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Call from the Bullpen by David Maull

The Bullpen | Sports Front Page

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Outrageous, Egregious, Preposterous!
From the September 10, 1998 TV Times

Highlights and lowlights from a month's worth of sports pages:

Our asterisk-happy society just won't let Roger Maris' home run record fall gracefully, will it?

From the sound of things, you'd think Mark McGwire was injecting hard-core steroids in plain view of his teammates instead of taking the performance-enhancing substance androstenedione, which is perfectly legal, is not banned in baseball and can be purchased over the counter from almost any nutrition store.

The overblown coverage of the issue smacks of a deliberate attempt to discount McGwire's accomplishments. Androstenedione will not be the deciding factor if and when he breaks the record. To believe otherwise is just plain silly.

Equally as nauseating are accusations that Houston pitcher Jose Lima intentionally served up a fat pitch that Sammy Sosa crushed for a home run two weeks ago.

Because Lima decided not to pitch around Sosa with the bases empty in the late innings of a game the Astros were leading 13-2, that automatically means there was conspiracy between Dominican-born players to keep Sosa on pace with McGwire?

Don't make me laugh. These silly controversies are the brainchild of people with way too much time on their hands.

One of the best stories to come out of baseball this season was that of the Florida family that caught Barry Bonds' 400th career home run ball.

The dinger at Pro Player Stadium made Bonds the only player in major league history to have 400 career home runs and 400 stolen bases. The family refused to sell the prized ball, instead offering it back to Bonds and wanting only an autograph in return.

Giants pitcher Orel Hershiser was so moved by their generosity that he later sent the family a check for $5,000.

If only all fans could have such integrity.

The topic received only a few column inches in newspapers but could have a long-term effect on women's professional basketball.

Last month, it was reported that the vast majority of WNBA players were in favor of forming a union and having the National Basketball Players Association serve as their collective bargaining representative.

The day the item appeared in newspapers, NBA officials stormed out of a meeting with union representatives during a failed attempt to resolve the league's current lockout. It's only a matter of time before outlandish salaries, contract holdouts and work stoppages become a way of life in the WNBA.

The predicted order of finish for each of the NFL's six divisions:

NFC East: Washington, New York Giants, Arizona, Dallas, Philadelphia.

NFC Central: Green Bay, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago.

NFC West: San Francisco, Carolina, Atlanta, St. Louis, New Orleans.

AFC East: New York Jets, Miami, Indianapolis, New England, Buffalo.

AFC Central: Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Baltimore.

AFC West: Denver, Seattle, Kansas City, San Diego, Oakland.

The recent behavior of Chicago Bears running back Curtis Enis has been nothing less than bizarre.

In the past year, Enis had been kicked off the Penn State football team prior to the Citrus Bowl for allegedly accepting gifts from an agent, been under investigation for sexual assault, married a female stripper who was three months pregnant, became a born-again Christian, aligned himself with a controversial ministry whose officials represented him in contract negotiations with the Bears, blasted friends and family members for their alleged sins during his wedding toast and threatened to hold out the entire season if the Bears did not offer contract provisions that the team was legally prohibited from providing under the NFL's collective bargaining agreement.

What's next is anyone's guess.

However, you'd think he'd prove he can live a clean life for a few months before passing judgement on other people's actions.

Does Al Davis realize how ridiculous his antics have become?

The Oakland Raiders owner has asked the NFL to buy out the remaining 12 years on his lease at Oakland Coliseum,clearing the way for him to move the team back to Los Angeles, the city he abandoned after the 1994 season.

He is also claiming ownership of the league's Los Angeles market, a development that could throw a kink in efforts to put an expansion team in the city. He is currently being sued by the city of Oakland and has fired back a countersuit seeking to void his coliseum lease.

Any way you slice it, this guy is bad for football.

A message to all those crybabies out there who actually believe Jeff Gordon's recent winning ways have been the result of chemical-soaked tires and illegal engine modifications: Gordon rules, and you know it.