20 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR Truck Series History: #12. Dennis Setzer

#12. Dennis Setzer 

Stats:

Years: 1995, 1997-2012
Championships: None
Wins: 18
Top 10s: 160

20 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR Truck Series History: #13. Travis Kvapil

#13. Travis Kvapil

Stats:

Years: 2001-2004, 2007-2014
Championships: 2003
Wins: 9
Top 10s: 85

20 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR Truck Series History: #14. James Buescher

#14. James Buescher 

Stats:

Years: 2008-2013
Championships: 2012
Wins: 6
Top 10s: 60

20 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR Truck Series History: #15. Austin Dillon

#15. Austin Dillon

Stats:

Years: 2009-2011, 2013-2014
Championships: 2011
Wins: 6
Top 10s: 41

20 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR Truck Series History: #16. Joe Ruttman

#16. Joe Ruttman 

Stats:

Years: 1995-2002, 2007
Championships: None
Wins: 13
Top 10s: 111

20 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR Truck Series History: #17. Kevin Harvick

#17. Kevin Harvick 

Stats:

Years: 1995-1999, 2001-2005, 2007-2013
Championships: None
Wins: 14
Top 10s: 61

20 Greatest NASCAR Truck Series Drivers: #18. Johnny Sauter

#18. Johnny Sauter 

Stats:

Years: 2003-2006, 2008-2014
Championships: None
Wins: 10
Top 10s: 85

20 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR Truck Series History: #19. Timothy Peters

#19. Timothy Peters

Stats:

Years: 2005-2014
Championships: None
Wins: 8
Tops 10s: 85

20 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR Truck Series History: #20. Brendan Gaughan

#20. Brendan Gaughan

Stats:

Years: 1997-2003, 2005-2008, 2011-2013
Championships: None
Wins: 8
Top 10s: 80

Tony Stewart's Actions on Pit Road Dangerous, Further Damage His Reputation

Things got a little wild at the end of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night thanks to a little hard racing between Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth and their tempers bubbling over afterward.

After Kevin Harvick had taken the checkered flag as the race winner Keselowski and Hamlin got into a little banging back and forth before heading into the pits. Upon heading into the pits Keselowski and Kenseth then showed their displeasure with each other after making contact on a restart earlier in the race.

Keselowski’s retaliation toward Kenseth on pit road got a little out of hand and led to the No. 2 driver accidentally slamming into the back of Tony Stewart’s Chevrolet. Stewart, taking umbrage to this, threw his car in reverse, gassed it and slammed into the front of Keselowski’s Ford causing significant damage.

Both Hamlin and Kenseth wanted a piece of Keselowski after the race ended with Hamlin being corralled and taken away by a crew member and Kenseth tackling Keselowski in between haulers in the garage area, before a small fight took place between crew members of each team.

While Keselowski, Hamlin and Kenseth engaged in the “fun stuff” after the race I believe that everything they did fits into what NASCAR likes to call “boys have at it.”

What Tony Stewart did on pit road was a little bit more than “boys have at it” and something that doesn’t help his “hothead” reputation within the sport, especially given the tragic circumstances between him and the late dirt track racer Kevin Ward Jr. in New York in August.

NASCAR likely won’t do anything to punish Stewart, because they are probably more concerned about the actions of Keselowski, Kenseth and Hamlin, as are the NASCAR media and fans. But, I believe what Stewart did during this post race incident was the most unacceptable moment of the whole melee.

Drivers throwing their vehicles into reverse and gassing them into parked cars behind them is incredibly dangerous and should not be accepted in the sport. Not only is it incredibly dangerous, but this action (whether rightfully provoked or not) shows that Stewart is quick to anger, which is the exact thing that he doesn’t need to be seen as at this moment, even if he wasn’t charged in the death of Ward.

Keselowski, Kenseth and Hamlin are going to get the headlines after tonight’s race, but it’s the momentary lack of judgment by Stewart that really should take some of the focus.

Kansas City Royals Become America's Team for Baseball Postseason using Small Ball, Long Ball and Extra Inning Dramatics

With a thrilling, and Hollywood-like, 6-0 start to their first playoff run in almost three decades the Kansas City Royals have worked their way into the hearts of baseball fans everywhere.  (Well, maybe not fans of the Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Angels, Baltimore Orioles and potentially St. Louis Cardinals or San Francisco Giants)

The Royals with their decades long lack of success mixed with their unconventional (for today’s game) style of small ball that excites some and really annoys others (I’m looking at you SABR nerds) have taken the baseball world by storm with their stunning and historic (four of their six wins have come inexplicably in extra innings) run.

