February is usually a busy month for sports anyway.

The Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl, spring training, the NBA All-Star Game and trading deadline, and college basketball heating up.

This year, nothing else is worth talking about except the fall of Alex Rodriguez.

He entered the scene in 1994, a 19 year old rookie shortstop for the Seattle Mariners. He hit just .204 in the first exposure to the "Bigs".

The following year, he did little to impress offensively hitting just .232 in 48 games.

In 1996, he came into his own hitting.358 with 36 home runs, and 123 RBI's.

Since then, he has finished a season under .300 just three times, amassing a career .306 average.

Add to that his 553 home runs, 1606 RBI's, 3 MVP's and 2 Gold Glove awards and there is no doubt that he is one of the game's all time greats- by the numbers.

Then came two weeks ago and the revelation that he tested positive for banned performance enhancing drugs. On top of that, was Tuesday's press conference when he admitted to being administered a drug by his cousin over three years while with the Texas Rangers.

Let's not even talk about the fact that no one seems to know what the drug 'boli' is that he was admitted to taking. This wreaks of being just the tip of the iceberg with him.

And with the admissions and press conferences comes the realization that aside from his inability to hit in the clutch in the post-season, his real weakness is that he was human and fallible.

He apparently is capable of making a lot of bad decisions. Listening to his cousin, coming to New York, lying to Katie Couric, agreeing to move to third base...you get the idea.

And we are left holding the pieces of yet another athlete we have put on a pedastal only to see that very same edifice come crumbling down in an earthquake of reality.

For the record, he's a Yankee so I never admired him as much as some other players. But I did respect his ability and his place in history.

Now, all 553 of those home runs are questionable. Every one of those seasons above the .300 mark is tinged.

This era can't get over fast enough for me.
_________________________________________________________________
Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Live.
http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/