Sports Blog

And so another one bites the dust.

In case you have been living under a rock for the last 24 hours and/or haven’t had any human contact, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, a female fertility drug and banned substance of Major League Baseball.

Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games and will lose more than $7 million dollars in salary after deciding to drop his appeal of the ruling.

Sadly, for those who root for the Dodgers, the savior of their team has joined the likes of other home run hitting heroes who have fallen under the dark cloud of the steroids era.  While Ramirez hasn’t tested positive for steroids — he said he has passed about 15 drug tests over the last five seasons — the tarnish to his image may be too much for even him to overcome.

hCG is, after all, a drug commonly used by steroid users to get their bodies to naturally reproduce testosterone after a steroids cycle.  At best he is guilty of gross negligence when it comes to monitoring drugs he puts into his body.  At worst he is a cheater a la Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, etc., etc.

We aren’t supposed to be surprised any more when a new name pops up on the list of substance (ab)users, but regardless of whether or not you are a fan of Ramirez it is likely you were at least a bit shocked when you heard the news.  Manny is a lot of things, but until yesterday a cheater wasn’t thought to be one of them.  Ugly exit from Boston aside, Ramirez has been the goofy, eccentric, fan-friendly player that Bonds never was.  For all his shortcomings, Ramirez was the carefree-to-a-fault, clean power hitter baseball desperately needed.

Or so we all thought.

Manny being Manny used to be a nice way of saying Ramirez is a bit of knucklehead.   Now it just feels like the butt of a bad late night joke, the easy way of saying Ramirez’s deception can only be described as Ramirez-like.

McGwire taught us all that chicks dig the long ball, but nobody told him and the players that followed that drug induced potency didn’t count.  Now Ramirez has taught us all a lesson we hopefully won’t soon forget.

Looks can be deceiving. Just because a player doesn’t show the typical signs of steroid use (Bond’s enormous head) doesn’t mean he is above suspicion.  Just because a player is engaging and charismatic doesn’t mean he is beyond doubt.  Just because a man can lift a city doesn’t mean he can evade punishment.

And, apparently, just because you aren’t supposed to be surprised any more doesn’t mean you can’t be.

Image Source: Wbz.com

There was one question on everybody’s mind after the first round of the home run derby – from people who don’t follow baseball to those who only do so casually – just who in the world is Josh Hamilton?

After all, the talk leading up to the home run derby was primarily about the players who chose not to participate in the fan favorite event. New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez was too busy playing prima donna to hit a few home runs on his home field. All-time home run leader Barry Bonds can’t even find a major league team to take him at the veteran’s minimum.

Then, as magically as his dream foretold, Hamilton put on a show that baseball fans will be talking about for a very long time. In the house that Ruth built, in the last year Yankee Stadium will exist in its current form, Hamilton laid the foundation for the post-steroids era.

Let’s face it; this year’s all-star game was supposed to be a game that the casual baseball fan didn’t care about. Baseball was at a crossroads between the stars of the steroids-era-past and the young, talented players that had yet to breach mainstream stardom.

Or so we all thought. Hamilton blasted 28 home runs in the first round of the home run derby, surpassing the Bobby Abreu mark of 24 set back in 2005. The average length of each of his home runs was an astounding 445 feet, with three landing beyond 500 feet.

Hamilton would eventually lose in the finals to Justin Morneau, but as Hamilton would probably agree, sometimes the beauty is in the process. You see, a few years ago Hamilton was banned from Major League Baseball for substance abuse and was an admitted drug addict. The 1999 first overall pick was walking down a dangerous path and slowly wasting away, quite literally at points.

Eventually, however, he would get his life back together. After a vivid dream in which he says Jesus helped him fight off the devil, Hamilton started to get clean. The MLB would eventually reinstate him, and in 2007 the Cincinnati Reds drafted him.

Which brought us to Monday night, when a 27-year-old who two years earlier had a dream of being interviewed at a home run derby at Yankee Stadium, stepped to the plate and had all of us asking just who the heck Josh Hamilton is? He didn’t have the name recognition of previous home run derby notables like Jason Giambi, Sammy Sosa or Mark McGwire, but he left with one of the most remarkable stories you’ll ever hear in sports: the story of a troubled man who struggled in his life and managed to defy the odds.

A man who overcame addiction and literally lived his dream, in the process helping rebuild the tarnished image of baseball in the aftermath of the Barry Bonds’ and Jose Canseco’s of the past. Maybe this year’s all-star festivities weren’t what we expected them to be, but they were better than any of us, with the exception of Hamilton, could have ever dreamt they would be.

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After many and highly publicized attempts to bring Barry Bonds’ record breaking home run ball to the baseball Hall of Fame, it looks like Marc Ecko has finally gave in.

The fashion designer donated the ball, home run number 756, to Cooperstown yesterday after a long day of back and forth negotiations, where Ecko had originally just wanted to give the ball to the Hall as a loan. But since the Hall did not want to receive the moment in history as a loan, they declined until Ecko agreed to give the ball as an “unconditional donation.” And a very expensive one at that.

For those of you who don’t remember, Ecko originally bought the ball in an online auction in September for $752,467. Man, what it must be like to blow away that much cash on a baseball.

Anyways, after the purchase, Ecko had asked fans to vote in an Internet poll about what he should do with the ball and this was the verdict: Brand the ball with an asterisk and send it to the Hall.

And, as instructed by the people, Ecko branded the ball, despite Barry Bonds saying he would boycott the Hall if they displayed the ball with an asterisk.

