When was the last time we read about a professional golfer drinking and driving his car into a tree? The baddest boy the PGA tour can offer is John Daly, whose flaws seemed to give the tour a more human face, not a nastier one. And how great it is that Daly seems on a strong reformation kick lately.
Growing up, my favorite golfer was Champagne Tony Lema, but I don't remember Lema wrecking any cars (I do remember he drank a lot of champagne, though).
I thought of Champagne Tony today. If you read the U.S. sports pages, you know that St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock was killed in a tragic car accident in the early morning hours a few days ago. He was a well-respected and well-liked young man (too young). In the days that followed his death, the media respectfully did not speculate about what caused the one-car accident. But the media can be respectful only so long. Today the specter of alcohol looms large in follow-up reports. (He ran into a tow truck with its warning lights blazing, so where's the surprise?)
Baseball has its alcohol and steroids problems and football has its convicted murderers. And if we totaled up the number of children across the land that are carrying the DNA of their absentee NBA basketball player dads, we'd probably fill a small city (Heck, Wilt Chamberlain did that himself!).
Golf, on the other hand, is a game played by gentlemen whose adherence to the game's intricate set of rules and regulations is almost anal-retentive. These are not perfect men by any means, but their flaws seem almost quaint compared with those of other professional athletes. I loved playing all sports as a kid, especially the "major" ones but, on balance, I'm grateful my son is a golfer.