Ricky Watters & Fred Mitchell

Ricky talks to the guys about his life since football, his charitable work, Hall of Fame hopes, and also gives his opinion on the new regime at Notre Dame.



Then, the Chicago Tribune\'s Fred Mitchell gives us the skinny on what happened between John Paxson & Vinny Del Negro, and what the fallout might be.

The Dirtiest Player in the NFL

Conrad Dobler talks about his playing days, what Gene Upshaw did to the ex-players with bad negotiation, and his friendly rivalry with Merlin Olsen.

Conrad Dobler

Dobler was drafted out of the University of Wyoming in the 1972 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, and quickly developed a reputation as a tough customer. \"I see defensive linemen jump to knock a pass down. When that happened near me, I\'d smack \'em in the solar plexus, and that got their hands down real quick.\"[1] After six years in St. Louis and three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances (1975-77), he made the cover of Sports Illustrated, who heralded Dobler as \"Pro Football\'s Dirtiest Player\".[2]
In 1978, however, Dobler suddenly became a Saint: the Cardinals traded him to New Orleans, where he played two years. He then played two final seasons with the Buffalo Bills, retiring after the 1981 campaign. Dobler, known for such transgressions as punching Mean Joe Greene, spitting on a downed and injured opponent (the Eagles\' Bill Bradley) and kicking Merlin Olsen in the head,[1] parodied his image in a Miller Lite beer commercial by getting a section of fans to argue the eternal question, \"Tastes Great! Less Filling!\" (Olsen got a measure of revenge by placing Dobler\'s name on a headstone in a scene from Olsen\'s TV series Father Murphy).

Fred Mitchell

Fred Mitchell writes the \"Around Town\" column for the Chicago Tribune. Since joining the paper in 1974, he also has covered the Cubs, Bulls and Bears beats.

Mitchell has written 10 sports books, including biographies with Bears Hall of Fame halfback Gale Sayers and Cubs Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Williams. He also wrote “Playing Through” with Earl Woods, the late father of PGA champion Tiger Woods and “Then Ditka Said To Payton” with former Bears lineman Dan Jiggetts. Mitchell received the \"Jim Murray Award\" as the outstanding sportswriter in 2000 from the American Football Foundation and the \"Bill Gleason Award\" for the outstanding sportswriter in 2009 from baseball\'s Pitch and Hit Club.

Born in Cincinnati, Mitchell grew up in Gary, Ind., earning letters in football, baseball and track, while also serving as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and yearbook at Tolleston High School. He later coached football and track for five years at Grove City (Ohio) High School, where he taught English.

At Wittenberg University, Mitchell was named to the Lutheran College All-America team in 1968 after setting the NCAA College Division record for career kick scoring. He was inducted into Wittenberg’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. An annual national award for the outstanding kicker among the nearly 400 Division II or Division III colleges will be handed out during the National Football Foundation awards ceremony and is named in his honor (www.fredmitchellaward.com).

A member of the Wittenberg University Board of Directors, Mitchell received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater in 2000 and was named a Wittenberg Fellow in 2001. The Fred Mitchell Scholarship is awarded annually to the Wittenberg upper-class student who combines athletic and journalistic achievement.

Mitchell lives in Chicago with his wife, Kim, and son, Cameron.

Check Out Fred\'s Column at the Chicago Tribune

Ricky Watters

Ricky Watters was born on April 7, 1969 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Notre Dame to play football for head coach Lou Holtz. After serving as a backup his freshman year, Watters took on a starting role as a sophomore, but instead of a running back, he was used as a receiver. The move worked and Watters led the team in receiving and helped Notre Dame win a national championship. He was moved back to running back as a junior and led his team to an Orange Bowl victory over number-one-ranked Colorado.
The San Francisco 49ers picked Watters in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft. After missing the entire 1991 season due to injuries, he made a good impression in 1992 with over 1,000 yards rushing, over 400 yards passing, and 11 total touchdowns. Watters ended up playing ten years in the NFL, split between the 49ers, the Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks. Over his ten-year career he posted seven seasons of over 1,000 yards rushing, six seasons of over 400 yards receiving, and five seasons with at least 10 total touchdowns. A Super Bowl champion, and five-time Pro Bowler, Watters completed his career with 10,643 yards rushing, 78 rushing touchdowns, 4,248 yards receiving, and 13 receiving touchdowns.

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