this is not about the retired players things at all. it's about the fact that the bears that struck in '87 hate ditka because he refused to side with the union and employed scabs, telling the players that "these guy [the non-union players] are my guys, the real bears. don't touch them." duerson did have his facts together, but this is a personal issue with him, plus, he went on a extended rant, about 3-4 minutes, during which ditka remained respectfully silent and gave him his chance. when the host, dan macneil, gave ditka his chance, duerson interrupted him several times, questioned ditka's motives, and scoffed at his claims, saying that dika was "going to embarass himself in front of congress." methinks he (and upshaw) doth protest too much. these guys don't want prying eyes geting into these union accounts. at any rae, ditka warned macniel that he had to catch a plane and if duerson interrupted him again, he was going to hang up, whereupon duerson interrupted him and ditka then hung up. macneil even admitted afterwards that he should have muted duerson and managed it better. ditka is inarticulate and bumbling, but duerson was totally unprofessional, and, apart from alitany of numbers didn't add anything to the union's case. jurko (john jurkovich), himself a former player had the best info. apparently, he played with this demarco character in jacksonville and he thinks the guy is faking all this stuff, as he's had money problems his whole career. on top of that, he's got a $90,000 dollar annuity he could collect on, but he won't because then his ex-wife could get some of it. so the plot thickens. ditka could stand to brush up on his facts and pick a bterr poster child, but the union seems to be running scared from this congressional hearing, which doesn't pass the smell test.

Great info PM. Duerson did seem like a dick, but you've got to prepare for stuff like that. It is one giant mess though.

yeah, i think ditka is probably a poor choice of a spokesperson, but he's the only voice these guys have. i think a lot of MSM-types are misrepresenting him, as well; he's not saying the players have to contribute more, he's saying someone has to contribute more, be it the league, via a special "retired players weekend," where 1 dollar per ticket sold goes to the retired players, or the owners, where they set up some sort of team-based annuity for former players, or the players themselves, by raising their contributions, which are already pretty significant. i think the owners ansd the league need to be held responsible, but they've taken a divide and conquer approach it seems--pit the ex-players against the union and let them discredit each other. ditka's just trying to get these guys out there and get something done for them, but you're right about him being ready. he should have been ready with some solid numbers and he'd should have expected duerson to get personal, given their past.

Duerson used numbers and fiduciary responsibility as crutches and/or excuses. Ditka stuck to the point that these guys are not getting the proper care.

Ditka said it best when he said they will get the help from somewhere--it doesn't mater if it's the league or not.

"All I'm saying is I'm trying to help these guys, trying to get them some money. Does it come from the players association? Does it come from the owners? I don't know. If it doesn't come, don't worry, fellas, it's no skin off your [nose]. ... You can tell these corporations we try to get it from, 'These guys are portraying a hoax on you. These guys really aren't injured.' "