AROD Has an Injured Hip!!!

Just kidding. I am not, or will I ever, write any piece about an injury to Alex Rodriguez. But I do think it is time for me to make a stand on the amount of news hovering around the "fraudulent one" and others like him. Over the past few months, I have heard enough about Manny, A-Rod, and T.O. to earn a Masters degree in needless drivel. I now watch Sportscenter through clenched teeth. When will the madness end?

First its A-Rod's love life, then his decision to play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, followed by the steroids allegations (I guess steroids can be purchased over the counter in the Dominican. Maybe that explains the loyalty), which were followed by the "Cousin Reports", which all inevitably led to the announcement that Rodriguez was severely injured and would need to drain a cyst out of his hip.

All of this A-Rod coverage was unsightly and unneccesary, because really when push comes to shove, I guess that 70% of the country couldn't care less about Rodriguez.

There are four major professional sports that are all currently involved in heavy regular season or off-season activity. I would gladly listen to developing stories about the NFL hot stove, MLB Spring Training or the WBC, the possible NCAA Tournament field, or the stretch drive towards what could be the best NBA season in years. Hell, I would even be more interested in the NHL trading deadline. But instead of any of this, I see the first twenty minutes of Sportscenter divided up between Manny(who I'll get to in a moment), A-Rod, and roughly 375 ESPN commentators eager to give their analysis.

And insightful it was. I learned that the Dodger offense will be noticeably better with Manny Ramirez finally signed, and that the Yankees will lose offensive production with ARod out of their lineup. You may think I am being overly simplistic in my description here, but I'm not. I literally sat and watched a talking head(in a distinct New York accent) make the argument that the Yankees will be hurt without ARod in the lineup. And this guy is getting paid to give us this analysis? OF COURSE the Yankees will lose offense without ARod! We don't need to hear a native New Yorker wallow in self-pity on-air for ten minutes to figure this out. It's common sense.

The same goes for the Manny Ramirez signing. Is there anyone who was truly sitting on the edge of their seat during the Manny Ramirez press conference after he signed his 2 year, 45 million dollar contract? Anybody besides the hordes of ESPN employees foaming at the mouth in the press corps? He signed roughly the exact same deal that the Dodgers put on the table four months ago, at the start of free agency. And up until the signing was announced earlier this week, the negotiations were kept under closer tabs than the national terror alert ratings. And the question I have is: who cares? It was painfully obvious that Manny had no other offers months ago. The story was beaten into the ground, unearthed, and then pummelled back into the earths core.

Now, I know that major sports outlets have to cater to the largest markets in the country first. But there needs to be limits. With the economy in as bad of shape as it is, I can't fathom how ESPN and others can afford to offer around the clock coverage on two aging baseball players.