Say It Ain't So, A-Rod

I appreciate ESPN's bottom-line feature in principle. I don't enjoy, however, receiving big-time news through it (& I hate when I see the final score to a game while I'm watching the highlights of that very game, but I digress).

I've caught wind of several monumental announcements by way of the bottom line. I remember finding out about the deaths of Alabama/Kansas City Chiefs great Derrick Thomas and Redskins safety Sean Taylor. I found out that Dennis Franchione was bolting from Alabama to Texas A&M through the bottom line. I often keep up (not with excitement, though) with the latest Terrell Owens "he said/he said" soap opera that scrolls by. Today, I read about one more death.

Baseball is dead.

It's only hope was actually on dope. Sports Illustrated is reporting that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two different kinds of anabolic steroids in 2003. He was the one guy with the ability, numbers, personality, and exposure to restore an air of integrity upon a previous era of infamy.

I don't foresee people getting as upset about A-Rod's doping as they did about Bonds and Clemens. Inconsistency is the one thing that has characterized the entire debate during the steroid era. I don't see that stopping now. The 'fair' thing to do is to toss A-Rod under the bus and out of the Hall the same way everyone's done Bond, Clemens, and McGwire (especially considering there's already more 'proof' of A-Rod's usage than any of the other three--a positive test). That doesn't matter anymore, though. A lot of people were cheating in baseball. Too many to know or to count. Since we can't accurately know who was doping or not, I'm afraid the baby will end up getting thrown out with the dirty water.

We should hope for some young studs to rise up and take over the game in the name of fairness, integrity, and honesty. For now, the future looks bleak.