Friday, February 15, 2008

My Thoughts On Baseball :

Testimony was heard from 50% Liars and 50% Rats

I think baseball should look to the future instead of the past, spend the money on testing, not testimony.  Instead of focusing on the way it was and what possibly happened, they should move forward and make the sport clean. 

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

My question is why is our Congress wasting time on this? It seems to me we have alot more important things to do than worry about overpaid baseball players. The fans know they cheat if they want to waste their money to see a bunch of pumped up so-called baseball professionals then thats on them. lets focus on other problems

Anonymous said...

In fact the Congress is required - by law - to oversee the interstate commerce activities of both MLB and the NFL due to their anti trust exemptions enacted in 1961. It is exactly for this reason that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was summoned by Senator Arlen Specter to a 3PM meeting on Wednesday re: "Spygate".

If necessary the Congress can also suspend or cancel a season of MLB or the NFL.

Professional Sports is one of the largest business entities in the Country. The exemption allows them to pass on many costs to the taxpayers instead of team owners.

As for the Congress - they are 'hired' by the voters who elect them - they are your employees. If you don't vote, you don't have any reason to complain, if you do and are unhappy with your representation - get involved and get your candidate elected.

Sorry to sound so preachy, but I am always surprised at the lack of substantive knowledge about our government shown by much of the population.

It's been particularly obvious lately, not just here, but all over the media.

Chris C. said...

i had no idea Nora had opinions about baseball.

Nora said...

I don't really have an opinion on baseball, that's just it. Seeing the hearings on the news is what I'm basing this comment on:

1. Like Greenpeace said, why is Congress wasting our money on this? I don't see what is solved with the he said, she said accusations and defense.

2. Solve the problem: Mandatory testing for all at the start of the season and random testing throughout. Follow through with fines and suspensions (or eviction)for those caught.

Melanie said...

I agree. Though Congress is charged with the responsibility of oversight of these national leagues, as usual, our elected officials get mired in the inefficient bureaucratic procedures of "government".

If there are no established guidelines set up to handle this, what will the investigation tell us that we don't already know, other than which players have used steroids in the past? Can we retroactively punish them if testing wasn't in place? How can we even prove steroid use definitively if there wasn't testing?

I've not followed this issue too closely, but it seems to me that our elected officials could save taxpayers a lot of money by moving forward with setting guidelines for random testing and clearly stated punishment for those who are caught using.

Anonymous said...

Nora and Melanie -

You are absolutely right about mandatory testing. In 2005 the baseball commissioners advised doing that and the head of the Players Union refused to even consider it.

It was brought up again at the January Congressional hearings and the union again refused to cooperate.

The Congress is also very concerned at the number of children who are now using steroids and other illegal drugs to participate in their high school sports. The number is two million.

Meanwhile the baseball union continues to stonewall.

Melanie said...

Thanks for shedding some light on this subject, Joan. Like I said, I don't know much about it, but like most Americans, I'd like to see Congress working on some of the serious problems facing our nation and average Americans.

I'm just curious, how can the players union refuse to comply with the baseball commissioner, who, I assume, is appointed by Congress? Is it that Congress hasn't mandated testing, only recommended it? Let's face it, the Players Union, like any corporation, is not going to voluntarily police themselves.

Melanie said...

I stand corrected. Damon just explained to me that the baseball commissioners have nothing to do with Congress. That makes my last comment sound pretty stupid!!

Nora said...

To the Player's Union:

Do the testing or don't play. It should be that simple.