I just learned of a great Slate article that discusses how athletes blame everyone but themselves when they're caught with drugs in their system. Here are some of the gems quoted in the piece:
"...I don't know what has happened and I don't know how it has happened. I promise everybody I'm going to find out."—Shot-putter C.J. Hunter, Sept. 25, 2000, after failing four separate tests for anabolic steroids
"I promise everybody I'm going to find out." Reminds me of that email listing the world's shortest books, one of which was "O.J.'s Search for the Real Killers."
"I know I did nothing incorrect. ... I'm surprised because look at what kind of player I am. I'm a leadoff hitter. I never hit any home runs." —Then-Devil Rays outfielder Alex Sanchez, April 4, 2005
Well, at least he's aware of his abilities (or lack thereof), right?
And my personal favorite:
"She was bringing them from Lithuania for my mother-in-law."—Cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, July 30, 2002, after his wife was found with EPO and testosterone in the trunk of her car
In other news, the hockey world is buzzing over the Flyers' acquisition of Peter Forsberg from the Avalanche. The Avs offered more money, but Forsberg opted to go to Philly. (I'm sure he had his reasons, but why would anyone want to go to Philly instead of staying in Colorado? I spent most of my life living outside of Philly and I can definitely say without a doubt I'd rather be in Colorado.) However, that move pushed the Flyers over budget, meaning that someone on the team would have to go- and it looks as though the likely candidate is Jeremy Roenick, going to the Kings. I think L.A. is in for a surprise, to say the least. I'm a little relieved; about midway through the season I get really tired of watching Roenick during games on ESPN when he's wearing the mike. I sometimes enjoy his antics because he's such a jackass, but it gets obnoxious after a while. Now he can do it on West Coast time and I won't have to hear the ESPN announcers fawning all over him all the time. No wonder he has such an inflated ego. I guess I'll only have to hear it during the All-Star game. Bleh.
And finally, today's Post describes how the family of a young crew coach who drowned is suing the crew club for which he worked. It's a tragedy, but the guy had been doing this for years; he was well aware of safety procedures ( i.e. should have been wearing a life jacket). I don't see how blaming the crew club is going to help anyone. Like that isn't egregious enough, this line in the article was the icing on the cake:
"Catilo, who had completed his junior year at U-Va., had hoped to become a surgeon; the damages requested in the suit include compensation for projected income."
Now we get to the heart of the matter: it's not about the guy's death at all; it's just another greedy family looking for money. That's the real tragedy. What kind of a family would dishonor a son's memory like that? Unbelievable. People really will do anything for money.
And everyone say hi to The Captain over at DC Sports. Hi Captain!
2 comments:
This just may be the most I've seen written on hockey on any blog since the lockout.
Kudos on the steroid writeup. These people are caught. Why can't they just save face and own up to it? Don't they understand that they look MORE pathetic while denying once they're exposed than if they would just come forward and say "I did it, I'm sorry." This never "knowingly" doing anything wrong is just a lame cop out. It sounds less like "I'm sorry I did it" and more like "I'm sorry I got caught"
Well said, very good point! When you're caught with your hand in the cookie jar, you're not sorry for your actions, you're sorry you got caught- like these characters. Palmeiro sounds like an idiot for using "I accidentally took steroids" as his initial defense. Just tell the truth!
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