I’m no fan of taking a nine-iron to a deceased thoroughbred, but as a Red Sox fan I felt that I needed to chime in on the whole “steroids” discussion. Captain Clutch, David Ortiz, the man who was one of the key components that ended eighty-six years of misery in Boston, tested positive for something (we don’t know what) illegal in 2003. His name is now added to the infamous along with Manny Ramirez, Sammy Sosa and others.
It’s gotten to the point that baseball is so awash with “illegal” substances that it seems as if no one is safe. One of America’s greatest sources of pride is now tarnished and will continue to do so as long as names from the list keep being leaked. I say let the past be. I’m tired of hearing about new names. I don’t want the whole list published; I believe that no more names should be let out. It was, after all, supposed to be anonymous. Let’s just play ball and let the old wounds heal before new ones arrive.
MLB: I missed some big trades since last week’s article was published before the trade deadline had passed. The White Sox once again traded for the Padres Jake Peavy, and this time (probably since he’s on the DL), Peavy actually accepted the trade. Boston made a big splash, trading newly acquired Adam LaRoche for Atlanta’s defensive whiz Casey Kotchman. The Sox also landed the best pure hitter available, Victor Martinez from the Indians. He can play first base and give Jason Varitek rest when he steps into the catcher position.
NFL: Forty-Niners draft pick Michael Crabtree has told the team that he may sit out the 2009 season and make himself eligible for next year’s draft if they don’t pay him what he’s owed. Crabtree was taken tenth overall, but he was obviously the best receiver available. Oakland, due to the apparent senility of owner Al Davis, took Maryland’s Derrius Hayward-Bey with the seventh overall pick. Crabtree, from Texas Tech, wants at least the same if not more money than Hayward-Bey. This is a tough situation for the ‘Niners. Do they give in and let this untested rookie make a statement, or do they call his bluff and hope that he isn’t playing elsewhere next season. Chances are, they will be bad enough to draft him again anyway.
Mixed Marshall Arts: Fedor Emelianenko, the highly coveted heavyweight MMA fighter, decided not to join the UFC after the league he was in folded. He was offered an extremely lucrative deal by UFC president Dana White but turned it down to join Strikeforce. White, never one to shy away from controversy, didn’t hold back at his anger towards Emelianenko. “These guys have no money and they have no distribution. Four (expletive) people watch Showtime. Their last fight they put on, do you know how many people watched that fight? 245,000 people watched that fight.” He added, “I guarantee you the deal he got at Strikeforce isn’t even in the (expletive) universe of what he got (from the UFC). The deal he got at Strikeforce probably isn’t even the deal he had at Affliction. They have no money.”
Major League Lacrosse: Just when it looked like the Toronto Nationals were headed to an early tee time, they’ve stormed back to win their last two and have clinched a playoff spot at 6-5 with one game remaining. The other playoff teams so far are the league leading Denver Outlaws at 9-2 and the Boston Cannons at 6-6. The Long Island Lizards, seemingly on course for the playoffs a few weeks ago have dropped off a bit as of late. At 5-6, they are tied in wins with the Washington Bayhawks. The Bayhawks have completed their season and are 5-7 but can steal the last playoff spot with an unlikely Lizard loss to the last place Chicago Machine. Check out the Major League Lacrosse playoffs on ESPN2 on August 22nd (noon) and 23rd (1 p.m.).
The odd: The Brewers’ Prince Fielder tried to enter the Dodgers locker room after a recent game because he planned to fight pitcher Guillermo Mota. Mota hit Fielder with a pitch earlier in the game and was ejected. Apparently, Fielder wasn’t happy with that punishment and he decided that fighting Mota was a better idea. If Prince Fielder wasn’t a giant fatty, I would be looking in the direction of ‘Roid rage right about now. Maybe Fielder is jacked under all those jelly rolls, who knows? 
*Are you a fan of a sport that you want me to cover next week or any sports stories you want me to mention? This is your article, not mine. Have at it. Throw me an email cosburn@thefatherlife.com
Image credit: Kriss Szkurlatowski
30 year old freelance writer and The Father Life‘s resident beer columnist and sports editor. He also writes about fine beverages for drinkingmadeeasy.com and Chilled Magazine. On top of that, he writes about college and professional lacrosse for insidelacrosse.com. He’s also written for Genesee Valley Parenting Magazine, the Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper and ESPN.com. “Osburn on Tap” appears monthly in THE FATHER LIFE. For questions, comments, or if you have a story idea for Chris, throw him an email cosburn@thefatherlife.com. Also, follow him on twitter http://www.twitter.com/chrisosburn
The more I hear about Fedor resisting the UFC, the more I start to think he’s not as good as touted. I have to agree with Dana White on this one… strikeforce, really?
The Prince episode was totally roid rage. In the post game interviews I think Mota said he had seen his temper before, so maybe this was just the latest in a long history of usage. Better start looking for some backne or other telltale signs.