this should sufficiently keep Clemes out of Cooperstown, and that makes me smile

There is a deep problem within the sport and in all sports for that matter.  To fix this problem must go beyond collective bargaining.  To correct this can not even be scratched by collective bargaining.  There must be a private source that tests ALL professional athletes.

Regardless, Clemens is a cheater and has disqualifed himself from HOF consideration.  Everything from 95 on when he had his original shoulder problems have to be scrutinized.  The whole thing reeks.

I am outraged at the illegal and unethical leaking of grand jury testimony and think there needs to be an investigation to find and punish whoever was responsible.

I am outraged at Congress injecting itself into an issue that is outside its province and trying to make political hay by ratcheting up the paranoia about it.

I am also outraged that Congress put undue pressure on the Union to reopen negotiations on a properly negotiated contract.

I am deeply concerned about the cavalier way the 4th amendment was ignored in the haste to find people who used steroids.

But primarily, here is my view of the actual steroid issue. IT IS NOT A MORAL ISSUE; IT IS A HEALTH ISSUE. It has no more moral connotations than does nicotine or alcohol, in fact, probably less as it is less likely to affect anyone except the user. If baseball wants to sign on as a sponsor of anti-steroid education programs, more power to it.

I realize there are laws against some steroids, and for brevity sake will not review the fuzziness and illogic of most of those laws as well as the complex nature of steroids themselves, some legal, some not, some prescription and some not. Nor will I get into the at best questionable evidence about how they affect performance.

But the key is that baseball decided, in my view in the wrong way, but that is now moot, to establish a policy about steroids. Players can be tested, and there are clear penalties established. That should be the end of it. Any player who is found in violation gets the penalty and we move on. There is no reason for any further investigation or any further smearing of players who have done nothing to violate baseball policy.

If there were laws violated, it was up to the police authority to find the violaters and bring them to court. If baseball rules are violated, it is up to baseball's enforcement arm to mete out the penalties. That should be the end of it.

References to kids and the like is disgusting demagoguery. I am sure some kids are prone to follow the example of athletes, as they are other heroes. It is nice if athletes live their lives as good models, but not incumbent on them. If people are really interested in setting a good example they might go after the pharmaceutical companies who dominate the advertising time on TV.

The discussion that follows on this report has already demonstrated the moral bankruptcy of people who cast aspersions on people they do not know, who add names indiscriminately to the list, who assume that the ratting out of specific people by informers like Radomski and other trainers is a legitimate reason to condemn people.

Let's face facts, steroids saved baseball.

I agree steroids have been a horrible problem in baseball, not so much because of the ethics of their use, rather because of the indirect impact their use at the highest levels has had on players in college and high school.  These young people face enormous pressure that you've got to use them to keep up in a future career in the game.  And that makes steroids a giant health risk.  That is the fundamental core of the problem.

As for the ethics, you can argue whether or not steroids consistute cheating.  Is it cheating to train hard?  To study video of opposing pitchers?  To steal signs?  To bevel the foul lines because your team has good bunters?

Like those things, steroids are a tool to get an edge.  But the difference is they are a dangerous one.

Now that said, this whole concept of naming names and hanging our collective heads in shame, pointing fingers, and so forth, smacks of the same vibe you got at the McCarthy hearings or the Salem Witch Trials.  The personification of an issue always makes it seem worse, but the fact is, we're all in this together, because we all knew it was going on--Bud Selig first and foremost.  I'm no fan of Barry or even Clemens, but does their lofty status in the game make their sin any worse?  It does not.  We just feel worse as fans, because we put so much stock in their accomplishments.

There will be scapegoats and fall guys, a Joe Jackson here, a Pete Rose there.  And maybe that's what it takes to get this behind us.  But let's put this in perspective:  this is a health issue that affects our up and coming athletes, and it is good that we are now doing something about it.  It is just too bad that the accountablility for this is going to fall onto players who are just pawns in the game...