Raise your hands if you now think steroid use was not rampant for the last 15-20 years? REALLY? You can still be surprised when someone else comes out and says they used performance enhancing drugs? Well, good for you. You keep living in that world.
At this point, isn’t it just better to assume everyone was doing it and move on? I mean, I understand why a reporter would watch Alex Rodriguez tell Katie Couric that he never used them, then find out differently and want to call him out. But it’s the fan reaction that baffles me. “Ah thank that they shoood ban ‘im frum the game er even thow him in JAY-UL”. Same guy who probably won money from having A-Rod on his fantasy team or maybe lost money on him because he stunk it up in the playoffs. Fact – the current baseball era is already ‘tainted’, so this ridiculous argument about records and who’s in the hall of fame is pointless. Nothing is as pure as it used to be and nothing is as bad as it used to be. Hank Aaron was the best player of his era, but many didn’t want him around. Ty Cobb was the biggest prick in baseball, but he’s still revered by many. And the expression, “Manny being Manny” is how his bizarre behavior is explained as if it’s ok.
Everyone, at some point, has probably taken something to better there performance in the pros. Get used to it. Don’t be surprised when your favorite guy admits to it.
I will say this in defense of A-Rod. If I’m him, I’m suing the Players Association. How is that out of 104 names (people who tested positive in 2003), his is the only one that gets out? I would want Bud Selig’s head on my mantle. As far as Manny, well……….he’s just being Manny.
Now on to some FOOTBALL!!
I have to take some of the blame for Georgia’s uh, “dismal” season last year. No, I don’t really think it was dismal. But the losses were just BAD. Alabama took us behind the woodshed and beat us like an Iraqi suspect. Florida was laying like a stalker in wait, planning their entire year around getting revenge for the “celebration”. Don’t believe me? They were looking ahead and lost to Ole Miss at home – before Ole Miss got really good. And the Georgia Tech loss, jeez, it still hurts to think about. I felt like I did the time I drove down to Orlando to visit my girlfriend, only to have her break up with me on day two of a four day trip. I knew Paul Johnson would turn things around in Atlanta, but I feel like we helped him along on that particular day.
Where was I? Oh, yeah, I’m partially to blame. Apparently, there is a law that all Georgia fans must blog endlessly about the season, starting from National Signing Day (which is a state holiday in Alabama) until pro announcements are made after the bowl game (which is a month before National Signing Day). So because I didn’t complain about Defensive Coordinator Willie Martinez, or Reshad Jones bad tackling, or Bryan Evans getting constantly burned in the secondary, I allowed things to get worse. This year, I promise to bitch, moan and gripe about every thing that’s going wrong, completely ignoring the fact that these are the golden days of Georgia football.
I will say this – there is some validity to the optimism that many have about this year’s team. Gone are first round draft picks Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. Gone are unit anchors Asher Allen and Mohamed Massaquoi. Also gone is the dependency that many of the Bulldogs had on those superstars. Everyone now realizes that he will have to step up in order to make this season a success. Ask yourself this – if you’re the number three player on a four man captain’s choice team in a golf tournament – and your team includes Tiger Woods, aren’t you relying on someone else most of the time?
