Bill Gutweiler thought it was pretty bad when he had to watch Leonard Little play in Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000 for the St. Louis Rams, not even 16 months after Little had run a red light while driving drunk and killed Gutweiler's wife, Sue.

Gutweiler thought it was awful when he heard about Little's five-year, $17.5 million contract extension with the Rams after the 2001 season. The man should have been in jail, shouldn't he? "He got lucky with a bleeding heart liberal judge who believed he deserved a second chance," Gutweiler said. You should have heard him spit those words out. Where was his wife's second chance?

Gutweiler thought it couldn't get any worse than when Little, a defensive end, made the Pro Bowl last season. Everywhere he looked in St. Louis, it seemed as if some kid was wearing Little's No. 91 jersey. He kept asking himself: What are those parents thinking? Are they really happy with that kind of role model for their child?

But it did get worse for Gutweiler.

It got much worse last weekend when Little was pulled over for speeding in suburban St. Louis and arrested for suspicion of drunk driving. According to police reports, he had "bloodshot, watery eyes and emitted an odor of alcohol ... attempted and failed three sobriety tests ... admitted to drinking alcoholic beverages."

"I'm just glad he didn't kill someone else this time," Gutweiler said.

Gutweiler, a truck driver, and his son, Mike, 21, an art student at Columbia College in Chicago, spent all week reliving the horrible accident that took Sue Gutweiler's life at 47 on Oct. 19, 1998. But you know what? That's never going away. They'll keep reliving it one way or another every day for the rest of their lives.

The tough part for the Gutweilers was seeing Little's lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, on television trying to portray Little as a shy, caring person. According to Bill Gutweiler, Rosenblum looked right into the cameras and said Little still stops by his office and cries when he thinks about his role in Sue Gutweiler's death.

"If he wants to see crying, he should stop by my house some time," Gutweiler said.

It didn't help the Gutweilers that the Rams came out publicly in support of Little. They will allow his case to work its way through the judicial system. Rams coach Mike Martz said Little will plead not guilty. Until then, Little is welcome and expected at the team's minicamp May 21-23.

"The portrayal of Leonard as being insensitive and unremorseful has not been my observation or that of our coaches and players," Martz said in statement.

That prompted Gutweiler to say: "I'm tired of hearing what a swell guy this is. I'll tell you how remorseful he is. He never even tried to contact my family. Even if he had written a letter to my son -- actually written it himself instead of having a lawyer coach him or someone else write it -- it would have meant a lot."

It's understandable if Gutweiler doesn't have much faith in the legal system. After Little pleaded guilty of involuntary manslaughter in June 1999, he was sentenced to 90 nights in jail as part of a work-release program, 1,000 hours of community service and four years of probation. Gutweiler isn't the only one who thinks his wife's life should have been worth a little more.

After Little's arrest early last Saturday, Rosenblum argued the incident should be treated as a misdemeanor. He quickly pointed out Little had paid his debt to society and told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Little's manslaughter conviction "is gone from his record."

"I'd like to see him try to tell my son that what happened to his mother never happened," Gutweiler said.

At least there's hope Little will get his due if he's found guilty. Because of a Missouri law that went into effect in 2001, prosecutors were able to charge Little with a felony last week as a persistent drunk driver. If convicted, he could face up to four years in prison.

The NFL also will have its say with Little if he's found guilty. It suspended him for eight games of the 1999 season after his manslaughter conviction because he violated its substance-abuse policy. The suspension could be one year or more this time.

Gutweiler isn't holding his breath over any of it.

"To tell you the truth, I'd be happy if the Rams traded the guy and got him out of St. Louis. They need to say, 'We've had enough of him. Now, it's someone else's turn.' "

Little had 12 1/2 sacks last season. His 39 sacks since the beginning of the 2001 season are the third most in the NFL during that period.

"Do I really think the Rams will trade him? Of course, I don't," Gutweiler said.

"You know how it's going to go. The first time he creams some quarterback this fall, everyone will forget about what he's done off the field. They'll be cheering him like a hero."

That's one thing you can't blame on Little.

That's the fans' fault.