In a Summer crowded with controversy in sports, one story finally came out as a positive, a comeback kid, and something enlightening to read about in sports news. Rick Ankiel, the comeback kid. Fought back from inury, and not quite making it as a major league calibur pitcher, and trained to become a decent outfileder, good enough to be noticed and get start time.Wow, I think to myself, finally something else to read other than Mike Vick's dogfighting, Barry Bonds steroid use, Pac-man Jones, or any of the other misfit superstars. Rick Ankiel, a real athlete, loved the game, and showed that he was still good enough to play. Battled through injury, and criticism, and finally made it! He was hitting the long ball, had a decent average, and could manage his position in outfield. For just returning to baseball, there was real promise in becoming a star again in the next year or two.
Just as the happy feelings were starting to fade, and get too boring for sports writers to write about, one of the super star investigators found of some alleged illegal doings in the comeback kid, the one positive story. HGH! So easy to find, so easy to jump to conclusions. HGH and steroid use are such an easy target in MLB, that just to mention the letters HGH, next to any players name automatically makes them a cheat and implies that they should be hung.
Everyone got what they wanted! A good negative story, the comeback kid was a steroid, HGH user, and that's how he made it back! Get rid of him, fine him, get him out of baseball for good! That is the story that was now being written.
The fact is, he was prescribed HGH, for his injury, while not playing, and before they were banned by MLB! The guy was doing what doctors told him, so he could use his arm again, nothing illegal, or malicious about it!
In the end, the negative story that people feast on was written, and ended on that note. Good luck to Rick Ankiel, and his career. Maybe one day, a good comeback story, or story on how much work it takes to become a professional athlete will be on the cover. But for now, dogfighting and jail time seem to be dominate, so enjoy!
