Adolf Hitler: The Man
...mbi with a stash. (The most remarkable thing about Bonds is becoming his ability not to hit a baseball, but to hold on to his claims of innocence with everyone around him getting fingered as guilty.) But forget about asterisks, erasing records altogether and taking away honors because of banned and illegal drug use in baseball. That isn't why there should be so much clamor in the wake of the Giambi revelation. We can take care of that later. The reason baseball, or any sport, needs to be as serious as possible about getting rid of performance-enhancing drug use is because of the havoc that practice can cause on the athletes, not just the credibility of game. As Giambi's scary malady reminded, this is, foremost, a health issue. As NFL star Lyle Alzado said in Sports Illustrated shortly before he died of brain cancer 12 years ago: "If you're on steroids or humane growth hormone, stop. I should have." There was never any evidence that the steroids Alzado admitted using caused the brain cancer that killed him. But there was never any evidence that they did not, either. Yet athletes continue to imitate Alzado, despite his premature death. They continue to choose fame and fortune over health and well-being. Last month, the NFL suspended San Diego running back Andrew Pinnock for breaking its rule against using steroids. Last weekend, the United States' 2003 world championship 1,600-meter relay team was stripped of its gold medals because sprinter Calvin Harrison tested positive for the stimulant modafinil. A few days ago, cyclist Tyler Hamilton was cut by his team because of two failed blood-doping tests that he is fighting. Now, for the first time, there is an active baseball player tied unquestionably to performance-aiding drugs. If there can be any good news in yet another sports drug story, it is that maybe Giambi heeded Alzado's words before it became too late. We shouldn't be surprised, of course, by any of this. The rewards of increasingly lucrative contracts cloud the risk of putting all manner of stuff into the body. Every athlete in every sport is playing the same game these days: How to Become a Gazillionaire! And we are a druggie society. As the Giambi story was reverberating, new government statistics were published showing that 40 percent of all Americans are on prescription drugs. But at least those are legal and monitored. The Giambi story – if not that of Ken Caminiti, the one-time third-base star who admitted using steroids and died earlier this year from a cocaine-and-opiates overdose – is why baseball ought not drag its feet any longer on implementing a real policy against performance-enhancing drugs, something that more closely resembles those in the NFL and track and field. The current rules, put in place just a season ago, aren't close to being stringent enough. What kind of deterrent is a one-year suspension that is leveled only after a fifth violation? And the players union should join forces with the league rather than fight it against stiffer rules and penalties. After all, its constituency's welfare is at stake. All it needs to do is look at Jason Giambi. E-mail kblackistone@dallasnews.com ADVERSE EFFECTS OF STEROIDS Major League Baseball tests every player on 40-man rosters for 28 anabolic androgenic steroids, including THG, banned by the FDA from use without a prescription. Human growth hormone, or hGH, is not specifically banned by the major leagues. A first positive result leads to treatment, while subsequent positive tests by the same player leads to a series of fines and suspensions. The potential adverse effects of Human growth hormone (hGH): Development of a broad range of problems that may eventually result in acromegaly or gigantism (characterized by large hands and feet, a pronounced jaw, separation of the teeth, and enlarged heart, weak muscles and...