Ortiz v. A Roid

Greetings. To get down to business, David Ortiz made the grand proclamation that all players who test positive for steroids should be suspended for a year. That was nice of him. Perhaps he's willing to be tested as frequently as he suggested, in the OFF season. Don't forget, Steroids are legal in the Dominican Republic. I wouldn't want to be David Ortiz when he first steps into the batter box against Joba.

As for Mr. Rodriguez - expect a mental collapse when Mark Texiera has a better season, and as more details of his steroid usage surface. A-Rod was never one to handle pressure that well (um, the post season). Still though, it was not right for only his name to be leaked. There were 103 players out there who took steroids around the same time he did. And A-Rod might bring a lot of his criticism on himself - his disastrous contract negotiation, or rather, allowing Boras to execute that plan; dating Madonna, getting photographed partying with coeds the day before the story broke - but he doesn't deserve to be the only player from that list to have his name exposed. And whoever leaked this test - picked a fairly convenient time to do so.

With A-Rod's exposure - will Bud Selig finally overturn the tainted Home Run records, and restore them to Aaron and Marris? Not likely. The Players Union would never allow that, unfortunately. And if you overturn those records, what about Roger Clemens's win totals and Cy Young awards. So the MLB, which prides itself on setting a positive example for the youth of this country, instead allows these records - set while the players were taking Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) - to stand. And how did Bud Selig reward himself in 2008, after the disaster of Bonds, and looming recession? By paying himself $17 million dollars. Not bad for a guy who used to sell used cars.

Moving on to another saga: David Beckham. Not surprisingly, he doesn't want to leave AC Milan. Who wouldn't? AC Milan is a contender for the Serie A title, and also in the hunt for the Champions League. Moreover, he's playing at the top of his form again. Why? To be blunt, the level of play in the MLS is a joke, when compared to Europe. I could write a separate post on the many reasons why nobody takes the MLS seriously. The best players in the world don't take the MLS seriously. However, I don't feel sorry for David Beckham, as he signed a record-setting contract, and is making A-Rod-like money. Perhaps he should have considered that when he signed the contract with LA. Do I believe he will stay there permanently? No, something will be worked out, as the MLS has suffered a black eye over this, and the prospect of David Beckham being forced to play against his will would be a PR nightmare for the already-fragile league.

Speaking of soccer, Manchester United continued their amazing unbeaten streak with a thorough thrashing of Derby this weekend, to move on in the FA - keeping alive the hope of 5 trophies this year. Somehow, Real Madrid obtained a 64 million Euro loan from the Spanish banking giant Grupo Santander. Mind you, this is the same bank that lost billions for its clients after having invested with Madoff. Now they are asking those clients to sign settlements to be repaid between 50 to 85% of their losses. That's nice of them. Apparently Real Madrid signing Christiano Ronoldo is more important to Santadder, than making their clients whole, after they failed to conduct proper due-diligence.

Now that the NBA all star game is over, the only thing left before the season resumes, is to see how many arrests are reported from Phoenix before the weekend ends.

And by the way, the Suns fired their coach, Terry Porter, only 4 months into his new contract. I guess their losing record, combined with Steve Nash and Shaq, was too much for Steve Kerr and the owner to take, who after all, gave Porter his shot in the first place.

UCONN, of whom I'm rabid fan of, continues to sit at the top of the country. If they can advance against #4 Pitt tonight, they virtually assure themself a top seed in the NCAA tourney.

More to come soon, especially since A-Roid is giving a press conference tomorrow.