Turing Another Sad Leaf

The arrest of Ryan Leaf in his home town of Great Falls, Montana continues a long and sad story. Back in 1998 all of the other draft "experts" were tossing a coin to decide whether to label Leaf or Peyton Manning as the number one overall pick.

The Colts went with Manning and the rest is history. Leaf had a disastrous career with the San Diego Chargers and was out of the league after a few years. He is often considered the poster boy for the "all time draft bust in the last 20 years."

That's why I have a hard time following the prognosticators of the draft. There is too much information and much of it is speculation.

Leaf has apparently violated the terms of his probation in Texas on drug charges. They could revoke it and send him back to prison.

When you look at him and Manning, you see two guys who started out together. Manning just grabbed a ton of money in a contract he might never finish. He has a Hall of Fame career. People might question why he continues to play, but that is his choice.

Leaf, on the other hand, was gone way too soon. He didn't help the situation. He is just another former NFL player with drug and alcohol problems. He certainly won't be the last. It's a very difficult problem that the league tries to deal with.