Baseball, Steroids and America

The cork is out of the bottle so to speak. The Mitchell Report is the official declaration that performance enhancing drugs have infiltrated Major League Baseball on a mass scale. Commissioner Bud Selig and baseball’s powers that be have shifted into full crisis management mode, attempting to minimize the steroid related spillage and restore their venerable product’s reputation.

 

In any other sport, this would not be the public relations nightmare that it is. Baseball however, like no other sport, is held to the loftiest of standards by both its fans and sportswriters. But the reason for the collective outrage over the steroid flap is the very reason that baseball will survive: baseball is a brand that is inextricably connected to the conscience of America. Provided that it takes the appropriate public relations approach, baseball will emerge from this crisis stronger than ever.

 

Performance enhancing drugs are known to be rampant in sports, both amateur and professional, and have been for quite a number of years. Athletes from virtually every sport imaginable have tested positive for steroids including tennis players, swimmers and yes, even a ping pong player back in 2003. Yet until it had crossed inside the foul lines of the baseball diamond, it somehow seemed to be taken in stride by the public, the writers and sports fans in general. Tennis is as popular as ever, the retirement of Anna Kournikova notwithstanding. We still tune into the Olympics every fourth year and root for our shower-capped compatriots to dominate the pool and win the gold. And ping pong, well I doubt that there are any fewer basements with a folded up ping pong table wedged into a corner as the result of any failed drug tests.

 

Granted, tennis, swimming and ping pong are not exactly the staples of American sports. But even when compared to the other major sports, baseball is looked at through a different set of sports goggles. It’s almost as though no one has ever turned on a television set on a blustery Sunday afternoon in the fall. Isn’t it obvious that perhaps some of these football playing 340-pound lineman and running backs with biceps the size of Barry Bonds now infamous head have been fed something a bit more potent than corn?  Yet the masses remain unvexed. Not so when it comes to baseball. Baseball carries with it its own yardstick.

 

Why is baseball held to a higher standard than any of the other major American sports? Basketball certainly doesn’t want for fan sentimentality, but it lacks baseball’s illustrious heritage. Football is smash mouth. It is without baseball’s inherent aura of innocence. It is where we go for three hours on shivery Sunday afternoons to rant and rave and let loose of the angst that we have accrued throughout the week. Hockey is more of a northern U.S. and even Canadian sport. And soccer is…well, soccer. Baseball is an extremely unique brand that represents something much deeper than athletes gallivanting across a field, tossing a ball about.

 

In order to understand what a brand represents, we need to understand its history. Baseball is a rare commodity in that it doesn’t just have a history. It is a part of history. It is Babe Ruth and Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. It has served as a crutch that helped the nation through the Great Depression, World War II and Vietnam. No matter what the circumstance, through our darkest hours, there stood the boys of summer, pinstriped and existing in a seemingly magical world where grown men could play a boys game. And on September 25, 2001, exactly two weeks after the attack on the World Trade Center, the Yankees returned home to Yankee Stadium for one of the most emotional nights in not just the history of sports, but perhaps in recent American history as well. The nation watched as members of the New York police and fire departments joined the players on the field in a tearful pregame ceremony, an enormous American flag covering the outfield. Baseball is quintessential America. 

 

Now, as the result of its players having used illegal performance enhancers, baseball and the American conscience have taken a hit. Throughout history there have been many issues which have hit at the conscience of America, yet we persevere. What sustains us as a nation is our heritage, our history. So it shall be with Major League Baseball. Its history is our history. The goodwill of its brand is rooted in the history of the goodwill of a nation. This is a type of brand equity that other business entities can only dream of. Rather than simply resting on its legacy, that legacy must be heavily promoted, at least until the crisis blows over and becomes footnoted as the “steroid era” of baseball.

 

Just as the nation has leaned on baseball in its times of trial, baseball now leans on the nation. But not to worry. Baseball and the nation are one and the same. People just need to be reminded. Nothing that some quality PR work can’t handle.

 

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What’s Next for Calzaghe, Roy Jones Jr?

 

In a startlingly unsurprising fight, Joe Calzaghe completely dominated Roy Jones save for a well placed first-round Jones forearm to the face of Calzaghe.

