These photos are from the beginning of March. January. Hamilton was doing some pre-Spring Training workouts at the Athlete's Performance on ASU's campus. He supposedly rented a condo nearby, which also happened to be near the popular ASU hangout, Maloney's Tavern. One night, Hamilton went in. Here is a paraphrased account from people who were there the evening Josh Hamilton showed up. They wish to remain anonymous.

Because it was Spring Break and relatively early on a weeknight, the bar was kind of empty. According to one person who was there, a former employee, this big guy strolled into the bar and politely asked if they could change the television station to the MLB Network. You can see Al Leiter's head in the background of this photo. The MLB Network, you remember, first hit the airwaves in January of 2009. So these photos were taken well after he's been power-hitting for Jesus. And, also, this is what Josh Hamilton looked like in 2005.

One of the waitresses went to get the manager to change the station. The manager came out and saw Hamilton at the bar. Hamilton introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Josh." They made smalltalk. "Baseball season didn't start yet, right?" the bar manager inquired. Hamilton revealed he was a player. The manager, a baseball fan, but not a huge one, finally recognized the man sitting in front of him. "Oh, you're the home run derby guy." Josh said yes. "Well, just for that, lemme buy you a beer," the manager said, not knowing the full extent of Hamilton's history. Josh said yes again.

From there, things got weird. Josh drank. Josh was charming. Josh was a hit with the waitresses and bartenders who were hanging out between shifts. Shots were poured. Lots of shots. Josh kept drinking.

The person who took these photos arrived around 9. By then Hamilton was pretty wrecked. He was friendly, though and, obviously, having a really good time. He didn't even mind that photos were be taken of him as he did body shot after body shot off of some of the off-work waitstaff. He joked with Hamilton that he was going to send these photos to ESPN. "I'll kill you," Hamilton said, half-joking.

The girls left. According to one patron, Hamilton, piss-drunk by that point, asked the manager where he could buy blow. The manager didn't know. "Let's go to a strip club," Hamilton said. Someone drove Hamilton to Les Girls in Phoenix, Arizona.

Nobody knows what happened to Josh after the strip club that night.

Now, Hamilton isn't drinking in these photos; he's not doing drugs, either. He's just at a bar, shirtless, doing things with some strange women that most married men devoted to The Word Of God wouldn't usually partake in. That's it. But would a sober Josh Hamilton agree to be photographed laying across the bar shirtless, covered in whip cream with his head between a random girl's crotch?

Maloney's closed down soon after these photos were taken. I originally heard about this story second-hand from a tip way back in March. It seemed, at the time, implausible given how upfront and rigid Hamilton has been about his sobriety and his religious awakening. But then there was another tip about another night during the same time period, also from a Maloney's Tavern patron in Tempe. Then the pictures appeared and the story became more legit.

So now, here we are. Much will be made that Hamilton's sub-par season and injuries were a direct result of him backsliding during the off-season. Maybe this was isolated — a brief moment of weakness where Hamilton, possibly alone for the first time in years, just fell headfirst off that wobbly wagon.

Hamilton homered last night, though, and the Rangers beat the Angels 11-6. And Hamilton's been better at the plate lately, which he claims is because he ditched his ADD medicine. Last night's performance even prompted to DMN writer Rob Stroope to proclaim,"It looks like he's back in the groove." Hope so. The Rangers are investigating. Hamilton is aware these photos exist. Statements, no comments, excuses, explanations shall be forthcoming. UPDATES: Narron speaks. UPDATES: Josh Hamilton speaks.

In a wellorchestrated moment that makes Jimmy Chitwood look like an Amway salesman, Florida Gator quarterback Tim Tebow took the stage on his home field yesterday, to celebrate his team's second national championship in three years. In front of a crowd of 42,000 of the Gator faithful, he thanked his school, he thanked his coach, he thanked the fans, and he thanked his god. Then after, saying good bye and walking toward the edge of his stage, he turned back to the flock and said the words they wanted to hear. "I shall return."

Yes, for three years Tebowmania has slowly engulfed the college football landscape and his decision to return for his senior season only turns the volume up past 11. The team that was one blocked PAT from an undefeated season, could return as many 19 starters. Tebow, easily the most recognized player in college sports right now, would be playing for a second Heisman (again.) A full season of "greatest player ever" and "greatest team ever," awaits. Just read this one paragraph, to a get taste of what's ahead.

Those muscles listed in press guides, all 240 pounds of them, they can, in fact, hang heavily on a man. He seemed almost weighed down by the bulk of his physique. The toll his perfectly tuned body had taken in 3 1/2 hours against Oklahoma was clear from the red burns on the right shoulder where he wore an ice pack for almost an hour.

No, that's not a Penthouse letter. "Superman" had been bruised. He feels pain. He gets tired. Not that he ever rests, of course. He has too much determination, too much fighting spirit, too much leadership, to ever stop moving and let down his teammates. Or worse, himself. And the media loves him for it.

The people who don't love him for it are the fans who root for teams that aren't Florida. One of our commenters said it best, declaring that all the fawning praise had made him hate a missionary. I'm sure Tim Tebow is a great guy, who has done a lot of good things. And it is rare to see a player thank God in his post-game speeches and actually believe that he means it. But so have a lot of other guys who haven't perfected the jump pass. The praise of Tebow has reached embarrassing, head scratching proportions. The way this is going, he'll soon be bigger than his hero, Jesus.

The sad thing is that this is as good as it gets for Tim Tebow. His pro prospects fall just north of Eric Crouch's so leaving school was not much of an option. And the circus of next fall will be more than maybe even his humble shoulders can stand. Yet, the legend will continue to grow. The praise will continue to fall. And the blood will continue to boil. All that anger gets dumped on him, even though it's really anger at the myth makers and the jort wearers. But Christ, you know it ain't easy.

I don't need to tell you where Gator backer Dan Shanoff stands on the matter, and I won't quibble with him beyond pointing out that "most decorated" does not necessarily mean "best." (Who is arguing for Archie Griffin as the best running back of all-time?) But Shanoff is correct that anything less than 14-0 will be considered a failure for Tebow and his Gators next year. Given their schedule, that seems highly likely, but the pressure may just cause some to crack.

And by "some," I mean "all of us."

Superman Tebow is human after all [Palm Beach Post]
Shanoff's W.U.C.: 2009 The Year Of Tebow [Dan Shanoff]
[Picture via Cajun Boy via Nicholas Carlson]

Tebow, who beat contenders Darren McFadden, Colt Brennan, and Chase Daniel for the award to become the first sophomore to win the trophy, said he plans on entering the clergy now that his career as an athlete is done.

"I'll follow the example of my boyhood hero Danny Wuerffel and help those less fortunate by preaching the word and working in the community. It would also really help if I didn't have to throw anything ever again, since I couldn't toss a sandwich wrapper into a wastebasket with any accuracy now. I would also appreciate not being jostled or bumped."

Yeah, it's mornings like this that make me happy that Jesus created Every Day Should Be Saturday. Be sure to check out the rest of the brilliance, especially all of the advice Tebow received from past winners.

And although we had to go to a different site, we even found something for Cubs fans. Yes, if Steve Bartman had been clutching a Holy Bear instead of trying to catch a foul popup, the curse may have been lifted two years ago.

And remember, as it was written numerous times in Second Corinthians: Returns of $250 or more are subject to a 20% restocking fee.

John Three 16 Hockey Jersey [Christian Throwback Jersey.com]
Baseball Holy Bear [Catholic Supply.com]