Hello my name is Jamie Lazaroff and welcome to my first post. I’m a huge sports fan whose happen to have a disability. I like all sports and have strong opinion a about just about all of them. My column will not be about just people with disability in sports but about my opinion on the issue of the week.

Were do I start this week. We have the NBA referee betting scandal, we have Michael Vick in the NFL being indicted on federal dog fighting changes, we have the on going Barry Bonds on the brick of breaking the home run record and should Hank Aaron and the commissioner be there we he breaks it. On top of that you have the Tour de France and that doping scandal.

I like to start with Barry Bonds. He have not been indicted by the grand jury yet, if he breaks the record before he is indicted at lest the commissioner needs to be there because ever if you like Barry Bonds or not (and I do not) you have to respect him for breaking one of sports most hollowed records. In this country you are incite till prin gurry and as they see the jury is still out if he used steroids and all we have to goby is two books, one by a former teammate.

The referee betting scandal in the NBA is a black eye to a once proud league, but this does not surprise me. I can see how basketball could be fixed. Where have had game fixing scandal in college basketball for years, Boston College had a game fixing scandal just in the last few years. I have gone to a lot college, pro women and high school games college and pro women as well as high school and I can see how easy it could be to fix game. What does surprise me is that it to this long to get to the NBA, but with younger and younger people in your league both player and offices it was bound to happen.

Michael Vick is a sad story. I’m not an animal person at all but I do have an sfore side for dogs. I think the Atlanta Falcons and the NFL did the right thing by not allow Michael Vick from training with the team. At the point I do not think he should play football this season because his trail will probably going on doing the season and it would prove to be a distant for himself and the rest of the league.

I’m not every torching the Tour de France. It just have too may problems. I do not think cycling can be fixed. It is a hard sport and I do not think you can cycle three to four days in the high, high mounthers with out some thing in your body. Bodies are not build to take the phenisment of two to three weeks on a bike.

As I said at the start I would like to spotlight one athlete with a disability each week. This week I would like to spotlight Oscar Pistorius. Oscar is a double amputee athletics (track and Field) world record holder from South Africa. He his been in the news rectictly because he has a dream. He would like to run in the 400 meters in the Olympics next year in Beijing. You see Oscar is a double amputee. His running prosthetics are j-shaped carbon fiber blades. The world governing body thinks because his prosthetics is curved and tapering that it gives Oscar an unfair advantage. In Oscar’s first race against the best able bodies athletes Oscar was well off the pace in wet conditions. Oscar is co-operating with the IAAF on future research. I think Oscar can get better over time running with the best in the world. I do not know if his prosthetics gives him a unfair advantage. I will let you know the finding of the research in the fall.

That is my take, I like to hear yours.

Jamie Lazaroff
Jman200086@netscape.net