What Grinds My Gears-Steroids in Sports

Now I understand how the first two words that come to mind in connection with the word steroids are baseball and Barry Bonds. Now I absolutely love baseball, but I believe steroids have been, and always will be, the biggest black-eye in the face of America's past time, but what really grinds my gears is the way everyone decides athletes can get away with the 'I didn't know what I was putting in my body,' excuse, because you and everyone else knows that is bull crap! You are professional athletes and you get paid to keep your body in shape!! For example Alex Rodriguez, a.k.a A-Roid, told ESPN's Peter Gammons he was guilty of using Performance Enhancing Drugs during his interview on February 9. When asked exactly what substances he was taking, A-Roid said: "It was such a loosey-goosey era. I'm guilty for a lot of things, for being negligent, naive, not asking the right questions. To be quite honest I don't know exactly what substance I was guilty of using." So to sum it up he is apologizing for taking steroids, but not owning up to what he took. A-Roid is the quintessential Yankee, he will do whatever he can to win and be baseball's greatest player, and we will look the other way until he gets caught, he apologizes and everyone forgives him. Take off the blindfold and stop letting athletes get away with things we could never get away with!!!!

Now Rashard Lewis is also on the long list of 'cheaters.' I don't care what anyone says, if you take something that is on the banned substance list, you are a cheater. How can you not tell your staff what you are taking, unless you know it is illegal?!?! Lewis is just like every other selfish athlete trying to get a leg up on the competition. If you don't know what was in a substance, make a phone call to the trainer and make sure you aren't taking anything you aren't supposed to! You are responsible for everything that goes in your body. I don't care who you are, this just proves steroids are a bigger problem than any of us could have ever imagined. Don't just assume the problem is just with baseball, because Lewis proved to us it's not, everyone is trying to get a leg up on the competition and for that reason, everyone needs to have a drug policy, don't take PED's!!!!! Be responsible for what you are doing and try to set a much better example for those who look up to you.

These things happen, but at the same time I believe we are too quick to just believe some of these stories athletes tell us. How many times will we hear the excuse these two athletes have used and let them get away with it before we start doing something about it? Only you, as the fan and a human being, can decide. Don't get me wrong I believe in second chances but someone, somewhere needs to draw the line.

To read ESPN's story on Rashard Lewis, click here.

True Friendship in Sports

It seems like every time I turn on the television all I see are stories about despair. I love sports because every time the world seems to be going to hell in a hand basket, I find some inspirational sports story, which gives us all hope for a better future. For example, baseball returning after the terrorist attacks in 2001. There is a story I read on ESPN this morning which gives me hope (click here to read the Outside the Lines report by Tom Rinaldi). It is about two wrestlers in Ohio who graduated this year despite many hardships and having the odds against them. Leroy Sutton was 11 when he lost both of his legs in an accident in which he was pulled underneath a freight train, and Dartanyon Crockett is legally blind, but somehow both of these extraordinary youth found ways to win and along the way became an inspiration to all. The thing which impressed me the most was Crockett won state in his weight class last year, despite barely being able to distinguish facial features from a mere five feet away. Sutton sat on the edge of the mat at all of Crockett's matches and was able to win several of his own matches. Crockett carried his friend all over, on and off the bus at school and at matches. Their story is simply inspirational. Sutton's only wish was to walk on his own at graduation with prosthetics he had been fitted for a week before graduation. As he walked, Crockett was their to make sure he didn't fall and was honored to help his friend. I honestly have to say, while watching this report, I hope I would be able to do something like this to someone who needed my help. These are the kind of stories which inspire us and make us feel like there is still hope in a world that desperately needs any kind of hope it can find. I only hope that when someone we see walking down the street who is different, we resist the urge to judge them and put ourselves in their shoes. What would we do? I hope we can all look deep inside and say we would be this kind of a friend to someone in need. That is what sports are really all about, not the money or the fame, it should be about having fun and helping one another. Unfortunately we all lose sight of that goal sometimes.

