BOO-BOO’S BOO-HOO: Hubert “Boo-Boo” Thompson’s sad story has taken a tragic turn. |
Bush-league bust
I want everyone reading this column to start laughing right now, just to get a head start. Laugh for the wonderful country America has become. Laugh because every freaking year, we get a Little League–embezzlement bust, right around the time the first balls are thrown at major-league parks. Small-town moms and dads setting the ol’ good example for the kids, snatching chunks of cash from the kitty for junior’s bats and balls.Most of the busts come from places you’ve never heard of: Central Point, Oregon; Washington County, Virginia; Jackson, Michigan; and Phillipstown, New York. The plot is almost always the same. Some mom or dad or a combination of both is put in charge of a youth athletic organization’s finances and everything goes swimmingly, until the kids go to buy new uniforms and there’s no money left. By then, the treasurer is gone, his house empty of everything but a smack-encrusted spoon and a stack of Caribbean-travel magazines. The amounts vary, but the mean embezzlement figure seems to be 40K.
The first such case of the year occurred last week, in Northfield, New Hampshire, and was immediately followed by another instance in that state, this time involving the Babe Ruth League in Tilton. Police suspect one person in both cases, and say they expect an arrest within in a week. Meanwhile, interim Northfield police chief Steven Adams says the amount stolen may be as high as $25,000.
Peter Fogg, president of the Tilton-Northfield Little League, said that the league changed leadership last year, and “when the books were received, discrepancies were noticed.”
“I personally would like to see restitution, and I don’t care if it’s $5 a week until they die,” he said, referring to the as-yet-unnamed suspect or suspects.
Occasionally, these stories ended somewhat humorously, with the enactment of stringent on-field security measures to prevent adults from burgling the concession-stand strongbox. Thankfully, this case is no different: the league recently announced that it will buy a cash register and require that deposits be made nightly.
There’s no way to make a points ruling on this one until the name has been released, but whoever it is can expect to earn at least 40. Shame on them for ripping off kids. We’ll keep you posted.
Another Reid arrested
Another Indianapolis Colt special-teamer named Reid has been arrested. First it was former sucky Patriot safety Dexter Reid, who was popped a few weeks back on weed-and-gun charges. Now it’s reserve defensive end Darrell Reid, who was hit with a weed-in-car arrest in Freehold, New Jersey, this week.
Acting on an anonymous tip, cops flagged Reid’s rental car and observed the ever-present “strong odor of marijuana.” He was rung up on a couple of misdemeanor charges and released on bond.
I’m giving Reid 20 points, just because he was driving. Well, 15 for driving stoned, and five for being a Colt.
A sad Chi-Town story
It’s hard to say if this qualifies as a sports-crime story, but once-promising prep football star Hubert “Boo-Boo” Thompson allegedly confessed to a murder last week, in what appears to be a mental-health case.
Thompson was once one of Chicago’s most storied football players, but bad grades kept him off the Michigan State active roster for two years. In his third year, in 1999, he had 45 tackles and was working his way up to prospect status. He entered the draft in 2000, wasn’t picked, signed as a free agent with the Saints, and was cut after a dispute with a teammate. Thompson then played with the XFL Chicago Enforcers for one year, before landing in trouble in 2001. His rap sheet includes busts for attempted armed robbery, criminal trespassing, and two domestic batteries.
This past Friday, Thompson hurled a 66-year-old neighbor over a third-floor railing in his home in Lombard, Illinois. Thompson later told police he believed the neighbor was trying to poison others in the building. He is expected to be evaluated by mental-health officials soon.
In a bizarre coincidence, Thompson is being held in the same jail as Philip Macklin, another once-promising Illinois football prospect who was slated to attend the University of Illinois as a linebacker in 1999. That is, before he got into trouble, too. Macklin is in jail for two convenience-store robberies he committed as part of an apparent gang initiation.
Ugly tales, these. I’m leaving Thompson off the board since this looks like a case of schizophrenia.
When he’s not googling “Little League lock box” and “insanity plea,” Matt Taibbi writes for Rolling Stone. He can be reached atM_Taibbi@yahoo.com.
