Red Sox titles not tainted
I am not a steroids apologist.
I am, however, a steroids realist.
That’s why I’m not going to sit here and believe the Boston Red Sox should feel guilty or that fans should feel slighted for the 2004 and 2007 World Series titles the Red Sox attained.
In light of news that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were on the list of 104 players who tested positive for a banned substance in 2003, many pundits believe the Red Sox titles are tainted and some even went as far to say they should have to forfeit those crowns.
My response — they were only doing what everyone else at the time was doing.
It’s a shame that as baseball fans, we’ve become calloused to steroid use. There doesn’t seem to be much shock when we continue to hear names that were on the infamous list. In fact, the response from most people is that they expected that individual on the list.
Did Ortiz and Ramirez enhance their ability as players for that team? Absolutely. Anyone who tells you that steroids don’t make a difference is turning a deaf ear. The bottom line is that if steroids didn’t make a difference, players across the league wouldn’t have been taking them.
But to say the Red Sox should be stripped of their accomplishments means that every other team should be thrown under the same bus. Ortiz and Ramirez were not the only abusers and odds are, many of the pitchers they faced were using banned substances as well.
Do two wrongs make a right? Or course not. But you can’t chastise one individual while ignoring the fact that many others were involved.
People will be forced to accept steroids as part of the long history of baseball, whether we want to believe it or not.
A year ago in this space, I went on a tirade about how I was tired of Brett Favre and his coming back/not coming back conundrum.
Here we are a year later and not much has changed.
Yes Favre told the Vikings no, but he ends his statement with the caveat that “if someone calls around November 1, we’ll see.”
While I actually was glad to see Favre come back last year because it allowed the Miami Dolphins to get Chad Pennington from the Jets, his act is wearing increasingly thin on me.
If he wants to play again, fine. Just pick a team, start practicing and move on.
But his constant wishy-washy attitude has run its course. I guess he figures as long as he keeps everyone guessing about his future, there’s still something for the media and fans to talk about.
Much like Michael Jordan and his constant comebacks, Favre isn’t ready to give up the spotlight. He has every right to come back and play if he wants, but don’t be a drama queen along the way.
For what it’s worth, I think the Nebraska football team wins eight games during the regular season, advances to the Big 12 title game and wins a New Year’s Day Bowl game.
The new quarterback will take some time to settle in, but the running game and defense should be good enough to keep them afloat for a while.
This season sets the table for a national title run in 2010. An easy non-conference slate and most tough Big 12 games at Memorial Stadium will have the Big Red in the thick of the BCS standings.
