Friday, April 28, 2006
Much Ado About Sports
It could be due to the fact that the NFL draft is tomorrow. There's much hype about who and how teams would draft, and for the first time in a long time, no one is 100 percent sure of who the first pick would be. Just when we thought Reggie Bush was a lock for the top spot, a huge scandal (which in my opinion should not harm his lock for the top spot) involving alleged NCAA violations has sprung out of the soil to put a question mark on his status. The NFLPA has issued a statement warning teams of possible negotiations with Bush's agents saying the Bush family is facing threats from Michael Michaels, a real estate businessman with ties to a marketing firm that tried to sign Bush. The scandal erupted after revelations that the Bush family had been staying rent-free in a house provided by Michaels in return for Bush's commitment to his firm. Investigations are ongoing, and there is talk of Bush losing his Heisman trophy and USC facing bans and loss of scholarships.
The Heat lost dreadfully last night to the Chicago Bulls. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Heat lost its composure in the fourth quarter when forward James Posey knocked Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich as he approached the basket. It appeared intentional, and Posey was hit with a flagrant two and ejected. Subsequently, Antoine "tippy-toe" Walker also picked up a technical, and Shaq picked up a fifth foul. With the embarrassing loss comes possible suspension for Posey who, while not a great defender, has been one of the better defenders for the defense-starved Heat. I'm all for the ejection, but it wasn't as bad as it looked to warrant a suspension.
Patrick Arnold, the bay-area chemist who supplied Victor Conte with "the clear" cream, later found to be THG, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute steroids. Arnold's plea comes at a time when the FBI is still investigating Barry Bonds about his use of the cream. It also ties in with the arrest of another client of Conte, Tim Montgomery, who was arrested along with 13 others on charges of conspiracy to defraud banks of more than $5 million. It is definitely sad to see how low the former world record-holder for the 100m and father of Marion Jones' son has stooped. Montgomery is accused of depositing three bogus checks of about $775, 000 in banks and receiving $20, 000 for brokering the transaction. It definitely doesn't bode well for the image of Jones who has managed to avoid suspensions, but is still be haunted by accusations that she also took steroids.
There's also been several suspensions in football and baseball in the last couple of days. Ricky Williams has been suspended for a year for testing positive for a still unknown drug, which was not marijuana. Baseball also saw the first 50-game suspension for a positive drug test emerge when Mets minor leaguer Yusaku Iriki was suspended for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug. Delmon Young, former no. 1 pick in the 2003 draft, is also facing suspension for tflipping his bat at, and hitting a referree at a triple A game.
There's so much more going on in sports this week, but these were some of the biggest news. It's no wonder that sports fans can hardly wait for the month of March to kick off the ultimate sports season which extends to July.
The Heat lost dreadfully last night to the Chicago Bulls. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Heat lost its composure in the fourth quarter when forward James Posey knocked Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich as he approached the basket. It appeared intentional, and Posey was hit with a flagrant two and ejected. Subsequently, Antoine "tippy-toe" Walker also picked up a technical, and Shaq picked up a fifth foul. With the embarrassing loss comes possible suspension for Posey who, while not a great defender, has been one of the better defenders for the defense-starved Heat. I'm all for the ejection, but it wasn't as bad as it looked to warrant a suspension.
Patrick Arnold, the bay-area chemist who supplied Victor Conte with "the clear" cream, later found to be THG, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute steroids. Arnold's plea comes at a time when the FBI is still investigating Barry Bonds about his use of the cream. It also ties in with the arrest of another client of Conte, Tim Montgomery, who was arrested along with 13 others on charges of conspiracy to defraud banks of more than $5 million. It is definitely sad to see how low the former world record-holder for the 100m and father of Marion Jones' son has stooped. Montgomery is accused of depositing three bogus checks of about $775, 000 in banks and receiving $20, 000 for brokering the transaction. It definitely doesn't bode well for the image of Jones who has managed to avoid suspensions, but is still be haunted by accusations that she also took steroids.
There's also been several suspensions in football and baseball in the last couple of days. Ricky Williams has been suspended for a year for testing positive for a still unknown drug, which was not marijuana. Baseball also saw the first 50-game suspension for a positive drug test emerge when Mets minor leaguer Yusaku Iriki was suspended for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug. Delmon Young, former no. 1 pick in the 2003 draft, is also facing suspension for tflipping his bat at, and hitting a referree at a triple A game.
There's so much more going on in sports this week, but these were some of the biggest news. It's no wonder that sports fans can hardly wait for the month of March to kick off the ultimate sports season which extends to July.
