The Juiced Edition of Barstool Friday

With the Mitchell Report finally issued yesterday, I write this morning with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the Red Sox emerge relatively unscathed (though the early reports rumoring that Captain 'Tek would appear on the list were disconcerting). On the other, we have the state of baseball as a whole. While I think that ultimately there were no real surprises, either in the names that were named or in the blame cast on MLB for letting it get so out of control, how this impacts the game at large remains to be seen. No longer can feigned blissful ignorance let the sun always shine on a field of dreams. No, a dark cloud has passed in front of the sun and darkened the skies of the baseball landscape over the last 20 years. One would have been naive to not have foreseen what the report revealed, bt it is only now that we must come to grips with what it really means.

Baseball stands at a cross-roads, only it has already sold its soul to the Devil, leaving it without many bargaining chips. Here's the thing. There will be many lines in the sand drawn here, so-and-so isn't as bad as whatshisname, because so-and-so took steriods before they were banned by baseball, but whatshisname took them after. JohnDoe isn't as bad as Whosimawhat, because JohnDoe took HGH to recover from an injury when Whosimawhat took it to pitch better on short rest. Arguing these points is futile at best and flat out denial at worst. The fact of the matter is that for the better part of two decades some baseball players have be using substances to give themselves some sort of competitive edge or to speed recovery. And for the better part of those two decades, Major League Baseball turned a blind eye to it and allowed it to go on. It is far reaching. From the clubhouse gopher to the Commissioner of Baseball, from bat boy to GM, from September call-up to staff ace...they all knew. You cannot seperate one from another, it was all wrong.

You also cannot allow your individual feelings on the substances themselves cloud your perspective on this situation. I have heard compelling arguments for why HGH should be allowed if prescribed by a doctor to aid in recovery from injury, as long as the player isn't active at the time. Hell, I can get HGH prescribed for this reason. I have heard compelling arguments that a person should be allowed to take steroids if they want, as long as they are made fully aware of the short- and long-term effects of its use. Personally, the first argument holds water for me, the second doesn't, and I'll say in all honesty that I both recognize the potential hypocrisy of that statement as well as its legitimacy. But again, my opinions on this matter are irrelevant in the sense that we cannot dwell on the past here, but rather must focus on the future.

I beleive that, as former Senator Mitchell called for, we must let the cloud of this revelation sit over the past but we do not need to take massive, sweeping disciplinary action against those whose names appear within the pages of the report. Why? Simple. This is not a comprehensive list, a culture of secrecy pervades sports in general and this is no exception. Conservative reports suggest that 5% of MLB players are or have used "performance-enhancing drugs", reality suggests this number could be as high as 25%, or even more. Making 70 or 80 players the scapegoats is ineffective, and frankly, Selig would be a hypocrite to discipline them and not himself. MLB cannot take it out on these players, particularly since some of the evidence is hearsay at best, without looking into the mirror. Again, this problem was pervasive, and reaches every level of the game. The players rightly deserve a measure of blame, but to blame them alone is to fail to take the entirity of the report under consideration.

It is time for baseball to move forward. We need a clear and comprehensive policy on what is and isn't a "performance-enhancing" substance, when and if the use of a particular substance is permitted, a clear and comlete, universal testing policy, and a firm and unwavering set of disciplinary actions. Only when such a program is implemented and adhered to will baseball be able to fully move on from the Steroids Era.

I have long said that I think it is unfair for athletes to be expected to be role-models, but I don't think it is unreasonable to ask them to uphold the principles of good sportsmanship. When it comes right down to it, baseball is a game, and games retain their purity through clearly prescribed rules. It is an athlete's only charge to uphold these rules to the best of their ability, and the governing body's resposibility to call them on it if they don't. The players and the League have failed miserably in this responsibility in this era, and the time is now to change. I hope that this will be the beginning of a new era in Major League Baseball, an era of honesty, honor, and sportsmanship. I only wish I could fully believe that this will come to pass.













The Boston Celtics will win their 12th home game of the season, tying the team record for home wins to start a season, tonight against the Bucks. We get out first glimpse of Chairman Yi, he gets his first glimpse of the Big Ticket shutting him down. And of course, the Big Game comes Sunday, where despite the weather, the New England Patriots will crush the Jets by 3 touchdowns, minimum.

Have a great weekend, folks. Have a few pints if you like, but with this weather, I'm thinking Scotch. A nice single malt, maybe a Macallan or Balvenie. Enjoy.




.

