The Media Circus

Not sure if you’ve heard or not, but A-Rod apparently was in the news about something this week.  ESPN.com wanted to make sure that you didn’t miss any of it by showing every facial expression he had in the last 24 hours. 

For those counting at home that’s seven out of the nine total pictures on this portion of the front page dedicated to the orange faced one.  Even Favre could only carve out a small chunk or real estate on the front page. 

But in their defense, it certainly wasn’t isolated to just ESPN.com.  Pretty much all of ESPN’s media cohorts were equally obsessed with A-Rod’s Tuesday press conference to address the steroid controversy that has hung over his head since SI.com broke the story of his use of performance enhancing drugs. 

From the sounds of it, the majority of the written media seems to be getting a little tired of the “youth” defense from Rodriguez.  ###MORE###

"And can we please call a moratorium on the youth excuse? If we are to believe his timetable, Rodriguez had been in the big leagues for six years before he started listening to his apparently pharmaceutically challenged cousin."

"He had just signed the biggest contract in history. He was represented by the savviest agent in the history of sports, a guy who is renowned for his ability to detail every ounce of his players’ lives."

"To blame youth and naiveté is embarrassing. Rodriguez is just making himself sound stupid." – Tim Keown, ESPN

"For instance, I’m not sure when the statute of limitations runs out on being 'young and naive.' But age 25 is definitely pushing it. And when Cashman was asked whether he thought “young and naive” was an acceptable excuse in this case, he didn’t whip out his tap shoes." – Jayson Stark, ESPN

"His constant references to his immaturity as the reason why he deigned to allow himself to be injected were simply not plausible. If we are to believe that he took “Boli” only from 2001 to 2003, he would have been a grown man of 25 when he began, and already a millionaire many times over."

"Twenty-five-year-old multimillionaire athletes know precisely what they are doing when they bend over to allow their cousins to administer secret injections to them, whether or not they’ve been to college." – Ben Reiter, SI

"But by now, we’re all familiar with Rodriguez’s refrain: I was young, curious and stupid. Forgive me!"

"Well, he wasn’t that young—25, 26 and 27 during the years he admits to have juiced. His curiosity should have extended to the nature of the substance he was injecting into his $252 million body. And no matter how often Rodriguez tries to make himself sound naive, he isn’t stupid."  – Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports

While some may be sick of Rodriguez’s transparent excuses, others are stewing in their offices waiting for the right time to make him pay for what he’s done. 

A word of advice, Alex, after the way you alledgedly treated SI.com’s Selena Roberts in claiming that she was “stalking you," make sure you do not cross paths with a certain football writer who may or may not be hopped up on Starbucks’ strongest.

Alex Rodriguez is lying about Selena Roberts (which enrages me) - Peter King, SI.com

No one wants to see an enraged Peter King. 

When a White Athlete Smokes
Who knew that the Michael Phelps weed pictures would become the battleground for a head-to-head confrontation between FoxSports.com’s Jason Whitlock and Jemele Hill from Whitlock’s former employer, ESPN Page 2. 

It’s safe to say that the infamous photos of Phelps taking a rip from a rather lengthy water bong were viewed from two far different perspectives from the writers, with both analyzing the role of race in the coverage and coming to wildly different conclusions.

Was the coverage of Phelps’ incident affected by his pearly white skin? 

"The inescapable truth is that the list of athletes who use marijuana isn’t short. I know several athletes—both black and white—who have smoked and continue to smoke marijuana." 

"My problem is that we strive to be real only when it’s someone we can relate to. More often than not, it’s usually when a white athlete gets into trouble." – Jemele Hille

Let’s just say that Mr. Whitlock disagrees…

"There is no bigger fan of racial double-standards than yours truly. But those of you looking for one inside Michael Phelps’ bong are misguided, stuck in the 1960s and worship at the Church of Al Sharp-tongue." – Jason Whitlock

And what about the Phelps coverage compared to say, Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes who was also caught smoking weed not too long ago? 

Just so happens that both Hill and Whitlock called on Santonio as an example to prove their points.  Completely opposite points.

"Look, what Phelps did was stupid, but not unforgivable. The fact that police in South Carolina want to pursue criminal charges against him is a waste of time and resources…I just wish that same perspective was used when Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes was busted for marijuana possession." - Hill

"If Phelps had dark skin and answered to “Jerome Washington,” he’d be headed to Disney World, toting the Super Bowl MVP trophy he stole from James Harrison and Big Ben Roethlisberger."

"Yeah, America gives its marketable, talented, and wealthy weed-smokers the Santonio Holmes treatment. We forgive and quickly forget." - Whitlock

Now that we’re split on how the media covers a Disney World-bound pot smoking NFL player, let’s look at how it compares to the NBA, shall we?

"In 2002, Rasheed Wallace was given a misdemeanor citation for marijuana possession. The charge against Wallace—who was 28 at the time—was eventually dropped after he completed community service, and drug and alcohol counseling."

"But no way would the Portland paper have ever written an editorial as glowing as the one that appeared in The Baltimore Sun, Phelps’ hometown newspaper." - Hill

"Someone e-mailed me saying the media would be tougher on an NBA player captured on Kodak with his lips locked on a three-foot bong. Depends on the player. Shane Battier? We’d forget before tipoff, and we’d forgive without an apology."

"Now, if it’s one of Human Tattoo Billboards or Lil Wayne Wannabes, we’d demand a Senate investigation and expect David Stern to punish him to the full extent of the law."

"Image is everything whether you’re black or white…It’s not that difficult to play the game. You don’t have to sell out. If you want to be a rebel and carry yourself like a recent parolee, then accept the consequences and quit whining." – Whitlock

Now that both cases have been meticulously laid out, let’s close strong with a little lunacy.

"Rather than bellyaching about a racial double-standard, the Phelps case provides a wonderful platform to call for the legalization of marijuana (and all drugs)." - Whitlock

"But I’m proposing a wild idea: Let’s try to employ perspective with every athlete. Let’s not treat Barry Bonds like the worst cheater ever to inhale oxygen, when it appears that arguably the greatest pitcher and the greatest all-around player have used performance-enhancing drugs." - Hill

What’s more crazy—Whitlock’s plan to legalizing all drugs or Hill’s insinuation that Roger Clemens hasn’t been raked over the coals in the court of public opinion like Barry Bonds? 

Frankly, we could go either way.

Bob Carpenter Memorial Snappy Line

The Bobber didn’t catch the Sportscenter anchor who said it, but that didn’t stop him from sending in a complaint to the network headquarters.  Frankly, no one needs to hear that kind of language when they’re flipping over to ESPN during commercial breaks on John and Kate Plus 8:

"Steph Curry and Davidson in action tonight against Wofford.  And Curry would have to jack it and jack it a lot."

Two thumbs down and one customer complaint form for you Sportscenter anchor.