Steroids in Sports

Steroids in the World of Sports

Performance-enhancing drugs have been and continue to be abused in the world of sports. Athletes ranging from Lance Armstrong to Barry Bonds were considered the best at what they did. Armstrong was stripped of his 7 Tour de France titles due to performance enhancing drug use. Barry Bonds remains the leader on Major League Baseball's all-time home runs list with 762. Due to his career being filled with allegations of PED use, some say Bonds will never make it to the Hall of Fame. When professional athletes use steroids to enhance their performance, they should immediately be banned from any further participation in that sport. Record books nowadays are tainted and they do not reflect an athlete's true performance. A "clean" sports world will never be an attainable goal because there are ways to cheat the system of drug-testing. Some professional sports test their athletes randomly without any structure, and cheating the test can occur. Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees was given advice from Anthony Bosch on how to cheat an MLB urine test in 2014. Bosch told Rodriguez to only use mid-stream urine, not the beginning or end of the stream because most of the metabolites can be found in the beginning or end of the stream. Cheating these random tests occurs all the time which prohibits the sport from being completely "clean." No matter how many suspensions and fines are given out, players will either find a way to avoid being punished or continue to use steroids after serving their suspension. Eliminating performance-enhancing drug use was and will always be impossible.

Athletes use steroids for their own individual needs and reasons, whether they are recovering from an injury or just trying to increase their stats which will eventually earn them more money. Some players are fighting to earn a living by playing a professional sport and are willing to take "the risk." That risk is to take steroids and reap the benefits of them in the game itself, but there is a chance you can get caught and ruin your career. Players who have been caught for using steroids, whatever the reason was, are thought of as cheaters who do not deserve another opportunity to make millions of dollars. Players sign mega contracts for a reason- they are expected to produce for their team. If a player has to use performance-enhancing drugs to earn the money on their contract, they should not be paid any of that money and suspended immediately. In the NFL's new drug testing policy, a player's first violation will result in a maximum suspension of 6 games. Using PED's only warrants a 4 game suspension, and that player will earn the remaining portion of his salary for that season. The lack of punishment handed down to athletes needs to be realized as a major issue that is preventing the steroid problem from being resolved.

Players will accept or even try to appeal the 4 game suspension that the NFL hands them, and then continue to earn their millions of dollars and possibly continue to use steroids for their own benefits. Leagues like the NFL, the MLB, the NBA, etc. seem to believe that punishing a player once with a small suspension or fine will be enough to stop that player from using PED's in the future. Sports legends like Armstrong, Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGuire, and Alex Rodriguez unable to escape the dirty image that the general public has painted of them because of their past. All of the records they hold and the status they have built for themselves are now diminished. Some will never make it to their respective Hall of Fame's, the symbol of professional immortality. The record books remain tainted forever, which takes away from players who could have accomplished goals without cheating. PED's have no positive impact on the world of sports and only create a dark cloud over each individual game.

New rule changes are being made to drug test athletes more frequently, but little progress has been made. The MLB automatically hits a player with a 60 game suspension if he tests positive for HGH or any other performance enhancing drug. Steroids ruin the record books and create unnecessary controversy about whether or not a player should be considered an icon if he or she "cheated." In the case where an athlete fails a drug test, his/her case should be looked at individually instead of just handing down suspension based on the violation alone. If a player like Alex Rodriguez has a history of PED use, then his suspension should be more severe than a player who abused the same substance for the first time. Steroids have done nothing but destroy professional sports. If an athlete accomplishes something great in a sport, he or she is questioned about using PED's to aid their performance. The questions will continue to be asked in the world of professional sports about steroids, and those questions will seemingly never be answered.

