Musings from the world of sport

That didn't take very long... First things first, I need to address this: That was mortifying, and Lord Stanley of Preston is surely spinning in his grave. If the 10 years between lockouts wasn't enough proof NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman needs to be fired, that video is. That said, there's a guy that came out of the audience wearing a Gerard Gallant jersey, and that lends this spot some credibility. Gallant amassed 1603 penalty minutes playing in 563 games for the Detroit Red Wings between 1984 and 1993 (plus an extra 178 PIM in 58 playoff games), earning a reputation as one of the league's premiere hard-asses. And, in news that would make the heaviest science fiction heavyweights proud, the World Anti-Doping Association (headed by one of the world's premiere douche bags, the hilariously-named Dick Pound) has announced they intend to stay in front of any attempts by athletes to use genetic doping as a way to enhance their performances at international competition. I won't even try to explain it, but gene doping sure sounds like it beats the hell out of old-fashioned, tried-and-true methods like steroids, greenies (amphetamines routinely used by baseball players in the past), blood doping and over-the-counter medicine. Dear WADA: try using the two sports-free days of the year to announce your ridiculous plans and to throw around baseless accusations. Before you assholes reared your ugly mugs, the month of June was quite pleased to roll along with dreams of a horse-racing triple crown winner, Tiger's assault on golf's majors, a spectacular Stanley Cup Final that showed off the best hockey since the 2002 Olympics, a dream NBA Finals match-up between Boston and Los Angeles, Manny Ramirez joining baseball's 500 home run club and Ken Griffey Jr becoming just the sixth member of the 600 home run club, and a little thing called Euro 2008. Sure, there's a lot of bad in the sports world (Cedric Benson, Tim Donaghy, and the above clip from Leno), but most sports fans couldn't care less about the bad things. We turn to sports for entertainment, and if the morons that watched the debut of Celebrity Circus, or The Hills or Big Brother are allowed to ignore the bad, we sports fans should also be allowed some ignorance. Because in the end, scandals come and go, and serve as footnotes for decades, but over time, all 16, 003 people that saw Griffey's home run Monday night will tell the tale again and again. Just the way moments like The Shot Heard 'Round the World, Paul Henderson's goal, Bobby Orr's goal, Dwight Clark's The Catch, Wiliey Mays' The Catch, Joe Carter and Bill Mazeroski, and even Babe Ruth's Called Shot which has never been proven to have happened, all live on from generation to generation, proving simultaneously that dreams can come true, and the impossible is possible. Lastly, for what it's worth, The Hockey Theme is just a song. Anyone that watched Hockey Night in Canada for the song, and not the hockey should probably be shot.