Breaking News: McGwire Admits Steroid Use

What we had long suspected was confirmed today. Just this afternoon, former Cards slugger and single season home run king Mark McGwire admitted to the AP that he used steroids.

My first reaction?

Wow.

My second reaction?

Thanks for finally coming clean.

My third reaction?

Disgust, resentment, and sadness.

It takes a big man to admit his mistakes, it takes a much lesser man to admit his mistakes nearly a decade later. Remember how we all thought Pete Rose's admission of gambling would allow him to be inducted into the Hall of Fame? Yea, right. While this news is just breaking, the reports from the major news outlets are that McGwire has admitted to using steroids throughout the 90's, including his record breaking season of 1998. Here are some of his more startling quotes from SI's piece and our reaction...

"After all this time, I want to come clean," he said. "I was not in a position to do that five years ago in my congressional testimony, but now I feel an obligation to discuss this and to answer questions about it. I'll do that, and then I just want to help my team."

You weren't in a position to come clean in front of congress? What does that say about McGwire's character? McGwire only feels an obligation to answer questions now that he is back in baseball as the Cardinals hitting coach? Seriously? You have to wonder if Bud Selig or other high ups in MLB are behind this admission now so as to not make it an issue during the season. This gives the appearance that baseball is strong in cleaning up its past, present, and future.

"I'm sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids," McGwire said. "I had good years when I didn't take any, and I had bad years when I didn't take any. I had good years when I took steroids, and I had bad years when I took steroids. But no matter what, I shouldn't have done it and for that I'm truly sorry."

Yes Mark, we do wonder. His confession puts him in a better spot than villains such as Bonds and Clemens who have never come clean, but why wait this long? Is this comment supposed to be directed to those Hall of Fame voters that are blocking your entry into Cooperstown? Sure, you know what, we believe you this time. Maybe you would have only hit 500 home runs without steroids - and maybe you would have been a career AAA player. We're the ones who are sorry Mark, sorry that we thought you were something you clearly weren't.

"I wish I had never touched steroids," McGwire said in a statement. "It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era."

When all is said and done, there is nothing but sadness. Looking back at the Summer of '98, those memories are never the same now that we know McGwire cheated. But, I also feel sad for McGwire and others. Maybe we'll never know why these players felt the need to take steroids, but this is a man that will never be able to live down his past as an admitted cheat. For what appeared to be one of the great players of a sporting generation to regret his career at the top is perhaps the greatest condemnation of the Steroid Era, and the most stunning of his admissions.

So what we have to ask ourselves as fans is this - was it worth it? Was it worth it to bring baseball back from the '94 strike with presumably 2 roided up cheats who broke one of sport's most hallowed records by shooting needles in their butts? Was it worth it to pretend that what we were watching was the greatest thing we've ever seen instead of something as fake as pro wrestling? Was it worth it for the American pastime to turn a blind eye to steroids as the sport reached new levels of popularity?

McGwire might regret the steroid era, and some fans that believe in fairness and sport might regret the steroid era, but that might not be the universal feeling. I'm sure some fans and people involved in baseball could care less as long as the entertainment value is high and money keeps rolling in. But, some day I'll have to explain to my kid how the most American of sports cheated their fans and themselves. I'll have to explain why the top home run sluggers of my generation are blackballed from the Hall of Fame. And, I'll have to explain why one of the greatest athletes of my childhood regretted everything about his career.

When Irish Eyes Are Crying

Yesterday, one of the great injustices in sports history happened, and no, this is not another article blasting Colin Cowherd... but something that is perhaps more important. The field of 32 is set for the World Cup, but not without controversy. Of course, you probably know by now that traditional power France defeated Ireland 2-1 on aggregate thanks to a goal by William Gallas in extra time. That goal was directly set up from an obvious handball on French icon Thierry Henry (see pic from Sky Sports above, c'est manifeste). Henry knew it was a handball, he even admitted it afterwards, the other French and Irish players knew it was a handball, the millions watching around the world knew it was a handball... and yet, the goal stood. France are in the World Cup and Ireland are out on not just a missed call, but a blatant disregard for the rules of soccer. Here's the video evidence from a scarred Irishman...

