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April's Sports View
SPORTS VIEW By Leigh Douglas As the ‘madness’ winds down, I find myself having to eat crow. Illinois is for real (I still stand by Carolina winning it all) but the fighting Illini are a much better team than I had given them credit. As the NFL...
Detroit Tigers: Pudge Proving Doubters Wrong
Ivan Rodriguez endured an onslaught of criticism this offseason when he opted to play for the Detroit Tigers rather than returning to the Florida Marlins or seeking a smaller contract with another contender. Sports writers and reporters...
Hockey Rules in Real Life
"I went to the fights the other night...and a hockey game broke out."
--Rodney Dangerfield.
Every hockey fan has heard of Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi plays for the Vancouver Canucks. Make that "fights" for the Vancouver Canucks. Make that...
Three Ways to Destroy Your Ability To Compete-Quickly!
If you want to become the kind of athlete that people always talk about in terms of "potential" rather than results, following the following formula: 1. Focus on that which you are scared of In the world outside of sports, a common...
Who Is Our Daddy?
Who Is Our Daddy? - George Steinbrenner, that's who. Thank goodness the Yankees have him. Big Daddy, George Steinbrenner, is a Yankee fan's delight. As a Yankee fan I love that so many other fans hate what George has done and continues to do. He...
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Does the home run chase mean anything anymore?
The year of 1998 was a banner year for Major League Baseball. It was the year where the fans returned and embraced Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's chase of Roger Maris' single season homerun record that had stood for 37 years. It was the savior of the game at the time, but 7 years later, that chase "exposed" baseball as the game of performance enhancing substances (steroids).
Last night, Sammy Sosa (finally) hit a home run. That two run shot put him ahead of Mark McGwire on the homerun run list at 584, which moved him into sole possesion of sixth place all-time. And while this is going on, rumors are still swirling about the possible return of Barry Bonds next month, who is only 11 HR's behind Babe Ruth and 52 away from Hank Aaron's record of 755. And now, with Victor Conte pleading guilty in court on steroid charges, looks like Bonds is now free to spout his innocence some more, and play the victim role ( who else has pushed you off the bridge, Barry??)
The question I ask you is, " Does anybody even care about these records anymore?" I say we take a page from McGwire's
March testimony in front of Congress. Let's move on and not talk about the past. But, at the same time, we should place an asterik by these "steroid-era" records before we bury them in a grave that they belong. No, I'm not indicting EVERY player from this era, but the overall numbers speak for themselves. Jose Canseco and the late Ken Caminiti's admittals that they took illegal substances also speak for themselves. In a perfect world, everyone who cheated would own up to such, but it ain't gonna happen.
Because of this, today's records are laughable. Baseball wanted offense, the chicks can dig the longball all they like, but these monster, steroid induced numbers have damaged the game more than any work stoppage ever could. It may not show in the attendance figures yet, but the integrity of the game has broken. Looks like Henry Aaron's legit record be the next thing "broken" by Major League Baseball. Congrats Barry
About the Author
John Onan (aka ego74) is sports writer/moderator at the online players union www.playerunion.com and football writer for www.realfootball365.com
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