Byline: John Ryan
Aug. 30--This one ceased being worth a laugh many years ago. It's just so sad.
Todd Marinovich -- whose father, Marv, served as the role model for the current generation's most obsessive and out-of-control sports parents -- could be headed to prison after the latest in a long string of drug-related trouble.
Police said Marinovich, 38, was skateboarding near the Newport Pier boardwalk about 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning and ran away when officers tried to stop him. When they found him hiding in a carport six blocks away, they said, he had powdered methamphetamine, a metal spoon and a hypodermic needle inside his guitar case. He is being held without bail on a felony possession charge and a probation violation.
The way we see it, Todd Marinovich was treated as a full-grown football player from the time he was born. Then when he left the Raiders and football forever in 1992, his life started over. According to that calendar, he's 15 and deserves some mercy.
Pops, on the other hand . . .
Contact John Ryan at jryan@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5266.
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