December 15 2007

The NHL is going through one of it's worst yers in terms of vilently aggressive on-ice behaviour. Would it be too much of a stretch to mention that, in light of developments in baseball this week, the league might take a closer look at steroids and their spinoff--the so-called 'roid rage.

The NHL has always had it's head in a rabbit hole when it comes to this subject. The company line has been; steroids can't help a hockey player. That is an absolute crock.

Anabolic steroids build muscle. More importantly, they also speed up recovery time. In a league that features an 82 game schedule (soon to be 84); In a league that forces teams to play five games in eight days in 5 different cities; in a league that tacks six weeks of gruelling playoff hockey onto it's schedule it would take someone of very strong will to say away from the temptation of steroids.

Dick Pound has called the NHL testing policy a "sham". He's right. The plicy allows for no more than two tests a year, both of them in-season. Once that second test has been taken the player is free to go on the juice until the start of the next season. Steroids are a training drug and most hockey training these days goes on during the summer. So far the NHL says there have been 3,000 tests and only one player has been caught. Are you kidding me? Only one?

December 8 2007

Twenty-five years ago a member of the Los Angeles Kings named Paul Mulvey ignited one of the worst public relations disasters the NHL had ever had to face. Don Perry, the Kings coach ordered Mulvey who was the Los Angeles tough-guy to start a bench clearing brawl against the Vancouver Canucks and Tiger Williams. Mulvey, who had just come off a suspension, refused to leave the bench with the words "I'm not going to be a designated assassin". Within hours the 23-year old Mulvey was placed on waivers and sent to the minors and ultimately never played another NHL game. The coach was fined and suspended and within a year was fired never to be heard from again. Mulvey eventually took a settlement on a 22-million dollar law suit against the Kings.

A quarter-century later the NHL is feeling the public relations heat aain. Testimony under oath that Vancouver Coach Mark Crawford told his team that "Steve Moore must pay the price" words that led to the infamous Todd Bertuzzi incident. Thewre's a very winable 38 million lawsuit in the courts and Bertuzzi is apparently not going to take the rap alone. Andonce again the so-called 'hockey culture' is put under the microscope.

We're constantly told that players should be able to police the game themselves. As we watch player after player being carted off the ice on stretchers we have to say that not only are the players incapable of policing their game but neither is the NHL itself. And where does that leave us?

December 1 2007

The NHL approved the sale of the fan-challenged Nashville Predators this week to a consortium that has the look and feel of the one that took over the Expos and within a decade ran the team into oblivion. The NHL had a chance to go with a single owner, and a billionaire at that, but passed on that because Jim Balsillie was a little too opinionated for their taste. So instead of Nashville pulling up stakes next year it will be 4 or 5 years from now.

No league has been as injudicious about it's team ownership than the NHL. Unlike the NFL which will not allow large ownership groups, the NHL is filled with them. The NFL has been the North American sports icon because the league front office deals with individual owners rather than boards-of-directors.

In the NHL we have the Toronto Maple Leafs under the control of a teacher's union with all of the attention to product quality of a Chinese toy-manufacturer. We had the Canadiens for years owned by a brewery more concerned image than the team and thus ordering the general manager to unload, at any porice, such perceived liabilities as Chris Chelios, Shayne Corson, Guy Carbonneau and Mathieu Schneider. Only when the Canadiens returned to the single ownership of George Gillett did we see the beginnings of a return from the wilderness.

For all intents a consortium is a committee. And as Sir Alex Issigonis told us back in the 30's---"a camel is a horsedesigned by a committee". In the NHL there seem to be a lot of camels right now.

November 24 2007

This is the week when the legal establishment finally ended it's relentless pursuit of Barry Bonds with a federal indictment. The charge is lying to a grand jury but let's face it; Bonds is being prosecuted, or perhaps persecuted for being the worst athletic jerk in baseball history this side of Mike Schmidt.

Bonds faces up to thirty years in jail for his sins despite the fact that he was not a distributor of drugs; only a customer for a drug that was not even illegal in baseball when he was a user. They tell me the U.S. legal sysem spent six million dollars to nail Bonds while ignoring Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro who in fact lied to Congress about his steroid use.

To me Barrfy Bonds' biggest sin was that he wouldn't give an inch to "the man". And if he somehow manages to beat the steroid rap the IRS is waiting in the wings to make sure they bring him to his knees.

Barry Bonds' biggest sin isn't steroid use or lying to a grand jury. It's thumbing his nose at the "system". The only thing missing is the lynching.

November 17 2007

A long time ago in an environment far removed from today's NHL Sam Pollock held the rest of the league by the entry-draft throat. From 1970 to '78 Sam hel 25 first round draft picks and with them he built a dynasty. When will the other general managers ever learn.

Three names in the hockey news over the past week; Don Waddell, Doug Armstrong and John Ferguson Junior.

Last February Atlanta General Manager Maddell traded two fiirst round draft picks to get Keith Tkaczuk for a playoff run that lasted four games.

In Dallas, Armstrong traded last year's first round draft pick to Phoenix for unrestricted free agent Ladislav Nagy and then next year's first round pick for defenseman Mattias Nordstrom of the Kings. Nagy jumped to Los Angeles in the off season and dallas" playoff run lasted seven games.

And in Toronto John Ferguson Junior traded away all four of his first round draft picks since joining the team. In return he received Brian Leetch and goaltenders Andrew Raycroft and Vesa Toskala. It will be a decade before the Leafs recover from that kind of mismanagement.

P.T. Barnum said there"s one born every minute. The NHL proves the adage.
The suckers are out there and they're not hard to find if you go looking for them.

Does anyone care to bet who will be the first to pick the pocket of new Dallas Stars general manager Brett Hull?

November 10 2007

I don't know whether the phrase is an anachronism (considering the times, it probably is) but when I was a kid it was drummed into my head that "cheaters never prosper". That was well before Bill Belichick, Pete Rose and most blantantly, the steroid users of sporting life.

And what a mess we have now. There's much talk of upgrading the medals of the runners who finished behind the now-disgraced Marion Jones at the Sydney Olympics. The problem is, in at least one instance and probably in every case the runner or runners that finished behind Jones were on the "juice" as well.

Ben Johnson won the 100 metres at Korea in 1988 and flunked doping. That moved Carl Lewis to gold and Linford Christie to silver. Later it was learned that four of the top five finishers used steroids including Lewis and Christie. Only Johnson lost a medal.

In 1976 Canada was the first host-nation to fail to win at least one gold medal. That was the year of the East German women swimmers. If the IOC were to strip all of those medals Canada would have become a swimming powerhouse with 4 silver medals and gold medals for Nancy Garapick and Cheryl Gibson.

This is the trap we're in. The fix was in for Sale and Pelletier in figure skating and Sylvie Frechette in synchronized swimming and the best the IOC could do to repair it was declare a tie for the gold. Steroids have turned sports into a hopeless swamp from which there appears to be no escape.

November 3 2007

Forgive me if you've heard this before. "Steroids are dangerous."

This week at a conference in Iceland a lengthy study was released of former East German athletes who were victims of the doping that surfaced during the
1976 Olympics here in Montreal. Among the horrifying results; among 52 female competitors who were forcefed anabolic steroids 38 percent suffered severe depression with suicidal tendancies. Thirty-two of the fifty-two underwent psychiatric therapy. And a quarter suffered from some form of cancer. The risk of miscarriage and stillbirth was thirty-two times higher than the normal German population. And, where one would expect the heredity of great athleticism to be passed on; of sixty-nine children what he have is a staggering number of physical deformities, mental handicap, allergies and asthma.
The DDR swimmers of 1976 are now in their early fifties and the bill has come due.

And still the chearing continues practically unabated. Latest from the steroid wars? It cost two-million dollars to formulate a test to discover EPO, the steroid of choice among cyclists. No sooner had the test been put into effect, the competitors with their backyard technology found a way to short circuit it by polluting the urine test with a few grains of common soap powder.

And so it goes in the unending and seemingly hopeless war on performance enhancers.

October 27 2007

They have taken to calling the state for world professional boxing "alphabet soup". There's the WBO, WBA, WBC and IBF. All of them naming champions and contenders and seldom do the twain meet. For that reason most boxing enthusiasts look to Ring Magazine for the true picture.

Last Friday night in Montreal the IBF named Lucian Bute their junior middleweight champion after a TKO win over Alejandro Berria. While Berria had been listed the IBF champion, Ring Magazine did not recognize him among the top ten contenders. The best junior middleweight is the immensely talented Joe Calzaghe of England. Calzaghe has held the WBO title for ten years; successfully defending it 20 times. In two weeks he'll fight Ring's number one contender Mikkel Kessler of Denmark, the holder of the WBC and WBA titles.

So, while it's a Montreal feel-good story that Bute is undefeated and has a piece of a world title, in Ring Magazine all it got him was a one-notch bump in the rankings--to 4th. High altitude to be sure, but there's still a lot of work to be done.

October 23 2007

The problems that Guillaume Latendress and Maxime Lapierre have had finding consistancy in the NHL re-enforce theories about rushing the careers of young athletes.

