Brian Urlacher's in Halas Hall ... to pick up Piccolo Award
By Vaughn McClure | Tribune reporter
12:28 AM CDT, April 25, 2008
Inside the Halas Hall auditorium, the sound of Patrick McCaskey's rendition of "Edelweiss" from "The Sound of Music" brought out a few snickers and scattered applause.
"Ur-lach-er, Ur-lach-er, we hope you play for-ev-er," McCaskey hummed.
For a brief moment, Brian's song took on a whole new meaning.
The face of the franchise continues to frown upon the Bears' offer of a one-year extension worth $5 million up front. But Urlacher tried to keep a smile for an hour Thursday after being named the team's veteran recipient of this year's Brian Piccolo Award. Tight end Greg Olsen was the rookie honoree.
Urlacher's unexpected cameo included only references to the award, given to the players exemplifying courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor—attributes of the late Bears running back who died in 1970 from a rare form of cancer. Urlacher, who also won the award as a rookie in 2000, is the sixth player in team history to win the award multiple times and the fifth to pull the rookie-veteran double.
"This is a great honor for me, to receive this award again," he said. "The Piccolos are a great family. We know what Brian stood for. It's also wonderful award to have the opportunity to be a part of because it's a chance we get, as teammates, to honor one or another."
Urlacher went on to thank the McCaskey family and his teammates. After posing for a few snapshots following Pat McCaskey's solo, Urlacher left the auditorium side door without a mention of his contract.
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