January 24, 200620 yr I was reading one of my favorite sports radio bloggers, and he threw this in there I don’t normally recommend reading ESPN The Magazine. Not only is it often a complete shill-piece for athletes, but the insistence of Gen-X friendly layouts, fonts, and graphics gives me literally a headache looking at it for more than a few minutes. All that, plus its unusually size doesn’t fit well into a briefcase. That being said, you must – MUST – get a copy of the Sidney Crosby issue that has a feature on Maurice Clarett’s flameout. It’s written by Tom Friend – an excellent writer, but one who is often the athletes “best friend” when it comes to viewpoint in his writing. Among the nuggets you’ll find… 1. Clarett turns down a $50,000 shoe offer from Reebok, saying he’ll have his own shoe – like buddy LeBron – in two years. 2. Clarett turns to David Boston’s trainer for help and advice on getting “big.” Great choice there, for a player who is a busted roid-eater. 3. Clarett gets into a fight with the Bronco’s strength coach – a 14 year vet of the team – and then goes into the Broncos front office and demands he get fired! 4. Best of all, it seems that Clarett had his own personal Gatorade bottle that he would just NEVER part with at the facility. Once he let the secret slip, saying “I gotta go get my goose on” – meaning he needed a swig of Grey Goose vodka! Could you write this stuff yourself? No. Not possible. Go get the article. Talk about delusions of grandeur. This kid thought he was the next Barry Sanders, no doubt in my mind. Could he have sabotaged his own life any more than he already did?
January 24, 200620 yr He will be a poster boy for every GM in the game to show young players. There isn't player in sports who the game needs more than the player needs the game.
January 25, 200620 yr Being an Ohio State fan, I have a strong dislike for Clarett but after everything hes done and been through I just feel sorry for him. He really messed up his life.
January 25, 200620 yr QUOTE(rventura23 @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 07:13 PM) Being an Ohio State fan, I have a strong dislike for Clarett but after everything hes done and been through I just feel sorry for him. He really messed up his life. He had all the opportunites anyone could ever ask for. It's no one's fault, but his own.
January 25, 200620 yr Author QUOTE(rventura23 @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 08:13 PM) Being an Ohio State fan, I have a strong dislike for Clarett but after everything hes done and been through I just feel sorry for him. He really messed up his life. You feel sorry for someone with bad circumstances in a bad situation. Clarett was getting silver spoons shoved in his mouth and kept asking for more, there is really nothing to feel sorry about. Amazingly fast too. I thought he would be more than a year out of football before he would start armed robbery, but he only waited 4 months.
January 25, 200620 yr QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 24, 2006 -> 03:22 PM) He will be a poster boy for every GM in the game to show young players. There isn't player in sports who the game needs more than the player needs the game. Idonno Id say baseball needed Sammy/McGwire which brought back a lot of fans.... even both arent looking so great anymore.... also MJ coming back helped create a huge buzz in the NBA both times....
January 25, 200620 yr The only reason I feel somewhat sorry for him is because he was constantly given horrendous advice by the people around him (which is his own fault for listening to) and despite a bad attitude attitude sometimes, he generally wanted to great and worked hard. He made lots of bad decisions but it was the advice he recieved surrounding those decisions that made his situation an absolute disaster. He should have admitted his wrong and tried to fix his situation at Ohio State, where he would have forever been a hero.
January 25, 200620 yr Author QUOTE(rventura23 @ Jan 25, 2006 -> 11:10 AM) The only reason I feel somewhat sorry for him is because he was constantly given horrendous advice by the people around him (which is his own fault for listening to) and despite a bad attitude attitude sometimes, he generally wanted to great and worked hard. He made lots of bad decisions but it was the advice he recieved surrounding those decisions that made his situation an absolute disaster. He should have admitted his wrong and tried to fix his situation at Ohio State, where he would have forever been a hero. How did he work hard? I must have missed that when he was drinking grey goose in his gatorade at an NFL preseason camp, skipping combine workouts because his mom told him to, and weighing in before the draft 20 lbs overweight. He worked hard exactly one season, in the Fiesta Bowl National Championship season. Then he expected everyone to bend over backwards for him, and it didnt happen. You should feel sorry for the people who gave him multiple chances only to be let down by Clarett.
January 25, 200620 yr Author QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Jan 25, 2006 -> 12:36 PM) Anyone think he can make it into the NFL? I thought he had a slight chance before the robbery. Now, not at all.
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