HABID KACOLO: THE HAITIAN SENSATION

Enigmatic defensive end Habid Kacolo burst onto the scene as a lanky speed rusher in season one. Acquired via trade by the Freebirds shortly before his rookie season, the young phenom has gradually become one of the most feared pass rushers in all of USA Pro.

"Habid was a diamond in the rough," says defensive coordinator Rychyrd Byrtyn. "Just needed a strength and conditioning program to hang with the big boys. Kid's always been a stick of dynamite."

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, little is known about Habid. What is known about the improbable journey of the young Freebird begins in 1992, when Habid was adopted by then Miami Hurricanes star Warren Sapp. Leaving a night club late one night in the rough Miami neighborhood of Little Haiti, Sapp heard a young voice call out to him from out of a dark alley. There, in a tattered cardboard box, lay young Habid.

"He didn't speak a lick of English," says Sapp. "I asked him his name and I thought he said Habid Kacolo. I really don't know though. I don't even know if he understood the question."

"Mr. Warren teach me the language, teach me about the U., teach Habid about America," Kacolo recently said. "Habid meet Ray Lewis, Gino Torretta, and The Rock. I learn everything from these men."

Like his mentor Sapp, Habid would himself later star for the Hurricanes before eventually turning pro. Since then, he has been the cause of many sleepless nights for opposing linemen, as much for his questionable tactics as his raw talent.

"I swear he spit green mist in my eyes on one play," said an unnamed lineman from the Denton Spartans. "And everyone knows he's into that voodoo shit. You saw what happened to (former Brooklyn Maulers quarterback) Tank Basterson. He mysteriously got sick two days before the Freebirds game and was dead by kickoff."

Indeed Kacolo has been investigated numerous times by the league for suspected voodoo. Each time, however, investigators have either vanished or abruptly resigned from the assignment. Kacolo has maintained his innocence throughout, insisting that he's the victim of cultural stereotyping.

"He keeps all kinds of crazy stuff in his locker," says Daryl Smith, whose locker is next to Kacolo's. "Chickens and dolls and candles and stuff. But that's just Habid. We all love him."