The Los Angeles Times published a puke-inspiring compelling story about San Diego Chargers defensive end Luis Castillo’s long, hard road to fame and fortune in the NFL. Castillo was drafted in 2005, the same year he confessed to using steroids to help him heal from an injury and play better, and has been a threat to offenses since. Actually, the majority of the NFL applauded his confession and he’s gone on to kick ass in the pros. He was recently added to the Chargers roster after a severe ankle injury took him out of most of mid-season.

We’d read this story earlier, passed on it, but then reread it (paying attention this time) and found some things we hadn’t realized before:

• Castillo is half Greek and half Dominican. Some sort of Leda and the Swan thang really happened.
• He was a big fat couch potato when we he was younger, just like us.

  “I’d come home and I’d just sit around and watch TV all day long,” says Luis, who rejoined his mother in the U.S. in time to start grade school.

Freaks: We accept you, one of us! [Ed. Note: You’ll get a Machochip point if you know this]

• Castillo was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Washington Heights.
• Castillo is only the second Dominican player to be drafted and start in the National Football League. Go Dominicans! Or something.
• Something we did know would happen, just in case you forgot, was that John Madden would ruin Luis Castillo’s 2007 season.

You can see Luis Castillo in action this Sunday when the San Diego Chargers take on the Tennessee Titans in the AFC opener. We’ll be watching because, duh, it’s the playoffs, but we could never root for San Diego. We’re not rooting for Tennessee either. We’re just going to hurl expletives and Doritos at the television, while waiting for Castillo to rip Vince Young’s head off.

Chargers’ Castillo knows the meaning of hard work [LATimes]
Image [SignOnSanDiego]