It's time to retire Da Coach's number

After watching "Monday Night Countdown" on ESPN and seeing Mike Ditka wearing a No. 89 Bears "throwback" jersey (given to him by the Bears), I hope it's now time for the Bears to correct a wrong, bury the hatchet and retire No. 89 for Da Coach.

Ditka is a true Chicago sports icon, legendary Bears player and coach. I find it hard to understand why No. 89 hasn't been retired, and the only reason I can think of is petty arguments with the McCaskey family, most notably Michael, which should have been laid to rest years ago. And, the excuse of running out of numbers in the 80s for receivers is moot because receivers are now allowed to wear numbers in the teens.

And, it must be a real slap in the face for Da Coach to watch players with minimal talent (Terry Stoepel, Bob Wallace, Mel Tom, James Scott, Mitch Krenk, Keith Ortego, Will Johnson, James Coley, Ryan Wetnight, Kelly Blackwell, Dustin Lyman, Fontel Mines and Richard Angulo) wear his numbers as it was for Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Pierre Pilote, Fergie Jenkins, Greg Maddux and Dick Butkus before their numbers were finally retired and taken out of circulation by other Chicago teams.

C'mon, Bears, retire No. 89 for Ditka and bring him back to the team where he belongs.

Walter Brzeski

Chicago