SHAME on you...

This is a great time of year for baseball fans such as myself.  Teams are reporting for spring training, which means Opening Day will be here before we know it.  It's like training camp for NFL fans and midnight madness for college basketball fans.  It's the anticipation of great and exciting things to come.  Well, today's news put a huge damper on that mood.  Last fall, only a few days after announcing Ryan Braun won the National League MVP award, it was announced that he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (PED's).  This vioation carries a 50 game suspension, since it was his first offense.  Many fans, myself included, felt that MLB should have stripped Braun of the MVP award, and they dropped the ball.  Braun also announced that he would not give up the award, which would be the respectful thing to do if you cheated to win that award.  He also said that he was going to appeal the results of the test.  Well, as bad as MLB botched that, they made it FAR worse today.  MLB announced today that they sided with Braun.  Now, to clarify, Braun's appeal was not based on the results of the test, but with the handling of the "sample".  He did not despute the results of the test, he said that his sample was mishandled.  So he got off on a technicality.  As an avid baseball fan, it pains me to say this, but MLB should be ashamed of themself.  What message are we sending here??  How often are people upset that someone gets away with murder because a detective didn't handle the evidence properly, even though that evidence proves their guilt??  The trial of Jim Williams, was one of the first murder trials that actually tried the evidence, not the defendant.  He was aquitted on a technicality.  The movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is an excellent movie and tells this story more in depth.  But perhaps the most famous trial of evidence was the aquittal of OJ Simpson.  Whether it's murder, or PED's, bottom line is, it's cheating.  So, basically we are telling our young kids it's ok to cheat, just make sure there's a way to get around it.  I am so disgusted with this decision.  Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were condemned by fans and abandoned my MLB and they didn't even have physical proof, i.e. a UA test.  They have physical proof of Braun's cheating and he's not even getting a slap on the wrist.  He gets to keep his MVP award, not serve his 50 game ban, and gets to go on playing ball as if nothing happened.  There is no question there is a difference in the game since they "suposedly" cracked down on PED's.  The most obivous stat, the homerun, has been down.  I'm not sure of the exact stat, I'd have to look it up, but I don't think anyone even hit 50 HR's last year.  Even if it's not right, there hasn't been anyone even close to challenging the HR record.  There's no arguing that the stats have been down the last few years, and I'm sure MLB doesn't like that.  They are probably afraid they will loose fans if that doesn't change.  What MLB should be more concerned with is what will result from this decision.  Several years ago when the PED subject came to light, MLB had no choice but to do something and start enforcing it.  Well, much like Mr. Braun, they have found a way to get around the system.  It appears to me, they want to see baseball return to what it was several years ago, and this decision just opened that door.  They have found a way to allow players to "juice up" and still maintain they are fighting the problem.  Just pick on a few players that no one likes from time to time, i.e. Manny Ramirez, and it looks like they are holding up their end of the bargain.  I am a huge baseball fan and my feelings are that PED's are ruining the game.  My grandfather was one of the best pitchers southwest Kansas has ever known, and he never used any kind of drug to assist him.  He used good old fashioned hard work and effort, plain and simple.  People today have become lazy.  They want to be the best, with as little effort as possible.  They don't want to put in the effort and hard work past players, who made the game what it is today, did.  Then how do they respect the hard work of those players?  By cheating to demolish their records.  Today's decision says the MLB is ok with that.  I don't think I've said enough how upset I am by this decision!  It is wrong on so many different levels.  Then there's the ever famous, special treatment of athletes.  What would happen if my employer made me take a drug test tomorrow and it somehow tested positive, even though I've never had an illegal drug in my life?  I'd be fired and probably never able to get a descent job again in my life, as it would always be with me.  How much luck would I have if I tried to protest the results of that test?  Absolutely none.
I love baseball and always will.  I hope other baseball fans share the same disgust that I do over this decision.  I don't want to see people boycott the game or anything drastic like that, but I really hope the fans express their discontent to MLB in some way.  While this decision is embarrassing to the sport of baseball, we should be much more concerned with the message we are sending our young athletes.  Go ahead and cheat, just don't get caught.  And if you get caught, figure out a way around it.  I'm sorry, but that is just wrong.

