It's Showing Time for the Lakers

Woods' quest for perfection should reach beyond golf course

Tiger Woods should be embarrassed and ashamed right now. He was caught in a humiliating situation last week when he crashed his car outside of his Orlando, Fla., area home and was found unconscious by his wife Elin. Woods sustained only minor injuries but the bizarre accident created so many questions and theories -- such as a cheating Woods attempting to escape from his golf-club wielding wife and crashing -- that he felt inclined to address the accident.

That only prompted media sites such as TMZ and National Enquirer to dig further into his personal life and it took only a few days to discover a chilling voice mail message Woods delivered to another woman asking her to call with a "restricted" label to prevent his suspicious wife from checking his cell phone and calling the woman.

It cemented the rumors that Woods had been unfaithful and he released a statement on his website apologizing for his "transgressions."

This should be the end of this story. While Woods is a brilliant golfer, the best of all time and has been a model citizen during a career that began as a child prodigy and continues into his mid-30s, we should not expect Woods to be a perfect role model off the course. Woods was unfaithful and he was sloppy about it, but because he strives to be a perfect golfer and faces constant scrutiny regarding his every move on the course does not mean that Woods should be judged on a level higher than any elite professional athlete.

Are you looking for Woods to help raise your kids? Should he be vilified because he fell into a pretentious trap of flattery and passion that falls men and women? Woods proved he is no different that many people who know who have conveniently found excuses to be unfaithful and in the end, really have no reason for their "transgressions" besides greed and insecurity. Woods proved he has a lot of growing and developing to do as a man, and such evolution is difficult when you have the financial and social means to obtain nearly anything you desire, including seedy women who don't mind being part of the infidelity.

Woods owes his public nothing besides an apology but he owes his wife the promise to become a better man. He should be left alone for that journey because no one can aid his maturation.

This story is much more serious than a millionaire athlete whose unsavory lifestyle was discovered. This is a story of a man who went through the motions, succumbing to pressures to get married, have kids and put of a facade when it was not in his heart, and it has marred the lives of those who loved him the most.

He doesn't need our judgment, he needs our prayers.

Though Nelson is slowly closing in on victory record, it’s hard to find a silver lining in Golden State - The Boston Globe

Though Nelson is slowly closing in on victory record, it’s hard to find a silver lining in Golden State - The Boston Globe

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It's about time to raise the NBA age limit

Of the 30 players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, all of whom had hopes of being an All-Star, starring in their own sneaker commercial and leading their team to NBA championships, just five signed long-term contract extensions to secure their futures before the Nov. 1 deadline.

For example, Boston's Rajon Rondo, drafted 21st in 2006, signed a five-year, $55 million deal to remain a Celtic until at least 2015.

That means the other 25 were unable to perform to the level to encourage their teams to make a substantial financial commitment. In other words, they were busts, disappointments or failed to reach their potential. Perhaps it was just a poor draft class filled with players who weren't as talented as advertised or lacked the work ethic to develop or maybe these players entered the draft prematurely, seeking NBA riches before they were prepared for the rigors and commitment required to become a standout player.

An increase in the NBA age limit won't prevent these draft failures but will reduce them because it will allow prospective players to get at least two years of college basketball. Right now, the NBA mandates that players remain in college for one season and in many cases, NBA prospects attend college one semester to stay eligible for their freshman season, drop out for the second semester and then began preparing for the NBA draft once their college season ends.

That isn't exactly Doogie Howser type academic passion and that type of lack of commitment may eventually hurt the athlete if the NBA career doesn't pan out. The NBA is filled with players who bolted college early and became successful, but there are also players such as Shawne Williams, Gerald Green and Donte Greene who thought they would be stars and instead are out of the league (Green), banished by their team for immaturity (Williams)or riding the end of a bench (Greene).

The NBA is a heartless operation and hardly has time for prolonged development, so teams cut their losses, as they did with 25 of those 30 draft picks. There are always kids flooding the draft, so the key is to be as prepared as possible for success. Holding kids back another year will give them additional preparation, making them more useful commodities for teams and reducing the slew of draft busts and disappointments that have littered the draft the past few years.

These younger NBA players are crushed when their team refuses to offer a contract extension. Many of them are delusional when it comes to their talent and potential, still believing they are all-star caliber players. The reality that they are barely hanging on is harsh one, and the NBA is running short on patience, especially in this economic climate.

So it's time the NBA protect these players from themselves and mandate they wait another year. The extra time prepping for the highest level could extend their career, and isn't that what we all want?

Let's re-embrace America's Pastime

I can recall my grandfather and I watching the 1979 ALCS between Baltimore and the California Angels, when Orioles center fielder Al Bumbry slipped and bobbled a fly ball that allowed the Angels to tie the game and eventually win Game 3. We watched every pitch attentively, and because of the pace of the game, we had time to make eye contact, react to each pivotal play and of course give our commentary.

