All-Time NCCA Tournament 1st Round (part d)

The first round concludes at the Palestra in the Carrier Dome Regon...

CARRIER DOME REGION
1st round: Palestra
(10) Michigan
(23) North Carolina State

(7) Maryland
(26) Minnesota

(15) Connecticut
(18) Notre Dame

(2) North Carolina
(31) Utah

Michigan takes on North Carolina State in the opening game. Furious after their petition to get Ray Jackson, Jimmy King and Juwan Howard on the squad was denied, Jalen Rose and Chris Webber score the game’s first 20 points. Tom Gugliotta and Rudy T get into an early fight, leaving State with just David Thompson to carry the scoring load. The great Jimmy Valavano prepares an Italian feast at halftime for his players, who then seem noticeably slower in the second half. Glen Rice hits five second half threes and the Wolverines pull away and win by double-digits.

Scoop takes: Michigan
Neel takes: Michigan

Minnesota takes an early lead after Maryland can’t stop laughing at Kevin McHale’s hair. Maryland’s balance one through seven gives them an eight point halftime edge, and solid guard play keeps them in front early in the second half. Then Len Bias goes crazy. He grabs eight straight rebounds and scores twenty points in a row. Gary Williams tells the media after the game that “if I were coaching him originally, he would have turned into one of the greatest players ever.” Well said, Gary. Maryland pulls away for the win.

Scoop takes: Maryland
Neel takes: Minnesota

After Emeka Okafor’s thesis about “why we should be seeded higher” was rejected by the committee, Okafor gets into a fight with Bill Laimbeer in the pre-game warm-ups. Laimbeer is ejected, Okafor flashes a smile, then puts up a triple-double, blocking 11 shots. Ray Allen and Rip each have 30 for UConn, and Adrian Dantley has 32 points but it’s not enough to keep Notre Dame close. UConn wins by double-digits.

Scoop takes: Notre Dame
Neel takes: Connecticut

The final game of the first round is between North Carolina and Utah. Michael Jordan tries to play Utah one-on-five, and actually leads early 10-7. Finally, after Utah pulls ahead, Dean Smith decides he has enough of this “individualism” and inserts his starting lineup. Andrew Bogut gets dunked on by all seven Tar Heels. James Worthy has just 6 points, and explains “I only show up in big games.” In a strange incident, Kenny Smith runs onto the court out of the stands in uniform, and is removed by security shouting “I can play!! I can play!!” Somewhere Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson share a laugh. Charlie Scott leads all players with 25, and UNC rolls by 26.

Scoop takes: North Carolina
Neel takes: North Carolina

The bracket for the second round now looks like this:

RUPP ARENA REGION
Round of 16
(1) UCLA
(17) Syracuse

(8) Indiana
(24) DePaul


CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM REGION
Round of 16
(21) San Francisco
(5) Kansas

(13) Michigan State
(4) Georgetown


ASSEMBLY HALL REGION
Round of 16
(3) LSU
(19) Cincinnati

(6) Houston
(22) Providence

CARRIER DOME REGION
Round of 16
(10) Michigan
(7) Maryland

(15) Connecticut
(2) North Carolina

All-Time NCCA Tournament 1st Round (part c)

In the Assembly Hall Region at the Pit...


ASSEMBLY HALL REGION
1st round: The Pit
(3) LSU
(30) Iowa

(14) Ohio State
(19) Cincinnati

(6) Houston
(27) Arkansas

(11) Kentucky
(22) Providence

LSU is a hot pick – Scoop thinks they can score 160 points in a game– but they aren’t that good. They have an arsenal of scorers, but basketball is multidimensional and team defense and passing are important factors along with scoring proficiency. Nonetheless, Chris Jackson, “Pistol Pete,” Petit and Shaq easily overpower Iowa. Connie Hawkins keeps the Hawkeyes close in the first with 28 points. Shaq declares it’s his team, but Pistol Pete reminds everyone he averaged 44 points a game in college. Shaq then breaks both backboards, delaying the start of the second game until the next day. LSU wins by 40 in a landslide, making the Tigers more arrogant than ever.

