| I’ve been covering pro football extensively
since the mid-’70s, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that there has never,
ever been an offseason totally devoid of unruly, immoral and illegal actions to some
degree. But I’ve gotta tell ya, dear readers: It’s only mid-May, but my
verdict is already signed, sealed and delivered.
This offseason already definitely takes the cake in the Dan Arkush stomach-turning
department, even more than the 1994 "Summer of O.J."
This week provides a perfect example why.
Just yesterday morning, I actually felt a tinge of goodwill seeping through the stench
that has dominated the pro football headlines since the ill-fated evening when Ravens
All-Pro LB Ray Lewis was allegedly involved in an incident that resulted in his being
charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of 21-year-old Jacinth Baker and 24-year-old
Richard Lollar — just about 7-8 hours after Rams LB Mike Jones tripped up Titans WR
Kevin Dyson inches short of the goal line to clinch St. Louis’ pulsating victory in
Super Bowl XXXIV.
It came after reading fellow editor Keith Schleiden’s Monday column on the PFW Web
site, in which he revealed the surprising number of NFL players who are continuing to make
a concerted effort to obtain their college degrees, even though many of their pro careers
have long since taken off.
Finally, I said to myself, here’s some positive pro football news.
Unfortunately, the good feeling lasted about five minutes — the time in which it
took to surf my way through the NFL’s daily police blotter, where I was forced to
come to grips with the following:
 A lengthy
preview of the Lewis trial, which will be unfolding the next 5-6 weeks in its unseemly
entirety before our eyes on Court TV — ala O.J. Particularly disturbing is the
description of a mail-order video, created by former 2 Live Crew member Luther Campbell,
which is set at the Coco Bongo nightclub in Cancun, Mexico. In the video, Lewis enters the
club with Joseph Sweeting (also charged with murder in the same post-Super Bowl
altercation) amid blaring rap music and dances shirtless amid women who subsequently
engage in sex (not with Lewis). It would appear Lewis’ high-profile defense team will
have a helluva time conveying an image of their client as a wholesome, God-fearing man who
had little previous contact with Sweeting.
Packers TE
Mark Chmura pleading with the masses to cut him some slack after being charged with sexual
assault after his 17-year-old baby sitter said he had sex with her in a bathroom at a
post-high school prom party. Learning that Chmura’s lawyer is the same guy who
represented Jeffrey Dahmer certainly didn’t help matters.
The disclosure
that Bengals first-rounder Peter Warrick wouldn’t be able to work out with the team
until after June 5. The reason? He has to fulfill the community-service portion of his
sentence for the infamous "Dillard’s discount" episode by picking up trash
alongside Florida highways 10 hours a day for the next 20 days.
The news that
former Panthers first-round WR Rae Carruth, who is accused of conspiring in the fatal
drive-by shooting of his pregnant girlfriend, must allow his $237,000 home to be sold and
his retirement account to be liquidated to help pay child support for his 6-month-old son.
The news that
a party in Wheeling, W. Va., to celebrate the new contract of Cowboys WR Joey Galloway
erupted into a fight involving more than 100 people. I repeat. That’s 100
people.
The bad news isn’t just dripping off the police blotter.
You’ve got Raiders S Eric Turner publicly denying reports that he is seriously ill
with some form of stomach cancer that has triggered a 70-pound weight loss. It’s the
same kind of denial the late Walter Payton made amid reports he was suffering from
terminal liver cancer a few months before his condition took a turn for the worse.
In other sports, you’ve got the pansy-ass decision by the powers-that-be at
Indiana University not to fire Bobby Knight, who I predict will still follow in the
footsteps of his idol, Woody Hayes, and burn out before our eyes.
You’ve got moronic so-called Cubs fans who can’t hold their liquor reaching
into the visitors’ bullpen to steal baseball caps while other idiots in the vicinity
sling beers onto the field, creating an image that puts die-hard Cubs fans with a
legitimate love for baseball at Wrigley Field in a terrible light.
More than anything, you’ve got one disgusted PFW executive editor who never looked
more forward to taking a vacation from the world of sports.
Especially pro football. |
