The Good and Bad of Sports Stars

Hello everybody! After a nice summer break I am back at school and that means back to blogging. What better way to start the year than discuss a topic that I get pretty heated about? News broke today that the Charlotte Bobcats' Javaris Crittenton is wanted for murder. You may remember that name but it's nothing he did on the court that would remind you of him. Crittenton is the ex-Washington Wizard who was suspended for bringing a gun into the Wizards' locker room, making him "the other guy" involved in the Gilbert Arenas mess. Crittenton should be banned from te league after his latest blunder and he has, once again, given the NBA a black eye. He is the most recent player to make a fool of himself and fail as a role model, despite making millions of dollars and having the chance to play sports for a living.

Jim Thome is at the tail end of his playing days and, earlier this week, waived his no-trade clause so that he could finish his illustrious career with the Cleveland Indians. Thome started his career in Cleveland and it is a well-deserved homecoming for him. Thome recently bashed his 600th home run making him just the eighth player in MLB history to do so. Thome is a classic good guy. As the MLB continues to heal from the Steroid Era, Thome is a shining light for the game. Never once has he been brought up in steroid or PED talk and he is respected as a true gentleman of the game. Now he gets the chance to finish his career where he started it and help a contending Indians team. He is an example of what is right in sports.

The contrast between the two examples is so great and it is unbelievable how some athletes can mess up their lives so bad. Charles Barkley once said he was not a role model and some athletes think they aren't. I strongly disagree and I think that when an athlete is drafted and signs his contract he should know what else comes with the fame and riches. There are kids who are watching and, obviously, no man should ever murder another, but for an athlete in the spotlight to do something so violent and wrong is scary because more kids hear about it.

Crittenton isn't the first guy to mess up, nor will he be the last but he is the latest and that makes him the current poster child. Athletes like Randy Moss, Jason Williams and Tiger Woods have all had run-ins with the law or been involved with scandals. Why do athletes mess up? It's hard to say. It's not a white or black issue and I don't think playing time matters either. The two factors that drive athletes to these bad decisions is money and fame. With money anything is possible. You can buy whatever you want and you can live lavishly and tempation comes with that. Also, when somebody has money they feel they need protection. Why else would many athletes purchase guns? Then there is the fame issue. When you are famous people try to get involved with your life. Athletes are offered drugs and other illegal things like it's candy and it's hard to turn down. That's where many of the drug charges come in.

The temptations are great for athletes but not all succumb to them. People like Jim Thome, Derek Jeter and Larry Fitzgerald are athletes who have resisted the tempations and have become great role models along with being Hall of Fame-caliber players. It's great to see but we always know in the back of our minds that when something great happens like Thome's 600th homer, we can expect to be disappointed by someone like Javaris Crittenton. That's the way sports are and they always will be.

Jeter and Thome Approach Milestones Amid Fanfare

Milestones in baseball are something to cheer about most of the time. When a player passes 500 home runs, 300 wins, 3,000 hits or 4,000 strikeouts we all stop and think about the magnitude of that particular achievement. It really is unbelievable. Lately though we haven't been so impressed or happy with MLB players passing milestones due to steroid use. Barry Bonds broke arguably the most glorified record in sports when he passed Hank Aaron's 755 home run mark, but as a nation we could only frown upon his feat because of his alleged steroid use. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were heroes in 1998 and they treated us to one of the most exciting summers ever yet they are villains now after their steroid use and embarrassing showings on Capitol Hill. The same can be said for several other hitters such as Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez and maybe even Alex Rodriguez. Thankfully the steroid era seems to be over and in 2011 two players who have remained clean and have always been fan favorites are chasing major milestones. Derek Jeter, the New York Yankee captain, is approaching 3,000 hits and Jim Thome, a rare home run hitter never linked to steroids, is coming up on 600 home runs.

For all kids who aspire to be a baseball player Derek Jeter is the prime example of how to play the game and how to behave off of it. Name the last time Jeter's name popped up in a police report that ESPN got a hold of....never. Name the last time Jeter ripped his team, teammates or organization publicly....never. He is the ultimate class act and he defines the Yankee way. He is currently 14 hits shy and would be the first Yankee to reach the hit milestone, an incredible accomplishment considering the hitters that have put on the pinstripes. Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio and Mantle were all short and when Jeter's playing days are over he must be considered one of the top three Yankee hitters of all time. That may sound absurd but the man knocks out hits and comes up in the clutch. We can cheer Jeter also because he a great man and he has always been a positive example on and off the field. His name has never come up in steroid talk nor does he have any legal blemishes. Every ball fan can stand and cheer when Jeter does reach 3,000.

The same can be said for Thome. He is a great example and he has been voted by his peers as one of the nicest guys in the game. When he does reach 600 home runs he will join Bonds, Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa in the club. Three of those players have used or allegedly used PEDs (Bonds, Rodriguez and Sosa) but Thome has never been linked to them despite playing the prime of his career in the Steroid Era. He has played for the Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Dodgers and Twins and been a clubhouse favorite at every stop. With the exception of Griffey's 500th and 600th home runs and Frank Thomas' 500th dinger, every home run milestone since 1998 has been tainted by steroids. That's seven players that reached the 500 mark and beyond with steroid use/suspicion. Thome's 500th homer was greeted with applause and his 600th should be an even happier occasion.

It's exciting to watch this unfold because for so long baseball fans have had to watch as a cheater rounded the bases in celebration and then lied when asked if steroids were of any help to reaching that milestone. Now don't get me wrong, I think all of those players were great and they definitely did have outstanding skills but when steroids aid a player's performance it makes that milestone less significant. 500 home runs has become a routine thing in baseball and that's sad. With Jeter and Thome, fans can cheer for both because both are clean and on top of that have always had a good reputation on and off the field. It's the perfect thing for the game of baseball as they exit the Steroid Era.

Jeter could reach 3,000 hits in the next two weeks and Thome could have 600 by the end of the month. It would be amazing if they both could do it on the same day somehow but that might be asking for too much. One thing is for sure and that's that both of these feats will be celebrated across the nation and that hasn't happened to two players since Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs reached 3,000 a day a part from each other.