The Huddle Up with Gus Blog

Kevin Rabbitt knows what it’s like to guard Jalen Rose. Rabbitt, then a guard at Rice, faced Michigan’s Fab Five team that entered the 1992-93 season ranked No. 1. “My very first game at Rice … this was a big moment, we played (our) opening game (on ESPN), we played the Fab Five when they […]

Kevin Rabbitt’s company, Harmar-based NEP Group, is behind the scenes of many sporting events you watch. Rabbitt, an Overland Park, Kan., native, is chairman and CEO of NEP Group, a worldwide outsourced technical production partner that supports producers for live sports and entertainment. In part two of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast with […]

Kevin Rabbitt’s company, Harmar-based NEP Group, is behind the scenes of many sporting events you watch. Rabbitt, an Overland Park, Kan., native, is chairman and CEO of NEP Group, a worldwide outsourced technical production partner that supports producers for live sports and entertainment. He joined Gus Frerotte and Dave Hager in the “Huddle Up with […]

What is Mike Ditka’s favorite thing to do when he returns to the Pittsburgh area? What is his favorite type of cigar? Gus Frerotte and Dave Hager go one-on-one with the former Pitt All-American and Pro Football Hall of Famer in the final segment of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast.

The 1985 Chicago Bears offense couldn’t help but be good, having practiced daily against one of the NFL’s all-time great defenses, Mike Ditka said. “If we didn’t defense ourselves, we were going to get killed,” Ditka told Gus Frerotte in the third part of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast. “It made us better. […]

Future Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka’s first professional football contract was for … $12,000. “I was the (fifth) player picked in the draft — $12,000 with a $6,000 signing bonus,” Ditka told Gus Frerotte during the second part of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast. Ditka recalls playing at Pitt, where he […]

Mike Ditka, the former Pitt All-American and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, grew up wanting to be a dentist. “That didn’t work out, you can tell,” he told Gus Frerotte in the first part of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast. Ditka tells the story of trying out for his high […]

Former Ford City High School standout and NFL quarterback Gus Frerotte sits down with Jimmy Lynn, a former AOL vice president who oversaw AOL Sports’ strategic partnerships, in the latest edition of the podcast “Huddle Up with Gus.” In each episode, Frerotte discusses with guests how sports has shaped their lives. Part 1: Love of […]