MLB and the Player's Union have announced that they have increased the penalties for players who are caught using Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) during the season. A player who is caught during a season will not be eligible to for the playoffs during that season. The length of the penalties have increased, from 50 games to 80 games for the first offence, from 100 to 162 for the second (essentially an entire season). A third offence remains a life time ban. Players suspended for a season will lose their pay for that season.
I've written in the past about how I think the penalties for being caught with PEDs are not significant enough, particularly to the teams and their owners. The problems of PEDs is a problem that ought to be shared amongst all parts of baseball, and I think ownership has to be held accountable too.
Detroit is a great sports town, and therefore a great place to live if you are a sports fan. Right now we have both nearby mens college basketball teams, the University of Michigan and Michigan State, playing in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA mens tournament tonight, the Detroit Red Wings are fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive, and while the Detroit Pistons are a mess, we are eagerly waiting for Monday and the home opener for the Detroit Tigers.
Yesterday the rumors begin flying that the Tigers has signed an extension with the best player in baseball, Miguel Cabrera and this morning the 10 year, $292 million deal was announced, keeping Cabrera in Detroit for the remainder of his career. Most of the core of the Tigers, which includes Cabrera, Justin Verlander, is set to be in Detroit for a while, all that remains is to sign Max Scherzer.
Tonight Michigan plays 11th seed Tennessee for the right to move on and play the winner of Kentucky and Louisville, and Michigan State plays the top seed in the east, the University of Virginia. If the two schools win, they will join Wisconsin as the big ten teams in the Elite Eight.
The possibility exists for Michigan and Michigan State to play each other for the NCAA championship,while Michigan could play Wisconsin in the final four, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
The Red Wings might be the most intriguing story in Detroit sports at the moment. Because of the rash of injuries, they are barely staying in the playoff hunt thanks to the majority of minor league players they have called up from the Grand Rapids Griffons. The Griffons won the Calder Cup last year, and it is obvious why given how many of those players are not only surviving, but thriving in the NHL at the moment.
Last night's loss to the Canadiens doesn't help, but right now the Wings are still in it. The Red Wings are the underdog right now, and we all love to root for the underdog.