Football Is Still The Most Popular Spectator Sport

Donald Trump bad-mouthed professional football because many of the players were kneeling to demonstrate for social justice. He even encouraged viewers to stop watching, and bragged about football losing spectators. But his efforts don't seem to have mattered much.

Football is still the most popular spectator sport in the United States -- and no other sport even comes close to the popularity of football. That is not just the opinion of the general public, but both genders, all age groups, and across the political spectrum.

The chart above reflects the results of the latest Gallup Poll on the subject -- done between December 4th and 11th of a random national sample of 1,049 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

Welcome To Texas, Prince !

(The image above is from the Facebook page of the Texas Rangers.)

I want to depart from my usual discussion of politics and economics to give a big Texas "howdy" and a warm welcome to the newest player for the Texas Rangers -- Prince Fielder. Detroit traded Fielder to the Rangers (along with $30 million to help offset his exorbitant salary) for second baseman Ian Kinsler. Texas needed another big bat in the lineup. Now if they can resign Nelson Cruz (who is a free agent), they'll have as good (or better) power in the middle of their batting order as any team (remember, they also still have Adrian Beltre).

I am a bit sorry to see Kinsler go to the Tigers. He has been a great Ranger. But we needed the power hitter, and we have an excellent prospect to take Kinsler's place -- Jurickson Profar. Personally, I think this trade makes the Rangers a better team, and I'm excited about next season's potential.

Major League Baseball Did The Right Thing

If you are a sports fan, then you probably know by now that Major League Baseball has issued some heavy penalties to 13 professional players. Twelve of them got 50 game suspensions, which will mean they are out for the rest of the regular season games this year -- and the other, Alex Rodriguez, got a 211 game suspension that will put him out through the end of 2014. Rodriguez is appealing his suspension. They others have accepted their penalties.

They were penalized for taking performance-enhancing drugs through a Miami-based clinic. In other words, they cheated. And Major League Baseball was correct in punishing them for it. The penalties were heavy, but they should serve as a good waring for other players who might consider cheating in this way. Baseball needs to finish off once and for all this era of cheating through drugs -- both for the health of players and the reputation of the league.

My own favorite team, the Texas Rangers will be hurt by this move. That's because one of the players suspended is Nelson Cruz -- who has hit 27 home runs this year, and been valuable to the club. That can't be helped. Cruz should not have taken the performance-enhancing drugs. As much as I like Cruz as a player and a person, he earned the penalty.

We should all support this decision by Major League Baseball. It was done for the good of the game. Hopefully, this will end this kind of cheating.

An Exciting Time For My Favorite Sports

This is not only a thrilling time for a political junkie like myself (with the national election coming up in November), but it's also going to be a busy few months for many of my favorite sports. The Texas Rangers are already playing and hopefully, on their way to another trip to the Major League Baseball play-offs. And at the end of June, the Tour de France will begin its 21-leg journey to Paris.

But while those happen every year, this year we are going to be treated to one of the greatest sporting events of all - the Summer Olympics, which only comes around every four years. The Olympic flame was lit by a parabolic mirror on May 10th at Olympia in Greece. It arrived in Great Britain last friday.

Now it will be carried through all four of the nations making up the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) by 8,000 torch bearers in a huge relay effort -- winding up at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford for the July 27th opening ceremony. The gentleman in the picture above is 1948 British Olympian Michael Lapage, running his leg of the several thousand mile relay.

And of course, as the Olympics winds up, it will be time for my Dallas Cowboys to play another National Football League schedule -- hopefully with better results this year. It's going to be an exciting next few months for sports. Gosh, I hope I have time to get in a little blogging! (Just a little joke. Politics is the greatest "sport" of all, and I could never keep quiet in an election year.)

Food For Thought

As you may or may not know by now, the Texas Rangers have won their very first American League Championship and will face the San Francisco Giants in their first World Series.   It took them nearly 40 years to do it, but they have finally reached baseball's ultimate series.

For my blogger friend Craig, who posts as cpmaz on his blog Random Musings, this brings up an interesting question -- at least for those of us who don't mind mixing baseball and politics.   I thought the point he makes and the question he raises is very pertinent, so I repost it here for your benefit:

"George W. Bush ran the Texas Rangers for 5 years, from 1989 until 1994, and it's taken the Rangers 16 years to right their ship.  And after that 16 years, people all over Texas and the country are rejoicing.

Yet Bush ran the entire country for *8* years (60% longer) and messed upeverything, and people are livid that Barack Obama hasn't fixed everything in less than 2 years (87% less time).

What's up with that?"

