Guest Redhawk Report post Posted June 5, 2003 Going by the pre-show segment, you would have thought yesterday afternoon's Sportscenter was going to be all about Sammy Sosa. "The biggest sports story of the year," they called it. "Is Sammy's reputation damaged forever?" they asked. I don't know if anyone feels the same way, but it seems like ESPN is trying to make this as big a deal as they possibly can. I've seen anchors not only report the story, but throw in their little opinion before throwing it over to the next segment. (I also saw this when the Mike Tyson "I wanna rape her now" thing came out: one of the ESPN guys reported it, then added, "Tyson is still a top contender despite not being nearly as skilled as he used to be." Umm, editorializing much?) And they keep asking "Is Sammy's reputation damaged?" and "Are his accomplishments tainted?" so much, they might as well just come out and say "We think so." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted June 5, 2003 ESPN does this with every story. They made a big deal about the Clemens/Piazza incident last year. They continue to cover Mike Tyson. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MaxPower27 Report post Posted June 5, 2003 Well, let's see: They hate the NHL The Lakers are out of the playoffs They only like the Yanks, Braves and Giants Football isn't in season. They need something to cover. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest alkeiper Report post Posted June 6, 2003 I also saw this when the Mike Tyson "I wanna rape her now" thing came out: one of the ESPN guys reported it, then added, "Tyson is still a top contender despite not being nearly as skilled as he used to be." Umm, editorializing much? That's not editorializing really. Is he a top contender? Ring Magazine has him in their top 10. Is he less skilled than before? Most certainly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Redhawk Report post Posted June 6, 2003 For one, his top contender status and skills or lack of skills has nothing to do with the interview he did, the rape trial, or anything that they were reporting that night. Second, judging someone's skills is always an opinion unless you're using a clock and timing him for speed and measuring his power and things that like. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted June 6, 2003 I don't know if anyone feels the same way, but it seems like ESPN is trying to make this as big a deal as they possibly can. But it IS a big deal. Sosa, always a productive player, became one of the sport's golden boys during his home-run chase with Mark McGwire. He was cheered all over the country, and usually seen as the good guy compared to the stoic, sometimes surly McGwire. Then to have him get busted with a corked bat... it raises a lot of questions. What about the bats he was using in 1998? How many homers were helped by the cork? If he's willing to cheat, what about the steroid accusations? I'm not saying Sosa is a savage cheater or that people should now look skeptically at what he's achieved. But remember that, in American society, simply being accused of something is often as good as being tried and convicted of it. Look at Michael Jackson: a lot of people believe to their cores that he's a freakish child molester, despite there being no real evidence to support that. Sosa's reputation HAS been damaged, like it or not, and I'm not sure it will be easy to repair. The one thing we seem to like more than putting someone on a pedestal is pushing them off and watching them fall. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ripper Report post Posted June 6, 2003 My problem is that ESPN is trying to push the issue as if he had done it on purpose dispite all sensible thought being to the contrary. If he DID do it on purpose, he certainly set up the most elaborate out in case he got caught. Only on bat, with a "C" on the bottom of it...if it wasn't a mistake he sure did some careful planning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted June 6, 2003 Sosa gets 8 games. From ESPN.com... Sosa challenges suspension with immediate appeal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press CHICAGO -- Sammy Sosa was suspended for eight games by Major League Baseball Friday for using a corked bat, and he immediately appealed the decision. The appeal had to be filed before Friday's game -- the first of a three-game series against the New York Yankees -- to make Sosa available to play. "We support him in his appeal," Chicago Cubsgeneral manager Jim Hendry said. "We have no reason to believe it was anything more than a one-time incident." A piece of cork was found just above the handle in Sosa's bat Tuesday night when it shattered after he grounded out in the first inning of the Cubs' 3-2 victory. Sosa didn't deny the corked bat was his, but he said it was a batting practice bat he had grabbed by accident. "Some punishment is in order. Hopefully, it can be reduced," Hendry said. He noted that Sosa "has been shattering bats his whole career" and no other corked bats had been found. "I think he feels badly that he's going to be sitting out some games," Hendry added. Bob Watson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, met with Cubs manager Dusty Baker and Hendry at Wrigley Field on Thursday, then returned to New York. Watson did not talk to Sosa. Other players who have used corked bats have been suspended for up to 10 games. The Cubs had hoped that Sosa's cooperation, as well as the fact that no cork was found in any of his 81 bats that were checked, would work in his favor. The Hall of Fame said Thursday that X-rays or CT scans of its five Sosa bats showed no cork or anything else that would violate baseball rules. Baseball officials didn't find anything in 76 bats confiscated from Sosa's locker after he was ejected from Tuesday night's game, either. "The sad part about the whole thing is that he had 70-some bats and it's like you still don't believe it. That's what's unfair," Baker said. "He was wrong with that one bat. It was a bad decision." Boston Red Sox ace Boston pitching ace Pedro Martinez came to his Dominican countryman's defense, saying the incident was being blown out of proportion because of racial bias by the media. "If it was (Mark) McGwire, it would still be a big deal, but not like this," Martinez said. "We might be Latin and minorities, but we're not dumb. We see everything that happens." Several other players have been caught or have admitted using a corked bat. But none has had the gaudy resumé of Sosa. In a five-year stretch from 1998-02, Sosa hit 292 home runs. He's the only player to hit 60 or more homers in three seasons, hitting 66 in 1998, 63 in 1999 and 64 in 2001. He's No. 17 on the career list with 505 homers. And at just 34, many believe he'll have a chance at Hank Aaron's record of 755 homers. Sosa insists he's never done anything illegal. "I feel very bad for having used that bat, but my conscience is clean," Sosa said Thursday. "I'm not a criminal nor someone who intended to deceive or take advantage of others." Watson spent about two hours at Wrigley, meeting with Baker, Hendry, Cubs president Andy MacPhail and clubhouse manager Tom Hellmann, then went back to New York. Baker said his meeting with Watson wasn't an interview so much as an explanation of what Watson was doing. "I called him Judge Dread. He thought it was pretty funny," Baker said. "He just wanted to let me know that they're going to try to come up with a quick decision, a fair decision. Whatever happens after that it's up to Sammy and the organization, if we want to appeal it." Not only is this weekend the teams' first meeting at Wrigley since the 1938 World Series, but Roger Clemens goes for his 300th career win Saturday against fellow Texan Kerry Wood. The games Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast nationally, with 90 percent of the country seeing the Clemens-Wood matchup on Fox. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted June 6, 2003 Eight Games? Works for me... I still can't believe some idiots were calling for 14 days... When you get FIVE games for purposely DRILLING a guy which could and has caused Injuries... Corking a Bat unintentionally using it, certaintly isn't worse then that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
