ok tell me the deal with this..

major league baseball is in the middle of a steroid contraversy..making bonds look like a total asshole..therye all about saying steroids are so bad, blah blah blah..

but when shilling went out to pitch the other night..they spent like an hour talking about how hes injecting himself with all these painkillers so he could beat the yankees and take his beloved redsox to the series

now what the fuck kind of message is this..its not good for steriods to enhance your game, but if youre feeling hurt its ok to get whacked out on pain killers..

what message does this send to young athletes..ok im hurt, but ill just pop a few of these pills..no biggie..look at shilling..he won a big game doing it..

let me tell you something..pain killer abuse is 1000X more of a problem than steroid abuse in this country..

How is it abuse when he's really trying to conquer pain?

man this could be such a difficult argument, i agree that its not abuse(though it could become an addiction) to use it when you are in pain, but there can also be an argument that if you are hurt and use pain killers to keep from feeling the pain, then isnt that also enhancing your performance.
and i also agree that its not somehting that should be made light of because you can do so much damage to your body if you are already hurt and you take away the pain, you wont feel the further damage you are causing.
i wanna see what other peoples thoughts on this are

I know what you're saying, but I think the point is he could have fought the pain by not playing. If he hadn't pitched that game, he probably wouldn't have needed to load up on painkillers. He used the pain killers for the sole purpose of allowing himself to pitch the game. I think it's abuse because he didn't NEED it... he could have just not pitched.

Not pitch? Thats was a HUGE game to not pitch. Pitching is his job, that is what he does and loves to do so taking painkillers to help him do his job shouldnt be a big deal.

I agree that it's two-faced. Many athletes would like to use anabolic steroids to recover faster from injury, but can't. I don't see that use as being any different than using pain killers to stay out there longer.

But pain killers don't have any enhancing qualities to perfectly healthy athletes, so that's why they're OK and steroids aren't.

Painkillers don't "enhance" one's performance. They certainly allow one to perform, but I wouldn't say they're performance enhancers per se.

I wouldn't even say they "allow" one to perform. He could've pitched just as well without them; he just would've been in a heck of a lot of pain.

not necessarily..

picture his performance without them (its hard to say how he would perform, but lets assume hed be in a lot of pain)..with all the pain, he wouldnt be able to perform as well..but when given the painkillers he performed well..therefore, using the painkillers enhanced his play

..what im saying him being allowed to perform as opposed to sitting on the bench is an enhancement of condition

and im not saying that he abused them (which is possible, very possible)..im saying using them a few times can lead to addiction

my concern was that baseball was putting on a story that steroids are bad and young athletes should stay away..but downplaying these pain killers

we should steer young people away from these painkillers and have them sit it out..as tough as it may be for them as competitors

1. like i said, it is so easy to get addicted..i have friends on them, i know..see, shilling has the best trainers in the world..hs athletes do not..these trainers regulate what shilling takes..you cant expect an 18 year old starting shortstop to maintain control without help

2. these young kids dont know the long term effects..being that shilling is on the tail end of his career this isnt as improtant (except if you think of the big picture of being able to walk as opposed to pitching)..if you keep shooting up a younger athlete so they could play..he dont feel the pain..but the wear and tear continues on the injury during play..this unknown wear and tear could lead to something more serious and end their young careers..

What's your point?


Couldn't this have done via carrier pigeon?

Not just the MLB though...

and to hit is a hitters job, that is what they do and love and love to do roids allow hitters to do their job, why're roids a big deal?

I've been thinking about this issue a lot lately, and while I still feel that roids shouldn't be used, I think that should be the players' union's decision more than a rules thing. The painkiller issue is on the same level for me.

well, the way i see it, most if not all roids are illegal to anyone, aside from a dr's prescription. how in the world all sports don't ban them is beyond me. now i know there are roids out there that are undectable as of right now, but even still, there are plenty of others that aren't

Bonds doesn't need to rely on anyone else to portray him as an asshole...he does a bang up job for himself.

I took Excedrin before going to work this week. Same thing.

steroids allow a player a competitive advantage. Painkillers allow a player to play.

Im a photographer, I had a muscle pull in my hand that was killing me at a wedding a few weeks ago. I had to take some advil so that i could do my job, i see no difference.

This has got to be the dumbest thread I have ever read.

There is NO comparison to what he is taking to steriods. I believe it is Narcan (sp?) that he is injecting. All it does is kill the pain and allow him to do his job. If I could remember the correct spelling of it, I could look it up