The first sentence of the April 24, 1989 cover story from the SI seen on the right: “The man from tomorrow is taking his drugs.” The author of that feature, Rick Telander, was referring to the highly caffeinated supplements then 22-year-old Tony Mandarich would take before working out.

Or, at least Telander thought caffeine was the drug to which he was referring. Now we know, officially, that Mandarich was indeed on steroids while playing at Michigan State. The shocking(!) confession will air on Inside the NFL tomorrow night:

Former NFL draft bust Tony Mandarich says he used steroids at Michigan State and faked a drug test before the 1988 Rose Bowl.

He also said during an interview on "Inside the NFL" that will air Wednesday on Showtime that he did not use steroids in the NFL but was addicted to alcohol and painkillers.

He stopped doing the ‘roids before he entered the NFL? Well, that would certainly help explain why he suddenly was unable to block anyone. But really, the Packers should’ve never beat themselves up too much for taking Mandarich No. 2 overall. I mean, Troy Aikman went No. 1 and Barry Sanders went No. 3, so that draft class was clearly full of nothing but busts waiting to happen.

I am a strong believer in Delonte West, and feel he helps the Cavs a lot. That said, sometimes it can be hard to decipher exactly what the man's point is, or why he wants us to know. Case in point: His remarks from camp about his off-season contract drama. From the Akron Beacon Journal, here's West on those pesky Russia rumors:

''I don't know where that came from, that scared me to death,'' West said. ''I'm more of a Maryland, West Virginia, maybe Atlanta type of guy. I ain't going nowhere.''

The real gem comes when Delonte explains why he and the team initially didn't see eye to eye on salary. Or wait, did they?

"You may think I am joking, but I'd play for free. I play for a reason not a season. 'The first amount they threw out there, I couldn't believe it, that was, whew, more money than my whole family had seen if you add everybody's salaries up. I'm talking about 10 brothers and sisters. The holdout was about me getting a sense of the team wanting me to be here.''

Well, you got that sense, I guess. Since their offer did get where you wanted it to be. Ironically, though, the Cavs also went and signed Mo Williams, who could totally step on your toes, or at least bump up against you, in the rotation. You both do similar things, and, more importantly, could end up in a dogfight for "LeBron's sidekick 2008-09." So you tell me, Delonte. Do they really want you?

And will Russia seem so awful if LeBron asks you to follow him there in 2010?

These four fans, who were in attendance at last night’s Steelers-Ravens game, would like you to kindly refer to them as the Polamalu Pimps. They’d also like you to know that you’re drunk if you doubt the Steelers’ prowess, they can count to six if given two chances, and Pittsburgh is “going all the way ... tonight against the Ravens.” Not to be confused with the more common meaning of “we’re going all the way,” which implies making it to the Super Bowl. Even the most die-hard Steelers fan knows this team isn’t that good:

Marbury says here that he "wants to let his game do his talking." But how about we just pay him the MLE to wander the league and give oracular interviews like this. Even if they're this brief. They can become instant ringtone smashes, streetwear tees, and the basis for innumerable self-help books. I'm telling you, the man's a cash cow just waiting to happen. All they need to do is keep him from the court and clear up that mountainous contract of his. Otherwise, he's just Citizen Kane fronting like Guy Smiley. Truly sinister.

Realtor Jack "Fuzzy" Harmon and Harrison County Court-at-law Judge Jim Ammerman II didn't make their bets, they inherited them from their fathers, who renewed a simple wager each year. The wager: the loser of the Arkansas/Texas game, an old Southwest Conference rivalry now turned into a periodically contested SEC/Big 12 game, would push the other around the business district of Marshall, Texas in a wheelbarrow.

The sons, who both attended Texas, keep up the wager as a tribute to their fathers, and perhaps as a sort of discount, DIY cardiac stress test. Carrying another grown man around in a wheelbarrow certainly doesn't sound easy to me, especially when you consider wheelbarrow training is a cornerstone of training at The Pit, John Hackelford's torture center/MMA training facility.

This did not exactly sound like hardcore training in any sense of the word, however:

"We added balloons this year since it was such a blow-out," Ammerman said of the game and the wheelbarrow decorations.

A cold hard scientific fact: if something involves balloons, it is festive and therefore not painful. This story is also a reminder that whatever you're doing, they're doing it bigger in Texas. That is all.