Well, it looks like Ecko is going to hold true to the second part of the deal.

Lets see if Bonds is a man of his word.

Source: SI

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This week in news and sports blogs around the Net:

• Mitchell Report is released. Clemens and Pettite among others named - CBS Sportsline
• Michael Vick asked judge for second chance in letter - Fox Sports
• Roger Clemens is getting off easy compared to Barry Bonds - 100% Injury Rate
• Rasheed Wallace apparently raps - Deuce of Davenport
• Take the poll, “what does Isiah have to do to get fired” - The Sports Hernia
• Kangaroo interrupts a golf tournament - Larry Brown Sports

YouTube - Watch 

And in Smarter Sports we talked about:

• “Look at me! I’m doing a handstand”
• NFL Fantasy Football Stats of the Week
• Michael Vick sentenced to 23-months in jail
• 9-year-old hockey kid has slick moves
• Marion Jones stripped of her medals, banned from Beijing
• Marshawn Lynch is “Beast Mode” comic hero
• Alex Rodriguez officially signs 10-year, $275 million contract

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We knew Alex Rodriguez was going to remain a New York Yankee, we just didn’t know the exact amount until it was etched in stone.

Well, the engraving has been made as A-Rod signed his life away to a 10-year, $275 million contract with the New York Yankees after opting out of his previous 10-year contract at $250 million.

Not bad, a new record. Especially since the Yanks said they would even talk to Rodriguez if he came out of the previous contract.

Under the new contract, he has about $30 million in bonus money to be earned when he achieves historic milestones. He currently sits only 244 home runs behind Barry Bonds and is at 18th place on the all-time home run list.

The most Rodriguez will make in a year will be $32 million in 2009 and 2010 and the lowest will be $20 million during the final two years of his contract. Next year he’ll earn $27 million.

It’s good to see both sides happy and so am I. Let’s hope the Yankees continue to build up that pitching and perhaps keep going after Johan Santana.

Source: Fox Sports

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This week in news and sports blogs around the Net:

• Bobby Knight is making it rain shotgun pellets on this man’s house? - The Sports Hernia
• Coach Paterno’s salary finally revealed at Penn State - Larry Brown Sports
• Who would play Barry Bonds if HBO made the movie about him - 100% Injury Rate
• Tony LaRussa DUI video - The Big Lead

And in Smarter Sports we talked about:

• Get fit! Dream Holiday Gift: Schwinn 418 Elliptical Trainer
• Tragedy strikes the NFL. Redskins’ Sean Taylor dies.
• Slam dunk! It’s gotta be the shoes
• They said what!? - David Beckham
• Dancing with the Stars champ Helio dating Hough?

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This week in news and sports blogs around the Net:

• Yankees Chick talks about A-Rod’s likely return to the Yankees - Yankees Chick
  
• The Sports Hernia has a little fun with Phil Jackson’s recent remarks - The Sports Hernia
• The new Fathead commercial is a bit scary - Awful Announcing
• The Lambeau grab? - The Big Lead
• Crappy Cy Young winners of the modern era - Joe Sports Fan

And in Smarter Sports we talked about:

• Come on man, staring is rude
• Check out last weekend’s fantasy football studs
• Yankees keep Jorge Posada with new deal
• Hardest hits of the NFL
• Dwayne Wade to take on Hollywood?
• Ricky Williams is back in the NFL!
• Alex Rodriguez reaches out to the Yankees!
• Barry Bonds indicted!

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I didn’t see this one coming today.

But it looks like Barry Bonds has some explaining to do. The all-time home run king was indicted today by a federal grand jury on perjury and obstruction of justices charges.

This comes after a four-year investigation into whether or not he lied under oath to a grand jury looking into steroid use by elite athletes and only three months after he broke Hank Aaron’s record.

Hmm, I wonder now if there is going to be an asterisk on the ball?

I’ll keep you up to speed when new information arises.

Source: Fox Sports

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Well, basically it was just lots of screaming and yelling, but the place was out of control.

I’m surprised no one got trampled to death in that environment.

Watch it and listen for yourself. You know when Barry hits it when the entire stadium erupts with camera flashes. Crazy.

YouTube - Watch 

It’s finally over.

Barry Bonds sent a fastball from the Washington Nationals’ Mark Bacsik into the rightfield seats of San Francisco for No. 756, launching him passed Hank Aaron and into the top of the record books as the all-time home run king.

We all knew it was going to happen, it was the “when” that was in question. Amidst all the steroids talk and the controversy swirling around Barry Bonds, this was a night that should just be heralded for what it really is.

One of the greatest achievements in the history of all sports.

In front of 43,000 hometown fans and even his godfather, Willie Mays, the 33-year old record was broken by a man that many perceive to be the most hated man in baseball today. Just like in 1973 when many didn’t want Aaron to break the record held by Babe Ruth, the same can be said for Barry Bonds. Although the circumstances for both are much different.

Commissioner Bud Selig and Hank Aaron both weren’t on hand to personally see the record broken, but both did congratulate Bonds. Selig had two emissaries attend the game in addition to a phone call, while Aaron congratulated him in a video tape that aired on the stadium’s video board during a 10-minute in game tribute.

But rest assured, the Bonds watch isn’t over. Now people are already focused on just how many he will hit before his career is over. Will he hit 800? Will he pass Sadaharu Oh?

The questions and the eyes will always be there until he finally hangs up his glove for good. But for now, I salute you Barry Bonds.

Congratulations.

Source: Fox Sports
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