It’s time for Spring                               Training and soon the                            season openers. Solve                                 the problems. Don’t                                     ruin the game. Destroy                                  it and it may never                                   come back.

Could it be that the                             steroids and human                                 growth hormones some                              took were beneficial in                            helping them overcome                           serious injuries? Were                              they addicted and                                           long-time users or was it just for a brief period of time at various intervals?  Is it against the law to use steroids?

Those are just a few of the many questions. I doubt that anyone believes that the use of drugs is of recent origin. I listened to a baseball historian who indicated that it was of long standing and that there were many people to blame. The “blame game” must not be restricted to just a few major league stars. 

What about the club owners? Was there a time following a strike by the players when fans were staying away. Who wanted to go watch a few singles hitters and pitchers who couldn’t strike out anybody?

Were owners guilty of wanting to produce prize champions? Sluggers were paid fortunes to hit the ball out of the park. Power pitchers and home-run hitters will bring more people to the ballparks. If that is true are the owners going to do anything that might keep the crowds away? Every home run puts money in the profit barrel.

Should anybody be facing the music in addition to owners and players? What about the executive of the players union and his staff and the Commissioner and his compound of experts? Where were they when all the steroid and drug problems started?  Like “Little boy blue” were they “under the haystack fast asleep?”  How could they not know what was going on unless they were “asleep at the switch”.

Here are some thought provoking possibilities for a solution.

1. Wipe the slate clean.  Set strong guidelines beginning with the 2008 season.

2. The first time any player at any level is found guilty, suspend him for a determined number of games and an appropriate fine to be donated to a special fund to educate young people that drugs and sports do not mix.

3. While assessing penalties and fines for players it should be doubled, tripled or quadrupled with each infraction and even more for schools and professional teams who tolerate such atrocities.

4. Do not leave out the Players Union leaders and the Commissioner and his cadre of experts.  They also might enjoy suspensions and hefty fines.

5. Any penalties of players should be increased every time they are tested and come up short.  If they don’t want to play by the rules others will willingly replace them.

6. Players, fans, owners, unions, even the commissioners, writers, trainers and all who are associated with sports of any kind should get serious about what is going on and its
resolution. Having hearings before congressional leaders who have more serious things to do than to gloat over baseball stars and pretend for the sake of voters that they know what they are doing is a horrific waste.

When a slugger or pitcher is interrogated by a Congressional Committee it may be the first time in his career when he has seen so many foul balls, spit balls and screw balls in one place.

A famous sports writer, long before the days of Grantland Rice, David Halberstam and Bob Fallstrom, whose name was Paul, said it all: “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:112).  Each person connected with sports must be held to a high and exacting standard of accountability. 

Publisher's Note: Bill Ellis, Award Winning Syndicated Columnist, P.O. Box 345, Scott Depot, WV 25560.  Phone:304-757-6089
www.BillEllis.Net.