The picture is emerging

Here at MotSaG we have had our fun taking shots and expressing pity at [HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED]. Now that more details are coming to light about his life the past few days, a disturbing picture is emerging, and it seems appropriate to take a serious, sobering look at the situation.

Here is what we know – a collection of facts from disparate sources:

• Earlier this week, Columbus radio station 1460theFan (a Buckeye station) announced that this Friday, July 11, [HWSNBN] was going to come into the station, go on the air, and discuss the dramatic events of his recent life. Joe Montgomery, former OSU and NY Giants running back and confidant to [HWSNBN], said on-air that [HWSNBN] was coming in because he wanted to formally apologize to OSU, its fans, and everyone else for his actions. Montgomery was flying into Columbus to pick [HWSNBN] up and escort him to the radio station.

• During the evening of Tuesday, the 9th, [HWSNBN] apparently called Jim Tressel, to thank him “for being real.” He later told Tom Friend, a writer at ESPN, that “Me and Tressel and cool again.” He also apparently phoned his high school buddy LeBron James. He called Friend at ESPN to thank him for being supportive and encouraging. He called his current coach, Jim Terry, to thank him for the shot at playing professional ball again.

• When talking to Friend, [HWSNBN] talked about how he cried four times when holding his newborn daughter the previous afternoon, and added something quite chilling: “He said he’d do anything for that little girl, that he’d go to jail for 30 years for this little girl.”

• It seems that all of these conversations occured while [HWSNBN] was driving around with three loaded semiautomatic handguns, one assault rifle, a hatchet, and wearing body armor. There was liquor in the car, as well, although it is not known if he was drunk. Friend believes that he was.

• Apparently within minutes of ending the call with Terry, [HWSNBN] began “driving erratically.” He began swerving between lanes on I-70, making illegal U-turns across the grassy median, etc., where the CPD noticed and forced him to pull over.

• This entire incident occurred only a few blocks away from the woman who was set to testify against him in court next week, as a witness to his robbery charge.

Those are the facts. Here is my speculation:

• You don’t call all the people you’ve wronged and apologize, then call all the people you love to tell them “thanks” unless you (1) don’t plan on seeing them again, or (2) anticipate the possibility of never seeing them again.

• You don’t arm yourself to the teeth with handguns, an assault rifle, body armor, and a hatchet unless you (1) plan on using them against a person or people, or (2) anticipate the possibility of having to use them against a person or people.

• You don’t swerve around I-70 on the east side of Columbus, across medians and entrance ramps unless (1) you’re planning to have the police to notice you, or without (2) anticipating the possibility of them noticing you.

This is just one monkey’s opinion, but the facts indicate that [HWSNBN] was prepared to engage in some serious, Hollywood-style, ABC “movie-of-the-week” type freakin’ DRAMA last Tuesday night. Suicide? Possibly. Standoff? Perhaps. Death? Maybe. Destruction? Of some sort: probably.

It’s also clear that the CPD’s intervention prevented whatever was really about to go down from happening, which is the most shocking realization.

‘Nuff said about Tuesday night’s events.

When he founded MotSaG, el Kaiser approached me with my opinion on what stance we should take on [HWSNBN]. One the one hand, we’re sick and disgusted at the entire situation – most especially the media’s handling of it – and want it to go away. On the other hand, however, [HWSNBN] is an Ohio-sports personality, both current and past. To make things even murkier, a lot of us still have a smidgen of “fan-dom” left over from his awesome performance during the 2002 season. It’s tough trying to reconcile anger, appreciation, and pity for the same person.

I don’t think it was ever el Kaiser’s vision that we would have three [HWSNBN] posts in a row, but since MotSaG is in a unique position (Buckeye blog, Ohio Sports blog, and we all live and work in Columbus), perhaps we owe it to the blogosphere to chime in. As he wrote yesterday, this whole thing is just “sad, sad, sad.”