No Point, No Purpose

When"The List" came out, I was told by someone involved in the baseball investigation of steroids and performance enhancing drugs, the intent was to make Barry Bonds the face and most highly scrutinized player of the MLB steroid era. Seemingly enough, with the help of the BALCO raid, the evidence against Bonds was mounting a pile of crap higher than the words that came from Mel Gibson's mouth. The federal prosecutors had the upper hand. What they did not count on was that Greg Anderson, Bond's personal trainer would be so tight-lipped throughout the entire investigation. It is apparent he will never testify and thus far has proved it by serving more than a year in jail. Recently, all six of the charges that involved Anderson were thrown out. Of course the federal prosecutors will attempt to bring Anderson back for his testimony, clearly a pointless effort on their part.

At this point the prosecutors are scrambling and hoping a positive drug test from 2003, testimony from a former girlfriend and personal manager, will be enough to prove Bonds lied when he was in front of a grand-jury in 2003. In my opinion, without the testimony of Anderson and already numerous unfavorable rulings by the judge, the case seems weak and the citizens tax dollars are once again wasted on a wild goose chase. Another case where resources are being wasted is the case against Roger Clemens. Clemens is being indicted on charges of perjury, making false statements, and obstruction of Congress. Clemens former trainer Brian McNamee testified he injected Clemens with steroids and growth hormones. McNamee  also stated he stored syringes used to inject Clemens. My question is, why has so much effort been put into the Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens case ? So what if they lied !  Players, fans, and media have already resigned themselves to the fact the steroid era existed in Major League Baseball. Just about half or more than half of baseball players at that time used some form of performance enhancing drug. Commissioner Bud Selig has all but washed his hands of the entire steroid era and has moved forward.

In this country we have murders, Ponzi scheme professionals, and crooked corporations that should be at the forefront of investigations by federal prosecutors, yet they are adamant about proving Bonds and Clemens's guilt. CEO's lie in front of congress everyday, even congress-persons lie in front of congress daily. It can't be that Bonds and Clemens arrogance, brash, and strong personalities are the reason for this witch hunt. My conclusion is this.. From what I understand from friends and associates who are attorneys, the only way you move up is by number of cases and how high the profile of the case is. What better way to notch a mark on the headboard than convicting Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens. I have researched many articles and stories involving these two cases, and the only legitimate reason stated, besides "lying under oath" were the prosecutors in the Bonds case have "a righteous feeling that their charges are valid." The definition of righteous "is acting in accord with divine or moral law." It also means "free from guilt or sin." Personally, I find it hard to believe  these cases are only being tried from a morally lawful position. Is lying under oath morally wrong ? Yes. Is stealing money from hard-working Americans , watching dollar bills float through the sky in the form of fumes from the private jets flown by CEO's and executives like GM and Madoff morally wrong ? Yes. Watching companies like Citigroup give its executives pay raises totaling millions in cash and stock during a huge recession ? Yes. Meanwhile ,Congress is worried about two professional baseball players accused of "lying" about supplements.

Congress should not be involved in professional sports, period. There is no reason why congress should be called to regulate a steroid scandal, collective bargaining agreement, salaries, or anything sports related. Try getting back the 50 billion dollars Madoff stole from citizens of this country both old and young. I love this country, however at times I am embarrassed by the backwards thinking our so-called "higher up" or "intellects" use. At the conclusion of these trials whether found guilty or not guilty, Major League Baseball will continue to move forward. Nothing about the game will change, neither past or present.

Why Not ?

I'm sure many of you that listen to 1560 the game in Houston, heard my rant of how insulting and fabricated the Rooney Rule is. Although considered an honor, if I were Mr. Rooney I would think about having my name removed simply because the rule is used as more of a loop-hole than its actual meaning. With that being said, I'd like to congratulate Alonzo HighSmith on being named NFL Scout of The Year. Alonzo has an ample amount of experience, being that he's scouted for the Green Bay Packers a number of years and also had a 6 year NFL career as well. So why aren't there more AfricanAmerican GM's in the NFL ? Obviously we are very capable to handle not only the business side, of the game, but the  talent evaluation as well, See Ozzie Newsome, Jerry Reese, and Mickey Loomis, Rick Smith doesn't count, yet. Even though that shows improvement, I am still confused at why more African- American players  are not considered for higher positions.

