears, that will allow them to pound the Saints 710-3? In reality, most of the media seems to be...

Chicagoist knows where we'll be on Sunday — parked in front of our new 46" LCD TV that we bought in order to better watch our Bears. We have a feeling you'll also be similarly positioned on Sunday, too. That's because the Bears will host the Seattle Seahawks in their first playoff game, following a first-round bye. Seattle made it past the first round because of a botched field goal by the Dallas Cowboys last...

Though our Christmas holiday was lovely enough (thanks for asking), the death of James Brown cast a pall over its early morning hours. He was a conflicted man with his share of personal and legal troubles, but in a genre that too often fails to recognize those who paved the way, James Brown’s influence over hip-hop may still be underrated, despite all his renown. The AP story on Brown’s passing is poorly written and researched,...

Given his litany of DUI's and drunken television appearances with Johnny Morris during the "Super Bowl Shuffle" years, that answer would be "whaddaya got?" But if you're "Da Coach" as a marketing brand, you'd probably partner with a proven wine company. Say, Mendocino Wine Company, which lists Parducci, Zingaro, and Big Yellow Cabernet Sauvignon among their brands, to create Mike Ditka Wines. Then you'd drink a lot of your signature wine, pass out in the...

It takes a certain type of person to have the dedication to train and compete in a marathon. It never ceases to amaze Chicagoist how many people not only prepare themselves to compete but also come to entertain. During the 2006 running of the Chicago Marathon we saw many a familiar face. We saw Fred and Wilma Flintstone, a Knight (hard to discern if he was saying "Ni" as he ran past), crazy chicken head man, patriots, Thing 1 and Thing 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, superheroes, she-devils, several Elvi, and even Da Coach. Chicagoist has decided in a game featuring Ditka versus the Marathon, the winner would definitely be Ditka.

Chicagoist knows that, for a guy who hasn't done much for the City of Chicago in 20 years other than bestow us with yet another steakhouse, Ditka's sure a powerful guy. That's what happens when you win a Super Bowl trophy for the city. Especially, when you were previously known as a gritty, working class guy as a player for that same team back in the day. And have an outspoken, larger-than-life persona off the field.

Chicagoist’s love for the 1995 collegiate male bonding film Kicking and Screaming has been well documented in this space. In a time when indie films of people sitting around talking were being churned out as fast as Parker Posey could make them, K&S earned a special place in our hearts if only for the scene with the “Broken Glass” sign.

� The Chicago Roll, sure to be a new sushi trend, has all the ingredients of a chicago-style hotdog � Ikea is adding another Chicagoland store � Rock n' Roll McDonald's is closing � A rundown of Chicago's food websites � "Da Coach," Mike Ditka, may be running for senate � On how the El runs through Gotham in the new Spiderman movie � Debate over whether "Motel Row" should be destroyed � Dan McNeil...

Believe it or not, there are some folks out there that would like to see Mike Ditka elected as our next Illinois Senator. The Daily Southtown reports today that Tom Pence of Oswego, a Kendall County GOP committeeman, is leading an effort to get 10,000 signatures to put up Mike Ditka as the Republican State Party Chair, and now there's talk of him going for the Senate spot too.