I heard the same thing on the Channel 7 news at 10:00. The Rush have
scheduled a press conference on Thursday to announce this officially.
Now we'll have to say...Da Rush...



--- In chicago_rush@yahoogroups.com, "Deb" <Jovigal@c...> wrote:
>
> (12-15) 16:52 PST (AP) --
>
> Mike Ditka is getting back into football as an owner.
>
> Ditka will become a minority owner of the Chicago Rush of the
Arena Football
> League, a league source told The Associated Press on Wednesday on
condition
> of not being identified. The Hall of Fame tight end and Chicago
icon has no
> plans of returning to coaching, however.
>
> A news conference will be held at Ditka's Chicago restaurant on
Thursday.
>
> Since being fired as coach of the New Orleans Saints in 1999,
Ditka has had
> little direct involvement with football. He has done some
commentary -- he
> appears on the Chicago CBS affiliate Friday nights to preview
Bears games,
> and also on a Chicago sports talk show station -- and is the
spokesman for
> an NFL-sponsored program, Levitra's Tackling Men's Health.
>
> In July, Ditka, a Republican, decided not to run for the Senate.
>
> "There was a moment when I said, `God, I'd like to take this and
run with
> it,' and then I said, `You know, put your head on straight and
think about
> what you're getting into,' " Ditka said of becoming a politician.
>
> The 65-year-old Ditka will bring a well-known face to the indoor
league,
> which also has such high-profile owners as John Elway in Denver
and Jon Bon
> Jovi in Philadelphia.
>
> The Rush are owned by Alan Levin and Arthur Price, who originally
had Walter
> Payton as part of the ownership group. The team joined the AFL in
1999 and
> began play in 2001.
>
> The 2005 season opens on the weekend of Jan. 28-30, with the Rush
playing at
> Dallas.
>
> One of the greatest players in Bears history, Ditka entered the
Pro Football
> Hall of Fame in 1988. He also coached the franchise to its only
Super Bowl
> championship after the 1985 season. He was 112-68 as Bears coach,
but was
> fired after the 1992 season.
>
> In New Orleans, he was 15-33.