In an era when people are trying to kill off the sacrifice bunt and would rather see a batter selfishly strike out than selflessly move a teammate into scoring position because some formula has determined that is better and the stolen base has become almost a relic of the past the Royals brand of baseball, led by manager Ned Yost, seems old-fashioned, but it also is incredibly fun to watch and has been extremely effective this postseason.

People simply don’t like it because fans would rather see monstrous home runs than small ball and swinging and missing is somehow considered more masculine than helping your team out by laying down a bunt. But, in the real world of baseball a win is a win and scoring gets you there. In today’s post-steroid era of baseball runs aren’t nearly as easy to come by so why not score any way you possibly can. Fans may “dig the long ball” – hell, I like to see moon shots every now and then too – but what the Royals are doing now through solid pitching, excellent defense and sound strategy is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen in 20 years of watching baseball.

With all of this talk of small ball, though, I should mention that the Royals, a team that hit the fewest home runs of any team in Major League Baseball this season, has also found its power stroke since the playoffs began – hitting eight homers (four alone by third baseman Mike Moustakas), including four that came in much-needed extra inning situations by Moustakas, left fielder Alex Gordon and first baseman Eric Hosmer. All three of those hitters have upped their power games in big situations.

The Royals bullpen featuring the terrific Greg Holland, Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and youngster Brandon Finnegan have also proven to be invaluable for the Royals keeping them in all of these long, close extra inning games well after their solid starting pitchers have exited.

The Royals almost flawless outfield defense from center fielder Lorenzo Cain, Gordon, right fielder Nori Aoki and late-inning defensive replacement Jarrod Dyson have managed to save the Royals in many situations and leave the mouths of fans agape at the sheer beauty and brilliance of some of their catches.

The most exciting thing about the Royals this postseason, which appeared mostly in their unbelievable come from behind victory against the A’s in the American League Wild Card game, is their speed on the basepaths from speedsters such as Cain, Dyson and Terrance Gore. Dyson and Gore are frequently used as pinch runners by Yost in late inning situations and almost always swipe bags without being caught. You just know they’re going to run and yet it’s still exhilarating to watch.

As a baseball purist I love seeing the Royals use small ball strategy, speed on the basepaths and sound defense to have this much success. It’s even better knowing how much of an underdog they are and how little success they’ve had since they last won the World Series or even went to the playoffs in the George Brett-era of 1985. I’d take this style of baseball the Royals have perfected over high scoring home run derby-like games any day of the week. This style of play, along with the team’s extra inning dramatics over the last two weeks have made me invested in the Royals playoff run more than any other team that wasn’t my favorite (the Atlanta Braves) since I began watching the game two decades ago.

I’ve been living and dying with every single pitch and close play, and again this isn’t even my favorite team. I find that incredible. That’s how exciting this Kansas City Royals ballclub has been and from what I’ve seen I think many of the baseball fans of America agree.  

New NASCAR Format Has Big Stars, Sport in Danger

When NASCAR announced its new format for the Chase for the Championship playoff system in the Sprint Cup Series before the season I instantly felt it turned arguably the biggest motorsports championship into a joke.

Almost halfway through the Chase that feeling actually continues to grow.

After a wild race at Kansas Speedway for the fourth race of the 2014 Chase the standings were shaken up quite a bit and find some of the biggest names in the sport in desperation with only two races remaining in this segment to get into the top eight spots needed to reach the Chase’s third segment. The final race of this second segment is Talladega Superspeedway, which every NASCAR fan knows is simply a crapshoot. This must have these big names, and the sport depending on them for its success, on pins and needles.

After the Kansas race six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, 2013 champion Brad Keselowski and the sport’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. find themselves on the outside looking in, all more than 20 points outside of the eighth place bubble with only Charlotte and Talladega remaining in the segment.

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon is safe for now, but sits only eight spots ahead of Kasey Kahne for that coveted eighth spot in the standings.

