You may remember that in March, the US Senate held some legit hearings on steroid use in pro baseball where they interviewed, under oath, several major league baseball players USA TODAY STORY - 03/15/2005)
Among these players were Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, & the since-busted Rafael Palmeiro. Though you could argue it, I don't believe that a person's reputation suffered more that has that of McGwire. The Clift Report's note from the other day got me thinking about it, & how his public perception has gone down the toilet.
What blows me away more than anything is that McGwire refused to even broach the topic of dietary supplements, let alone that of steroids. He comes back with the same, stock answer every time, & it's killing him in the polls:
"I'm a very positive person and I just wish everybody else would be positive."
McGwire said he's aware his image has taken a big hit, but didn't appear concerned. He said he missed baseball and would like to get back into the sport "some day."
"I'm enjoying life right now," he told reporters from The Associated Press and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I know you guys have been very negative towards me and that's your job, but I'm a very positive person and I've moved on."
Hey Mark - I'm a positve person too - but at this point, all your "positive person" answer does is throw gasoline on the fire, and make it that much less likely that you'll some day get back into the sport. And that's sad.
Big Mac Story
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11 launchings into the blogosphere....:
if it makes you feel any better, mcguire's reputation hasn't suffered at all with me. i never took the steroid-feuled home run race of 2000 (?) seriously. i remember telling my dad that nobody would take that record seriously once they discovered they were both on 'roids. he laughed at me at the time . . .
I'm sorry dig, but I tend to be a little more sympathetic toward McGwire. I can't defend stupid decisions, but it broke my heart to see him on the stand being grilled by those legal pansies who can't begin to imagine the demands of professional sport. Of course he was walking the edge on performance enhancing drugs, but those sharks knew exactly what they were doing by forcing him into his "positive person" statement. They were stepping up in the public eye and McGwire was their whipping boy for the day. It literally made me sick to my stomach to watch it.
I think the fans just might have forgiven him, if he had only said, "I was wrong to use steroids and I blew it...I didn't feel I was violating the rules of baseball, but I realize now, I was violating the trust of my fans."
In my opinion McGwire could have recovered...but he was obviously leaning way too much on his attorney's advice. Apparantly there was a great deal of liability at stake if he were to openly admit using steroids. He would probably have been ruined financially. So he had a choice...speak my heart and risk losing everything...or justlook guilty for now,and try to recover later.
I think he made the wrong choice. His strategy backfired, and now his record is forever tarnished. I don't think you'll ever be able to read his home run stats from now on without noticing a small asterik by them.
He probably got what he deserved, but his public execution was one of the saddest things I've ever seen.
I agree Den - & think that there would have been grace for any admissions made by McGwire; all one has to do is look @ Jason Giambi & how he's been 're-embraced' by the NYY faithful.
Where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you...
woo, woo, woo
Welcome back from the science room, Georgia!
....ask her what position Joe Dimaggio played and watch the deer in the headlights expression.
Now, the reason that I know about Joe D. was because of Marilyn Monroe biographies on tv and also because of the song that Louie quoted. (I just finished the line.) So I do know that he played baseball! But I freely admit that I have no clue what position he played. Wait until the next time we play trivial pursuit and you get a science question. I'll be watching for the deer in the headlights expression. ;)
funny! i don't know either, georgia. we should try a little trivial pursuit on cryptographic devices & classified networking... oh, wait.... that might bore people to death. :>0
I have Trivial Pursuit book lovers' edition... Anyone up for a game? he he he...
I am positive mac took the juice. He got real big, real quick. I lifted for 3 years, granted it wasnt my job & I wasnt trying to get huge, but it takes something "else" to get that enormous. Look how small he is now.
I didn't know they had a book lovers' edition. Sounds like fun! (if I've read the books, that is)
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