Random Thoughts on Sports on the Fourth of July

Why is football getting off easy?
The NFL player's union came out and said they should not test for HGH. So why is it that football players are getting off easy? Why all the ruckus over steroids and HGH in baseball and everyone in the country wanting to clean up baseball...but everyone ignoring the use of HGH in football? How is it that the 320 pound defensive and offensive lineman are that big and strong and quick due to natural ability and working with weights, but a 240 pound baseball player must be on steroids? It's a big double-standard. I love both sports, but one is being treated like the ugly-red-headed-step-child and the other is being treated like the favorite son.

the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
Unbelievable. One man eats 52 hot dogs in 12 minutes only to lose to another guy who eats 53 3/4 hot dogs!

Jose Canseco
While many people don't like him, others make fun of him (especially that play where the ball hits his head in the outfield to bounce over the wall for a HR), and the rest accuse him of being a snitch ... what has this guy said about steroids that hasn't turned out to be true? He pointed the finger directly at Rafael Palmeiro. Palmeiro in turn pointed his finger at Congress while testifying he never did steroids. A couple months later, Palmeiro tested positive. As much as people don't like him, if they really care about cleaning baseball, they should listen to what he has to say. Well, at least the steroids part, we should ignore all the other crap.

Football pre-season
It is only July 4th, but the football season is almost here. The preseason games will start soon. That means more books will be posting futures lines, regular season win totals. The preseason games, while they don't mean anything in the standings, and don't mean anything to most fans, can have great betting opportunities - for both handicappers (not me) and bettors (me). Typically, I use the baseball all-star break (the three boringest day in the sports calendar) to set up my spreadsheets for the upcoming year.