Theoretically Gordon, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. and Keselowski, arguably the four biggest names in the Chase, could all end up missing the next segment of the Chase and be eliminated from title contention. Another scenario has the only four champions currently in the Chase (Johnson, Gordon, Keselowski, and Matt Kenseth, also only eight points ahead of the cutoff, missing the next segment). If this were to happen I’d halfway expect NASCAR to say “oopsy and never mind” and revert immediately back to their old system. While in jest, we have seen the sport do unheard of and stranger things before. I’d almost guarantee a lack of big name stars over the sport’s last four races would lead to more changes in the offseason.  

These four stars, or even two or three of them, being eliminated from championship contention with four races remaining would be horrible for NASCAR’s fans, and more importantly to the sport, its television ratings.

If these drivers’ racing ability led to such horrible finishes at Kansas none of this would be a big deal, but things out of their doing like blown tires or getting the bad end of other people’s wrecks have them in holes that might not be possible to dig out.

The new Chase format was instituted by NASCAR hoping to add some spice to the playoff system in order to help compete with dominant NFL coverage on Sundays, to show the networks (NBC and Fox) in the new television package starting next season what’s to come and add a do-or-die flare to the playoffs, which would still often come down to just two drivers at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

After the first four races and knowing that Talladega is on the horizon that “do-or-die” flare has turned into the potential for a “crash-and-burn” scenario for NASCAR. Sure, it’s currently nothing more than a “what if,” but 20-plus points down for its superstars and the big one at ‘Dega looming kind of puts things in perspective.

A final foursome of Joey Logano, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin in a virtual winner take all championship bout might bring in the television viewers, but having a name like Johnson, Gordon, Keselowski or Earnhardt would bring in heckuva lot more.      

NFLPA's Appeal of Ray Rice Suspension Furthers League's Weak Image on Domestic Violence

Over the last month we have learned that’s the world’s most violent sport on the field is apparently also the most violent off the field. Numerous stars of the NFL like Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald and Jonathan Dwyer have given the NFL a black eye, something they apparently all like to do, with their off the field violence toward's  wives, girlfriends and even children.

The NFL has done almost everything possible to continually shoot themselves in the foot by botching the punishments both at the league and team level and in the process have made themselves look both inept at their jobs and weak on domestic violence.

The NFL Players Association was put in an awkward position this week when they decided to take the side of an athlete punished for violently knocking his then fiancée, now wife unconscious, by appealing his suspension. That athlete is former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who as everybody knows by now was weakly suspended for merely two games by the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, czar of all things punishment in the NFL, for his domestic abuse of a woman and then the two-game suspension was turned into an indefinite suspension with no end in sight when the elevator tape of Rice knocking Janay Rice unconscious was brought to light.

The NFLPA has every right to be upset that Goodell is changing punishment of its players willy-nilly because he failed to get things right the first time around, and I hate that his incompetence as commissioner put them in this horrid situation, but they are doing absolutely nothing but damaging their image among people virtually everywhere by appealing Rice’s suspension. I understand those claiming the NFLPA must do this to protect its players in the future. I just don’t agree.

I understand it’s the ultimate duty of the NFLPA to protect its players, that’s the prime objective of a union, but I think they have to protect the entirety of the union and the players’ and league’s image more so. Appealing the suspension of a wife beater is in no way protecting your image. In fact, it makes it look like you condone the despicably violent act. The appeal makes the NFLPA look no better than the NFL did when the NFL apparently tried to brush Rice’s action and the actions of fellow stars under the rug.

The last month has shown that the NFL has violence issues and that those issues aren’t really high priority among those in charge of running the league. The NFL Players Association could have come out against Rice and against Peterson, Hardy, McDonald, Dwyer and any other player that lays his hands or objects against others, but it has opted to stand up for these guys instead. It's just another sign that the NFL doesn’t really care what you do in your free time, just so long as you’re scoring touchdowns on Sunday.     

Did the NFL Use and Lose Michael Sam?

Michael Sam’s NFL career may effectively be over, really before it even began and I can’t help but feel as if it came off as a stunt perpetrated by the NFL. Sam, a defensive end who had a standout career at the University of Missouri and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year last season, was cut by the St. Louis Rams, the team that drafted him in the final round of this year’s draft, after the Rams final preseason game. Sam played well during the preseason, but the Rams were too stacked at the defensive line position to be able to hold on to him.

