Bottom Of The Barrel

Which sport has got it the worst?

PGA: At this year's British Open, Gary Player told reporters that he knew of at least one professional golfer using steroids and thinks it maybe as many as 10. "Whether it's HGH, whether it's Creatine or whether it's steroids, I know for a fact that some golfers are doing it", said player. Why should golf be any different than other sports?

NHL: Besides fans repeatedly asking for commissioner Gary Bettman to resign for diluting the talent of the sport by forcing it's growth to far and too fast, Carolina Hurricanes star Eric Staal and his brother, Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins, were arrested for misdemeanor disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process at Eric Staal's bachelor party at a Minnesota resort, along with 12 other people in attendance. That's not so bad, boys will be boys.

UCI: Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen was expelled for the race by his team for lying about his whereabouts during required non-race time drug testing. Cycling has been marred in the past year with Floyd Landis failing a drugs test while other top riders, including Germany's Jan Ullrich and Italy's Ivan Basso were implicated in a major Spanish doping investigation. With so many top riders being dropped because of drug use, can this sport be taken seriously? I seriously doubt it.

MLB: Barry Bonds is going to break Hammering Hank Arron's all-time home run record and while he has not been charged everyone suspects he has been juicing for years. It wasn't until the Giants latest home stand that commissioner Bud Selig decided he would attend and be present when the record falls. Now if George Mitchell and team could just get organized and finally figure out if Bonds, Giambi, Sheffield and others are cheating or not we can get back to enjoying the game.

NFL: Michael Vick has been accused of an unthinkable crime - participating in a competitive dogfighting conspiracy, buying and training pit bulls for fighting, and conducting the operation across state lines. For a sport that already has bar-fighting Adam "Pacman" Jones, big-drinker, Chris Henry and gun-toting Tank Johnson this is a real shock to the whole league and if not handled properly could undermine support for the entire sport.

NBA: Former referee Tim Donaghy is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegations that he bet on games that he officiated over the prior two seasons and that he made calls affecting the point spread in those games. Over his career, Donaghy officiated over 772 regular-season and 20 playoff games. There has been no indication that his alleged point shaving has had any real effect on the out come of games [or championships] but is it possible? If so, this is the worst case scenario for any professional sport.

posted by TheWino @ 10:17 AM