I'm watching the Mitchell report live. It's good MLB's little problem is finally getting a thorough investigation and airing. It's ridiculous that lack of cooperation from the players' association and owners has caused things to come to this sorry state.
Tennis is my favorite sport to follow and they don't have this problem for the simple reason that they get tested during every tournament and a player who tests hot will get kicked off the tour for at least a year and have whatever titles or points he earned while using stripped. The environment for steroid abuse wasn't allowed to thrive. Baseball clubs, on the other hand, had this crap sitting in clubhouse fridges along with the coca colas.
Steroid free since '03 here.
Posted by: James at December 13, 2007 03:31 PMWhat were you up to, James?
Posted by: Donnah at December 13, 2007 04:04 PMTo many of us, baseball stars were our first heroes and role models from outside our inner circle. I have to both add a number of asterisks to my "who's the best" stats book, as well as re-evaluate my faith in the game.
Americans should strive to be above this kind of foolishness.
Test each player once a month, it'll cost about $30 million a year and no one will get away with growth hormone use again.
Problem solved.
Tomorrow--I'll give you solutions how to cure world hunger!
Posted by: The Mayor at December 13, 2007 08:18 PMYou know, the guy in charge of Olympic doping testing was just rolling his eyes at this whole mess, saying basically that these clubs don't take this situation seriously. The Olympics people conduct raids, for crying out loud.
I followed Andre Agassi's career and superstar though he was, half the press conferences I saw occurred after he'd had a shower, a massage, and a whizz quiz. The regular routine. They had some young Argentinians try some stuff a few years back (I remember watching one of them looking downright refreshed after a loooong-ass dirt rally. All the commentators were going "I don't think so." It was like the East German women's swim team in its obviousness). No wrist-slapping, instead they got a couple of years of not being able to play on the tour and their rankings down the crapper. Nobody wants a shithead cheat on the other side of the net ripping him off of points and money.
Baseball's looking like a sleazy operation unwilling to clean itself up.
Why yes, it does indeed > "...like a sleazy operation unwilling to clean itself up."
It's not the 'role model' it may have been at one time, or in this case it is a role model of what not to do.
Until such time as they do clean up the players my entertainment time and dollars will go elsewhere.
Posted by: Gmac at December 14, 2007 08:20 AMShit.....you only have to look at the cans on most 14 year old girls today to know that it's in the cows.....
If it's in the cows, how are you going to keep it out of the kids....who then go on to play professional sports?
You think that no one cheats in NASCAR? The incredibly dominant NE Pats got caught cheating THIS YEAR against the Jets....who won't win four games this season.
Personally, I think that you can't put the genie back into the bottle. Take the restrictor plates off the cars and let 'em run what they brung. And if these athletes want to have tiny little balls and giant exploding heads, let 'em.
I'll still be able to choose my own heros very nicely, thank you.
Posted by: mike the bike at December 14, 2007 08:46 AMWonder what Michael Vick is going to wear to jail ..
Posted by: csason at December 14, 2007 12:05 PMI had to build up my fingers for some serious number crunching, yo. These accounts don't reconcile themselves.
Seriously: I was on Prednizone when I got tangled up with some poison oak while hiking.
Posted by: James at December 14, 2007 05:33 PM