Senior Paper: The Future of Sports Journalism

So what is the future of sports journalism? What will happen in the next 5,000 days with the new communication technologies I grew up with? Kelly from the EG conference thinks all these technologies like computers, cell phones, laptops along with other servers are all going to become one machine. Our highly advanced mobile phones are just windows into this one machine that will go through the Internet. Any journalist that is updated with the new communication technologies of today can tell mobile phones are very close to going through the Internet.

So when asking what they thought about the future of sports journalism, the journalists felt it will be stronger than ever, but also had many concerns what journalism will be like in ten years. One common concern that was brought up was where quality journalism will go with people watching television or going online to blogs to find information related to sports. According to Gary Andrew Poole from the Columbia Journalism Review, in the mid 1990s,

"ESPN became a cultural and media juggernaut, sending fans to SportsCenter for highlights and scores, rendering game recaps and box scores in the next’s day newspapers obsolete."

In other words, ESPN has changed sports journalism because its primary television show, SportsCenter, is like a televised newspaper without much journalism. Let’s say someone missed a Minnesota Twins game one night, since SportsCenter is a 60-minute sports show that is shown at least ten times a day during the morning and again at night with the most updated news, it can provide who won the Twins game that night, see how their high-profile players did in the game, maybe get a brief interview from a manager or baseball player if something outstanding happened in the game, and all within 90 seconds.

It’s understandable if someone is in a rush and doesn’t want to read a newspaper to find out about their teams and players, but to just have facts and highlights on television or mobile phones without the journalism part is a scary thought. Buster Onley, a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine, talked about the decreasing amount of quality journalism these days when saying,

"Today, in four-hundred words you can get the basic details of the game story, but you miss the details and the anecdotes. It’s interesting, and important, to know how the players and managers think why they made certain decisions. That’s the cool stuff, and it’s getting lost."

Maybe because it’s a goal for me to be a journalist that I am a little biased when I say this, but I agree 100% with what Onley said. I know from personal internships that it’s tough to write a quality paper or article in just four-hundred words because there is not enough space, but with the newspapers and magazines reducing pages to keep their companies in business, quality journalism is starting to be forgotten.

Legwold from FOXSports.com wasn’t as concerned as the others when it came to quality writing in journalism because he believes readers in the future will soon be fed up with sloppy writing in blogs and choose to read only what professional sports journalists write.

"I think in the future, things will work themselves out between journalism and its audience. It hasn’t happened yet, but readers that like to read accurate, quality journalism from professional journalists will eventually notice the difference from false or incomplete information that certain bloggers give out just to be noticed."

As of right now people are so amazed with what new technology can do these days with mobile phones and text-messaging, that people are overlooking how the quality of journalism is dropping. Once readers get used to advanced mobile phones like they did when they got used to the Internet, a transition to getting quality journalism back to what it used to be will eventually occur. When it happens is unclear, but it should happen within ten years.

Another concern for the future of sports journalism was how newspapers and magazines will stay in business and since journalism is a business, how journalists can still make a living doing their job. The majority of the journalists said newspapers and magazines will go online. Moving to the Internet helps the environment and it gets the information from journalists to their readers faster online than information to a newspaper ever will since it will arrive the next day.

Now that newspapers and magazines will all go online someday, there still brings up the problem of how journalists are going to make a living when they are giving out their information to the Internet for free. Right now journalists’ incomes are only from subscribers that read newspapers and magazines in print, but with more and more subscribers jumping the “online” bandwagon, journalists’ incomes are coming to such a low point that they move to doing radio and television, leaving great journalism behind.

Fleming from ESPN The Magazine, believes these next few years will be a transition for sports journalism where like Legwold said, things will just work themselves out. When that transition is over and newspapers and magazines go online, Fleming believes,

"The industry in journalism will sort of contract and it’s going to reinvent itself. When it does, I think it (journalism) is going to be electronically-based because when everything moves online, where there is unlimited space and unlimited resources and the money can be spent on hiring professional reporters, writers and bloggers instead of paper, distribution and advertisements, it will be exciting."

I think his solution is a great one because most readers will want great journalism back after this transition it’s going through with new technology. When that does happen, readers will subscribe to newspapers and magazines online that have professional journalists reporting, and that could be a way for journalists to make a living doing what they do. How much money they will ask for per day for people to subscribe is unclear right now, but since there are monthly bills for mobile phones and cable television these days, maybe newspapers and magazines could do something monthly or weekly.

Another solution that was starting out in San Francisco was an idea they are calling “community-funded journalism.” There are a bunch of journalists in the bay area using a non-profit website called spotus.com, that are saying they will personally investigate and write about whatever they are assigned to. The idea is that anyone can propose a story, but only the one’s that contribute enough money from the public so they can make a living will be investigated. That way, if there is a story that the community wants to be investigated on and won’t be done by a newspaper, the community can do something called “crowd-funding,” where the people in the community must chip in some money to get the story investigated and reported. When newspapers and magazines go online in the near future, these are some good plans to keep professional journalists from going to other jobs and continue writing quality articles with accurate information that are sent to their readers faster than ever.

