The three little commissioners and the big bad controversy

The month of July is usually reserved for meaningless trade deadline talk in baseball and the arrival of training camp in football. This year, that is not the case – there is enough action in each of the three major sports to keep us busy well into each sport's respective season. There is a wide of array of controversies that range from dog fighting, gambling and a commissioner that until recently has not been able to simply make up his mind. It seems that daily there is another black eye besmirching sports that makes us wonder why we are even sports fans to begin with. The three commissioners in question are Roger Goodell, David Stern and Bud Selig, and they all have unique situations to deal with. The three respective "leaders" in each sport also have their own ways of dealing with and doling out the proper judgment.

The Barry Bonds home run train is currently back home in San Francisco, and so is Bud Selig. The major question surrounding the chase for the all-time home run record has been whether the commissioner would even be in attendance when Barry Bonds broke Henry Aaron's record of 755 homers. The indecisive Selig may still get a reprieve from having to photo-op with Bonds if the latter is able to finish the chase while the commissioner is in Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame festivities this weekend. If that does not happen and the always nervous looking Selig is forced to face his maker and congratulate the new home run king, then that will make for interesting television at the very least. This saga is far from over; but, it is just another black eye on a commissioner that has let baseball down again and again.

While Bud Selig merely faces a P.R. nightmare, David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, has to take on a problem that had bedeviled sports for as long as I can remember. Gambling, and its inevitable trappings. When the news came out that referee Tim Donaghy had allegedly helped fix games in an attempt to clear gambling debts with the mafia. The news did not surprise many - there has always been a cloud of suspicion over the NBA because of television ratings, star treatment and highly questionable calls by past referees that have raised an eyebrow or two. Is there anything that David Stern can do? The answer will satisfy few. There is really very little he can do; Stern cannot go back in time and correct the situation before, say, Game Three of the Western Conference semi-finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns. It is unlikely we will ever know the extent to which Tim Donaghy fixed or manipulated games. The NBA will have to earn their already shaky trust back one game at a time.

The problem that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has is to determine whether he has the power to suspend a player that has no criminal record, and have it stick without a fight. Although it may the easiest of the three controversies, because dog fighting and the cruel acts of torture that Vick and co-defendants are accused of is completely indefensible. It will be easier to force a season-long suspension on Vick with little public outcry. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the players union will not stand in the commissioner's way, and will likely go hand in hand with the league down the road to justice.

Sports used to be a way out of our daily grind. A chance to forget our problems and take two or three hours with our friends and family to just not worry about anything other than making sure our team won. It is obvious that the current major-sport commissioners have very different problems and very different ways of dealing them. I think Roger Goodell's brick house will stand the test of time – he has shown the fortitude to do what is right; to make sure that his game is as clean as he can keep it. David Stern's stick house might be about to get blown over by a controversy that few can survive. The issue of gambling is the most deadly in sports, and can damage a fan's trust in that sport forever. Not to be forgotten, Bud Selig's house of straw is already lying in a heap on the ground. This players union patsy has never shown the courage to do what is best for the game of baseball. There is a reason that the NFL is king in the sports world.