Forget about hockey for a moment and consider the brutal mishandling of the Michelle Wie in golf. Egged on by parents and agents, she was forced, not only to onto the LPGA tour at the age of 14 but also in a monumental case of poor judgement she also played on the men's tour.

Wie turned 18 last week and a once promising career is now in shambles. Her scoring average was 76 this year. She did not shoot one round in the 60's. Wie made a tournament cut only twice. Rather than deal with the family any longer her agent quit this week after only one year.

There is a lesson here, one that has been taught dozens of times through the years. Unfortunately like many lessons there are those who fail to learn from them and find themselves doomed to repeat them. And, repeat we have seen and will continue to see as long as the dreams of parents and agents outstrip the welfare of their charges

October 13 2007

This week in the Gazette our friend Red Fisher is listing the greatest trades the Canadiens have made over the years which got me to thinking about the worst. And without a doubt the worst was Patrick Roy to the Colorado Avalance. Next to the Flyers trading for Eric Lindros it was probably the worst trade in NHL history. The Canadiens at the time had the perfect management storm; a president Ron Corey; a general manager - Rejean Houle and a coach- Mario Tremblay none of whom had a clue. Houle had been general manager only 5 weeks at the time.

So it became Patrick along with team captain Mike Keane to the Avalanche for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andre Kovalenko. Looking down from the Forum Pressbox the next home game my first thought was ---for the first time in my memory there was not one potential Hall-of-Famer on the Canadiens. That was the major damage. The heart was taken right out of the organization.

Twelve years, six coaches and two general managers later the team is still trying to regain it's stature. They finally seem to be on the right track but, for all of those great trades over the years, the Canadiens were stung badly one time and it turned out to be a franchise breaker.

October 6 2007

Gambling and sports have long been uncomfortably wedded. For worse more than better. The possibility of easy money led to the Black Sox scandal in 1919; the college basektball point-shaving scandals of 1951 and 1978; Pete Rose in the 80's. The NHL had Don Gallinger and Billy Taylor in 1948 and Rick Tocchet last year.

Until recently the incidents were isolated but there have been six major betting scandals in the last seven years including Italian and German soccer, South African cricket and, of course the NBA's Tim Donaghy to name a some.

And now, tennis.

The Russian mafia reportedly offered Noval Djokovich two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars to throw a match in Moscow this year. The watch was put on Nikolai Davydenko after strange betting patterns before one of his matches in Poland.

Where the money's big the crooks will flock. It's unavoidable. The
sports talk stations feature dozens of commercials for on-line gambling.
The Quebec government flogs ttheir lotteries with a whispered and insincere "you have to be eighteen to gamble" at the end. And every day we become a little more cynical. And we have to ask ourselves "are the athletes doing their best or, are gamblers ensuring that they aren't."

September 22 2007

This week on Bryant Gumble's HBO show "Real Sports" Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb stated that black quarterbacks are criticized differently by the media and talk shows than their white bretheren. The mostly white media accused McNabb of "whining" because of his 0-2 start to the season despite the fact that the interview was taped during training camp in August.

Once again we don't allow "context" to interfere with a controversial story.

Talk shows and newspapers, mostly manned by whites, almost unanimously said McNabb didn't know what he was talking about. Their defense was the media attacks over the years on Peyton Manning and John Elway to name two.

But, McNabb says there's no categorizing Manning as a "white" quarterback while the subject of colour is constantly brought up when McNabb is being censured.

RFacial times have changed since, fifty years ago, a white Texan named John Griffin changes his skin colour so that he could find first hand the daily hostility and humiliation blacks in American undergo on a daily basis. The result was the best-selling book "Black Like Me".

Most people of colour will tell you that racisims has simply gone underground on this continent. Is McNabb right or wrong? I'm not sure it's wise to make judgement until, like John Griffin, I'm able to walk a mile in his shoes.

[FOR MCNABB'S ANSWER TOTHE RECENT CRITICISM LOG ON TO www.yardbird.com]

September 15, 2007

The definition of "sportsmanship" has taken a terrible beating this summer.
Whatever happened to moraility and ethics in sports? Barry Bonds breaking Henry Aaron's home run record while loaded with steroids.

Eight NASCAR crews have been suspended this year for cheating in separate incidents.
In Formula-One, McLaren is fined 100 million dollars for receiving stolen technical documents.
The leader of the Tour de France removed from the race for ducking doping tests.
And of course, Bill Belichick.

What is troubling is the absolute lack of remorse on the part of the guilty and the defenses thrown up by fans of their sports.

I grew up with the idea that sports was about the rulebook and sportsmanship. Somewhere in that mix was "gamesmanship". But the line between gamesmanship and cheating has been erased.

there was a time when cheating was a rare occurance. Now it's an everyday part of sporting life.
And sadly, the word "ethical" is becoming an anachronism. In today's society the sin is getting caught. Winning is the only important thing even if the winning comes illegally.

June 16 2007

SPORTSNIGHT 360 TAKES IT'S ANNUAL SUMMER BREAK . IT DOESN'T MEANS SPORTS CEASES TO EXIST. LET ME WARN YOU OF THINGS TO COME IN THIS SUMMER OF 2007. TRUST ME NOW.

BARRY BONDS WILL HIT HIS 756TH HOME RUN. HE'LL DO IT AT WRIGLEY FIELD
IN CHICAGO. THE CUBS FANS WILL HONOUR BONDS FOR PASSING HENRY AARON'S
ALL TIME RECORD AND THEN THEY'LL THROW THE HOME RUN BALL BACK ON THE
FIELD.

WITHOUT A DOUBT, OUR NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM, WILL BEAT A TEAM FROM
SOMEPLACE LIKE THE TURKS AND CAICOS IN ONE OF THOSE ENDLESS RUNUP
TOURNAMENTS TO THE NEXT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE
VICTORY OVER THIS CARIBEAN OUTPOST, SOCCER CANADA IN TORONTO WILL
DECLARE THAT CANADA IS READY TO GO TO THE WORLD CUP FINAL.

COUNT ON THE NEW YORK YANKEES CLOSING TO A SINGLE GAME OF THE RED SOX BY
SEPTEMBER. IN THE SHOWDOWN SERIES AT FENWAY PARK ALEX CORA WILL HIT HIS
2ND HOME RUN OF THE SEASON AND ERASE FOREVER MIKE TORREZ AND BUCKY DENT
AND THE RED SOX GO TO THE PLAYOFFS.

THERE WAS THE BORING MASTERS, THE IMPOSSIBLE U.S. OPEN. IN AN EFFORT TO
MAKE GOLF AS BORING AS POSSIBLE BY TRICKING-UP COURSES FOR MAJOR EVENTS
THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP WILL BE WON AT 12 OVER PAR AND GOLF'S TELEVISION
RATINGS FALL BELOW THOSE OF THE NHL.

IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS BOOKS, THE SEQUEL TO THE TELL-ALL BOOK WRITTEN BY
KOBE BRYANT'S BODYGUARD WILL BE RELEASED. BRYANT'S PLUMBER WILL REVEAL
THE DIRTY SECRET BEHIND KOBE'S PIPES AND HIS EFFORTS TO KEEP THEM FREE OF
CONTAMINANTS.

FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS ROGER FEDERER HAS BEEN CALLED, SEEMINGLY WITHOUT
QUESTION, THE GREATEST PLAYER EVER TO PLAY MEN'S TENNIS. DEPEND ON IT;
RAFAEL NADAL WILL BEAT FEDERER ON A HARD COURT SOMETIME THIS SUMMER AND
NADAL WILL THEN BE THE GREATEST THERE EVER WAS.

AND ON JULY 4TH AT CONEY ISLAND NEW YORK THE SPORTS WORLD WILL BE SHAKEN
TO IT'S CORE BY CALIFORNIA'S JOEY CHESTNUT. CHESTNUT, IN FRONT OF A
CROWD OF 30,000 WILL BRING THE WORLD HOT DOG EATING CHAMPIONSHIP BACK TO
THE LAND OF THE FREE AFTER A 6 YEAR DOMINATION BY JAPAN'S TAKERU
KOBAYASHI. CHESTNUT WILL CONSUME A WORLD RECORD 60 HOT DOGS AND THEIR
BUNS IN A 12 MINUTE PERIOD. ESPN WILL TELEVISE THE EVENT AGAIN THIS
YEAR. LAST YEAR 1.5 MILLION WATCHED ACROSS THE U.S. THIS YEAR THAT FIGURE WILL BE 2 MILLION.

IT MAKES ME PROUD TO BE PART OF A WORLD THAT INCLUDES INTERNATIONAL
EVENTS OF THIS MAGNITUDE.

TRUST ME, IT'S ALL GOING TO HAPPEN IN THIS SUMMER OF 2007. GO TO THE
BANK WITH IT.

June 9 2007

THE SUCCESS AND/OR FAILURE OF ANY PROFESSIONAL SPORT HAS INVARIABLY
HINGED ON IT'S LEADERSHIP. THE BEST EXAMPLES OF THAT AT OPPOSITE ENDS
OF THE SPECTRUM ARE THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE AND THE NHL. BUT ALL
SPORTS EXECUTIVES PALE BESIDE BILL FRANCE JUNIOR.

