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	<title>Comments on: Some Honesty About Steroids</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/</link>
	<description>It rankles me when somebody tries to tell somebody what to do.</description>
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		<title>By: Jocko</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69986</link>
		<dc:creator>Jocko</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:39:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69986</guid>
		<description>Baseball execs knew (or should have known) about steroid usage by players.  They were happy to condone the usage.  Players could hit the ball farther and throw it faster.  It made the game more exciting.  These same execs only care about making steroid usage against the rules when Congress threatens to get involved.  All professional sports leagues are sucking at the teat of the government.  Now the owners need to act shocked, shocked!, when players are found to use steroids or risk losing their corporate welfare.

Just another reason to hate professional sports in America.  Get government out of the game and let the owners make their own rules.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Baseball execs knew (or should have known) about steroid usage by players.  They were happy to condone the usage.  Players could hit the ball farther and throw it faster.  It made the game more exciting.  These same execs only care about making steroid usage against the rules when Congress threatens to get involved.  All professional sports leagues are sucking at the teat of the government.  Now the owners need to act shocked, shocked!, when players are found to use steroids or risk losing their corporate welfare.</p>
<p>Just another reason to hate professional sports in America.  Get government out of the game and let the owners make their own rules.</p>
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		<title>By: Alex</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69948</link>
		<dc:creator>Alex</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:30:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69948</guid>
		<description>&quot;I think the most likely explanation is because a) we sort of accept that a little more in football, and b) he’s not chasing any historic records. Do those reasons really amke much sense though? I don’t think so.&quot;   I think they make a lot of sense.  I knew a lot of college baseball players who were taking steroids.  Some of them got messed up, some didn&#039;t, but I understand why they did it.  Compare that to Barry Bonds, who was arguably the greatest batter of all time before the steroids.  I think it&#039;s reasonable for sports fans like myself who were just a couple steps or a little power away from being professionals themselves to be pissed that people blessed with so much natural athleticism want another advantage.  There&#039;s definitely too much hysteria in all this, but from my personal experience, I think some of this downplaying what steroids can do (both positively and negatively) is pretty hysterical itself.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;I think the most likely explanation is because a) we sort of accept that a little more in football, and b) he’s not chasing any historic records. Do those reasons really amke much sense though? I don’t think so.&#8221;   I think they make a lot of sense.  I knew a lot of college baseball players who were taking steroids.  Some of them got messed up, some didn&#8217;t, but I understand why they did it.  Compare that to Barry Bonds, who was arguably the greatest batter of all time before the steroids.  I think it&#8217;s reasonable for sports fans like myself who were just a couple steps or a little power away from being professionals themselves to be pissed that people blessed with so much natural athleticism want another advantage.  There&#8217;s definitely too much hysteria in all this, but from my personal experience, I think some of this downplaying what steroids can do (both positively and negatively) is pretty hysterical itself.</p>
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		<title>By: Nick T</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69915</link>
		<dc:creator>Nick T</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69915</guid>
		<description>Windypundit said it best.  Cheaters are people who break rules, period.  Even without an actual advantage gained.  The sports should make the rules and the corresponding punsihments.  

