A-Rod is negotiating to avoid a lifetime ban

[j2k4]

They've got him dead-to-rights.

What's to negotiate?

MLB, Alex Rodriguez, reportedly negotiating deal to avoid lifetime ban | Fox News

[sergechronos]

I would assume the only negotiation left is how many of his stats should get wiped off the books.

[Echo419]

I don't get this and this applies to all sports and their "bans" on PED's. PEDs saved baseball during the McGwire/Sosa/Bonds era. it was floundering bad before that and baseball(in all areas) made big money off of it. people want to see big HR's and lost of hitting. by comparison a small margin of people would rather see a 1-0 pitching duel. that's part of the reason why soccer hasn't taken off here. that and the flopping and faking. that will get you laughed off most teams for shit like that. I digress.

fact of the matter PEDs make sports more entertaining. Big HR, big hits, big players it all pays off and the owners and leagues know this. this is why they've been so soft on the issue. lets face it Bonds was on shit. there's no denying it. the man out on 30lbs in one off season at 30+ years old. that just doesn't happen, sorry.what did baseball do? pratically nothing. the only reason they've wasted time on this is the social implications of it being "wrong". fact of the matter is "steroids" were hardly illegal and even into the 80's easy and cheap to get. the only reason posession is a felony and "intent to distribute" is a mandatory minimum 15 years is the popularity in baseball and parents of people like Taylor Hooten(link below) wanting to blame their sons death on something that wasn't their own neglect as parents.

what's easier to blame the anti-depressants they had him on that millions of others take making pharm co's hundreds of millions off of or "steriods" that hardly anyone takes that pharm co's don't profit from and that is easy to demogauge? not that hard to see.

so A-Rod was taking drugs? the popular complaint about that is so and so from way back when wasn't on PED's it's not fair that his records are broken by someone that's "dirty". well guess what for most of baseballs exsistence drugs have been in it. only difference is things like "greenies" which was basically speed. it was the drug of choice back then. for a scaled down experiment compare your work day with coffee and with out assuming you drink coffee. now you tell me who does a better job. it just so happens sports are their job. I'm fairly certain A-Rod has been on PEDs for a long time. it's only since he's been in MLB that he could afford/get the good shit. hell I think things like HGH are almost necessary to players. to keep it short it helps the body heal, it's not a strength drug. probably what Bonds and A-rod were on since it's hard to test for and helps heal up from injuries that they seemed to be prone to. in sports like football and baseball with how long and physically punishing the season is something like this can keep guys off the DL and filling seats at the game.

I find it incredibly hypocritical that the MLB with these guys and sponsors of Lance Armstrong(who is a dick btw and so is Bonds that's why he caught so much flack) will come out after profiting in the millions off of these guys while they are on these "drugs" to vilify them for something we all know they do. it's a gawd damn joke. How much money did Nike make off his endorsements? how much money was raised by Lance for cancer research? and now people want to cry foul? give me a gawd damn break. you're for it or against it. you can't be for it until you get caught.

should A-Rod be banned? imo no. but baseball needs to either ban his ass and do some real testing or not ban his ass and let it all go. the testing they use now is a damn joke too. much like the testing we do on Olympic atheletes it leaves alot to interpretation. why is it like this? because that what the powers that be want. they want to get the most out of their product that they can and have an out if someone gets caught or they want to kick them out for some reason.

so to summarize. the only reason congress spent more time of "steroids" in baseball than Iraq/Afganistan/immigration/Katrina combined was crap parents like the Hootens. now we have something that makes the sports we watch better being criminalized by the 1% that use the for the 99% of people that use a bit to look better at the beach or so they'll want to bang their old wife again. what's the gain? it's not killing anyone. gang wars don't start over who gets to sell PEDs on what corner. people don't go to bars, get loaded on PEDs, drive home and kill someone. there's nothing to be gained even by the people going after those that use it. they've only profited off their use while pretending to look the other way.

sorry for the poorly written rant but this is on par with Senators crying about campain finance reform while taking handouts from special interest groups.

[Vantage]

Echo have you ever seen 'Bigger Stronger Faster'? I thought it was pretty good and maybe I took away the wrong message from it but what I got out of it was: besides the stigma surrounding juice, there's not much reason for them being illegal.

[j2k4]

I think, then, that the rule book needs a massive re-write.

Shouldn't be difficult.

I would predict a huge problem during the next labor negotiation over the application of asterisks in the record book, though...

[Echo419]

yes, that documentary really opened my eyes. I used to think like a lot of people, "steroids bad cause bad". good stuff. I would compare the misinformation on this similar to that of weed.

[IPD]

i saw that movie. i agree. i think steroids are just like any other vice...and used in moderation, it's not necessarily a bad thing. hell, next thing you know...they'll be banning monster energy drinks at FPS gaming tournaments. it IS a "performance enhancing drug" after all...

[sergechronos]

To me, I don't particularly care if athletes use steroids, it's their body and their health. However, the fact remains that at this time, steroids are illegal in baseball. He broke the rules and lied about it to the MLB, as well as getting others to break the rules.

Whether or not it's actually bad for the body is an entirely different issue. In the same vein as speeding. Whether or not you hurt anyone else is irrelevant, the fact is it's against the law. You can cry about it all you want, but the only way to fix it is to change the law. Given the way the MLB eased into the PED issue and how long they had to get off the juice, there's not much of an argument A-Rod could make. Not like he could claim that he didn't know it was illegal, or that they just changed the rules about PEDs.

[Vantage]

IMO the problem with allowing them is that once that happens, it won't even be a choice for athletes, it will be a requirement. Joey Average will never hold a candle to Johnny Juicer, so he'll feel he has to join the club to keep his job.

[IPD]

IMO the problem with allowing them is that once that happens, it won't even be a choice for athletes, it will be a requirement. Joey Average will never hold a candle to Johnny Juicer, so he'll feel he has to join the club to keep his job.

i'm ok with that. if everyone juices...the athletes with the natural ability will still come out on top. besides...if you hit/throw/carry a ball around for a living...why should i be concerned about detrimental effects to your health, mr. "i made 3 million dollars last year"?