Sounds Like Daddy May Have, ahem, "Talked" to Junior

Nice to see Kellen Winslow, Jr. apologize for his infantile rant after his Miami Hurricanes lost to Tennessee on Saturday. Seems clear that his father and namesake told the lad that a) he's not a "soldier, and b) his comments were particularly immature.

Winslow's another in a looong line of athletes who, after spending their formative years being told how great they are by all manner of sycophants - young and old, completely lose perspective about their place in society. In some ways, it's difficult to blame him, and others like him, because we as a society have created this monster. On the other hand, look no further than LeBron James - the poster child for adult idol-worship from a young age - to find a celebrated young athlete who seems to have at least a little perspective. James was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 16 year-old, for the love of Pete. And, at least publicly, he's not had many missteps in the course of his introduction into the professional ranks, choosing instead to talk about his teammates and how much he has to learn.

Of course, until about 6 months ago, I thought Kobe Bryant was a stand-up guy, too.