Little League Series voice ought to know better

Anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs are among the most destructive forces in sports today from the professionals ranks all the way down to youth leagues. So the comments this week of Brent Musburger were quite puzzling.

Speaking to a journalism class at the University of Montana, Musburger offered the following observations:

-Steroids shouldn't necessarily be banned for professional athletes. "I think under the proper care and doctor's advice, they could be used at the professional level."

-Journalists covering the steroid issue are largely uninformed. "I honestly have thought that the journalism youngsters out there covering sports got too deeply involved in something they didn't know too much about."

-It's premature to judge whether steroids pose a health risk to athletes. "I've had somebody say that, you know, steroids should be banned because they're not healthy for you. Let's go find out. What do the doctors actually think about anabolic steroids and the use by athletes? Don't have a preconceived notion that this is right or this is wrong."

Musburger was given an opportunity to back away from these statements the next day. Instead, through a publicist at ESPN, Musburger told the Associated Press that he stood by his comments and that the issue of steroids "belongs in the hands of doctors and not in the hands of a journalist."

The journalist seemingly most out of touch on this issue is Musburger. As Gary Wadler, who leads the committee that determines the banned-substances list for the World Anti-Doping Agency, told ESPN (Musburger's employer, by the way.)

"He's categorically wrong, and if he'd like to spend a day in my office, I can show him voluminous literature going back decades about the adverse effects of steroids. They have a legitimate role in medicine that's clearly defined. But if it's abused, it can have serious consequences."

Among Musburger's roles at ESPN (and ABC) is serving as lead broadcaster at the Little League World Series. He has been a fixture in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, site of the tournament, for many years.

There's no attempt here to say that Musburger was preaching steroid use among youth athletes. Of course he wasn't. Still a person whose name and voice are so closely associated with the most-watched youth sports event in the world ought to use better judgment. Stick to what you know, Brent. It isn't medicine and, judging from this week, it isn't responsible journalism either.

Drug testing and the lesson of Taylor Hooton

Texas just released results from the second year of its drug testing program for high school athletes. Of 19,000 tests administered, the number of positive results was just seven.

This just fuels the debate about such tests. Advocates say they're an effective deterrent - kids don't do performance-enhancing drugs when they fear being caught. Skeptics question how a program that catches seven kids a year could be worth the cost - $6 million.

Texas, New Jersey and Illinois are the only states that test high school athletes for steroids. Florida dropped its program recently, after testing 600 kids and turning up one steroid user.

I get into this subject in depth in Until It Hurts, my book about the troubled state of youth sports (Publication date: April 1). I write at length about Taylor Hooton, the Texas teenager and baseball pitcher who committed suicide. His dad believes Taylor took his life because of earlier steroid abuse.

In the book, Don Hooton tells me that his son got instructions from a coach to "get bigger" if he hoped to make the varsity the following season. Taylor opted to get bigger using steroids, tragically.

I like what Don Hooton has to say to the Associated Press about the value of mandatory steroid testing, even when the program turns up just a few positives: "They don't stop testing Olympic athletes just because most of them don't test positive."

My view is this: the alternatives to testing programs that cost too much and catch few drug abusers are even less acceptable.

What kids think about A-Rod, steroids

It's interesting looking back on the good deeds Alex Rodriguez was doing while he was also doing steroids. In 2003, A-Rod presided over a ground-breaking ceremony for "The Alex Rodriguez Education Center" at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami, an event trumpeted by Major League Baseball.

A-Rod made a major gift to the center and explained the gesture this way: "I'm all about giving kids different avenues and good avenues. In life, there are bad ways you can go. I want to give kids good avenues."

Linda Robertson of the Miami Herald stopped in at the A-Rod Center this week to chat with kids playing ball. From the Herald article:

"He [Rodriguez] is like a living patron saint to this place. He always comes around in the off-season, to work out, to hang out. He gives away Christmas gifts, holds baseball clinics, tutors students. To the kids, he was the ultimate role model, because he was one of them, made it big and never forgot his roots.

"Now, though, a sense of confusion permeates the club. Fallibility isn't a concept kids can fully comprehend. But cheating is a word they know.

''Lots of kids want to wear No. 13,'' said Joshua Pastrana, 12, a catcher on the International Gold team. ``Now it will be kind of embarrassing to wear that number.''

Finally, the debate goes on in Appleton, Wisconsin over whether it's time to yank A-Rod's name from the local Babe Ruth League diamond. Post-Crescent sports columnist Mike Woods thinks it's a no-brainer. (See Feb. 10 post).

More on A-Rod and the future of A-Rod Field

Hat tip to sports columnist Mike Woods of the Post Crescent who back in 2007 was wondering whether an A-Rod Field for 13-year-olds made much sense.

From Woods: "Whether or not he started his career in Appleton, he doesn't appear to be the kind of individual you want to associate yourself with or who deserves such an honor. All he did was play here for a couple of months. Not even a full season. He has no real ties to this city. He's never been back to lend a hand or contribute a dollar. Nothing. And we owe him nothing."

A-Rod, steroids and the fallout in Appleton

An overlooked angle on the Alex Rodriguez steroids scandal: What is the future of Alex Rodriguez Field?

There is at least one youth baseball diamond named in honor of the present Yankee/past role model. It's in a park used by kid players in Appleton, Wisconsin, population 187,000. The city built the field as a home for Babe Ruth League games in 2004. It got its name because A-Rod started his career with the Appleton Foxes, the Single-A farm club of the Seattle Mariners. The city fathers never forgot. About now, they probably wish they had.

I just emailed Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna to ask if the city is having second thoughts. (Or third, in light of last summer's Madonna kerfuffle).

The problem with drug testing

A few years back, it seemed the national mood favored mandatory drug testing for high school athletes. New Jersey, Texas and Florida all adopted limited programs and more states seemed likely to follow.

That never happened. Now Florida is abandoning its program.

The reason - at least, the primary one - is a surprise. Not enough kids were testing positive for steroids. In Florida last year, only one out of 600 players tested postive for a banned drug, and both the player and his coach vehemently challenged the result. Texas tested 10,117 students from February to June, and reported just two positives.

Various explanations are offered for positive results near zero, from overstated concerns about drug users in high school to doubts about the testing itself. This from USA Today: Former Penn State professor Charles Yesalis, who has been following doping issues for three decades, says, "Unless the kid has an IQ at room temperature, you wouldn't expect them to get caught. There's all this information out there all over the Internet on how to circumvent these tests. And a lot of these programs have loopholes, including the fact you aren't testing during the summer."