Scoop takes: LSU
Neel takes: LSU

The battle of Ohio is next and Cincinatti and Ohio State set a record with an unprecented 128 fouls called. The game gets so physical, at one point Kenyon Martin actually fouls his teammate Danny Fortson, who flops so hard he lands on the Ohio State bench, injuring Herb Williams. Michael Redd and Havilcek give OSU a spirited early lead, but Nick Van Exel hits six consecutive threes, and Big O finishes with 28 points, 22 rebounds and 20 assists. Suprisingly, Martin and Fortson prove to be physical enough to neutralize the smaller Lucas and Havilcek, which along with better guard play, proves to be the difference. Cincinnati by seven.

Scoop takes: Ohio State
Neel takes: Cincinnati

Arkansas is blown off the court by Houston from the opening tip. Corliss “little nasty” Williamson and Joe Kleine are annihilated inside by Hakeem and Elvin Hayes, who block the game’s first 11 shots – even swatting their own team’s shots! “It would make it fair,” Akeem said afterward, changing the spelling of his name back to his college days at halftime. Drexler and Michael Young each finish with 10 dunks, and Houston is declared an early threat after a 111-55 shellacking.

Scoop takes: Houston
Neel takes: Houston

In the final game of the set, UK and PC play a low scoring, grind-it-out affair. Lenny Wilkens mans the point masterfully, and bothers Rex Chapman on defense. Rick Pitino – still fuming from being passed over for the all-time UK job – throws a series of presses at Kentucky, and forces six consecutive turnovers in the second half. An irate Adolph Rupp pulls Jamal Mashburn from the game, furious he "ever let a colored play." Reserve John Thompson, incited by Rupp’s racists coaching, enters the game and ignites a Fryar run with two dunks, two blocked shots, and two flagrant fouls. Providence holds on, 54-47.

Scoop takes: Providence
Neel takes: Providence

Tomorrow: Carrier Dome Region 1st round

All-Time NCCA Tournament 1st Round (part b)

The Cameron Indoor Stadium region is next:

CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM REGION
1st round: Dean Dome
(12) UNLV
(21) San Francisco

(5) Kansas
(28) Georgia Tech

(13) Michigan State
(20) Arizona

(4) Georgetown
(29) Illinois

UNLV has some nice talent - three members of the legendary 1990 title team - but here's the thing...Bill Russell is good at baseketball. Marion, LJ, Rider, Augmon and Greg Anthony were great in college, but only solid pros. The Shark chokes on his towel at halftime trying to figure out how to stop Russell, who finishes with 14 points, 19 rebounds, 10 blocks, 8 assists, and 4 steals, all while playing the game with a championship ring on each finger. KC Jones aids Russell with a series of gorgeous assists in the San Francisco “upset.”

Scoop takes: San Francisco
Neel takes: San Francisco

Kansas has a Hall-of-fame lineup: Jo Jo White, Pierce, Manning, and the Dipper. As Dennis Miller might say, “I haven’t seen that much firepower since the Athenians at the battle of Sybota.” Hinrich and Clyde Lovellette are nice bench options for Larry Brown. Dennis Scott, Marbury, Kenny Anderson and Mark Price jump out to an early lead on 10 straight 3-pointers, but Kansas settles down after taking Raef out for the smaller Hinrich. The Jayhawks pull away in the end and win easily thanks to Chamberlain’s routine 33 points and 21 rebounds. After watching Kansas perform so well without LaFrentz, Danny Ainge immediately signs him to a 10-year contract extension.

Scoop takes: Kansas
Neel takes: Kansas

The third game is between Jud Heathcoat’s Spartans and Lute Olson’s Wildcats. Hmm… Magic Johnson, Scott Skiles, and Steve Smith in the same backcourt? Doesn’t guard play win in the NCAA tournament? Michigan State has to be considered a Cinderella. Arizona starts six guards: Stoudamire, Bibby, Simon, Jefferson, Elliot and Arenas, and all six are thoroughly embarrassed by Magic Johnson. At one point, Magic actually throws a pass off of Miles Simon’s head, redirected to Kevin Willis for a dunk, then smiles to the camera and claims, “Simon says layup.” Michigan State win by 20.

