WE LIKE MIKE

In our opinion, there are just two things Phoenix Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill must consider when he evaluates his team's coaching situation:

1. Mike Ditka is God.
2. And He is available--if not immediately, then eventually.
Joe Bugel is a nice guy. But you know what they say about nice guys. To paraphrase whoever said it first, nice guys tend to blame a lot of close losses on poor officiating and repeatedly finish 4-12.

We've had enough with the nice guys, Bill. Ditka--football coach, pork chop purveyor, tough guy, God--has grown beyond his job as coach of the Chicago Bears and is ready for a new challenge. Turning the woeful Cardinals into a winning team is just about the greatest challenge in pro football today. There is but one man for the job, and his name rhymes with, um . . . well . . . Ditka. It rhymes with Ditka. Rhyming is for pussies, anyway.

Following is a long list of incontrovertible reasons Mike Ditka should be made coach of the Cardinals. Following that is a simple method by which football fans and Ditka enthusiasts can let their voices be heard by team management. It's called the Pork Chop Poll, and you can read all about it at the bottom of the page.

First, though, you should study the following 60 reasons you should like Mike like we like Mike.

ùDitka's real family name is Dyzcko, which rhymes with disco.
ùDitka, an outspoken, right-wing Christian, would be a prime candidate for East Valley political posts.

ùDitka grew up in Pennsylvania--just like Frank Kush.
ùDitka will need a large restaurant-bar complex to own and operate. How does the name Mike Ditka's Mercado strike you?

ùWhen Ditka kills a couple of groundskeepers, turf problems at Sun Devil Stadium will end.

ùFinally, somebody to keep Barry Goldwater in line.
ùDitka will become "best buddies" with J.D. Hayworth, then punch him out.
ùDitka will give the million or so resettled Chicago-area residents something to talk about besides the Bears, Cubs, Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox.

ùDitka's dad worked in a steel mill--just like Frank Kush's dad.
ùDitka hates Philadelphia--and, hey, the Eagles are in our division!
ùDitka once owned a bowling alley.
ùCap'n Dave might come out of retirement to cover the team.

ùTeam merchandise sales--now the worst in the league--will be revived by a new line of stuff printed with "Da Cards" logo.

ùPhoenix is the perfect place for tough guys with bad attitudes to be reborn. See "Barkley, Charles."

ùEverybody who's sick of Charles Barkley could follow Ditka's everyday utterances in a new Arizona Republic sports-page feature, The Ditka Detail.

ùLike many local residents, Ditka is divorced.
ùDitka, of Ukrainian descent, is fond of offensive, self-deprecating ethnic nicknames, such as "Ukie--just like Frank "The Punishing Polack" Kush.

ùArizona Republic sports columnists will generically be referred to as "The Pus Heads."

ùDitka would have no problem with beating the shit out of any of Bill Bidwill's sons, or, for that matter, Bill Bidwill himself.

ùJohnny Johnson will play every snap and become a media darling, or else.
ùDitka would force J. Fife Symington III to grow eyebrows. Ditka also will use his welcoming press conference to counsel the governor to "knock it off with the babes, Fife."

ùDitka will go through pampered quarterbacks like Spinal Tap goes through drummers.

ùNoted football fan and jock-sniffer Ted Diethrich could provide free cardiac care for the coach.

ùSideline ball boys will get pink slips, because that's Larry Wilson's job now.
ùDitka once threw clipboards a lot--just like Frank Kush.
ùWhat's red and white and has a drawing of a bird on it? It's the Osborn School District's new student uniform.

ùR&G publisher Dan Quayle will have a golfing buddy--and intellectual mentor.
ùDitka would make ASU basketball coach Bill Frieder seem comparatively sane.
ùIf Ditka gets the job, Jerry Glanville won't.

ùTom Fitzpatrick will get to write: "You are Mike Ditka, and your nose is running . . ."

ùFinally, somebody will actually want to arm wrestle Tom Freestone.
ùFans who cheer for the opposing team during games will be forced to have their heads shaved on Ditka's weekly TV show.

ùOne stadium skybox will be held open for use by refugees of strife in war-torn eastern Europe.

ùThe prospect of a looming Ditka political career will make local elected officials straighten up and fly right.

ùPots, schmots: All public art will have to be cleared in advance by Ditka.
ùLike many local residents, Ditka has been popped for drunk driving.
ùIf John Mistler spouts a single clich‚, it'll be 50 pushups for the whole broadcast crew.

ùDitka would hire Frank Kush as management's player-relations ombudsman.
ùWe'll get a new paid state holiday: Grabowski Day!
ùA Ditka presence, combined with the glut of local topless bars, will attract many studly free agents.

ùThe Phoenix area will glean mucho national exposure from repeated Saturday Night Live skits.

ùSin‚ad O'Connor will not get near the public address system at National Anthem time.

ùDick Butkus will be hired as director of media relations; Cards immediately trade for Chuck Cecil.

ùOld-fashioned barbers will make a big comeback; Ditka will put a bounty on Scottsdale waiters with ponytails.