Riding with the window down…

Andy Pettitte’s public apology yesterday was welcome change. It was a change from the usual antics of our so-called sports heroes. It was a change from the spoiled brats living in their own ivory towers. It was a change from the “I’m above the rules” attitude. It was a change from the baseball factory pumping out one Incredible Hulk after another swearing they never used performance enhancing drugs. It is sad to say that Pettitte’s honesty was such a drastic change that it stood out.

Kudos to Andy for having the balls to tell the truth. Kudos to Andy for having the moral compass - for not hiding behind his fame. Kudos to Andy Pettitte…. shame on the rest of you cheaters.

Congrats to Alex Rodriguez on his 500th homer.

oh yeah….

Did I ever tell you how much I detest Barry Bonds?

(why does it not surprise me that Mark Cuban celebrates him?)

Yet another black eye on the face of sports. Just days after Alexander Vinokourov won my respect with a gutsy comeback, it was announced that he tested positive for “blood doping.” That is the practice of injecting someone else’s (or your own previously saved) blood packed with oxygen-carrying cells prior to an arduous event in order to perform better and recover faster.

SHAME on Vinokourov!

I am about ready to boycott all professional level sports… this type of cheating is and poor sportsmanship is rampant. Barry Bonds is about to break one of the most hallowed records of all despite, in my opinion, obvious steroid abuse. An NBA official is being investigated for gambling on and fixing games. Jerks like Terrell Owens are celebrated rather than shunned in the NFL. Speaking of the NFL, a former SuperBowl winner stabs someone to death and “settles out of court.” The NBA is full of thugs and rapists. Olympic medalists have been stripped of medals for cheating. Wrestlers regularly die and now kill others under the influence of the drugs. There are new accusations of steroid abuse in GOLF of all things. And even after instituting the most rigid drug testing, cycling continues to fight a losing battle against greed and cheating.

I am not naive enough to think that it only exists at the pro levels, even Texas high school football is beginning to test for steroids. If you thought the 80’s were a decade of greed, that was nothing.

I commend the cycling governing bodies for being hands-down the most rigid in their efforts to stem the disease of cheating, but hang my head a little lower that I was duped by this dope, Vinokourov.

It was 45 years ago to the day that Houston was awarded a Major League Baseball franchise in an owner’s meeting held in Chicago. The Astros were then known as the Colt 45’s. Yes, 45 years later - it appeared that they were set to head to their first ever World Series.

Call it coincidence, call it karma, call it poetic justice - all I know is Houston was one strike away from calling it a series.

Just one little pitch, one swing and a miss, one strike away from taking the series 4-1, Albert Pujols dropped a three-run bomb to ruin the perfect end to a great chapter in Astros’ history. The series now returns to St. Louis where Houston will need just a bit more magic. See ya’ Wednesday.

Could I finally get my dream matchup in the World Series? I thought I had a shot at it last season, but fate conspired against both of my teams.

Yes, the matchup I yearn for is the New York Yankees vs. the Houston Astros. Not only could I see my favorite team (NYY,) but I could see them in the home of my favorite National League team (HOU,) AND half of the games would be played in my home city!!! That would mean that hell or high water, I would find a way to attend a World Series game.

Hey… I know there are a boatload of innings to play and the matchup is a longshot - but many sportswriters are picking Houston to win it all and half of the rest are picking the Yankees… who know?

“I told the truth, and today I am telling the truth again that I did not do this intentionally or knowingly,” he said in a conference call.

Oh, I guess he “accidentally” took steriods! This is actually funny in a sad, twisted way. This is the guy that told Congress emphatically that he had NEVER used steriods PERIOD. Way to go Rafi.

PS… as per the photo - he used to be normal sized once too. Yet another juiced jerk that owes Canseco an apology.

A ton of stuff going on with this podcast (Time: 17:56)

* An update on the Tour de France after Stage 3
* 4th of July idiocy
* Problems using Skype and Audacity together
* Just started Houston Podcasting
* Look ahead to Stage 4 of the TdF
* Still trying to get listed on iTunes
* Gaming with Houston Social Gamesters
—-Snorta (game I couldn’t remember)

Please take a moment to vote for this podcast at Podcast Alley.

