Anyone who ever saw the heart-wrenching movie “The Wrestler” starring Mickey Rourke knows that drug and alcohol use are rampant among professional wrestlers.

The stories of drug and alcohol use and abuse among professional wrestlers has been going on since the days of “Lucha Libre.”

Most recently, according to the Bleacher Report, former Olympic Gold Medalist and current TNA star Kurt Angle arrested in suspicion of DWI.

It is no secret that many wrestlers are noted alcoholics or drug abusers. Alcohol and drugs have been a plague to the professional wrestling industry. Often, these wrestlers die too young because of their addictions to alcohol or drugs.

It's no surprise they turn to alcohol and drugs to alleviate the pain endured by countless bumps and bruises in that squared circle.

Alcohol and drug abuse has killed many professional wrestlers including: Rick Rude, Luna Vachon, Sherri Martel, Andrew "Test" Martin, Edward "Umaga" Fatu, Bam Bam Bigelow, "Mr Perfect" Curt Hennig, Brian Pillman, Miss Elizabeth, Davey Boy Smith, the Von Erich Family, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero were just some of the names in the wrestling industry who died because of drugs or alcohol.

But, there is a beacon of light in the midst of terrifying darkness. A light of hope at the end of the tunnel of hopelessness.

CM Punk

Philip Jack Brooks grew up in a broken home because of his father's alcoholism. Therefore, Brooks dedicated his life to not partaking in drugs and alcohol. Brooks is better known as WWE Champion CM Punk, the best wrestler in the world.

CM Punk proved that you don't need drugs or alcohol to climb the proverbial mountain to reach the top. Punk's outspoken straight edge lifestyle has been positive to impressionable youth constantly tempted by a barrage of drug and alcohol ads.

I hope that CM Punk's real-life straight-edge lifestyle might very well cause a revolution among wrestling fans. It is strong role models like him who might help turn the tide against the rampant drug and alcohol use in society.

World-class Olympian Amanda Beard admits she had a drug problem. Beard, who became one of the darlings of the American sports world when she swam in the Beijing Olympics after giving birth, used and abused drugs.

An Olympic medalist at 14, Amanda Beard is now happily married and a proud mom, and finally at peace. But, according to CBS News, Beard spent years working through depression, bulimia, drug abuse and toxic relationships with famous.

Who knows what her life would have been like if she could not take out her frustrations and aggressions in the swimming pool?

Beard emerged on the international scene at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics by winning two silver medals in the breaststroke events and gold in the relay. She hit puberty soon after, going through a growth spurt that added 6 inches and 30 pounds to her slender frame.

Normal for most girls, it was disastrous for a swimmer. Her body's changes made her slower in the water and she lost races.

Now, 30, Beard traces the cause of her struggles to her parent's divorce when she 12. Her mother moved out and Amanda lived with her father in their Irvine, Calif., home. Her two older sisters were already out of the house.

Battles With Booze

A-level athletes treat their bodies like temples. However, Beard started drinking in high school, when she hated her looks and felt unlovable. Adding to her burden was a case of mild dyslexia that made her cry daily and led to grades of Cs and Ds.

After briefly retiring from swimming after the Atlanta games, she suffered from bulimia.

Typical of an addict and bulimia is a type of addiction, Beard recounts how in college she once vomited seven times in one day despite being scared by the physical toll it took on her body.

Playboy Spread

Still plagued by her history of negative feelings about her body, Beard nonetheless parlayed her California surfer girl looks into sexy magazine shoots, including a Playboy spread in 2007. It was during this time she met and fell in love with her current husband, photographer Sacha Brown.

Brown saw her issues and had the guts to bring her issues out into the open. She now refers to him as a knight in shining armor.

Beard is one of the success stories of celebrities and athletes who suffer from addiction issues. Addiction is a terrible thing. If you or someone you love is addicted to drugs, please seek help. There are also 8 hour and 16 hour online drug classes.

Is it just me or do NFL wide receivers get into more trouble than other position players? The Cincinnati Bengals seem to have more than their fair share of players with drug and other legal problems.

Bengals receiver Jerome Simpson could receive a 60-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to a drug-related felony charge according to ESPN as part of an agreement with prosecutors, further clouding his future in the NFL.

The four-year veteran is a free agent after completing his contract with the Bengals. His guilty plea could bring a suspension from the league, which would make him less attractive on the free-agent market.

