Thursday, March 24, 2005

Mish, Mush...

In a town populated by sportswriters who are hacks at best, I've always enjoyed the work of Phil Rogers. In spite of the fact that he's employed by the Cubune, his pieces aren't Cubbie centric, and provide just the right mix of stats and thoughts to make them readable.

But Phil's gone off the deep end with his article today. The gist of it? Since Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds have both been found out to be juicers, the single-season dinger record should rightfully belong to Sammy Sosa.

Let's clear up a couple points here. First of all, McGwire did not admit to steroid use. He just gave some really slippery and vague answers, and in fact didn't answer most questions saying that his attorney told him not to. So I guess by being quiet, he's automatically guilty in Phil's eyes.

When Sosa gave his statement, he said that he had "never used illegal steroids." Use of MOST steroids without a script from the doctor is illegal. Most, not all. Furthermore, MLB didn't ban steroids until after the 2002 season. It was in 2000 and 2001 when Sosa looked to be at his most ripped. In my eyes, that answer is every bit as slippery as McGwire's antics. Hell, it's just as bad as "We have reason to believe that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction" or "I did not have sexual relations with that woman Miss Lewinsky."

So Phil, your fawning over Sammy is a little, um, off base.

Speaking of Cubs, a gaggle of us are going brave the masses and head up to Wrigleyville (gah!) to watch the Illini pummel Bruce Pearlnecklace and UWM tonight. I've got the chance to go see the Kaiser Chiefs tonight after the game, but that would necessitate me missing the Texas Tech-WV battle tonight, which just might be the best matchup in the Sweet 16. Oh yeah, and my girlfriend is decidedly lame when it comes to concerts in small venues.

Had an excellent dinner at Ristorante Calo last night. Who'da thunk there was good Italian food to be had in Andersonville, otherwise known as Chicago's Little Gay Sweden? Outstanding gnocchi gorgonzola in a vodka sauce.

I-L-L!