It's a Sad Day When An Athlete Has a Garage Sale

Lost in the midst of these trivial stories like a star athlete running an illegal, million dollar underground dog fighting operation or a steroid dealer giving names to the Mitchell investigation is a far greater travesty that has the potential to implode the culture of sports as we know it.

Athletes are having trouble holding on to their expensive toys.

Right now on Ebay, anyone with a half million burning a hole in their pocket can bid on David Ortiz's hand-built 2005 Mercedes Benz SL65 AMG. The 604 horsepower convertible only has 4,000 miles on it and will give you that clutch feeling every time you take the wheel. Ortiz actually stands to make a nice profit from the deal, as his cost was $240,000 and at the time of this writing, the highest bid is $465,300. Nevertheless, millionaire athletes are supposed to hoard luxury cars, not sell them. Since Ebay has switched to a more private system, I can't tell if the high bidder is "KobraKai04," but something tells me that right now, Bill Simmons is begging his publisher for an advance payment on his upcoming book.

If high-performance automobiles aren't your thing, perhaps I can interest you in Latrell Sprewell's yacht? The 70-foot, $1.5 million, Italian-built yacht has been repossessed after Sprewell's company, LSF Marine Holdings, was unable to keep up with the $10,322 monthly payments. I know, I know- it's hard to believe that Sprewell would make poor financial decisions, but it's true. Bargain hunters will be disappointed however, as documents indicate that he still has $1.3 million in principal remaining on the yacht, which was initially purchased in 2003. I had no idea you could buy a luxury item like this for somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% down. What mortgage broker do I have to choke to get terms like that?

Life is getting pretty tough for the professional athlete. It's no wonder so many are starting second businesses while still in their playing days. If in a few years, Yao Ming is found to be running a prostitution ring with young, Chinese refugees, you'll understand why. Those mansions don't pay for themselves.