And we think WE have a steroid problem!

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In St. Louis we'll always have the Mark McGwire aftertaste when it comes to a discussion of steroids.  But at least we got to enjoy the ride to the home run record first. 

Imagine how it feels to be a Bulgarian today.  In that little Eastern European nation, weightlifting is  a reason to gather around the TV.  It's the nation's second most popular sport according to many observers, and, of course, the Olympics are the Super Bowl of such sports.

And today, Bulgaria has withdrawn its beloved weightlifting team from the Olympics.  Did someone fail a steroids test?  Nearly all of them did!  Eleven weightlifters, eight men and three women, all tested positive for the juice.  With barely a team left, they just pulled out.  This comes just days after eleven Greeks were caught 'roiding, leaving a team of four to represent the birthplace of democracy in Beijing. 

A quick aside.  Things less surprising than weightlifters being nailed for steroid use:

• The sun rising.
• Federal taxes coming out of your paycheck.
• A St. Louisan asking where you went to high school.

Anyway, as bad as the whole baseball thing has seemed in recent years, this should be a reminder to us all that this is not just a baseball problem or just an American problem.  Unfortunately it's part of human nature.  If you put a bunch of hyper-competitive people in a room, they'll all start looking for any edge they can get. 

I wonder of Ivan Stoitsov has a highway named after him in Bulgaria.  I wonder if anyone wants to re-name it.