advertisement

North: Bears should raise prices when team worth watching

By Mike North

The Rebel Inside

The Bears are raising ticket prices for 2017!

Yes, that's the most logical move after giving the fans such a stellar season.

Oh wait … that was the New England Patriots who had a stellar season. No, the Bears went 3-13, so they decided let's raise prices.

I would like to have heard that discussion. Was there at least one sane voice in the group who suggested that maybe it's not the right time for an increase?

Ted Phillips seems to have more leeway as president of the organization than Michael McCaskey ever had.

Phillips has been president and CEO since 1999 and has been with the team since 1983. McCaskey was president from 1983-1999 when his mother, Virginia McCaskey, removed him of those duties and allowed him to serve as chairman until 2011.

Phillips, the only president of the Bears not connected to a Halas by birth or marriage, mailed letters to season ticket holders this week spouting some nonsense that increased prices will help with the salary cap.

"We are positioned for an exciting offseason with the third overall pick in the draft and one of the best salary cap situations in the NFL heading into free agency," Phillips wrote. "We will take advantage of these assets to bring in more talent to strengthen the foundation we have in place."

Sorry, I'm not buying that and I hope you aren't either.

It's actually embarrassing and yet we still haven't heard anything about Jay Cutler's future with this team.

But the franchise's leverage is so high and demand is still there for tickets, so fans will just have to eat what is dished out.

Phil Jackson a disaster:

The New York Knicks make the Bulls look like the San Antonio Spurs when it comes to organizational skills.

I recently heard ESPN host Mike Greenberg confess he had been fighting the Phil Jackson critics throughout his career.

One of those critics has been me, because I have always called Jackson the doorman at the Four Seasons Hotel.

The guy has had the best of everything, from good organizations to the best players as he waltzed into ideal coaching jobs, and won championships.

My point has been he wasn't capable of building a team from scratch and make it work like "Red" Auerbach or Pat Riley have done.

That doesn't mean Jackson wasn't a great coach. He was the right guy at the right time in several situations and managed to win 11 championships as head coach with the Bulls and the Lakers.

But between Charles Oakley being kicked out of a game Wednesday night and the Carmelo Anthony ongoing trade drama, Jackson is making people forget he won all those titles.

When Jackson, as president of the Knicks, brought in Derek Fisher to coach and gave Anthony a five-year $124 million contract with a no-trade clause, I thought he didn't know what he was doing.

I still can't figure out why Jackson even wanted the job, but the Knicks really need someone else to run the show because Jackson is exactly what I thought he would be: a train wreck!

• Follow Mike on Twitter @north2north. Check out his podcast Monday-Friday at podcastarena.com, iTunes or audioboom. His column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald. For more, visit northtonorth.com.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.