Maradona good; Pele better; George Best

There has always been a debaucherous nature associated with athletes, but Georgie Best took it to the extreme. He was as famous for his three main vices (booze, women and gambling) as he was for his soccer. And this is someone who Pele once called "the greatest player in the world."

After making his name at Manchester United, Best left at the age of 27 and was never able to reclaim the same level of glory again. The man from Northern Ireland, known as the Fifth Beatle, continued to play the game, bouncing all around the globe, including a long stay in the United States playing in the NASL. His demons would come and go, but the stories were always there. Here are some of the more interesting tidbits of Best's life:

- Debuted at Manchester United at 17

- Was the 1968 European footballer of the year

- Opened two Manchester night clubs in the 1960s and eventually owned a bar in Hermosa

- Ran numerous clothing boutiques in Manchester

- Womanizing included relations with seven Miss Worlds

- Served three month prison sentence for drunk driving

- Allegedly involved in abusive relationships, with reports of him hitting a girlfriend and a waitress

- The husband of one of his mistresses put out a hit to have his legs broken

- Was once waived from his club for a famous drinking bender with the French Rugby Team

- Once stole money from a woman to continue a drinking session

- Stabbed by his wife

Best, not surprisingly, drank himself to death. /End scene.

Schrempf Before Smits

Picking which athletes will become a part of pop culture after their careers end is not an easy art, so I hope others are as surprised as I am by Detlef Schrempf's continued place in our lives. After being the title of a track on Band of Horses' 2007 release, Cease To Begin, Detlef has now been a plot element on the most recent episode of NBC's show Parks and Recreation. Somewhere in an apartment in Eindhoven, Rik Smits is cursing himself.

Magic Mud

 CNN has a great story about the history of Major League Baseball's 'magic mud', the mud that has been exclusively used to break in game balls at both the major league and minor league levels since 1938. Ever since 1920, the year that Ray Chapman became the only MLB player ever killed by a pitch, umpires had been searching for a way enhance the grip on a baseball. Lena Blackburne, a manager for the Philadelphia Athletics, was familiar with the mud on the Delaware River near his home and began using it. Word slowly flowed from team to team until it was the only substance used.

70 years later, this is still the case. Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud is harvested, packaged and sold each year to all of Major League Baseball. The company is still family-owned and the mud's location on the Delaware River is still a mystery. The owner says that the business only brings in approximately $20,000 a year, but you can't put a price on tradition.

Harvesting baseball's 'magic mud' [cnn.com]

Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud website