I don't know. Call me a cynic. It just seems as though every time something new comes along to feel good about there's an unforeseeable scandal looking to cast a shadow on our "Hip-Hip Hooray Parade".

Take Rick "HGH" Ankiel for example. Like Roy Hobbs out of the movie script The Natural, Ankiel emerged from obscurity to capture the hearts of baseball fans across America. In true Hollywood fashion, Rick returned from our distant Wild-Thing memories to slug homeruns at an astonishing rate and catapult his team back into pennant contention. Unfortunately we've now learned that he's a "cheater". That is if you consider a cheater to be a person who "broke" the rules prior to their existence (Ankiel is reputed to have received prescriptions for HGH in 2004 to recover from surgery). HGH was not banned in MLB until 2005.

So what? Last I checked this is 2007. Let the man have his moment of glory and inspire our imaginations. Has our self-righteous society deteriorated so far that we are at the point where we would rather tear down an athletic nobody to uphold our pious standards of nothingness. Most people are overly competitive to a fault. Almost anyone of us would stoop to uncommon levels to gain a competitive edge that would allow us more notoriety, prestige and material assets. Why is it that when athletes do the same so many are quick to discredit their abilities?

As much as we like feel-good stories they always come with a "standard". These tales must remain "pure" because otherwise they lose all relevance and integrity. It's almost as though us commoners believe we were capable enough and could have accomplished these achievements ourselves under different circumstances (Yeah, like we basically didn't suck too much to become professional athletes). I could use HGH for a decade, possess biceps like Hulk Hogan and yet still hit 4 homeruns a year in A-Ball if I was lucky.

Inherently, for unknown reasons, athletics turn us into a bunch of blabbering hypocrites. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same.

Peyton Manning couldn't win the "Big One" but once he did we were forced into watching two-dozen of his commercials on "Thursday Night Football" to open the NFL regular season. Now he is arguably the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) and the Indianapolis Colts are a shoe-in to repeat.

Alex Rodriguez was reduced to water-cooler insults for his unprecedented failures in the clutch, yet he is once again the "most talented" player in MLB. His former detractors now claim that the Yankees should pay him 30+ million dollars a year or risk losing him to the dreaded Boston Red Sox.

Speaking of A-Rod, American tennis player Andy Roddick still can't beat Roger Federer and is therefore a no talent bum. Why bother mentioning that Federer just may be the most dominant tennis star that any of us has ever seen?

Anyone checked the "Dream Team" lately at the FIBA Americas basketball tournament. I guess James Naismith's game hasn't passed America by. The word on the street is that the current Team USA just might be the "best" version ever.

Michael Vick (and yes he's shady) has become Public Enemy #1. Who cares that people have been threatening to "sic" their dogs on those they do not like (and their pets too) since canines became domesticated centuries ago? And for the record I do not endorse dog fighting or abusing animals but did most Americans really not know that this happens?  

Speaking of surprises how about NBA referee Tim Donaghy and point shaving? Haven't we truly always known this went on? I think commissioner David Stern certainly has. The outrage...YAWN!!! Just ask homophobe and former Miami Heat player Tim Hardaway about Dick "Knick" Bavetta.

Heaven forbid if the Yankees should happen to win the World Series this year. Then everybody and their mother would claim that they "saw it coming all along".

While we're at it what if the J-E-T-S beat the New England Patriots to open the season? Will Eric Mangini really earn genius status... or will the Patsies simply have an old group of linebackers, truly miss the often injured defensive end Richard Seymour, rue the day that Rodney Harrison failed the drug test that nobody this side of MLB seems to care about, blame it on Randy Moss' hamstring, claim that Asante Samuel isn't in game shape or fail to mention that Tom "Wedlock" Brady has a sore throwing shoulder from swinging so many hot chicks? God I sure hope so.

Yes it's root-root-root for the home team and as long as they win it's the same...or it's one...two...three strikes your out at the public opinion game.

Can't they all just play ball? Oh yeah wait...that's already the case. That is what they do. We're the ones getting our panties in a bunch.

I got a game to watch and so do you. Just do it...Nike style...or doggie style...whatever you prefer...cause it's all good until we say it isn't.