"BILL WHO?" YOU ASK. WELL, BILL FRANCE JUNIOR ORCHESTRATED THE
MONSTROUS GROWTH OF NASCAR OVER THE LAST THREE DECADES. . WHEN JUNIOR TOOK
OVER NASCAR FROM HIS FATHER IN 1972 IT WAS A SERIES LIMITED TO THE SOUTHERN
UNITED STATES WITH A DAMAGING IMAGE OF CONFEDERATE FLAGS, BEER,
EX-RUM-RUNNERS AND GOOD 'OL BOYS. FRANCE IMMEDIATELY SET OUT TO
BROADEN THE FAN BASE. HE MOVED RACES TO NEW SPEEDWAYS IN LARGER
CENTRES. CHICAGO AND KANSAS CITY, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, LAS VEGAS AND
DALLAS. IN 1972 MOST OF THE DRIVERS WERE FROM CAROLINA, VIRGINIA AND
ALABAMA. WHEN FRANCE RETIRED THE MAJORITY CAME FROM THE WEST COAST,
MIDWEST AND NORTH EAST. HE NOT ONLY BUILT THE WINSTON CUP..NOW CALLED
THE NEXTEL CUP, HE ALSO ESTABLISHED THE POPULAR BUSCH SERIES WHICH WILL
MAKE A STOP HERE IN MONTREAL LATER THIS SUMMER AND THE CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES. THE FRANCE FAMILY OWNS NASCAR OUTRIGHT AND NASCAR OWNS 13 OF THE MAJOR CIRCUITS. IT NOW HAS A BILLION DOLLAR TELEVISION CONTRACT. ONLY THE NFL GETS BETTER TELEVISION RATINGS
THAN NASCAR. AS A CORPORATE ENTITY, TODAY NASCAR IS IN THE SAME
BALLPARK AS DISNEY AND AT&T. WHEN YOU THINK OF THE HISTORIC LEADERS IN NORTH
AMERICAN SPORTS, IMMEDIATLY PETE ROZELLE COMES TO MIND. BUT THE REST--BETTMAN,
STERN, SELIG, THEY'RE MIDGETS COMPARED TO BILL FRANCE JUNIOR.

June 7

THE LAST TIME BOB GAINEY SOUGHT MY ADVICE ON ANYTHING WAS THE 1975 PRIX D'ETE HARNESS RACE. HE WAS LOOKING FOR A BETTING WINNER. I GAVE HIM FULL BENEFIT OF MY HANDICAPPING EXPERTISE AND THEN THE HORSE FINISHED SOMEWHERE SOUITH OF PLATTSBURGH. FOR SOME REASON BOB HAS TURNED AND RUN THE OTHER WAY EVERY TIME I'VE TRIED TO OFFER ADVICE.

STILL UNDAUNTED, I PRESENT SOME IDEAS FOR THE FREE AGENT SIGNING PERIOD STARTING JULY 1ST. IT'S EASY TO BRING UP THOSE TWO BUFFALO CENTREMEN BUT THEY ARE GOING TO BE FAR TOO EXPENSIVE.

IF THE CANADIENS NEED A BIG CENTREMAN...AND IT'S CLEAR THEY DO...THEY MIGHT TAKE A HARD LOOK AT TORONTO'S NIK ANTROPOV...ALL 6'6" AND 230 POUNDS. I KNOW HE'S HAD THOSE INJURIES INCLUDING 2 MAJOR KNEE RECONSTRUCTIONS..BUT IF HE'S SOUND HE COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE. SO COULD ROBERT LANG OF THE RED WINGS. 7 YEARS AGO LANG CENTRED KOVALEV AND STRAKA FOR WHAT WAS CALLED THE BEST SECOND LINE IN THE NHL, WE'VE GOT TO FIND SOME WAY TO MAKE ALEXEI KOVALEV HAPPY, THIS MIGHT BE IT. THERE ARE OTHERS OUT THERE LIKE 6'5" MICHAL HANDZUS...A RIGHT WINGER. A KNEE INJURY KEPT HIM OUT OF ALL-BUT 8 GAMES LAST YEAR IN CHICAGO. WHEN SHELDON SOURAY SIGNS WITH LOS ANGELES OR SAN JOSE OR WHEREVER, THE CANADIENS WILL NEED DEFENSIVE HELP. BOB, HOW ABOUT DEFENSEMEN ANDY SUTTON IN ATLANTA, BRAD STUART FROM CALGARY AND DANNY MARKOV WHO WAS PLUS 25 IN DETROIT LAST SEASON. JUST SOME SUGGESTIONS BOB.

AND REMEMBER BOB...I HAVE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF ADVICE TO OFFER. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CALL. AND THE ADVICE IS FREE. AND WORTH ABOUT THAT MUCH.

May 25

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN FANS SET THEIR SPRING SCHEDULE AROUND MEMORIAL DAY AND WHAT USED TO BE CALLED THE "GREATEST SINGLE-DAY SPORTING EVENT IN NORTH AMERICA". THE INDIANPOLIS 500 WAS A MONSTER. EVERYONE KNEW THE NAMES.

A.J. AND MARIO. THE UNSERS, JOHNNY RUTHERFORD. RICK MEARS. I WAS PART OF THE CTV TELECASTS OF THE 500 FOR 7 YEARS AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY IT WAS THE "GREATEST SINGLE DAY SPORTING EVENT IN NORTH AMERICA". BUT THEN WAS THEN. 11 YEARS AGO, THE OWNER OF THE INDIANAPOLIS SPEEDWAY TRIED TO IMPOSE HIS OWN SET OF RULES ON "CART" SERIES CAUSING THE CHAMP CARS TO BREAK AWAY FROM INDY. TONY GEORGE THEN FORMED THE INDY RACING LEAGUE AND OVER 11 YEARS BOTH SERIES HAVE SUFFERED. BOTH CART AND THE IRL HAVE TELEVISION RATINGS WORSE THAN THE NHL IN THE U.S. THE CHAMP CAR RACE IN MONTREAL IS NOW HISTORY---REPLACED BY A DEVELOPMENT RACE FOR NASCAR. NASCAR HAS BECOME NORTH AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE RACING SERIES.

SO OUTSIDE OF THE THREE WOMEN WHO WILL BE PART OF THE FIELD FOR TOMORROW'S RACE, WHY WOULD YOU WATCH THE INDY 500. I'VE HARDLY BEEN CHEWING MY FINGERNAILS DOWN WORRYING ABOUT HOW SAM HORNISH JUNIOR IS GOING TO DO.

AND I'M SORRY ALL YOU DAN WHELDON FANS...BUT I JUST CAN'T WORK UP ANY EMOTIONAL CONNECTION. SO GO DANICA....GO SARAH FISCHER AND MILKA DUNO. WHATEVER SALVATION THERE IS FOR A ONCE-GREAT EVENT...YOU'RE IT.

may 19

THE SELECTION OF COACHES FOR OUR NATIONAL TEAMS HAS LONG BEEN A SOURCE OF PERSONAL FRUSTRATION. IT ALL CAME TO A HEAD AGAIN THIS WEEK WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE CANADIAN SOCCER ASSOCIATION HAD NAMED VANCOUVER'S DALE MITCHELL COACH OF OUR NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM. RIGHT NOW CANADA IS IN A LOSING BATTLE FOR 94TH PLACE IN THE WORLD RANKINGS WITH SUCH SOCCER POWERS AS MOLDOVA, KUWAIT AND ICELAND. NOT ONLY THAT...CANADA'S SOCCER RANKING IS IN FREE FALL..DROPPING NEARLY 10 PLACES IN THE LAST YEAR. WITH THIS KIND OF RECORD YOU WOULD THINK THERE WOULD BE AN ATTEMPT TO GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION WHEN IT COMES TO COACHING TEAM CANADA. INSTEAD WE AGAIN TURN TO HOMEBREW TALENT THAT HAS NEVER TASTED SUCCESS ON THE HIGHEST LEVEL.

FOR YEARS OUR NATIONAL SKI TEAM FLOUNDERED UNTIL FNALLY UNDER KEN READ'S DIRECTION A NUMBER OF COACHES FROM ITALY, FRANCE AND SWEDEN BOLSTERED THE STAFF. THE TURNAROUND HAS BEEN STARTLING.
THE BEST EXAMPLE I CAN PRODUCE IS IRISH BOXING. DESPITE THEIR IMAGE AS GREAT FIGHTERS IRELAND HAD NEVER WON AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL. IN 1992 THEY FINALLY DECIDED THEY WOULD GET FIRST CLASS COACHING. THEY HIRED ONE OF THE BEST TRAINERS IN CUBA. THE RESULT IN BARCELONA WAS NOT ONLY A GOLD BUT A SILVER MEDAL. IRONICALLY THE IRISH BOXER BEAT A CUBAN FOR THE GOLD.

THE LESSON IS, IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED YOU NEED TEACHERS WHO HAVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT. HOWEVER WORLD CLASS COACHES DON'T COME CHEAP. AND THERE'S THE OTHER PROBLEM --- IT'S CALLED "PENNY WISE AND DOLLAR FOOLISH."

