Phillips Could Lead Again by Doing the Right Thing

If Tony Phillips truly is one of the Angels’ leaders, he will do the right thing. He will suspend himself.

Americans have a wondrous capacity for forgiveness, especially when a person admits his mistake, accepts the consequences and seeks help.

Upon satisfying the Angels through counseling and random tests that he is not a cocaine user, Phillips could return late this season, perhaps even negotiate a contract for another one.

Otis Nixon can tell you about the good that can come from a second chance.

Not only has the Dodgers’ new center fielder remained a valued player since his 60-day suspension in 1991 because of a positive cocaine test, he has become a valued citizen. He founded the StrikeOut Foundation to provide children with drug education.

I wonder, however, if Phillips is capable of doing the right thing, just as I wonder if he ever was a team leader. If he were, he wouldn’t have let his teammates down by being caught anywhere near cocaine.

The attributes that made us believe Phillips was selfless, the scrappiness and combativeness, are, I suspect, the same ones that will expose his selfishness.

No matter if his presence disrupts the team, I’m guessing he won’t want to take himself out of the pennant race, won’t want to be seen as bowing to management or media.

In that case, the Angels should make a stand against the Major League Players Assn., which insists on Phillips’ immediate return.

The union will win. It always does because the rules protect baseball players more than they do baseball. See Steve Howe, Roberto Alomar and Wil Cordero.

The Angels probably will have to keep Phillips on the roster, maybe even in uniform. But they don’t have to put him on the field, ever again.

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Before Sunday, some golf experts said Davis Love III was the best player never to win a major. I disagreed. . . .

I would have said Phil Mickelson or Colin Montgomerie. . . .

Now, one of them is for sure. . . .

I’ll say Mickelson. . . .

If U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Kite uses one of his two wild-card choices on the man who played best in the majors this year without winning, he’ll take Tom Kite. . . .

I’m pretty sure he knows that would be a mistake because the captain will have too many other responsibilities next month in Spain. . . .

With Tom Watson failing to make the PGA cut, my choices would be Fred Couples and Lee Janzen. . . .

Europe’s captain, Seve Ballesteros, is all but obligated to take Jose Maria Olazabal. If Ballesteros wants to win as much as I think he does, his other choice will be Nick Faldo. . . .

The star of the PGA Championship was CBS’ glib David Feherty, who says, “I used to have to play well to appear on TV.” . . .

Feherty, an Irishman who played in the 1991 Ryder Cup, estimates he won between $3 million and $4 million on the European and U.S. tours. . . .

“But I don’t know where it is,” he says. . . .

The movie “Air Force One” had grossed more than $110 million even before the weekend. . . .

That made its producers, Ascent Entertainment Group Inc., feel better about the $21 million they gave Joe Sakic to prevent him from going to New York. They own the Colorado Avalanche. . . .

Mighty Duck President Tony Tavares was peeved about reports the Rangers would pursue restricted free agent Paul Kariya if they didn’t land Sakic. . . .

He told the New York Post that the Ducks would keep Kariya by matching the offer, then start a raid on the Rangers’ free agents. . . .

“There is going to be a payback,” he said. . . .

Post columnist Larry Brooks responded: “Tavares’ great hockey accomplishment . . . is firing Ron Wilson immediately after the coach took his wafer-thin team [Quick: Identify an Anaheim forward other than Kariya and Teemu Selanne, and then see how long it takes you to name even a single defenseman] to the second round of the playoffs.” . . .

The Rangers must have taken Tavares’ threat seriously because they reportedly are targeting another restricted free agent, Detroit center Sergei Fedorov. . . .

He stayed home to negotiate instead of accompanying his Russian teammates to Red Square with the Stanley Cup. . . .

Or should it be Red Wing Square?. . . .

Russian hockey fans might be intrigued by the Stanley Cup, but I bet they’d prefer to have their players back from the NHL.

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While wondering if Hideo Nomo should be the one going to the bullpen, I was thinking: The umpires were supposed to be mad at the Orioles, this is the most important week in the Sparks’ history, I can name some Ducks.