God, sex and the pursuit of Zoloft

The lights finally went on in the Montgomery Detention Center in
Rockville,
Md. when the “boneheads” started giving former heavyweight champion Mike

Tyson his proper dosage of anti-depressant pills — Zoloft.

After being forced to go cold turkey, Tyson went berserk on Feb. 19
and
threw a TV set against the bars that sent plastic shard hurtling towards

one of his guards. He had refused to see the jail psychiatrist.

The ruling swiftly came down: Tyson to the hole for 20 days and loss
of his
privileges such as the telephone.

On Thursday and Friday, Iron Mike came out of the hole and his
regular
privileges were restored.

Dr. Richard Goldberg from Georgetown University and the jail medic,
Dr.
Martin Colodzin, got together and agreed that Zoloft was the key to his
mental health.

Tyson had started a one-year sentence on Feb. 5 for a road rage
incident.
It’s not known if his boxing career will ever resume.

In Wednesday’s HeartBeat, I wrote about my experiences with
depression.
Although there were a couple of dozen e-mails concerning depression, one

reader had little sympathy for Tyson.

“Many people suffer from depression and have difficulty with normal
psychological function,” Bradford explained as he looked down his long
nose. “However, one can only excuse so much ‘bad’ behavior with this
depressive mode. If this is the case, and one has a normal thought
process
he or she can overcome or at least TRY to function properly and have
some
remorse for their difficult behavior. Tyson on the other hand, has no
remorse, and really has not the intellect to overcome. The Peter
Principle,
he is already way beyond his ability to function properly,
intelligently,
and coherently. Let him sit where he belongs in a hole.”

While off Zoloft, Tyson told the Sunday Mirror that he’d turned his
back on
his wife, Monica, and his Muslim religion.

“I’ve had it with God — sex is the only thing I want,” he was quoted
as
telling his guards. “This is my home now.”

While in the hole, he existed on junk food, not exactly the Breakfast
of
Champions.

With Mike fighting his “black dog”, another professional athlete,
pitcher
Pete Harnisch of the 1998 Cincinnati Reds, seemingly, has overcome the
“black tornadoes” that invaded his mind during the ’97 season with the
New
York Mets.

Harnisch, 32, was voted Fool of the Week by the Web’s Laughing Pit in
1997.
“After many years of constant years of constant tobacco chewing, he
decided
to quit, spiraling him into insomnia and depression. Now he’s on the
disabled list, costing the Mets $5 million (in 1997). He’s not injured,
yet
he’s only pitched one game for the Mets this year!” read the statement.

“We here at the Laughing Pit have something to say to Pete. Chew (the

blankety-blank) Tobacco … Don’t listen to all the Politically people
and
the health nuts! So you might get mouth and throat cancer, so you might
lose all of your teeth and have to talk with a voicebox! At least you
might
be able to get some sleep and help your team out!”

Harnisch developed a thick skin, received extensive medical treatment
and
found himself on the hill with Cincinnati in ’98.

From the disabled list in 1997, he became the Reds’ most productive
hurler
with a 14-7 record after signing as free agent on Jan. 21, 1998. Cincy
finished fourth in the National League Central, behind Houston, Chicago
and
St. Louis.

The professional sports world has seen countless cases of depression
(not
blues, man) and the likes of Harnisch, thank God, are speaking out. The
stigma of this mental illness remains and will be kept in the closet
until
there are other brave souls.

If you’re an athlete or a former athlete and have been dogged by the
“black
tornadoes,” tell me your story at: [email protected]/ No names will
be
used unless permission is given.

MOMENT OF ZEN: The planet is certainly aligned correctly now that
Dennis
Rodman has been late for practice, at least once. While the Lakers
slugged
LA Clippers twice since The Worm arrived, their first test was against
Houston Rockets and Scottie Pippen Sunday. They won, 106-90. Meanwhile,
Kurt Rambis (remember the tough guy with the broken glasses in his
playing
days?) has been seen looking over his shoulder since he was given the
head
coaching job, replacing the fired Del Harris. There are drumbeats and
smoke
signals, claiming the Master of Zen, Phil Jackson has been spotted
riding
his “hog” somewhere in Montana and headed towards California. Just a
rumor,
at this stage. Did you notice Michael at courtside Sunday?

SPURRED TO QUIT: I wasn’t surprised to learn fellow columnist Kevin
O’Keeffee of the San Antonio Express-News had quit over what he
perceived
as interference by management on his coverage of San Antonio Spurs’
coach
Gregg Popovich. An excellent wordsmith, O’Keeffee’s treatment is typical
of
the boys in the ivory tower. You’re only as good as your last “nice”
word
about a coach. By the way, Utah stomped on the Spurs, 101-87, Sunday.

FLEURY OF ACTIVITY: Theo Fleury and Chris Dingman from Calgary to
Colorado
for forward Rene Corbet (Cor-bay), defenseman Wade Belak and someone
named
Future Considerations. A great deal for the Avs? You betcha. Little Theo
is
a bundle of dynamite and headed for the hockey Hall of Fame whenever he
hangs up his skates. Colorado coach Bob Hartley hasn’t a clue on what
line
he’ll play Fleury. Maybe on a line with Peter Forsberg or Joe Sakic.
Time
will tell.

SHOW ME THE MONEY: I just slapped myself for saying that. Anyway, the

Montreal Expos ownership group has been given to March 6 to buy out prez

Claude Brochu, put up the monies for a new stadium and find some
“angels”
that want to give the Expos a needed $$$ shot in the arm. A Texas
zillionaire family apparently wants to keep the team in Montreal while
William Collins wants to move them to northern Virginia, and in
Clinton’s
capital two groups want to build a downtown stadium. All of a sudden,
the
Expos of the devalued Canadian bucks, are wanted.

NOW TRUMP THIS: Well, slick Donald Trump wants to fill the void in
the
attractive New York market, if he didn’t own most of it now. The Donald
plans to put up $55 million to chase 2,900 acres on Long Island and
invite
the likes of Jeff Gordon, the Burtons, etc. to his Riverhead NASCAR
superspeedway.

FINALLY: It’s a sad day in baseball as Arizona D’Backs minor-league
pitcher
Ken Robinson was killed in an alcohol-related car accident Sunday.
Robinson, 29, had spent time with Toronto and Kansas City. Driver and
hurler John Rosengren, 26, has been charged with second-degree murder
and
sits in a Pima County Jail.