A Profile in Non-Leadership

The New York Mets have always played second fiddle to those men in pinstripes, the Yankees. This week, however, the Mets may have stolen the spotlight if only for a day.

Normally, being the big cheese would be a welcome development, but in the case of the attention general manager Omar Minaya has drawn toward the Mets this week, the attention has been anything but welcome.

Monday’s press conference had all the makings of the standard 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, and why), with a little hint of sports cliche on the side. Omar Minaya, now in his fifth year as the top man for the Big Apple’s second franchise, called the media gathering to announce the firing of Vice President of Player Development, Tony Bernazard.

The press interaction won’t be remembered for Bernazard’s firing, however, as much as it will be for Minaya’s unbelievably childish response to questions posed by New York Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin. Rubin was the reporter who exclusively outed Bernazard as a ticking time-bomb who had not only taken his shirt off and threatened to fight two Mets’ prospects, but also unleashed a flurry of profanities at All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Rubin was following up on his story (for which the press conference had been called), and rather than be cordial, Minaya insinuated that Rubin’s reporting stemmed from the fact that he had “lobbied for a player personnel position” within the Mets organization. Although Rubin sought career advice from owner Jeff Wilpon, he's never sought employment with the team.

There are certain things in life you just don’t do, and one of those things is intentionally embarrassing someone in a professional setting. Minaya did just that and then some. Instead of being the leader that he’s paid $700,000 a year to be, he belittled a man simply trying to do his job.

It would be easy to say that Monday’s debacle is the most embarrassing moment of Minaya’s Mets career, but it’s not. He fired well-respected manager Willie Randolph in the team's hotel after a loss in Los Angeles in 2007, and has presided over teams with a total of zero championships, zero pennants, and a less than impressive .536 winning percentage. A single playoff appearance (2006) may be ok in say Denver or Seattle, but not in the city that never sleeps. Next time Minaya wants to call someone out, wouldn’t it be wise to look in the mirror first?

There's Always a Second Act

The NFL season may well have already began. Late Monday afternoon, NFL commissioner Roger Goddell conditionally reinstated convicted felon Michael Vick, who is now eligible to return to the gridiron after a two year absence.

Vick’s return is a point of contention for many individuals, both inside the football community and among the public at large. Michael Vick was a guy that had everything: a starting gig as an NFL quarterback, millions of dollars in endorsements, and a physical skill set that had nowhere to go but up.

Everything changed for Vick on April 27, 2007, when law enforcement officers came to 1915 Moonlight Road in Smithfield, Virginia, looking for Vick’s cousin. It was then that police stumbled into quite possibly the highest-profile criminal case involving a sports figure since one O.J. Simpson in 1994.

Whatever you think the authorities found, it was probably worse. Dog fighting pits were found, along with kill pens and pools. Perhaps most damming, however, were dozens of graves for canines, with authorities uncovering an estimated three dozen during the investigation.

There have been several NFL players (Leonard Little being the most obvious example) that were convicted of much more serious crimes than dog-fighting.

As terrible as Vick’s crimes were, he didn’t kill a human being, or violently assault a single person. His crimes were reprehensible and easily worthy of the public outcry and ridicule that followed. If convicted murderers have been allowed back into the league, it makes no sense to leave Vick to waste without the only thing he has ever been trained to do: play football.

That said, Vick has paid his debt to society. He served some twenty-three months in jail, not in a white-collar cupcake prison, but rather at Leavenworth in Kansas. Vick missed two years of football, lost everything, and worked for an astonishing twelve cents an hour during his jail stint.

Ultimately, sports are about redemption. Second chances come and go, but fans of all sports remember the guys that capitalize on their second opportunity. It’s impossible to deny the horrible nature of Vick’s crimes, but it is quite possible to accept that everyone deserves a chance to re-enter their life once the debt to society has been repaid.

Michael Vick will probably never garner votes for the NFL’s Man of the Year, but that isn’t what his reinstatement is about. Vick’s return to the NFL isn’t even about the glory of the gridiron. No, if and when Michael Vick takes the field on a Sunday this season, he will do so knowing that he’s had his second chance. In most lifetimes, second chances are a singular occurrence.

Tour de Lance

There are a few traditions that characterize summer better than anything else: barbecue, baseball, and Lance Armstrong dominating cycling’s most prestigious race, the Tour de France. Armstrong returns to cycling after a four year retirement, and the world is surely watching.

