The 2010 Vancouver Games could not have had a more unfortunate start. Just a few hours before the opening ceremony, Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed in a tragedy with which these Games might forever be associated. The 21-year-old Georgian luger died in a horrific training crash at the Whistler Sliding Center when his sled went off the track and struck a steel pole.

Although investigations concluded that it was the driver’s error that caused the death and not due to any track deficiencies, international luge officials decided to move the starting point of all luge events farther down the track, thereby, resulting in a 10 percent reduction in the maximum speed. In addition, the walls were raised at the exit of Curve 16, the last on the course, where Kumaritashvili lost control.

Canada Strikes First Olympic Gold At Home

Canada has never won an Olympic gold medal on home soil, having been shut out of golds in two previous Olympics—the 1976 Montreal Summer Games and the 1988 Calgary Winter Games.  The country is desperately waiting for someone to break the Olympic curse, to see who will finally climb to the top of the podium and to hear “O Canada” as the Maple Leaf flag rise during the medal ceremony. And they were not disappointed.

On Sunday night of Valentine’s Day, Alexandre Bilodeau, became the first ever Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal for the host nation in the men’s mogul competition. The 22-year-old from Quebec was instantly a household name across the nation and was hailed as “Alexandre the Great” in the headline of one of Vancouver’s daily newspaper. Canada Post and the Royal Canadian Mint promptly publicized plans to issue commemorative stamps and coins in his honor.

Canada ultimately landed on top of the medal standing with 14 golds, 7 silvers and 5 bronzes including the final gold in the men’s ice hockey competition where the Canadian team dealt a crushing blow to medal favorites Russia in the quarterfinals and the United States in the finals.

Chinese Pair Seals Golden Comeback

Shen Xue, 31, and Zhao Hongbo, 36, proved that the third time’s truly a charm. The married couple came out of two-year retirement to claim gold after winning bronzes at two previous Olympics. Despite being disadvantageously drawn first to skate in the pairs short program, the Chinese pair was able to set a world record score of 76.66 points, a 0.70 lead over of two-time world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany.

Shen and Zhao went on to earn the second highest score in the long program after committing a few minor errors in their Adagio in G minor routine—she tumbled onto his back during a lift—but it was sufficient to secure the gold.  Their score of 216.57 points was more than 3 points ahead of fellow teammates Pang Qing and Tong Jian with Germany’s Savchenko and Szolkowy dropping to bronze position due to flawed free skate. The victory of Chinese pair effectively ended Russian or Soviet dominance in the sport that began in 1964. Unexpectedly, the Russians are leaving without any medals in the event.

Ammann Creates Olympic History

Simon Ammann earned his place in Olympic record books by winning the large hill competition to claim his fourth individual gold medal. The 28-year-old Swiss ski jumper shrugged off complaints by an Austrian coach against his ski bindings to sweep golds in both the normal and large hill competition for the second time, eight years after double victories at 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

Ammann garnered the top score after soaring 144 meters on his first jump and nailing the landing on his second at 138 meters for a total of 283.6 points. With the triumph, Ammann became only the second ski jumper to win the normal and large hill events since Matti Ensio Nykänen of Finland did it at the 1988 Calgary Games. The international ski federation eventually rejected the protest over Ammann’s equipment bindings, which supposedly gave him an unfair aerodynamic advantage.

Ohno, the Most Decorated US Winter Olympian

At the tender age of 19, short track speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno made his Olympic debut at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, winning a gold and a silver in the 1,500 and 1,000 meters respectively.  He won three more medals at the Torino Olympics four years later—a gold in the 500 meter, and bronzes in the 1,000 meters and 5,000 meter relay.  In Vancouver, he clinched a silver in the 1,500 meters and a bronze in the 1,000 meter, first tying and then surpassing long track speed skater Bonnie Blair for the most Winter Olympic medals ever won by an American. Blair attained her six including five golds in three successive Olympics (1988, 1992 and 1994).  Ohno would subsequently add medal number eight, a bronze in the 5,000-meter relay. It could have been a record ninth medal in the 500 meter final, where he finished second but was disqualified after impeding Francois-Louis Tremblay of Canada around the final turn.

Kim Wins Gold; Rochette Wins Hearts and Bronze

During the ladies singles figure skating short program, 19-year old reigning World champion Kim Yuna (South Korea) rose to the occasion in her Olympic debut by setting a world record score of 78.5 points, which is almost five points ahead of her perennial rival, Mao Asada (Japan).  Though Joannie Rochette (Canada) could not match the brilliant leaps and spins of Kim and Asada, she embodied the true Olympic spirit, displaying true courage as she fought back tears—her mother died of heart attack two days earlier–to place third with a personal best score of 71.36 points.