But at the same time we should always be having intelligent debates about how those rules are crafted and what our response should be as a society to cheaters.  The Merriman comparison is great: This guy used steroids, and no one really cared.  He was punished, and he came back.  People will likely always judge him, but no one really hates him and he&#039;s certainly not being prosecuted or investigated.  I think the most likely explanation is because a) we sort of accept that a little more in football, and b) he&#039;s not chasing any historic records.  Do those reasons really amke much sense though? I don&#039;t think so.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Windypundit said it best.  Cheaters are people who break rules, period.  Even without an actual advantage gained.  The sports should make the rules and the corresponding punsihments.  </p>
<p>But at the same time we should always be having intelligent debates about how those rules are crafted and what our response should be as a society to cheaters.  The Merriman comparison is great: This guy used steroids, and no one really cared.  He was punished, and he came back.  People will likely always judge him, but no one really hates him and he&#8217;s certainly not being prosecuted or investigated.  I think the most likely explanation is because a) we sort of accept that a little more in football, and b) he&#8217;s not chasing any historic records.  Do those reasons really amke much sense though? I don&#8217;t think so.</p>
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		<title>By: Skip Oliva</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69913</link>
		<dc:creator>Skip Oliva</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:42:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69913</guid>
		<description>This isn&#039;t about whether athletes should follow the rules of their chosen sports. This is about whether the government may claim ownership of your body--that includes everyone, not just athletes. The steroid hysteria is driven by the government&#039;s fear that people will start to reject the premise that the state has absolute ownership over your person.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This isn&#8217;t about whether athletes should follow the rules of their chosen sports. This is about whether the government may claim ownership of your body&#8211;that includes everyone, not just athletes. The steroid hysteria is driven by the government&#8217;s fear that people will start to reject the premise that the state has absolute ownership over your person.</p>
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		<title>By: Margo</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69911</link>
		<dc:creator>Margo</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:29:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69911</guid>
		<description>&lt;a href=&quot;http://hghcheap.110mb.com&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt; HGH &lt;/a&gt; (Human Growth Hormone) is the most common hormone in the pituitary gland, which is at the center of the human brain.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://hghcheap.110mb.com" rel="nofollow"> HGH </a> (Human Growth Hormone) is the most common hormone in the pituitary gland, which is at the center of the human brain.</p>
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		<title>By: Windypundit</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69899</link>
		<dc:creator>Windypundit</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:05:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69899</guid>
		<description>The rules of sports are arbitrary by definition. Basketball might by more exciting to watch if the players were allowed to throw punches, but it wouldn&#039;t be basketball. If the people that run pro basketball decide that EPO isn&#039;t part of the sport, then it isn&#039;t.

That said, it would certainly be smart to make these kinds of decisions on a rational basis, talking into account the the health of the athletes, the fairness of competition, and the entertainment value for the spectators.

In any case, other than enforcing the contracts, there&#039;s no reason to get the government involved.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The rules of sports are arbitrary by definition. Basketball might by more exciting to watch if the players were allowed to throw punches, but it wouldn&#8217;t be basketball. If the people that run pro basketball decide that EPO isn&#8217;t part of the sport, then it isn&#8217;t.</p>
<p>That said, it would certainly be smart to make these kinds of decisions on a rational basis, talking into account the the health of the athletes, the fairness of competition, and the entertainment value for the spectators.</p>
<p>In any case, other than enforcing the contracts, there&#8217;s no reason to get the government involved.</p>
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		<title>By: sal</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69892</link>
		<dc:creator>sal</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:58:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69892</guid>
		<description>wade is actually 100% correct.  the debate shouldn&#039;t be about whether or not PEDs are safe, effective, dangerous, ineffective or anything else.  

the governing bodies of sport - whether it be MLB, NHL, the Olympics - have stated that participants cannot use PEDs.  those who use are breaking the rules are cheating, whether or not there are screening tests to catch or deter.

using PEDs is akin to barry bonds using an aluminum bat, roger clemens using a smaller baseball, tiger woods using an unapproved ball or club or carrying an extra club.

if you want to argue that athletes should be allowed to use whatever substance that they want, fine.  if you want to argue that baseball - or other leagues - shouldn&#039;t be allowed to prohibit certain behaviors, go ahead and try. 

