Just days after reaching a deal to serve as the Bears'
color analyst during preseason telecasts, former coach Mike
Ditka "is balking at" the arrangement after the firing of
Bears VP/Marketing & Broadcasting Ken Valdiserri, who "set
up the deal," according to sources of Mike Mulligan of the
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Valdiserri, a 16-year employee of the
team, "was sent packing" Tuesday after an argument with
Bears President Ted Phillips. Sources indicated that the
dispute resulted after Phillips "admonished Valdiserri for
cooperating with media members who reported the Ditka
signing Monday." But Ditka "might pull out" of the deal
without Valdiserri, who is "regarded as Ditka's closest
friend in the organization." Sources said that Phillips
spent yesterday "reaching out to sponsors and business
partners who worked with Valdiserri," while Valdiserri was
in L.A. "pursuing new job opportunities" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES,
4/20). In Chicago, Isaacson & Pierson write that the "rift"
between Valdiserri and Phillips "had been brewing for
several months." One source said that the dispute "centered
in part on the fact that Valdiserri's department had yet to
sell all the necessary sponsors for the signage inside
Soldier Field" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/20). In Chicago, Skip
Bayless: "Valdiserri's departure is just another example of
the post-Papa Bear [Halas] power struggle that continues to
affect the team's won-loss record" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/20).