May 18

This week a group called the "giving-back fund" announced the most charitable individuals in the United States. Oprah Winfrey gave away 58 million dollars in 2006 to lead the way. There were a couple of bequests listed 2 and three and then Barbra Streisand at 11 million dollars. And then came the most generous of our superstar athletes. It probably is no surprise that Tiger Woods is the most generous among them. Tiger gave away
9.5 million dollars to various causes. The second most generous of the athletes was third year NBA star Carmelo Anthony who took 4.3 million out of his annual paycheck. This is truly "giving back". Too often we hear of players who are in it for "the money"...or "the glory"...or "the power".

Not enough is heard of those who often contribute without any interest in publicity. Did you know that retired tennis star Andre Agassi; the NFLs Ronde and Tiki Barber and NASCAR's Tony Stewart all passed a million dollars each on to charities. This is cash money. Not tied to foundations which sometimes can been drained by inflated operating costs. There is only one thing that is better than a cash donation and that's the giving of time.

Tiger Woods does that. Here in Montreal Saku Koivu did that in raising money for the Mcgill Health Centre. And then there is of course the undisputed world champion in that regard, Jean Beliveau. Being a star athlete doesn't have to mean being avaricious, greedy, rude and impatient-for-freeagency and the next big contract. It only seems that way in our daily life.

MAY 12

THE DETROIT RED WINGS PLAYED THE ANAHEIM DUCKS LAST NIGHT AT THE JOE LOUIS ARENA . THE WINGS WON BUT THE STORY ONCE AGAIN WAS EMPTY SEATS. GOING INTO THIS YEAR'S PLAYOFFS THE RED WINGS HAD A RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE SELLOUTS THAT DWARFED EVEN THE CANADIENS MARK . 11 YEARS WITHOUT AN EMPTY SEAT UNTIL GAME ONE OF THIS YEAR'S PLAYOFFS. GAME ONE OF THE PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND AND 2500 REGULAR SEASON TICKET HOLDERS OPTED OUT.... 18 PERCENT OF THE WINGS SEASON TICKET BASE.
I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED WHEN THE PAYING PUBLIC WOULD SAY "ENOUGH-IS-ENOUGH".

WHEN THEY DECIDE THE PAYBACK FROM AN ENTERTAINMENT STANDPOINT DOESN'T MATCH THE PRICE TAG. WELL, "HOCKEY-TOWN" IS HOCKEY-TOWN NO LONGER. THE WINGS REALLY DID IT TO THEIR FANS THIS TIME. A 54-DOLLAR REGULAR SEASON TICKET BECAME A 99 DOLLAR TICKET IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS AND 108-DOLLARS IN THE SECOND ROUND. THOSE ARE SEATS IN NOSE-BLEED UPPER BOWL SECTION OF "THE JOE". STANDING ROOM IS RUNNING 108 DOLLARS.

33 YEARS AGO, HAROLD BALLARD OF THE LEAFS DECIDED HE WAS GOING TO GOUGE HIS PUBLIC BY INSTALLING WHAT HE CALLED "THE GOLD SEATS" IN MAPLE LEAF GARDENS. WHEN HE WAS QUESTIONED ABOUT HIS BLATANT CASH-GRAB HE SAID "I'LL KNOW I'VE GONE TOO FAR WHEN THEY STOP BUYING TICKETS." IN TORONTO YOU APPARENTLY CAN BEAT THE FANS UP ALL YOU WANT AND THEY'LL ALWAYS COME BACK.

THE GOLD SEATS HAVE TURNED TO PLATINUM SEATS AT THE AIR CANADA CENTRE AND EVEN WITH THE 40 YEAR STANLEY CUP DROUGHT THEY KEEP COMING BACK. NOT SO IN DETROIT WHERE ONLY BASKETBALL'S PISTONS ARE SELLING OUT CHARGING 18-DOLLARS FOR TICKETS THE REDWINGS CHARGE 100 DOLLARS. I WONDER IF ANYONE AT THE BELL CENTRE IS TRACKING THIS STORY.

MAY 5

THIS WEEK WE WERE NOT ONLY SUBJECTED TO FAT-CAT POLITICIANS CALLING DOWN A HOCKEY PLAYER WITH AN EXEMPLARY REPUTATION FOR THEIR OWN SELF GLORIFICATION...WE ALSO HAD AN ACADEMIC FROM THE WHARTON SCHOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PUBLISHING ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES A PAPER THAT STATES THAT BLACK PLAYERS IN THE NBA ARE CALLED FOR FOULS AT A GREATER RATE THAN WHITE. PROFESSOR JUSTIN WOLFERS BASED THIS ON SOME 600 THOUSAND CALLS MADE OVER A 13 YEAR PERIOD USING BOX SCORES. WHILE NO-ONE CAN ARGUE THAT OUR SOCIETY IS FILLED WITH RACIAL OR ETHNIC BIAS....(JUST ASK SHANE DOAN) NEVER HAVE I HEARD ANYONE CRY RACISM WHEN IT COMES TO REFEREEING IN THE NBA. THIS IS A CASE OF AN EGGHEAD, WHO ADMITEDLY DOESN'T EVEN LIKE BASKETBALL, MAKING STATISTICS FIT A PRECONCEIVED NOTION.

AS MARK TWAIN SAID, "THERE ARE LIES, DAMED LIES AND THEN THERE ARE STATISTICS." THE STUDY IS BEING GIVEN ABSOLUTELY NO CREDENCE BY AFRICAN-AMERICAN PLAYERS IN THE NBA WHO WILL TELL YOU THAT THE REFEREES ARE BLIND AND STUPID AND HAVE NO JUDGEMENT..BUT DEFINITELY ARE NOT RACIST. WE HAVEN'T HEARD WHETHER PROFESSOR WOLFERS IS GOING TO SWITCH HIS OBVIOUSLY PLENTIFUL FREE TIME TO RACISM IN HOCKEY. PERHAPS HE CAN MAKE A STATISTICAL CASE FOR PETER WORRELL, GEORGE LARACQUE AND DONALD BRASHEAR BEING AN OFFICIATING VICTIM FOR ALL OF THOSE FIGHTING MAJORS.

April 28 2007

DID YOU KNOW TORII HUNTER OF THE MINNESOTA TWINS RISKED A THREE YEAR BAN FROM BASEBALL FOR SENDING 4 BOTTLES OF CHAMPAGNE TO THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS CLUBHOUSE AS A REWARD FOR THEIR SWEEP OF DETROIT THAT GUARANTEED THE TWINS WOULD FINISH FIRST IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL. THE CHAMPAGNE WAS RETURNED UNOPENED AND A ROYALS PITCHER REWARDED HUNTER'S GENEROSITY BY HITTING HIM IN THE MOUTH WITH A 93 MILE AN HOUR FASTBALL ON THURSDAY NIGHT.
-----------------------------

I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SAY THAT TOUR DE FRANCE WINNER FLOYD LANDIS WOULD LOOK LIKE A VICTIM IN THE FRENCH STEROIDS INVESTIGATION. THE PARISIAN TESTING LAB AGAIN LEAKED RESULTS OF SUPPLEMENTARY TESTS TO THE FRENCH NEWSPAPER L'EQUIPE. SO FAR WE'VE HAD MISLABELED, MISPLACED AND MISHANDLED TEST RESULTS FROM THE LAB BLURRING WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN OPEN AND SHUT CASE.

-----------------------------

IN THE MIDWEST THE FBI HAS BEEN CALLED IN AFTER TV NETWORKS RECEIVED DOZENS OF THREATENING LETTERS CRITICIZING TV CREWS FOR CONTANTLY TRAINING THEIR CAMERAS SALACIOUSLY ON CHEERLEADERS DURING COMMERCIAL BREAKS. THE MAIN COMPLAINT SEEMS TO BE THAT THOSE SHOTS NEVER MAKE THE TELECAST WHICH HAS APPARENTLY INFURIATED A SEGMENT OF THE FEMALE POPULATION. IN PART THE LETTERS SAY "WE HAVE ASKED NICELY FOR YOU TO RESPECT U AND ALL WOMEN. YET YOU REFUSE." A FIVE-THOUSAND DOLLAR REWARD HAS BEEN OFFERED FOR INFORMATION. SOUNDS LIKE A JOB FOR THE OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO ME.
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HOW ABOUT THE INTOXICATED BURGLAR IN STATESBORO GEORGIA. HE BROKE IN TO A HOUSE IN STATESBORO GEORGIA EARLIER THIS WEEK AND THREATENED THE RESIDENTS. A NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR CALLED POLICE. ACCORDING TO THE POLICE REPORT THE WOULD BE BURGLAR KEPT REPEATING "BARRY BONDS DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE HOME RUN KING."

----------------------------

ONE TEAM IN THE CROATIAN 3RD SOCCER DIVISION YOU'LL BE FASCINATED TO KNOW, HAS A "SHEEP BONUS". IF A "DEFENDER" SCORES A GOAL THE SPONSOR WILL GIVE THAT PLAYER A SHEEP. TEAM DEFENDER IVICA SUPE HAS AN INCREDIBLE 16 GOALS. NO INDICATION WHAT USE THE SHEEP ARE BEING PUT TO BUT I'M SURE IVICA WILL THINK OF SOMETHING.