Already one of the top earning Olympians, failure was not an option for the popular Korean sports superstar.  Her endorsements, most of which expire this year, may not be renewed if she fails to live up to expectations.  Known as “Queen Yuna” in her homeland, she reigned supreme with one of the greatest performances in figure skating history. Kim dazzled on ice without the slightest miscue, stumble or wobble, shattering her personal record for the long program with a score of 150.06 points and giving Asada a devastating loss by more than 23 points. And if it was any consolation, Asada did make history as the first woman to land two triple axels at the Olympics. Asada could have challenged Kim on those axels alone, but made a series of mistakes including singling a planned triple toe. 

However, the true inspiration of the competition was Joannie Rochette, who won hearts as she fulfilled her mother’s dream of her making the Olympic podium. Everyone had initially wondered whether she would even skate following her mother’s sudden death.  But she triumphantly battled through emotional pain, pulling herself together to skate a near-flawless program to earn the bronze, which was worth pure gold to all who watched on that memorable Thursday night.

It all began on January 6, 1994 when figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, who was highly favored to win the 1994 US Figure Skating Championships and America’s best bet for a medal at the 1994 Lillehammer Games, was whacked on the knees by a metal baton-wielding assailant following a practice session. The event quickly developed into a scandal of Olympic proportion when authorities traced the attack to Jeff Gillooly, ex-husband of Kerrigan’s closest rival, Tonya Harding.  Harding, who went on to win the US championship in Kerrigan’s absence, denied any active role in the plot despite suspicions. Although actions were initiated to remove her from the US team, Harding retained her place after threatening a $25 million lawsuit.

The Tonya and Nancy saga would continue through to the Olympic Games as Kerrigan recover just in time to compete, garnering the highest television ratings in Olympic history. Kerrigan went on to win the silver medal, missing the gold to Ukraine’s Oksana Baiul by the slimmest of margins, while Harding performed relatively poorly finishing in eighth place. Harding eventually confessed that she knew of the attack after the fact but failed to come forward, and was subsequently banned for life from international competition.

Jiminy Tickets (1988 Calgary)

A ticket scandal broke out in Calgary in 1988 when it was discovered that James McGregor, ticket manager of World Tickets, was charging American ticket buyers of Olympic passes at face value (listed in Canadian Dollars) in US Dollars and then pocketing the difference in the exchange rate against the lower-valued Canadian Dollars.  “Jiminy Tickets,” as he came to be identified, was found guilty of theft, fraud and mischief; and ultimately sentenced to five years in prison. With this scandal in mind, organizers of the 2010 Vancouver Games vowed to scrutinize their ticket distribution process.

Skategate (2002 Salt Lake City)

Placing first and second after the pairs figure skating short program, Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, and Canadians Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, needed clean long programs to take the gold. However, a controversial decision would extend Russian dominance in Olympic pairs figure skating that began in 1964. Despite stumbles in their double axels, Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were awarded higher scores and the title by five of the nine judges ahead of Salé and Pelletier, who skated a flawless program though with less complex choreography.

In the days following the event, cries of foul play erupted as the shocking story of vote trading emerged. French judge Marie Reigne La Gougne was immediately suspended, having confessed that she had succumbed to pressure to vote for the Russians in exchange for Russian votes for the French team in the ice dancing competition. The conspiracy forced the International Skating Union to implement an entirely new and more objective judging system that will somehow prevent such a disgrace for happening again. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) eventually decided to hold a new medal ceremony declaring both the Canadians and the Russians as gold medal winners.

One Team Too Many (1948 St. Moritz)

The ice hockey tournament was in danger of being cancelled before the 1948 Games even began when two rival teams representing the United States showed up. The IOC initially ruled that neither the Amateur Hockey Association (AHA) nor the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teams could compete. The International Ice Hockey Federation (LIHG) was so enraged by the controversy that they threatened to boycott the Olympics, effectively ending the event altogether. The Swiss Olympic Committee, dreading this possibility, overruled IOC’s decision by allowing AHA team to take the ice but the results of their games would not count. The AAU team, on the other hand, were permitted to march in the opening ceremonies as consolation.

The Killympics (1968 Grenoble)

Image source

Debonair French superstar Jean-Claude Killy so dominated the Olympics in his home country that the 1968 Games became known as the “Killympics” but not without what IOC bills as the “greatest controversy in the history of the Winter Olympics.”

Killy won the downhill and giant slalom with relative ease, but experienced some anxious moments in his final race, a slalom run held in poor visibility due to thick fog. He snatched his third gold when two of this rivals with better times were disqualified for missing gates, becoming the second man in Olympic history to sweep the three alpine skiing events contested at the time.

With all the attention on the winter Olympics, I thought it was time to introduce a new winter sport.  It’s a little event my brothers and I invented years ago, when I was 14 years old, and they were 11 and 10.  It combines the balance of ice skating, the speed and grace of water skiing, and the abject fear of being in the midst of stampeding horses.  How can it not be a hit?

                                 
In truth, we didn’t set out to invent a new sport.  It was one of those fortunate accidents that result in something new and exciting being born.  Our family used to board horses on a 200 acre farm in mid-Michigan.  The property was adjacent to a medium-sized all-sports lake.  There was a gate at the edge of the property bordering the lake, through which hikers, riders, and the occasional snowmobiler could pass through to cross our property.  In those days people were generally friendly and trusting.

