Fed's repo Sprewell's yacht

Just like Rodman, Rasheed and Artest after their respective blow-ups, Spree was strangely overrated (especially in New York) for a few years after the strangling incident, with even presumably professional analysts going ga-ga over the supposed "intensity" and "desire" he brought to the team.

Of course FOX Sports leads the way, pom-pon shaking for the "troubled" and "controversial" athlete, selling the seeming paradox that destructive, screw-loose head cases are actually doing something to help your team, with a whole series devoted to the premise. ESPN, which never met a "misunderstood athlete" it couldn't bathe in sloppy wet kisses, joins in the chorus, both on the air and in The Mag.

Rarely, very rarely, it's true. Far more often than not, it's a crock. When you win with a psycho head case on your team, it's usually in spite of him, not because of him. Destructive, screw-loose head cases eventually destroy your team.