Steroids - it's a three ring circus

Never mind the idiot fans that are actually coming to Alex Rodriguez's defense in the Winstrol-Stanozolol Circus - and there are some (all you need do is look at the comments at the end of the article here) - we are now seeing three distinct groups forming in Baseball's biggest side-show.

The Steroid Users and their Apologists - taking center ring, step right up to see records broken and excuses made. Watch false apologies (so so sorry [I got caught]. Won't do it again), crocodile tears, and the support and justification of teammates cornered into shows of such. Witness team brain trusts cringe as they realize they're awarded monstrous contracts under false pretenses, and scramble in conjunction with agents in spin control.

The second ring - Players filled with righteous and, sometimes, justified indignation when going about the game without taking short-cuts. Players not hiding behind the union; players calling for stricter testing and penalties, players that aren't making excuses, calling it "the culture," or justifying use. Yes, there are some players in this group that seem to move to the center ring, but that's all part of the show now, isn't it?

The Fourth Estate is the Third Ring - The reporters reporting the news have become the news. Selena Roberts, the reporter from Sports Illustrated who broke the news has become part of the current news cycle for both breaking the story, and because of Alex Rodriguez's attack on her during his interview with Peter Gammons. During the Gammons interview in which A-Rod copped to his steroid use, the superstar with the quarter-billion dollar talent and the ten-cent head accused Roberts of stalking him and of having multiple run-ins with the police.

Unfortunately for A-Rod, there's not a shred of evidence to support his claims. So much so, that Rodriguez has already privately contacted Roberts and apologized.

My own personal opinion of A-Rod's apology - were I the reporter, it wouldn't be enough. I would want a public retraction and apology. Until that happened, I would have lawyers begin proceedings against Rodriguez, and wouldn't back off until that public apology happened.

Why Bob Costas is Da Man...

From a report on today's AP wire -

A day after Barry Bonds called him a "little midget man who knows (nothing)
about baseball," broadcaster Bob Costas said he wasn't upset with the San
Francisco Giants slugger and responded with a jab of his own.

"As anyone can plainly see, I'm 5-6 1/2 and a strapping 150, and unlike
some people, I came by all of it naturally," Costas said Thursday in a telephone
interview.

I know that there are many out there who do not like Costas, but I have to admit to being one of his fans. As long as I can remember watching him, the man has been a good interviewer, demonstrated a quick wit, doesn't mince words or suck up, and seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the sports he covers.

Arguably, I would put him amongst the top five best prepared sportscasters/commentators I have ever watched. Amongst them I would include Peter Gammons, Mike Lupica, Will McDonough, and Frank DeFord. If I really thought about it, there are others that would make the list (rounding it out to a top ten), but those are the ones that pop into my head first - all of which often rubbed their reading or viewing public the wrong way at times, but they always knew/know their facts and their history.

Possibly the best thing about Costas is that he gets the joke.

He understands that as a personality - which is what he is at this point - that you can't take yourself too seriously. With appearances on Saturday Night Live, and the television shows New Radio, Arli$$, The Larry Sanders Show, and The Critic, not to mention parts in movies such as Baseketball, Pootie Tang, and Pixar's Cars, he has time and again reminded us that he is not the guy who is going to take anything too seriously. He gets that he's not solving the world's woes. He's just a sportscaster...and he gets the joke.