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the big asterisk
Up-front disclosure: I am intrigued to check out the Mitchell Report. I have entertained the thought of trying to pick the winners, as though the list of 50 or more steroid-using baseball players were an Oscar ballot. (The report comes out the same day as the Golden Globe nominations. Don't tell me that's purely coincidental. ;-) )
But -- forgive me for asking -- why the hell is the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in on this thing? This report was called for by the Commissioner of Baseball, which is exactly right; but I've been baffled for a long time now about why Congress is involved. I know we call it America's Pastime, but really, baseball isn't their business, is it? I mean, the drugs are illegal, which is their business; but nobody is disputing that the drugs are illegal. And if there's funny business going on in baseball, it's the baseball commissioner's office's job to deal with it, right? I really cannot comprehend how it's a federal legislative matter.
Anyone?
But -- forgive me for asking -- why the hell is the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in on this thing? This report was called for by the Commissioner of Baseball, which is exactly right; but I've been baffled for a long time now about why Congress is involved. I know we call it America's Pastime, but really, baseball isn't their business, is it? I mean, the drugs are illegal, which is their business; but nobody is disputing that the drugs are illegal. And if there's funny business going on in baseball, it's the baseball commissioner's office's job to deal with it, right? I really cannot comprehend how it's a federal legislative matter.
Anyone?
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This isn't actually true. Only baseball is "protected" in this manner. You may or may not remember the USFL, the XFL, or the ABA, but there have over the years been various competing leagues to the present majors (even the AFC, originally the AFL, was in competition with the NFL before they merged in the 1960s; in fact both the AL and NL were once separate leagues, too, but they settled their differences long enough ago that no one remembers--but this is why until a few years ago the only interleague games were exhibition and the World Series).
Baseball is specifically, by statute, under the regulatory aegis of Congress. Congress has specifically given itself the power to deal with baseball--the trade-off is that baseball gets the anti-trust exemption.
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