A Whole Lot of Weed

This drug case began back in September, when a package containing approximately two pounds of marijuana was delivered to his home in northern Kentucky.

The package had been tracked by agents from California. Authorities later searched Simpson's home and found approximately another pound of marijuana. He was indicted on a felony charge of marijuana trafficking.

The agreement also calls for three years' probation, 200 hours of community service and drug treatment.

The agreement stipulates that there is no evidence Simpson was dealing marijuana. Simpson’s attorney said Simpson had the marijuana for personal use ( 3 pounds of it) and was probably sharing it with friends.

The agreement allows for Simpson to be on a work-release program -- leave jail during the day to work -- but the judge will decide if that's appropriate.

The second-round draft pick from Coastal Carolina caught 53 passes for 758 yards and four touchdowns last season as a complement to rookie Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green. His grandest moment -- a flip over a defender to score a touchdown -- became a staple of NFL highlight films.

Simpson had one of the SportsCenter highlights of the year in the NFL last season when he did a heels-over-head flip over Arizona linebacker Daryl Washington at the goal line and landed on his feet in the end zone during a 23-16 win on Dec. 14. Simpson raised both arms in triumph, like a gymnast who had just stuck a landing.

Simpson is one of four Bengals either arrested or indicted since last July, along with linebacker Rey Maualuga, running back Cedric Benson and cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones

Maualuga has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge resulting from an altercation at a downtown Cincinnati bar on Feb. 5. It's his second court case in two years. Maualuga pleaded guilty to drunken driving after police in northern Kentucky said he hit a parking meter and two parked cars in January 2010.

The NFL fined Maualuga two game checks and made him forfeit a two-week share of his signing bonus for violating its conduct policy with the drunken driving case. As a repeat offender under the policy, Maualuga could face a suspension next season, depending upon the outcome of his latest case.

Benson, who is a free agent and is unlikely to return to Cincinnati, was charged with misdemeanor assault last July for an altercation with a former roommate in Texas. He served five days in jail there before the start of the season, and was suspended for one game by the NFL.

Jones, who also is a free agent, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for a disturbance at a downtown bar last July. He was sentenced to a year of probation and community service. Jones has repeatedly been suspended during his seven years with the league, and faces more discipline if he signs with a team.

Wow, a bunch of bad apples on the same team. The Bengals should probably institute a mandatory Ohio drug class for all of its players.

There is a long-running argument of whether or not scholarship athletes should receive a stipend for spending money. Many believe the free tuition, room and board are enough. Others argue they should receive something as they cannot have a job for spending money.

I am certain nobody believes they should supplement their income by selling drugs.

Four Texas Christian University football players, including one All-American, were among 17 students arrested as a result of a six-month investigation into illegal drug dealing on the Fort Worth, Texas campus.

The investigation is continuing and more student arrests are possible at the university, which has an enrollment of about 9,500.

The football players arrested were junior linebacker Tanner Brock, junior defensive tackle David "D.J" Yendrey; junior safety Devin Johnson and sophomore offensive tackle Ty Horn.

Brock is a standout player who was named a Phil Steele third-team All-American and a SportsIllustrated.com honorable-mention All-American. He registered nine tackles, including five solo tackles, in TCU's 21-19 win over Wisconsin in the 2011 Rose Bowl.

The 17 students arrested had sold drugs "hand-to-hand" to undercover officers. Drugs sold to officers included marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and a variety of prescription drugs.

The four football players are accused of selling marijuana to officers.

The arrested students were immediately removed from campus and face possible expulsion.

The TCU Horned Frogs football team has been one of the best in the nation in recent years and finished the 2011 season ranked No. 13 in the USA Today poll. TCU is set to join the powerful Big 12 Conference in July.

A controversy like this can set a football program back 10 years. Hopefully these young men and women will take a drug class, learn from their mistakes and resume a functional life.

Source: news.yahoo.com

I am sure you have heard the saying “where there is smoke there is fire.” UFC heavyweight Dave Herman has to defend him against charges of smoking marijuana according to mmajunkie.com.

Herman is rethinking the crowd he hangs out with between fights. He claims he didn’t smoke the weed, but was recently around those who used the drug, which may have caused him to fail a pre-fight drug

I don’t buy a word he says, claiming that he sees people smoking marijuana every day. He even uses the argument that it is legal in California.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t see people smoking weed every day!

