Oct. 28 Biz roundup

Questionable meth-ods
An athlete … with a drug problem?! No way.

So Andre Agassi did a little crystal meth back in the day. You think he’s the only one? We’ve condemned professional athletes for far more petty things and far worse and, no doubt, his story will not be the last. He’s clearly rebounded and deserves praise for writing a tell-all book that takes a closer look at himself than outing other professionals, as so many other athletes have been apt to do lately.

The issue I have with the meth scenario is not that Agassi did it, but that the ATP practically turned a blind eye to his failed drug test in 1997. After questioning him, Agassi told a bogus story and the ATP basically said, “Oh, OK. Whatever you say, Mr. Agassi. So sorry to bother you,” and went on with their business.

Sure, Agassi was a significant figure in the tennis world but how about a little checks and balances here? If Derek Jeter fails a drug test and the commissioner’s office inquires and Jeter just winks at Bud Selig and whispers, “Don’t worry ‘bout it,” is Bud just going to turn and walk right out the door? I hope not. The issue should be with the way the ATP handled Agassi’s problems, not the way Agassi did.

Hot diggity dog

What, in a city with hot dog vendors on every street corner, a quarterback can’t have a dog? Give Mark Sanchez a break. So the guy ate a hot dog on the sidelines during a game. Big deal. The game was practically over, he was doing it discretely — not rubbing it in the opponent’s face — on the bench and the poor guy was hungry!

Like he said in an apology, he had an upset stomach and hadn’t eaten in a while. And on a full stomach in the middle of a football game, I’d rather put something of substance in my stomach than food that looks like you’d use it to hold bricks together.

Taiwan or tai-lose?

Tigers reliever Fu-Te Ni had to deal with a bit more than jet lag on his return visit to his home country of Taiwan this week.

The Taiwanese government has issued its own Mitchell Report of sorts, outing as many as eight players in the Chinese Professional Baseball League suspected of throwing games.

Ni was not included in the report but did acknowledge that it’s an ongoing issue in the league.

To me, being in a league littered with players throwing games (especially pitchers) is more damaging than players on steroids. At least with ‘roids, you have athletes who are using an advantage — albeit, an unfair one — to enhance their performance. I’d have a much easier time looking down the bench and seeing my teammates shooting up HGH knowing they were in it to win than watching my pitcher throw away ballgames for a little cash.

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