AND SO IT GOES IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS.

April 21 2007

IT WAS ONE OF THOSE STORIES THAT SLIPPED THROUGH THE CRACKS THIS PAST WEEK IN THE HEAT OF A HEATED TAMPA BAY-NEW JERSEY STANLEY CUP SERIES. TAMPA RIGHT WINGER ROB DIMAIO REVEALED TO HIS TEAMMATES THAT DOCTORS HAVE WARNED THAT HE WOULD BE JEOPARDIZING HIS LIFE IF HE WERE TO RETURN TO THE ACTIVE NHL. DIMAIO NOW BECOMES THE POSTER CHILD FOR THE DANGERS OF "POST CONCUSSION SYNDROME".

THE DIMAIO AFFAIR BEGAN HERE IN MONTREAL DURING AN EXHIBITION GAME LAST SEPTEMBER 26 . GUILLAUME LATENDRESSE BLIND-SIDED DIMAIO SLAMMING HIM UP AGAINST THE GLASS. LATENDRESSE WAS THROWN OUT OF THE GAME AND SUSPENDED AND DIMAIO, WHO SUFFERED THE 4TH CONCUSSION OF HIS CAREER HASN'T PLAYED OR PRACTICED SINCE AND NEVER WILL. YES IT'S THE SAME SAD CONTINUING SONG. WE HAD ANOTHER STRETCHER CASE THIS WEEK AND FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS YEAR COLBY ARMSTRONG OF THE PENGUINS WAS THE CULPRIT. ARMSTRONG CAUGHT PATRICK EAVES OF THE SENATORS COMING FROM BEHIND HIS OWN NET.

ANOTHER OF THOSE CONCUSSION-INDUCING SHOULDER-PADS-TO-THE-HEAD CHECKS. THE NHL IS THE ONLY SPORT OUTSIDE OF BOXING THAT DOES NOT PROTECT IT'S ASSETS FROM BLOWS TO THE HEAD. EVEN THE NFL WITH THE EVER-INCREASING SIZE AND WEIGHT OF IT'S PLAYERS HAS SEEN FIT TO IMPLEMENT BLOWS-TO-THE-HEAD RULES. JUNIOR HOCKEY IN ONTARIO NOW HAS TAKEN STEPS TO STOP WHAT CLEARLY IS A TOTAL LACK OF RESPECT FOR AN OPPONENT BY PLACING A PENALTY IN THE RULEBOOK TO COVER BLOWS TO THE HEAD ACCIDENTAL OR NOT.

THE MAJORITY OF PLAYERS, AT LEAST PUBLICALLY, SAY INJURIES OF THIS SORT ARE JUST PART OF THE GAME. SAY THAT TO ROB DIMAIO OR PATRICK EAVES OR FOR THAT MATTER CHRIS DRURY, FRANTISEK KABERLE, TREVOR LETOWSKI, JASON WILLIAMS OR AARON DOWNEY ALL OF WHOM HAD DATES WITH AN ARENA STRETCHER OVER THE LAST
3 MONTHS.

April 7 2007

SO YOU THINK THE FINISH OF THIS SEASON IS CHAOTIC. LET ME TAKE YOU BACK TO 1970. THE CANADIENS WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF A STRING THAT WOULD SEE THEM WIN 10 STANLEY CUPS IN 14 YEARS. BUT GOING INTO THE FINAL WEEKEND OF THE 1970 SEASON 5 POINTS SEPARATED THE 6 TEAMS IN THE EAST DIVISION. ON THE SECOND LAST NIGHT OF THE SEASON THE 5TH PLACE RANGERS LOST IN DETROIT AND THE CANADIENS LOST TO CHICAGO AT THE FORUM. .

SO THE RANGERS WERE STILL 2 POINTS BEHIND THE HABS AND IN 5TH PLACE. THE LAST DAY OF THE SEASON THE RANGERS HOSTED THE WINGS AND THE CANADIENS FINISHED THE HOME AND HOME IN CHICAGO. THE RANGERS NEEDED TO SCORE 7 OR MORE GOALS AGAINST DETROIT AND HOPE THE CANADIENS WOULD LOSE THAT NIGHT. THE RAN GER GAME WAS A SUNDAY AFTERNOON GAME TELEVISED NATIONALLY ON CBS. WITH THE RANGERS OWNING A BIG LEAD DETROIT FORWARD GARY UNGER ADMITTED TO THE CBS AUDIENCE IN THE U.S. THAT THE WINGS HAD PARTIED THROUGH THE NIGHT AFTER CLINCHING THEIR OWN PLAYOFF BERTH THE NIGHT BEFORE. THE RANGERS TOOK 62 SHOTS ON ROGER CROZIER AND WON 9-5.

THEY WERE TIED WITH THE CANADIENS FOR 4TH IN WINS AND UP 4 GOALS IN THE 2ND TIE BREAKER - TOTAL GOALS-FOR.
THE CANADIENS GAME IN CHICAGO THAT NIGHT WAS A NIGHTMARE. WITH 10:42
LEFT IN THE GAME AND DOWN 5-2..CANADIENS COACH CLAUDE RUEL PULLED HIS GOALTENDER. THE HAWKS SCORED 5 EMPTY NET GOALS FOR A 10-2 VICTORY. THE CANADIENS LOST THEIR PLAYOFF BERTH ON GOALS-FOR 246-244. THE NEXT YEAR SAM POLLOCK GOT THE TIEBREAKING SYSTEM CHANGED SO THE RECORD BETWEEN TEAMS WAS THE SECOND TIE BREAKER. WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL PLAYOFF BERTH IS DECIDED ON A SHOOTOUT.

Jackie Robinson

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL WILL CELEBRATE THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF JACKIE ROBINSON'S FIRST GAME WITH THE BROOKLYN DODGERS ---- THE GAME THAT BROKE THE SO-CALLED COLOUR LINE. KEN GRIFFEY JUNIOR GOT PERMISSION TO HONOUR THE DAY BY WEARING ROBINSON'S RETIRED #42. 6 OTHER TEAMS WILL OUTFIT EVERY PLAYER ON THE ROSTER WITH #42 WHICH SEEMS TO ME TO BE EXCESSIVE TO THE POINT OF BURLESQUE.

AND WHERE HAS BASEBALL COME IN THE 60 YEARS SINCE JACKIE ROBINSON CAME INTO THE GAME. WE HAVE AFRICAN AMERICAN FIELD MANAGERS IN THE GAME, ---TWO OF THEM. GENERAL MANAGERS IN THE MAJORS? ONE. NUMBER OF TEAMS IN THE MAJORS WITH MORE THAN 4 AFRICAN AMERICANS ON THE ROSTER. ONE.
TOMORROW THE EVERY MEMBER OF THE DODGERS IS GOING TO WEAR NUMBER 42 TO HONOUR JACKIE. IN THE STARTING LINEUP THERE WILL LIKELY BE ONE AFRO AMERICAN---JUAN PIERRE.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE THAT'S PROGRESS.
HERE'S SOME MORE PROGRESS...IN THE LAST 10 YEARS AFRICAN AMERICAN PARTICIPATION IN BASEBALL HAS DROPPED 50 PERCENT. TODAY ONLY 8 PERCENT OF THE MAJOR LEAGUES HAVE BLACK PARTICIPATION. IN THE 1970'S IT WAS 30 PERCENT. I'LL LEAVE IT TO THE SOCIOLOGISTS TO FIGURE THAT ONE OUT. BUT GO TO A MAJOR LEAGUE BALLPARK THESE DAYS AND COUNT THE NUMBER OF AFRICAN AMERICANS SITTING IN THE SEATS. IF YOU GO BEYOND ONE PERCENT YOU MAY BE RISKING INFLATION.

YES, TOMORROW MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL WILL PAY TRIBUTE TO JACKIE ROBINSON'S FIRST GAME. FROM ABOVE JACKIE MIGHT BE SAYING "HOW COULD YOU HAVE SCREWED THINGS UP THIS BADLY."

March 31 2007

BEAR WITH ME A MINUTE WHILE I RE-VISIT THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING FIGHTING IN THE NHL. AT THE OUTSET LET ME SAY THAT I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE WHO THINKS FIGHTING SHOULD BE BANNED FROM HOCKEY. IT'S A TOUGH GAME AND TEMPERS CAN GET THE BEST OF EVEN THE MOST DISCIPLINED PLAYERS. HOWEVER, THE USE OF FIGHTING AS A COACHING TOOL IS ANOTHER MATTER. FOR IT'S OWN CREDIBILITY THE NHL HAS TO DEAL WITH THE SERIAL OFFENDERS.

