Hey Gang, I'm in Rico, Colorado and I just had my third consecutive weekend of riding over snowy trails. But I'm no dummy. This time I'm doing it on my cross country skis. Let me tell you, turning a corner at 20 mph is much easier (and more fun) on skinny skis than skinny tires. While I enjoy this winter wonderland, Ryan has still been riding and thinking about stuff. And you're fortunate that he's willing to share it with all of you loyal Hooptedoodle readers.
For those of you who don’t pay attention to any of the sports outside cycling the “George Mitchell Report” was released last Thursday. Contained in the Mitchell Report were the findings of an investigation into the use of performance enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. The report concluded, among other things, that the “steroid area” began in about 1988 and went until…well…..I’d say last Thursday. Eighty-nine players were named in the report. Names such as Roger Clemens (of course.), Lenny Dykstra, (really?), and Mo Vaughn (MVP eh?) were on the list along with many others you have heard of and others you haven’t.
I know, I know. Many of you think, “Who cares?” Well, I do. Looking back many of the players listed do not surprise me at all. I always doubted that Roger Clemens could be that dominant in his 40’s. I always thought it was more than coincidence that Barry Bond’s hat size grew as fast as his single season home run totals. I am not disappointed that these “larger than life” heroes are tarnished, what bugs me is that no one seems to care.
At first I didn’t either. That was until a few Sundays ago. On a warm November day I set up a ‘cross course in my backyard for my three year old son, Matt. After watching me race all season he wanted to participate himself. So he and I set up a course complete with barriers (overturned wagon), a run up (over the deck) along with concrete and grass. 
I explained to Matt the rules, or at least the ones he would care about, and off we went. To my surprise Matt was really into this race. He would dismount his big wheel to get over the barrier and the run-up and rode his bike with a reckless abandon that I had not seen before. It was great and we’ve had a few other races since then.
So why should you care?
As a baseball fan, competitor, and a person who strives to have integrity it makes me furious that everyone wants baseball to “move on”. I typically don’t pay much attention to sportswriters or care that much about their opinions, but it seems that everyone wants to treat this as some sort of “growing pain” in baseball. Not me, not anymore. Baseball owes it to the sport, their fans and the athletes (good and bad) to set an example that this is NOT what they wanted and treat it as such. They should start by investigating every lead they have. If they find that a player was using performance enhancing drugs, erase their stats for that period of time, take the championships that their teams have won out of the record books, and if they are still playing give them the proper suspensions. Last but not least, start a real testing program. Take a class from professional cycling, at times they make it look like a witch hunt, but at least they are trying.
You see, some day my son will take interest in something other than his parents, and when he does he will look for certain role models in his particular field. It might be baseball, cycling, science, writing or whatever. I want him to believe that the accomplishments that the people he chooses to look up to came by hard work and desire, not cheating. I don’t want him to have to “decide” that if he wants to take (insert profession here) seriously how he should go about “getting ahead”. And don’t give me that crap about parents should strive to be role models for their kids, and that athletes, aren’t role models, blah, blah, blah... It’s been a while, but I still remember what it was like to be a teenager; I still looked up to my parents, but I also started to notice everyone else.
So Major League Baseball, there's two out in the bottom of the ninth. It's time to step up to the plate and make some tough choices.
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