Former University of Southern California running back Reggie Bush finished the 2005-2006 college football regular season as one of the game's most popular players. He was one of those types of players whose talent is one-in-a-million, one of those types of guys who people who try to compare to those who came before him and the connection just wouldn't seem to fit.

The final two games of USC's regular season put a cap on an undefeated season going into the Rose Bowl for a shot at the school's third straight national title. The first of those two pitted the Trojans against then-no. 16 Fresno State at home where they nearly lost had it not been for a late comeback in the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter.

USC emerged victorious but perhaps even greater than that was how Bush emerged as the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy. Prior to the game, he had been somewhat neck-in-neck with teammate Matt Leinart, his quarterback, and Texas quarterback Vince Young. But when the final seconds ticked off at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the whole sports world stood in awe of the numbers Bush had accumulated in a single game.

The junior finished the game with 294 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 23 carries, 68 receiving yards on three catches and 151 combined kick and punt return yards for a combined total of 513 yards.

The final game of the regular season came against then-no. 11 UCLA and though Bush didn't sparkle through the air (0 catches) or as a return man (13 combined yards on a punt return and a kick return), he rushed for 260 yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns on the ground.

Bush ended up winning the Heisman Trophy over Young by a convincing margin but was unable to hoist the national title trophy over his head as USC fell to Texas despite recording 82 yards and a TD on the ground, 95 yards through the air and 102 yards as a returnman. It was a disappointing way to end his college career but there were bigger and better things for Bush on the horizon: the National Football League.

It was widely speculated that Bush would be the first overall pick by the Houston Texans until days before the draft when they changed gears and selected former North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams with the first overall pick, allowing Bush to slide to the second overall pick held by the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints had just come off of one of their worst seasons in the franchise and possibly one of the worst seasons in NFL history given the circumstances. Hurricane Katrina had forced the Saints to play their home games elsewhere because of massive flooding that befell the city of New Orleans and the extensive damage that had hit the New Orleans Superdome, which included replacing the Superdome's roof that had blown off during the storm. The Saints played most of their home games in Oklahoma City and had their season opener in New York City against the New York Giants. It was a setup that many Saints fans, players and coaches complained about.

"They made this seem like the Super Bowl," said Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks after the game. "We played a team that outplayed us today, but it was way overdone. Setting up a stage, traveling out here, was uncalled for. Try not to patronize us next time, traveling us to New York, saying we're playing a home game."

Saints Head Coach Jim Haslett added to the sentiment: "We were in the visiting locker room, on the visiting field. It seemed like an away game."

After a 3-13 season, New Orleans earned the second overall pick in the draft to help rebuild their franchise in a city that was rebuilding itself. That pick was spent on Reggie Bush, whose talent-blessed body immediately because the talk of New Orleans and brought smiles not only to the Saints brass and locker room, but also to the citizens of the damage-struck town.

The Monday after the draft, orders came pouring into Reebok for Reggie Bush jerseys. A record 15,000 orders came in; more than double the amount of number of jerseys requested the previous year for Alex Smith, the first overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers. What was even more surprising was that those who placed the orders did so without knowing whether or not Bush would be wearing the number he wore as a Trojan - five - or some other number. They just wanted Reggie Bush in town and to own a part of his soon-to-be impressive legacy as one of the players who would come to New Orleans not only to play football but to bring smiles and spirit back to the citizens of the disaster-struck town as a result.

Not long after Bush arrived to New Orleans, the Saint's top draft pick took a limo ride through the Ninth Ward that was submerged by the rains brought on by Katrina and the broken levees that poured water into the neighborhoods that forced those who refused to evacuate to move onto their rooftops for safety. Bush compared the scene to that of "a war zone" and commented that "it was good to see that and good to know what ultimately this team is playing for."

The team that Bush would be joining would likely find themselves at the bottom of the NFC South division in the 2006-2007 season despite the additions of free agent quarterback Drew Brees, new head coach Sean Payton and Bush. However, those additions were expected to be the framework for rebuilding the New Orleans Saints. Brees was a former Pro Bowl quarterback and Payton was the assistant head coach of the Dallas Cowboys with record of doing whatever it takes to make himself and his team better, locking himself in the stadium and sleeping on couches while studying plays back when he was the offensive coordinator for the Giants for three years prior to moving to Dallas in 2003.

But things aren't going too well in New Orleans right now with the news between Reggie Bush and the Saints.

The second overall draft pick is having contract disputes with the Saints. Clearly the Saints have a certain level that they are willing to go to get Bush on their roster for the 2006-2007 NFL season and Bush wants them to take that number much higher. According to a report on Yahoo.com, talks between the Saints and the Bush camp are nearly non-existent and Bush is seriously considering sitting out the '06-'07 season and enter the 2007 NFL Draft.

As the 2002 action/comedy film staring Ice Cube was aptly titled, it's "All About The Benjamins."

Reggie Bush was apparently putting on a show when he toured the Ninth Ward and when he talked about helping rebuild the city of New Orleans physically and mentally upon his arrival to the Louisiana-based city. Apparently it was all a show. Apparently Bush does not mind throwing his name into the list of other arrogant, adamant athletes around the NFL. Terrell Owens. Randy Moss. Ricky Williams. Chris Henry. Marcus Vick. Ashley Lelie. Javon Walker. Odell Thurman. Onterrio Smith. Charles Rogers. Adam Jones. Terry Glenn. Rae Carruth. Terrell Suggs. Chris McAlister. And that's only the larger names that immediately pop to mind of athletes who could care less about their team or the city they play for than themselves.

The source that informed Yahoo! of Bush's possible holdout said, "No player has ever had the kind of leverage that Reggie Bush has right now."

That could not be any further from the truth. Bush has the ability and the means to be able to sit out 2006-2007 and re-enter the draft if he truly wanted to. However, for the good of the National Football League, the Saints and the city of New Orleans, that should not happen. Bush should lower his asking price, join the Saints for training camp in Jackson, Missisippi and have a spectacular rookie season in the NFL.

Hopefully this threat by Bush will end up fading away and the former Heisman winner will report to Saints training camp in Jackson, Mississippi. Hopefully he will act like a model NFL player and help rebuild the city of New Orleans' spirit with his play on the field.

Hopefully he will stray away from becoming another arrogant, adamant athlete.

(Photo Credit: SI.com)