Scoop takes: Arizona
Neel takes: Michigan State

The final game brings out John Thompson and his "Hoya Paranoia." The game is initially delayed because the committee has to convince Thompson to play the game with white officials. Thompson threatens to sue, but then remembers he has Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, and Allen Iverson (Sleepy Floyd isn’t a bad third option either). Frauds like Kendall Gill, Nick Anderson and Deron Williams are exposed by the physical Hoya big men, and the Illini pretty boys give up in the second half after Patrick Ewing’s 17th consecutive shot block/goaltend. Illinois doesn’t even get to 50 points, and Georgetown becomes an early favorite to win it all with their smothering defense. The win was so eary, Iverson tells reporters after the game “we’re talkin’ about PRACTICE.”

Scoop takes: Georgetown
Neel takes: Georgetown

Tomorrow: More brackets in the Assembly Hall Region

All-Time NCCA Tournament 1st Round

The Rupp Arena region kicks off the tournament:


RUPP ARENA REGION
1st round: Boise
(1) UCLA
(32) Marquette

(16) Louisville
(17) Syracuse

(8) Indiana
(25) Villanova

(9) Duke
(24) DePaul


In the opening game UCLA crushes Marquette. Bill Walton and "Lew Alcindor" play a legendary inside-outside game with Gail Goodrich and Reggie Miller. It pains Walton to defeat Blazer teammate Maurice Lucas, but Walton declares afterwards “Maurice not attending UCLA turned out to be the worst decision in the HISTORY of college attendance.” Doc Rivers and D-Wade play well, but can't save Marquette.

Scoop takes: UCLA
Neel takes: UCLA

The second game in Boise is between Lousiville and Syracuse. Wes Unseld can bang down low and rebound with the best of them, but after Unseld, the Cardinals don't offer much. Seriously…Nervous Pervis Ellison? Milt Wagner? Have you seen what his DNA produced (the Cavalier legend DaJuan Wagner)? Jim Boehim has Pearl Washington run the show (with Sherm Douglas to spell him with solid minutes), Coleman and Seikaly banging down low, and Melo and Dave Bing dominating on the wing. The 2-3 zones boggles Lousville – Syracuse wins by double-digits.

Scoop takes: Louisville
Neel takes: Syracuse

During the warmup for game three Bob Knight pulls Calbert Cheaney from the layup line and calls him a "girl" for missing a dunk. The Hoosiers are a heavy favorite over Rollie Massimino's Wildcats, but two Chris Ford threes put Villanova in front early. Isiah Thomas and Steve Alford take over near the end of the first half, and Nova heads to halftime down 10. At intermission, Tim Thomas declares early for the NBA draft and leaves, giving Villanova only six players. Walt Bellamy comes to life in the second half, and Indiana wins easily.

Scoop takes: Villanova
Neel takes: Indiana

In the final game of the set, Duke seems like the obvious pick over DePaul. But remember, it’s the full-body of the player, not simply college, and Laettner and Hurley and every other Dukie not named Hill or Brand (who apparently couldn't make the team) weren’t that good in their respective primes. Period. After a series of fouls called on George Mikan when he was on the bench, Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings decide enough is enough and pound Duke into oblivion. Strangely, Thomas Hill and Jay Williams are both spotted in street clothes crying with Coach K after the game. To prevent the court from becoming wet and slippery, all of their tears are caught in the giant grooves in Shane Battier’s head. After the contest, it was revealed the entire game was played on Sheldon Williams’ forehead. When asked what happened to his team, Coach K said, "I don't know...I'm a leader not a basketball coach." The ESPN brass quickly begin figuring out how to get Duke back into the tournament.

Scoop takes: Duke
Neel takes: Depaul

Tomorrow: Cameron Indoor Stadium 1st round

Fun February Madness

March Madness is right around the corner, and what could be a better prelude to the Big Dance than a fantasy tournament for the ages? Introducing, the first hypothetical tournament on this site, the “All-Time NCAA Tournament."