It's Been A Long Time Comin'

Yes Croz, it has been a long time comin', but there'll be no long time before the dawn. No, dawn came at about 11PM last night as the UMass Minutemen defeated the hated Boston College Eagles, 83-80. I've never been shy about my dis-taste for our cross-state rivals, and as such the 21st century has not been kind to me when it comes to the Commonwealth Classic. Last night, Gary Forbes, Ricky Harris, Chris Lowe and company vanquished this dread foe, and for the second time this season, made a statement that this will be a team to be reckoned with.

In beating Syracuse and Boston College, UMass will head into a stretch of non-conference games against teams looking to topple a giant as opposed to the other way around. The Minutemen will no longer be able to sneak up on anyone. After tilts with Toledo and Central Connecticut, the maroon and white will face BU, Houston and Vandy before the A-10 regular season commences in January. Of those games, only Vanderbilt is a road game. That mean 4 straight in The House That Calipari built for a team that is feelin' it right now. Can the boys go into the A-10 slate at 11-3 or, dare I say it, 12-2? That remains to be seen, but given the defensive effort shown in the wins over Marist and BC, it isn't hard to imagine. While UMass started the season as an offensive juggernaut that simply ran other teams off the floor, they have shown over the past couple of games that they can lock it down if they need to.

We heard that this was a "re-building" season. We heard that it would take time to implement Travis Ford's new, up-tempo style of play. We heard this crop of Minutemen would struggle to compete with the loss of Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme to France and the NBA respectively. We heard it, but apparently nobody bothered to mention that to the team.

For Love Of The Game

Professional sports (and to some degree, high level collegiate athletics, too) have a lot of things going for them. Talented athletes, dramatic rivalries, championship runs, victory parades. There is the ever-present possibility that you could witness a moment so sublime that it will be replayed in minds and on film for generations. For those of us who get especially geek-y over these things, there is also the business of the game, the player movements that provide hope for the future and fodder for talk radio. Sports can consume your day in this age of instant access, and few enjoy that reality more than myself. But, there is something that is undoubtably absent from sports at the highest level- innocence.

I started coaching my daughter's basketball team this year, and while a bunch of 8 and 9 year old boys and girls may lack the finesse and honed skills of the athletes we watch on TV, they do exhibit a kind of unbridled joy and innocence about the game. It isn't about contract extensions, bling-bling, endorsements or even championship rings. It is sports in its truest form. These kids are out there for no grander reason than to have fun running up and down an 84' x 50' stretch of hardwood with their friends and a bouncy ball. Sure, we try to teach the finer points of defense and boxing out, of passing to the open teammate and squaring the shoulders to shoot, and that's fine. But to the kids, that's the "boring" part. Once you hand them the ball, it is all about the free-form romp on the court, a controlled frenzy that in some way resembles that game they see on TV but is entirely within their control. You try to hand them the tools that they need to play within the rules, but ultimately they are free to take the game as it comes to them. They may be playing a 2-1-2 zone, and they may even be playing it well, but they don't care. It is just a game.

It is probably hard for non-parents to fully understand this, unless their memory is better than mine and they can recall the joyous moment when your shot sails- or more likely bounces, rolls and clangs- through that net, but I can see it in the face of every kid out there. And I can see it when they pass the ball to no one and it rolls out of bounds, eliciting laughter from kids and coaches alike. The coach will certainly point out that this is probably not the most effective offensive strategy, but oh well, we'll get it next time. I can't tell you how many times I've shouted "hands up on D!" and seen a more enthusiastic response than in any NBA game. OK, it will only be a few seconds before I have to shout it again, but I'll get that same enthusiasm when I do. And you can't hope to understand the look of terror on a kid's face when they realize they've picked up their dribble and there is no one to pass to, followed by the relief, as though the weight of the world had been lifted from their shoulders, when someone finally breaks free and they can get rid of that ball! Nope, you won't get it unless you see it for yourself. Watch a 4' tall kid execute a behind-the-back cross-over with a ball half the kid's size, and you can't help but laugh. It was a nice move, to be sure, but it looks funny. And the kids have no idea what the coaches are laughing about.

I have long been a fierce competitor, I loathe losing. I can't stop myself from diving for a loose ball even though I'm playing pick-up with a bunch of out of shape 30-plus guys, supposedly for "fun". It isn't in my nature to do it any other way. The kids though, it is different. They do want to win, they understand it, but it isn't all about that. It is sports in its purest form. The kids are out there for one reason, and only one reason...they play For The Love Of The Game.










The C's and Pats continue to roll, UMass soccer plays in the NCAA Final Four on Friday, UMass hoops takes on BC tonight at 9 and UMass hockey is among the best in the nation. Life is good. Stay tuned for a full breakdown on the grown-up's games for Barstool Friday.