Tony Dungy is the national spokesman for the All Pro Dad Campaign, a program designed to help men become better fathers. Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

I've always been a big Father's Day fan, and today is going to be a fun one for this father. First we'll have a high school graduation party for Montclair High senior Mary Beth at the house, then, as the sun sets, the family will adjourn to the field up the street where Mary Beth pitched so many games as she was growing up and, as she's done the last couple of years, she'll throw batting practice to me. Probably for the last time. If I haven't had too many Anchor Steams at the party, it'll be an interesting contest. And if I am emotion-free, which is doubtful, I should be able to hit one or two off the fence in right field. That's out of maybe 40 pitches. Which means Mary Beth will win the overall battle, as she always does. It will be a wonderful afternoon and evening.

But the reason I'm writing the column a day early this week is to promote the cause of one of the best guys I've met in 24 years as a sportswriter. It's a Father's Day cause, and the man doing the promoting is Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, a father of five. He's the national spokesman for the All-Pro Dad Campaign, which is designed to help men become better fathers. Dungy is the focal point for an organization called Family First, a nonprofit research and communications organization dedicated to strengthening families. Dungy hopes to recruit 100,000 fathers to the All-Pro Dad drive, sending them to a Web site (allprodad.com) for more information and providing them with advice in the hopes of pounding home the idea that being a father -- daily, hourly -- is vital to the success of children and the family unit.

I know this is not specifically a football topic, but here's the way I look at it: The whole dad/family thing is the most important thing I do in my life. So it's selfish, in part. And Dungy, despite the strains that coaching puts on his fathering, still thinks being a dad is his most important role. So the score is 2-0. We both think that, once a year, it's a good idea to promote the family in a football space.

Dungy's own father, Wilbur, died from complications of leukemia on June 9. Tony called me the day after the funeral from Jackson, Mich., and I could tell the unexpected death of his dad, a retired school administrator and teacher, had worn on him.

"Sports was his hobby,'' Dungy said of Wilbur, "but education was his passion. I've got siblings who are [respectively] a doctor, a dentist and a nurse. He was such a great influence on us all, and part of the reason for that was he was around a lot. That's so important, being around. Being there for your kids. I regret I'm not around enough. I really do. To be honest, and I said this when I was let go in Tampa, I'm not sure how much longer I'll coach in the NFL. I've got five kids. The oldest is 17 [James], and I'm afraid I've missed so much in his life that I don't want the same thing to happen with my other children.''

How much longer, I wondered, would he coach? A year? Two?

"I don't know,'' he replied.

And what would he do if he weren't coaching?

"I could see myself being a high school coach and teacher,'' he said. "I'd be home more that way.''

Dungy said his life as an NFL coach "does make me question my priorities in life. To do it right in this profession, you're going to be gone a lot.''

Now, make no mistake: As long as Dungy coaches, he'll be one of the best there is. He's bright, he's tremendously disciplined, players love playing for him. But it sounds to me like the Colts might have two more years with him at the helm, maybe three. And there's not a decision he could make that I'd respect more than choosing to leave the NFL to coach junior varsity football at some high school, getting home at 6 every night to be a father for four hours while his family grows up around him.

I asked Dungy how he thinks the American father is doing these days.

"I think we lost a generation of fathers,'' he said. "With my parents, the family unit was so important, as important as a job. It's a fact of life that there are so many single-parent families in the United States now. I visit a lot of prisons, and I know that a major problem, particularly with African-American men, is not having dads at home to influence them. That's why I'm involved with Family First and the All-Pro Dad campaign. I want to see us get back to the family structure more. We're making progress, but there's work to do. I hope to reach out to fathers and help them realize how important it is for them to be real fathers.''

Then I asked Dungy what he plans to do this Father's Day. He paused.

"Spend time with my boys,'' he said. "No plans, really. Just do something they want to do. Just be there with them.''

That's fathering, people.

"This is a catastrophe of Biblical proportions.'' -- ESPN radio host Mike Greenberg, on the news that Marv Albert would not be doing Knicks games on TV or radio next year.

Plagues. Earthquakes. Tidal waves. No Marv on Knicks games.

That's a good fit.

My last mailbag for a month. I'll answer some pre-camp letters on Monday, July 26, just before I depart on my training-camp jaunt.

PARCELLS OR BELICHICK? From Ed Ryan of Dallas: "I'm a Bostonian now living in Dallas, so you can probably guess my question. Bill Parcells is undeniably a great motivator of players, while Bill Belichick is a master game-planner. All of Parcells' success came with Belichick on his staff. Has the lack of a Belichick-type assistant in Dallas exposed Parcells as an average coach who was once fortunate enough to have a great assistant coaching staff? If Parcells can't get the Cowboys deep into the playoffs next season is his legacy tarnished or diminished?''

Wow. No way, Ed. You can count on one finger the number of NFL coaches who have taken four franchises to the playoffs, and three to championship games. Don't take Super Bowl wins as the final factor in whether a guy is a great all-time coach. Parcells took a team that won 15 games over three years and got it to the playoffs last year, without a major upgrade in talent. Would he be better with Belichick as his defensive coordinator? Of course. Would the Red Sox be better with A-Rod at third instead of Kevin Youkilis? But that doesn't mean Mike Zimmer can't coach, and won't help the Cowboys far into the playoffs this year.

