Roid Rage

Well, another high profile ball player on my favorite team has admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. I thought I was numb to these kinds of stories, but this one has hit me harder than I expected.

While A-Rod has been stand-offish and a bit odd, he always seemed so talented that he wouldn't need PED's. Apparently he thought he did. By his own admission, he used steroids from at least 2001 to 2003, while he was on the Texas Rangers.

If players of his caliber were using roids as recently as 2003, I have to assume a majority of players are. If the super stars need it to keep up, the dregs surely need it just to stay in the league. That's depressing. I love baseball, and I'm afraid PED's will eventually ruin it. While I have a libertarian bent when it comes to drug use, I think you cross a line when you use drugs to gain an unfair advantage on the field of play. It makes the game less fair and less real.

A few days ago a good friend, who is also a huge baseball fan, drew an analogy between baseball and cycling. I'm afraid it may be a good one. I use to love pro cycling. I recorded major races like the Tour De France and Giro D'italia. I watched every stage. A few years ago though it became apparent that doping was so prevalent in cycling - and that testing was doing nothing to slow it down - that I just lost interest. I stopped caring because the product seemed fake - almost like pro wrestling.

I hope baseball isn't headed down that path.

If hardcore fans like me are asking these questions though, MLB should be worried.

Dude...Where's My Medals?

Stop the presses! A twenty something celebrity with the world as his feet and a bajillion dollars smoked some pot! How will we ever explain it to our kids? Can he still be a role model? Is he worthy of his endorsements? He better apologize now!

America's drug policy, particularly as it relates to marijuanna, is ridiculous. It siphons public funds to stop a non-problem that will never be stopped. It makes teenagers engaging in normal teenage behavior in to criminals, and it takes personal decisions out of the hands of capable adults.

The Phelps story highlights just how dumb our laws and attitudes toward pot are though. The idea that this young man, who by all accounts has worked tirelessly to acheive greatness, is incapable of making decisions about his own body is just dumb. To possibly make him a criminal for a victimless crime is outlandish. We may question the wisdom of abusing his lungs given what he does, but surely it should be his choice to make.

Instead of issuing an apology, Phelps should just move to Amsterdam.

Super Prediction

It's that special time when everyone on the web turns in to a football expert. I'm no exception. Here's how today's big game in Tampa will end:

Pittsburgh: 31
Arizona: 14

The Cardinals have had almost no running game all season. Although they have had some success running in the playoffs, Pittsburgh's run defense is too good for that to continue. That will make the Arizona offense one dimensional, and the Steelers' D is too good for a one dimensional attack to work. The Steeler's line backers are going to pin their ears back and blitz Warner to death.

Arizona's defense just isn't very good, and Big Ben will be good enough to win his second championship ring. Of course the Steelers will be helped by a defensive touchdown.

Before you go out and bet the farm on my prediction, please keep in mind that I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Enjoy the game.

White House of Sport

I read an interesting article today about sports facilities at the White House. Apparently over the years the People's House has had indoor pools, an outdoor pool, tennis courts, a putting green, a quarter mile track, an outdoor basketball court, a horse shoe pit, and a bowling alley. It's pretty cool to explore all the sport preferences of our nation's leaders, and how they have influenced the White House.

Apparently Obama is considering turning the White House bowling alley in to a basketball court. It's a small thing (very small), but in light of the criticism the new President has thrown at Wall Street for misusing public funds, perhaps he should forget the hoops court on the public dime. Even if private funds are used for the renovation, it might be better for the Prez to ask contributors to give that money to a soup kitchen or battered women's shelter instead.

A little leadership by example in tough times could go a long way.

Jesus Hates the Eagles!

Well we are just days away from Super Bowl Sunday. Some people might consider it a sign of the apocalypse that the Arizona Cardinals are going - but not Kurt Warner.



In what has now become standard post game interview drivel, Kurt told us after the NFC championship game that Jesus was the reason he was standing on the winner's podium. Does Kurt even think about what he says? If Jesus propelled the Cardinals to victory, doesn't that mean he also made the Eagles lose? How does Kurt explain that? Are there no good Christians in Philly? Is Donovan McNabb a heathen? (He always seemed so nice in the soup commercials with his Mom.)

But the real test is coming up. What happens if the Steelers win the Super Bowl? Will we hear Kurt bemoan the fact that Jesus loved Pittsburgh more than Arizona? Better yet will we hear something like this: "Every thing was going great until my lord and savior made me throw a pick six in the fourth quarter?"

Somehow I doubt it.