I’m willing to believe David Ortiz because he seemed so sincere on Saturday afternoon when he said, sure, he took a lot of over-the-counter substances and vitamins “back in those days,” but never, not once, did he take steroids.
Based on what we hear on sports talk radio in the aftermath of Ortiz’s “I am on the list but I don’t know why I’m on the list” news conference, it appears a lot of people, particularly former players, are willing to believe the big palooka as well; which is fine, since I believe we’ve just all become so numb by the entire steroids era (plus, this whole list episode has been so horribly botched by the players union) that we’re suddenly willing to give such a likeable fellow the benefit of the doubt and move on.
Why, then, are most people so unwilling to believe Rafael Palmeiro, who seemed just as sincere, and frankly, much more emphatic, than Ortiz did in his denial, and, who, like Ortiz, did not read from a prepared statement in making his denial?
If I’m so willing to believe David Ortiz, I’m certainly just as willing to believe there is a chance Palmeiro had absolutely no idea he was being injected with steroids — in part because it would have made no sense for him to knowingly ’roid up, particularly, after the performance he gave on Capitol Hill, and in part because there were some pretty shady things going on in that Orioles clubhouse at the time, ey, Miggy?
Hey, you’re willing to believe Papi; why not Raffy?
JUST WONDERING how lawyers representing the Duke basketball program and ESPN will settle the trademark infringement case that will no doubt be filed against The Total Duke Network by Total Duke. Where does ESPN, or anybody for that matter, get off calling Friday night’s 15-inning 2-0 Yankees victory over the Red Sox “an instant classic” when not one single Blue Devil could be found flopping around the floor of Yankee Stadium trying to draw a charge?
It’s not right. It’s just not right I tell you. And I certainly wouldn’t want to be Dick Vitale the next time he goes over to wash Coach K’s car, would you?
PETE ROSE would keep turning up like the bad penny if he hadn’t bet it away on his Cincinnati Reds to win. But the guy just won’t go away, what with the great Hank Aaron’s suggestion he be reinstated to baseball by Weasel Bud, Hammerin’ Hank’s longtime pud boy, so Rose will be eligible for the Hall of Fame.
Rose, of course, remains baseball’s all-time hit leader. He was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. With all he accomplished on the field, of course he should be in the Hall of Fame, but so, too, should Joe Jackson. If there were a way Rose could be voted into the Hall of Fame without being reinstated by baseball, who could argue? Nobody, that’s who.
That said, he bet on baseball, the cardinal sin in the sport — see Joe Jackson — so under no circumstances should he be reinstated to baseball.
If Rose really did just bet on his Reds team to win — which, if you believe, you’ve never placed a wager in your life, because that’s just not how it works — what would that be telling the bookmakers when he didn’t bet on his Reds to win?
I’m no Vinny Gambini, but couldn’t that be considered inside information?
Contact Mike Burke at mburke@times-news.com.
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It’s not what we believe, but whom
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Somewhere over the rainbow starts here
During a break in the program Sunday night, former Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Bob Robertson sat at a table backstage sharing some stories from the day when he played some of the finest defensive first base and hit some of the longest home runs in the major leagues in helping the Bucs to the 1971 world championship.
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Ronnie Cage’s life was deeds, not words
It was right they observed a moment of silence at the Allegany-Fort Hill basketball game. And I hope they observed a moment of silence at all of the games this week — boys and girls, men’s and women’s — in all the area gyms — Maryland and West Virginia.
That’s because Ronnie Cage worked them all. And before that he played them all. -
No plus-one would have come out of this Orange
Having never been what one would call a big West Virginia fan, I nevertheless find myself entertained by Mountaineers head football coach Dana Holgorsen whenever I take in a WVU game.
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Daumie No. 51
It’s difficult and it’s unsettling — something we’re not ready to come to terms with, really — when we lose Larger than Life.
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At Fort Hill, they’re all in it together
They still decorate their homes and neighborhoods with red and white streamers and signs. They hang football helmets with jersey numbers on telephone poles and trees, and they leave them there until it’s pretty much time to decorate for Christmas.
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Let’s keep lips zipped and just go about our business
The worst part about snow, other than shoveling it, of course, is being surrounded by all the moaning and groaning about how much it’s going to snow before a flake even touches earth and then having to put up with the same moaning and groaning once it begins to snow.
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There are no queens on the sports page
Some high school football seasons it is easier to tell when big things have happened and when big things are ahead by some of the phone calls and letters we receive here in the Times-News sports department. There just seems to be more of a chippiness some years than in others, and this year has been one of those years.
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K.C. latest Laffey Tour over America destination
As of now it appears Aaron Laffey will be wearing royal blue again — Kansas City Royals blue, that is — as the Royals acquired the former Allegany High School left-hander from the New York Yankees in a waivers claim on Tuesday.
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In America ...
Of course you remember where you were when you heard.
What you really remember is how you felt when you realized it wasn’t just a bad pilot or an airplane malfunction when you saw the second plane go into the second tower.
Until the day we are no longer here, the realization that we had just been attacked — somehow, by somebody — will stay with us and move us. -
Keyser, Fort Hill clash tonight
Fort Hill and Keyser, both coming off lopsided season-opening victories, will square off at Greenway Avenue Stadium, while Frankfort entertains Grafton in the Falcons’ home opener in two of seven high school football games featuring nine area teams taking place tonight.
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