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Sports Watch
WHASSUP with all of these athletes in the world of sports today? Rocker off his rocker
It apparently makes no difference whether he's in the majors or the minors, Atlanta pitcher John Rocker still seems to be off his rocker.
Demoted to the Braves' Triple-A team in Richmond for his lack of control -- really, lack of self-control -- Rocker threw another tantrum last night.
He was unhappy because TV cameras were trained on him as he was warming up.
At least Rocker reported to the Braves' farm club. Earlier in the week, he had said he might quit if he's not playing in the bigs.
Could baseball have been so lucky in getting rid of its biggest embarrassment that easily? Guess not.
Rocker says he's upset by the way the Braves have treated him.
Excuse me? He's upset? Rocker's still not in touch with reality. He thinks Sports Illustrated writer Jeff Pearlman, who ran all of Rocker's offensive remarks, should apologize to him for causing all this "pain and suffering."
But Rocker's not the only athlete who thinks he has been wronged.
Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis, who plea-bargained to get out of a murder rap for the fatal stabbing of two men after the Super Bowl in Atlanta, is another athlete whose view of life is skewed.
Instead of being contrite, fortunate really, Lewis says he's bitter and angry for being falsely accused. Never mind that he initially lied to the police that got him into trouble in the first place.
Then, there's Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa trying to show up his manager by saying that Don Baylor had no class.
They quickly kissed and made up.
"We agreed man-to-man, like father like son, we had to put an end to this," Sosa said.
Father and son? Try showing some comeuppance to your father and see what happens. You'd be lucky if you didn't get taken to the woodshed.
Fortunately, for every me-first athlete we read about, we can turn to someone like Esther Kim.
You remember Esther, don't you?
She gave up her Olympic dream by forfeiting her taekwondo match to her injured friend, Kay Poe, so that the latter could make the U.S. team for the Sydney Games?
Well, Kim received a telephone call from IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, offering her and her father an all-expenses paid trip to the 2000 Olympic Games.
She was also named the USOC female athlete of the month (May) because of her unprecedented show of sportsmanship.
NO LIFE OF RILEY:
The Maui Open wasn't a fun week for Riley Wallace, University of Hawaii men's basketball coach.He played the first two rounds despite an aching back after falling during a family reunion while fishing for blue gill in Reel Foot, Tenn.
But he had to skip the final day when he was hospitalized overnight for an intestinal complication brought about by the trauma of the injury and strong medication.
We're glad to see he's up and about. And that all's well that ends well.
APOCALYPSE NOW:
Athletes at the Sydney Olympics will have 100,000 condoms at their disposal -- in a choice of gold, silver or bronze.Prostitution is legal in Sydney, which has 400 to 500 brothels, nearly tripling since the local government took over regulation from the police.
Bill Kwon has been writing about
sports for the Star-Bulletin since 1959.
