Barry Bonds: Targeted?

Barry Bonds has been whining lately about being singled out by the media for the alleged use of performance enhancing drugs. Bonds, who still claims innocence, believes this is unfair.

The San Francisco Giants, who Bonds has played for since 1993, has chosen to not renew Bonds contract. This is a little bit of a surprise since Bonds has surpassed Hank Aaron’s home run record in August. The Giants made no comment as to why they would not resign Bonds.

“I don’t bring baggage to a team. I’ve never brought baggage to a team. I’ve brought my baseball bag, but I don’t bring any baggage. I go on the field and I play,” says Barry. I think this is pretty much the biggest load of crap ever. Bonds takes a lot away from the Giants. Their fans do not him and therefore are not committed to the team 100%. It can be argued that this takes a little bit of the advantage of playing at home, to have your own fans boo a member of the team. He also brings a lot of bad publicity to the Giants. As for the team who signs him for the 2008 season, they will have a lot to deal with. Their fans will probably not be too happy with them. I know if the White Sox decide to take on Barry Bonds, I would be horribly disappointed.

As for Bonds crying about being targeted by the media, I think can be argued either way. I’m not a fan of Bonds at all, and just hearing his name makes me cringe a little bit, but I do feel like he is being targeted. But all in good reason. He clearly has been under the influence of something that has made him double in size over a short period of time. However, he has never failed a drug test. He’s targeted so much because of his questionable character. He also has the homerun record after surpassing the precious record of 755 homeruns that was held by Hank Aaron. Since the hitting of these homeruns without the use of performance enhancing drugs is arguable, a lot of people are upset. The record books are essentially ruined by this scandal. This is why the media is targeting him so much.

He isn’t the only one. Mark McGuire spent sometime in the spot light as well. McGuire broke the single season home run record in 1998 but this was broken by Bonds in 2001. McGuire has never been convicted of using steroids but his innocence has been questioned. The baseball steroid scandal made the opinions of Mark McGuire go from one of admiration to one of disdain.

So is Barry Bonds being singled out by the media for the use of performance enhancing drugs? Yes. Is it unfair? Maybe. But I think he deserves it. I, along with most other baseball fans, believe that Barry Bonds is guilty of using performance enhancing drugs and should pay for it, if this includes being ridiculed by the media and having the Giants not renew his contract, then so be it.

Another Tennessee Football Player Kicked Off For Drug Use

The Tennessee Volunteers have now dismissed two players, to my knowledge, for drug usage. First James Banks, someone I knew personally, and now LaMarcus Coker. Both showed spectacular skills on the field, and both were dismissed from the team after brief stints. Both of these players were kicked off the team for their continuous usage of drugs. First, James Banks. James Banks was someone I looked up to going through junior high school, into high school, because of his love for his sports, football and track. He helped Ben Davis High School, located in the westside of Indianapolis, to two 5-A state championships and a spectacular 42-2 record over his years there. I heard he was going to the University of Tennessee and decided I was going to watch as many games as I could, hoping to see him. But after he got there, he was repeatedly causing trouble, causing him to be benched, and ultimately leading to his dismissal from the team for several incidents, which I won't go into. Banks was, according to coach Philip Fulmer, "the best pure athlete on the football team." But Banks was let go from the team in December after those several incidents. From the last I heard, Banks was possibly going to be playing football at Carson-Newman College, a liberal arts Southern Baptist college located in Jefferson City, Tennessee. I need to find out what he's doing now, as I am thinking about it, because all of my friends from high school don't seem to have any idea either.
Now, the latest player released from the team for drug use, sophomore tailback LaMarcus Coker. Coker's release from the team was for one reason, well sort of. Coker failed a total of four drug tests, meaning he had four chances to straighten himself out. But he didn't, and that's a shame, because according to ESPN he had "shown flashes of brilliance on the field during his brief Tennessee." "I'm disappointed for him," said coach Fulmer. "This is his life, and I hope he gets straightened out and succeeds in whatever he chooses to do. I can lay my head on my pillow and know that, within the rules, we have done everything we can do to help LaMarcus overcome his challenges." It really is a shame, that these athletes couldn't straighten themsleves out while they were still on the team. Coker was just now released, so he hasn't really had a chance to yet, but Banks' incidents occured back in 2003/2004, so he has straightened out and started playing again, which is the best thing he could have done. Hopefully Coker can do the same.

