American as Apple Pie

Football or baseball, Joe?

That was the question all Minnesotans asked in the summer of 2001. With this week’s announcement that Mauer was the near unanimous choice (27 out of 28 first-place votes) American League MVP, it’s clear that the sporting gods always wanted Mauer to play the game of DiMaggio & Williams, and not the game of Nitschke & Montana.

As a senior in high school, Mauer was not only an all-world baseball prospect, but also the boy with the golden arm. Mauer was the most sought after quarterback in the country, winning both USA Today & Gatorade National Player of the Year awards.

Mauer seemed destined to follow in the steps of Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke, Florida State’s latest stud signal caller. The lure to play for the Minnesota Twins, however, was too great to overcome. The Twins passed on can’t miss pitching prospect Mark Prior, whose injury plagued career may have ended after the 2009 season.

Joe Mauer made the right decision after all. It’s hard to question Mauer’s remarkable talent. He hit an astounding .365, which not only led Major League Baseball in 2009, but also was the highest average ever for a catcher. Mauer’s career clip through five seasons is an impressive .328, including 72 homeruns and 397 runs batted in.

Mauer has made his mark in Minnesota. He’s a hometown boy that has done wonders for his childhood team. If the sporting world didn’t have an idea of Mauer’s star-power before the award, it does now. The question is no longer, football or baseball, but rather Minnesota or the bright lights of New York?

That’s a much more difficult question to answer, but Joe Mauer has some time to figure it out.

The Long Road to Victory

An LPGA golfer who was forced to go through qualifying school this year won a prestigious tournament this past weekend. Normally, that story falls into the bravo category, but merits little attention beyond the present. When that golfer is former teen phenomenon Michelle Wie, however, the story deserves a closer look.

Michelle Wie finally has become the golfer everyone hoped she would.

Seven years ago, Wie used amazing performance (66 in the third round) as an amateur at a women’s major championship to thrust herself into the national spotlight at 13.

The hype machine began to build around Wie shortly there after, and although Wie profited from being labeled the female Tiger Woods from a monetary standpoint, her golf game struggled. She missed cuts in eight of her first twenty professional appearances (2005-2007), which many attributed to the fact that she hadn’t joined a professional circuit and learned how to be a winner.

Throughout the ups and downs, however, Wie did have some bright spots. She placed fifth at the LPGA Championship in the summer of 2006, and followed that up with a third place finish at the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open just three weeks later.

No one has ever denied Wie’s potential.

As a teenager, Wie should’ve been allowed to compete against girls her own age. Instead, at the behest of both Nike & Sony, Wie elected to compete against grown men on the PGA tour, as well as using sponsors exemptions to compete in attractive LPGA tournaments.

Wie simply wasn’t mature enough to compete against professionals of any sort, let along professional men on the world’s premier golf circuit.

Maybe the Wie’s knew something we never did. Maybe they were certain of her success. After seemingly being a cautionary tale of too much too soon, Michelle Wie fulfilled her potential on Sunday. A victory at the Lauren Ochoa Invitational is more than just a first win for Michelle; it’s a game-changer.

Although Wie has been an afterthought to many behind the likes of fellow young LPGA stars Morgan Pressel and Paula Cremer, Wie’s victory shows that she has the ability to deliver on the killer instinct that makes professional golfers of any ilk be successful. Success breeds confidence, and now that the Michelle Wie’s skill-set has a confident base, she may live up to the hype after all.

Coming Full Circle

(Disclaimer: I’m an unapologetic Andre Agassi fan. His rise to fame on the professional tennis scene in the mid to late 1980s encapsulates my earliest tennis memories. Not only did I have his signature shoe from Nike, but all the men in my immediate family did as well).

Andre Agassi was never shy around cameras during his years as one of tennis’ brightest stars, and he isn’t shy with the media as a recent retiree. Agassi, whose book Open hits bookstores this week, has stirred the pot by laying all of his cards on the table in the autobiography.

The book starts with Andre’s childhood, he details his relationship with his maniacal father, before delving into his rise as a teen superstar and top five player by age eighteen. Most of the attention coming of out the book’s release has centered on two particular admissions. First, there’s the stunner that Agassi recreationally used crystal meth during the worst year of his professional career in 1997, and then lied to the ATP about it. Secondly, Agassi admits that he tanked matches during his career, notably the 1996 Australian Open semi-final against Michael Chang.

In coming clean in such a public manner, Agassi is risking his good name. Rafael Nadal slammed his admissions, saying that they “damaged the game” of tennis. For anyone else, admitting to drug use and a lack competitive integrity would normally be public relations disasters, but Andre Agassi is as a unique individual that you’ll find in all of sports.

At his peak, it was all about Andre. Image was everything. Over the last decade, however, Agassi went from spoiled celebrity to content professional, parent, and husband. Andre Agassi is one of the few athletes in the modern generation that “gets it.” He’s donated millions of dollars to charity while founding a school in his hometown of Las Vegas that helps underprivileged youth go to college at an astounding 100% rate.

The beauty of Agassi’s confession is that he is doing it for the right reasons. If you think the most visible star of a global sport needs the money or attention that comes with releasing a tell-all, you’re beyond reproach.

Agassi chose to come forward about his life because he feels that showing people that we all have struggles in our day-to-day lives will help individuals take control of their own lives. Andre is all about helping people, and his book is another forum to do just that. Image isn’t everything after all.

Sending a Message

Accountability is a word that’s probably overused, but underrated at the same time. Brandon Spikes, Florida’s All-American linebacker needs to be reminded about not only accountability, but also sportsmanship after Florida’s 41-17 blowout victory over hated rival Georgia on Saturday.

Spikes played a good game against the bulldogs. He had an interception in his first appearance in 2009. He won’t be remembered for his performance as much as his horrendous eye-gouging incident. Television replays clearly showed Spikes as he reached inside the facemask of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey.



Accountability was the first word that came to mind when Urban Meyer announced that he talked with Brandon Spikes and that the eye-gouging incident isn’t something that is consistent with the Florida Gator program. Being accountable ultimately means punishment awaits for those who break the rules.

Coach Meyer had a chance to show his teams, the SEC, and college football fans in general that sportsmanship is a trait of his team. Unfortunately, Meyer chose not to do so when he announced that Spikes would be suspended for the first half of the Vanderbilt game this coming Saturday. Meyer isn’t alone in the blame game, as the SEC agreed with Meyer’s punishment and refused to press for a more stringent penalty.

Should Spikes lose his season? Absolutely not. The crux of the issue has more to do with coach Urban Meyer’s punishment, Spike’s terrible actions not withstanding.


The easy thing to do was to suspend Spikes for half of a game in which he’s not needed. The right thing to do would be to sit him down for the entire game, if for no other reason to send a message.

That message could’ve been a strong one, showing that accountability is important to everyone. Instead, Meyer sent a weak message: win, and all else is forgiven. That’s need the message young men need to hear.


Postscript: Brandon Spikes has heeded the call and suspended himself for the entire game against Vanderbilt. Talk about improving your NFL draft stock.