CONSIDER THIS: THE CANADIENS HAVE BEEN INOLVED IN A TOTAL OF 16 FIGHTS THIS SEASON. HALF OF THOSE FIGHTS HAVE INVOLVED AARON DOWNEY AND GARTH MURRAY, NEITHER OF WHOM WOULD BE IN THE LEAGUE IF IT WEREN'T FOR THEIR WILLINGNESS TO BE ENFORCERS. THE MINNESOTA WILD HAVE THE SECOND FEWEST FIGHTS IN THE LEAGUE AT 12. 9 OF THOSE INVOLVING DEREK BOOGARD. COLORADO...20 FIGHTS...IAN LAPERRIERE FOUGHT IN 16 OF THEM. AND SO IT GOES THROUGHOUT THE LEAGUE. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN ROSTER SIZE PREVENTED TEAMS FROM STOCKPILING GOONS. THE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION WILL NEVER ALLOW ROSTERS TO SHRINK. IF THERE'S ANY WILL IN THE NHL FRONT OFFICE..AND I DON'T SENSE IT..THE EASIEST WAY TO ELIMINATE THE GOON IS TO FINE AND SUSPEND THE HABITUAL OFFENDERS UNTIL THEY HAVE NO REASON TO BE IN ANYONE'S LINEUP. BOB GAINEYIS PROBABLY THE MOST DISCIPLINED PLAYER I'VE EVER SEEN AND OVER THE COURSE OF HIS CAREER HE'S SEEN FIT TO RESORT TO FISTICUFFS. IT HAPPENS IN A GAME LIKE HOCKEY. A SPONTANEOUS RE-ACTION OF A PERCEIVED FOUL NOT SOMETHING THE COACH ORDERED UP. AS MY OLD BROADCAST PARTNER DAN KELLY ONCE SAID "I WOULDN'T PAY A DIME TO WATCH DAVE SCHULTZ FIGHT PIERRE BOUCHARD. HOWEVER I'D PAY SCALPERS PRICES TO SEE HENRI RICHARD FIGHT DICK DUFF."

IT'S ALL A MATTER OF HONEST EMOTION.

March 24 2007

THIS WEEK IT WAS REVEALED THAT ALONG WITH BASEBALL'S GARY MATTHEWS JUNIOR, THERE WERE 11 PROFESSIONAL WRESTLERS CAUGHT UP IN THE LATEST FEDERAL STEROIDS RAID.

UNLIKE BASEBALL PLAYERS AND FOOTBALL PLAYERS, TRACK STARS AND ROCKY BALBOA...PROFESSIONAL WRESTLERS READILY ADMIT TO HEAVY STEROID USE. THEY ARE ALSO HELD UP AS THE POSTER CHILDREN FOR ALL OF THINGS DANGEROUS IN THE DRUG. A 7 YEAR SURVEY OF 1000 WRESTLERS YOUNGER THAN AGE 46 WAS COMPLETED THREE YEARS AGO. OF THE 1000 OVER THE SURVEY PERIOD, 65 DIED. 25 OF THOSE DEATHS WERE DUE TO CORONARY DISEASE CAUSED BY STEROIDS AND HEAVY USE OF PAIN KILLERS. THAT'S 6.5 PERCENT OF THE SURVEY BASE GONE BEFORE THEY REACHED MIDDLE AGE. . MEDICAL EXPERTS ARE SAYING THIS IS MERELY THE "CANARY IN THE MINE". A WARNING OF THINGS TO COME IN OTHER SPORTS.

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED REPORTED A SURVEY A FEW YEARS AGO. THEY ASKED ATHETES WOULD TAKE A BANNED DRUG AND BE GUARANTEED THEY WOULDN'T BE CAUGHT..AND WITH THE DRUG THEY WOULD WIN EVERY COMPETITION ENTERED FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS, BUT THEN WOULD DIE FROM THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE SUBSTANCE. MORE THAN 50% SAID THEY WOULD TAKE THE DRUG. THAT DRUG IS TURNING OUT TO BE STEROIDS AND NOBODY SEEMS TO BE LISTENING.

March 17 2007

HOCKEY COMMENTATORS AND FANS HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH A COLLECTIVE CATHARSIS OVER THE ISLANDERS CHRIS SIMON. SIMON GETS THE LONGEST SUSPENSION IN NHL HISTORY AND THERE ARE THOSE WHO THINK HE AND HIS ILK HAVE DONE IRREPAIRABLE DAMAGE TO THE NHL'S IMAGE, WHATEVER THAT MIGHT BE. I WILL GRANT YOU THAT EVERY SPORTSCAST FROM HERE TO KEY WEST, FLORIDA LED WITH SIMON'S STICK SWINGING AND THEN FOLLOWED UP BY RESURRECTING THE TAPE OF TODD BERTUZZI AND MARTY MCSORLEY'S MISCONDUCT. BUT THESE INCIDENTS HAPPEN ABOUT ONCE A DECADE IN THE NHL AND AGAINST THE OTHER SO-CALLED MAJOR SPORTS THE NHL LOOKS LIKE THE TEDDY BEAR'S PICNIC.

IN THE NFL THE CINCINNATI BENGALS HAVE 9 PLAYERS FACING FELONY CHARGES AT THE SAME TIME. TANK JOHNSON OF THE BEARS IN JAIL FOR 4 MONTHS. TODD BERTUZZI MAY BE A THUG BUT THE NFL CAN OFFER UP PACMAN JONES. NOWHERE IN THE NHL DO WE HAVE A TERRELL OWENS OR RANDY MOSS NO MATTER HOW HARD SEAN AVERY TRIES.

MAJOR LEGUE BASEBALL HAS IT'S OUT AND OUT CHEATING. STEROIDS RULE--- WITH GARY MATTHEWS JUNIOR THE LATEST ACCUSED. AND DON'T FORGET PETE ROSE.

AND THE NBA. WHAT IMAGE COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THE NAMES ARTEST, KOBE BRYANT, ALAN IVERSON ALL OF WHOM HAVE HAD RECENT RUN-INS WITH THE LAW.

THERE ARE LOTS OF THINGS WRONG WITH THE NHL. SOME SAY FIGHTING SHOULD GO. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT BLOWS TO THE HEAD AND THE LEAGUE STILL PUTS STICKS IN THE HAND OF DELINQUENTS BUT COMPARED WITH THE OTHERS THE NHL COULD BE NOMINATED FOR SAINTHOOD.

March 10 2007

ALAN EAGLESON WAS BACK IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK AFTER ANNOUNCING HE WAS SELLING 98 ITEMS OF MEMORABILIA VIA INTERNET AUCTION.....THIS HAS MADE TEETH GRIND IN THE HOME OF HOCKEY CANADA WHO THINK THEY SHOULD BE GETTING A PIECE OF WHATEVER LIMITED ACTION THERE IS FOR WHAT IS FOR THE MOST PART A COLLECTION OF JUNK.

EAGLESON SERVED 7 MONTHS IN JAIL AND WAS FINED 700 THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR HIS MISCONDUCT IN RUNING THE NHLPA. SUDDENLY HIS GHOST IS LOOMING OVER THE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION AGAIN. WHEN HE HEADED UP THE PLAYERS UNION HE PUSHED THROUGH AN AMENDMENT TO THE ASSOCIATIONS BYE-LAWS THAT SAID THE "EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE UNION SHALL HAVE THE POWER TO BIND ALL MEMBERS. IN THE PRESENT DAY THAT MEANS THAT 30 PLAYER REPRESENTATIVES CAN DICTATE TO THE 700 PLAYER MEMBERSHIP. AS FIRST MIKE MILBURY BACK IN THE EAGLESON DAY...AND CHRIS CHELIOS TODAY ARE QUICK TO POINT OUT ---THAT IS HARDLY DEMOCRATIC.

ARMED WITH CLOSE TO ABSOLUTE POWER WE HAVE HAD IRREGULARITY AFTER IRREGULARITY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PLAYERS UNION.......E-MAILS..A 50 MILLION DOLLAR STRIKE FUND THAT HASN'T BEEN GIVEN BACK TO THE PLAYERS. A WRITTEN-OFF 300 THOUSAND DOLLAR LOAN USING PLAYER FUNDS WITH NO EXPLANATION.

SO ALAN EAGLESON LIVES AFTER ALL. AND WHILE HE SITS HOME HOPING TO MAKE A KILLING ON HIS GAME-WORN CANADA CUP JERSEYS...THE SAME AUCTION COMPANY HAS ANOTHER CLIENT WHO IS SELLING THE JERSEY THAT BOBBY ORR WORE WHEN HE SCORED THAT FAMOUS AIR-BORNE GOALAGAINST ST. LOUIS TO WIN THE 1972 STANLEY CUP. AS OF THIS AFTERNOON THE BIDDING FOR THE SWEATER IS UP TO 81 THOUSAND DOLLARS.

HOW DID THE EAGLE MISS THAT ONE.

March 7 2007

ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONFLICTS OF INTEREST IN SPORTS IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEAM MEDICAL PERSONNEL....ALWAYS HIRED BY THE CLUB...AND THE WELFARE OF THE PLAYER. THE MOST GLARING EXAMPLE OF ABUSE INVOLVED MIKE ROBITAILLE OF THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS WHO, IN 1976 SUFFERED A BACK INJURY WHICH THE CANUCKS DOCTOR SAID WAS NOT SERIOUS. ROBITAILLE WAS FORCED TO PLAY..

