What the hell happened?

I leave for 36 hours to rip up the slopes like Reid Janssens, and all hell breaks loose. Actually, only a few things happened. Here's my take on those topics, and a few other links from Sunday/Monday.

First is La Big Mac and his admittance. It was only a matter of time, and I guess this is not surprising at all. It's like the opposite of the Tiger Woods scandal, and just for that reason, it won't be news for that long, as every one saw this coming. My thoughts... what already hasn't been said? I thought his apology was lame and it reeked of excuses, but at the same time, I think it was his genuine reaction. But it was pretty obvious that this would have to happen because he was coming back into MLB as the Cardinals' hitting coach, which makes him look worse, as it really was not up to him. It wasn't like if Roger Clemens came out of seclusion for no reason and admitted to taking PEDs. I guess some credit is due, because it was his decision to come back into baseball, but I would have a lot more respect for him if he would have said this five years ago, or even one year ago. The only other part of his remarks that really irked me was the whole "Steroids don't help you have that eye-hand coordination" part. Yes, that is true, but steroids help every other factor when you are swinging a bat. Congrats, you can hit a major league fastball, but how far would that ball go if it were not for PEDs? You were not a fighter jet pilot, you were a major league hitter... and you cheated.

Update: Somehow, I missed McGwire's assertion that steroids did not help him at the plate, just in the trainer's room. I don't think there is anyone other than Mark McGwire who actually thinks that is true. It's ridiculous, and I feel insulted that he would try and feed that to the public. I've never read anywhere else that steroids don't improve one's strength, and in turn, a baseball swing. It's quite obvious that either Big Mac is in total denial or not telling the whole truth- my guess would be a combination of the two.

Second Update: I read a reaction from Deadspin that made me rethink how I look at the whole thing (for all the guff that Deadspin gets for running it's site like TMZ, every now and then they can surprise you with some well thought-out commentary). This is the part I really liked:

People say they want steroid users to be honest, but that's not really true at all. They want McGwire to say that he agrees with them, even if he doesn't mean it. They would prefer that he lie to validate their own viewpoint, rather than say what he truly believes. It's not about an accounting for crimes against baseball. It's about creating consensus, so we can end the argument.

I think there's some truth to that, and I'll be the first to admit that I wanted McGwire to admit that steroids were responsible for his records because I think that's the truth, and validation is what everyone wants in their own beliefs. But there is another side to the argument, and I should at least respect that. Although I would like to see a valid argument from that angle before I can even take that view into account. But one final question, do you think McGwire was telling the truth, that steroids didn't help him hit HRs?

The Pens lost last night, and while I only got to listen to the final 25 minutes on the radio (Lange and the old-29er were a breath of fresh air), it sounded like a terrible game played by the 'guins. 0-6 on the PP, including almost two minutes of 5-3 play that led to nothing, and MAF let in four goals in just 24 shots... not good. I also got a few emails regarding Ron Cook's terrible column from Sunday. I'll let the PensBlog do the work for me.

Pitt basketball is in the top 20 in both polls, and they have a huge game against UConn coming up on Wednesday. The Huskies are coming off a terrible loss to Georgetown on Saturday, a game in which they were leading by as much as 18 in the second half but forgot how to play defense in the last 16 minutes. Pitt has not played in 10 days, so this should be a good game either way. I cannot state enough, how important the return of Gil Brown and Jermaine Dixon have been to this team. Having them play the minutes that Dwight Miller and Chase Adams would have has turned this team from NIT to NCAA bound.

The Buccos are on the verge of signing Ryan Church. I like this signing a lot, because he is a cheaper and comparable player to Rick Ankiel. The key is him staying healthy, but if he does, he will provide a great glove in right, and also something the Pirates really struggle at... drawing walks. I will have a longer post about this later.

Nothing says, "You'll never walk alone" like "blow me ****face." No matter what happens to Everton this season, it might be just as enjoyable to watch Liverpool completely self-destruct. This is why rich Americans should not buy European football teams, leave that to rich Saudi Princes.

BoMo hockey beat Miami (OH) again this weekend to complete the sweep of the #1 team in the country (enjoy that while it lasts Red Hawks). Let's go, Bobby Mo!

More links later... Maybe.

Oh, yeah, Charles Woodson stole the Defensive Player of the Year award from Fightin' Quip almuni Derrelle Revis, a guy who once asked me during a basketball game, "You got beef? I'll grind." Woodson made more big plays with the sacks, interceptions, forced fumbles, and TD's, but Revis was the more valuable player, all you have to do is look at how other teams #1 receivers fared against the Jets. I'm probably bias (correction, I am biased), but I would have rather had Revis this year (could have happened, Revis > Timmons), than Woodson. Another thing to kick around in the old noggin', if you want to talk about value, how valuable was Troy to the Steelers' defense? This valuable.

Also, word from Seven Springs was that Steelers' human resources representative Ben Roethlisberger and his posse (including Steelers' players Brett Keisel, Max Starks, and Willie Colon) were partying at the Foggy Goggle and Matterhorn (the finest bars Seven Springs have to offer) this weekend. The good news, Ben is still a good tipper (he tipped a security guard a c-note for escorting him from the Goggle to the Matterhorn). The bad news, our $100 million quarterback parties at third-tier resorts. If I were him, I would be in Aspen, or Lake Tahoe... wait, scratch that last one.

CofC followed up their mammoth win against UNC with a solid win against rivals The Citadel. This puts them at 4-0 in the conference and the only undefeated team left in the SoCon. It really does not matter, because the Cougars are not getting in the tournament without winning the conference tourney as they already have six non-conference losses, but it's nice to see them beat The Citadel after being swept by them last year. I would like to see the minutes spread out a little bit more, as it's a long season and as I said, the Southern Conference Tourney is where the games really count.

The rust belt was left out of the US's bid for the 2018 World Cup bid. Pittsburgh, Cincinatti, and Cleveland were all left off the list, while Indianapolis and Baltimore made the cut. I had issues with some of the other cities, including leaving Chicago off the list, but more importantly, I would not have included any venues that have field turf. Unfortunately, it's about selling seats and boxes, not about the actual play on the field.