Err, baseball anyone? For those who follow the game, obviously you have kept track of the recent Mitchell Report that has brought out almost every tainted player from the closet on charges of steroid abuse - and that pretty much happens to be almost every player in the league.
But there was a breath of fresh air during that ‘dirty’ weekend - an indication that the prize for staying clean can be quite encouraging.
I refer, of course, to Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $275 million (Dhs 1.01 billion) deal with the New York Yankees, easily the biggest transaction in the history of American sport.
The deal has managed, in part, to overshadow the scandal, and everyone is asking what this will mean for Rodriguez. When we refer to the deal as huge, how huge is huge?
Well, for instance, his $27.5m (Dhs 101m) annual pay cheque pretty much cleans out the bank, since it is nearly 12 times the average for the league last season and more than the entire take-home for the Devil Rays for this season.
In terms of potential, the critics have labelled Rodriguez (pictured), or A-Rod, as the most complete, all-round player in baseball. He is well in line to overhaul Barry Bonds’ record of 762 home runs, but in terms of performance, especially when he is compared to some of the legends in other sports, he is a bit of an underachiever.
But no matter, a competent agent can work wonders in the world of sport and since A-Rod’s biggest brag is that he is not tainted, and therefore assures his employers of longevity, the deal was a no-brainer.
Small wonder that he is earning far more than other icons of American sport at their peak (after factoring in inflation), such as Michael Jordan ($7.8m or Dhs 28.64m); Wayne Gretzky ($3.7m or Dhs 13.58m) and Joe Montana ($42.6m or Dhs 156.45m).
And when you factor in that baseball is enjoying unprecedented growth in the US and Canada, and therefore giving rise to escalating salary levels, A-Rod may actually get quite a few Christmas cards from his colleagues in MLB.
Suffice to say that, for the moment, the happy Yankee has scored the maximum, in terms of making a point both in money and principle.
And while many colleagues, shamed by Senator George Mitchell, may believe and are wishing otherwise, the star is adamant that he is worth every dollar. A-Rod, you see, did not take the 'roids.
