Thursday, July 26, 2007
The Biggest Loser
As it turns out, that cricket scandal last year was only the tip of the iceberg. This is a rare confluence – a vortex of shame, perhaps – where everything is going horribly wrong in nearly every sport. But the real question is this: Who’s in the worst shape?
The candidates:
The NFL. Michael Vick, one of the five biggest names in the sport, has been indicted for dogfighting (federal indictments apparently have a 95 percent success rate), with charges including torturing and executing dogs. His team was going to suspend him but the NFL beat them to it, leaving Vick (when not in court) in limbo.
The NBA. A former ref (Tim Donaghy) is being indicted for fixing games to pay off a gambling debt. This is particularly troubling because NBA refs can easily call close fouls either way, meaning they can have a major effect on the game. Also troubling is that no one in the NBA noticed any irregularities during Donaghy’s games—meaning he was either really good at it or the NBA dropped the ball. NBA Commish David Stern called the incident the most troubling of his tenure.
Major League Baseball. Barry Bonds, almost universally reviled, is about to break the game’s most hallowed record, held by almost universally revered Hank Aaron. Making matters worse, a BALCO chemist is saying he knows Bonds used steroids (the rest of us figured it out by watching his head inflate like a kid’s balloon). Bonds has never failed a drug test but there is almost irrefutable evidence that he’s used performance enhancing drugs. Not helping matters: Bonds is complete and total jerk.
Professional Cycling. First, the 2006 Tour de France winner (Floyd Landis) fails a drug test. Then his agent tries to blackmail another former Tour de France winner (Greg LeMond). Then the early favorite in the 2007 race (Vinokourov) fails a drug test and his team drops out. Then two other dudes fail drug tests. Then the race leader, virtually assured of victory, is dropped by his team for lying about his whereabouts to the drug testers. Oh, and drug rumors continue to circulate around Lance Armstrong.
So take your pick. Who’s the big loser?
The candidates:
The NFL. Michael Vick, one of the five biggest names in the sport, has been indicted for dogfighting (federal indictments apparently have a 95 percent success rate), with charges including torturing and executing dogs. His team was going to suspend him but the NFL beat them to it, leaving Vick (when not in court) in limbo.
The NBA. A former ref (Tim Donaghy) is being indicted for fixing games to pay off a gambling debt. This is particularly troubling because NBA refs can easily call close fouls either way, meaning they can have a major effect on the game. Also troubling is that no one in the NBA noticed any irregularities during Donaghy’s games—meaning he was either really good at it or the NBA dropped the ball. NBA Commish David Stern called the incident the most troubling of his tenure.
Major League Baseball. Barry Bonds, almost universally reviled, is about to break the game’s most hallowed record, held by almost universally revered Hank Aaron. Making matters worse, a BALCO chemist is saying he knows Bonds used steroids (the rest of us figured it out by watching his head inflate like a kid’s balloon). Bonds has never failed a drug test but there is almost irrefutable evidence that he’s used performance enhancing drugs. Not helping matters: Bonds is complete and total jerk.
Professional Cycling. First, the 2006 Tour de France winner (Floyd Landis) fails a drug test. Then his agent tries to blackmail another former Tour de France winner (Greg LeMond). Then the early favorite in the 2007 race (Vinokourov) fails a drug test and his team drops out. Then two other dudes fail drug tests. Then the race leader, virtually assured of victory, is dropped by his team for lying about his whereabouts to the drug testers. Oh, and drug rumors continue to circulate around Lance Armstrong.
So take your pick. Who’s the big loser?
# posted by EJ @ 3:48 PM 
Comments:
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I think we (the fans) are the biggest losers. It's possible that over 50% of baseball players have used steroids, and here I am, watching the Rockies and Dodgers at 11:30 on a Thursday night on my MLB Baseball Extra Innings package that I paid $200 for. Why are we such morons to forgive these idiots and allow them to still make $25 million a year?
Damn. I was actually gonna make a post that was along the same lines...
