[zybar]

Welcome back Alex - the Yanks certainly missed you.

BAM!!!  Three run dinger - See Ya!!




GO BOMBERS!!


George

[geowak]

Pro Baseball is a JOKE!

A-Rod, Manny, McQuire, Sosa and all of them are juiced up. Why would anyone be surprised if they hit homers??? The league looks the other way. Maybe baseball was great at one time long ago, but now...I would hope our kids find true heroes, not these guys..

[S Clark]

Pro Baseball is a JOKE!

A-Rod, Manny, McQuire, Sosa and all of them are juiced up. Why would anyone be surprised if they hit homers??? The league looks the other way. Maybe baseball was great at one time long ago, but now...I would hope our kids find true heroes, not these guys..

I sadly agree.  The owners signed a pact with the devil back in the '90s when they chose not to clean up the game.  It has been a terrible influence on our youth and a joke for spectators ever since.

[maxwalrath]

Pro Baseball is a JOKE!

A-Rod, Manny, McQuire, Sosa and all of them are juiced up. Why would anyone be surprised if they hit homers??? The league looks the other way. Maybe baseball was great at one time long ago, but now...I would hope our kids find true heroes, not these guys..

I sadly agree.  The owners signed a pact with the devil back in the '90s when they chose not to clean up the game.  It has been a terrible influence on our youth and a joke for spectators ever since.

There's a Facebook application called "5 people I'd like to punch in the face".  I haven't made my posted my own list, but Bud Selig would absolutely be on it. 

[Tyson]

Pro Baseball is a JOKE!

A-Rod, Manny, McQuire, Sosa and all of them are juiced up. Why would anyone be surprised if they hit homers??? The league looks the other way. Maybe baseball was great at one time long ago, but now...I would hope our kids find true heroes, not these guys..

I sadly agree.  The owners signed a pact with the devil back in the '90s when they chose not to clean up the game.  It has been a terrible influence on our youth and a joke for spectators ever since.

If your kids are looking at baseball players (or any sports icon) as "hero's", then you are a sorry excuse for a parent.

[maxwalrath]

Pro Baseball is a JOKE!

A-Rod, Manny, McQuire, Sosa and all of them are juiced up. Why would anyone be surprised if they hit homers??? The league looks the other way. Maybe baseball was great at one time long ago, but now...I would hope our kids find true heroes, not these guys..

I sadly agree.  The owners signed a pact with the devil back in the '90s when they chose not to clean up the game.  It has been a terrible influence on our youth and a joke for spectators ever since.

If your kids are looking at baseball players (or any sports icon) as "hero's", then you are a sorry excuse for a parent.

They were never heroes to me, but I did look up to and admire players when I was younger...

[zybar]

Pro Baseball is a JOKE!

A-Rod, Manny, McQuire, Sosa and all of them are juiced up. Why would anyone be surprised if they hit homers??? The league looks the other way. Maybe baseball was great at one time long ago, but now...I would hope our kids find true heroes, not these guys..

I sadly agree.  The owners signed a pact with the devil back in the '90s when they chose not to clean up the game.  It has been a terrible influence on our youth and a joke for spectators ever since.

If your kids are looking at baseball players (or any sports icon) as "hero's", then you are a sorry excuse for a parent.

Bravo Tyson!!

My kids watch baseball with me almost every day and the word "hero" never comes up in conversation.  

Heroes are mom and dad, firefighters and policemen, teachers, doctors, etc...

S. Clark,

While I don't like steroids in baseball (or illegal drugs in any sport), let's not go overboard with the "terrible influence on our youth" angle.  

As a parent, I simply explain to my oldest son that some players have chosen to break the rules and that it was wrong and should not be emulated.  There are much worse things, having a much larger influence on my children in everyday life, than steroids in baseball.  

If you no longer want to watch baseball because of steroids, that is certainly your choice.  But the game still brings me a great deal of enjoyment and is something that I love to share with my boys  and will continue to support.

George  

[Tyson]

Parents and school, those are the 2 GIGANTIC influences on kids, the rest is just small potatoes.

[maxwalrath]

Parents and school, those are the 2 GIGANTIC influences on kids, the rest is just small potatoes.

