Not a sweet finish for Payton

According to a new book, Chicago Bears star Walter Payton abused painkillers in retirement and became suicidal. In “Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton,” author Jeff Pearlman says the Hall of Fame running back used a cocktail of Tylenol and Vicodin in retirement, kept tanks of nitrous oxide in his garage and even obtained Ritalin from a friend whose son was prescribed pills. Pearlman writes that Payton drew the suspicion of pharmacists and a warning from the police after visiting several drugstores to have a dentist’s prescription for morphine filled. Payton spent all 13 seasons with the Bears and retired as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher after the 1987 season. He died from a rare liver disease and bile duct cancer in 1999.

– Associated Press