This year's college football season kicked off with one. New Mexico women's soccer produced another. We see it all too often on SportsCenter, be it from the NCAA, NFL, NBA of MLB. The generic apology. The modern day athlete's get out of PR jail free card.

It's almost as if every media relations person for any given team or athletic program reads from the same manual. A player on your squad does something stupid? Have them issue a first-person mea culpa with the following baseline structure: "I (sincerely / whole-heartedly) regret my actions. I (lost my cool / got caught up in the heat of the moment / let my emotions get the best of me), and I apologize to (victim, fans, teammates, organization) for my behavior."

Even apologies from the coaches appear to be scripted. The remarks usually center on how that behavior is not condoned by the team, how the player is a good person who made a mistake, and how the situation will be addressed directly with the individual, usually internally. For once I would like to see a coach or manager come out and say, "That was stupid and reckless and I don't want that player on my team. We don't need fools like that on the field hurting others and impacting our ability to win."

Instead, we get cookie-cutter responses that come wrapped in a bright yellow box. It's the same apology and statement you heard last time and will hear again, probably sometime next week.

To be fair, in the cases of Oregon football and New Mexico soccer, the respective schools reacted firmly and decisively. Oregon's LaGarrette Blount was kicked off the team for punching a Boise State football player following a loss at the beginning of the season. New Mexico's Elizabeth Lambert was suspended indefinitely for her violent actions against BYU. In contrast, University of Florida's Urban Meyer gave player Brandon Spikes only a half game suspension after he purposefully and deliberately attempted to gouge the eyes of Georgia's Waushaun Ealey. Spikes imposed on himself a full game suspension, a move I doubt he would have chosen to make had their upcoming opponent been Alabama rather than Vanderbilt.

Still, the follow-up to all the 'regrettable' behavior is a statement made publicly by the players in question and their respective coaches. What is truly unfortunate is these individuals may indeed be sorry for their behavior. They may truly feel remorseful, as well as embarrassed, for how they acted and the results of those actions against another human being. Yet their feelings of contrition are painted over by the broad brush that results from us seeing this all too often, as is the case with this blog.

There is no solution for this problem. Individual players will continue to make individual mistakes. They, in turn, will issue yet another generic apology that will cause us to roll our eyes and think, "Yeah, whatever." That is what's truly regrettable.

Winston Groom, author of the novel ‘Forrest Gump’, introduced us all to the line of “Stupid Is as Stupid Does”.  This line may mean different things to different people, but it clearly speaks to the identification of stupid actions.  This is not to say that someone who performs a stupid act is therefore a stupid person.  Brilliant people make mistakes, stupid mistakes, all the time, and our only hope is that individuals will learn from that particular event and not repeat the stupidity in the future.

The story of Forrest Gump also allowed us to take a look at racism and the historical impact it had on our American culture.  The character created by Winston Groom was immersed in real racial events, from school segregation to the KKK to the Black Panthers, and it was those events from the sixties and seventies that help mold the era of political correctness in which we live today.

Bob Griese was recently suspended by ESPN for one game for comments he made in the telecast of the Minnesota-Ohio State game.  ESPN was promoting ABC’s coverage (both networks are owned by Disney and often times cross-promote each other’s programming) of the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Martinsville.  A graphic was shown listing the top five racers of this year’s Sprint Cup chase.   Fellow analyst Chris Spielman inquired as to the why NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya was not listed, to which Griese quipped, “he’s out having a taco.”

Griese apologized for the comment following the game and then again during ESPN’s College Gameday Scoreboard show later that evening.  Various media outlets, mostly blog sites, have ruled Griese’s comments as racist.  ESPN’s decision to suspend Griese for a game can be considered as a necessity so as to show proper disciplinary action towards Griese and avoid any potential racial fallout as a result.

I agree with ESPN’s decision to suspend Griese.   Not because his comments were racist – they weren’t and they were clearly meant in jest – but because they were stupid.  When you’re an on-air personality and you don’t have the presence of mind to refrain from a comment involving race, you deserve to be suspended. 

Griese is a Hall of Fame quarterback and is viewed in the context of NFL history as one of the smartest players to play that position.  He’s the “Thinking Man’s” quarterback, and when you think about all-time, smartest QB’s to have played in the NFL, his name is definitely in the conversation.  That’s what makes Griese’s comments during the broadcast so incredulous.  He knows better.  Forget the comical error whereby Montaya is Colombian and not Mexican as the ‘taco’ comment would imply.  That’s Bob Griese having a blonde moment.  The real stupidity lies in Griese thinking it’s okay to joke about anything racial on national television. 

