MDS mentioned it in a One-Liner earlier in the day, but I’m compelled to elaborate.

In a nutshell, Colts receiver Marvin Harrison is an odd dude.

He’s a great football player, I’ll gladly give him that.  Last year, we put him at No. 12 in our list of the top 25 players of the past 25 years.  He was on track a year ago to make a run for the records set by Jerry Rice, which many presumed would never be seriously challenged.

That said, Marvin is odd.  His career of choice involves playing a game in front of millions of people.  And yet he’s intensely private.

Usually, guys with “look-at-me” skills crave the attention that goes along with being looked at, even when they’re pretending that they don’t crave it.  Clearly, however, Harrison abhors the attention that his job attracts.

And then, on Tuesday, he opted to break his extended silence via an exclusive interview with the Indianapolis Star, which tends to be favorable (and that’s putting it mildly) when it comes to the home team.

To his credit, Mike Chappell of the Star had the guts to ask Harrison about the incident in Philly involving a shooting with a gun owned by Harrison.  Amazingly, a Colts official intervened at that point to block the line of questioning.

What, is Marvin unable to say, “Mike, I’m not gonna talk about that”?

Harrison also was strangely belligerent in response to questions about his recovery from a knee injury that knocked him out for much of the 2007 season.

Asked whether he’s back to full strength, Harrison said, “I mean, have you been in Terre Haute watching practice?  You can write what you see.  That’s the best way I can tell you.”

Harrison was told that readers might prefer to hear what Harrison has to say on the subject.  His response?

“You all seem to know more about it . . . you all write what you see.  That way I won’t have a comment.”

Harrison also said he was upset with some of the things that have been written about him of late.  He was reminded that, in the past, he’d had some “engaging” discussions with the media.

“Oh, yes, we have,” Harrison said. “Then sometimes you walk out with that knife in your back sometimes.  [Editor’s note:  Or, as the case may be, a bullet in your hand.]  I’ll just say nothing.  There will be better days down the line, but I have nothing right now.”

So Harrison agreed to be interviewed, only to say nothing at all.  And to be pissed off while doing so.

Odd.