Off Topic » keep Chelseas perfect home

Hands-up to those surprised to learn Alex Rodgriguez confessed back in January to doing business with Miami steroid dealer Tony Bosch and using performance-enhancing drugs just as Major League Baseball alleged? Anyone? We didnt think so. Twenty-six years after Ben Johnson professed his innocence to a nation that desperately wanted to believe him. It doesnt take a cynic to roll their eyes in the face of busted athlete drug cheats who profess their innocence. We all know the script of the busted athlete who tries to position him or herself as the victim in a performance-enhancing drug witch hunt. It goes a little something like this: I have always prided myself on my ability to compete clean, I would never disrespect the game, my teammates, the fans and most of all my family. You know the rest. With a parade of all-stars from Marion Jones to Lance Armstrong to Ryan Braun, it was almost laughable that at this stage of things Alex Rodriguez thought he could convince anyone of his innocence, never mind the people who were out to get him. What we need to understand is that taking performance-enhancing drugs is a simple risk-reward proposition for a lot of athletes, during which time they understand the public plea they will have to make if they are accused or caught. So while we might wonder how athletes can so easily compromise their integrity by flat-out lying to the very people who have made them what they are, this part of the equation is settled long before the gotcha moment. Former Canadian sprinter Angela Isajenko said it more than two decades ago during the Dubin Inquiry into drugs in sports when she described the athletes handbook for what to do when you are caught: deny, deny, deny. The few who have deviated from that script are far and few between. Years ago, I wrote a piece in The Globe and Mail which suggested it was difficult to know whether to cheer for Lance Armstrong, purely for the reason that he was so dominant in a sport that was well-known to be dirty. The vitriol I received in response from Armstrong fans, many of them cancer survivors who considered him a real-life hero, was unlike anything I have received before or since in my career. They were simply horrified that I could even entertain the idea that someone of his character and accomplishments might be a cheat. And besides, hed already faced-down his accusers in public and pledged his innocence. Did I really think he would let down the legions of people to whom he was nothing less than a superhero? We all know how that story ended. Im sure there are athletes who test positive or are accused via investigation of using performance-enhancing drugs and it all turns out to be a mistake. I just cant think of any. Alex Rodriguez lying and then eventually confessing to performance-enhancing drug use hardly qualifies as disappointment. And he may truly be as detestable as he seems. But in this case, hes not the worst of the worst. He was merely travelling down the same well-worn path of those who came before him. J.A. Happ Blue Jays Jersey . In the second game of their day/night doubleheader at Minneapolis, three Blue Jays pitchers, Steve Delabar, Sergio Santos and J. Matt Shoemaker Jersey . Scrivens stopped 48 shots and captain Andrew Ference scored in overtime as the Oilers pulled off a 4-3 upset of the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/266h-danny...-blue-jays.html. According to Yahoo! Sports, the team has reached a five-year deal to play their home games on the roof of the Plaza Hotel and Casino. J.A. Happ Jersey .Simon will work with head coach Gord Dineen and associate coach Derek King behind the bench of the Toronto Maple Leafs American Hockey League affiliate for the 2014-15 season. Pat Borders Jersey . - Christophe Lalancette scored a third-period goal and added the shootout winner to lead the Drummondville Voltigeurs to a 5-4 win over the Quebec Remparts in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play on Sunday.LONDON - Eden Hazard converted a second-half penalty to keep Chelseas perfect home record intact with a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League on Saturday.Hazard was fouled by Eduardo Vargas and took the spot kick himself in the 76th minute at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea provisionally moved nine points clear of main title rival Manchester City ahead oof its derby against Manchester United on Sunday.dddddddddddd.Oscar put Chelsea ahead with a sublime finish in the 32nd minute after being set up by Cesc Fabregas, but QPR threatened to steal a point when Charlie Austin equalized with a back-heel in the 62nd.Chelsea tops the table with 26 points from 10 games, four ahead of second-place Southampton. ' ' '