PG,
It seems that kids from all teams go on trips and play Texas Hold'em all night. If they lose their money they go ask their parents for more and then buy more chips. What kind of a message is the Poker sending?
Like you I occasionally have gotten into card games. I enjoy them most at someones house with friends for low stakes. To me it is a fun recreational activity. But do the player know when to stop? I just don't think so, especially since money does grow on trees (or at least out of parents wallets).
Another issue:
Is all this steroid talk helping or hurting awareness. This year more players were kicked out of NCAA schools due to testing positive to steroids. Could it be that they were hoping to put up the big numbers and then get drafted?
I know of a high school player that failed the steroid test at a school his freshman fall and is now for a junior college his freshman spring. Did he think that steroids would make him stronger? It certainly made him bigger.
But the question then becomes should the government become involved in this mess. I believe that to protect our youth the government needs to take some preventive action along the lines of information for kids - not public hearings. We need public hearings to discuss why our school systems are in disaray, why social security is bancrupt, why the environment is not protected enough, why have we not caught Bin Laden...for that we need hearings. For steriods the Congress is looking for publicity, but not the kind that will warn kids. The kind that will get them re-elected. Plus since GW owned the Rangers it is a free attack on him.
The only reason the government has any grounds to stand on is because of baseball's anti-trust exemption. Thye are using that for free publicity.
How about telling kids about former Oakland Raiders star Lyle Alzado who died because he took steroids. Or maybe Ken Caminetti who was a drug abuser and steroid abuser. Let's not glamorize this stuff.
The Marlins announced that former first round pick Jeff Allison, who was adicted to Oxycotton, will not be joining the team this spring. I know PG knows this young man well from their events. Isn't it time that the Marlins and MLB did something to help this young man instead of pushing him off to the side.
I guess they figure out of sight out of mind. After all we wouldn't want to have another drug scandal in MLB.
Thanks for your indulgence.