After watching a pair of athletes deal with everyday pressure at the ESPYs last week in Las Vegas, ESPN The Magazine's John Hassan sent us a little character sketch. Which was the good guy? You might be surprised.

Ray Lewis and Pete Sampras had different ESPY experiences. Sampras, to some, is criminally boring. Lewis, to some, is just criminal.

On the day of the show, Sampras played at the Greg Maddux charity golf tournament at Shadow Creek. When approached before the event by radio producers, Sampras said, "Let me hit some balls on the range. I'll be back." He never did come back. When asked about it later, a sheepish Sampras just said he knew that they would want to talk about the recent U.S. Davis Cup catastrophe and his wife, actress Bridgette Wilson, and her role in the hit movie The Wedding Planner. And quite frankly, these were subjects that Sampras did not want to discuss. No big deal. Happens all the time. A guy like Sampras deserves and gets plenty of slack.

Not so Ray Lewis, who is at the beginning of what will be a career-long image rehabilitation. He seems to want to do something about what people think of him. After checking into the ESPY vortex, Lewis was also approached by radio producers. He said, "Let me get settled in my room. I'll be back down in an hour." In athlete-speak this translates as, "I am leaving now. You will not see me again." But Lewis made good on his promise and returned to do the radio spot. So let the record show that big, bad Ray Lewis was true to his word and solid citizen Pete Sampras was, well, not.

Not that it did Lewis any good. Sampras was warmly received when he won his ESPY for "Record-Breaking Performance of the Year," and the crowd also cheered him through a rough patch when he choked up as he discussed his parents. Lewis? Boos and catcalls, along with some cheers, greeted his introduction.

Pete Sampras' friends will tell you that he is not boring. And Ray Lewis' friends will tell you that he is not a criminal. But "boring" can be overcome. Lived with. Forgotten easily.

Lewis has a much bigger task. And that radio interview is a step in the right direction. Keeping your word? That's really boring.