Hello NY and everywhere else, welcome back to the Birdcage. Longtime no see...how in the hell are ya?

I spent time last night watching the re-broadcast of the Congressional hearings in Washington that dealt with Major League Baseball and steroids. While I have watched many hours of C-Span dealing with a wide variety of topics it's always more interesting when the subject matter involves people of interest, sports figures specifically.

Of course one Congressman spent some of his question time reminding everyone of the many important issues that face Congress and wondered out load why the media never shows up for those hearings. I thought that was great.

Now, on to the subject of the steroid issue.

The first reaction I had to the hearings was one of great sadness. More than one congressman waxed poetic about his love for the game of baseball when describing why it was important for Congress to get involved in a matter that should be dealt with by the sport itself. What made me sad was that there's not a shot in hell that we'd see Congressional involvement in the current NHL vs. NHLPA wars. How cool would it be to see our beloved game become so important that the U.S. Congress itself would step in to force these two parties to quit the crap and strike a deal. Of course, that will never happen, hence the dejection on my part.

The other reaction I had was based on the discussion of cheating. In my mind, I understand both sides of this issue. It does seem a bit unfair to the players of yester-year, the Hank Aarons and Babe Ruths who are not just baseball legends but part of American culture. These icons set records that baseball fans revere. Watching someone try and break old records can be captivating, even for those not very interested in the sport. The breaking of Roger Marris' 61 home run record certainly helped baseball regain part of what was lost after their labor issues. But thinking about Mark McGuire using steroids and assuming that if he did it most certainly helped in some way.....well, doesn't that taint his record?

In regards to hockey, I'd be foolish not to think that some players in the NHL have used steroids. As fans, we have to decide whether that matters or not and then move on. Because the other side of this discussion is valid too. In any sport today, winning is everything. Teams as well as individual players are expected to use any edge, any angle they can think of to try and win within the rules. Add to that, that players need to do whatever they can just to make the pros and need to continue to do whatever it takes to keep their roster spot. The better they perform, the higher the contract they get. Money and winning are fantastic reasons to explore all kinds of ways to improve performance.

Let's pretend for a second that there were no bad health issues with 'roids at all. You can bet your ass that every player would have to think about using. A lot of players enhance their god given talent with special diets and various forms of vitamins. They work out during the season and during the off-season. If I could have taken a pill or a shot that would have helped me play better (or longer) I sure would have had to at least consider it.

Of course there are major health issues associated with 'roids. So all sports need to decide if they'll allow them and if not, take steps to test players and enforce the rules. Enforcing rules is something Hockey has an issue with. Ask the Rodent about why some rules go ignored in the third period or in a playoff game. It drives him nuts (pardon the pun) and so it should.

So I think we'd all agree that steroid use in pro (or any) sports should be eliminated. Whether Congress is needed to help get this done is open for debate. Their involvement so far points a bright light on MLB and all sports to see if they can clean up on their own.

I also wanted to share another thought I had while watching the hearings. Mark McGuire refused to discuss his use of drugs during the hearings. I was disappointed by this. Since he didn't flat out deny the use one must assume that he did. I admit that I got wrapped up in the whole home run record chase that he and Sammy put on a few years ago as did the entire country. I feel kinda cheated now. I know, steroids didn't really help in making contact but it sure helped in strength and in turn, distance. I can't help but think that the Marris record is still the one to beat, a real record.

Also, Sammy Sosa was caught with a corked bat once. How many times did he use it in a game without getting caught? One could make a case that MLB is a joke. If true, at least the NHL wouldn't be the only joke of a league.

----}- Bird

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