By John Sharkey
It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught. But what happens if you do get snared? Even then, a surprisingly high amount of the time, the consequences for getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar are mild. Shawne Merriman, the star linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, recently failed a steroid test and received a four-game suspension. This seems like it should be a pretty big deal: one of the best defensive players in the NFL gets busted for cheating.
The backlash, however, was mysteriously mild. The first time I learned about the story, it was on SportsCenter where the analysts were discussing what Merriman’s absence would do to the Chargers’ linebacking depth, as if Merriman had sprained a knee or something. Merriman quickly appealed the suspension and was available to play in the following game. Watching that contest, I saw Merriman make a typically great play, followed by the announcers joking that the Chiefs were probably wishing that Merriman hadn’t appealed: the whole thing was literally a laughing matter.
Remember Rafael Palmeiro? Once upon a time, he was one of the faces of baseball. Then he failed a steroids test and took a fifty-game suspension. That’s slightly longer, proportionally to the length of their seasons, than what Merriman got. But no one was laughing then. Palmeiro was ripped to shreds and black-balled out of baseball. So why the disconnect between his case and Merriman’s?
This pair of suspensions is far from the only example of the double standard that exists between baseball and football when it comes to cheating. The indictment of a doctor under suspicion of distributing steroids revealed that multiple members of the Carolina Panthers more than likely received a shipment of steroids shortly before they played the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Of course, none of the players in question ever failed a drug test, and the story never really gained much traction.
Barry Bonds never failed a drug test either. However, we have a lot of pretty good evidence to suggest that he has indeed taken steroids, and he is (probably rightfully) vilified as a cheater. After all, he’s chasing the numbers of ghosts, not playing in the biggest sporting event in the country.
The World Series drama fizzled out early this year, as a sloppily-played set ended in a five-game St. Louis victory. However, for about two days (which, if my memory serves, were right around the time the Merriman story broke), the biggest storyline of baseball’s championship was some gunk smeared on Kenny Rogers’s hand. A foreign substance on the pitcher’s person is grounds for an automatic ejection and suspension, and the same mysterious substance was seen on Rogers’s hand in his first two playoff starts. This gunk caused some confusing reactions. It is pretty clear that Rogers was cheating, but Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa didn’t press the issue and Rogers continued to pitch. Then later, LaRussa said that he didn’t believe that the stuff on Rogers’s hand was simply a clump of dirt, as the pitcher claimed. He obviously thought that Rogers was cheating, and didn’t do anything about it.
What’s more, much of the public reaction was mild as well, with a lot of the discussion focusing on the old spit-ballers and how wily they were. The gunk is a far more visible example of cheating than are sordid tales of back-room needles, with the cheating taking place in plain sight during the biggest game of the year. Yet another double-standard, this time specific to baseball.
There are many forms of cheating, but we react to them in different ways. Anyone that has ever jaywalked or double parked knows why. We all have a tendency to simply ignore the rules that are inconvenient or inconsequential to us. But this is a tendency we must fight. It’s possible that “right” and “wrong” might exist on a sliding scale, but there is no such thing as “just a little bit illegal” or “mild cheating.” And act is either illegal or it isn’t, and if we act otherwise we might as well throw out the rule books. We can change bad rules and laws, but we cannot ignore them. In the end, syringe or sludge, it’s all dirty.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
23 comments:
You mean like when seven people get together and decide to spend a billion dollars of other peoples' money to enrich one of the richest men in the state? Oh, wait, that was legal, just really, really slimy.
But that's part of the point. Ask a Giant fan what he thinks of Barry Bonds, and you'll likely get a defense of the man most baseball fans consider the biggest pariah in the sport. Or ask a Cardinal fan about Mark McGwire, who was considered a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame this year until his 'I'm not here to talk about the past' appearance before Congress led baseball's talking-heads to declare his candidacy suddenly dead-on-arrival, despite any infraction, such as it were, occurring long before any of the substances Big Mac took were actually illegal in baseball.