The Umpire Is Not The One To Blame

There is a furor raging now over the mistake of a baseball umpire. Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga, who started this season in the minor leagues, was pitching a great game the other night. In the ninth inning Galarraga (pictured) had retired 26 batters in a row. If he got the next batter out, he would accomplish that rarest of baseball feats -- the perfect game. There have only been 20 perfect games pitched in Major League history (and none by a Detroit pitcher), so Galarraga was on the verge of making baseball history.

But it was not to be, because the first base umpire called the next batter safe at first. Galarraga pitched a shutout, but the perfect game was gone. What caused the furor was the fact that video replays showed the umpire had called the play wrong. The batter who had been called safe at first was actually thrown out, and if the play had been called correctly, Galarraga would have had his perfect game. The umpire, Jim Joyce, even admitted he had been mistaken after viewing the replay.

Since the game, a lot of fans have called for Joyce's head. Many have demanded that he be fired and he has even received threats. A FaceBook page has been created just to denigrate the umpire. These actions are ridiculous. Although it is regrettable, this is not the first mistake made in baseball and will not be the last.

The umpire was trying to do his best and made an honest mistake. It happens. Joyce was devastated that he had mistakenly cost Galarraga the perfect game. He called Galarraga out of the clubhouse and tearfully apologized to him. He was not required to do that, but it was a classy thing to do. He had made a mistake (as all humans do) and he deeply regretted it.

In my estimation, Joyce is not the person to blame (if blame must be attached to this incident at all). Most other sports organizations know that officials are just human and every now and then a mistake will be made. That's why many of them have provisions for "instant replay" as a way to correct these honest mistakes. Baseball does not. They seem to view these mistakes as just part of the game.

All Major League games are televised, and it would be easy for the league to develop an "instant replay" provision to deal with situations like this. So far they have refused to do so. If blame must be attached to this incident, then that blame should go to the owners and leadership of the league who have refused to institute an "instant replay" provision. Honest mistakes will happen, and until the league has a way to correct them, they must just be accepted as part of the game.

Armando Galarraga understands this. The young pitcher accepted the umpire's apology and hugged him, putting the incident in the past. Then he told the media, "He (Joyce) feels really bad, probably worse than me. I give a lot of credit to that guy, to say he's sorry. I gave him a hug. His body English said more than the words. Nobody's perfect, everybody's human."

That's class. Now if the fans would just show that much class. A mistake was made. It's over. It's now time to move on.

MLB Player's Association On New Arizona Law

Arizona has created a firestorm both in the United States and outside it with the passage of it's new racist law. The law would force Arizona police officers to engage in racial profiling (or risk being sued by anyone in the state), and it would also force American citizens to carry identity papers (or risk going to jail for up to six months). Now Major League Baseball is entering the fray.

Arizona Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendricks (who has a history of donating to Republican candidates - many of whom are responsible for the racist law) is refusing to take a position on the law. I think he's afraid of a boycott, no matter which side he comes down on. He says it would be unfair for the team to take a position because it could not be reflective of everyone's views. Sounds like he's just worried about his pocketbook.

But the Major League Baseball Player's Association (MLBPA) has no problem with taking a position on the controversial law. They have bravely taken a stand for equality and racial justice. And lest anyone say differently, they do have a dog in this fight (since over a quarter of Major League players are Hispanics). Here is what the MLBPA had to say:

“The recent passage by Arizona of a new immigration law could have a negative impact on hundreds of Major League players who are citizens of countries other than the United States. These international players are very much a part of our national pastime and are important members of our Association. Their contributions to our sport have been invaluable, and their exploits have been witnessed, enjoyed and applauded by millions of Americans. All of them, as well as the Clubs for whom they play, have gone to great lengths to ensure full compliance with federal immigration law.

“The impact of the bill signed into law in Arizona last Friday is not limited to the players on one team. The international players on the Diamondbacks work and, with their families, reside in Arizona from April through September or October. In addition, during the season, hundreds of international players on opposing Major League teams travel to Arizona to play the Diamondbacks. And, the spring training homes of half of the 30 Major League teams are now in Arizona. All of these players, as well as their families, could be adversely affected, even though their presence in the United States is legal. Each of them must be ready to prove, at any time, his identity and the legality of his being in Arizona to any state or local official with suspicion of his immigration status. This law also may affect players who are U.S. citizens but are suspected by law enforcement of being of foreign descent.

“The Major League Baseball Players Association opposes this law as written. We hope that the law is repealed or modified promptly. If the current law goes into effect, the MLBPA will consider additional steps necessary to protect the rights and interests of our members.

