Sports

Joke's on who?

Some called Nov. 13 the blackest day in baseball history, while still others rejoiced. Such are the mixed emotions following Major League Baseball's discovery that somewhere between 5 and 7 percent of the random steroid tests of its players came back positive. Whatever the outcome, the findings confirmed what many have suspected for years: Baseball has a drug problem.

Baseball's players union had fought steroid testing for years, but tests revealing the steroid use triggered further investigation and penalties. Many fans rejoiced, hoping that rooting out baseball's steroid usage would place baseball's old record-makers on a level playing field with the new record-chasers.

But the penalties for failing drug tests that will begin next year have some experts crying foul. Failing the first test will lead to treatment. Only after flunking a second test would a player be punished with a 15 day suspension and a $10,000 fine. The penalties culminate in a one-year suspension for a fifth violation. In most Olympic sports, a first doping violation leads to a two-year suspension. A second results in a lifetime ban. "I think [baseball's new rule] a complete and utter joke," World Anti-Doping Agency head Dick Pound said.