Local Sports
Commentary: Steroids Era is over, but what’s next?
Tuesday’s 6-5 victory for the Boston Red Sox over the Oakland Athletics ushered in a new Major League Baseball season, and with it, the second year of baseball’s purported post-steroids era.
But don’t count on baseball’s purists to let sleeping dogs lie.
And why is that?
Well, since we’re using a Latin prefix to describe baseball’s brave new world, let’s throw out another bit of classical wisdom in an effort to explain:
O tempora! O mores!
That would be a direct quote from the incomparable Cicero, the rough translation being: “Oh, the times! Oh, people’s habits!”
Modern versions vary from something about hell in a handbasket, to kids these days, to any other phrase starting with “these days.”
These days, players only care about money.
These days, the talent pool is watered down.
These days, the ball is juiced.
These days, there’s just no loyalty.
Of course, for Cicero, “these days” were over 2,000 years ago and he was griping about the moral bankruptcy of Julius Caesar and his new imperial regime. And the golden days for which he pontificated were set back in the Rome’s republican days.
Now, Bud Selig is no Julius Caesar and Major League Baseball is no Roman Empire, but the point is this: Even at the height of western culture, there was always someone around to complain.
And though baseball is not the Roman Empire, it is the American pastime. Which means there will always be someone around to complain.
Before steroid it was baseball’s labor issues. Before the labor issues it was player greed. And before player greed it was owner greed.
You get what I’m saying, hopefully, but if not, here it is. The steroids era must be considered nothing but a blight on the game, but it’s time to put away any thoughts of a bygone golden era of blameless heroes and halcyon myths.
Baseball players — then and now — will do anything to win, from taking steroids, to throwing spitballs, to taking amphetamines during games. That doesn’t make it right, but it does make the problem both timeless and ubiquitous.
So instead of bickering about steroids and cheating and asterisks, let’s move on and enjoy the smell of pine tar and dirt and freshly cut grass.
These days, that’s something anyone can enjoy.
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CHAMPS AGAIN
Isaac Yarbrough wanted the ball in the final inning.
And once he got it, he wanted to face the top of Fairview’s lineup.
Yarbrough got both of his wishes. And once he did, Vinemont High got one of its own — its first Cullman County baseball title in three years.
“I was looking forward to it,” said Yarbrough, who struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh Tuesday afternoon to seal Vinemont’s 8-3 win over Fairview in the championship game of the Cullman County tournament at Hanceville High.
“My arm was kind of bothering me, but I got my three strikeouts.” - Meyer pitches Vinemont past Good Hope
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WORTH THE WAIT
Larson Howse didn’t spend much time celebrating, even after his second homer of the day.
With Gregory Smith on the mound, he didn’t have to.
Howse swatted two homers and Smith tossed a complete-game one-hitter as Fairview High defeated West Point 11-1 Monday afternoon in the semifinals of the Cullman County baseball tournament at Hanceville High. -
THE TIMES ALL-AREA PREP BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM: Good Hope triple-double threat Aycock enjoyed breakthrough season
Kyle Aycock watched with pride as his father, Greg, was recognized with the Good Hope High 1988 Cullman County basketball championship team this past season.
For Aycock, it was a moment of realization. The Good Hope point guard understood why his father had been pushing him for years.
“My dad wants me to be able and enjoy the same things he did when he was a player,” said Aycock, who has been selected as The Times Prep Boys Basketball Player of the Year. -
THE TIMES ALL-AREA PREP BASKETBALL TEAM: Myrex ends storied hoops career with 3rd POY award
During her record-breaking prep basketball career at Cold Springs High, Georgia Myrex piled up enough individual awards and records to warrant an extra wing at the Myrex household.
But if the Cold Springs High senior had her way, she’d trade them all in for just one more piece of Alabama-shaped blue hardware in the trophy case at Jesse George Gymnasium.
“I would definitely trade it all in,” said Myrex, who led Cold Springs to within three wins of its third straight Class 2A state title this past season. “I’m very appreciative of all my individual honors, but nothing compares to the feeling of winning a state championship.”
Well, go ahead and make room for one more individual honor. -
Burleson coaches Cold Springs up on way to turnaround
Sitting behind the table in a cramped interview room, a disappointed Tim Burleson broke down the Xs and Os of a heartbreaking Northwest Regional loss.
Descriptive and to the point, Burleson left no question unanswered.
And then the Cold Springs High coach answered one of his own — rattling off the most important stat of all.
“This team right here, 12-17, that’s what they were a year ago,” said Burleson following the Eagles’ 42-41 loss to Mars Hill in the Class 2A Northwest Regional semifinals. “Six of them were on that team, and they worked their tails off in the offseason.” -
BRINGING BACK PRIDE
Scott Adams came to the realization slowly — and at various points of the season.
During summer workouts, the Holly Pond High girls basketball coach noticed his players making plays they wouldn’t have made the year before. And during the opening weeks of fall practice, the sharp passing and shooting continued.
But during a Thanksgiving tournament in Morgan County — that’s when Adams knew. Fully, finally and without a doubt. - PREP SOFTBALL: Raiders win pair at Heritage Park
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