The tournament is in the mold of a Classic Sports “what-if” model – that age old water-cooler argument about who would beat who if they could access a time machine. It was originally designed by ESPN.com’s Scoop Jackson when he was writing for “SLAM” magazine (Jackson was finally able to run the idea last year on ESPN.com in conjunction with Eric Neel). The origins of the idea stemmed from an argument Scoop was having over whether a team of UCLA alumni would beat a team of North Carolina alumni. Worthy, Jordan, Carter and Jamison playing against Miller, Walton and Abdul-Jabbar – what would happen? All players would be in their prime, of course, which includes their NBA career. When Carolina plays in this theoretical tournament, Michael Jordan would be the NBA legend Michael Jordan, not the scrawny collegiate version. Conversely, Christian Laettner wouldn’t be a superstar in this game the way he was in college.

And thus the idea of two teams playing each other grew into a field of 32 colleges who produced the best players in basketball history. Carmelo and Coleman star for Syracuse. Duke has Brand and Hill. Georgetown has its legendary centers, Ewing, Mourning and Mutombo all playinging together. Kansas has Paul Pierce and some guy named Chamberlain. Finally, each team is coached by its most legendary floor general – Knight leads Indiana, Wooden leads UCLA, and so on.

Panelists at ESPN.com seeded the teams 1-32, and placed them into four regions, ala the selection committee (a fan vote determined who advanced from round to round – that vote will be included in addition to my pick and analysis, as well as Neel and Scoop's take). Each team gets a starting five and two reserves – the best seven players even to suit up for that particular school. The body of work the committee used to seed the teams was based on the talent level of each lineup on paper. Of course, championships aren’t won on paper.

For example, the All-Time North Carolina team is:

Starting Lineup
G Michael Jordan
G Phil Ford
F James Worthy
F Billy Cunningham
C Bob McAdoo

Bench
G/F Charlie Scott
F Walter Davis

And those are the seven best players in Carolina history (according to the panel). Stackhouse, Sheed, and Vince Carter didn’t even crack the team.

Without Further ado, the ALL-TIME NCAA TOURAMENT BRACKET: (click on a team for rosters provided at espn.com, along with Jackson and Neel’s analysis):

RUPP ARENA REGION
1st round: Boise

(1) UCLA
(32) Marquette

(16) Louisville
(17) Syracuse

(8) Indiana
(25) Villanova

(9) Duke
(24) DePaul


CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM REGION
1st round: Dean Dome

(12) UNLV
(21) San Francisco

(5) Kansas
(28) Georgia Tech

(13) Michigan State
(20) Arizona

(4) Georgetown
(29) Illinois


ASSEMBLY HALL REGION
1st round: The Pit

(3) LSU
(30) Iowa

(14) Ohio State
(19) Cincinnati

(6) Houston
(27) Arkansas

(11) Kentucky
(22) Providence


CARRIER DOME REGION
1st round: Palestra

(10) Michigan
(23) North Carolina State

(7) Maryland
(26) Minnesota

(15) Connecticut
(18) Notre Dame

(2) North Carolina
(31) Utah

So what would happen if such an All-time tournament took place….? Let the discussion begin.

Tomorrow: Rupp Arena 1st Round

A World of Arrogance

The Olympics. A wondrous competition of sport, camaraderie and achievement, that temporarily unites the planet as one under the guise of athletics. The Olympics are a celebration of triumph, achievement, harmony and sportsmanship.

But someone forgot to tell the United State that.

In the last week of competition the American team has managed to embarrass itself with a series of selfish and arrogant acts that have resulted in disappointing finishes. And no one seems to really care.

Bode Miller was a favorite in downhill skiing, but apparently he was too busy doing interviews and commercials to actually concern himself with skiing. First Miller raised eyebrows on “60 Minutes” when he spoke about skiing intoxicated, then in the same month did a cover for “Time” entitled “American Rebel” and told “Rolling Stone” that athletes like Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds “knowingly” cheat. What a month for Bode – one wonders where he found the time to train for the Olympics (perhaps in between takes of shooting his “Are you a Bodeist?” commercial).