Sure, bad calls are made all the time... but as American sports fans, it might be hard to realize the magnitude of this decision. Imagine if a blown call cost your favorite team a spot in the playoffs... only that it would be 4 years until you could get another chance back in. Oh, and it's not just you and the fans of your favorite team, it's your entire country that feels cheated. Needless to say, this is the blown/missed call of all blown/missed calls. This makes the Tuck Rule and Phil Luckett's coin toss look like child's play.

Many in Ireland are calling for a replay of the game, which if it happens would be the most stunning thing in sports I've ever seen. Have a look at some of the Irish quotes surrounding this incident and tell me if FIFA and world soccer has some fences to mend...

"We got robbed. ... We feel cheated. We were the better team," said Irish defender Sean St. Ledger. ''It's cost a lot of us our dreams - as a boy I used to dream of playing in the World Cup, and now I'm not.''

"Throughout the country today there is an air of bitterness. We were beaten unfairly and there is general disgust in France too," Irish lawmaker Joe McHugh said. "Friends of mine who attended last night's game phoned me this morning from a cafe in Paris to report that the French people are ashamed and do not regard this as an honest victory."

"If the game's going to survive, it's got to be an equal playing field," Irish Ast. Manager Liam Brady said. "If we're going to have integrity and dignity in the world game, the game should be replayed. And we'll go to Paris to play it."

"If that result remains, it reinforces the view that if you cheat you will win," said Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern.

But, the best and most damning quote came from Ireland Captain and Tottenham star Robbie Keane, who questioned the ethics of FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA head honcho Michel Platini...

"They're all probably clapping hands, Platini sitting up there on the phone to Sepp Blatter, probably texting each other, delighted with the result, with France (getting through)."

And we thought conspiracy theories only existed in the NBA?! This is on, hello, a WORLD scale. This is the captain of a national team calling out the presidents of the two most important governing bodies in the world's biggest and most popular sport. Can you imagine if Tom Brady accused Roger Goodell of this sort of behavior??

Of course, Ireland felt hard done by the whole seeding process of UEFA and FIFA which was done to protect the bigger countries like France and Portugal (which beat Bosnia to go through). The Henry Hand controversy is only going to reinforce the notion that there is an unfair playing field and that nations like Ireland will never get a fair shake in world soccer. The Football Association of Ireland has now lodged a formal request for a replay of the game.

If life were fair, a replay would happen next week in Paris. (The only similar scenario I can find occurred in 1999 when Arsene Wenger offered an FA Cup Replay to Sheffield United after questionable circumstances surrounded a winning goal by Arsenal). But, we're living in dreamland if we think that Ireland is actually going to get the chance to play France for a spot in the World Cup again. First, FIFA and UEFA have gotten their wish of France going through to South Africa. Secondly, a replay opens up a Pandora's Box that soccer or any other sport can't afford to deal with: every game decided on a missed or disputed goal would need to be replayed. Of course that would be insanity.

So, sadly, injustice reigns again. And, you know, maybe France would have won a penalty shootout, but maybe they wouldn't have won. The nation of Ireland will sit at home and watch France play in South Africa knowing that they were robbed of what could be a once in a generation chance at playing in the world's most prestigious sporting event. So when your team suffers at the hands of questionable officiating, keep the Emerald Isle in mind and know it could be much, much worse. Keep the Guinness on tap come next June...

What are your thoughts on the France/Ireland controversy? Should Ireland get another chance? Is FIFA corrupt? Does soccer need video replay? Should the French do the honorable thing and offer a replay? Are the French capable of such a thing? (Just kidding to all 1-2 of our French readers) Let us know what you think!