Big happenings in Indiana

The state of Indiana is buzzing right now.  If you're a sports fan, it's the place to be.  This weekend in particular.  The obivous attraction right now is Super Bowl XLVI.  Downtown Indianapolis has been a buzz with the Super Bowl Village, and NFL Experience leading up to Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium.  We went to dowtown Indianapolis Tuesday to check it out.  It was definately the experience of a lifetime.  I got within 5 feet of several ESPN personalities.  Indianapolis went all out for this.  They closed of several streets downtown for the Super Bowl Village.  They put down artificial turf over one street.  They have a zip line set up next to the convention center that goes over the street of turf.  The convention center is the host to the NFL Experience, and the NFL shop.  ESPN took over the Pan Am plaza, and the Lids Locker Room inside the Pan Am building.  I have heard nothing but good things about how great the city of Indianapolis has done.  I talked to someone today who has been to 3 super bowls, and never had near as much fun as he had the last two nights in downtown Indy, and was headed down there again tonight.  Nothing is guarranteed, but if all the reviews are a sign, it's very possible the big game could be back.  But, local people are not surprised at all by this.  They have hosted multiple Final Fours, the Big 10 tournament, as well as the Big 10 championship game in football.  Indy knows how to put on a party.  Then you have the Indiana Pacers, who are playing much better basketball this season, riding a 4 game win streak into tonight, hosting the Orlando Magic.  But for most of the population of Indiana, there was something much bigger going on today.  The in-state rivalry between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Indiana Hoosiers tipped off at 7 pm tonight.  The Super Bowl may be tomorrow, but tonight belonged to college basketball.  I have been a Purdue fan since I was a little kid.  Their coach, Gene Keady was from Larned Kansas, a few towns over from where I grew up.  I always thought it was pretty awesome that someone from a small town in western Kansas could be a successful head coach like that.  I also had a tremendous amount of respect for Bob Knight and the success that he had.  I always liked Purdue more, but didn't really dislike IU.  I moved to Indiana a little over a year ago.  I have been able to follow Purdue a lot more since moving here.  This year I have been able to go to Mackey Arena and watch a few games.  Needless to say, I'm hooked.  I will always be a KSU Wildcat fan, but Purdue is a close second.  But my attitude towards the Indiana Hoosiers has changed drastically.  The main reason for this is their fans and the IU bias.  Tonights game illustrates why I dislike IU as much, if not more than I do the Kansas Jayhawks.  Those of you who know me, know how much I dislike the Jayhawks.  Their fans are very arrogant and self absorbed.  They had two big wins, at home, and all the IU fans winning it all.  They have only won 2 games on the road in the Big 10.  Assembly Hall is one of the most "home town biased" arenas in the country.  Even on the road, they get more calls than most of the home teams.  The officials did not determine the outcome of the game tonight, but they certainly gave the edge to the Hoosiers.  When comments are made about the officiating IU fans are quick to criticize the comments, yet when they loose, they are just as quick to criticize the officials.  I guess when you get all the calls, you expect nothing less.  I was unable to get tickets to attend the game, so I had to watch it on Big Ten Network.  TV analysts are supposed to be unbiased.  Yet, watching this game was just like watching Dick Vitale call a Kansas Jayhawk game.  They were slobbering all over the Hoosiers all night.  Then there is the media bias.  Purdue is not a spectacular team.  They are an average team.  They are in the middle of the Big 1o, where they belong.  They are inconsistant.  I have no issue with admitting that.  But, Purdue and Indiana have similar records and Purdue is actually ahead of Indiana in the Big 10 standings.  Yet, Indiana is ranked #22 in the country.  I don't believe Purdue should be ranked, but Indiana does not deserve to be either.  IU fans insist that they are the best team in the Big 10.  They WAY over-hype the Hoosiers.  As I said earlier, after one win over Kentucky, there automatically put them in the NCAA tournament and talked like they were the best team in the country.  Indiana is way over rated, yet according to their fans, they are under rated.  They are no worse, or no better than Purdue.  Indiana may have won tonight, but that does not mean they are the better team.  There is no doubt they have more talent.  They have more talent and more potential, yet they are still behind Purdue in the standings.  They can not win outside the home town bias of Assembly Hall.  I would say that they are under achieving this year.  With the weapons they have, they SHOULD be one of the top teams in the Big 10, yet they are 6th in the standings, tied with Purdue.  So, IU fans will continue to run their mouths, and my dislike for them will continue to grow.  Every team has good years and bad years.  Every team has ups and downs.  You can't win them all.  IU may have won tonight, and may win when they meet again in March, but the future is very bright for Purdue.  Next years recruiting class is supposed to be better then the class that included Moore, Johnson, and Hummell.  So, enjoy it while it last IU fans, because it won't last long.  Boiler Up!!