Who Let the Dogs Out?

Well we know that that's one song title that will not be heard this fall in Atlanta, or wherever Michael Vick may or may not be playing. He was recently cited--or indicted--for contributing to a dog-fighting ring for which losing animals pay the ultimate price by being electrocuted or hung. Of course this is not the only wanton cruelty practiced on canines by our wonderful species. Dog-racing, though comparatively tame, usually end in the premature deaths of greyhounds who quickly age out of competitions.

Still, the nastiness of the snarling pit-bull subculture surely merits the opprobrium most caring people would attribute to Vick and his compatriots. I am not a PETA fanatic but I am anti-hunting and certainly against any form of animal cruelty. How Vick should be punished is virgin territory for the NFL, whose entire nature is sublimated gladiatorial combat and therefore beholden to the reptilian undersides of our consciousness. In a way it would almost be hypocritical to ban or suspend this asshole when other players are to be lauded for their viciousness toward other players. I'd still like to see him locked up and pitted against other inmates, just so he knows what it's like. Make the punishment fit the crime, as The Mikado sings.

In the coincidentally named dog days of summer, a lot of media attention has gone to the nether side of athletics, those players--and officials--whose errors and sins have besmirched their sports. An NBA official was recently charged with betting on games in which he officiated. I am no anti-gambling fanatic but even I see where this is beyond the pale, even beyond anything Pete Rose may have managed. And then there is the ongoing Barry Bonds controversy concerning his alleged, and very likely, steroid use which bulked him up and contributed to his massive power surge that followed the 1998 baseball season, when McGwire and Sosa broke way past Maris's record, thanks to questionable intakes of their own. The steroid issue is ongoing and fairly tedious, since we all expect that many many players used them, hitters and pitchers alike, before they were specifically banned. And all the players, save for Jason Giambi, have denied it.

For a player to admit to steroid use is like a politician advocating higher taxes. It's a no-go, even if we assume it's true. So the media is filled with unbelievable denials and we all get irate and then sanctimonious. We start to detest Barry Bonds, who was a sure Hall of Famer long before steroid use, and could well have hit 700 homers without ever injecting the stuff. Mark McGwire is not thought to be worthy of the Hall of Fame because he refused to fess up. Sammy Sosa, he with 600 homers, is questionable for the great baseball honor. This is all rather a shame, because they all deserve it a lot more than Craig Biggio, who may make it because of the arbitrarily honored feat of getting 3000 hits.

A few years down the road, all things being equal, Alex Rodriguez, then of the Angels or Red Sox or whoever, will bypass whatever ultimate number Bonds rings up, and since Arod, for all the negative hype, seems drug-free, we will be able to relax again. While ESPN shifts over to every Barry Bonds at bat now, it is neglecting some other notable milestones, most specifically Arod's 500th homer, which could come at any time, even tonight. His onslaught on home runs records is more notable because he is reaching his goals relatively early. Only injury or disaster should prevent his ascendancy, and then we can wait for Ryan Howard.