“My statement reflects the institutional position of the Union. It was arrived at after consultation with our members and after consideration of their various views on this controversial subject.”

NOTE -- The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is scheduled to be played at the Diamondback's facility in 2011. Rep. Jose Serrano (D-New York) has already suggested that the game be moved to another state. That might be a possibility if the law is not quickly declared to be unconstitutional and quashed by the courts.

The Cruel Side Of Pro Sports

Americans love their professional sports. We like the highs of our chosen team winning and suffer the misery of that team losing. But that is not what I mean by the cruelty of pro sports. After all, when you think about it, even the players on the last place team are winners. They are paid enormous salaries to play a sport they love.

No, the cruelty I'm talking about rests with the many thousands of athletes whose dreams are never fulfilled. The ones who aren't quite good enough or lucky enough to make it to the pros. Some of these people shake it off and go on to lead productive and successful lives. Many others don't. Take for example John Odom (pictured above).

Odom was a walk-on (non-scholarship) pitcher who had a bit of success at his junior college. After a 9-3 season, he was drafted by the San Francisco Giants. He had a 90 mph fastball, a good curve and high hopes. But after four seasons in the Giants system, never higher than class A, he was released.

He was then signed by the minor league team in Calgary, and then his life took a real nosedive. It was discovered that he had a conviction for aggravated assault as a minor and couldn't enter Canada. The Calgary club decided to trade him to the Laredo Bronchos in South Texas. The two clubs couldn't work out a player for player deal, and Calgary didn't want to trade him for money (saying it would look like they had financial problems).

They wound up trading Odom's rights to Laredo for 10 maple baseball bats. Instantly, Odom became a national joke, and the ridiculous trade was covered by national media. No player had ever been traded for a few bats before (worth $665). He was nicknamed "bat man" or "bat boy".

He took it well for a while, even giving interviews to the media, but the end was near. Odom only started three games with the Laredo Bronchos -- the second of which was right here in Amarillo. The Amarillo appearance was a disaster. Here's how the AP described it:

"Then came a particularly bad night in Amarillo.

Baseball isn't always the warm and fuzzy game of "Bull Durham" and "Field of Dreams." It can also be cruel and unforgiving.

On June 5 in Amarillo, the 'Batman' theme played while Odom warmed up for Laredo, and he tipped his cap to the sound booth. But he was battered for eight runs in 3 1-3 innings and mercilessly taunted by the crowd. Shwam (manager) went to the mound.

'The chants, the catcalls, they were terrible. I had to get him out of there for his own good. He was falling apart, right in front of our eyes,' Shwam said."

Odom pitched in one more game, and then quit the team. Six months later, he was dead. His death was due to an overdose of heroin, methamphetamine, benzylpiperazine and alcohol.

Laredo manager Dan Shwam said, "I guarantee this trade thing really bothered him. That really worried me. I really believe, knowing his background, that this drove him back to the bottle, that it put him on the road to drugs again."

Baseball and other pro sports can be cruel. But the cruelty is not with those who make it and lose some games (or even a lot of games). It is with the shattered lives and dreams of those who couldn't make it.

Major League Baseball Should Be Ashamed

"For more than a decade, there has been widespread and illegal use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances by players in Major League Baseball in violation of federal law and baseball policy.

Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades -- commissioners, club officials, the player's association and players -- shares to some extent the responsibility for the steroids era. There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on."

Those were the words of Senator Mitchell as he released the results yesterday of his investigation into drugs and baseball. According to the report, some of the biggest names in Major League Baseball are guilty of cheating by using performance-enhancing drugs -- players like Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and many others.

There are those who believe that these players should have an asterik beside their names in the record books. I disagree. I don't think they should be allowed in the record book at all. They would not be there if they had cheated in a different way. Why should cheating with drugs be any different? Frankly, it's unfair to the players of the past, who competed fairly.

But this is not just a matter of some players cheating. It's a health issue. These players are destroying their future health for glory and big money. I know they think it's worth it right now, but I wonder what they'll think a few years after they retire and the problems begin.

Even more important is the fact that these men are role models for thousands of children. Not only are they teaching them that cheating is OK, but their behavior encourages young people to mimic their drug use in the hopes of getting some of that glory and money for themselves. Sadly, the health effects are even more dangerous when young people use the drugs.

Major League Baseball needs to clean up its act. They should start by banning these players and instituting a serious drug testing policy. But I doubt that will happen -- there's just too much money involved, and far too many owners and players are afraid they might lose out on some of that money if the game were cleaned up properly.

Major League Baseball should be ashamed.