Do you remember Pittsburgh Steelers safety Anthony Smith and his much-publicized comment about "guaranteeing a Steelers win against the Patriots" last Sunday? Much was written about it, and now I'm sick of it. The man is two things for sure: a victim and an idiot.

After the game, while sitting in my car and waiting hours to get out of the Gillette Stadium parking lot (you couldn't believe that it would take an hour to move just a foot in your car), I listened to the big Pats talk show on 104.1 WBCN. I like the guys who do the call-in talk show after the Pats games, but this past week, they were just 100% wrong. They helped propagate a lie, and they should be "outed".

The lie is about Anthony Smith and his famous comment. The other strange thing is the other comment that wasn't publicized.

I watched the entire taped Anthony Smith interview. He became a victim of "soundbites". What he said was this, "I guarantee a victory over the Patriots this weekend if everyone here (the Steelers) plays up to their best abilities and things are clicking on all cylinders." That's what he said, and the guys who do the Pats postgame know it, because that's their job and I'm sure that they saw the interview replayed on ESPN just like I did.

If you look at Smith's entire comment, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's the sort of thing you hope that all athletes feel about their respective teams. That's a lot different than him just saying, "I guarantee a victory over the Patriots". So, he's a victim.

He's also an idiot for the comment that came out of his mouth shortly afterwards in the same interview. When asked about the Patriots wide receivers, he said, "They're good but they're not great. A lot is said about those guys, but we've played against much better wide receivers this year." Huh? You've played against a team that has a better receiving corp than Moss, Welker, and Stallworth? That's sheer idiocy, but strangely, the only one in New England who uttered a peep about it was Randy Moss. I didn't hear anything about it, nor have I seen any blogs written about it from anyone else.

By the way, as if the rich don't get richer, Jabar Gaffney now gives the Pats a viable fourth wide receiver.

So, for those of you who like to get emotional and fired up about things, try and move past the soundbites. I'm going to leave you with several soundbites followed by their original statements, and if you get angry after reading the soundbite, then read the whole statement and you can get a better understanding about how the media loves to play with volatile people such as yourselves.

1) I hate black people ? "I hate the black people who beat me up last night."

2) I hate white people ?  "I hate the white people who beat me up last night."

3) Dogfighting is not inhumane ? "Dogfighting is not inhumane, because dogs are not humans. However dogfighting is cruel.

4) Marijuana should be legalized ? "Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes."

5) I guarantee a Bills win over the Patriots ? "I guarantee a Bills win over the Patriots if our guys play to the best of their ability, and Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Daunte Stallworth, Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Adalius Thomas, Stephen Gostowski and Bill Belichick cannot be at the game."

note: this is re-posted due to accidental deletion of this site previously

Are all of you excited about the now much-anticipated Mitchell Steroids Report which will be disclosed today at 2pm? You shouldn't be.

Let me tell you what it will say: everything and nothing.

It will say all the obvious things, such as:

1) steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) were used to gain an advantage in MLB

2) several players (as many as 80 named) were known to have received PEDs

3) we should be more stringent in our testing procedures

4) we should be harsher in our punishments

Here's what it will not do:   name all names

In the end, the public really wants all names, but it's not going to be in that report.

The report can't name certain names because of MLB's stupid collective bargaining agreement. This is the reason why MLB lawyers received copies of the report a couple of days ago.

So, what have we been waiting for? Just another disappointing show by MLB.

MLB has your money, they have their record-breaking attendance numbers. Do you really think they are seeking to satisfy the public? No. They will continue on their merry way, and the only thing that will happen is that fans will continue to shell out large sums of money for a product that no one is sure is drug-free.

Since people will be issuing all sorts of damage control, here's a pretty good prediction of what will be said:

Bud Selig (MLB Commish):

"Today is a momentous day when we demonstrate our ability to tackle the problem of PED's head-on. This report was the fine work of Sen. Mitchell, and we commissioned him to do this investigation because we know how terrible PED's are. We'd also like to thank the MLB Players Union for their cooperation, and we look forward to working together to make sure that the game of baseball stays (will be) clean."

MLB Players Union Rep:

"Today is a momentous day when we demonstrate our ability to tackle the problem of PED's head-on. This report was the fine work of Sen. Mitchell, and we cooperated with his investigation because we know how terrible PED's are. We'd also like to thank MLB Commisioner Bud Selig for his cooperation, and we look forward to working together to make sure that the game of baseball stays (will be) clean."

The truth is that all of us who love baseball should be writing letters to Congress to abolish the MLB Players Union. It is an organization which does some good things, but it also is the #1 reason that we are in this steroid/PED mess. The MLB Players Union has this ridiculous idea that its job is to defend ALL players. It doesn't matter if they've killed someone, and it doesn't matter if they've cheated. All that matters is that they stick with their current rule: protect all baseball players at all costs.

Congress needs to pass a law saying that no union can protect one of its members from committing crimes.

What?

Yes, you heard that correctly, the MLB has been facilitating players who break state and federal rules. It has blocked MLB's efforts to have comprehensive drug testing and strict punishments for those caught. It has done absolutely nothing to protect the reputation of the majority of baseball players who are playing within the rules, and it has done everything to protect those who have broken the rules.

Maybe some of you think that I'm overestating the case. Let's look at human growth hormone (HGH). How for many years has federal law made its use illegal unless for an acknowledged medical reason, yet MLB did not ban it until 2005?

This is the problem that the government needs to look into. MLB needs to have a blanket rule that their list of banned substances MUST include all drugs that are restricted/banned by U.S. federal law. This is in addition to certain drugs which even when used for acknowledged medical reasons are banned by professional sports because of their ability to "mask" steroid use. For example, Propecia (finasteride).

As long as the current MLB Players Union exists, this will not happen. At some point, either the players and/or Congress need to get together and disband the current Players Union. It has allowed federal laws to be broken. Now that the Mitchell Report arrives, it will further demonstrate the continued illegal actions of the Players Union. Trust me, I'm no Bud Selig fan, but I also know that he has his hands tied by the Players Union. He wants much stricter testing and penalties, but he also knows that it will most likely not happen, because the Players Union will never go along with it.

Some might think that Congress has no right to meddle in professional sports. I disagree.

The government organizations that have every right to be involved are the US FDA and the FCC. When you buy a chicken, you expect it to meet certain standards, and when you see a chicken advertised as being the most tender one on the market, you have certain expectations. Also, when we see a health ad, the FDA regulates it for false claims, and the FCC will pull it if it's erroneous. A baseball game is no different. Players juiced on PED's are a form of false advertising.

For those of you who support the MLB Players Union, it's true that they are not the first major organization to thumb their noses at the U.S. Government. Others include La Cosa Nostra, the Colombian drug cartels, and the Russian mafia. Great company.

Will the Mitchell report blast the Players Union? It should, but its unlikely to do so, because at the end of the day, the MLB Commish's office, which commissioned the study, must still try and work together with the Union.

So, let me say what Bud Selig wants to announce but can't: Players Union, you are the real guilty party here.