I'm sure this just adds to the slew of converstations about steriods and HGH these days but of all the names that were named, this one got me the most upset.  David Justice, now it seems, why out of all the big names does his name showing up bother me the most?  Easy, this guy had the audacity to accuse nearly all of the '93 Philadelphia Phillies of being juicers (not saying he was completely wrong, Mr. Dykstra showed up on the list) but the venom he spit at essentially this entire team on tv was just over the top. 

     I cannot recall if he was talking about this on one of his ESPN spots or if it was a Braves broadcast but regardless, he went on an all out attack on these guys.  So now it turns out, he wasn't on the up and up himself.  Oh I heard his defense on sportcenter the next day.  Does anyone really believe that when he found out it required using a needle he quickly forgot about the idea.  Great story and all, but if you are gonna say something like that then you probably shouldn't be writting checks for them.  And if he did pay for them, which there is proof of, who in their right mind would believe he bought them but never used them, again cause it require needles.  Please that's like Bill Clinton saying he never inhaled.  No one believes that.

     My advice to any of these guys, if you are going to buy something illegal, or any performance enhancing substance, you should probably just give the guy cash, not write a check....

     This friday I had the great misfortune of hearing a fill in talk show host go on and on about how Eagles fans who want McNabb gone are lunatics.   The man has won more games and made the team more relavant for more years in a row than in the history of the team.

     Point conceeded, the winning that is.  Yes, with McNabb at QB the Eagles have soared to heights never before reached for the franchise over an extended period of time.  With that being said I would like to make the sane and rational counter arguement as to why his time in philly should be up, for good.

     He's a selfish player - Yes, I said it and he is.  Here's why, he thinks that he is better for the team playing injured than having someone who is healthy play.  I can trace this all back to one fatefull day when he broke his ankle against the Cards, kept playing and threw 4 TD's in a big Eagles victory.  Ever since that day, he's basically refused to sit down even when it is obvious that he is not helping his team by his percieved heroics. 

     The Eagles actually win without him - Ok, let me put a small note on this, the Eagles actually win without him, when Brian Westbrook plays.  The Eagles without McNabb have put up some outstanding seasons,  from last years playoff run under Garcia, to A.J. Feeley/Koy Detmer several years back.  The only time i can recall with McNabb gone was 2 years ago, and they were horrible, did I mention that Brian Westbrook was out for the year as well then too.  I don't have the stats handy, but take a look sometime, the Eagles without McNabb are pretty good.  The Eagles without Westbrook are just horrendous, with or without McNabb.

     Every year it is something new - You might be scratching your head at this title, but bear with me.  Every year for about the past 5 years McNabb has come into camp and said he is going to change "X" about his game.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for players realizing they have things they need to work on, but in the case of Mr. McNabb it's not for the good of the team, it's all for how he wants to be perceived.  The most notable change asked for solely by McNabb was his basic refusal to run.  He didn't want to be known as a typical "Running QB"  rightly or wrongly, might also be attatched to comments about the general play style of other prominent black QB's.  This was the part of McNabb's game that made him so dangerous, the chance to take off in situations where it could do good.  Instead McNabb's ambition to shake those stereotypes hurt his team.  I know their record was still good, but it was hard to watch 20 yards of open field with no one around, McNabb seeing it and then instead opting to run back towards the pocket and throw to some covered reciever. 

     With his seemingly questionable "tweeks" of his game year in and year out, comes a ever growing me first attitude.  Have the Eagles always given him more talent each year to work with, no.  But, this may just be a hunch, but he seems to be one offseason a day from being that guy who wants to start making demands from his front office.  Sometimes these demands are worthwhile, but I'll put money down that if he still is in philly another year, he'll make those demands and probably come off sounded a whole lot like someone he had a big tift with TO.  Although he probably won't be working out on his driveway, he could get hurt out there.

     His surprise/anger at the drafting of Kolb - I think these all tie into his selfishness, but really, what did he expect, the Eagles declined to resign Garcia and well he spent the majority of 3 seasons injured.  Let's look at it objectively, oft injured QB, and nothing more than a lifelong back-up in the plans.  Maybe one day he won't get up from these injuries, maybe it's time to plan for the future.  It was a smart move on the Eagles part as far as I am concerned.  Not all QB's are Brett Farve in that they play at a high level for 18 years.  It just doesn't happen, and again with McNabb's injury history, it might not hurt to have a plan in place for the future, cause it sure looks like they are going to need it.

