Mike Lupica's Cheap Shots at Commissioner Bud Selig and Ryan Braun

Mike Lupica, in his usual smarmy manner, took a cheap shot at Bud Selig.

In a column dated Feb. 23, 2012, the sub-headline on Lupica's story about Ryan Braun being found innocent of all charges related to taking substances Major League Baseball had banned was “Commissioner’s connection to Brewers raises questions.”

Craig Calcaterra of HardballTalk pointed out that the commissioner's office, and therefore Mr. Selig, were quite dissatisfied with the ruling. Calcaterra correctly points out that if one makes a serious charge, one should substantiate it, which Lupica was unable to do.

Since Mr. Selig once owned the Milwaukee Brewers, has an office in Milwaukee and has a statue outside Miller Park, Lupica concludes that the commissioner must somehow be connected to Braun since he is a Brewer.

Since baseball's executive vice-president, Rob Manfred, and Michael Weiner, the head of the  Major League Baseball Players Association, were on the panel, arbitrator Shyam Das held the deciding vote.

Lupica infers that the system favored Mr. Selig and Braun.

"But you know what, however you weigh in on this? Floyd Landis probably wishes he could have found a legal loophole like this through which to ride his bike. Or found himself an arbitrator like Das."

According to Calcaterra, Lupica thinks that any arbitrator other than Das would have ruled differently, and Braun would have been found guilty.

Das has decades of experience and is extremely well-respected. Both MLB and the MLBPA must approve his appointment.

Lupica, who views himself as not only an individual who can comment on sports but one who is an expert on politics and injustice, should take a long, hard look in the mirror.

Or maybe he can start to read some of Calcaterra's columns to learn how to be clever without sacrificing accuracy or decency.