The Super Bowl MVP
February 2, 2009
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Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty
His brilliant touchdown grab with 35 seconds to play made Santonio Holmes the MVP of Super Bowl XLIII and earned him a permanent spot in the pantheon of Steelers stars. So it’s easy to forget that just months ago, the fleet-footed receiver was languishing in Coach Mike Tomlin’s doghouse after an October arrest for marijuana possession. Holmes sat out a game for that infraction, his third arrest since joining the club. It’s safe to say he’s redeemed himself.
Next: Simple Misunderstandings
Simple Misunderstandings
February 2, 2009
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(L to R) Louis Requena / MLB Photos / Getty ; Mitchell Layton / Getty
In 2007 Hall of Fame first baseman Orlando Cepeda was pulled over in California with marijuana, cocaine and a syringe in his car. After a prosecutor became convinced Cepeda’s belief that the cocaine bindle was methamphetamine bolstered the argument that the drug wasn’t his, he was permitted to plead no contest to a simple marijuana misdemeanor. Some suggested the 69-year-old slugger got off too easily, especially in light of his 1975 arrest for smuggling several pounds of marijuana, a transgression for which he served 10 months in prison.
In 2000 another power-hitting first basemen, former St. Louis Cardinal Pedro Guerrero, got off even lighter for his misdeeds thanks to a flash of legal pyrotechnics. After being implicated in an arranged $200,000 drug deal, Guerrero was acquitted when his attorney persuaded jurors that his client — who boasts an IQ of 70 — wasn’t smart enough to realize what he was doing. “He doesn’t have the acumen or the ability to finance anything more complicated than lunch,” declared attorney Milton Hirsch.
Next: The Reign Man