Unfortunately, somebody left that gate open one February day, and about 20 horses escaped.  Ordinarily, our horses would avoid any potentially scary obstacles like snakes, mailboxes, and huge frozen bodies of water.  For some reason though, on this day, they decided that wandering out onto the middle of the ice would be fun. Maybe they were planning an impromptu game of hockey.

A neighbor of ours who lived on the lake called us up. “Are you missing any horses?” he asked.

“Not that we know of. Why?” asked my mother.
“Because theres a herd of them out on the lake.  The ice fishermen are complaining ’cause they’re scaring the fish.  I think the real problem is that they’re scaring the fishermen.”

My mom sent me and my two brothers out to bring them back.  We took along a little grain.  Most horses are suckers for grain, and we didn’t want to try to chase the horses around on ice.  Sure enough, we had no problem whatsoever, the horses crowded around us as soon as they recognized what we had.  Each of my brothers took one horse by the halter, and I – fancying myself a fearless cowboy, took two, one in each hand.  We knew that if we walked the lead horses home, the rest would follow.

We started for home, and everything was going according to plan.  My brothers led the way with their two horses in hand.  I followed with two more.  The other 16 horses moseyed along behind us.  Then we heard the first crack.  Every horse jerked it’s head up, pricked up it’s ears, and picked up it’s pace.  We had to step pretty quickly to keep from being pulled right off our feet.

Then we heard a second, louder crack.  I believe these were just surface cracks, affecting only the top layer of ice, but I couldn’t convince the horses.  They were sure we were all about to die a horrible death in freezing water, and they weren’t about to wait around for it to happen.  Whatever nervousness the fishermen had felt about the horses before was nothing compared to the their reaction next. A thundering herd of 20 horses came galloping, slipping, and sliding through their cluster of ice shanties and tip-ups.

My brothers both lost their footing.  For a few moments they hung on, and were dragged along dangerously under the horses pounding hooves.  Fortunately they had the good sense to let go, and both escaped without being trampled.  I, on the other hand, had the advantage of balancing my weight between two horses, and still entertained the foolish notion that I could bring the horses under some semblance of control.  I tried to utilize the Fred Flintstone system of braking, and then reflected on the fact that Fred never had to stop the Flintsonemobile on ice.

I was holding on for dear life as the horses I was leading – make that the horses that were leading me – shot through the ice shanties and scattered fishermen in every direction.  I was terrified, but still had several thoughts flash through my mind.  First was how funny the situation would have looked if viewed by non-participants.  Second, that if I hadn’t been so scared, this method of ice skiing would have been a blast.  Third, I prayed that no fish would choose an inopportune moment to strike one of the tip-ups – that being one of the 3 or 4 times the horses shot by them, one on either side and me gliding across them a-straddle.  Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

So, using this experience to lay out the rules of the new sport of horse-drawn ice skiing, I’ve come up with the following suggestions.  Simulating the scattering fishermen, the judges and referees have to start in a loose gathering at the beginning of the competition, amid a series of shanties and tip-ups.  In the judged event, each competitor must drag under and / or behind one horse (randomly drawn from a herd).  They are judged on skill, style, artistic interpretation, and their ability to avoid the flying hooves.  The longer the contestant hangs on to his horse, the more points he can accumulate.

The second part of the competition consists of a race to the finish gate.  In this part, each competitor hangs on to 2 horses, also drawn randomly.  The goal is to stay afoot for 100 yards while weaving through obstacles.  An athletic cup is mandatory for the tip-ups, which are programmed to trigger at random intervals.  Having 20 horses funnel through a gate that only allows 1 or 2 through at a time adds another dimension of danger and excitement to the contest.  In the original experience, the gate was on land, but in my design for the race it is erected on ice.  If people want to see competitors dragged on land, they can watch a wild horse race.
Image Credit: Stock Exchange
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/sue_r_b

You’ve just finished a tough workout and it’s time to let your muscles – and your body recover. If you worked hard, you burned through your muscle glycogen stores, broke down fat and even some muscle if you exercised for a prolonged period of time. Not only that – you also lost critical electrolytes such as sodium, chloride, and potassium. To recover, some people reach for a sports drink to replenish those all important carbs, protein, and electrolytes. But are these expensive drinks the best choice when it comes to a sports recovery drink? You may be surprised at the answer.

After working out, hold off on the fancy sports drinks and reach for a glass of chocolate milk instead. A study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism showed that chocolate milk was as effective as sports recovery drinks like Gatorade for replenishing fuel stores and replacing electrolytes after exercise. They tested this on cyclists by giving them either a sports recovery drink, Gatorade, or low-fat chocolate milk after they had cycled for four hours. When they did a second round of cycling, the group that drank the low-fat chocolate milk was able to bike fifty percent longer than those who drank the sports recovery drink – and about the same amount of time as those who drank Gatorade.

