Cheaters Sometimes Prosper

I have a hard time with cheating in professional sports. I'm conflicted with the morality at play. "Deflate-gate" is just the latest in a long series of issues (not the first for the Patriots, either) that sully the most basic concepts of sportsmanship. Or do they?

As far as deflating a football goes, I am aghast that both teams don't use the same ball in a game. This seems less like cheating and more like the league missing an opportunity to add more parity. The NFL should provide any and all balls, and they should never be in the hands of equipment personnel from either team. Simple enough. I believe that the only way the playing field is actually level is if everyone has the same access to performance enhancement.

Performance-enhancing drugs? If I understand them correctly, many of them are meant to assist in recovery after exertion. I would allow those immediately. Yes, there's the concern of health issues down the road, but any professional athlete is risking life-altering injury every time they compete. Hell, a 25-year-old cricket player just died after being hit by a ball. Doesn't matter if he was on the juice or not. Besides, who can say that steroids are worse than Splenda in the grand scheme of things?

I want to see my favorite basketball/baseball/football/hockey/soccer/tennis/etc. player do what they do best. If that means Adderall to focus or HGH to recover and hit the field faster, how is that more dangerous than telling football players they can only tackle knees? Concussions are a bigger concern, in my opinion.

The bigger travesty than Lance Armstrong getting caught for using PEDs is that he essentially buried the guy who originally outed him. It's pretty well known that everyone in cycling does some kind of performance enhancement; the crime here was slander, and Armstrong was the villain. I could have forgiven him for getting caught doping, but ruining another person's life to maintain his ridiculous lie is unfathomable.

It's worthwhile to consider the concept of cheating within the realm of professional sports. The ultimate draw of sports is competition, but professional sports is also entertainment. The key word is "professional". At the point when sports becomes a career, I believe any advantage an athlete can gain to win or be the best in their position should be available to them, with the exception of substances that are illegal in general.

This is Rich

I know I've discussed the alternate universe scenario where instead of firing Lovie Smith, the Bears actually hired a competent offensive coordinator* instead. The result would have been at least one more year of Lovie ball, but that would have meant that Rod Marinelli would have stayed, and likely Brian Urlacher as well. Cutler would have gotten his wish, Emery would have fixed the offensive line, and who knows where the limit would have been.

Well, we're in this dimension and it's much messier than that. Our cast-off head coach and backup quarterback are floundering in Tampa Bay, and our freshly dismissed head coach is palling around with the two of them on the beach. The conjecture in this primary universe is that McCown and Trestman will rekindle their relationship and prop up the miserable Buccaneers offense.

Keep in mind that this dream team racked up a mediocre 3-2 record in Chicago. Despite his high passer rating and record-breaking performances, it's situational plays that have always eluded Chicago. My guess is that less-than-killer instinct will find its way to Tampa, too. (See what I did there?)

I wish McCown the best. Seemed like a good guy with medium skill and extraordinary personality - the kind of guy radio audiences would like to see at the helm. Until he loses, of course - then you need a gunslinger. Where would we find one of those?

Finally, word on the street (network?) is that Rex Ryan is all but hired for the Atlanta head coaching position. I'm not sure he's the answer here, but he's universally seen as the best candidate currently available. They haven't even talked to him yet.

My level of hope is significantly lower than it was this time last year. Maybe I'll check back in for the 2016 season. I think the slogan has to change from #beardown to #bearit.