While I adored basketball and football, there was something distinctively different about baseball because it linked the young and old. It was my grandfather recalling when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and his memories of the Negro Leagues, it was my uncle trying to convince me that Tommy Davis and Maury Wills were better than Dusty Baker and Davey Lopes ("no way!" i said), it was every kid on my block being dragged down to the local park by their mother to sign-up for Little League because it was a right of passage.

Baseball is indeed special, but the sport has decided to inject a slow-killing poison in its vein that has dissipated interest in the game, especially with African Americans. Kids don't play Little League much any more. They don't sit with their grandfather and watch the ball game. They don't talk about the game's great players past and present. We have increasingly disregarded the sport and it's unfortunate. Covering Major League Baseball for eight years as a sports writer taught me to appreciate the sport again, from the chess-like strategy, to the marvelous skill of scooping the ball at first base or a catcher easily securing a 98 mph pitch skidding in the dirt.

Josh Gibson (below), Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson (above) made the game beautiful to watch. We didn't care about end zone dances or high-flying slam dunks. That was for another time. For generations, a portion of our minds embraced the methodical game of baseball. When times were simpler, we used rotary phones, didn't have answering machines and actually spent Saturday playing catch in the park. Back in the day when every little boy (and girls, too) treasured that new glove, bought that special glove grease, rubbed into the Jim Rice imprinted into the center (Oh that was me!) and then broke it in by stuffing a baseball in the glove and sticking it under your bed for a week.



I miss those days. I don't see gloves under beds any more. I don't even know if my little brothers or cousins have ever played baseball, yelled, "hey batta swing" or gulped down a Slurpee after a hard-fought Little League win.

What I do know is those days can return. Little boys and girls can spend their Saturday afternoons playing ball and their nights watching the game with their dad or mom or whomever wants to spend quality time with them. They can explain to their son or daughter the hit-and-run or double steal or the art of hitting to the opposite field. We can push aside the controversies, steroids, bench-clearing brawls and overpaid players and remember when the game meant something to us, and hopefully it will mean something to them.

The playoffs have begun, the best time of the season. Every pitch is intense, every inning critical, every player embracing teamwork because their long-term reputations are being built. Think I am kidding? Every time I saw Al Bumbry when I covered the Orioles and he attended an occasional game, I remember my grandfather and I watching that Game 3 and his error and my grandfather telling me the Angels "should thank that Bumbry."

Regardless of how much I try to push the baseball aside and schmooze with basketball and football, baseball becomes beautiful again, and I remember the good times we spend together and I give it another chance.

That's the allure of the game. Don't you remember? Weren't you there? I know I was. That's why I keep coming back.

Is New Mexico the Diversity Homeland?

Our attention should shift to Albuquerque, N.M. this weekend and the annual rivalry game between the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University. We should call it the Convention of African American Division I head coaches because exactly 29percent of the black coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision will present at University Stadium -- New Mexico coach Mike Locksley (left) and New Mexico State coach Dwayne Walker (right).

Only seven black coaches lead Division I teams, just one in the so-called BCS (Bowl Championship Series Division) -- Miami's Randy Shannon. The others are Houston's Kevin Sumlin, Miami (Ohio's) Mike Haywood, Eastern Michigan's Ron English, my old Mass Communication's classmate at UC Berkeley, and Turner Gill at the University of Buffalo.

Of the 120 FBS teams -- the highest level of college football -- seven have black coaches, a depressing number that continues to prove that diversity hasn't spread to all facets of athletics. While athletic directors seem to have no issue hiring black coaches to fill basketball positions, those same ADs hiccup when it comes to filling football posts with black men.

"I have a lot of respect for Dwayne," Locksley said. "For both of us to have our opportunity here in the great state of New Mexico to lead a program speaks volumes for the states, speaks volumes for both administrations and both places."

Yet, both major schools in New Mexico hired black coaches within months of each other, and let's face it, neither job is the envy of the coaching community. New Mexico State has long been considered one of the tougher FBS jobs because of the obscurity of Las Cruces, N.M. and the difficult of competing with Boise State and Fresno State in the Western Athletic Conference. New Mexico has always considered itself as a school that should compete with the major powers but never had the recruiting base to do so. How many premium high school athletes really come out of New Mexico?

So both of these men have been presented formidable tasks of rebuilding programs that haven't been national factors for years, if ever. But these are the jobs black coaches have to accept if they want to enter the coaching fraternity. Eastern Michigan has long been a downtrodden program in the Midwest with 13 straight losing seasons; New Mexico State has had one winning season the past nine years; Buffalo won 10 games in the previous seven years before Gill took over and guided the Bulls to a bowl game last season, considered a miracle turnaround for a program with no tradition.