Then came the downhill, and Miller squandered an opening leg lead by finishing fifth. In the Combined event, Miller was disqualified after carelessly missing a gate. Most recently in the Super G, Miller spent a mere 20 minutes (according to NBC) scouting a difficult course and on his first run inexplicably crashed right into a gate preparing for a sharp turn. Apparently, “American Rebels” are too cool to do their homework.

Then there’s the now infamous Lindsay Jacobellis, who perhaps more than any other winter athlete typifies the American attitude. Jacobellis had her gold medal wrapped up, until she had a glimpse of a bland “Sports Illustrated” photo tucked in the back of the magazine, and so she went for that show-stopping cover shot by attempting a freestyle trick – the “backside method grab” – on the race’s penultimate jump. Unfortunately, Jacobellis forgot to land the “backside method” and instead landed the slightly lesser know “fall on your backside and give away your gold medal, method.”

Following the race, Jacobellis shamelessly lied about her fall, claiming she was trying to prevent herself from falling by stabilizing her board. Then in an NBC exclusive with Bob Costas, she admitted the board grab was unnecessary, but seemed somewhat indifferent regarding her silver, and maintained she was “happy” about the results. After all, Jacobellis did have her cover shot.

There have been others in Torino partaking in the American-way, valuing arrogance over humility and air-time over success. Speed skater Shani Davis elected not to compete in a team pursuit event earlier in the week, in order to rest for his 1,000 meter individual event. According to teammate Chad Hedrick, Davis’ presence would have meant “a pretty sure gold” for the Americans. Regarding the decision, Davis said “I know what’s best for me. And if I feel that not skating the pursuit will do me better for the 1,000 meters, then I’m going to do it. I worked to get here. None of my teammates helped me get to where I am. I worked hard, and I got myself here.”

And who says there is no “I” team?

Davis went on to win gold in the 1,000 but in his interview with Michelle Stark following the race he seemed about as excited as George W. Bush was reading “My Pet Goat.” Someone should have reminded him he was the first black athlete in Winter Olympics history to win an individual gold medal. Maybe he would have at least cracked a smile.

Last night Apolo Anton Ohno, the face on the billboard down the street, was the latest over-hyped American athlete to ungracefully flop. Earlier in the games, Ohno failed to qualify for the 1,500 meter short-track final when hubris overtook him and he went for an unnecessary pass to win a heat and crashed. All Ohno needed was to stay in second for the final turn and he would have advanced.

Ohno had another chance in the 1,000 meters - a compelling final pitting Apollo against his rival from Korea Ahn Hyun-Soo. The race featured two Koreans and two Americans, but after Korea finished 1-2 (Ohno took the bronze), Ohno repeatedly answered questions about the Koreans working together with dubious remarks such as “it’s difficult to tell,” and “we’ll never know.” NBC then provided Ohno some complimentary cheese with his whine.

Jacobellis aside, the nascent American-based sport of snowboarding has saved the United States from complete embarrassment in Torino. In 2002, the U.S finished second in the medal count with 34. After more than half of the Torino games, without snowboarding, the US would have all of seven medals, and would be tied for 7th in the medal count. Some so-called superpower.

Fortunately, the second week in Torino will provide opportunity for success and selflessness from team USA.

But then again, so did the first week.

Super Bowl preview: The Rogaine Bowl

Super Bowl Extra Large features two teams with a combined 29 victories and 12 Pro Bowlers. Each coach has experience in the big game, and Seattle’s Shaun Alexander is the NFL MVP. The Seahawks have a potent offense (first in points scored) and the Steelers field a great defense (third in points against). Steeler linebacker Joey Porter and Seahawk tight end Jerramy Stevens have been auditioning for the WWE this week with their war of words. There are key points and film breakdowns and computer simulations – Pittsburgh won the official one – and uniform decisions and any other angle an analyst can possibly think of.

But everyone has overlooked the most important aspect of all: Hair.

That’s right, that filamentous growth protruding from the epidermis we simply call hair. It protects us, insulates us, and can even camouflage us. Facial hair is considered masculine. Baldness is a sign of old age.

What does a Milos Forman film title have to do with the Super Bowl?

Pittsburgh has it where it counts, and Seattle doesn’t.

