Good Sports

The best part of watching Drew Brees break Marino's record the other night was his postgame speech in the locker room. After coach Sean Payton said a few words, he turned it over to Brees, who obviously thanked his teammates. But then he thanked the coaches. And the management. And the trainers. And the stadium workers. Here's a guy in the aftermath of breaking a bigtime NFL record, and he is humble enough to thank people that so many would overlook.

It was a very cool moment, and a very refreshing one. Especially in the midst of so much bad news that usually comes along with sports coverage. From things as horrific as Sandusky, to as shady as Tressel, to character-revealing like 'the decision', to Tiger's promiscuity, sports coverage goes so far beyond sport and rarely shines positively on athletes. So it was cool to see that moment. And also is why I have no choice but to like Tim Tebow. He has taken the country by storm, and almost everyone has an opinion, some very strong. But for all the Michael Vick and Roethlisberger negativity, why wouldn't anyone want to cheer for someone like Tebow?

Anyway, I just wanted share a little positivity from athletes here real quick tonight. Besides Brees last night and everything you have heard about Tebow for the past few months (and years), here are three real quick stories you may have heard. If not, cool to hear about. Especially when two are about guys that aren't really seen as good guys.

The first is from Christmas morning. The Knicks played in the NBA opener on Christmas, bringing hundreds of people, aside from the players and the fans, away from their families on Christmas. Amare Stoudemire provided breakfast for hundreds of those Madison Square Garden employees Christmas morning. Cool gesture.

The second was one Trav just told me about tonight. A few years back, Braylon Edwards
visited a Cleveland middle school and promised 100 kids that if they finished high school with at least a 2.5, he would give them each $10,000 toward college. Those kids are in college now, and Edwards kept his promise, totaling an amount that nearly matched his salary for the year this year.

The final story is about Lions' DE Ndamukong Suh and RB Jahvid Best. As soon as I started hearing interviews with Suh after he was drafted, I liked him. Personable and smart, but focused as well. A lot of his actions on the field have made him hard to cheer for, but this story makes it a little easier. A Detroit high school had their locker room robbed of uniforms and pads and were in danger of forfeiting their game, until Suh and Best donated all new gear for the team.

Just a few quick ones, but worth sharing if you hadn't seen them yet.

Also while I was at Trav's tonight, he showed me a video that had a little fun with Tim Tebow. I dislike when people blatantly and disrespectfully mock Tebow for being Christian. I thought this had a little fun with him, but tastefully enough. Hopefully you agree!



Slainte,
Gary