{image1} It looks as though there are some sports issues that are weighing on people's minds this week. Now that the Packers' season is over, there's a void that needs to be filled in our sports lives. At least for a couple more weeks it will the still be the question of how a team gives up 27 yards on fourth and 26, but the healthy route would be to move on to something else.
My mailbox has taken a beating over the past month or so with a vast array of questions and problems. For those stuck under the cloud that Packers football exudes, there have been some interesting topics that have come to the forefront. I tried to touch on as many things as possible.
Q: Major league baseball seemed to dismiss the fact that at least 5-7% of its players were using steroids last year. Now there is going to be drug testing with no real structure to the penalty portion of the results. What are your thoughts on the issue, and is baseball trying to glance over a big issue?
Mark - Franklin
DR: It is just another black eye for good ol' Bud. Maybe as Brewers fans we do look at Bud with rose-colored glasses, because instead of being appalled to find out that 5%-7% of the players tested positive for steroids he basically sounded happy that the rumors of 50% percent of players aren't cheating, just 5%-7%.
Remember this was a test that the players knew about for six months. So the guys that tested positive didn't even care about getting caught, because they knew there wasn't going to be any repercussions.
The last thing that MLB wants to do is show the fleeting number of baseball fans that all of the numbers that have been put up over the past ten years are all a result of cheating. Baseball is trying to rebuild itself and to find out that it was all a farce would be the death bell. MLB is not going to slit its own throat. It's sad, but no matter how much preaching is done, it will not change.
Q: There has been a lot of talk lately about Mike Sherman holding down two positions with the Packers. In any sport, has it ever been beneficial for a team to let one man shop for the groceries and cook the dinner? And should Mike Sherman relinquish one those duties?
Jason - Menomonee Falls
DR: The dual headed monster in slowly coming to an end in the NFL. There haven't been too many success stories when a coach is also the GM. I don't recall anyone having success handling both jobs in other sports either. Even the great Pat Riley could not handle both roles in Miami.
As for Sherman, I think he has done a pretty good job at both, but I think he could be outstanding at one of the jobs if he was able to put all of his efforts into it. As the structure stands right now I don't think that Sherman spends too much of his time during the season making personnel decisions.
Sherman is smart enough to know that he is only one man and has surrounded himself with strong people like Reggie McKenzie and Mark Hatley. The personnel decisions that the Packers made midseason were much of the reason for the run that they made. Coaching, on the other hand, maybe the reason why they are not playing this week.
Q: In a conference where most of the teams are under .500, do the Bucks have a shot to win the East?
Dan - Cudahy
DR: The Bucks have shown that they can beat any team that they play, including the teams in the West. A seven game series may be a different story. There is not a team in the East that is head and shoulders better than the Bucks including Indiana and Detroit. I am not sure they could beat either team in a series even though they have had success against both teams this year.
I have yet to put all of my emotional eggs in the Bucks basket for fear of them getting cracked again like they have done the past couple years. What people need to realize including myself is this is a team that this city has been clamoring for since the mid eighties.
Very hard working, strong rebounding, good defense and the offensive firepower to run the floor and play an exciting energetic brand of basketball. A style of basketball that the NBA as a whole lacks. Make noise in the East - Yes, win the East - I am trying not to get ahead of myself.
Q: What do the Packers need to do in the off-season to make them a legitimate Super Bowl contender? Given the cap situations and all.
Bill - Milwaukee
DR: The Packers have one priority in this off-season and that is to find a way to re-sign Chad Clifton. As a whole the current Packers offensive line is the best in the NFL. They set Packers' records for rushing yards, sacks allowed and knockdowns allowed. They are the heart and soul of the team.
Clifton will demand top dollar so it will be very difficult to fit him under the cap because the Packers are only a little over a $1 million under. Clifton, Michael Hawthorne and Larry Smith may be the only players that the Packers should try and resign. They have more worries coming up in 2005 with contacts ending.
As far as the draft goes, there isn't any question that defensive end and safety are places of concern. In fact the whole defense is a place of concern. Finding a safety that could free up Darren Sharper to make more plays would be great, but pass rush help is always nice. Draft previews will be following in the next couple of months.
Q: If your friend Bud gives Rose a second chance and allows him to go into the HOF - what about Shoeless?
DR: There were a lot of e-mails asking for my take on the whole Pete Rose ordeal. I used to think that he should be allowed into the hall of fame because of his play on the field. Over the past couple of weeks I have flipped 180 degrees. Could anyone have been a bigger ass than Pete Rose has been in the last 14 days?
If you want to read something very good, check out Peter Gammons' take on the subject on espn.com. Agreeing with Gammons, Rose does everything for himself and for money. He has no remorse for what he has done to the game and to the fans of the game. Pete Rose is all about Pete Rose and the money he can make off of being Pete Rose.
Rose says that it took him 14 years to apologize because the Commissioner's office never called him back. Basically he is saying that wasn't going to admit that he gambled on baseball unless there was something in it for him. Penance for breaking sports golden rule was not enough for Pete, mainly because it wasn't a money making decision.
So Pete conveniently confesses in a best selling book that just happens to debut the week of the Hall of Fame announcements stealing the thunder from Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley and alienating himself from ever having the chance to get into the Hall. The Hall and its veterans committee does not accept those who disgrace the hall. That is exactly what Rose has now done.
As far as Bud reinstating Rose, Fay Vincent said it best. Vincent stated that if Bud reinstates Rose what would the deterrent to gambling be? Reinstating Rose would open doors that Selig would not be able to close. A simple half-hearted apology would be the only thing necessary to absolve of your sins. Betting on baseball tears at the fabric of the game. If the game is not played legitimately, there is no game.
If I were Bud, I would give rose two years of probation where is not allowed to gamble at all and that includes the track. If Rose is serious about the Hall, he would then become eligible for the Hall through a Veterans Committee vote.
As for Joe Jackson, I would put him with Rose and say that it will be up to the veterans committee to decide whether they are worthy of the Hall. After what Rose has done I don't believe there is a chance in hell that his fellow ball players will vote him in. Remember that Rose has dug his own grave. There is no reason to feel sorry for a man that only thinks of himself.
