FanHouse LeighSteinberg

Leigh Steinberg, agent to the stars (and Matt Leinart), has been arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public. I'd like to think that there are less conspicuous ways to hide the fact that you're blitzed out of your mind than yelling, screaming, and laying down in public.

[Steinberg] was arrested after police received a call about a man yelling on Coast Highway around 7:45 p.m. Oct. 22. ...

Newport Beach Sgt. Evan Sailor said in an E-mail that police found Steinberg laying down in the dirt and grass near Newport Auto Center on East Coast Highway.

Sailor said police spoke to Steinberg, who was displaying symptoms of intoxication and was having trouble speaking. He was arrested for public drunkenness and released on his own recognizance.

Perhaps Steinberg was taking his John Daly Halloween get-up on a trial run. Or, more likely, he had just left Leinart's place after setting the beer bong hot tub record. Or maybe he just got loaded and wandered into traffic. It happens.

Sadly, it's not the first alcohol-related incident for Steinberg; in April 2007, he was arrested for driving under the influence after he crashed his Mercedes into a row of parked cars. And 10 years before that, he pled guilty to misdemeanor charges of drunken driving. Hmm. I see a pattern here.

Hey, Leigh, just a thought.

The Miami Dolphins have named Ricky Williams their starter and have given him a contract extension ... but they still aren't letting him off the hook for the $8 million he owes the team.

Remember that a judgment went against him that requires him to pay back $8 million of his signing bonus from when he abruptly retired in 2004. Despite the good feelings around Ricky and the organization, they ... ya know ... want that money when he gets a chance.

That's where it gets a bit weird. Ricky hurried up and signed the one-year extension before discussing it with his agent, Leigh Steinberg. Because of that, there has been no mention or talk of absolving the debt to the team ... something that could/should have been addressed as a bartering chip:

"It would've made sense for Ricky to wait further into the season to see how he felt about things," said a source. "He never should've done an extension without them dealing with the judgment. He could've leveraged that on becoming a free agent when people can make competitive bids on you."

The article says ... though unlikely ... the Dolphins could garnish Ricky's wages at any time to recoup the money.