I'm So Sorry, It Was In The Heat of the Moment...

First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  Hopefully I can carve out some time in my busy schedule in 2013 to put fingers to keyboard and sound off on the latest happenings of the sports world.  What you won't catch me doing is saying something, only to turn around 24 hours later and apologize because I wasn't thinking clearly, or that I was caught up in the moment.  That seems to be becoming the norm for any professional athlete (or their significant others) who have the need to hit the Send button before thinking about what they're about to say.  
There were two instances of that this weekend alone- Phil "I almost bought the Padres" Mickleson and Anna Burns "My hubby drops everything" Welker.  Mickelson was so worried about his money that he told the media on Monday that there would be "drastic changes" coming soon, only to then turn around and come back to the media Tuesday with his tail between his legs, regretting he opened his mouth in the first place.  What I can't understand is why pro athletes don't give complete thought to what they're saying to the media before they decide to spew the first thing that comes to mind when the cameras or recorders are jammed in their faces.  Then there's this gem by Mrs. Welker:

(courtesy of USAToday.com)

Now everyone is entitled to their own opinion about Ray Lewis's past, but to be a poor sport about it, not too long after her husband's team was eliminated by Lewis's Ravens, is just plain wrong.  But wait- look what happened no more than 24 hours later... she apologized in a statement to Larry Brown Sports.  I'm 100% positive that she shocked NO ONE by turning around the next day and owning up for a poor decision.

Those of you who tune into ESPN regularly have heard Herm Edwards utter the three most important words in this age of social media- DON'T HIT SEND!!  Many athletes have gotten themselves in trouble because there was very little thought put into how followers would react to their 140 or so characters of "brilliance" on a computer screen.  If athletes (and their spouses) only heeded Coach Edwards's advice, they wouldn't have to keep pulling their feet out of their collective mouths to make an apology.  Until then, we'll just have to count down until the next one decides to hit that Send button and launch themselves into the 24-hour news cycle.

Until next time...