The World Would Be Better Off Without You

Hopefully this will become a regular feature. But we keep up with recurring features here about as well as the Sports Dork does; so don�t hold your breath. Take The Last and Ten for instance. But we�ll give this a shot. And seriously, there won�t be any super obvious subjects, either. Alex Rodriguez, Bin Laden, and Eli Manning are too easy. We will work hard to unearth a good one. And if we can't, we'll just call Lil' Hater.

So this will be the inaugural run, so get ready to make history. Our first guest of dishonor:

Jackie Slater

Forgive us if we go Steve �The Bish� Bisheff on all of you, but we remember Jackie Slater as the hulking offensive lineman who was larger than life when he came to Canyon High of Anaheim to play basketball against the faculty. Slater was one of the real Los Angeles Rams. A guy who played in the Coliseum and every season with the club in Anaheim.

That is what makes the end so disappointing. Slater should have done the honorable thing and retired after the Rams folded following the 1994 season. Instead he played for Georgia Frontiere�s franchise in St. Louis. It was the biggest sell-out move in sports that would not be matched until Rob Van Dam showed up on WWF RAW in 1997. It was like hearing that your wife was leaving you and taking your most dependable friend with you. The one you counted on for most of your young life. Our earliest memories off the NFL started in the late 1970s, Slater's first years with the Rams. He was a member of the team until we were almost graduated from college. But that wouldn't stop him from twisting the knife into the backs of Rams fans.

Compare Slater with the members of the Baltimore Colts who will not associate with the Indianapolis Colts. Tom Matte, Johnny Unitas, and Art Donovan all turned their backs on the Colts franchise. Heck, Matte does color commentary for the Baltimore Ravens on the club radio's broadcast. That is how you react. These guys were pissed. Slater not only gleefully went with the new franchise, he also allowed himself to be into that stupid St. Louis Ring of Honor.

And if that wasn�t bad enough�Slater was hired as the offensive line coach for the Oakland Raiders. A job is a job, but there are just some jobs you shouldn�t take.

So Jackie Slater, the world would be a better place without you.