-David Henry Sterry-Huffington Post May 30. 2009

Rabid NY Yankees fans, furious that Alex Rodriguez is batting a miniscule .177, are uniting to urge the beleaguered ballplayer to get back on steroids. "Let's face it," said Vinny "3 Balls" Boombatz from Bay Ridge, "all those warning track outs, those would be home runs if A-Rod would just do the right thing and get huge and juiced again."

Contrary to reports in the media, fans are apparently more interested in winning than they are in having their heroes drug-free.

"It ain't fair," said Rocco "Momo" Como from the Bronx, "the guy is making two-hundred squazillion smackeroos or whatever, and he doesn't care enough to do everything he can do to help the Bronx Bomber win? We don't want the .177 hitter with clean p*ss. We want the .320 hitter jacked up on female hormones or X-man chromostones or whatever."

Although Rodriguez was never suspended or punished by Major League Baseball (despite the fact that they knew he was using performance enhancers), he was outted by a writer for Sports Illustrated. Having lied on national television about his drug use, he came clean about being unclean just before the season started, and has been anemic offensively ever since. Coincidence? Yankee fans don't know or care. They just want to win.

"Look, when A-Rod sucks I hate his f-ing guts," said Carmine "the Mongoose" Saragusa, "When he's great I love him more than my wife and my girlfriend put together. Please, A-Rod, get back on the 'roids. Don't make me come and stick a needle in your *ss myself, that would not be in your best interest, trust me!"

And the people have spoken.

And now, if the crazy lady can get on her soapbox one more time...

Funny or Not Funny?-You be the judge.   Too close to the truth to get a laugh outta me. 

 Fans have become *enablers*- in other words-we enable the players  by providing excuses or by making it possible to avoid the consequences of such behavior.  You don't see anything wrong with Manny being voted an All-Star??  Winning is what's important at all costs??   PED  usage is a chronic problem  in MLB.  By continuing to reward the players with our vote,  what message are we sending???  It is now being widely reported that PED use is starting at the high school level among  baseball players and other athletes.  I guess that answers my question about the message we are sending. 

Here are some of the sad facts:

• Use of performance-enhancing substances takes place openly in the locker rooms, weight rooms and cafeterias of public and private high schools.

• Coaches, as well as athletes, know what's going on but are often powerless to stop the use of performance enhancers. Some, in fact, are willing to turn a blind eye.

• The pressure to win is enormous. That pressure extends to athletes, who are also competing for college scholarships, coaches and administrators.

• Although the vast majority of student-athletes consider steroid use "cheating" and acknowledge some degree of risk, some remain willing to sacrifice long-term health for short-term benefits.

The parents of Rob Garibaldi of Petaluma, Calif., and Taylor Hooton of Plano, Texas, told Congress that steroids ultimately led to the death of their sons, each of whom was not only seeking to bulk up but do it in a way that emulated successful professional athletes.

Congress went on to hear from commissioners of the major sports, pro athletes, medical specialists and labor representatives, and the No. 1 concern expressed was steroid use by young athletes.

"It gives an unfair advantage to players and takes opportunities away from players who are trying to make it on their own accord," said Ken, a football and baseball player from Northern Virginia.

Making students aware of the risks in using performance enhancers is one thing. The Sports Weekly discussion group agreed unanimously, however, that until tragedy strikes close to home, horror stories and warnings about steroid use and its side effects have little to no impact. Fact is, tragedy can strike close to home.

"There is no doubt in our minds that steroids killed our son," Denise Garibaldi told a House committee, her voice trembling in the hours before Congress heard from major league stars, including Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.

According to a survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, steroid use among high school students more than doubled between 1991 and 2003. 

 NOPE- I AM NOT LAUGHING.

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

Add fans to that list.