NFL ASSORTED

It is now clear, is it not, that the NFL is a mere training ground for SEC coaches.

You may be surprised, devoted Bear fan that The Basin is, that your bloghost is no big fan of Mike Ditka. As player and coach, I never thought he fully appreciated or utilized his gifts and believed he lacked self-control in several respects.

Still, what happened with his "Old Player" support fund and the nasty publicity he got was completely undeserved. Here was a guy trying to help. So the start-up overhead was high and he probably hired the wrong administrative firm. Where others were sitting on their hands, Ditka jumped up and did something. Should he have taken some tips from, say, Joe Garagiola or John Havlicek? Sure. Could he have had better bean-counters? Sure. But he damn sure didn't deserve to get roasted. This is a perfect case of muck-raking emphasizing the "perfect being the enemy of the good.." Coach, you're still not my favorite guy, but you got hosed on this one. God Bless you for trying.