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Sports comment: Good that athletes do is evident in county
Commentary by Joe Gross, Sports Editor
I've come to the conclusion that there are a lot of good people involved in sports in Anne Arundel County.
Many of them receive some kind of honor for the good they do off the field. That says a great deal about the character of the athletes who grow up here or live here.
This week there are a lot of football people who are doing or have done things that are newsworthy.
ø The Nickelodeon cable television network has annual honors for people in several sectors of life. One of the Kids Choice Awards goes to athletes who help youngsters. One of this year's winners of that prestigious honor was Arundel High School graduate and Washington Redskins wide receiver Darnerien McCants, who has stated he'll do just about anything he can to help kids.
McCants has proven to be an outstanding role model for his contributions outside of the arena.
D-Mac, as he was named by former Redskins coach Marty Schottenheimer, has volunteered to read to youngsters in elementary schools and spoken to kids at the 4th & Life forum.
"If I'm saying something that can help one kid, that's enough for me," said McCants, whose talks always include the importance of education. "You have to learn from everything you do.
ø Two-time Super Bowl championship coach Bill Belichick, who is among the greatest salesman for the quality of life in Annapolis, has been named to the Time magazine list of the 50 most influential people in the country.
The coach of the New England Patriots who grew up in Annapolis as the son of a Naval Academy assistant coach is one of only six men from the world of sports so honored by Time.
The brief story giving the reasons for Belichick being on the list is written in the magazine by former New York Giants quarterback and TV analyst Phil Simms. He writes, "Bill is innovative because he has a fine-tuned plan and doesn't vary from it."
And Simms points out that Belichick's method of putting together a team is becoming the model for other NFL personnel directors.
"Rings," Simms wrote, "spawn imitation."
He added that there is no doubt Belichick's players go into games believing when it comes to Xs and Os that no one has a better plan.
ø Another young man who grew up in Annapolis but moved to Alaska where his father served in the Army before completing 10th grade at Annapolis High School is NFL veteran defensive back Reggie Tongue, who spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs and most recently the Seattle Seahawks.
His many relatives still in the Annapolis area are thrilled that he recently signed as a free agent with the New York Jets whose home games are much closer than any of his past teams. That, of course, means they can see him more often.
In his first five years in the league he had only two interceptions, but 6.5 sacks and as many as 80 tackles. In his last three seasons in Seattle he has 12 interceptions. In his career he has forced 12 fumbles and recovered eight.
ø Annapolis resident and former Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf took a position as a consultant to evaluate talent and serve as a personnel advisor for the Cleveland Browns just a few months ago. Last week he resigned from the Cleveland job.
Wolf said his decision to leave the Browns was based largely on the resignation of team president Carmen Policy, but word is that he was disappointed about not being included in any decisions by Browns coach Butch Davis.
Davis did accept some of the blame, but that leaves him as the sole decision maker in this weekend's draft, which some Clevelanders say is what he really wanted. Davis has not made a lot of good decisions during his years with the Browns.
It's obvious to anybody with any knowledge of the NFL that Wolf has a far better track record of assessing talent than Davis could ever dream about.
ø Severn School graduate Jeff Hatch, an offensive lineman who was released recently by the New York Giants, remembers his roots well and returned to his alma mater's middle school career day to talk to the students about what it's like to be a professional athlete.
I got the word from good sources that the youngsters were duly impressed with what Hatch had to say and they were awed by his size.
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Jgross@capitalgazette.com
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