Alex Rodriguez Hits 661st Homerun

      On Thursday May 7, in the third inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Alex Rodriguez hit the 661st home run of his historic career. Number 661 moved him into 4th place on the all-time home runs list, breaking his tie with Willie Mays. The Yankees owe him $6 million for passing Mays on the all-time list, but the team is refusing to pay the bonus because Rodriguez is no longer "marketable." New York also believes that the record is tainted because of his history with PED use. Rodriguez is boo-ed in every ballpark across the country including Yankee Stadium until he began to show fans that he could still produce in the lineup everyday. He was suspended for the entire 2014 season because of his involvement in the Biogenisis scandal. Home run number 661 is considered irrelevant because most people believe he will never be elected to the Hall of Fame. A-Rod's entire career is associated with performance enhancing drugs and he will never be able to win back the support of baseball fans.
        No matter how impressive his stats look at the end of his career, Alex Rodriguez does not belong in the Hall of Fame and he should not even be in the game today. The number of suspensions and fines he has received should lead Major League Baseball to ban A-Rod for life. At the time he signed the richest contract in Major League history with the Yankees and he has done nothing but cheat his way into the record books. The majority of baseball fans hate seeing him still involved with the game and he has only been a distraction to the whole Yankees organization. Alex Rodriguez may have moved into fourth place on the all-time home runs list, but it did not change the fact that he should not be elected into the Hall of Fame. Assuming he remains healthy for the remainder of his career, he has a shot at reaching the 700 home run mark, as well as climbing the all-time hits and RBI's lists. Passing Willie Mays has been a much anticipated feat for Rodriguez because Mays was his father's hero growing up and, unlike A-Rod, put up historic numbers without cheating.

Rondo and Mavericks Part Ways

Rajon Rondo left the Dallas Mavericks following their Game 2 loss in Houston. The Mavericks announced Rondo had suffered a back injury and that he would miss the remainder of the postseason. After being eliminated by the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night, it was announced that the point guard and the team mutually agreed to part ways. Rondo played only 10 minutes in Game 2, and clearly underperformed in his short time in Dallas. He was traded in December from the Boston Celtics to Dallas to provide leadership and the ability to make plays in the postseason. After getting into fights with the coaching staff and struggling to shoot the ball from the outside he was benched for the majority of Game 2. 

 Rondo will be a free agent this summer and Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle has made it clear that the all-star will likely not be wearing a Mavericks uniform next season. Dallas traded away Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright, Jameer Nelson, a first-round pick and a second-round pick to Boston in exchange for Rondo, who at 28 years old is playing the worst basketball of his NBA career.

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao on May 2nd

    The Floyd Mayweather- Manny Pacquiao fight is scheduled for May 2nd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It is already said to be the biggest fight in boxing history, and one million dollars has already been bet on it. Ringside seats to the match are currently at a face-value of $5,000 and are expected to jump to over $6,000 by the end of April. The fight will be available for $100 on pay-per-view.

    Floyd Mayweather enters the fight on May 2nd with a record of 47-0 and 26 career knockouts. Standing at 5 feet 8 inches he is 2 inches taller than Pacquiao. Mayweather also has a 72" reach while Pacquiao has a reach of 67". Pacquiao (36) is two years younger than Floyd (38) but comes in with a record of 57-5-2. Mayweather's height and reach are a huge advantage and play into his strengths. He does not have to battle Pacquiao within close range and just land huge punches from farther away. Pacquiao excels at hitting explosively from up-close, which puts him at a huge disadvantage.

   Pacquiao has more experience at a younger age but Mayweather's height and reach advantage will be too much to overcome. The fight will last 10-12 rounds because of the experience and both sides, but Mayweather will win the fight by KO late. This win would cement Floyd's legacy as one of the best boxers of all time, because fighting Pacquiao has been the only one he would not fight. Pacquiao will not be able to land many punches because of Mayweather's 72" reach and the slight height advantage he has. This fight will live up to the hype with Floyd Mayweather ultimately remaining undefeated.

Krzyzewski Wins Fifth National Championship

     Duke University won their first national championship since 2010 on Monday night, beating the Wisconsin Badgers 68-63. The Blue Devils, led by outstanding freshmen Tyus Jones (23 points), outscored Wisconsin by 14 in the final 13 minutes of the second half to seal the victory. The match-up that everyone was focused on was Duke's Jahlil Okafor battling against Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin. Both 7-footers are going to be lottery picks in the upcoming draft, but this was Kaminsky's definite last game as a Badger. Although Kaminsky had the better game scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, it was Okafor who won the title. Grayson Allen provided the spark off the bench that the Blue Devils needed, scoring 16 points (he averaged 4 per game this season). Tyus Jones had a game high 23 and played like an experienced veteran throughout the tournament. Duke's roster is filled with potential one-and-done players Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, and Justise Winslow, whose draft stock has risen greatly since the tournament began.

