Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Two Athletes Shot to Death -- Steve McNair and Alexis Arguello

I was a big fan of Alexis Arguello, since I'm a fan of the sweet science, and he was one of the best fighters around. He won titles in three different weight classes, before that was a real common thing to do (albeit still a hard thing to do).

I remember him once fighting Aaron Pryor. That thing went 13 or 14 rounds, and Alexis got rocked. It's one of the best fights I've ever seen.

When I was working overnights at the post office, my third day I had to work with a cute redhead. She was wearing tight, faded blue jeans. And she had an Alexis Arguello shirt. I started telling her a boxing story, and she looked back with a blank stare. I pointed to her shirt and she replied, "Oh this. I'm not a boxing fan, but I was hanging out with him for a few months and he gave it to me." I said, "Wow! That's cool! You hung out with Arguello. He's a great boxer." Her response to that was, "I don't know about any of that. We just did lots of coke and slept together."

It was my turn to look at her with a blank stare.

Years later I would read about him having problems with drugs, and even being suicidal on a few occasions. But last Wednesday, at age 57, he shot himself in the chest.

Another athlete to die from a gun recently, was NFL quarterback Steve McNair. He was a stud athlete who I made the mistake of picking on my fantasy football team one year. I thought I'd get a lot of rushing yards (which is rare from a quarterback). But he was injured most of the season.

One story with him involves a local newscaster. I believe it was Bill Griffith at Channel 10.

When McNair was in college, he had the nickname "Air McNair." A producer working at the station talked Griffith into getting a patent for that name. It was something cheap, maybe $250. Their logic was once McNair went pro, they'd be able to market items with that name.

And that's what happened. But it was ruled that, since college athletes can't make money on their name, he wasn't allowed to patent it. So, Griffith had to give back the name "Air McNair."

(Recently Jay Leno was involved in a similar situation, when a person who had a real estate business had the web name "TheJayLenoShow.com". He had to give that to Leno)

Anyway, I usually don't have sympathy for NFL players involved in shootings. They're usually thugs that are in a nightclub and get into some kind of argument. And maybe some will find it hard to garner sympathy for McNair. After all, he was married and a father to four sons.

The 39-year-old started having an affair with a 20-year-old that worked at the Dave & Buster's their family used to dine at.

He bought a car with her, and she told friends they were going to get married.

Obviously, this gal wasn't right in the head. Any time you resort to shooting, that's a safe bet. But I wonder what McNair is thinking. If he's not happy in his marriage, he can get out of it. And even if he isn't married, he should realize that having an affair with someone that young probably isn't a good idea. Especially if you're making promises to her that you don't intend to keep.

And it's really a shame that four boys lose their father. It's also a shame that a guy that was such a stellar athlete, and a decent guy off the field (often giving his time and money to various charities), is now going to be remembered -- not for all that, or for coming one yard short of winning a Super Bowl -- but for being shot by his mistress.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising

I was a big fan of Alexis Arguello, since I'm a fan of the sweet science, and he was one of the best fighters around. He won titles in three different weight classes, before that was a real common thing to do (albeit still a hard thing to do).

I remember him once fighting Aaron Pryor. That thing went 13 or 14 rounds, and Alexis got rocked. It's one of the best fights I've ever seen.

When I was working overnights at the post office, my third day I had to work with a cute redhead. She was wearing tight, faded blue jeans. And she had an Alexis Arguello shirt. I started telling her a boxing story, and she looked back with a blank stare. I pointed to her shirt and she replied, "Oh this. I'm not a boxing fan, but I was hanging out with him for a few months and he gave it to me." I said, "Wow! That's cool! You hung out with Arguello. He's a great boxer." Her response to that was, "I don't know about any of that. We just did lots of coke and slept together."

It was my turn to look at her with a blank stare.

Years later I would read about him having problems with drugs, and even being suicidal on a few occasions. But last Wednesday, at age 57, he shot himself in the chest.

Another athlete to die from a gun recently, was NFL quarterback Steve McNair. He was a stud athlete who I made the mistake of picking on my fantasy football team one year. I thought I'd get a lot of rushing yards (which is rare from a quarterback). But he was injured most of the season.

One story with him involves a local newscaster. I believe it was Bill Griffith at Channel 10.

When McNair was in college, he had the nickname "Air McNair." A producer working at the station talked Griffith into getting a patent for that name. It was something cheap, maybe $250. Their logic was once McNair went pro, they'd be able to market items with that name.

And that's what happened. But it was ruled that, since college athletes can't make money on their name, he wasn't allowed to patent it. So, Griffith had to give back the name "Air McNair."

(Recently Jay Leno was involved in a similar situation, when a person who had a real estate business had the web name "TheJayLenoShow.com". He had to give that to Leno)

Anyway, I usually don't have sympathy for NFL players involved in shootings. They're usually thugs that are in a nightclub and get into some kind of argument. And maybe some will find it hard to garner sympathy for McNair. After all, he was married and a father to four sons.

The 39-year-old started having an affair with a 20-year-old that worked at the Dave & Buster's their family used to dine at.

He bought a car with her, and she told friends they were going to get married.

Obviously, this gal wasn't right in the head. Any time you resort to shooting, that's a safe bet. But I wonder what McNair is thinking. If he's not happy in his marriage, he can get out of it. And even if he isn't married, he should realize that having an affair with someone that young probably isn't a good idea. Especially if you're making promises to her that you don't intend to keep.

And it's really a shame that four boys lose their father. It's also a shame that a guy that was such a stellar athlete, and a decent guy off the field (often giving his time and money to various charities), is now going to be remembered -- not for all that, or for coming one yard short of winning a Super Bowl -- but for being shot by his mistress.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Divorce Song

Next Article

Gay Leno

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader