Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Uniquely problematic

A reader sent me this about my espn.com Abel Xavier article.

"I am struggling with his massive suspensions, however. He misses one whole season due to steroid use, and 6 months due to chasing a linesman? That is serious time for stupid crimes. Being a Dolphin Fan and going through what we have with Ricky Williams, my trust factor is wayyyyy down on problem children."

I thought about why I'm a little more optimistic about Abel Xavier than I was about Amado Guevara - or Ricky Williams, for that matter.

It's because I get the impression that Xavier is grittier and tougher, more competitive. In the end, I think there's a good chance that he'll put aside personal issues to help the Galaxy.

Guevara and Williams just struck me as too self-absorbed to do that on a consistent basis.

But, as I wrote back to the reader, there's no doubt that Xavier is a gamble.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

He was never officially convicted of using steroids, and his sentence was reduced because of this. He's known to be an obsessive health freak and it was determined if he did take something illegal, it wasn't on purpose. As a Galaxy fan, that whole issue doesn't bother me.