Steroids and baseball, does it ever end?

Mark McGwire. Adjectives that used to come to mind were “role model,” “legend,” or even perhaps “future Hall of Famer.” Now all I can think of are “juicer” or “cheater.”

There are many arguments when it comes to the fate of McGwire, but I will state my opinion first and clear; I do not care if steroids were legal at the time of his career, performance-enhancing drugs are just that, performance enhancing. If you didn’t set those records with your own strength and no help, you cheated. No exceptions.

The Steroid Era only needed one guy to start it. When one man uses it, others follow, because it’s the only way you can keep up with that level of play. So like I say about other things in life, it was “understandable yet inexcusable.” Sure it may be hard to hit a 100 mile per hour fastball, but wouldn’t you say that you have even more talent if you didn’t have aide? How fair is it to the players that didn’t use juice yet had remarkable seasons of their own and were overshadowed? Sports have rules to be fair, not to be broken.

The other day when McGwire released his statement about having used steroids, it was no surprise to me. It’s a shame to have America’s Past-time go down the tubes because of a drug. But I feel as though that this drug should be treated just like any others, with a huge fine and some jail time. But what’s Roger doing now? Probably sitting on some beach. And with no doubts in my mind McGwire will be joining him shortly.

And is it ironic that McGwire wants the new hitting coach position? Well his idea of apologizing and “starting with a clean slate” is a whole bunch of BS to me. I was reading in Sports Illustrated when I came across a quote from a reader regarding Tiger and his scandal. The quote read, “This is a very forgiving country. If Tiger is truly sorry for what he has done […] the cheers will be there for him again.” But is that true? Are we that forgiving to just let players go with these mistakes? Will we just forget about McGwire and his steroids in a few months, just as though it seems we did with Alex Rodriguez or Roger Clemens? How about big ole Barry? I think we choose to forget, and that’s not the right solution. We shouldn’t keep pushing the issue off to the side. We have the test results for crying out loud! It’s called the Mitchell Report! Steroids were a loophole, and loopholes aren’t allowed anywhere else. So why should it be different in baseball?

--Meg

NFL Playoffs Round 2 Preview, Part II

Dallas Cowboys (12-5) at Minnesota Vikings (12-4)

X-factor: Tony Romo. I have no statistical proof or any evidence that led me to this decision. All I know is that this is my decision. If Tony Romo has a good game, the Cowboys' chances of winning increases. They still have to stop the Vikings' offense, but the overall success of the team lies with Romo.

Why the Cowboys can win: The Cowboys give up only 15.6 points per game, second in the NFL only to the New York Jets. Dallas gives up only 90.5 rushing yards a game, and their linebackers should hold Adrian Peterson to less than his usual 4.4 yards per carry. Dallas also has two wide receivers in the top ten in yards per catch, Miles Austin and Patrick Crayton.

Why the Cowboys can choke: Dallas has a guy named Romo who tends to choke in big games. Their defense only had 19 takeaways this season, second to last in the NFC. Momentum means nothing against top teams.

Why the Vikings can win: The Vikings are undefeated at home. Minnesota went 4-1 against teams that made the playoffs, with the lone loss coming against the Arizona Cardinals, in which Percy Harvin led the team in rushing with 22 yards...this won't happen again. Their defense is second in the NFC in yards per game. And they were considered a Super Bowl favorite for most of the season.

Why the Vikings can choke: Brett Favre and head coach Brad Childress tended to clash this year. The results? 2-3 in the last 5 regular season games, including losses to the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. Adrian Peterson has become an increasingly inconsistent running back. His yards per carry each game since Week 10 are as follows: 7.4, 3.4, 3.4, 1.5, 3.7, 2.9, 3.9, 6.0. The two games that stand out in a good way came against the Lions and in the Giant Tank Game. So maybe I should switch "inconsistent" to "ineffective".

Semi-Relevant Opinion: The Cowboys need to replace Tony Romo. They will not be a great team with him. He is not very good.

1. Tony Romo wasn't wanted by an FBS college football team. He wasn't originally wanted by an NFL team. He played behind quarterbacks so old and washed-up they made Junior Seau look like Junior Seau, Junior. When did he become good?

2. Name the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now. My list, in a rough order, goes like this: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Phillip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Schaub, Kurt Warner, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb. Does Romo even enter the debate until after McNabb is named? No. That's twelve quarterbacks before you even think about naming Romo. Which leads me to point number three.

3. If your player, coach, GM, doctor, teacher, accountant, salesman, or whatever else you can think of, is not in the top 25% at his position, then you need to get a better one as soon as possible. With 32 starting quarterbacks in the league, and Tony Romo about 14th in the league, and that's probably being generous, that does not put him in the highest 25%. It's time to get a good quarterback. It is definitely within Dallas's reach- they have the biggest market and the most money- so why not? The Tony Romo era is not working. Maybe they had a couple of solid regular seasons, but this has not translated into any actual success. It's time for Romo to go.