The last concern for sports journalism was how popular blogging will be in ten years. Blogging has been such a powerful tool for sports journalism and has gotten fans closer to sports than ever before. Right now anyone can become a reporter in their own way with blogging, by setting up their own office space and they don’t have to work for a traditional newspaper or magazine. What is becoming more common for bloggers is that they put down information or their opinions about something and think that it is journalism. Citizen bloggers usually don’t investigate, they sometimes don’t get their facts straight, they don’t text-message or tweet because they don’t have that access to athletes, and in the end they don’t always have accurate information. It seems like there are more people out there that call themselves journalists because they have their own blog and write about sports, than professional journalists that do have blogs but use it as another way for fans to get closer to them and sports, which in my mind, makes blogging the biggest concern for sports journalism in the future.

Boston Herald’s sportswriter Borges thinks that blogging is going to make journalism more superficial, especially for magazines.

"No offense to ESPN The Magazine, but it has now become the magazine for people that can’t read. Yes, there are two or three well written documents per magazine, but it’s usually one or two pages long and with pictures. Besides that, it’s a bunch of boxes with information from quotes and blogs from athletes and fans themselves."

Although his statement was bold, Borges made a great point when talking about blogs on the Internet and in magazines. It has caused their audience to have shorter attention spans because with the Internet they can read from blog to blog within seconds and forget a big reason most people read newspapers and magazines, quality journalism. I believe there will always be sports journalism and there will always be facts and stats, but if blogging doesn’t change in the near future, there won’t always be quality journalism.

So what are some solutions to keep blogging along and the importance of good journalism? I think the best solution came from ESPN The Magazine, Fleming that he just doesn’t read most blogs or other types of technology that aren’t from professional journalists anymore.

"Even going back to when Brett Favre was in Green Bay last year before being traded to the (New York) Jets, everybody held onto every word of every report whether it was true or not. So along with some journalists giving out information to their newspapers that was false or incomplete, bloggers wrote that stuff down too so by the end of the day a rumor about Favre seemed like it was the truth in people’s minds. Now with Favre thinking about coming back this year, I just don’t listen to what citizen journalists say to me or put on their blogs anymore."

It doesn’t matter if Favre signed with the Minnesota Viking next week or even if he makes it through a few NFL exhibition games. Until I see him wear a purple jersey on September 13th, 2009 on the first game of the NFL season, I don’t care what bloggers say because rumors are usually incomplete or inaccurate written information and it takes the integrity away from quality journalism. If blogging is going to be a productive tool that will help sports journalism in the future, I believe it has to be written or posted by professional bloggers that are professional journalists, because that way readers will know they are getting good journalism with accurate and updated information.

Senior Paper: Conclusion

Now it’s my turn, where will I be in ten years with all the technology that I have at my fingertips? Whether I become a sportswriter for Sports Illustrated that follows NFL teams or a golf reporter that follows the players on the PGA Tour, there are two things that I can do to help control my future as a journalist: report good, accurate journalism and be as versatile as possible with the new communication technology of today.

I really enjoy reading articles from professional sportswriters and columnists that have the knowledge, creativity, humor and ambition to go along with the passion in their writing that keeps me coming back to read their material because it’s journalism at its best. Since I don’t write for any newspaper or magazine at the moment, I do what I can and write on my own blog. When I do have time to write, I discipline myself by not writing random opinions or false information just to put my name out there. Instead, when I write articles I put my best effort forward to write well and with accurate information so I can make progress to be the best journalist I can be and to be proud of what I’m doing. That way when I put my articles out there for the world to see with the new technology I have today, people will hopefully enjoy reading my material so much that it may launch my career and help me get a job as a journalist someday.

“Don’t forget the journalism part. Just because someone carries a laptop, a Blackberry, or whatever else that is technologically advanced, doesn’t make them a journalist. You make yourself a journalist. Do you report, are you responsible, do you have integrity, are you fair, do you give people the opportunity to defend themselves…that’s the journalism part. The readers are savvy, they most of the time understand what is real and what isn’t when it comes to journalism, at least sports readers do. It truly is a mistake to not do the journalism part.” - Jeff Legwold

The Minnesota Vikings will win the 2010 Super Bowl

(Vikings first-round pick, WR - Percy Harvin; second-round pick, RT - Phil Loadholt)

The Minnesota Vikings did well last year as they won the NFC North Division for the first time since 2004 with a 10-6 record, but they lost in the first-round of the playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles. NFL scouts suggested that if the Vikings were to improve over the 2009 off-season, Minnesota needed to be better in three positions: wide receiver, offensive right tackle and quarterback.

After a very productive off-season, expect to hear “V-I-K-I-N-G-S, Skol Vikings, Let’s Go!” a lot next year as the Vikings make it further in the playoffs. The thought of what the Vikings could do this year should make their fans excited, show their “Purple Pride” and maybe want to start tailgating today for fun even though the NFL season doesn’t start till September.

Minnesota made it to the playoffs last year with a strong defense and arguably the best running back in the NFL, but after the addition of a new quarterback and the players the Vikings selected in the NFL draft to make their offense dangerous again, the Minnesota Vikings will take it to the next level this year and win the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

When the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goddell, went up to the podium at the 2009 NFL draft to announce the 22nd pick, I was surprised the Minnesota Vikings selected the wide receiver from Florida, Percy Harvin. I was surprised with the pick not only because Harvin’s past has more baggage than Paris Hilton does at an airport, but that the Vikings head coach, Brad Childress, has been known for playing it safe and not taking risks during his years at Minnesota. Most NFL experts believed Harvin was by far the biggest “high risk, high reward” player coming into the 2009 NFL draft, so I thought for sure Childress was going to play it safe and pick the best available offensive right tackle at the moment, Michael Oher from Mississippi.