Sumlin could be the next black coach to get a BCS job as he has the Houston Cougars ranked 17th with a win over then-No. 5 Oklahoma State. But black coaches shouldn't have to orchestrate a major resurrection of a dying program to be considered for a BCS job. Non-black coaches such as Tennessee's Lane Kiffin, Auburn's Gene Chizik, Washington's Steve Sarkisian and Syracuse's Doug Marrone were handed major jobs without previous head coaching experience or success, in some cases.

In other words, some AD liked these guys, were impressed with their credentials and vision and were willing to take a chance and stake their reputation on their success. That's what needs to happen more often with black coaches. So while Saturday's New Mexico State-New Mexico game ranks near the bottom of the college football landscape, we should take notice of the rarity of two black coaches facing each other, and hope that matchups like these happen more often.

I, for one, will definitely take note of what's happening in New Mexico.

We encourage arrogance, so why do you expect humility?

Hopefully, perhaps and quite possibly we have learned first-hand this weekend the perils of out-of-control, excessive arrogance.

But in a sense, it is our fault. We like our icons to talk, to sell themselves, play themselves up. We only want them to be humble when we want them to be humble and then we criticize them for crossing the "vain" line. This weekend, Michael Jordan and Kanye West angered their fans and millions of others with their overconfident and rather petty actions.

Jordan treated his basketball Hall of Fame speech like Martin Lawrence in the infamous "Pretty Ricky" episode of the 90s series "Martin". If you didn't catch that classic segment, Martin attends to his 10-year high school reunion with a checklist of people he plans to avenge for their mistreatment a decade ago. After winning "Man of the Year" from his classmates, Martin essentially disses the award because he admits he never liked any of his classmates, especially arch rival Ricky Fontaine, or "Pretty Ricky," who took his prom date.

Isiah Thomas revived the role of "Pretty Ricky" as Jordan recalled when Thomas and several other all-stars decided to "freeze" him out of the 1985 All-Star Game because they were jealous of Jordan's new-found stardom and felt the rookie hadn't paid his dues. He then added rivals to the list as if he were shopping for a Super Bowl party. Dean Smith for not inviting him to pose for a Sports Illustrated cover, check. Pat Riley for not allowing the Knicks players to fraternize with Jordan before playoff games, check. Leroy Smith for the heinous act of accepting an invitation to join the varsity team at Laney High School in Wilmington, N.C. while Jordan didn't receive one, check.

It was classic Jordan, a summation of a man who was as good as creating motivational tools as dunking on opponents. He listed every one of his adversaries and thanked them for having a part in his Hall of Fame induction.

Less than 48 hours later, West jumps on stage (where is the security here?) at the MTV Video Awards grabs the microphone out country singer Taylor Swift's hands and proclaims Beyonce as the real winner of the best female video. He then hands the microphone back to the shell shocked Swift and then walks off the stage, as if he just solved the health care debate.

This is the only time you will hear me compare Jordan and West, because there is no comparison. One man is the greatest basketball player of all time and image icon, and another is a pretty decent artist who has capitalized on a horrid music market that devours and lauds anything, including "Mary Had a Little Lamb, the remix."

But people have spent the weekend complaining about both acts, and honestly neither Jordan nor West would have been successful with strictly humility. Jordan told friends he would become a shoe icon while he was at North Carolina.

West complained when his "College Dropout" CD was not given prestiguous five-star rating by Rolling Stone magazine and threatened to never to grant a cover story again. We didn't complain then. We kept buying his CDs, calling his stunning acts of pompousness a mere personality trait, not a concern that needed to be addressed.

We seem to live in a society where everybody considers themselves "all that" even if such feelings are conceived or serves as a defense mechanism for insecurity. Humility is frowned upon until the moment we feel as its appropriate and then we expect our artists, athletes and even politicians to immediately know when to say "Aw shucks."

This weekend was a lesson that there is nothing wrong with opting for humility or modesty, even if you privately want to tell the world how great you are. As one wise person told me, when a person constantly lauds themselves and their own accomplishments, they are more trying to convince themselves than anyone else.

We consider our humble icons boring or dry. We relish arrogance and conceit, even sometimes in our mates. It makes them more attractive. But the question is what exactly was attractive about the events of this weekend? I don't heard anyone admiring, just cringing.

It starts with young people judging each other for their material goods and looks, and it ends, unfortunately, with talented artists and athletes unable to control their own emotions because they have been allowed to fester and smoulder too long. It may be too late to save MJ and Kanye West, but this should serve as a lesson for all of us to stop encouraging such behavor and excusing it as genius.

We're smarter than that.