Sports as we know it are going down hill. It seems that ESPN, Fox Sports, ABC, NBC, and any other news channels that emphasize sports are making their headlines on all of the negative aspects on sports. For example:

MLB: Steriods, Gambling
NFL: Players Go To Prison, Player Commit Crime
NBA: Officials Betting Ring

The sad thing about that is that is only about 1/20 of all of the negativity that is the focus of sports media. How far will it go? It's not the sports media fault. The sports media is not putting the performance-enhancing drugs in the hands of the athletes. What is wrong with the athletes of today? Not every athlete abuses the system, but we're never going to hear about them. The one thing that bothers me the most is money. The paychecks. What I mean is: WHY DO ATHLETES FEEL THAT $7 MILLION OR $20 MILLION IS NOT ENOUGH FOR THEM? All we hear about now is players holding out of training camps in the NFL because $30 million over a 7 year-period is not enough. Get over yourselves! There are plenty of athletes that are willing to put more effort into the TEAM than themselves for much less money! Honestly - what do you need with that much money? Look around you! There are thousands and thousands of people who are working 70 hour weeks at $6.50 an hour to try to support a family of six. And there you are holding out of your job because you feel that millions among millions of dollars are not enough. And on top of that, those same people who are working for $6.50 an hour are not getting endorsement deals. When was the last time you saw Nike pitch a commercial that stars your every day low-class man folding boxes at his factory job? Granit, I know that a lot of athletes give A LOT of money and time to charities and different organizations and thank God for them because they are the ones that keeping their sport alive. But when was the last time you saw one of these athletes that are holding out do that for a charity? I guess it just frustrates me that a lot of better, harder working people are doing a lot more for things that matter and are getting paid and treated much worse. Whatever happened to taking a job because you love it? Not because of the money. That goes for sports too, you know.

I personally feel that sports are being looked at in more of a negative fashion now a-days. We all feel differently about Barry Bonds breaking the record and we are all sick of hearing about it - but with the NBA Officials issue and Michael Vick dog fighting, Barry breaking that record is what we need right now. We, as sports fans, need that extra lift of excitement to focus on while all of these other issues are taken care of. I personally do believe that Bonds was on steriods and I do think, if ever convicted of it, he should have an astrict next to his name in the record book. But regardless, steriods or not, that is a huge accomplishment! It truly is the greatest sports milestone of all time. You can argue that all you want, but only two players have ever reached it and possibly ever will!

That was my rant of the night. Next time, I will aim to talk about the rumors of Big Ten Football possibly adding Missouri or Rutgers into their conference, the Add-One game that may occur after the BCS Championship, and I will give my official bowl picks for the upcoming season.

Thanks For Stopping By,
Ross A. Dillon