You gotta feel for the kid.

Those of you who are not sports fans, probably do not know that Ryan Leaf had the potential to become the greatest athlete to emerge from our fair city. After leading the Washington State Cougars to the Rose Bowl, the question was whether he, or Peyton Manning, would go first in the draft. For the uninitiated, Peyton Manning has risen to the very pinnacle of NFL success as the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. Leaf, on the other hand, was hindered by a bad work ethic and a worse attitude, and is now roundly jeered as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, all-time flops in the NFL. He spent most of his time with the San Diego Chargers and routinely threw more interceptions than touchdowns.

So everyone was relieved when Ryan's little brother, Brady Leaf, came along. Brady is Ryan without the sneer. He has the physical talents and the hard work to hone them.

Brady plays for the Oregon Ducks, who played Oklahoma last night in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. When Brady was first inserted into the game, the San Diego crowd booed Ryan Leaf's little brother.

Then, late in the game, Brady came in again. He lead the Ducks on a dramatic touchdown drive to pull within three points of the Sooners. They kicked, the Sooners stumbled, and he was driving them downfield again. He had the Ducks in the red zone, threw what was probably a touchdown pass to win the game. But, alas, it was picked off. Poor kid.

On another note, though, the word 'on the street' is that brother Ryan, who once received an $11,000,000.00 signing bonus from the Chargers, could be found in Great Falls over the holidays bumming drinks at local taverns by telling people "I'm Brady Leaf's brother."