Herman tested positive for marijuana but tested clean for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

How serious is this guy? He claims he knows he should be staying at home while training for a fight, but that gets boring so he has to go hang out with people smoking marijuana. Give me a break!

Herman should start by taking a drug class. He should also not hang around people who smoke. Do you think he ingested second-hand smoke, or do you agree that where there’s smoke there’s fire?

As a longtime sports fan as well as a recovering alcoholic and drug addict I always followed the careers of the athletes who got into trouble due to their vices. One of the all-time most corrupt individuals was Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter.

Well address Schlichter’s problems in a moment. First, the reason for this blog is that he and his attorney are trying to convince a judge that federal prisons should implement a 500-hour drug abuse plan.

You pick a vice and you can bet the 52-year-old former 1^st round draft pick has tried it.  Do you remember what originally caused his fall from grace?

Drafted by the Baltimore Colts with the 4^th pick in 1982, Schlichter went into training camp as the starting quarterback only to lose the job.  Another thing he was good at losing was money gambling.  The bozo blew his entire signing bonus by midseason.  Despite these losses he continued to bet and lose on football games. 

During the strike in 1982 he lost $20K on one college football game and had amassed over $700K in debts before the season was out.

From gambling to jail to drugs back to jail his life has been one great big screw up.  Making matters worse he wrote plenty of bad checks and stole from friends and family.  By his own account he has committed more than 20 felonies.

Maybe his latest will keep him behind bars for the rest of his life.  He is now facing 10 years in prison on fraud charges stemming from a million-dollar ticket-selling scheme.

Adding further disgrace to himself, his family and the community Schlichter was jailed after he found to have violated the terms of his bond by testing positive for cocaine use while free on house arrest.

What a mess.  From a guy who was an All-American football player.  Perhaps if he had more counseling younger.  Perhaps if he had taken a drug class or stop theft class his life could have been different.  At this point we will never know.  His time in the limelight hopefully has faded.

The physical violence of the National Hockey League (NHL) is downright terrifying. The way these guys lay on each other out and the hits they take could and should scare the wits out of anybody!

Here is a real life story of an NHL player battling with addiction issues.

As rain washed over him, Todd Fedoruk stumbled on the streets of Tampa, Florida in his latest haze, this one ignited by a concoction of booze and cocaine.

The Bully Unveiled

His secret, reckless lifestyle had fueled his transformation from NHL enforcer to a junkie hooked on cocaine and marijuana that threw his life and career into jeopardy. Fedoruk had been in this dark place before, believing he beat his addiction the first time with the same steely will he needed to scrape with the baddest bullies in the league to earn his keep in the NHL.

Yet here he was, back socializing with the wrong crowds, patronizing the seedy part of towns, hustling for whatever type of drugs he could abuse. On a rainy pre-dawn trip after the 2010 season, a disgraced Fedoruk had nowhere to hide.

“I didn’t want to drive anywhere because I was loaded,” he said. “I couldn’t stay in the house because I was paranoid. All the insanity came back.

“I knew everything was coming to an end. I didn’t care about hockey anymore. I didn’t care about my family. I was struck with this feeling of; how the hell did I get back here after everything I’ve been through? How the hell did I get back in this position again?”

He needed help. Drug addiction was not a disease he could fight alone.

Sitting in an NHL locker room, drinking a cup of coffee, Fedoruk now believes he’s one of the lucky ones. In a summer that has the NHL reeling from three chilling deaths of noted tough guys, Fedoruk is alive to share his story.

“A lot of guys in my role,” he said, “kind of carry these demons around with them.”

Guys like Derek Boogaard.

The first time Fedoruk met Boogaard, they were teenage prospects in Regina, Saskatchewan. Fedoruk, four years older, saw a kid who couldn’t skate, couldn’t fight a lick, yet had already grown into his 200-plus-pound frame that would serve him well as one of the league’s top instigators.

As an avid fan of the New York Yankees, watching the Boston Red Sox collapse down the stretch to miss the playoffs was awesome. As a baseball fan I have long-respected the team’s manager Terry Francona.

As the Boston Red Sox disintegrated in what would become the worst September collapse in baseball history, some at Fenway Park grew concerned that the pain medication Francona was taking after a half-dozen procedures on his knee was affecting his ability to manage.

Francona left the team after the season when his contract options were not picked up. Since then, reports have surfaced about the dysfunction in a Red Sox clubhouse that produced a 7-20 record in September to turn what had been a once comfortable lead in the playoff race into an early offseason.

