How long until the book is on the shelf at the public library?

This Leitch guy, who I've never heard of before this morning, knows his baseball stuff.

King laments, "isn't it sad that we can't really like these guys because we don't know them"

Yeah, Barry Bonds is a sad sack of shit. Sorry. I grew up playing sports with a guy who is going to play in his first super-bowl next week. He is a great guy. No qualifications there.

I'm pretty good friends with a guy who won a world series ring this year. He is a great guy, no qualifications there.

I have that deepbelly fondness for the Reds that Leitch feels for the Cardinals. That should prove to anyone who cares about sports that you don't have to follow a winner to have the passion. It can be just good ol fashioned tribalism and a connection to a something ancient and familial.

And King, I've tried and tried to point this out, but Ken Griffey Jr. is the be all and end all. Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods have some real estate on that island too. There are some of those figures out there - or up there (Jesse Owens). Sports suck when people like Barry Bonds and Mike Vick and Marion Jones and Ben Johnson and Steven A. Smith and Floyd Landis and Roger Clemens try to squat on the island.

One of the previous letter writers said something like, "i would rather watch a well played game than a superbowl between teams I don't care for."

I agree.

But it is really fun and satisfying when you watch that well played game, and it's the national championship, and it's your team. January 4th 2003. It happened in the desert.

I apologize. One of these days I'm going to have two browsers going. One to write a letter, the other on your article so I can cite things better. Think of the page views!

That aside, todays post was a great look at the 900lb elephant in the dugout.

Have you ever seen those t-shirts alluding to President Bush?

no?!?

(I don't like Bush and I'm not crazy about hillary manically clawing at the throne either. But t-shirts are going to happen. I like Ohio State football. I bought a t-shirt for a dollar which says "Muck Fichigan". I don't necessarily feel that way, but it was really cold, I needed an extra layer, and it was kind of fun. I don't really mind people from Michigan, but I own a shirt which suggests otherwise. People dress up at halloween too!)

Anyone who thinks steroids aren't that big of a deal never played baseball with many (or any) guys who used and abused steroids.

Goodday. An M.D. wouldn't lend you much of a clue on this topic, King.

all the things amerigo said in his first letter.

(I had a friend on my college baseball team. He wanted to get in the lineup. He bought a cycle of steroids. He did the cycle. He had a brain aneurysm).

And for Christ's sake, it's not little Johnny the 14 year old who is at risk. It's the guys who are 17-22. They're the ones who are getting looked at by scouts.