When the cheating occurs in your favor, it's a lot harder to dismiss it. Again, consider Kirby - massive increase in power and weight, issues with rage, left baseball with glaucoma, dead of a heart condition. All of these are circumstantial bits of evidence that point to a possible steroid connection, but will anybody admit it? Or even accept it were it admitted? I'd be shocked.
Or what about Juan Rincon's suspension last year? (In fairness, I recall that you were harsh on Rincon, but I can't find anything to back up that recollection.) Or the late Joe Niekro's flipping of an emery board out of his back pocket during the 1987 Twins season?
Last but not least, let's not forget that there's probably a lot more 'cheating' that happens than we know about. Maybe LaRussa didn't see a need to make a big deal about Rogers's 'gunk' because he didn't want to give Leyland a chance to find somebody's corked bat. Has a policeman ever nailed you dead to rights speeding, but decided to let you off with a warning because your kids go to school together? Beyond a certain point, what's really the difference?
To explain the difference of this double standard consider this:
* Football had a punishment program in place for years. Baseball didn't. Furthermore Congress was bringing baseball players in front of Congress not football players.
* Rafael Palmerio did a Bill Clinton. He waved his finger just like Bill and said that he never took steroids. So naturally when he got caught he got ruined. He didn't have the benefit of an economy with just a 5% unemployment rate to save his neck.
* People take baseball records seriously so people who were found cheating are taken seriously. It took Roger Marris 34 years to break the Babe's record and he was given an astrick. Nobody was able to come close for 37 years and all of sudden a couple of players are easily able to break his 61 total.
That is why both Bonds and Palmerio get their negative treament.
Kirby taking steroids? I don't think so. Around the time that Kirby did this was when Bo Jackson was a big star and he weight lifted. ESPN does a series the five reasons you can't blame and the number one reason they cited was Bo Jackson and his inspiring players to weight lift.
That probably explains why Palmerio is considered to be ruined.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Why the difference? If the "great white hope" McGwire was using steroids, no one want to know. (They were already illegal under federal law and by baseball rules, the only thing that has changed is that players are now tested for them.)
But Barry Bonds showed up McGwire's resetting the mark for home runs from Roger Maris's (and Babe Ruth's) 60 HR total as just a cheap trick that was made possible by modern chemistry. And a black "bad guy" making a mockery of baseball's most hallowed target and McGwire's "dream season" was more than the game's leaders could stand.
Hey John, do you remember when you called Johan Santana's new contract two years ago a "$40 million mistake"?
'Cause I sure do... That looks like perhaps the biggest bargin in baseball history right now. Johan would have gotten a $200 million contract had he been on the market this winter.
I love the first line, it's only cheating if you get caught.
Also I wanted to know if you would link my blog to yours and I will do the same for you. My site name is American Legends and it's:
www.americanlegends.blogspot.com
If you want to do this just go to my site and tell me your URL and the name in a comment and I will link you to my blog.
Thanks,
David
I don't think it's a racial issue. The most popular athletes in America are Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. If Albert Pujols or Ryan Howard made a serious run at the single-season HR record, I think you'd see widespread fan support as long as there wasn't any reason to suspect juicing.
The reason McGwire's (not to mention Sosa's) alleged steroid use was swept under the rug is that baseball was desperate for positive story after the World Series got wiped out by a strike. Overall attendance was brutal in '95 and '96. Now that the money is rolling in again (see Zito, Barry), they can afford to go after someone like Bonds. Who, by the way, isn't helped by the fact that he's a complete jackass. The media isn't exactly conflicted about sticking it to Bonds.
I have been following Rickjs Handicapping Picks for
some time now. The site is updated daily
and is winning at a rate much better then
most handicappers.
Its free for now it seems.... check it out...
rickjshandicappingpicks.blogspot.com
Thanks a lot for what You are doing!Information, that I managed to find here
is extremely useful and essential for me!With the best regards!