There are lots of advantages to using low-fat chocolate milk as an exercise recovery drink. Not only does it have a carbohydrate-protein ratio that rivals that of sports recovery drinks, but it’s also a good source of calcium that many people don’t get enough of. Chocolate is also a good source of flavonoids – natural antioxidant compounds that help repair the free radical damage that occurs with high intensity or prolonged exercise. On top of that, it also contains vitamin D – which up to seventy-five percent of Americans are deficient in. Chocolate milk is also much less expensive than most sports recovery drinks which is a big help if you’re on a budget.

The only real drawback to using low-fat chocolate milk as an exercise recovery drink is the lactose it contains. Many people have problems digesting the lactose found in milk. When lactose isn’t broken down properly, intestinal bacteria have a field day with it which causes bloating, cramping, and diarrhea – symptoms most people can live without. If you have problems digesting lactose, look for lactose free chocolate milk which is now available at many grocery stores.

The bottom line? Skip the expensive sports recovery drinks and sip on low-fat chocolate milk after you exercise. It tastes good – and it’s even better for you after a tough workout.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Over the course of a few days, Mark made several admissions to his steroid use. He said he first used steroids between the 1989 and 1990 seasons, after helping the Oakland Athletics to a World Series win, when he and Jose Canseco formed the Bash Brothers.

“I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989-1990 offseason and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again,” McGwire said in his statement.

He further added. “I used them on occasion throughout the ’90s, including during the 1998 season.”

When asked why he started using performance enhancing supplements, Mark was quick to point out that he had no intention of cheating. “I did this for health purposes. There’s no way I did this for any type of strength use.”

He further added, “I did it to heal nagging injuries.”

Mark reminded everyone of how he began to deteriorate physically in the 1990’s.

“During the mid-’90s, I went on the disabled list seven times and missed 228 games over five years,” McGwire said. “I experienced a lot of injuries, including a ribcage strain, a torn left heel muscle, a stress fracture of the left heel, and a torn right heel muscle. It was definitely a miserable bunch of years, and I told myself that steroids could help me recover faster. I thought they would help me heal and prevent injuries, too.”

Mark even posed the possibility that steroid use could have actually contributed to the injuries that forced him to retire at age thirty-eight in 2001.

Most experts are giving Mark credit for finally coming clean. The consensus is that Mark has always been a very likable, genuine, and caring guy. It has only been the black cloud of steroid use that has shed darkness over his career and integrity.

However, most are giving pause when they hear his replies about what steroids did for him. Several reporters, including Bob Costas, asked Mark point blank if he felt the supplements improved his game or helped him hit more homeruns. He did not hesitate in claiming that the steroids did not help him at all, and that he did not need supplements.

He insisted, “I was given a gift to hit home runs”.

When Costas pushed on and asked if he still would have broken the record without the use of steroids, Mark replied “I truly believe so.”

In support of Mark, Ralph Houk, who was Roger Maris manager with the Yankees in 1961, when he broke the then single season home run record of 60 held by Babe Ruth, recently lent ESPN his thoughts on the whole Mark McGwire / steroid controversy. He said that he did not think the legitimacy of McGwire’s home run totals is changed by his admission of using performance-enhancing drugs and that the effects of such drugs — whether pills (amphetamines) taken in the 1960s or steroids in later years — are questionable.

            If Mark is being one-hundred percent honest about what he thinks steroids did or did not do for his performance, then he is being a bit naïve. Although no one can really quantify exactly how much steroids help athletes, especially baseball players, they for sure increase strength, quickness and endurance. This is why they are referred to as performance enhancing drugs.

Mark’s justification for using PED’s and what he truly believes they did for him is almost irrelevant at this point. The real question is, what prompted Mark to come clean after all this time, and why did he pass up the opportunity to admit his steroid use during the 2005 Senate Hearing on steroid use in baseball?

For starters, Mark has been hired as the new hitting coach for his former team the St. Louis Cardinals. He realized his reentrance into professional baseball would leave him wide open for a daily barrage of questions about his supposed steroid use that would not stop until he told the truth. He knew he would be a distraction to the team and organization. He did not want that to happen.

Next, he claimed that he had to wait until the statute of limitations expired from his 2005 senate hearing. Prior to those hearings his lawyers requested immunity for Mark, but were denied. Therefore, he did not want to put himself at risk of being charged with a crime. As he stated, “I wanted to protect my family and myself.”

Photo courtesy of Associated Press

Since 2005, Mark has also been dying to clear his conscience. He describes the days of the senate hearing as, “the worst forty-eight hours of my life.” He seemed sincere and broke down several times in describing how difficult it has been to live with the guilt of not being able to talk. He needed the timing and opportunity to be right, and this was it.

These are all legitimate reasons to justify the why and when of Mark’s decision to bear his soul. However, let’s be honest here. What this is really all about is Marks legacy and the Baseball Hall of Fame. As much as Mark wants to regain the respect he once had in the world of baseball, what he really wants is his integrity restored and a ticket into the Hall of Fame.

