"The Mitchell Report"

Today I want to discuss the latest and greatest news around the MLB and this "Mitchell Report."

But first some NBA news. Who is the hottest team in the league right now? The Celtics, not. The Spurs, not. The Pistons, no. Try the LA Lakers. That's right, the Los Angeles Bryants. After last nights overtime victory behind Kobes 48 points and game winning shot, the Lakers have now won seven straight games as their record now stands at 26-11. With that record they are tied with the Suns for the division lead and are also about a game out of first in the Western Conference.

But wait a second, their coveted center Andrew Bynum injured his ankle and will be out at least eight weeks. Oh no matter, we still have Kobe. Kobe? Oh yeah the guy that wanted to be traded all summer and the beginning of the season. That guy who loves and praises Bynum. But oh no, what will the Lakers ever do without Bynum for two months. I think one might see Kobes scoring average take a leap upwards from 27 points a game to probably 30 a game.

That is highly unlikely at this point in the season, but don't be surprised if you see Kobe running off a few 50 point games in the next two months. But do you want to know the Lakers key to success so far this season? Bynum is part of it, but the big key has been their point guard play. Derek Fisher. Since Fisher left about two or three seasons ago, the Lakers have struggled mightily at the point guard position replying on Kobe scoring 81 points a game. Now with a true point guard in Fisher, who is a scoring guard, a lot of pressure has been off of Kobes shoulders this season that he didn't want to take on anymore. That is why the Lakers have been playing great team ball between all their teammates.

And also their bench has come into games and given a bunch of support, just like all of Phil Jackson's teams of the past. Just give the stars a few minutes to rest and keep out team in the game and we have the star to help us pull out the victory at the end of the game. That pretty much sums up the Lakers at this point so far this season.

Oh what about the Celtics you ask. Well lets just say they have lost three of their last four games, two to the Wizards, and now look like a normal team. Yeah they still have the best record in the league at (30-6), but the past few weeks they have been playing ball on planet earth rather than the moon. A third of their big 3 has been fighting ankle injuries and all of a sudden they don't know how to win games in the dominating fashion of before.

Or is it because all of this winning has gone to their head and they aren't approaching games the way they were at the beginning of the season when they wanted to prove to everyone they are the best. I personally don't know the answer to that question and I think only the Celtics themselves know the answer.

On the other hand, the Washington Wizards have beat the Celtics twice, more than any other team in the league. How do they do it? No idea, especially when they don't have their coveted "Agent Zero." It's mostly been the Caron Butler show lately as the Wizards are hanging on while Arenas is out and playing .500 basketball.

I mean even a week or so ago, the Celtics lost a game to the Bobcats and played them again a few nights later and almost lost to them again. So I'm not sure what is happening with this supposedly great team, but if they want to win the 'ship, they have to play great ball all season long. Just ask the Dallas Mavericks from last season. They finished with like 15 loses and ended up losing their first round playoff match up to the Golden State Warriors. So I think it is safe to say that no team is unbeatable.

As for Parcells taking the Dolphins to the Championship, all I got to say is, that would be the day. Parcells has a lot of work to do and him being in his 60s, I wouldn't count on it happening in the next five seasons. Not as long as Tom Brady is playing in the same division or even conference as the Dolphins.

Well that part of this post got a little lengthy. I just wanted to give my insight about the news of the day regarding Mr. Mitchell talking in front of Congress about the Steroid battle.

As some of you might know "The Mitchell Report" was released a few weeks ago at the end of 2007 and was a report about all the teams in MLB talking about all those that have used steroids or performance enhancing drugs, which are illegal in the MLB.

Now here's how I feel. I'm not sure exactly why today's hearing was taken place, but I think Major League Baseball has taken this a little too far. Clearly Bud Selig doesn't want, like, or allow any baseball player to use any type of performance enhancing substance. He is clearly taken this matter way to far and by hiring a private investigative group to go around to trainers of players to find out who has used such drugs is just crazy.

I understand it is a new rule for the league, but the rule wasn't put into effect until about five years ago. Now since Barry Bonds has broken Hank Aaron's home run record, Selig is upset and trying to change the face of MLB.

I understand people argue that taking such drugs gives the player an "edge" and blah blah, but the Report said one every team there was at least one player who had used a banned substance. The thing is some players used a drug to help them recover from injury. And that is the case for most of the players who have spoken publicly about the matter.

Along with this rule there are consequences such as being suspended a certain number of games for the first and second offense and then correct me if I'm wrong, you are banned from the league on your third offense.

So instead of going through all this investigative congressional mess, why not be the commissioner that you are and warn the players that under any circumstance should you use a banned substance because it will hurt career.

So either enforce this new rule or just let it go and let the players do whatever they want to their bodies, heck it might even "spice" up play around the league even. Like I've said before, we are in a new day and age within the sporting world. Athletes are more talented than they were back in the 1900s. So no matter what, the style of play will only continue to get better and change in the years to come.

Thanks again to all the readers, be sure to share with friends. Comments are always welcome.