Anyone else looking to beat this horse'?

Still on the steroids debate. Still on the steroids debate. Theyre ILLEGAL!!!!!! Doesnt anyone understand this fact! ILLEGAL! As in, jail time, fines, suspensions, community service, ILLEGAL. Not allowable! So why is Major League Baseball going around and around with this subject STILL!?! Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for use and the debate about the record books came upagain! Quoted in the article I recently read was Gaylord Perry who threw baseballs with Vaseline on them back in the early 60s through 80s and Norm Cash who admittedly corked his bat back in 1961 to hit .361, 41 HRs, and 132 RBIs. Now lets see, last time I checked the laws of my local county, state, and federal municipalities, NO WHERE did it say I could go to jail or be brought up on charges for sticking cork inside of a bat or putting Vaseline on any set of bat or balls that I own.(well leave this comment open for our amusement.)

Recently, the committee chairperson of the Society for American Baseball Research was quoted as saying, Were not moralists. However, do you not hold some level of moral obligation to saying that an ILLEGAL act that directly and actually affects the outcomes of these games does not cross the line? Not even a little? What about throwing a game by betting on the outcome? Remember the memorable days of Shoeless Joe Jackson. What if that had been, statistically speaking, the greatest game ever played? What if it was a no-hitter or was known as the game with the most runs scored? Could anyone in good conscience leave this game in the record books as the benchmark to beat? Could any of the athletes today possibly stomach the idea of playing the all time greatest game without cheating and be second to a thrown game? Would the thrown game be the rightful owner of The Greatest Game Ever Played?

Heres a question to begin arguing about? Mark McGuire. How does a Big Mac with a side order of Lies sound to you? To Congress and in front of almighty God himself, Mr. Mc chose not to speak about the past. Why? Does it have anything to do with your steroid use to claim, at that time, the all time Home-Run record? Is the use of an ILLEGAL substance enough to cross the line into an area of morality? Maybe the committee would take a little time to ponder that consideration.

Yes, its only baseball. But, it is the backbone of an American tradition. Maybe we should say that lemon meringue is more American then Grandmas Apple. Maybe Orange, White, and Blue would look better on the Flag. Maybe SuperBowl Sunday is just any ol Sunday. Whatever. The bottom line is this. Our life is governed by our weighing the differences between what is right and wrong, good or bad, left or right. Perhaps Baseball can take a look at itself and say that if youre: 1.) A cheater 2.) A liar or 3.) Decide to use an ILLEGAL substance like a steroid to benefit your name amongst the many who tried their damndest to become a true marker of the records, you DO NOT belong in the book of records. The only book well make sure to remember you in will be the one with the fingerprints.

Did I mention that steroids were ILLEGAL'?

Phil Sottile

Phil Sottile, the director and owner of Intelligent Fitness/Athlete?s Edge, has 15 years of experience in the health club industry having pioneered two previous fitness companies (one taken to IPO) and owned his own fitness centers. Mr Sottile has certified, educated, and tested other fitness instructors as a contributing author to a fitness certification course, extensively lectured to students at Dowling and Nassau Community colleges, motivationally spoken to high school students, educated our seniors, has hosted his own broadcast of INTELLIGENT FITNESS on 105.3FM Radio, has appeared on NEWS12 LONG ISLAND as ?Personal Trainer to Long Island?s Kids?, currently co-hosts THE INTELLIGENT WAY TO WELLNESS on CABLEVISION CH.20, sits on the Technical Advisory Committee to BOCES and WILSON Technological center, and has been reported on by several local magazines, newspapers, and bodybuilding periodicals.

Sottile is a staff writer for New York SportScene Magazine and is also a guest writer for Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness Magazine. He has had several works published on topics of Health and Fitness and is a seasoned writer of philosphy and human emotion in his forthcoming book, THE PATH OF THE LONELY ROAD.

Additionally, he is a drug-free bodybuilding competitor and annually promotes two popularly growing bodybuilding shows, The Natural Long Island Experience and All Natural Revolution. Sottile has a background in Corporate Finance and Marketing and holds several levels of certified distinctions from Health Fitness Instructor to Fitness Therapist from the most respected, nationally accredited Organizations, such as; The National Academy of Sports Medicine, The American College of Sports Medicine, The National Strength and Conditioning Association, The International Sports Sciences Association, and The American Association of Health, Fitness, and Rehabilitation Professionals. INTELLIGENT FITNESS currently owns a sports medicine clinic and oversess operates the fitness department to a large gym in Suffolk County, New York.