Vikings running back Adrian Peterson this week compared the current NFL ownership situation to modern-day slavery. The NFL makes billions of dollars every year, and the owners and players' union have been trying to hammer out a new contract agreement which would add two more regular season games and give owners a greater slice of the pie. In light of that, I can see where Peterson could see some comparisons to slavery. But I can't think of too many slaves who were paid 10 million dollars a year. Even the lowest paid NFL player lives like a king compared to use regular stiffs. I could see comparing the situation, maybe, to greedy pre-union corporations looking to rake-in more money from their workers, but to me it rings of strangling the golden goose. In this situation, I am firmly with the players, who sacrifice their bodies and sometimes their lives for our entertainment. But they are by no means slaves, and I anticipate Adrian Peterson will soon recant or "clarify" his statements on Yahoo Sports. By all accounts Peterson is a nice guy and a model citizen (when he's not driving) but cerebrally, he is not in the same league as the Viking's former star running back Robert Smith.
26-year-old Leroy Diaz Evans of Willmar will soon be sentenced to spend a good portion of the rest of his life in prison for helping rob a Willmar man at gunpoint, then shoot at a Willmar Police car, missing Officer Mike Holmes by a foot or two. I sat through much of his trial this week and last. Diaz Evans is a bonafide bad guy, with a lengthy record of violent offenses, some with guns, and at least one involving the death of a young man from Cottonwood after a fight at a party near Granite Falls in 2002. While waiting for the jury to come back with their verdict on if the prosecution can seek a stiffer sentence for Diaz Evans, I had a chance to visit with his parents for about half-an-hour. His father seems like a happy-go-lucky guy with a quick smile and laugh and many tattoos, but you can tell he's had a hard life, looking older than his 52 years. His other son, Joshua, is still serving a 16 year prison sentence for the stabbing death of Nathan Hoseck in 2002. His father told me "It looks like Leroy is ready to serve some time." He spoke with pride of his other son who lives in Texas who is undergoing training to become a mechanic after being released from prison down there. Diaz Evans' mother had a cold and was a little more quiet but also told of her 3 grand children fathered by Leroy. She said Leroy's last name is Diaz Evans because of a mix-up on his birth certificate. The family lives at Regency East and has no car, but Mr. Evans said they will probably move to the Stillwater area be closer to their two children serving time in prison. Parents, next time you think your kids are trouble, think of the children of Mr and Mrs. Evans.
