Rogers is just another player in a cheating-friendly environment

(This column appeared in the Massachusetts Daily Collegian on October 24, 2006)

So who's a bigger cheater, Kenny Rogers or Shawne Merriman?

That seemed to be the only question residing in newsrooms around the country yesterday. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it. These two men were viewed as "dirty." They got caught breaking the rules. They, as the majority opinion holds, are now cheaters.

While Merriman actually tested positive for steroids, Kenny Rogers has been found guilty in the court of public opinion mainly because Major League Baseball has not reprimanded the Detroit Tigers starting pitcher for having a shady brown substance on the bottom of his pitching hand in Game 2 of the World Series on Sunday night.

Rogers became the oldest starting pitcher ever to win a World Series game in the Tigers' 3-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, evening the series at one game apiece. However, that win is now tarnished in the minds of those who saw the 41-year-old pitcher clean the brownish gunk off his throwing hand after the first inning.

Home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez noticed the "dirt" and told Rogers to clean it off. The umpires brought Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa out to the field for a brief discussion at the end of the first inning, and that was it. There was no more argument. No more speculation on the part of the National League Champions. It was back to business as usual.

Rogers cleaned what he called "a big clump of dirt" off his hand by the time he took the hill in the second inning. And whatever the substance was, taking it off did not prevent him from pitching a gem the rest of the way.

Rogers allowed one hit and one walk in the top of the first inning. He then washed the "dirt" off his hand. After that, the Tigers fiery starter threw seven more shutout innings, allowing only one more hit and two more walks, and compiling four more strikeouts.

He did better with a clean hand.

Maybe that's why LaRussa and the Cardinals had nothing else to say about the situation for the remainder of the game. They kept their mouths shut because not only were they unable to produce against the veteran lefty throughout the entire game, they did better against him when Rogers had the substance on his hand in the first inning.

His postseason history, combined with this incident, gives many baseball gurus a reason to believe he has been cheating in 2006.

Rogers had allowed 20 earned runs in 20 1/3 career postseason innings before this October. He has now thrown 23 consecutive scoreless innings in this year's playoffs, and is only the second pitcher in the history of the game to record three scoreless starts in a single postseason. The other is Christy Mathewson, who threw three complete-game shutouts for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1905 World Series.

Whether or not the substance on Rogers' hand was anything but dirt remains to be seen, and if it's found to be an illegal substance, it will most likely be covered up by Major League Baseball in an effort to prevent any further damage to a league that is already under the cloud of suspicion called steroids.

But the question at hand is: what did Rogers do wrong?

I'm not defending the guy for having a foreign substance on his hand. But since there wasn't a big stink put up about it, why should I speculate that is the case?

I'll admit, if I'm a batter for the Cardinals and I notice something fishy going on 60 feet away from me, I'd be the first to complain and throw that pitcher under the bus. But seeing the Cardinals declining to push the issue leads me to believe that something even more suspicious is going on.

Maybe cheating in baseball is such an accepted action that everyone is just covering up the game.

We've recently learned that nobody is safe when it comes to protecting steroid users in baseball. Just ask Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro. After a while, we started questioning the legitimacy of every offensive record there had been, and with good reason. Many people have accepted the fact that steroids are prevalent in all professional sports, and most notably in America's pastime.

And if batters have been cheating all these years, what makes pitchers so innocent? You mean to tell me that pitchers knew of prevalent steroid use, and thought, "I'll just work on my fastball in the offseason."

Let's be serious.

Kenny Rogers has been around this league way too long to think that nobody cheats in baseball. That's because everybody cheats in baseball. Only to them, it's not cheating. It just means you're trying harder. It means you will do anything to win. And who wouldn't want a teammate like that.

It's not cheating. It's a competitive edge.

It's not right, but it's Major League Baseball, and Kenny Rogers is just another player who is trying to win.

-Danny Picard is a Collegian columnist

Football or futbol: A viewer's dilemma

(This column appeared in the Massachusetts Daily Collegian on Sept. 27, 2006)

Are you ready for some futbol?

No, not the game that takes over the lives of Americans every Sunday afternoon, the game that takes over the world once every four years, everywhere but the U.S. that is . . . until now.

Futbol - or as we call it here in America, soccer - is growing.

Like it or not, the 2006 World Cup was the most popular event in our country. ESPN/ABC covered every game of the tournament, and as a result, the ratings went through the roof. Each game saw an average audience of 3.2 million viewers, increasing the U.S. audience by 112 percent when compared to the 2002 World Cup ratings.

Americans finally gave soccer a chance in 2006. But will the interest continue to grow?

The 10,000 people that watched the final game between France and Italy at Boston's City Hall Plaza would tell you 'yes'. But even they must have their doubts when tuning into a New England Revolution game.

Major League Soccer is just not the same. There are no jam-packed stadiums, no out-of-control crowds, and the talent level in America's version of professional soccer is laughable when compared to that of the top European premier leagues.

The MLS does not give us the pleasure of watching the likes of Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham, and Ronaldinho. In fact, it comes nowhere close.

Watching the Revolution play the Red Bulls is like hitting up your nearest rectory and cheering on grandma as she tries to out-duel the other elderly women on your street in a classic game of bingo.

No thanks.

That doesn't mean we should stop caring about the game entirely. And recent history shows that we won't. "We," speaking of the wonderful country that is the U.S.A.

The 2006 World Cup has opened the eyes of a country to a sport that hasn't really changed at all. Soccer has always been the same low-scoring affair. It has just been marketed in a more audience-related fashion as of late. Some of those examples have been shown in the television, video game, and clothing industries this year.

While ESPN/ABC was able to cover every second of the event this summer, its best marketing scheme was shown in its commercials. It was able to use Bono in an effort to grab the attention of those who may not have liked soccer, but enjoyed listening to the music of U2.

"It's a simple thing: just a ball and a goal," Bono said in a World Cup commercial to the background music of 'City of Blinding Lights.' "But once every four years, that simple thing drastically changes the world. It closes the schools; it closes the shops; it closes the city; it stops a war. A simple ball fills the passion and pride of nations. It gives people everywhere something to hope for. It gives countries respect where respect is in short supply, and achieves more than the politicians ever could. Once every four years, a ball does the impossible. And if history means anything, the world as we know it, is about to change."

I couldn't have said it better myself. In a country where baseball, basketball, and the "other" football are dominant, soccer has taken a backseat.

But today, you will find that FIFA 2006 is one of, if not the most popular video games on the market. Also, tell me what stores were selling Manchester United jerseys before the 2002 World Cup?

You're probably asking yourself: why is this being talked about now?

It's because your beloved Massachusetts men's soccer team is turning heads. The Minutemen are sporting a 6-2-2 record heading into Atlantic 10 play this weekend, and expectations are high.

Chances are you haven't been to Rudd Field to see your former No. 22 team in the nation continue its dominance. Why? Because Americans love football, not futbol.

At least, until now.

Sure, the love for the pigskin will always be prevalent in our culture. But I'm giving you fair warning. Jump on the soccer bandwagon now, before it's too late.

So are you ready for some futbol? I hope so . . . because the soccer revolution is underway.

-Danny Picard is a Collegian Columnist