What in God's name have I done to deserve this?
Recently, I wrote a post about, 'Why Iam NOT watching the Tour de France '. A few people were not convinced with my argument.So all you people take this. Race favourite and winner of two stages in this years tour, Alexander Vinokourov has tested positive and been banned from the race, prompting his Astana team to pull out of the race. This comes on the heels of race leader Rasmussen being banned by the Danish national team for failing to comply with their drug-testing norms. In the aftermath of the Tour's growing 'popularity' the American Discovery Channel team is now without a sponsor for next year. Are you guys still thumping your chests and rooting for the cyclists? If you are, Iam sure you are on some kind of drug yourself!
In another drug related story, former golf great Gary Player has come out and claimed that steroids are rife in golf and he knows at least ten current players who are using them. This one really baffles me. Golf is a game of portly middle-aged men who need a guy to lug their gear. Players have been known to use pills to steady their nerves but so far the sport has been totally untouched by the menace of drugs. The only 'performance enhancement' I can foresee is in increasing your driving distance; an improvement already made possible by advancements in golf equipment. Player's claim has been rebuffed and rebuked as an attention seeking stunt and I hope it was a false alarm.
In another drug related story, former golf great Gary Player has come out and claimed that steroids are rife in golf and he knows at least ten current players who are using them. This one really baffles me. Golf is a game of portly middle-aged men who need a guy to lug their gear. Players have been known to use pills to steady their nerves but so far the sport has been totally untouched by the menace of drugs. The only 'performance enhancement' I can foresee is in increasing your driving distance; an improvement already made possible by advancements in golf equipment. Player's claim has been rebuffed and rebuked as an attention seeking stunt and I hope it was a false alarm.
But the most disturbing recent development, largely from a personal standpoint (because I love basketball)has been the news of match-fixing by an NBA referee. This guy, Tim Donaghy has been betting on key games, including ones he was officiating. He was part of the crew, which officiated game 3 of the Spurs-Suns series; a game which eventually determined the NBA champions. The refereeing in this game was so horrendous that even the most sedate of commentators had launched a tirade of criticism. In hindsight, what was believed to be the nadir of incompetent officiating was actually one crooked guy earning his gambling dollars. The sport is in complete turmoil and the fans are in a state of shock. We all know what match-fixing can do to a sport. The FBI is on the job and this could be just the tip of the iceberg.
Where does this leave the common fan? Already, cycling's off the calendar, boxing is dead and KPS Gill is taking hockey to ruin. Add golf and basketball to the list. Its like asking a foodie to to give up Chinese, Continental, Italian and American fast-food. What in God's name have I done to deserve this?
3 comments:
Sportsmen seem to have read too much into the phrase, "All's fair in ...". Your mention in the post about "...no longer a competition between racers but one between chemists." provokes further thoughts. There was an article in the sports page of the Hindu dt. 26 Jul 2006 about Oscar Pistorius, debating whether he’s “disabled” or “more abled”. Though, Oscar’s case was a different story altogether, it makes us ponder whether sportsmen, instead of investing in hard work and digging into their repertoire of talent and skills, should be going to the chemist. Will we need to change the Olympic motto to “Make me swifter, make me stronger, take me higher.”
much into NBA and Golf... but Tour de France was tour de Farce for vieweres like us... who are die hard fan of this sport event...yaar i just lost the zeal after so much happening there and just watched the event to see some picturesque sites of Farnce...god please turn the tables next time... n let us pray to have a drugs free Tour de france next time...as its one of the most prestigious event in sports....
You mean to say that match-fixing is new to NBA! Come on! How often did one see "very closely" fought games - week after week, that were decided in the last 2 mins? Well, enjoy sport for what it is - and has been - there have been cheaters all along, I guess even in the 1st olympic games more than 100 years back!
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