David
it´s all dirty
Reg
Marv
My Photocommunity
zocor lipitor vs zocor compare lipitor vs zocor
california wine country gift baskets sets wine country gift baskets cough cough effects side zocor effect cough effects side zocor effects lipitor side effects liver lipitor side effects
description of levitra description of levitra - followup levitra post followup levitra post - drug for impotence levitra drug for impotence levitra - levitra information levitra information - levitra milf levitra milf - discount levitra discount levitra - drug levitra drug levitra - levitra dosage levitra dosage - le
vitra now online levitra now online - count lower triglyceride reduction lower triglyceride - naturally triglyceride diet reduction triglyceride diet - good cause of high triglyceride
buy generic viagra online buy generic viagra online -
buy viagra pill online - buy viagra pill online -
viagra cialis cheap viagra cialis cheap
cheap viagra online prescription - cheap viagra online prescription
Hi dude! We just opened our cool site about marriage and diet
index.html index1.html soma akane soma else argento soma soma carisoprodol and cheap soma discount soma and look this soma cruz else index.html index1.html cialis levitra cialis dissolving generic mouth cialis cialis free cialis and buy cheap cialis online buy cialis online dream pharmaceutical buying generic cialis else cialis drug generic minuteviagra online viagra cialis levitra sales viagra or cialis online referrer.html stats discount generic cialis viagra vs cialis drug buy viagra index.html buy viagra cheap viagra generic viagra buy viagra online female viagra and this :blindness viagra gel tab viagra viagra viagra cialis levitra look this viagra for woman cialis compare levitra viagra pfizer viagra free viagrabest price viagra viagra online pharmacy and this : index.html 2dir tramadol buy tramadol interesting:tramadol acetaminophen hcl par tramadol cool info : 50 mg tramadol medication tramadol or description tramadol and |index.html zoloft side effects mayo zoloft for premature ejaculation weaning off zoloft zoloft litigation viagra online ocd zoloft or zoloft zoloft side effect or symptom of zoloft and zoloft success story and look this claritin reditabs cool info : claritin claritin vs allegra claritin d and pregnancy and elseclaritin active ingredient and elsezithromax antibiotic zithromax alcohol zithromax online other zithromax rash or zyrtec syrup zyrtec d12 hour zyrtec d 12 hour cool info : zyrtec use or index1.html diflucan durante noche diflucan pill generic imitrex day imitrex next doctor lipitor vs zocor joint lipitor pain affect lipitor side alternative lipitor effects grapefruit lipitor side lipitor niacin gabapentin neurontin neurontin gabapentin neurontin weight gain neurontin and bipolar neurontin law suit index1.html jelly kamagra oral sildenafil kamagra oral sildenafil yelly sildenafil side effects 5 sildenafil zenegra
.Good luck!
Hi people! Thanks . I will forward this link to all my friends interested in this subject! index.html. It`s map s
ite index1.html. and index5.html. and index2.html.
s1.org/sildenafil/index.html>index.html. zoloft side effects mayo zoloft claritin d12hour claritin d24hour other claritin d durante noche diflucan vs nystatin generic imitrex
/pills1.org/lipitor/effects-lipitor-negative-side.html>effects lipitor negative side grapefruit juice lipitor expiration lipitor patent gain keyword neurontin weight citrate sildenafil ups and cheapest citrate sildenafil zenegra sildenafil G'night
Hello great site!
animal sex
http://animalsex-videos.blogspot.com/
thanks
Hi people! I am finally able to get to your site to check it out, and it looks great! ...