You might say it's small potatoes, but I think it's a societal shift that hasn't been corrected.  I'd love to know what sociologists think about this: 

Fathers and sons of all income levels, no matter where they lived, used to be able to sit down after work and on the weekends watch sports without all of today's drama.  They could root for the home team without the mega-agents, contracts, steroids, college kids taking money, drug use, etc. 

For a large segment of society, a suitable replacement for watching sports hasn't been found.  It would be great if parents did lots of other things with their kids, but I think a lot of today's fathers never learned to bond with their dads in a way other than watching sports together. 

[Tyson]

Parents and school, those are the 2 GIGANTIC influences on kids, the rest is just small potatoes.

You might say it's small potatoes, but I think it's a societal shift that hasn't been corrected.  I'd love to know what sociologists think about this: 

Fathers and sons of all income levels, no matter where they lived, used to be able to sit down after work and on the weekends watch sports without all of today's drama.  They could root for the home team without the mega-agents, contracts, steroids, college kids taking money, drug use, etc. 

For a large segment of society, a suitable replacement for watching sports hasn't been found.  It would be great if parents did lots of other things with their kids, but I think a lot of today's fathers never learned to bond with their dads in a way other than watching sports together. 

I agree with your facts, but I disagree with your conclusions.  I think the complexity of modern sports lends itself quite well to the banishment of hero-worship of sports icons.  A good thing, in my opinion. 

As someone who played sports (football) at a fairly high level (college), I see the crap that is built into the system.  Athletes have always been poor role models, it's just more obvious now.

[maxwalrath]

I agree with your facts, but I disagree with your conclusions.  I think the complexity of modern sports lends itself quite well to the banishment of hero-worship of sports icons.  A good thing, in my opinion.  ...

Athletes have always been poor role models, it's just more obvious now.

Agreed, and the only conclusion I reached was that I don't think suitable replacement role models have been found on a macro scale. 

[chadh]

In 1919, didn't the White Sox throw the World Series?  At that time, I'm sure commentators pronounced it a death blow for America's national pastime.  Yet the MLB is still going strong.

Drama and scandal on the sporting field are nothing new.  But it's almost certainly true that that the incidence escalates as the amount of money involved in the games increases. However, the amount of money involved only increases if the level of interest from the public remains high.  The sponsorship deals, the advertising revenues, the merchandising etc. would not exist if people didn't want to see the games, buy the shirts, play the videogames, drink the gatorade etc. that these sports stars promote.  A-Rod's salary and endorsement checks are all the proof you need that, on the whole, people don't really care too much about the steroid issue.

By and large, the biggest concern for people is the likelihood that their team will win.  People invest inordinate amounts of time and energy to associate themselves with a team in the desperate hope that their team will win, and a small slice of the victory spoils will be theirs.  Steroids or no, people still crave that association with success.  In years to come, people may well shake their heads and wag their fingers at the mention of Alex Rodriguez, drug-cheat.  But deep down, the real reason everyone will hate him is his inability to convert fantastic (if artificially enhanced) personal performances into championships.  And if he turns things around and wins a couple of championships in the next few years, people will look at him a great deal more sympathetically.

Chad

[Tyson]

Tyson's Axiom #1 - People are stupid.
Tyson's corollary #1 - When in doubt, see Axiom #1.
Tyson's corollary #2 - Yes, even smart people are stupid.

[rydenfan]

George, finally the Yankees gave you something to be excited to be about this season 

[geowak]

Maybe baseball was great at one time long ago, but now...I would hope our kids find true heroes, not these guys..

Let me clarify my comments. I meant "our kids" in the universal sense, because I do not have kids...myself.

Also, I do not want to step on toes here. Yes I hope children in America do not see our pro baseball players as heros. They, by and large, are overgrown babies who get overpaid for what they do.

But many Americans buy the stuff, go to the games and pay for tickets, games on tv and license fees?? I guess if we pay for it, the players are justified in grabbing our money. I get more excited over a good bowel movement than I do if Mannny or A-Rod hits a HR.

But hey... I do like Lance Armstrong, who in my mind has accomplished much more than A-Rod has, but does not get as much attention....