Yes, I was surprised that Alex Rodriguez admitted to using Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) aka: steriods.  But why is it such a big deal that ARod took roids?  Is it because he’s one of the biggest stars in the game? Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were huge stars, and they all appear to have been users.

ARod is getting hammered because he’s not very well liked.  He’s a highly paid, successful ball player that seems to only care about his own image.  Which he seems to value more than winning.  He’s arrogant and he’s not a great clubhouse guy like so many other ball players.  Him admitting to using has just given people another thing to bash him about; only this time it is justified bashing.  Come on Alex, do you really expect me to believe you only took them for 3 years and then stopped? You had a change of heart after cheating for 3 years, but then kept it to yourself for all of these years.  I’m not buying ARod’s story, and I have always enjoyed him as a ball player.  You might even say I was a fan of his.

Personally I shouldn’t have been surprised because at this point it appears that just about everyone in Major League Baseball has been using PEDs for the last two decades.  Truthfully there are probably hundreds dozens of Major League Baseball players who have NOT used PEDs, but at this point everyone in baseball looks suspicious.

The one MLB player who I think might not be using PEDs? Derek Jeter.  Call it a hunch.  Probably because Jeter has always embodied the gamer attitude to me.  He loves the game, so he would never to do something to tarnish himself or MLB.  Would he?  I hope Jeter never comes out and says he used PEDs, because if that ever happens I will probably never be able to watch another Major League Baseball game.

I already lost respect for a couple of players I once admired; Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa.  I was a fan of both players, but now am ashamed to admit I cheered for them.  I’m a big Cubs fan, but no longer form the same admiration for their players that I once did for Grace, Maddux, Wood and (gulp) Sosa.  Fool me once…

So once the ARod furor dies down, it is my sincere hope that some investigative journalist does not come out with a scathing piece accusing Jeter of using PEDs.  That might be too much for me, and baseball, to handle.

Which current Major League Baseball players do you think are clean?  Which do you think are NOT using PEDs?

Bar owners in Wrigleyville (the neighborhood surrounding the Chicago Cubs stadium) say they are going to temporarily suspend alcohol sales during the late innings of Cubs playoffs games.  Although it sounds like the city strong armed the bars into the deal.

Billy Lawless, owner of the Irish Oak bar, said “I’m not happy with it.  You say it’s voluntarily, but c’mon it’s a directive from the city.”

The city has the right idea, to try to lessen the drunken unruly behavior that often occurs around sporting events.  But the reality is that if people want to get drunk for a game, they are going to find a way.  Asking the bars not to serve them might help curb some of the drunkiness, but it’s more likely to make people find alternative ways to get their booze.