Cheaters And Heros

All over the news yesterday was the not very surprising confession that Mark McGwire cheated throughout his baseball career. What barely made the news yesterday was the death of Miep Gies.

Miep Gies was a true hero. She was the last surviving member of the family that hid Anne Frank during the Nazi takeover in World War II. She was also responsible for holding onto Anne Frank's diary until her father was released from his imprisonment in a concentration camp.

Mark McGwire made history by cheating, while Miep Gies kept a part of history alive through loyality and bravery.

Mark McGwire knew he was cheating as he stole the legacy of Roger Maris right in front of the Maris family, while Miep Gies knew she was going against a deadly communist government and yet did it for her strong beliefs in what she felt was happening at that time was wrong.

Mark McGwire claims that he cheated because steriods were available and everyone was using them, while Miep Gies risked her life because she had the courage and class to not go along with the crowd.

Mark McGwire makes a tearful apology, wins back a few fans and will most likely end up in the Baseball Hall of Fame, while Meip Gies dies and most of the world could care less.

What is wrong with this picture?

Thank You, Baseball

Finally, a steriod free baseball season. And what a difference it made. The sport was actually fun again. For the past several years, I had pretty much given up on baseball. I followed it some, but not like I used too. For me it had become a game a overpaid cheaters. Steroid use was obvious by the un-natural blown-up bodies of many of the players, which took the thrill of the game away from me.

The 2009 season was different. It was players like Aaron Hill, Ben Zobrist, Troy Tulowitzki, Carl Crawford, Jason Werth and Pablo Sandoval just to name a few that brought fire back to the game. And this past season if you followed the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays, Angels, Rangers, Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Rockies or Giants you saw Baseball in all its exciting glory.

I would like to think that the days of cheating in Baseball are over, but I'm sure there's another drug lurking around the corner. If that's the case, hopefully it will be taken care of immediately, unlike the shameful way steriod use was handled. Live and learn, I guess.

My hat goes off to the New York Yankees and their World Series win. People love to hate them, but they were clearly the best team in baseball this past season. And speaking as a fan of the sport, they were very impressive to watch. I'm looking forward to next season and all of the surprises that it will bring.

Welcome back, Baseball. It's good to have you "clean" again.

No Olympics - No Surprise

I happened to be in Chicago this past weekend when the 2016 Olympic site was awarded to Rio de Janeiro. With Chicago in the running, the atmosphere was filled with enthusiasm and anticipation. The news media had certainly helped in building up the excitment.

Although, not the top story for the last six months, Chicago and its chance of getting the Olympic bid was certainly in the news enough to believe that it was a strong possibility.

That morning, though, on my hotel televison, one of the news channels that was covering the story said that Madrid and Rio de Janeiro were the favorites. I had never heard this before. Apparently the other news outlets had done a pretty good job of keeping this fact hidden from the American public.

When Rio was announced, the media filled the airwaves with stories of shock and disappointment. My shock and disappointment, though, was geared more towards the media as it became more and more apparant to me that this false sense of anticipation was created by the media themselves.

If one news outlet knew that the favorites were Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, you can bet good money that the other outlets knew this also. But, then again, that would not have made for a very good story.