This is very apparent in the amount of time and energy Mark has spent on justifying and explaining why he decided to take steroids, and what he truly believes they did for him. In a nutshell he claims: the only reason he took steroids was to heal and avoid injuries; he had no intention of cheating or gaining artificial strength; steroids did not help him hit homeruns and break the homerun record; steroids could have possibly caused his body to break down.

The point he is trying to make, in very subtle way, is that his statistics are legitimate and he deserves to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, his underlying plea is not working. As most baseball historians, writers, experts are still claiming Mark should still never be voted into the hall of fame. This is where the controversy and hypocrisy continues, because the sad truth is, Mark shouldn’t have to try to explain away what he did, and the baseball experts, writers and historians are wrong for continuing to deny his legacy and possible entrance into the hall.

As stated in my previous article, (Steroids, Spitballs & Greenies: A Baseball Hypocrisy), this whole Hall of Fame banishment is bull, and there are several reasons why.

First off, no one can possibly quantify statistically the positive effects that steroids have on a baseball player’s performance. Any attempt to throw out numbers shear conjecture. No such test has ever been conducted to prove exactly what these substances amount to on the field.

Mark was quick to point out that he had great seasons while not using steroids. The greatest support of this in Mark’s case is his rookie season, when he hit forty-nine homeruns, without taking PED’s.

He even had some horrible campaigns while on them, including the seasons late in his career when his body began to break down, possibly from the negative side effects of taking steroids. Some of these negative side effects, which no one seems to talk about, are torn muscles and ruptured tendons, all of which can easily decrease a player’s performance and ultimately end their career.

Second, the decade of the nineties can easily be regarded as the steroid era. Besides all of the big stars who are linked to steroid use like McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and now Alex Rodriguez, there were undoubtedly numerous other players who were juicing up as well.

Who is to say there weren’t pitchers on steroids who either gained an advantage over those not on the stuff, or leveled the playing field for hitters on it? What about fielders who chased down balls they probably wouldn’t have been able to get to, or made miraculous throws that they may not have been able to make without PED’s?

The bottom line is we have no way of knowing how many other players were also taking steroids, but we know for sure there were probably hundreds at least.  This has been proven by the 2003 baseball investigation that yielded a list of one-hundred and four players that admitted they used steroids, which is for sure only the tip of the iceberg. So, to say only the famous players had the advantage is ridiculous. By the time 1998 season rolled around, steroids had been around for a long time and the number of players on it was probably pretty high. Therefore the playing field was probably pretty even.

Third, up until 2002, steroids were not a banned substance in baseball. So, technically taking them was not illegal in the eyes of the baseball world. So, did players who took PED’s actually cheat? No, they did not. It may have been immoral, and gone against the competitive spirit of the game, but it was not against the rules. Anyone who gets caught taking them now is for sure cheating, but according to the baseball rulebook not before 2002. Only baseball is to blame for this. Steroids have been around for a very long time, and the higher ups in baseball had to know about it, but they did nothing. When they are looking for someone to blame, they should look in the mirror and ask themselves, why they waited so long.

Lastly, and most importantly, which is where the real hypocrisy lies, if you condemn users of steroids as cheaters then you have to condemn every player who ever cheated, in any way shape or form, including throwing doctored baseballs or taking amphetamines, which are now labeled as a performance enhancing drugs. There are hall of fame players who openly admit to these dastardly deeds, but most experts, the same ones who condemn the steroid users, turn the other cheek. Why? This is flat out hypocritical.

Hall of Fame pitcher, Gaylord Perry, with his 314 victories, 3,534 strikeouts and two Cy Young Awards, is not primarily regarded as one of the greatest pitchers of all time, like his numbers and achievements would indicate. Instead, he is regarded as the greatest spitballer in the history of baseball. This openly admitted cheater received a one way ticket to the hall of fame and no one seems to care. What makes it worse is that doctoring a baseball has been illegal since the baseball rulebook was written. How much more of a cheater can you be? Why isn’t anyone petitioning to throw him out of the hall of fame? After all, he cheated.

Amphetamines are on now the list of banned substances in the baseball rulebook. Greenies, as they are referred to, are regarded as performance enhancing drugs. Any player who is caught taking them now will be punished with a long suspension, as mandated by the commissioner of baseball. They will also be deemed a cheater, and rightly so. So, what is the difference between taking them now and taking them in the 1960’s or 1970’s?

Just like players who took steroids before they were made illegal are condemned, so should players who took amphetamines before they were deemed illegal. That just makes sense. Because, if we are saying that the use of steroids, even before they were made illegal, is cheating, then players who took amphetamines before they were made illegal cheated too.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Hall of famer Mike Schmidt, arguably the greatest third basemen to ever play the game, with his 548 homeruns and 1,595 runs batted in, openly admitted to taking amphetamines throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s. Yet no one, not even the experts who are condemning the steroid users, are claiming foul. This is downright disturbing.