 

Jones Jr. vs. Calzaghe is a fight that should have happened 5 to 7 years ago. Calzaghe is still in his prime and Jones is well past his. But is it Calzaghe’s fault that Roy got old? Not really. The fight never took place back when it should have because Calzaghe was busy selling out arenas in the UK and couldn’t see coming to the States to fight for less money. Jones didn’t feel that he should have to make the multi-tectonic plate journey to Calzaghe’s ’hood to fight him. But let’s be realistic here. Roy was without question the king of the mountain in those days. And if you (aka Calzaghe) want to be the king of said mountain you need to go to the mountain. You can’t expect the mountain to come to you. 

 

So what’s next for these two?

 

Calzaghe seems to have slightly backed off of his promise that Jones would be his last fight, saying that he would think it over before making a final decision. But who is left for him to fight?

 

Some, including HBO’s Max Kellerman are saying that his last bit of unfinished business is with Chad Dawson. Dawson, the young, fast handed and talented IBF light heavyweight champ is fresh off of a convincing win over the aged, “legend in his own mouth” Antonio Tarver.

 

But is there any clear and convincing reason why Calzaghe should give Dawson the opportunity? I don’t think so. Dawson is anything but a household name. The public is certainly not clamoring to see it, which means it is not a huge money fight. And at 36 years of age and having been super middleweight champion for more than a decade, Calzaghe has earned the right to either retire or to fight only big names for big money at this point in his career.

 

There is still some chatter among boxing fans that Calzaghe has never beaten a truly talented fighter in his prime. I disagree. I believe that Mikkel Kessler is the best super middleweight and possibly the best light heavyweight in the world behind Calzaghe. And Calzaghe schooled him.

 

So walk away Joe. And take your 0 with you.

 

 

 

On to Roy Jones. Is there any doubt that he is but a shadow of what he once was? His hand speed is still excellent, although not what it used to be. The issue with Roy is his legs. He used to use them to leap in, throw power shots and then get the hell out of the way before his opponents could retaliate. He is no longer able to do that.

 

There is near unanimous consent among fans and insiders that Roy is long overdue to bronze his jockstrap and focus on his beloved cockfighting, but I think there is one more fight out there for him. And I expect to be met with a cacophony of jeers when I say that Bernard Hopkins is his next and last logical opponent.

 

I can hear you all screaming WHAT??? Well, allow me to make my case. For one thing, this is a rematch that is more than 15 years in the making. Roy is the only fighter to have soundly and convincingly beaten Hopkins. Granted, that was when Roy still moved like an electron circling a nucleus. But stylistically, I see this as a good matchup even today.

 

Roy still has the hand speed to contend with Hopkins. And Roy really doesn’t need the legs of Seabiscuit to deal with Bernard. Although Hopkins uses his legs, he won’t be confused with Big Brown at the Preakness. He tends to move “smart” rather than swift. Roy still has enough left to make this an interesting fight.

 

Roy has been clamoring to restore his image since his first loss to Tarver. With Hopkins coming off a schooling of Kelly Pavlik, this is his best chance. Hopkins would be favored and rightfully so, but if I’m Roy, this is the fight I would try to make.

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Oscar de la Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao – Who Will Win

The trend of smaller fighters seeking larger prey and bigger paydays continues as lightweight champion Manny Pacquiao steps up to welterweight for a blockbuster fight against Oscar de la Hoya.

 

On the surface this is an intriguing matchup as the lightening quick, hard punching Pacquiao attempts to follow in the footsteps of Floyd Mayweather Jr. by stepping up in weight and defeating the aging but still relevant Golden Boy.

 

But as I dig down a little deeper I see a clear cut favorite here whom I expect will dominate the fight. And that favorite is Oscar de la Hoya. And I have what I think are a couple of very solid reasons to support my opinion.

 

There may not be two more evenly matched opponents in all of boxing than Pacquiao and Juan Manual Marquez. They have fought twice – once to a draw and more recently to a very close split decision win for Pacquiao. I see Oscar as a much bigger, stronger and more skilled boxer than Marquez. If Pacquiao had his plate full against Marquez, he had better be prepared to stand at the feeding trough that is de la Hoya.