Bondra to Become Slovakian GM

Peter Bondra, one of the great goal scorer’s that the NHL has known in the past two decades, retired Monday to become the Slovakian national team General Manager. Bondra was one of the most prolific scorer’s in NHL history, clocking in at 37th all time with 503 goals. He is one of 39 players in the sport’s history to join the fabled 500 goal club. He amassed these goals playing in Atlanta, Chicago, and Ottawa, with the bulk scored in Washington. "I kept it a secret for a long time. They will know overseas only after this press conference," Bondra said, according to the Slovak national hockey association. "I hope I can help Slovakia win another medal at the world championship." Quote taken from ESPN.com where I found this article. Bondra has fond memories of the world championships, having scored the game winner in a 4-3 game against Russia to capture the title in the world championships held in Sweden in 2002. He enjoyed a long successful career mostly at the helm of the Washington Capitals, putting up his 892 points in 1081 at about a point per game pace. Depending on the success of his stay as the Slovakian GM, his contract may be extended past the current deal lasting until 2008 after the world championships.

Colts? Patriots? Who Do You Think Will Win??

Alright, is it time for another Colts victory over the Patriots? Or are they just too good this year?? I remember last years AFC Championship game, where the Colts and Patriots were playing in Indianapolis for the chance to head to the Super Bowl. The Colts went into the locker room at half time worn down, and pissed off because they were losing 21-3. They managed to overcome that deficit with 455 offensive yards and 32 first downs to make their way to their first Super Bowl since 1970, when they were still in Baltimore. The 18 point comeback was the largest EVER in a championship game, and tied the fourth largest post season comeback in league history. This was only the first time in 4 years that the Colts had managed to beat the Patriots in the postseason, losing to them in the AFC Championship game in 2003, losing to them in the divisional round of the playoffs in 2004, and they didn't even get to play them in 2005. As an Indianapolis native, and a long-time Colts fan, I was going absolutely crazy, on the verge of shutting the game off after halftime but deciding to give them one more quarter of football before I gave up on them. Thank god I didn't, I would have regretted it so much. That and I wouldn't have had anything to talk about at work the next day, since that's all everybody was talking about.

I decided after that to never give up on my Colts. There was that game last season, and just a few years ago there was the miracle fourth quarter down in Tampa Bay. Why not another one? If they go into halftime with a deficit tomorrow, the Patriots better get their cameras out so they can figure out how to stop us, because it simply will not happen. I'm putting my money on the Colts, who do you think will win??

The Reason My Account is redwings40

Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings is one of the best players in the National Hockey League that you don’t hear too much about. This might be changing after the spectacular start he’s had to begin this season. Through 11 games Zetterberg has a league leading 20 points, 9 goals(tied for second best in the league) and 11 assists(tied for second best in the league), amounting to a 1.82 points-per-game average. He has put up a point in every game so far this season. Putting up points isn’t all that Hank does either, he’s one of the best defensive forwards around. He has a +8, good enough to be tied for 11th, to go with that point total. So why doesn’t a league leading point getter and a fantastic two-way player get much attention? Your guess is as good as mine. I’ve been waiting for years for #40 to be nationally recognized for the player that he is. He's even more special considering he was drafted in the seventh round. Placed on a line with Pavel Datsyuk, a paring nicknamed the “Euro-twins”, and Tomas Holmstrom, they make one of the most dynamic and powerful lines in the NHL. They’re role is usually against the top defensive and offensive parings of the opposite teams which shows how dominant they are considering the each are higher than +13 and Hank with a +26 last season. Zetterberg’s +26 is impressive considering he also added extensive penalty kill time throughout last season. One thing is for sure, if he keeps up his point-getting madness and solid defensive play, it’ll be impossible for others to not recognize him as one of the NHL’s elite players.

Picture from NHL.com