First let me say that this problem is not just a player problem. I do NOT think that we can trust major league baseball to police themselves. We cannot trust the owners to police their own teams. The congressional hearings on steroids have received a lot of flack for being “not important” and a “waste of time.” I am here to say that they are very important and a better use of time than a lot of things done by our representatives.

McGwire’s constant remarks, “That’s not for me to decide,” “I am retired so it doesn’t matter,” “I can’t answer that,” and the like are egregious dodges. His desire to “be a spokesman against steroids” yet still refuse to acknowledge that he even knew of their existence further shows that he is just as dishonest about it now as he was when he was hulking up to break the homerun record. In my opinion, he is slime and his records should be erased completely.

When the suggestion to use the Olympic standard of drug testing was proposed, (1st offense - 2yr ban, 2nd offense - lifetime ban) McGwire, Sosa & Schilling dodged. They were asked point blank if they thought that it was a good idea… the responses were “I’m retired,” and “We should work hard on the current system…” Nobody other than Canseco would come out and say “Yeah - we should implement a strict system.” Palmiero did however state that he would play under any testing system.

The use of steroids is cheating - the use of steroids is illegal - the use of steroids is despicable. For these players to back peddle and doubletalk while suggesting that Jose Canseco is the only player to use steroids is just wrong. They are not heroes - they are not good role models - they are greedy, slimy cheaters.

You be the judge - look at a normal Mark McGwire - next to the steroid monkey McGwire. And if you are already formulating your “he works out a lot” defense, save it and get your head out of the sand. He has cheated to get ahead. He has cheated the clean players currently in the game. He has cheated the history of the game. He has cheated those whose records he has broken.

The MLB policy is horrible… the players can walk out in the middle of the test… they can pay $10K to wipe out their results and keep it out of the public… the test doesn’t test for everything… it is a joke. It is definitely time to adopt an Olympic style drug policy on a national basis. It needs to be across the board for all sports and all levels of play.

It all started as a casual day at home. I was doing some paperwork and catching up on some TV when Mike called. He wanted to know if I would like to attend the Minute Maid Park 2005 College Classic - a six-team tournament featuring some of the top 25 teams in college baseball. Baylor, Tennessee, UH, Rice, A&M and Oklahoma State made up the teams. The event started yesterday and finished up today.

Overall, it is a pretty darn good entertainment value as you pay $12 to get in and watch all of the games of the day. There were three games today and we got there in time for the start of the second one featuring Rice vs. Baylor. Both teams were undefeated in the tournament so this turned out to be for the championship. The first game saw some pretty great action although Rice was unable to turn hits into runs. Baylor took the win and their fans were overjoyed as this marks a major step for their baseball program.

In the second game, it was the University of Houston against Texas A&M. The Aggies definitely had the edge in terms of spirit for most of the game, but like Rice, left most of their hitters stranded. In the end, as UH’s lead grew, the noise level from their side of the park did as well. I brought the camera and took nearly 300 pictures. I was experimenting with speed versus light settings to try and get the best action shots possible. I have some pretty decent results, but it would have been much easier if the game were played in full sun. I will be posting some of the shots on www.vipshots.com and notifying the teams involved that they are available… who knows - maybe I will recoup some of the cost of going to the games through picture sales.

Whether I make any sales or not really wasn’t the point of the outing… it was a lot of fun regardless. There is just something about the college atmosphere that makes the games more electric. Mike pointed out and I agreed that these guys just seem to care more about the game than the pros. At the end of the innings… the guys in the outfield ’sprint’ back to the dugout. We’re not talking about jogging in like the pros - these guys look like the game is riding on how fast they get on and off the field. Also, the fans are sooo much different. Mike suggested it was a ‘different class of fans’ and to an extent I believe it. These folks are not the blue-collar-come-to-the-game-to-get-wasted-and-shout-obscenities crowd. They are there to support their children, their college and their community. It does make for a very different atmosphere. The bottom line is that if you want to enjoy sports - go to a college game… forget about the spoiled millionaires in the pro games.