The difference between life and death

Two days ago, if I were to ask any educated sports fan what they thought of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, the answer would be something along the lines of "He's an arrogant asshole." Here's a guy that crossed the picket line in '94, blamed former teammates in Philadelphia for not giving 100% when he was pitching and accused the Yankees of not being prepared enough for the Tigers in the ALDS. Former teammate Arthur Rhodes had this to say about Lidle right after the pitcher was traded:

"He is a scab. When he started, he would go 5 1/3 innings and (the bullpen) would have to win the game for him. The only thing Cory Lidle wants to do is fly around in his airplane and gamble. He doesn't have a work ethic. After every start, he didn't run or lift weights. He would sit in the clubhouse and eat ice cream. ... He shouldn't say that, he shouldn't say anything like that because he is a scab. He crossed the line when guys like me, Flash (Tom Gordon) and (Mike) Lieberthal were playing. He is a replacement player."

Can you blame Rhodes? I'm sure any athlete would be angry if a teammate accused him or her of not giving enough effort so I don't blame Rhodes at all. I'm going to be honest, I wasn't a fan of Cory Lidle. I thought he was a selfish player and a horrible teammate.

Now that Lidle has been found dead in a plane crashed, Rhodes and other Lidle bashers, such as myself, are now on the biggest guilt trips of their lives.

Do I have any regrets about what I said about Lidle in the past? Absolutely not.
We can't assume that these kinds of events to happen. We can't assume that Darryl Kile will have heart complications in his hotel room. We can't assume that a planes carrying Roberto Clemente and Thurman Munson will crash. And we can't assume that Cory Lidle, an avid pilot, would crash his plane into a Manhattan apartment complex.

I feel that Cory Lidle is a loss to the major league community. I wish the Lidle the family the best of luck in recovering from their loss. That is the extent of what I will say. What I won't do is say how great of a person he was now that he is gone. Now, I'm not saying that he was a bad person, but he wasn't a good one either. As stated before, I was one of those people who thought that Lidle was selfish and arrogant. If he was still alive today, the majority of the sports world would feel the same. However, now that he is dead, he was a great teammate and a caring and loving person.

Take some of the most disliked figures in sports and imagine the reaction that his death would bring. Picture this situation. What if Terrell Owens actually did die from his accidental overdose? Sure the NFL would miss a receiver and a player like Owens, that's a given. But would we see former teammates such as Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, Andy Reid or Bill Parcells praising the person that was Terrell Owens? Would we be saying how great of a person and teammate he was? The answer is yes. Maybe not those specific people, but Owens would be talked about. Former teammates would talk about how great of a person and teammate he was. Would they say all of this stuff now? Hell no.

Terrell Owens and Cory Lidle had a lot in common but the one thing that stands out is the fact that they both insulted their current and former teammates. Both players are the epidome of a bad teammate in their respective sports. Does Terrell Owens get heat for it? Yes. Did Cory Lidle get heat for it? Yes. Will Cory Lidle ever be accused of being a bad teammate or person again? No.

And that, my friends, is the difference between life and death in sports.