Leaf blows

Ryan Leaf is fragile. All he needs is a 23rd second chance.

Give the guy a break, again.

The Seattle Seahawks did last Tuesday, signing the washed-up quarterback with the golden arm and the hollow head to a one-year contract.

Seattle Times sports columnist Steve Kelley described Leaf's life story as "a young man who got too much too soon." He said the intense pressure Leaf faced when he joined the NFL and received a multi-million-dollar contract led to the humorous temper tantrums we've come to expect.

But it's these isolated incidents, Kelley said, that unfairly portray Leaf as "an incurable knucklehead."

I'm from Great Falls, Mont. Like Leaf, I attended Charles M. Russell High School. He graduated when I was an eighth-grader, but I knew all about him. Leaf was an incurable knucklehead long before any of his on-air explosions.

I remember the stories: the time our football coach gave the whole team permission to pound Leaf for his constant tantrums and the time he flipped off the opposing team's fans during a basketball game (extra impressive since he was actually playing at the time).

I remember when Washington State fans said, "C'mon, Leaf has changed. He's really matured a lot." Those fans were obviously looking through Rose Bowl-colored glasses.

I admired the way Leaf led the Cougars. His talent was finally outshining his temper. He seemed ready for success and, for once, I was actually rooting for the guy.

That lasted about as long as a pizza in a frat house.

I wasn't surprised when Mr. Temper exploded at a reporter in the San Diego Charger locker room. Leaf's true colors came out again -- and again and again.

It frustrates me to see someone with Leaf's physical skills piss everything away so many times. Two other Russell quarterbacks, Dave Dickenson and Brandon Neill, excelled in high school and moved on to college ball. Neither is as physically gifted as Leaf, but both have been successful.

After dominating in the Canadian Football League, Dickenson earned a spot on the San Diego Chargers roster. Neill is a senior on the defending Division I-AA national champion University of Montana Grizzlies. If Mr. Temper had half the brains and a sliver of the heart these two possess, he'd be a superstar.

Leaf has done nothing to change my low opinion of him, but he caught Seahawks' coach and general manager Mike Holmgren's attention. I won't doubt his judgment, either -- how could I? He's the genius quarterback counselor who hand-picked Matt "the future" Hasselbeck, who threw more interceptions than touchdowns last season.

What are we to think of the Leaf acquisition: a "perfect, no-risk move," according to Kelley, or another head-scratching personnel decision by Holmgren?

Wait -- who is the incurable knucklehead?

At least now Leaf will have someone to relate with.