A note about the A-Rod thing

Just wanted to say that I'd like to see just how many players on the sorry Rangers were juicing when Rodriguez the bust was. Perhaps the message to young people then would be that all the effort to do something illegal doesn't always pay off. It sure as heck didn't help the Rangers.

I don't have too much sympathy for those who were caught, but I do find it odd that Rodriguez was singled out. Not much sympathy for him because he 1) is supposed to be one of the best players in baseball, and 2) was a lackadaisical player when collecting his check with the Rangers. But the agreement was that the results would be secret, and my pomposity aside, I know I'd be more than a little pissed if I found myself in a similar situation at work.

Imagine you have been doing something illegal at work, something the may or may not make you better at your job, but is certainly immoral. You agree to some sort of survey --or possibly a lie detector test--where that illegal activity is discovered, but you have been promised anonymity. You have long ceased doing what you knew was wrong. Now someone outs you, not to make the company better, but for the sheer self-righteousness of letting others know you cheated once.

Maybe I do have a little sympathy.

What often angers me about professional athletes is that if the average person did what they often do, she or he would be unemployed, and yet the athlete is often given notoriety and attention (I'm looking at you Mr. Owens). But in turning this situation around, we see that sports is often not about the great accomplishment, but about a continuing saga in a soap opera.