Drunk and possibly high? Wow, I have nothing more to say, except that all these stupid MLB "tributes" now have taken on a decidedly ghastly ironic light.

Yeah so maybe I stand by my earlier controversial comments. What an asshole.

Tony LaRussa should resign. He has zero credibility.

Still feel for the family and the team, but not so much Josh. And this after LaRussa's arrest...inexcusable. If there's any truth to the rumor that there was some concern about his drinking before--that time he was allegedly too hung over to pitch--heads need to roll.

You're being very kind but describing his behavior as "risky". You could describe it more bluntly -- "STUPID" behavior.

But it is the manager's role to protect his players, pretty much no matter what.

Wells... your orginal comments on your post after the death was very harsh... but it turns out, dead on. The calls for your censorship were examples of the type of thinks that gave us Iraq.

Wells was right on from the beginning and the only real tragedy here is that the two innocent people who were there had to witness the aftermath of Hancock's poor decision.

I could care less about ballplayers who have to deal with a drinking buddy missing from the clubhouse.

Wells: I agree with you insofar as Hancock himself is not as deserving of sympathy. But your timing of your original comments was what made them harsh and slightly disagreeable.

Also, I wish folks were capable of focusing on the living and getting friends and relations the help they will need to deal with what will now be an even more difficult time of grief as they see their lost loved one (perhaps rightfully) pilloried in the public's eye.

"I could care less about ballplayers who have to deal with a drinking buddy missing from the clubhouse."

That's not entirely fair. If your brother did something like this, wouldn't you still grieve? Bit different, but same general idea; I have zero sympathy for Josh Hancock, but for the people who cared about him this is about as bad as it gets. Then again, there are most likely a couple of guys in that organization who should carry this on their conscience for a good, long time.

Why did Josh Hancock think this behavior was OK?

Perhaps because his manager does?

His death is clearly troubling for everyone close to him and I feel for anyone who loses a loved one. However, the Cardinals clearly need to be admonished, since they winked at La Russa's spring training nap, clearly demonstrating their tolerance for this kind of behavior. I have no problem with alcohol consumption, but driving drunk is 100% unacceptable. Finally, Hancock's BAC was well above the legal limit, so even arguments about the strict standards of DUI laws (which I'm not really sympathetic to) hold no water here.

The Cardinals need to address this, particularly given their relationship with Budweiser.

just saw Dave in St. Louis' comment from may 1-

Give what I read on how he crashed, it sounded like actions of an impaired individual. Who slams into a tow truck on a freeway at 70mph without braking? Even if it was difficult to see, a sober person would have hit the brakes long before Hancock did.

Not deserving of sympathy? A human being died! What is wrong with you people? So he was speeding, drunk, high, talking on the phone, masturbating, cooking breakfast and watching a DVD, so what? Dangerous, stupid, whatever. The guy was obviously troubled, and got into a car and died. Have some compassion, or just ignore it. But to berate him after his death is silly and wrong.

Bulllshit. The flatbed truck he rammed into could easily have been a Dodge Caravan filled with kids.

His behavior was reckless and irresponsible. No, not deserving of sympathy.

Let's not forget he was driving a rental because he was in another accident just days earlier.

I enjoyed Colin Cowherd's take today. He hadn't really commented on the death earlier because he wanted all the facts in. He'd (quote) "rather be last and be right."

Well done.

"The guy was obviously troubled, and got into a car and died."

I agree with Furious. Bullshit. Not everyone who drinks and drives is "troubled;" I'd bet that most of them are just stupid, irresponsible idiots. Driving drunk is akin to playing the first couple rounds of Russian Roulette, only instead of one moron biting it, there's the potential for a whole ton of other people to go down, too.

When I heard about the accident I assumed booze, but hoped (that feels like the wrong word...) he just fell asleep at the wheel because he got tired. It's scary how similar this is to what LaRussa did; even drunk people will hit the brake when they're awake to do it, and this guy didn't. Which probably means that, unlike LaRussa, he happened to fall asleep with his foot on the wrong pedal.

No, Jim Edmonds didn't want anyone on the team talking to the press yesterday because it's pretty tacky for the press to hassle people going to someone's funeral, regardless of how he died.

When I first heard about it, even with the few details that were out there, you had to guess DWI or DWD. It appears we had both here plus weed (although you can lump that in under impairment).

You just don't sneak up on most of these towtrucks lights nowadays, they are very visible from about a mile away.

Too bad. The media should give the team a little slack, this is worse than when a guy gets pounded in a fight and immediately afterward someone sticks a mike under his nose and asks him how he feels. Can't they at least run with the details given to them by the authorities for a day or so?

Holy crap. I didn't even notice the seatbelt and cellphone part. Unreal...

friends don't let friends drive drunk

but i guess restaraunt owners do

lokk all yall hatin on the dead guy and his friends - sometimes your friends you care about drink/do drugs/commit suicide. you still love them even if you damn what they did. and maybe the cards players loved their dumbass drunk teammate and accdepted him for who he was and i would bet every last one of em wishes he had done something when he had a chance.

not that it wold have done no good, but just the same....

What a tragedy. As has been said elsewhere, would this have ended differently if the Cards had come down harder on Tony La Russa last month?

I'm hoping that Hancock can be a cautionary tale to others who are tempted to drive a vehicle while inebriated. Maybe the fact that he was a celebrity (albeit a minor one) will catch more people's attention. It sure seems to be.

I find the scorn being heaped on a man who just died here revolting. Every one of us has done something, probably many things, that were stupid and put other people at risk. Most of us are lucky to be alive, not having hurt other people, and posting today.

Yes, his behavior was reckless and irresponsible and everyone should take a lesson from it. But the man died; he and his family deserve sympathy too.

My only note is that this sort of behavior seems to be prevalent among professional athletes, who seemingly feel they're invulnerable to normal risks. Which is stupid and reckless, indeed. Another reason why professional athletes should not be held up as role models.