Harvin was going to be a “high risk” for any team that drafted him because of his past on and off the football field. Harvin has had durability problems on the field with his right ankle ever since his freshmen year at Florida in 2006. Even after having surgery on April 7th, 2008 to relieve the pain in his ankle he had been playing on for years, Harvin re-injured his ankle on Nov. 29th, 2008. He now has a “hole” in his ankle leaving NFL scouts questionable about his injury coming into the 2009 NFL draft. His game is based on making big plays with his athleticism and breakaway speed, but with a nagging ankle injury that will probably have to go under surgery later in his career, it would be a questionable move for any team to pick him.

Harvin also had problems off the field when he tested positive for marijuana back in February, 2009 at the NFL combine. Testing positive really hurt Harvin from being a top-10 pick because the NFL combine is where teams and scouts not only test each player’s athletic ability, but to also get to know them in person before the NFL draft. Although Harvin impressed the scouts at the combine, teams ahead of the Vikings in the draft still weren’t willing to gamble on a player that had a past with drug usage and a nagging ankle injury.

So when asked by Star Tribune columnist, Sid Hartman, why Childress picked Harvin and not right tackle, Michael Oher, Childress simply responded, “Offensive linemen can't make plays." In the end, it was Harvin’s “high reward” that overcame his baggage with his explosive speed and incredible playmaking ability that was just too good for the Vikings’ to pass up.

Hartman feels the Vikings first-round pick was a good pick because he sees a resemblance between Harvin and another guy that slipped far into the draft because of his baggage as he was selected as the 21st pick in the 1998 NFL draft, Randy Moss.

"Like Moss, Harvin was recognized as one of the best and most versatile players available in the (2009) draft… If this decision works out as well as a similar decision (that) worked regarding Moss, and if the Vikings find more offensive line help later in the draft, maybe the Harvin move will put the Vikings in the 2010 Super Bowl."

Now Harvin and Moss have more in common than most people would think, good and bad. Both were the top recruited wide receivers in the country coming out of high school, yet both of them also tested positive for marijuana at their NFL combines. Both were Associated Press All-Americans the final years at their colleges (Moss, senior at Marshall; Harvin, junior at Florida), yet both of them slipped deep into the first round at their NFL drafts because of their baggage (Moss – 21st pick; Harvin – 22nd pick). Now if history repeats itself, Harvin may have one more thing in common with Moss someday: to be one of the best wide receivers in Vikings franchise history and NFL history.

Another person that liked the Vikings pick was NFL Network’s college football expert, Mike Mayock. He highly praised Minnesota’s new wide receiver saying,

"Percy Harvin is explosive. I went down and watched him at his pro day, and I’ll tell you what, he’s a better route runner than I expected. He ran crisp routes, a ball didn’t hit the ground and he didn’t double catch one pass…it’s clear to see how talented this kid is and just how explosive he is with the ball in his hands. He is a human highlight reel. I think the addition of Harvin to the Vikings offense can help take some pressure off the quarterback and off of number 28 (Adrian Peterson)."

With picking up Harvin, Mayock added that the Vikings now have two explosive players on their roster that will scare defense coordinators across the NFL with Harvin and Peterson. At least 10 plays a game with these two players on the field will run the Wildcat formation where Harvin will snap the ball as the quarterback and Peterson will be next to him as the running back. This situation will cause many problems to opposing defenses because if they try to tackle Harvin, he will give the ball to arguably the best running back in the NFL, Peterson. The thing is if defenses pay too much attention to stopping Peterson, Harvin could keep the ball and with his playmaking ability in the open field, he could score many touchdowns next year for the Vikings.

To fill the need at right tackle, with the 54th overall pick in the second round of the draft the Vikings selected the 6’8”, 343 lbs. right tackle from Oklahoma, Phil Loadholt. How a man this huge got overlooked all the way to the 54th pick is unbelievable and shocking, but this pick leads me to the second reason the Minnesota Vikings will win the Super Bowl in 2010: it made Peterson very happy and when your franchise player is happy, watch out.

"He's a big guy and he's only going to get better and continue improving," said Peterson. "You think about him and Big Mac [Bryant McKinnie], with their size, and it's a dream for a running back."

Last year Peterson was the best running back in the NFL as he rushed for a season-high 1,760 yards with a very predictable offense, but with the addition of Loadholt at the right tackle to compliment the 6’8”, 335lbs. left tackle, Bryant McKinnie and Pro-Bowl left guard, Steve Hutchinson on the left side of the offensive line, just imagine how many yards Peterson will carry in 2009.

This season will be Peterson’s third in the NFL and in most NFL players’ and football experts’ minds, he is already the best running back in the NFL. To be as big and strong as he is at running back position at 6’1”, 217 lbs. and have the moves and speed compared to hall-of-fame running backs like Barry Sanders and Eric Dickerson, Peterson is like no other running back that the NFL has ever seen.

