For some reason, I don't think the NYT will give this story the same saturation coverage as the Duke lacrosse whoop-tee-do

The Chicago Sun-Times reports on NFL player Ricky Manning Jr.'s fun weekend:

The man the Bears are counting on to solve their secondary woes has his own problems right now.

Ricky Manning Jr., whom the Bears signed to an offer sheet worth as much as $21 million Friday, was arrested shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday in Los Angeles and charged with assault with a deadly weapon after a melee at a Denny's restaurant left a patron unconscious.

Manning, 25, was bailed out of jail, and Los Angeles Police Department detective Robert Lewis said late Sunday that a court date has not been set... According to Lewis, Manning was in a group that attacked a man in the restaurant after teasing him for working on a laptop computer.

"The group began by making comments that the victim looked like a geek or a nerd,'' Lewis said.

The victim asked the group to stop and then complained to a Denny's manager before someone in the group punched him in the face. He then was punched and kicked by multiple attackers until losing consciousness, Lewis said.

The group fled the restaurant, but the car Manning was in was pulled over by officers just blocks from the scene in Westwood Village near the campus of UCLA, where he played in college. According to Lewis, the victim, whom he would not identify, regained consciousness and identified Manning as one of his attackers. Manning has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon because the attack involved people kicking the victim with shoes on, Lewis said.

A source said Manning has said he was at the restaurant but had no part in the melee. It is not the first time Manning has been arrested. He was charged with assault after a bar fight in the same area five years ago today. His record has been clean since joining the NFL.

I can't wait for the "Law & Order" episode that rips this story from the headlines, but changes the attacker into a professional lacrosse player who has just signed a $21 million dollar contract.

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer