Rick Telander/Sun-Times
Steve McMichael is in a furious race.
He has been at it a long time, and the finish line is close. Yet the tape seems to recede like a mirage on a shimmering horizon.
McMichael, aka ‘‘Mongo’’ or, if you like, ‘‘Ming the Merciless,’’ is the former Bears defensive tackle recently elected the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive disease that destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.