Tiger Woods heads the class of sports cheaters

Tiger Woods … or should we call him Cheetah Woods … is certainly the leader of the pack when it comes to sports lowlifes.

He did nothing to change that impression with his somewhat emotional statement-reading Friday morning when he refused to answer questions.

Woods can’t take away the facts that he committed adultery with more than a dozen women; or paid millions of dollars to cover it up.

He did make a point when he told the media to leave his family alone. But sadly, when you’re a person of his stature, you bring it on yourself when you have multiple affairs on top of the fact you treated people poorly for years while you were on top of the world.

“I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you," Woods read from his statement. “I am embarrassed that I have put you in this position. I have a lot to atone for. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was unacceptable and I am the only person to blame.”

Give his wife, Elin, credit for not appearing in the room.

Woods is hardly alone when it comes to athletes and cheating.

How about former Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry with nine different kids by nine different women?

Or San Diego Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie with seven kids by six different women? And now he’s reportedly being sued for lack of child support by a woman who was his fiancée until Cromartie got somebody else pregnant while they were engaged.

Baseball?

You’ve seen and heard about the likes of Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez and Mark McGwire when it comes to another type of cheating … performance-enhancing substances.
McGwire (presumably) only came clean so that he could return to baseball as hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The sporting world is full of cheaters. Cheetah Woods is at the head of the class.

MLB's 'greats' will never make Hall of Fame

First, Pete Rose became MLB’s all-time career hits leader with 4,256.

Then, Roger Clemens became the first pitcher ever to win seven Cy Young awards.

Finally, Barry Bonds became the all-time career home run king with 762.

Besides being all-time leaders, what else do these baseball “greats” have in common?

None of the three will ever make the Baseball Hall of Fame.

You can bet Rose will never get there due to his gambling on MLB games.

Clemens and Bonds not only are career leaders; they are also among the “leaders” in the clubhouse of those being exposed as probable cheats due to suspected drug usage.

It’s too bad that the modern era of MLB is so tainted. It’s even worse that perhaps the three finest players of their respective eras will never make the Hall of Fame.

But this is not a case for them getting there: In each instance, keeping them out of the Hall is justified.

What’s worse is that Alex Rodriguez may be the one to break Bonds’ record. And he’s certainly among the top … if not the top … cheaters of today.

On top of it all, Rose is already petitioning for A Rod to make the Hall of Fame despite the New York Yankees third baseman’s admitted drug usage.

“I'm willing to give a guy a second chance,” Rose said in an interview on “The Dan Patrick Show.” He later went on to say that steroid use is worse than someone such as himself betting on his own team to win.

No matter what, cheaters will be cheaters.

Selig not to blame for MLB's drug problems

Say what you want about MLB commissioner Bud Selig, but don’t blame him for the current drug mess in baseball.

Selig’s recent comments to Newsday are very revealing … and right on the money.

“I don't want to hear the commissioner turned a blind eye to this or he didn't care about it,” Selig said. “That annoys the you-know-what out of me. You bet I'm sensitive to the criticism. The reason I'm so frustrated is, if you look at our whole body of work, I think we've come farther than anyone ever dreamed possible.”

The commissioner rightly blames the problem on the players’ union.

“Starting in 1995, I tried to institute a steroid policy. Needless to say, it was met with strong resistance. We were fought by the union every step of the way.”

Despite the constant criticism Selig takes, he should not be criticized for these comments.

After all, it took Congress to get the players’ union to finally agree to a more stringent drug policy for MLB.

We all remember the likes of Rafael Palmeiro and Roger Clemens lying to Congress … Mark McGwire keeping silent because of his drug abuse … and the constant lies and more lies by Barry Bonds.

It’s a good thing Congress finally came along to help straighten out the drug policy in MLB.

Otherwise, people would still wrongly blame the commissioner and owners … rather than the players who thought they could get away with something when nobody was looking; except Jose Canseco.

MLB Players: Few of character; many A-Frauds

Character is often defined as “doing the right thing when nobody’s looking.”

Under that definition, baseball is full of characters without character, right?

Absolutely.

Let Alex Rodriguez and his recent revelation about steroid usage from 2001-03 stand as the latest Exhibit A.

To refresh your memory, A-Rod told Katie Couric a few years ago on national television that he never used steroids. But when Sports Illustrated discovered he really did use steroids, A-Rod had little recourse but to tell the truth.

A man of character? Hardly.

Then we have such baseball characters as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and Miguel Tejada.

None wanted to reveal what they did behind closed doors (i.e. take steroids.) But when the truth comes out, you can bet they were all steroids users.

Bottom line: Don’t go describing them as men of “character.”

Rodriguez may have been referred to by his New York Yankees teammates as “A-Fraud.” But now that the truth is coming out, too high of a percentage of baseball players are nothing but A-Frauds.

Clemens, Bonds reap what they sow

“You reap what you sow.”

Barry Bonds learned this lesson quite well.

And now, Roger Clemens is learning it, too.

Both men have been surly with the media for years … and disdainful to a broad fan base everywhere except where they called home.

Bonds has been dragged through the mud for years because of his horrible attitude … home run record, or not.

Nowadays, Clemens can also stick his seven Cy Young awards where the sun doesn’t shine.

He could intimidate batters with high-and-inside fastballs, throw broken bats at Mike Piazza during the 2000 World Series, and commit other various acts in trying to prove he was the Big Man on Campus.

But trying to intimidate Congress … or have his lawyer attempt to intimidate an Internal Revenue Service representative?

Sorry, that’s out of bounds.

Oh sure, Clemens could defend himself on Capitol Hill by bragging about how he “wore the uniform of the U.S.” during international baseball competition. That doesn’t exactly compare to wearing the uniform of a United States military branch.

Yes, both Bonds and Clemens figured they were above the law while they were on top of the world in Major League Baseball.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if the top pitcher and hitter of the last 15 or so years served time side-by-side in prison for perjury?

Money can't buy Yankees championships

The Beatles taught us through song in the 1960s that “Money Can’t Buy Me Love.”

The New York Yankees are teaching us in the 21st century that money can’t buy them love … or championships.

They can have the highest payroll in baseball, as always.

They can have Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, et al.

Come October, one thing they won’t have again is something they haven’t possessed since 2000 … a World Series title.

As you know, the Anaheim Angels are lurking in the background. They’ve done it before – and they will do it again – when it comes to knocking the Yankees out of the playoffs in October.

If the season were to end today, the Yankees would not be in the playoffs. But history tells us the Yankees will be there; no matter where they stand on Aug. 9.

They won’t be there long in October. The Angels are just around the corner waiting to eliminate the Yankees.

This will break the hearts of such East Coast transplants as Pat Colabucci who are in San Diego rooting for the Yankees.