Schmidt not only admitted to using them, he flat out said that they gave players a boost and jolt in energy helping to enhance their performance. Besides that he admitted that greenies were readily available and lots of players used them. Yet, no one is on the war path to kick Schmidt out of the Hall of Fame, or to identify any other Hall of Famers who used them. Why not? These guys cheated didn’t they?

In this scenario, what most baseball writers, experts and historians are telling us, is this. Anyone who takes steroids (a performance enhancing drug) regardless of when (even before they were banned) is a cheater. Therefore, any player who was caught or admitted to using them should suffer the consequences like having asterisks put next to their records or be banned from the hall of fame. 

However, anyone who took amphetamines (another proven performance enhancing drug) prior to 2002 when they were banned from baseball as an illegal substance, is not a cheater. However, anyone who takes them now is.  

If this is not a living breathing hypocrisy, nothing is.

In the end, here is what we are left with.

1.      Yes, steroids are performance enhancing drugs that can possibly increase muscle mass, strength, speed and endurance. However, there is no possible way to quantify what the use of these drugs can do on the baseball field. They also can cause the body to break down quicker than usual, with torn muscles and ruptured tendons. So, the positives can very well be balanced out by the negatives.

2.      The 1990’s was no doubt the steroid era. Besides all of famous baseball players who have admitted to using or have been linked to using them, there were undoubtedly hundreds of others doing the same thing. Therefore the playing field could be regarded as even; the steroid pitcher vs. the steroid hitter.

3.      Up until 2002, steroids were not illegal in the eyes of baseball. Steroid users were probably gaining an advantage, but in the eyes of the game there were not cheating.

4.      Cheating is cheating, whether it’s throwing spitballs or taking performance enhancing drugs. If a heavy punishment is levied on steroid users, then it needs to be the same for other players who cheated in other ways, like pitchers who doctored the baseball. But, it isn’t.

5.      Amphetamines, which are now on the banned substance list due to being a performance enhancing drug, were used openly by hundreds of players throughout the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. Mike Schmidt openly admitted this. Yet, no one is holding this against him or questioning whether or not he is a bonafide hall of famer.

This whole situation just does not pass the common sense test and stinks of hypocrisy.

There is no crying in baseball. And there should be no hypocrisies either.  Let the records stand. Give credit to players who put up big numbers regardless of when and how. Put the players in the hall who have the statistics warrant it, and let’s move on. Enough is enough.

 Photp from Yahoo Image

 The Whitemare is known for his brutal roundhouse kicks and high flying knee kicks. He is currently the reigning Dream welterweight champion. Marius brings a more traditional martial arts style to the octagon. The Whitemare’s roundhouse kick can be devastating, often compared to Micro “Cro Cop” Filipovic. Marius once did a hurricane kick in competition.

The 29 year old Lithuanian fighter carries a 13-3 record. Most of his fights have been with Dream and Cage Rage. He defeated Jason High, via roundhouse kick to the head at Dream 10 to become the champion.

Maruis has good ground skills and reports that he trains in all aspects of mixed martial arts. No doubt that many fans are going to tune into his fights to see his flying knee kicks, as well as, the thunderous right foot that has felled its share of opponents.

Maruis fights Nick Dias on Jan 30, in Miami. The fight will also be televised on CBS. Diaz has a height and reach advantage, while Marius will have a speed advantage. Look for Marius to get Diaz backpedaling and set him up for a well timed kick or flying knee. Nick will try to use his jab to set up Maruis or get him on the ground and use his jiu-jitsu skills. This event will be for the Strikeforce welterweight belt.

This will be a tough fight for both fighters. I expect a strategic fight with “The Whitemare” winning with a highlight reel kick to the head.

MAIN CARD
NICK DIAZ VS MARIUS ZAROMSKIS
CRISTIANE CYBORG SANTOS VS MARLOES COENEN
ROBBIE LAWLER VS MELVIN MANHOEF
HERSCHEL WALKER VS GREG NAGY
BOBBY LASHLEY VS WES SIMS

PRELIM CARD
JAY HIERON VS JOE RIGGS
PABLO ALFONSO VS MARCOS DAMATTA
DAVID ZITNIK VS MICHAEL BYRNES
SABAH HOMASI VS JOHN KELLY
CRAIG OXLEY VS DAVID GOMEZ
RYAN KEENAN VS HAYDER HASSAN

TIME
SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2010 – 10:00PM/ET (PRELIMS AT 7:30PM)

.Quotes from http://strikeforce.com  

Marius, despite being the DREAM Champion, Jay Hieron turned down a fight with you because he said you have little name recognition. Do you feel vindicated that STRIKEFORCE offered you a title shot?

ZAROMSKIS: “I don’t really care if I’m vindicated or not, because I don’t pay attention to that.  I feel that a fighter should fight whoever they put in front of you, whether he’s famous or not.  If Jay Hieron doesn’t feel that I’m famous enough to fight him, then I guess he’ll just have to wait until I get famous and I’ll fight him.”

Marius, is there a timeframe on when you’ll return and defend your DREAM title?

ZAROMSKIS: “No, right now I don’t know.”