In his first two seasons for the Vikings, he has rushed for more yards than any other running back playing in the NFL right now with 3,101 yards. With Harvin’s playmaking ability to take some pressure off of Peterson and Loadholt’s size to complete one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, Peterson could run for over 2,000 yards and be the NFL’s Most Valuable Player next season as the Vikings go on the Super Bowl. Emmitt Smith is the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing yards with 18,355 yards, but if Peterson continues to put up amazing numbers with good players around him and can stay healthy for another 10 years or so, he may own that rushing record by the end of his career.

Now over the Vikings off-season, they got the wide receiver they wanted with Percy Harvin and they got the right tackle they wanted with Phil Loadholt, but did the Vikings really get the quarterback they wanted when they got Sage Rosenfels in a trade for a fourth-round draft pick in the 2009 NFL draft? To win a NFL championship, you must have a quarterback that can lead a team because the quarterback is not only the most difficult position on a football team, but it may be one of the most difficult positions in all of sports.

In 2008, Rosenfels started six games for the Houston Texans and threw six touchdowns, ten interceptions and had a 79.5 quarterback rating. What Childress and the Vikings saw in Rosenfels must have been good enough to trade for him, but those aren’t the kind of stats that most fans would look for in a quarterback to lead the Vikings to the Super Bowl next season. Now Childress did say that going into Vikings training camp there will be no official starting quarterback, and that Rosenfels, fourth-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and second-year John David Booty are going to have to compete for the job. Once again, most Vikings fans wouldn’t expect any of those quarterbacks to lead the Vikings to the Super Bowl this year, but if I had to pick one of them, my best choice would be Rosenfels and for two reasons.

One reason is Rosenfels is the most experienced quarterback in the group being in the NFL for 8 years and has played more games (32) than Jackson (25) and Booty (0) combined. Rosenfels is 31 years old, and even though he has never played in the playoffs and Jackson did once (2008) for Minnesota, he played for two teams that were building up to consistantly playing in the playoffs with the Texans and the Miami Dolphins.

The other reason is Jackson has had his chance so many times with the Vikings to take over the starting quarterback position in the last 3 years, but hasn’t come through like Childress hoped he would. The Vikings just need a quarterback that will manage and lead Minnesota’s offense, not lose games because of costly mistakes like Jackson has done throughout his career. With Harvin, Peterson and the Vikings’ best wide receiver in 2008, Bernard Berrian to go along with a strong offensive line to protect him, I believe Rosenfels knows he has enough talent around him that he doesn’t need to make big plays to win games. Instead, he just needs to manage the offense and get the ball to his playmakers’ hands and let them win the game.

This is a similar situation to what the Chicago Bears had in 2006 when they made it to the Super Bowl. Chicago’s quarterback for that season was Rex Grossman, someone the Bears fans never imagined would lead their team to the Super Bowl in 2006, but Grossman did because of his leadership and the talent he had around him. With a solid running back with Thomas Jones, a great kickoff returner with Devin Hester and the best defense in the NFL that year lead by the 2006 defensive player of the year, Brian Urlacher, it made Grossman’s job much easier because the Bears didn’t need him to win games, just manage them. Now Grossman couldn’t lead the Bears to a championship that year because he didn’t have any outstanding playmakers to give the ball to, but Rosenfels does with Harvin, Berrian and Peterson. With a Vikings offense that has so many weapons and an experienced quarterback that can make the throws to manage and not lose games, it should be fun to watch the Vikings play this year.

The final reason I believe the Vikings will win the Super Bowl this year is because Minnesota does not have a good defense, they have one of the best defenses in the NFL. For the third year in a row in 2008, the Vikings defensive line was first in the NFL stopping the run allowing 76.9 yards per game. With the Vikings’ Pro-Bowl defensive tackles, Pat Williams and Kevin Williams shutting down their opponents rushing game and Pro-Bowl defensive end, Jared Allen causing chaos for opposing quarterbacks getting 14.5 sacks last year, it is safe to say the Vikings have the best defensive line in the NFL. The Vikings defensive secondary wasn’t as great in 2008 as they were 18th in the NFL allowing 215.6 yards per game, but it wasn’t because the secondary wasn’t good. It was more because most of the offenses in the NFL respected the Vikings run defense so much, teams just didn’t run the ball and put a lot more pressure on the secondary to make plays.

The Vikings have one of the most underrated cornerbacks in the NFL with Antoine Winfield, who finally made it to the 2008 Pro-Bowl for the first time in his 11-year career. Winfield is not only a player than can shut down an opponent’s best wide receiver but he is an excellent tackler who was second in tackles for the Vikings in 2008 with 95 tackles, something that is unheard of in the NFL these days. With the improvement of the Vikings’ other cornerback, Cedric Griffin who was third in tackles for the Vikings last year with 91 tackles and an upcoming talent in safety, Tyrell Johnson that will replace Darren Sharper, Minnesota’s secondary will have a much better secondary in 2009.

The Vikings leading tackler in 2008 was linebacker Chad Greenway, who had his breakthrough season last year with 115 tackles and six sacks. As the other starting linebacker, Ben Leber and reserve Napoleon Harris played with Greenway for most of last season, they did well but should be even better next year with the return of their starting middle linebacker, E.J. Henderson. Henderson had a season ending injury in 2008 when he dislocated his toes in his fourth game of the year, but when he was healthy in 2007, he was the leading tackler for the Vikings with 118 tackles. With their experienced veteran, Leber and upcoming star, Greenway alongside a healthy leader, Henderson, the Vikings’ linebacker crew could be one of the best in 2009 and for many years to come in the NFL.

