Game of Shadows

Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, authors of Game of Shadows, make a compelling case concerning the use of performance enhancing substances in sport. Designer steroids (such as the Clear and the Cream) or Human Growth Hormone have powered numerous athletic achievements, from baseball’s home run chases to the 2000 Olympics. After reading the book, it is difficult to take any sporting record seriously.

Where is the line? Where do vitamins or natural products like flaxseed oil end and controlled substances like steroids or H.G.H. begin? Lance Armstrong’s decision to devote his entire career to train for the Tour de France gives him an advantage over competitors who contest a full cycling season. How is that different from Barry Bonds’ choice to sculpt his body so he can maximize his ability to hit for power?

Sport has been plagued by a lack of consistency and fluctuating standards. According to the authors, Jason Giambi was a B.A.L.C.O. regular yet Bud Selig has announced that he will not be penalized because he admitted his transgressions. Steroids were not banned in baseball before 2003, so what grounds remain to sanction Bonds? Perjury, arrogance, and rudeness?

Ty Cobb, Cap Anson, and numerous friends of former Veterans’ Committee members are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. There is no reason to retroactively place an asterisk besides Bonds’ records (besides, he passed baseball’s drug testing programme and won two M.V.P. Awards in 2003 and 2004).

Drug testing could be an exact science yet some athletes have created the impression that the results are vague and imprecise. Also, uniformity is lacking because of differences across the globe, such as those between W.A.D.A. and the U.S. Track & Field. Sport requires standards: to clearly outline what is permitted and what is not and to enforce the rules.

Professional sport is unwilling to seriously do this. First of all, professional sport is for entertainment only (i.e. N.B.A. officiating). Secondly, early deaths in wrestling have established that although there is a severe cost to anabolic steroid use, athletes are still willing to knowingly cheat in order to chase fleeting fame.

Until the murky situation is clarified - and Game of Shadows suggests that it’s far more pervasive than most people think - it isn’t possible or fair to prosecute athletes for doing things that were previously within the rules. Perhaps fish oil will be banned tomorrow; what a high performance athlete eats is radically different a “lay-person’s diet” that there is hardly any connection.

Where is the line? How do we know what athletic accomplishments are legitimate and which were aided by other substances? Why is pine tar treated differently than H.G.H.? Why can Mark McGwire have an exhibit in Cooperstown while Joe Jackson cannot? I think that sport should reboot all of the rules and proceed under a system where anything goes or ban all cheating.

The Theory of Moral Relativity

Quentin Tarantino once mentionned that his favourite movie is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, a Sergio Leone western possessing certain similarities to 1994’s Pulp Fiction, which I screened last week at the Bloor Cinema.

Specifically, the films feature superb soundtracks, showcase low-key - yet realistic - performances, and break numerous conventions. Depicting characters who attempt to achieve righteousness while committing crimes, the films did not receive the recognition they merited at the time of their release because tradition withstands violence, irony, and other elements that comprise entertaining art. After all, How Green Was My Valley beat out Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, and Suspicion for the 1941 Academy Award.

Leone’s cinematography looks at the big picture, the dialogue emphasizes the importance of actions over words. Tarantino’s direction has a more narrow focus, achieving realism by filming extended scenes of mundane dialogue among chaos. Each film has influenced popular culture and standards, showing audiences that there are more than one way to fill the unforgiving minute.

The audience identifies with Jules and Blondie although they would never emulate their deeds. People wanted to drive a beer truck into the arena like Stone Cold Steve Austin did. James Stewart wouldn’t have done that but there are more grey areas today.

As they respectively search for that briefcase and two hundred thousand dollars worth of gold, the protagonists seek personal fulfillment. Several times Jules and Blondie benefit from Deus ex machina devices in order to escape death and they are inspired by and thankful for their survival (to various degrees). The search for treasure evolves from a purely material venture to a personal quest. Walking a road lined occasionally with aphorisms and verse, the two manage to reach their goal.

“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs.
- Rudyard Kipling, If--
(unsure if I recall that from a Sopranos DVD or the Everyman’s Library).

Unfortunately, Vincent and Angel Eyes had to bite the dust because they did not move on and develop themselves. Vincent may have shown some bright sports, but he did not move on beyond his inherent cynicism. He saves a life but is still -1 during the film. On a scale from Blondie to Angel Eyes, Tuco is a moral person - barely. Despite an imperfect past, it’s still possible to be a good person, making one’s own way through the world like Yojimbo.

Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool.
- T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

So why sweat the little things? Especially when they are almost all litte things.

Justify yourself to your own standards and move on.

Identity, Choices, and Perspective

“No man can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which one may be true.”
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Regrettably, I played on a summer league team that was absolutely blown out in the playoffs; fortunately, I was able to reflect on the outcome and develop some good rules for handling this situation in the future.

Establish and maintain a consistent identity: Once a coaching career is underway, every time one steps on the court they must determine beforehand whether they will play or coach that game. It is not possible to do both well and I don’t think it’s possible to have fun performing poorly, irrespective of the number of middling performances.

Select a role and define goals before beginning. Whether leader or part of the whole, execute responsibilities as best as possible.

Establish whether the team will be comprised of friends or players: It’s fun to run with friends just for laughs but it’s frustrating to play with teammates who hold different motivations. Once again, goals and responsibilities must be clearly defined and team objectives and obligations must be outlined collectively. The pursuit of glory and self-actualization can stress even the best relationships so prevent potential conflicts when choosing team members.

Establish a sense of perspective: Most of time, basketball is merely a game. Wishing for an entire guard rotation taller than 6-2 is vain because whilst that would be a boon when confronted by athletic teams, it’s not happening in a summer league.

It shouldn’t take an Ignmar Bergman film to understand that the hardwood is not paramount and that while the game is seductive, it should never wreak meaningful consequences, whether it is cross words among friends, clichéd aphorisms during the huddle, or stress after the game.

Comedian: “Aren’t there special rules for actors?”
Death: “No, not in this case.”
- The Seventh Seal