Brandon Webb and MLB Fair-weather Fans

There is a story on ESPN this morning about how Diamondback's ace Brandon Webb, will have surgery on his sore shoulder after trying several conservative methods of easing that pain. Webb has not pitched since opening day this season, and is now opting to have surgery. The story did not surprise me, what really surprised me was the poll on the new ESPN TV show, SportsNation, and the results. The question was, Is Brandon Webb done as an effective starting pitcher after his latest setback? Wow. Now I know the D-backs don't get a lot of news coverage, I mean I can't even watch their games unless they are playing the Rockies, but seriously, 42 percent feel he's done? I can't believe it. Anyone who has seen Webb pitch will tell you there is no way he is done. The guy is a workhorse, he may not get strikeouts, but he is effective. The highest his ERA has been in a full season is 3.59 and that was the year after his rookie season. The D-backs are No. 16 in the majors this year in team ERA with a 4.26, considering they are missing their staff ace, I'd say that is pretty respectable. Now Webb is a career 87-62 with a 3.27 ERA. He will come back after surgery, more motivated than ever and prove the critics wrong. With a healthy Webb in the rotation, the D-backs would be a completely different team. Webb, Haren, and Jon Garland would for sure put the D-backs in the playoffs, as long as the team does not become "sellers" before next season. Even though it sounds as if I have given up on my team, like some bandwagon-jumping, fair-weather fan loser, I have not. They can still, mathmatically, win the division and while there is that glimmer of hope, no matter how slim, I will be rooting for them. I will be a D-back through and through, because I will always remember the feeling of having my team win the World Series in 2001, a team that I stuck with even through the two blown saves at Yankee Stadium, by a closer who's name I will not and refuse to repeat. I can still remember the day Luis Gonzalez delivered the game-winning hit against arguably the greatest closer of all-time, Mariano Rivera, over the head of Derek Jeter. To support that team through thick and thin during their championship run was the best baseball season in my short life. I will never ever turn on my team, even if they become like the Pirates, just an MLB farm club for the Red Sox. I will bleed D-back crimson till the day I die.

What Grinds My Gears- NFL Training Camp

Every Saturday I am going to write a "what grinds my gears" segment, which is pretty self-explanatory. It will be about what really bugs me about sports during the previous week. The thing that really bugs me about professional sports is the whole "retirement" deal with Brett Favre and Derrick Mason. I swear if I ever had the opportunity to retire from professional sports as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history after winning a Super Bowl and setting the record for touchdown passes in a career, I would take retirement and have worked in the front office for the Packers. It really grinds my gears because, for example if someone retires from a normal career, it means they are done working and can enjoy the so called "fruits of their labor." To a professional athlete it means "Hey I don't know if I can keep doing this, but if I can, I want to play with a different team and won't let that team know if I can play until the day before training camp opens, even though they paid for my surgery." In other words professional athletes have grown so accustomed to being in the spotlight that when they are no longer in that limelight, they have to get that attention back. If you are never enough or never feel good enough without it, you will absolutely never feel good enough with it. Favre next year, spare us all the idiotic rumors and don't ever think about coming back, because the more you dangle that in front of us, the more your legacy is tainted. Most Viking fans are relieved they won't have to deal with Brett Favre, even though they have desperately been searching for a good quarterback ever since Daunte Culpepper left the franchise. The face of the franchise is stud running back Adrian Peterson and he really doesn't need to be overshadowed by the dying legacy of an old quarterback, who never really wanted to come back in the first place. If you are going to retire, STAY RETIRED!!!!!
Another thing that really grinds my gears is the number of unsigned draft picks who still have not reported to training camp, holding out for more money. You have got to be kidding me? How much money do you have to fork over to get a first-round draft pick signed? I mean come on, this draft pick is someone who has not played in the NFL ever, but unfortunately gets the idea in his head that rookies should get paid millions of dollars to just show up to training camp. The only proven rookie's that usually make an impact are offensive lineman, such as Jake Long of the Miami Dolphins. Most of these players need to get into camp so they can get NFL ready, because we all now the NFL is a lot faster then college football. It will be interesting to see which ones can actually make a difference.
The last thing this week that really grinds my gears is Michael Vick. Everyone is talking about how great Vick will be and how anyone with roster space should sign him. There is talk that the commissioner's conditional reinstatement is too harsh. ARE YOU JOKING?!?!?! Vick bankrolled and participated in an illegal dog fighting ring and lied to the federal government and to Commisioner Goodell's face about it. He has not played football in two years and the talk of the town is that Vick will take a team to the Super Bowl, using the new "wildcat" formation the Dolphins introduced last season. No, I say send Vick to the UFL and then, if he can handle it, sign him to the practice squad to help your defense prepare for the wildcat formation. Vick will not change, he will be in trouble by Week 6 in the NFL, and whoever signs him, will regret it, just as the Cowboys regretted trading for Adam "Pacman" Jones before he was ever reinstated into the NFL. You would think teams would learn from the Cowboys mistakes and that is what grinds my gears.