We live in an age where political correctness rules all.  The only way you’re allowed to joke about race is if you’re making fun of the minority group to which you belong.  I am Hispanic of Mexican and Cuban descent, and I can joke all I want about stealing the rims off your car or being proficient at building makeshift rafts.  However, I won’t dare joke in public about African-Americans, Asians or any other minority groups; and I’m not even a public figure.

Griese and all sports broadcasters who are hired to do a job of providing analysis and insight to a game or particular matchup need to steer clear of any and all racial pitfalls. Regardless of how funny they think a comment may be, there will always be some watchdog group ready to pounce and make a mountain out of a mole hill comment.  Griese’s gaffe was not racially insensitive.  Rather, it was simply stupid.  Forrest Gump was on to something.   Let’s hope Griese remembers that going forward.

Read Dan LeBatard's column on the same topic.

What a difference a year makes and it's truly amazing what can happen in 365 days. The turn arounds and twists of fate. The changes in direction and attitude. For the Miami Dolphins, this time last year had them still celebrating their first and what would turn out to be their only win of the season. This week finds them celebrating a hard fought win in the coldest elements ever for the Dolphins franchise. A win that left them with a 10-5 record and one win away from a division championship. Yes, you read that right ........ one win last year, one win away from the playoffs this year.

It is a remarkable story. It is one of bouncing back as an organization after proverbially hitting rock bottom in 2007. Since their inception in 1966, the Dolphins had never known such an horrific season nor had they found themselves mired in such a prolong period of futility. The seasons leading up to and including 2007 were always things that happened to other teams but never to the Miami Dolphins. Never to MY Dolphins.

The team of my youth has been MIA (no acronym-pun intended). The storied franchise of Don Shula, Bob Griese, Paul Warfield and 17-0 was gone. The ever competitive teams of Marino and the Marks Brothers had disappeared beyond the horizon in the rear view mirror. Even the recent and somewhat successful team of Ricky Williams and Jay Fiedler (yes, I said Jay Fiedler) seemed light years away at the end of the '07 season.

Yet here we are, one year removed from falling into the abyss of the NFL cellar and poised on the precipice of the post-season. Bill Parcell's latest reclamation project has shown unprecedented improvement, even by Big Tuna standards. In 1993, he took over a 2-14 Patriots team and finished 5-11. In 1994, the Pats were 10-6 and two years later they were in the Super Bowl (losing to the Favre-led Packers). That same year, the Jets finished their season 1-15. The next year Parcells took over the Gang Green and finished 9-7 and was 12-4 in 1998 (losing in the AFC Championship game to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos). He wasn't done there. BP came on as head coach of America's team in 2003 and took the Cowboys, who had finished their previous 3 seasons at 5-11, to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth.

Parcells will be the first to tell you the credit goes not to him but rather to first year coach Tony Sparano. Nevertheless, the Tunaprints are all over the 2008 Dolphins. With disciplined, mistake-free football, a speedy and aggressive defense, and patient and consistent offense, it's amazing yet not entirely surprising the Fish are one win away from jumping the hyphen: going from 1-15 to 11-5.

As the NFL gods would have it, the Dolphins finish their season with a trip to the Meadowlands, the former stomping grounds of Dolphin quarterback and team leader Chad Pennington, to play for all the marbles against the hated Jets. As much as my heart will be racing from the opening kickoff until the final whistle and as much as I will be screaming at the TV and willing my Dolphins to victory, I also know that win or lose I will have a smile on my face at the end of the game. Thanks to Bill Parcells, GM Jeff Ireland and Coach Sparano, the team of my youth is back. MY Dolphins are back and will be relevant and competitive for years to come.

With a pass to the center of the net and a lightning fast, second hit spike by her partner, Misty May-Treanor watched her dream come true yet again. Capturing their second consecutive gold medal in Olympic beach volleyball, the tandem of Walsh and May-Treanor solidified their place in the pantheon of volleyball greatness.

Not only did this dynamic duo fail to lose a match on their quest for repeat gold, the two queens of the beach were so dominating, they did not even lose a set in the Olympic tournament. In fact, Thursday morning's victory marked the 108th consecutive win for Walsh and May-Treanor. Michael Phelps, with his eight gold medals, may be the face so far of the 2008 summer games, but 108 is the mark of true domination in a sport that is the quintessential combination of individual and team athleticism.

