There’s something special about someone who stares truth in the face and insists that what he’s seeing is the exact opposite of what it is. Normally, we call such a person a politician.

But this week, that person has a different name — Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and our choice to be Whiner of the Week.

The truth that confronted Jones was that his star cornerback, the man formerly known as Pacman Jones, has not changed a great deal from the person who got himself kicked out of the league for 17 months for crimes against acceptable behavior. You probably read about it. Adam Jones got into a fight — with his bodyguard. It happened at a hotel after a party at which alcohol was consumed.

Just six weeks ago, commissioner Roger Goodell told Jones he could play this year, but he wouldn’t be allowed to behave in a manner that would reflect poorly on the NFL. Jones said he could do that.

He just didn’t say how long he could do it. Maybe Goodell should have asked. The commissioner was not amused by the incident.

We’ve a feeling that if Adam Jones were a member of the Dallas taxi squad, he’d be looking for employment right now. Jerry Jones would have told the media how the Dallas Cowboys don’t tolerate such behavior. Everyone would have applauded ridding the team of such a bad influence.

But Adam Jones is one of the best cornerbacks in the game, and so Jerry Jones found the incident amusing and inconsequential.

“These guys were joking, were kidding, having fun,” the owner whined. “It crossed over into more than that, and it ended quickly. This was a personal thing and it was resolved in a personal manner.”

In other words, Adam Jones is too good to fire, and would the commissioner be good enough to please look the other way? Just this once — and maybe twice if Adam Jones should do it again? Please?

Plaxico Burress
Returned from a two-week exile for missing a team meeting, the Giants’ wide receiver acted as if skipping work wasn’t that big a deal. Even as team sources revealed that Burress has been fined frequently this year for various infractions against team rules, he whined that he didn’t do anything wrong. He missed a meeting because he had to take his kid to school, he whimpered. Guess the nanny was off that day.

Tom Crean
Crean is taking over an Indiana basketball program that has already been stripped of three scholarships and has just one scholarship player left from last year. The team is also facing the possibility of further NCAA sanctions because of sins committed by the former coach, Kelvin Sampson. Crean took the job knowing all of this, but that didn’t stop him from sending out a public plea to the NCAA: “Please don’t hit us with more sanctions, nice people. We’re already hurting enough.” We made that quote up, but that’s the sense of it, and it’s whining of the worst kind.

Tim McCarver
The baseball analyst is normally right on with his commentary, but he went over the line when he waited until the playoffs to confess that he thinks Manny Ramirez’s behavior before being traded to the Dodgers from Boston was “despicable.” In the first place, the behavior was orchestrated by Manny’s new agent, Scott Boras, so at least put the label on the right can of beans. In the second, if it was that disgusting, why didn’t he say something back in July, when it all happened?

Kansas students
Jayhawk students thought they were very clever when they stole an obscene chant from an Adam Sandler movie to use when the opposing team kicks off at football games. Forget that they can’t even be original about it. The point is it’s offensive to children and the other paying customers and reflects poorly on the school. So the administration asked them to stop. They chanted their sophomoric little cheer anyway. And they call it higher education.

Mike Scioscia
The Angels lost the ALDS in four games to Boston, and a big play in their final defeat was the Angels’ failure to execute a suicide squeeze. When Erick Aybar missed the bunt attempt, Reggie Willits got hung up at third and tagged out by Boston catcher Jason Varitek. After making the tag, Varitek fell and the ball came out of his glove. The umpires ruled that Varitek had possession long enough to complete the play. Regardless of what anyone else thinks, that’s the ruling and you live with it. But two days after his season ended, Scioscia was still whining about the injustice of it all. He loses three of four, his team does nothing, and it’s the umpires’ fault?

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