As a result from getting the players they needed in the off-season, the Minnesota Vikings will win the Super Bowl in 2010 with a very talented, balanced team that has arguably the best running back in the NFL and one of the best defenses in the NFL. The Vikings accomplished what they wanted at the wide receiver position with taking a risk and drafting Percy Harvin. Childress usually doesn’t go after players with the baggage that Harvin has with injuries and marijuana problems, but the Vikings’ owner, Zygi Wilf, knew that Peterson needed help on offense and picking Harvin with his explosiveness was a move that had to be made.

"We have to strike when the iron is hot, and feel right now is the time to do it. We're very happy to get a game of his caliber and his ability."

The Vikings accomplished what they wanted at the right tackle position when they drafted 6’8”, 343 lbs. Phil Loadholt. Not only is he a massive man, but with Loadholt, left tackle, Bryant McKinnie and left guard, Steve Hutchinson on the Vikings offensive line, Minnesota now has one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.

The Vikings had chances in the off-season to trade for franchise quarterbacks like Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb or Denver’s Jay Cutler (who actually got traded to the Chicago Bears), but to get those players the Vikings would have had to give up their first and second round draft picks in the 2009 NFL draft. If they gave up those picks, Minnesota would not have been able to draft Harvin or Loadholt. So if you think about it, the Vikings also accomplished what they wanted at the quarterback position for right now with Sage Rosenfels because the Vikings got him for a fourth-round draft pick and still got to draft Harvin and Loadholt to make their offense better. The Vikings don’t need a superstar quarterback like Tom Brady to win games for Minnesota, they just need a quarterback that can manage the offense and get the ball to his playmakers; Peterson, Berrian and now Harvin to win games for the team.

Those moves to make the Vikings’ offense more explosive will really benefit Peterson. He hasn’t had much help on offense in his first two years in the NFL, yet he still has run for 3,101 yards. With the addition of Harvin, who can run the Wildcat formation and has the ability to score a touchdown every time he touches the ball like Peterson, there is a good chance Peterson will have his best season of his career in 2009 and maybe the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. With the return of linebacker Henderson and the best run-stopping defensive line in the NFL of Allen, P. Williams and K. Williams, the Vikings defense will be even better than last year which is pretty scary for other NFL teams. The Vikings are not just an average team anymore that will make it to the playoffs every five years, they are now a great team what will consistently make it far in the playoffs for many years to come and this year in particular Minnesota will win the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

Alex Rodriguez still should make it to the Baseball Hall of Fame someday

(New York Yankee 3rd-Baseman - Alex Rodriguez)

When you hear, “Take me out to the ballgame, take me out to the crowd,” does that ring a bell? Does it sound familiar? To a baseball fan, when they hear that song this time of the year in the spring, they know it means baseball season is finally here. People are talking about their favorite players, their favorite teams, the new free agents, upcoming rookies and anything else they can talk about with their friends and family because they love the game of baseball. One thing that people usually debate about is who is going to be the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for that season, and one name that has pops up as a candidate every year is Alex Rodriguez, or most commonly known as, “A-Rod”. Well in this 2009 pre-season A-Rod’s name was quite popular again, but this time it was about him taking steroids.

Although A-Rod cheated on baseball when he illegally took drugs from 2001-2003 to improve his game, lied on TV denying he ever took steroids and probably has tainted his career forever, Alex Rodriguez still should go to the Baseball Hall of Fame after his career is over.

Now A-Rod is no saint but there are three reasons that people should consider before they judge whether or not he should go to the Baseball Hall of Fame. First reason is even though A-Rod took steroids, the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig has a huge part in why steroids got to be such a big deal in the first place. On Feb. 7th, 2009, A-Rod’s name appeared on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's 2003 survey testing. Two days later on Feb. 9th, A-Rod admitted that he took Primobolan and testosterone each season from 2001 - 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers.

Although A-Rod did cheat, there was no testing for steroids that every single player had to take until 2004 and they didn’t come to a conclusion how long the players would be punished if caught until 2005. Selig said it best when he stated,

"Under our current drug program, if you are caught using steroids and/or amphetamines, you will be punished. Since 2005, every player who has tested positive for steroids has been suspended for as much as 50 games."

So technically, A-Rod never failed a drug test under Selig’s testing program because he quit in 2003. My question is, why did it take Selig so long to set up a drug testing program? How could Selig not have considered that steroids might be part of why Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were smashing single season home-run records like 66 (Sosa) and 70 (McGwire) in 1998 when the record had been 61 (Roger Maris) for decades? How can Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001, when he hadn’t hit over 49 home runs in a single season in the first 15 years of his career without Selig thinking for once that Bonds might be on steroids?

When players could improve their game illegally, make millions of dollars and get away with it till 2004, it’s no shock over 104 players were tested positive for taking steroids in 2003. The past 15 years in baseball is now known as “The Steroid Era” partially due to Selig because if he had come to his senses and suspected that the Sosa and McGwire’s home-run chase might have been illegal and would have had a drug test program put together before 1998, A-Rod, home-run records and steroids would not be in the situation they are in today.

