We're still the greatest country in the world!
Tom Brady cheated? That gives him something in common with a lot of other athletes. They're a competitive bunch, and they'll do almost anything to win.
So if that means taking a needle, taking a pill, or taking a needle to a football, it's worth considering.
Gaylord Perry built his Hall of Fame career on the mastery of an illegal pitch. Everybody knew he threw it and seemed to accept it.
But Gaylord wasn't a pretty boy who was married to a super model. He was a bumpkin who spoke with a drawl, and everybody thought it was kind of funny that a country boy could outsmart all those fancy city folks.
He titled his autobiography, "Me And The Spitter" and detailed how he doctored baseballs on his way to 314 wins and enshrinement in Cooperstown.
Perry's disobedience was blatant, but who doesn't fudge the rules a bit for personal gain?
Teams do it, too, manipulating the disabled list with phantom injuries that allow them to juggle the roster.
Most of America is reveling in Brady's discomfort, while Patriots loyalists insist this is a misguided attempt to undermine their team.
That's the way it works. A sense of justice usually breaks down along the lines of zip codes. You rarely hear it in western Pennsylvania, but a lot of people in other parts of the country think the Steelers' four Super Bowl wins in the 1970s were too heavily influenced by steroids.
When this all shakes down, Brady's suspension could be reduced. His reputation will take a hit, but that doesn't seem to matter much in a world that makes stars of the Kardashians.
The only thing that's certain: Lawyers will profit.
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--HO HUM
Steelers' No. 1 draft pick Bud Dupree signed the other day, and it barely caused a ripple.
There's a slotting system for draft picks, so there's really no purpose in holding out. That ended the time-honored dance of the player staying away from camp while the team issued stern warnings about all the important instruction he was missing.
The other great tradition, which was much more short-lived, involved the local TV stations trying to get the Steelers' first-round choice to town to appear exclusively on their news broadcast.
It was classic cloak-and-dagger stuff with back channel deals being made, planes being chartered and limousines being hired.
If some of it seemed like an abduction, that was just the price of doing business. They could promote their success in getting that first appearance, even if it left the player scarred with a first impression of Pittsburgh that included too much Sam Nover.
The Steelers organization would stand back and watch, happy to let someone else pick up the tab for bringing their player to town.
One day it was over. The stations realized the practice was a profound waste of money that could be applied to purchasing a new radar gizmo that might help with the six-times-an-hour weather guesses.
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--MISSING THE POINT
Here's why Root Sports drives you crazy, beyond the obvious (like the cliche of showing an Asian fan every time Jung Ho Kang gets a hit):
Friday, the Pirates lost at Wrigley Field when Gregory Polanco stumbled and fell while trying to catch the most routine pop-up.
The story at that point was entirely Polanco. It would have been impossible to overdo Polanco at that moment.
Yet instead of focusing on him as he made his way back to the dugout, Root had to have the perfunctory shots of other things that meant nothing.
Before we saw a replay, we saw the Cubs celebrating. We saw fans cheering. More Cubs celebrating. More Cubs celebrating, one player with a plastic bucket on his head. Cubs manager Joe Maddon high-fived someone.
After the replays, it was a replay of the runner scoring from third without a play. Then fans waving a flag.
There was a brief shot of Polanco being approached by Pedro Alvarez and another of Clint Hurdle looking bewildered in the dugout.
Did Polanco's gestures offer any clue about what happened? Did teammates approach to console him? Did Hurdle interact with him?
We don't know. We were watching fans waving a flag and a guy with a bucket on his head.
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