HIS CAREER WAS ENDED AND IN THE ENSUING LAWSUIT A JUDGE RULED THE ACTIONS OF COACH PHIL MALONEY AND THE DOCTOR WERE SO HIGHHANDED AND ARROGANT THAT HE AWARDED MAJOR FINANCIAL DAMAGES TO ROBITAILLE. ROBITAILLE IS NOW A BUFFALO SABRES BROADCASTER.

LATEST EXAMPLE OF THE "FOX IN THE HENHOUSE". DOCTOR ELLIOT PELLMAN...
THIS WEEK PELLMAN SUBMITTED HIS RESIGNATION AS THE SO-CALLED NFL "
CONCUSSION EXPERT ". IT'S BEEN DISCOVERED THAT PELLMAN'S RESUME WAS FILLED WITH OUT AND OUT LIES. THAT HIS MEDICAL DEGREE CAME FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF GUADALAJARA IN MEXICO IN SOMETHING FAR REMOVED FROM NEUROLOGY. PELLMAN WAS AUTHOR OF A NUMBER OF PAPERS THAT WENT AGAINST THE OPINION OF EVERY NEUROLOGY SPECIALIST IN THE WORLD. AMONG OTHER THINGS PELLMAN ARGUED THAT THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS A CUMULATIVE EFFECT IN SUCCESSIVE CONCUSSIONS.

THIS WAS EXACTLY WHAT THE NFL WANTED TO HEAR. BY IGNORING THE REST OF THE WORLD IT GAVE THE NFL CARTE BLANCHE TO RUN PLAYERS WITH HEAD INJURIES RIGHT BACK INTO THE GAME WITHOUT REGARD FOR THEIR SAFETY.
OH.....A WORD TO RYAN SMYTH. WHEN YOU ARRIVE IN THE ISLANDERS DRESSING
ROOM TONIGHT. PELLMAN REMAINS THE NEW YORK ISLANDERS DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL SERVICES. RYAN....JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW.

February 24 2007

THERE ARE DAYS IN THIS BUSINESS THAT YOU NEVER FORGET. 21 YEARS AGO I
WORKED THE CTV NATIONAL TELECAST OF THE CANADIAN AMATEUR BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM TORONTO. ON THAT NIGHT THREE VERY PROMISING YOUNGSTERS BROKE THROUGH TO WIN NATIONAL TITLES; WILLI DEWIT FROM ALBERTA..SEAN O'SULLIVAN FROM TORONTO..AND FROM KITCHENER A HEAVYWEIGHT NAMED LENNOX LEWIS. DEWIT AND O'SULLIVAN HAD SOME SUCCESS AS PROS....LEWIS WENT ON TO BECOME THE DOMINANT BOXER OF HIS GENERATION AND THEN RETIRED WITH ONLY 2 LOSSES IN 44 BOUTS. HIS LAST VICTORY CAME IN 2004 AGAINST VITALI KLITSCHKO.

LAST WEEK KLITSCHKO ANNOUNCED HE IS COMING OUT OF RETIREMENT. TODAY LEWIS ANNOUNCED HE'S ALSO COMING OUT OF RETIREMENT AT AGE 41 SO HE CAN FIGHT KLITSCHKO AGAIN.

CONSIDERING THE STATE OF THE THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION RIGHT NOW....IT COULD BE THE FIGHT OF THE YEAR.

BUT CONSIDER THESE DEVELOPMENTS...TOMMY MORRISON WAS BACK IN THE RING THIS WEEK. MORRISON IS BEST KNOWN FOR BEING JOHN WAYNE'S NEPHEW BEFORE HE WAS DIAGNOSED HIV POSITIVE AND WAS FORCIBLY REMOVED FROM BOXING AN THE EVE OF A FIGHT WITH MIKE TYSON. WELL, IN WEST VIRGINIA IF YOU CAN CLIMB THROUGH THE RING ROPES WITHOUT FALLING DOWN, YOU CAN FIGHT.

MORRISON FOUGHT ON A CARD WITH JOE MESI OF BUFFALO NEW YORK. YOU MIGHT REMEMBER MESI...HE FOUGHT STEPHANE TESSIER IN MONTREAL IN 2006 DESPITE A BRAIN ANEURISM. THEY BOTH LIVED ..AND THEY BOTH WON THEIR FIGHTS.

AND THEN THERE'S ROCKY BALBOA. CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS..SYLVESTER STALONE STOPPED BY AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS CARRYING PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES. READ:
STEROIDS. WHERE HAVE YOU GONE JOE FRAZIER. THE HECK WITH IT...AT THIS
POINT I'LL TAKE GEORGE CHUVALO.

February 17 2007

DICK POUND TELLS US HE'S GOING TO STEP ASIDE AS HEAD OF THE WORLD ANTI DOPING AGENCY AT THE END OF THE YEAR. THAT MAY BE THE SOUND OF THOUSANDS CHEERING YOU HEAR; ESPECIALLY IN THE UNITED STATES WHERE POUND HAS BECOME A PARIAH. HOWEVER AS WE'VE LEARNED THE U.S. OLYMPIC COMMITTEE AND THE U.S.

TRACK AND FIELD FEDERATION HAVE ACTED AS STEROID FACILITATORS, MAKING THEIR RECORD AS DIRTY AS THAT OF THE SOVIETS AND EAST GERMANS. POUND HAS BEEN A ZEOLOT. YOU MAKE ENEMIES WHEN YOU TELL PEOPLE WHAT THEY DON'T WANT TO HEAR OR YOU CATCH THEM CHEATING.

FOR INSTANCE, POUND RAISED THE HACKLES OF THE NHL WHEN HE TOLD GARY BETTMAN THAT THEIR DRUG POLICY "LOOKED LIKE THEY FOUND AN EARLY COPY OF THE NOW-DISGRACED BASEBALL POLICY ON THE FLOOR SOMEWHERE." BETTMAN ROSE UP AND SAID "POUND DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT." I THINK IT'S VERY SAFE TO SAY DICK POUND KNOWS MORE ABOUT THE MAKING OF ATHLETES INTO MUTANTS THAN GARY BETTMAN DOES.

MUCH OF THE TIME POUND SHOT-FROM-THE-HIP WITHOUT BENEFIT OF DEFENSE. BUT FOR WHATEVER CRITICISMS----- CONSIDER WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE WADA WAS FORMED 8 YEARS AGO. WITHIN 4 YEARS THE WADA CODE HAD BEEN ADOPTED BY ALL OLYMPIC SPORTS. YESTERDAY IN ATHENS "UNESCO" ADOPED THE WADA CODE UNANIMOUSLY SOMETHING POUND CALLED A "MIRACLE".. "MIRACLE" MAY BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT.

IN ONLY EIGHT YEARS THE WORLD ANTI DOPING AGENCY HAS GONE FROM AN IDEA TO A MAJOR FORCE IN SPORTS ON THE PLANET. POUND ALWAYS SAID..."IF YOU WANT TO CONFRONT SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO BE CONFRONTATIONAL". AND NEVER EVER APOLOGIZE. HE ALSO SAID YESTERDAY, IN DECEMBER "MY SENTENCE WILL BE SERVED". AMEN TO THAT.

January 27 2007

WHEN THE NHL HIRED GARY BETTMAN AWAY FROM THE NBA THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GETTING A BRILLIANT MARKETING MIND. PERHAPS WE SHOULD HAVE BECOME SUSPICIOUS WHEN HE IMMEDIATELY CHANGED HIS TITLE FROM NHL PRESIDENT TO COMMISSIONER..

SINCE THEN HAVE BEEN FEW NOTEABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS. SOME WOULD SAY "THE NEW NHL" IS BETTMAN'S DOING...BUT MOST OF THE WORK WAS DONE BY BRENDAN SHANAHAN AND THE PLAYERS. THAT SALARY CAP FIGHT COST FANS AN ENTIRE YEAR OF HOCKEY.

HE WAS HIRED TO SELL THE NHL TO AN INDIFFERENT U.S. POPULATION. ALL HE HAS MANAGED TO DO IS NEGOTIATE HIS NUMBER ONE MARKETING TOOL TELEVISION.......

STRAIGHT BACKWARDS FROM ESPN AND ABC....TO THE INVISIBLE "OUTDOOR LIFE NETWORK"..NOW CALLED "VERSUS". WHERE NHL GAMES WERE BEING SEEN 3 TO 4 TIMES A WEEK ON ESPN...NOW YOU HAVE TO BE A DETECTIVE TO EVEN FIND "VERSUS" ON YOUR CABLE SYSTEM. AND THE NHL STANDS TO MAKE NOTHING OUT OF THEIR COST SHARING NBC CONTRACT.

THE LATEST MARKETING PLOY IS THE STYLE-CHANGE OF UNIFORMS A FACSIMILE OF WHICH YOU SAW ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT'S ALL-STAR GAME. I DON'T KNOW A SOUL, EITHER FAN OR PLAYER WHO HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE OLD UNIFORM. APPARENTLY THE LEAGUE HAS SOLD WHATEVER REMAINING PIECE OF IT'S SOUL TO REEBOK WHO HAVE DESIGNED THE SO-CALLED "UNFORM SYSTEM". CALL ME CYNICAL....BUT DOENS'T THIS SMELL LIKE ANOTHER CASH-GRAB ONE THAT MAKES THE LARCENOUS "THIRD JERSEY" LOOK PETTY.