     The NFL sells itself as a team game and how no one player is above the rest of the team (I might make some tom brady like exceptions, but I won't cause it's not like he's playing with a bunch of second rate players there).  Mr. McNabb seems to think that he the only reason the Eagles have had such continued success.  Was he a part of it,  yes, was or his he the main reason for it, no. 

     A dreaded comparison / One final note - The Eagles fans and many of the Eagles admonished TO for his open and brazen criticism of the team, and rightfully so.  But is McNabb really that much different, his wants and desires for himself have held the team hostage and made them succeptable to his current feelings about how he should play.  TO was loud and pretty much everything fans hate to see from high priced athletes.  In a way, I'd almost rather have a guy like TO who openly voiced his displeasure, he made no bones about his place on the team and where he thought he should be there.  You may be able to argue that McNabb is actually worse.  The silent type that quietly takes control and without knowing it  has usurped total control and made the team about him but only shows his anger now when it's being put in question.

Trying to survive your Survival football league this year.  Nearly every year week one always is one of the toughest.  New faces in new places and well we just don't know what to expect from certain teams.  This year offers even more challenges with a plethora of division rivalries the first week.  So if you are looking for an edge here is a breakdown of this weeks schedule and good bets, vs bad bets.

Avoid at all costs - Generally a good rule of thumb is to avoid those tough divisional match-ups unless there is a glaring gap in the talent and well in week one, we don't know what to expect yet.

New England vs NY Jets - As mentioned above AFC east division rivals who seemingly always play a tight game when facing each other.  Expect the Pats to win, however, if you can only pick a team once a year it is worth not wasting a Pats pick this early

Atlanta vs Minnesota - Can the Falcons come together with the offseason/pre-season drama?  What can we expect from the Vikings, who is even their QB? Chances are, unless you are a Vikings fan or alreayd played a ton of games in Madden you probably don't know either.  To many question makrs about this game and not enough to even conisder making such a do or die pick on this one.  If you must pick I would say Minnesota just on the hope that the Falcons are not on stable ground with all the preceeding events.

Tennessee vs Jacksonville - Vince Young starting his first full season as starter + Jax just named Garrard as their starter + divisonal match-up ='s avoid at all costs.  Unless you have some kind of inside information this one seems like a toss up either way, I'm sure there are edges on either side but not enough to bank your survival league life on.

Chicago vs San Diego - Two of last years powerhouse teams meet up in week one, good for TV bad for picks. Again you'd hate to waste either of these teams pick in week one, and with what seems to be one of the highlight games of the week, just sit back and enjoy and leave this one off your list of picks

Dallas vs NY Giants - Divisonal Rivals, plus  both teams seem to be about the same level of talent.  Again, not saying a winner can't be picked here, but too many if's to make this be your only pick

Baltimore vs Cincy - By now you should already have guessed it, divisonal rivals and too excellent teams, enjoy the game, don't stake your fantasy life on it.

San Fran vs Arizona - one more divison rivalry game, and these two have had some wild games vs each other in the recent past, i would give the edge to Arizona, but they are the Cards and well no need staking things on the Cards to win in week one against a divsion foe.

Indy vs New Orleans - Again, two of the top teams last year go head to head in week one. you could probably take Indy and be somewhat safe with that pick, but why waste the pick of Indy in week one when it isn't a no brainer pick

Miami vs Washington - Will the Skins finally start pulling things together, how will the Fins do under their new coach. A toss up at the bottom of the barrell, To risky either way to be certain.

Iffy at best -

Carolina vs St Louis - I'm really not a big fan of what the Panthers have to offer didn't play very well last year and now without Keyshaun there is no real reason not to double team Steve Smith on every pass attempt.  I think St Louis has what it takes to win this game and I'm not sure exactly how many times we might be tempted to take St Louis to win this year so this pick can be tempting on the St Louis side.  I personally will stay away from this since i only see it as about 60% for the Rams, but if you want to gamble in week one here might be your chance.