 

There also seems to be a threshold in weight above which most fighters who fight at around 130 pounds and under are unable to replicate the success they had enjoyed at their natural, lighter weights. That threshold appears to be in the neighborhood of 140 pounds. Of course there are exceptions. De la Hoya is one of those exceptions. But at 5’ 11”, de la Hoya’s size and frame made his rise through the weight divisions not only natural but necessary. Manny Pacquiao is 5’6” and began his career as a 106 pound junior flyweight. Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo both found themselves in water too deep to tread after crossing the 140 lb. barrier.

 

I see Oscar using his height and reach advantage and superior boxing skills to keep the raging Pacquiao at bay while taking a page from Marquez’ book and doing damage with lead right hands as well as the vaunted de la Hoya hook. I don’t see Pacquiao carrying his power with him all the way up to welterweight and his defense is just too suspect to overcome Oscar’s offensive advantages. I have Oscar winning a convincing decision, if not stopping Pacquiao at some point in the second half of the fight.

 

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The Death of Boxing

I used to say that I was afraid to get married. But this was not for fear of a cheating or nagging wife or the thought of losing half of my money and belongings as the result of a nasty divorce. While all of these things ranked very high on my “I never want any of this crap to happen to me” list, my greater concern was that I could miss out on a huge boxing telecast.

 

A marquee boxing match can be put together in as little as a couple of months. Most weddings need to be planned a good year in advance, what with booking the church and reception hall and the egregious amount of time that it takes most brides-to-be to select the perfect invitations and flowers. Not to mention the most hideous bridesmaid dresses they can find. And of course weddings generally take place on Saturdays. So do boxing matches. This left open the serious possibility of my wedding causing me to miss a blockbuster fight.

 

But lately, I find myself reconsidering my position. And it’s not because I’ve grown lonely or desperate. The issue is that there are almost no compelling boxers or intriguing potential match-ups left. Virtually all of the marquee fighters of recent years have either retired or are in the fading twilights of their careers. And there is a dearth of young talent entering the sport.

 

It has been said for many years now that the glory days of boxing are long gone. Going back as recently as five years, fighters such as Roy Jones Jr, Floyd Mayweather, Felix Trinidad, Lennox Lewis, James Toney, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Fernando Vargas, Oscar de la Hoya, Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Arturo Gatti were still lacing up the gloves, at or near the top of their respective games. If boxing’s better days were behind it as of when these fighters were active and in their primes, what does that say about its present state?

 

The heavyweight division, long considered the cornerstone of professional boxing, is nearly devoid of major talent. The possible exceptions are the Klitschko brothers, although Wladimir has been knocked out a few times himself. And despite being loaded with technical skills, he seems vulnerable to crumbling to the canvas any time his opponent even feigns throwing a punch. The brightest spot in the division is 37 year-old Vitale Klitschko who is fresh off a dominating comeback win over Samuel Peter.

 

Britain’s Joe Calzaghe, an undefeated champion at light-heavyweight who recently battered 39 year-old, badly faded Roy Jones is at or very near the end of his career. Kelly Pavlik, boxing’s most recent sensation de jour at middleweight, was dismantled by 43 year-old Bernard Hopkins in October.

 

The most intriguing upcoming match-up is de la Hoya vs. Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao, whom many consider to be boxing’s best pound for pound fighter, is a current lightweight champ who is stepping up to welterweight for a December date with Oscar de la Hoya in what is likely the 35 year-old de la Hoya’s farewell fight.

 

Beyond this, boxing is mostly a mishmash. Almost mega-superstar Miguel Cotto was recently vanquished by Antonio Margarito who had been vanquished a year prior by Paul Williams who was then vanquished in his very next fight by Carlos Quintana and then conquered his vanquisher in the rematch. Of course this was all subsequent to Cotto vanquishing Quintana.

 

Yes, there are a few others out there who are good fighters. There is Ricky Hatton, Juan Manual Marquez and Arthur Abraham to name a few. Andre Berto and Chad Dawson are a couple of impressive looking young champions. But I don’t see any of these guys ending up as legends of the ring. While not quite ready for life-support, professional boxing is certainly gasping for air.

 

What all of this ultimately means to me is that my bachelor days are probably numbered. I’m out of excuses. So unless the NFL works out a deal with a network to begin hosting Saturday Night Football, I’m probably toast. So bring on the wife and let’s get ready to rumble.

 

 

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