Reading this piece by the NY Post's Mike Vaccaro is interesting on two levels. One is the main one about the damage to Barry Bonds's reputation that this BALCO scandal has caused.
But, I also like the way he dismisses any interest in Marion Jones or Tim Montgomery. Track & field stars simply make no impact in the US. As much as this will damage baseball, this scandal may deliver a fatal blow to the Olympic movement. Now that the US press has realized that American stars are cheaters too, I suspect we'll be getting a steady diet of this kind of thing during the Olympics. And, if that happens, Americans just won't bother watching. Olympic sports are not part of the culture and they will not be missed.
So, New York, London and others - bid for the 2012 games at your own risk. American audiences (and money) may be much smaller by then.
{And, if you want the conspiracy angle —
President Bush talked about performance-enhancing drugs in his State of the Union. Next we have articles in the press outing big name stars, undermining baseball greats, but also (possibly) killing American interest in the Olympics. This summer's games may just scrape by, but the next games may really suffer. And, where are they being held? Beijing, whose big payday is in serious doubt now.}
