2006: Sporting News Magazine - Good Guy

June 26, 2006 -- Paul Attner's Sporting Blog: Take time to read about the Good Guys... My buddies on our radio network have spent much of today discussing the misguided thinking of Phillies pitcher Brett Myers, arrested over the weekend for allegedly striking his wife. I obviously don't have to search very hard to find reasons why it's important for Sporting News to keep telling you about the Good Guys in pro sports. Take a few minutes sometime soon and read about this year's Good Guys, both on our website and this week in the magazine. It will help you understand that pro sports is not overrun by jerks, idiots and societal misfits. They actually are in the vast minority. Instead, read about the way the athletic world responded to the aftermath of Katrina, the money teams and players donated, the time they have put in, the commitment a lot of them have made to keep helping. Read about Deuce McAllister and Peyton Manning and Chris Duhon, our No. 1 Good Guys this year, and their impressive deeds to help relieve the misery created by Katrina. New Orleans and the Mississippi gulf coast region are a mess, and they will both be messes for years to come. If you think otherwise, you are badly mistaken. It will take lots more money and goodwill to make things better, and the athletic world appears to understand the need for it to remain firm in its on-going support. Read also about athletes who helped in other community areas, guys like Barry Zito of the A's, who visited wounded military in D.C.-area hospitals and realized the families of these patients needed help so they could afford to stay with their loved ones for prolonged periods of times. He since has raised lots of money to help many of these families. It is an amazing program. Read about the 175 or so athletes featured this year and I think you will come away feeling better about the athletic world. It's why Sporting News has demonstrated such a wonderful commitment to bringing you another side of sports. WHAT IS A GOOD GUY? Being a Good Guy has nothing to do with athletic performance and everything to do with charitableness. These are the athletes in the sports we cover who open their hearts as well as their wallets to serve the needy and unfortunate. This is the eighth year Sporting News has selected the top Good Guys. Candidates are nominated by their teams and leagues. Management and former players are not considered. SN selects the winners. YOUTH TIMES: Players who are involved with educating and mentoring children and teens through programs and financial support: Scholarships: Padres Trevor Hoffman, Ryan Klesko and Woody Williams have funded 80 Padres Scholars combined, thanks to $200,000 from them and a match from team ownership. Hank Blalock of the Rangers gave a $10,000 scholarship to a local high school student, and teammate Michael Young awarded 10 scholarships to cancer survivors, including four at $2,500 each (along with a laptop) and six at $1,000. During his pro career, Keyshawn Johnson of the Panthers has accounted for $500,000 in scholarships to finance the college education of 25 kids. LaDainian Tomlinson of the Chargers gives 15 $1,000 scholarships annually in both San Diego and Waco, Texas. Jalen Rose of the Knicks each year gives five $10,000 scholarships to Detroit high school seniors. Mentoring: Chauncey Billups of the Pistons teamed with Regis University basketball coach Lonnie Porter to form the Porter-Billups Academy at Regis. With the help of a $100,000 donation by Billups, the academy mentors 130 inner-city Denver youngsters during a three-week summer session. Graduates are monitored in high school, and the academy covers costs of those who eventually enroll at Regis (about $24,000 per student). Marcus Camby of the Nuggets has a mentoring program in which high schoolers help elementary school students weekly for two years. He has given the first four graduates of the program $5,000 college scholarships. Ashley Lelie of the Broncos has started Big Catches for Kids, a program that matches Denver receivers with little brothers for monthly activities with the kids. Educational: Tony Clark of the Diamondbacks has an MVP program that provides the use of a stadium suite to reward top local athletes and fourth- to eighth-grade winners of an essay contest; Clark's program also offers tickets to needy groups and police and firemen and $16,000 in scholarships to four worthy minority students. Drew Gooden of the Cavaliers made possible the renovation of the Drew Gooden Reading and Learning Center at the East End Neighborhood House in Cleveland. Keith Bulluck of the Titans partners with a computer training center to provide eight weeks of training for 12 needy teens from a foster care agency. He once was part of the foster care system. Juwan Howard of the Rockets has a literacy challenge program within the Chicago school system that involves 50,000 kids; the top 300 attend his hoops camp for free and take classes on test-taking skills. Mark Tauscher of the Packers, who had reading problems as a child, reads to elementary-age kids every Tuesday and has started a literacy improvement program within the Milwaukee public schools. Nutritional: Donnie Edwards of the Chargers has launched a youth health program in the San Diego area; it creates fitness and nutrition efforts that promote better eating habits for children and adults and more participation in after-school activities. Youngsters get one hour of nutrition education and two hours of organized physical activities per week. Click here to read full story and about other Sporting News Good Guys: GOOD GUYS.