Hi Folks,

Chalk one up to the "Whizzinator".
WCCO TV (CBS) in Minneapolis / St. Paul is reporting that Vikings
running back Onterrio Smith has been suspended by the NFL and will
miss the 2005 season.
Clipped from the WCCO.com article:
The National Football league has suspended Minnesota Vikings running
back Onterrio Smith for a year.
The reason for Smith's suspension was not immediately released. He
will miss all of the 2005 football season.
Smith, 24, rushed for 579 yards as a rookie and led the Vikings last
season with 544 yards.
Smith spent part of the 2004 season on the bench, serving a four game
suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. In the
summer of 2004, Smith tested positive for marijuana.
At the time, Smith was in the league's substance-abuse program for at
least one other previous positive test.
In April 2005, Smith was detained at the Minneapolis/ St. Paul
International Airport with a device called "The Original Whizzinator."
Smith reportedly told police the device is used "for making a clean
urine test."
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Wow. I'll save the wasted talent commentary for another rant. All that
matters to you right now is that it doesn't look like Smith will be in
the picture for 2005. It's still far from a settled backfield with
Michael Bennett, Mewelde Moore, Moe Williams, and rookie Ciatrick
Fason so we'll see how these guys shake out during the Summer. But at
least it looks like you can take Smith off your cheatsheets.
Thanks to Footballguy Paul Nicks for the headsup on this one.
J