The Rams likely knew this the moment they selected Sam late in the draft, much later than he had initially been projected to go, which may prove the move was a hometown discount to score points with Mizzou fans, and make the NFL look like a non-bigoted, more progressive, open league especially on the heels of the Miami Dolphins/Richie Incognito bullying scandal last season.

When it didn’t look like a team would draft Sam and the Rams swooped in last second and saved the day I was immediately skeptical and wondered aloud if the NFL had called in a favor. This is quite the accusation, I know, but one I’d never put past the league and one we’ll likely never know for sure.

Before I get in too deep I should say that I think Michael Sam, as a gay athlete, playing in the NFL would be a great and important thing for the NFL, professional sports and the future of our society as a whole. I was rooting for his success. But, I don’t believe a player should make the NFL on anything but his own skill and merits. So, this isn’t so much a diatribe against the Rams, again stacked at Sam’s position, as it is against the NFL itself.

I knew when the Rams had cut Sam on Saturday, August 30 that he would not be claimed by any other organization in the league. I knew this because of the anonymous general managers who thought he would mean trouble for NFL locker rooms, and Tony Dungy’s dumb comments, and ignorant statement’s by players like Miami Dolphins defensive back Don Jones, and the fact that no other team even remotely expressed interest in Sam throughout this spring’s draft. I knew Sam wouldn’t get a shot in the NFL because NFL locker rooms have more respect for manslaughterers, dog brutalizers, wife beaters, racists, bullies, drug abusers and egomaniacs. Their transgressions aren’t locker-room “cancers,” but a homosexual athlete is just too much.

And, on Sunday, August 31, it was announced that no team had claimed Sam. The Rams still have an opportunity to place Sam on their 10-man practice squad, which would be better than nothing and they might, but it also means that Sam’s dream of becoming a NFL player may never come to light. And, I think that’s wrong because I know Sam is talented enough to play in the NFL. I know this because Sam was considered the best defensive player in the SEC, generally considered the toughest and best conference in college football. *The SEC Defensive Player of the Year should virtually be a lock to make one of the on average 288 roster spots dedicated to defensive lineman in the NFL. For those arguing Sam is too small to play defensive line in the NFL and would have to be a linebacker there are on average 224 linebackers in the NFL and a SEC Defensive Player of the Year caliber athlete should be able to make that switch as we’ve seen it from lesser lauded athletes.

I think Michael Sam was essentially used by the NFL for good press and a profit. He’s been one of the most talked about players in the league since he was drafted and his jersey was the seventh highest selling in the league, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell.

Some would say the NFL doesn’t need any more press, but when the biggest stories of the last year involving the league have all been negative – concussions, Incognito, Ray Rice, Redskins racist name – don’t you think the NFL wanted a really good story? And, yes, I know the NFL is a billion dollar industry of its own and doesn’t “need” money off of Michael Sam jersey sales, but we also know the NFL is greedy. Why else would the league be asking musicians and pop artists to pay to play the Super Bowl halftime show? 

No, the NFL doesn’t “need” the money, but you’d never know it based on their business practices.

The NFL made a lot of good news and money off of Michael Sam and unfortunately he hasn’t gotten the same out of them; not much more than a glorified 15 minutes of fame. Hell, he didn’t even end up with his Oprah Winfrey Network docu-series– bowing to the fears and requests of the Rams.Yet, the Atlanta Falcons are on television once a week on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”

I can’t help but feel Sam got used and in some ways those fans hoping for something a little different from the NFL did too. Maybe to show that the NFL isn’t that greedy or that they weren’t just profiting off of Sam they should offer all those snookered into buying Sam jerseys a refund or exchange. It may sound crazy or ridiculous to refund jerseys when the fans knew Sam might not make a NFL roster, but we’ve recently seen precedence for doing just that when the Cleveland Cavaliers offered fans refunds or exchanges for Andrew Wiggins jerseys after drafting the collegiate star first overall in the NBA Draft and then trading him months later for superstar Kevin Love.

It may seem simple for the NFL and the Rams to give some money back for Sam jerseys, but it would also go a long ways in saying it wasn’t just a rouse for attention and money.

That would be a step in the right direction, but it still wouldn’t do anything in giving hope to any gay athletes hoping one day to make it to the biggest stage of professional sports. 

*Here are the last 10 SEC Defensive Players of the Year and the round they were drafted in ...

