Drugs & Olympics

The drug wars happen in sports too. So, there are two wars on drugs today, one in society and another in sports. With both, as is the case in all wars, the media gets twisted and manipulated. Furthermore, those in various camps are often cluess as to what the others are doing.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/olympics/2004/track/08/13/greek.sprinters.ap/index.html

In the story above, my hunch about the Greeks pulling a clever trick seems to be off the mark. It would NOT have been much of a suprise me to see them step out of the hospital to light the torch at the opening. Something is still unsaid.

LA Times reported on Monday, day 3 of the games:

Off the field, the International Olympic Committee canceled a hearing for a second time with Greek sprinters Costas Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou, who missed a drug test before the Games and have been withdrawn by the Greek Olympic Committee pending a hearing with the IOC. Kenteris and Thanou were accused of failing to report for a drug test.

New Jersey: Former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler

The resignation sets the stage for a shift of focus in the Garden State. There is still more limelight to be given to the to scandals of the outgoing Governor. However, the questions of who will be the next elected governor become more pressing.

I'm pulling for the former Jersey City Mayor, Bret Schundler. Bret, a Republican and fiscal conservative, won my attention as he was a mayor in a town that was overwhelmed with Dems. The landscape in Jersey City is even worse than what we face in Pittsburgh. One party rule was everywhere. Corruption came with that there as well.

Bret's story is one that Pittsburghers should study. Bret will be running for the head spot in NJ as Pittsburgh seeks its way in the 2005 mayors race. So, we share a common time-line.

Big events often happen in sets of three. Resignations happened with governors in CT and NJ. The third could be, in our wildest hope, that of Tom Murphy, mayor of Pittsburgh.