By MJD | Shutdown Corner – 11 hours ago AP A pair of noteworthy San Diego Chargers hit milestones in opposite directions this week. For LaDainian Tomlinson, things were about as good as they get. For Ryan Leaf, well, things are every bit as bad for him as they appear to be in the picture above. The sentence he got from a judge in Great Falls, Mont., on Tuesday does keep him out of jail, but at this point, even that might be a loss for Leaf. He'd been behind bars since April 2 and called that time a "sanctuary." He also offered these three statements to the court. First, speaking of his parents, who were not at the hearing: "They believe I've held them for ransom for 36 years, and I don't understand why I should have to do that any more." "I'm lazy, and dishonest and selfish. These were behaviors I had before my addiction kicked in." "Five to 10 years of Ryan-free drama for my family, this community — particularly for this nation — would be pure bliss for people." It might be pretty nice for Ryan, too. It's just that he's shown a remarkable inability to live that drama-free life he spoke of. Leaf's been fighting a painkiller addiction, one that's driven him to multiple acts of burglary over the past few years. Police found stolen prescriptions drugs in Leaf's possession back in March, when he was already on probation. Released on bail, Leaf then robbed a mobile home in search of more pills. He still has outstanding charges in Texas, too. Leaf was, in 1998, the second overall pick in the NFL draft, and considered by some to be a better quarterback prospect than the man who went first, Peyton Manning. Leaf never adjusted to being an NFL quarterback, though, mostly due to the laziness, selfishness and dishonesty he cited above. He is considered to be the biggest draft bust in NFL history. Unfortunately, he hasn't fared much better as a citizen. I hope for the best for the guy, but at this point, when he's on his 48th chance and he's begging for jail time, I don't know that there's much left to hope for. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-s...-terribly-low-self-esteem-065652937--nfl.html
I didn't even recognize him. I heard him on the radio a while back it sounded like he got his life together...Apparently not
I realize I'm a glass half full guy, but this sounds like self-awareness and acceptance of responsibility to me. I'm hoping it means a change for him.
I've heard this from him at several different points, most notably while he was QB coach/golf coach at WTAMU. And I honestly believed him.
The thing is, the Raiders HC at the time objected to the pick; everyone knew he was a bust but Davis. Leaf on the other hand was a legitimate #2, especially with Manning off the board. Leaf kind of just decided to be a jerk at the wrong time, and Gilbride was probably too nice or analytic of a guy to command respect or set any kind of an example.
The mest up part of this is had he just handled his business on the field he could have popped as many pain killers as he wanted too, without getting In Any trouble what so ever. The dude had serious potential and was a great prospect. He just didn't take it serious And the pain killers kept him from staying focused on the task.
