A Real Man

So I have a problem with the immature stars of the sports world. But just so it does not seem like I believe all athletes are bad, I want to talk also about the real role models of the sports world. And who better to use as an example than my favorite player, José Alberto Pujols Alcántara. You may also know him as Fat Al Pujols of the Cardinals of St. Louis.

On Saturday, October 25th, Pujols won his third of prestigious awards. The first two were for his on the field performance, a MVP award in 2005 and a World Series ring in 2006. But this last award he received was all for his off-the-field prowess. Pujols won the 2008 Roberto Clemente Award for his charity work, joining such names as Cal Ripken Jr, Ozzie Smith, John Smoltz, and Willie Mays.

A father of three, one, Isabella, having Down Syndrome, Pujols and his wife, Deirdre, have started a foundation called the Pujols Family Foundation, which is dedicated to "the love, care and development of people with Down syndrome and their families," as well as helping the poor in his home country, the Dominican Republic.

Pujols is a true man, in every sense of the term. He has a family, he is arguably the best baseball player in the game, and he goes beyond the ball field. His actions off the field never are never talked about, and when they are it's only in a positive light, and he never lets his team down.

"It doesn't matter what you do on the field, it's what you do off the field and the lives you touch," Pujols said.

All these young players should be looking up to him, because he is the perfect role model, because he is a man, unlike all these little boys. Along with this award, Pujols' .357 average with 37 homers and 116 RBIs for the Cardinals this season, even though he played with an irritated nerve in his right elbow, make him a candidate for MVP.

And one last thing, with Albert Pujols involved, "Fair or Foul?" will be the only questionable call. And with replay now, that might not be a problem either.

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Everyone Favorite Michael Vick

Pacman Still Stuck in the Thug Life

“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.” ~Author H. Jackson Brown, Jr

Adam "Pacman" Jones is proof that this is true.

Just like Michael Vick before him, Pacman is going to waste all the talent that was given too him. The mentalities of players like Pacman and Michael Vick are ridiculous. To have to continue the “thug life”, the life that they lived before they started making millions of dollars a year, is ridiculous creates these situations where their talent will get wasted.

Pacman ran a 4.38 40-yard dash coming out of the University of West Virginia. He had a 39 in leap and benched 225 lbs 10 times. He was a speed demon and that’s why he was drafted 6th overall as a cornerback. That speed and strength and skill are all the ingredients to a Pro-Bowl, hall-of-fame, game-changing player.

Like I don’t understand how players like Mike Vick and Pacman Jones still have to live and be thugs. They are millionaires and role models and PROFESSIONAL athletes. They sign contracts, they are in the public eye, and they have commitments. Yet, they still partake in the stupidest of acts.

Dog-fighting? You have millions of dollars, and that is the hobby you decide to keep? I understand you did that as a child and teenagers growing up in urban Atlanta Mike, but come on. Back then you didn’t have a million dollar paying job, or a team that completely depended on you. You have so much money, and that is the most fun you can have with it. There is no more need to hustle for money, there is no more need to act like a thug, you are a grown man who has responsibilities, and a man with so much talent, you would you take the risk of having it all taken away like you did?

Well Mr. Vick, you wasted your talent because you had to be the immature thug you grew up as. And the ironic thing is that because you had so much talent and so little discipline, you were caught. If you were just some low-life who fought dogs, no one would know and no one would care. But you are a low life that just happened to do all these things while quarterbacking a professional team.

The biggest shame about this is that no one is learning from it. The young thugs coming out of college just follow suit. Pacman is just the most recent of them to do it. Staying out late at nightclubs, carrying guns, having an entourage to “protect” you. Darrent Williams died, not because he was a thug, but simply because he was envied. Pacman had a man shot, and paralyzed as a result, because he was a thug. When life and death come into the situation, which is crossing the line.

All the players like Pacman, who are breaking rules, not acting right, and putting themselves in harmful situations and not thinking, should be either thrown out of the league, or put on a leash. They should be allowed to use their talent, or be forced to give it up.

Even when he gets a second chance, a chance to redeem himself after being suspended for a year from the league, Pacman is suspended again and in rehab. This young man should be kicked out of the league not for just the league’s sake, but for his own sake. He is a child, a thuggish child, who has millions of dollars at his fingertips. He does not have the discipline to live this life, and he will cause MORE harm to himself and others if he continues to be in the league.

He is, as simply put as it can be, plain old stupid, and he keeps making questionable calls.