SPORTS
2005
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Andy Newman/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Budweiser Select, piloted by John Tomlinson, of Miami, and David Scott, of Edwardsville, Ill., leaps out in the front of Big Thunder after the starter showed the green flag during the first of three race days at the Key West World Championship Wednesday in Key West, Fla. Big Thunder is driven by Dennis Hillhouse, of Shawnee and Bob Morgan, of Gravois Mills, Mo. Budweiser leads the Superboat class with the final two races set for Saturday and Sunday.
STEROIDS
Pressure taken off of MLB
New policy is the strictest in sports
BY HOWARD FENDRICH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Congress is sending a message to the NFL, NBA, NHL and their players: Now that baseball strengthened its steroids policy, we're turning our attention to you.
"We don't think we need to stiffen our penalties," NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw said Wednesday. "Let Congress act if they want to." Upshaw said. "We have put a responsible model in place. We didn't need Congress to tell us to put it in, so why would we need them to modify it?"
But those other leagues and unions aren't necessarily planning to get right to work rewriting drug-testing programs that already have been made tougher since lawmakers began focusing on the issue eight months ago.
"We have the toughest program now in American sports," commissioner Bud Selig said at the baseball owners' meeting in Milwaukee, "and I'm proud of that."
That's true: During the series of House and Senate hearings on steroids in sports, Major League Baseball repeatedly was criticized, and the NFL praised. As NFL spokesman Joe Browne said: "Other sports have modeled their drug programs after ours, which has been around more than 15 years."
"It's actually our model that they have been holding up as the way to go."
But the landscape changed dramatically Tuesday, when baseball owners and players agreed to a 50-game suspension without pay for a first offense, a 100-game suspension for a second offense and a lifetime ban for a third. Baseball also added testing for amphetamines.
Under the new deal, a player would miss nearly a third of a
162-game season after a first failed test. The NFL's initial fourgame penalty costs a player a quarter of a 16-game season, the NHL's 20-game initial penalty is about a quarter of an 82-game season, and the NBA's 10-game initial penalty is about an eighth of an 82-game season.
— sponsored a bill with a two-year ban for a first offense and a lifetime ban for a second across pro sports. By Tuesday, though, they were supporting legislation sponsored by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., with a half-season ban, followed by a one season ban, then lifetime ban.
"The NFLs policy was recognized as the best in professional sports when they testified in April. Baseball's now adopted more stringent penalties and has a much more complete list of banned substances," Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said.
He and Tom Davis, R-Va.— chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, which held the March 17 hearing with Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco
"We'll leave it there and see what the other major league sports do." Bunning said. "We are very anxious to rid all professional sports of any ... steroids or amphetamines."
While that legislation was put on hold after baseball's announcement, those four lawmakers, plus the sponsor of another House bill, Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., all made clear the threat of congressional intervention isn't disappearing.
Stearns was most cautious about praising baseball, saying he wants to see a signed deal. Owners could ratify the agreement at their meetings that began Wednesday in Milwaukee. The union's executive board will decide when it meets Dec. 5-9 in Henderson, Nev., whether all players should vote to ratify the agreement — or if board approval is enough.
Or, in Davis' words: "We reserve the right to push the button" on the legislation.
The NHL didn't test for steroids until the current season, and the league and union think they're on the right track, with players' association executive director Ted Saskin saying Wednesday: "Our policy will ensure that performanceenhancing substances never become a problem in our sport."
policy," Stearns said in a telephone interview. "I've dealt with them before in a hearing and they made promises and nothing happened. I'm not convinced."
"We're still in discussions with some of the other sports," Davis said. "Hockey, in our judgment, has a fairly weak system."
He also still thinks steroids rules should be standardized across sports.
'This is a promise and not a
The NHL didn't test for steroids until the current season, and the league and union think they're on the right track, with players' association executive director Ted Saskin saying Wednesday: "Our policy will ensure that performance-enhancing substances never become a problem in our sport."
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly took exception to Davis' comment.
"We don't at all agree that the program we have negotiated and implemented is weak. To the contrary, we believe we have a very strong program in a sport that has no experience or history of problems with performance-enhancing drugs," Daly wrote in an e-mail to the AP.
"We're happy to continue to work and cooperate with Congress to address and hopefully satisfy whatever concerns they might have. It would be premature at best to speculate at this time whether we and the NHLPA would be prepared to make changes to our newly bargained program."
MEN'S BASKETBALL
No Maui on the mind Jayhawks must focus on Friday's game first
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWITTER
"It's like a five-hour flight," the freshman forward said. "I will be able to get a lot of homework done."
"We haven't talked to our guys about going to Maui," Self said.
It's obvious that Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self has not talked to his team about its upcoming trip across the ocean to compete in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. In all actuality, Wright will have about 11 hours to tend to his assignments. But that is not the team's focus right now; the Jayhawks are concentrating only on their season-opener against Idaho State on Friday night.
Self said the Jayhawks focused solely on Idaho State yesterday in practice and would do the same today. He said he wouldn't talk about Maui until after Friday's game.
This strategy seems to have
worked for Self. Ask any Kansas basketball player about being in 80 degree weather with sunshine and beaches, and he will save the same thing.
"I haven't even been thinking about Maui," sophomore guard Russell Robinson said. "I've been thinking about the first game and trying to get a good start to the season."
"We'll tell them. 'Hey guys, be packed and ready to go here by 8 a.m." Self chuckled. "And we'll do most of the packing for
Self said the Jayhawks focused solely on Idaho State yesterday in practice and would do the same today. He said he wouldn't talk about Maui until after Friday's game.
them so they don't really have that many responsibilities, but our whole focus right now is Idaho State."
The Jayhawks realize the next two days are important. After today's practice and tomorrow's game, they will have only a short practice on Sunday in Maui to prepare to play three games in three days.
"We know right now we are getting ready for playing four games by next Friday," Wright said. "We've been doing a good job preparing and taking everything in and playing in practice seriously and getting better throughout every day."
— Edited by Erin Wisdom
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Developer pitches stadium
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The stadium would be the centerpiece of proposed attractions in the Watertower area that developer Michael Johnson
TOPEKA — A developer making a pitch for an entertainment district in downtown Topeka is proposing a minor league baseball stadium with a retractable roof as the focus of the plan.
"We feel like this is a diamond in the rough for minor league baseball," said Johnson, 47, a former minor league player
wants to rename as the "Gaslight Entertainment District." Meeting with members of the Topeka City Council on Tuesday, Johnson outlined a plan that would include retail business, offices, loft apartments and green space, plus a walkway leading to the nearby Ritchie House historic site.
who now lives in Pennsylvania but said he planned to move to Topeka. Johnson estimated the entertainment district would produce 4,000 to 5,000 yearround jobs for Topeka.
Johnson estimated the cost at between $100 million and $120 million, including $18 million to $22 million for the 5,500-seat stadium. He said national corporations had expressed interest in buying naming rights.
Eagle takes flight
Joseph Kaczmarek/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Joseph Kaczmarek/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philadelphia Eagles' Mike McMahon throws during practice, Wednesday in Philadelphia. Donovan McBab will miss Philadelphia's game against the New York Giants on Sunday with a groin injury. McMahon, who had been the third-string quarterback, will get the start over backup Kovet Detmer.