And just think -- while those are truly scandals, here are some of the other happy and uplifting stories of the day:
Skip Prosser dies
The Army covered up Pat Tillman's death
Pacman Jones can't attend Titans camp on account of being Pacman Jones.
Gary Sheffield keeps opening his mouth
USA Basketball lost to Panama to lose a shot at a Pan Am Games medal
50 people were killed celebrating an Iraqi soccer victory
Odell Thurman won't be allowed to play this season, on account of being Odell Thurman
There are steroids in golf now
Andy Reid's son is a drug-riddled maniac
The British Open playoff consisted of two guys who combined to go +3 on the 72nd hole
The Yankees are surging
I mean, this must be the all time worst news weeks/month in the history of sports.
And just think -- while those are truly scandals, here are some of the other happy and uplifting stories of the day:
Skip Prosser dies
The Army covered up Pat Tillman's death
Pacman Jones can't attend Titans camp on account of being Pacman Jones.
Gary Sheffield keeps opening his mouth
USA Basketball lost to Panama to lose a shot at a Pan Am Games medal
50 people were killed celebrating an Iraqi soccer victory
Odell Thurman won't be allowed to play this season, on account of being Odell Thurman
There are steroids in golf now
Andy Reid's son is a drug-riddled maniac
The British Open playoff consisted of two guys who combined to go +3 on the 72nd hole
The Yankees are surging
I mean, this must be the all time worst news weeks/month in the history of sports.
First of all, which one of Reid's kids? Aren't they both in trouble?
As to my original question, after much thought I'm going to go with the NFL.
In all honesty, the sport most crippled is cycling because there is no reason to believe any of these guys are clean and the sport just isn't big enough to survive a scandal like this.
But not many in the U.S. really care about cycling, so it's off the list. In SI, Jack MacCallum wrote that he thought the NBA's scandal was the worst -- his argument is that an official cheating goes to the core of the sport, of the winning and losing in the sport, and he's right in that. But I'd argue that no one knows who Donaghy is and he'll quickly be forgotten.
This is not the case with Bonds or Vick. The difference? What Bonds did hurts himself and, really, baseball records are a little wacky anyway (see my earlier post on stadium sizes). There was no outrage when Shawne Merriman tested positive; no one is condemming him (well, other than Jason Taylor). There is some hypocrisy in the Bonds' hatred (and again, he hasn't helped himself by being an asshole). The flaw here is that Bonds breaking the record looks bad for baseball because it draws the focus to everything that's bad with the sport.
Vick's indictment does the same -- plus dozens of dogs were killed for no good reason and his indictment perpetuates the belief that the NFL is overrun by thugs (see Bengals, Cincinnati). Bonds' home run record will come and go and I'll never choose to take it seriously. Vick's trial will drag out and cast a pall over the entire football season.
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As to my original question, after much thought I'm going to go with the NFL.
In all honesty, the sport most crippled is cycling because there is no reason to believe any of these guys are clean and the sport just isn't big enough to survive a scandal like this.
But not many in the U.S. really care about cycling, so it's off the list. In SI, Jack MacCallum wrote that he thought the NBA's scandal was the worst -- his argument is that an official cheating goes to the core of the sport, of the winning and losing in the sport, and he's right in that. But I'd argue that no one knows who Donaghy is and he'll quickly be forgotten.
This is not the case with Bonds or Vick. The difference? What Bonds did hurts himself and, really, baseball records are a little wacky anyway (see my earlier post on stadium sizes). There was no outrage when Shawne Merriman tested positive; no one is condemming him (well, other than Jason Taylor). There is some hypocrisy in the Bonds' hatred (and again, he hasn't helped himself by being an asshole). The flaw here is that Bonds breaking the record looks bad for baseball because it draws the focus to everything that's bad with the sport.
Vick's indictment does the same -- plus dozens of dogs were killed for no good reason and his indictment perpetuates the belief that the NFL is overrun by thugs (see Bengals, Cincinnati). Bonds' home run record will come and go and I'll never choose to take it seriously. Vick's trial will drag out and cast a pall over the entire football season.
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