Marius, can you talk about your finishes in your last few fights (KO head kicks)?  Is that something you go for?

ZAROMSKIS: “I don’t really look for a high kick, because when you look for something you end up being the one who’s getting knocked out.  If I see it there in a split second I’ll take advantage of it. If it’s not there then I’ll use some other weapons.  But, I do not look for a high kick.”

Why are your high kicks so effective?

ZAROMSKIS: “I kick (inaudible) a lot with my legs, so I’ve got power in it.”

Did you look up to Mirko Cro Cop at all? Or is your style completely independent?

ZAROMSKIS:“I was doing high kicks before. I’m not trying to imitate Mirko, I’m not inspired by Mirko.  But, Mirko has a very devastating high kick, so if there’s something I could learn from him I definitely wouldn’t mind.”

Are you always constantly looking to do different things?

ZAROMSKIS: “It’s not something I look for, I just kind of do it.  In a way, it kind of energizes me.  I just do it for myself, but I guess fans find it interesting.  I’m not doing it to be entertaining in a fight, I just do it to energize myself.”

Marius, what do you plan on doing to minimize the reach that Nick has with his punches?

ZAROMSKIS: “As far as Nick’s reach, Nick obviously has a reach advantage because he’s taller.  But, I don’t feel like the height difference is so drastic between the two of us to really worry about it too much.  Of course, I’m concerned about the reach and I have some plans to address that.  It’s not like I’m 5 foot 6 and he’s 6 foot 9.  I think it’s something I can handle.”

Marius, have you been working on anything specifically on the ground because Nick has a big advantage in that department.

ZAROMSKIS: “I’ve prepared as well as I can on the ground because Nick has a superior ground game.  But, this is MMA, this is not kickboxing.  I train in all of it. I train in grappling, the fighting, the wrestling, the same for all fighters. I pretty much do everything my trainers tell me to do.  If they say do more ground, I do more ground.  If they say do more standup, I do more standup.”

Hurricane Kick

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Ray Guy is the decorated former punter of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. In 1973, he became the only genuine punter to ever be drafted in the first round in the NFL. Ray Guy Punts were so astonishing that a new statistic was born, “hang time.”

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/

Ray was an extraordinary, talented athlete, in addition to being a punter. Once in a snowstorm during a game in Salt Lake City, Utah against the Utah Utes, Guy kicked a 61 yard field goal. Guy was also the starting safety for his college team Southern Mississippi. During his senior season he intercepted eight passes and was named an All-American at the safety position. The eight interceptions is still a record at USM. Guy played quarterback in his early years and was the Oakland Raiders emergency quarterback in case the other starters went down. Early in Guy’s career, Guy would occasionally do kickoffs for the Raiders because the aging placekicker no longer had great range. (George Blanda)

In the 1976 Pro Bowl one of his punts hit the giant TV screen hanging from the rafters in the Louisiana Superdome. His opponents pulled the ball from the game to have it tested for helium. The results of the test proved that the ball was filled with regular air. The hang time statistic was also instituted in the NFL during his time because of Ray’s phenomenal punts. The TV screen was also raised to 200 feet from 90 feet.

Guy was a key member of three Super Bowl winning Raiders teams: Super Bowls XXI, XXV, and XVIII. Ray Guy has been inducted into the Mississippi and Georgia Sports Halls of Fame, the National High School Sports Hall of Fame, and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Ray Guy is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There has never been a punter elected into the Hall of Fame. However, in 1994 he was the first pure punter to be nominated for enshrinement. It seems a tragedy that the greatest punter that ever played the game has not been elected into the Hall of Fame.  

Joe Horrigan, the historian of the Pro Football Hall of Fame once said: “He’s the first punter you could look at and say: ‘He won games.’”

“I was never much for hang time until we got Ray. But then we started clocking how long his punt hung in the air. Sometimes he kept it up there as long as six seconds!”– John Madden former Raider Coach

“Normally Chicago Bulls basketball superstar Michael Jordan is synonymous with hang time. But before Jordan, it was (Ray) Guy.” — Quwan Spears, Sacramento Bee

“The best punter I’ve ever known.” — John Madden former Raider coach, Professional Sportscaster

“He’s only the greatest kicker who ever lived.” — Curley Hallman Southern Mississippi Head Coach

“He’s the first punter you could look at and say, ‘He won games.’” — Joe Horrigan – Pro Football Hall of Fame historian

“Ray Guy was the only draft choice our coaches and scouts agreed on unanimously” — John Madden former Raiders Coach, Professional Sportscaster

“Few people can say they were the best ever at what they did. Ray Guy retired with that satisfaction.” –Chuck Abadie, The Hattiesburg American

“That thing had ‘Ray Guy’ hang time.” — ESPN Sportscaster, Chris Berman

“Our offensive coaches wanted Ray Guy, our defensive coaches wanted Ray Guy, and the head coach really wanted Ray Guy.” — John Madden, former Raiders Coach, Professional Sportscaster