Many things have been said about Armstrong over the years, and not all of them have been endearing. Critics have espoused that Arrmstrong is arrogant, selfish, and perhaps worst of all, a cheater.

To his credit, Lance has always been proactive in defense of a legacy that includes seven Tour de France titles from 1999 to 2005. The allegations of doping began during Armstrong’s first victory, as French officials took issue with slight abnormalities with his urine. Armstrong was ultimately cleared when the substance was traced to a skin cream, but the nature of the case and its publicity was a sign of an onslaught of doping allegations that would plague Armstrong on his amazing winning streak at the front of the peloton.

There’s no point in going through a laundry list (former teammates, rivals, physical therapists, etc.) of the accusations made against Armstrong. For all the smoke, there is no fire, and he is, after all, the self-proclaimed “most tested athlete in the world.” Armstrong has been tested more than two dozen times in 2009 alone.

More important than any one thing, Armstrong’s diagnosis and subsequent comeback from testicular cancer characterizes him. Individuals are welcome to have their own opinion, and Lance may not be the most charming fellow to have ever interacted with the media. He’s either cheated to become one of the world’s most recognizable athletes or he hasn't. Armstrong’s victory over cancer, however, is not up for debate.

The man beat cancer. It doesn’t get more simple than that. Armstrong has raised the profile of cancer victims around the world, raising an estimated $14.4 million dollars to assist individuals in their fight against cancer.

Rooting for Armstrong isn’t about cheering on an American, but rather, it’s something much more. Lance carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, he’s a beacon for hope, and his public profile has advanced the fight against cancer well-beyond any monetary figure.

Armstrong isn’t everyone’s hero, but maybe he should be. Supporting Lance Armstrong to win the Tour de France is comparable to supporting the human condition. At the end of the day, it just makes sense.

It's Neither Here, Nor There

Roger Federer has always risen to the challenge of tennis’ greatest events, and now finds himself alone at the top of the Mt. Rushmore of the sport. Federer’s victory at Wimbledon puts him one title ahead of Pete Sampras as the all-time grand slam champion.

In order to appreciate Federer’s greatness, it needs to be placed in the most obvious contexts: time, completeness, and consistency.

Federer’s record-breaking title run has only lasted a mere six years. By comparison, Pete Sampras’ fourteen majors were spread over a twelve year period. Last month’s victory at the French Open gave Roger the so-called “Golden Slam,”which puts him in elite company along with Andre Agassi as the only men to win all four majors along with an Olympic gold medal.

Perhaps more impressive than any other feat, the fact that Federer has made an astonishing 21 consecutive grand slam semi-finals.

As great as the story of Federer’s historic achievement is, the man who took Federer to the brink over five sets at the all-England club, Andy Roddick, may be part of an even more impressive narrative.

While we have come to expect great performances from Federer come Sunday at a major, Roddick’s history in grand slam finals has been less than impressive over the last few years. As recognizable as Roddick is to tennis fans, he’s only advanced to one grand slam semi-final in the last three seasons (2007 Australian Open). It’s not that Roddick’s performance had simply declined in grand slams, but across the tournament spectrum. From 2000 until 2005, for example, Roddick won no less than twenty singles titles (including the 2003 US Open). Since 2005, however, Roddick has been the last man standing in seven tournaments.

Roddick’s lack of wins, injuries, and coaching changes turned the rising pro who was the “can’t miss kid” at age nineteen to the “what could have been” solid pro at age twenty-six.

Such circumstances shed that much more light on the greatest performance of Roddick’s career, albeit in a loss, at the Championships at Wimbledon.

Normally, it’d be acceptable to state that the better man clearly won, and that he (Federer) simply had a deeper yearning to be the champion. In the case of Roddick versus Federer, however, it’d be too cliche and simplistic to say that the man who wanted it more won.

Roddick showed guts, plain and simple. Roddick came out against arguably the best tennis player of all-time, had an amazing serve, an impressive return game, and a true desire to win. Roddick may have come up short but history will indeed remember him as the semi-finalist of the 2009 Championships at Wimbledon. Fans across the globe will remember it as the day that the great American hope woke from his slumber.

Undoubtedly, the US Open will be must see tv.