Team sources expressed concern that Francona's performance may have been affected by the use of pain medication. Rumors also have been flying around that Francona was worried about his son and son-in-law, who are Marine officers serving in Iraq. At the same time, Francona was living in a hotel, separated from his wife of more than 30 years.

Responding to the allegations that he was "distracted," Francona noted that he was dealing with the same problems during the four-month period when the team was going 80-41. Francona's ill health was no secret – he was taken to the hospital with chest pains from Yankee Stadium in 2005 – and he said he was taking the medication after multiple knee operations and at least five procedures to drain blood from his knee.

Francona told the paper that he confirmed with team Dr. Larry Ronan that he did not have a problem with drug abuse.

Were prescription painkillers to blame for the Red Sox collapse? No way! Could they have affected his judgment while on the mention? Absolutely. 

While there is no doubt that professional wrestling is entertainment and the blows taken are softened greatly, but it also is a fact that pro wrestlers still take a beating.  Pain is as much a part of their lives as of football players in the NFL.

Scott Hall was a wrestling superstar in the early 1990s, his immensely popular character the "Scarface"- like Razor Ramon. Later, he was one of the faces of the faction dubbed the New World Order.

Now, at age 52, Hall has a pacemaker and takes about a dozen pills daily to deal with anxiety and pain. He's been arrested several times since his final stint with WWE in 2002 and has publically discussed his struggles with drugs and alcohol.

"There's got to be some reason that I'm still here," Hall said. "I should have been dead 100 times. I should have been dead 100 times."

Smart Man, Sad Story

Hall said many of the older wrestlers of his generation are "all dinosaurs now and we're all retired and dead. The young guys coming up now aren't drinking and drugging and stuff I hope as bad as we did. …

"I tell my kids this, 'I can't tell you not to drink and do drugs, they are fun. It's fun. They work,'" Hall said. "But what sucks is when you want to quit and you can't, and pretty soon you alienate or you hurt everyone around you. It's a family disease and then you can't keep a promise to anybody. What sucks the most is when you can't even keep a promise to yourself."

Stephanie McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment's executive vice president of creative development and operations, said WWE has sent Hall to rehab multiple times and spent "in the six figures" on efforts to help him get sober.

"It's the most amount of money we've spent on anyone," she said. "I just want Scott to get help and to decide for himself that he needs help. It makes me sad. I don't want anybody to pass away prematurely or otherwise really. Scott was an incredibly talented performer, larger than life, charismatic. He's a father, he's a friend. I'm sure he means a lot to a lot of people and it would be a shame for him to pass away."

Hall's story of drugs and stints in rehab highlights the substance-abuse problems some former wrestlers have faced, and the efforts WWE has undertaken to try to help its ex-stars. It's a problem professional wrestling has faced off and on since it hit the big time 26 years ago. On pay-per-view TV, the world was introduced to a combination of entertainment and celebrity dubbed "Wrestlemania." The main event was Hulk Hogan and Mr. T battling Rowdy Roddy Piper and Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff. That day, March 31, 1985, professional wrestling went mainstream. Liberace attended, Cyndi Lauper was a manager and Muhammad Ali was a referee. After all the glitz and glamour, professional wrestling became big over the next decade -- and behind the scenes it was, at times, debauchery.

Let’s hope he can stay straight and use the rest of his life to educate kids on why never to start using drugs.Despite the “highs” it will always end low!

“Sweetness” was one of the greatest running backs of all-time. Many would argue, the greatest! Of course Sweetness was better known as Walter Payton, a man who led the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl title in 1985.

Let’s begin by saying there is a hidden side to everyone. Some are certainly darker sides than others. But did Sweetness have a drug problem?

A new book about Payton, the Bears’ legendary Hall of Famer, reveals a controversial, private side of the running back and has drawn criticism from his family.

In “Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton,” Jeff Pearlman chronicles Payton’s life from his childhood in Mississippi and battle with a rare liver disease and death from bile duct cancer in 1999.

Excerpts in Sports Illustrated relate tales of Payton’s extramarital affairs, including a scene in Canton, Ohio, when Payton took both his wife and girlfriend to his Hall of Fame induction. Payton, Pearlman writes in detail, battled depression and was addicted to painkillers during his playing career and afterward.

My memory will always be of Sweetness bursting through a seam and scampering for a touchdown. Of course I was pretty young and he was an idol. Like all professional athletes and celebrities, it is important that none of see them as role models.