index.html index1.html soma akane soma other ash lyric soma divine hallucinogen soma other soma drug soma com soma drug soma record cialis free index.html index1.html cialis online cialis dissolving generic mouth and cialis order awstats by cialis created online cialis free buy cheap cialis cialis online buy tadalafil cialis buying generic cialis and look this cialis for woman cialis generic tadalafil cialis online cialis overnight cialis sample online tadalafil generic cialis and index.html buy viagra cheap viagra generic viagra buy viagra online viagra online and look this blindness viagra gel tab viagra viagra viagra cialis levitra and look this free viagra sample herbal viagra viagra pharmacy and very creative :viagra without prescription viagra cost and else index.html 2dir tramadol buy tramadol cool info : online tramadol index1.html cool info : link tramadol acetaminophen tramadol and elsecomment forum post tramadol zoloft |index.html zoloft side effects mayo zoloft for premature ejaculation weaning off zoloft zoloft litigation or zoloft and pms buy zoloft zoloft zoloft side effects free zoloftonline zoloft buy zoloft zoloft half life buy zoloft claritin d12hour and elseclaritin redi tab claritin vs allegra claritin d 24 and elseclaritin d 12 cool info : zithromax antibiotic zithromax antibiotic medication antibiotic child zithromax and zithromax dosage for child cool info : zyrtec syrup zyrtec medication zyrtec online interesting:zyrtec alternative cool info : diflucan yeast infection buy diflucan diflucan dose effects side index.html imitrex tablet index1.html danger lipitor expiration lipitor patent cost lipitor effect lipitor side unusual lipitor muscle gain keyword neurontin weight neurontin gabapentin neurontin attorney drug effects neurontin side treatment does neurontin cause weight gain citrate sildenafil ups sildenafil tablet zenegra citrate generic sildenafil viagra buy sildenafil viagra kamagra sildenafil viagra
Sincerely
Hi! Good stuff dude, thanks!
index.html index1.html soma soma 350mg cool info : argento soma buy soma and cheap soma discount soma look this picture of soma other index.html index1.html index3.html cheap cialis look this cialis generic cialis cialis online buy cheap cialis cialis online buy cialis in uk buying cialis online cialis online cialis drug impotence cialis levitra viagra and very creative :cialis online statistics usage cialis sample order cialis online dream pharmaceutical and this : index.html buy viagra cheap viagra generic viagra buy viagra online order viagra or branded viagra gel tab viagra viagra viagra cialis levitra buy viagra free viagra sample effects of viagra soft viagra free viagraviagra without prescription viagra forum or index.html 2dir tramadol buy tramadol and online tramadol tramadol ultram other discount tramadol dog tramadol and look this 100mg tramadol and |index.html zoloft side effects mayo zoloft for premature ejaculation weaning off zoloft zoloft litigation and look this zoloft night sweats look this zoloft zoloft information and look this lexapro vs zoloft free zoloft zoloft claritin d 24 hour interesting:claritin d claritin d side effects claritin allegra comparison other claritin d day next and this : index.html zithromax z pack zithromax during pregnancy and look this zithromax 500mg and this :index1.html zyrtec side effects zyrtec effects and zyrtec allergy treatment or index1.html fluconazole diflucan diflucan fluconazole medication imitrex side effects free imitrex doctor lipitor vs zocor blister effects lipitor side lipitor rhabdomyolysis doctor effects lipitor side effects from lipitor side lipitor pravachol gabapentin neurontin neurontin node swollen neurontin symptom withdrawal neurontin adverse side effects neurontin tinnitus citrate sildenafil ups cheapest citrate sildenafil zenegra congestion nasal sildenafil zenegra buy sildenafil zenegra citrate india sildenafil zenegra
.Good luck!
cialis viagra tamiflu aids drugs and cancer drugs diets and weight prolong ejaculationviagraprolong ejaculationloversprolong ejaculationfriendsprolong ejaculation
Well, Mr. Geek, looks like the spam bloggers really like your pages. Probably time to add a word verification that *real* users have to type so these don't fill up your world.
