You can't help but think what can baseball do now?  What is the solution for cleaning up this scandalous era of steroids?  Well, that's obvious.  Just clean up the game.  Isn't that what appears to be happening? Simply claim a certain time frame in baseball history (late 90's - late 2000's, heck, that's anybody's guess but I'm the ball park for sure) as the Steroid Era and let's move on in a clean and orderly fashion. At least that's what Congress and Commissioner Bud Selig have us thinking. Well, I don't buy it. Baseball sure is a tough game to permanently clean up and it appears steroid use is just the latest and greatest feature of a laundry list of various acts of cheating that has plagued the game since its inception in the 1800's.

Here a just a few examples: Shoeless Joe Jackson participated in a conspiracy to fix the World Series as a member of the Chicago Black Sox in 1919. He's a cheater. Hall of Fame Pitcher Gaylord Perry was accussed of using 'spit-balls' to gain an advantage over a hitter countless times throughout his career.  He even went so far as to title his 1974 autobiography Me and the Spitter. No joke. He's a cheater. How about Sammy Sosa? He took steroids and used corked bats.  That's cheating to the second degree.

I feel like once this steroid cloud finally starts to disperse and disintegrate there will be another form of deception that becomes prevalent in baseball. At this very moment, someone, somewhere is working on a new performance enhancing concoction that will somehow slip past the rigourous tests that are now enforced on ball players due to the negative effects of the Steroid Era. Who knows, maybe someone will figure out a way to directly mimic a former player's style through medicine and advanced technology. Could you imagine if there was a way to replicate Barry Bonds' eyesight? I know this is a little farfetched but anything can happen.

It's actually quite depressing to think about how cheating has been a part of baseball since its inception, but you have to accept the fact that it's just part of the game and in the end, I think the National Past Time will be just fine because it's one of the greatest games ever invented. It's not about players breaking the rules and crossing the lines, it's all about what goes on in between the lines that keeps us coming back for more.

Never in its entire existence has baseball been more prominent internationally. The recently invented World Baseball Classic is a direct reflection of that last statement. The last time I checked, the Little League World Series is on ESPN every August and multiple kids from different countries all compete in the tournament at a very high level. Oh by the way, there's cheating in this competition as well.  Remember Danny Almonte.  He's the former Little League Pitcher who was the subject of a media circus in 2001. Considered a phenomenon, Almonte led his team to third place in the 2001 Little League World Series. After the conclusion of the tournament, Almonte was revealed to have actually been two years too old to play Little League baseball. Cheater. Nevertheless, the popularity of the sport continues to flourish despite the presence of fraudulent activity.

We can all do baseball a little favor by starting to focus on the positives of the sport rather than the negatives.  At least Congress has cracked down on the use of steroids and opened up a flood gate of information to the public about which players were in fact cheating. Now, the key becomes preventing the next form of deception from getting as out of hand as performance enhancing drugs has become.

In conclusion, the bottom line is that at the highest level of all sport, the desire of the participants is to not just compete, but to WIN. At it's base level the driving force is to be the best. Inherent in that desire is a need, a selfish, egotistical need to be the best, better than all the rest. That's why you see so many conceited jerks like Bonds and Clemens, who act like you're lucky just to be in their presence. In our win at all cost society, competitors will seek out whatever advantage they can find, legal and illegal.  So it's not so much a reflection of the individual sport, but rather the distorted notion that an athlete is only validated if they are the best athlete. It's why so many of them struggle out side of their game, during and after their careers have ended. They can't handle it that they are no longer such a big deal. So, it's not the game itself that promotes cheating, but rather the importance that society puts on athletic success, or winning if you will.  No one ever remembers who finished second, right?

   It's Monday January 26th and I'm working as photographer in the newsroom today. While I sit and wait for a task to be thrown my way, I can't help but think about what's going on in the sports world.  So I decided to sit down and blog about my favorite sports time of the year and right now it certainly is an exciting time to be a sports fan. For me in particular it is the BEST time. 

   This coming Sunday, the football season will conclude with what it is known as the most exciting event in sports history, the Super Bowl. This year, I have a feeling the Pittsburgh Steelers, led by QB Big Ben Roethslisberger, will dispose of a high flying Arizona Cardinals team in what should amount to be a pretty exciting pigskin affair. Unfortuantely, I don't have a real big passion for the Cardinals and Steelers considering the fact that I am a die hard San Francisco 49ers fan, so for me, this coming Sunday will be spent scarfing down Super Bowl snacks in between some swigs of beer, rather than paying close attention to every single play of the big game.  Don't get me wrong however, I love the Super Bowl and I am definitely looking forward to watching the action and taking part in the festivities surrounding the game, but I'll have you know, it's the sporting events that take place once the football season concludes that I am especially excited about viewing.  

   First of all, when football season ends it can only mean one thing, America's favorite past-time is right around the corner.  That's right, it's time to whip out that leather glove, bat, and ball, and head towards the nearest baseball diamond because the best sport in our country is hitting the final stages of the offseason and a new season is about to get underway. As a matter of fact, right now at this very time, 5:49 P.M, pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Spring Training in just 18 days, 16 hours, and 25 minutes. Ahhh, I can picture the atmosphere now. The sweet site of freshly cut turf, the gentle sizzling of hot dogs, and spinning of cotton candy; all symobls that a new baseball season is on the horizon.

   Baseball is a complex sport and strategy plays a big part in how the game it played.  A baseball team's strategy can vary from game to game depending on the pitcher and the opposing team.  The strategy can change during a game from situation to situation depending on the number of outs and the count on the batter.  The strategy also changes from batter to batter depending on the strengths and weaknesses of both the batter and pitcher. It's a game of inches and it really challenges the athlete both mentally and physically and that's exactly why I love the game so much.

   Beside the dawning of a new baseball season, a different sporting event takes place during this time of year and it too pales in comparison with the excitement generated from the Super Bowl.  The NCAA Men's and Women's Division One College Basketball Tournament tips off throughout the month of March and it truly is March Madness.  Every year, 65 of college basketball's most elite teams participate in a Big Dance that is full of excitement and drama.  The single elimination tournament has become one of the nation's most prominent sporting events and it is a ton of fun to watch year in and year out. The tournament bracket is made up of conference tournament champions from each Division 1 conference, which receive automatic bids. The remaining slots are at large berths, with teams chosen by an NCAA selection committee. The selection process and tournament seedings are based on several factors, including team rankings, win-loss records and RPI data. Since its 1939 inception it has built a legacy that includes dynasty teams and dramatic underdog stories. In recent years, friendly wagering on the event has become something of a national pastime, spawning countless "office pools" that attract expert fans and novices alike. I am definitely one of those fans that takes part in office pools and I am looking forward to taking down the rest of the Action News team this Spring, but you didn't hear that from me. Also, my birthday falls on March 31st, and so far, the National Championship for college basketball has fallen on that date twice during my life.  That is definitely another reason why I love this time of year.

   So if you have any thoughts on what your favorite sports time of the year is, or even your favorite sporting event, I would love to hear it.  For me, it's the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring.  What are your thoughts? I'd like to know.