Kansas City vs Houston - Any other year This might be a bonifde no brainer pick. KC seems to have a good edge, but you might have some doubts about Huard, even though he was stellar last year for the most part when he did play.  That is not my concern about this game.  I know it was just the preseason but the Texans look to be much improved I want to see more from the Texans before i pick against them this season, But you probably could bank on the Chiefs and get away with it.

Detroit vs Oakland - Detroit seems much improved and well Oakland needs to show it isn't the bottom of the NFL like it was last year.  It seems like Detroit would be the way to go and this probably could be bumped up to a good bet, i just have a hard time putting the Lions to win in that catagory just yet this season although could be extremely appealing because it could be one of the few times where taking Detroit can almost for sure get you a win.  My advice, wait on Detroit, They should win this game, so taking them in a pick here isn't the worst move you could make this week.

Good Bets -

Philadelphia vs Green Bay - The Eagles should take this one with little trouble, Green Bay seems to be better than the start of last year, but still aren't in the Eagles class.  Reasons to pass on this pick, wasting your Eagles pick, although this is a tough week to pick a sure fire winner so it might be ok, but even with all the wins the Eagles have a way of scaring me just enough and against a team that is at least capable of winning, i would bet on this as your pick but there are some safer bets this week, but not by much.

Pittsburgh vs Cleveland - The Browns are supposedly improved, and this goes against the not picking Divisonal rivalry games, however. the balance of power here seems to be overwhelmingly in the Steelers favor.  How the team reacts under a new head coach might be a bit of a drawback, but still shouldn't be a problem.  could be the best bet and probably should be but this week i am going with......

Lock of the Week -

Denver vs Buffalo - Denver always seems to boast an above avg team at least every year and the Bills have lost their only real offensive threat in McGahee, suspect Qb play, i just don't see the Bills having enough to win this game.  Wasting the Denver pick, eh, you could make that case against picking them this week, but this seems to be the best bet this week and the loss of another Broncos pick isn't that big of a loss that it can't be overcome throughout the season.

     This is what we get from the "Steroid era" a group or players who normally would have been sure fire Hall of Famers now on the fringe of getting in now, or even ever.  Let's consider the cases of some of these players.

Barry Bonds - this really is a no brainer.  steriods, HGH, cream or clear, Barry Bonds would have been a Hall of Famer even if we take his home run total out of the mix.  Before Bonds bulked up in size he was already one of the top players in the game with at least 2 MVP awards to his credit before he even got to San Fransico.  Having seen Barry turn into the abominable homerman he was one of the most electrifying players in the game.  Can we view his 73 home run season as tainted? Sure.  Can we also balk at the all-time home run mark he will surely set?  Yes we can.  But  what we cannot take away is that Barry Bonds even minus the long ball has been a great player throughout his career.

     Do we penalize him for suspicion of steriod use?  Do we penalize him for being a jerk to the media for the majority of his career?  Let me answer the latter first.  No, and i only need to bring up one name to prove my point, Ty Cobb.  Cobb was notably was of the biggest jerks (and that's putting it nicely) to ever to play the game.  But he was also one of the greatest players in history.  In fact he would probably unquestionably be named the greatest player ever if it wasn't for his personality.  But this isn't about Cobb.  So now the steroid question and it's affect on Bonds status as a Hall of Famer.

Impact - little to none.  Make any case you want about intergrity (which there has always been a large lack of in the history of baseball) he is a sure fire Hall of Famer and first ballot to boot. barring any convictions or new revalations in the 5 years after he retires.

Mark McGuire - To me this has already become one of the greatest travesties / causalties of the steriods era.  Long before he even got to St. Louis  McGuire was one of the top power hitters in the game and hit 48 home runs in his second season (my facts my be a bit off on that, but i know it was @ 50 homers extremely early on in his career).  

     To me it is a disgrace and total hypocricy for him to be excluded from the Hall on the first ballot.  One of two men who is credited with "saving" baseball pushed aside for what?  For being vague and not answering questions at a congressional hearing?  The real problem I have with his exclusion so far is this, He took andro.  Reporters knew about this during the summer of 98. Andro was not a banned substance at the time.  It wasn't even illegal.  Anyone who worked at any kind of suppliment store at the time could tell you it was availble there, including large chains such as GNC.  If Creatine is banned can we somehow negate the achievements of those who weight trained with that supplement?

