All the media coverage of anything steroid-related focuses on elite athletes, but the sheer volume of drugs seized in Operation Raw Deal (all DEA stings should be named after Schwarzenegger movies) should finally get people thinking about steroid use outside of pro sports and the people who are directly influenced by pro sports, like college football players (whether they're pro athletes is a separate discussion).

Taking just one subculture as an example, almost no one is talking about the prevalence of steroids in gay gym culture. My gay friends in San Francisco would tell you that steroids are everywhere, and it sure looks that way when if you're walking around in the Castro.

Obviously, all those ridiculously huge bodybuilders are 'roided up, straight or gay. But it seems like there's less pressure on the average straight guy to get all musclebound than there is on the average gay guy.

I'm sure there are plenty of other groups where steroids are commonplace, but that's the one that I was thinking about while I was having lunch at the Baghdad today.

Personally, I can't watch baseball on TV. I can listen to it on the radio (which I think the sport is best suited for) or see it live in the stands. but TV baseball is like watching paint dry.

Football is a sport made for TV. The NFL has done a great job keeping up with the ever decreasing attention spans of American TV viewers. Flashy graphics (FOX has that stupid transformer, what is that?). Thumping music. Inane banter by former players (all wearing pinstripe suits and ties) all talking about how sucky Rex Grossman is (a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with). I watched the opening of the Saints game last night and was stunned at the fact that the "Music videos" of bands that are conveniently releasing their albums the next day weren't even a full 15 second bumper. Hell, the pace of the sport itself is quicker, basically tailor-made for commercial breaks and "Big Stars" and team narratives about loyalty and community service and bad boys in the locker room.

So King, I totally agree. Write about what you want to write about. It's your column, and if you're interested in it, I'll enjoy reading your analysis.

PS: In the last thread you gave the Cubbies a 1-in-8 chance. I like those odds.

Fuck baseball, what I want is more figure skating coverage.

You think I'm joking?

Americans never really picked up on the sport but yet the American women are (or were?) the best in the world. If they beat Brazil they beat the country that supposed to be the best at it. There is a word for this. I don't think irony is correct but there's another word.

I'd just remind you that one of those "mediocre teams" that "stumble[d] their way" to the playoffs last season did wind up winning the whole thing - so maybe you don't find the playoff races that interesting but those of us with teams in the hunt do (did).

I speak as an Astros fan who has watched their playoff chances come down to the last day/weekend 4-5 times.

Now, when the "losing" team gets the wild card - I grant that does make the "race" pretty boring. But that's not going on in every division / league.

That's what clickers are for. And if you angle the telly just right, you can surf the interweb at the same time.

King: Right. And how are the Rams and Raiders, my favorite NFL teams, doing?

Rams - 2 games back with 13 to play in the crappy NFC West

Raiders - 1 game back with 13 to play in the crappy AFC West

Not saying the Rams and Raiders will come back but they still have hope. And hope is what keeps sports fans interested. Even misplaced hope...

King Kaufman's Sports Daily needs to be changed to King Kaufman's American Sports Daily.

I concur with the earlier post about an NHL preview. It's only the most entertaining, fast-paced, hard-hitting sport out there. Hey, but that's all. I'm sorry play doesn't stop every 1.6 seconds like in the NFL, or that it doesn't take over a minute for anything to happen (hello MLB), or that it's not overrun by thugs awash in tattoos who masquerade as athletes (hola NBA!), but hey such is life. ESPN doesn't even put the pre-season scores on their ticker on tv. Talk about ignorant - is that still a sports channel? King - give those of us who appreciate this magnificent sport a little bit of what we want please. Thanks.

Maybe it's just me, it probably is, but I'm finding myself terribly bored with football lately. Granted it may be that my team Green Bay (whom I never get to see save for those highlight shows) has been through some pretty lean years, but I find myself watching football just 'cause. Just 'cause there's nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon, and nothing else on tv (granted, there's still nothing better to work through a hangover than football and pizza :).

I think it might have something to do with the media saturation we're getting now. I mean, from 10 am on every Sunday every damn channel has their interminable pre-game shows with essentially the same cast of ex-players, ex-coaches and random sports dudes yammering at the top of their lungs about each and every game, trying to find compelling story lines to make each game significant. When the fact is, sometimes a dud is a dud, no matter how you gussy it up. Every Sunday feels about as hyped as the Super Bowl...am I the only one that finds this kind of wearying? And that doesn't even go into the local coverage (I get "Buffalo Bills Corner with Steve Tasker" or some such thing ad infinitum all weekend)

I'm not really trying to pick a fight with the football fans, but I was wondering if anyone else is feeling the same? Has football become far too much spectacle and less sport?

any thoughts?