Mes: enero 2022

March 14, 2009

My Dirty Little Secrets-Steroids, Alcohol & God: The Tony Mandarich Story

Tony Mandarich and Sharon Shaw Elrod

Modern History Press (2009)

ISBN: 9781932690781

Whether you are a football fan, someone concerned about addictions, or you just like a good success story, Tony Mandarich’s newly published memoir «My Dirty Little Secrets-Steroids, Alcohol & God» is a rewarding and eye-opening reading experience.

In 1989, after an incredible football career playing for Michigan State, Tony Mandarich was the number two draft pick for the NFL and chosen by the Green Bay Packers. Who could forget the picture of him on Sports Illustrated that spring, showing his incredible muscular build at 6’6″ and 315 pounds, and the declaration that he was «The Best Offensive Line Prospect Ever»? It looked like Tony might become the greatest NFL player ever. Tony was on top of the world!

But Tony had some dirty little secrets. For years he had been using steroids to increase his performance. He also had an addiction to alcohol and painkillers. He hid those secrets well, but in his memoir he now tells his complete story honestly, with all his mistakes and regrets laid bare for readers, not merely for sensation to sell books, but to show how he turned his life around and to give hope to others suffering from addictions.

While the media made insinuations about his steroid use during his career, and Tony admits to it, drugs and alcohol were what really caused his world to fall apart. His memoir depicts the extremes a person will take to hide and continue his addiction. Tony details how he cheated on drug tests so he could play in the Rose Bowl and other games, as well as how he tricked pharmacies and charmed doctors to write him out prescriptions for extra pills. At times, he even drove eight hundred miles round trip in a single day just to get pills so he could avoid withdrawal symptoms. Tony admits he was not sober a single day he played for the Green Bay Packers. The high expectations for his NFL career were more than he could handle. Then once his football career ended, he wasted the next three years doing nothing but living off his savings from his football days to feed his drug and alcohol addiction.

After watching his brother die, possibly from steroid use, and realizing how his addictions were destroying his family, Tony made a decision to turn his life around. He checked himself into a treatment center and never looked back, refusing to be in the majority of alcoholics who return to drinking. For years, Tony and his brother’s relationship had been strained. Even though he was with his brother when he died, Tony continued to feel guilt and shame about their relationship. One of the most tremendous moments in his memoir is the spiritual journey a friend led him upon, using a Native American tradition of meditation, where he was able to talk to his brother again; he realized his brother was his spiritual guide and would be there to help him everyday going forward. This heart-wrenching cathartic experience was a major turning point in Tony’s life and speaks to the importance of the addict healing emotional wounds along with becoming drug free.

The final section of the book reads like a celebration. Tony’s story would have been triumphant enough by simply describing how he overcame his addiction. But Tony went a step farther by returning to the NFL to play for the Indianapolis Colts. Without steroids, drugs, or alcohol, his performance was better than ever. He was the strongest player on the team, but he was also humble this time, looking to be a team player rather than a superstar. He stated at the time: «Benching 545 coming out of college didn’t help me pass-block…That’s the way I look at it. I just want to help this team.» Similarly, his memoir is not all about Tony Mandarich. It’s about how a person can right past wrongs and overcome addiction. It’s about one addict coming forward to tell his story, to raise awareness about addictions and how a 12-step program like Alcoholics Anonymous and trusting in God can turn a life around. It’s about Tony wanting to help others who have fallen to recover their lives and self-esteem. At the end of the book Tony states, «If this story has helped one of you to recognize that you need help, it was worth all the media controversy.» Tony Mandarich succeeded in his dreams of being an NFL player, but more importantly, «My Dirty Little Secrets» reveals that he has succeeded in being an incredible human being!

Valencia: Canizares, Miguel, Marchena, Helguera, Moretti, Mantoro, Albelda, Joaquin, Arizmendi, Morientes and Silva

Barcelona: Valdes, Puyol, Marquez, Milito, Abidal, Xavi, Toure, Inietsa, Gudjohnsen, Messi and Etoo

Chance for Eidur Gudjohnsen in 30 seconds but he could not find Samuel Etoo as his first touch was not very precise.

Bad first touch by Etoo as Messi found him with only Canizares to beat but he fluffed it in the 3rd minute.

Good chance for Yaya Toure from a corner kick but his header was straight at Canizares and he palms it over in the 9th minute.

Fantastic goal by Etoo, as he skips past the challenge of Marchena and Mantoro; and rifled the shot past Canizares in the 13th minute.

Another chance for Etoo as Puyol won a header and it fell kindly towards Etoo but his header was straight at Canizares in the 21st minute.

Absolutely brilliant 2nd goal for Barcelona as they passed and moved the ball between 6 players, it finally came to Etoo, he passed to Iniesta who passed it to Messi back to Etoo and its 2-0 in the 26th minute.

Another fantastic piece of football from Barcelona, started by Gudjohnsen, continued by Messi to Etoo then to Iniesta, whose cross was just missed by Messi to make it 3-0 in the 31st minute.

First attempt of any note by Valencia in the 33rd minute as Arizmendi cut inside Puyol but his shot was well over.

Another chance for Etoo, as he makes a great run behind the Valencia defence but Marchena was able to stick out a leg to prevent Etoo’s hattrick in the 36th minute.

