06 Jun
published in category: Huddle Up with Gus on Thursday, June 6th, 2019 – 5:00 am
What is Mike Ditka’s favorite thing to do when he returns to the Pittsburgh area? What is his favorite type of cigar?
Gus Frerotte and Dave Hager go one-on-one with the former Pitt All-American and Pro Football Hall of Famer in the final segment of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast.
06 Jun
published in category: Sports Talk Radio on Thursday, June 6th, 2019 – 12:28 am
I am joined by Pirates 7th round draft choice Blake Sabol. He’s a USC catcher turned outfielder. Sabol is also Troy Polamalu’s cousin and JuJu Smith-Schuster’s pal from Southern Cal. A lifelong Steelers fan, you may guess he’s pumped up to have been been drafted by the local baseball club in Pittsburgh.
05 Jun
published in category: Sports Talk Radio on Wednesday, June 5th, 2019 – 4:59 pm
Penn State product Michael Robinson just made the most insane NFL prediction of 2019.
05 Jun
published in category: Huddle Up with Gus on Wednesday, June 5th, 2019 – 5:00 am
The 1985 Chicago Bears offense couldn’t help but be good, having practiced daily against one of the NFL’s all-time great defenses, Mike Ditka said.
“If we didn’t defense ourselves, we were going to get killed,” Ditka told Gus Frerotte in the third part of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast. “It made us better. It made our offense better.
“Don’t forget, we had the great Walter Payton, we had, (Jim) McMahon. For as nutty as he was, I would rather have nobody as my quarterback than him.”
Ditka said the the missing element to the Bears winning the Super Bowl — which they did during the ‘85 season — was developing the offense.
“The main thing we needed to figure out was, we had to put an offense together,” Ditka said. “Buddy Ryan ran the defense, and we had a helluva defense. We had some of the greatest players. We had (Dan) Hampton and (Steve) McMichael, (Richard) Dent, (Mike) Singletary and (Gary) Fencik.”
•••
Coming Thursday: Part 4 with Mike Ditka
04 Jun
published in category: Sports Talk Radio on Tuesday, June 4th, 2019 – 11:30 pm
The Pirates selected Quinn Priester with their first round draft choice this week. His coach at Cary-Grove (Il) High School, Ryan Passaglia, joins me to talk about the right hander’s career arc, his arsenal, his two-sport status, and those concerns about a football related arm injury.
04 Jun
published in category: Sports Talk Radio on Tuesday, June 4th, 2019 – 3:33 pm
Wanna eliminate the debate about the NFL’s “optional” organized team activities? Take closer a look at the calendar.
04 Jun
published in category: Huddle Up with Gus on Tuesday, June 4th, 2019 – 5:00 am
Former Pitt tight end Mike Ditka speeks to the media after talking to the Panther football team of the South Side Oct. 22, 2008.
Future Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka’s first professional football contract was for … $12,000.
“I was the (fifth) player picked in the draft — $12,000 with a $6,000 signing bonus,” Ditka told Gus Frerotte during the second part of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast.
Ditka recalls playing at Pitt, where he was named an All-American in 1960 before being drafted by the Chicago Bears.
“I figured I’d play linebacker when I got to the pros,” Ditka said. “They drafted me, and I went and met (team owner George) Halas, and he said, ‘You’re going to play tight end.’ I said, ‘What the hell is a tight end?’”
Ditka caught 56 passes for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns — the yards and TDs ended up being career highs.
“I made All-Pro, and the next year (Halas) wanted to pay me $14,000. I said, Coach, that’s taking a cut. I said I wouldn’t sign for a penny less than $18,000. As I soon as I said it, he opened the drawer and had a contract for $18,000.”
•••
Coming Wednesday: Part 3 with Mike Ditka
03 Jun
published in category: Sports Talk Radio on Monday, June 3rd, 2019 – 11:02 pm
Another late post for “Madden Monday.” But when Greta Van Fleet and the “Deadwood” movie are involved, can you blame us? We get to these pressing topics, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s prom activities, the latest on the Phil Kessel trade front, and some Pirates pros and cons.