But in the bigger picture, this emphasis on winning and losing over everything else is doing athletes a disservice. It's not making them better people. It's not making them better athletes.".We met such a couple at the Ravens game this year. They showed up in Vikings Favre jerseys. They reported that they were still Packer fans, but that after the Ted Thompson debacle, they decided to follow Brett.

The scene: Boys will be boys. Tight ends coach Jonathan Hayes got quite the surprise at the end of practice at Georgetown College the other day when quarterback Carson Palmer and running back Cedric Benson crept up from behind and delivered an NFLstyle birthday present. Palmer doused him with a cooler of Gatorade while Benson coated him with a container of power."You kind of get used to playing, so this is a little different," Painter said. "At the same time, I just take it as a great learning experience. The guy in front of me (Manning) is pretty good.