Tony Larussa arrested for DUI

[rams80]

What the hell is going on with those in Major League Baseball? If it's a choice between steroids and DUI, I say inject away.

As for La Russa, fire him.

Really?

For one mistake over a long life of doing a lot of good? For having a little bit more wine than he thought he had? For a level of BAC that wasn't illegal 5 years ago?

And people call La Russa holier than thou.

And no, I wouldn't feel any different if this was any other manager.

Seems to me people want to derail the lives of those who make one out of character mistake. But those people who keep making the same mistake over and over again get continual slaps on the wrist and continue to live the same bum, drunken life they chose.

Like you I have no idea how La Russa got the "holier than thou" reputation.

He should be fired. He's a Major League manager. He's suppose to be the leader of a team, a team that's defending their status as world champions. He's suppose to know better then this, he's suppose to be the one setting an example for his players.

Instead he endangers not only his own life, but the life of every other motorist that happened to be driving that night.

He needs to be let go. The Cardinals deserve a manager who's better then this, they don't need someone who endangers the lives of others simply because they can't control their own impulses.

And this is the part where you confess you are a Cubs or Astros fan...right?

I say...let him go through the legal system. At least he didn't do lines of crack or something like that.

[Guest]

YOU CAN putitontheboooooooooooooooooooooarrrrrrrrd.......YES

Rams80 interrupted me, so I'll mention that I'm a die-hard Cubs fan, and though I'd love to see Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan forcibly removed from the NL Central and thrown into Alaska, where they can no longer transform average schmucks into Cub-killing All-Stars, I don't think this has enough magnitude to cost him his job. I mean, he's Tony La Russa.

[STL FANATIC]

YOU CAN putitontheboooooooooooooooooooooarrrrrrrrd.......YES

Rams80 interrupted me, so I'll mention that I'm a die-hard Cubs fan, and though I'd love to see Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan forcibly removed from the NL Central and thrown into Alaska, where they can no longer transform average schmucks into Cub-killing All-Stars, I don't think this has enough magnitude to cost him his job. I mean, he's Tony La Russa.

I think that you're definitely right that it doesn't have enough magnitude to cost him his job. Do you feel it oughta though (as IceCap seems to)?

In my opinion it shouldn't. You can throw out all of the baseball accomplishments Tony has, and it still doesn't for me. It's completely out of character for TLR, and when that's the case, you let him know you're disappointed, you let him take the public embarrassment and the legal system, and you accept the apology and move on.

[CC97]

I think that you're definitely right that it doesn't have enough magnitude to cost him his job. Do you feel it oughta though (as IceCap seems to)?

I dunno, attempted murder is fairly serious.

[IceCap]

He should be fired. He's a Major League manager. He's suppose to be the leader of a team, a team that's defending their status as world champions. He's suppose to know better then this, he's suppose to be the one setting an example for his players.

Instead he endangers not only his own life, but the life of every other motorist that happened to be driving that night.

He needs to be let go. The Cardinals deserve a manager who's better then this, they don't need someone who endangers the lives of others simply because they can't control their own impulses.

So then your assumption is that this one event is not an anomoly and represents how La Russa lives and will continue to live his life.

I don't think that assumption could be more wrong.

That's why I think you let La Russa take the embarrassment this has brough him (as well as others). Let him go through and take what the legal system gives. And then I think you accept his apology and trust him that it won't happen again, because everything else in the way he's lived his life points to that conclusion.

The man was arrested on criminal chargers. He put his own life and the lives of others at risk. He showed a great deal of disregard for human life, as well as his inability to control his impulses. That's not someone a world champion team should want associated with them.

He'll receive what ever punishment the courts give him. That doesn't mean that as a person I forgive him. He endangered human life for the sake of his own pleasure.

What the hell is going on with those in Major League Baseball? If it's a choice between steroids and DUI, I say inject away.

As for La Russa, fire him.

Really?

For one mistake over a long life of doing a lot of good? For having a little bit more wine than he thought he had? For a level of BAC that wasn't illegal 5 years ago?

And people call La Russa holier than thou.

And no, I wouldn't feel any different if this was any other manager.

Seems to me people want to derail the lives of those who make one out of character mistake. But those people who keep making the same mistake over and over again get continual slaps on the wrist and continue to live the same bum, drunken life they chose.

Like you I have no idea how La Russa got the "holier than thou" reputation.

He should be fired. He's a Major League manager. He's suppose to be the leader of a team, a team that's defending their status as world champions. He's suppose to know better then this, he's suppose to be the one setting an example for his players.

Instead he endangers not only his own life, but the life of every other motorist that happened to be driving that night.

He needs to be let go. The Cardinals deserve a manager who's better then this, they don't need someone who endangers the lives of others simply because they can't control their own impulses.

