The UEFA Champions league....Cash Cow.

   This weekend is the start of the footballing season across Europe. A few leagues such as the Premier league (England) and Ligue 1(French) have already had their inauguration games. A couple of games in then that vexatious international break never fails to arrive. All that being said not far away is the champions league is about to begin! To be more specific, the UEFA Champions league group stage is about to begin. Which is where the issue seems to be dormant for the time being. The group stage is probably the worst part of the whole tournament, coming a close second is the economic result of the Continental tournament heavily favoring the pockets of the big clubs. The new fixture for the 2018-2019 is a sign on how much negotiation power the bigger clubs have. (Gab Marcotti from espn does a great job at describing the new decisions made by UEFA   http://www.espnfc.com/blog/marcottis-musings/62/post/2930404/uefa-champions-league-structural-changes-as-explained-by-gab-marcotti). Aside from the money and redundant group stage with similar teams and soon to be common teams the champions league is a fantastic tournament. The best players, managers, and play is displayed for the world to see in champions league. But, the group stages are getting me fed up and just boring. ( I am aware of reasons behind the group stage commercial and sporting wise) The entertainment is just not cutting it for me. The excitement doesn't begin for me until January when the group stage is over and the knockout phase begins. It is a bit of a rant, but as a fan of the game I can and will complain about the games structure. Now I understand the game cannot go back to the Di Stefano days where only the first place team from the league is given entry to the tournament. Barcelona and Real Madrid, if one of those teams misses out it would be a huge commercial and financial lost for a lot of people. But wouldn't it be more exciting if Manchester City had a home and away knockout game vs AJAX or Porto vs Real Madrid in the same knockout format? there would have to be stages as well to compensate the bigger teams. Which is done in the knock out cups in most leagues anyways such as the Copa Del Rey. Where the weaker teams play each other in a knockout stage before they reach the round of 32 in which that is where the first division teams are seeded. I will continue to watch the champions league it is a fantastic and entertaining tournament to watch. I just feel that the hiccups that is the group stage went from okay it happens to now it is just annoying stage. I understand that the champions league is a cash cow, but no matter how rich that cow gets, it is still a cow and not very fun to watch for 7 months.

Let there be drugs at the Olympics

   The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio is finally here! The opening ceremony commences tonight. The excitement of the games will be displayed on television for the world to watch. Who wins gold, silver, or bronze. Which country can boast the most medals. How many Olympic records were broken and by who? The excitement of the games are amplified with these questions at the fore front of our minds while we watch phenomenal athletes compete. Every four years we are entertained and fascinated. Yet, it feels like after, during, and even before the games start there is a scandal that reveals the cheaters and breaks the hearts of the many fans. We weren't let down this year, Russia made sure of that. Impressive I must admit. A systemic method in place to beat the test for doping. I confess that I believe that performance enhancing drugs should not play a part in any sporting event. Especially something as traditional and historic as the Olympics. Why? They work. EPO, AA-steroids and HGH are a few drugs used by athletes to get that competitive edge. Now I am on the side of the playing field should be leveled and fair, but it is not. And the drug testing police are failing miserably. 

   There is a lot of money that goes into these programs that require expert scientist in their respected fields along with lab equipment to police the many athletes that compete in the games. There is a debate in that alone, whether enough money is being distributed to these programs to work or are they just a waste of money and time. I read an article from VICE sports that from all the testing that is done on these athletes only 1% are ever caught. That number seems really low, which in favor of the test state is a great sign. Athletes are cheating less. However, that is a bit naive to think considering athletes are always willing to push the limits and are risk takers by their natural characteristics. In that same article there was a survey taken by athletes in an anonymous fashion that revealed that over 40% of athletes were on some PED and over 80% have used PEDs at least once. Those results are pretty shocking given the fact that only 1% of athletes that take PEDs are caught. In fact, most of if not all of the big PED scandals has come from a whistler blower. BALCO and biogenesis and so on have all been due to a person going to the press. To this day Lance Armstrong has not tested positive on any drug test he has taken. My professor who taught sports philosophy and ethics showed us a calendar from a cyclist he knows very well. That calendar had all the big cycling events he was going to compete in, as well as when to inject or draw out blood during his training regiment. This cyclist no Lance Armstrong, yet he still is doping just to get that competitive edge. He is ranked 170 in the world at the time I was in class. I did not get a name so I do not know whether he improved, did worse, or got caught. 

   With that being said and shun a bright light on, I can't ignore the fact that these athletes are not only good at beating each other in competition, but are pros at beating these drug tests. The real threat to these athletes is the drugs they take. These are not FDA approved drugs, in fact who know what else is added to the PED in order to "mask" them from being detected. Those who provide these drugs are not doctors, they are "some guy from the gym or streets" which is terrifying. Simple answer is for athletes to not take them. Which is easier said than done, when Olympic glory is on the line and there is only a 1% chance of getting caught those odds are really great odds in favor of the athlete.    

   My solution would be to let the drugs flow at the Olympics. Those athletes taking PEDs would still be able to compete as long as they reported what they were using and remain under doctor supervision throughout the year. The athletes who prefer not to take PEDs wont have to feel forced to because they will know who is on them and who isn't. The drug testing will still take place for ALL athletes in competition. However, this time if an athlete is caught there is no punishment. It will be a notification and a reporting on what supplements are being taken. That would hopefully eliminate any other criminal activity that is associated with doping. As for the competition itself both types of athletes should compete side by side. The fascination and awe of a PED free athlete beating an athlete on steroids would cause more of a positive outlook on the sport than the gold medalist being stripped of his or her medal due to a positive drug test. Now that being said there would have to be two forms of earning a medal in an event. A set for non doping athletes and another set for the doping athletes. But for now we shall enjoy and watch the games with fascination and skepticism.