“A helluva athlete, the best ever to play his position in the history of the game.” — Al Davis, Oakland Raiders Owner

“Those who earn their living in pro football say he’s the finest punter in the history of the world.” — The Sporting News

Think back over the history of any sport. Very often there has been one guy who stood out above the superstars – just as (Ray) Guy stands out in punting. It just happens.” — TexSchramm,

http://www.rayguy.net/quotes.html

Some of Ray’s statistics and accomplishments:

Punted 1,049 times for 44,493 yards, averaging 42.4 yards per punt, with a 33.8 net yards average

Had 210 punts inside the 20 yard line (not counting his first 3 seasons, when the NFL did not keep track of this stat), with just 128 touchbacks

Led the NFL in punting three times

Had a streak of 619 consecutive punts before having one blocked

Has a record of 111 career punts in post season games

Had five punts of over 60 yards during the 1981 season

Never had a punt returned for a touchdown

In 2000, the Greater Augusta Sports Council instituted the Ray Guy Award, to be awarded to the nation’s best collegiate punter.

Ray Guy now teaches punters the techniques on how to punt a football. His success is unparalleled. The sheer numbers of great kickers in both the professional and college ranks is sheer astounding. The numbers do not lie. In 2009, a Ray Guy trained punter played in every college bowl game.

In the past 10 years alone – Ray Guy http://www.prokicker.com/ alumni have dominated NCAA and NFL record books by setting numerous collegiate and professional marks. Presently there are 475 alumni on college rosters and 18 alumni active on NFL teams – and the numbers keep growing. There is no other program even close to having more alumni who have earned scholarships to colleges and universities or who are actively playing professional football.

Ray Guy deserves to be in Pro Footballs Hall of Fame.

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Ah tennis. The sport of nobility, white tennis shoes and sweet little tank tops on the women. Not really my game but it’s Maria Sharapova so, I would sit in the audience had I been offered the opportunity.

She is an excellent player of the game, a good sport for partaking in this silly match-up and let’s admit it fellas, she is extensively easy upon the eye. Let’s give this funny match a view. (Video is a bit long for you dial-up users. Sorry about that.)

Isn’t that just wild? I love it! I just wonder what is being said by the Japanese commentator but the laughter clearly heard.

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-You’ve got to love those Japanese for their exemplary sportsman-like grace and strange games and oh yeah, how about that Maria Sharapova?

The great coach, Bobby Bowden coached his last game at Florida State. Bobby is greatly known for his homespun wit and caring greatly for other people. Bobby has coached some powerhouses at Florida State winning two national Titles in 1993 and 1999.

When he was 13 years old, Bowden was diagnosed with rheumatic fever.  Bowden was confined to his bed at home for just over a year with nothing more than his imagination to pass the time. It was listening to World War II reports on the radio that began Bowden’s interest in the war, an interest he still has to this day. It was also around this time that his love for football increased, as he would listen to University of Alabama football on Saturday mornings.

Bowden was an outstanding football player at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, and went on to the University of Alabama as a quarterback, fulfilling a lifelong dream to play for the Crimson Tide before returning to Birmingham and marrying his high school sweetheart Ann Estock on April 1, 1949 (today, the couple have six children and 21 grandchildren). Bobby transferred to Howard College (now Samford University), where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Bowden graduated from Howard in 1953.

Coach Bowden of the dad-gum saying bid his farewell with a win over West Virginia. Bowden is 80 years old.

With 1:39 left, Bowden trotted down to the Florida State band section, removing his autographed white cap and tossing it into the seats—and the celebration began. Normally the officals will assess a penalty for throwing the hat into the stands.When it was over, Bowden was surrounded by a wall of photographers, trying to make his way over to shake the hand of West Virginia coach Bill Stewart—who was a 177-pound walk-on for Bowden’s first Mountaineers team in 1970.

Bowden finished with a 389-129-4 record, and most importantly to him, a 33rd consecutive winning season. Next week, Jimbo Fisher takes over at Florida State, which finished 7-6 for the third time in the last four years.

·  Has guided FSU to 29 bowl appearances in 31 seasons, including 25 straight

·  Since 1993, Florida State has played in the national championship game five times (1993 Orange vs. Nebraska, 1996 Sugar vs. Florida, 1998 Fiesta vs. Tennessee, 1999 Sugar vs. Virginia Tech, and 2000 Orange vs. Oklahoma)

·  Since the inception of the BCS in 1998, FSU has reached one of the BCS bowl games six times

·  Patriarch of the first father-son duo to lead Division I-A programs, let alone to lead them at the same time

·  National Citizenship Award (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) named after Bobby Bowden in 2004

COACHING STOPS
1954-55 Assistant Football Coach/Head Track Coach at Howard (now Samford)
1956-58 Head Football Coach and Athletic Director at South Georgia Junior College
1959-62 Head Football Coach at Samford College
1963-65 Assistant Coach (Receivers) at Florida State
1966-69 Offensive Coordinator at West Virginia
1970-75 Head Coach at West Virginia
1976- Head Coach at Florida State