     This was the 5th national championship for Coach K, putting him in second place alone behind the legendary John Wooden for most all time. Duke's offensive talent was undeniable, but it was their willingness to put in the effort on the defensive end of the floor that made them a championship caliber team. They held Sam Dekker of Wisconsin to only 12 points when he averaged over 20 in the tournament. Stopping Kaminsky is impossible, but the combination of Okafor, Winslow, and Marshall Plumlee frustrated the Badger center all night long. The senior leadership of Quinn Cook and his versatility on both ends was a huge difference maker for Duke all year long. He was the only senior starter and was relied upon to guard the opposing team's best scorer. Krzyzewski said that this national championship team was one of if not his favorite team to coach because they did not carry themselves like freshmen. Every single one of them handled themselves like an upperclassmen, and that showed in the second half against Wisconsin the Allen, Jones, and Okafor took over to bring another championship back to Durham.

Matthew Berry Article

I agree with Matthew Berry's perspective on the Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito situation. Martin was stuck and had no way out of escaping. Berry felt the same way as he was bullied as a child. If Martin told the coaching staff about the issue he would be labeled as weak. Other teammates would make fun of him for being weak and not being able to stand up for himself. If he did stand up for himself, a fight would break out and everyone would be punished. There was no way out for Martin just like there was no way out for Berry. People only make a big deal about Martin's case because he is a professional athlete. Bullying occurs regularly in all parts of the world, and I do not agree with the fact that Martin is the only case being talked about because he is a professional athlete. Berry's childhood story is identical to many other kids, and the issue of bullying should be brought up as a serious problem.

Top Candidates for the 2015 Wooden Award

        The talent level in college basketball this season is as deep as it has been in recent memory. Jahlil Okafor, Frank Kaminsky, and D'Angelo Russell are the front runners to win the John Wooden Men's Player of the Year Award in college basketball. Kaminsky arguably has had the best statistical season of the three but Okafor and Russell are projected to be lottery picks in this years NBA Draft. The award winner will be announced on April 10th following the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament. Most experts believe that the award will be given to the player who performs the best in the postseason, and leads his team the farthest in the tournament. 

       Jahlil Okafor is projected to be the Number 1 overall selection in this years NBA Draft out of Duke University. Averaging over 17 points and 9 rebounds per game, Okafor demands a double team every time he touches the ball in the post. His ability to see out of the double teams and find open three point shooters Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones is remarkable. He is one of the main reasons that the Blue Devils have been a consistent top 5 team all season long. The only weak area in Okafor's game is his free-throw shooting ability; shooting just over 50% from the line. If he can clean that up and lead Duke to a deep tournament run, you might expect to see Okafor hoisting the Wooden Award trophy on April 10th.

     Frank Kaminsky has had undeniably the best statistical season of the top three candidates. The 7-footer out of the University of Wisconsin, averaging 18.5 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists per game, does it all for the Badgers. He leads them in almost every major statistical category, and has been the go-to-guy for the Big Ten Champions. The combination of his footwork in the post, his ability to shoot well from behind the arc, and his basketball I.Q. make for future lottery pick. Kaminsky averaged under 2 points per game as a freshman and has blossomed into a future All-Star at the next level. With Wisconsin being a predicted Final-Four team, Kaminsky could run away with the award provided he and his team meet their expectations.

    D'Angelo Russell is arguably the most fun player to watch in the country. The 6 foot-5 inch freshman has burst onto the scene as a potential number 1 draft pick behind Okafor. Averaging 19 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5 assists per contest Russell has been the lone bright spot for an Ohio State Buckeye team that has underachieved this year. His play is so smooth and he not only puts points on the scoreboard himself, but he makes his teammates around him better. Russell does not receive as much spotlight as the other 2 candidates because his team is not performing as well as Duke and Wisconsin. Watch out for D'Angelo Russell in the race for the Wooden Award and at the next level as a future star.