The second reason is that steroids may have saved baseball after the baseball terrible strike of 1995. Ever heard of the phrase, “Girls dig the long ball?” It means girls (and guys too) love to see the home run, and the home-run brought fans back to baseball after the strike of 1995. The strike lost a lot of fans and baseball wasn’t sure how long it would take until baseball would be back to the way it was before the strike. Then came 1998 when Sosa and McGwire both made history as they broke Maris’ single season home-run record of 61, as Sosa hit 66 and McGwire hit 70. Just the competition, the rivalry and the home-run chase between these two guys drew fans back to baseball because they were experiencing history right before their eyes.

Then three years later in 2001, Barry Bonds made history by breaking McGwire’s single season record with 73 home-runs. Fans were so amazed by the home-run, it was like the fans and even Commissioner Selig set aside that these guys were probably on steroids because it was so exciting to watch how far these guys could hit the ball. These guys were playing the best of their careers, but interestingly late in their careers when their bodies should be showing signs of age, not hitting 500 foot home-run bombs literally out of ballparks. So when The Mitchell Report came out in 2007 that Sosa, McGwire, Bonds, Roger Clemens and other players were accused of using steroids, baseball players and fans had faith in A-Rod that he would be the one breaking numerous records because he was not on the list. Now after finding out A-Rod used steroids too, baseball fans have mixed emotions about baseball and he himself.

People may think that baseball has been tainted with all these players taking drugs illegally and some people think that A-Rod individually may have tainted baseball forever, but I think people need to understand that if all these players that broke records illegally hadn’t taken steroids, where would Major League Baseball be today? Without steroids there would be no 500-plus foot home-runs or 73 home-run seasons, and without the home-run what was going to draw fans back to baseball after the strike in 1995? Fans need to realize that “The Steroid Era” may taint baseball for a long time, but that era is what saved baseball and players like A-Rod shouldn’t be the victims and kept from the hall of fame.

Now don’t get me wrong, A-Rod made a decision on his own to take steroids, knew that he was cheating when he took them and I do not approve of cheating on the game of baseball or cheating in general. I think what made baseball fans dislike A-Rod even more than his steroid issue is that he also lied on national television denying he ever took steroids when interviewed by the anchor of the CBS Evening News, Katie Couric.

Dec. 16, 2007
Katie Couric: "For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing substance?:
Rodriguez: "No."
Couric: "Have you ever been tempted to use any of those things?"
Rodriguez: "No."

Then just 15 months later A-Rod changed his story when interviewed by ESPN Baseball Analyst, Peter Gammons,

Feb. 9, 2009
Peter Gammons: "What's the truth?"
Rodriguez: "I did take a banned substance. And for that I'm very sorry and deeply regretful."
Gammons: "So you're saying the time period was 2001, '2 and '3?"
Rodriguez: "That's pretty accurate, yes."

Now I can understand why people could have a grudge on A-Rod because I believe they felt cheated on when Sosa and McGwire tainted the single season home-run records in 1998 and then felt cheated on again when Bonds tainted the all-time career home-run record a few years ago in 2007. So, I believe that when A-Rod came clean from The Mitchell Report in 2007, they had hope in A-Rod to be the all-time career home-run king because he would do it legally and do it the right way. Then Feb. 7th, 2009 comes along and now baseball fans feel cheated on once again and they just can’t take it anymore. Baseball fans feel that A-Rod let them down and unlike Bonds, he was also a role model for young baseball fans and for those kids to accept that their favorite baseball player took steroids has got to be hard for them.

I still believe that A-Rod should make it to the baseball hall of fame someday though, even with everything I have just said about A-Rod’s cheating. He is asking his fans to give himself a second chance to redeem himself just like Kobe Bryant did six years ago after cheating on his wife and accused of committing rape. Bryant just continued playing basketball and eventually his fans did give him a second chance as he was the NBA's Most Valuable Player last year in 2008. So try to be open minded with A-Rod right now because in 9 years when A-Rod will probably retire, if he just plays baseball, time can make things go away because America is the land of second chances, and that’s all A-Rod wants from his fans right now.

The third reason is A-Rod’s career is not coming to an end and has a chance to prove he does deserve to be in the baseball hall of fame. When A-Rod said he took steroids from 2001 – 2003, he had the best three seasons of his 15-year career as he averaged 52 home-runs per season and a .305 batting average. When athletes, and in this case baseball players, stop using steroids after using them for quite a while, their body gets out of wack and their game falls apart. So if you look at A-Rod’s last five seasons from 2004-2008, the seasons after taking steroids, his stats should be terrible, right? In A-Rod’s last five seasons he has averaged over 41 home-runs per season and a .303 batting average, showing that even though A-Rod’s home-runs have dropped, he is still producing a lot of home-runs and his batting average is almost the same without the use of steroids.

So, how does A-Rod continue to put up similar numbers after stopping using steroids? Well when Sosa, McGwire and Bonds cheated and took steroids, it was at the end of their careers where they needed and depended on steroids to stay in the pros and took the steroids for many years. When A-Rod cheated and took steroids, he was young, in his prime, took them for three years and were used more as a confidence booster to live up to his new $250 million contract even though he was already one of the best players in baseball.