The two most important positions on Sunday are quarterback and running back. Seattle’s signal caller, Matt Hasselbeck, is nothing short of follicly challenged. At age 30, Hasselbeck has had the Karl Malone misfortune of losing most of his hair during the prime of his athletic career. Conversely, Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger not only has a popular local sandwich named after him that overflows with machismo, but he has grown a beard that would make Bill Walton smile. The shaggy Roethlisberger could pass as a wilderness man or a pirate, if he were equipped with the mandatory eye patch and bandana. Meanwhile, I think I saw Hasselbeck playing in a 40 and up Thursday night basketball league.

Advantage: Steelers

Shaun Alexander may have won the league’s most valuable player award, but he did it aerodynamically. Alexander has often sported the “eyebrows only” haircut this season. The Steelers feature two running backs, “fast” Willie Parker, and short-yardage specialist Jerome “The Bus” Bettis. On top of having great nicknames, they sport more fur than the MVP. Parker, just a rookie, has donned an old-school afro this season. Bettis has a beard to accompany his perfect videogame hairline.

Advantage: Steelers

Even the key contributors on each defense are polar opposites when it comes to coiffures. Seattle’s best defender has been rookie linebacker Lofa Tatupu, a USC alum who keeps cleanly shaven with a relatively short do. Pittsburgh’s best defender, Troy Polamalu, also went to USC, but certainly not to the same salon as Tatupu. Polamalu roams the field like a lion with arguably the longest, wildest mane in the history of the sport. It’s impossible to read his name on the back of his jersey, but we all know who is flying around the turf when we see that hair.

Advantage: Steelers

Lastly, the coaches are of utmost importance in a Super Bowl. Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren has a fluffy mustache and thinning hair. Tony Kornheiser – a man who knows hair – said he looks like a “walrus.” His counterpart, Bill Cowher, has the thickest mustache in the business. At times, it’s impossible to tell where his mouth ends and his nose begins because of it. Well, except when he’s yelling.

Advantage: Steelers

So there you have it. Another perfect scientific explanation for exactly how the Super Bowl will play out. The Steelers will win Super Bowl XL in a landslide. Just ask your local barber.

Athletes These Days!

Recently, the sports world has been flooded with a seemingly endless array of negative stories: Terrell Owens is a selfish childish egomaniac! Ron Artest is a thug! The NBA is a bunch of over-paid spoiled brats! The NFL is full of murderers and sex-boat parties! Baseball is filled with greedy steroid abusers! And after each story is pounded over everyone’s head until they’re convinced that every athlete is a Dr. Phil episode, a new soap opera surfaces that consumes the daily headlines.

When Charles Barkley declared that “athletes aren’t role models” over a decade ago, no one realized just how good fans had it. The prevailing black marks on sports during the 80s and 90s were related to Michael Jordan and Pete Rose’s rumored gambling – what a sinful and legal indulgence that was – and the occasional Michael Ray Richardson drug related story.

Then at some point in time, perhaps after the media got a sniff of the circus surrounding the OJ trial, any negative story about an athlete became the flavor of the month; there were headlines and follow ups and insider stories and “outside the lines” stories and legal specialists and essentially the end of all that is decent in society. Football had the Ray Lewis “murder” trial, Rae Carruth’s case, Randy Moss bumping a traffic cop, Jamal Lewis’ cocaine trafficking, and this year that callow “TO” melodrama in Philadelphia, and some lewd sexual activity on Lake Minnetonka. A one-hit-wonder in college, Maurice Clarett, made headlines by committing an armed robbery in a Columbus alley. Maurice Clarett isn’t even in football.

From what we’ve heard about the NBA, many deduce that the league is a bunch of 18 year-old inner city criminals. The Portland Trailblazers have a rap sheet longer than anything James Frey could ever conjure up. Let’s not even mention Eagle, Colorado.

Then there’s baseball, which has apparently become the country’s largest black market in performance enhancing drugs. Bonds, Giambi, Sheffield, Palmeiro, Sosa, McGwire and pretty much anyone else who hit a home run in the last 15 years has been tainted as a cheater and a drug-peddler.

