Mike Ditka from hospital after stroke, ‘I’m doing fine’
BY MITCH DUDEK Staff Reporter mdudek@suntimes.com November 16, 2012 8:28PM
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Updated: December 19, 2012 1:46PM
Former Bears coach Mike Ditka suffered a minor stroke Friday but Da Coach told the Sun-Times from his local hospital room: “I’m doing fine.”
Ditka, 73, was at Bob O’Link Golf Club in Highland Park when he began to feel woozy and had some difficulty speaking, said Ditka’s agent, Steven Mendell.
Contacted Friday evening at his hospital room, Ditka told Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander: “I’m OK. I’m at the hospital. I’ll probably be here overnight, but I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
“He sounded upbeat,” like his usual mile-a-minute self,” Telander said.
Though Ditka is on the mend, he will miss his weekend broadcasting duties at ESPN in Bristol, Conn., ESPN producer Seth Markman said in a tweet.
Ditka, 73, who has maintained relatively good health in recent years, suffered a minor heart attack as Bears coach in 1988, but he was back at work the next week.
