Kudos to the industry's biggest metropolis for breaking the decade's most notorious story.
Now, allow me to un-staple my tongue from my cheek.
When I turned on ESPN to begin my Monday afternoon, I fully expected something containing the words Pete Carroll
Seahawks Cowboys or anything related to the network's obnoxious coverage of professional football.
Instead, my eyes were treated to the breaking news that Mark McGwire, he of the mammoth home runs (I always found it hilarious that his most historic homer was a chip shot), admitted to ... TAKING STEROIDS.
Better yet, he admitted his colossal wrongdoing in a written statement and a phone interview with the Associated Press.
He even talked to ESPN cameras yesterday. Some courage this guy has.
He should stand in front of Hall of Fame voters and apologize.
The baseball brain trust of ESPN assembled in an afternoon roundtable, discussing what this means for baseball, what it means for McGwire's Hall of Fame aspirations.
Sorry for sounding rude, but is this really news?
More important things have happened recently, so why is ESPN continuing to give baseball's biggest cheater even more attention?
The debate of whether Big Mac deserves Hall of Fame consideration is a moot point.Why tell the truth after being a known liar for 10 years? It does not make sense.
No matter how many investigative stories were run by major news organizations, and no matter how long McGwire hid under a veil of silence, it appears he thought the public believed him all along.
Here's breaking news for you, Mark: No one believed you. Ever.
It's a darn shame that this guy made so many fans during that magical season, lifting the Cardinals on his shoulders as they rode the wave of his home run chase late in the season.
He even has a left-field portion of Busch Stadium named after him. Big Mac Land might need to be more appropriately named something like No **** Land.
If it hasn't been made clear yet, I do not sympathize with or feel bad for multi-million dollar athletes who blatantly cheat, and then lie about it for a decade.
Furthermore, I can't stand those people who act as if no one knew they were lying - even more so when that person is a man who captivated the hearts of millions of baseball fans around the world in 1998, all while consciously and explicitly cheating.
It's the first time (friends family
teammates and former coaches) have ever heard me
you know
talk about this
McGwire told the AP. I hid it from everybody.
Sorry, but this has been one of the worst kept secrets in professional sports for nearly a decade.
You certainly failed to fool anyone, not even the historians who can now officially erase your name from the records of our national pastime.
This time, it really is Goodbye
baseball.
- Rob Mixer is a senior studying journalism and the assistant sports editor of The Post. Send him an e-mail expressing your love/hate/indifferentism on the Big Mac at rm234405@ohiou.edu
2
Sports