LOOK AROUND YOU AT THE BELL CENTRE NEXT TIME YOU'RE THERE. 21 THOUSAND FANS...PROBABLY 12,000 WEARING THE 130-DOLLAR CANADIENS JERSEY. WHAT BETTMAN AND GANG ARE ABOUT TO DO IS CREATE A PLANNED OBSELESCANCE..OUT GOES THE OLD OUT-OF-STYLE 130 DOLLAR JERSEY.

AND HERE'STHE REALLY GOOD NEWS....IF YOU WANT TO REPLACE IT; THE NEW "LIGHTER-FASTER-DRIER" SWEATER WILL COST 425 DOLLARS CANADIAN. AND IF YOU WANT IT WITH A NAME ON IT...550 DOLLARS.

MAKES ME LONG FOR THE DAYS OF JOHN ZIEGLER AND GIL STEIN.

January 20 2007

MUHAMMED ALI CELEBRATED HIS 65TH BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK. FOR THOSE OF US THAT FIT INTO THAT "CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC"..WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY CN BE TERMED "PREACHING TO THE CHOIR".

SO LET ME SPEAK TO A YOUNGER GENERATION FOR WHOM MUHAMMED ALI IS MERELY A DISTANT LEGEND. ALI WAS A BRILLIANT ORATOR; A SELF PROMOTER; ABSOLUTELY SURE OF HIS CONVICTIONS WHICH INCLUDED A CONVERSION TO THE MUSLIM RELIGION, A NAME CHANGE AND HIS REFUSAL TO BE DRAFTED INTO THE ARMY TO FIGHT IN VIETNAM FOR WHICH HE PAID DEARLY. HE LOST MILLIONS AFTER COMMISSIONS ILLEGALLY CANCELLED HIS BOXING LICENCE. . MUHAMMED WAS VILLIFIED BY BOTH THE RIGHT AND THE LEFT IN WHITE AMERICA... IN MOST OF THE REST OF THE WORLD HE WAS A HERO..

ALI WAS CHAMPION OF THE WORLD AT A TIME WHEN THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION WAS RICH WITH TALENT INCLUDING JOE FRAZIER AND GEORGE FOREMAN. TODAY THERE ARE THE LOUDMOUTHS LIKE TERRELL OWENS; COMPLETELY DEVOID OF SOCIAL CONSCIENCE AND WEDDED ONLY TO THEIR PAYCHECKS AND SELF INTEREST.
JUST ONE EXAMPLE...

AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN DEMOCRAT IN THE CHICAGO AREA ONCE ASKED MICHAEL JORDAN IF HE WOULD ENDORSE HIS CANDIDACY. JORDAN'S REPLY IN REFUSING WAS "BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS WEAR MY SHOES"..IN THE DAY, YOU EITHER LOVED MUHAMMED ALI OR YOU HATED HIM. HISTORY HAS DECIDED HE WAS IN FACT HERO WHO TOOK ON A GOVERNMENT THAT WAS PROSECUTING AN IMMORAL WAR AND WON..

AT A SEVERE PERSONAL COST. BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY....

December 16 2006

THIS IS THE TIME OF THE YEAR AS WE WE LIKE TO LOOK FONDLY ON THE PASSING YEAR. I KNOW, WE HAD TIGER..AND FEDERER AND JEROME BETTIS AT THE SUPER BOWL AND THAT OVECHKIN GOAL AND THE ENDY CHAVEZ CATCH.
BUT THIS WAS THE YEAR THAT FLOYD LANDIS WAS STRIPPED OF HIS TOUR DE FRANCE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR STEROIDS. JUSTIN GATLIN LOST HIS 100 METRE WORLD RECORD FOR STEROIDS.

THE ONLY THING THE ONCE HIGHLY REGARDED CINCINNATI BENGALS MANAGED TO DO WAS FIND 8 MEMBERS OF THEIR TEAM IN JAIL.. THE GLORIOUS CAREER OF ZINEDINE ZIDANE ENDS IN DISGRACE AFTER A HEAD-BUTT LATE IN THE WORLD CUP FINAL. MONTREAL POLICE ROUGHING UP TWO MEMBERS OF THE ALOUETTES IN A CLEAR CASE OF RACIAL PROFILING. THE CBC IN IT'S OWN STATE OF BLESSED TORONTO ISOLATION ---FAILING TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORT OF THE BERNARD GEOFFRION SWEATER RETIREMENT.

MONTREAL'S MEDIA HOUNDING SAKU KOIVU FOR HIS LACK OF FRENCH EVEN AS HE WAS TRYING TO RECOVER FROM AN EYE INJURY THAT THREATENED HIS HOCKEY LIFE.

THE ABSOLUTE FINANCIAL INSANITY THAT PREVAILS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL INCLUDING THE BLUEJAYS WHO JUST COMMITED 150 MILLION DOLLARS.
RINGLEADER GOT 6 MONTHS. THERE WAS DUKE UNIVERSITY LACROSSE. BODE MILLER PARTYING HIS WAY THROUGH THE OLYMPICS. O.J. SIMPSON'S BOOK "IF I DID IT?"--BEING SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED AS A FOX TV PRIME TIME SPECIAL. SO ON BOXING DAY I'M GOING TO LINE UP AT MY FAVOURITE DEPARTMENT STORE'S RETURN-DESK AND ASK FOR A TOTAL REFUND ON 2006. AND HOPE THAT SOMEHOW THE GOOD WILL OVERRIDE THE BAD IN 2007. ANYONE CARE TO BET THINGS WILL IMPROVE?

December 8 2006

December 8 2006

IN DECEMBER THE FINAL GROUP BIDDING FOR A CFL FRANCHISE IN OTTAWA PULLED OUT WHEN THEY HEARD THAT THE COST OF AN EXPANSION TEAM WOULD BE 5 MILLION DOLLARS. THAT'S 5 MILLION DOLLARS IN A CITY THAT HAS ALREADY FAILED TWICE.

THE GROUP THAT JESSE PALMER'S FATHER PUT TOGETHER APPARENTLY WAS READY TO GO TO 3.5 MILLION DOLLARS BUT NO FURTHER. WHY THEY WOULD GO TO 3.5 MILLION DOLLARS IS BEYOND ME....BUT THEN AGAIN IT'S NOT MY MONEY. IF THE CFL IS SERIOUS ABOUT EXPANDING I THINK THEY SHOULD ABANDON THE "GREED FACTOR" A TEAM BELONGS IN OTTAWA. THE LEAGUE SHOULD HAVE A TEAM IN HALIFAX AND PERHAPS QUEBEC CITY. BUT WHERE DO THESE CITIES COME UP WITH 3 TO 5 MILLION DOLLARS IN START-UP MONEY?

RATHER THAN HAMMER THE INVESTORS WITH A HEAVY ENTRANCE FEE...IF EXPANSION IS SOMETHING THAT THE LEAGUE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERS...TRY A REVENUE SHARING DEAL THROUGH THE FIRST 5 YEARS OF THEIR EXISTANCE. IN OTTAWA, HALIFAX AND QUEBEC CITY...STARTING OUT 5 MILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT IS A THE FAST TRACK TO BANKRUPTCY. GIVE THEM A CHANCE IF FOR ONLY ONE REASON. I'M SICK AND TIRED OF SEEING THE WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS IN THIS CITY

December 1 2006

DECEMBER 1 2006

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HAS ANNOUNCED IT'S ELIGIBILITY LIST FOR THE HALL OF FAME. FOR THOSE WHO RUN THE MAJOR LEAGUES IT'S A MATTER OF THE CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST. THE VOTERS WILL BE ASKED FOR THE FIRST TIME TO DECIDE WHETHER STEROID USERS SHOULD BE ADMITTED TO THE HALL.
FIRST WE HAVE MARK MCGWIRE..WHO EMBARASSED HIMSELF IN THOSE CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS WHEN ASKED ABOUT STEROIDS...BUT WHO ALSO HIT 583 HOMERS...INCLUDING 49 IN HIS ROOKIE YEAR.

ALSO ON THE BALLOT FOR THE FIRST TIME...ADMITTED STEROID USER AND BEST SELLING AUTHOR ON THE SUBJECT JOSE CANSECO...ALONG WITH ANOTHER CONFESSED ABUSER KEN CAMINITI.

ALL THREE OF THESE PLAYERS PLAYED THE GAME WHILE THOSE WHO RAN BASEBALL WERE INTERESTED ONLY IN HOW MANY TICKETS THE HOME RUN BATTLE BETWEEN MCGWIRE AND SAMMY SOSA WOULD SELL..AND AT LEAST TACITLY ENCOURAGED STEROID USE. SOME 575 MEMBERS OF THE BASEBALL WRITERS OF AMERICA ARE NOW GOING TO HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER STEROID USE SHOULD BE FACTORED INTO THEIR VOTING EQUATION.

AND WHILE MCGWIRE, CANSECO AND CAMINITI "IS" ON THE BALLOT.........A RATHER WELL KNOWN NON-STEROID USER REMAINS OFF THE BALLOT. AND PETE ROSE WAITS ANOTHER YEAR.