Prediction: Vikings 27, Cowboys 17. The deciding factor was that the Vikings were undefeated at home, including three wins against playoff teams. Could this game go either way? Absolutely. This one could definitely go either way. I see the Vikings winning this game, but would not be the least bit surprised if the Cowboys won.

New York Jets (10-7) at San Diego Chargers (13-3)

X-factor: Shonn Greene and Thomas Jones. One of them, or both, need to have a good game to prevent the Jets offense from becoming one-dimensional. Against a team as good as the Chargers, you need to establish the run and exploit the defensive gap that allowed 4.5 rushing yards per attempt.

Why the Jets can win: They have the best defense in the NFL. No, I didn't expect it either. I never would have predicted it at the beginning of the year. But they lead the league in every important defensive statistic except takeaways. The Jets can shut down any offense, especially a passing-is-the-only-means-of-production offense such as the Chargers.

Why the Jets can choke: I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but the Jets offense is more than a little shaky. Mark Sanchez can be a typical halfway-competent rookie quarterback. And most importantly, the offense can flat out stink from time to time.

Why the Chargers can win: After the Week 6 loss to the Denver Broncos, the Chargers went into "screw you, we're not gonna lose" mode. They proceded to win the next ten games and hold the longest current winning streak. The Chargers are so good that they tanked the last two games and still won! Philip Rivers might just be so angry that he explodes.

Why the Chargers can choke: Their running game flat out sucks. Former MVP LaDanian Tomlinson averages 3.3 yards per carry. Backup Darren Sproles averages 3.7 a carry. That's not good. The Chargers are known to choke in the playoffs. Philip Rivers might just be so angry that he implodes.

Semi-Relevant Opinion: I don't like Philip Rivers because of his jawing. Jawing in football is different from trash talking in basketball. In basketball, trash talking is part of the game, and when someone stops getting trashed, that implies respect. In football, a team could be losing by thirty in the fourth quarter, but their linebacker will still be jawing if he makes a tackle. This is just dumb, there's no purpose to it. Larry Bird was the best trash talker of all time. Quick trivia question for you- who was the best football jawer of all time? Answer: No one. Not only does it mean nothing (so no one pays attention to it), but they all say the same thing!

Read the lips of football players who jaw. Here's what I got from a select few players- Shawne Merriman: "All day baby! All day!" Michael Strahan: "All day baby! All day!" Sebastian Janokowski: "Całe dziecko dnia! Cały dzień!" Ok, bad example, but you get my point.

Prediction: Jets 17, Chargers 10. No, seriously. The Chargers rushing offense will go nowhere, as it usually does, and the Jets secondary will demolish the pass. I think.

-Tucker Warner

Clippers Curse Continues

Hello First Tee fans!

It’s been a while (for both Tucker and I) writing and updating, but we’re back!

I know I promised you a Blake Griffin update before my absence, so it’s only fitting that it’s the first article that I return with.

There isn’t much to say when it comes to the curse of the Clippers. It’s pretty much been around for their entire existence. Seeing that Blake Griffin won’t be returning until next season is icing on the cake for this condemned team.

Blake Griffin announced his biggest fear on Thursday (Jan 14, 2009) that he would have season ending surgery to repair his knee (B. Griffin fractured his left knee cap after jumping down from a dunk).

Originally the healing process was estimated to be about 6 weeks with the proper rest and therapy, but what wasn’t released to the public was that this was the fastest option that Big Blake had. The other option was surgery from the start. Unfortunately the first-draft pick of the 2009 draft will be sidelined, but that could possibly be beneficial to him in the end.

Weighing out the pros and cons of sitting an injured, yet phenomenal, athlete can be a difficult when your team isn’t that great to begin with. But in Blake’s case, you can’t rush it back. Seeing that the Clips don’t have much of a chance getting into the playoffs this year (shocker!), why wouldn’t you take the time off and prep for next year? He needs to take the time to study film and plays, and grow stronger. Besides, it’s not like it’s a big deal for the team in a sense because it’s his first season, the guys haven’t played with him enough to say it’s going to cost them in the long run. As long as he uses his time wisely, he can develop more so now than ever. The only con I can possibly think of is that ticket sales probably aren’t as high as they were expected to be; yet I’m sure that’s not the first time in Clipper’s history. Come on, your competing with Kobe, even Blake said the entire city of L.A. isn’t big enough for the Laker’s star.

So it’s another disappointing season for Clipper’s fans, though I’m sure it’s not a surprise. Hang in there guys; you’ve got Manny to spare you over the summer.