Michael Sam (7th), Jarvis Jones (1st), Morris Claiborne (1st), Patrick Peterson (1st), Rolando McClain (1st), Eric Berry (1st), Glenn Dorsey (1st), Patrick Willis (1st), Demeco Ryans (2nd), David Pollack (1st)

To Say Redskins or Not Say Redskins ... That Is the Question.

The controversy surrounding the Washington Redskins team nickname is the sports controversy that just won’t die and with good reason. The name is offensive. There’s no denying it. If you deny it I have to question your intentions. There’s no denying it because the term “Redskin” by definition is a racial slur.

Go on, look it up in the dictionary, both dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster.com have the word defined as “offensive” and “disparaging.” The same words you’ll see if you also look up the word “nigger” in the same dictionaries.

Nobody in their right mind would defend a team nicknamed the N-words, so why do so many attempt to defend the Redskins nickname?

Some are taking a stand against the offensive team nickname. In an Associated Press article on Monday (August 18), CBS NFL analyst Phil Simms, who will cover almost twice as many NFL broadcasts as the next guy this season thanks to CBS’ partnership with the NFL Network on Thursday Night Football, and NBC’s NFL commentator Tony Dungy both said that they were certainly leaning toward not using the nickname on telecasts this season due to its offensiveness.

Simms and Dungy would join a growing list of media opting not to use the Washington nickname. Among others refusing to use it are ESPN’s Keith Olbermann (who’s gone on many a crusade against the name on his ESPN2 show), Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, NBC’s Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and MMQB.com’s Peter King. Entire media publications like Slate.com, San Francisco Chronicle and Kansas City Star have banned the nickname, as well.

Then there are those journalists like Simms’ CBS broadcasting partner Jim Nantz, Fox’s Troy Aikman and CBS’ Solomon Wilcots who will continue to refer to the team as the Redskins because it’s the team’s name and it’s not their business to take a stance on. Nantz was quoted directly as saying “it’s not my job to take a stance.”

I understand the stances of both sides here.

In fact, the decision to use the word “Redskins” in both print and on my sports podcast, Basement Sports, is one that I’ve thought of a few times recently, even though like Simms who was quoted as saying, “I never really thought about it, and then it came up and it made me think about it. There are a lot of things that can come up in a broadcast, and I am sensitive to this” it’s something until recently I hadn’t put too much thought into either.

I believe the word “Redskins” is offensive. As I said earlier, you really can’t deny this by its very definition. So, this makes me want to side with Simms, Olbermann, Costas and others.

But, I also see Nantz’s point when he says it’s not his job as an objective and unbiased broadcaster to take a stance on the team’s name.

It’s probably something I’m going to have to take a little longer to think about before making a decision on the Washington team name for myself, but I will say that’s with each and every passing day I’m leaning toward a boycott of the team name, despite the fact that it inserts my opinion on the name into whatever it is I’m doing.

I think the Redskins nickname is one that is probably eventually going to change, but I don’t believe it’s going to be anytime soon. Change is a slow movement, and for some reason it always seems just a little slower when it involves the NFL.

Stewart Involved in Deadly Racing Incident, Should Remove Himself from Watkins Glen Race

I’ll start by saying it’s hard to report on news that’s so recently breaking and more importantly an incident that’s details surrounding it are murky at best.

But, let’s start with what little facts we know.

On Saturday night, three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart was involved in an incident during a dirt track sprint car race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in Ontario County, New York in which 20-year old driver Kevin Ward was killed.

The two were competing against each other in the race when Stewart made contact with and wrecked Ward. An angry Ward exited his wrecked car and attempted to confront Stewart on the track. Stewart’s car made contact with Ward and threw him some distance across the track. Ontario County Sheriff Philip C. Povero announced that Ward was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital.

Povero said “this is an ongoing investigation of an on-track crash” and according to USA Today indicated that Stewart was cooperative with authorities and there were no charges pending at this time.

According to Charlotte Observer reporter Jim Utter on Twitter at 2:04 a.m.: “Sources close to Stewart say at this time, Stewart still plans to compete in Sunday’s [NASCAR Sprint Cup Series] race at Watkins Glen International.”

This is basically were the facts end for the time being.

