These Records Are Tainted [Addison Quale]

Well, call it what you like. He's a product of his times. He's just doing what everyone else was doing. You would have done the same thing. Whatever. I'll call it for what it is--and that is cheating. It is illegal in baseball to use steroids. And it has been quite clear to all for some time now that Barry Bonds used them.

The rules in baseball aren't there to be just broken. There's a spirit to them. You're supposed to abide by the spirit of the law and not just the letter. Even if Bonds found a way to use performance enhancing steroids without somehow getting caught doesn't make it right. And I don't care if 99% of MLB was using too. It doesn't make a difference. Cheating is cheating is cheating. The law doesn't change once all your friends are breaking it too.

So instead of having the famed single-season and all-time home run records be the result of hard work, discipline, integrity, sportsmanship and courage, they are now blatant manifestations of pride, greed, ambition, contempt, lawlessness and selfishness.

The numbers 60, 61, 714 and 755 used to mean something. They symbolized excellence--pure courage and venerable excellence--that we could all stand up and cheer for (eg. Cal Ripken). But now they have been replaced with a whole new set of numbers: 66, 70, 73, 756. And these have now become symbols of pride and lies. A broken record means nothing when it's based on a lie. An idea means nothing if it's got no integrity to it. And when a record is broken based on a lie, that is not grounds for cheering but rather grounds for being disgusted

MLB has screwed up big time. They used to have a product which was the thing of dreams--something we all knew was good, something we wanted to tell our kids about. But in their drive for fame they let that get away from them. And allowed men like Barry Bonds to usurp that goodness. These records are tainted forever. As far as I'm concerned the home run records right now stand at 61 and 755.

RE: NBA Ref May Have Bet on Own Games [David Stefanini]

First I would like to say I think this is my fault. It seems this week all of my favorites are being thrown into the flames of hell. First we had the Michael Vick incident. This is my idol, the man I said I was when I was in the school yard in 8th grade running around the opponents left and right. Now the game I love the most, basketball, is coming under fire.

I can not agree with J. Mark English any more. When he says, "I don't think people quite realize or grasp the concept that gambling in sports from the very people involved in that sport is a cardinal sin" he can not be more correct. It seems a lot of us turn the other way or say it is ok, but the fact is it simply isn't.

If it turns out over the past few years this NBA official has been shaving points off a game this will be catastrophic to the NBA. Right now they are the third out of the four major sports in America. They will likely never catch baseball or football, and certainly will never fall below hockey (if that still is a sport). But the scars this will leave on the game will be tremendous, and people will not be able to turn the other way. Many fans would not be able to find it in them to trust the league.

Just think about it; if someone who has this much control on the game is betting on the game, and therefore trying to control the outcome that rightfully destroys any trust the fan could have in that league. David Stern has tried to clean up the image of the NBA with the dress code and the 'must play in college' rule; but as Mark said, this is going to harm the league far greater than any dress code or age of a player ever could. The NBA is going to have to make sure that no other NBA refs were involved in this other than Tim Donaghy.

Now I am a fan of due process, and in the case with Vick I think we should find evidence, and then convict because you are innocent until proven guilty. But all the reports I am hearing from numerous media posts does not look good for Tim. The FBI has him linked to countless games over at least the past 2 NBA seasons, probably more.

To go along with Mark English and myself, here is Marc Stein with his thoughts:

It's hard to believe that Barry Bonds can probably claim a greater share of the public's trust than the NBA at large, but that's the ugly reality confronting Stern. As even Stern himself termed it in a statement issued Friday afternoon, Donaghy is accused of betraying "the most sacred trust in professional sports."

To be completely honest, the story completely turns my stomach. I always knew it was a possibility but I never thought it could be a reality. Things like this are not supposed to happen. As Stein said, this is the "most sacred trust in professional sports." I now have the thought in my head that the some of the NBA games I watched as a kid were fixed, and it just makes me sick.

Even if the official is found innocent, the trust will still be greatly hurt. David Stern has to pray that Peyton Manning is tied to Michael Vick's dog fighting to get the headlines off the NBA. And even if Manning was to be found to have involvement, the NBA will still have much more severe long-term negative effects than the NFL could.

One last thing: Mark, please do not say Michael Jordan's story book ending was fabricated. He is my hero and if it is true, lets just imagine it isn't and never bring that up again.

A-Rod Cheats to Win -- Again [Addison Quale]

Man, A-Rod seems to be winning over friends left and right these days. First, he's caught in a compromising situation with a certain "buxom blond" at a Toronto stripclub--and not at home with his wife and kid. Now, he's playing bush-league baseball resorting to dirty tricks in order to somehow get the hapless Yanks a win. Wednesday's game between the Yanks and Jays was pretty close until the last inning. A critical play took place when a popup to the infield was dropped by third baseman Howie Clark. Clark didn't just drop the ball because he misplayed it though. He backed away at the last second because he thought someone else called for it. It turns out though that it was A-Rod who called for it as he ran behind Clark towards third base. A-Rod, in his usual honesty, claims he simply yelled "Hah!" and not "Mine"--not exactly classy either. We'll let you decide--here's the video footage. And here's his very endearing post-game interview where he's peppered repeatedly about why he did this. He also claimed btw that he was past third base when the ball fell--also not true.

Lest we forget, A-Rod has resorted to incredibly classless and dirty tactics before though hasn't he? I mean, could we ever forget the cowardly slap to Bronson Arroyo's glovehand as he was being tagged running out a grounder in the 2004 ALCS? Of course not. It's funny. It's like as hard as we try to like A-Rod and as great of a player as he is--at least in April--he's really just not very likeable. Why would you even want to root for this guy? This is the guy we're supposed to be rooting against--the classless, cowardly, arrogant, dirty, overpaid, ego-driven punk. As Sox fans, we tend to dislike Jeter the most--but that's mostly sour grapes. Jeter at least has class. Poor Yankees fans must be getting pretty tired of this. Maybe they'll get a break though if A-Rod's season continues to go down the tubes and he skips town at the end of the year.