Morientes has to come off injured for Vicente in the 39th minute.

Etoo is at it again, this time he went through 2 defenders and was just about to release the trigger when a desperate lunge by Marchena stopped him from making it 3 in the 42nd minute.

Lionel Messi is off due to an injury that may be muscular in the 43rd minute replaced by Giovanni.

Half Time

Valencia 0 Barcelona 2

As poor a performance as Valencia have given all season and they have been dire this season to be fair. Barcelona were so superior with Etoo being on supreme form, it was embarrassing.

It was just too easy for Barcelona and some of their players did not have to break sweat. The only downside for them is that Messi went off injured and may miss the big clash next week against arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Valencia can surely not play worse than they have in the 1st half.

Etoo has another chance in the 47th minute after he skipped past a challenge and his shot was straight at Canizares though.

Good defending by Milito to stop Joaquin from putting a cross and the resulting throw-in was hit by David Silva that Valdes saved with difficulty in the 51st minute.

Great shot by Giovanni but it was saved by Canizares in the 53rd minute.

Its 3 -0 with another piece of good passing involving Xavi and Giovanni, who passed unselfishly to Gudjohnsen to just tap home in the 61st minute.

Chance for Valencia from a Vicente free kick and again Valdes fumbles the ball over the crossbar in the 65th minute.

Deco is on for Toure and Mata is on for Joaquin in the 65th minute.

Etoo comes off for Bojan Krkic in the 67th minute.

Lomban is on for Moretti in the 71st minute.

Chance for Giovanni to make it 4 but as he collceted a pass from Xavi in the 73rd minute but his shot was well wide.

It really should have been 4 as Barcelona started a move from their own half with Deco, who gave the ball to Giovanni and his cross field pass was well controlled by Gudjohnsen; he skipped past 2 challenges, passed a cute ball to Xavi, he went round Canizares, crossed to Giovanni but his weak shot was cleared off the line by Miguel in the 76th minute.

Nice shot by Bojan as he controlled a pass from Xavi well on his chest but was straight to Canizares in the 80th minute.

Half chance for Vicente in the 81st minute as Marquez was very sloppy with his pass out and it went straight to Villa and he passed to Vicente but the angle was too acute for him to score from.

Free kick in a dangerous position for Valencia, in the 90th minute, taken by Vicente, but clawed to relative safety by Victor Valdes.

Full Time

Valencia 0 Barcelona 3

It was too comfortable in the end for Barcelona as Valencia were just marginally better in the 2nd half but still nowhere good enough at the highest level.

There were a lot of good performances from Barcelona players with Gudjohnsen, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Toure, Deco, Giovanni, Abidal and especially Etoo all in top form.

The only players that came out with any credit for Valencia are possibly Canizares and Miguel, the rest were awful.

I love football. Every year I eagerly await the fall season not just for the cooler weather and the change of color on the leaves of the trees, but also because it means the start of the football season as well. Anticipation builds inside me at the thought of watching my team take the field once again and make a run for the top spot in their division.

I’ve been a fan of the game, and the same team, for decades. I have watched the players, the teams, and even the football industry evolve and change over time. American football has remained one of the most exciting and beautiful games in all of professional sports. For all its appeal, just how and where did American football originate? All sports have their beginnings and what I found out left me appreciating the game even more.

During the early 1800’s a popular game known as rugby, where a football is kicked at a goal and run over a line, had its beginnings at the famous Rugby Boy’s School in England. Around the same time in America, the emergence of a game called «ballown,» similar to Rugby, was played by a group of students from Princeton. East coast prep schools like Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Rutgers College also competed in football-type games. At that time these early games resembled the more traditional «mob football» style played in England. The rules were simple with large numbers of players trying to advance the ball into a goal area usually by any means necessary. By 1855 manufactured inflatable balls were being used as football evolved into a kicking and running game.

Since there weren’t many rules established, violence and injury were common due to the roughness of the game. The increasing brutality of the game became such a public concern because of so many injuries and deaths, that some universities banned it. President Theodore Roosevelt even threatened to ban the game and urged Harvard, Princeton, and Yale to help make changes or lose the sport. Eventually the Intercollegiate Football Association was formed by representatives of Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton to establish a new code of rules mainly based on the rugby games.

The man responsible for shaping American football as we know it today was Walter Camp. He enrolled at Yale in 1876 and led the IFA’s rules committee. He proposed reducing the number of players from 15 to 11. He helped establish the line of scrimmage and the snap from center to quarterback. Camp also proposed that teams be required to advance the ball a minimum of five yards within three downs. More changes were instituted like the reduced size of the playing field, scoring rules, and game time. By 1887 a paid referee and an umpire were mandated for each game and tackling below the waist was allowed. In 1889 officials were given whistles and stopwatches. The forward pass, one of the most important changes in the game, didn’t become legal until 1906.

Although the rules were changing, football continued to be played violently in the style of the earlier mob games. Changes had to be made to make the game safer. These changes were discussed on December 28, 1905 by sixty-two schools who met in New York City. Eventually the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was formed as a result. Over a century later college football continues to thrive as one of the most popular collegiate games. After the demise of the IFA, the American Professional Football Association was formed in 1920. The association was later reorganized and in 1922 renamed the National Football League.