How painkillers are turning young athletes into heroin addicts - SI.com
Roman Montano had barely learned cursive when he was asked to sign his first baseball. Parents of teammates had watched him dominate game after game in Albuquerque's Little League during the summer of 2000, mowing down batters and belting home runs. He made a mockery of the weight room at Eldorado High and ran the 40-yard dash in 4. 9. As a sophomore defensive lineman he was honorable mention all-state in Class 5A. He also joined the basketball team his senior year, giving in to the pleadings... Baseball, though, was always his favorite sport—"the most funnest," as he had put it to the Albuquerque Tribune when he was 12. He once struck out all 18 batters in a Thunderbird League game. The towering righty was Eldorado High's ace, his fastball reaching the 90s. The second starter. "Everyone wanted to be him, but everyone wanted to be around him, too. The first word I would use to describe Roman is lovable. A foot injury his junior year didn't derail Roman. His senior year Roman planned to lead Eldorado to a state title and then declare for the 2008 major league draft (the Braves had expressed the most interest in him), spurning about 20 Division I scholarship. Source: www.si.com
