Thursday Take Twos

Move over Michael Phelps. An Olympic gold medal swimmer can’t assume the sports spotlight MLB’s stylish slugger is signaled out for steroid use. Arod leads all headlines in this week’s installment of sports stories. His pathetic admission and cowardly confession Monday of juicing in Texas during the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons is top dog everywhere. Disappointed baseball aficionados can’t take enough shots at the third baseman. The new nicknames such as Aroid, Alex Roidriguez, A-fraud, etc, are endless. And so is this story. It will continue to haunt baseball for a long time. The apologetic Arod comes off as a phony. Does Rodriguez expect us to believe he needed to subject himself to steroids in order to prove he deserved a gigantic contract? Does any player really deserve to be paid as much as they are being paid, even with god-like athletic talent? Rangers fans must be proud Arod decided to take performance-enhancing drugs to help him win an MVP for Texas. He lied in front of thousands of Americans. What a hero. As if Texas doesn’t have enough to worry about with their continuous pitching woes and inability to make the playoffs. They haven’t sniffed the post-season since their steroid-abusing slugger said sayonara. Now a Yankee, the New York fans have to root for cheater. We have put up with his smug and smiling face at the hot corner for at least nine more seasons. Michael Phelps’ bong photo can’t compete with that. Phelps’ saga won’t vanish but he’s lucky a woman SI reporter uncovered Arod’s name from a list of 104 when she did. The timing was good for Phelps at least.
The 2009 ProBowl came and went. It was short on excitement once again and no one will remember much from the game itself. It was the final ProBowl played in Hawaii and next year’s annual allstar game will take place the weeks in between the conference championships and the Superbowl. Perhaps the game was even more neglected last Sunday due to the Arod bombshell the day before. It was overshadowed indeed but it’s usually hard to get so revved up for it anyway. Most of the players are either dogging it or injured. It was bittersweet to see Larry Fitzgerald win the MVP though. He has been gaining more and more recognition as the best player in football. I wish Eli Manning could throw to him all of 2009, but that is unlikely.
I am irked by the NBA. Do they even teach players to play defense anymore? The Knicks-Warriors game Tuesday night is only one example of how defensively-deficient today’s players are. It was almost unbearable to watch. I used to have posters plastered and positioned perfectly over my bedpost of David Robinson, Shawn Kemp, Charles Barkley and Grant Hill. The former NBA ball handlers knew how to defend. Where are these players in today’s game? The only defensive genius I can think of is Tim Duncan.
Finally, the Jets are ready to move on without number four. It was definitely time for the washed up Favre to call it a career. How excruciating and torturous would it have been to see him attempt to be the Gang Green quarterback next season? I think New York should build up a defensive and great offensive line. Then, try one of the young quarterbacks and see what happens.

Parting points: I never knew President Nixon was such a huge Ohio State fan. I am learning a lot from the book about Woody Hayes, War as they Knew It.