Given Second Chance, He’d Do It Again

Would Todd Marinovich do it again?

Upon reflection, the backup Raider quarterback said he would.

“How could a kid be deprived, growing up at the beach in Newport and playing sports?” he asked. “That’s more than I could ever ask for at a young age.”

Marinovich, 22, and his father, Marv, 52, have discussed his unorthodox upbringing, which paved the way to athletic success. Much of their conversation has focused on another Marinovich, Todd’s half brother, Mikhail.

Although Mikhail is only 3, Marv has pegged the youngster as a linebacker. Mikhail’s training program parallels Todd’s. But there are differences. Mikhail’s mother, Jan, is a former professional dancer, and Mikhail loves to dance.

All Todd knows is that Mikhail is a character.

Mikhail started calling his brother Boris, as in Becker, because of the red hair. Mikhail watches tennis on television. He told his father he hates football.

“He has a mind of his own,” Marinovich said.

Mikhail recently visited Todd’s Manhattan Beach apartment, and by the time he left, Marinovich was out of breath trying to keep up.

“I can’t wait till he gets older so I can teach him things,” Marinovich said.

When Todd was a youth, he wrote on many a Christmas wish list that he wanted a baby brother. But Mikhail is more like a nephew. Todd also has a new niece, Katie Grove, his sister’s first child. He keeps a picture of her on the dashboard of his car.

After spending the past four months around family men on the Raiders, Marinovich is thinking about having his own family someday. He wants to have between two and four children. “But don’t tell my girlfriend that,” he said.

Would he structure their lives the way his father structured his?

The question is left unanswered.