Good Guys and Bad Guys of Hockey

In this wonderful world of sports there are many athletes who brighten our eyes with their skill and majesty. There are players in the NFL that captivate our imagination and our excitement characteristics in ways unimaginable. However most times we are not able to translate who exactly the good guys and bad guys are in the world of sports and in particular the National Football League.

There are those guys who just are amazing athletes that play hard and fight tooth and nail on every play and give it their all. There are the good guys that take pay cuts to play for a team in a day and age of money greedy, me me me, egotistical, hot heads. There are guys who sacrifice their bodies in the heat of battle and fight for that extra yard no matter what the circumstance, and don't mouth off. There are other good guys who are leaders and inspire not just kids but adults as well on how to be a leader either in their job or what not. Being inspired is a major factor in what drives a lot of folks and seeing what great role models both on the field and off can do for the younger fans speaks major volumes.

There are guys in professional sports like Jerome Bettis, who takes less money to help out his teams outlook, and salary cap situation. Guys like Bettis who think team are hard to find in this day and age and it goes unnoticed and unwritten about. Its not spoken much about how his charities and off field work helps children, along with his hard play on the field which also is more of an inspiration to the younger people in the world. The guy knows he is Hall of Fame bound but doesn't let the hype go to his head and still goes out every Sunday and gives it his all. Guys like Bettis in the world of sports are hard to find and should always be treated as a good guy.

Let's take Donovan McNabb for example; here is another hard player who has never displayed anger toward his coaches in a vocal manner when on camera. Even if he is angry about something, he knows he is an inspiration to younger players, and children and he also knows that he is the center of attention if an incident unraveled. McNabb always shows desire and even when he has been coaxed by a certain teammate on occasions, he has always just walked away and that also should speak volumes to fans. He does make good money, but knows that there is more than just his input to the team's success and keeping a healthy winning environment is his top priority.

The examples of good sportsmanship and good genuine sincerity are out there in the world of sports, but something you really have to look hard and close to find them. There is more bad than good these days and we have to be able to decipher just who are the good guys, and who are the bad guys.

Now let's contemplate a certain wide receiver by the name of Terrell Owens. He is a guy that always makes himself the center of attention no matter what he does, or doesn't do. If he doesn't get the ball thrown to him, its everyone else's fault but his. He blames quarterbacks, coaches and everyone who he can lash out to within spittings distance. If he gets the ball and brakes five tackles enroute to a long touchdown, he has to make a spectacle of himself by either dancing, using a marker to autographing the ball or do something that young viewers shouldn't have to see. He is a genuine bad guy, no matter how you look at it. Leading up to last years trip to the Super Bowl for the Eagles, every waking day leading up to the game, everyone wanted to know about T.O.

They didn't want to know about McNabb's well being, or about the Eagle defense which was stellar all year, or about the team that got over the hump and got to the Bowl without T.O. for the majority of the season. Now after only 1 season in Philly, and only 9 months after being traded to Baltimore from the 49ers and then complaining about not going to Philly, then going to Philly and signing a deal with them, he wants his deal renegotiated. The guy can never be happy and fits that egotistical, me, me, me, mold that was fathomed earlier. He is not a good example of a team player, and really should not be talked about as much as he is. He sends the wrong message to the younger players who need to learn not to dance after a first down, and learn to walk back to the huddle.

Let's now turn our attention to a guy by the name of Shaun Alexander. Here is a guy who lashed out at his coach, the media, and everyone he could last year in the last and decisive regular season game. Alexander fell one measly yard shy of winning the rushing title behind Curtis Martin of the Jets. This happened in a game where the Seahawks needed to win to clinch the final playoff spot that was left in the NFC. Instead of running a halfback dive play up the middle with Alexander, Mike Holmgren decided to have Matt Hasselbeck take it in on the quarterback keeper. It was the deciding score they needed to win the game, and after the victory it wasn't about the team and getting into the playoffs to Alexander.

It was all about why he wasn't given the ball on the one-yard line to get his rushing title. Stats aren't as meaningful in football as they are in other sports, and a player should always put his personal goals behind that of the teams. It was pretty clear what was on his agenda when he lashed out. It was also pretty clear what he wanted when he made sure he had a statistician at his side to let him know just how many yards he and Martin had on that final week of play last season. Here is another bad showing of character and bad sportsmanship all around. His childish tantrum was unprofessional and he is the antithesis of a good sportsman.

All those out there that see it the other way are entitled to their own opinion, but they aren't looking at the examples these so called professionals are making towards the younger audiences. Now it's your turn to go out there and decide whom you think are the good guys, and bad guys. Enough has been said here about this topic, and its encouraged that everyone makes quality decisions with your judging good personalities in the world of sports and of course the rotten ones, too.