Sports

(5/25/2013) [Printed in Los Angeles Times] When the going gets tough, Don Mattingly blames Andre Ethier.  Last year it was James Loney, currently hitting .350 for Tampa Bay.  Someone should remind Mattingly that he hit .256 for the Yankees when he was 29 and was out of baseball at age 34.

(11/3/2012) [Printed in Los Angeles Times] Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants.  However, The Detroit Tigers, who hit .159 with 1.5 runs per game, may have been the worst team to represent the American League in memory.  The Giants' pitchers are good but not that good.  The Dodgers' decision to pass on Prince Fielder is looking good now.  Fielder hit .071 with nine runners left on base.  James Loney could have done that.

(9/18/2010) Dodger manager Joe Torre announced his retirement yesterday and I am who says: "Good Riddance."  Following the team the last few years, I have felt that Torre was just guessing about pitching changes, substitutions, and plays from the bench.  He seemed to lack confidence in his younger players.  The final straw came in late August when he refused to play Manny Ramirez against the Colorado Rockies.  The Dodgers were in the race with the Rockies at the time.  The results since August 27 speak for themselves.  Without Manny, the Dodgers fell to a sub-.500 team while the Rockies joined SD & SF in the pennant chase.  I blame Torre for the collapse of the team's offense.

(8/19/2010) Ryder Cup - If I was Corey Pavin, I would select numbers 9, 10, 11 and 12 with number 12 being Tiger Woods.  There is no other way to avoid criticism.  These guys are all great golfers.  So what would Pavin lose since this is just an exhibition anyway? [Published unedited in Los Angeles Times 8/21/2010]

(6/28/2010) Dodger Paralysis - What exactly does Dodger General Manager Nick Coletti do since he obviously is not allowed to make personnel changes?  Who needs him?  And, I wish that the dysfunctional McCourts would go away and not come back. [Edited version was published in Los Angeles Times 7/3/2010]

(2/20/2010) I watched Tiger Woods apologize to his friends yesterday.  I saw a broken man who is tortured by the contradictions in his life.  The smile and the confidence were gone.  I cannot say what I would do in his situation because I cannot imagine ever being in that situation.  I believe that he will play professional golf again but I doubt that he will ever be the dominant player that he was.  I hope that I am wrong but it just seems that his drive is gone.

(5/9/2009) I now think that performance-enhancing drugs should be legalized, controlled and taxed.  I have always believed that heroin, cocaine, marijuana, tobacco and alcohol should be legalized, controlled and taxed.  I would never use any of these drugs (except for a daily glass of red wine).  I believe that beauty queens should be able to improve their perceived physical appearance by using plastic surgery techniques.  I believe that Arnold Schwarzenegger is an entertaining actor who would never have gotten an acting job if he had not used steroids to become a body-building champion.  I believe that drugs played an important part in Lance Armstrong's battle against cancer.

Performance-enhancing drugs have been widely-used by professional athletes.  Many of these players have received multi-million-dollar contracts from professional franchise owners who probably knew that drugs were being used.  The rewards that the owners offer to the exceptional performers have significantly contributed to the volume of drug use.  Owners have not acknowledged their faults in the current situation.

Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the latest to join the list of naughty baseball players that includes Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Eric Gagne, Jason Giambi, Mark McGuire, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Miguel Tejada et alii who probably used banned drugs. 

The Dodgers were the most exciting team in baseball in 2009 with Ramirez in left field.  With his 50-game suspension, the team and its fans haves been crushed.  The team will probably be sub-.500 when he returns for game #80.  The Dodgers will never be the same even after he returns and it is doubtful that Manny will be a Dodger in 2010.  I hope that I am wrong about this.

The die is cast.  Professional athletes know that they will be highly-compensated if they use performance-enhancing drugs.  Rules will not change the situation.  Professional sports will not be able to take away the drugs and nobody is going to take away my glass of shiraz.