Mike Ditka Suffers Minor Stroke, But No Word on Whether Polish Sausage Involved (Video)

by NESN Staff on Sat, Nov 17, 2012 at 10:01AM

Bears. Bears. Bears.

Sausage. Sausage. Sausage.

We can joke about these things, you see, because the stroke that befell former Bears coach Mike Ditka is reportedly minor and will not keep the indomitable Hall of Famer on the sidelines for long.

Ditka had a minor stroke Friday and will not appear on this weekend’s edition of Sunday NFL Countdown on ESPN, the network reported Friday.

Ditka “wanted everyone to know he’s OK,” according to ESPN’s Seth Markman via The Associated Press.

Ditka said he was playing cards at a country club when he noticed his hands “weren’t working quite right,” and he then had trouble speaking. Ditka’s other health scare was back in 1988, when he had a heart attack while coaching the Bears. He is now 73.

While Ditka is reportedly in fine health now and likely to recover from the minor stroke and get back to work, the situation did bring up memories of Ditka’s place in Bears humor lore. Ditka was feted in Saturday Night Live‘s “Super Fans” skit, where diehard Chicago sports fans wear Ditka moustaches and drink to all things concerning “Da Bears” and “Da Bulls” — while battling off some heart attacks thanks to the amount of Polish sausage they consume at their downtown Chicago eatery. (See some of the classic moments in the video below.)

Ditka appears to be in considerably better health than his super fans, and the NFL world wishes him a speedy recovery.

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Thumbnail via Facebook/Inspirational Book Club

Photo of the Day

Mike D’Antoni is just going to put his feet up and coach the Lakers.

Photo via Twitter/@LakersWired

Quote of the Day

“This kind of thing is what gets talked about all the time around this team. Former Marlins come back and they warn us. It gets talked about during the stretch, in the clubhouse, after games, on the road. Again, I do not like this at all.”
–Giancarlo Stanton, on the mess that is the Marlins