| | In their inaugural XFL Draft, the Los Angeles Looters used their historic first draft choice on former Nebraska All-American running back Lawrence Phillips. After a now-notorious string of run-ins with the law, the former St. Louis Ram, Miami Dolphin, and San Francisco 49er was thought to be all but banned from playing professional sports - but the XFL came calling. "Obviously, someone with name recognition such as his will help fill seats." says Looters owner Rocco Siffredi, "To boo or cheer, at least they will be paying at the door."
|  | | Lawrence Phillips finally gets to do some smack-down on somebody other than bitchy blondes. Did we say that out loud? |
WWF and XFL founder Vince McMahon, who in late February said the XFL was going to be good "old-fashioned smashmouth football but with cutting edge marketing and promotion values" appears to be taking a gamble in accepting Phillips. Not so, says McMahon: "Lawrence has never really gotten a fair shake. Let's face it - he was practically created in heaven to play in the XFL."
At first glance, Phillips would appear to be the perfect fit for the fledgling football league. His football ability, particularly his prototypical combination of strength and speed, has rarely been questioned. Indeed, it speaks volumes of his ability that despite his legal problems he was selected fifth overall in 1996 in the much more image-conscious NFL. While this legal problems eventually stunted his NFL career, in the XFL they could actually boost his success. "Lawrence comes pre-packaged with all the supporters and haters that you would normally get with a professional wrestler." says McMahon, "the only question is if he will be able to keep from killing anybody on the field."
You heard right - killing anybody on the field.
In McMahon's mind, playing Phillips up as a bad guy will be a great way to increase attendance. "More than likely, he's going to be the baddest (expletive) out there. Most of our players will be on a skill level slightly lower than the World Football League. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out he's going to be unstoppable."
So who will stop him? McMahon said he has plans in the works for that. "While in general the competition will not be staged, we are considering giving players such as Lawrence a wrestling-style manager." Any early ideas on who? "Let's just say that she has long blonde hair, and hasn't done much of anything since 1995."
Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Examiner is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. | |
 |
