There's no crying in baseball, or so the saying goes. Still, there's a good chance that Padres GM Kevin Towers has thought about shedding a tear or two about his decision to take Matt Bush with the first overall pick in the 2004 Draft.
Bush flopped on and off the field while with the Padres, and it doesn't seem like his problems ended when the Blue Jays released him in April. He was arrested in San Diego last month, and makes it clear that once you're out of baseball you're free to cry as much as you want.
Here's something for the person who has nothing: a Ryan Leaf autographed jersey. It would make for a fantastic gift if this was 1998 and you were a downtrodden Chargers fan hoping that Leaf would resurrect the franchise that won just four times in 1997.
Eleven years later, not so much. In fact, it's something you wouldn't be surprised to get from your Secret Santa when there's a $15 spending limit. Except that Ryan Leaf's John Hancock is surprisingly expensive when written on high-quality Pro-Brite nylon with a lycratalic spandex dazzle collar: $449.99 (but only $4.99 for shipping!).
After a period of time where he was a wanted man by Texas authorities, Ryan Leaf finally faced his drug and burglary charges. Leaf, the 34-year-old who is widely considered one of the biggest busts in the history of the NFL Draft, had a warrant issued for his arrest on May 20. He had agreed to turn himself in, but failed to do so for almost a month.
Friday, though, Leaf turned himself him in at the Randall County Jail in Canyon, Texas. Not that he had much choice: Wednesday, Leaf was arrested in Washington state after re-entering the United States from Canada. He had to post bond there and then head to Texas to turn himself in. Now, Leaf has been released after posting $15,000 in bail and is on his way to Washington.
Ryan Leaf, the former No. 2 overall pick of the San Diego Chargers who has come to symbolize the term "draft bust," now has much bigger problems off the field than he ever had on it.
Texas law enforcement officials say an arrest warrant was issued for Leaf on May 20, and Leaf agreed to turn himself in on drug and burglary charges. But he failed to do so, and he is now a wanted man.
Remember when Eli Manning had that dopier-than-usual look on his face after the San Diego Chargers, against his wishes, took him with the first overall pick of the 2004 Draft? Good times.
In most drafts, the thought of giving up a handful of picks to move up the board and take a flier on a player usually smacks of desperation. History is littered with examples, none bigger than the Chargers trading up for Ryan Leaf.
But 2009 is different. It's a decidedly weak class, and players who went in the first round on Saturday would be lucky to hear their names called on Day 1 in other years. Which is why the Jets have happily traded up and jettisoned picks all weekend: they have a few needs, targeted specific players, and went out and got them.
Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.
Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.
Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.
As we head down the backstretch to the NFL draft, every aspect of every potential first-round player continues to be researched by each NFL franchise. After all, they are about to sink millions of dollars into what is essentially a kid. With the Pac Man Joneses and Ryan Leafs of the world exhibiting a variety of negative character issues, teams are paying more attention than ever to background checks.
On Jan. 15, USC quarterback Mark Sanchez announced that he would forgo his senior season to enter the NFL draft. This news made head coach Pete Carroll very unhappy. In fact, during the press conference announcing Sanchez's decision, Carroll was clear:
The signing of Luke McCown earlier this week likely signaled the end of the Jeff Garcia era in Tampa Bay, leaving the team's quarterback situation in the hands of McCown, Brian Griese and Josh Johnson. Not exactly an ideal situation for rookie head coach Raheem Morris.
McCown and Johnson are relatively unknown, while Griese isn't likely to lead his team to the promised land. How should the Bucs address this in the offseason? If you ask Mel Kiper, by taking a quarterback in the first round of the draft.
Here's something for the person who has nothing: 
After a period of time where 
In most drafts, the thought of giving up a handful of picks to move up the board and take a flier on a player usually smacks of desperation. History is littered with examples, none bigger than the Chargers trading up for 
As we head down the backstretch to the NFL draft, every aspect of every potential first-round player continues to be researched by each NFL franchise. After all, they are about to sink millions of dollars into what is essentially a kid. With the Pac Man Joneses and Ryan Leafs of the world exhibiting a variety of negative character issues, teams are paying more attention than ever to background checks. 
The signing of 