HE WANTS ME TO SAY GIVE THE CHIEFS SOME PROPS. From John Kluge of Hanau, Germany: "Could you please say something nice, or anything, about the Chiefs? We have to be the most ignored 13-3 team in NFL history. I know you write for Sports Illustrated. So, I am sure there is something in your contract about not covering Midwest teams, but your bosses wouldn't notice if you did it once in a while.''

Well, John, I like the acquisition of John Welbourn, a tough, street fighter of a run-blocker and pass-protector. I don't like the loss of John Tait to the Bears, but I agree that he shouldn't have been paid premier tackle money. I don't think the Chiefs have done enough to tweak their defense or make it much better; Ryan Sims needs to be much better and more physical. I think their safeties hurt them with not-physical-enough play last year. In short, I like the Chiefs on offense, but I don't think they've done enough to win the Super Bowl.

A REAL GROSSMAN FAN HERE. From Chris Posa of Detroit: "Rex Grossman a top-10 QB? This year? Aren't you the same guy who predicted an MVP award for Jake Plummer last year? Quit smokin' the stuff.''

I said Grossman would be in the top 10 of NFL QB ratings by Oct. 1, if that's what you mean. Yeah, I did say Plummer would be MVP last year. I urge you to check out what he actually did. He finished fifth in the league with a 91.2 rating (ahead of Brett Favre and Tom Brady), 15 touchdowns to seven interceptions (when everyone said he was interception machine, he threw less than one per start), and a 9-2 record as a starter. If Plummer hadn't gotten hurt, I think he, Manning and Steve McNair would have dueled for the MVP.

HE WANTS PARCELLS TO GET FINED FOR HIS COMMENTS. From Brian Parkison of Santa Cruz, Calif.: "I always enjoy your columns, but one of your comments regarding Bill Parcells really irked me . 'I think a fine or suspension is not in order [for using the term 'Jap' in a press conference]. He's been punished enough in the court of public opinion.' Personally, I think that's ridiculous. Everybody thinks people should get off without punishment because they 'have to live with the guilt of these actions' for the rest of their lives. That's a load of crap. I'm one of the 'Orientals' ole Bill was referring to, and I think this is the first time in my life I've actually been offended by a racial comment. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I think people are overly sensitive to things (Larry Bird's comments come to mind), but Bill stepped over a line this time. If I rob one store in my entire life, I still get punished for it. The fact that I've been nothing but an upstanding member of society the rest of the time isn't going to save my rear. He screwed up, and a fine is certainly in order.''

Good points, Brian. Here's what I think: When a man formally apologizes for a racial slur within an hour after making it, and when he has no prior record of racism, I think he ought to get a break. I'd say that if Parcells said it, or if Saddam Hussein said it.

WE WON'T LET YOU LEAVE. From Jerry Kern of West Palm Beach, Fla.: "You can't take a full month off! I need my MMQB to get my week started! Heck, I'll write an MMQB. How hard can it be? (Just kidding.) Have a great vacation.''

Thanks Jerry. See you in a month.

Now, this is not an anti-Jeremy Shockey comment. It's fact. Shockey has missed eight of his first 32 NFL games with injuries. He now has what the Giants are calling a "hot spot'' on his foot, an apparent precursor to a stress fracture. His foot troubles are obviously not over. Instead they are threatening what was supposed to have been an incredible career. Giants GM Ernie Accorsi has compared Shockey's promise to a young Mickey Mantle's.

When he has played, Shockey has averaged 5.1 catches for 59.5 yards per game, with has only four touchdowns.

My feeling is that Shockey, with those so-so numbers, has been nowhere near the weapon the Giants hoped he'd be when they moved up in the first round to pick him in the 2002 NFL Draft. Great offensive weapons don't account for only 60 yards a game, or for two touchdowns a year. I'm not saying Shockey's a washout. Not even close. But I think it's time to worry about whether he'll ever become the solid-rock impact player he was drafted to be.

On a recent trip to the Chart House, a fine restaurant where the minimum dress code is business casual on the west bank of Hudson River in Weehawken, N.J., I became distressed. As I walked to my table with my lovely bride, I spied a twentysomething man sitting with a woman at a table, dressed in jeans, sneakers and a light blue T-shirt with these words in bold, large black letters: "YOU SUCK.''

Now, let's say you're the hostess in this lovely place, with the best view of lower Manhattan of any Jersey restaurant. Let's say you see a fellow in jeans, probably the only fellow in jeans to have come through the doors in a week, with that T-shirt. Have you no shame, ma'am? Have you no standards? I'm as liberal as they come (well, maybe not, but I'm pretty liberal), and I stared such a hole through this guy that he had to notice.

