Just a quick update to a previous story, the player’s union will apparently appeal the federal court ruling allowing prosecutors access to the names and urine samples of the "Dirty 100" (about 100 players who tested positive for steriods in 2003).

This story from ESPN.com has the full details. What follows should be read fairly quickly and with a raised voice. Yes ladies and gents, this is a rant. Consider yourself warned.

Donald Fehr’s quote that if the ruling "is allowed to stand, it will effectively repeal the Fourth Amendment for confidential electronic records" once again misses the point entirely. Fehr and his counterparts in the commissioners office, are the reason the sport is currently in this mess. They had to be dragged kicking and screaming in front of Congress before they allowed any testing at all so why should this move surprise anyone? Fehr and the player’s union is once again at risk of alienating the general public on the issue of steroids. Any player who didn’t cheat, should want to expose these 100 players simply to remove the dark cloud of suspicion that still lingers above our nation’s pastime. Prominant players should be standing up and fighting Fehr on this issue. However, you and I both know that’s not going to happen any time soon.

Fehr will argue that this could incriminate players and lead to arrests and prosecution of players (read as Barry "Chemical Ali" Bonds) on evidence that was (in his mind) illegally obtained. I would say "Fine, grant them all immunity and expose each and every name on that list." But, as we’ve also been made painfull aware over the past few years, commissioner Bud Selig is just as spineless and crooked as Fehr, and wouldn’t even give these players a slap on the wrist. The general public would likely vote half the players into the All Star starting lineup as we’ve seen in football with steroid user Shawn Merriam voted into the Pro Bowl and even discussed in Defensive Player of the Year conversations.

It has become obvious that the federal prosecutors and Congress are the only entities left that are willing to confront this issue head on. So to them I offer my undying gratitude and one simple request… nail these cheating ******** to the wall.

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that government investigators are entitled to the names and urine samples of about 100 Major League Baseball players who tested positive for illegal drug use in 2003. The ruling is a potentially historic and explosive development for MLB and its player’s union. Only a handful of players have tested positive since baseball toughened its testing policy, the most notable being Rafael Palmeiro. Any time a single positive test is announced it instantly becomes one of the top news items of the day. Sports talk shows around the nation talk about the player, the excuse given, and what it means for the game.Today’s ruling gave the federal prosecutors a list of 100 players who tested positive. According to ESPN.com, "players were told the results would be confidential, and each player was assigned a code number to be matched with his name." It now appears, that that confidentiality, along with the players’ reputations, is in serious jeopardy.

The issue of steroid use in baseball has been revitalized this winter as slugger Mark McGwire appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year. McGwire instantly became the face of baseball’s denial of its rampant steroid problem when he repeatedly told a Senate Investigation committee that he "was not [there] to talk about the past." However, McGwire never once tested positive for banned or illegal substances and retired before testing became MLB policy. Embattled slugger, Barry Bonds, is another matter entirely. Bonds has been tested for steroids several times and his former personal trainer has plead guilty to charges stemming from the federal investigation of the BALCO supplement lab. Leaked testimony from Bonds’ grand jury appearance appeared in the book Game of Shadows and quoted Bonds as saying that he had no idea that the substances he was using on a daily basis were in fact steroids. The slugger reportedly went on to say that he had never tested positive for steroids.

Enter the testing data of 100 positive tests for steroid use among MLB players. If Bonds’ name appears on that list of the "Dirty 100", federal prosecutors might finally have enough evidence to charge the 42 year old single season home run record holder with perjury.

The fallout of this ruling will certainly affect more players than just Mr. Bonds. Major League teams have 45 players on their active roster. The government now has a list of players that tested positive for steroid use that is long enough to fill more than two full teams. Once the names start being leaked, and really it’s only a matter of time, there won’t be a player in the game who doesn’t have to once again deal with the question of whether or not his performance was chemically enhanced. And, for 100 players, unlike the argument against McGwire, there will be physical proof that they did indeed tarnish their team, their legacy, and ultimately the game.

Maybe this cartoon isn’t so far off the mark after all…

More Links About the Steroid Investigation in Baseball:

• 
  http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2709496
  
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  http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061227&content_id=1767953&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
  
• 
  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/03/06/news.excerpt/index.html
  
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  http://cardinalblog.mlblogs.com/st_louis_cardinals_blog/2006/11/the_big_mac_deb.html
  
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  http://fanforhire.com/fanBlog/2006/from-one-commish-to-another
  
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  http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=bayless/060310
  (sorry, they’ve moved it to the subscriber only Insider section… I hate that by the way)

Well this isn’t exactly the rumors you’ve come to expect from this site but, I had to write about this. Apparently Florida Marlins ace, Dontrelle Willis, was arrested this morning on for allegedly driving while drunk. How did the officer know he was drunk? I’m so glad you asked.

Apparently, "An officer saw the former NL rookie of the year stop his black Bentley in the South Beach neighborhood, get out of the car around 4:30 a.m. and urinate in the street. Miami Beach police spokesman Bobby Hernandez said the officer noticed signs of intoxication as he approached Willis, who failed a field sobriety test."

That’s right, he pissed in the street. A 24 year old star baseball player making millions of dollars, managed to get himself arrested by peeing in the street. Fantastic. I’ve always been a fan of Willis’ play and personality on the field but this is simply unacceptable. For the life of me, I will never understand how a millionaire doesn’t simply call himself a limo. If you know you’re going out drinking, hire one before you leave! Sure it’s not your smooth looking Bently, but for crying out loud, its a LIMO! There’s simply never a situation in which anyone, not to mention a millionaire star player, can explain getting behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated.

In this case, Willis was lucky and didn’t kill anyone. In St. Louis, it doesn’t matter even if you DO kill someone. Star defenseman, Leonard Little, drove drunk and killed Susan Gutweiler, a wife and mother, and got off with 90 days in a city workhouse and 4 years probation. He’s still a millionaire star player and that woman is dead. Not only that, but Little was AGAIN arrested for drunken driving six years after causing that lethal accident. And yet, every Sunday, Rams fans all around St. Louis cheer for a murderer.

In my mind, Dontrelle Willis just fired a gun straight into a crowd. Luckily everyone got out of the way, however, actions such as this should NOT be tollerated by our society. I’m certainly no longer a fan of Willis and likely never will be. Unfortunately for people like Susan Gutweiler, star athletes will continue to praised and adorred by millions of fans (including judges and juries) no matter what their actions cost the rest of "normal" society.