Hockey took a year off to improve its image, but before the lockout there were multiple on-ice incidents in which players were suddenly being charged with assault after committing egregious penalties.

What is happening to athletes these days?

The answer might surprise a few.

Unbeknownst to even the most obsessive sports follower, this current generation of athletes has been overwhelming philanthropic for years. We just never hear about it.

Kevin Garnett, one of those immature, spoiled basketball stars who skipped college, pledged to build 24 homes over the next two years with Oprah’s “Angel network” for Katrina victims. That’s a $1.2 million donation with no strings attached. Garnett also launched “Four Excellence in Leadership” in early 2002 to connect minority high school and college students with business leaders. He also purchased more than 15 suites at the Target Center for local cancer patients and tickets for under-privileged children. He developed a “dream” vacation for terminal children, sending them and their families on otherwise unaffordable trips to places like Disneyland.

This wasn’t just one isolated incident though. After scouring through the internet for hours I stumbled upon instance after instance of charity work by countless athletes. Most of them were located in the bowels of newspaper and website archives. The NBA’s charity page - http://www.nba.com/nba_cares/ - is overflowing with humanitarian endeavors. All you have to do to find it is scroll down to the very bottom of the homepage – the link is next to the “WNBA Offseason Happenings,” and some piece about Tony Parker’s fashion sense.

Jerome Bettis has been the talk of the Super Bowl, returning home to perhaps win a championship in the final game of his hall-of-fame career. But in all the features on “the Bus,” there has been nary a mention of the amazing charity work he’s done in Detroit over the years. In 1996, he started “The Bus Stops Here” foundation to assist underprivileged youth in the inner city, and now he’s teamed up with the American Lung Association in a campaign to promote awareness. Clearly, the gubernatorial wager on the game is a more important story.

After Katrina, Peyton Manning and his brother traveled to Louisiana to assist with supplying food and goods to survivors. When reviewing the story, I stumbled upon the “Peyback foundation,” a private non-profit corporation, established in 1999 by Manning to promote the success of disadvantaged youth. It has donated more than $1 million since its inception.

Shaquille O’Neal also responded to Katrina, but the story was reduced to a blurb here or there. O’Neal and his wife organized a fleet of trucks and personally drove relief up the coast from Miami to Louisiana. Shaq also works with youth and other charitable causes, and has donated over $1 million to the Boys and Girls club of America. But hey, he can’t shoot free throws.

Guard-turned-broadcaster Kenny Smith quickly organized an off-season charity game for Katrina. In a matter of weeks, Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and even Ron Artest rallied to Texas to assists hurricane victims and promote the game. It raised millions.

And there are innumerable others.

Lance Armstrong’s “Livestrong” bracelets have raised over $58 million for cancer.

Tiger Woods started the “Tiger Woods foundation,” focusing on projects for children, and his annual fundraiser “Tiger jam” has raised over $8 million. He is opening a 35,000 square foot educational facility for youths, “The Tiger Woods Learning Center,” in 2006.

Derek Jeter started “Turn 2,” to prevent substance abuse, which has awarded more than $5 million to anti-drug educational programs.

Rasheed Wallace – yes the Rasheed Wallace – has multiple foundations to help youth in the community and was awarded the NBA community assists award.

Dikembe Mutombo donated $15 million to build a hospital in the Congo.

The list goes on: Mario Lemieux (fighting cancer), Vince Carter (foundation for those in need), Alonzo Mourning (assists youth), and the unofficial leader of the pack, Andre Agassi.

Agassi’s foundation spent $11 million in 2003 alone helping disadvantaged children in Las Vegas. He opened his own school in 2001, the $36 million “Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas,” with 420 kids from K-12. It was the top-rated school in the county in 2004. His annual concert has raised over $59 million in the last decade.

And there are many more (this link provides a few: http://youth.fdncenter.org/youth_celebrity.html)...

So when the next prima donna wide receiver tears apart a team, or one out of the nearly two thousand NFL players is arrested for a misdemeanor, or someone whines about a contract extension, don't be so quick to think of this generation of sports superstars as selfish and criminal.

I know what I’ll be thinking:

Athletes these days.