Let's imagine what would have happened if the hostess, doing her job, would have said, "Sir, I'm sorry. I can't let you into our restaurant with that T-shirt on.'' The guy might have protested, and maybe even raised a fuss that a few people near the entrance would have heard. Let's say he spent $125 on the evening. I ask whoever runs this restaurant this question: Is $125 more important to you than the opinion of me and maybe five or six other people who I'm sure noticed the T-shirt and who must have thought it was one of the most grotesque things they've seen in a nice place like this one? Is $125 more important than the image of the restaurant when people like me go spreading the word that the Chart House lets people in who dress like they're going to a punk club in Greenwich Village?

Just wondering.

I just re-read that. I sound so old. But I can't help it. I just thought it was a pathetic display.

1. I think when Dennis Green announces that Emmitt Smith is going to be his starting running back, what he's saying is: I don't have a starting running back right now.

2. I think it is absolutely amazing that, from all appearances, Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones will miss his third straight year of training camp and report to the Seahawks just in time to play the season. For three years Seattle and Jones and been arguing about a contract! For three years he boycotts camp and plays the season. Put yourself in Mike Holmgren's shoes. Don't you want to throw up? Jones is to make $7 million and he can't come to camp?

3. I think, and this is a Giant uh-oh, that some Big Blue observers are saying Jesse Palmer has thrown the ball better than Kurt Warner has in June practices.

4. I think, in the 20 years I have covered the NFL, I never remember seeing so many great young receivers -- guys who are under 25 -- in the game at the same time. Even the lousy passing teams, like Arizona and Detroit and New Orleans, have two or three kids who will scare every defensive coordinator they play.

5. I think you can never go wrong when you spend a half-hour on the phone with Phil Simms. "I don't care what team I'm talking to this offseason,'' Simms told me the other day, "Mike Martz's name comes up. His offense keeps evolving. It doesn't stay the same. Everybody's studying what Martz is doing.''

6. I think you might be surprised to know the newest way for teams to make some pretty good coin: Sirius satellite radio. Install satellite radio in your car or home this year and you'll get play by play of every NFL game. You can listen to legends such as Myron Cope in Corpus Christi, Texas. Some teams -- New England, most notably -- are planning to allow you to drive to the stadium this fall, drop your car off before the game, have the Sirius radio installed during the game, and listen to the late games on your car trip home. Such a deal.

7. I think, speaking of Sirius, Dan Reeves has a new job. The former coach is doing an 8-10 a.m. daily gig on satellite radio every day with former ESPNer Chris Mohr.

8. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. Katherine McDonald! Attention Katherine McDonald! You have dozens -- no, hundreds -- of people praying for you, in and out of the Sports Illustrated family. And most of us will be in to visit you this week. (Katherine, for those of you who don't know, is the best travel agent in the history of the planet, and she's battling cancer. Because she knows I'm a slow writer, Katherine always tells me to schedule later flights. "You'll never make that plane!" she says. "Take the next one!'')

b. Coffeenerdness: This has happened twice now during the last couple of weeks. I order a grande hazelnut latte, and I get a grande sugar-free hazelnut latte but don't realize it until I get home. Then I wonder if I should get back in the car or just throw the swill away and forget about it. Annoying.

c. Tuesday night, interleague treat, Red Sox at Colorado. I turn on my MLB Extra Innings package, and wonder of wonders, I see Kevin Millar (.264, 4 HR, 18 RBIs) playing first in the non-DH game, with David Ortiz (.286, 13 HR, 54 RBIs, American League-best 24 doubles) on the bench. Millar is batting third! And I just have to wonder what Terry Francona is doing. Terry, you seem like a nice enough guy. But Ortiz for the last 12 months has been one of the scariest hitters in baseball. And you're at Coors Field, after an off-day, and you have him on the bench because a lefty -- a bad lefty, Joe Kennedy -- is pitching, and because Millar is 5-for-10 against Kennedy during his career. Terry, Ortiz is an everyday player. And he and Millar is not even a close comparison. Entering Tuesday, Millar, in 756 Sox at-bats, had 29 homers and 114 RBIs; Ortiz, in 60 fewer at-bats with the Sox, had 44 homers and 155 RBIs. I beg you, Terry: Play Ortiz every day. It is absurd, and a bit irresponsible, not to.

d. No baseball person in his right mind would see Ortiz as a four-out-of-five-day player.

e. Absolutely unbelievable noise from the Coors Field crowd. The Sox fans outroared the Rockies boosters maybe 2-to-1.

9. I think this about Jake Delhomme's new five-year, $38 million deal: Hooray. One for the good guys. I don't know a soul who's met Jake Delhomme who doesn't think he's one of the nicest straight shooters in the NFL.

10. I think it's time for me to put the keyboard away for a month. I don't know much about my plans for the next month except that:

a. I plan to sit on the right-field roof at Fenway Park once.

b. I plan to coach some 10-and-under Montclair Sports Illustrated Bears softball games with my wife.

c. I plan to displace some water in the Atlantic Ocean.

d. I plan to see the Lakewood Blueclaws (the Phillies' Carolina League team near the Jersey Shore) on Bobblehead Night.

e. I plan to drink a few beers at Monmouth Park one afternoon.

f. I plan to play in SI NFL editor Mark Godich's golf outing and to shoot 127.

g. I plan to take several naps.

See you in a month.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space every week.