It is during her moment at the top of the volleyball world that Misty May-Treanor sheds tears of both joy and sorrow. It was six years ago this Olympic champion lost her mother Barbara to cancer, and it was in the culmination of May-Treanor and Walsh winning their first gold medal in Athens in 2004 that Misty shared that victory with her mom. Standing in the middle of the Olympic Beach Volleyball Center in Faliro, Greece, Misty opened a medicine bottle containing the ashes of her deceased mother and spread her remains across the sand. As she celebrated her historic win in Chaoyang Park, Misty made her way courtside to her gear and found the camera film canister that carried more of Barbara's ashes. In a bit of a rush, Misty managed to empty the contents of the canister on the sand in China and completed the promise she made to herself four years ago in Greece.

I can't even begin to understand what it means to be a world class athlete, let alone an Olympic champion. Watching these and every Olympics, I am often left fascinated with the realization that I am watching so many individuals do so many things I could never do. Sure I can run on a track, but I can't come remotely close to running as fast as an Olympian. I can kick it around in the sand, but I'd get smoked in any type of competitive beach volleyball tournament. Still, if there is one thing I have in common with a certain gold medalist, it's the understanding of what it's like to lose a parent to cancer.

Death is never something that's easy to accept. The pain and the loss, like the tattoo Misty wears of Barbara's initials surrounded by angel's wings, will be a permanent part of who she is. Still, it's often in the depths and emptiness of life's tragic moments where we find our greatest source of inspiration and strength. I am not sure if the passing of her mother was the turning point that drove Misty to accomplish back-to-back Olympic gold, but one would think her outlook on volleyball and life itself had to change in 2002.

For me, losing my dad will always resonate with the time in my life when I felt most lost. Like a beach volleyball player, my path forward since that moment has been made possible by both individual effort and the help and support of others. I know I will never listen to the Star Spangled Banner as a gold medal drapes around my neck, but in watching Misty May-Treanor do exactly that, it was wonderful to know the spirit of Barbara May was with her just as I know my father's is with me in everything I do.

There are only four more days left in the month of May, and there are only two teams in Major League Baseball with a winning percentage of .600 or better. The combined payroll for both these teams is $65M, which is less than half that of the NY Mets (currently with a .469 winning percentage and 6.5 games back in their division) and less than one-third the payroll of the NY Yankees (currently with a .490 winning percentage and 6 games back in their division).

The two teams that sit atop their respective divisions and all of MLB in general are the Tampa Bay Rays and the Florida Marlins.

Go ahead. Rub your eyes and double check what you just read. Yes, on this day following Memorial Day weekend, the two best teams in baseball are those from the state that historically was known only for baseball in March not May.

Although it's still too early to crown either of these teams - the Marlins' lead in the NL East is only two and a half games while the Rays lead the defending World Series champion Red Sox by only one-half game in the AL East - it's never too early to join in the excitement of summer baseball that matters in the state of Florida.

Having been born and raised in Miami and now residing in Tampa, this is doubly-exciting for me. Specifically for the Rays, a team that did not exist when I moved to the Bay area in 1996, it's great to see them playing so well in the most expensive division in the majors ($.5 Billion in payroll this year) if not the most talented. Accounting for only $44 million of the half-billion dollar collective payroll, the Rays are getting it done with youth and great starting pitching. With every win comes additional confidence and belief the team can continue to play well and compete for the AL East title.

The Marlins, on the other hand, have been here before having won the World Series in 2003. However, the Marlins had to surge from 10 games below .500 prior to the All-Star game that year and get some luck along the way in order to qualify for the wild card and the playoffs. Their poor position in the standings in 2003 serves as a reminder that just because you're on top in May or June does not mean that's where you'll finish at the end of September, and vice versa.

Nevertheless, the excitement for baseball in the state of Florida is tangible. With the recent championships won in this state slowly disappearing in the rear-view mirror (Bucs in 2002, Marlins in 2003, Lightning in 2004 and Heat in 2006), the idea of either the Rays or the Marlins playing in the Fall Classic brings a child-like smile to every baseball fan who calls Florida home. On this day following Memorial Day weekend, here's hoping the standings look the same the day following Labor Day weekend as well.