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DALLAS -- Former NFL wide receiver Sam Hurd was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for his role in starting a drug-distribution scheme while playing for the Chicago Bears, completing a steep downfall that ended his football career and left his future in tatters. Alvin Kamara Jersey . Hurd, 28, received the punishment in a federal courtroom in Dallas after pleading guilty in April to one count of trying to buy and distribute large amounts of cocaine and marijuana. The charge carried a minimum 10-year sentence and a maximum of life. Authorities say that while NFL teammates and friends knew him as a hardworking wide receiver and married father, Hurd was fashioning a separate identity as a wannabe drug kingpin with a focus on "high-end deals" and a need for large amounts of drugs. U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis gave Hurd a much shorter sentence than the 27 to 34 years recommended by federal sentencing guidelines. Solis noted that the case against Hurd centred on a "lot of agreements" to buy and sell marijuana and cocaine, rather than physical transactions of drugs. But, the judge said, "You didnt just start nickel and diming it." Hurd stood before him in orange jail scrubs after a rambling, emotional 30-minute plea for mercy. Behind him in the gallery were more than a dozen family members and friends. "You had everything going for you," Solis told Hurd, adding that he thought the case was a "tragedy." Federal inmates are typically not eligible for parole and required to serve at least 85 per cent of their sentences. Hurds December 2011 arrest outside a suburban Chicago steakhouse came after he tried to buy a kilogram of cocaine in what turned out to be a sting. According to a federal complaint, Hurd told an undercover agent that he wanted 5 to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute in the Chicago area. He claimed he was already distributing 4 kilograms a week, according to the complaint. A kilogram is about 2.2 pounds. At the time, Hurd was a wide receiver with stints for the Bears and Dallas Cowboys who had played most of his five seasons on special teams. He was in the first year of a three-year contract reportedly worth more than $5 million. The Bears soon cut him. Hurd was released on bail and returned to Texas, where he grew up, but soon fell into trouble again, according to court documents. He allegedly tried to buy more cocaine and marijuana through a cousin, Jesse Tyrone Chavful, and failed two drug tests. That led a magistrate judge in August 2012 to revoke his bail and order him returned to jail. Hurd spoke near the end of a four-hour hearing, sometimes reading from handwritten notes and sometimes looking directly at Solis to plead for mercy. While he denied leading a major conspiracy or dealing with Chavful, Hurd admitted to having a marijuana addiction and a weakness for friends who needed his help. He admitted giving $88,000 to another co-defendant, Toby Lujan, knowing that the money might go to buy drugs. And he admitted the fateful meeting at a steakhouse that ended in his arrest. "I regret not thinking about the consequences," Hurd said, adding: "I made some dumb, very bad decisions." His attorneys tried to explain his claims of having high-value customers and massive demand for drugs as mere boasting, saying he had a penchant for exaggeration. One of his lawyers, Michael McCrum, called his client "a guy showing up at a restaurant, talking stupid." "I think he should be punished, but for the crime that he committed," McCrum said. But Hurds failed drug tests and alleged dealings with Chavful appeared to factor heavily against him Wednesday. Prosecutors repeatedly brought up Chavful -- rejecting claims by Hurd and his attorneys that the two men were talking about Hurds attempts to start a T-shirt printing business. "Normally, when you dig a hole, you quit digging," said prosecutor John Kull. "But he keeps digging." Chavful and Lujan have both pleaded guilty to being involved in the conspiracy. Solis gave Chavful eight years in prison for his smaller role in the scheme. Lujan will be sentenced in January. While no other NFL players are known to have been charged in connection with the case, Hurd claimed in an interview published Tuesday by Sports Illustrated that he shared marijuana with Cowboys teammates and smoked during the last three to four years of his career "all day, every day." But while he gained extra notoriety due to his now-finished football career, prosecutors said Hurds case was simple. "Hes not being prosecuted because hes an NFL player," Kull said. "Hes being prosecuted because hes a drug dealer." Rickey Jackson Jersey . The move - the latest twist in Greeces nearly three-year financial freefall -- is the first such action by any of the countrys major sports bodies. It immediately halts all domestic track and field competitions, including track meets May 12-13 in several Greek cities. Drew Brees Youth Jersey . Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. http://www.authenticsaintssportsonline.com/saints-rickey-jackson-gold-jersey/ . But when it was all over they had wasted another lead, seen another pitcher flame out on the mound and lost their fourth straight at home.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Indianapolis Colts propelled Bruce Arians into coaching prominence. On Sunday, as head coach in Arizona, his Cardinals embarrassed his former team. Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes to Larry Fitzgerald, Karlos Dansby returned an interception 22 yards for a score and the Cardinals won their fourth in a row with a 40-11 rout of the Colts. "We expect to dominate like this all the time," Dansby said. "We just finally put it together as a unit. Were starting to believe in each other and trust one another and were making plays all around." Arians became interim head coach of the Colts last season when Chuck Pagano was stricken with leukemia. Indianapolis went 9-3 under Arians, earning him coach of the year honours and a head coaching job in the desert. Now the 61-year-old coach is doing the same kind of job with the Cardinals (7-4). "The emotions of this game were gone way before kickoff," Arians said. "I saw a lot of friends, a lot of dear guys on that team. But once the whistle blows, its just you and your brother in the backyard." And Arizona was the big brother in this one. "I think this was a respect game," Palmer said.