TORONTO (AP) -- Jason Giambi escaped punishment from commissioner Bud Selig on Thursday because of the Yankee slugger's charitable work and cooperation with baseball's steroids investigator.

Selig, speaking on the second and final day of an owners meeting, called this an ''appropriate decision.''

Giambi has acknowledged a ''personal history regarding steroids.'' He agreed to speak with former Sen. George last month after Selig threatened to discipline him if he refused to cooperate.

''He's doing a lot of public-service work, and I think that's terribly important,'' Selig said. ''He was, I thought, very frank and candid with Sen. Mitchell, at least that was the senator's conclusion. Given everything, this is an appropriate decision.'' :idea:

US pro sports have bigger things to worry about like gambling refs and players shaving points.

The thing with baseball that kills me is the public perception that doping doesn't matter somehow becasue it's a skills game while cycling is purely endureance. It's killing me.

If his admissions were somehow linked to better testing, I'd be ok with it.

If you want guys to come forward and cooperate, you can't smack them down when they do. Some of Selig's reasoning is stupid (he does charity work??), but I think the decision is a good one. Cycling does not understand this. The various agencies want guys to come forward on the their own so they can be punished. Hell, cycling wants to punish guys on suspicion alone! Good luck with that.

The thing with baseball that kills me is the public perception that doping doesn't matter somehow becasue it's a skills game while cycling is purely endureance. It's killing me.

If his admissions were somehow linked to better testing, I'd be ok with it.Reading endless sportswriter drivel about how evil Barry Bonds is and how tainted his record is, I don't really see that the public perception is that doping in baseball doesn't matter.

Which isn't to say I think baseball should change anything it's doing. Baseball's approach seems consistent with the game actually prospering.

If you want guys to come forward and cooperate, you can't smack them down when they do. Some of Selig's reasoning is stupid (he does charity work??), but I think the decision is a good one. Cycling does not understand this. The various agencies want guys to come forward on the their own so they can be punished. Hell, cycling wants to punish guys on suspicion alone! Good luck with that.

IMHO the agencies in cycling are going at the doping from an amature sports perspective. Also, the UCI and WADA have leaders (Dickie) that want to show how powerful they are. Baseball, football/soccer and other pro team sports do not have to deal with the UCI and WADA or they seem to dominate them. I have yet to hear of any other athelete but a cyclist being named and something being done about it.

Just some thoughts,
F

IMHO the agencies in cycling are going at the doping from an amature sports perspective. Also, the UCI and WADA have leaders (Dickie) that want to show how powerful they are. Baseball, football/soccer and other pro team sports do not have to deal with the UCI and WADA or they seem to dominate them. I have yet to hear of any other athelete but a cyclist being named and something being done about it.

Just some thoughts,
F

No question about it, pro cycling needs a czar like MLB, NFL and NBA has with their leadership. All the fragmented power in cycling doesn't help getting it back on track.

Reading endless sportswriter drivel about how evil Barry Bonds is and how tainted his record is, I don't really see that the public perception is that doping in baseball doesn't matter.

Which isn't to say I think baseball should change anything it's doing. Baseball's approach seems consistent with the game actually prospering.
I see your point. However, my point is that while most fans may see Bonds and his record as tainted, the sport as a whole is not--unlike cycling, even though it's pretty well-established that most guys in baseball doped for a while. From my experience, there's more willingness to consider baseball doping as less insidious and less pervasive than in cycling. Just my perspective.