In about a month the 2010 Major League Baseball spring training process will begin.  In a locker room somewhere a rookie player will have fulfilled their life long dream of making it too the big show.  They will dawn their MLB uniform for the first time and a feeling of pride and satisfaction will over come them.  Each rookie will start off with grand expectations of becoming the next superstar to breathe life into the sport.  They will attempt to follow in the footsteps of the baseball legends that preceded them.  Well, hopefully not in all of their footsteps.

I grew up loving the game of baseball just like many a boy in love with his country, apple pie and his favorite hero on the diamond.  When I grew up in the 1960’s and 70’s my hero’s were the likes of Mickey Mantle, Pete Rose and since I was a Pittsburgh Pirate fan, Roberto Clemente.  As I grew older and began to raise a family of my own I jumped on the bandwagon of the new stars on the horizon in the 1990’s.

Major League Baseball had gone through some hard times but a bunch of guys with names like Sosa, Bonds, Canseco, Clemmens, A-Rod and McGwire were changing all that.  I had always regretted not being old enough to watch the home run race between Mantle and Maris but in 1998 I witnessed the battle between Sosa and McGwire.  I could not believe the home runs they were hitting with ease.  I thought I was experiencing something special, something huge and unbelievable.  Little did I know.

Rumors of steroid use in MLB were floating around since the 1980’s.  The performance enhancement drug was invading sports and could be pursued with ease.  Through the years more players than not avoided this drug.  Unfortunately there were those who felt a need to utilize it.  To make matters worse many of those players suspected were the one’s mentioned above.  Carried on the wind in many a baseball stadium were the famous words, “Say it ain’t So Joe, So it ain’t so”, from the 1919 Black Sox scandal involving Shoeless Joe Jackson and his team.

On Monday Mark McGwire finally admitted to using Steriods in 1998 when he broke the Roger Maris single season home run record by hitting 70 over the fence.  The record had stood for almost 4 decades.  McGwire had pleaded his innocence for years but finally relented.  Perhaps because he was just hired as the new hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The debate rages on and will continue to flourish for decades to come.  The question will always be there.  Did these performance enhancing drugs make these players in question better than they would have been?  The players say you either have the gift or not.  That drugs cannot enhance your eye and hand coordination.  The question persists, could a 10 home run a year hitter be turned into a 70 home run a year hitter with steroids?  I think not.

The steroid scandal has forever installed a dark cloud over the accomplishments of these players and any others who profited from it’s use.  Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s 755 career home run record.  That too may be forever tarnished.  All of these players involved will find it difficult to find a way into the Hall of Fame.  Many of them would have made it if not for the steroid use.  They breathed air into the beloved game of baseball when it needed it most and then they took it all away.

I cannot help but wonder what Babe Ruth and all of the great players that followed him would have said about the spectacle.  I take my hat off to the baseball legends who took their chances on raw talent and a lot of beer and hot dogs.  Perhaps every generation has a scandal of some sort.  The game has survived them however and the players who play the game honestly and with pride, perhaps those new rookies in this years spring training camp, will sustain baseball for the next generation of adoring fans.  Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.

On Wednesday the United States soccer team faced a powerful foe in Spain in the Confedertions Cup semi-final in South Africa.  The United States could have been in awe of Spains 35 game winning streak.  During that period the Spanish team only allowed 11 goals to be scored against them.  On Wednesday the United States soccer team managed to get 2 and that was 1 more than they needed as they ended Spains winning streak with a 2-0 victory.  Now the United States is in the final against another soccer giant in the Brazilian team.  Can they pull 2 major upsets off in a row?

In NBA news Hedo Turkoglu has opted out of his conract with the Orlando Magic.  Turkoglu was due 7.3 million dollars next year but his hoping for a long term contract that would pay him 10 million per year.  Orlando will find it hard to pay that amount since they acquired Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets the day before.  Turkoglu averaged almost 17 points per game this season and was a major factor in the Magics run to the NBA Finals.  Cleveland fans got something to cheer about as Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Cavaliers on Thursday.  Shaq has made a pretty good career by teaming with superstars.  He won 3 NBA titles with Kobe Bryant and one with Dwayne Wade.  Now he has the opportunity to play with LeBron James.  Is another NBA title in his future?

At Wimbledon Roger Federer managed to lose a set to 27th ranked Philipp Kohlschreiber but hung on to win and move on to face Roger Soderling on Monday.  Federer is chasing his record breaking 15th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.  The chase will get just a little tougher on Monday.  On the ladies side Serena Williams was late for her match against Roberta Vinci of Italy.  The American won fairly easily to move on to play Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

The issue of steroid use in Major League Baseball has been heavily covered for the past few years.  Today the Chicago Sports Writers Association voted to not allow any new guidelines when it comes to voting players to the Hall Of Fame if they have used steroids.  Some of the bigger names who have been in the steroid using limelight is Barry Bonds, Roger Clemons, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire.  One of the categories for determining your vote is on character.  This issue has been highly debated.  If performance enhancing drugs made you better than you would have normally been should you get elected to the Hall?  It is my personal opinion that it still takes a very special core of athletic ability to be a superstar.  If you gave any player in the Major Leagues steroids could they break Hank Aarons home run record?  I don’t think so.  The ability has to be there or not.  Would Pete Rose have gotten twice as many hits had he of used steriods? I don’t think so.  These are great baseball players who were great long before they took performance enhancing drugs.  To error is human, to forgive is devine.  These players deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.  Until we meet again good betting and remember to always be a good sport.