MLB Trade Deadline

So I think I am finally going to finish my post about the trade deadline. Now I know what my dad is thinking, actually he sent me a text about his beloved Cleveland Indians, after learning they traded away the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, Cliff Lee, saying he could not believe it. The Indians categorized themselves as sellers, or in other words, opted to start building for the future and not try to win now. Other sellers included the Toronto Blue Jays, the team who asked way too much for veteran pitcher and workhorse Roy Halladay, the San Diego Padres, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, who seem they dump all of their star players as soon as they reach time for a contract extension. The Pirates could have an all-star lineup, were they financially able to keep everyone they trade. Now there are also plenty of teams who always are buyers, the Red Sox, or the Roid Sox as some call them now, and the Yankees. Now surprisingly, the Yankees really did not make any major moves, while Boston, opted to get Victor Martinez and Casey Kotchman. Now their are other teams who make simply maddening moves, making you wonder if they are trying to win now or build for later, like the Mariners. It seems they are always cultivating talent and then giving it away. They helped pitcher Jarrod Washburn return to star pitcher status, then traded him to the Tigers. Sure they received plenty of prospects, if they were sellers, but a few days earlier they traded for Pirate shortstop Jack Wilson and starter Ian Snell, so it looked as if the Mariners were ready to contend until the Washburn trade. Then you have the Diamondbacks, who seem to always be on the brink of either contention, or setting a new record low in wins, who never make trades that seem to help them. They traded away Felipe Lopez, but kept their stars, which is the way it should be. They need to grow their hometown talent and then if there are some pieces missing, don't trade away your franchise corners that you have already worked so hard to build, such as the Pirates. Now the Padres also traded away Jake Peavy to the White Sox, who is scheduled to get off the disabled list in late August. Now think about the power pitching staff the Sox will have when Peavy returns; Mark Buehrle, who has a perfect game this season, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and longtime journeyman Jose Contreras, and could get a half-decent Bartolo Colon back depending on how fast he recovers from his injury. It seems as if the favorite to come out of the National League are the Philadelphia Phillies, with their acquisition of Cliff Lee, while the American League is up for grabs, the Red Sox and Yankees will be in the mix as always, while the White Sox, Twins, and surprisingly the Rangers could be in the mix as well.

Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and the Roid Sox

My beloved sport of baseball has once again taken a hit because of greedy, selfish, baseball players whose success and fame just aren't enough, they have to boost those numbers using Performance Enhancing Drugs, or PED's. Of all the dumb things you can do in a town, especially one which had not claimed a World Series title in 86 years, is to take steroids, become the hero, and then six years down the road, let reporters from the New York Times report you had taken steroids in 2003 during the so-called "anonymous" drug test. Being a Diamondbacks fan, I can't stand the way Manny has acted in Boston, let alone the warm reception L.A. gave him after his 50-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance, this only confirms my hatred of Ramirez, but Big Papi?! Really? The guy who vehemently denied ever taking steroids, saying there should be a year suspension from baseball for even the first positive test, is guilty of testing positive? What should honestly surprise us these days about star baseball players, their egos, and the lengths they will go, to perform at a peak level, higher than their competitors? I do not like Jose Canseco, but everyday it seems as if his allegations are true, even though we all laughed at him when he said 80 percent of baseball players were taking steroids. There are discussions going around about whether we should put asterisks next to the records players with a known connection to steroids make. We don't know the scope of steroids and their users, for all we know every player was on them during this time. We can't put asterisks in the record books, but we can right the wrongs of baseball. For every Dodger fan who cheered when Manny came back after being suspended, and welcomed him with open arms, now we need to boo and jeer him. He is not a clean player and will do the same to you as he did in Boston. Win a tainted title and leave when you don't pay him enough. We need to raise our children as moral human beings, so that when they do get offered steroids, they don't take them. Cheating is wrong and although it looks like they prosper, it always comes back to bite you, so a here is a little piece of advice, Don't do it!