Three of Many Reasons Why I Care a Lot Less about Major Sports

This is from a former sports fanatic who is relieved that his kids have nothing to do with organized sports, and aren’t even fans.

All three items have the same message: As long as you’re willing to put up with some passing outrage, cheating works.

ITEM 1: Records by Those Proven to Be Drugged Stand

Dubious East German athletics records remain valid

The German Athletics Federation (DLV) said on Friday that records set by athletes who were part of a state-run doping programme in communist East Germany could not be invalidated unless the record holders requested it.

“Individual invalidation of records against the wishes of the record holders is not possible according to expert legal opinions,” the DLV said in a statement.

Last year, the DLV announced it would reconsider the validity of the country’s athletics records after sprinter Ines Geipel demanded that her named be deleted from the record books because she was forced into doping by East German authorities.

The DLV granted Geipel’s request that she no longer be listed as a member of the German 100-meter relay team that set a German record in 1984 — five years before the fall of the Berlin Wall brought an end to communism in Europe.

Geipel’s name will be replaced with an asterisk, though the other three relay team members names will remain, the DLV said.

Item 2: Barry Bonds Still Plays

San Francisco, CA (AHN) - The San Jose Mercury News reports that slugger Barry Bonds will play in all three games of the Giants weekend series versus the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Bonds, who will be facing Philadelphia’s three right-handed starters, needs just three home runs to pass Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time list.

Phillies pitcher Corey Lidle, who lambasted Bonds in a Thursday interview with the Philadelphia Daily News, will not pitch in the weekend series.

Lidle said regarding Bonds, “I don’t want to see him break records. If he breaks them, it will be a shame, because I think when all is said and done, the truth will come out. … I’m not a player-hater. I like to see players get paid as much as they can. But without … cheating.”

Item 3: Reggie Bush — His School Will (Probably) Pay; He Won’t

The NCAA has strict rules prohibiting student-athletes or their families from receiving extra benefits from professional sports agents or marketing companies. If these rules are broken, it could result in an athlete being declared ineligible and games in which he played could be forfeited.

It’s highly suspicious that not even a day had passed since Yahoo! Sports questioned Bush’s mother about the situation that she and the rest of the family packed their stuff and vacated the home. It’s obvious the family knew that something was wrong with the situation.

It is also very questionable that USC launched this investigation into the report when it’s pretty obvious the school had to know this was taking place. The school is just trying to get the spotlight off of it and hope that its internal investigation can shed new light.

While I have not always been on the side of the NCAA, I hope that with its power that it can drop the hammer on this college football power.

This case is reminiscent of the Michigan Wolverines basketball team that forfeited its victories and had banners taken down during the “Fab Five” days of the 1990s. It was discovered that forward Chris Webber and three other Michigan players were given money by a former booster.

The Trojans have committed a major infraction in which their victories from last season should be taken away.

While it’s unlikely, Bush should be penalized as well.

Why should players and coaches who commit these violations not get penalized when they leave the program?

Answer: Because almost nobody is penalized anywhere else in sports.