Bill Simmons in grantland.com posed the question about two comebacks in football this year. The first was Ray Lewis coming back from a 6 month injury in about 10 weeks, and the second was Adrian Peterson coming back from a torn ACL in about 9 months.
The Amazing thing isn't the comeback, its the way they have performed. Peterson had arguably the best season ever by a running back, and Ray Lewis performing at a high level at age 37 helping the Ravens get to the Super Bowl is unreal. Simmons posed the question about possible performance enhancing drugs by Peterson and/or Lewis.
Here is my reaction: If so should it be a big deal? Sports is entertainment. We need to get off this old belief that sports is a clean and honest game and "cheaters never win." Guess what? They have and they will continue to win. I was amazed at Peterson's recovery. I wouldn't touch him at the fantasy draft back in August with a ten foot pole. My thinking was coming back from an ACL in 9 months? Are you kidding me? Yet there I was amazed all season at his play, and the regular season finale against Green Bay, he had me and my friends out of our chairs watching that performance. Was it legit? I would like to believe so. But if he used say HGH to come back, I think that is fine. A running back's career is so short, if we get to see more of Adrian Peterson as a result, or one last Superbowl run by Ray Lewis, that is great for the fans, isn't it?
When I was 12 one of my favorite running backs was Billy Sims of the Detroit Lions. His career was cut short by a knee injury in 1984. Imagine if he could have came back from that injury. Wouldn't it have been great for a kid to see one of his favorite running backs get to perform? What if there was something for Don Mattingly to help his back he could be in the hall of fame! (I think if Kirby Puckett is in Mattingly should be too, but that is for another blog.)
I think there needs to be a distinction in PED's and the media has already set a precedent. Everyone kills A-Rod and Bonds and Clemens, but Andy Pettite used HGH to recover from an injury once, so that is OK? I think the leagues should get together and treat PED's this way: If you are injured and want to get back on the field faster and work with a licensed doctor that should be OK. If you want to get stronger just to hit more home runs or get more sacks on the QB the answer is no. The league needs to police this, because I think anytime an amazing athlete can perform a high level at an advanced age, it's a win for fans, the team and the league, but i get the argument you don't want to put pressure on the guys who do it "the right way" to have to use PED's. It should be about recovery from injury, not about boosting performance.
Medicine has advanced, we had Tommy John surgery to name one to extend careers. If a doctor gives you medicine to extend careers should it really make a difference? To say it is not fair to former players? Yes it probably isn't but, diet and nutrition have come a long way, travel time is less, there are so many things today's athlete has as an advantage to past generations, we should get to see today's athletes perform at a high level for a longer period of time.
Finally I want to touch on the hall of fame voting in major league baseball. I think its a joke that these sports writers want to play judge and jury over all players who played in the "steroid" era. Believe me I 100% guarantee in the next 10 years a player will be voted into the hall of fame who everyone assumes is "clean' and then after he is voted in, he will be linked to PED's. What do you do then? Have him give back his HOF plaque as Reggie Bush did with his Heisman? Seriously!
Stop acting holier than thou! It should be on a case by case basis. Mark Mcguire was a one dimensional player. His numbers might look more like Dave Kingman if he played clean. So OK don't vote him in. But Bonds, Clemens? Really? Sosa? OK. I agree with you. Mike Piazza? Why? Because you think he might have done PED's? That is your argument? Grow up! This last hall of fame vote in which no living player was voted in, is a mockery of the system and I think some writers should have their privilege taken away. But then again that is just me.
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