From left: Falcons club owner Arthur Blank, Astana team manager Marc Biver at the Tour de France and NBA Commissioner David SternFacing the music: Falcons' front office pushed for team suspension of Vick
By Jim Trotter STAFF WRITER
In their first public comments since quarterback Michael Vick was indicted on felony conspiracy dogfighting charges, Atlanta Falcons officials left little doubt yesterday they don't want the three-time Pro Bowler around the club. Owner Arthur Blank, speaking from his company offices outside Atlanta, said he was prepared to suspend Vick for the first four games of the season.
Greed guarantees specter of corruption in all sports
David Stern has embraced the single whistle theory. The NBA commissioner wants to believe Tim Donaghy is a rogue referee who acted alone, or at least without the complicity of his basketball brethren. Stern wants to believe Pandora's box has a bottom, that corruption can be contained, that the temptation to influence games for gambling interests can be blunted by endless scrutiny and eternal vigilance.
Vinokourov fails blood test; he and his team out of Tour
By Edward Wyatt NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
PAU, France – Alexandre Vinokourov, the Kazakh cyclist who was once considered a favorite to win the Tour de France, failed a drug test after the first of two recent stage victories and, along with his entire Astana team, withdrew from the Tour yesterday, further plunging the sport into a doping crisis that has eroded the legitimacy of its most prestigious event.
By Jim Trotter STAFF WRITER
In their first public comments since quarterback Michael Vick was indicted on felony conspiracy dogfighting charges, Atlanta Falcons officials left little doubt yesterday they don't want the three-time Pro Bowler around the club. Owner Arthur Blank, speaking from his company offices outside Atlanta, said he was prepared to suspend Vick for the first four games of the season.
Greed guarantees specter of corruption in all sports
David Stern has embraced the single whistle theory. The NBA commissioner wants to believe Tim Donaghy is a rogue referee who acted alone, or at least without the complicity of his basketball brethren. Stern wants to believe Pandora's box has a bottom, that corruption can be contained, that the temptation to influence games for gambling interests can be blunted by endless scrutiny and eternal vigilance.
Vinokourov fails blood test; he and his team out of Tour
By Edward Wyatt NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
PAU, France – Alexandre Vinokourov, the Kazakh cyclist who was once considered a favorite to win the Tour de France, failed a drug test after the first of two recent stage victories and, along with his entire Astana team, withdrew from the Tour yesterday, further plunging the sport into a doping crisis that has eroded the legitimacy of its most prestigious event.
Corporate America shuns Barry Bonds as he pursues homer record
By Paul Elias ASSOCIATED PRESS
9:20 a.m. July 6, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO – Bob Cramer inked several star athletes to lucrative endorsement deals in nearly a decade as a marketing executive for Mastercard International Inc. But he might be best known for walking away from a deal with Barry Bonds.
In 2005, the credit card company called off negotiations with the San Francisco Giants slugger when it became clear that Bonds wouldn't soon extricate himself from a burgeoning scandal involving his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. “That sealed the deal,” Cramer said.
In 2005, the credit card company called off negotiations with the San Francisco Giants slugger when it became clear that Bonds wouldn't soon extricate himself from a burgeoning scandal involving his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. “That sealed the deal,” Cramer said.
Bam, bam, bam, bam...just like that. Four men, all at the top of their game, succumb to the temptation to cheat. If you ever wonder if we all have a sin nature, just read the paper (or look at your favorite news website).
It looks like Michael Vick will miss all of training camp, and at least four games and potentially the entire season. The NFL is having a hard time cleaning up its image. Hmm, young men, tons of money, fame and before you know it, greed and temptation move right in.
Alexandre Vinokourov and his team are booted off the Tour de France. Doping has plagued the tour for years now. The pressure to win is so great that riders have a hard time refusing a blood transfusion. Nothing like a fresh supply of someone else's blood to boost your own rockets and get you over the "beyond category" climbs in the Pyrenees.
Tim Donaghy will not only lose his job, but has managed to slander both his name and the NBA. Pete Rose may never be clear of his gambling charges, you'd think Donaghy would've taken notice. Now David Stern has to mop up after one of his referees gambled on the game.
Barry Bonds....what a mess this situation is. I don't think it takes a steroid expert to guess how he got so big and powerful. Sure, he'll break the home run record, but always with an asterisk by his name.
All four of these men will be remembered more for how they cheated (Michael Vick thought he could cheat the law) than what they were known for, great athletes.
So, how do we mere mortals want to go down in history? As someone who cheated just to get ahead? Who do we influence? What about our kids, our family, our friends, fellow Christians?
"Cheaters never prosper, cheaters never prosper" Imagine that little diddy being sung over and over by a 7 year old girl on the playground. It's just as true today for Michael Vick, Alexandre Vinokourov, Tim Donaghy and Barry Bonds.
"God hates cheating (in the marketplace); he loves it when business is aboveboard."
Proverbs 11:1 The Message
2 comments:
It is so sad to see the news of those who think they're above the law (whether it be the law of the land or God's laws). It's sad they get to those places, sad for those who look up to them, sad for those who have worked hard the right way to get where they are. They've made the little choices to get to the big choices to get where they are today. It goes to show that anyone can end up heading down the wrong direction when their goals and vision aren't in the right place.Those people usually didn't get to where they are overnight. And as a culture and individuals we need to be careful of what we value in our own lives as well as what we value in the lives in the public area. If as a culture we continue to reward this behavior with more attention and more money, then we open doors for more people to stumble with fewer consequences.
--shannon
Having grown up as a sports enthusiast, I'm starting to look at sports in a different light.
It's becoming harder and harder to justify shelling out the cash to watch sports...or to take the time to watch them as well.
I will say that it's a shame that the few boneheads that decide to cheat are misrepresenting their team, and their sport...It reminds me of Christianity. All it takes is a few knuckleheads out there to tarnish the name of Jesus and make Chrisians look bad.
But I think America brings this chaos on itself. People still go crazy over Barry Bonds, whether they love him or not...The comissioner of baseball now seems to be supporting Bonds' homerun chase. After it appeared that the commissioner (Bud Selig) didn't want to have anything to do with Bonds' homerun record, looks like he's being peer pressured into supporting him.
If Bonds never would have received all this attention in the media, would the commissioner be supporting Bonds by showing up at his games?
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