I'm somewhat of a conspiracy theorist, so my opinion may not be in line with others. However, there is always an element of truth to conspiracies. Is it possible that an element of, not  racism, but prejudice to former African-American players exists when the General Manager position is concerned. There are many assistant coaches, a small number of head coaches, and plenty of scouts that are black. Based on the accomplishments of these men, it's not too far-fetched to say that if put in the GM position or a higher position of authority, they would not flourish. I am starting to think the gentlemen in upper management, are in some aspect defiant of the possible success that could occur. I was told this by a scout who is black, "it will be a long time before we see more black GM's or black VP's, etc because we played the game, know the game, know what it takes win, judge players by their play and not merely numbers, so our credibility is much higher than others. These people keep African-Americans in certain positions and will not allow us to move up because they know the owners and others will listen and their jobs are threatened." This is coming from someone on the inside ! So it's very believable and somewhat validated by how long the process has taken.

In my opinion, this area needs to be addressed along with the head coaching issue. I am not saying give the positions away, however make the opportunities more available. The NFL is a business, and in business companies want the best, most experienced employees in positions so the company will flourish. Why should the NFL treat it any different ? This again speaks volumes of the hypocrisy of the NFL and it's owners. If the owners, as they claim, want to win and build successful organizations, then every avenue needs to be explored and not over looked to find the right person for the job. Regardless of color or background, every person needs to be considered especially if experienced in that particular area.

NFL Fails again on Post Career Care

NFL officials and representatives for the NFL Players Association are far apart on the agreement of a new CBA. It is hypocritical to say in one breath, they want a new deal done, but in another breath along with  no action, not aggressively negotiate. On top of an already controversial topic, add to that the article written by John Barr about the misuse of painkillers by NFL players. According to the article, Barr states that retired NFL players misuse pain medications at more than four times that of the general population. I personally would have thought the number would be higher, however I am in agreement with Barr. In relation to the CBA and the possible 18 game schedule the owners are pushing for, I think this is another issue that is going to affect NFL CBA.

If the number is more than four times the general population now, imagine adding two more games on top of that. I am fully aware the general population compared to the NFL is difficult. Dr. Lawrence Brown quotes "It is scientifically flawed to compare the general population with athletes, active or retired. NFL players understandably would be more susceptible to the misuse of painkillers simply due to their increased exposure to the drugs during their playing days.If you don't have the exposure, you're less likely to misuse." While I agree with Dr. Brown to an extent, I think him using that as his reason for why the NFL has failed to take care of retired players is ridiculous. The exposure of drugs of all kinds, to the general population may be the same or even greater than that of a player in the NFL.  I also think that Dr. Brown may be  upset that the first scientific study of painkiller use and misuse by former NFL players was done by Dr. Linda Cottler and researchers at Washington University in St. Louis of Medicine and not the NFL.  Way to go NFL substance abuse program ! Staying ahead of the curve I see.

Dr. Cottler and her research team also  found that there were very few men who only took painkillers once or twice. Most used on a regular basis.  As to possible solutions, screenings and other methods have been suggested as well.  According to Dr. Brown,"The NFL has the most intrusive drug testing of any sport." I am gonna go on record and say that's not entirely accurate. Here's why. While the NFL program tests for PED's, alcohol, etc, street drugs and pain killers normally get overlooked. Furthermore, if you have an injury or have had surgery and experience pain and discomfort, all the player has to do is tell the trainer, trainer tells the team doctor, player gets painkillers. It's really that simple. So even if they are "aggressively" testing for it, it's validated by the prescription from the team doctor, which makes the test invalid from the beginning !

I personally overcame the misuse of alcohol, I have taken painkillers before. I clearly understand what the players both current and retired are going through. I was fortunate enough to overcome it. Studies of this nature should continue in order to show the owners and the NFL, they are not doing enough taking care of players post career, need to do more for the current players,  and with concussions now reportedly increasing, issues like health care, revenue sharing and other related topics really need to be compromised on. This study  is clearly something the almighty NFL has missed on. I find it insulting that outside sources with no necessary connection to the NFL are taking the time and resources to understand what current and retired NFL players are going through, and what can be done to help prevent further damage to the players in the future, while the NFL and it's owners are only concerned with the almighty dollar as usual.