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In the Starting Line-Up
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anybody remember him?
he was a defensive lineman who played for the bears in the 90's and was always billed as having the body of a greek god, but didn't really produce much.
here's a little background from his wiki, then I'll type up this old story I just found in a drawer:
ok, so that turned out to be a little more than I had planned, but I just couldn't leave any of that stuff out.
anyway, I was cleaning out some drawers and happened upon this old story I had clipped from the paper, which I thought was kind of funny:
he was a defensive lineman who played for the bears in the 90's and was always billed as having the body of a greek god, but didn't really produce much.
here's a little background from his wiki, then I'll type up this old story I just found in a drawer:
Spellman was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 22nd pick in the 1st round of the 1992 NFL Draft and was one of the youngest defensive lineman ever selected, at 20 years old. He started all but one game in his first five seasons in the league, recording a total of 30 sacks.
Spellman injured his shoulder in 1997 and after some off-field struggles, he was cut by the Bears.
After a few years off from football, Spellman attempted to make a comeback but was unable to land a job with an NFL team. He ended up signing with the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena Football League. Spellman's play was not particularly impressive, as he recorded only one sack in his first season with the Gladiators.
Spellman made his mixed martial arts debut on November 11, 2006, defeating Antoine Hayes by unanimous decision. The fight was part of XFO 13, "Operation Beatdown",
Spellman exhibited erratic behavior during his time with the Bears. The first incident in which this behavior became public was in March of 1998, in which Spellman became enraged when a doctor was late for an appointment, pulling a telephone off of a wall and threatening suicide. Complicating matters, Spellman had access to alcohol and a firearm and by this time weighed in the neighborhood of 300 lbs (136 kg). Authorities were called in, and friend and former teammate Mike Singletary helped get Spellman to check into a hospital, but Spellman later wandered out of the hospital.[1]
Spellman was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but refused to take medication, instead becoming increasingly reliant on drugs and alcohol. This led to even more erratic behavior and run-ins with the law. These problems, along with his refusal to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his injured shoulder, led to Spellman's release by the Bears.
after his NFL career ended, Spellman stopped taking his medication and again ran into problems with the law. Most notably, he had a manic episode on July 23, 2002 in which he disrupted a flight from Cincinnati to Philadelphia. Spellman initially suggested that the flight was going to crash, then became verbally abusive to other passengers and threatened members of the flight crew.[1] The plane was forced to make an emergency landing. Spellman was released, but then destroyed some property at his brother's home and was taken to a psychiatric hospital. He was later arrested on charges of interference with a flight crew.[3] Although doctors confirmed that he had bipolar disorder, Spellman was determined to be legally sane and spent 18 months in federal prison.
Spellman was arrested again[5] on January 29, 2008 after leading authorites on a pursuit after being involved in an apparent altercation at a Tulsa, Oklahoma convenience store. The chase ended after three of the tires on Spellman's car were deflated by stop sticks and pepper-spray pellets were fired after Spellman refused to get out of the vehicle.
ok, so that turned out to be a little more than I had planned, but I just couldn't leave any of that stuff out.
anyway, I was cleaning out some drawers and happened upon this old story I had clipped from the paper, which I thought was kind of funny:
Alonzo Spellman apparently is a better defender than a defendant.
Especially if his court appearance Friday in Royal Oak, Mich., is any indication.
The former bears defensive lineman was the focus of a hearing on a felony weapons charge and misdemeanors of carrying open intoxicants in a vehicle and driving w/o a license.
Spellman's attorney, Milton Henry, had the arresting officer on the ropes for using 'wine' to describe the contents of two bottles labeled "Boone's Fuzzy Navel Wine".
"Did you taste the liquid?", Henry said. "At any point from the beginning of the world to this point has this liquid been tested?"
No and no.
But the biggest no-no was yet to come --- in the person of Spellman testifying before judge Daniel Sawicki.
Oakland County aasistant prosecutor John O'Brien asked Spellman if he had been drinking in the vehicle where he was arrested.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, my man", he said.
"Everybody knows I was drinking in my truck. Man, that Boone's Farm, that's like Kool-Aid to me. It's what -- 5 percent, judge? It'd take a fifth of Hennessey even to get me high............Man, you know how I drank that [expletive]."
Which was not the only expletive Spellman uttered.
In a Detroit News interview, he said, "[expletive ] lawyers --- they're all the same. I don't want to have nothing more to do w/none of them."
"I would say he was openly angry", O'Brien said. "Much of what he said was not in his best self-interest."