--Meg

NFL Playoffs Round 2 Preview, Part I

Arizona Cardinals (11-6) at New Orleans Saints (13-3)

X-factor: Kurt Warner. He has the best completion percentage in NFL playoff history, he is second on the career playoff list for completion percentage, and he is throwing to the best wide receiver in the league. Need I say more?

Why the Cardinals can win: The Cardinals can score at will. They make big plays in clutch situations. Kurt Warner is one of the best playoff quarterbacks of all time, and he might have a little extra heart because this might be his last year. They scored 51 points last week, against the same team that held them to only 7 in Week 17. According to SCOUTS, Inc, the Cardinals have the advantage at every position except for offensive line and defensive backs. They retain pretty much the same team that won the NFC Championship last year.

Why the Cardinals can choke: Their quarterback is 38 years old and is about as mobile as a mountain. (Really. During Round 1 against the Packers, Warner was facing a 3rd and 6 late in the fourth quarter. The blitz came from the sides and there was a big gap in the line where Warner could have handily [In order to not make the first down by running, he would've had to pull a Mary Decker...or a hamstring] ran for the first. He stepped back and threw instead. Still got the first, but that's beside the point.) Their running game is average at best. They gave up 45 points to the Packers and allowed them to come back from a 20-plus deficit.

Why the Saints can win: That's virtually all they did this season, until they unintentionally intentionally lost, but that's another story. They became so good at scoring, at one point they were able to score six points by downing the ball. Drew Brees got so many yards through the air that Southwest Airlines awarded him frequent flier points. Their running game is multi-dimensional- the Saints have three guys who can run the ball efficiently.

Why the Saints can choke: Did you see the past few games? They lost a close game to the Cowboys (didn't tank or choke), lost in overtime to the Buccaneers (didn't tank, just choked), and lost to the Panthers (tanked and choked- on a related note, backup quarterback Mark Brunell's line from that game looked like this: 15/29, 102 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, 45.5 passer rating. 45.5??? Isn't that Brunell's age?). The Saints haven't soundly beaten an opponent since Week 12.

Semi-Relevant Opinion: The Over/Under for this game is 57. Last week, the Cardinals scored 51 points themselves. I'm taking the under, or I would if I was of legal gambling age.

Completely Irrelevant Opinion: How is it possible that an 18 year old American citizen can serve in the Armed Forces, but can't bet two hundred bucks on a Patriots game? This is ridiculous.

Prediction: Cardinals 31, Saints 24. No, really. The Cardinals have Kurt Warner, in the playoffs, against a defense that gave up 30 points to the Redskins.

Baltimore Ravens (10-7) at Indianapolis Colts (14-2)

X-factor: Peyton Manning. He won the MVP award, and by all accounts is the best quarterback in the NFL, and one of the five best of all time. (Don't argue against me. It's true.)

Why the Ravens can win: To be honest, I'm not so sure they can win. If anything works, it will be their running game- Ray Rice and Willis McGahee are perhaps the best running back tandem in the league. This won't happen though.

Outlandish Statement: If the Ravens beat the Colts this weekend, I will bury myself alive!

Why the Ravens can choke: The Ravens haven't beaten the Colts since December 2001. In the regular season, the Ravens were 1-6 against teams who made the playoffs. Joe Flacco is non-existant in clutch situations, especially in the playoffs (last week he only completed 4 passes of his 10 attempts, for 34 yards).

Why the Colts can win: The Colts have not lost a game they were actually trying to win. Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL. Not only have the Colts beaten the Ravens in their past four meetings, but they have also covered the point spread. The Colts are the best team in the NFL.

Why the Colts can lose: This is the only hope the Ravens have. The Colts will need to choke, and choke big, for the Ravens to win this game. Peyton Manning threw five interceptions in a loss to the Chargers a few years ago. The Ravens have a secondary that is good enough to make this happen, but the odds of Peyton Manning choking like a chain smoker on a playoff game in Saturday are about one in a million, if that. Good luck Baltimore.

Semi-Relevant Opinion: The Ravens can win with Joe Flacco only if they improve their receiving corps. The Ravens top three receiving leaders are a productive-but-old wideout (Derrick Mason), a running back (Ray Rice), and a tight end (Todd Heap). None of the other receivers have ever caught more than seven passes in a game, and never more than 100 yars in a game. Of the top three, one will retire within two years (he already retired once! It will happen again!) and one is not a downfield option by definition. I'll admit that Heap will continue to be a productive option for the next few years, but is a tight end what you really want as the future of your receiving team?

Prediction: Colts 34, Ravens 13. Would I be flabbergasted by an upset by the Ravens? It's professional sports, of course not. However, I would be willing to wager an non-vital organ on the Colts if the payoff was over $10,000. Again, this is only if I was of legal gambling age.

Stay tuned for Part II!

-Tucker