Radical opinion on Barry Bonds,the new HR King

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:13 pm

He'll be looking like Lurch pretty soon.

dr_bob · Post by **dr_bob** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 5:18 pm

So we agree. For now he remains one of the greatest ballplayers of all-time and an alleged liar and cheat.

Speaking of Lurch, has anyone looked at Roger Clemens lately? Take a look at his 1984 baseball cards.

I wonder, would an artificial heart in an athlete be considered cheating? If not, maybe athletes in the future will forego drugs and just replace body parts.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 6:33 pm

Bionic arms and legs would be the way to go I would think.

britye · Post by **britye** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:47 pm

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070819/SPORTS08/708190308/1129/SPORTS0104

Interesting article on the Home Run

mgauction · Post by **mgauction** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 2:34 pm

Nothing new here. Pro sports athletes have been all for themselves for at least a couple of decades now. Fans of sport have to wake up! It's now longer about you, your team or your city's pride --- it's about them.

marc61 · Post by **marc61** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:02 am

If you think about it, it's we the fans who have brought the athlete to this point. They were at first basically bums, with a guy here and there who made a living. Then, guys kinda made it through but, had jobs in the off-season. Now they are the top salaried folks in the country.

Why?Because we will spend the money to see it.Not because the owners charge it. We enjoy spending money on leisure activities. Anyone here spend money on musical instruments?Many put their fanaticism for sports and the like over their families true needs. That's America, and I love it

It brings me back to my original point. Again, I'm not condoning what Bonds did, or using steroids, but I do believe the playing field is much more level than we think as far as their use throughout the sport.

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:42 am

I think the title should be stripped and all athletes who use steroids should be banned from their sport.

Cycling has it right. The athletes who participate in blood-doping and are caught are banned and forced to leave the sport in disgrace. The Tour de France has had many recent blood-doping scandals, but that's because the officials test their athletes more than any other sport, and they won't budge from their anti-doping position. Baseball should follow their example.

I've heard some say: "Who cares...Let them dope if they want to!" But I disagree. By letting this home-run record stand, we now have raised the bar to a level that is un-attainable naturally; now it will be virtually impossible to break this record unless one takes steroids. Now, in order for our children to become record-breaking pro-athletes, they will have to take performance enhancing (and life shortening) drugs.

Its just sad and wrong.

Yes, Bonds is a phenomenal athlete. But now nobody will ever know HOW good he REALLY is/was.

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:56 am

"Why do we hold in such revere folks in the music/entertainment business who either have spent a lifetime taking drugs or who have died as a result of drug usage (Elvis and Jimi Hendrix immediately come to mind here)and criticize our athletes who may or may not have taken steroids? Don't we believe that Hendrix may have "enhanced" his performance?"

I don't agree with this comparison. Writing music and/or performing when drunk or stoned does not necessarily mean better songwriting or a better live performance. In fact, I've seen many a live performance ruined by drug/alcohol abuse.

We can still see a drug/alcohol induced performance with our children and argue how much better the show would have been if the artist had been clean.

We can't argue that Barry Bonds would have hit more home runs if he had been clean.

Now our children's heros are steroid-abusing cheaters. Thanks, baseball!

dr_bob · Post by **dr_bob** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 9:28 am

Well, it appears that A-Rod is on track to hit over 800 home runs. Is he clean? Clemens has played pro ball two years longer than Bonds and has over 350 lifetime victories. Is he clean? If they are, then it still might be possible to set records in baseball if you don't take steroids.

Also, before we totally blame baseball, maybe we should acknowledge that baseball players weren't the first steroid users in legitimate (I'm not including wrestlers here) pro sports. Do people like Tony Mandarich and Lyle Alzado (and that goofball linebacker-turned actor from Oklahoma) ring a bell?

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 10:13 am

Well if they ARE clean then there is hope. And I hope that they are.

I say test them all and then remove the cheaters. There are plenty of clean athletes that would be more than happy to step in and take their place.

And this goes for football and wrestling too. Somebody needs to take a stand, say "enough is enough," and remove the cheaters from pro-sports, period.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 10:33 am

"I think the title should be stripped and all athletes who use steroids should be banned from their sport."

"I don't agree with this comparison. Writing music and/or performing when drunk or stoned does not necessarily mean better songwriting or a better live performance. In fact, I've seen many a live performance ruined by drug/alcohol abuse."

Agreed 100% with both sentiments. Throw the bums out. Bicycle racing has the right idea, but of course people are dropping the sport in droves, what's the matter with us? Cheating is OK in the States for the fans and not OK in Europe?

dr_bob · Post by **dr_bob** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:06 am

So let me see if I have this right. It's not doing drugs that is a problem, it's doing drugs to gain an advantage in professional sport that's the problem.

If the above statement is true then here's the principles I see:

1) Cheating is the problem, but only cheating that involves gaining an unfair advantage through drugs.

2) Cheating in sports that doesn't involve taking drugs to gain an unfair advantage is okay. So home runs with corked bats or NASCAR victories with an illegal part are acceptable forms of cheating.

3) Drug users are okay as long as they don't play sports.

firstbassman · Post by **firstbassman** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:32 am

Myth Busters did a segment on corked bats.
BUSTED! (It never made any sense to me anyway.)
Clemens was in that episode too.

Lost all respect for Clemens (and Baseball) btw when he threw a bat at Piazza and wasn't ejected.

peewee · Post by **peewee** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:36 am

blueflamerick · Post by **blueflamerick** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:51 am

What about bats filled with superballs?