Phelps vs. A-Rod

Two huge stories have dominated sports talk radio, Sportscenter, and newspaper headlines over the last two weeks -- the Michael Phelps bong incident and A-Rod's steroid use from 2001-03. Some analysts are even comparing the incidents. I don't think these two stories could be any different -- Phelps is a 23-year old swimmer that smoked weed AFTER the Olympics while visiting a friend at college and some asshole took a picture and exploited it for monetary gain. Even if Phelps smoked before the Olympics, the marijuana use does not enhance Phelps's performance -- if anything, it decreases his level of performance. On the other hand, A-Rod was using steroids for the sole purpose of enhancing his on-field performance. A-Rod also denied steroid use in a 2007 interview with Katie Couric. I can't really blame him because he thought he'd get away with it, but I respect that Phelps came clean immediately. Personally, I am tired of hearing about both stories, but the A-Rod story is legitimate news.

In my opinion, the Phelps incident is a non-story that has been blown way out of proportion. By no means do I condone marijuana use. Phelps should have been smarter, especially around people he didn't know. But let me get this straight -- some d-bag from the University of South Carolina sees Phelps taking a bong hit, and -- rather than take note of how cool it is that he is partying with an Olympic hero -- he snaps a picture? And then -- rather than just bragging to friends about partying with Phelps -- he sells the picture to a British newspaper? Stop snitching! The ridiculousness of the story went to another level this week as Richland County (aka my current city of Columbia, SC) sheriff's office has allegedly arrested eight people (http://www.thestate.com/local/story/682695.html). One long-time prosecutor and current defense attorney (who represents one of the arrested students) said throughout his entire legal career he has never seen a search warrant executed for simple possession of marijuana. I feel less safe because my local police officers are exhausting a shitload of resources to arrest some college kids for smoking weed last November. It would be downright embarrassing if they arrest Phelps. The elected sheriff may be pursuing this incident for publicity and votes, but it may cost him votes in the long run.

Michael Phelps is not a cheater. A-Rod is a cheater. Baseball's already tainted image took a hit with this story. Most experts assumed that A-Rod was clean and that he could save baseball by breaking Barry Bonds's homerun record in a few years. Oops. I think this is the biggest baseball story since Pete Rose. A-Rod wants future Hall of Fame voters to look beyond the three steroid seasons and judge him based on his entire career, which should be around 20 seasons after this contract. (By the way, A-Rod has 9 YEARS left on his current contract.) I am sure many Hall of Fame voters won't be able to look beyond those three seasons, and -- more importantly -- most voters won't believe that A-Rod only used steroids for three years. He has absolutely no credibility now. How did we know we wasn't using before 2001 or after 2003?

I am sick of both stories -- but only one is worthy of further discussion.