     One of only 2 moments in my 28 years of life where I could tell you exactly what i was doing and remember vividly the details is McGuire's 62nd home run.  McGuire said what he had to at that hearing.  Sure he could have talked about using andro, but even though ok when he took it and availble over the counter, it was a substance on the now banned list and would have made him look like a wrong doer even though even though he took a legal supliment. 

Verdict - It's really up in the air, McGuire has been the first victim of this era however, as time passes I do believe he will make it into the hall where he belongs.

Sammy Sosa - I'll try and keep this one as short as possible.  The only player to have 3 60 home run seasons.  Pretended he didn't know english at the hearings. Probablity of steriod use, high.  Use of a corked bat, yup. 

His numbers - Juiced or not 600 home runs is an impressive number.  Take away those three 60 home run seasons and he still has over 400 home runs. 

Corked bat? - Am I the only one who knows about experiments conducted to see if a corked bat really makes a difference in hitting home runs?  Simple answer, no it doesn't make any sizable difference.  However if they used a dimpled ball.... anyway.  600 home runs is too many to ignore, not to mention those 3 60 homer seasons.  500 may be no longer automatic induction into the hall, but i believe 600 sure is.

Verdict - In.  Sosa continuing to play will help him cause it will be many years to he even comes to vote for the Hall and by they a lot of the burning issues and sentiments over this should have cooled down enough for a possible first ballot guy.

Rafael Palmerio - 500 home runs, told congress he didn't use steriods, then gets caught the very next season. Let's be honest, even before steriod talk came up, there was a lot of discussion about him being the first player with 500 home runs not to be inducted into the hall of fame anyway.

Verdict - On the bubble to begin with and steriods sealed his fate, no Hall of Fame for Raffie   

     Well after a much need break, and the end of a NGS contest with a basketball theme, the Saint has finally found some computer time.  But wait, what's that?  It's the yawning of a sports fan doomed to root for teams that just plain stink. 

     The Phillies - ok, so like most july's my preseason excitment has turned into, how much did they lose by tonight?  Lucky for the Phils the rest of the NL East stinks worse than they do, except the Mets.  Usually 2nd place in the division is better than expected as a Phil's fan, this year however, it's looking like a big old pile of blah.  The only real excitment left in the year is to see if my preseason prediction of Charlie Manuel getting fired before the All-Star break comes true.  After the all-star break i can look forward to.....well I'll let you know when I think of something.

     The Flyers - Once again the Flyers filled the roles of underachievers, but they did manage to set a record this off-season, 14 guys on the team are having off-season surgery.  So if i do my math correctly, that means they have a total of 6 guys on the team not having surgery.  Guess this means that it will be the first slow off-season in the trade department for the Flyers, considering that players traded do need to pass a physical. 

     Soccer - How bout the good ol' USA, err wait, yeah they wound up leaving a heaping pile of....Bruce Arena is stepping down, which is fine by me since he deserved to be fired.  Let's just hope that USA soccer doesn't listen to the coach who wasted some talented teams by not knowing how to coach them and hire a national team coach from somewhere else in the world, not from the MLS.  Remember way back what Bora did with a then bunch of nobodies?  On second thought, scratch that, hire some slob from the MLS, then in 2 years when the Germans get sick of Klinsman he can coach the US squad.

     So after sunday there won't be much on TV to watch other than baseball for a few months.  Unfortunately baseball too has gotten dull.  Unfortuntely living in NC has left me devoid of at least going to an MLB game in person and enjoying an otherwise meaningless game at this point in the season.  I have a hard time stomaching watching the low A Florida Marlins affiliate the Greensboro Grasshopers.  Maybe I should just drive a half an hour in the other direction and watch a bunch of guys that I won't get to see when they are playing in the pro's because, well no one watches the Devil Rays.  Rather than bothering going to see the Durham Bulls I think i'll just settle instead for watching Bull Durham a hundred times and hoping that the summer ends sooner rather than later...