The incident set fans ablaze on Twitter debating whether or not Stewart intentionally or accidentally hit Ward. Shortly before the announcement of Ward’s death, video of the incident was uploaded onto YouTube, which further incited the online debate. I decided not to review this video due to the graphic nature of its content. Shortly after Ward’s death was announced the video was removed.

Without seeing the video or knowing all of the facts surrounding the incident I can’t make a sound judgment on whether or not I believe Stewart had intent on hitting Ward, but eyewitness reports from both at the track and those who did view the video seems to suggest that Stewart gunned his engine upon approaching Ward which caused his car to swing out and hit Ward.

Whether Stewart intended to hit Ward or whether other reckless actions on either driver’s part ultimately led to the unfortunate death are to be determined at a later date, but what I do know is that Stewart should not be competing in today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen.

According to Sheriff Povero: “[Stewart] is very upset and confirmed his continuing cooperation.”

If Stewart is truly “very upset” I believe he should remove himself from the race that is set to begin in just hours. It doesn’t look good for Stewart or NASCAR for him to be competing in a race while simultaneously being investigated in the death of a local dirt track racer from an incident the night before.

Ideally Stewart will announce later this morning that he is going to remove himself from the race, but if he doesn’t NASCAR really should think about asking him or forcing him to step aside for the time being out of respect for Ward and his grieving family.

Just Another Tainted Home Run Record

A friend of mine was watching an Atlanta Braves telecast a few days ago and texted me the daily trivia question from the broadcast. The question said Chipper Jones hit 433 career homers under manager Bobby Cox, which player has the most career home runs under one manager?

The first answer that popped into my head was Albert Pujols under Tony La Russa. Pujols hit 445 homers with La Russa as his manager, but that wasn’t the correct answer. Some other player/manager combinations that popped into my head were Babe Ruth and Miller Huggins, which ranks second all-time on the list with 467 homers, and Jimmie Foxx and Connie Mack, who combined for 302.

Then the correct answer hit me. I texted my friend, “I figured out the answer, but I don’t like it.” He responded: Mark McGwire and Tony La Russa? I said, “Yep.” He responded with an expletive, obviously not liking the answer much himself.

Mark McGwire hit a record 494 home runs under La Russa’s management, which is 85 percent of his career total. When you think about it the answer is actually quite simple, because Big Mac played the majority of his career under La Russa in both Oakland and St. Louis.

My friend and I didn’t care much for the answer though because those numbers were obviously tainted with McGwire’s use of performance enhancing drugs throughout his career. That wasn’t all we despised, but more so the fact that it seems nearly every important home run record in baseball is tainted.

Most career home runs tainted by Barry Bonds. Most single season home runs tainted by Bonds, after previously being tainted by McGwire. Most career grand slams tainted by Alex Rodriguez. Most Major League Baseball stadiums homered in tainted by Sammy Sosa. Most consecutive seasons with 30-plus homers a tainted tie between Bonds and A-Rod.

If you are a big baseball fan, like I am, you probably consider the home run to be the most majestic thing in all of sports and for the longest time baseball home run records like Roger Maris’ 61 homers in a single season or especially Hank Aaron’s 755 homers for a career were the greatest records in sports. The most treasured records in sports. Then came the steroid era and Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Rodriguez and numerous others just utterly and thoroughly trashed and made a mockery at of these sacred records. It’s something a baseball purist like me can’t get over and probably never will. And, when I see the answer to a trivia question on yet another big home run record is tainted it steams me a bit.

Oddly enough one of the greatest baseball home run records for most in a single game (four) has been done by 16 different players and none of them, at least to my knowledge, has ever been accused of using performance enhancing drugs. So, for now maybe most home runs in a game remains the purest of all of the great home run records in baseball history.

Bobby, Tommy & Greg

Names I used to hear so much in my youth

In my dreams, my fantasies and on television

Bobby, Tommy, and Greg

Played a huge role in the sports fan I am today

Played a huge role in the man I am today

With every dazzling pitch, every precise decision

So many smiles, so many cheers, and even tears of joy

Enshrined right where they ought to be

With names like Aaron, Mays, Ruth, and Robinson

Heroes from the past mingling with heroes from my past

Someday soon to be joined by John and Chipper too

In Cooperstown the halls where legends never die

It's Time to Stop Villainizing Baseball Players Without Real Proof

Last night I was enjoying some of the best sluggers in the game of baseball like two-time champ Yoenis Cespedes, Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Bautista competing in the Home Run Derby and following along with what experts were saying about the derby on Twitter.

