If Michelle Wie ever stood up and took responsibility for her own actions in defeat like Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki did, she'd be a whole lot easier to root for.

The NBA MVP To Be suffered one of the most crushing defeats in sports history, helping his 67-win Mavericks get knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors. And not just knocked out - completely humiliated in every possible sense. David didn't just hit Goliath with a slingshot. He pulled the giant's pants down too.

So what does Nowitzki do in the moments after the final buzzer's sounded on the final wipeout of the series?

He takes on all the blame, almost demands it. He doesn't whine. He doesn't offer excuses about a draft in the arena or a shot that just popped out or the age of his legs or a sportswriter who's supposedly out to get him with a rules violation. In other words, he doesn't pull a Wie. Instead he talks honestly, passionately and frankly.

"Obviously, it would have helped if we had a low post presence," Nowitzki said.

"That's why I take a lot of that on myself. That's probably the weakest thing in my game right now, the low post game. That's something I've got to work on."

Nowitzki lost. Big. But he stood up.

Contrast that with the latest maneuverings from Team Wie. Rather than come out and admit she got in over her head herself, Wie had her coach David Leadbetter let it out that she's reconsidering that taking over the men's game thing.

"She hasn't got any PGA Tour events planned at the moment," Leadbetter told an AFP reporter in Charlotte this weekend. "She's going to commit herself to the LPGA and play a number of events, and next year she'll probably take up membership."

Leadbetter went on to give himself credit for this bit of sense - like a string of collapses (including one with an actual stretcher) wasn't enough evidence.

"The thing I've tried to explain to (Wie) is that you have to work your way up the ladder," Leadbetter told the AFP. "It's all well and good to play a couple of (men's) events as a novelty, now let's look at a long-term plan."

Of course, being a member of Team Wie - a propaganda group that makes the old KGB look softcore - Leadbetter couldn't help but throw in some ridiculous hyperbole for good measure.

"Now is the time to establish herself," Leadbetter also told the AFP. "My feelings are that if she plays week in and week out on the LPGA, she would win eight or nine times a year."

How about winning once in four years first? Anywhere? On any tour? In a game of softball? Checkers?

But that's the difference between Nowitzki and Wie. Dirk lives in reality, understands what he needs to do. You know he'll come back better. Wie still lives in fantasyland - even as she's being nudged away from men's events. Who knows how she'll come back?

The only certainty is that she'll have plenty of excuses ready.

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