Possible Lifetime Ban for A-Rod From Baseball for Using PEDs

A-Rod facing tough questions with his involvement with Biogenesis

I’ve grown tired of the show named “Alex Rodriguez.” Major League Baseball (MLB) is done with the re-runs aptly named “A-Fraud.” Having already fallen from grace, the greatest baseball player of our time is digging a crater sized grave for his career. Gone are the days of discussing whether A-Rod will go down as the greatest baseball player to ever live. He may however go down as the greatest in another category. If it weren’t for Jose Canseco, Rodriguez could have gone down as the greatest “juicer” in baseball history. And now it’s time for him to pay the piper. MLB has made a plea bargain offer to Rodriguez: Take the rest of this year off and all of next year or fight the allegations of taking Performance Enhancing Drugs (P.E.D.’s) with the possibility of a lifetime ban for a guilty verdict.

The sad thing is I can’t pull the card of “How could you disappoint all the young baseball fans who believed in you.” Fortunately, they have seen through your stale act. There won’t be any burning of A-Rod Yankee, Ranger, or Mariner Jerseys. They were given to the consignment should years ago. Your baseball cards have fallen to the status of the struggling Minor League journeyman who breaks into “The Show” every other year. What a fall from grace!

A-Rod doesn't have too much to smile about theses days.

I feel sorry for Derek Jeter having to stomach and play with the antithesis of what the many Yankee legends stood for. I feel very confident in saying that such greats as Joe D., Lou Gehrig, Mickey, Thurman Munson, and Yogi Berra would rip his jersey off right where he stood and put his career as a Yankee on ice. I don’t blame Jeter and the rest of the team for not coming to A-Rod’s rescue.

The great George Steinbrenner would always try to get a return on his investments. Unfortunately, that can’t happen. The old injury prone Rodriguez has been under-performing when not pumped up with the “juice.” He’s not putting up numbers worthy of the near $30 million that he receives annually. He received that contract on the premise that he would continue to put up the gaudy numbers that did while on P.E.D.’. Since this is not a true reflection of his ability, I think it would be wise for Major League Baseball to come up with laws allowing teams to void contracts that convicted P.E.D. abusers have, making the agreement not longer binding.

A-Rod if you are smart, you will take the suspension. The writing is on the wall. The disgruntled Biogenesis worker already turned in the incriminating evidence along with giving your name up. Take the deal.  Many of us would rather you leave the game for good. If you don’t think wisely and quickly, this is exactly what may happen to you.

Should Alex Rodriguez receive a lifetime ban if found guilty?

The Problems with the NCAA Division IA Conference Shifting

I imagine that there are some people out there in the sports world who are excited for the major shift among the conferences in NCAA Division 1A sports. However I am not one of them. The only things being created are a hodgepodge of weak rivalries, confused fans, and a whole lot of checks which are being cut to various attention starving and money hungry schools.  

The major conferences of the PAC 12, Big 10, Big 12, ACC, Big East, and SEC have each participated in the “Let’s make a deal” switch-a-roo of teams. Intertwined with collegiate sports are TV contracts, exposure, and deals for getting an bid to a “Bowl Game”. Some colleges may give the notion that they moved to a conference where the style of play was more similar to their flagship sport (particularly Football and Basketball). However, it will be hard to persuade me from believing that the motivating factor for the re-alignment was dollars and cents!

I understand that there are situations that warrant you to be flexible to a school’s needs, but this is ridiculous. It makes logical sense for the non-football Catholic College and Universities to split off and have their own basketball conference. I don’t like it, but will agree that they have earned the right to keep the Big East moniker since the conference is traditionally known for their strong basketball programs. St. John’s, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Marquette, Villanova, DePaul, and Providence traditionally field strong teams that are prepped to make deep runs in the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.

Do we really need another conference sucking up automatic bids in tournaments and playoffs? What I am talking about is the new “American Athletic Conference (The American).” If the NCAA were smart they would rename them as the “Conference USA –the remix”. Over the past 10 years the Big East has siphoned the talent from Conference USA. When one school leaves for the greener pastures of another conference, the Big East never panics they simply lure in one of the high performing C-USA teams. Unfortunately I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid. For the 2013 Division 1A season, the following teams will comprise the American conference:

Cincinnati

Connecticut

Houston

Louisville (leaving in 2014)

Memphis

Rutgers (leaving in 2014)

USF

SMU

Temple

(Three more teams from C-USA are joining in 2014)

Look familiar? Why not combine the Conference USA and American Athletic Conference teams. Just a thought….

The many schools jumping from one major conference to another major are just muddying up the waters of confusion. It is almost becoming one big joke. The Big 10 Conference (actually comprised of 12 teams) is going to receive their 13^th team when Rutgers joins them in 2013. Nothing says Mid-West football more than a team from New Jersey, huh… And what is Colorado doing out there in the west coast with the PAC 12? They are doing nothing but embarrassing themselves on a weekly basis. What was wrong with their neighboring Big 12 schools? And whatever happened to aligning conferences according to their geographical locations? Currently you have ridiculous commutes like the ACC’s Florida State trip to Massachusetts (BC).  The ACC is also having a good ole’ Big East Reunion now that they have lured Miami, Pittsburg, Syracuse, Boston College, and Virginia Tech to their stable. The more things are changing, the more things stay the same!

The Miami Heat Miraculously Win Back to Back NBA Titles

Just think, the line that separates greatness and goodness is paper thin. The thrill of hoisting up NBA Finals championship trophy and the agony of settling for second place in basketball can be determined by one play. Lebron James couldn’t have said it better. With 25 seconds left in Game 6 of the NBA finals he thought to himself  “Nine months of hard work is about to go down the drain”. Danny Green misses his free throw; Ray Allen eventually hits a game tying three-pointer which sends the game into overtime. And the rest as they say is history.

Many references were made as to how close the Spurs were to being World Champions. The NBA committee had Larry O’Brien trophy on the floor ready to present it to the San Antonio Spurs. You could not have been any closer to victory than they were. Let’s just imagine for a moment that Danny Green hits his free throws to seal the game, or the Heat don’t get an offensive rebound on consecutive trips to hit the game tying daggers in the heart of the Spurs. Then Tim Duncan adds a 5^th championship ring to his collection. Tony Parker and Danny Green then fight over who is the NBA Finals MVP. The Miami Heat lose two of three NBA Finals that the “Big Three” (James, Wade, Bosh) play in. Lebron moves his Finals record to 1-3 (nowhere near superhuman). The window closes on the Heat as they prepare to make changes and split the team up. Lebron then shows that he can’t shoulder the burden of carrying the team each and every night as other mega stars have done in order to win their championship. The talk then moves to will he ever win another NBA title instead of how many will he win.

But on that night, whether you believe that the stars were lined up properly or that there was divine intervention, the Heat moved one step closer to making history as one of the select few teams who have won back to back NBA titles. I’m sure Lebron will agree today that Life Is Good! There’s no need to wonder “What If?”