And this is the part where you confess you are a Cubs or Astros fan...right?

I say...let him go through the legal system. At least he didn't do lines of crack or something like that.

I'm a Jays and Twins fan, a Yankee, Red Sox, Tigers, and Indians hater, and an Expos mourner. Nothing more or less.

Like I said above he'll go through the legal system and he'll get what he gets. What happens as far as the court is concerned and what happens at work are separate spheres. Punishment in one does not absolve you from punishment in the other.

[tBBP]

Kind of off-topic, but:

1. Can you still be arrested for a DUI if all you do is keep driving up and down your own driveway?

2. Can you be pulled over for doing 80 MPH in your own driveway?

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

I think as long as you're in the driver's seat you can be charged. The car doesn't even have to be running

Check your own state statutes for specifics to your state, but I have a bit of "experience" in this arena, so let me break it down for you:

1.) Person must be behind the wheel. (No--car does not have to be running. Zer0 was right about that.)

2.) Person must have keys in possession. (More on that in a minute.)

3.) Person must be proven to be at least intoxicated (registering ANYTHING on the blowtube can get you a DWI), or at or above the legal limit.

Three steps to a DUI. Eliminate any of those three and the police (at least in FL and I believe PA too) CANNOT arrest you. Again, I say, check your state's laws on DUI/DWI. I've weaseled my way out of many a charge--BELIEVE me, I know.

The easiest way to do it? <i>Chuck your keys across the street or into the woods somewhere.</i> (But make sho' yo dumb a$$ got a spare if you gon do that--or else you better invest in a metal detector.)

That concludes today's lesson on Being Charged with DWI or DUI/How To Avoid Being Charged with DWI or DUI.

Thank you. Class dismissed.

[HedleyLamarr]

Or, you can refuse to take the breath test......

[NJTank]

Thats a criminal charge too, same penalty as failing a test.

[slapshot]

Tank's right. Depending on the state, refusing a field sobriety test is an automatic license suspension. It doesn't mean the DUI goes on the record, because that can be challenged in court, but the license suspension stays.

[Sodboy13]

The Hawk fired La Russa from the White Sox during his brief GM stint, setting the organization back a few years.

Oy. Dark days, my friend. Led to 4 of the all-time worst years of White Sox baseball, from a franchise renowned for its bad years.

We got him out of the office. Now, if only we could get him out of the booth...

[Andy]

What's with the applause he received? That seem weird to anyone else? How many players (or even other coaches, I guess) would receive applause after a DUI?

I think it should cost him his job. It probably won't, because as previously mentioned he's Tony La Russa. But he is a coach, and if I'm a major league baseball organization I would probably hold the coach to an even higher standard than my players (since, you know, the coach is generally expected to lead by example.) Drunk driving is a very serious offense.

BONUS INFO FOR YOU DRUNK DRIVERS: I've also heard that in the state of PA, aside from chucking your keys into the forest to avoid a DUI, it's also acceptable if you lock them in your trunk. As long as you don't have access to your keys you should be all right.

[rams80]

What's with the applause he received? That seem weird to anyone else? How many players (or even other coaches, I guess) would receive applause after a DUI?

I think it should cost him his job. It probably won't, because as previously mentioned he's Tony La Russa. But he is a coach, and if I'm a major league baseball organization I would probably hold the coach to an even higher standard than my players (since, you know, the coach is generally expected to lead by example.) Drunk driving is a very serious offense.

BONUS INFO FOR YOU DRUNK DRIVERS: I've also heard that in the state of PA, aside from chucking your keys into the forest to avoid a DUI, it's also acceptable if you lock them in your trunk. As long as you don't have access to your keys you should be all right.

Yeah, but it is St. Louis...I mean, Leonard Little's still playing for the Rams...

Compared to what Little did, what LaRussa did is nothing.

[FiddySicks]

Kind of off-topic, but:

1. Can you still be arrested for a DUI if all you do is keep driving up and down your own driveway?

2. Can you be pulled over for doing 80 MPH in your own driveway?

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

I think as long as you're in the driver's seat you can be charged. The car doesn't even have to be running

Check your own state statutes for specifics to your state, but I have a bit of "experience" in this arena, so let me break it down for you:

1.) Person must be behind the wheel. (No--car does not have to be running. Zer0 was right about that.)

2.) Person must have keys in possession. (More on that in a minute.)

3.) Person must be proven to be at least intoxicated (registering ANYTHING on the blowtube can get you a DWI), or at or above the legal limit.

Three steps to a DUI. Eliminate any of those three and the police (at least in FL and I believe PA too) CANNOT arrest you. Again, I say, check your state's laws on DUI/DWI. I've weaseled my way out of many a charge--BELIEVE me, I know.