Shortly after Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista put on quite the show by hitting 10 homers in the first round I saw a tweet from ESPN’s Max Kellerman more than insinuating that Bautista was or had been at one time a performance enhancing drug user. This isn’t an opinion that’s rare; back when Bautista went from unknown to 50-plus homer guy in 2010 it was an opinion that was quite prevalent among people, just as it was last year when Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles also went from relatively unknown to a 50-plus homer guy.

Kellerman seemed so certain that Bautista was a PEDs user because he went from a 15 homer a year guy at age 25-28 to 54 homers at age 29 and 43 homers at age 30, when Kellerman was certain his numbers should’ve been on the decline instead of a sharp and dramatic rise.

Kellerman’s flat out accusation of Bautista as a cheater irritated me because the slugger has never failed a drug test. I will also add that Bautista looks the exact same now as he did when he was a 15 homer a year player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, whereas Bonds, McGwire and Sosa all got noticeably bigger. But, I’m not sure how high and mighty I can really get on the topic, because I can understand the skepticism of a player going from 15 homers a year to 50-plus, because I was somewhat skeptical of Chris Davis last season.

A home run jump of nearly 40 home runs in a season’s span seems like something that should be accusatory because it seems so unlikely and borderline impossible, but then again we have seen players before who hit late maturity growths or made minute changes in their swing that resulted in becoming almost completely different players. The problem is it’s hard to determine these changes from performance enhancing drug induced changes and they also seem a little less likely to result in such mass differences.

Still, the accusations of Kellerman rubbed me the wrong way and I can’t help but thinking that players like Bautista and Davis deserve to be treated fairly and innocent until proven guilty. Bautista and Davis have never failed steroid tests, so why should we treat them as cheats? 

Maybe it’s because we’ve been made so skeptical of home run inflations by proven cheaters like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa who saw home run numbers fly to astronomical rates with the help of steroids that we just can’t trust the game and it’s most glamorous play anymore.

I understand why someone would look at Jose Bautista’s career and scratch and shake their head. I really do. But, I think it’s time to stop publicly slandering or defaming someone who’s never been attached to cheating before … especially when we’ve allowed players who have been connected with performance enhancing drugs and are cheaters, like Nelson Cruz, to start right beside them in the All Star Game. 

You Report Back on How That Paint is Drying, I'll Just Be Here Watching the World Cup

How's that paint drying coming along? 

The 2014 World Cup has been going on for around three weeks now and I’ve already lost track of exactly how many times I’ve heard people say in many different ways that they find the sport to be boring or uninteresting. Not only that, but that can’t seem to understand how anybody else would find the sport either exciting or interesting.

I’m here to tell all of those people complaining about the World Cup with statements like “I’d rather watch paint dry” to shut up and go watch some paint dry.

Now, I’m not what you would call a soccer fan. It’s not something I’ve watched a whole lot in my life and I don’t particularly find it to be one of the more exciting sports, but I have enjoyed the little snippets of games that I’ve caught during this World Cup, particularly the penalty kick shootouts between Brazil and Chile and Costa Rica and Greece.

But, I can understand how soccer fans feel when they’re bothered with statements about how one of their favorite sports is boring, because like them I am a rather huge fan of other fringe sports like auto racing and golf.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to defend my fandom of both auto racing and golf from people who either didn’t understand it or, in most cases, never wanted to. I find that most people who claim they don’t like a sport or that it’s boring have never actually taken the time to watch the sport. This is obviously ignorant, but ignorance has never stopped anybody from running their mouths off whenever they see fit.

Basically what it boils down to is that people should just let other people enjoy whatever sports they enjoy. Why do you feel the need to try to convince us that soccer or auto racing or golf or anything else is boring? We’re not going around trying to make you feel bad about yourself or stupid because the only sport you seem to see fit for watching is American football.

So, you think soccer is boring? That’s fine. You have the right to that opinion, but spouting it every two seconds during the World Cup is a nuisance and doesn’t do anything more than make you look like an idiotic fool. You may get away with that in the good old US of A, but take a little trip to Brazil or Germany or England or practically anywhere else in the world and tell ‘em that. Then make sure you have a nice pair of sunglasses to hide that black eye they’re going to give ya.