A-Rod is 33 years old now and has a new 10-year, $270 million contract that starts this season, so if he stays healthy for the next decade, he will most likely break a lot of records. The record that people are focusing on is the all-time career home-run record that is held by one of the most tainted players in baseball history, Barry Bonds. Many fans agree with sports analyst from ESPN.com, Gene Wojciechowski that he believes Hank Aaron should be the home-run king with 755 home-runs, not Bonds, because he did it the right way, without cheating.

"As far as I'm concerned, (Hank) Aaron is still the all-time home-run leader, followed by Babe Ruth and Bonds' godfather, Willie Mays. Ken Griffey Jr. is fourth -- that is, if you're willing to take the leap of faith that Junior's 20-year career is clean. I am, but with fingers crossed."

As of this 2009 baseball season A-Rod has recorded 553 career home-runs, and since many fans don’t believe Bonds is the true home-run king with 762, we will use Aaron’s number as A-Rod’s goal to break with 755 home-runs. With his new contract, A-Rod is expected to play till he’s 43, indicating he has to average just over 20 home-runs a season to break the record, which he should easily do if he remains healthy.

The thing is if A-Rod wants to be the home-run king in most people’s minds, I believe he is going to have to hit an extra 156 home-runs to make up for the amount that A-Rod hit from 2001-2003 when he was taking steroids. That means if A-Rod plays for another decade like planned, he has to average just about 36 home-runs per year to be the career home-run king at 912 home-runs. It will be difficult as A-Rod does get older because he won’t make be hitting as much home runs in a season because of aging, but if he can put up a good amount of home-runs in these next 5 years while he is still in his prime, there is a chance A-Rod might break Aaron’s record someday. There is no way of knowing what will happen to A-Rod, but to be the first and maybe the last person in baseball history to have the opportunity to not only hit over 800 home runs, maybe even 900 is something that is special and can’t be overlooked no matter how much people may not like him.

A-Rod made a mistake taking steroids from 2001 – 2003, and then lieing on national television denying he ever took steroids when he really did, he not only tainted his image, A-Rod lost a lot of respect from his fans and professional baseball players themselves. The news about A-Rod over the last few months has convinced most people, even the Commissioner Bud Selig, that he should never go to the baseball hall of fame no matter what he does in his career. The reality is, there is nothing that A-Rod can do about his past but there are a few things he can do about his future.

He made a huge step that Sosa, McGwire and Bonds never did, which was actually admit he used steroids. Now he needs to do what he does best, which is play baseball and let time heal things on its own. It doesn’t help that he plays for the New York Yankees because the media doesn’t look too highly of him right now, but him playing for the Yankees could be a blessing in disguise. If A-Rod plays well in the playoffs, wins at least one World Championship (which he has done neither yet) and hit over 800, maybe 900 home-runs to become the all-time home-run king by the end of his career, the New York media could change their minds about A-Rod and eventually help him in the long run by voting him into the baseball hall of fame.

NFL Overlook of Week 10

There was a lot of exciting football in Week 10, but I believe this was the most interesting event that happened in the NFL this week.
MVP: Adrian Peterson - Vikings RB

I believed that halfway through the 2008 NFL season that Clinton Portis, Drew Brees and Kurt Warner were the leading candidates for the MVP award, but what about Adrian Peterson?

In my mind, today was Peterson's best game of his career. I know last year Peterson broke the all-time NFL record with 296 rushing yards in a game against a good San Diego football team, but today he was phenomenal because of the leadership he showed and how dominant he was when the Vikings needed him the most.

Last year, Peterson was a rookie and surprised NFL defenses because they had no idea he was going to be so good, so early in his career. This year the NFL knows what to expect from him along with the Vikings predictable offense, but today it didn't matter because he still ran over a good Packers defense for 192 rushing yards, 225 all-purpose yards and scored the game winning 29-yard touchdown. What made it better was because it was against the Vikings' biggest rival and more importantly, with the win today they are now tied for first (5-4) in the NFC North division with the Chicago Bears.

His performance was even more impressive because of the leadership he showed, especially in the 4th quarter. During the middle of the 4th quarter, the Vikings were 4th and 1 and trailing the Packers, 21-24. Vikings head coach, Brad Childress, was going to play it safe and punt the ball, but was persuaded by Peterson because he felt Peterson could get the first down. Childress went for it having Peterson run the ball but he fumbled it, giving Green Bay the ball with excellent field position. Luckily the Vikings defense only let the Packers get a field goal, leaving Minnesota with the ball down 21-27, with six minutes left in the game just needing a touchdown to win.

At that point in the game, Peterson went to another level because he took over the game like I have never seen before. The Vikings marched down the field with Peterson touching the ball 6 of the 7 plays and getting 64 of the 69 yards, finishing with a 29-yard rushing touchdown. He was running and catching the ball tearing the Packers' defense apart with the determination that he was not going to lose the game and made a performance to convince me that he is now my leading NFL MVP candidate.

Going into Week 11, Peterson is now leading the NFL in rushing yards (1015) over Portis (995), is fifth in rushing TD's (7) and over the last four games has been the best running back in the NFL averaging over 140 yards per game. It's not just stats that make him my favorite MVP candidate, the Vikings have also won three out of their last four games and has become the leader of the team in just his second year in the NFL. I'm not going to guarantee Peterson will be the MVP because their record is just (5-4), but if the Vikings win their division and make it to the playoffs it will largely be because of Peterson. Make sure to watch Peterson more as the season goes on because not only is he amazing to watch, he could be the 2008 NFL MVP.