Thanks for the welcome Good stuff dude, thanks!
index.html index1.html soma ash of soma else ash lyric soma soma carisoprodol and this :order soma soma restaurant order soma soma overdose and index.html index1.html cialis levitra cialis dissolving generic mouth and else cialis order awstats buy by cialis created online buy cialis online buy cialis in the uk buy cialis line cialis com or cialis compare levitra viagra cialis generic online and very creative :cialis online referrer.html stats cialis story generic cialis and index.html buy viagra cheap viagra generic viagra buy viagra online female viagra or branded viagra gel tab viagra viagra viagra cialis levitra or viagra side effects viagra pill viagra pharmacy other viagra info viagra sales look this index.html 2dir tramadol buy tramadol and cheap tramadol hcl tramadol tramadol drug tramadol picture tramadol free tramadoldrug test tramadol look this |index.html zoloft side effects mayo zoloft for premature ejaculation weaning off zoloft zoloft litigation or ocd zoloft buy zoloft zoloft zoloft and pregnancy zoloft online lexapro vs zoloft other zoloft interaction or index1.html or claritin d12 claritin d side effects medication claritin side effects and very creative :claritin for infant or zithromax z pak zithromax for strep throat zithromax dosage for chlamydia other drug more use zithromax and index.html zyrtec medication zyrtec d side effects and elsezyrtec during pregnancy and very creative :index1.html buy diflucan diflucan and infant buy imitrex imitrex overnight index2.html grapefruit juice lipitor 20mg lipitor cholesterol lipitor leg lipitor pain lipitor medication fibromyalgia neurontin neurontin node swollen neurontin suicide neurontin abuse does neurontin cause weight gain citrate sildenafil ups jelly kamagra oral sildenafil citrate sevenseas sildenafil zenegra cheap sildenafil citrate citrate online sildenafil zenegra
.Good luck!
Really great blog very informative re oklahoma casino. In a simliar vain I would definitely recommend http://www.bargainplace.co.uk for **gaming sites** or **betting sites**. Also for people who bet on football matches you can check the latest soccer fixtures, latest scores/scorers/tables from around the world at **http://www.freepremiership.com**. **http://www.freepremiership.com** also has live football/soccer streams for games on the internet and other football links.
Hello, Good site - you're a pretty good writer.....very creative.
index.html index1.html soma ash of soma and look this argento soma soma carisoprodol order soma generic soma soma side effects and very creative :prozac soma interesting: index.html index1.html cialis levitra cialis generic viagra and else cialis order awstats by cialis created online and very creative :buy cheap cialis buy cialis line cheap cialis online purchase cialis free cialis drug generic minuteviagra online viagra cialis free sample and look this cialis online rezeptfrei cialis soft generic cialis or index.html buy viagra cheap viagra generic viagra buy viagra online order viagra look this inurl trackback viagra gel tab viagra viagra viagra cialis levitra or viagra for woman cialis compare levitra viagra buying viagra free viagrahow viagra works viagra erection and else index.html 2dir tramadol buy tramadol cool info : tramadol tramadol ultram freetramadoleffects hcl side tramadol online order tramadol and this :blogspot.com buy inurl tramadol zoloft |index.html zoloft side effects mayo zoloft for premature ejaculation weaning off zoloft zoloft litigation viagra online zoloft pmdd and zoloft zoloft weight loss other zoloft dose and very creative :zoloft interaction and this :claritin reditabs or claritin d durante noche low cost claritin buy claritin and this :claritin kid and zithromax z pak zithromax antibiotic medication zithromax zpak.com or drug more use zithromax and very creative :10mg antihistamine zyrtec zyrtec medication zyrtec for child and zyrtec d canada or index.html fluconazole diflucan cheap diflucan imitrex side effects date expiration imitrex patent index.html danger lipitor lipitor rhabdomyolysis buy lipitor effects from lipitor side lipitor pravachol fibromyalgia neurontin neurontin lawsuit neurontin migraine neurontin side affect neurontin recall index.html cheap citrate sildenafil zenegra citrate meltabs sildenafil sildenafil zenegra sildenafil cheap
.Good luck!
Hello, I am in total agreement.
#file=E:\util\xr32\Projects\www42t35Href.txt
.Good luck!
all usa
viagra tramadol citalopram relpax
Telfast pharmacy
drugs Sirdalud
Regenon
Post a Comment