Selig will be impeached and waterboarded. But the war in Iraq will go on.

Eugene is right. Other than self righteous banter, Americans would miss the exploits of professional athletes who exceed the perceived natural limits. There has been cheating in professional sports since the gladiators in Rome. Once again, just another distraction for the populace instead of focusing on wars, hunger, illiteracy, treason and corruption. And by the way, since when did Congress have so much spare time to focus on sports as opposed to ending wars and torture.

Lots of good points made here.

As Paolo, PatrickHenry, the Village Idiot and k-man have all stated or implied, attempting to regulate the use of steroids and (now) HGH among professional athletes is fruitless, if not an inappropriate invasion of the people’s right to use their bodies as they see fit.

At the end of the day, adult men and women whose professional careers can be enhanced or lengthened through the use of these drugs will seek them out and use them, regardless of their legality. As with any drug, abuse can lead to serious medical problems. As with any drug, strict REGULATION (instead of ILLEGALIZATION) is likely the best route. We only need to look back at Prohibition for that lesson.

Heck, if you’re a professional bodybuilder you’re probably laughing at the accusations of “cheater” that basefall fans are throwing at their former idols. To them, those supplements are part and parcel of their culture and attempts to regulate their use by testing - or even by hosting “natural” contests have failed. Everyone knows there’s always a new product out there that can beat the test.

I thought kmorgan brought up a very good point. As a society we reward athleticism; we don’t reward intellectualism. Reminds me of the final years of the Roman Empire…but that’s another story.

As a libertarian, my view is that, if organized baseball wants to ban steroids and set up mandatory player drug testing, they are free to do so. But where, Oh Ye Alleged Constitutional “Conservatives,” does the Constitution give Congress power to legislate in the area of sports? Likewise, where is the enumerated power to legislate in the area of drugs, medications, and plant extracts?

Organized baseball should be beholden only to one group: the fans who buy the tickets. If, in the judgment of the fans, steroids ruin the game, then fans can vote with their feet and refuse to attend the games. If the owners feel the use of steroids is such a bad PR issue that they want to ban them, they are free to do so.

Because steroids are illegal, a baseball player whose health is ruined by their use has little recourse. If steroids were legal, no one would sell them without a clear legal document itemizing the risks, signed by the player after extensive counseling. The risks, legally, to not having such a signature would be too great.

I am a big fan of so-called “ambulance-chasing” attorneys, as they do a great public service in ferreting out wrongdoers. Such folks would be glad to take on a case of a misinformed ballplayers consuming a legalized drug. When the drug is made illegal, the system no longer works.

Whats the big deal?

Eat enough hormone enhanced hot dogs and hamburgers and drink enough hormone laced milk and your there.

I saw a satire that maybe needs to be reexamined; it was the “All-Drug Olympics,” which is pretty self-explanatory.

Why not have two categories of sport: All-Natural, USDA-certified organic and Anything Goes. That way, tech or pharmaceutical innovations can move forward and natural human abilities can also be appreciated, separately. Joining the Anything Goes Olympics is voluntary, and like those using steroids or drugs right now, they are essentially guinea pigs, so as long as they sign the really long liability waiver, let ‘em have at it.

My personal opinion is that too much merit is given to sports prowess, and not enough to intellectual pursuits.  This is one of the reasons we are becoming (benefit of the doubt that we’re not already there) a nation of idiots.

Why study to become a scientist or doctor when the big money is in baseball, basketball, football, etc?

With all the steroids these players are using why not just build robots to play?  But then you’d need really smart engineers to build robots to give you the same experience…

The drugs are illegal.  If they want to use them, and are caught, they should be prosecuted, have any monies earned in their sporting career confiscated, and be banned from sports forever.  This way at least they’d know there was a real penalty to be paid for breaking the rules (law).  But hey, that’s just me…