NBA Finals: Celtics vs. Lakers - Game 5

It was a close Game 5, but the Lakers played well enough to force a Game 6 as they beat the Celtics 103-98, and be down 3-2 going back to Boston. The Celtics had their chances to finish off the Western Conference Champions, but the Lakers showed some pride and heart last night when they could have thrown in the towel after their embarrassing loss in Game 4.

Boston played a good game with Paul Pierce's impressive 38 points and Ray Allen's 16, but they needed the third player of the Boston PGA (Pierce, Garnett, Allen) Tour to play well to win the World Championship last night. Although Garnett did score 13 points and got 14 rebounds, he had one of his worst games in the playoffs this year on the defensive end of the court only playing 33 minutes because of foul trouble. He also missed three key free throws at the end of the game that may have helped win Game 5.

Boston really needed Garnett on defense with Kendrick Perkins out of the game because of an injured shoulder, and the Lakers took advantage of the situation getting Garnett five fouls in the game. Los Angeles' other two stars took advantage of Perkins' absence getting 20 points and 11 rebounds from Lamar Odom along with 19 points and 13 rebounds from Pau Gasol as they dominated the paint. I believe that Kobe Bryant is probably the best player on the planet, but he can't win a World Championship all by himself and with Gasol and Odom's performance last night, Bryant only needed 25 points to win Game 5.

The thing is, the Lakers know they barely got by with two close wins at home in the series that could have gone in the Celtics favor, and will not win on the road no matter what Bryant does. In the three games that Boston played at Los Angeles in the NBA Finals, Boston fell behind really early in the game and had to have great third-quarters to catch up. If the Celtics can have a lead going into halftime next game at home and continue to have another great third-quarter, Boston will not only win the World Championship but they will blow out the Lakers too.

So now it's off to Boston, where I predicted that the Celtics would beat the Lakers in Game 6 and I'm sticking by it. There is no way that Boston's trio will lose Game 6 because they not only know they are one game from winning the NBA Finals, but they also know they don't want to go to a Game 7 when anything could happen with Bryant in the game. Boston is 12-1 at home in the playoffs and will win a playoff record 13th home game with their excellent defense and an MVP effort from Pierce to become World Champions for the 17th time in franchise history. I'd like to say good luck to Boston, but they don't need it because on Tuesday the Celtics will show the world they are the best team in the NBA this season.

NBA Finals: Celtics vs. Lakers - Game 4

Last night was a game to remember as Boston made the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history after being down 24 points to beat Los Angeles on their home court 97-91, and put the Lakers on the brink of elimination down 3-1 to the Celtics in the series. No team in NBA Finals history has come back from being down 3-1 and with the devastating loss for Los Angeles in Game 4, the Celtics may bring back a World Championship to Boston as early as Game 5 on Sunday.

I have never seen such a game in my life that had two completely different halves from a team after the Lakers had their best first half in the 2008 playoffs and their worst half of the year in the second. Everything was going the Lakers' way in the first-quarter with a score of 35-14, as they embarrassed the Celtics' best defense in the playoffs by scoring 58 points going into the half and a 18-point lead. I know I have not had much faith in Lamar Odom after his first 3 games in the series, but even he shot 7-7 in the first half with 15 points.

I don't know if Los Angeles thought Game 4 was over and were looking on to Game 5, or if Boston was more hungry to win but the Lakers got dominated in the third-quarter as Boston went on a 21-3 run to end of the fourth-quarter with the score 73-71. In doing so, the Lakers 18 point lead at halftime was cut down to 2 points and when Eddie House put the Celtics up 84-83 with four minutes left in the game, Boston never looked back. The Celtics' tough defense locked down on Kobe Bryant, limiting him to a playoff-low 17 points as the Lakers' crowd was left speechless. They had just witnessed a nightmare that will always be remembered as one of the most devastating losses in their team's franchise history.

It took the Boston's entire team to come back from such a huge 24-poit lead with coach Doc Rivers' motivation to never give up, the excellent play of the Boston PGA (Pierce, Garnett, Allen) Tour and the production off the bench from House, James Posey and P.J. Brown. Pierce did lead the game with 20 points, Garnett was a factor in the second half with a total of 16 but Allen was the player of the game hitting 3-pointers and blowing by the Lakers' Sasha Vujacic at will. Even though I hadn't thought it would that big of a factor in the series, the team that won each game in the 2008 NBA Finals has gotten more production from their bench than their opponent. That was definitely the case in Game 4 as Boston's bench dominated the Los Angeles' bench 35-15, with 18 major points from Posey and another 11 points from House.

I know I predicted that the Celtics would win the NBA Finals in six games, but the way the Lakers lost Game 4, I would not be surprised if Boston wins it all in five games. The Lakers are a young team and I don't know if they can get over such a huge loss by Sunday. I'm not going to guarantee that Boston will win Game 5 because no team is out of the NBA Finals with Bryant on their team, but if the Lakers don't play their 'A' game the Celtics will win the World Championship for the first time in 21 years.