The easiest way to do it? <i>Chuck your keys across the street or into the woods somewhere.</i> (But make sho' yo dumb a$$ got a spare if you gon do that--or else you better invest in a metal detector.)

That concludes today's lesson on Being Charged with DWI or DUI/How To Avoid Being Charged with DWI or DUI.

Thank you. Class dismissed.

Accually, if im not mistaken, you dont have to even go that far. Unfortunately, ive had a bit of experience on the topic as well, but luckily I wasnt doing anything illegal (other than underage drinking, of course...). Ive found out that in Nevada if your in the passengers seat, and have the keys in the glove box or center console they cant bst you for anything, and cant even pull you outta your car to check you (depending on if your legally parked, of course). Good little tidbit of knowledge to have.

Now watch me try it again and get massively busted on some unseen loop-hole.

[NJTank]

The Hawk fired La Russa from the White Sox during his brief GM stint, setting the organization back a few years.

Oy. Dark days, my friend. Led to 4 of the all-time worst years of White Sox baseball, from a franchise renowned for its bad years.

We got him out of the office. Now, if only we could get him out of the booth...

I always thought The Hawk was loved in Chicago

[STL FANATIC]

What's with the applause he received? That seem weird to anyone else? How many players (or even other coaches, I guess) would receive applause after a DUI?

I think it should cost him his job. It probably won't, because as previously mentioned he's Tony La Russa. But he is a coach, and if I'm a major league baseball organization I would probably hold the coach to an even higher standard than my players (since, you know, the coach is generally expected to lead by example.) Drunk driving is a very serious offense.

BONUS INFO FOR YOU DRUNK DRIVERS: I've also heard that in the state of PA, aside from chucking your keys into the forest to avoid a DUI, it's also acceptable if you lock them in your trunk. As long as you don't have access to your keys you should be all right.

Yeah, but it is St. Louis...I mean, Leonard Little's still playing for the Rams...

Compared to what Little did, what LaRussa did is nothing.

I know Little may or may not have made the mistake again a few years ago (he was suspected, but they never ended up being able to convict him), but Little doesn't deserve any more crap for what happened about 10 years go now than anybody else who drove with the same BAC.

Little had the bad luck to have the worst case scenario happen which was get into an accident killing another person. It's a terrible thing, and I understand that by putting yourself in position where it could possibly happen, you put yourself in a position where you could possibly get pretty severe charges. So in the eye of the legal system, what Little did was worse.

But in the eye of public opinion, I don't understand why people hold him as such a criminal while letting other people off easier. Like I said, he got unlucky enough to have the worse case scenario happen. Some people get the best case scenario and don't even get caught. But truth is, what they did is equally as bad.

Little made a stupid mistake, and somebody died with him liable for the death. But it's not like he killed someone out of intent or malice.

And Little did his time. Jail time and a lot more. Some people act like he got off because he's a football player, but if you look at precedent, he got it about as bad as he possibly could have.

If he learns from his mistake and feels remorseful about what his mistake caused (which I'm not sure either is true, I just hope so), then I don't understand why people have to continue to hold it against him more than others.

As for the applause for Tony. I'd view it as fans telling him they know it's out of character and won't turn their back on him over this one mistake. It's not condoning the mistake, it's just acknowledging that it was a mistake and supporting Tony through it.

[See Red]

Leonard Little sure did learn from his mistake considering he was arrested again for drunk driving six years afterwards. Come on, guys, give him a break...

[STL FANATIC]

Leonard Little sure did learn from his mistake considering he was arrested again for drunk driving six years afterwards. Come on, guys, give him a break...

Which is exactly why I mentioned that he was. And noted that I wasn't sure he learned from it (one relapse 5 years later doesn't prove it, especially when those charges were dropped..).

But thanks.

[See Red]

He failed three roadside sobriety tests and admitted to having drank alcoholic beverages.

What length does a St. Louis athlete have to go to for you to not defend them?

[STL FANATIC]

He failed three roadside sobriety tests and admitted to having drank alcoholic beverages.

What length does a St. Louis athlete have to go to for you to not defend them?

I know you think it's just a St. Louis thing, but I'm always quick to defend instead of condemn.

When someone committs a crime with malicious intent, it's another story. I don't defend those who do that.

[See Red]

He failed three roadside sobriety tests and admitted to having drank alcoholic beverages.

What length does a St. Louis athlete have to go to for you to not defend them?

I know you think it's just a St. Louis thing, but I'm always quick to defend instead of condemn.

When someone committs a crime with malicious intent, it's another story. I don't defend those who do that.

Malicious intent or not... when you step behind the wheel of a car under the influence of alcohol and kill somebody, and then again get behind the wheel of a car under the influence of alcohol later on in your life, you're well beyond the point where you should get defended. I'm all for second chances... but he blew his second chance.