but the bottom line is that the powers can set the rules and that anyone who breaks them is cheating, especially in the case of PEDs.  it&#039;s an antiquated notion, but there is such a concept as abiding by the rules.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>wade is actually 100% correct.  the debate shouldn&#8217;t be about whether or not PEDs are safe, effective, dangerous, ineffective or anything else.  </p>
<p>the governing bodies of sport &#8211; whether it be MLB, NHL, the Olympics &#8211; have stated that participants cannot use PEDs.  those who use are breaking the rules are cheating, whether or not there are screening tests to catch or deter.</p>
<p>using PEDs is akin to barry bonds using an aluminum bat, roger clemens using a smaller baseball, tiger woods using an unapproved ball or club or carrying an extra club.</p>
<p>if you want to argue that athletes should be allowed to use whatever substance that they want, fine.  if you want to argue that baseball &#8211; or other leagues &#8211; shouldn&#8217;t be allowed to prohibit certain behaviors, go ahead and try. </p>
<p>but the bottom line is that the powers can set the rules and that anyone who breaks them is cheating, especially in the case of PEDs.  it&#8217;s an antiquated notion, but there is such a concept as abiding by the rules.</p>
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		<title>By: Ben</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69884</link>
		<dc:creator>Ben</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:49:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69884</guid>
		<description>I&#039;ve always felt that if you&#039;re competing on a national level in a sport, be it NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB... whatever.... you&#039;re already as close to the top of your game as you can be naturally. You sacrifice a lot to be there. If you make the choice to have that edge that steroids gives you, and you are willing to live with the consequences, more power to you. You&#039;re more fun to watch.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve always felt that if you&#8217;re competing on a national level in a sport, be it NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB&#8230; whatever&#8230;. you&#8217;re already as close to the top of your game as you can be naturally. You sacrifice a lot to be there. If you make the choice to have that edge that steroids gives you, and you are willing to live with the consequences, more power to you. You&#8217;re more fun to watch.</p>
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		<title>By: Michael Pack</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69883</link>
		<dc:creator>Michael Pack</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:21:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69883</guid>
		<description>Wade,it&#039;s not that simple.Most high revenue sports are dependent on and have favorable tax laws from local,state and federal governments.The NFL,NBA,MLB and NCAA all have tax funded venues and anti-trust relief.NASCAR is the the only major sport that is mostly free of taxpayer support.Of course the sport was founded by bootleggers trying to beat a unwise law.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Wade,it&#8217;s not that simple.Most high revenue sports are dependent on and have favorable tax laws from local,state and federal governments.The NFL,NBA,MLB and NCAA all have tax funded venues and anti-trust relief.NASCAR is the the only major sport that is mostly free of taxpayer support.Of course the sport was founded by bootleggers trying to beat a unwise law.</p>
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		<title>By: wade</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69865</link>
		<dc:creator>wade</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:58:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69865</guid>
		<description>Who says rules in sport have to make sense? If the governing authority of a sport decree that no one can compete wearing green shorts, and someone then competes wearing green shorts, then they&#039;ve broken the rules and should take the punishment.
They are free to break away and set up their own green-short wearing league if they wish, if they can get enough people to watch.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Who says rules in sport have to make sense? If the governing authority of a sport decree that no one can compete wearing green shorts, and someone then competes wearing green shorts, then they&#8217;ve broken the rules and should take the punishment.<br />
They are free to break away and set up their own green-short wearing league if they wish, if they can get enough people to watch.</p>
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		<title>By: TC</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69840</link>
		<dc:creator>TC</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 05:21:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69840</guid>
		<description>Radley ya missed the first link.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/columnists/dan_le_batard/18222231.htm

More from it; 

``Why are you gasping? Too honest? You wanted a bowed head and contrition and lies like those from all my broken peers who aren&#039;t really sorry for what they did as much as they&#039;re sorry for how you react to it? All I&#039;m sorry about is that you folks have become irrational because of absurd Congressional hearings and the feds trying to wiretap middle reliever Jason Grimsley and a flimsy Mitchell Report that cloaked gossip in credibility and smeared names just to justify 20 months of work and $20 million in wasted dollars.&quot;

****

We need to make congress pay for this, as well take back their pay increase!  It&#039;s obvious they have not earned it.  As well that they are more of a waste than much else.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Radley ya missed the first link.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.realcities.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/columnists/dan_le_batard/18222231.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.realcities.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/columnists/dan_le_batard/18222231.htm</a></p>
<p>More from it; </p>
<p>&#8220;Why are you gasping? Too honest? You wanted a bowed head and contrition and lies like those from all my broken peers who aren&#8217;t really sorry for what they did as much as they&#8217;re sorry for how you react to it? All I&#8217;m sorry about is that you folks have become irrational because of absurd Congressional hearings and the feds trying to wiretap middle reliever Jason Grimsley and a flimsy Mitchell Report that cloaked gossip in credibility and smeared names just to justify 20 months of work and $20 million in wasted dollars.&#8221;</p>
<p>****</p>
<p>We need to make congress pay for this, as well take back their pay increase!  It&#8217;s obvious they have not earned it.  As well that they are more of a waste than much else.</p>
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		<title>By: Bill Mill</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69833</link>
		<dc:creator>Bill Mill</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 04:14:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69833</guid>
		<description>*reconsider*, that should be.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>*reconsider*, that should be.</p>
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		<title>By: Bill Mill</title>
		<link>http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/comment-page-1/#comment-69832</link>
		<dc:creator>Bill Mill</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jan 2008 04:14:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/17/some-honesty-about-steroids/#comment-69832</guid>
		<description>I may have to consider how much I despise Le Batard from his painful PTI appearances.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I may have to consider how much I despise Le Batard from his painful PTI appearances.</p>
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